"A sound practice of daily prayer is essential for our well-being."

These are the words of the Archbishop of Westminser Vincent Nichols. And he is entirely right. The spiritual benefits of prayer are obvious - it deepens and stengthens our relationship with our creator and redeemer. It is through prayer, particularly through praying the Mass, that Gods gives us the sanctifying which we most desperately crave in every aspect of our being.

Less obviously, we know it brings with it great physical benefits. It is in prayer that we offer up to God our worries, problems, anxieties, fears and sins. It is our Lord who takes these burdens off of us and carries them upon his shoulders, such is his love for us his children.

For us to make the most of these benefits freely available to us in prayer we must bear in mind two things. First, that our prayer must be heartfelt. St Therese of Lisieux wrote that prayer is a "surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." Simply reading the words on the page (if one is saying the office or using traditional prayers) is not enough. Meditate on each word and savour it. There is nothing to be gained from reading through like a novel.

The second important point to note about prayer is its place in the public life of the Church. Often one sees figures trotted out that churchgoers live longer than those who attendance is less than regular but why is this? It is His Eminence's opinion that the reason for this is our need for community and feeling and being a part of a community. The best expression of this is found in the Church when we prayer together. This can be the Mass or any other kind of public celebration but communal prayer is of the utmost importance. It is one reason for compulsory Sunday Mass attendance - it is good for us.

Prayer is hard and spiritually challenging and for some may never get any easier. One may wake up on a Sunday morning and much rather, in that moment, to go back to sleep than go to Mass. One may dread the prospect of prayer because one fears what may come - acknowledgment of our own sinfulness before God or because God may have a difficult plan for us.

These are all natural feelings to have in prayer. What matters is our co-operation with God's plan for us and our fidelity to Him.

America's Faithful Colleges

In the wake of Notre Shame, the Newman Society has announced its new and expanded guide to America's Catholic colleges.

The guide allows students seeking a truly Catholic college education and formation to find it and not to be confused by those, such as Notre Dame, who claim a Catholic ethos but in reality provide nothing of the sort.

It also has various other pieces on the affordability and benefits of a Catholic education, as well as the importance of studying philosophy.

In addition to the printed guide, for which the Newman Society charge, it is available online.


Newman Society's Guide to Catholic Colleges

Porn and a sleazy American politician

His Eminence has learned that New Gingrich, former Leader of the House of Representives, recently offered an "entrepreneur of the year" award to Allison Vivas, a Californian smut-peddler.

Why is there such a fuss in the palace?

Mr Gingrich was received into the Church March 29th 2009.

Source: Here (Some bad language is featured in the article in quotation marks)

Obama and Abortion

His Eminence would like to draw your attention to this: Abortion: Which Side is Fabricating?


In answer to the question "Will the healthcare proposals lead to government funding of abortion?" factcheck.org gives a resounding "yes."

President Obama said Wednesday that’s "not true" and among several "fabrications" being spread by "people who are bearing false witness." But abortion foes say it’s the president who’s making a false claim. "President Obama today brazenly misrepresented the abortion-related component" of health care legislation, said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee. So which side is right?

The truth is that bills now before Congress don’t require federal money to be used for supporting abortion coverage. So the president is right to that limited extent. But it’s equally true that House and Senate legislation would allow a new "public" insurance plan to cover abortions, despite language added to the House bill that technically forbids using public funds to pay for them. Obama has said in the past that "reproductive services" would be covered by his public plan, so it’s likely that any new federal insurance plan would cover abortion unless Congress expressly prohibits that. Low- and moderate-income persons who would choose the "public plan" would qualify for federal subsidies to purchase it. Private plans that cover abortion also could be purchased with the help of federal subsidies. Therefore, we judge that the president goes too far when he calls the statements that government would be funding abortions "fabrications."

There follows a transcipt of comments made by Obama. 

The White House did not post any transcript of the president’s words, but sponsors of the conference call, a coalition of faith-based groups supporting an overhaul of the health insurance system, posted the full audio of the president’s call on its Web site. His words come near the very end of the recording, and we transcribed them from the recording.

