Keep Christ in Christmas says TV Star

For fans of Duck Dynasty. This gent is also very pro life. 

A Merry Latin and Celtic Christmas

Atheists at Christmas

If you visit Catholic Memes you can create your own.

This is one I did earlier.

Nadolig Llawen: Christ the Child, Christ the King

A very Merry and Holy Christmas to all readers. Nadolig Llawen pawb.

I hope you have all had a wonderful time. With Mass, Christmas dinner and yes even pressies today has been wonderful. I do love Christmas, and the amazing fact of the Incarnation.

Today I was lucky enough to receive a wonderful present, a Pieta statue (pictured here) which came from Walsingham. It might seem strange at Christmas, but it is prescient indeed to recall, whilst we marvel at the birth of the Christ child and the all-consuming joy his Blessed Mother must have felt, that Our Lord was born to go through His Passion and His Mother would witness these awful events.

Our Lord's Incarnation brought joy to the world for those "men of goodwill" (who enjoy God's favour), but this would soon be followed by the massacre of the Holy Innocents, just as the entry into Jerusalem would be followed by the Crucifixion.

God's works of mercy are so often undermined by the machinations of evil men. Just as in this very day and age we have been given the means to peace and wellbeing via Holy Mother Church's guidance on Just War, the Common Good, Social Teaching, Morality and the Family -- yet evil men deliberately undermine all these means to establish peace on earth (under the Social Kingship of Christ) for their own greed.

We Catholics should pray - and act - to establish the Kingship of Christ in our own countries. Our Lord should not be shut up in our churches, nor reduced to visiting hours on Sundays.

I used to say that Hark the Herald Angels Sing was my favourite carol, but I've recently 'fallen head over heels' for O Holy Night. I think it encapsulates everything about Christmas, not least how we should adore, worship, glorify, love and get lost in the majesty and humility of the Christ child.

"Fall on your knees!" Indeed.

So here is a clip of the Scottish Catholic singer, Susan Boyle, singing this most wonderful carol:

Adeste Fideles

Why Do So Many Think They Know Better Than God Himself?

I should start this blog entry with an apology to any theologians or priests looking in, for I am neither, just a bog standard Welsh Catholic with a Comprehensive education, so if I mix my metaphors or fumble the ball a little, please do bear with me.

I love Advent. I love this time, with the approaching of Christmas, the preparation, the hymns, carols, the excitement - almost as much (sometimes more than) the great Feast itself!

The thought of the Nativity story, the Incarnation of the Word, God made man, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ... it can make one dizzy in anticipation.

When one analyses this simple fact of the Incarnation of God one realises that far from being the simple matter of a baby in a crib, we are dealing with a fathomless mystery and equally amazing example of the fathomless nature of God's Grace.

As we Catholics say the Hail Mary we repeat those wondrous words pronounced to the Mother of God:

Hail Mary the Lord is with Thee,
Blessed art Thou amongst women and Blessed is the fruit of Thy womb.

After Her total submission to the Will of God, something each of us strives towards in our lives (often failing dismally), she was made the Ark of the Covenant. The Incarnation of God was made possible by the total submission of Our Lady to the Will of God. The Handmaiden of the Lord became our Co-Redemptrix, surely one of the reasons for Satan's prideful rebellion, that a mortal woman by raised higher in Heaven than the Hosts of Angels, as their (and our) Queen.

And this brings me to an issue that came up in conversation with our local priest on the issue of the Church, Confession etc. "Why do we need the church?" so many ask in the modern age. They could ask why do we need coffee, why do we need pavements, why do we need collars on shirts - for none of these has done even a tiny fraction towards advancing civilisation as Mother Church has -- yet we get this modernist, 60s, socialist, materialist (label it as you will) mantra repeated all the time in all forms of media but especially in modern fiction:

Why do we need the Church.


The modernists who would rewrite history and paint the Church as the greatest evil known to man (forgetting all the evils it replaced and all the evils it negated and strove to 'fix' - I am reminded of GK Chesterton's quote on Christianity as not found wanting, but found, and untried), forget that Our Lord Jesus Christ left us His Church.

If we did not need a Church, if we did not need the Sacraments of the Church, then Our Lord would not have created it, with St Peter as the first Pope, with the Apostles and others as the first Bishops, with the Mass and -- "This is My Body" -- the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity left in the Eucharist to strengthen the Christians. Our Lord also explicitly gave the priests the power for the forgiveness of sins, to enable us as e struggle on in our daily lives.

