To Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,
All of the signers of this petition have experienced, like everyone else, the separation from our loved ones… but also the separation from places of worship as part of the COVID lockdown imposed on our country.
On 11th May the government published a 50 page roadmap outlining the steps which will be taken in order to alleviate some of the restrictions placed on the population. We respectfully ask you to also pay attention to the needs of Christians, the UK’s largest aggregate community and to consider our need to celebrate our faith. In particular, we ask you to prioritise the immediate reopening of churches as places of private prayer along with the swift resumption of weekly worship services, Masses, wedding ceremonies, funerals and baptisms.
Places of worship will know how to organize adequate instruments of social distancing within their facilities, and you should trust people of faith to be smart about protecting themselves and others. Please take a step forward to protect the right to believers to freely profess one’s religious faith and practice its worship, as recognized by the European Convention on Human Rights.
The timing and the
manner of the opening of churches touches profound sensitivities and spiritual
needs. The Government’s document and statements fail to recognise this.
The Government’s
position, established today, includes these steps aimed at opening churches as
soon as possible: the establishment of a task force for places of worship, to
work closely with ‘stakeholders’ in ensuring that premises are COVID-19 secure;
and heeding the experience of other countries in which churches are already
open for worship.
In dialogue with the
Government, the Catholic Church will continue its engagement in this process
and has already submitted a detailed plan, in full accordance with public
health guidelines, for churches to be opened for private prayer.
The Church is ready
to play its full part in the task force, understanding that this includes the
possible earlier use of churches for private prayer, as a first safe step
towards their use for public worship.
Mass
times & intentions 10-24 May 2020
Sun
10
Fourth
Sunday after Easter
Vespers & Benediction
11:00am
5:00pm
St
Mary’s LiveMass worshippers and benefactors
Mon
11
Ss
Philip & James Apostles
12:10pm
Pauline
Brewer RIP, and Roger & Paul Brewer
Tue
12
Ss
Nereus, Achilleus, Domitilla & Pancras
12:10pm
Patrick
Cahill RIP
Wed
13
St
Robert Bellarmine
Men’s Group Talk & Sung Compline
12:10pm
8:00pm
Carlos
Orfila
Thu
14
Dedication
of the Cathedral Church
12:10pm
Thomas
Fraser RIP
Fri
15
St
John Baptist de la Salle
12:10pm
Tom
Reilly
Sat
16
St
Ubaldus
12:10pm
Tilly
Cunningham
Sun
17
Fifth
Sunday after Easter
Vespers & Benediction
11:00am
5:00pm
FSSP
Confraternity
Mon 18
St
Venantius
12:10pm
Frank
Gately
Tue 19
St
Peter Celestine
12:10pm
Holy
Souls
Wed 20
Vigil
of the Ascension
Men’s Group Talk & Sung Compline
12.10pm
8:00pm
Eddy
King
Thu 21
The
Ascension of Our Lord
12:10pm
Lucy
& Adrian Porter & Family
Fri 22
Votive
Mass against Pestilence (Feria)
12:10pm
Matt
Smith & Les Grover
Sat 23
Our
Lady’s Saturday
12:10pm
Our
Lady’s Holy Souls
Sun 24
Sunday
after the Ascension
Vespers & Benediction
11:00am
5:00pm
S.
Parkinson
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Patrick Cahill, the father-in-law of Phil Clarkson, of St Mary’s Men’s Group, who passed away in hospital fortified by the sacraments of the Church. Requiem Masses were offered in private at St Mary’s for the repose of his soul. We asure his daughter Donna and all the family of the deceased of our prayer in this time of grief.
TWO NEWBORN SONS:
Congratulations to Joshua and Samantha Langley on the birth of their first child Jacob, who was baptised just before St Mary’s had to be closed. It was Deacon Gilbride’s first Baptism (assisted by the priests).
Also, congratulations to Tony and Becky Kiely on the birth of their sixth child Thomas, born during the lockdown and hopefully to be baptised soon.
We assure the parents of our prayers for their newborn sons and for all their families.
Stabat Mater Talk today 8pm
(Wed 13th May 2020)
The Men’s Talk this
evening (Wed 13 May 2020 8pm) on LiveMass.net (Warrington live) will be
given by Fr Armand de Malleray FSSP.
In response to interest expressed after a Lenten sermon on this
topic, Fr de Malleray will offer the third part of a commentary on the
celebrated Marian hymn.
While the Stabat Mater fits
with Lent rather than Eastertide, its spirituality can benefit Catholic souls
at all times, especially in the present sacramental dearth.
This is part of St
Mary’s weekly Men’s Group (but surely Our Lady won’t object to women attending
remotely). Litany of St Joseph and Sung Compline will follow as usual.
We recommend this sober and evocative
renddition of the sung Stabat
Mater with subtitles.
In your Baronius handmissal, pp. 450-451.
Stabat
Mater dolorosa
Iuxta crucem lacrimosa
Dum pendebat Filius.
The
grieving Mother
stood weeping beside the cross
where her Son was hanging.
Cuius
animam gementem
Contristatam et dolentem
Pertransivit gladius.
O quam tristis et afflicta
Fuit illa benedicta
Mater unigeniti!
Through
her weeping soul,
compassionate and grieving,
a sword passed.
O how sad and afflicted
was that blessed Mother
of the only-begotten,
Quae
moerebat et dolebat,
Pia Mater, dum videbat
Nati poenas incliti.
who
mourned and grieved,
seeing and bearing the torment
of her glorious child.
Quis
est homo qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si videret
In tanto supplicio?
Quis non posset contristari,
Christi Matrem contemplari
Dolentem cum Filio?
Who
is it that would not weep,
seeing Christ’s Mother
in such agony?
Who could not feel compassion
on beholding the Holy Mother
suffering with her Son?
Pro peccatis suae gentis
Vidit Iesum in tormentis,
Et flagellis subditum.
Vidit suum dulcem natum
Moriendo desolatum
Dum emisit spiritum.
For the sake of his peoples’ sins,
she saw Jesus tormented,
and subjected to whips.
She saw her sweet child
die desolate,
as he gave up His spirit.
Eja
Mater, fons amoris
Me sentire vim doloris
Fac, ut tecum lugeam.
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
In amando Christum Deum
Ut sibi complaceam.
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo valide.
O
Mother, fountain of love,
make me feel the power of sorrow,
that I may grieve with you.
Grant that my heart may burn
in the love of Christ my God,
that I may greatly please Him.
Holy Mother, make
the wounds of the Crucifixion
in my own heart.
Tui nati vulnerati,
Tam dignati pro me pati,
Poenas mecum divide.
