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Wednesday 24 September 2014

Getting There


Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Thoughts on trees and winter

It is snowing in Chicago today. The rain started earlier and now the flurries, which at first mingled with the rain, have won the battle for the skies.  Many of the trees still have red, yellow and even green leaves, but this weather will bring the leaves down—and so it has always been in the Midwest.

Sometimes, snow flurries do not occur until the end of November, but the Lake Effect here in Chicago can bring earlier precipitation which includes snow.

In the “yard” next door, the snow is beginning to stick. The snow is building up on the ground and on the bushes. However, the giant Red Maple has not yet lost its leaves and stands like a stricken Burning Bush, guiding all eyes to its glory.

When the sun was shining earlier yesterday, the Red Maple shown like fire against the blue sky. But, the clouds have taken away the brilliance of the red hues, and, as with the other trees, the wind and snow will cause these scarlet leaves to fall.

Such is the life of the soul. We think we are brilliant when in the sunshine, but when the darkness comes, and the hard times, our brilliance fades, dies, and soon the outward signs of life fall away and blow away.  Like this maple, we shall look dead and people will forget the once dynamic colors, walking past the naked tree, without noticing the life within.

Such is the Dark Night. One becomes almost invisible. People do not notice the intense suffering, as God gives the soul cheerfulness in the sadness.  This is not a fake cheerfulness, but a confidence that God is working in one despite pain and sorrow. This confidence rests on the knowledge that one is being purified.

Like the tree, however, one’s brilliance must be replaced for a while with the signs of death. No leaves adorn the soul.

All the energies of grace remain hidden and inward. In fact, one is relieved that one becomes invisible. To carry around the wounds of love and the awareness of one’s horribly sinful nature demands a time of secrecy.  In the absence of the Bridegroom, all other people and things become like ghostly memories. One walks in a shadow of Darkness and having to deal with the world aggravates one; this is all part of the suffering and demands the heroic growth of patience.

The longer one is in darkness, the more patience one becomes. One no longer demands rights or privileges, but waits. One is becoming a proficient in the ways of the spiritual life. One is moving out of boot camp into special ops, slowly but surely.

Like the Red Maple I see from the window, one loses all outward signs of beauty and comeliness.  But, the real life within continues. Such is the Dark Night.

From A Friend in England-Urgent Prayers Needed

A friend of mine sent this to me forwarded from a friend. The only thing I would quibble with is that this group, ISIS is not extreme, but following the instructions both in the Koran and in the commentaries on the Koran, the hadith.

These persecutions happened before, wiping out the Catholic communities of North Africa and the Middle East. Same religion, same mind-set...Prayers needed.

I have received these two emails from our missionary friends, one yesterday and one this morning. I just wanted to pass it on so that as many people as possible can pray specifically for our brothers and sisters.This is so sad...
 
A friend just got a text message from her brother asking her to shower him and his parish in prayer. He is part of a mission and ISIS has taken over the town they are in today. He said ISIS is systematically going house to house to all the Christians and asking the children to denounce Jesus. He said so far not one child has. And so far all have consequently been killed. But not the parents.
The UN has withdrawn and the missionaries are on their own. They are determined to stick it out for the sake of the families - even if it means their own deaths. He is very afraid, has no idea how to even begin ministering to these families who have seen their children martyred. Yet he says he knows God has called him for some reason to be his voice and hands at this place at this time. Even so, he is begging prayers for his courage to live out his vocation in such dire circumstances. And like the children accept martyrdom if he is called to do so.
She asked me to ask everyone we know to please pray for them. These brave parents instilled such a fervent faith in their children that they chose martyrdom. Please surround them in their loss with your prayers for hope and perseverance.
She was able to talk to her brother briefly by phone. She didn't say it but I believe she believes it will be their last conversation. Pray for her too. She said he just kept asking her to help him know what to do and do it. She told him to tell the families we ARE praying for them and they are not alone or forgotten -- no matter what. Her e mail broke my heart. Please keep all in your prayers. Thanks
This came this morning... Just a few minutes ago I received the following text message on my phone from Sean Malone who leads Crisis Relief International (CRI). We then spoke briefly on the phone and I assured him that we would share this urgent prayer need with all of our contacts.
"We lost the city of Queragosh (Qaraqosh). It fell to ISIS and they are beheading children systematically. This is the city we have been smuggling food too. ISIS has pushed back Peshmerga (Kurdish forces) and is within 10 minutes of where our CRI team is working. Thousands more fled into the city of Erbil last night. The UN evacuated it's staff in Erbil. Our team is unmoved and will stay. Prayer cover needed!"
Please pray sincerely for the deliverance of the people of Northern Iraq from the terrible advancement of ISIS and its extreme Islamic goals for mass conversion or death for Christians across this region.

Good Article, Thanks Ken!

http://www.alternet.org/economy/how-ayn-rand-brought-you-kim-kardashian-and-cult-self-obsessed-celebrity

Although, I disagree with the reference to Paul Ryan, having heard him in person, I do not think he is a Randite.



Mass Celebrating The Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham, Catholic Shrine, Walsingham

Bishop Mark Davies said the Mass. Also involved were Fr. Jeremy Davies and Father Jacob. It was the annual Pilgrimage in Reparation for the Sanctity of Life. The image of Mary, Patron of Life, is from the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Bedford.  Most of the people attending were ordinary people, who support the culture of life.  Some were from SPUC, 40 days for life, March for Life Birmingham on 16th May 2015, and Helpers of God's Precious Infants.  Thanks to Carole for the photos. September 21, 2014


Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham repeat Drama

Thursday, 20 June 2013


Walsingham: A Drama in Three Acts

Walsingham: A Drama in Three Acts copyright 2013

A Play on the History of Walsingham Pilgrimage Site for the Contemporary Audience

Characters in order of appearance:

Act One: One Scene with Moving Tableaux (not still)

William Shakespeare
Lear
Cordelia
King Louis from Lear
Richeldis and Sir  Geoffry (son) de Faverche or Favarches
Carmelite Anchorites Giles and Nicodemus
Augustinian Friars
Richard II

Act Two: Three Scenes with Moving Tableaux

Scene One
Shoemakers of Walsingham
Bircham, Copping, Wehh, Castleton, Clark, Hall, Johnson, Powell, Ringstead, Woodcock

Scene Two
St. Philip Howard
Henry VII
Henry VIII
Katherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn
Courtiers

Scene Three
Mob of 1537
Thomas Sydney
Pub and Innkeepers, the Bull, the Black Lion, the Crown, the King’s Head, the White Lion, Exchange Inn,

Act Three: Two Scenes with a few Moving Tableaux

Scene One:
Anne Dacre
Lady Throckmorton (1651)
Dooks, a little white dog
Rev Edward Worseley
Martyrs of Walsingham Laity and Augustinian Friars
St. Philip Howard
Martyrs of Walsingham Laity and Augustinian Friars
2013 members of the town; unidentified, shop-keepers, pub owners, clergy, a few pilgrims, etc.

