Let the Sun shine!

It has been raining off and on for a while now here in Christchurch, but today, with a break in the weather a few brothers made the most of the opportunity to take a walk in the beautiful countryside. The walk is called "Kennedy's Bush" and is just south of the city centre.

 Br Paul in the distance and Br Xavier

 The view to the East

 Br Xavier hardly visible in the long bush

 View to the West

 Amongst the tall flax

 Br Paul enjoying the shade of forest path

 Explanatory notice about the Sign of the Bellbird

 Just over the other side of our destination,

Lyttleton seen on the left

 A Bellbird feeding on the flax on the path side

Young calves along the way

O Holy Night!

Our candle-light Christmas Midnight Mass on Stronsay.

Dominus dixit ad me: filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te.

The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. (Ps. 2:7)

Sursum corda!

...and falling down they adored Him. (Matt. 2:11)

Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you. (Jn. 6:54) 

Favour received from the Bonnie Prince.

Kelly reports this favour from The Bonnie Prince:

Victoria is a little three year old girl who was born blind.

She lives in the united States. 

The endearing child who suffers much 

has  never been able to eat food normally. 

She awaits brain surgery at the Dukes Hospital. 

Of late Victoria lay for three days 

suffering from a high fever. 

Kelly, a friend of Victoria's mother 

and who is devoted to the Bonnie Prince, 

upon hearing of the fever invoked the Prince's assistance

 for little Victoria. 

Kelly took her image of the Bonnie Prince 

and with it touched it to the photo of Victoria

 that she had on her computer screen.

Her prayer was heard. 

Less than five minutes later,

the fever left her 

Victoria's temperature had dropped to normal.

 Public Thanksgiving is offered to the Bonnie Prince:

I praise Him most, I love Him best,

All praise and love is His;

While Him I love, in Him I live

And cannot love amiss. ...

Alas, He weeps, He sighs, He pants!

Yet do His angels sing;

Out of His tears, His sighs and throbs

Doth bud a joyful spring.

O Bonnie Prince whose tender arms

Can force all foes to fly,

Correct my faults, protect my life,

Direct me when I die. 

[Hymn in honour of The Bonnie Prince]

Some other fevers Our Lord did cure:

And Simon' s wife' s mother lay in a fit of a fever: and forthwith they tell him of her.  And coming to her, he lifted her up, taking her by the hand; and immediately the fever left her... (Mark 1:30-31)

He asked therefore of them the hour wherein he grew better. And they said to him: Yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him. The father therefore knew, that it was at the same hour that Jesus said to him, Thy son liveth; and himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judea into Galilee. (John 4:52)

Rejoice!

Gaudate Sunday falls on the third Sunday of Advent.  It takes its name from the first word of the Introit.

"Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete. Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus: Dominus enim prope est. Nihil solliciti sitis: sed in omni oratione petitiones vestræ innotescant apud Deum." Phil. 4:4-6

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice.  Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh.  Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God."

Gaudete Sunday is the counterpart to Lætare Sunday in Lent.  Falling as it does at the half-way-point of Advent, the penitential season of expectation leading up to Christmas, Gaudate Sunday provides a moment of relief from the austerities of the fast, thus the liturgical colour of rose replaces the penitential violet.

Rorate Coeli Desuper et Nubes Pluant Justum

The Rorate Mass is a special Advent devotion in honour of Our Blessed Lady and is especially traditional in Germany and Poland.  The title of this devotion is taken from the first word of the Introit for the Mass of Our Lady during Advent which is itself taken from the words of Isaiah the Prophet (see below).

 The Rorate Mass is traditionally celebrated by candlelight. Today, the Saturday of the second week of Advent, we celebrated a Rorate Mass on Stronsay.

Before Holy Mass.

 Rorate, caeli, desuper, et nubes pluant justum; aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem.  Isa. 45:8

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened, and bud forth a saviour.

 "For which cause God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above all names: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth." Phil. 2:10

Calendar OUT NOW!