Let
me share the pain
of your own wounded Son
who chose to suffer so much for me.
Fac
me tecum, pie, flere,
Crucifixo condolere,
Donec ego vixero.
Let
me weep with you, O pious one,
and show compassion for the crucified
as long as I live.
Juxta
crucem tecum stare,
Et me tibi sociare
In planctu desidero.
I
wish to stand with you next to the Cross
and to be your companion
in lamentation.
Virgo
virginum praeclara,
Mihi jam non sis amara
Fac me tecum plangere.
Most
illustrious virgin of virgins,
Do not be harsh with me,
allow me to weep with you.
Fac,
ut portem Christi mortem
Passionis fac consortem,
Et plagas recolere.
Grant
that I might bear
the suffering and death of Christ,
and receive his wounds.
Fac
me plagis vulnerari,
Fac me cruce inebriari,
Et cruore Filii.
Flammis ne urar succensus,
per te virgo sim defensus,
in die judicii.
Wound
me with his wounds,
make me drunk with the Cross
and the blood of your son.
Burning and on fire,
let me be defended by you, O Virgin,
on the Day of Judgment.
Quando
corpus morietur,
Fac, ut animae donetur
Paradisi gloria.
Amen.
When
my body dies,
let my soul be given
the glory of paradise.
Amen.
The following advice was given by a good pastor in England: It is important
that the government, and in particular the Secretary of State for Housing,
Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, understands the specific
importance to Catholics of popping into church to pray before the Blessed Sacrament
and the depths of spiritual feeling of the Roman Catholic Community with regard
to our need for the spiritual nourishment of receiving the Eucharist and the
other sacraments. Bishops can express this to him, and the wider government,
but their argument will be more persuasive if Catholics write to express to Mr
Jenrick, calmly and clearly, their feelings. Please do this and tell other
Catholics to do this. In this way you will be positively adding support to the
presentations of the bishops.
Please remember to write
with courtesy, clarity and concision.
You may like to include some of the following considerations:
Clergy are front-line workers even by phone and email to
support the population against depression, breakdown and violence caused
by the lockdown.
This key role of clergy must be recognised through the safe
re-opening of their workplaces, the churches.
Every priest in charge can state the seating capacity
in his cathedral, church or chapel.
A percentage of the seating capacity (20% to 30%?) is recognised
as a safe amount of people to be in the church at the same time for public
worship and/or private prayer.
Two pews must be left empty between worshippers to keep the
2-meter social distancing.
Only members of the same household may sit on the same
bench.
No one is admitted into the building without a sanitizer.
Confessions are permitted behind a screen, with sanitation
of the prie-dieu.
The following message is
shared here purely for the sake of inspiration. It was sent to a Catholic
leader and is not destined as such to a Cabinet Minister.
“I am writing to ask that you and all the
Bishops of England and Wales lobby the government to allow the reopening of Churches
and the re-implementation of our Masses.
It has been 6 long weeks since our churches closed their doors to Masses, and 5
long weeks since we lost access to our Sacraments all together.
In this time I have stood in many a supermarket queue and dodged my way around
many crowded aisles in order to feed my mortal body. During all of this it has
been blatantly clear that the 2m rule cannot be kept and sanitation is
impossible. You queue in the exact same spot as the person in front of you,
milliseconds afterwards, as you move towards the shop door. You pick and handle
your trolley or basket, and only then have the option of cleaning it. You play
dodgems in narrow aisles which you are forced to walk down, despite never
having needed the pet food aisle in your life. All the food has been handled
multiple times: in preparation, in being stocked, potentially handled and put
back by other shoppers, touched again by the shop assistants and put through
conveyor belts and checkouts where a thousand other touched items have been
that day. We are lying to ourselves that we can stay safe in a shop. Yet they
remain open because we must feed our mortal bodies.
So our immortal bodies must also be fed, and after 6 long weeks in the
wilderness, my soul is starving. How, logically, can we crowd into small
supermarket aisles where hundreds of people have passed through in the last
half an hour, but groups of circa 50 people cannot meet in large churches once
a week where social distancing can be easily implemented? How can we and
multiple other people handle our temporal food in a supermarket, but we cannot
receive our spiritual nourishment from the hands of one priest?
What could be more important than our immortal souls? With every passing day,
the chances of slipping away become ever greater. Priests throughout the ages
have understood the importance of the sacraments, and died bringing them to
their flock. I beg that you petition the government to reopen churches and you
re-introduce the Sacraments to your starving flock as soon as possible.
Your sincerely, N.”
LiveMass Statistics:
1/2
million pages accessed over past 6 weeks (includes all 5 LiveMass sites,
mid-March until end April 2020)
From:
USA 62%; UK: 13%; Canada 6%; Germany 2%
Warrington:
300 households connected daily (Mon-Sat Masses only); 3,000 households
connected every Sunday (that is, Sunday Mass only, watched from Sunday to
following Saturday included, not simultaneously)
Remarks:
Connection
duration varies globally: only 21% last over one hour.
Since
our global audience is mostly made of practising Catholic families with
children, and during the lockdown period in particular, its seems
realistic to count an average of three souls united in prayer during Holy
Mass for each household connected. This gives an estimate of about 10,000 souls united at every Warrington Sunday Mass.
Our
Warrington record audience: 1,754 households connected on Maundy Thursday
(live only).
Pray for the fantastic LiveMass team, a handful of lay volunteers spead in various FSSP aspotolate worlwide. They make this possible. Tell your friends about LiveMass.net – including the LiveMass smartphone apps, the Vimeo, YouTube and Twitter associated accounts, the online missal and the up-to-date interactive map.
The Men’s Talk this evening (Wed 6th May 2020 8pm) on LiveMass.net (Warrington live) will be given by Fr Armand de Malleray FSSP.
In response to interest expressed after a Lenten sermon on this topic, Fr de Malleray will offer a two-part commentary on the celebrated Marian hymn.
While the Stabat Mater fits with Lent rather than Eastertide, its spirituality can benefit Catholic souls at all times, especially in the present sacramental dearth.
This is part of St Mary’s weekly Men’s Group (but surely Our Lady won’t object to women attending remotely). Litany of St Joseph and Sung Compline will follow as usual.
We recommend this sober and evocative renddition of the sung Stabat Mater with subtitles.
Stabat Mater dolorosa Iuxta crucem lacrimosa Dum pendebat Filius.
The grieving Mother stood weeping beside the cross where her Son was hanging.
Cuius animam gementem Contristatam et dolentem Pertransivit gladius.
O quam tristis et afflicta Fuit illa benedicta Mater unigeniti!
Through her weeping soul, compassionate and grieving, a sword passed.
