De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Bishop Mark O'Toole with Abbot David Charlesworth & Cardinal Pell In huge contrast to yesterday's worrying and nasty blog subject, today I am pleased to bring you something very encouraging! Bishop Mark O'Toole, recently Ordained to Plymouth Diocese, continues to delight and impress with his Catholicity (it seems incredible that I even have to say that of a Catholic bishop really doesn't it?) When I received the LMS Magazine at the weekend, I was delighted to read an interview with Bishop Mark which is available here . In it he articulates a clear plan of action which seems to follow on naturally from his recent excellent Pastoral Letter on Vocation . In that letter, he stated his belief that the challenge faced by the Church today is not a lack of vocations, but rather a lack of responses. The solution to this problem seems obvious to me, and I'm no bishop! Mark O'Toole is, and thankfully he seems to see it clearly. Young men will not answer the ca...

In his preface to the French edition of Msgr. Klaus Gamber's book, The Modern Rite (St Michael's Abbey Press, 2002), Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger has this to say on the subject of post-conciliar renewal: "What happened after the Council was something else entirely: in the place of liturgy as the fruit of development came fabricated liturgy. We abandoned the organic, living process of growth and development over centuries, and replaced it - as in a manufacturing process - with a fabrication, a banal on -the-spot product. Gamber, with the vigilance of a true prophet and the courage of a true witness, opposed this falsification, and, indefatigably taught us about the living fullness of a true liturgy". What, then, does this true prophet have to say about a reform which is, in reality, a continued revolution? "The pastoral benefits that so many idealists had hoped the new liturgy would bring did not materialize. Our churches emptied in spite of the new liturgy (o...

Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos I was very pleased to read in Catholic World News , a report that Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, former prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, has recently received assurances from Pope Francis that he has no problem with Traditionalist Catholics or the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Meeting with The General Assembly of the International Una Voce Federation ( FIUV ), he said: “I met Pope Francis very recently and he told me that he has no problem with the old rite, and neither does he have any problem with lay groups and associations like yours that promote it,” This has been confirmed by His Excellency Bishop Rifan, of the Apostolic Administration of St. John Vianney, Campos, who recently wrote to The President of the FIUV, and the Chairman of the Latin Mass Society thus: Dear friends of LMS and UNAVOCE, I send you the photos of my last visit to the Pope Francis, may 22th 2013. I introduced myself saying who I am, explaining...

The fourth annual pilgrimage by the Latin Mass Society to the ancient English shrine of Walsingham took place over three days in August 2013. Around ninety people took part in the 55-mile walk, with Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form each day, and traditional Catholic devotions along the way. This video is well worth watching as it presents a valuable insight into the friendship, beautiful liturgy, and the Catholic fellowship that abounds at such events. A Journey to England's Nazareth: The LMS Walking Pilgrimage from Ely to Walsingham from LMS on Vimeo .

FFI Ordination from NLM . Disappointed that Rorate Caeli are again, spinning against Pope Francis. In what has become a typical reaction from a blog I have long trusted and admired, Rorate Caeli are trying to suggest that Pope Francis is moving against Summorum Pontificum by suggesting that Pope Francis has severely restricted the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate from celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass, and has "imposed the Novus Ordo on all their priests". However, the Order themselves tell us: This is an unfortunate instance of an overeager journalist sensationalizing something he can only speculate about. The restrictions on our community are specific to us and have been put in place for reasons specific to us. Pope Francis has not contradicted Pope Benedict. The visitation of our community began under Pope Benedict and the Commission was recommended by Cardinal João Braz de Aviz who was appointed to the Congregation by Pope Benedict. What is b...

Fr. Kevin Hale saying Mass at the Altar of Our Lady. Dr. Joseph Shaw has a really fascinating post on his blog from yesterday. It is entitled The Old Mass and the Workers and immediately caught my attention in the first paragraph with the sentence: "the working class were betrayed by the changes to the liturgy, spirituality, and what we might call the general orientation of the Church, following the Second Vatican Council." In our post Vatican II world, it seems to me (and I am happy to be corrected if this is not the case) many consider that the Extraordinary Form of the Mass is elitist, and EF Masses are populated by snobs and intellectuals who like to pretend they know more about being Catholic than the rest of us. Despite this common perception, my personal experience was very different. Attending my first EF Mass, I found that it was a broad spectrum of people who simply took their faith seriously. I have felt similarly comfortable at all subsequent eve...

Fr. Hugh Thwaites, S.J. I was struck this morning by this quote shared on Facebook by the wonderful Rhos Thomas . She is an inspirational young Catholic who is part of a growing number of young, faithful, traditionalists, who really impress me with their depth of knowledge and commitment. Rhos discovered this article by the much loved and respected priest Fr. Hugh Thwaites S.J. Rhos states: "Fr Thwaites had an amazing gift for explaining ideas in a way which anyone can understand. Please God, I hope I will get to heaven and meet him!"  Here is a particularly beautiful, yet simple explanation from the article: "There is nothing wrong with the new rite. Rome cannot feed her children with poison. But the new rite of Mass does not give us what we need. Michael Davies' analogy is helpful here. If a doctor tells a couple that their child need milk every day, and they give the child only water, the child may not live. There is nothing wrong with water. Bu...

Revd. Dominic O'Toole CSsR celebrates the Usus Antiquior There is a wonderful little video here which I think speaks to the heart of the experience of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. I first discovered this only a few years ago, when my Parish Priest began saying it, once a month, in our Church. I was very interested to see it, at first as some sort of historical curiosity I think; because, born in the seventies, I had never experienced the Mass my Mother spoke about growing up with. The Mass which my fore-bearers experienced. My initial reaction was one of almost complete confusion, although I was struck by how much more reverent it was. I was fascinated, and wanted to go back to better understand this part of our history. I found that the music was certainly something I enjoyed. I picked up the Latin really quickly and started to prefer it, to feel more at home with it, more connected to the history of my faith. Now I go whenever it is available...