The 2014 Papa Stronsay Calendar is OUT NOW! Packed full of beautiful and diverse images, daily liturgical calendar, major anniversaries and so much more. A fantastic addition to any home, office, or anywhere else!

ORDER YOUR COPY NOW HERE: tinyurl.com/papastronsay

A Perfect Storm

5th December 2013 saw an impressive storm hit large parts of the UK.  Here is how it looked on Stronsay, the island next door to Papa Stronsay.  Gusts were estimated at up to 80 mph, causing flooding in the village of Whitehall.

It's all in the detail

One of the many details found on the image of The Bonnie Prince is His brooch.  He is pictured wearing the Hunterston Brooch. The Hunterston Brooch is an ancient Scottish brooch dating from about the year 700 A.D. It is dated by its artistic similarity to the Lindisfarne Gospels.  You can click the images below to enlarge them.

Homage to the King of kings, the Bonnie Prince.

The holy image of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

 King of kings, 

set in Scotland, 

under the title of 
The Bonnie Prince.  

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings,

under the title of 

The Bonnie Prince 

blesses you from the Stone of Destiny, 

the crowning place of kings.

As your Infant King He seeks to win your heart to Himself. 

Look upon His wounded Hands and little Feet. 

Behold His Heart that has loved you so much. 

Stand beneath His banner, 

worship Him as God and do Him homage. 

By Homage you declare that: He is your Lord; 

you are His servant and friend; 

and you promise to remain with Him 

in loyalty, love and perpetual fidelity.

The permission to depict the Bonnie Prince in the Royal Stuart tartan was graciously accorded to us by the Earl of Moray.

The image depicts the Royal Child emerging from the darkness, the mystery and the mist of the Highlands in all His beauty.  The Christ Child wears the Royal Stuart Tartan, and on His head is the crown of Scotland.  He sits on the coronation stone (The Stone of Scone) which was used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland.  His hand is raised in blessing and as in the style of the Most Holy Redeemer, He holds the Cross on His left side.  His Sacred Heart is visible - the high point of the manifestation of His Kingship.  He bears the marks of His crucifixion.  Around Him are the Highlands of Scotland known for its grey skies and mist, and towards the edge of the painting the Royal Scottish Standard is visible. 

The Image, the title The Bonnie Prince and 

the Hymn to the Bonnie Prince 

were canonically approved by the Bishop of Aberdeen
on 13 May, 2013. 

Hymn to the Bonnie Prince

(Tune:  Auld Lang Syne –Robert Burns)

1. Let folly praise that fancy loves,

    I praise and love that Child

Whose heart no thought, whose tongue no word,

    Whose hand no deed defiled.

I praise Him most, I love Him best,

    All praise and love is His;

While Him I love, in Him I live,

    And cannot live amiss.

2. Love's sweetest mark, land's highest theme,

    Man's most desired light,

To love Him life, to leave Him death,

    To live in Him delight.

He mine by gift, I His by debt,

    Thus each to other due,

First Friend He was, best Friend He is,

    All times will try Him true.

3. Though young yet wise, though small yet strong,

    Thou man yet God He is;

As wise He knows, as strong He can,

    As God He loves to bless:

His knowledge rules, His strength defends,

    His love doth cherish all;

His birth our joy, His life our light,

    His death our end of thrall.

4. Alas, He weeps, He sighs, He pants!

    Yet do His angels sing;

Out of His tears, His sighs and throbs,

    Doth bud a joyful spring.

O Bonnie Prince, whose tender arms   

    Can force all foes to fly,

Correct my faults, protect my life,

    Direct me when I die.

[Slight adaptation of the hymn: Let Folly Praise What Fancy Loves

by St Robert Southwell, S.J. martyred at Tyburn, 21 February, 1595.]

We have a Facebook page dedicated to The Bonnie Prince.

Images of The Bonnie Prince
are available for distribution by writing to:
The Bonnie Prince
Golgotha Monastery Island
Papa Stronsay, KW17 2AR
Orkney, Scotland.

Cards are in the following sizes:
A7 A5 A4

How can I keep from Singing?

