Simultaneous Masses in Westminster Cathedral Crypt and today's Pontifical High Mass at the Brompton Oratory

Simultaneous Masses in Westminster Cathedral
Crypt; photo by Joseph Shaw
(source: LMS Chairman blog)

The Latin Mass Society's Pilgrimage to Chartres began yesterday morning with Mass in Westminster Cathedral's Crypt. In fact, three individual Masses were offered simultaneously on three different altars - a wonderful sight, and sound! Having heard others relate their experiences of being present at Mass whilst others are being offered on different altars nearby, I have always longed to witness this particularly pre-Vatican II experience - so am very grateful to Joseph Shaw (LMS Chairman) for inviting me along.

This photo, taken by Joseph Shaw, shows in the foreground the elevation of the Host during Fr Martin Edward's Mass (on an altar in the Crypt Chapel of St Peter), whilst another the priest, offering his Mass in the background, is elevating the Chalice. Yet another priest was offering his private Mass at the same time in the Shrine of St Edmund - where both Cardinals Nicholas Wiseman and Henry Manning are buried. (Yet another Mass, in the Ordinary Form, was also being offered at the same time - on the High Altar, directly above the Crypt.)

It was really wonderful to hear the simultaneous ringing of sacred bells and murmur of profound prayers offered by the priests, all acting in persona Christi. I was reminded in an immediate way of these now realised prophetic words of Scripture: -

"From the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering, for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts."  (Malachi 1:11 - this verse is used in the Didache, c AD 70, specifically in relation to the Eucharistic sacrifice)

Yesterday's simultaneous Masses also reminded me of a passage from a novel by the eccentric convert priest and son of an Archbishop of Canterbury, Mgr Robert Hugh Benson. In The King’s Achievement (1904), a young monk at Lewes Priory, called Christopher Torridon, meditates on the purpose of the monastic life, which is, he says: “the uttering of praises to Him who had made and was sustaining and would receive again all things to Himself.” Using this character, Benson goes on to write this beautiful description of what it is like to be present when Mass is being offered simultaneously on different altars: -

A stream of sacrifice poured up to the Throne through the mellow summer morning, or the cold winter darkness and gloom, from altar after altar in the great church. Christopher remembered pleasantly a morning soon after the beginning of his novitiate when he had been in the church as a set of priests came in and began Mass simultaneously. The mystical fancy suggested itself as the hum of voices began that he was in a garden, warm and bright with grace, and that bees about him were making honey — that fragrant sweetness of which it had been said long ago that God should eat — and as the tinkle of the Elevation sounded out here and there, it seemed to him as a signal that the mysterious confection was done, and that every altar sprang into perfume from those silver vessels set with jewel and crystal.

Linking the Sacred Mysteries of our Faith with Mgr Benson, I am also reminded, especially seeing that the clock is ticking away, that many people will be on their way to the Brompton Oratory this morning (St Philip's Day) to attend Pontifical High Mass celebrated by Cardinal Raymond Burke. Mgr Benson, it seems, wasn't such a great fan of the Oratory (in some regards, at least). Replying to a letter from an Anglican friend in 1908, who had asked him to recommend the most prayerful Catholic churches in London, Benson wrote: -

For myself, I can't pray in the Oratory at all. But above all, let me recommend the Cathedral at Westminster. That is the best miniature of the Catholic Church as a whole that I know. But please remember that you don't know what the Church is in the least until you have seen her really at her prayers in a Religious House. There you see her in her inmost heart, intimately, and at home. In the Oratory she is like a lady out walking in her furs and jewels.

I suspect that that beautiful lady which is the Brompton Oratory will definitely be decked out in all her finery today - and rightly so, for Scripture itself tells us, we should "rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready" (Rev 19:7).

Oh, for the gift of bi-location! Catholics living in or visiting London this coming Saturday are going to be spoilt for choice

Cardinal Raymond Burke
(source: Raymond Cardinal Burke Facebook page)

Those of you who either live in or plan to visit London this Saturday, 26 May, will be spoilt for choice when it comes to Catholic ‘things to do’. Although it it'll be wonderful to have so many different events to choose from, unless God grants us the gift of bi-location, it is also sad to note that by attending one thing, we may have to miss out other interesting or inspiring events!

