Allelúja, allelúja.
Ascéndit Deus in jubilatióne, et Dóminus in voce tubæ.
Allelúja.
Ascéndit Deus in jubilatióne, et Dóminus in voce tubæ.
Allelúja.
I enjoyed the Extraordinary Form at great distance from my home this evening. A very
good Missa Cantata, including the most hilarious carry on with trying
to extinguish the Paschal Candle after the Gospel. A particularly gangly
teenage server ended up having to stand on a stool.
But may we all please have Ascension Day back on this, the day that it says in the Bible? The day on which the Holy Father keeps it, and would never dream of doing otherwise. The day on which, for pity's sake, the Church of England and the Methodist Church still keep it, and would never dream of doing otherwise.
But may we all please have Ascension Day back on this, the day that it says in the Bible? The day on which the Holy Father keeps it, and would never dream of doing otherwise. The day on which, for pity's sake, the Church of England and the Methodist Church still keep it, and would never dream of doing otherwise.
The same goes for the Epiphany, and for Corpus Christi.
All right, so the English and Welsh Bishops were annoyed when Benedict XVI was elected. But he turned out to be rather good for them, when he came here. In any case, he is no longer in office. This rather petulant little gesture needs to be reversed immediately.
You must know by now that the English bishops care naught for what anyone in Rome does or says: not even the Pope, whether it be Benedict or John Paul II. For years, to use a phrase from your favourite prime minister’s press secretary, they have been 'semi-detached' from the rest of the universal Church. When Pope John Paul II and all the heads of the major dicasteries issued their document on the proper role of the laity, Cardinal Hume declared that it didn’t apply in England and Wales. And there is the case of the English bishop who said that anything he gets from Rome he throws in the bottom drawer. It is one thing to dismiss the authority of the Bishop of Rome but, I suppose, if one gets away with it without any retribution then it is just another step to dismiss the authority of Jesus Christ and the New Testament in converting forty days into forty three for their own convenience.
ReplyDeleteWhatever next? Christmas Day moved to the nearest Sunday? There is one gleam of hope in that recent episcopal appointments have been excellent. The new nuncio seems to be acting in the best interests of the faithful and not in perpetuating the 'old boys' club which has been such a feature of previous appointments.
Of, course, it must be said in all fairness that Protestants only ever celebrate the Ascension precisely 40 days after Easter, as does the entire separated East.
ReplyDelete