One of my happiest mornings was spent in 2008 in St Cecilia in Trastevere, built upon the remains of the house of St Cecilia. Time spent in the crypt of this Roman church is truly an extraordinary experience, as it is left almost as the saint would have known it, the large grain pits near which she was imprisoned, the shrine even to Minerva set there by her pagan relatives. Most wonderful was to be favoured with the key to the gated, almost ciborium like, golden chapel under the high altar where one can see the sarcophagi of the Saint, with that of her chaste husband St Valerian, through a stone lattice. I had read the wonderful account of the finding in the 1500s of her incorrupt relics, still stretched downwards as she had fallen, the blood still fresh in the wounds on her neck, and this more than a thousand years after her death. As nobody dared to touch them in this wonderful state, to this day we have no idea of what her face looked like and that is why the famous statues of her, carved by one who had seen the miracle, never show her face directly, she is always stretched downwards. There, close to her shrine, all of this came alive in my mind.

The famous phrase associated with the holy martyr we celebrate today is "singing to God in her heart", it is what holy tradition tells us she did in the direst moment of her life, and it is considered in some way why she is the patroness of musicians. I know this is a little different, and I know the words to this song, which first appeared in 1868 of unknown origin, have been somewhat de-Christianised in this more modern version, but none-the-less they fit St Cecilia very well and raise one’s heart and mind to remember a holy and innocent one, who will surely protect us in our direst needs if we call upon her intercession, singing in our own hearts.

Br Nicodemus Mary, F.SS.R.

"My life goes on in endless song, above earth's lamentations, I hear the real, though far-off hymn, that hails a new creation. Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear its music ringing, it sounds an echo in my soul... how can I keep from singing? 

"While though the tempest loudly roars, I hear the Truth, It liveth. And though the darkness 'round me close, songs in the night it giveth. No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that Rock I'm clinging. Since Love is Lord of Heaven and earth... how can I keep from singing? 

"When tyrants tremble in their fear and hear their death knell ringing; when friends rejoice both far and near... how can I keep from singing? In prison cell and dungeon vile our thoughts to them are winging; when friends by shame are undefiled... how can I keep from singing?" 

Notice to Friends

Until the end of February when the weather is bad or westerly, 

it is not possible to moor the monastery boat
at our Papa Stronsay pier. 

 For the next three months 

I am looking for a friend of the monastery who would 

moor the boat at Whitehall Stronsay during bad weather 

and oversee it at the pier;

 then during breaks in the weather,
return the boat to Papa Stronsay.

Could any interested friend please contact me.

Fr. Michael Mary, F.SS.R.

Contact address: contact@the-sons.org

The Pronouncing of Vows

On the feast of the dedication of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour, 9th November, we had the great joy of witnessing Br Peter pronouncing his temporary vows.  This date is of special significance since it marks the 281st anniversary of Saint Alphonsus founding the Redemptorists.

Brother pronounced his vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience for a period of three years, taking the religious name: Brother Peter Mary of the Listening Heart of Jesus, F.SS.R.

Br Peter, a native of Montana, USA, kneels before the Altar during the beginning of the ceremony.

 Representing death to the world and the things of the world, Brother is covered with the funeral pall.

 Brother is questioned by the Rector Major:
What do you ask?

Reverend Father, having finished the time of my probation,

I desire to consecrate myself to Jesus Christ

and to enter this Congregation...

 Then, in the presence of his Saviour and Judge, Brother says the great words:

...Therefore, having spent several days of reflection and prayer, now, in the presence of Thy Divine Majesty, of Mary most Holy and Immaculate, my Mistress and Mother, of Saint Joseph, Saint Alphonsus and the whole Court of Heaven,, prostrate on my knees, I promise and vow for three years: OBEDIENCE CHASTITY and POVERTY...

Receiving the monastic pallium.

Brother Peter Mary signs the certificate of profession upon the altar, of great mystical symbolism as by his vows he begins the sacrifice of his life to Our Lord.

