Only six places remaining out of forty on the camp for boys, whereas the camp for girls is just less than half booked with eighteen girls now signed up. For further information or a booking form, contact Fr O’Donohue at odonohue@fssp.org
St Peter’s Summer Camp 2019 for Boys (age 10-17) will take place in the Peak District, at Savio House, Ingersley Road, Bollington, Macclesfield SK10 5RW, from 3pm, Monday 5 August 2019 to Saturday 10 August 2019 3pm.
St Petronilla’s Summer Camp 2019 for Girls (age 10-17) will also take place at Savio House from 3pm, Monday 12 August 2019 to 3pm, Saturday 17 August 2019.
Thank God for a third UK applicant admitted at our international seminary in America.
Please pray for any hurdle to be overcome for Harry, Conan and Tom to begin formation for the sacred prieshood next September at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary.
There are various causes explaining why these three brave men applied, and got admitted. But surely, your prayers for priestly vocations are an important factor, in response to the Lord’s command: “The harvest is abundant but the labourers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out labourers for his harvest” (Mt 9:38).
Congratulations to Monica from Liverpool and Matteo from West Sussex who will be enrolled in our international prayer network, the Confraternity of St Peter, next 9th June, on Whitsunday.
Like them, make your prayer for vocations more efficient throughhttps://www.fssp.org/…/help-us/confraternity-of-saint-peter/, and have 460 FSSP clerics + 6,600 Confraternity members include you in their daily prayers.
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Confraternity of Saint Peter FAQ’s
Can I still join the Confraternity if…
1) If I can’t travel easily and I would not have the time to attend events with the Confraternity?
– Yes, you may join. Provided you say the daily decade and Prayer, and have the Mass offered once a year by any priest in good standing, you are not required to do anything more, even on the day of your enrolment.
2) If I do not intend to be part of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter?
– Yes, you may join. The Confraternity of St Peter (CSP) is formally distinct from the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP). Any Catholic can join the former; but only priests and future priests can join the latter. Confraternity members retain full liberty and can decide to leave at any time.
3) If I already have spiritual commitments?
– Yes, you may join. For instance, if you are already committed to praying one decade of the rosary daily, you can apply it to the Confraternity’s intentions, added to your other intentions. If those were meant to exclude any other, you simply say a further decade.
4) If I normally attend the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, not the Extraordinary Form.
– Yes, you may join. Your prayers for priestly vocations and ministry as a committed Catholic are always valued.
5) If I want to pray for vocations not exclusively to the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter?
– Yes, you may join. As a member of the Confraternity, you intend your prayer to benefit principally our seminarians and priests, but you may include others at your discretion.
6) If I am a seminarian / deacon / priest / bishop / religious / sister?
– Yes, you may join. The Confraternity is not for lay persons only. Any clerics and consecrated persons in good standing are welcome.
7) If I am not able to give any money?
– Yes, you may join. Your commitment is purely spiritual, and we do not expect you to contribute financially. Financial support to the formation of our seminarians and to the ministry of our priests is gratefully received, irrespective of Confraternity membership.
8) If I can’t conveniently recite the daily decade and Prayer in Latin, nor have the yearly Mass offered in the Extraordinary Form?
– Yes, you may join. You may say the decade in your preferred language and use any approved translation of the Prayer. While it is fitting to have the yearly Mass offered according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite, any other rite authorised by the Catholic Church may be used as an alternative.
– including from 5:30pm before 6pm Sunday Mass and on Saturdays 10am-11:45am during Eucharistic Adoration.
Daily Rosary 11:30am Mon-Fri, 11am Sat. Followed by the Angelus. SUPPORT—Bank details: Account name: FSSP Warrington. Account number: 30993368. Sort Code 30-80-27; Lloyds Bank, Palmerston Road Branch. Ask us for Gift Aid forms and envelopes: warrington@fssp.org. Registered Charity number 1129964
Safeguarding: Children, teenagers and vulnerable adults must be accompanied or supervised at all times within the Shrine. If you have concerns, please contact the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Department on 0151 522 1043 or e-mail safeguarding@rcaol.co.uk, or speak with Clare Fraser, St Mary’s Safeguarding Officer. Thank you for your awareness.
Pro-life: Every last Saturday, 10:15am. Coordinator: Peter Boyle: p.boyle400@btinternet.com
Choir: Contact Fr Verrier for an audition if you would like to join our choir – including Junior choir.
Addicts to drugs, alcohol: help available with high success rate. Free. Confidential phone contact: 07916578902.
☞To receive Holy Communion: one must be a Catholic, in state of grace, one-hour fasting at least. In the EF liturgy, Holy Communion is received kneeling (unless unable to) and always on the tongue. Thank you in advance.
