" PAST " THE LITTLE GIANT SUBVERTS THE DEFORMATION

" I  verily think no man can be said to have done more good of all those who laboured in the English vineyard. He was the immediate occasion of saving the lives of many hundreds of persons, both ecclesiastical and secular." (Father John Gerard S.J. 1564 - 1637)

The martyrdom of Nicholas Gooden Owen

 

Nicholas Gooden Owen is understood to have been born in Oxford around 1550 into a devout Catholic family, suffering under the Penal Laws directed against Catholics.He trained as a carpenter and for thirty years witnessed to his great Faith by going about the country building "Priest Holes" - these were secret hiding places within English homes where Priests could hide secure from the King's Commissioners enforcing the Penal Laws.

Calling himself "Little John"- for he is said to have been abnormally short - close to a dwarf perhaps - he travelled around the country plying his Priest Hole making trade. He asked for no payment other than his accommodation and sustenance, and sufficient food to get him to his next job.He always worked alone and at night in order to minimise the chance of betrayal.The total number of projects he completed is not known, but it seems likely to have been in the hundreds. He worked for the Jesuit Priest Henry Garnet (Martyr 1555-1606) for some years and became a Jesuit lay brother in due course.

Following the Martyrdom of Saint Edmund Campion, Nicholas publicly proclaimed Saint Edmund's innocence of the charges brought against him, Nicholas was arrested for a time and later released. But in 1594 he was arrested again and this time tortured but disclosed nothing. He was fined, but the fine was paid by an admiring Catholic family and so his release was again received - for the authorities had no inkling of his achievements, merely thinking him an accomplice of Priests in some general way.

But in 1606, the time of the Gunpowder Plot hysteria, he contrived to give himself up in order to facilitate the escape of several nearby Priests. Lord Cecil, the Secretary of State said of his capture: It is incredible, how great was the joy caused by his arrest.. knowing the great skill of Owen in constructing hiding places, and the innumerable quantity of dark holes which he had schemed for hiding Priests all through England."

He was at first delivered to the Marshalsea Prison, that strange institution which held men convicted by Court Martial for offences committed at sea, those who had committed "unnatural crimes",political figures and intellectuals accused of sedition or other inappropriate behaviour and debtors from London at the whim of their Creditors. A good indication of its operation and peculiarity can be gained from Dickens' story "Little Dorrit". From there he was transferred to the Tower of London.

THE MARSHALSEA PRISON - A STRANGE INSTITUTION

 

In the Tower, Saint Nicholas was most cruelly tortured. He was strung up by the wrists and increasingly heavy weights were tied to his feet until at last "his bowels gushed out with his life". He died in 1606 - most authorities say on 2nd March, a few make the date 12th November. He was canonized on 25 October,1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

The Tower of London

 

The Tower of London is notorious for the high profile political prisoners it has held including: the Princes in the Tower,  Ann Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Princess Elizabeth before she became Elizabeth I,Sir Walter Raleigh, in addition Blessed Margaret Pole and Saint Thomas More and many other heroes of the Faith.

Saint Nicholas Owen had the body of, maybe, a near dwarf - but he had the heart and spirit of a Giant with achievements to match.

Saint Nicholas Pray for us that we may have the grace to aim for your courage and vigour in defending the Faith, and be blessed with even a fraction of your achievements in the same cause. Amen.

" PAST" BATTLE IS JOINED TO DEFEND CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES

 

Cardinal George Pell of Sydney - Forthright Leadership

Serving with the Angels

The action of the Bishops of New South Wales in urging the faithful to vote against the Greens in the State Election on 26th March, 2011 is refreshing and commendable, the action of the Bishop of Broken Bay David Walker, in refusing to co-sign is indefensible and reprehensible given the Greens advocacy of Abortion, Same sex “Marriage”, Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Euthanasia, compounded by a policy which would reduce Government funding to many Catholic Schools.

Too often in Australia Bishops have kept silent whilst the winds of radical “Green” politics rose and rose in fury. Very late it seems, they have realised that these people are not so much concerned with matters environmental which are “warm and fuzzy “as they are fundamentally anti-human and anti-Christian.


