I did.

Then you realise the house wasn't burgled at all. Your parents just decided it would be a good idea to smash everything and throw it out on the street. Being a young Catholic family in Britain in 2009 is largely a matter of picking around in the wreckage and seeing what you can find.

Word on the street says it's been a custom since the Middle Ages for people to have their homes blessed at Epiphany (which is news to me). It's not practical to have the priest go to every home in one day (unless he is Father Christmas) so a tradition arose whereby the priest would bless chalk at Epiphany and people would use the chalk to bless their homes.

The blessing (which is in the 1964 roman ritual) goes like this...

P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.

Bless, + O Lord God, this creature, chalk, and let it be a help to mankind. Grant that those who will use it with faith in your most holy name, and with it inscribe on the doors of their homes the names of your saints, Casper, Melchior, and Baltassar, may through their merits and intercession enjoy health in body and protection of soul; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

You then use the chalk to write the year and the initials of the three Magi (Yes, we all know the Bible doesn't mention any names or numbers of Magi, you're very smart, shut up) on the lintel of your door. Like this:

20 + C + M + B + 09

If you're one of those folks who hates fun and likes to stress about names (we don't have any) and numbers (we don't know) of "kings" (the Bible says wise men) then you can take comfort in the fact that CMB may also stand for "Christus Mansionem Benedicat" which even a fool like me can see is Latin for "Christ Bless this Mansion". Fr Z suspects that's just a clever backronym though he was too cool to actually use the word backronym.

I hope our Bishop will turn out to be the kind of guy who says no to the Bishops Conference and puts Epiphany back on the 6th where it belongs instead of the nearest Sunday. He can do that sort of thing in his own diocese and I would seriously urge him to do so - I dare say I'm not the only one.

That would be awesome. Then we could go to Mass on the feast of Epiphany and have some chalk blessed and take it home and write above our doors. These days of course Bishop Drainey would also need to apply for an indult to allow the blessing of dry markers for use on UPVC.

Anyway, I can't help feeling like I should have found out about all this before I was twenty-six and married with a child. It's too late this year - Epiphany (whichever day it was on) is pretty much over. It's been a bit of a non-event to be honest.

I hope that next year (whether Bishop Drainey turns out to be a hero or not) we will make it a bit less rubbish with an Epiphany cake. Oh yes! There is a cake for everything...

To take just one example: what is meant to be sung at the beginning of Mass is the Introit; and Vatican II gave pride of place to Gregorian Chant for liturgical music. Most people will only ever hear the Introit sung at Mass celebrated according to the usus antiquior. At English Masses, they will not hear the Introit in English set to Gregorian Chant or even in some modern musical form. Instead, they will get an "Entrance hymn" chosen to suit the "theme" of the Mass or the season, or because it is one that people know and enjoy.

Imagine suggesting that the Entrance hymn be replaced by the Introit - perhaps sung in English according to one of the psalm tones to start with. One of the most likely objections will be that the people cannot participate.

This leads to a deeper question concerning the nature of liturgical participation. From Pope St Pius X onwards, there have been calls for active participation - culminating in the call of Sacrosanctum Concilium for the full, conscious and active participation of the people.

Notice, however, that "participation" implies that we are participating in something. What we are meant to be participating in is the Sacred Liturgy. The hymn "Holy God we praise thy name", or "Colours of Day" - take your pick - is not a part of the Sacred Liturgy. If such a hymn is chosen in preference to the Introit, nobody is actually participating in the Sacred Liturgy: people are simply singing a hymn that they like (or at least that somebody likes or thinks that other people should like.)

Has not "active participation" given way to mere activity?

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"Imagine suggesting that the Entrance hymn be replaced by the Introit"

Imagine! I don't have to imagine it - I've done it. The introit is very definitely on the list of things I am excluded from by the modern Church in the name of inclusion.