Scene Two:
Burton, Turnkey at the Bridewell 1797


(Staging is modern techniques, such as black stage backdrops for spot lighting; backdrops include only minimalist architectural designs, the largest being the ruined priory arch which stands today, the House of Nazareth, the original shrine, the sea at the Norfolk coast, a Tudoresque hall, and a modern street in Walsingham with shops. One image for each scene as indicated. All the actors in the First Act must speak in upper class, king’s English. As to the sets, there are options depending on money. Of course.

These would be more powerful if actually made of wood, but if money is an issue, can be photographs on canvas with lights in the background to show designs; muted colours, not bright, such as greys, blacks, browns, etc. until the modern scene of today, which would be in natural colours; same with costumes, which, although all of the time of the characters (historically correct) would be all in browns, blacks and greys, until the modern scene, again, with colours. One might ask some of the current inhabitants of the village if they would be willing to be in that last scene in normal attire. I am sure some would be happy to take part.)

Act I: Scene One
The Introduction by Shakespeare

(Dark Stage, with spotlight into which walks, stage right, William Shakespeare in historical dress.. He has a Peter Wimsey type voice)

William Shakespeare: Those of you who have been following the thing you call television or other sources, know by now that I am a Catholic. Of course, I hid many hints in my plays and sonnets to this effect. (Sighs)

Look here, look here. (He points with his left hand to the new spotlighted area to his left and, of course, the lines are from the end of the play).

{Second Spotlight appears on Lear, Cordelia, and King Louis of France scene)

FranceWill you have her? She herself is her dowry…

Fairest Cordelia, thou are most rich, being poor,
Most choice, forsaken and most loved, despised!
Thee and they virtues here I sieze upon;
Be lawful! I take up what’s cast away.
Gods, gods, ‘tis strange that from their cold’st neglect
My love should kindle to inflamed respect.
Thy dowerless daughter, king, thrown to my chance,
Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France.
Not all the dukes of waterish Burgundy
Can buy this unprized precious maid of me.
Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind:
Thou losest here, a better where to find.

(Spot light fades as King and Cordelia hold hands.)

William Shakespeare: Hmm, the new critics missed the point here, as I was referring also to the Queen of Heaven, the real Queen of England and France, Our Lady of Walsingham, now dowerless after the horrors of Henry’s playfellow’s designs. But, I am racing ahead.

The dowry of Mary is England. The Recusants knew this. I know this. Cruelly was her dowry snatched from her by thieves and murderers, assassins, one of my favourite words, which I invented, by the way. Her beautiful image taken to Chelsea and chopped up for firewood. Here. (He points again to the left and we see thugs chopping up a wooden statue of Our Lady of Walsingham in the streets of Chelsea and throwing the bits into a fire.) So many wept at the stealing of her land, England, by those who only loved themselves. Well, they have an eternity to think about their deeds.

Our Lady of Ipswich image was also chopped up for firewood, as was an image from Wales, used to burn a holy friar, named Forrest, the image brought to London for the purpose of martyring this good man. (spotlight goes to friar being burnt at the stake with image pieces).

She is her own dowry, Our Dear Lady and Mother. She, dower less, desires that all England come back to her loving reign, as one of our later popes have said. I read Leo XIII’s words for you. (He holds up a scroll “When England returns to Walsingham, Our Lady will return to England.”  In 1893, the English Catholic Bishops dedicated the land to Mary, Our Mother, again. She will not return to England unless the Catholics return to Walsingham. Our bishops, our priests, you and I, the laity, we must pray for this. We must work for this.

But, perhaps you do not know of Walsingham and Mary’s Dowry. Let a little story of this great shrine begin. Ah, I do miss directing… This is fun. Shall I start at the beginning, or in media res? Hmm, let me start with the gentle Richeldis in the year 1061.

(Spotlight leaves Shakespeare and moves on to the original shrine of the House of Nazareth and two characters, Richeldis and her son, Sir Geoffry standing by an outside altar, before the building of the shrine. The altar stands on a grassy flat plain before many trees.  Richeldis is holding a vase of Roses and speaking with her son. They are dressed in subdued colors, but the costumes of their day. Richeldis is wearing a small coronet.)

Richeldis: Since the Dearest Queen of Heaven came to me, I have desired this day, my son. Here, in this place, we have made a little Nazareth, where the Angel Gabriel told Mother Mary she was to be the God-Bearer. How wonderful that Mary has created a holy stamp, an image of that sacred place here.

Geoffry: Dear Mother, may I continue your work here and invite the Augustinians to continue your work with our monies, my heritage?

Richeldis: This is my dream, dear one. Yes, let all England come here to honour the Mother and praise the Son.  This statue will wear my coronet, given to me by your father on the day of our marriage. As we were crowned husband and wife, so she is crowned the Heavenly Bride. (Richeldis takes off her crown and puts in on the head of the wooden statue. If this statue has to be a canvas backdrop, an option, Richeldis lays it on an altar in front of the image.)

Geoffry: Mother, Our Lady of Glastonbury will be the only image which takes precedence to this, Our Queen and Prince. I shall see this shrine endowed for years to come. We shall build a small domicile, 16 yards long, 10 yars wide and a little wooden chapel inside of 7 yards by 30 feet long, just like Mary’s little house in Nazareth.

Richeldis: Ask the good Carmelite anchorites to buy more boats, with some of your inheritance, to ferry the pilgrims from the North, as I see in my mind, many coming here throughout the ages. England will be renewed if Mary is honored in this little house, this small shrine of Nazareth.

Geoffry: Ah, mother, look, pilgrims, here, now.

(Enter two Carmelite friars with a small group of mixed poor and wealthy pilgrims-maybe six or seven.)

Giles: Noble Richeldis, we have heard of your holy house called the New Work, and bring these good people from the far north. They come from York and the West Riding to see your image. We have boated them from my anchor hold in All Saint’s near Bishop’s Lynn. But, my shoes are so wet, please forgive me if I take them off on this holy ground.

Nicodemus: I shall remove my sandals as well, as here Mary has visited our people, the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons, together blessed by Our Lady. We have come from Long Sutton, by the Wash. Some have come fromNorwich, via Attlebridge and Bechospital, the hostel there. Already, there is talk of a great accommodation for thirteen poor pilgrims to stay over night in that area.

