Petrine Works Old and New

Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of St Peter and of St Paul.  St Peter's must surely be the most well known church building in the world, and forms the heart of the Vatican City.  You might have noticed that we have modified the title design of the blog in honour of this great building.  In spite of being so well known, as mentioned in last week's post on the Basilica of St John Lateran, St Peter's is not, as is commonly assumed, a cathedral, and it is not where the cathedra of the Bishop of Rome is situated.

However, St Peter's is the obvious photo used whenever the Vatican or the Roman Church is mentioned, and as such it is an immensely powerful symbol of the Catholic Church, recognised outside the Church and by people with absolutely no interest in Catholicism, Christianity or religion.

The Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls (Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura) is perhaps slightly less well known (apart from a brief burst of fame in 2008, when there was media speculation about its Abbot, Edmund Power, potentially having been in the running for the post of Archbishop of Westminster), but like St Peter's and like St John Lateran is one of the four ancient Papal Basilicas to be found in Rome.  The fourth is Santa Maria Maggiore, of which more some other time.

The sites of both Basilicas have been places of pilgrimage from very early, and indeed long before it became "safe" or "established religion" to perform such acts of devotion.  Henry Vollam Morton, the journalist and travel writer (perhaps best known for being the first to break the story, in the Daily Express, of Lord Caernarvon and Howard Carter's opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun) put it like this in his 1959 book This is Rome :

It is extraordinarily interesting that Roman pilgrimage began at an…early time. Pilgrims did not wait for the Peace of the Church [Constantine’s edict of toleration] before they visited the tombs of the Apostles. They went to Rome a century before there were any public churches and when the Church was confined to the tituli [private homes] and the catacombs. The two great pilgrimage sites were exactly as today—the tombs, or memorials, of St. Peter upon the Vatican Hill and the tomb of St. Paul off the Ostian Way.

People have oftened question whether the ancient relics in St Peter's and St Paul's are what they say they are. However, much investigation has been carried out on this.

Years of architectural work at St Peter's (exploring areas of the Basilica that had not been accessible since the 9th century) led to Pope Pius XII proclaiming in December 1950 that although we could not be absolutely certain at that time that the remains in St Peter's were indeed those of St Peter, certain convincing evidence had come to light that pointed in that direction, and that therefore it was believed that the tomb of St Peter had been found.  Tradition held that St Peter had been buried on the Vatican Hill, and that since that time, martyrs, popes and other Christians had been buried nearby : the architectural work certainly showed that the Vatican had been built over a cemetery that dated back to the right period.   At the lowest level of the various levels of burials, an aedicula containing bone fragments wrapped in tissue with gold decorations and precious murex purple : this would certainly indicate the burial of someone considered to be of great importance.

Further work, including the discovery of an inscription, and the testing of bones showing that they belonged to a man of 60-70 years of age, led to Pope Paul VI declaring in 1968 that the matter was now beyond doubt.

As to the remains of St Paul in the Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls, the formal confirmation of the discovery of the white marble sarcophagus of St Paul was made in 2006 (although a 19th century chronicle entry from the Benedictine abbey next to the Basilica comments briefly on the discovery of the sarcophagus). The sarcophagus was then analysed until 2009.  Carbon dating carried out during that process showed that the bone fragments found in the sarcophagus of St Paul did indeed date from the first century AD, and that grains of incense and pieces of purple linen had been found alongside the bone fragments. Pope Benedict XVI announced in December 2009 that this seemed to add convincing weight to the uninterrupted tradition that the remains of St Paul's are buried in the Basilica.

For some light relief before the next section of this post, which gets a little serious, here is a selection of photos of St Peter's accompanied by the Sanctus from Schubert's Mass in E flat.