The technique of subverting a popular movement as a path to power is one that the Marxists in their Communist days had honed to a fine sharp edge. Too often unionists found their legitimate grievances used as a stepping stone by those who wanted control of the union for other reasons and for causes the workers did not support. Now we find the Green movement has been similarly subverted by glib Marxist programmed types not so much concerned with the trees and the atmosphere as ending the lives of the unborn, unnatural sex, terminating the lives of the sick and the elderly, abusing the bodies of the stillborn or aborted and using social engineering to attack Christian Schools.


Having spent the last forty years protecting the hard-won community acceptance of Catholics, the Bishops have, until very late in the piece, mostly lost the habit of advocating Catholic doctrine when it is directly counter cultural. Thank heaven they have woken up corporately, even though the day is close to dusk – better late than never. We can be thankful for the long haul leadership of Cardinal Pell and Bishop Fisher(Parramatta), for Bishop Jarrett(Lismore) and Bishop Matthys(Armidale) also, though the media does not have them on its radar.

Fortunately in the United States where politics is more regularly wedded to principles than in Australia where pragmatism usually rules, a large corps of newer Bishops, orthodox, well-educated, intelligent and articulate has developed and they have not hesitated at all to engage in public discourse and use their positions responsibly to influence the faithful in support of Catholic doctrine.


We are grateful to see this turning of the tide as Secularism becomes ever more brazen.

" PAST " THE WAR AT SEA COMES HOME

 

 

H.M.S. Repulse British Battle cruiser ( in 1916) sunk with H.M.S. Duke of York Battleship on 10th December, 1941, when attacked by 350 Japanese land based Aircraft.The giant ships had been sent without escort to shore up defences in the East.

The war at sea was very much in the mind of Australians during WW II - and rightly so. The phrase "tyranny of distance"had yet to be coined, but if any phrase covered our situation it might have been "splendid isolation" - so that our safety depended on sea power, and our Royal Australian Navy was fairly large in relation to our small population of only 3.5 Million.Even so, given our enormous coastline, it was really inadequate and we relied heavily on our "great and powerful friends""Mother"Britain and our American "cousins".

As time would tell, "Mother"did not succeed in "coming to our aid"until the show was almost over and the British Pacific Fleet was formed late in the war. It was not lost on the Australian public that Australian ships, soldiers and airmen had , from 1939 served with the British throughout the European and North African theatres.The bulk of them were not withdrawn until the Japanese threat was revealed.

But the War at Sea came home to Berala in 1944. My brother Pat finished his secondary schooling at Marist Brothers Lidcombe in 1943 at the end of Third Year as was the custom for most young fellows of the time - very few went on to Matriculate and go to University. The famed Parish Priest of Lidcombe was Father Lloyd who was a legend in Sydney for his ministry to the Boxing fraternity. He was equally famous in the Parish of Lidcombe for getting young fellows leaving school at the Brothers ' jobs. The Great Depression never really ended in peacetime and getting jobs was a tough assignment. Well, Father Lloyd did it regularly , and he got young Pat Dixon a job with the American owned JANTZEN ( "the Trademark is the Jantzen Diving Girl"said the jingle on the wireless) swimwear factory out on Parramatta Road, Lidcombe as a machine mechanic apprentice.This suited the young 16 years old for some months, but in 1944 he got the idea in his head that he wanted to join the Navy.

And so the War at Sea came to our home. By this stage of 1944 it was clear that we - the Allies- were winning the war and that nothing could reverse that trend. In fact I grew up with the moral certainty that we would win the War , and except at the end of 1941 in the East, and a little later in Europe, I gather that was the case with adults as well. My Mum and Dad were firmly opposed to their 16yrs old Pat, who had a good job, going needlessly into the Navy. The battle was largely engaged in the evenings , after I had been put to bed.The salvos were then fired back and forth. Sometimes pleading, sometimes angrily on either side. This went on for weeks it seems to me.It was so memorable because ours was normally a very peaceful household. Then a decisive intervention took place. Pat's boss at JANTZEN, a very nice fellow apparently , with the exotic name of Andy Ortega - himself an American I think, wrote a letter to Mum and Dad saying how pleased he was with Pat's work and what a bright future he had with JANTZEN, and urging them not to consent to their son enlisting (a  consent that was necessary for anyone under 18yrs). That put Pat's case back several paces and steeled Mum and Dad's resolve. I have an idea that Brother Loyola, the tough little Headmaster at Lidcombe was also pressed into service on Mum and Dad's side at some stage. Finally it was over. The family was to have no association  with the Navy. At least, not until I joined the R.A.N. Reserve in the 1960's.But that is another story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The war at sea was very much in the mind of Australians during WW II - and rightly so. The phrase "tyranny of distance"had yet to be coined, but if any phrase covered our situation it might have been "splendid isolation" - so that our safety depended on sea power, and our Royal Australian Navy was fairly large in relation to our small population of only 3.5 Million.Even so, given our enormous coastline, it was really inadequate and we relied heavily on our "great and powerful friends""Mother"Britain and our American "cousins".