☞Did you know? St Mary’s Shrine costs £1,444/week to run and maintain. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Deo gratias for two young men from the UK admitted into our international seminary in the USA. Please pray for every possible hurdle to be overcome so that they may begin priestly formation next autumn. Please pray for two other British applicants: one awaiting our seminary’s decision, and another who was sadly unsuccessful. All these young men deserve our prayerful support for their generosity in applying, regardless of the outcome.
Congratulations to Roger Gilbride, formerly on apostolate at St Mary’s, who was ordained a deacon yesterday, Sat. 25th May, at our European seminary, together with six other seminarians.
The day before, four were ordained priests at our US seminary, and one more will be made a priest on 31st May in Ottawa. Next month, priestly ordinations will also take place at our seminary in Bavaria.
Archdiocesan Synod: last 7th May, Frs de Malleray and Verrier attended the Warrington Area meeting with 17 other members. Any Catholic in the Archdiocese is invited to express their opinion on synod2020.co.uk.
Monthly Family Thursday at St Mary’s on 20th June. Meet in the presbytery after Holy Mass. All welcome.
Sports Day for families on Thur. 27th June, Victoria Park 1.15pm-4pm. Contact Alison 01925 727759. Visit the Facebook event on FSSP England Facebook page.
Priory Campaign: Financial help still welcome as we finalise the purchase. Full details will be advertised as soon as available. We thank you for your past and continued prayers.
Adults curious to know more about Catholicism? Join our Saturday evening group of catechism for adults: most Saturdays 6pm-7pm, with Fr Loewenstein. Contact: padrek@libero.it
Pro-Life: SPUC petition in the narthex that needs promoting/ signing, this opposes misleading and inaccurate information about abortion contained in a booklet that is being used in secondary schools. This could-be signed at the same time.
Sat 30th June after 11am Mass, St Mary’s Pro Life garden fete: contact Jeff J.Hall@mmu.ac.uk to help with stalls and raffle. Guest Speaker, Clare McCullough, foundress of the Good Counsel Network.
Thank you for your prayers for the Clergy Retreat on the Holy Eucharist at Douai Abbey preached by Fr de Malleray last 13-17 May. Eight priests, deacon and religious attended, while three more had to cancel for health reasons or pastoral emergencies. The conferences will be available online within a few weeks.
Video on Paradigm of Apostasy, a clergy conference by Fr de Malleray as illustrated by the film Silence here:
Last chance to book for Pentecost Pilgrimage to Chartres 7-11 June 2019. Your contact for St Mary’s and the North West: Conor Jones: conorjj79@gmail.com. Join our young (and less young) adults, with Fr Patrick O’Donohue, FSSP (based in Reading). Book early for LMS sponsorship. Contact: chartresuk.blogspot.com/
Summer Camps 2019 for children aged 10-13 & 14-17 in Macclesfield SK10 5RW: Boys 5-10 Aug; Girls 12-17 Aug. Contact priest: odonohue@fssp.org
Join us on our next Juventutem Warrington excursion on the TOLKIEN TRAIL on Sat 1st June. For 18-35 Catholic single men & women (non Catholic friends are welcome)
Sat 1st June– Juventutem Warrington For 18-35 Catholic single men & women (non Catholic friends are welcome) Discover St Hubert’s Church designed by Pugin and walk in the footsteps of the famous Catholic author J.R.R Tolkien. 9am Mass at St Mary’s Shrine (WA1 2NS) 9.45am Leave St Mary’s Shrine 11am Meet at Dunsop Bridge Car Park (BB7 3BB). It is £1.50 for 4 hours. If you come not from the South, you can meet us directly there. Walk around St Hubert’s RC church and village. Visit PuddleDucks Tearoom for morning coffee (if time!) 12.30pm Leave Dunsop Bridge. 1pm Meet outside Shireburn Arms (BB7 9QJ). There is limited parking in the village so we will have to park along the roads. Tolkien trail is 5 and a half miles. Should take about 3 hours at a leisurely pace. Bring a packed lunch and wear appropriate footwear. 4pm – Return to Warrington. Contact : iverrier@fssp.org
Over 70 young adults attended the monthly Juventutem Mass & Social in London on 24th May, which was the 15th anniversary of the Juventutem movement.
Day of Recollection on the Holy Eucharist in London, with Fr Armand de Malleray FSSP, at St Mary Moorfields, near Liverpool St Station: Saturday 15th June 11am-5pm, for any 18-35 young adults. Organised by Juventutem London.
Mass Intentions:
Sun 26
5th Sunday after Easter
11:00am
6:00pm
Gerard Wallace
Stephen and Carole Parkinson
Mon 27
St. Bede
Stations of the Cross for Priests 1pm
12:10pm
Elizabeth McIntosh
Tue 28
St. Augustine of Canterbury
12:10pm
Adrian & Lucy Porter
Wed 29
Vigil of the Ascension
Mothers’ Prayer Group 1pm
12:10pm
Michael Sibert RIP (anniv)
Thu 30
Ascension of the Lord (10th and 4th anniversaries of ordination of Frs Goddard and Verrier)
After their successful annual Conference at St George’s Cathedral in London last 4th May (nearly 150 attended).