O how sad and afflicted was that blessed Mother of the only-begotten,
Quae moerebat et dolebat, Pia Mater, dum videbat Nati poenas incliti.
who mourned and grieved, seeing and bearing the torment of her glorious child.
Quis est homo qui non fleret, Matrem Christi si videret In tanto supplicio?
Quis non posset contristari, Christi Matrem contemplari Dolentem cum Filio?
Who is it that would not weep, seeing Christ’s Mother in such agony?
Who could not feel compassion on beholding the Holy Mother suffering with her Son?
Pro peccatis suae gentis Vidit Iesum in tormentis, Et flagellis subditum.
Vidit suum dulcem natum Moriendo desolatum Dum emisit spiritum.
For the sake of his peoples’ sins, she saw Jesus tormented, and subjected to whips.
She saw her sweet child die desolate, as he gave up His spirit.
Eja Mater, fons amoris Me sentire vim doloris Fac, ut tecum lugeam.
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum In amando Christum Deum Ut sibi complaceam.
Sancta Mater, istud agas, Crucifixi fige plagas Cordi meo valide.
O Mother, fountain of love, make me feel the power of sorrow, that I may grieve with you.
Grant that my heart may burn in the love of Christ my God, that I may greatly please Him.
Holy Mother, make the wounds of the Crucifixion in my own heart.
Tui nati vulnerati, Tam dignati pro me pati, Poenas mecum divide.
Let me share the pain of your own wounded Son who chose to suffer so much for me.
Fac me tecum, pie, flere, Crucifixo condolere, Donec ego vixero.
Let me weep with you, O pious one, and show compassion for the crucified as long as I live.
Juxta crucem tecum stare, Et me tibi sociare In planctu desidero.
I wish to stand with you next to the Cross and to be your companion in lamentation.
Virgo virginum praeclara, Mihi jam non sis amara Fac me tecum plangere.
Most illustrious virgin of virgins, Do not be harsh with me, allow me to weep with you.
Fac, ut portem Christi mortem Passionis fac consortem, Et plagas recolere.
Grant that I might bear the suffering and death of Christ, and receive his wounds.
Fac me plagis vulnerari, Fac me cruce inebriari, Et cruore Filii. Flammis ne urar succensus, per te virgo sim defensus, in die judicii.
Wound me with his wounds, make me drunk with the Cross and the blood of your son. Burning and on fire, let me be defended by you, O Virgin, on the Day of Judgment. May I be guarded by the cross, protected by Christ’s death, nurtured by grace.
Quando corpus morietur, Fac, ut animae donetur Paradisi gloria. Amen.
When my body dies, let my soul be given the glory of paradise. Amen.
The Men’s Talk this evening (Wed 29 April 2020 8pm) on LiveMass.net (Warrington live) will be given by Fr Armand de Malleray FSSP.
In response to interest expressed after a Lenten sermon on this topic, Fr de Malleray will offer a two-part commentary on the celebrated Marian hymn.
While the Stabat Mater fits with Lent rather than Eastertide, its spirituality can benefit Catholic souls at all times, especially in the present sacramental dearth.
This is part of St Mary’s weekly Men’s Group (but surely Our Lady won’t object to women attending remotely). Litany of St Joseph and Sung Compline will follow as usual.
We recommend this sober and evocative renddition of the sung Stabat Mater with subtitles.
Stabat Mater dolorosa Iuxta crucem lacrimosa Dum pendebat Filius.
The grieving Mother stood weeping beside the cross where her Son was hanging.
Cuius animam gementem Contristatam et dolentem Pertransivit gladius.
O quam tristis et afflicta Fuit illa benedicta Mater unigeniti!
Through her weeping soul, compassionate and grieving, a sword passed.
O how sad and afflicted was that blessed Mother of the only-begotten,
Quae moerebat et dolebat, Pia Mater, dum videbat Nati poenas incliti.
who mourned and grieved, seeing and bearing the torment of her glorious child.
Quis est homo qui non fleret, Matrem Christi si videret In tanto supplicio?
Quis non posset contristari, Christi Matrem contemplari Dolentem cum Filio?
Who is it that would not weep, seeing Christ’s Mother in such agony?
Who could not feel compassion on beholding the Holy Mother suffering with her Son?
Pro peccatis suae gentis Vidit Iesum in tormentis, Et flagellis subditum.
Vidit suum dulcem natum Moriendo desolatum Dum emisit spiritum.
For the sake of his peoples’ sins, she saw Jesus tormented, and subjected to whips.
She saw her sweet child die desolate, as he gave up His spirit.
Eja Mater, fons amoris Me sentire vim doloris Fac, ut tecum lugeam.
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum In amando Christum Deum Ut sibi complaceam.
Sancta Mater, istud agas, Crucifixi fige plagas Cordi meo valide.
O Mother, fountain of love, make me feel the power of sorrow, that I may grieve with you.
Grant that my heart may burn in the love of Christ my God, that I may greatly please Him.
Holy Mother, make the wounds of the Crucifixion in my own heart.
Tui nati vulnerati, Tam dignati pro me pati, Poenas mecum divide.
Let me share the pain of your own wounded Son who chose to suffer so much for me.
Fac me tecum, pie, flere, Crucifixo condolere, Donec ego vixero.
Let me weep with you, O pious one, and show compassion for the crucified as long as I live.
Juxta crucem tecum stare, Et me tibi sociare In planctu desidero.
I wish to stand with you next to the Cross and to be your companion in lamentation.
Virgo virginum praeclara, Mihi jam non sis amara Fac me tecum plangere.
Most illustrious virgin of virgins, Do not be harsh with me, allow me to weep with you.
Fac, ut portem Christi mortem Passionis fac consortem, Et plagas recolere.
Grant that I might bear the suffering and death of Christ, and receive his wounds.
Fac me plagis vulnerari, Fac me cruce inebriari, Et cruore Filii. Flammis ne urar succensus, per te virgo sim defensus, in die judicii.
Wound me with his wounds, make me drunk with the Cross and the blood of your son. Burning and on fire, let me be defended by you, O Virgin, on the Day of Judgment. May I be guarded by the cross, protected by Christ’s death, nurtured by grace.
Quando corpus morietur, Fac, ut animae donetur Paradisi gloria. Amen.
When my body dies, let my soul be given the glory of paradise. Amen.
The Priestly Fraternity of St
Peter (FSSP) is a Roman Catholic priestly community, canonically established in
the Archdioceses of Liverpool, of St Andrews & Edinburgh, and in the
Dioceses of Portsmouth and of Northampton.