As time would tell, "Mother"did not succeed in "coming to our aid"until the show was almost over and the British Pacific Fleet was formed late in the war. It was not lost on the Australian public that Australian ships, soldiers and airmen had , from 1939 served with the British throughout the European and North African theatres.The bulk of them were not withdrawn until the Japanese threat was revealed.

But the War at Sea came home to Berala in 1944. My brother Pat finished his secondary schooling at Marist Brothers 'Lidcombe in 1943 at the end of Third Year as was the custom for most young fellows of the time - very few went on to Matriculate and go to University. The famed Parish Priest of Lidcombe was Father Lloyd who was a legend in Sydney for his ministry to the Boxing fraternity. He was equally famous in the Parish of Lidcombe for getting young fellows leaving school at the Brothers ' jobs. The Great Depression never really ended in peacetime and getting jobs was a tough assignment. Well, Father Lloyd did it regularly , and he got young Pat Dixon a job with the American owned JANTZEN ( "the Trademark is the Jantzen Diving Girl"said the jingle on the wireless) swimwear factory out on Parramatta Road, Lidcombe as a machine mechanic apprentice.This suited the young 16 years old for some months, but in 1944 he got the idea in his head that he wanted to join the Navy.

And so the War at Sea came to our home. By this stage of 1944 it was clear that we - the Allies- were winning the war and that nothing could reverse that trend.( In fact I grew up with the moral certainty that we would win the War , and except at the end of 1941 in the East, and a little later in Europe, I gather that was the case with adults as well.) My Mum and Dad were firmly opposed to their 16yrs old Pat, who had a good job, going needlessly into the Navy. The battle was largely engaged in the evenings , after I had been put to bed.The salvos were then fired back and forth. Sometimes pleading, sometimes angrily on either side. This went on for weeks it seems to me.It was so memorable because ours was normally a very peaceful household. Then a decisive intervention took place. Pat's boss at JANTZEN, a very nice fellow apparently , with the exotic name of Andy Ortega - himself an American I think, wrote a letter to Mum and Dad saying how pleased he was with Pat's work and what a bright future he had with JANTZEN, and urging them not to consent to their son enlisting (a  consent that was necessary for anyone under 18yrs). That put Pat's case back several paces and steeled Mum and Dad's resolve. I have an idea that Brother Loyola, the tough little Headmaster at Lidcombe was also pressed into service on Mum and Dad's side at some stage. Finally it was over. The family was to have no association  with the Navy. At least, not until I joined the R.A.N. Reserve in the 1960's.But that is another story.

" PAST " WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ARK OF THE COVENANT?

 

 

A RE-CREATION OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

 

Whatever happened to the Ark of the Covenant?

The Ark of the Covenant was sacred to the people of Israel long before the Temple at Jerusalem was built. The Ark itself was built according to Divine instruction, including the detail of its design.

It contained the two tablets of stone God gave to Moses inscribed with the Ten Commandments, the staff of Aaron which had flowered indicating that he should be High Priest and a portion of the Manna with which God had fed the people of Israel whilst they wandered in the desert.

God had decreed that the Ark should be built thus:

A rectangular box

Approx.1.2 Metres by 0.7 Metres by .0.7 Metres.

Made of Acacia wood, it was gilded inside and out.

On each side were two golden rings through which were placed the poles used to carry the Ark in solemn procession

Atop the Ark, was a solid Gold plate . This provided the base for two golden statues of seraphim. Their wings extended over their heads, and where their wings met, God would appear to His people.

This appearance was called the Shekinah, and the place where this occurred was known as the “kepporet””the “mercy seat".

