As Blair was lecturing the faithful from the sanctuary of Westminster Cathedral on the nature of ‘faith’ (a modernist concept) in the modern world, the Sodomy Society (Stonewall) was auctioning the opportunity to have dinner with him at a fund-raiser. With Mrs Blair’s revelation that her son Leo was conceived as a result of her embarrassment at having her ‘contaceptive equipment’ scrutinised by the Queen’s security staff, the Blair family’s mission to bring the Catholic Faith into disrepute has risen to a new level. It is a little known fact that, since the reforms of John Paul II, it has been possible for any member of the Lay faithful to bring a private prosecution against someone for Heresy before the canonical courts. A few weeks ago someone rang me to say they were contemplating this very fate for Mr Blair. He has clearly done in the years before, and his actions since show he has not changed his views, but if anyone knows of a clearly heretical statement made by Blair since he ‘converted’ please post it as a comment and perhaps the wheels can get rolling.

Ha! I have it sussed. Despite his detestation of Pious Conversations and suchlike, and the added problem that when he does engage in Pious Conversation everyone thinks he’s just being didactic and annoying, which can’t encourage the poor chap, i have had a blinding insight into the Aelian prayer life.

Now, he has often told me that his grandfather told him that the men of his family need at least 9 hours sleep a night. Etc. Yeah yeah, I thought, whatever, lazybones.

But I thought of  a verse today, and it all makes sense. The ultimate anti-Pelagian spirituality, and cunningly anti-Quietist too.

In vain is your earlier rising,
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat,
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.

As St Therese exclaimed over the graces that are waiting for us “we need only gather diamonds with a rake”, so Aelianus sleeps hours and hours a day in order to absorb them.

1 I will extol thee, O God my king: and I will bless thy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless thee: and I will praise thy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: and of his greatness there is no end. 4 Generation and generation shall praise thy works: and they shall declare thy power. 5 They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of thy holiness: and shall tell thy wondrous works.

6 And they shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and shall declare thy greatness. 7 They shall publish the memory of the abundance of thy sweetness: and shall rejoice in thy justice. 8 The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. 9 The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. 10 Let all thy works, O lord, praise thee: and let thy saints bless thee.

11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom: and shall tell of thy power: 12 To make thy might known to the sons of men: and the glory of the magnificence of thy kingdom. 13 Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages: and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words: and holy in all his works. 14 The Lord lifteth up all that fall: and setteth up all that are cast down. 15 The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord: and thou givest them meat in due season.

16 Thou openest thy hand, and fillest with blessing every living creature. 17 The Lord is just in all his ways: and holy in all his works. 18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him: to all that call upon him in truth. 19 He will do the will of them that fear him: and he will hear their prayer, and save them. 20 The Lord keepeth all them that love him; but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless thy holy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

Blog stats telling me that quite regularly people are directed to this worthy blog via a Google search of „Germany Catholicism“ I have started feeling obliged to actually contribute something on this interesting topic. Inspired by a recent post of Seraphic Single on cradle Catholics and converts in Canada it occurred to me to contribute something on the relationship between these two groups in Germany.

The first thing to stress is that you will find converts in Germany, if you look in the right circles. That is, for example, among adherants of the Extraordinary Rite, and, with even greater frequency, in monasteries or among the more or less charismatic orthodox new movements in the Church. For the average person, however, their existence is largly unknown. Before I myself, by the grace of God, was added to their number, I only knew of one person who had converted. It was the wife of my then boss as a laboratory assistent at university. „He,“ (my boss) I was informed „is a very nice chap, but very Catholic. And his wife: She actually converted to Catholicism - and that takes something!“ I agreed with this opinion. O yes, someone who was afraid of thinking for herself, someone who was glad to be told what to believe, someone who fittingly after marrying would have children and give up her job to be a housewife - you knew this kind of people.

When I myself had taken the same step less than a year after having had these contemptuous thoughts about my now confirmation sponsor’s wife, I met with a wide range of reactions from cradle Catholics. My university chaplain, when I told him, looked at me for some moments and laughed out loudly. He belonged to the group of ecumenically minded Catholics who just don’t see why to make such a fuss about these things when basically (if we just ignore the more medieval opinions of the pope and the whole reactionary Amtskirche) we all believed the same anyway. Another reaction I encountered often was: „You really were a Protestant and joined the Catholic Church? I thought it always was the other way round!“ This was from cradle Catholics who had either left the Church or were more or less seriously considering to do so. I must add that I had a rather good conversation with more than one of them afterwards, speaking with a beaming face about all the marvelous things I found in the Church and about me being received into it being the most happy thing in my whole life.