Great articles in this issue on Conversion, Islam, Education, Literature, Faith, by Cardinal Sarah, Gabriele Kuby, Fr Linus Clovis, Fr Armand de Malleray and more.
Click here or on cover picture below to open the online magazine.
– including from 5:30pm before 6pm Sunday Mass and on Saturdays 10am-11:45am during Eucharistic Adoration.
Daily Rosary 11:30am Mon-Fri, 11am Sat. Followed by the Angelus. SUPPORT—Bank details: Account name: FSSP Warrington. Account number: 30993368. Sort Code 30-80-27; Lloyds Bank, Palmerston Road Branch. Ask us for Gift Aid forms and envelopes: warrington@fssp.org. Registered Charity number 1129964
Safeguarding: Children, teenagers and vulnerable adults must be accompanied or supervised at all times within the Shrine. If you have concerns, please contact the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Department on 0151 522 1043 or e-mail safeguarding@rcaol.co.uk, or speak with Clare Fraser, St Mary’s Safeguarding Officer. Thank you for your awareness.
Pro-life: Every last Saturday, 10:15am. Coordinator: Peter Boyle: p.boyle400@btinternet.com
Choir: Contact Fr Verrier for an audition if you would like to join our choir – including Junior choir.
☞To receive Holy Communion: one must be a Catholic, in state of grace, one-hour fasting at least. In the EF liturgy, Holy Communion is received kneeling (unless unable to) and always on the tongue. Thank you in advance.
☞Did you know? St Mary’s Shrine costs £1,444/week to run and maintain. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Welcome back to Fr Loewenstein who was at our European seminary in Bavaria to teach Medieval Philosophy this past week.
The Family Life International Conference last 4th May in London was attended by nearly 150. The Family & Life Magazine magazine is availableHERE, with great articles on the theme of CONVERSION, Education, Vocation (and printed copies shortly in the narthex). Visitwww.familyandlife.co.uk. Click on cover below to open online magazine.
Archdiocesan Synod: last 7th May, Frs de Malleray and Verrier attended the Warrington Area meeting with 17 other members. Any Catholic in the Archdiocese is invited to express their opinion on https://synod2020.co.uk/.
Monthly Family Thursdays at St Mary’s: 16th May & 20th June. Meet in the presbytery after Holy Mass. All welcome.
Sports Day for families on Thur. 27th June, Victoria Park 1.15pm-4pm. Contact Alison 01925 727759. Visit the Facebook event on FSSP England Facebook page.
Priory Campaign: Financial help still welcome as we finalise the purchase. Full details will be advertised as soon as available. We thank you for your past and continued prayers.
Adults curious to know more about Catholicism? Join our Saturday evening group of catechism for adults: most Saturdays 6pm-7pm, with Fr Loewenstein. Contact: padrek@libero.it
Ordinations: 12 to be ordained priests or deacons on 24th, 25th and 31st May. Please pray for them, and for many more.
Addicts: To all concerned, or in any way associated with addictions to drugs, alcohol: help is available with a very high success rate. Free. We meet at St Mary’s Warrington WA1 2NS every month, last Saturday at 1pm. Confidential phone contact: 07916578902.
London March for Life Sat. 11th May 2019: several young and less young pilgrims from St Mary’s attended with Frs de Malleray and Verrier. Thank you to our Pro-life group for organising the travel and for sponsoring some young adults.
Please pray for the spiritual fruit of the Clergy Retreat on the Holy Eucharist at Douai Abbey preached by Fr de Malleray 13-17 May.
Pentecost Pilgrimage to Chartres 7-11 June 2019. Your contact for St Mary’s and the North West: Conor Jones: conorjj79@gmail.com. Join our young (and less young) adults, with Fr Patrick O’Donohue, FSSP (based in Reading). Book early for LMS sponsorship. Contact: chartresuk.blogspot.com/
Summer Camps 2019 for children aged 10-13 & 14-17 in Macclesfield SK10 5RW: Boys 5-10 Aug; Girls 12-17 Aug. Contact priest: odonohue@fssp.org
Congratulations to our group of Young Adults & Professionals who were affiliated to the Juventutem International Federation last 20th April, feast of Bl. James Bell, with Fr Verrier as their chaplain. Discover Juventutem here: juventutem.org.
The traditional youth movement will celebrate its 15th anniversary in London on Friday 24th May, Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, at 7:30pm, St Mary Moorfields.
Day of Recollection on the Holy Eucharist in London, with Fr Armand de Malleray FSSP, at St Mary Moorfields, near Liverpool St Station: Saturday 15th June 11am-5pm, for any 18-35 young adults. Organised by Juventutem London.
This pilgrimage is organised primarily for members of the Confraternity of St Peter, the 6,600-strong international prayer network for vocations linked with the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter. But anyone supportive of Catholic priestly vocations is welcome to join.