When the Israelites were a wandering people, the Ark was carried by priests and when camp was made, they set up the Sanctuary Tent which housed the Ark. King David brought it to Jerusalem and finally it was installed in Solomon’s Temple in the Holy of Holies. In the earlier wandering times, the Ark had even been carried into battle. On one occasion it was captured by the Philistines, in a terrible defeat. For seven months they retained the Ark, but it brought them plague and they finally brought it back, together with golden votive offerings to appease the One True God.

The awesome sacred nature of the Ark was highlighted by an incident on the first occasion David tried to bring it into Jerusalem. It was being carried on a carriage and at one stage seemed about to topple, when an attendant named Uzza in reaction, stretched out his hand to steady it and touched the Ark. He was instantly struck dead.

King David was so overcome by this demonstration of the Ark’s sacred character that he halted the proceedings and for three months kept the Ark in the nearby home of Obed-Edom.The latter prospered during that time, so David regained his courage and once again in great and celebratory procession, the Ark was brought into Jerusalem and placed on the very spot where it was believed Abraham had been prepared to sacrifice Isaac.

David was forbidden to build a permanent structure to house the Ark, by the Prophet Nathan. The task was reserved to Solomon who built the mighty Temple for that purpose. For 400 years it remained there, visited only one day a year on the Day of Atonement, by the High Priest. But Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. There we lose track of the Ark. It is not mentioned among the objects plundered by the invaders. A later Jewish tradition tells the story that the Prophet Jeremiah hid the Ark, burying it on Mt. Nebo, where Moses was buried, and that it would appear in the skies to foreshadow the Day of the Lord.

In New Testament times we are told in the Letter to the Hebrews that such sacred objects of the past only foreshadowed the coming of Christ who is Himself the “mercy seat”- the true meeting point between God and Man. And Saint Luke in his Gospel fully rounds out our understanding of the new Covenant: Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant bearing in her womb the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Like the Ark of old, she was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit.

" PAST " STRANGE DAZE INDEED1

 

In Happier Times - The  Consecration of St.Joseph's Cathedral Rockhampton

Bishop "Call me Brian"Heenan of Rockhampton

 

Strange “Daze” Indeed!


Now, we know that Rockhampton has been through a lot of late, what with the terrible floods and all, but does that excuse anything and everything?

We have been accustomed to many odd things in the Diocese of Rockhampton, from Episcopal liturgical abuse on down. But the current Lent 2011 booklet of the Diocese “BEING EUCHARIST TO EACH OTHER” just about takes the cake! (We won’t bother about the photograph on the cover of an American family holding hands whilst “giving thanks” before a Thanksgiving Meal – huge turkey, candied vegetables and all.). No, let’s concentrate on the genuine local content, or is it?

Bishop “Call me Brian” Heenan writes in the introduction: “We are invited to reflect on how we are eucharist to one another. What does this way of life call us to do? It calls us to gather together with others, listen to God’s word and share in the Eucharist, and to be to others what Jesus is for us, “To Be Eucharist To Each Other”.

What is happening here? We know that the word “eucharist” is a noun meaning “thanksgiving” and that the Catholic Church speaks of “the Eucharist” Holy Mass (this usage has become very common among the clergy since the Council especially- it was originally common among liturgically inclined Protestants) it is much less commonly used in referring to the Blessed Sacrament. But Catholics have NEVER spoken of “being “eucharist. And that, quite reasonably, because it is meaningless.

I began to wonder where this abuse of language might have originated. Sure enough! “Only in America” as they say! But who would seek to abuse this most sacred Catholic word, it seems a queer thing to do. “Queer” indeed as it turns out. About six years ago the use of this weird language by the Diocese of Rockhampton - indeed Bishop “Call me Brian” Heenan himself on Holy Thursday evening was highlighted by the then sole lay voice of orthodox Catholicism in Australia, the magazine AD 2000. It came from a poem called “The Eucharist” and had originally been contributed to the website of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco” The Author, one R. Voight is said to have been a regular contributor.”We primarily serve the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community” the website tells the enquirer very openly. Further internet enquiry makes this all too clear.

Is it not puzzling that a Catholic Bishop should take up such a weird abuse of language, and even more so when it comes from a homosexual source? And a militant one at that!

The Bishop goes on “Eucharist is about being in relationship allowing each of us to be present to each other as well as forgiving and welcoming to outsiders.”Remember we are not talking about “the Eucharist”-just as well- but about this invented Americanism. Rather neat really, because it is meaningless one might be free of criticism. "And Eucharist can confirm and enable the things we are passionate about” says the Bishop. What are we talking about here?