Abortion foes quickly denounced Obama’s statement as untrue. The NRLC’s Johnson said "the bill backed by the White House (H.R. 3200) explicitly authorizes the government plan to cover all elective abortions." And our analysis shows that Johnson’s statement is correct. Though we of course take no position on whether the legislation should allow or not allow coverage for abortions, the House bill does just that.

We can’t say what anyone will do in the future. But Obama himself said on July 17, 2007, that "[i]n my mind, reproductive care is essential care" and would be covered by his public insurance plan

. . . 

Obama did not use the word "abortion," but a spokesman for the campaign said later that abortion would be included, according to the Chicago Tribune. The NRLC has posted an unedited video of Obama’s response on YouTube (along with some comments which are the group’s opinions and not necessarily those of anyone at FactCheck.org)

. . .

As for the House bill as it stands now, it’s a matter of fact that it would allow both a "public plan" and newly subsidized private plans to cover all abortions. 

Cardinal hits out at euthanasia supporters

Keith Patrick Cardinal O'Brien, a brother in the college but with a much better nickname (Kick-Ass Keith) has hit out against moves to introduce euthanasia in Scotland. Now that Cardinal Murphy O'Connor has retired to tinkle his ivories for the rest of his life O'Brien is Britain's only active Cardinal. He has taken his new responsibility very seriously.

A campaign under the slogan of "Don't Kill Your Granny" has been launched following concern amongst the Scottish hierarchy about the growing support amongst the population for the moves.

"Don't kill your granny."

He said, "A new battle lies open before us... Every move to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia in the United Kingdom must be opposed. I know that my own Catholic community is not alone in this forthcoming battle."

Keith Patrick needs our support and prayers.

Sarum Missal

A rather nice little video piece on the display of a 15th century Sarum Missal printed by William Caxton.

Deo Gratias

His Eminence has heard from the Catholic with Attitude that the diocese of Brentwood has had its second ordination this year after a four year gap. He imparts his blessing and will keep Father Mark in his prayers.

Brentwood Diocese (which covers the East London and Essex area) is of course known for its cathedral built in the 1990s. It was built in a classical style but this was added on to a little neo-gothic church. Not the best example of a classical design but interesting nevertheless. It is featured in Christopher Martin's "A Glimpse of Heaven: Catholic Churches of England and Wales." Naturally, the liturgy in the anglican church next door to the cathedral is far superior.

The other interesting point to note about the diocese is that its boundaries are exactly the same as those of its Church of England counterpart, the diocese of Chelmsford.

Learning the Mass of Ages

His Eminence would like your attention drawn to a rather interesting article on the Latin Mass Society website regarding the learning of the old rite of Mass, now fashionably known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Too often are ill-thought accusations thrown against the liturgy which sustained the Church for over 1500 years - converting sinners and sustaining saints and planting the seeds of devotion in those who would later become her great defenders and martyrs. These include accusations of elitism amongst those who frequent old rite Masses, that those who attend the old rite view the rest of the Church with suspicion and that the liturgy is hard to learn and engage with.

Whilst the accusations of snobbery have some truth in them (but let's face snobbery is a problem amongst all clerics, orthodox or modernist) the view that the old rite if Mass is hard to learn is pure  nonsense.

His Eminence once attended a Mass at the London Oratory, where the new rite is done exceptionally. The deacon and sub-deacon (or the two "Deacons" as the GIRM declares), during the Confiteor automatically went into "Old Rite Mode" and said the Confiteor of the 1962 missal. Undoubtedly this is the produce of habit but also of ease. The old Confiteor had a much better flow.

People forget that Mass in the vernacular was only ever meant to be by permission and was never meant to be the norm in the parish. Catholics have become lazy in learning their prayers and have lost the sense of having a sacred language. For us, as western Christians, it is Latin.

Of course, the author of this article has an advantage in that he is an actor and will have unusually high memory retention. But it is possible. It takes effort but is not the true worship of God worth it?