Observing, orthodox German Catholics, however, hardly without an exception, were delighted when they heard I was a convert, and most eager to hear my conversion story, so much so that I am now quite practiced in recounting it in the most gripping way I am capable of. And this is, I would argue, exactly because Germany is not imbibed by a „I-once-was-lost-but-now-I’m-found,-was-blind-but-now-can-see“ spirit that Seraphic attributes to the USA in contrast with Canada. I think (as I already wrote) that Germany being such a patchwork of almost entirely Protestant and almost entirely Catholic areas, with the patches happily crossing and overlapping other existing cultural borders, it easily seems that one is Protestant or Catholic just by chance. There is hardly any „cultural Catholicism“ („I’m Irish, therefore I’m Catholic“), with the exception of Bavaria and some few other places perhaps. Nor is there the consciousness of being the descendants of martyrs and many generations of an oppressed minority as it is more prevalent in England, for example. Therefore it is all the more comforting to hear of someone who actually was born „on the other side“ and, compelled by the splendor of Truth, decided to come over. This is quite striking as even cradle Catholics are very often converts of a sort: After having been misinformed by non-observing parents and dodgy RE teachers having really discovered the Faith only later in their lives. Even they are glad to see that „Well, it’s not only because the Catholic teaching being the first thing I came across, as technically being a Catholic already, that I stuck here - no, other people form outside are drawn here as well!“

So cradle Catholics are quite glad to meet converts who are still awestruck at the Real Presence, and so on. It is the converts themselves who will be most likely to be annoyed if a convert thinks he (or she) was qualified to teach cradle Catholics how to be really pious simply because things are more excitingly new and striking to her (or him).

1.  John Henry Newman: Discourses to Mixed Congregations
2. Thomas a Kempis: The Imitation of Christ
3. Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange: Predestination
4. The Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
5. The life of St. Gemma Galgani

[Disclaimer: I did not say they are not good. Just scary.]

The blogger currently known as Ebomania has for some time run an online thing where you can buy T-shirts and whatnot with satisfyingly Guardianista-annoying slogans. In fact, probably average-non-Catholic-punter-annoying slogans.

Now, taking seriously the late Great JP II’s exhortations to the Poles to bring the faith back to Europe, a certain goalie has been stripping off for Jesus.

Ecco the “Holy Goalie”.

Apparently this “incident” (someone on a Celtic supporters’ forum points out that if it weren’t for the press reports, hardly anyone would have noticed - big stadium, small t-shirt) has hugely boosted sales over at Catholics with Attitude (website for transatlantic colonials here). Vast numbers queue to join the CWA Bebo group, and many are disappointed when the profanity of their own pages leads the Pious Proprietor to turn them down (gaun yersel’ Mr E!).

So there you are. The Poles. Saved Europe from the Turks (sorry, Derya :-)). Saved Europe from the Bolsheviks. Saved the British economy from collapse (You’re welcome, Mr Brown). Saved goals for Celtic. And saving souls while at it.

You have my gracious permission to express your gratitude to the nation by buying me drinks. Or books. Or plane tickets.

 *I expect if Mr E reads this post he will object to the term “weegie”. Heh. But then he may post a comment, and we will look like a popular blog

E5 men.

The e5 Man fasts for his bride to imitate Jesus as described by Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5 (for which e5 is named). Fasting is eating only bread and water.

Jesus made a bodily sacrifice on the cross for His Bride the Church to present her to God the Father “without spot or wrinkle.” (Eph 5:27) By fasting for our earthly bride and joining our sufferings to Christ’s we intercede for grace for our brides. At the same time our act of bodily love in union with Christ accelerates our own conversion.

By making this sacrifice for the women in our lives we live out the essence of the gospel through a very particular act of self denial. To lay down one’s body out of love for another is the central message of the gospel.

NOT ONLY FOR MARRIED MEN

Membership is not limited to married men. For single men, their fast may be dedicated to their future bride. For widowers or those unlikely to get married, the beneficiary of their fasts may be for a deceased wife, a daughter, a sister, or a granddaughter, or any other women in great need. For the consecrated celibate man the benefit of their fast can be for the benefit of the community they serve or for consecrated celibate women.

As Catherine Nolan says, on whose blog I found this, you might think it a bit naff to advertise this on the net. But they are not advertising themselves, no-one will need ever know who these guys are. Concrete and pious. A very parfait knightly practice. Yup.  I am impressed.

Dionysius says that the angelic hierarchy is divided into “those who are illumined and those who illumine.” Therefore, just as there is a hierarchy among men, so is there a hierarchy among angels. This is clear from what Dionysius has written. Now, among men, superiors enlighten inferiors. For example, St. Paul says in the Epistle to the Ephesians (3:8-9): “To me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace, to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all men…” Therefore, superior angels likewise illumine inferior angels.

St Thomas Aquinas, De Veritate, q9 a1 s.c.1

 

 

And no, God never illumines the lower angels directly.

Dionysius says’ that God has established an unchangeable law that lower beings be led back to God through the mediation of higher beings. Consequently, God never directly illumines lower angels. Just as angels are, by their very nature, superior to bodies, so are the higher angels, by their very nature, superior to the lower. Now, in matters related to God’s rule over material things, He never causes anything to happen without the ministry of His angels. This is clear from what Augustine has written. Consequently, God likewise never causes anything to happen in lower angels without the ministry of the higher.

Was on the diocesan website trying to remember where the MCs are in Warsaw. Haven’t found the address yet, but I have learned that there is an oncology centre on Roentgen Street.

Now, spot the bluff:

1) Benedictine Good Samaritan Sisters of the Cross of Christ

2) Dominican Missionary Sisters of Jesus and Mary

3) Sisters of St Francis Cantalicius of the Third Order of the Seraphic St Francis

4) Franciscan Sisters of Penance and Christian Mercy

5) Sisters of the Most Holy Name of Jesus under the Protection of Our Lady Help of Christians

6) Sisters of Reparation to the Holy Face

7) Sister Servants of the Immaculately-Conceived Virgin Mother of God

8} Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ

9) Sisters Disciples of the Divine Master

For bonus points (but not if you are an Anglosphere Catholic): what are the three things that God does not know?