First Pilgrim: Yes, I stayed at an inn free! And had a full English breakfast!

Geoffry: We shall begin to do penance for England, by walking barefoot for a mile outside this shrine. What do you think, Mother?

Richeldis: Yes, and I, too, now removes my shoes in honor of Our Lady. Welcome, Palmers, welcome, all.

(All the pilgrims bend over and take off their shoes, kneeling on the floor in front of the image and altar. Richeldis places the vase of roses on the altar.)

This scene ends with the singing of the Ambrosian Hymn  one of the oldest hymns. And they say, first, the little prayer of St. Aldhelm. Augustinian Friars join the group in song.)

Prayer of St. Aldhelm

O Virgin Mother of our God, O Star
Of life’s dark sea, we have thee from afar;
O, by they merits keep in spotless fame,
This altar sacred to they glorious name.

Aeterna Christi munera, 
Et martyrum victorias, 
Laudes ferentes debitas, 
Laetis canamus mentibus. 
Ecclesiarum principes, 
Belli triumphales duces, 
Coelestis aulae milites, 
Et vera mundi lumina. 
Terrore victo saeculi,
Spretisque poenis corporis, 
Mortis sacrae compendio, 
Vitam beatam possident. 
Traduntur igni martyres, 
Et bestiarum dentibus, 
Armata saevit ungulis 
Tortoris insani manus, 
Nudata pendent viscera, 
Sanguis sacratus funditur, 
Sed permanent immobiles 
Vitae perennis gratia.
 
Devota sanctorum fides, 
Invicta spes credentium; 
Perfecta Christi charitas, 

Mundi triumphat principem. 
In his Paterna gloria, 
In his voluntas Filii, 
Exsultat in his Spiritus, 
Coelum repletur gaudiis. 
Te nunc, Redemptor, quaesumus, 
Ut ipsorum consortio 
Jungas precantes servulos, 
In sempiterna saecula. Amen.

(Light fades and Shakespeare returns in a spotlight to the stage right, as in the beginning)

William Shakespeare: Sweet. And, as I am an actor, I shall read the first mention of England as Mary’s Dowry as we wrap up this part of the story, which would make a great play, doncha’think?.

But, first, let me remind you that Glastonbury, as noted by Sir Gregory, was the primary shrine of Our Lady, and William of Malmsbury, in the 12th century, noted this great place of water and peace. But, I shall let someone else tell you of that. Even before GlastonburySt. AugustineEngland’s Apostle, built a church in honor of Our Ever-Virgin, at Ely, not too far from here, as the crow flies. One of my favourite ladies, St. Etheldreda, rebuilt the church, after it was destroyed by Penda, one of the first kings to hate Our Blessed One. Such a precedent…the destruction of places dedicated to Mother Mary, began so early. But, again, I race ahead with the advantage of an eternal view. William, Bishop of Norwich, between 11-46 and 1174, invited the Augustianians into Parva Walsingham to set up the great priory. Geoffry de Favarches granted to Edwy, his clerk the chapel which his mother had built and the palmers came in the hundreds.

Here is dowry reference, which we all knew and loved until Henry, who, by the way, destroyed all the records of this shrine and others. How he came to hate Mary and her Son. (He shakes his head and holds up the scroll.)

The Solemn Consecration of England to Our Lady.

(King Richard II comes in and snatches the scroll from Shakespeare).

King Richard II: I beg your pardon, actor, but I can read my own decree. And, I hate your play about me.

William Shakespeare: Sorry, I was being a bit too politically correct.

King Richard II. A bit? You ruined my reputation for centuries, cad.

William Shakespeare: Well, I was being paid by the Tudors and Boleyns.

King Richard II: I shall speak with you later. These good people want to move on to the gory stuff. There all used to computer games and you are so long-winded, Will. But first, the pledge…one of the best things I ever did was make this consecration. Well, if Mary Our Queen of Heaven can forgive you, I suppose I can. But the play is awful. Poor Anne, how she suffered…

William Shakespeare: Stop it, my Liege Lord and read.

Richard II: Alright.

O Blessed Virgin here
Behold this is thy Dowerie.
Defend it now, preserve it still
In all prosperities.

William Shakespeare: Is that it?

Richard II: Well, there is a bit more about making the shrine a national site and stuff. But Henry…destroyed all the documents and this is a historical guess. It is in the Bodelian, I think.

I was here, you know, in 1315. The pub was great-lovely lamb and good French wine. Anne especially loved getting new shoes made after the mile walk. She chose white lamb’s skin with embroidered roses. Of course, some kings came before me.

William Shakespeare: Really?

Richard II: Yes, Henry III came in 1241 and Edward I came two times, 1280 and 1296. (He can be thinking on his fingers, as it were.) David Bruce came three years after me, in 1364, but I do not know if he left anything. We all left many gold things, like jewelry, swords and scabbards, even small trinkets, like medals made of gold and silver, and our own rings. Of course, Henry Creep stole them all for you-know-who.

William Shakespeare: That is all in the next act.

Richard II: You don’t say. I think I shall join these curs, and watch the rest of the play.

William Shakespeare: Ah, there is a chair just for you, my Lord. ‘Til Act II, adieu. King sits on a chair at the edge of the audience.)  By the way, do you know that there is a window in the now Anglican church, which has you in it, as well as Henry Creep?

Richard II: What? Me in a window with a Tudor! I have to see this, Will. I am sure the Wilton Diptych is better. Where is this thing?

William Shakespeare: I shall take you there. Do not be too upset, my Lord. The widow is modern.

Richard II: Let us go, then.

(They leave and the First Act ends).


Act II

(The act begins with many men at shoe working benches with tools making shoes. The stage is brightly lit at first. There are shoes everywhere. These actors must use broad Norfolk accents, as a break from the above and the typical Shakespearean technique of alternating upper and lower class scenes.)

Copping: How much did you make last year, Bircham?

Bircham: Not bad, but I am not going to tell you. Too many shoes in the tithe barns, though. And, if I have to be honest, I would have to pay more taxes, and more tithing. Plus, the misses has another bun in the oven.

Clark: My oldest one in Betherton, a long way away, says the tithe barn there is enormous. He is making shoes with very odd designs.  He said that there is more tax on the pointed ones—the longer the point, the higher the tax.

Copping: I remember the old days when all the shoe taxes were the same. Blast it. The next thing you know, they’ll be taxing the slits in the sides where the silk stockings show through. Can they tax a hole, I wonder?

Bircham: Hey, Ringstead and Wehh, you’re awfully quiet today.

Ringstead. I am not in the mood to talk.