The Holy Father begins his travels to Benin today, a country that, along with most of Africa, is seeing exponential growth of Catholicism (Benin has roughly 500,000 more Catholics than it did ten years ago).  This growth sits oddly with the crazed cries of much of the media whenever the Holy Father visits or talks of Africa, virtually accusing him of personal involvement with a deliberate campaign of mass murder.  The fuss when Pope Benedict visited Cameroon and Angola two years ago, when the media extracted one sentence from his in-flight pre-visit address to journalists and spoke of nothing else was utterly scandalous, yet absolutely predictable : no talk of the growth of the Church in Africa, no talk of Church schools, Church hospitals, Church activity to support and treat those with AIDS and other diseases, Church orphanages, Church aid to the poor, and of course no talk of anything even vaguely touching on the spiritual. 

I hope the point is not silly, but this is the precise opposite of the way the media treated the recent death of Sir Jimmy Saville.  There was much talk of his immense and unquestionably marvellous charitable deeds (for which he received a Papal Knighthood), which was very welcome publicity for doing good works : but there was no mention of him attending Mass on an almost daily basis.  There, no credit could be given to Sir Jimmy's Catholicism, but when there is anything for which it is believed (rightly or wrongly) that "blame" is "needed", then the media are very keen on blaming Catholicism as a whole, and indeed the Pope himself.

Let us hope and pray that the media are going to be slightly more balanced during this trip, but sadly it seems that the media are not only sex-obsessed but lazy : a quick search on the internet reveals that the same old blinkered nonsense is being rehashed, of course entirely removed from the full context of the discussion.  Nobody expects all journalists to agree with what the Pope says, nor to praise him, but it would be nice to have a proper, reasoned discussion, rather than just be witness to the de-contextualised slinging about of extreme accusations.

Anyway, the work of this modern Successor of St Peter is for the "common good", just as was the work of St Peter himself.  Let us wish the Holy Father well on his trip.



St Peter, St Paul, all Saints of Africa, pray for us.

Blessed John Paul II

Today is the first feast day of Blessed John Paul II.  The day is being marked in Rome and in Poland, but it is not (yet) marked elsewhere.  We shall have to wait for his canonisation for that.

For members of the Ordinariate, and indeed for Anglo-Catholics still holding on in the Church of England, he has a most significant meaning.  His visit to the UK in 1982 represented what we would consider to have been the very highest point for hopes of some kind of corporate reunion between the Church of England and the Catholic Church.  "The successor of St Peter greets the successor of St Augustine" is what Blessed John Paul II said to Robert Runcie, then the Archbishop of Canterbury.  The two prayed before the shrine of St Thomas of Canterbury, and knelt together before the nave altar of Canterbury Cathedral. 

These words from Blessed John Paul II's homily that day :

My dear brothers and sisters of the Anglican Communion, “whom I love and long for” (Phil. 4, 1), how happy I am to be able to speak directly to you today in this great Cathedral! The building itself is an eloquent witness both to our long years of common inheritance and to the sad years of division that followed......I appeal to you in this holy place, all my fellow Christians, and especially the members of the Church of England and the members of the Anglican Communion throughout the world, to accept the commitment to which Archbishop Runcie and I pledge ourselves anew before you today. This commitment is that of praying and working for reconciliation and ecclesial unity according to the mind and heart of our Saviour Jesus Christ.  On this first visit of a Pope to Canterbury, I come to you in love - the love of Peter to whom the Lord said, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren” (Luc. 22, 32). I come to you also in the love of Gregory, who sent Saint Augustine to this place to give the Lord’s flock a shepherd’s care (Cfr. 1 Petr. 5, 2). Just as every minister of the Gospel must do, so today I echo the words of the Master: “I am among you as one who serves” (Luc. 22, 27). With me I bring to you, beloved brothers and sisters of the Anglican Communion, the hopes and the desires, the prayers and good will of all who are united with the Church of Rome, which from earliest times was said to “preside in love” (S. IGNATII ANTIOCHENI Ad Romanos, Prooem.).

Was reunion as likely as was thought and hoped by Anglo-Catholics at the time?  Well, possibly not, there were many who would have been very against it.  Yet it was not impossible: no-one thought it would be easy, but no-one thought it was beyond reach.