It's the same story as the Latin. Eleven year olds in England are routinely taught to say "Hello, Pleased to meet you, My name is Jack, How old are you? Where is the hotel?" in French (to help them feel in touch with Europe or something) but oh mercy won't somebody think of the children if anybody suggests they might learn five lines of Pater Noster and so speak in one voice with Catholics around the world and through the centuries... So we are excluded from Latin.

I hope someday we will be able to partake in these things from which we have been excluded in the name of inclusion. In the meantime, the madness continues.

See here and here.

I only mention it because I used to follow his blog a few years ago and didn't see it coming at all.

Good news.

He is now The Raving Theist

Each week during Lent I will come to Hull, York and Middlesbrough. I hope to meet you there. If you are open to what the Lord is saying, life will never be the same again. I promise. Together, I want us to begin to answer Jesus' challenging question: "Who do you say I am?"

St Mark's Gospel: Who do you say I am?

The demons recognised at once who Jesus is: "We know who you are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus silenced them.

Jesus tried to show his disciples - through his teaching and his miracles. He thought they were beginning to understand. "You are the Christ," Peter said, "the Son of God". But when the going got tough, when the way lead to the cross, they ran.

What about you? Who do you say that he is?

Come and find out for yourself.

Mark's Gospel: Who do you say I am?

Mark is sure he knows who Jesus is. "The Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God" is the first line of his gospel. Jesus tries to show his disciples by his teaching and his miracles who he is. "You are the Christ" Peter said, "the Son of God". What about you? Who do you say he is?

[Source: Middlesbrough Catholic Voice]

I would encourage all young people in Middlesbrough Diocese to get themselves along to their nearest meeting with the Bishop.

York people need to get themselves to English Martyrs on Tuesdays in March (the 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th) Hull people need to get themselves to The Endsleigh Centre on Wednesdays in March (the 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th) and Middlesbrough people need to get themselves to St Thomas More on Thursdays in March (5th, 12th, 19th and 26th)

This is your opportunity to find out what this religion stuff is all about.

If you haven't yet seen... ...the superb DVD A glimpse of Heaven, rush and get one NOW. It tells the story of some of the most glorious Catholic churches in Britain - fabulous buildings by Pugin and Gilbert Scott, great abbeys and magnificent spires soaring over northern cities, gems of beautiful art and stained glass and superb craftmanship...and it also shows some of the ghastly destruction wrought in the 1960s and 70s in the name of "renovation" and "updating" and also the ravages of time with much-loved churches now threatened by closure and abandonment...please, please watch it and then in the campaign to restore beauty and cherish our heritage. The DVD was a Christmas gift to a family member and we watched it this evening, by turns awestruck, fascinated, thrilled and saddened.

[link]

Secular people pay to get in to York Minster, Lincoln Cathedral and Rievaulx Abbey. When are we going to start building Churches people would pay to see instead of ugly monstrosities? How many people will be paying to see this in a few hundred years time?

Married couples are thousands of pounds worse off than parents who do not live together under the tax and benefits system, according to a report by an influential think tank.

Despite Gordon Brown's pledge to support "hard working families", those who marry or set up home together and establish a stable family are up to 20 per cent poorer, the Civitas study shows.

...

Campaigners warned last night that the situation "punishes" families trying to do the right thing. A senior MP said it was "insane".

The findings will lead to further allegations that the system of benefits and tax is fuelling "Broken Britain".

...

The report also found that so-called "pushy, middle-class parents" who provide a supportive home and try to find the best education for their children improved schools and communities.

It said such people were "vital to the success of any society" and accused Labour of failing them.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "The current benefits system has huge inbuilt biases against socially responsible behaviour and the tax system punishes families who try to do the right thing.

"Not only is this situation completely unfair, but it also undermines the creation of a better, more socially just society."

The report, Individualists Who Co-Operate, said the system "penalises" couples who live together, adding to accusations that Labour's taxes and handouts are encouraging the death of traditional family structures.

It found, in one case, that where a lone mother earned &163;10,000 a year, and her partner earned &163;25,000, they were &163;5,473 worse off if they decided to live together. If the lone mother did not work, they were &163;4,522 worse off for cohabiting.