Cardinal Burke at the Brompton Oratory

As far as I’m concerned, the big event this Saturday will be Cardinal Raymond Burke’s celebration of Pontifical High Mass for the Feast of St Philip Neri at the London (Brompton) Oratory. As St Philip is the founder and spiritual father of the Congregation of the Oratory, the Brompton Oratory’s festivities leading up to and on St Philip’s Day are always spectacular, inspiring, and joyful occasions. But, it seems that this year’s celebrations promise to be amongst the very best the Oratory will ever have witnessed – especially as Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, and one of the most important of our current ecclesiastical leaders, will be present as celebrant and guest of honour.

The Triduo leading up to the Feast of St Philip on Saturday will begin at the Oratory this evening with Devotions and Benediction at 6.30pm, and the same will be repeated tomorrow evening at 7.15pm. On Friday 25 May, Solemn First Vespers of St Philip will be sung at 5.30pm, which will be followed by Pontifical Benediction. At 11.00am on the St Philip's Day itself, His Eminence Raymond, Cardinal Burke, will offer Pontifical High Mass, which will be set to Haydn’s Theresienmesse. I gather that many people from all over the UK plan to be at this Mass – so to get a seat  it would be advisable to turn up early. From what I’ve been told, this event is not to be missed!

Ordinariate ordinations at Westminster Cathedral

Having said that, those of you who support the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Wasingham may wish to attend another important event on the same morning. Westminster Cathedral will be the venue for the ordination of 17 deacons for the Ordinariate at 10.00am on Saturday. At this Ordination Mass, which will be celebrated by Bishop Alan Hopes of Westminster, the popular John Hunwicke will be ordained into the diaconate. Many of his friends and blog followers were dismayed last year when it was announced that his ordination had been ‘deferred’, so I am sure that they will be much comforted and relieved to see that he is now well on his way to becoming a priest in the Catholic Church. I have been informed that it has been quite some time since Westminster Cathedral will have witnessed the ordination of so many men at the one Mass. A truly historic event, then!

A Mass for Marriage 

Another important event will take place later on in the day at Westminster Cathedral. At 3.00pm, Archbishop Vincent Nichols will celebrate the annual Thanksgiving Mass for the gift of Matrimony. This Mass will be offered especially for those married couples in the Diocese of Westminster who are celebrating their Tenth, Twenty-fifth, Fortieth, Fiftieth and Sixtieth+ wedding anniversaries this year. Due to the numbers wishing to attend this Mass (which is always a popular event), it seems that admission is by invitation only (contact details here). Aware of the threat currently facing the institution of marriage and its very nature and purpose, I have a feeling that this year’s Mass for Matrimony will be of particular note.

Stations of the Kings Cross Exhibition

Finally, this Saturday will also see the opening of a Catholic themed art exhibition in London, called ‘Stations of the King’s Cross’. I have already highlighted this forthcoming event, here, so won’t repeat myself in this post. Suffice to say that the young artist who will be exhibiting her work at this event has used her traditional Catholic faith to produce one of the most beautiful booklets I have ever come across – an aid for all those who might wish to pray the Stations of the Cross whilst travelling on the London Underground. This exhibition, which opens on Saturday at 7.00pm in St Mary's Somers Town, will also provide an opportunity to bid for the original paper-cuts that were used for this project, and will incorporate First Vespers of Pentecost Sunday as well as personal readings of her poems by the Catholic poet, Sarah de Nordwall.

So, if any of you happen to be in London this coming Saturday, please do try and attend at least one of these events. It's not often that four things like this all come along at once. Those wishing to attend both the St Philip’s Day Mass and the Ordinariate ordinations, though, will have quite an unenviable choice to make! Let’s just say, I have always had a particular devotion to St Philip Neri…

Bishop Mark Davies bravely leads the Church back to the real Vatican II - Does Catholicism need to be so bureaucratic?

Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury
Leading the Church in the right direction
(c) Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk
Published under a creative commons licence
(Source: Flickr)

This week’s Tablet reports that five trustees of the Diocese of Shrewsbury were recently “sacked” by Bishop Mark Davies “after they voted against a proposal to make three members of diocesan staff redundant and voiced concerns about the way the diocese is being governed”. According to the report, which I read in the periodical's print version, it seems that the five were relieved of their duties after opposing the possible redundancies of the diocesan co-ordinators for Justice and Peace, Youth Ministry and Marriage and Family Life.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Shrewsbury, though, said that the changes within the board of trustees were due to a new “rotational system” which had been introduced to “retain both experience and skills”. Those who had been relieved of their duties appear to have been the longest-serving trustees, which meant that they would be the first, as far as what I could make out from the article, to be 'rotated' to make room for newer members.