All of this is stirred in with occasional references to “the Eucharist” and one or two concepts Catholics are familiar with. In the end it is a bit like a badly made trifle, little bits of cake a lot of watery jelly drowned in a sickeningly thin custard. One is left to wonder, who in Rockhampton Diocese is so familiar with a homosexual website for so many years, and still in a position to get this rubbish used? The Deceiver is at work leading people away by destroying the meaning of words.

" PAST " THE TRIUMPH OF THE CRUCIFIX

 

Crucifix by Giotto

The tide of, radical secularism riding the wave of "rights language"has at last, thanks be to God, received a severe check. And, of all places, in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In November, 2009 the Court had found in favour of a militant secularist who petitioned the Court to ban Crucifixes from all Italian schools alleging that they infringed the rights of children and teachers of non-Christian or no Faith. Now on Appeal, the Court has reversed the earlier decision by a 15 -2 majority.

There had been very widespread and significant protests throughout Italy because of the earlier decision. The new decision will greatly strengthen those defending the Crucifix in  other cases.

" PAST " GUARDIAN OF THE SAVIOUR CHILD

JOSEPH! to thee by hosts on high
and choirs of Christians, laud be paid!
saintly of life, -by purest tie
joined unto her, the glorious Maid.




When thou didst doubt thy wife's repute,
and mark her great with motherhood,
the angel taught thee that her fruit
came from the Holy Ghost of God.


To clasp the Son, the Lord, was thine,
to share His flight to Egypt's shore,
with tears, to seek in Salem's shrine
Him lost, -with joy, to find once more.


Death brings to other Saints their rest;
through toil they win the victor's place;
thou happier, like the Angels blest,
alive, hast seen God face to face.


Spare us, O Trinity most High!
grant that, with Joseph, we may gain
Thy starry realm, and ceaselessly
there raise to Thee our thankful strain.
Amen.


(Roman Breviary - Hymn Te Joseph celebrent agmina coelitum 17th Cent.)


"Though thou hast recourse to many saints as thine intercessors,go especially to St. Joseph, for he has great power with God." - St. Theresa of Jesus : Maxims (16th Cent.)St.Joseph 

 

 

" PAST " N.S.W/ CATHOLIC BISHOPS.....MINUS ONE :"DON'T VOTE FOR THE GREENS"

 

Cardinal George Pell Archbishop of Sydney

Led by His Eminence Cardinal George Pell and Bishop Anthony Fisher O.P.the Bishops of the Province of New South Wales have urged their people not to vote for the Greens in the 26th March State Election.

This unusual collective demonstration of what is being called in American cases "Episcopal Spine" is a direct response to the Greens policies advocating aggressively : same sex marriage, abortion, homosexual behaviour,embryonic stem cell research and euthanasia. In addition they are pushing for changes to Government assistance to private ( including Catholic) schools which will severely adversely affect Catholic schools.

The holdout Bishop is Bishop David Walker of Broken Bay - Shame on him when his tree hugging principles seem to trump his concern for Catholic Doctrine on fundamental issues - Shame!

The election is universally tipped to see the resounding demise of the present Labor Government and many would assume that a lot of the Labor voters might not bring themselves to vote for the conservative Liberal/National Coalition and might vote   Green instead - perhaps enabling the Greens to win a seat or seats in the Parliament.The Bishops' Statement is therefore politically very significant. About 25% of voters are nominally Catholic and a goodly percentage of them are historically Labor voters.

Bishop Walker should have an interesting time in Rome at October's Ad Limina Visit.

" PAST " HAIL GLORIOUS SAINT PATRICK! BELOVED OF AUSTRALIAN CATHOLICS

SAINT PATRICK

Australia is a great beneficiary of the work of the spiritual sons of Saint Patrick, the heroic Catholic Priests and people of Ireland. It is the greatest Heritage anyone could have - the Catholic Faith given to us by Christ Our Lord.

Here from the "Breastplate of Saint Patrick"is my preferred translation of the well known prayer of Saint Patrick :


Rising I thank You, mighty and strong One

King of Creation, giver of rest.

Firmly confessing threeness of Persons

Oneness of Godhead, Trinity blest.



