Father Larry Richard's Confession Speech, April 12, 2008 [reposted]

The third meeting of the Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma -- the association of Catholic bloggers continues to flourish

Members of the Guild st the blognic!

The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma met yesterday for its third meeting since it was formed in May 2011. (See the previous post on this blog, posted by Supertradmum, for more information.)

Guild members and supporters met at 10.30am in the Brompton Oratory’s Chapel of the Seven Dolours, where an EF Low Mass for the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady was celebrated for us by Fr Rupert McHardy CongOrat. (How wonderful it was to be at Mass yesterday in which the Stabat Mater sequence was recited before the Gospel!)

A meeting of the Guild was held after Mass, during which Fr McHardy gave a most enlightening talk on historical Catholic apologists and controversialists. These men and women would most probably have been bloggers today. They also often faced the same problems, temptations, and dangers that many modern-day bloggers have to deal with.

Fr McHardy reminded us that there had not been many controversialists (or ‘potential bloggers’) during the few decades leading up to the Second Vatican Council. But there have been periods in the Church’s history, usually coinciding with advances in communication technology and major upheavals in the Church, when Christians seem to have engaged in a type of pre-blog blogging -- apologists, pamphleteers, reformers, prophetic saints, etc.

Beginning with St Jerome, an undoubted controversialist and someone often willing to speak his mind in defence of the truth, Fr McHardy gave examples of men and women through history who would probably have been bloggers were they alive today – three main periods were covered: the early Church, the Reformation era, and the nineteenth century.

Whilst dwelling on the life of St Philip Neri, the Second Apostle of Rome and founder of the Oratorians, Fr McHardy suggested that the great man would probably have been a blogger were he around today. [UPDATE 20/09/12: mea cupla -- I have just been reminded that Fr Rupert McHardy did not in fact suggest that St Philip would have been a blogger, but that he would rather have supported bloggers. Please accept my apologies, Father.] When the then Pope was about to act in what could have been an unjust way, St Philip, together with other Roman priests, complained publicly against the pontiff's actions. As a result, many of the Pope's critics were expelled from Rome – with the exception of Philip Neri!

Referring to the fact that real-time yet distant forms of communication, such as online commenting, can result in the publication of ill-considered or uncharitable words, Fr McHardy mentioned the Victorian postal service – which was far quicker and more reliable than the one we have today! At that time, letters posted from London in the morning would arrive in places like Birmingham by the afternoon, and responses could reach the original sender by evening. Mentioning to two great Oratorian controversialists, Blessed John Henry Newman and Fr Frederick William Faber, Fr McHardy suggested that the fast postal service between London (where Fr Faber was based) and Birmingham (home to Newman) may have contributed the misunderstanding and strained relations known to have existed between these two men. As with today's social media communication, Victorian letters were often posted in haste, with little thought, and sometimes with unintended or negative consequences.

Other saints and churchmen unafraid to defend the truth and be controversial, even to death, such as the twentieth century's St Maximilian Kolbe and Blessed Titus Bransdma, would undoubtedly have been bloggers today said Fr McHardy. He emphasised the need for bloggers to defend the truth and give charitable witness to the faith, especially as standing up for what is right and for the Catholic faith will always involve a certain amount of controversy or risk.

Richard Collins thanks Fr Rupert McHardy
(source: Fr Z)

After the talk all present recited the Guild prayer. Then Richard Collins (Linen on the Hedgerow), on behalf of the Guild, thanked Fr Rupert McHardy for his generosity in celebrating Mass for us and for his excellent and informative talk. The Guild also thanked Fr Julian Large CongOrat (Provost of the London Oratory) and the Fathers of the community for allowing us to meet in and use the facilities of the Oratory. Richard also thanked Fr John Zuhlsdorf (Fr Z's Blog - he has written about the day here), who had travelled from the US to be present with us – Fr Z replied by speaking very warmly about the Guild and its mission.

A meeting of the Guild was then held, during which many topics were discussed by those present, including: the need for us to elect officers sometime in the future, the possibility of producing Guild-related literature, general blogging matters, and the continued success and growth of the Guild. A copy of the minutes should be sent to Guild members sometime in the near future. The meeting ended with the recitation of Lord's Prayer for the Holy Father's intentions during his current visit to the Lebanon. 

More scenes from the pub!

Following the meeting, all present retired to a local pub, called The Hour Glass, for lunch and an afternoon of socialising – otherwise known as a ‘blognic’! During the afternoon, we were joined by a few bloggers and users of the new media who had not been able to get to the first part of the day, amongst them were Fr Tim Finigan (Hermeneutic of Continuity) and ‘Sir Dan of the Blogosphere’.