The modernist rebellion against the need for the Church (which reached its ideological zenith circa the French Revolution - but has reached its technological zenith today via the reach of Hollywood and the media) is flying in the face of the wishes and precise instructions left by Jesus Christ whose birthday most people in Europe are about to celebrate.

As for those Protestants of 1001 varieties of the modernist 'catholics' who say they do not need the Catholic Church, i.e. that any church will do... well they are as bad as those charlatans who say "I can confess my sins to God at home" -- because we all know that they seldom do, nor (without they guidance of Holy Church) would they know what constitutes sins in many respects.

Jesus Christ did not start the Protestant churches - men did. The Son of God did not start all the other religions men did (yes - even modern Judaism was started by the Pharisees). Are we really so proud, so insincere, so devious as men to think that we know better than Jesus Christ - the Son of God, God made man, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Word Incarnate?

He left us the Church with the Pope at its head; he left us the Sacrifice of the Mass, he left us Confession to help us overcome our sins... and yet we, modern men, think that we do not need all this! We can do without His Church, we can do without His Sacrifice of the Mass, we can do without His Confessional!

How proud and sinful is modern man, that so many of us think we can pay lip service to the Son of God, yet ignore the very things He left us, in order that we may be worthy of Heaven, the gates of which He opened for us.

We are all of us sinners, we are all of us weak, we are all of us human. We All fall, many times, on our own Via Dolorosa. That is why we need the institutions left to us by Jesus Christ - especially His Sacraments.

If we think we can do without them we are sorely mistaken! We should submit ourselves to the Will of God, and that begins by availing ourselves of His Sacraments through the auspices of His Church.

To do otherwise is to join the Devil in his terrible revolt against God Himself.

Be on the side of the Angels! Go to Mass, get to Confession, partake of Communion. The Sanctifying nature of the Eucharist will give you many Graces, and in this modern(ist) world we, each and every one of us no matter our status, need all the Graces we can get!

Portillo, Elizabeth I, Scottish Independence & Catholicism

Come on laddie: paint your face!!!

I have never really liked Michael Portillo. Not because his father was a supporter of the anti-Catholic forces in Spain. Nor because he is a homosexual. Nor even because he flipped from being a "right-winger" to being a liberal (around the time he was forced out of the closet).

I believe he is the breed of politician who is always the "system's man." Not strictly a careerist, though he clearly wanted to be the Tory leader before being 'outed,' moreover he is well-connected amidst the politicos, bankers and media-luvvies.

It is that breed of people who will never rock the boat, will always come out on the side of the ruling class, whilst pushing from the inside for the very worst kind of laws viz morality, public decency, the family and so on.

They will never be openly hostile to the Catholic Church, but they will always say that Catholics should keep their opinions inside the Church. Like Alistair Campbell, the one-time (some might say all-time) porno-fiction writer, this breed of politico "don't do God."

The very idea of God is anathema to this breed. To them, religion should not encroach on politics (whilst their politics forever encroaches on our religion). They, like Nietzsche before them, believe that "God is dead" or at least is in His retirement home (reserved for visiting hours on Sundays) with the other 'deities of your choice' so we are free to pick n choose from Buddhism to witchcraft, Baptist to Islam.

The Catholic Faith is an anachronism to these breed, one of many beliefs to pick n choose as long as you keep it to yourself. They are free to ram their constructs and beliefs down our throats via the school system, the mass media and the political system, so that we believe in "Liberté, égalité, fraternité." 


Over the years, they have used this Masonic hydra to make the majority believe that contraception was acceptable, then that abortion on demand was acceptable, then that homosexuality was acceptable. Now they are all pushing for the acceptance of euthanasia.

Of course we will be told this will be "for love." Or "to stop suffering." The modern god "choice" won't be far behind. And so eventually, through BBC docudramas, through Eastenders plot-lines and via the Chinese water torture of political and media pressure, the majority will go with the flow. Oh they will lie, tweak, fabricate and concoct "surveys" and even use very sad individual examples (in that Roe Vs Wade style). But the end result will be euthanasia on demand. Mass murder.

They'll get us coming and going! Both ends of the hospital will be death mills; with one end seeing sad women pressurised into killing babies by uncaring boyfriends, husbands, married lovers etc., whilst the other end sees sad old people who think they are a "burden" signing their lives away whilst relatives rub their hands with glee and flick through holiday brochures and paperwork from car showrooms.