This day God gives me strength of high heaven

Sun and moon shining, flame in my hearth

Flashing of lightning, wind in its swiftness

Deeps of the ocean, firmness of earth.



This day God sends me Strength as my guardian

Might to uphold me, Wisdom as guide.

Your eyes are watchful, Your ears are listening

Your lips are speaking, Friend at my side.



God’s way is my way, God’s shield is round me

God’s host defends me, saving from ill.

Angels of heaven drive from me always

All that would harm me, stand at my side.



Christ be beside me, Christ be before me.

Christ be behind me King of my heart.

Christ be within me, Christ be below me.

Christ be above me Never to part.



Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand.

Christ all around me Shield in the strife.

Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting.

Christ in my rising Light of my life.



Christ be in all hearts Thinking about me.

Christ be on all tongues Telling of me.

Christ be the vision In eyes that see me,

In ears that hear me Christ ever be.



Rising I thank You, mighty and strong One

King of Creation, giver of rest.

Firmly confessing threeness of Persons

Oneness of Godhead, Trinity blest.



This great prayer and hymn, is densely packed with teaching and expressions of faith and hope and love. In these lines alone, if they were universally applied, the whole world would perfectly express our Faith:

Christ be in all hearts Thinking about me.
Christ be on all tongues Telling of me.
Christ be the vision In eyes that see me,
In ears that hear me Christ ever be.

We pray to our dear Saint Patrick  to intercede for us,so that we might receive the grace to live out the intent of those last two lines.
How beautifully, imaginatively and joyfully the Irish perfect the use of the English language! Have a great day and after your prayer - celebrate Saint Patrick and Ireland!


TONY DIXON

" PAST " TROOBLE AT MONASTERY DURHAM 1433

 

Mighty Durham Cathedral and its Monastic Cloister stolen during the Deformation.

 

 

 

In 1083, on the site of an informal Celtic "monastery",  Bishop William of Durham founded a formal Monastery, gathering into it the "23 monks from the small Celtic "monasteries"at relatively new communities at Jarrow and Wearmouth. These had been re-founded on the sites of ancient Monasteries - at Jarrow the Venerable Bede had lived three hundred years earlier. Bede had written the life of St. Cuthbert who was buried here at Durham and, as late as 1050 Aelfred, a Priest of Durham, had removed St. Bede's remains to Durham also.

Bishop William determined that he would himself be Abbott of the new Monastery . He delegated the day to day running of the Monastery to the Prior.The first Prior's name was Aldwin. The Monastery was to follow the Rule of Saint Benedict.But because of the Bishop/Abbot's necessary preoccupation with Diocesan affairs and the governance by the Prior, instead of being known as Durham Abbey it became known as Durham Priory.

The second Prior, Turgot by name, under the Bishop/Abbot's direction commenced construction of the great Priory church , now Durham Cathedral in 1093.In 1104 the remains of Saint Cuthbert were able to be transferred to their Shrine in the apse, at the rear of the High Altar. Devotion to Saint Cuthbert had always been strong, and very soon the Shrine was said to rival many of the greater shrines in England and even in Europe some said.King Henry VI visited the Shrine in 1448 and Richard III in 1483.The monks of the Priory and the Shrine were widely held in high regard. The result was that the Priory grew to become the richest Religious institute North of York.

There were up to 40 monks in the 1400's and the Priory operated two infirmaries for the poor, the ill, and the elderly including married couples.There were no "social services" provided by the Crown or anyone else but the monasteries in pre Deformation England.Every day , the Priory provide meals for 300 people including the 40 monks. The financial affairs of the Priory were therefore big business. The Priory was the largest factor in the whole regional economy both buying and selling and acting as landlord of the very many properties bequeathed to it.

Durham Cathedral and Priory Church

 

 

So much was this so, that very great problems arose in trying to find a monk capable and willing to act as Bursar. Between 1419 and 1432 the Prior tried three different monks in the role without success. It is hardly surprising, especially in those times, that someone who had entered the Monastery to devote his life to the things of God, should not be an ideal or even willing Business Manager as we would term him to-day.

And so it happened, that in the Autumn of 1432 the desperate Prior appointed Thomas Lawson who had been the Cellarer for the last four years , as Bursar. The measured, steady life of the Cellarer was one thing, the hectic, varied demands of the office of Bursar were something else again.