...

Chris Grayling, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: "Britain suffers massively from the problems caused by family breakdown.

"It is little short of insane that we have a tax and benefits system that encourages couples to live apart rather than together. This is something the Conservatives are committed to changing."

...

Research last year, from the Millennium Cohort Study, found that married parents are more than twice as likely to stay together as those who are unwed.

[link]

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

On the one hand, I think an unemployed single mother should get government support because she needs government support to stop herself and her children from ending up on the street.

On the other hand, if she has a boyfriend who earns as much as I do (which isn't very much) then it seems crazy for her to get funded so they can have two homes between them. That's what happens at the moment. Unmarried parents where one stays at home and one works get government support so that none of his wages have to be spent on her children or accommodation.

If the boyfriend is the father of the children they are worse off because he will have to pay some kind of maintenance. That means a stay at home mum is most financially well off if she leaves the father of her children and starts going out with man number two.

That's why the kids with unmarried mums and two dads are getting a new mobile, ipod and PS3 for Christmas while the kids with married parents are lucky to get a satsuma. I'm not envious though, because unmarried step-ish-father-ish man number two is the person most likely to hit his unmarried single mum and sexually abuse her child. Full stop.

Idiots like my wife and I get married. Married parents where one stays at home and the other works do not get government support so that none of his wages have to be spent on their children and accommodation. So we are poor.

On the other hand, our relationship has been raised to the level of a Sacrament in which we become a living icon of the trinity and partake in God's creation of new life. I reckon that's worth a few grand a year.

It had better be, because that's what we're paying.

All credit to the author

Hope you all had a great Christmas and wishing you all a wonderful year ahead. Blogging might be light over the next week or so as I get acquainted with the force and my new crossbow (if I can wrench it out of Ella's greasy mitts).

Those of you without video game addictions might want to check out this rumour which is probably as reliable as that time The Tablet predicted some bloke from Ushaw would be our Bishop...

A Great Work

Venerable brothers, beloved sons, all men of good will, great indeed is the work of education, of progress and of charity to which We now summon all of you. And this We do relying on the unshakable teaching of the Church, which teaching Peter's successor together with his brothers in the Catholic episcopate faithfully guards and interprets. And We are convinced that this truly great work will bring blessings both on the world and on the Church. For man cannot attain that true happiness for which he yearns with all the strength of his spirit, unless he keeps the laws which the Most High God has engraved in his very nature. These laws must be wisely and lovingly observed. On this great work, on all of you and especially on married couples, We implore from the God of all holiness and pity an abundance of heavenly grace as a pledge of which We gladly bestow Our apostolic blessing.

Given at St. Peter's, Rome, on the 25th day of July, the feast of St. James the Apostle, in the year 1968, the sixth of Our pontificate.

PAUL VI

Remember to Sign the LiveChastely Promise

Christian Compassion

Now it is an outstanding manifestation of charity toward souls to omit nothing from the saving doctrine of Christ; but this must always be joined with tolerance and charity, as Christ Himself showed in His conversations and dealings with men. For when He came, not to judge, but to save the world, was He not bitterly severe toward sin, but patient and abounding in mercy toward sinners?

Husbands and wives, therefore, when deeply distressed by reason of the difficulties of their life, must find stamped in the heart and voice of their priest the likeness of the voice and the love of our Redeemer.

So speak with full confidence, beloved sons, convinced that while the Holy Spirit of God is present to the magisterium proclaiming sound doctrine, He also illumines from within the hearts of the faithful and invites their assent. Teach married couples the necessary way of prayer and prepare them to approach more often with great faith the Sacraments of the Eucharist and of Penance. Let them never lose heart because of their weakness.

Remember to Sign the LiveChastely Promise

Something we were able to acquire in West Hull was fruit, brandy, icing sugar and ludicrous quantities of marzipan (four packs). So Ella has baked a rather spectacular Christmas cake and topped it with rather spectacular snowmen...