Time has moved on, and the high point of that meeting Canterbury Cathedral was countered by various decisions of the General Synod of the Church of England that mean few now believe that corporate reunion is likely in any of our lifetimes.  When the current Archbishop of Canterbury received Pope Benedict XVI at Lambeth Palace in 2010, there was much expression of tremendous and genuine mutual good will and respect, but no sentiment that we were possibly on our way to corporate reunion. 

In some of the first posts on this blog, for example Pope Benedict XVI at Westminster Cathedral and Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us, we highlighted how much of a role the visit of the current Holy Father to these shores had on those of us who have joined the Ordinariate.  Apart from all the various reasons mentioned in earlier blogposts, perhaps some of us compared the visit of 2010 with the visit of 1982, and compared the hopes for Catholic Unity.  The landscape was very, very different.
Might an Ordinariate have been created earlier, perhaps in the 1990s after the first of the major changes in the Church of England?  Quite possibly.  We referred in a recent blogpost to discussions between Monsignor Graham Leonard, Cardinal Hume and the then Cardinal Ratzinger on what to do about the wave of Anglicans joining the Catholic Church at the time.  Blessed John Paul II famously asked Cardinal Hume to make sure that the Catholic Church "was generous" in this context, and so it was in welcoming many hundreds of clergy and many thousands of laity : but we would have to wait a little longer for an Ordinariate. 

Whether through the Ordinariate or through parish and diocesan channels, those of us who have become Catholics give thanks that we have been able to contribute in our own very small way towards that objective of which Blessed John Paul II spoke, the Unity of the Church.

It is easy to remember only the last years of Blessed John Paul II's papacy.  The agony of that Holy Week in 2005.  The slow and obviously painful decline of a man determined to perform all his duties.  The perseverance of one who felt that his suffering showed a "witness for the vulnerable", in the words of Eamon Duffy.  As strong as these memories are, we shouldn't lose sight of that vibrant character and presence, who even in his final years fulfilled monumental tasks (who can forget the solitary, hunched figure at the Wailing Wall?).

Here is some footage of the new Pope John Paul II in 1979, visiting the USA.  Full of energy, blessed with a tremendous gift for communication, not least with the young : this is also part of the man that we must not forget. 

Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.

Catholic Treasure, Anglican Patrimony

Yesterday's post Anglican Patrimony and the Ordinariate discussed the various elements that can be considered as Anglican Patrimony, that gift that ex-Anglicans joining the Catholic Church can bring, as part of a process of mutual enrichment.  Our blogpost was clear that Anglican Patrimony covers more than liturgy, more than Cranmerian language and hymns, and extends across the whole range of an ex-Anglican's involvement with the Church. 

What we bring with us as Anglican Patrimony is important, but even more important is the fact that we are now full members of the Catholic Church, fully in communion with the Holy Father and with over one fifth of all humanity.  Because of that, and because, much as we loved our previous home it was beset with difficulties, we are all immensely grateful to the Holy Father for his generous response to the requests of many Anglicans in Anglicanorum Coetibus. 

I'm afraid to say that I loved the picture of the Barque of Peter that I included in the blogpost yesterday so much that I am going to include it today as well, along with a rather nice picture of the Holy Father on board a "barque" as he approached Sydney Harbour for World Youth Day there a few years ago.

We are delighted to bring what we bring as Anglican Patrimony, but other Catholics should not worry that we value this above the treasures of the Catholic Church.  We contribute what we can, and what is of value.  We also receive and learn much that is of value.  No member of the Ordinariate has secret plans to reproduce the Book of Common Prayer. 

Anglicans may have a strong musical and liturgical tradition of their own, but we are happier seeing the following than even our "best" moments as Anglicans. 