The only people with "yooman rights" will be hardened criminals. The rapists, paedophiles  -- all will have their rights enshrined; whilst the innocent unborn and the pressurised elderly will be killed by the thousands.

We can see it happening a mile off. Abortion was meant to be for a small number of women. Their lives would be in danger. Two doctors would have to sign off the "procedure." All manner of checks and balances would be in place.

Now we have abortion on demand with abortion profiteers (sorry, 'providers') advertising their referral or confidential helpline services as if they do not have a vested interest (or profit motive) in promoting abortion as the pain-free option with no physical, mental or moral ramifications.


Do the people now pushing euthanasia not realise that the same thing will happen again? The Death Clinics will advertise "helplines" and suchlike, where they will present suicide as a "valid lifestyle choice" and those who bother to protest outside the clinics will see doddery old men and ladies taken in by relatives with pound-signs in their eyes.

So why pick on Michael Portillo?

Well he thinks that none of this is "extreme." He thinks we live in a wonderful land where everything that is liberal and free is accepted by the majority. I have no doubt his own twisted proclivities colour his judgement, as is the case with so many people embroiled in the political sphere.

The other evening he was involved in a discussion on the BBC's Newsnight about "Britishness" and "Englishness," which were being discussed in the shadow of the SNP's victory in Holyrood and the prospect of Scotland going independent.

Mr. Portillo painted a bizarre picture of English/British history, wherein Britishness was essentially an all-embracing liberalness that avoids extremes. This was, for him, rooted in Elizabeth I's stance against Catholics and Protestants, choosing instead the "centre ground."

Excuse me? Methinks Mr. Portillo needs a history lesson. Bloody Bess was a tyrant. She murdered many  Catholics in the most gruesome manner. This is an ample example of the re-writing of history in which Mary I is painted as "Bloody Mary" for killing circa 500 Protestants in the legal manner of the day, whereas the Protestants: Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Elizabeth I killed many, many times more - in the multiple of thousands. Men, women and children often killed in reprisal attacks for mass movements in defence of Catholicism such as the Pilgtrimage of Grace and the Northern Rising.

You see what Portillo and his ilk do not tell you is that England was a thoroughly Catholic country. The Protestants were small in number, but agitated to control the State. And so Elizabeth, who swore an Oath to be a Catholic queen, turned against her people. She put a rift between England and Europe for centuries. She put the country at risk from Spanish/Imperial armies. And she ruined the beliefs of the whole country, forcing people to go underground to celebrate Mass as their parents and grandparents had done, openly.

Splitting the country between the "pro-Catholic" and "pro-Protestant" factions in turn led to the disastrous Civil War, with the forces of Cromwell all but raping Ireland. Cromwell the mad Protestant who banned Christmas is, of course, a darling of the politicos because he was an extreme anti-Catholic nutter. Despite banning parliament and replacing a King with himself as Lord Protector, he remains the darling of "democrats."

It had (and has!) nothing to do with democracy. If a popular vote was taken the population of England would have remained Catholic through all the turmoil. The people loved their Church, and their devotions.

What Portillo and his ilk believe Britishness to be (and here I concur) is a worship of the State and the State's religion (Anglican hotch-potch at first, and now "tolerance" of goodness knows what).

The SNP spokesman on the programme did interject in Portillo's ramblings of Britain being against "Catholic extremism" at one stage by stating that the British Union was a construct to keep the State Protestant and for the benefit of the Hanoverians.

Of course to Portillo regicide and overthrowing the lawful King to replace him with a Dutch or German puppet is a great example of Britishness and not "extreme" in any way! Just as it is not extreme to have an Anglican Queen sign off laws that go against her Oath of Office to uphold the law of the land and the Bible, in particular laws which legalised homosexuality, abortion and which will legalise euthanasia.

Britishness and Anglicanism are State worship. That is why the head of the Anglican church is the queen (also head of the Protestant, Presbytarian Church of Scotland), and so Britishness has always been about being anti-Papist; as such one could argue that Britain was the first Masonic State (whose regicide led the way for the French revolutionaries).

Certainly John Dee, the man who is said to be the founding  father of the British Empire and Elizabeth I's right-hand man was a known occultist. Then we have Cromwell the murderer who was the nuttiest Brit to rule the country. Then there is William of Orange (the "King Billy" so beloved of Protestants), a usurper who sold England to unending debt by establishing the Bank of England.