The four snowmen are singing from liquorice all sorts hymn books on which Ella has iced musical notes - each of the snowmen has a different part (base, tenor, alto and soprano) and Ella has been careful to make sure each page has the same number of beats and the appropriate clef.

She is a Christmas cake making musical nerd.

She also made use of a clever sparky-frosting technique that she learned from a kind lady in the cake shop on Boothferry Road (Ella assures me she was there to buy glycerine for the peaked icing and not to buy the cake). You can sort of see it in this photo below...

It looks spectacularly good. But as Ella said - the proof will be in the eating...

To Priests

And now, beloved sons, you who are priests, you who in virtue of your sacred office act as counselors and spiritual leaders both of individual men and women and of families—We turn to you filled with great confidence. For it is your principal duty—We are speaking especially to you who teach moral theology—to spell out clearly and completely the Church's teaching on marriage. In the performance of your ministry you must be the first to give an example of that sincere obedience, inward as well as outward, which is due to the magisterium of the Church. For, as you know, the pastors of the Church enjoy a special light of the Holy Spirit in teaching the truth. And this, rather than the arguments they put forward, is why you are bound to such obedience. Nor will it escape you that if men's peace of soul and the unity of the Christian people are to be preserved, then it is of the utmost importance that in moral as well as in dogmatic theology all should obey the magisterium of the Church and should speak as with one voice. Therefore We make Our own the anxious words of the great Apostle Paul and with all Our heart We renew Our appeal to you: "I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment."

Remember to Sign the LiveChastely Promise

If you enjoy totally bizarre games with no Christmas connection at all (except that James was playing it in Advent) then you could try this Wierd Moon Game!

To Doctors and Nurses

Likewise we hold in the highest esteem those doctors and members of the nursing profession who, in the exercise of their calling, endeavor to fulfill the demands of their Christian vocation before any merely human interest. Let them therefore continue constant in their resolution always to support those lines of action which accord with faith and with right reason. And let them strive to win agreement and support for these policies among their professional colleagues. Moreover, they should regard it as an essential part of their skill to make themselves fully proficient in this difficult field of medical knowledge. For then, when married couples ask for their advice, they may be in a position to give them right counsel and to point them in the proper direction. Married couples have a right to expect this much from them.

Remember to Sign the LiveChastely Promise

As a former U. S. Air Force pilot and a current husband of 36 years, I can guarantee you that as precarious as that emergency single engine landing might be, it will have a far greater chance of survival than a so called 50/50 marriage. The airplane will land safely, with only some frayed nerves among the passengers; however, the 50/50 marriage will crash and burn.

...

So, men, you need to give more, much more. You must come to understand what sacrifice is all about. You must strive for the 100% threshold.

...

We have all read about genetic research discovering genes that pass on tendencies toward various diseases, behaviors, etc. Researchers have now isolated a gene, found almost exclusively in men that, at times, morphs us into being selfish, lazy, self-indulgent, egotistical, neglectful, a couch potato, a sport fanatic, and the list goes on and on and on. The gene has a long, difficult to pronounce, multi-syllable, Latin name so I will not twist your mind with it. I will just use the, more descriptive, slang form. They call it the Jackass gene. Simply put - it makes men act like a jackass. In other words, you forget about your wife and focus on yourself – not good for marriage.

You don’t have to believe me, but it is true. To prove it to yourself, don’t waste your time doing an Internet search or contacting a genetic research company, all you have to do is ask your sister, mother, or mother-in-law. At least one of them will unequivocally confirm the fact that you are a jackass…

...

All kidding aside, a successful marriage takes the best that you both can give. Here is part of the secret:

• You, the husband, strive to give (love and sacrifice) 100%.
• Keep that jackass gene under control.
• Do not be evaluating, ranking, or assessing your wife’s performance.

This last item is crucial. You take care of your part of the marriage equation and let your wife take care of hers, unencumbered by accusations, innuendo, or negative running commentary of any sort.

...