Pilgrims from the UK & Ireland are welcome to join this pilgrimage for the following rate:1995 GBP for land only. The single room cost would be an additional 395 GBP. Please contact Syversen Touring for any questions: info@syversentouring.com. https://syversentouring.com/confraternity.html
BULLETIN of ST MARY’S SHRINE 28thApril 2019 Fortnightly www.fssp.co.uk/warrington • 01925 635664
Watch our Mass daily onhttp://livemass.net/ Buttermarket Street, Warrington WA1 2NS
Served by the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter
by appointment of the RC Archdiocese of Liverpool
Rector: Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP: malleray@fssp.org Assistant: Fr Konrad Loewenstein, FSSP: padrek@libero.it Assistant: Fr Ian Verrier, FSSP: iverrier@fssp.org
Holy Masses: Sunday 11am & 6pm; Mon-Sat 12:10pm daily. Confessions 30mins beforeeveryMasseveryday – including from 5:30pm before 6pm Sunday Mass and on Saturdays 10am-11:45am during Eucharistic Adoration.
Daily Rosary 11:30am Mon-Fri, 11am Sat. Followed by the Angelus. SUPPORT—Bank details: Account name:FSSP Warrington. Account number:30993368. Sort Code30-80-27;Lloyds Bank, Palmerston Road Branch. Ask us for Gift Aid forms and envelopes: warrington@fssp.org. Registered Charity number 1129964
Safeguarding:Children, teenagers and vulnerable adults must be accompanied or supervised at all times within the Shrine.If you have concerns, please contact the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Departmenton 0151 522 1043 or e-mail safeguarding@rcaol.co.uk, or speak with Clare Fraser, St Mary’s Safeguarding Officer. Thank you for your awareness.
Every last Saturday, 10:15am. Coordinator: Peter Boyle: p.boyle400@btinternet.com
Choir:Contact Fr Verrier for an audition if you would like to join our choir – including Junior choir.
To receive Holy Communion: one must be a Catholic, in state of grace, one-hour fasting at least. In the EF liturgy, Holy Communion is received kneeling (unless unable to) andalways on the tongue. Thank you in advance.
Did you know?St Mary’s Shrine costs £1,444/week to run and maintain.Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
A very greatThank Youto all of you who helped make last Holy Week a success through the liturgy, singing, cleaning, flowers, cooking, filming and also praying! See our pictures here:www.flickr.com/photos/138056205@N08/albums
Family Life International Conferenceon4thMay2019 at St Georges Cathedral, Southwark.
“Why be a Catholic: To be a True Disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” With Fr de Malleray, FSSP. Book now viahttps://www.familyandlife.co.uk/conference
Archdiocesan Synod:last 9thApril, St Mary’s was honoured to host a meeting focusing on the traditional liturgy and ministry, chaired by Fr Peter McGrail. The allocated 10 spaces were quickly filled by lay people and clergy from various parts of the Archdiocese.
Priory Campaign:We are pleased to announce that a purchase price and conditions have now been agreed for us to buy two units of Priory Court, subject to survey, while the third unit will remain available for us to buy within a year, once more funds are raised.
Full details will be advertised as soon as available.
We thank you for your past and continued prayers.
Banns of marriage:Mr Joshua Langley and Miss Samantha Fraser are to be united in Holy Matrimony at St Mary’s Shrine on Saturday 22ndJune. Please pray for the betrothed couple.
Adults curious to know more about Catholicism? Join our Saturday evening groupof catechism for adults: most Saturdays 6pm-7pm, with Fr Loewenstein. Contact: padrek@libero.it
Addicts:To all concerned, or in any way associated with addictions to drugs, alcohol: help is available with a very high success rate. Free. We meet at St Mary’s Warrington WA1 2NS every month, last Saturday at 1pm. Confidential phone contact: 07916578902.
The Happy Soaked Ten: despite a violent wind (5 broken umbrellas!) and thick rain, 10 adults, including your three clergy, stood along Mersey Street yesterday holding pro-life signs for the 3rdannualSilent pro-life witness(SPUC). Many motorists will have seen us on that busy Saturday afternoon. Few may have remembered that the Abortion Act had come into effect just 51 years earlier, on 27thApril 1968, with over 9 million babies killed since, not to mention the psychological and moral impact on the parents of each aborted child. Younger heroes are welcome to stand along with us next year, as Fr Verrier was the youngest of the happy band! We need the next generation to stand up for life: after all, any British below 51 years can be considered a survivor from the modern culture of death.
LondonMarch for LifeSat. 11thMay 2019: join our Young Adults. Book today onmarchforlife.co.uk.