Sir Humphrey has it spot on. . .

His Eminence was rather amused by this youtube clip. Sir Humphrey has it spot on with regards modernism, a disease which infects both our Church as much as the ecclesial community of England.

Attacked for speaking the truth

His Eminence believes that the truth was expounded when Senator Wilson of South Carolina accused President Obama of lying to the American public over the proposed changes to the healthcare system. The President has lied time and time again. He has promised to genuinely listen to proposals from the other side of the house but every single proposal, particuarly regarding the state-funded abortion which the proposals would make widespread, has been ignored.

Undoubtedly, the US healthcare needs reform. It is just as ailing, ineffective and wasteful as the UK, but in a different way. A british system is not the answer. But neither should there be people left without basic healthcare provision because of an inability to pay.

The Church has an enormous role to play in this, and in America, it does. Around a third of all hospitals in America are Catholic ones and, unsurprisingly, are the most charitable when it comes to their patients.

The President needs to recognise this, but it is doubtful if he will. He is too arrogant for that.

He needs to be taken on for his lies and his promotion of death and immorality. Will the American bishops have the courage to do this?

Underground religion

The Vatican has obviously made substantial cutbacks on luxuries these past few centuries. Whilst His Eminence has fought to maintain his palace (which was yesterday opened up to the public) and your humble scribe in his possession he has had to develop certain ascetic habits. One of these is travelling on the London Underground.

 

Not as conspicuously as this, however.

For various reasons he dresses in lay-clothing. Stepping onto the train at Bayswater water, however, he was greeted by an elderly man blessing passengers with the sign of the cross. There was no way of telling if he was was lay or a cleric, whether he was conscious of his attempt to bless people or whether he was slightly mad. At any rate, the way in which he made the sign was incorrect.

Is this part of some kind of mission to the souls who ride the underground?

New Vocations Site for Southwark Diocese

His Eminence does not normally approve of cosmetic but was rather impressed on seeing the makeover performed on the website promoting vocations to the priest in the Archdiocese of Southwark.

There is plenty of good, new material as well discussing what a priest is, what a priest does and the kind of life a priest leads.

The life of a priest if a beautiful and wonderful one. Anybody who even has the slightest little inkling that he might be called to the priesthood would do well to pursue it.

Southwark is doing a lot to cultivate vocations. It would be a good diocese to apply to, one would imagine for the kind of support given, and it is His Eminence's wish that other bishops in this country take a similar course of action.

Blair really is a most odious man

It takes quite a lot in the modern church for somebody to be excommunicated, or even to be banned from receiving communion. Tony Blair, our former Prime Minister, however, fully deserves it in the mind of His Eminence.

His latest outburst regards the way in which we should view other religions. Any whiff of the idea that we should somehow see other religions as equal is horrific, scandalous and heretical. We should view Judaism with a sense of respect, as St Paul teaches us, and God still has a special place for the Jews in his hearts. Nevertheless, for their conversion to the truth we must pray most ardently.

Protestantism and Islamism are very different. Both really more heresies than religions and both have brought such destruction to this world.

Mr Blair is right about one thing. There is a dark side of religion and it involves savage behaviour, killing thousands of innocents, for political ends.

Science behind the Church

His Eminence was pleased to note this week that scientific is finally beginning to realise the natural element of our religion. We are all so used to hearing scientists disparaging the Catholic faith, and every other religion except that which prostrates before the goddess of reason, as pure superstition and so this news is very welcome indeed.

Scientific research taking place at Bristol University suggests that belief in a supreme being is a part of our being human. In other words, although I doubt they would go so far as to say this, it is a part of our created nature. If these findings and suggestions could somehow be scientifically proven then our Church's claims for why we have been created is all the more stronger, empirically that is.

We know, from our faith, that God has created us to be in a relationship with him. We are created with a yearning for him. As St Augustine writes, "Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee".

For the so-called men of learning and science I am surprised it took them so long!