Portillo thinks all of this and more proves that Britain is all about tolerance and fairness. Tell that to the Irish circa 1845. Tell that to the Scottish circa 1746. Tell that to the Welsh children banned from speaking their mother-tongue. Tell that to the Boers who were put in the first ever concentration camps. Tell that to the English forced from the land and into slums.

Britain is a construct designed to promote worship of the state and money (coming together in the Empire), which is why the City of London has been the centre of finance for many centuries. Anglicanism is state worship with a healthy dose of anti-Catholicism at its head. They have bent over backwards (Houses of Orange, Hanover and Saxe-Coburg/Gotha - aka Windsor) to stop Catholic rule, hence we still have anti-Catholic legislation on the statute books.

I know it's hard - and many Catholics have fought and died under the Union Jack, not least in my own family - but I believe Scottish independence will be a good thing, because it will make us all re-evaluate patriotism, who rules us, and the means of ruling us.

There is no hard and fast rule for Catholics, but when the law was recently changed to give the Welsh Assembly more law-making powers, the Catholic Bishops put out a statement broadly welcoming it, as the nearer to people power is held, the more accountable it is (very Chetsertonian of them).

I do not think "splitting up" (as the likes of Portillo so manically portray it) the UK will end the hegemony of Mammon, Freemasonry and other anti-Catholic forces, any more than it will change the day-to-day lives of all of us, whether we are Welsh, English, Scottish or Irish. There will be no barbed-wire borders. I do not even think the moral-framework of the laws (let along the Social Reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ) will come into force.

But might the Scottish, Welsh and English nations look to their Catholic roots as well as their futures in all this political change?

I doubt it somehow, but the end of the British Union may yet give Catholics hope for the future and be part of God's plan. With the Euro stumbling and even America unable to "pay its bills" the era of small nations may take us back to a more Catholic way of doing things...

Candlemas and our Catholic Traditions

Candlemas is another Catholic celebration that should make our separated brethren in the anglican church realise that their True Home is Rome!

Let us celebrate Candlemas and keep alive many centuries of Catholic Tradition.

If Christmas Day is "day one" then Candlemas is "day forty" with all that resonates in Biblical history: the flood, Christ in the desert, and from that the 40 days of Lent.

Indeed by the 17th Century Candlemas was seen as the very end of the Christmas season, and the Holy Father this year has said he will keep the crib on display until Candlemas.

from oremus.org:

But the strongest attraction of Candlemas is the 'bitter-sweet' nature of what it celebrates. It is a feast day, and the revelation of the child Jesus in the Temple, greeted by Simeon and Anna, calls for rejoicing. Nevertheless, the prophetic words of Simeon, which speak of the falling and rising of many and the sword that will pierce, lead on to the passion and to Easter. The scriptures and the liturgy of the Christmas season have several pointers to the suffering of the Lord, but none more potent than the words of Simeon. Coming as they do at the very end of the Christmas celebration and with Lent nearly always very close, they make Candlemas a kind of pivot in the Christian year. It is as if we say, on 2 February, 'One last look back to Christmas, and now, turn towards the cross!' On such a reckoning, the liturgical colour changes after the Eucharist at Candlemas from the white of Epiphanytide to a more penitential colour as Lent approaches.

In the old liturgies some of the 'bitter-sweet' flavour of the day was sometimes expressed through a striking change of liturgical colour, the procession in purple vestments and the eucharist in white. In origin this probably reflects little more than the habitually penitential nature of Processional rites, even when associated with a feast. It is this tradition that we have tried to use creatively in the Eucharist of Candlemas. We have moved the procession to the end of the Eucharist, where Nunc Dimittis in any case seems more appropriate, given it a penitential feel and made it, especially by the Responsory that follows it, the point of transition from Christmas to Easter. As such it is a very powerful ending to all that The Promise of His Glory celebrates.

In addition to the eucharist, a Vigil Service for Candlemas is provided. This is on the same model as the other Vigil Services in this book but, in some ways, is the greatest of them, building as it does on the light theme that belongs to this festival. Instead of psalmody, biblical chants, mainly from the Byzantine rite, have been used between the readings, and, as at the Eucharist, a procession with lighted candles may be made at the end, as Nunc Dimittis is sung.