About 15 people were present at Mass, whilst 12 members and supporters came to the Guild talk and meeting, with at least 16 then making it to the pub over the course of the afternoon (though I had to leave early, so there may have been more). Needless to say, some of those present would rather remain totally anonymous, but amongst those at the Guild meeting itself were: -

Malvenu (Quam Augusta Porta); Supertradmum (Etheldreda’sPlace); Richard (Linen on the Hedgerow) and his wife, Sally (one of their daughters, Catherine, also came to the pub); Paul (Twitter user and OTSOTA);  Mary (The Path Less Taken); Simon (The Red Rose Society); the commentator and Twitter user Londiniensis; Dylan (A Reluctant Sinner); and Fr Z. A young seminarian user of the new media was also present at the Mass and meeting, as were a few other bloggers and online commentators who came along to the ‘blognic’. Apologies were received from six UK-based members of the Guild including: The Bones, leutgeb, A Tiny Son of Mary and Mulier Fortis.

The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma's third meeting was a most enjoyable day of prayer, reflection, discussion and socialising!

Blessed Titus Brandsma, pray for us

Father McHardy speaks to the bloggers....

The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma had a meeting today, Saturday, in London, and the talk was extremely interesting. Here is a quick summary of some of the main points. Dylan has a longer and more detailed (as well as excellent) article.

Father McHardy of the Oratorians at the Brompton Oratory, where the bloggers met, put Catholic blogging in the historical context of centuries of apologetic writing.

Comparing the present use of the Internet with the pamphleteers of the Count-Reformation, Father McHardy noted that a combination of adherence to the Truth and charity form the basis for expressing the True Faith.

Starting with the example of such writers as St. Philip Neri, who Father pointed out was involved in the events of the day in the Church in Rome, and moving to the English pamphleteers, who daringly answered Henry VIII and Elizabeth I in the breaks with Rome, Fr. McHardy encouraged all to maintain dignity in writing.

But, as he said clearly, Father emphasized that the duty of the blogger was spreading the Truth of the Holy Catholic Church, no matter how unpopular this was to those who are caught up in secularization and the material pursuits of the world, or even for those Catholics who are struggling to agree with Church teaching.

Father stressed that there "is a place of controversial-ism in the Church and that controversy is not new in the Church."

He also said that, "To defend the truth is the most important thing to do."

Father also noted that anonymity or pseudonyms were used by the Counter-Reformation writers and that there is freedom in this method.

Referring to Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman, Father noted that he, too, was a public apologist, a necessity for the times.

"Being critical is not always a negative thing," said Father. 

His talk was both encouraging and stimulating. Thank you, Father McHardy.

Guild of Bl Titus meeting on Saturday 15 September -- with many of your favourite bloggers, including the fantastic Fr Z!

This Saturday, 15 September, will see the third meeting of the Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma. All Catholic bloggers, online commentators, blog readers and followers, and users of the new media are warmly invited to attend.

The day will begin at 10.30am with Low Mass celebrated by Fr Rupert McHardy Cong.Orat. in the Chapel of the Seven Dolours at the Brompton Oratory (London). Fr McHardy has also kindly agreed to give a talk to those present, before an informal meeting of the Guild is held.

A blognic is scheduled to begin around 1.00pm at the The Hour Glass pub, near the Oratory.

Richard Collins (Linen on the Hedgerow) has just received confirmation that the popular priest-blogger Fr John Zuhlsdorf (Fr Z -- WDTPRS) will be present (Deo volente) at the Guild meeting and blognic. Fr Tim Finigan (The Hermeneutic of Continuity) also hopes to be present in the afternoon. Many other Catholic bloggers and users of the new media plan to be there, too.

So, if you are in London this coming Saturday, why not join us, either for the whole day or for the blognic in the afternoon? It promises to be quite a day!

Gearing up for the Year of Faith

Sooner than we think, in less than 5 weeks the Year of Faith will begin. For all of those who take up the Church Universal's invitation to deepen their understanding of the Faith by studying the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it will be a time of renewal. This is an amazing opportunity to rediscover the riches of the Church's teachings and to be infused with the joy that comes from being reminded about just how wonderful God is and how perfect His plan for the salvation of humanity is.