Rector: Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP:
malleray@fssp.org
Assistant: Fr Ian Verrier, FSSP: iverrier@fssp.org
Assistant: Fr Henry Whisenant: henrywhiz@hotmail.com
In residence: Fr Alex Stewart, FSSP: astewart@olgseminary.org
With precautions taken, we are available on request for the sacraments. Call or email us for an appointment, or simply if you feel like talking with one of the priests.
Full schedule available on LiveMass.net (during lockdown):
Sunday 11:00am Sung/Solemn holy Mass
Mon-Sat 12:10pm Holy Mass (often Sung) with daily homily
Every Sunday 5pm Sung Vespers & Benediction;
Every Wednesday 8pm Men’s Talk & Sung Compline
Mass
intentions:
Sun 26
Second Sunday after Easter Sung Vespers & Benediction
11:00am
5:00pm
Haig
& Lomzik Families
Mon 27
St
Maughold
12:10pm
St
Mary’s LiveMass worshippers and benefactors
Tue 28
St Paul
of the Cross
12:10pm
Martha
Keenan
Wed 29
St Peter Martyr Men’s Talk, Litany of St Joseph & Sung Compline
12:10pm 8:00pm
The Good of the Nation
Thu 30
St
Catherine of Siena
12:10pm
Annie
Doyle RIP
Fri 1
St Joseph the Worker
12:10pm
John
& Simone Sunderland (Wedd Anniv)
Sat 2
St
Athanasius (Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of Mary)
12:10pm
John
Sunderland
Sun 3
Third Sunday after Easter
Sung Vespers & Benediction
11:00am
5:00pm
Kate Gately RIP
Mon
4
Martyrs of England & Wales Men’s Talk, Litany of St Joseph & Sung Compline
12:10pm
St Mary’s LiveMass worshippers and benefactors
Tue 5
St Pius V
12:10pm
Fr Peter Sibert RIP
Wed 6
Feria (Votive Mass in Times of Pestilence) Men’s Talk, Litany of St Joseph & Sung Compline
12.10pm 8:00pm
Baby Jack Parkinson
Thu 7
St Stanislaus
12:10pm
Joseph Parkinson
Fri 8
Feria (Votive Mass for priestly Vocations)
12:10
Fr Oliver O’Connor
Sat
9
St Gregory Nazianzen
12:10
Our
Lady’s Intentions
Sun 10
Fourth Sunday after Easter Sung Vespers & Benediction
11:00am 5:00pm
St Mary’s LiveMass worshippers and benefactors
Our
Education Information Day scheduled for Sunday 26 April 2020 in Warrington is
postponed until further notice. Please do continue to pray for this essential intention.
While most families in the UK experience some sort of home education due to the
virus lockdown, and with the Government’s plans to enforce questionable sex education
on very young children in nearly every school from September, we are in the
best of times to ask God for assistance to find alternative and safe ways to teach
our children holiness.
INTERCESSORESS: The Servant of
God Elizabeth Prout (1820-1864), Mother Mary Joseph, Foundress of the Sisters of the
Cross and Passion, the female branch of Bl. Dominic Barberi’s Passionists in
England. Elizabeth Prout spent her life in the North West of England (Shrewsbury,
Stone, Manchester, St Helen’s), caring
for poor families and children. In 1899, her community opened St Mary’s school
in Warrington where they taught until 1964. Our current Priory Court building
stands on its very footprint of the original St Mary’s School. Her order asks
us to inform them of any favour received through her intercession. Let us
ardently ask her for success for this initiative as we prepare for the
bicentenary of her birth on 2nd September 2020. CONTACT Shrine Rector:
malleray@fssp.org
PRAYER
O God, source of all life,
Your servant, Elizabeth Prout, responded to your call by bringing together a new family to welcome the poor and the abandoned, and to keep alive the memory of your love for all our children, shown to us in the passion of Jesus, your Son.
Give us the courage to follow her example of living faith and
untiring love.
Through her intercession, grant us the favour for which we
pray.
Novena
for the Safe Re-opening of the Churches and the Restoration of Public Mass as
soon as possible
The following Litany of the Sacred Heart will be said by Catholics across the UK from Sunday, 26th April, until the following week Monday, 4th May, the Feast of the English Martyrs.
Please join us.
If you hear about it later than those dates, please join anyway. This novena
petitions Our Lord, the Good Shepherd, that it may be safe to re-open Churches
and restore public Masses as soon as possible.
Musical chairs at St Mary’s:
The
acquisition of Priory Court allowed us to move the Music Room into the new
building, with the very many boxes of music sheets on brand new shelves.
This
freed up the original sacristy, which was returned to its natural purpose,
giving the 4 priests and servers sufficient space to spread the vestments and
display liturgical items.
The
former only sacristy became the Servers’ Vesting Room.
The former temporary Servers’ Vesting Room will become a confessional again.
The Memorial Chapel, currently used as confessional, may become a chapel only, e.g. for Mothers’ prayer group.
Please
continue to pray for the remaining £135,000.00 to be raised by October for us
to complete the purchase of Unit 1 of Priory Court.
Support St Mary’s Shrine: Even
with empty pews, we need £1,700.00 per week all included.
Thank you very much to all of you who gave money to us since the beginning
of the lockdown, including all of you members of our virtual Shrine community
via LiveMass.
Please
give via PayPal on this our UK FSSP England page https://fssp.co.uk/donate/,
mentioning ‘Warrington’ in your order.
Or
give by bank transfer to our Warrington account: Bank details: FSSP LTD –
Warrington Current. Account number: 30993368. Sort Code 30-80-27. Lloyds Bank,
Palmerston Road Branch.
For international transfers to the same Warrington account, you may also
need:
Bank Branch: Palmerston Rd Southsea
Bank Address: Ariel House, 2138 Coventry Road, Sheldon, B26 3JW
IBAN: GB97LOYD30802730993368
SWIFT code: LOYDGB21721
Ask us for Gift Aid forms and envelopes:
warrington@fssp.org
Presentation given on the National
Consecration of England to the Blessed Virgin – March 29th 2020,
by Fr Henry Whisenant, Assistant Priest at St Mary’s Shrine, Warrington, England
What a blessing that because of the LiveMass facilities
in this church, those of you watching at home can join us in these devotions
for the national consecration of England to Our Lady, even if we cannot be
united in person.
This consecration, taking place across our country today, is to renew the
offering of England to the Blessed Virgin under its privileged title of Dos Mariae, the Dowry of Mary.
It’s difficult to know when such a title was first in use – perhaps by the
time of St Edward the Confessor – but there are at least clear, indisputable
references to it by the 14th century. Already in 1350, one preacher was able to
state: “it is commonly said that the land of England is the Virgin’s Dowry”.