Clergy Retreat13-17 May 2019, Douai Abbey, £333.00, with Fr de Malleray, FSSP. Already 10 clergy booked in. More spaces available. Please pray for last minutes bookings, to make the most of this rare opportunity.A generous layperson is offering to sponsor one diocesan Priest or deacon. Please contact us urgently if interested. Our quarterly magazineDowryis availableonlineand in print:https://fssp.co.uk/category/dowry/
Pentecost Pilgrimage to Chartres 7-11 June 2019. Your contact for St Mary’s and the North West: Conor Jones:conorjj79@gmail.com. Join our young (and less young) adults, with Fr Patrick O’Donohue, FSSP (based in Reading). Book early for LMS sponsorship. Contact: chartresuk.blogspot.com/
Summer Camps 2019 for childrenaged 10-13 & 14-17 in Macclesfield SK10 5RW:Boys 5-10 Aug;Girls 12-17 Aug. Contact priest: odonohue@fssp.org
Congratulationsto our children and families who performed the play ofTobit: the Secret of a Kinglast Wednesday. St Mary’s has got talents!
St. George,First Class Stations of the Cross for Priests 1pm
12:10pm
Ronald Hannah
Tue 30
St. Catherine of Siena
12:10pm
Patrick, Kirsty & Family
Wed 1
St. JosephFirst Class Mothers’ Prayer Group 1pm
12:10pm
6:00pm
7:00pm
Paula’s Baby
Joseph King Rosary for Persecuted Christians
Thu 2
St. Athanasius
12:10pm
Sarah Parkinson
Fri 3
Bl. James Bell: transferred from 20thApril Stations of the Cross after Mass
Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart & devotions
12:10pm
7:00 pm
Kate Gately RIP anniv
Maureen Taylor RIP
Sat 4
Holy English and Welsh Martyrs
12:10pm
Chris Barnard RIP
Sun 5
Second Sunday after Easter
11:00am
6:00 pm
Fr. Peter Sibert RIP
Freda Doggan RIP
Mon 6
Votive Mass for priestly Vocations Stations of the Cross for Priests after Mass
12:10 pm
Brenda Wilcox
Tue 7
St. Stanislaus
12:10pm
Mr & Mrs A. Jennings
Wed 8
Votive Requiem Mass Mothers’ Prayer Group 1pm
12:10pm
Lee Fitzgibbon
Thu 9
St. Gregory Nazianzen
12:10pm
Jean Howard RIP
Fri 9
St. Antoninus Stations of the Cross after Mass
12:10pm
Lucy Smith RIP
Sat 10
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Sts. Philip and James
10:00am
12.10pm
Pro-Life
Stephen & Carole Parkinson & Family
Sun 11
Third Sunday after Easter
11:00am
6:00pm
Cindy Carroll
Forgotten Holy Souls
Easter Ceremonies in Warrington
Clickhereto view a selection of pictures of Holy Week at St Mary’s Shrine.
Family Life International
Conference on 4th May 2019 at St Georges Cathedral, Southwark.
“Why be a Catholic: To be a True Disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”Click on image for further information
Getting Involved?
More volunteers are needed for the March for Life on Saturday 11th May (London). If you are interested in helping out on the day there are a variety of roles available. Please email info@marchforlife.co.uk for more information.
New Regina Caeli Academy UK Video
If you are thinking about homeschooling, but it seems too big a step, then take a look at this 3 minute video about the Regina Caeli Academy.
Other forthcoming events: Pentecost Pilgrimage to Chartres 7-11 June 2019.
Join Fr Patrick O’Donohue, FSSP. Book early for LMS sponsorship.
Contact: chartresuk.blogspot.com/
Becoming Saints in an Anti-Christian World
Douai Abbey, Berks, 19-21 July 2019
Weekend for young adults 18-35 with doctrinal and spiritual talks, debates, Holy Mass, Confessions and Eucharistic Adoration. Organised by Juventutem London. For details please contact juventutemldn@gmail.com or 07768 060068
FSSP Summer Camps 2019 for children aged 10 to 17 near Macclesfield.
Boys 5-10 Aug; Girls 12-17 Aug.
Please look at FSSP website or contact Fr O’Donohue: odonohue@fssp.org
A new colouring book for children
Parents please take note: A new colouring book is available, entitled The Joyful Meeting. It tells the story of Easter morning through the eyes of Mary. Amidst the beauty of the paschal garden, in the company of the mother of God, the reader is called to imagine what it must be like to draw close to the resurrected Jesus. Written by home ed’ Mum, Madeleine Carroll and illustrated by our parishioner, Michelle Pitt. Please click on the picture for further details.
Can you find an hour in your week to spend with Our Lord? This Friday evening (1st Friday devotions), at 7:40pm, Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration.
Also, every Saturday 10am-12noon.
Please come and adore Him.
Basing itself on scripture and tradition, Vatican II teaches that the Church is necessary for salvation since Christ, the one mediator and way of salvation, is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism (cf. Mk. 16:16; Jn. 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which is entered through baptism as through a door. Therefore, no one can be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, refuses either to enter it, or to remain in it. Church membership obliges us to respond in thought, word and deed to the grace and teachings of Christ. Lumen Gentium §14.