Wehh: He knows somethun’

(All stop working and look at Ringstead)

Clark: What do you know? Are we going to have a special group of Palmer’s from London? They always want new shoes.

Wehh: He ain’t gonna tell. Are you, Ringstead?

Ringstead: I am not talking.

Bircham: Woodcock, Smith, get over here. What’s with Ringstead?

Woodcock: It’s the Second Visitation.

(Silence)

Hall: Those goons aren’t commin’ agin, are they?

Wehh: Ringstead has a brother-in-law in Norfolk who said that they were shoeing horses three days ago and visitin’ monasteries and priories across the plains, up from London. Some of the Palmer’s left early from Attlebridge and went back home, rather than coming here.

Ringstead: Shut up, Wehh. This is my business.

Bircham (getting up in a threatening way and going over to Ringstead) This is all of our business. If they are going to shut down the shrine, our businesses will go. Cannot you see that, Ringstead?

Ringstead: I only know what my sister’s kin said.

Clark (getting up as well). I heard that in Glastonbury, some of the tailors moved out, even as far as Wells, to save business. I also heard that up in Fountains, some of the sheep shearers were making to create guilds separate from the Abbey. 

Bircham: One has to think of one’s family first. A revolution is not a dinner party.

Castleton: One has to think of God first.

Wehh: You will be the first to go with that fairy attitude.

Clark: If the shrine is closed, we all lose our jobs. There will be no need of shoes, as the pilgrims won’t be comin’, won’t be leaving their shoes at the Slipper Chapel.

Castleton: We need to stand up to this. No one has a right to destroy religion. No one.

Hall: I heard rumors of places, like even…what’s that noise?

Castleton: Horses, horses. (He gets up and looks out stage left)

Visitators. Right here, in the street, in front of the Priory.

Copping: I can’t believe this is happening in Walsingham. Henry was just here in my dad’s day.

Hall: Yeah, dancing with the royal whore.

Bircham: I wonder if they need shoes?

Clark: This is war on the Church in 1535.

Woodcock: Who took the Oath here? Which one of you have taken the Oath?
.
(Some hold there heads down)

Castleton: I will never take the Oath. (He leaves).

Wehh: You can be holier than me, but I took it and all my kin. I do not understand all this anyway. Besides, what has the Church done for me?

Castleton: Provided you and your family with work for generations…that’s all. Given you the Holy Bread and shriven you once a year so you don’t go to hell.

Bircham: I no longer believe in hell, or the Church, but only in Bircham and my family.

Clark: You cannot say that. You cannot turn your back on Mary, Our Lady of Walsingham.

Ringstead: I can and I will.

Wehh, and several others. No, we will fight, we won’t let them take the friars. One is George Aysborrow, the subprior. I can see his face. He has been beaten. There ae about sixteen friars in ropes and chains.

(Castleton had gone out and runs back in.): They have gotten Nicholas Mileham and Tom Guisborough. They’ve got them by the hair.

Ringstead: Those men were in prison all night. Thomas Cromwell said that it was never merry in England since the litany was brought into the service. I agree with him. Get rid of this popery.

Clark: And you knew this, you?

Wehh: Let’s go help them.

(He is stopped by Ringstead.)

Ringstead: It’s the times, Wehh, think of your Cecily and your Thomas. Think of us. Painted timber is not God. God is not in that image.

(Castleton leaves quickly. Bircham is at the door)

Bircham: They are taking them out and I betcha I know where they are going. Now, they got six more friars, but I cannot see their faces.

(Sound of horses neighing and loud voices yelling, Traitors, devils)

Clark: God have mercy on us.

Bircham: One has the image. One has the Lady on his horse.

(They all look out the door and windows)

Wehh: Look, Castleton is fighting one of the king’s men. They’ve got him down.

Ringstead: Religion makes no difference. It’s all the same. Men get what they want. You get what you want and I get what you want.

Bircham: Clark, look after Mary. I am going with Castleton. Look, one visitator is Richard Southwell. Hypocrites all. Blood, blood on the saffron plants across the road.

Clark: You? You cynic? You are going…?

Bircham: Taking the Lady is too much. Look after my Mary, as I look after Jesu’s Mary.

Hall: The friars are singing. Listen:

O blessed Virgin, praise to thee;
England thy Dowrie
Was lost, is turned by thee againe
From schisms and heresies.

(Lights out and the scene changes)

Scene Two: (Dark night in the main street of Walsingham. A man in aristocratic dress is standing in the middle of the street. He is St. Philip Howard. There is a large barn owl hooting, The spotlight is on Howard. He has a scroll. He is standing on stage left.)

Philip Howard: I have my poem here. It is not too long. I want to read it to you. It is about how “brazen faced heresy” stole my Lovely Lady of Walsingham.

I call it Lament of Walsingham. But, before I read it. I want to share a story of a king’s life, or at least, his love of Walsingham.

Henry VIII first came here—no wait—let me start with his father, Henry VII.
After Henry VI came in 1455 and Edward IV in 1469, leaving wondrous gifts, Henry VII came in thanksgiving in favour of a battle of Lambert Simnel in 1487. After the Battle of Stoke, he sent a banner and willed a gold statue of himself to Our Lady. Young Henry came with his fiancée, Katherine. That was the first visit of the corrupt king.

In 1510, Henry VIII walked barefoot in the last stage and gave a fantastic necklace to the Holy Queen, which, typical, he took back 28 years later.  His saintly wife, his real wife, Katherine, came with him in that year of 1510 and she came again in 1513 to give thanks for the victory of the battle of Flodden. Happier days of gratitude and love for Our Lady…

(As he is referring to these incidents, spotlights at stage right highlighted these royal pilgrims walking and kneeling before the image of Our Lady. They leave gold jewelry and especially the large, valuable necklace from Henry VIII.)

(A spotlight moves to a Tudor dancing hall where Henry sees Anne Boleyn and asks her to dance, interrupting another man who is with her).

But, Henry’s third visit to the area was the beginning of the end of Catholic England.
Just up the road apiece (Howard gestures), Henry saw Anne Boleyn for the first time and danced with her. What a dance they made, in the ruins of the One, Holy Catholic Church, a dance which continues today in the ruins of Walsingham.

I cannot remember the date, maybe 1523. She was always engaged to someone or another.  However, that meeting has led to this lonely owl hooting in the ruins of the priory. (Priory arch comes up in the back of the mostly grey stage.)

I must confess that I ignored my own dear Anne for years, caught up in the court. But I repented and her love for me never failed.

Here is my poem, which I wrote in prison before my own death by starvation and illness in 1595. And, by the way, if you caught the name of one of the visitators, Richard Southwell, his grandson is also one of the great martyrs, Robert Southwell. Such was the chaos and choices of families in those days. (An owl hoots) Ah, my poem.