And on the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, priests in England prayed to Our
Lady under the title, “Protectress of her dower”.
What does the term mean: Our Lady’s Dowry or Our Lady’s Dower? It refers
to the custom in marriages of old, that when a woman was married, the bride’s
family provided certain possessions or property to be given with her to her
husband. This property, this “dowry”, could not simply be liquidated by the
husband – rather it was a conditional gift that was still in some way attached
to the bride, so that if the husband were to die, the widow would have some
financial security for herself and her children. It was also customary in
certain cultures for the husband himself to provide a “dower”, a gift of wealth
of property to his bride upon their wedding, for this same purpose.
England then was seen to be Our Lady’s Dowry, or Our Lady’s Dower, in this
sense: that the Lord God, the Divine Spouse of her immaculate soul, entrusted
to her this small island country to be her portion, to be under her custody and
at her disposal. Throughout the centuries, from its evangelisation until the
wanton destruction of the country’s faith under the Protestant revolution, the
people of this land felt a great affection for the Mother of Christ as their
mistress and protector, and they had a devotion to her that was famed in
Europe.
At the height of this devotion, in 1381, around the Feast of Corpus
Christi, King Richard II took the step of formally consecrating the country to
Our Lady, in front of her image in Westminster Abbey, an event which is
famously commemorated in the Wilton Diptych, which you can go see (but not
right now, alas!) in the National Gallery in London.
On this Passion Sunday, in 2020, we gather, if not in body then in spirit,
to renew this same consecration to Our Lady once again.
We might be forgiven for regretting the timing of
this renewal, with all this happening around us. We might be forgiven for
hankering after the solemn ceremony of 1381, and for thinking that – with the
current virus doing the rounds, and everything cancelled and everyone in
lockdown – we are, by contrast, in the very worst possible
circumstances – the most dispiriting, the most underwhelming – for a renewal of
that national consecration today!
But I suggest we look again at that first consecration of 1381… For we
will find that, in reality, even more than ours today, that historic event took
place in the midst of terrible pestilence and disease, social disruption and national
anxiety.
To see this, we must go back 33 years before that
consecration to the Black Death. The Black Death, the Plague, was a disease
that also began in China, and was carried to Europe in 1348 by infected rats
along prominent trade routes from East to West.
Between 1348 to 1349, the Black Death swept through England, and wiped out
as much as 40-60% of the population. To get a sense of the magnitude of this,
compare it to the coronavirus today. To this date, roughly 20,000 people in the
UK are said to have tested positive with the virus: that’s 0.3% of the
population. And just over 1,000 deaths have been attributed to the virus:
that’s less than 0.002% of the current population… And now imagine a disease
that claimed 40-60% of the populace! Not only this, but the plague returned every dozen years or so until the end
of the century… For example, from autumn 1379 to 1380, it carried off up to
another20% of England’s population!
The country, in terror, came to a standstill. Parliament was postponed.
The King’s court was dismissed from Easter until midsummer. The London
Guildhall was closed.
Keep in mind that this was less than a year before
King Richard’s consecration of the country to Our Lady. The consecration took
place in a country that was struggling to function normally after such a great
atrocity – a plague significantly more crippling than anything we are yet
facing today.
And not only this…
Because of the dramatic and sudden loss of life, England under Richard II
was also experiencing profound social unrest. With the drastic shortage of
labourers, those who were left to do the work demanded a greater salary for the
increased work that was left to them. But the landowners, the employers, were
reluctant to do this, and the ongoing tension led finally to the Peasants’
Revolt in June of 1381, when thousands of workers marched on London, killed
anyone they found connected to the Royal Court (including the chancellor and
the treasurer), and forced King Richard to meet with them and accede to their
demands. It wasn’t until the end of June that this riot was largely quelled,
and the rebels killed or dispersed.
Now bear in mind that this was the
very same month when the Dowry Consecration took place. In other
words, the King was not consecrating England to Our Lady simply as a nice and
pleasant thing to do…! He was consecrating it to her, as her Dowry, as a way of
saying: “Help! I don’t know what to do about all this! I don’t know how to
manage all this chaos in my country! Come and be the mistress and protector and
ruler of this land, your possession.” The consecration of 1381 was a plea to
Our Lady in a time of great confusion and need.
It is in that same spirit that we present England to Our Lady on this day.
“Mary, come to the aid of this country! Protect us from calamity, but protect
us also from fear!” Let us not be paralysed by the daily media updates of new
cases and hypothetical outcomes calculated to keep us in constant suspense and
anxiety. Let us not have that fickle spirit of the world, that one day appears so
confident and secure, even invincible, in its emancipation from God and in its
freedom to sin, and then when the first threat comes along is paralysed by a
terror mixed with morbid fascination. Such is not the spirit of the followers
of Jesus Christ, who are called, rather, to live by the words of the Psalmist:
“Those who put their trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion – they shall never
be moved”.
We ask Mary, the mistress of her Dowry, to protect us also in these times
from a spirit of bitterness and frustration…
Perhaps many of you watching these ceremonies today are frustrated that
you cannot be here in the church. You might think, “What kind of consecration
is it if I have to do it in the obscurity of my own home?” You may have had
plans to be here, to be in your local cathedral, to be in the national shrine
in Walsingham, before the lockdown made that impossible.
But let’s remember what the message of that particular shrine is about.
Let’s move our focus for the last part of this reflection from the Richard II’s
consecration in Westminster Abbey in 1381, to the vision of Richeldis de
Faverche in Walsingham in 1061. When Our Lady appeared to Richeldis, what did
she ask? She asked for a copy of the Holy House of Nazareth to be built in that
place – the house where the angel announced to Our Lady herself the Incarnation
of the Lord, and her vocation as the Virginal Mother of God.
Recall that event as it happened in the Scriptures. Recall that in the
first chapter of St Luke’s Gospel that mystery of the Annunciation is
paralleled with another announcement: to Zechariah, the father of St John the
Baptist. Zechariah, a priest of Israel, was in the sanctuary of the Temple,
offering incense to the Lord, and the Angel Gabriel appeared to him to tell him
that his wife Elisabeth would, in her old age, conceive a son. Zechariah
doubted the angel’s message, and as punishment for his doubt was struck dumb,
until the birth of the Baptist…
Notice this… Zechariah is a priest… he is in the Temple… but he is not by virtue of these things alone at one
with God. Rather, he is found wanting.
Then St Luke recounts the angel’s announcement to Mary. She is called full
of grace, she is told that the Lord is with her, and that she will conceive the
Son of the Most High by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost! And all this took
place, where? Not the Temple in Jerusalem, where Our Lady had spent her
girlhood, but in the obscurity of her parents’ home, in the unremarkable,
unimportant town of Nazareth. It was in the isolation of her own home that Our Lady, by her Fiat, consecrated herself to the service of
Jesus Christ as His mother.