09:30 HOLY MASS at St George’s Cathedral 10:30 FR. ARMAND DE MALLERAY, FSSP on ‘Our Eucharistic Faith is key to evangelization’ 11:45 GABRIELE KUBY on ‘The Sexual Crisis of the Church – a reason to stay’ 13:00 LUNCH 13:55 THE WORK OF FAMILY LIFE INTERNATIONAL -2018 14:15 FR. LINUS CLOVIS on ‘A Church in Crisis – Why be Catholic?’ 15:30 PATRICK FAGAN on ‘Civilization’s Keystone: The Father-Son Bond’ 16:30 Q&A ALL SPEAKERS
FR ARMAND DE MALLERAY, FSSP REDISCOVERING OUR EUCHARISTIC FAITH IS KEY TO EVANGELIZATION Rediscovering our Eucharistic faith is key to evangelisation. The Sacred Host is God present among us, without Whom we can do nothing, let alone evangelise. The deeper our Eucharistic faith, the more fruitful our witness to the world. The Church grows from the Eucharistic Sacrifice, Presence and Communion. Committed Eucharistic adorers will foster lasting evangelisation.
GABRIELE KUBY THE SEXUAL CRISIS OF THE CHURCH – A REASON TO STAY “The gates of hell shall not prevail” against the church, not even the hell of sexual abuse. How did we get there? How do we get out? By inspiration, conversion and purification. The beautiful plan of God for man and woman, sex, marriage and family is the answer to the longing in every human heart.
FR. LINUS CLOVIS A CHURCH IN CRISIS – WHY BE CATHOLIC? A crisis is a moment of decision, a time of testing. That the Church is currently in a state of crisis is clear for all to see. The daily unfolding scandals of clerical sexual immorality from priests to cardinals, the financial chicanery enveloping the Vatican Bank, the institutional cover-ups, the shrinking congregations, the open opposition between bishops, the undermining of settled doctrine all point to a time of testing and of answering the question “Why be Catholic”.
PAT FAGAN, PH.D. CIVILIZATION’S KEYSTONE: THE FATHER-SON BOND Marxists gradually realized they could dismantle Western, Christian, Civilization from within by destroying the father of the intact married family — the “Patriarch”— through “sex gone wild”. The key to rebuilding is for each father to take charge of his sons’ formation in the fullness of sexuality.
G.K. CHESTERTON ONCE WROTE, “The difficulty in explaining ‘why I am a Catholic’ is that there are ten thousand reasons all amounting to one reason: that Catholicism is true.” Nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church to preserve the truth He gave us and hand it down through the centuries, helping people all around the world encounter the love of God in every age and in every corner of the earth. Over the years, there have been an untold number of questions and objections raised about the Catholic Church’s teachings and practices. The answers are there, and it’s worth your time to find them. As the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, “There are not even 100 people in this country who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they think the Catholic Church to be.” The Lord wants us all to know and understand His truth, so we can embrace it wholeheartedly and live by it. Christ reminds us, “The truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
Address of the St George’s Cathedral is on Lambeth RD, London
Easter Monday Gospel as illustrated by Caravaggio.
CARAVAGGIO’S SUPPER AT EMMAUS
Caravaggio gave two renditions of the Supper at Emmaus: the earlier one (1601, first picture left below) is in England at the London National Gallery; the later one (1606, second picture right below) is in Italy at the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan. This commentary by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP is about the latter painting. Click on this link to open best definition picture: https://pinacotecabrera.org/en/collezione-online/opere/supper-at-emmaus/.
KNOWLEDGE
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened”, we read of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis after their original sin (Gn 3:7). Many centuries later, at the end of his Gospel, Saint Luke uses the same words to announce the Resurrection of Jesus Christ to another couple, the two pilgrims of Emmaus: “Their eyes were opened” (Lk 24:31). In each one of these episodes then, a spiritual disclosure brings to a couple a specific understanding. Adam and Eve “realised that they were naked”; while the Emmaus pilgrims “recognised Him”. Equally, on both occasions, an item of food causes this enlightenment: the stolen apple of the serpent; the blessed bread of the Saviour.
Having lost Eden where everything was bathed in the divine light of innocence, our first parents opened their eyes to the darkness of sin. Conversely, on the day of the Resurrection, by sunset, the pilgrims of Emmaus open wide their eyes to the dawn of salvation when the risen Christ, true Sun of Justice, is revealed to them. Then is the hour of grace recovered.
Let us examine this latter episode. In the Paschal radiance of the divine Spouse, humanity awakes from the long slumber in which the Prince of this world – Satan – was holding it captive. Caravaggio’s painting displays this blessed instant as an irradiation.