 Brother Peter Mary with some of his confrères.

Happily both brother's father and mother made it to Papa Stronsay all the way from America to be with him on his great day!

We wish for Brother every grace and happiness, but especially that grace of perseverance.

Sweet Mother Mary, pray for him and obtain him this grace,

for it is thy special charge to do so. 

Aberdeen Mass time Correction

Just a quick post to correct the previously announced time for the upcoming Mass in Aberdeen.  The Date is in fact the SATURDAY 16th NOVEMBER, at 11:00 am.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Traditional Mass Celebrated in Aberdeen

On Saturday 19th of October, we had the pleasure of celebrating the first official Traditional Mass on the Aberdeen diocese mainland in recent years.  The Mass was celebrated by Very Rev Fr. Michael Mary, F.SS.R. in the chapel of Blairs College (St Mary's College) in Aberdeen.  The college was a junior seminary from 1829 to 1986.  The college chapel is very beautiful and provides a wonderful venue for the Traditional Mass.

Preaching on the Three Hail Marys.

Yesterday's Feast of Christ the King

The Feast of Christ the King gives us an occasion to honour Our Lord as Our Sovereign and to consider the aspects and grandeur of His Royalty.  Jesus is often spoken of as ‘King of Love’ and with special reference to His Sacramental presence on our altars.  Whosoever would have an audience with the King of kings and the Lord of lords, must simply visit a church in which the Blessed Sacrament is reserved.  But it is not only from our churches that Christ wishes to reign as King.  In giving answer to Pontius Pilot, who inquired of Him concerning His Kingship, Jesus said that His Kingdom was not of this world.  No, far from it and indeed He is far above the petty dignities of a merely earthly dominion, to which there is always an end.  But Christ’s Kingdom is God’s Kingdom and of this Kingdom there is no end.  While Christ’s Kingdom is not earthly, He is nevertheless Ruler of the entire universe.  He sits at God’s right hand and all heaven worships Him and all creatures bow to His Name.  O glorious King!  O happy lot of all who share in His eternal dominion!

Considering the purely spiritual aspect of Christ’s Kingdom, we may say that it is located in the souls of the just.  The kingdom of God is within us and it is from our minds and hearts that Christ wishes to reign.  He is given the chance to do this when we keep His commandments and do the will of His Father.  He is King in pure souls, where His grace abounds and they are His most faithful subjects, His dearest children and His closest friends.  To honour and imitate the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the best way to honour His Majesty and to prepare the way for His Kingdom within us.  We must love God and love our neighbour.  Love is learned by loving and if we have charity and peace of conscience, we have God living and reigning within us.  ‘If any man shall love Me,’ says the Lord, ‘he will keep My word, and We will come to him and will make Our abode with him.’  John 14. 23.

Something to lift your spirits!

Perhaps many of you have already heard about this, but it has only just come to my attention.  Back on the 24th of September, extracts of a letter from Pope Emeritus Benedict to an Italian atheist mathematician, Piergiorgio Odifreddi, were published in the Italian newspaper, La Republica.  The letter was a response to Odifreddi's 2011 book entitled Dear Pope, I am writing you, which was itself a reply to Benedict's book, Introduction to Christianity.

It is really wonderful and edifying to read such a clear and precise defence of the Faith against the attacks of of an atheist. What has been published is only extracts of what must be quite a long letter.  I would very much like to see the whole thing!

Thank you very much to Fr Gashwin Gomes for making this translation and for making it available on HIS BLOG.

Respected Professor Odifreddi, (…) I would like to thank you for engaging with my book in such detail, and so also, with my faith; this is precisely what I had intended to do, for the large part, in my discourse to the Roman Curia in the Christmas of 2009. I must also thank you for the fair treatment you have given my text, seeking sincerely to do it justice. 

My judgment concerning your book, on the whole is, however, in itself rather mixed. I have read some parts of it with enjoyment and profit. In other parts, instead, I marveled at a certain aggressiveness and recklessness of argumentation. (…) 

Many times it [your text] pointed out to me that theology would be science fiction. In this respect, I marveled that you still considered my book worth of such a detailed discussion. Please permit to propose with respect to such questions, four points. 