Poor Brother Thomas, at Whitsuntide each year , the Bursar was bound to produce the Accounts of the Monastery for the last year.Written on several pieces of parchment, they were finally stitched together to be made into one long roll.They were made in triplicate and showed receipts and disbursements. They were inspected by senior monks and presented to a General Chapter in June each year.In 1433 Brother Thomas pleaded insufficient time to complete the task. The Prior was firm in demanding that the rule be observed. Brother Thomas became overwrought and desperate, and some of the monks feared that he might harm himself, such was his state of mind. Finally he did produce some accounts, which everyone believed were "cooked"to balance. His accounts for the next 5 years are preserved at Durham.

But ," the truth will out "as the saying goes. Brother Thomas had been failing to record debts in order to balance the books. The Terrar of the Priory was responsible for the properties of the Monastery, and he was receiving complaints from tradesmen and others who had not been paid. He was Brother Henry Helay and he drew up an accurate report of the state of affairs which showed that Brother Thomas had concealed debts of 1,210 Pounds. Poor wretched Brother Thomas was away from the Monastery inspecting land holdings when he received the news. Panic-stricken he disappeared into the night and tried to avoid confronting his shocked brethren. The Prior struggled to get control of the situation. None of the monks would agree to takeover the role. Finally the Prior had to divide up the work among several monks.

Economic times were tough. A war with Scotland, plague, cattle disease - all had served to diminish income which fell from 2,200 Pounds in 1330-31 to only 1,470 Pounds in 1347-48.Despite all this the monks, through their frugality and responsible use of their resources, managed to maintain their massive services to the Durham community.

On 31st December , 1539 the then Prior succumbed to the demands of the King's Commissioners and the great Cathedral Church and Monastery was stolen by Henry VIII, they did not even try to trump up any charges of scandal against the monks as they often did in other places.

Earlier, the Commissioners had sent their agents up ladders to break into the Shrine of Saint Cuthbert on its high pedestal. They opened the Coffin and found "the body lying whole, uncorrupt, with his face bare, and his beard as it had been a fortnight's growth and all his vestments upon him, as he was accustomed to say Mass withal."

Their Superior Dr. Henley ordered that the bones be thrown down. He was told that it was impossible due to the sinews and skin forming the body. Dr. Henley and his henchman Dr. Leigh had to climb up to see. The body was taken down and re-buried under a simple slab and the great Shrine was destroyed after removal of gold, silver and jewels for the King's benefit.

The Anglican Dean in the 1570's had all the carvings and brasses in the Cathedral destroyed in the 1570's and his wife burned the famous banner of St. Cuthbert and used the stone Holy Water font as a sink in her kitchen and used headstones from the monks' cemetery to pave her kitchen- Anglicanism in full "flower ".

" PAST " HEROIC CATHOLIC PRIESTS ..........SAVED FOR WAR PART I

R.M.S. TITANIC - SEA TRIALS COMMENCED TUESDAY 2ND APRIL,1912

                                 R.M.S. TITANIC COMMENCED SEA TRIALS  2nd APRIL, 1912

 

At this time of year, my mind is always arrested by the approach of the count-down to the loss of R.M.S. TITANIC on 14th April, 1912 - the ship it was claimed "even God could not sink!"

Her story is forever linked with the lives of four Heroic Catholic Priests and the deaths of three of them. The "one that got away" was not a Priest at the time - God had other things in mind for him.But the discipline of Religious Obedience was to save his life and preserve him for heroic ministry in the midst of the horrors of World War I in Europe. And, as it happens, he took the last photos of TITANIC before she plunged to her icy grave.

We shall return to the interesting details in Part II.

Posted 14th March 2011 by vexilla regis

" PAST " DARE I ASK MY READERS TO FOLLOW ME?

                            WORLD'S BISHOPS AT SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL

 

Thank you to our growing number of readers and most of you are regular readers I see.

