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

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) S ursum 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) 

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 Hi...

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.

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 e...

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

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.

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.

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...

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 o...

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

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 ...

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.

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.

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 ...

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; t...

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 ...

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.