A Lament for Walsingham

In the wrecks of Walsingham
Whom should I choose
But the Queen of Walsingham
To be guide to my muse?

Then, thou Prince of Walsingham,
Grant me to frame
Bitter plaints to rue thy wrong,
Bitter woe for thy name.

Bitter was it, O, to see
The sily sheep
Murder’d by the ravening wolves
While the shepherd did sleep.

Bitter was it, O, to view
The sacred vine,
Whilst the gardeners play’d all close,
Rooted up by swine.

Bitter, bitter, O, to behold
The grass to grow
Where the walls of Walsingham
So stately did show.

Such were the worth of Walsingham
While she did stand;
Such are the wrecks as now do show
Of that so holy land.

Level, level with the ground
The towers do lie,
Which with their golden glittering tops
Pierced out to the sky.

Where were gate no gates are now,--
The ways unknown
Where the press of friars did pass
While her fame far was blown.

Owls do shriek where the sweetest hymns
Lately were sung;
Toads and serpents hold their dens
Where the palmers did throng.

Weep, weep, O Walsingham
Whose days are nights—
Blessings turn’s to blasphemies,
Holy deeds to despites.

Sin is where our lady sate;
Heaven turn’d is to hell;
Satan sits where our Lord did sway—
Walsingham, O, Farewell.

(Philip puts down the scroll and just stares sadly at the audience for a moment. Lights out.)

Scene III (The famous wall painting in the local shop is main design. Thomas Sydney, the hounds and the hare).

Thomas Sydney: Ah, come on, people. You will have jobs with me. Look, I can put you back to work in some small shoe shops. I have bought the saffron fields. I need servants for the new hall I am going to build. Get over this hatred of the king and you will be thanking your lucky stars.

Mob of 1537 speaking one after the other, as unidentified groupies: Why should we go along with you. Henry ruined all our business. We have no customers. No palmers. No royalty…this is a disaster. You got what you want for 90 shillings. What do we get? Nuthin’ Latimer took the Lady and chopped her up. How do we know you won’t do the same to us?

Thomas Sydney: Fine, than you can take your wives, your sons and daughters and move elsewhere. I have friends who have men who want jobs. I can bring them here in a minute. Are you going to the king’s church? Let me read this from the Convocation of June, 1536. “..that our Lady, the blessed Virgin, was no better than another woman, and that she can prevail with our Saviour no more than another sinful person of her sex.”

Mob of 1537: Well, we are not theologians. We are just workers. How do we know what Mary is.  We cannot depend on religion to feed us. Sure, we get fined otherwise and only those rich nobles can afford to be recusants. What choices do we have? Hey, where is Lady Elizabeth Andrew’s ring and where is the golden cloth vestments of Lord Scales?  Where is the Countess of Warwick’s image? Who got these things? What happened to all the goods the Franciscans had from Elizabeth de Burgh, the Countess of Clare, in the Great Guest House. Where is all the wealth?

Thomas Sydney: Well, some made good choices and were rewarded with the offerings to idols, and some made bad choices and they are dead. Their quartered bodies lie in the ditch of the field beyond the walls. Their heads have been eaten by crows.

Mob of 1537: We don’t like what you did to the Eucharist. Dumped the Holy Bread on the ground. Stomped on it. Spit on it. Peed on it.

Thomas Sydney: Now, now, that was not me. Those were the soldiers of Thomas Cromwell, as you well know. They just got carried away a bit. Haven’t we all sinned?

Mob of 1537: Blasphemy will haunt this place for centuries. Sacrilege stalks the village. We feel it.

Thomas Sydney: Stop being superstitious fools. I think you better realize your own here and now. Take my offers or you and your families will starve. The tiger will eat you whether you are kind to it or not.

(Mob of 1537 individuals talk among themselves.)

Mob of 1537: We are not martyrs like Aysburrow or the others. Do we really have choices?

Thomas Sydney: Stop pretending there is a heaven or a hell. We only have the now.

Mob of 1537:  We shall take the jobs. We choose the now. Life is hell enough.

(Black out of scene.)



Act III

(Two young and beautiful women come to the fore, center stage, in the spotlight but they move to stage right when the second spot comes up. Their dresses are of a different time, as Anne died in 1630 and this Lady Throckmorton is from 1651-so change the costumes a little. They are sitting on a garden bench with the arch of the ruin behind them. Lady Throckmorton has a little white dog, like a Westie.)

Anne Dacre: Many of us went into hiding and then to France. Many more cooperated with the Parliament and saved their lands, but not their souls. Some benefited by buying land cheaply to the cash-strapped king.

Lady Throckmorton of 1651:  My dear Jesuit priest wrote to me about the Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I shall share with you, Dear Countess of Arundel, what he wrote to me.

Anne Dacre: And I shall share with you my vow.

Lady Throckmorton: Good, we Catholics must support each other in these terrible days.
Father Edward Worseley writes: (and a Moving Tableau appears with the Jesuit, Fr. Worseley reading this note out of a book he is writing with a quill pen.

I made choice to compare this work in honour of the most Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, whos Dowry our own now distracted country was sometimes not undeservedly stiled. Both in respect of the peculiar devotion our religious predecessors, above other nations of the Christian world, ore towards her, and her reciprocal procuring, by her powerful intercession, innumerable select favours for them.

Anne Dacre: And I have made a long vow, dedicating my life and belief to the Immaculate Conception. Here is part of my written note.

Lady Throckmorton: Yes, dear, let me hear it.

Anne Dacre: It is very long. I keep it at the castle. I shall read part of it.

…I, Anne, following the steps and examples of many most learned, virtuous and holy person, in this sacred place, and on this cheerful and happy day of the festivity of thy Conception, do confess thee, O Mother of God, to have been preserved from original sin in the first instant of thy Conception, through the merits of Christ, the Son of God and thee, foreseen from all eternity. And I take God thy Son and thy self to witness that I will constantly, by His grace, retain even to the last moment of my life this judgment of they preservation from original sin. This I promise, this I vow, this I swear, so help me God and His holy saints, --always understood with due submission to the determination of Holy Church and the chief pastor thereof, His Holiness of Rome

There is much more. I love the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Walsingham. I pray at the end of this piece for purity of mind and hatred of all sin.

Lady Throckmorton: That is lovely and profound. And, in a letter of St. Omer’s to the English Poor Clares at Graveling, in 1665, is this sad, sad note:

That land, once bearing title of the Dowry of the Virgin Mother, heretofore holy and fruitful in this land, but now, alas, overrun with heresy and sin.”