From missionstclare.com:

By the seventh century it had become the custom to begin the worship service on February 2 with candlelighting by the congregation gathered outside the worship area followed by a procession into the Church with all carrying their lighted candles. This was to relive Simeon's experience of meeting the "light of nations" at the temple. The pastor Sophronius wrote in that century

Everyone should be eager to join the procession and to carry a light.
Our lighted candles are a sign of the divine splendor of the one who came to expel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with the brilliance of his eternal light. Our candles also show how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ.
So let us hasten to meet our God.

In 2010, Christ's College, Cambridge University, held a Medieval Torchlit procession for Candlemas. What a sight it must have been:

On Tuesday 2 February, the Christian church ends its traditional period of celebration for Christmas and Epiphany with Candlemas. In Christ's we will be celebrating this special day by throwing ourselves back into the 16th century period with a mediaeval torchlight procession, with the blessing of Candles and Compline. This event coincides with the 500th anniversary of the consecration of the College Chapel in 1510.
Everyone is welcome to what will be a spectacular occasion and everyone will be given a processional torch or candle to carry.
Mediaeval music accompanied by drumbeat will be provided by members of the College Choir.

What is St Wenceslas's Favourite Food?

Equestrian State of St Wenceslas

After my comment on my last post (responding to a comment), comprising of a terribly awful Catholic joke, it reminded me of another which, although a day late (the Feast of St Stephan being yesterday), is worth the telling.

Who knows, we may between us get enough cheesy, corny Catholic jokes to bring out our own range of Catholic crackers next year.

Think of the possibilities - crowns of Catholic monarchs (bags me the Crown of Charlemagne!), a Catholic treat (bags me a St Dominic medal) and a cheesy Catholic joke, so here's my effort:

Q: What is King St Wenceslas's favourite food?
A: Pizza. Deep pan, crisp and even!

Great Present for Catholics

A perfect present for all Catholics - great for a child's bedroom (as in our case) or for a professional's office (we don't have any professionals in our house - only very good amateurs!).

This is a globe of Rome and includes many sites of antiquity and many sites of great interest to Catholics, including - of course! - many from Vatican City - and other famous Catholic Churches from around the Eternal City.

Some examples:

• Santa Maria Maggiore
• Piazza San Pietro
• Cappella Sistena
• Porta Santo Spirito
• San Pietro in Vincoli
• Santa Maria in Cosmedin
• Santa Maria in Trastevere
• Santa Cecila in Trastevere
• Via Di Porta Angelica
• Santa Bibiana

and many other famous sites including the Colosseum and others.

The globe has people, cafés, priests, nuns, praying pilgrims, tourists, cardinals and even a Swiss guard and the Pope at the window in St Peter's Square!

It really is a wonderful item and also comes with a small booklet explaining all the sites of the Rome globe (especially handy for children - or anyone who knows little of Rome).

Now -- tell me what was the bestest and most Catholic(est!) Christmas pressie in your house: A pair of Bl. Cardinal Newman socks? A Leo XIII tie? A St Peter space-hopper? A Hilaire Belloc wine rack?

Nadolig Llawen

Santa eventually gets bail from the Greenland gendarmerie

Only to fall foul of Ryanair's excess baggage rules

Merry Christmas!
Nadolig Llawen!

BBC's Nativity: An Ignorant View of History for Simpletons

The BBC's Nativity reduced this to a natter in the garden

After being prompted to do so by various comment-leavers after yesterday's post on the BBC's Nativity programme, I watched Part 2 tonight.

I remain opposed to it.

• Mary thinks she had a dream with some sort of man in it.
• Gabriel looked like Dave down the pub.
• The 'Ave Maria' was changed beyond recognition.
• The Magnificat, that beautiful canticle, was ignored.

In short a sublime, moving history of Our Lady and the birth of Our Lord is being turned into a "maybe" event, open to interpretation.

It is another shoddy attempt to con the naive that lip service is being given to Catholic/Christian history, whilst giving the generation that thinks Hitler was a German world-cup squad goalkeeper more muddled half-facts to increase their ignorance:

Yeah mate, Mary 'ad a dream fing, and this bloke from the pub said 'wotcha Mary, you've played a blinder and god is well chuffed' and then she had a baby and all that, and some people said it was a Messiar (which I fink is like a make of car or sumfink), but some other people said it was porky-pies an that, innit. Anyway,that Hitler bloke he wuz the goalkeeper for Germany an that, innit.