At the same time, it was in in her womb, under the roof of that ordinary
house, and not in a great stone temple, that Christ was consecrated High Priest
of the Human Race. For at His conception in the womb, the Eternal Son of God
took to Himself a human soul, and flesh and blood, and thereby the priestly
power to offer sacrifice.
Again, it was not in a Temple, but on a hill of execution, outside the
city walls, that the Lord offered that most sublime priestly sacrifice of
Himself to save us from our sins – not on a richly carved altar, but on a rough
wooden cross – a wonder that we are preparing in this Passiontide soon to
commemorate.
And you too, in whatever place you are, are not hindered from acting under
the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and performing a supernatural and
meritorious act, in consecrating England to Our Lady today. Because, by virtue
of our Baptism, each one of us has become a Temple of the Holy Ghost. Whatever
we do, whatever action we perform and wherever we are, if we are in a state of
grace, and perform our actions for the love of God… then everything we do has a
supernatural character, and becomes a pleasing offering in God’s sight. St Paul
says, “Whether you eat of drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of
God”. So within the walls of your home today you can offer to God a prayer for
this country that will pierce through to the sanctuary of Heaven itself, and
that will increase, in a sense, the glory of God in this land.
So let’s be undaunted and encouraged as we make this collective
consecration of our nation today. Let’s put England squarely in the hands of
Our Lady, and ask her in the midst of these trying times to be the protectress
of her Dowry…
May she protect England’s people from fear and anxiety, by leading them to
place their security not in temporal prosperity and health, but in the saving
sacrifice of her Son Jesus Christ, and in the eternal life He won for us.
And may she, the Virgin of the Annunciation, speak to us the words that
echo still in her heart from the announcement of the angel: …the words, “Do not
be afraid!”… and the angel’s greeting: Kaire! Which
we translate as Ave, “Hail”, but
which means – more than this – Rejoice!
Be happy! Rejoice… for we are giving England back to her who is the
Cause of our Joy, and whose Son ever harries and destroys the sadness of the
Fall.
Announcements: Thank you for your support through prayer and gifts over
the past weeks of lockdown.
Lockdown continues. It is painful for us clergy and servers to celebrate
the sacred mysteries with no one in the pews, since only those residing at St
Mary’s Shrine can take part in our liturgical celebrations.
Please support this Shrine financially: bank transfer to WARRINGTON
and PayPal on https://fssp.co.uk/donate/ .
Easter Sunday Homily, by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP
Dear friends,
How do you explain Easter to modern man? How do you bear witness of the
resurrection when asked by men whose souls have been allowed to thirst and so
far never tasted the true water of life? They simply don’t know what Easter is
about.
I will venture a comparison for their sakes. Do you have special hobbies,
skills? When you learn to drive, learn to play the piano, learn watercolour
painting; learn to swim; learn mountain climbing… It takes a coach; it takes
someone who knows; someone who’s done it before and who knows the technique
perfectly. At first, when our coach tells us that he can make us proficient
within six months, or six years, we think we will never make it. We fear that
we won’t have what it takes; or that our coach could get fed up with us and
might let us down.
So, what are we Christians doing this morning? What are we training for?
Oil painting? Scuba diving? Wine tasting? None of that. Better than that. This
morning we train for eternity.
We listen to the One – Jesus Christ – Who is much more than a coach. He is our
guide into eternity. He is
truly a man, like we are human beings. We will die; and Jesus died. Jesus rose
from the dead and we… Well, this is what it is all about it. We can rise from
the dead – if… We can enter blissful eternity – if …. If what? We can enter
blissful eternity if we follow the only One who walked through death successfully. Really, is Jesus the only
One who can take us through death and beyond, to blissful eternity? Did not
other people die and rise again? Like, Lazarus, the friend of Jesus. Or the
young man, the only son of the widow, outside the town of Nain. Or the young
daughter of Jairus? Yes, those were dead, and yes, they came back to life. But
no, they did not rise by themselves. They were raised by another one, mightier
than them. The Lord Jesus raised these dead people and brought them back to
life. Furthermore, after these miracles, they died again some years later. Not
so with the Lord Jesus. He rose from the dead of his own power, because He is
not only man, but God incarnate. Also, He will never die again. The Lord Jesus
is alive forever. No one else every achieved this. Jesus is the only one.
But we need a witness, don’t we? We need clues.
A significant clue is the sacred relic of the Holy Shroud of Turin. What
does the Holy Shroud look like? It is a depiction of Our Lord’s tortured Body
(both back and front), spread across a 14.5-feet-long by 1.4-foot-wide linen
cloth, with such accuracy that this sacred relic has been termed ‘The Fifth
Gospel’. The Holy Shroud – presently kept in Turin, Italy – is the most tested
object in the world. The scientific findings, due to their number and
complexity, now constitute a distinct branch of science called sindonology,
after the word ‘sindon’, the Greek word for ‘shroud’.
Let us recall a few sindonological discoveries. It took nineteen centuries
to realise that the Shroud is a photographic negative: inversing paler and
darker areas reveals the actual picture. Further analysis established that the
depiction results from irradiation, not from the application of pigments upon
the linen material. Later on, the image was found to be three-dimensional,
allowing the shaping of a resin model of Our Lord’s Body as when it was lying
wrapped in the Shroud. Anomalies such as the absence of thumbs on either hand
were explained, while microscopic examination found diverse pollens from the
Middle-East stuck in the fibres of the cloth. The Holy Shroud is a very
powerful incentive for our faith in the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And
yet, the Shroud is not necessary
for us to believe. We have billions of witnesses: these countless men, women
and children who professed their faith in Christ, who followed his teaching,
imitated his virtues, and often died for his love. They bear witness to the historical reality of the
resurrection of Christ.
If you need witnesses, read the lives of the saints. If you need
witnesses, start with St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. St Paul never met
Christ until after his resurrection. But he met the Lord once risen, as he
affirms: “if Christ be not risen again, your
faith is vain: for you are yet in your sins. Then they also that are fallen
asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we
are of all men most miserable. But now Christ
is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of them that
sleep” (1 Co 15: 17-20).
If you need witnesses, look around you for those Catholics in whose lives
the virtues of Christ shine with utmost fidelity, truth, gentleness, firmness,
compassion, purity, piety. Look carefully, because the souls closest to Christ
might not know it themselves, and surely they would not boast of it, so that
the world would normally take no notice of them.