While I am still waiting to see whether the Apostolic Penitentiary underlines with indulgences some of the Pastoral Recommendations for the Year of Faith and any other worthwhile spiritual practices, I already have two plans. The first is to pick up where I left off reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church to my son, somewhere around the explanation of Jesus coming to judge the living and the dead in Part One - The Profession of Faith, and to read between one and two pages a night. The second is phase two of our parish study group which started from Pentecost 2012 as a response to the Australian 'Year of Grace' and which will also become a response to the Universal Church's 'Year of Faith', beginning from Thursday, 11 Oct 2012. We will be using the same discussion questions, just changing the text from the Gospel of St Mark to the Catechism. What's different about this study group is that summaries of the discussions are being posted online at www.ofgraceandfaith.blogspot.com , and that will continue during the Year of Faith.

The discussion questions come in three parts. In Part A people share about what they hadn't noticed in the text before, or what surprised them; which puts us in welcoming position towards the text and to what God wants to teach us through the text. In Part B we talk about past events of grace that the text has reminded us of, together with how we have seen God active in our lives recently. Doing this has inspired us all to live the Gospel more faithfully and has made us more aware of the various ways God works in our lives. In Part C we look at examples of Christian art which illustrate the text, and examples of Saints who have lived out aspects of the text in memorable ways. This last part is already going some way towards fulfilling the Year of Faith recommendations 5 and 6 at the level of episcopal conferences.

5. The Saints and the Blessed are the authentic witnesses of the faith. It is, therefore, opportune that Episcopal Conferences work toward the dissemination of a knowledge of the local Saints of their territory, also by modern means of social communication.
6. The contemporary world is sensitive to the relationship between faith and art. It is, therefore, recommended that Episcopal Conferences maximize the catechetical potential – possibly with ecumenical cooperation – of the artistic patrimony of the region entrusted to their pastoral care.

Obviously it is not going to be possible to cover the whole Catechism in the approximate 52 weeks we have (allowing for Christmas, Easter, Public holidays and unexpected interruptions). So I've worked out a scheme for studying three areas of the Catechism, which I hope will prove useful to others who wish to study the Catechism during the Year of Faith. Within the next week or two it will be uploaded to the Catechism Study Plan page of the above mentioned blog. Because the 'Year of Grace' will be running concurrently with the Year of Faith, we have chosen those parts of the Catechism which have a greater resonance with Grace. Thus we will start with 22 weeks on the Sacraments, because they are our major source of sacramental Grace. This will take us up to Holy Week. After Easter we will do 15 weeks on Prayer, because Prayer is the lifeblood of the Sacraments and the major way actual Grace comes to us. For the final 15 weeks we will be doing Section One of Part Three of the Catechism : Life in Christ, which deals with topics like virtue, salvation and conscience.

Since neither the chapters, the articles or the paragraphs in the Catechism are of equal length, I have tried to break up each section with reference to the topic headings and to work on an average of 15-22 paragraphs and 3.5-5.25 pages worth of Catechism text.

The reasoning behind this is that the section length needs to be short enough to read out loud at the beginning of the study group, and yet long enough to give our artist sufficient imagery to work with. Because life often gets in the way of our good intentions, reading the section aloud will assist everyone who wasn't able to read it before hand. We also often understand text much better when it is read aloud, and notice parts that we would normally skim over when reading the same text to ourselves. In addition, St Paul tells us in Romans 10:14-17 that faith comes from what is heard via preaching, and through the Catechism the wisdom of Church gathered over 2 millennia is preached to us.

Apart from the articles on Sacramentals and Christian Funerals (because they are short), we will be ignoring the 'In Brief' portions of the Catechism. This is because they are usually lacking in imagery and in footnotes, and because bypassing the 'In Brief' portions will enable us to cover more of the main text. The footnotes are of importance because for the discussion question about the Saints we hope to look at the lives of those Saints who are quoted, and the context in which they are quoted, as well as Saints who lived out those parts of the Catechism in exemplary ways.

If our journey through the Gospel of St Mark is anything to go by, our journey through these three areas of the Catechism is going to be very exciting. There is a grace which comes when believers study matters of Faith together which isn't as strong when you study them alone. Can you imagine the grace that will be outpoured if the whole Church takes the Year of Faith seriously, studies the Catechism and the documents of Vatican II anew, and experiences the joy and renewal that comes from the rediscovery of the wisdom, power and love of God?

May that grace be yours, and may these few paragraphs spur you on to do your own planning to take maximum advantage of the Year of Faith.