His picture suggests a parallel between the two pilgrims of Emmaus and Adam and Eve. In a fascinating shortcut, discreet enough to avoid contrivance though, Caravaggio paints for us the history of humanity: from our original fall to our blessed restoration. Led by art, let us admire as in a mirror this painted reflection of our fallen ancestors in the persons of their offspring, along sinful millenaries until the day of our rising!
MIRROR
Thus, let us consider the first couple in our painting, standing at the top on the right. They are in all probability the innkeeper and his wife who, in the artist’s imagination, have welcomed these three pilgrims for the night. In this humble married couple, following the parallel drawn in the Bible, a spiritual reading of the painting reveals to us Adam and Eve, our first parents, whose fault led us into the darkness of sin. Here they are then, these pitiful innkeepers of all humanity: whose pride one day imprisoned sons and daughters and all descendants in a sad dwelling called “Downfall”.
Consequently, it is their offspring, ourselves, which the couple of “pilgrims” sitting at the ends of the table represents, punctuating our journey towards death with a few licks of obscure dishes, in the growing shadow of dusk. Of only one of the pilgrims do we know the identity: a man named “Cleopas”; this is the bearded person sitting on the right. The other pilgrim is turning his back to us, as if he were unaware of our presence. It is strange: why has the artist deliberately hidden the face of this second guest, whose surprised expression would after all have enriched the scene with a beautiful piece of painting? All the more so since, five years earlier, in a version of the same scene kept in London, Caravaggio had not hidden the face of the second pilgrim. But also, in that former version, the innkeeper was present without his wife: it is only in our painting that she appears.
The landlady’s face eclipses that of the pilgrim. If the second pilgrim’s identity, masculine in this case, is concealed here, would it not be in order to give it the same function of alter ego in relation to Cleopas as the hostess adopts in relation to the innkeeper, they who, as we have seen, represent Adam and Eve, the fallen couple?
The pilgrim pair, a couple saved by the Resurrection of Christ, reflects the previous couple as if through the mirror of Salvation. Adam lives anew in Cleopas, Eve in this anonymous guest, this vacant figure with which each observer, whether man, woman or child, can now identify, thus becoming an actor in the painting.
Actor, but of which part, do you say? That of partner in grace with every believing soul, united by intimate bonds through faith in Him Who has risen: “and they recognised Him” (Lk 24:31). Caravaggio offers us a striking confrontation between our first parents and their descendants. Now that the Redemption once promised if fulfilled, the original couple sees its heirs delivered of their guilt.
On either side of the Risen Lord then, are two couples. Set back on the right, the couple of Adam and Eve stands, depicted as innkeepers. In the foreground, the pilgrims are seated: the first couple to witness the victory of the Messiah which had been announced to their sinful forefathers.
INKEEPERS
From its dark abode, this ancient couple now emerges. Their heads are leaning towards each other, symmetrical in relation to the column of darkness rising up from the head of Cleopas. But they are not looking at each other: shame binds them together, rather than tender affection. They represent the two sides, masculine and feminine, of the one fallen humanity. Each like a reflection of the other, their faces exude the bitterness and tedium of having until this moment waited in limbo for this Salvation at which their offspring, sitting in front of them, suddenly marvel.
They are weary. The same wrinkles line their humourless, youthless foreheads. The same soiled caps conceal their dark hair. Their twin faces are three-quarters revealed, the left ear uncovered, the right cheek and forehead in profile emerging from a neckline of dull hemp under the beige sackcloth of the jacket or apron. Their look is emotionless or even defiant with regard to the sign performed beneath their eyes. They seem too deep in loneliness to show any interest. Their apathy is the final result of the sad seclusion from which the Resurrection comes to lift them.
In the dish that she is holding out, Eve is carrying, as though in acknowledgement, the rib from which she was formed. Adam’s unbuttoned stomach echoes this Caravaggian pun, as if the stitches across his scarred abdomen had burst to remind us that out of her husband’s side, Eve had once been fashioned (cf Gen 2:22). This couple thus shows the mark of its origin: they remember the happy days before their guilt, the time of their unblemished love for their Creator, the joy of their complete submission to the will of God – all ruined, through their own fault.
HEIRS
Their heirs on the other hand, these two pilgrims at table, form a wholly spiritual couple whose root is grace, not nature. In the newborn Church, the mystical union of the members is more profoundly fertile than mere conjugal complementarity. Men and women, rich and poor, Jews and Greek – all are bound together in the risen Christ, Who guarantees to these pilgrims a different progeny, freed from the constraints of the flesh, begotten as it is of apostolic zeal and brotherly love. They represent an embryo of the primitive “company of believers […in which] there was one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32).
We see them sitting, facing one another. Their hands mark out a perfect square on the two sides of the table. They are not looking at each other anymore than the landlord couple are. But unlike those shamefaced old people, they commune in the contemplation of the Unique Object – this God whom they believed to be dead! Their common clothing expresses their spiritual proximity: they are both bare-headed and are both wearing a tunic under a beige cloak draped over their left shoulder, falling diagonally across their chest.