Speaking on behalf of the four former "lay trustees", John Mulholland (who is described in the article as "a retired Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service arbitrator and mediator" amongst other things) said that they were all “amazed” at having been dismissed, and were “dismayed” by the planned diocesan staff redundancies. Another former trustee of the Diocese of Shrewsbury, Veronica Clarke, who also happens to be "a solicitor for the Archdiocese of Liverpool", told the Tablet: “We have lost something of the diversity of representation, especially the voice for women in the diocese. I worry about the autocracy [of the decision].”

For far too long it seems to me that the Church has been a kind of alternative ‘state-sector’ employer in parts of the western world - employing far too many lay members of staff for what is needed. In that sense, and especially noting the economic situation that the UK is currently finding itself in, I feel that Bishop Davies is right to carefully steward the finances of his Diocese, even if that means cutting any unnecessary staff expenditure. Surely, he could ask one of his priests or a retired or generous lay volunteer to co-ordinate the Justice and Peace policy or Youth Ministry within his Diocese? In fact, I would go further and even question why our dioceses need such organisations, which are often a drain on their resources in the first place?

By now, I think most people probably assume that I am a bit of a traditionalist (which I am), so many may even think that I would be fundamentally opposed to those typically post-Vatican II J&P type movements or even to the very notion of a lay apostolate. But I am not. Such assumptions belie a misunderstanding of traditional Catholicism. Like Fr Ray Blake, I actually believe quite strongly in the Church’s Social Teaching - formulated in the nineteenth century by two of my heroes, Pope Leo XIII and Cardinal Manning. Like many bloggers, I also believe in the fundamental and absolutely necessary role of the laity when it comes to defending truth, proclaiming the Gospel and witnessing to the faith. In fact, it often seems to me that laypeople prior to the heady days of the 'spirit-of-Vatican-II' were far more active in promoting both the common good and the teachings of the Church than they are nowadays - though, thankfully, things are beginning to change for the better.

Sadly, though, it sometimes appears that organisations such as diocesan or national 'Justice and Peace' committees or youth ministries have now developed into burdensome, uninspiring, and rather expensive bureaucracies within the Church. Although I am sure that those who work for the Church within such organisations are very sincere and believe in what they are doing, I sometimes wonder whether some of them would continue to work as ‘non-stipendiaries’.

The whole thing about the way the Church is meant to operate, though, is that every Catholic should be living and promoting the Gospel – for free – out in the real world. A well-informed laity would be able to provide a real witness to justice and peace issues as well as support for the youth and those who seek guidance in other ways, such as married people, without the aid of diocesan committees or paid 'lay ministers'. By turning certain aspects of our Christian life into professional jobs for a few, all that we seem to be doing is clericalising a certain group of lay people. I am sure this was not the intention of the Second Vatican Council.

For some years, I ran – as a volunteer – a Justice & Peace group within the parish in which I then lived. With hindsight, I can now see how groups like the one I belonged to encourage dissent from Church teaching. I must confess that towards the end of my stint in the chair, I became rather disillusioned by the constant anger that many of my colleagues expressed towards orthodox Catholicism and / or the papacy. I was also often shocked by the fact that some within such organisations would openly advocate disobedience when it came to such matters as homosexuality, but didn’t seem that interested at all in defending the life of the unborn.

One of the main reasons I no longer attend groups such as the one I used to chair is because of the anti-Catholic (‘liberal’ or ‘socially progressive’) ideologies that seemed so central to the world-views of so many within them. I wanted to advance the real issues of justice and peace – such as defending my brothers and sisters throughout the world who are being persecuted for their faith or trying to save all those unborn children who are ‘terminated’ every day here in the UK. Many J&P groups, though, only seem to encourage the opposite.

As for Youth Ministries…! Well, I cannot think of anything more depressing than seeing a middle aged person trying to ‘get down with the kids’ by playing Taize CDs or strumming Kumbayah on the guitar. These kinds of situations in the modern Church are even more dispiriting when we know that most young adults are thirsting for an undefiled form of Catholicism – for the traditional Mass and profound devotions, such as Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Many young Catholics want a priest in a biretta, not an ageing hippy in a beanie hat! They want to explore their Christian vocation and individual callings to the priesthood, the religious life, the married life, the desert, and so on, rather than be encouraged (as I was when I was about 18 years old) to ‘go travelling and find yourself.’ Young people want to help the poor, care for the sick, and visit those who are outcast – and for that, they do not need a kind of paid guru to tell them how to do it. They just need a good old-fashioned parish priest, solid family and friends, and a deep and sacramental love for Christ.