Suggesting this BBC programme enhances Catholicism is akin to rejoicing that Songs of Praise adds to the liturgy of Mother Church.

The dumbing down of our Faith, and Christianity in general, has delivered us empty pews and whole families that are Catholic in name only.

So, after watching the second episode (free, as yet, from the vile smears against Our Lady) I stand by my initial treatise against the series.

BBC's Nativity: Modern Spin we Don't Need

The beauty of this scene would thrill a film audience and stir their souls.

One of my favourite Catholic bloggers is Linen on the Hedgerow (a great fighter for Catholic orthodoxy), and this (see link below) is one of the articles I've read on the BBC's 'Nativity'.

Now I know many a liberal will bemoan the fact that I won't watch it, whilst I will condemn it -- but I don't need to see a dog in the act of fouling the pavement down my street to understand how wrong it is when the children walk to school.

The obscenity that Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, was in some way raped, or a prostitute has been repeated ever since the days of the sadducees and pharisees and those who claimed (be they the Jewish authorities, gnostics, or other evil men) this have repeated the same old lie in the mistaken belief that their repetition of the lie will make it more acceptable.

Should we be shocked at the BBC's role in defaming the Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer of the World during Advent, as we approach the Feast of Christmas?

Yes - we should be shocked (but not surprised) and I think that all Catholics (and men of good will) should take this up with the BBC.

This is not an upset. This is not an offence. It is an absolute outrage that strikes at the very heart of our Faith, and at the very root of Christian history, and the central message of Christmas: that Our Lord was born of the Virgin Mary to save mankind.

That men with blackened hearts cannot accept this and so have to invent horrendous stories about the Blessed Virgin Mary reflects badly on them. There is not, has never been, and can never be, a single blemish on the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

We are reminded of this when we read that beautiful verse that is the Magnificat:

My soul doth magnify the Lord.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid;

for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Because he that is mighty,

hath done great things to me;

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is from generation unto generations,

to them that fear him.

He hath shewed might in his arm:

he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat,

and hath exalted the humble.

He hath filled the hungry with good things;

and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath received Israel his servant,

being mindful of his mercy:

As he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

 

Luke 1:46-55

As Richard at Linen on the Hedgerow says, why must we have these "contemporary" versions and stories, when the Gospel is written so beautifully?


Might we hope, one day, for a faithful, beautiful, moving and stirring Catholic telling of the nativity - perhaps on a par with Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ? That film won over so many souls to Christ; even I knew agnostics and atheists who opened their hearts to Catholicism as a result of that film. Not all converted, but some did and others at least softened their stance re. the Church and Christ.

With all the influence, intelligence and (dare I say?) money that the Church and we millions of Catholics have between us (we could put in £5 each!) we could make a film that could win countless more souls for Christ and His Church...

Apologies for rambling on. But for every evil and smear the BBC can put out, if we Catholics even answered one in ten, it would have a great impact.

Years ago the Church won hearts, minds and souls with the beauty of its liturgy, buildings, altars, statues and the way all was bound seamlessly together (lessons I believe we have forgotten or neglected after Vatican 2 - to the detriment of both Catholics and mankind in general).

Just imagine if we remembered how to win hearts and minds again? A crusade to win souls for Christ using the tools that the enemies of the Church in the BBC and Hollywood have used to besmirch Christ and His Church, and to blacken more souls with the filth and blasphemy they spew forth.

We all saw how, when Pope Benedict visited our shores (I know he didn't visit Wales, but perhaps it would have been too emotional for him ;-) ) Catholics and men of good will rallied to the Papal banner to proclaim the Christian roots of these islands and to make a stand, to show that people of goodwill still exist, that beauty still has a place in a world we all too often think are full of drugs, violence, obscenity and evil.

The BBC (and others) hinted that the visit would be a failure, that people in Britain were living in a 'post-Christian multi-cultural' land in which homosexual rights now counted for more than Catholic artifacts, or where atheists' writings were devoured more readily than the turgid output of a maligned and shamed priesthood.

They were wrong.

And they can be proved wrong again.


That is my sincere hope and prayer today in the face of a moribund and moth-eaten output by the BBC, for these lies that they tell are old lies.

Meanwhile let us all pray to Our Lord and Our Lady that the calumnies of the media-men might be forgiven, in the words of Our Lord crucified: forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Link:
Linen on the Hedgerow

Our Lord was an Unborn Child too

As was Our Lady, St Joseph and all the Saints.