Your locations are certainly diverse and surprising in some cases (at least to me here at the end of the Earth!):

United Kingdom (GB)
United States (US)
New Zealand (NZ)
Australia (AU)
Canada (CA)
Italy (IT)
Philippines (PH)
Germany (DE)
Netherlands (NL)
France (FR)
Indonesia (ID)
Poland (PL)
Mexico (MX)
Denmark (DK)
India (IN)
Croatia (HR)
Spain (ES)
Taiwan (TW)
Malaysia (MY)
Slovakia (SK)
Ireland (IE)
Hungary (HU)
Japan (JP)
Vietnam (VN)
Czech Republic (CZ)
Ukraine (UA)

Estonia (EE)
Norway (NO)

Russian Federation (RU)
Romania (RO)
Belgium (BE)
Lithuania (LT)
Sweden (SE)
Switzerland (CH)
Greece (GR)

Asia/Pacific Region (AP)
United Arab Emirates (AE)
Thailand (TH)

South Africa (ZA)
Malta (MT)

Pakistan (PK)
Korea, Republic of (KR)
Botswana (BW)
Brazil (BR)
Chile (CL)
Finland (FI)

Iceland (IS)
Fiji (FJ)
Slovenia (SI)
China (CN)

Israel (IL)
Cyprus (CY)
Turkey (TR)
Saudi Arabia (SA)

Austria (AT)
Portugal (PT)
Sri Lanka (LK)

Thank you again, and please keep reading Vexilla Regis!

Could I make one little request? Would you be kind enough to join the good folk who "FOLLOW"us in the Networked Blogs panel at the head of the Blog, or, if you prefer, at the Follow me on Google Button lower down? I would appreciate it, as it is encouraging to Visitors to see a solid gathering of FOLLOWERS! Thanks for your help, and God Bless you all!
TONY DIXON

" PAST " BOLDLY BACK FROM THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS

 

 

Venerable Pope John Paul II THE GREAT

   The high-jacking of the public perception of what the Second Vatican Council taught was accomplished by a small coterie of mostly North European prelates with the all too willing collaboration of the mainstream media, and the fundamentally subversive operations of the later Archbishop Annibale Bugnini.

The following extract from the writings of Father Hubert Jedin (1900-1980) shows how subtly such operators have worked in the past.Father Jedin was perhaps the most respected and accomplished Church historian of his time. Reflection on it, shows just how much we owe to the workings of the Holy Spirit in bringing to St.Peter's Chair Pope John Paul the Great. We see how, despite the gravity of the situation and the obstruction of those who sought not the hermeneutic of continuity, but of rupture, he began boldly to lead the Church back from the edge of the abyss of schism. In this historic struggle, his constant co-worker of the Truth was none other than Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now - as the phrase used to be - gloriously reigning as Pope Benedict XVI.

Father Hubert Jedin (1900 - 1980)

Father Jedin :

"We know to-day that the inner process of the (Lutheran) schism lasted not years but decades. Melanchthon and Calvin claimed to be "Catholic"until the end of their lives, while the adherents of the old Faith were calumniated as "papists". The faithful long clung to the Mass and to their Saints, but the church regulations introduced by Lutheran magistrates took over many Catholic customs - even processions and pilgrimages.

The bulk of the simple faithful never understood that the "Reformation"was not a reform but the construction of a new church set up on a different basis. In retrospect, one must therefore maintain: the schism of the Church succeeded by nothing so much as by the illusion that it did not exist. That illusion was widespread in Rome and in the German episcopate, among many theologians, among the majority of clergymen and among the people."

As the likes of Cardinals, Mahony (Los Angeles) and Martini (Milan) and Daneels ( Brussels) and others including numerous lesser episcopal small fry - not a few close to home - shuffle or prepare to shuffle out of the Sanctuary, we thank Our Lord and His Vicars on Earth  Venerable Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI for their patient and persistent teaching and leadership of Christ's Church back from the brink of disaster, and seeing off the leaders of rupture and revolt.These latter men were the spiritual heirs of the "modernists"who fought Pope Saint Pius X. The immediate heirs of those men lay "in the long grass" during the two World Wars and the intervening Great Depression,but continued to surreptitiously spread their poison. Then when Vatican II came along their heirs in turn saw their chance.

Pope Benedict XVI

Gentlemanly and  humble, despite his powerful intellect and decades as the Pope's right hand man, Cardinal Ratzinger seemed to the world an unlikely choice to take up the Pastoral Staff which death had  taken from Pope John Paul's hand. But vindicating the Holy Spirit's guidance, the ageing ( now 83 yrs)  Benedict XVI has proven to be the very man to understand what had been achieved and to further and consolidate the work. The enemies of  the unity desired by Christ have been thwarted and the Pope of Christian Unity is even succeeding in bringing lost sheep back to the more and more united fold.