No-one wants to see people lose their jobs, but I wish to commend Bishop Mark Davies – a man whom I greatly respect and admire – for at least daring to think outside the current ‘ecclesiastical box’. For too long, the Church appears to have been choked by a 'new clericalism' – one that consists of professional, paid lay Catholics. Of course, the Church will always need to pay people for their services – cleaners, secretaries, lawyers, accountants, maintenance workers, and the like – but why pay for laypeople to run ‘ministries’ that are far more suited to the priesthood in the first place?

As for diocesan trustees, I would have thought that a couple of priests, an accountant, and a lawyer would be all that was needed to advice a bishop regarding the financial and legal obligations of his diocese? Surely, a diocesan board of trustees isn’t meant to run ecclesiastical policy, as if it were some kind of synod, whereby its members have to be ‘diverse’ and 'representative'? One would also have thought that diocesan trustees, like most trustees of charities in England and Wales, offer their services as volunteers – which, if true, would mean that referring to the four or five former trustees from Shrewsbury as having been ‘sacked’ is probably a bit over-the-top.

For some time now, the Church in certain parts of the world has morphed from being a hospital for sinners and a school for saints, becoming a kind of ‘state-like’ bureaucracy instead. Many within the Church are also beginning to feel that most Catholics have been disenfranchised by the emergence of a new lay elite. Yes, parishes and dioceses must pay those whom they engage to provide necessary services, but is it necessary for lay people to co-ordinate ‘ministries’ that the Church’s full-time and ordained ministers – deacons, priests and bishops – can and should be able to run by themselves?

Persecution of Christians is highlighted during the first ever 'Night of Witness' organised by Aid to the Church in Need

Archbishop Coutts (left) and Bishop Zakaria (right)
bless the crowd during the 'Night of Witness'
outdoor rally. (c) Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk
Published under a creative commons licence
(source: Flickr Catholic Church England and Wales)

On Thursday 17 May, the first ever special ‘Night of Witness’ organised by Aid to the Church in Need UK was held at Westminster Cathedral. The event highlighted the plight of Christians persecuted for their faith.

The night began with a Mass celebrated by Right Rev Declan Lang, Bishop of Clifton, followed by an outdoor rally on the Piazza, which was opened by Most Rev Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. The evening ended with a special prayer vigil inside the Cathedral, at which music was provided by the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School's Schola Cantorum.

During the evening, Archbishop Nichols welcomed Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi, Pakistan, and Coptic Catholic Bishop Joannes Zakaria of Luxor, Egypt – both of whom addressed the rally. Among other senior clergy attending the event were Archbishop Emeritus Kevin McDonald of Southwark, Mgr Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Archbishop Athanasius Toma Dawod, Head of the Syrian Orthodox Church in the UK, and Emeritus Anglican Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali.

Addressing those present, Dr Nazir-Ali said: “We are approaching a time in this country where we will have to struggle for fundamental freedoms for Christians to manifest our beliefs and maintain our Christian institutions. We will face this – we are already facing this – in this country and so the example of our brothers and sisters from elsewhere will I hope sustain us.”

The Catholic poet Sarah de Nordwall acted as MC for the outdoor rally, which included performances by the West End Gospel Choir, Catholic pop group ooberfuse, singers Helen Munt and Hammad Baily and the Eliot Smith Dance Company. The rally also included videos detailing the ways Christians are currently being persecuted throughout the world.

For more information on Aid to the Church in Need's work, or do make a donation to this highly commendable charity, please visit www.acnuk.org

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor on Christianity's place in modern Britain - His words challenge the prevailing spirit of the age

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor at Westminster
Cathedral in 2007; attribution: Catholic Church
 (England and Wales); published under a creative
commons licence (source: Flickr)

On Tuesday evening, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster, delivered a lecture entitled "Meaning and Hope - Christianity's Place in Modern Britain" to an audience at Leicester Cathedral. Last night, I managed to read the address in full, which can be found on the website for the Bishops Conference for England and Wales. It is a remarkably prophetic text, covering many areas of importance to modern day Britons: from the lack of dignity being shown to the elderly to the intolerance of those secularists who wish to impose their beliefs on the rest of us.