It is often said that Anglican Patrimony means hymns.  Well, that is slightly glib, but it is true that when we were in the Church of England, we were probably more used to hymns than many Catholics.  However, the hymns we have encountered in the Catholic Church are very much to our liking and to our taste.  Our first blogpost this week included a link to a recording of the beautiful Fr Faber hymn sung last Sunday at St James's Spanish Place. 

However, we would like to make mention of one very special hymn that we have encountered in the Catholic Church.  Sung to the H F Hemy tune St Catherine, which is often used in the US for Faith of our Fathers, St Alphonsus Liguori's hymn O Bread of Heaven has had a great effect on us: it is a clear expression of a doctrine for which Anglo-Catholics had to fight so hard, but in the Catholic Church simply reflects the agreed position.  Here it is sung at Westminster Cathedral on the occasion of the Holy Father's visit in 2010. The hymn was also sung at Westminster Cathedral on 15 January 2011, during Communion at the Ordination Mass of Monsignors Newton, Burnham and Broadhurst, which is where we first heard and sang it.  The last verse is especially wonderful.

O Bread of Heaven, beneath this veil
Thou dost my very God conceal:
My Jesus, dearest treasure, hail!
I love Thee and, adoring, kneel;
Each loving soul by Thee is fed
With Thine own Self in form of Bread.

O food of life, Thou Who dost give
The pledge of immortality;
I live, no 'tis not I that live;
God gives me life, God lives in me:
He feeds my soul, He guides my ways,
And every grief with joy repays.

O Bond of love that dost unite
The servant to his living Lord;
Could I dare live and not requite
Such love - then death were meet reward:
I cannot live unless to prove
Some love for such unmeasured love.

Beloved Lord, in Heaven above
There, Jesus, Thou awaitest me,
To gaze on Thee with endless love;
Yes, thus I hope, thus shall it be:
For how can He deny me Heaven,
Who here on earth Himself hath given?

St Edward the Confessor, Henry Purcell and broken teeth

Our local feast day.  St Edward, apart from being the patron saint of those in difficult marriages, is also the patron saint of the City of Westminster.  St James's Spanish Place, and indeed St Mary's Bourne Street, are both situated in this ancient city.  Tonight, Westminster Abbey have a Sung Eucharist for the Translation of St Edward, October 13 the date in 1269 when his mortal remains were transferred to their current location in a chapel at the very far east end of Westminster Abbey.  On Saturday, they mark the National Pilgrimage to the Shrine of St Edward with  Evensong and a Procession. 

St Peter's Abbey, or the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which of course we now call Westminster Abbey, was rebuilt by St Edward as a royal burial church, but that is not the building we see today, which was erected by King Henry III in the latter part of thirteenth century.

St Edward of Westminster, pray for us, or as we used to sing in the Litany of the Saints at Bourne Street, Sancti Edwardi Westmonasteriensis, ora pro nobis.

One of the names most associated with Westminster Abbey is Henry Purcell.  We all know of Purcell as one of the greatest English composers, his works are widely performed, but in fact he is one of most unknown characters in music history.  Most writings about his life rather than his music indulge in a lot of speculation, reasonable guesses and inferred likelihoods.  One of the intriguing little mysteries about Purcell (whose name most musicologists will encourage you to say like the washing powder, but in fact we just don't know) is whether he was a Catholic.  Although he finished his life on good terms with the Chapter at Westminster Abbey, I recall an anecdote (which may have been no more than the same speculation as referred to above) told during one of my undergraduate music lectures that the Abbey were so concerned that he might be a secret Catholic that on one occasion they forced him to receive communion. 

O God, Thou art my God, filled with delightful "English cadences" that generate a wince of delight amongst musicians, is quite typical of Purcell's church style, to the extent that such a composer ever has a typical style: he was a master of many styles.  If you listen all the way through, you will notice the final Alleluia is something you will surely recognise.  



If you can't think how you know the final Alleluia from that motet, then watch this, sung at Westminster Abbey upon the occasion of the Holy Father's visit in 2010.  This hymn was also a regular favourite for the congregational singing of Tantum Ergo Sacramentum at St Mary's Bourne St, and no doubt still is, when the temptation to sing the text to Cwm Rhondda can be resisted.




