A very quick reminder...

...about this Sunday, St Mary Magdalene, Bexhill, 8.00am, hope to see you there.

I received...

a press release today from the CES because I wrote voicing concern about certain aspects of the CES's work. I've not had one of those before! Do you think all concerned lay Catholic mothers will get one? I haven't highlighted the bits that made me splutter a bit, I'm sure you can find one or two of your own...


Here it is, enjoy:

27 April 2010
Statement from the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales
Statement from Oona Stannard


“I am disappointed that Mr Pope’s appointment to the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales (CESEW) has occasioned some very misleading and diverting correspondence from a small number of people. At a time when as Catholics we particularly need to pull together, the undermining of Mr Pope saddens me. Mr Pope deserves our encouragement and support in his new role undertaken in the service of the Church.
“His first line responsibility is the organisational management of CESEW but like all senior colleagues at CESEW he will be involved in policy work. In this and all aspects of his role he is required to uphold the Church’s teachings. This is a responsibility that he has willingly committed to undertake and I have every confidence that he will fulfil this expectation.
“Staff at CESEW are busy preparing for the Papal visit and looking forward especially to the event which will have an education focus. We are also getting ready to respond to whatever may be the outcome of the General election and the emerging policy developments which will impact on Catholic education. We are concentrating on this and our core work.
“Mr Pope, other candidates and referees are entitled to have their confidentiality respected re the selection process for Deputy Director and I, therefore, do not intend to say anymore on this appointment.”


Statement from Gregory Pope
“I am happy to clarify my position. I am a committed, practising Catholic. I very much share the Church’s opposition to abortion. I was one of only a handful of Labour MPs who defied their own Government to vote against the whole Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill at its Third Reading on the grounds that it was insufficiently pro-life.
“I really want look forward now to how I can serve the Catholic Church through its Education Service rather than debate the minutiae of previous voting tactics in the House of Commons. We face serious challenges from a secularising society and a sometimes hostile media; I hope that we might look forward to finding solutions together rather than seeking division in our own ranks.”


ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Mr Pope was appointed to the position of Deputy Director at CESEW in April 2010 following advertisement of the post in Catholic and other media. Bishops, members of the CESEW Management Committee, senior diocesan education colleagues and others were represented on the selection panel.

Bishop Slattery's Sermon...

... from the Pontifical Mass in Washington is now available here at the NLM site, or go straight to Te Deum Laudamus. Happy reading!

Making a comment

If you want to leave a comment, but aren't entirely at one with the blogger way of doing things, have a click here! There is word verification, I know it's a pain, but I've had trouble with pornbots. Yes, even on a Latin Mass appreciation site, you can get spammed...

Our Lady of Consolation

This afternoon the Mass at OLOC was celebrated by Fr Agley, who preached on looking forward to seeing Christ.

Having been EF cold turkey for the last few weeks, it was wonderful.

Grateful thanks to Fr Agley.

I know I always mention tea after Mass, but living for most of my time as a traddie (hate the word traddie, but I s'pose it's kind of appropriate) in the ether, it's very, very nice to actually meet with real people who think in liturgically the same way as me. Not just liturgically, of course.

Much of the conversation this afternoon was focused on the appalling CES. To a
man/woman, the Secularised Education Service was resoundingly condemned. What is it actually for? What does it do that's actually Catholic - apart from having 'Catholic' in the name?

When are we going to have a Catholic Education Service that sets out without a hint of an apology or whiff of capitulation exactly what  it means to be a Catholic in terms of sexuality? God knows, there's enough *expletive deleted* available on the web, media, and in society generally for there to be no excuse whatsoever for any child in this country NOT knowing almost everything there is to know about sex, contraception and abortion whether their parents like it or not.