Whilst acknowledging the enormous benefits that humanity has enjoyed through the growth of scientific reason and research, especially from the Age of the Enlightenment onwards, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor also highlighted the impotence of that form of post-Enlightenment rationalism that seeks "to relegate religion to the private sector." Noting that "the Enlightenment left out an understanding of the whole person" and that "[s]cientific discovery does not reveal the whole of the mystery of the human person", the former Archbishop of Westminster went on to quote Pascal (“The heart has its reasons of which Reason knows nothing”) and St Augustine of Hippo (“God has created us for Himself and our hearts are restless until they rest in Him”).

Is Enlightenment thought enlightening?

Referring to the fact that many "extreme" rationalists simply view - often in an angry way - religion as "just organised superstition", Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor pointed out that most people see their faith as a means of figuring out that "sense of the mystery of life which we all wrestle with in different ways." Enlightenment philosophy and a purely rationalistic science has a truncated understanding of humanity - it seems to forget about all those important aspects of our nature and being, such as the transcendent need for a relationship with God, as well as a psychological or spiritual "release of the whole person." As G K Chesterton said: “One of the chief uses of religion is that it makes us remember our coming from darkness, the simple fact that we are created”. Commenting on these words, the Cardinal pointed out: "That [this need to connect to our Creator] is at the heart of the human condition."

Before returning to the theme of atheistic secularism's intolerance of religion and its misunderstanding of the real nature of reason and the totality of the human condition, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor explored two important issues that are of concern to humanity today - especially here in Britain. Firstly, he explored what Christianity understands by family and how faith in Christ can help protect and nurture this fundamental human unit. Secondly, the Cardinal sought to explain the near contempt that modern Western societies seem to have towards the elderly and infirm, many of whom are made to feel as if they are of no value, as if their years count for nothing.

Children and the family are under attack

Referring to a recent UNICEF report, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor highlighted that "children in the United Kingdom were at the bottom of [the UN's] child well-being league." The reasons behind this lack of well-being amongst our children appear to be both complex and simple. The many stresses facing parents, the drive towards a workaholic society, the need to pay off debts, the trap of consumerism seem to mean that today's mothers and fathers hardly have any quality time to spend with their children. No amount of computer games or consumer goods can compensate for those things that really matter to the welfare of children - "a happy, stable family, having good friends and plenty of things to do, especially outdoors."

Noting that in response to the United Nations report, children themselves had pointed out that "happiness is more than material things", Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said: -

"I would not want to stress this too strongly but it is clear that Christian schools in our country, whether Church of England or Roman Catholic, are far more sought after than other schools. This is not because the children who frequent these schools are more intelligent or from better homes than others but rather, the format, the expectations, the clarity of the moral standards of the school are based on a religious conviction which communicates itself to the children. All of this means something quite profound, quite simple, namely that we are spiritual beings and a child is a living, acutely aware spiritual person, open to the great mysteries of the universal life itself. We do even more damage to them and to ourselves if we choose to deny this reality."

He went on to express his concern that "[o]ur society constantly pressurises ... to make us consumers and make us believe that our happiness and well-being depend on having or doing the things that are put before us." Such turbo-consumerism inevitably leads to "a real impoverishment as it builds into a deep dependency which is not just material but psychological and spiritual." As St Paul said: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil 4:8).

Marriage is becoming a 'plaything of governments'

This concern for children that Christians should always strive for, and which the Church wishes to promote within society, led the Cardinal to discuss another major issue facing our age - the nature and purpose of marriage, especially in relation to the UK Government's proposed legalisation of 'gay marriage'. Noting that the Catholic Church "may disagree with the ['gay'] life-style", Murphy-O'Connor also stressed that Catholicism "recognises the dignity and value of every man and woman irrespective of sexual orientation." He then went on to state that the Church does not therefore oppose 'same-sex marriage' because it seeks to unjustly discriminate against a group of people, rather it is concerned with defending "democracy and the nature of marriage itself."