One of my favourite pieces of Purcell is a tour de force in which he shows off his mastery of several styles.  It is also highly unusual, being one of only two sacred pieces set by Purcell in Latin (no, that is not the reason why I like it). "Jehova, quam multi sunt hostes mei" is not as widely sung as it could be, but always pleases when it is.  The psalmist's reassuring text "Qui percussisti omnes inimicos meos maxilliam, dentes improborum confregisti" is perhaps one of those lines that surprises the modern, desperately sensitive ear : 'Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek-bone, Thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked’. 

Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Little Way

As this post is being written, A Procession of the Blessed Sacrament is about to set off from Westminster Cathedral on its way to St George's Cathedral, Southwark.  This procession is taking place to celebrate the anniversary of, and to give thanks for, the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to this country last and the beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman.

This is also an important means of witness and encouragement, and one way to be Confidently Catholic.

Here is some footage of the 2009 Corpus Christi in Rome, led by the Holy Father.




Today is also the day when we commemorate St Therese of the Infant Jesus and of the Holy Face, St Therese of Lisieux, often known as the Little Flower, the only saint to be declared a Doctor of the Church during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II.  She is Patroness of the Missions of the Catholic Church. 

When St Therese's relics were brought to England in 2009, this was an instance of how the actions of the many people who crowded out the various venues where her relics stopped on their tour, were able to provide a great witness to all of the power of the Catholic faith.  The small act of each individual who visited her relics achieved a powerful end, and this is a prime example of the Little Flower's "Little Way", sometimes viewed as too simplistic, but nonetheless a potent means of communicating to all that the way to holiness is not necessarily filled with heroic acts, but more often with the small acts of every day.

Today too, those undertaking the hour long walk from Westminster to Southwark, by engaging in this small act, are witnessing to the world of the Glory of God as they give thanks for the Beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman and for the Holy Father's visit.

Let us send those in the procession our best wishes, join with them in thanksgiving and praise, and ask the intercession of Our Lady of Walsingham, St Therese of Lisieux and Blessed John Henry Newman for the success of this great gesture of Catholic witness, achieved through the little deeds of individuals.

St Therese of Lisieux, pray for us.

Shattering Stereotypes

On the last day of his four-day visit to Germany, the Holy Father gave a homily that demonstrated very clearly that the stereotypes of him and of the Catholic Church so beloved by some in the media, and sadly by some Christians, are totally wrong.

These stereotype views have sometimes been expressed directly to some of us.  There are people who say that the Catholic Church is a harsh place, full of impossible rules, unwelcoming to people who live in the "real world" and lead "real lives".  Well, Pope Benedict's words in Freiburg directly contradict that assertion.

Addressing the crowd of 100,000 on the Gospel of the day, in which Our Lord concludes a parable by sayng to the supposed faithful that prostitutes and publicans will go before them into the Kingdom of Heaven because they believed, whereas the faithful who had heard the message did not repent, the Holy Father expressed this same concept in modern terms.

Translated into the language of our time, this statement might sound something like this: agnostics, who are constantly exercised by the question of God, those who long for a pure heart but suffer on account of our sin, are closer to the Kingdom of God than believers whose life of faith is “routine”and who regard the Church merely as an institution, without letting their hearts be touched by faith.

With these words, the Holy Father showed very clearly that there is a place for everyone, and that people such as he talked about, with "real lives" in the "real world" as his critics would say, should not feel that they are excluded from the love of God, and should not feel that the Catholic Church looks down on them.  They are closer to the Kingdom of God than many who might claim to be more godly or more devout, those who in fact lead a superficial life in which their faith is expressed in no more than routine.



Today we commemorate St Jerome, priest and Doctor of the Church.  St Jerome was an astonishing character, no stranger to controversy (whether in theological debate or in suffering rumours about his personal life), very well travelled, renowned for his fiery temper and recognised throughout the ages for his God-given intellect and talent.