But dear friends, if you need
witnesses, perhaps other people
need them even more urgently than you do. So, why not becoming a witness yourself? Why not bearing witness of
the resurrection of the Lord? I know, we think ourselves too lazy, too selfish,
too incredulous, too heavy, too tired… But witnessing Christ is not about our
own capacity. It is all about His divine power performing wonders through our emptiness.
Becoming a witness of the resurrection takes a while. It does not happen in one
instant. It is like unfolding the Holy Shroud. We know the full picture of
Christ is impressed upon the cloth, but it takes our entire lives to unfold it
in our mind and in our souls.
Let us fly back to Jerusalem. This Easter morning, St Peter, St John and
St Mary Magdalene found the empty linens wrapped together in the empty tomb.
Some time on that day, they took with them the precious relic. Back home in the
Upper Room, with what emotion they slowly unfolded the linens, gradually
displaying the Master’s silhouette: first his shoulder, then his elbow, now his
foot and then his Head… Everywhere, their eyes would meet so many wounds, all
endured for their redemption. For my redemption. For your redemption. For the
redemption of all men.
I imagine St Peter alone at last in the Upper Room. Simon had unfolded the
long strip of cloth, nowhere more fittingly than across the trestles of the
Last Supper table. Three nights earlier, upon another cloth, the Lord had made
Himself truly present under the Eucharistic species at the first holy Mass. The
apostles had walked with the Lord to Gethsemane. Before cockcrow, Simon had
thrice denied his Lord. Since then Jesus had died and was risen.
Back in the Upper Room on Easter day, today, Simon was on his knees at the
far end of the long narrow linen rectangle. His eyes slightly higher than the
level of the cloth swollen in successive waves upon the trestles, the fisherman
would look at the maculated Shroud as a seaman looks at a vast archipelago
spread across a limitless map. Wide or tiny, each bloodstain was an island,
mystically bearing the name of each and every sinner, redeemed through the
wounds of the Lamb.
Which stain bore Simon’s name? It could not be less than three, one for
each denial – and so many more… Dear friends, which stain bears my name, your
name? In St Peter’s soul, contrition connected the reddish shapes of various
sizes like the stars under which he was reborn, as in a new constellation named Absolution. It was probably no surprise to
Simon then, when he became aware of Christ’s bodily presence, standing at the
other end of his unfolded Shroud. The contrite Vicar had opened his soul to the
Saviour already. Christ confirmed his pardon and left, until they met again by
the Sea of Galilee.
His Vicar remained on his knees looking across the bloodied sheet, while
on either side of the table of redemption, hundreds of men, of women, of
children materialised, imitating his posture. Billions of them. Billions of us.
All the way down to us, my friends, and beyond, and further. All those who
would believe in this extraordinary event are gathered in faith around this
sacred cloth and bear witness to the One who lay in it no more, because He is risen, forever
alive! Such is our glorious training for eternity.
May the Immaculate Mother of the Risen One, the Blessed Virgin Mary whose
Sorrowful heart begot us to grace in union with Our Lord on Calvary two days
ago, may she lead us to Jesus, our Resurrection and our Life, into bliss eternal.
Thanks to our dedicated LiveMass team, we can now watch online permanently the entire Maundy Thursday liturgy 2020 filmed at St Mary’s Shrine, with Fr Alex Stewart, FSSP as celebrant and homilist.
(The last hour or so is adoration at the Altar of Repose.)
Our FSSP Warrington weekly Men’s Group will meet via LiveMass this evening, Wednesday 22nd April, at 8:00pm (Warrington UK time), for a meditation by Fr Henry Whisenant followed by choral singing of Compline. 😇 https://www.livemass.net/
Presentation given on the National Consecration of England to the Blessed Virgin – March 29th 2020, by Fr Henry Whisenant, Assistant Priest at St Mary’s Shrine, Warrington, England
What a blessing that because of the LiveMass facilities in this church, those of you watching at home can join us in these devotions for the national consecration of England to Our Lady, even if we cannot be united in person.
This
consecration, taking place across our country today, is to renew the offering
of England to the Blessed Virgin under its privileged title of Dos Mariae, the Dowry of Mary.
It’s difficult
to know when such a title was first in use – perhaps by the time of St Edward
the Confessor – but there are at least clear, indisputable references to it by
the 14th century. Already in 1350, one preacher was able to state: “it is
commonly said that the land of England is the Virgin’s Dowry”. And on the eve
of the Battle of Agincourt, priests in England prayed to Our Lady under the title,
“Protectress of her dower”.
What does the
term mean: Our Lady’s Dowry or Our Lady’s Dower? It refers to the custom in
marriages of old, that when a woman was married, the bride’s family provided
certain possessions or property to be given with her to her husband. This
property, this “dowry”, could not simply be liquidated by the husband – rather
it was a conditional gift that was still in some way attached to the bride, so
that if the husband were to die, the widow would have some financial security
for herself and her children. It was also customary in certain cultures for the
husband himself to provide a “dower”, a gift of wealth of property to his bride
upon their wedding, for this same purpose.
England then
was seen to be Our Lady’s Dowry, or Our Lady’s Dower, in this sense: that the
Lord God, the Divine Spouse of her immaculate soul, entrusted to her this small
island country to be her portion, to be under her custody and at her disposal.
Throughout the centuries, from its evangelisation until the wanton destruction
of the country’s faith under the Protestant revolution, the people of this land
felt a great affection for the Mother of Christ as their mistress and
protector, and they had a devotion to her that was famed in Europe.
At the height
of this devotion, in 1381, around the Feast of Corpus Christi, King Richard II
took the step of formally consecrating the country to Our Lady, in front of her
image in Westminster Abbey, an event which is famously commemorated in the
Wilton Diptych, which you can go see (but not right now, alas!) in the National
Gallery in London.
On this
Passion Sunday, in 2020, we gather, if not in body then in spirit, to renew
this same consecration to Our Lady once again.
We might be
forgiven for regretting the timing of
this renewal, with all this happening around us. We might be forgiven for
hankering after the solemn ceremony of 1381, and for thinking that – with the
current virus doing the rounds, and everything cancelled and everyone in
lockdown – we are, by contrast, in the very worst
possible circumstances – the most dispiriting, the most underwhelming – for
a renewal of that national consecration today!
But I suggest
we look again at that first consecration of 1381… For we will find that, in
reality, even more than ours today, that historic event took place in the midst
of terrible pestilence and disease, social disruption and national anxiety.
To see this,
we must go back 33 years before that
consecration to the Black Death. The Black Death, the Plague, was a disease
that also began in China, and was carried to Europe in 1348 by infected rats
along prominent trade routes from East to West.