Birthday of the Virgin Mary: Mother of Christ and the Church

From the Office of Readings for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: -

From a discourse by St Andrew of Crete 

‘The fulfilment of the law is Christ himself, who does not so much lead us away from the letter as lift us up to its spirit. For the law’s consummation was this, that the very lawgiver accomplished his work and changed letter into spirit, summing everything up in himself and, though subject to the law, living by grace ... He changed whatever was burdensome, servile and oppressive not what is light and liberating, so that we should be enslaved no longer under the elemental spirits of the world, as the Apostle says, nor held fast as bondservants under the letter of the law. 

  [...] This radiant and manifest coming of God to men most certainly needed a joyful prelude to introduce the great gift of salvation to us. The present festival, the birth of the Mother of God, is the prelude, while the final act is the fore-ordained union of the Word with flesh. Today the Virgin is born, tended and formed and prepared for her role as Mother of God, who is the universal King of the ages. 

 Justly, then, do we celebrate this mystery since it signifies for us a double grace. We are led toward the truth, and we are led away from our condition of slavery to the letter of the law. How can this be? Darkness yields before the coming of the light, and grace exchanges legalism for freedom ... Therefore, let all creation sing and dance and unite to make worthy contribution to the celebration of this day. Let there be one common festival for saints in heaven and men on earth. Let everything, mundane things and those above, join in festive celebration. Today this created world is raised to the dignity of a holy place for him who made all things. The creature is newly prepared to be a divine dwelling place for the Creator.

(To read the passage in its entirety, please visit Universalis)

From Pope Benedict XVI's Homily for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15 August 2012): - 

There is a beautiful passage from St Gregory the Great on St Benedict that we can apply to Mary too. St Gregory the Great says that the heart of St Benedict expanded so much that all creation could enter it. This is even truer of Mary: Mary, totally united to God, has a heart so big that all creation can enter this heart, and the ex-votos in every part of the earth show it. Mary is close, she can hear us, she can help us, she is close to everyone of us. In God there is room for man and God is close, and Mary, united to God, is very close; she has a heart as great as the heart of God. 

But there is also another aspect: in God not only is there room for man; in man there is room for God. This too we see in Mary, the Holy Ark who bears the presence of God. In us there is space for God and this presence of God in us, so important for bringing light to the world with all its sadness, with its problems. This presence is realized in the faith: in the faith we open the doors of our existence so that God may enter us, so that God can be the power that gives life and a path to our existence. In us there is room, let us open ourselves like Mary opened herself, saying: “Let your will be done, I am the servant of the Lord”. By opening ourselves to God, we lose nothing. On the contrary, our life becomes rich and great.  (emphases mine) 

(To read the homily in its entirety, please visit the Vatican website.)

Hail Mary, full of grace. 
The Lord is with thee. 
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. 
Holy Mary, Mother of God, 
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

St Giles, patron saint of the Paralympics?

                                                                 Symbol of the Paralympics, three "agitos"


Today, Saturday 1st September, is the feastday of St Giles, believed to have been a 7th Century Athenian from a noble family.

He left his native land and travelled to France where he lived for some years as a hermit.
According to legend, he befriended a deer and was subsequently wounded by an arrow when hunters tried to kill the animal.
 As a result of his wound, St Giles became permanently crippled which resulted in him being appointed patron saint of the physically disabled.

His miracles won him the support of many of the aristocracy and, eventually, he founded an order that adopted the Benedictine Rule.

The monastery of St-Gilles-du-Gard was founded by him towards the latter half of the 7th century.

Interesting to note that the 2012 Paralympics has adopted the symbol of movement known as an "agito" from the Latin for "I move" - three agitos form the 2012 Paralympic symbol.

A great pity that St Giles could not have been included in the various corporate identities projected by the Paralympics.

Prayer for the Disabled to St. Giles

O Lord, we beseech you to let us find grace through the intercession

of your blessed confessor St. Giles;

that what we cannot obtain through our merits

be given us through his intercession.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

St. Giles

Pray for us.

Posted by Richard Collins - Linen on the Hedgerow

Mother Angelica Live Classics - 1994-09-14 - March for Life - Mother Ang...

In Memoriam of March for Life foundress Nellie Gray [1924-2012] RIP

Gradualism?

Compromising and deal-making to save a single unborn life while we leave behind those whom those with whom we deal refuse to negotiate?

Right or Wrong?
Harte's 'Solidaritism' vs Finnis's "Make the deal! save whoever we can!" ?
45yrs of failure under the Finnis strategy seems to indicate we are reaping what we sow.

Here's Hanink on the issues, and I have little reticence in promoting his arguments that Colin Harte is right!

No Compromise: No Exceptions.

http://www.uffl.org/vol17/HANINK07.pdf

Another patron for the Guild?