HANDS
Finally, the different positions of their hands recall those of their first parents Adam and Eve, symbolised by the innkeeper (for Cleopas) and by the landlady (for the faceless pilgrim). Cleopas’ hands reproduce the posture of his counterpart, the innkeeper: pointing downwards, clasping the table, like the landlord with his arms down and his hands holding his belt. By contrast, the landlady’s hands (on which the dish is placed) are opened upwards like the wide-open hands of the stranger which seem to rise up above the table.
Significantly, Christ ensures the transition between the pilgrims’ hands by the juxtaposition of His left hand, turned downwards and resting on the table like that of Cleopas (except that it is only bent, not clenched) – and of His right hand rising up above the table like the hand of the faceless pilgrim, although the fingers are less open and not yet spread.
Thus, starting with the left hand of Cleopas, then passing via his right hand and then via the hands of Jesus and of the anonymous pilgrim, we move through a spiral taking us up in a circle from the table. Through His central position and the intermediate posture of His hands, neither clenched nor surprised, Christ revives for the pilgrims’ couple the cohesion and dynamism which the innkeepers’ couple had lost.
COMMUNION
Moreover, this spiral is balanced by three objects (edible) which occupy the centre of each pair of hands: the pitcher of wine for Cleopas (behind which we can see a half-filled glass), the broken loaf for Christ, and the full loaf for the anonymous pilgrim. The hands of Adam and Eve are positioned on the painting to frame the two elements of their shared origin according to the flesh, namely, Adam’s unstitched abdomen and Eve’s rib. Similarly, Cleopas and his fellow pilgrim present respectively the wine and the bread as the two originating species of their spiritual reunion.
These symbols express a reciprocity which establishes each of the couples in its relationship. Thus, Adam’s unbuttoned ‘wound’ refers to Eve’s origin, and Eve’s rib evokes Adam’s side. Similarly, the bread and the wine evoke each other – through the Eucharistic connotation of the blessing pronounced by Christ.
Let us remember the context in which these separate observations spontaneously occur: man, his fall, his redemption. The community of origin of the first human couple was marked in the flesh: the wound, the rib. God guaranteed it, He Who had created it. Thus, man having separated himself from God through sin, became at the same time divided: his spouse was no longer the flesh of his flesh, his other self, but rather the humiliating object of his concupiscence. What affliction, as expressed in the dejected faces of the innkeeper and his wife! Conversely, in returning to God through the merits of Christ, man comes back to himself. Other human beings become his fellow-men again and his neighbours. Having at last left this distant country, the land of discord, they return to grace, their homeland.
AMBASSADORS
From that moment, see the dynamic and joyful unity gathering the two pilgrims: their sad flight, their desertion from Jerusalem are forgotten – through the gift of Faith, Christ makes them members of the one Body onto which grace looks to graft all men. Here, the lost unity of the first couple is sumptuously restored; indeed it is augmented by the diversity of the people who will be gathered together within this mystical Body of Christ, which is the universal Church.
On the table-cloth, a discreet line of demarcation winds between faded and flowering lilies: like a symbol of another boundary now crossed, this Passover through which Adam and Eve, pallid skeletons of humanity until recently still fallen, are reborn for the glory of the Redemption of which our two pilgrims are the first couple to be informed.
Outside, a Light, through an invisible door open on the left of the painting, is calling them. Faith galvanises them: they get up in haste – no more will they sleep! Jesus leaves this gloomy lodging only in order to embrace them better in the witness they die to bear to Him on every road and before any tribunal: He is alive! □
Notre-Dame collapses in fire at the beginning of Holy Week.
Although the fire may be accidental, this looks like a symbol of our times of Catholic apostasy and Christian persecution. The flames destroying this Gothic jewel figure the culpable ‘amnesia’ of our Western elites, sabotaging the Christian legacy of Europe and further afield.
Let us pray that all may realise what the civilised world owes to the centuries of Christendom past. Let all tourists fall on their knees and become pilgrims or, more fittingly, penitents with us as Our Lord is about to die for all sinners in but four days, on Good Friday. Through pictures online, let all children for whom Notre-Dame only evoked a Disney cartoon be taught the splendour of the Truth once displayed on the divine stained glass windows, now probably lost forever.
The French Revolution had suppressed Catholic worship and turned Notre-Dame into a ‘temple to the goddess Reason’, whose part was played by a prostitute standing on the altar. Through God’s mercy and after many martyrs, Paris’ glorious cathedral was given back to the true worship of the true God, Jesus Christ. Let us beg God for the same grace to be granted us before long, not only in Notre-Dame, but all across our former Christian countries, and the world over.
As an encouragement, take a look (and pray) at the pictures of last year’s Pilgrimage of Christendom, starting from Notre-Dame every Eve of Pentecost: http://www.nd-chretiente.com/index-eng.php…
FSSP
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