But, Anne, where are the saints now? We need holy men and women again, dear Anne. Dooks, come here. We are the Church Militant in this evil age. We need more purity of mind, purity of heart and soul.

(Behind them in a spotlight are the Walsingham martyrs, both lay and friars, as well as Philip Howard.)

Anne Dacre: But, gone before us, are the great martyrs of Walsingham and those of Tyburn, and those of the Tower, like my dear husband. They intercede for us daily, I am sure. Tyburn to Walsingham, they stand in a long chain from there to heaven, asking God to strengthen us in these times.

Lady Throckmorton: But, what will the generations after us believe? Will they know Our Lady of Walsingham? Will they love her? Will the one, true, holy and Catholic Church return to Walsingham? I fear for the long years to come, dear Countess. Those good martyrs, like Christ, were taken outside the town walls, at Tyburn, in Walsingham, like anathemata. Will the outcasts be remembered, like Christ on our burnt altars?

Anne Dacre: Let us pray, dear one.

(They bow their heads and all the 2013 people of Walsingham appear, old and young, going to the arch of the priory and praying all together the Hail Mary. Lights down after coming up very bright).


Scene Two (Spotlight on one man, who has keys in his right hand. He has a strong Norfolk accent. Make sure this is said slowly and deliberating, not rushed.)

Burton, Turnkey at the Bridewell 1797: Well, did you think that was the very end? It is not the end
.
I, Turnkey Burton of the Bridewell, can tell you that the history of Walsingham is not over yet. No, it is not. But, who knows where this story will end or how, I don’t know. Look around you, look at yourselves. Will there be a Walsingham when you are old and grey? Will there be Catholicism in this land? Maybe not. There was a long time without Catholics here, I can tell you, a long time. Now, myself, I was not a Catholic, at least not one that anyone knew about, anyway. I kept an Agnus Dei under my pillow, like many good Anglicans. But, I can tell you that when Mary, Our Mother, was loved and honoured here, things were different.

I cannot put my finger on it. I cannot say what the difference was, exactly. Maybe the roses bloomed the same and the owls hooted just as loudly all night, keeping us locals awake, maybe people were kinder, gentler, more loving, more true…
Something was different. A life, a spirit of motherliness, of care wafted in the air like the chant of the friars. We were the dowry of Mary, and maybe, maybe we still are….maybe we still are…The story has not ended, yet.

(He walks off jingling his keys, out of the spotlight. One hears the hoot of the barn owl in the distance and the arch of the Priory remains lit for a few minutes.)


The End.

Prayers


Please remember me daily in your prayers. This has been one of the four most difficult years for illness in my life.

I suppose illness is more common when one is older, but poverty and moving have added to my general problems with illness in the past year.

I truly ask my good readers to join me in prayer that God and Mary Undoer of Knots answer my prayers for a permanent place to live. God has been so good to me by providing shelter and necessities, mostly from my readers. I thank all of you who have helped in any way. But, I still remind God and my guardian angels that I am human and need stability.

Stability is a huge necessity for working out perfection.

Thank you for all your support and prayers. Today, I am very weak from hours of asthma attacks.

God is in charge.

People Ask Me

"How can I hear the Lord speaking to me?"

In our individualistic society, members of the Catholic Church are not used to the long tradition of communal discernment. The nuns and monks in monasteries know how this works, but most lay people do not.

If one is not blessed with a community, one is denied communal discernment, which allows those shepherds in charge of the sheep to pray for guidance and direction.

The laity have not been trained to hear God, to listen to God in prayer and most lay people fill the day with noise.

If one lives in noise and distraction, one will not hear God.

So, how does one hear God if one is a lay person?

A few suggestions:

1) If one is married, the wife must take direction and guidance from the husband. This is how she hears God. The man must have an intimate relationship with God and listen to Him. If the man is not right with God, the wife and family suffer, but the wife must pray directly for guidance and direction. One cannot trust those in mortal sin to "hear God".

2) If one is single, one must absolutely have either a spiritual director or a regular confessor and be totally honest with this priest. Without such a guide, especially if one is alone, one will veer off into odd directions. But, find a good priest. St Teresa of Avila suffered under bad spiritual directors for years.

3) Over a period of years, or through an obvious special grace, one can hear God through the small still voice of God, Who will speak through events in one's life, Scripture, and others who are in sanctifying grace. God speaks through the daily Mass readings and through the Divine Office.

3) We all hear God through the encyclicals, apostolic letters, catechism and other documents of the Church.

4) If we are fortunate to have holy priests in our churches, we hear God through the sermons.


Do not be deluded, as satan loves to imitate angels of light and lead people astray. But, if one is orthodox and in sanctifying grace, one will learn how to use the gift of discernment, which is given to all for personal growth in holiness.

God rarely speaks in an audible voice, but He does speak through the interior movements of the Holy Spirit. Again, the teachings of the Church and common sense dictate what is good and true.

The problem is usually not that God is silent, but that a person is not silent enough.

God is silent most of the time in the Dark Night, when He is demanding that one walks by faith alone.

to be continued...

Partial List of Podding and Community Posts

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/AcropoliumInside.jpg/640px-AcropoliumInside.jpg
Many myths exist about the early Christian communities. The Protestants wrote tons of false history on these "home churches" in order to undermine the hierarchical structure and church worship of the first several centuries.

But, the writings of the Early Church Fathers and the Doctors of the Church show a different story.

What we shall experience as the remnant Church may not at all resemble the early Church, which was centered from the earliest days on the basilica and the cathedral. The apostles were the bishops. The bishops organized the dioceses. These things are not "accretions".

However, as we face the destruction of Western Civilization, our world will more resemble the wrecked societies and cultures, the burnt cities and cathedral ruins of Western Africa after the onslaught of the enemies of the Church in the Seventh Century.

We may not have cathedrals, basilicas, schools, as those could be ruined or taken over by the Modernists, just as the Arians took over diocese after diocese in the Third and Fourth Centuries.

The one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church will witness the attack of many enemies. It is obvious we are heading for schism in the States.

So, what should our remnant Church look like and what can we do as Catholics now?

One may check the links at the end of this post, but here are a few ideas for now.

1) Moving close to other Catholics who are strong. NOW.

2) Building loving relationships which can endure persecution.

3) Realizing that one will not be able to endure great suffering alone or in a family isolated from others.

4) Developing a prayer life which is independent of the Mass, Adoration and other sacraments, as we very well may not have these.

I have at least 290 posts on community and podding.

Check these out for review.