                                                                          Not so dissimilar to Bl Titus Brandsma

Today is the feastday of one of my favourite saints, St Maximilian Kolbe, martyr of Auschwitz, a saint of our time.

St Maximilian's heroic act of self sacrifice is well known to all. When a Jewish prisoner was singled out for punishment by death, Fr Kolbe stepped forward and offered to take his place.

The Nazi guards had no concept of the great favour they were granting the Catholic Faith when they accepted his offer.

Fr Kolbe, along with 9 other prisoners was locked in a cell and left to waste away; no food or water was permitted.
Each day he celebrated Holy Mass and led the prisoners in singing hymns.

Each day, as the men died, one by one, the singing became fainter and fainter until, at last, only Fr Kolbe's voice could be heard.

Impatient to clear the cell the guards gave Fr Kolbe a lethal injection of carbolic acid and he won his martyr's crown.

But, in his earlier life as a priest, Fr Kolbe had worked as a journalist editing the Polish monthly,  Rycerz Niepokalanej (The Knight of the Immaculata). 
In 1930 he  travelled to Japan where he founded a monastery at Nagasaki and lived for six years.

And when war started, on his return to Poland, he sheltered and organised an escape route for over 2,000 Jews.

After his martyrdom the Nazis cremated his remains on 15th August 1941, Feast of The Assumption of Our Lady.

To me, St Maximilian is very much in the same mould as Blessed Titus Brandsma, a journalist, one plagued with ill health, having a great devotion to Our Lady and, of course, winning the martyr's crown.

He might make a very appropriate additional patron for the Guild. Especially as he holds the following patronages:-

Against drug addictions, drug addicts, for families, imprisoned people, journalists, political prisoners, prisoners , pro-life movement - and could we add bloggers (or, rather, Catholics who blog?)

The Immaculate Prayer composed by St Maximilian

O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you. I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.

If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: "She will crush your head," and "You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world." Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V. Allow me to praise you, O Sacred Virgin

R. Give me strength against your enemies

Amen

Posted by Richard Collins - Linen on the Hedgerow

A Catholic mother on blogs and blogging

The following statement was sent to me this week and I have the author's (Elaine) permission to post it here.
It concerns an issue that has given me considerable food for thought; it poses, among many other things, the question....to whom are we speaking  when we blog?

Here it is, and many thanks Elaine for writing it:

Some thoughts on reading the Catholic blogs from a non-blogger

After reading the advert for the meeting of the Guild of St.Titus, I thought it may be interesting to consider the blogging world from the perspective of a reader.

 Clearly, these reflections should be regarded as idiosyncratic; a personal experience which is not necessarily applicable to a wider audience. 

With that in mind, I offer the following thoughts:

How did I come to read the blogs?

Simple, Richard Collins asked me to join the followers on his blog. Yet, this simplicity reveals an important point as it was a personal relationship that facilitated a step on the journey. It is worth considering how bloggers will capture that ‘personal touch’ in a more virtual environment.

How will the people in the parishes come to know the blogs?

Why do I read the blogs?

There are lots of different reasons why I read the blogs depending on what is happening in the Catholic world and in my world.

 If I am honest, sometimes it is just idle curiosity and I take a ‘pick and mix’ approach to see what is interesting. 

However, often it is a deliberate choice and then the reasons include:

·      Catechesis – especially from the priests ( Father Tim, Father Ray Blake, Father Z)

·      Encouragement – especially from Papa Stronsay

·      Following news – Rorate and others

·      A sense of community – this is important as we do not participate in parish life and travel to a different church each week for the EF Mass (follow Linen for this)

·      Entertainment

·      Challenge

Are there risks in reading the blogs?

Yes. The blogs can communicate powerful rhetoric and can be very convincing. 

Bloggers have a significant responsibility and duty to remain within the boundaries of the faith and not to lead readers astray. 

This applies not only to their posts but to the level of ‘debate’ allowed on the comments. 

It is difficult because debate is often healthy and sorts the wheat from the chaff and it is a tricky area to manage.

Conversely, I have a duty as a reader to consider things with a critical eye and not to blindly believe without thinking for myself.

Another risk is that the relationships are mostly virtual and readers can develop a false sense of knowing the contributors. 

This can happen when readers see the same name in the comments – for example, I could begin to think that I ‘know’ the Olde Jarra Scribe or Shadowlands but I have no idea who they are in real life. 

That is why it is essential that the Guild continues to build on the reality of personal relationships and the bloggers really get to know each other; long may your Chesterton hours continue.

My final risk is that the reading the blogs can be a time consuming distraction from daily duties!