For those of you familiar with scripture, here are three verses you must forget. Totally blot them out in your bible. “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands.”(Eph 5:22-24) Of course, these were meant for your wives, but your wives are not to be reminded of them by you.

God gave you plenty to do. “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…;”(Eph 5:25-31) You do this right and you will have the second best marriage on the planet.

[link]

We've only been doing it a couple of years (nearly three!) but it's pretty clear already that the commonly held view of marriage as a team of two helping each other through life is deficient - it implies a division of labour and two people picking up half each and making a whole. If one person doesn't do their bit then the whole thing falls down in a mess of arguments about who should have been doing what and when.

It's not like that. Marriage is not a swap - I will do this if you do that. Marriage is a covenant. You promised to give 100% of yourself so you should give 100% of yourself (as best you can) and not worry about whether the other person is doing the same because it's really not relevant - it wasn't part of the deal.

Training of "extraordinary" ministers - Yes. Training of "ordinary" musicians - Nope.

Don't even get me started on chant.

A Church which only makes use of 'utility' music has fallen for what is, in fact, useless. She too becomes ineffectual. For her mission is a fair higher one...The Church must not settle down with what is merely comfortable and serviceable at the parish level; she must arouse the voice of the cosmos and, by glorifying the Creator, elicit the glory of the cosmos itself, making it also glorious, beautiful, habitable and beloved. Next to the saints, the art which the Church has produced is the only real 'apologia' for her history...The Church is to transform, improve, 'humanize' the world--but how can she do that if at the same time she turns her back on beauty, which is so closely allied to love? For together, beauty and love form the true consolation in this world, bringing it as near as possible to the world of the resurrection. The Church must maintain high standards; she must be a place where beauty can be at home; she must lead the struggle for that 'spiritualisation' without which the world becomes the 'first circle of hell'.

[link]

First circle of hell? That reminds me of something...

Family Apostolate

Among the fruits that ripen if the law of God be resolutely obeyed, the most precious is certainly this, that married couples themselves will often desire to communicate their own experience to others. Thus it comes about that in the fullness of the lay vocation will be included a novel and outstanding form of the apostolate by which, like ministering to like, married couples themselves by the leadership they offer will become apostles to other married couples. And surely among all the forms of the Christian apostolate it is hard to think of one more opportune for the present time.

Remember to Sign the LiveChastely Promise

You can't go wrong with anything here.

This week in the Catholic Herald there is an interview with Bishop Kieran Conry. He's the Bishop who is supervising "an Interim Youth Ministry Co-ordinator" who will be doing research "to determine the current provision for youth ministry within the Dioceses, and directions for further development".

The interview covers lots of things I'm sure many bloggers will be covering - but I'm most interested in what he has to say about young people...

A Youth Mass with a liturgy designed to appeal to youngsters had been proposed. The website for it displayed the bishops' logo. Suggestions included distributing tips on high-energy light bulbs, handing out Fairtrade chocolate and in a list of things to be sorry for in the penitential rite: leaving water in your kettle.

Did the bishop think any of the suggested liturgy was a bit silly?

"Well, it might be. But it's youth. We're not going to switch light bulbs on in young people's heads, not at a single event. But it was felt some of that would be appropriate for young people." Leaving water in the kettle? "For young people that's an issue - energy saving."

Could the Church be more radical? Talk about the serious questions - repentance, salvation?

"You can't talk to young people about salvation. What's salvation? What does salvation mean? My eternal soul? You can only talk to young people in young people's language, really. And if you're going to talk to them about salvation, the first thing they will understand is saving the planet. You're talking about being saved and they will say: 'What about saving the planet?'"

Hold on a second.

How do young people have any idea that the planet needs saving?

Look at the planet. It's enormous and remarkably stable from one day to the next. Does it look like it needs saving? Have young people started being born who are able to detect tiny shifts of a fraction of a degree centigrade in the average temperature of the whole earth from one year to the next? I doubt it. The only way any young person knows that the planet needs saving is that somebody told them.