For that matter so were you and I.

European Christmas Traditions From St Nicholas' Day to Epiphany

This is an interesting page on the BBC Web-site, detailing Christmas traditions across Europe.

To be honest I have long thought the tradition of the Spanish in giving gifts on the 6th of January - the day the Three Kings gave the gifts to the Infant Christ - has more relevance to the Christian Nativity story, and would allow us to celebrate the spiritual nature of Christmas, then the gift-giving of Epiphany (in turn 'rounding off' the 12 days of Christmas).

I think I read previously that in the Czech Republic that the main Christmas meal is fish... which to my sensibilities just seems wrong, but then I'm no fan of Turkey either, preferring beef, chicken, lamb or pork (or a mixture of a few of them given the choice!).

From ChurchYear.Net:
Officially called "The Epiphany of the Lord," this feast celebrates the epiphany (manifestation) of Christ to the Gentiles, symbolized by Christ's manifestation to the Magi (Wise Men). The feast originally was more closely connected to Jesus' baptism, the primary theme of the feast in Eastern Churches to this day. In addition, other manifestations of Christ were often commemorated during Epiphany, including the miracle at Cana. In fact, it has been asserted that the Baptism of the Lord, the adoration of the infant Jesus by the Magi, and the miracle at Cana all historically occurred on January 6 (see Abbot Gueranger's works). Whether this is true is contested, but either way, the Epiphany solemnity is celebrated on January 6, which falls within Christmastide. In some Catholic regions, the feast is translated to a Sunday. The Eastern Churches often call the holiday Theophany, which means "manifestation of God." Eastern Christians also refer to the Epiphany as "Holy Lights" because they baptize on this day, and baptism brings about illumination. Traditionally, Epiphany marked the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

And as this is a Welsh site I've put a link to some Welsh Traditions too.

Link:
BBC Languages - Christmas
Welsh Christmas Traditions

Rejoice! Gaudete Sunday: The Birth of Christ is Near

This coming Sunday is Gaudete Sunday. A genuine time to "rejoice" at the coming birth of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

As Catholics we should always rejoice, mindful that our God-made-man lived among us, was born into relative poverty and obscurity, to deliver us from the grip of sin and open the gates of Heaven to us all, if we make our lives worthy of that reward.

I loved this song/carol when I first heard the Steeleye Span version (a great band - get their best-of CD for some wonderful English folk music). The words are particularly moving (see bottom clip for English translation) and encapsulate all that Catholics have held dear about Christmas for 2000 years.

Funnily enough I came across a protestant site all about Carols (sorry I don't recall its name) and it said that Catholics frowned upon Carols, keeping them outside the Church, so that they only became popular in later years.

What rot! As this moving Christmas Carol testifies. It is true that the Mass was virtually unchanged throughout the Medieval period - codified in the Council of Trent to stay absolutely unchanged until the New Mass post Vatican 2; but the idea that Catholics did not celebrate Christmas ignores the fact that the Mass was the central part of spiritual life for Catholics, but there was much else celebrated too, especially on Feast/Holy Days and especially at Easter and Christmas.

Such airbrushing of history to make Catholics seem like cheerless automatons is typical of such sites - ignoring the fact that it was the protestants themselves who ripped apart our beloved Liturgical year, banning Christmas, banning Holy Days, stopping pilgrimage, and so much more to overturn the Catholic Traditions which were the very lifeblood of Europe.

As Belloc said, Europe is the Faith, the Faith is Europe - so in celebrating Advent, Gaudete Sunday and Christmas itself we in Wales, and our fellow Catholics in England, Ireland and Scotland are remaining very much part of a European and Catholic Tradition that centuries of penal laws and enforced protestantism has not been able to destroy.

So this Sunday go to Mass, pray the Rosary and raise a glass! Let us celebrate our Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith and the coming birth of the Saviour of the World, Jesus Christ.





The following has terrible sound quality but is handy for its English translation of the Latin:



Link:
Catholic Encyclopedia on Gaudete Sunday

Those pesky wandering shepherds!

On coming downstairs this morning to make tea and toast I discovered the shepherds had "done a runner" from our newest nativity scene in the living room.

Were they indeed, as we used to sing during Advent morning assemblies in Marlborough Road Junior School, back in the mists of time when everything was in sepia, washing their socks by night?