16 Jul 2014
Responding to The Remnant. Posted by Supertradmum. This is a bit late, but better late than never. In the May 20th, 2014 issue of The Remnant, Father Celatus has. a list of issues, comments and events which he claims are ...
30 Jan 2014
Second, the remnant is saved by grace, by election, that is chosen by God, and are those who have kept the Ten Commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is baptism. Third, the remnant is those who ...
13 Feb 2014
There, people will find excellent confessors before the Sunday morning Mass, the sermons are orthodox and hard-hitting. The Mass is beautiful. I believe the remnant will last because of the Byzantine and TLM communities ...
30 Sep 2013
After slightly less than three months, I am leaving Ireland for the third time. This visit has been the best of the three. If there is a next time, I would love to visit the Galway area. Ireland changed while I was here, and formally ...

02 Feb 2014
This series will be called "February 24, 303." This was the day which witnessed the largest and worst persecution of Catholics in Rome, called after Diocletian asked the Oracle of Apollo approval for such an empire-wide ruling ...
04 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 XI. Posted by Supertradmum. In the times of the Great Persecution, the army was re-organized to become even more faithful to the emperor. The financial life of the empire was re-organized with new taxes.
11 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 XV. Posted by Supertradmum. The Romans had done persecutions before. What was the difference? Diocletian helped calm down the stress of financial difficulties. He increased taxes, built up the army, ...
04 Feb 2014
In the last analysis, the Great Persecution of Diocletian was a huge failure. If as many as 20,000 Catholics were killed in the Roman Empire, in all the provinces, the spread of Catholicism outweighed the death of the martyrs.
01 May 2014
Second, the remnant is saved by grace, by election, that is chosen by God, and are those who have kept the Ten Commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is baptism. Third, the remnant is those who ...
27 Feb 2013
At this time, on this day in history, we should all return to Augustine's City of God. If any book of the Classical Period would give us perspective on the events of today, it is Augustine's critique of Rome and his understanding of ...
19 Aug 2014
In Sermon 96, the great Doctor of the Church preaches on persecution, a reality in his day and the need for holiness. As in the City of God, Augustine in this sermons talks about two worlds, the world of the good and the world ...
21 Aug 2014
This eighth sentence, which goes back to the starting-point, and makes manifest the perfect man, is perhaps set forth in its meaning both by the circumcision on the eighth day in the Old Testament, and by the resurrection of the Lord after ... as it is said of the soul of the Church by the mouth of the prophet, “All the beauty of the king's daughter is within;” for outwardly revilings, and persecutions, and disparagements are promised; and yet, from these things there is a great ...
01 Mar 2013
Our last pope, Benedict XVI, is a great Augustinian scholar. I am sure he will have time to read this Doctor of the Church in the next two months, with this room with a view, if Benedict so desires.

05 Feb 2012
Crivelli's Agatha and Augustine are a strange juxtaposition of saints. but I have been thinking of both of them today. The painting fits into my theme today of youth, love and sacrifice. ... And though I cannot do this fully in this life, yet let me improve from day to day till I may do so to the full. Let me know You more and more in this life, that I may ...... Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics. Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as ...
03 Sep 2014
Catholics who trust in politics rather than Divine Providence will wake up one day realizing they had chosen a false god. There is a fema camp two hours from where I am today. ... Possidius, in his life of Augustine, tells how the bishop restored property donated to the church by one of the wealthy townsmen who, despite having no further legal claim to the land, asked for it back on behalf of his son. Augustine returned it, and refusing a large sum which the man sent for ...
20 Jul 2012
That they all were priests, then bishops, handing down the priesthood through Ordination to our own day is one of the great blessings and treasures of the Church. The Old ... St. Augustine started a community of celibate men.

11 Jan 2013
“Assyrian wickedness served as God's scourge for the Hebrews[26]'' is St. Augustine's comment on this text. And our Lord himself ... Marveling at these deeds, since his life was no more exemplary than the lives of the other monks, the superior asked him one day what was the cause of these miracles. He replied that he ... Do not get stuck on your favourite aspects of the spiritual life if these are contrary to the guidance and teaching of the Church. You will not be holy.
21 Jul 2012
It is in fact the case that not only the flourishing Church in Asia, which was once the vibrant heart of the Church, but also the Church in North Africa vanished entirely beneath the tempests of Islam. Of course, the force applied ...
21 Feb 2012
I have many Christian friends who want to ignore what is happening in the Middle-East and Africa, to their own peril. Some of my posts have followed certain trends. See below. The great Spencer sent this note on the move to ...
26 Dec 2012
They then set fire to the church," said Usman Mansir, resident of Peri village, near Potiskum, the economic capital of Yobe state. Mansir specified that a branch of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) was the ...
28 May 2012
... one was injured and nothing was broken in the church, located along the Avenue Jean Moulin, the parishioners, many of whom are elderly, were greatly shocked by the disrespectful act of the youths of North African origin.
07 Dec 2013
What would have become of us if we had been born in Asia, in Africa, in America, or in the midst of heretics and schismatic? He who does not believe is lost. He who does not believe shall be condemned. And thus, probably ...
13 Feb 2014
A martyr is specifically a person who dies witnessing the Faith of the Catholic Church and Jesus Christ. In other words, those Christians in Africa and in the Middle East who are actually being killed because they are Christians ...
02 Feb 2014
An agnostic, this scholar notes that in the unsettled economic times of the late 240s, the Church had grown and was beginning to be accepted in some circles as a force in society. But, alongside of that fact, was the hardening ...
30 Jan 2014
Fifth, the remnant has always really been small, contrary to romantic history of the Church. Sixth, the one ... They did not become Shinto as in Japan or muslims as in the mideast and north Africa over the centuries. PS....when ...
03 Feb 2014
Europe, the Middle Eastern provinces, Africa, including Egypt, all saw the imposition of the laws against Catholics. The great ... We know that the Church spread throughout the continents because of the Christian diaspora.
17 Nov 2013
All those dioceses up and down the Levant in the early days of the Church are gone. All those great basilicas and cathedrals which served the huge Catholic communities in Northern Africa are long gone. ... You can also, of course, say that the mindset of the churches has something to do with it...in my parish, which is run by Dominicans, we always have men enter the priesthood. Our province of Dominicans has 70 men in formation at the House of Studies in D.C.
07 Sep 2013
Prosperous cities of northern Africa completely disappeared after the destruction by the Vandals. Where there were villas, ...... Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics. Too many Church leaders do ...
04 Feb 2014
Christianity spread quickly throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East. Further persecutions would continue in all ...... Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics. Too many Church leaders do not think, ...
24 Aug 2014
We see daily the increase of those who hate Christianity wreaking havoc on communities in the Middle East, Africa. and through suppressive laws in all Western countries. The culture of ...... The Church Must Not Be Defensive
27 Aug 2014
No Angela of Foligno, no Augustinian martyrs of Africa...and more. One woman's prayers began all of this. ...... Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics. Too many Church leaders do not think, or do ...
03 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 V. Posted by Supertradmum. Diocletian re-introduced the draft, or conscription. The Persians had attacked the empire, but were successfully defeated. However, Diocletian, being an uber-organizer, seized ...
03 Feb 2014
Aurelius, Aetius, Gaius, and Lucius are sitting at cena, talking about the latest news concerning the February 24, 303 law. The wives are in the culina, with the maids, getting more wine for the evening's conversation.
04 Feb 2014
This would be a sequel to http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/february-24-303-ix.html) The "Villa of the Vineyards" was the talk of the city. Builders and artisans worked day by day restoring the old ...
03 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 VI. Posted by Supertradmum. With the ruins of the churches in Rome and in all the provinces, in the cities and in the countryside, with the destruction of the Scriptures and libraries of the cathedrals and ...
08 Feb 2014
If you missed February 24, 303. Posted by Supertradmum. Please take a look at these if you missed them... . http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/new-series-this-week-february-24-303.html
04 Feb 2014
What most people do not know, because the history of Western Civilization stopped being taught in most high schools in the 1980s, is that Diocletian came into power with an agenda because of the serious economic ...
02 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 III. Posted by Supertradmum. Moving from the established fact that totalitarian states guard the status quo by eliminating threats, and that such resulting persecutions are legal. one can state that such times of ...
02 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 IV. Posted by Supertradmum. Anxiety and stress, one terrorist attack of any medium size and a financial downturn could set off persecution. The Irish classical scholar, E. R. Dodds wrote Pagan and Christian ...
03 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 VIII. Posted by Supertradmum. A reminder in this series that the Great Persecution occurred throughout the entire Roman Empire. Europe, the Middle Eastern provinces, Africa, including Egypt, all saw the ...
03 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 VII. Posted by Supertradmum. Diocletian was seen as a "saviour", a reformer of good, old fashioned Roman values. He was successful in targeting a few groups which were increasingly seen as threatening ...
03 Feb 2014
Diocletian retired and left his empire's laws against the Catholics on the books. In fact, after he abdicated on May 1, 305, some of the provinces saw less persecution. However, in the eastern one, under Galerius and Maximian, ...
02 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 II. Posted by Supertradmum. from Mosiacarum et Romanarum Legum Collatio 6.4, qtd. and tr. in Clarke, 649; Barnes,Constantine and Eusebius, 19–20. "the immortal gods themselves will favour and be at ...
16 Mar 2014
Quoting United Nations figures, it says some 300,000 people have fled their homes over the past year. "Even if the government can't stop the attacks, at the very least, it can meaningfully assist the people who have been most devastated by them," says HRW's Africa director Daniel Bekele. Boko Haram was founded in ...... Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics. Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics click here ...