Imagine that! Young people being told stuff.

Now look at human beings. Spot anything about them? Unlike the planet (which I am sure will get by without us for millions of years thanks very much) human beings are mortal. Human beings do not live forever. They die. What happens then?

Does Bishop Kieran Conry really really believe that young people find it easy to see that the earth needs saving but cannot conceive of their own mortality? That none of them might be even slightly interested in what happened to gran when she died last year or what will happen to themselves?

Amy Welborn (author of several highly regarded books for teenagers) puts it better than me...

it was this part about young people that struck me, since it betrayed, I think, such a lack of understanding of young people to a level that was almost insulting. I mean, I was insulted, and I'm so far away from being a young person it's not funny anymore.

Young people only understand "salvation" if you hook it into "saving the planet?" Has the bishop ever spoken to an actual young person and listened to them speak about their deepest questions…why am I here…what is this life for…what in the world am I supposed to do with this life? …am I an accident…is there any point…death? Death?

[link]

Young people are facing absolutely enormous questions... why am I here…what is this life for…what in the world am I supposed to do with this life? The Bishops are giving them pap about recycling and not over filling kettles.

This is failure on an epic scale.

You can inflict the full interview on yourself here.

We got up to leave. My mind turned to the bishop taking the Friday night train back to Brighton, sitting in the carriage in his black clerical clothes. Then I realised he wasn't wearing clerical garb.

Did you know that Canon law says it's okay to poke a Bishop in the eye so long as he isn't dressed like a member of the clergy?

It doesn't? Well it should.

Recourse to God

For this reason husbands and wives should take up the burden appointed to them, willingly, in the strength of faith and of that hope which "does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us". Then let them implore the help of God with unremitting prayer and, most of all, let them draw grace and charity from that unfailing fount which is the Eucharist. If, however, sin still exercises its hold over them, they are not to lose heart. Rather must they, humble and persevering, have recourse to the mercy of God, abundantly bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance. In this way, for sure, they will be able to reach that perfection of married life which the Apostle sets out in these words: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church. . . Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the Church. . . This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church; however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

Remember to Sign the LiveChastely Promise

The Antikythera mechanism (IPA: [ˌæntɪkɪˈθɪərə], an-ti-ki-theer-uh), is an ancient mechanical calculator designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was discovered in the Antikythera wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, between Kythera and Crete, in 1901. Subsequent investigation, particularly in 2006, dated it to about 150–100 BC; and hypothesised that it was on board a ship that sank en route from the Greek island of Rhodes to Rome. Technological artifacts of similar complexity did not reappear until a thousand years later.

[link]

Now this guy has made one...

To Christian Couples

And now We turn in a special way to Our own sons and daughters, to those most of all whom God calls to serve Him in the state of marriage. While the Church does indeed hand on to her children the inviolable conditions laid down by God's law, she is also the herald of salvation and through the sacraments she flings wide open the channels of grace through which man is made a new creature responding in charity and true freedom to the design of his Creator and Savior, experiencing too the sweetness of the yoke of Christ.

In humble obedience then to her voice, let Christian husbands and wives be mindful of their vocation to the Christian life, a vocation which, deriving from their Baptism, has been confirmed anew and made more explicit by the Sacrament of Matrimony. For by this sacrament they are strengthened and, one might almost say, consecrated to the faithful fulfillment of their duties. Thus will they realize to the full their calling and bear witness as becomes them, to Christ before the world. For the Lord has entrusted to them the task of making visible to men and women the holiness and joy of the law which united inseparably their love for one another and the cooperation they give to God's love, God who is the Author of human life.

We have no wish at all to pass over in silence the difficulties, at times very great, which beset the lives of Christian married couples. For them, as indeed for every one of us, "the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life." Nevertheless it is precisely the hope of that life which, like a brightly burning torch, lights up their journey, as, strong in spirit, they strive to live "sober, upright and godly lives in this world," knowing for sure that "the form of this world is passing away."

Remember to Sign the LiveChastely Promise