He is perhaps most well known for his achievement of the Vulgate Bible, but no less important are his associated work of biblical exegesis and commentary, his sermons and letters, and his constant insistence on focussing only on the original, authentic translations of scripture.

St Jerome, pray for us.

Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us

One year ago today, Pope Benedict XVI beatified Blessed John Henry Newman at an outdoor Mass celebrated in Cofton Park, Birmingham. This was a true high point in his spectacular visit to the United Kingdom. 

On Saturday morning 18 September, there had been the Mass in Westminster Cathedral, which spoke to many thinking of joining the Catholic Church. Saturday evening saw the Holy Father lead a Prayer Vigil in Hyde Park attended by around 80,000 people, including many Anglicans who are now part of the Ordinariate, for example as seen in these photos

http://sevenoaks.blogspot.com/2010/09/papal-visit-2010-hyde-park-pictures.html

and

http://sevenoaks.blogspot.com/2010/09/images-from-hyde-park.html

Then, finally, there came the beatification of one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement; one who along with Pusey, Keble and others had sought to prove the catholic nature of the Church of England; one who later had taken the decision to join the Catholic Church, the same choice that was now being pondered so actively by many; one whose decision to leave behind him the familiar surroundings of his present ecclesial home and to move elsewhere was strikingly resonant.

 

Newman is an inspiration to both Anglicans and Catholics.  There is immense and justified pride in the massive achievements of a man who had a major influence on the Church of England, and who, in his own way, went on to bring an early form of “Anglican Patrimony” to the Catholic Church.  There is admiration for his writings both devotional and academic, for his work in education, for his pastoral skills, and for his contribution to the development of the Catholic Church in this country.

There was a time when some in the catholic wing of the Church of England would jokingly warn each other not to read Blessed John Henry Newman’s Apologia pro Vita Sua, or his novel Loss and Gain, as to do so gave one “Roman fever”.   Well, no doubt the Papal Visit and the Beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman did inspire many to read or reread both the Apologia and Loss and Gain. Some of those people are now part of the Marylebone Ordinariate Group, so it seems the friendly warning said in jest was not entirely baseless.

 

Being well aware of the importance of Blessed John Henry Newman in the Oxford Movement, and noting his status as Patron of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, we wanted to include an appropriate quotation from his works on the inside cover of the orders of service for the Mass celebrated when we were received into the Catholic Church. After some debate, we settled on this famous passage from the Apologia.

“From the time that I became a Catholic, of course I have no further history of my religious opinions to narrate. In saying this, I do not mean to say that my mind has been idle, or that I have given up thinking on theological subjects; but that I have had no variations to record, and have had no anxiety of heart whatever. I have been in perfect peace and contentment; I never have had one doubt. I was not conscious to myself, on my conversion, of any change, intellectual or moral, wrought in my mind. I was not conscious of firmer faith in the fundamental truths of Revelation, or of more self-command; I had not more fervour; but it was like coming into port after a rough sea; and my happiness on that score remains to this day without interruption.”

How appropriate this seems. It is entirely consonant with our experience so far.

To conclude then, a brief clip from romereports.com of that great day one year ago when Blessed John Henry Newman was beatified, and also a reminder that two of the three permanent video links in the right hand sidebar are of Newman hymns, Praise to the Holiest and Lead Kindly Light.  Listen to those two inspiring hymns.

Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us.

 

Pope Benedict XVI at Westminster Cathedral

The last two days of the Pope Benedict's visit to the United Kingdom in September 2010 included two events that very heavily influenced many of those who have joined the Ordinariate and the wider Catholic Church this year. 

The first of those was the Mass celebrated at Westminster Cathedral exactly one year ago today.  The second, of which more tomorrow, was the Beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman.