02 Feb 2014
Sunday, 2 February 2014 .... 24 For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. 25 Behold I have told it to you, beforehand. 26 If therefore they ...

12 Feb 2014
Read my last February 24, 303 post. http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/february-24-303-xv.html. Why tribulation? Here is Garrigou-Lagrange on the final stage of purification just before the ...
18 Jul 2012
Most French Muslims hail from the country's former colonies in North and sub-Saharan Africa. There is also further evidence that mosques are being erected at a much faster rate than Catholic churches. Mohammed ...
21 Jul 2012
Contrast the state of our society today and its past with the state of the Islamic culture that is spread out through various countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. This is very ...... The Church Must Not Be Defensive.

30 Aug 2014
Many Catholic young people have asked me "Where can I find a Catholic lay community?" I have one answer. At the foot of the Cross... Those who love Christ and are willing to suffer for Him in their daily lives form your ...
30 Jan 2014
To insist on an Easterner from New York understanding and living a Midwest lifestyle can be a sign of the lack of love, and the lack of spiritual foundation of a community. Some of us fit into certain cultures better than others.
30 Jan 2014
The two communities wherein I was involved from age 23 to age 30 plus, were communities wherein people actually sold their houses when houses came up for sale next to another community house and people created ...

13 Jan 2014
I especially remember one young man and his wife who were very keen on community, but could not get anyone interested in their Catholic family, their town, or their parish. If there is a community there in his small town, ...
30 Jan 2014
It is sad that the very leaders who could be helping the laity form base communities have either sold out to the secular world-view or have made idols of their own communities so as not to reach out any longer. Compromise in ...
31 Jan 2014
The only thing about the community idea that prairies me is how quickly these things can turn into cults. Years ago the Dc diocese had a big problem with the Mother of God community. People are still talking about that one.

04 Feb 2014
I have been "restless" and your community series and Feb 24 series are something I have thought about. Live in AR and Catholics are 6% of population - maybe a little more now. Grew up in Iowa in a Catholic county , school ...
12 Feb 2014
Wednesday, 12 February 2014 ... too old for this. God has a place, but it has not been shown to me yet. Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest. Labels: community, February 24, Men of the West, persecution ...

31 Jan 2014
Community builds on the first and second conversions. Only when one is dedicated to the life of perfection, can one succeed in community. First, a conversion to Christ and then a conversion to the baptismal promises and the ...
21 Jun 2014
If you are in Louisiana or Nebraska , pray that you run into those who are interested in podding. I am not going to be a hub for podding on this blog, but ask that you trust in the Holy Ghost to lead you to those men and women ...
13 Feb 2014
Happy confirmation from, of all saints, St. Etheldreda on the podding post. To have a pod is to have an ark. http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/last-post-on-community-podding.html.
02 Mar 2014
Check out this map if you are considering podding. Posted by Supertradmum · http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/03/01/where-in-the-u-s-are-there-heightened-protections-for-religious-freedom/.
17 Feb 2012
The blogging community has characteristics different than other groups already. Firstly, the people in the group are technically savvy to a certain degree, have time to blog and post, and want information. This narrows the ...
10 Feb 2014
Reminder to myself from myself through a brother-That is "community". Posted by Supertradmum · James Toups ‏@Toupsfamily Feb 9. "This seeking of perfection, and the desire to love God, is THE call of our life." via @ ...
29 Jan 2014
Go where there are solid, orthodox priests. Plan to either set something up now or go.....if you are not thinking of these possibilities, you are not looking, seeing, hearing the signs of the times. Read my posts on community, as


St. Louis Cathedral in Tunisia in 1899, no longer a church.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/St_Louis_Cathedral_-_Carthage_-_Tunisia_-_1899.jpg/800px-St_Louis_Cathedral_-_Carthage_-_Tunisia_-_1899.jpg