When is it going to be ok for kids to be told with authority by a Catholic agency, apart from parents who are swimming against one hell of a tsunami, that it is ok NOT to have sex, you aren't weird for NOT having sex, and actually, you can even function as a fully human, human being without ever even having had sex - I know, bizarre concept, chastity and abstinence isn't it? So repressive, so inhibiting, so means you don't have to worry about STDs, pregnancy, relationships before you're ready for them, and all the other baggage that comes with too much too young.

Come on CES! Act like Catholics!

*rant ends*

This and that.

In the Sunday Telegraph today is a piece about an apology to His Holiness. The puerile - and downright rude -  mockery is simply pathetic. Haven't un-civil servants got something better to be doing?

On a happier note, last night on EWTN was a Mass celebrated by Bishop Slattery for the fifth anniversary of Pope Benedict in Washington DC. It was beautiful. It was fabulous. The commentary was just right if you had no experience of the Old Rite, and I want a copy of the sermon! More of that please, EWTN!  New Liturgical Movement blog has stills and commentary, do have a look.

I'm also looking forward to the coverage of His Holiness in Turin in May.

Please have a look at this.

John Smeaton has a good post on the Non-Catholic Education Service.


Have a read and be disgusted like me.

Mass in Bexhill...

...on Sunday, 2nd May at 8:00 am is on! See here for a map.

Spread the word, and hope to see you there.

Happy St George's Day

Request...

...for anyone in the Eastbourne Deanery and its environs.

Last September there was at EF at Our Lady of Ransom, Eastbourne. Some of you who attended were kind enough to leave messages in the combox, some anonymously. Now, there is the possibility we can have another if we can get parishioners from Our Lady of Ransom and the Deanery to contact me, as one already has, I can then have a go at sorting something out.

Parishioners willing to stick their necks out are absolutely essential, because I can't do this unless I know who you are. So, could you, or people you know who are interested, please message me again?
I shan't publish these messages, but your names and phone numbers (deleted after receipt) would be really helpful in getting things going. I know liking the EF's still a bit of a dirty secret, but so many of you said you liked it, and we can't repeat it unless you come forward.

Briefly, it works something like this:
You approach me, I try and find priest willing to say the EF, I go to the parish with your request only if you don't want to do it yourself, or feel you'd like some wellie, we get shoved from pillar to post for a good while, then it might happen. (Hey, just because we have the SP doesn't make it easy)



So, please, please, please don't be shy.

Housekeeping

Hello, here are a few dates for the diary:

First up:

There is the whisper of a hint of the possibility that there MIGHT be a Latin Mass at  St Mary Magdalene, Bexhill at 8:00am on Sunday 2nd May. This is NOT confirmed, but hey, with prayer all things are possible! So watch this space, as any confirmation will probably be fairly short notice. You know how things are.

Next:

This Sunday 25th April there is a Mass at OLOC West Grinstead, do try and make it, I know it's a haul to get there and there's no public transport, and it's the worst kind of time possible, but do make it if you can. I mean, I'm not into conspiracy theories, but anyone would think there was an entire campaign against the EF in our part of the world, what with priests willing, people willing but virtually no-one liberal enough to host one!

Also:

There is no A&B LMS pilgrimage to West Grinstead this May, in case you were wondering.

Finally:

Fr Matthew Goddard FSSP is returning to the UK for his hols in July and there might be a High Mass or a Missa Cantata on Sunday 25th July, schola and all. More on that nearer the time!

Low Sunday

Of your charity

Please pray for the soul of our friend who died suddenly yesterday, and for his wife and children.
Thank you.

There will be...

...no EF Mass at Shoreham this Saturday as Fr Sean is taking a break.

Support His Holiness

Click here to register your support for Pope Benedict

Happy Easter!

This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us rejoice and be glad in it. Give praise unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever.

Have a very blessed Easter...and bring on the chocolate!

Holy Saturday

Good Friday

Come and let us return to the Lord, for He hath taken us, and he will heal us, He will strike and He will cure us. He will revive after two days: on the third day He will raise us up and we shall live in His sight

Maundy Thursday

Tempus fugit and all that

Coo, this blog's a year old today.