Between 1348
to 1349, the Black Death swept through England, and wiped out as much as 40-60%
of the population. To get a sense of the magnitude of this, compare it to the
coronavirus today. To this date, roughly 20,000 people in the UK are said to
have tested positive with the virus: that’s 0.3% of the population. And just
over 1,000 deaths have been attributed to the virus: that’s less than 0.002% of
the current population… And now imagine a disease that claimed 40-60% of the
populace! Not only this, but the plague returned every dozen years or so until the end of the century… For
example, from autumn 1379 to 1380, it carried off up to another20% of England’s population!
The country,
in terror, came to a standstill. Parliament was postponed. The King’s court was
dismissed from Easter until midsummer. The London Guildhall was closed.
Keep in mind
that this was less than a year before
King Richard’s consecration of the country to Our Lady. The consecration took
place in a country that was struggling to function normally after such a great
atrocity – a plague significantly more crippling than anything we are yet
facing today.
And not only
this…
Because of the
dramatic and sudden loss of life, England under Richard II was also
experiencing profound social unrest. With the drastic shortage of labourers, those
who were left to do the work demanded a greater salary for the increased work
that was left to them. But the landowners, the employers, were reluctant to do
this, and the ongoing tension led finally to the Peasants’ Revolt in June of
1381, when thousands of workers marched on London, killed anyone they found
connected to the Royal Court (including the chancellor and the treasurer), and
forced King Richard to meet with them and accede to their demands. It wasn’t
until the end of June that this riot was largely quelled, and the rebels killed
or dispersed.
Now bear in
mind that this was the very same month
when the Dowry Consecration took place. In other words, the King was not
consecrating England to Our Lady simply as a nice and pleasant thing to do…!
He was consecrating it to her, as her Dowry, as a way of saying: “Help! I don’t
know what to do about all this! I don’t know how to manage all this chaos in my
country! Come and be the mistress and protector and ruler of this land, your
possession.” The consecration of 1381 was a plea to Our Lady in a time of great
confusion and need.
It is in that
same spirit that we present England to Our Lady on this day. “Mary, come to the
aid of this country! Protect us from calamity, but protect us also from fear!”
Let us not be paralysed by the daily media updates of new cases and
hypothetical outcomes calculated to keep us in constant suspense and anxiety.
Let us not have that fickle spirit of the world, that one day appears so
confident and secure, even invincible, in its emancipation from God and in its
freedom to sin, and then when the first threat comes along is paralysed by a
terror mixed with morbid fascination. Such is not the spirit of the followers
of Jesus Christ, who are called, rather, to live by the words of the Psalmist:
“Those who put their trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion – they shall never
be moved”.
We ask Mary,
the mistress of her Dowry, to protect us also in these times from a spirit of
bitterness and frustration…
Perhaps many
of you watching these ceremonies today are frustrated that you cannot be here
in the church. You might think, “What kind of consecration is it if I have to
do it in the obscurity of my own home?” You may have had plans to be here, to
be in your local cathedral, to be in the national shrine in Walsingham, before
the lockdown made that impossible.
But let’s
remember what the message of that particular shrine is about. Let’s move our
focus for the last part of this reflection from the Richard II’s consecration in
Westminster Abbey in 1381, to the vision of Richeldis de Faverche in Walsingham
in 1061. When Our Lady appeared to Richeldis, what did she ask? She asked for a
copy of the Holy House of Nazareth to be built in that place – the house where
the angel announced to Our Lady herself the Incarnation of the Lord, and her
vocation as the Virginal Mother of God.
Recall that
event as it happened in the Scriptures. Recall that in the first chapter of St
Luke’s Gospel that mystery of the Annunciation is paralleled with another
announcement: to Zechariah, the father of St John the Baptist. Zechariah, a
priest of Israel, was in the sanctuary of the Temple, offering incense to the
Lord, and the Angel Gabriel appeared to him to tell him that his wife Elisabeth
would, in her old age, conceive a son. Zechariah doubted the angel’s message,
and as punishment for his doubt was struck dumb, until the birth of the
Baptist…
Notice this…
Zechariah is a priest… he is in the Temple… but he is not by virtue of these things alone at one
with God. Rather, he is found wanting.
Then St Luke
recounts the angel’s announcement to Mary. She is called full of grace, she is
told that the Lord is with her, and that she will conceive the Son of the Most
High by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost! And all this took place, where?
Not the Temple in Jerusalem, where Our Lady had spent her girlhood, but in the
obscurity of her parents’ home, in the unremarkable, unimportant town of
Nazareth. It was in the isolation of her own home that Our Lady, by her Fiat,
consecrated herself to the service of Jesus Christ as His mother.
At the same
time, it was in in her womb, under the roof of that ordinary house, and not in
a great stone temple, that Christ was consecrated High Priest of the Human
Race. For at His conception in the womb, the Eternal Son of God took to Himself
a human soul, and flesh and blood, and thereby the priestly power to offer
sacrifice.
Again, it was
not in a Temple, but on a hill of execution, outside the city walls, that the
Lord offered that most sublime priestly sacrifice of Himself to save us from
our sins – not on a richly carved altar, but on a rough wooden cross – a wonder
that we are preparing in this Passiontide soon to commemorate.
And you too,
in whatever place you are, are not hindered from acting under the inspiration
of the Holy Ghost, and performing a supernatural and meritorious act, in
consecrating England to Our Lady today. Because, by virtue of our Baptism, each
one of us has become a Temple of the Holy Ghost. Whatever we do, whatever
action we perform and wherever we are, if we are in a state of grace, and
perform our actions for the love of God… then everything we do has a
supernatural character, and becomes a pleasing offering in God’s sight. St Paul
says, “Whether you eat of drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of
God”. So within the walls of your home today you can offer to God a prayer for
this country that will pierce through to the sanctuary of Heaven itself, and
that will increase, in a sense, the glory of God in this land.
So let’s be
undaunted and encouraged as we make this collective consecration of our nation
today. Let’s put England squarely in the hands of Our Lady, and ask her in the
midst of these trying times to be the protectress of her Dowry…
May she
protect England’s people from fear and anxiety, by leading them to place their
security not in temporal prosperity and health, but in the saving sacrifice of
her Son Jesus Christ, and in the eternal life He won for us.
And may she,
the Virgin of the Annunciation, speak to us the words that echo still in her
heart from the announcement of the angel: …the words, “Do not be afraid!”…
and the angel’s greeting: Kaire!
Which we translate as Ave, “Hail”,
but which means – more than this – Rejoice!
Be happy! Rejoice… for we are giving England back to her who is the Cause
of our Joy, and whose Son ever harries and destroys the sadness of the Fall.