What I do not like about the blogs

·         blogs that have adverts - apart from Mystic Monk coffee!

·         comment pages that become very critical

·         comment pages where two contributors are locked in battle and everyone else is an onlooker ( introspective and boring)

·         a focus on very local events without wider catechesis

·         lots and lots of recommendations in the ‘daily reads’ (too daunting)

Looking forward

The blogs have to become more widely known and read; especially those written by the priests in order to strengthen catechesis. How might this happen?

Equally, for those written by the laity there is an urgent need to think of yourselves as the labourers. You must work hard to ensure that the harvest is plentiful!

I hope your meeting is blessed and fruitful,

Elaine (August 2012)

Richard Collins - Linen on the Hedgerow

A Response to Ttony

What must we do to assist the New Evangelisation?
First understand what one is called to say before opening one's mouth!

I luckily managed to retrieve a copy of the CEG's training outlines [diamond dust - £508 on amazon!] and it's exhaustingly intensive and thorough - I'd guess there's more concrete guidance,doctrine and wisdom on a single page than in the entire Catholic Voices book; and more coherent catechesis in a paragraph than in seven years of contemporary primary school religious education...

Even the CEG junior training for adolescents is more comprehensive than any seminary formation - I doubt there are many Bishops around today who could deal with the barrage of postulates, conundrums, hypotheticals, cross-examinations, quandaries and subtleties a mere child within the Guild was expected to know, understand, express, interpret for a particular audience, be able to counter any argument involved in their position and finally be able to answer the near infinity of possible questions on it!

The CEG engaged in front-line guerrilla tactics with strategies which would knock Sun Tzu's socks off and a wisdom & experience only formulated by those who had worked gruellingly at the coalface...those Davids who had stood with knees trembling against Goliaths...

But the crucial point of their work was their intense, profound, comprehensive understanding of any issue before they opened their mouths - this was no ego-trip or vanity exercise, nor was it an opportunity to express one's personality and personal opinions in a Variety Act, nor was one ever permitted to 'wing-it' or 'fake it to make it'...the training is almost military.

You knew your stuff - you were tested, scrutinised, assessed & adjudicated on your knowledge, your understanding, your pedagogical style and your argot-empathic delivery.

A CEG member NEVER stated what the Church taught without being able to explain WHY.

In other words it's apologetics - apologetics - apologetics...not 'positive reframing in thought triangles' with soundbites on an issue you don't have a clue about & instead replace Church teaching with personalist, pragmatic, 'common-sense', middle-of-the-road, trite, patronising, posturing inanities which offends virtually everyone - while attempting to back up one's argument with an 'informed source' citation/quotation taken out-of-context!

But what's more - being a Guild member was seen as a honour and a sacrifice, a burden for which one was ill-equipped and never more than fractionally competent...there was always humility in the speaker - but there was unswerving defiant pride & devotion to the Truth about which one spoke and prayers that the Holy Spirit and 2,000yrs of the Great & the Good would speak through them as an unworthy medium.

Today there seems to be a volte-face: The smug, self-assured 'confident presence' pride is within the media commentator - the insecurity and uncertainty is in the [humiliating] weaker-than-water 'defence-no-defence' of the Faith & Holy Mother Church.

What should we be doing?
Studying, praying and teaching/training each other before we dare to presume that we could face our neighbour.

You don't give a child a carving knife or a madman an AK47...you don't send someone to lecture on Romeo & Juliet just because they've seen the local rep's version of West Side Story.

And no - before anyone accuses me of intellectual snobbery - I'm not saying anyone should have a string of degrees in philosophy & theology..they are entirely different studies to apologetics and catechetics - simple easily understood eternal truths which are built upon the transcended complexity of two millennia of intellectual giants...

It's a 'modern day apologist' who would waffle on with sentimentalist,mystagogic, obscurantist, sesquipedalian meaningless guff ad nauseam when asked 'what is the meaning of Life?"

It's the child who understood their catechism who would be able to state those earth-trembling words which resound through the cosmos and reach into the depths of our souls:
"God made me to Know Him,to Love Him & to Serve Him in this World; and to be Happy forever with Him in the next"

The CEG always sought to find that which Oliver Wendell Holmes called "The Simplicity beyond Complexity"...

Our modern soundbite brigade prefer the simplicity for simpletons...sensitively relayed in an inoffensive way which offends nobody except God, The Churches Militant, Penitent & Triumphant and anyone with a heart, a conscience or a brain-cell...

Peter Kreeft has reminded us that this is a war - and at present we are losing it because we're fighting the wrong battles in the wrong way against the wrong people for the wrong reasons to the wrong ends...