After questioning the right of a minority to "change the meaning of a fundamental institution for the majority", the Cardinal suggested that we are "being conditioned to think that all discrimination is by its very nature bad and somehow unjust". He continued: -

"But this is blatantly untrue. We discriminate wisely and necessarily every day. I do not believe that maintaining a distinction between civil partnerships, between same-sex couples and a marriage between a man and a woman constitutes unjust discrimination. Rather, it preserves a legitimate and fundamental difference which is essential for a fair and plural society. Moreover, it recognises that there are indeed some human institutions over which the State does not have absolute control. If we allow marriage to become the plaything of governments, advancing their particular political and social agendas, we do not strengthen but undermine those enduring sources of personal and civil good. Marriage and family are personal spaces which need to be secured against the unnecessary encroachment of the State." 

Emphasising that "[m]arriage is good for society and is one of its basic building blocks" and that "[t]here has never been a society which has not had marriage and the family as its basic unit", Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor also highlighted that it is "good for children and the best outcomes for children are to be found within marriage." It is therefore sad to note that nowhere in its consultation papers did the UK Government mention children in relation to its proposed redefinition of marriage. For a society that pretends to care for children, we seem totally oblivious to their real needs as well as to what is truly good for them.

Unchecked consumerism leads to a devaluing of life 


Returning to the theme of what Pope Benedict XVI has termed "turbo-capitalism", Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor discussed the "failure to care adequately for our elderly and the callousness with which we have come to treat life, especially the life of the unborn." Nowadays, it seems that everything, including human life, is measured for its value as a commodity. The sacred is of no worth in the secularist scale, or as the Cardinal put it: "When human nature has become a product and the person a commodity then both must ultimately surrender to the logic of ‘inconvenience’ and ‘disposability’."

It seems that one of the most depressing realities of modern-day Britain is the way that the unborn and the elderly are being views as a "problem or threat". No longer do we regard older people as those to be naturally respected and treated with a special dignity. In fact, the Cardinal argued that it sometimes appears that we no longer regard "the elderly as a source of value in their own right, a resource for families and communities especially in an increasingly fragmented social and cultural world." For many, those who are older are an inconvenience, a financial drain, or a stumbling-block to social 'progress'. I myself have noticed that in the recent 'gay marriage' debate, many supporters of same-sex marriage seek to dismiss the views of the over 55s as being irrelevant - as the views of those who are about to die, not the wise reflections of those who have a whole lifetime's experience under their belts.

The Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster went on to reflect on the violence towards the elderly that has reared its ugly in recent times. He said: "This need not only be physical, it can take other forms: it can be cultural in the way in which we dismiss their views or blame them; it can be political in the ways in which we justify withdrawal of vital services or quietly and privately deny their right to life." He went on to emphasise that the way we treat the elderly reflects the way we view ourselves as a society, as human beings: "We have exchanged the precious gold of our substance for a manufactured counterfeit and called it progress. Our identities are not vested in our capacities they are also vested in our families and communities." This anti-Christian debasing of life is worrying - it has the potential to lead to all kinds of horrors; in fact, it already has!

Of course, as the Cardinal pointed out, society is already questioning whether or not to legalise euthanasia - cloaking something sinister under the robe of a false charity. The same thing happened when abortion was legalised in 1967. Murphy-O'Connor referred to the UK Abortion Act as "a classic example of how a law that was enacted for altruistic reasons and on the basis that abortion would be a somewhat exceptional procedure, ended up creating its own social culture. With abortions now running at 200,000 a year in England and Wales alone, even the instigator of this piece of legislation has admitted that it has not turned out as he intended." A law that would enable people to choose to kill themselves would soon end up creating a culture of suicide or death, to the point that the elderly and the infirm would feel somewhat obliged to 'choose death', especially if they feel they have become a financial or emotional burden to their supposed loved ones.

'In the name of tolerance, tolerance is being abolished'

Finally, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor referred to three potential "monsters on our cultural landscape: equality, freedom and tolerance." Of course, he went on to qualify what he meant by this - stating that so-called 'tolerance' in modern Britain is actually very intolerant; 'freedom' isn't really freeing without boundaries; whilst 'tolerance' in the UK that we find ourselves in, is intolerant of any dissenting voice or thought.

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor spoke of the "negative tolerance" which led to the Catholic Church having to close its Adoption Agencies "because we were not able to accept politically correct law which said that all agencies have to accept homosexual couples if they wished to adopt." Modern 'tolerance' does not seem able to tolerate an individual's sacred right to freedom of conscience. The Cardinal went on: "For the sake of tolerance we must not allow a person to wear a cross so that Christianity is not expressed visibly. In the name of tolerance it seems to me tolerance is being abolished. Our danger in Britain today is that so-called Western reason claims that it alone has recognised what is right and thus claims totality that is inimical to freedom. No one is forced to be a Christian. But no one should be forced to live according to the new secular religion as if it alone were definitive and obligatory for all humankind." Well said, say I!