It is correct to affirm that only mathematics is “science” in the narrowest sense of the word; and meanwhile I have learned from you that even here one must distinguish again between arithmetic and geometry. In all specific subjects, in any case, the scientific character [la scientificità] has its own form according to the uniqueness of its object. What is essential is that one applies a verifiable method, excludes arbitrariness, and ensures rationality in each of their different modalities. 

One should at least acknowledge that in the area of history, as well as that of philosophy, theology has produced lasting results. 

An important function of theology is that of keeping religion linked to reason, and reason, to religion. Both these functions are of essential importance to humanity. In my dialogue with Habermas, I have shown that there exist pathologies of religion and – not less dangerous – pathologies of reason. Each has a need of the other, and to keep them continually connected is one of the tasks of theology. 

Science fiction exists, on the other hand, in the ambit of many sciences. That which you explain about theories concerning the beginning and the end of the world in Heisenberg, Schrödinger, etc., I would designate as science fiction in the good sense of that phrase: they are visions and anticipations, in order to reach a true knowledge, but they are also, precisely, only imaginations with which we seek to come close to reality. There indeed exists, science fiction in a grand style, for instance, within the theory of evolution. The “selfish gene” of Richard Dawkins is a classic example of science fiction. The great Jacques Monod wrote some sentences that he himself has certainly inserted in his work only as science fiction. I quote, “The emergence of tetrapod vertebrates ... draws its origin from the fact that a primitive fish ‘chose’ to go and explore the land, on which, however, it was unable to move except by jumping clumsily and thus creating, as a result of a modification of behavior, the selective pressure due to which the sturdy limbs of tetrapods would develop. Some of the descendants of this bold explorer, this Magellan of evolution, can run at a speed of 70 miles per hour ... " (“Chance and Necessity.” Italian edition. Milan 2001. p. 117.)

In all the subjects we have discussed so far, one is dealing with a serious dialogue, for which I – as I have already said repeatedly – am grateful. Things are different in the chapter about the priesthood and Catholic morality, and even more different in the chapters about Jesus. With respect to what you say about the moral abuse (sic) of minors by priests, I  – as you know – take note only with deep concern. I have never tried to conceal these things. That the power of evil penetrates to such an extent in the interior world of faith is for us a suffering which, on one hand, we have to endure, and on the other, we must, at the same time, do everything possible so that cases of this type are not repeated. Nor is it at all any source of comfort to know that, according to the research of sociologists, the percentage of priests guilty of these crimes is not higher than those present in other similar professional categories. In any case, one must not ostentatiously (sic) present this deviation as if it were a filth specific to Catholicism. 

If it is not licit to keep silent about evil in the Church, one should not also, however, keep silent about the great wake of goodness and purity that the Christian faith has carried [tracciato, tracked] down the centuries. One needs only remember the great and pure figures the faith has produced – from Benedict of Nursia and his sister, Scholastica, to Francis and Clare, to Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, and the great saints of charity such as Vincent de Paul and Camillus de Lellis, all the way to Mother Theresa of Calcutta, and the great and noble figures of 19th century Turin. And it is true even today that the faith pushes many persons to love disinterestedly, to the service for others, to sincerity and to justice. (…) 

What you say about Jesus is not worthy of your rank as a scientist. If you pose the question whether, in the end, we know nothing of Jesus as a historical figure, that there is nothing ascertainable, then I can only invite you to become a little more competent from a historical point of view. I recommend to you for this, above all, the four volumes that Martin Hengel (exegete of the Protestant Theological Faculty of Tübingen) has published with Maria Schwemer: it is an excellent example historic precision and of the widest historical information. In light of this, what you say about Jesus is reckless speech which must not be repeated. That in exegesis there have also been written many things with a lack of seriousness is, of course, incontestable. The American seminary you cite on p. 105 (and ff.) concerning Jesus, only confirms once again what Albert Schweizer had noted with respect to the Leben-Jesu-Forschung (The Quest for the Life of Jesus), and that is that the so-called “Historical Jesus” is no more than a mirror of the ideas of the authors. Such forms of botched historical works, however, do not compromise the importance of serious historical research, which has led us to true and reliable knowledge about the proclamation and figure of Jesus. 