He states you cannot win a war :
1] If you blissfully sew peace banners on a battlefield
2] If you do not know whom you are fighting
3] If you do not know what kind of war you are fighting
4] If you do not know the basic rules of battle
5] If you do not know your enemy's battle plan
6] If you send your troops to the wrong battlefield
7] If you use the wrong weapons
8] If you do not know how to get the right weapons
& 9] If you are not confident of your inevitable victory.

...the enemy is the Devil & Sin
...our neighbour is not the enemy - our neighbour is a wounded patient whom we are commanded to love and that commandment demands we fight for them and their souls to our last breath for the sake of our souls...

...this isn't a political war or a psychological, sociological, economical or cultural war...it's a spiritual one...

...and until we're ready to acknowledge that fact and fight that right battle we'd better keep our swords sheathed and our mouths shut.

It's self-indulgent vanity and counterproductive folly to do anything if one is not able to speak on the Faith while ardently believing it, loving it and hoping in it....

So what should we do?
Appeal to an Apostle to reform the Catholic Evidence Guild - undergo their intensive, rigorous, scrupulous training...
..then we can dare to open our mouths.

Evangelisation In England And Wales - Some Questions

A short conversation I had with Ben Trovato and JH Steelson on Twitter led to my rash promise to think about how I might articulate a growing conviction that there is a huge gap which Catholics in England and Wales are not filling, and that is using the public square for evangelisation.  The conviction arose when I read something I have not looked at for many years: the Handbook of the Catholic Evidence Guild, published in 1922; and realised that then as now, there weren’t enough priests to take the Gospel everywhere that it needed to be taken, and that properly formed lay people were more than capable of bringing non-Catholics to the point where they would seek instruction from a priest. 

I am talking about a specific mission:  ordinary Catholics going out among their ordinary non-Catholic fellow citizens and proclaiming God’s Truth. I’m not talking about those who engage in the media representing the Church’s position on issues of the day; I am not addressing the continuing formation of Catholics from cradle to grave; I am not talking about social activism, from SVP-type provision of the necessities of life to those in need at one end, to the silent witness outside abortariums at the other.  All of these are special and necessary missions, but do not address the issue of converting our fellow citizens.

This mission was described by an early leader of the Catholic Evidence, who also drew on a quotation from Blessed John Henry Newman, as follows:

“The work done by the Guild is based upon a series of discoveries; that the work is no degradation for the educated Catholic but a great honour and privilege, as well as a grace from God; that, cæteris paribus, the mere fact of being a Catholic gives an enormous intellectual advantage over other religionists, and that this is recognised by the crowd; that the capacity of the average Catholic for the exposition of his religion is far greater than has hitherto been supposed, when he is care­fully prepared along certain lines, and well supported and led; that the crowds will take our best and be grateful for it and ask for more; that, as Catholics are compelled to give an account of the faith that is in them, it is better to take the initiative than to remain permanently on the defensive; these are some few of the discoveries already made in connection with the work, and it is clear that many others have yet to be made, for the work is still young, is highly experimental throughout and is pushing ahead rapidly.

The question then is, will the Catholic laity rise to the height of their great opportunity?

‘There is a time for silence and a time to speak; the time for speaking has come. What I desiderate in Catholics is the gift of bringing out what their religion is; it is one of those ‘better gifts’ of which the apostle bids you be 'zealous’. You must not hide your talent in a napkin, or your light under a bushel. I want a laity not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold, and what they do not, who know their creed so well, that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it. I want an intelligent, well instructed laity. I am not denying you are such already, but I mean to be severe and, as some would say, exorbitant in my demands. I wish you to enlarge your knowledge, to cultivate your reason, to get an insight into the relation of truth to truth, to learn to view things as they are, to understand how faith and reason stand to each other, what are the bases and truths of Catholicism and where lie the main inconsistencies and absurdities of the Protestant theory … You ought to be able to bring out what you mean, as well as to feel and mean it; to expose to the comprehension of others the fictions and fallacies of your opponents and to explain the charges brought against the Church to the satisfaction, not indeed of bigots, but of men of sense of whatever opinion ... He who can realise the law of moral conflicts, and the incoherence of falsehood, and the issue of perplexities, and the end of all things, and the presence of the judge, becomes, from the very necessity of the case, philosophical, long suffering, and magnanimous.’ ”

My contention is that in the twenty-first century this is still a mission for lay people: to persuade other lay people that it is time they went to a priest for instruction; that the Internet, rather than the street corner, is the place this should take place; that the work should be as organised and prepared as was that of the Catholic Evidence Guild; and that while there are lay people out there who could organise this work and prepare other lay people to carry it out, there are no structures in place to make this happen and that in consequence, many people in ignorance are being left in ignorance, and many who should be carrying out this work are not doing so.

