Participation of the lay faithful at the Extraordinary Form

There is a post at Catholic Rights referring to the call for greater participation by the lay faithful in the celebration of Mass - by Pope St Pius X. I think it makes an interesting contribution to the discussion of "mutual enrichment" between the two forms of the Roman Rite - and, indeed, its suggestion could be seen as an example of a "hermeneutic of continuity" in this field. I have vague memories of my Mother referring to the "dialogue Mass" - as a teenager she was a member of the Young Christian Workers, and was probably more in touch with new developments in the Church than was typical of her generation.

The last week of term!

This coming week is the last week of term for my school. Earlier than most schools, because four of our five teacher training days are "commuted" into extended after school sessions spread through the year.

This weekend has therefore been a baking weekend. A lovely smell in the kitchen at the moment. Two rounds of baking, one to take to school and one to have at home, and share with the Word of Life meeting on Wednesday.

Cardinal Newman: where should the beatification ceremony take place?

Fr Peter has an interesting post about the location at which Cardinal Newman's beatification ceremony should take place. Definitely not London!

His case is roughly this: (1) Cardinal Newman spent something like 40 years of his priestly minsitry working for the poor of industrial Birmingham - this should be particularly remembered during the Year for Priests. It was those poor who lined the streets for his funeral. (2) At one point Cardinal Newman declined an invitation to preach to the "learned", observing that "Birmingham people have souls" and that he preferred to decline the invitation. So it would very much reflect Newman's own spirit if he were to be beatified in Birmingham.

How do we define our sexual orientation?

How should you answer a question about your sexual orientation on a form? A useful reflection on this here.

Diluting the faith

I thought this was an interesting reflection on a certain trend that exists for importing non-Catholic elements into the living of Catholic life.

Whilst one can see that other religions have elements of truth that might enrich our understanding and living of our own Catholic faith - there is a subtle difference between making such a recognition and simply importing something into our Catholic life that does not belong there. A careful discernment is needed, to judge what is compatible with Catholic faith and what is not, and then to see the truth that is genuinely illuminated by the encounter with the other religion.

As I write this, I am thinking about the role played by water in different religions. Jewish and Muslim faiths include ritual washings, and a practice of "cleanliness" in readiness for prayer. The Christian faith does have something of the same idea - making the sign of the Cross with holy water as we enter the Church. For Christians, this washing is a sign of the washing away of sin through baptism. What I can see, though, is that reflecting on the role of washing in the other religions leads me to a richer and deeper understanding of the Christian practice - and the relating of it to a Sacrament that really does cleanse us from sin.

The danger, though, could be that we simply see it as being just the same as in the other religions - and our living of our faith is reduced as a result.

Squabbling for the gay vote

I have found it a little amusing to see the Conservatives and Labour squabbling over the gay vote in the last few days. Today it has come to a peak with the competition for photo opportunities and media coverage in connection with the pride march in London.

The squabble seems to have rather begun with David Cameron's apology for Section 28. Seeing the forcefulness of pro-gay advocacy since the repeal of that legislation, I am of the view that it was in fact a very prescient piece of legislation. Admitting to being a supporter of Section 28 is now tantamount to publicly admitting to mortal sin - but I think the suddenness of the political and societal about turn over Section 28 should give cause for careful reflection on the nature of moral discourse in our politics and in our culture. Basically, there doesn't seem to be any - just wholesale pragmatism and the "2+2=5" morality of 1984. The term "dictatorship of relativism" comes to mind.

Gordon Brown's observation that "you can't legislate for love" is, of course, thoroughly superficial in its failure to show any real grasp of the meaning of the term "love" beyond sexual licence.

Sadly, I think that Labour claims that the Conservatives are not really supporters of the gay rights agenda is misplaced. It is the at least tacit complicity of the Conservatives in the gay rights agenda that has enabled "new Labour" to see that agenda through as thoroughly as they have, in the legislative field and in the wider field of culture. In a completely different context, I recall thinking that C P Snow's novel The Corridors of Power showed tremendous political insight by suggesting that it would only be when the political right turned against the holding of nuclear weapons that the left would be able to see through their favoured policy of nuclear disarmament. I have the view that the same consideration applied to the gay agenda - new Labour would not have been able to see it through without support from the political right.

Five minutes with Tony Benn

I was looking for something else, but found this on the BBC news website. What I found interesting was the way in which, early in the interview, Tony Benn identifies the three great moral leaders he met - Gandhi, Tutu and Mandela. I think I might want to disagree in detail about the moral stature of Tutu and Mandela... but I was fascinated that Tony Benn should have identified moral stature as defining what is meant by a great politician.