(…) I have also to forcefully reject your claim (p. 126), that I have presented historical-critical exegesis as a tool of the Antichrist. In treating the story of Jesus’ temptations, I have only taken Soloviev’s thesis, according to which the historical-critical method can also be used by the Antichrist – a fact which is indisputable. At the same time, however - and particularly in the preface to the first volume of my book on Jesus of Nazareth - I explained clearly that historical-critical exegesis is necessary for a faith that does not propose myths with historical images, but calls for a genuine historicity and therefore must present the historical reality of its claims in a scientific manner. For this reason, it is not even correct that you tell me I would be interested only in metahistory: on the contrary, all my efforts aim to show that the Jesus described in the Gospels is also the real historical Jesus; that they deal with a story [storia] that actually took place. (…) 

With the 19th chapter of your book, we turn back to the positive aspects of your dialogue with my thinking. (…) Even if your interpretation of John 1:1 is very far from what the evangelist intended to say, there exists, still, a convergence that is important. If you, however, want to replace God with “Nature,” the question remains as to who or what this nature is. Nowhere do you define it, and thus it appears as an irrational deity who explains nothing. I would like, however, to note further that in your religion of mathematics, three fundamental themes of human existence are not considered: freedom, love and evil. I marvel that you, with one nod, liquidate freedom, which has been, and remains, the core value of the modern epoch. Love does not appear in your book, and there is no information concerning evil. Whatever neurobiology might say or not say concerning freedom, in the real drama of our history [storia], it is present as a determining reality and must be taken into consideration. However, your religion of mathematics has no information concerning evil. A religion that omits these fundamental questions, remains empty. 

Most respected Professor, my critique of your book is, in parts, harsh. But frankness is a part of dialogue; only thus can knowledge grow. You have been very frank, and therefore you will accept that I will also be. In any case, however, I value very much the fact that you, through your engagement with my “Introduction to Christianity,” have sought such an open dialogue with the faith of the Catholic Church and, notwithstanding all the disagreements in the main part, convergences have also not been missing.  

With cordial greetings and every good wish for your work ... 

Pope Emeritus Benedict continues to feed the faithful and the stray sheep alike.

Godly Kings of the Past

Last Sunday was the feast of St Michael the Archangel, traditionally called Michaelmas.  In the secular, anti-religious society in which we live today, it is easy to forget the Catholic times in which our forefathers dwelt.

King Æthelred II of England reigned from 18th March 978 until 23rd April 1016.

 A Gold coin struck during Æthelred's reign shows the King wearing his armour.

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in the year A.D. 1014, King Æthelred enacted the following law:

"That every Christian who is of age, fast three days on bread and water, and raw herbs before the feast of St Michael, and let every man go to Confession and to church barefoot. Let every priest with his people go in procession three days barefoot, and let everyone’s commons for three days be prepared without anything of flesh, as if they themselves were to eat it, both in meat and in drink, and let all this be distributed to the poor. Let every servant be excused labour these three days that he may better perform his fast or let him work what he will for himself. These be the three days, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next before the feast of St Michael. If any servant break his fast let him make satisfaction with his hide (bodily stripes), let the poor free man pay thirty pence, the king’s thane 130 shillings; and let the money be divided to the poor."

King Æthelred II upon his throne.

If only the rulers of our times were so concerned for the things of God!

Fr Yousef Marie in Sydney

Last Sunday Fr Yousef Marie, F.SS.R. celebrated Holy Mass in the Church of the Fraternity of Saint Peter in Lewisham, Sydney Australia.

The choir at Maternal Heart of Mary church are really rather good.  Here is an example of them singing the Corsican version of the Tantum Ergo sung during Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.