What was the thinking behind the Guild?

“The Guild was founded at a meeting held on the 24th April, 1918, in the Westminster Cathedral Hall. For some months the question of combined action to combat the public advocacy of unbelief had been ventilated by a number of active minds. As an example of the lines upon which the discussion was conducted the following passages may be taken from an article entitled "Is Park preaching Practical?" by Mgr (then Father) Coote in the Westminster Cathedral Chronicle for April 1918 :­

‘Good Catholics are so wrapt up in their religion that they seem to be oblivious of the fact that those who profess a different form of Christianity are not equally engrossed with it The religion of these consists for the most part in no definite dogmatic teaching - it is little more than a Sunday overall of Christian respectability. But that, again, is speaking of a comparative few, for there are hundreds of thousands to whom Religion means absolutely nothing, albeit there is deep down within them that innate consciousness of a Supreme Being. No doubt it is this subconscious need of religion that renders them so susceptible to giving a ready ear to any good discussion of religious matters. For the fact remains that vast numbers in the parks, and on the commons demonstrate at least their interest in such discussions.

The park is the free platform for all forms of belief as well as for undisguised disbelief. So free indeed, that the law permits Christ's Sacred Name to be mentioned in ridicule and mockery, to be put in odious comparison, or His earthly life to be counter­balanced against mortal living men.

What I feel to be the need of the times therefore is a well ­organised Catholic Christian Evidence Society, Guild, or Circle, for men and women, that will state and explain, not exactly and solely Catholic practice and discipline, but the principles of Christianity as set forth in Catholic Theology, Philosophy and Ethics, ready to go forth with a stream of trained speakers week after week, not out for petty controversy but to unfold the wealth of Catholic Christian principles in their hearts and on their lips.’ ”

Would anybody disagree that there is equal need today?

There was a singular difference between then and now: in 1920 Bishops saw the conversion of non-Catholics as one of their primary missions, and welcomed the support of the laity in this apostolate.  As Cardinal Bourne said when conferring canonical status on the Guild:

 “People may ask you - some have asked the question already: ­By what authority do you lay-folk stand up on the public plat­form to expound the truths of the Catholic faith, who sent you? By whose authority do you speak? What is your mission? What is your commission? How, in other words, do you justify your existence as members of the Catholic Evidence Guild? Well, there is only one form in which you can justify your existence canonically, and that is in the position of Catechists.  That is the method which has been used all over the world in the mis­sionary countries where the Bishops and priests have found themselves quite unable to deal with the work of gathering into the Church those who are not members of it, and so, universally, in purely missionary countries they take to themselves a certain number of men and women who have been instructed for that purpose, who, in virtue of a commission given to them by the Bishop, then go forth to instruct And we are applying m our modern conditions the old, old method of the Church The mem­bers of this Guild must never forget that their position is that of lay auxiliaries called in by the Bishop of the diocese to help him to preach the Gospel to those who without their help would be beyond the reach of his teaching. Thus the position to which the members of the Catholic Evidence Guild are called is a very noble and a very apostolic one. Every Bishop has an immense number of people in his diocese who are members of his flock, but who are not Catholics. He is bound by his pastoral charge to do what he can in order to preach the Gospel to them and to save their souls. He calls to his aid, therefore, a number of the laity, that they may aid him in this part of the work committed to his charge, which he is unable to do in any other way.

And this leads me to the Catholic Evidence Guild as existing in this diocese. In order to make the position clear, as far as the work lies in the diocese of Westminster, you will be known as the Westminster Diocesan Catechists. that is the sub-title which will justify your existence. It is a work ^-which must be carried on in absolute subordination to the Bishop of each diocese. You speak in virtue of his commission, and in each diocese this commission must be given solely by the Bishop of that diocese.”

All of this raises several questions which I believe warrant further discussion, always assuming that, like me, you see a need, and a lack of response to that need.

Where on the internet is the public space into which we can push ourselves to proclaim the teachings of Christ’s Church to those who have not heard it elsewhere?

How does who gather together a cadre of people able to train a greater number of people to go out into that space to evangelise those who are there?

How do we persuade a Bishop (who is the Bishop of Cyberspace?) not just to issue a nihil obstat, but to support, encourage and sponsor such a mission?

We are enjoined to make disciples of all nations.  What should we do if nobody else is doing it here?