Continuing this theme, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor went on to quote Pope Benedict XVI - the great prophet of our age - who said: “Christianity finds itself exposed now to an intolerant pressure which at first ridicules it – as belonging to a perverse false way of thinking – and then tries to deprive it of breathing space in the name of an ostensible rationality”. As the Cardinal pointed out, a 'tolerance' that cannot tolerate or a 'reason' that is fundamentally irrational can both be "very, very dangerous."

In recent times, some vocal and aggressive secular voices within British society have been engaged in a propaganda which claims that "religion is dangerous for our health." It seems that they would like to ban religious expression, or even silence those voices that dare to raise themselves in opposition to "their vision of a brave new world, the world they see as somehow governed only by people like themselves." These new leaders of the secular world, who seem to disdain the fullest expressions of humanity or the sense of the sacred, "conveniently forget that secularism itself does not guarantee freedom, rationality, an absence of prejudice or violence." They also "tend to obscure the enormous practical commitment of religious communities and churches to the welfare of people and the common good of the nation. When Governments run out of money, lose interest, or are distracted by the latest political fashion, it is often the churches that are quietly getting on with the work." Again, I wholeheartedly agree with the Cardinal's sentiments - it is not often that one sees soup-kitchens or homelessness hostels run by anti-theistic or 'humanist' groups!

When false freedom imprisons

Towards the end of his excellent lecture, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor reflected on the reasons why some seem to hold a particular hatred towards Christianity. It appears that a number of people nowadays have an irrational fear of faith - supposing that the Christian religion seeks to limit their freedom in some way. This misunderstanding of the Gospel and its message - which is a message of true freedom, a freedom within healthy constraints - could be seen clearly back in 2009 when a slogan appeared on London buses, which announced: “There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”. As the Cardinal put it, what many secularists seem to be saying is: "nasty religion puts constraint on your behaviour and makes you miserable." As the former Archbishop of Westminster went on to argue, Christianity actually preserves our freedom - as opposed to some of those "logical false faiths that are filling the vacuum."

I was extremely grateful to Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor for this lecture, and even expressed my gratitude to him, via his staff, in an email. I also happen to feel that it is important to recognise and applaud when our Christian leaders make the effort to proclaim the truth of the Gospel in such ways. It also seemes to me that the Cardinal was able to express, with humour, in his address what I and many other Christians have been trying to say, often without humour (!), over the past few years. Those who seek a better understanding of the current problems facing Britain and the solutions that Christianity has to offer should read Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor's address. As a means of encouraging us in hope, his lecture ended with these inspiring words: caritas Christi urget nos – the love of Christ urges us on (cf 2 Cor 5:14).

The Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham's first official pilgrimage to Walsingham - Saturday 15 September 2012

The first official pilgrimage of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham to its spiritual home -Walsingham itself - will be held on 15 September, which also happens to be the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The pilgrimage will be led by the Ordinary of the Ordinariate, Mgr Keith Newton, and according to the Ordinariate's Facebook page, all are very warmly invited to attend.

Here is the published timetable for the day: -

11.00am - 12.00pm: Confessions
12.00pm: Angelus & Solemn Mass at the National Shrine
2.30pm: Holy Mile & Rosary Procession to the Anglican Shrine
3.15pm: Sprinkling at the Anglican Shrine

Pilgrims are invited to bring a picnic lunch.

Parish banners are welcome, whilst concelebrants are asked to bring alb and diocesan vestment, and cassock and cotta / surplice for the afternoon.

Needless to say, this pilgrimage will be a great event for those who have been called into the Ordinariate. As one who once lived (in a shed!) in Walsingham for a short while, I also personally think that September is the greatest month to visit this holy place. It's also good to note that the Ordinariate pilgrimage will visit both the National (Catholic) Shrine as well as the Anglican one.

I am constantly amazed by the fact that England's Nazareth, once destroyed by blasphemous men nearly 500 years ago, is now producing more good fruit for the universal Church than ever before. In this special East Anglian village, Our Lady is still leading men and women into a deeper communion with her Son - despite the fickle machinations of various kings, parliaments and false prophets.

Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us