The Westminster Cathedral Mass created huge interest and was of huge appeal.  Those who watched it were moved by the solemnity, dignity, reverence and beauty of the liturgy, and by the obvious warmth and rapport between the Holy Father and all those gathered inside and outside.   

For some who have joined the Catholic Church recently, it was an occasion that contained so many things with which we were so familiar, and which we loved: yet we were, in one hugely significant way, cut off from it.  We were not in full communion with the Successor of St Peter: with the open invitation seen in Anglicanorum Coetibus and indeed generally, there seemed to some of us to be less and less justification for deliberately allowing that situation to persist.  And so, from that date onwards, a thought process, which had been begun many times before but never concluded, finally started on its way to what became formal Reception.

One of the permanent video links on the right hand sidebar of this blog is of the Holy Father's procession into the Cathedral at the start of Mass, to the truly stunning accompaniment of James Macmillan's setting of Tu es Petrus.  Please take a look at it now if you haven't before (and perhaps even if have).  To complement this, here is the well known Bruckner setting of Ecce Sacerdos Magnus, as sung by Westminster Cathedral Choir as the Holy Father processed out after Mass, and paused for prayer at the new Shrine of St David. 

Saint Ninian, pray for us

When our Ordinariate group was formed and we were received into the Catholic Church, one of us took Ninian as his Confirmation Name.

September 16th is the Feast of St Ninian, the "Apostle to the Southern Picts", and the first Bishop known to have ministered in Scotland.  St Ninian is believed to have been responsible for the construction in 397AD of the first known Church building in Scotland, the Candida Casa (the White House), a white-washed stone building from which the town of Whithorn in Galloway takes its name.

Although the evangelisation of Scotland is more often associated with St Columba, in fact St Ninian lived well over a century before St Columba, and worked in different regions of Scotland. 

September 16th also marks the first anniversary of the great day last year when the Holy Father arrived in Scotland at the start of his visit to the United Kingdom.  That visit was a definite turning point for many who have come into the Ordinariate and into the wider Catholic Church in this country in the past year.  One of the things that Pope Benedict did exactly one year ago was to celebrate an open-air Mass in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow in front of around 65,000 people.  That Mass was of course of St Ninian of Galloway.

The Collect at the Mass said by the Holy Father was as follows :

Lord our God, you brought the Picts and Britons to a knowledge of the Faith through the teaching of Saint Ninian, the Bishop: in your goodness, listen to our prayers: grant that we who have received from him the light of your truth may remain strong in faith and active in works of charity.  We ask this through Our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.   Amen.

In the video below, there is some footage of the Mass celebrated that momentous day.  Underneath that video is a link to a hymn, Ninian of Galloway, which was sung just before the start of the Papal Mass in Glasgow, and to a prayer for the Feast of St Ninian.

As we now give thanks to Almighty God for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom last year, we ask for His continued blessing on these islands.  May Our Lady, St Ninian and all the Saints of this land pray for us. 



http://stmungomusic.org.uk/music/feast-of-st-ninian/

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

From the Epistle set for Mass today :

Brethren, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. For which cause God also hath exalted Him, and hath given Him a name which is above all names: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.

On our group's Facebook page (which can be reached through one of the links on the right), earlier today we posted a link to Anton Bruckner's setting of Christus Factus Est.  The text of this motet comes from the Gradual of the Mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which in turn comes from the passage from the Epistle to the Philippians.   It seemed very appropriate to link to this particular performance, as in the link we can hear the music being sung by Westminster Cathedral Choir at Mass on the occasion of the Holy Father's visit almost exactly one year ago. 

Finally, please note that to mark today's Feast, there will be a performance of the Anglo-Saxon poem The Dream of the Rood, with music composed by Sharon Jennings and sung by the Fentiman Singers, in the Lady Chapel at St James's, Spanish Place tonight. The dream is of the cross telling Christ its own story of the crucifixion. The performance, given in honour of Holy Cross Day, begins at 7.30pm. Admission will be free, but donations towards the costs will be welcome.