I let the cat in (as a rescue cat she seems to meow more than the average moggie) and she walked into the living room, looked in disgust (OK, I'm embellishing the tale, but bear with me kind soul) and turned tail (literally) and padded out of the room.

What could cause such feline consternation? What had garnered such disturbance in the heart of the home?

Further investigation was required (mindful of the role of GKC's Fr Brown and the Tridentine-defending Agatha Christie in crime-solving) as to the nocturnal sojourn of the shepherds and the cat's cattiness.

Looking smug - the runaway shepherds

I donned my deer-stalker and grabbed my spy-glass, kept for just such occasions, and made my way to the cat's cushion where she normally sits and there, with pleased looks on their faces, were the errant three shepherds.

Was this going to be a daily affair? Would the wise men be next? Where would the animals opt for? Might the Holy Family set off early for Egypt?

Furthermore should I call in the media? How would the world react to our wandering Nativity scene players?

Or should I just have a word with our youngest who tends to get up very early, potter around getting toys, and then heads back to bed?

Which is the more credible explanation?

Look Whose On Our Tree: It's a Rotund GKC

There are so many lovely things about Christmas, Advent and the growing anticipation of the Feast Day we are all waiting for on the 25th of December!



Having children, the appearance of decorations usually begins on the 1st of December: the start of the month being a green light to all the excitement. This year some decorations even began appearing slightly earlier whilst I was in hospital (as if a conclave was held and the outcome was "Dad's not here, let's get busy way before time!").

Today I partook in an annual ceremony, now that the halflings have put up a Christmas tree.

Yes, GK Chesterton came out of the drawer where he has been ensconced since January 6th.

Now he is settled in, and this year he has been joined by a great set of Nativity decorations (Holy Family, animals, shepherds and wise men).

Putting GKC on the Christmas tree is a very exciting moment! And, without being disrespectful to one of, if not the, best Catholic writers and apologists, GKC's portly shape lends itself well to being a bauble.

What better way to ensure that Christmas is thoroughly Catholic and full of wit, wisdom and good cheer?


The GKC bauble was bought a few years back from the American Chesterton Society. I don't know if they still sell them.

Advent Approaches: And I Can't Wait!

Probably like you, dear reader, I despise the commercialisation of Christmas which seems to start with gusto as soon as Fireworks Night is out of the way.

And yet, such is my feeling of joy as Christmas approaches, that I can't resist feeling a sense of excitement in the air as we near December.

Personally I don't care much for presents and all that side of it (being officially as tight as a duck's hind-quarters, like my father before me), besides which as I have crossed the Rubicon and am now in my 40s, just how many pairs of socks, underpants, after shave etc. do I need?

No, I am fully caught up in the spiritual side of Christmas and I am nothing if sentimental about the whole thing.

The cold, dark evenings remind me of when, as a child, I would look up at the stars and imagine the infant Jesus in that stable so many miles away, so many years ago also under the star-lit sky. The shepherds, the angels, then the kings from the east and so on.

That to me was and is the essence of Christmas. It is a simple vision of Christmas, one held by a child, yet it has always stayed with me.

I love the simple things about Christmas, the sense of impending happiness and joy, the carols, the liturgy of Advent, the feast of Christmas itself.

I don't want to sound like an ascetic as I love a nice beer and pork pie as much as the next middle aged man (especially when scoffed - with half a carrot - on Christmas Eve with the crumb-laden remnants left as the evidence of Santa and Rudolf's visit), but for me Christmas is all about the joy of the Nativity and that special feeling, that uplifting of the soul, that "magic" of Christmas, well I don't think it will ever leave me.

So, as much as I loathe the commercialism of Christmas to the degree that it is today a spend-fest, I cannot help but begin to be excited at the prospect of Advent and the countdown to Christmas that this heralds.

I think my all time favourite Christmas carol is Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Primarily because it was my favourite as a child and I have vivid memories of trying to reach those high notes in school assembly or standing carol singing on doorsteps in the neighbourhood, but also because it evokes that time when the Hosts of Heaven appeared to those simple workingmen on the hillside of Bethlehem to announce the birth of Our Lord and mankind's Saviour. It also reminds me of the "newborn King" - i.e. that He was and is Christ the King, to Whom all nations and societies should be subject.

So I am sorry (well, not that sorry!) if I offended anyone with my eagerness to embrace Advent and Christmas, but that is who I am.