Some day, this will be a Catholic place again. It was founded by St. Wilfred in the eighth century and dedicated to St. Peter.
A corporal work of mercy.
Click on photo for this corporal work of mercy!
Click on photo for this corporal work of mercy!
5 comments:
Dear Vox, how very beautiful! You have a great gift - the gift of music. I love music but alas, born without a scrap of musicality and tone deaf. In fact it's so bad, I had to get a papal dispensation from having ever to sing in church. Any attempt to do so was cruel and uncharitable to those standing nearby. My Dad used to hit me on the head and wisper SING!
Well now Fr. Francis Miller, sede Priest from Lafayette, USA is visiting me for a few days. We have Mass every morning and me being the only sede in town, it's just Fr. and me. Now Fr. is also musical and he likes to sing lengthy hymns both before and after Mass and he sings all of each hymn - not just one, or two verses. He holds the hymnal right under my nose, so I am forced to join in and sing along - even if it's against nature and I die the death. But on the bright side I bet I'm working off plenty of purgatory time. Just thought I'd let you know how lucky you are. :)
@ Peter Lamb
Do you even know how heroic the two of you are, and... singing all verses? It is just your boring old self to you, I am assuming, but so impressive! Thank you for sharing.
Dear Dorota, You are very kind, but me no hero. Father certainly is. Vox lets me get away with murder, so here is my story:
I'm a geriatric cradle Catholic raised by beloved Irish Nuns, Priests and Brothers. The latter were quick on the draw with their leather excaliburs when the need arose. I was already qualified in my profession when Vatican II came along. Like all good Catholics, who trusted their Priests, Bishops and Pope implicitly, I accepted the changes as they came along. When one is busy working, raising 7 kids and farming on the side, one goes to Mass on Sundays, says one's prayers and doesn't think much about theology. One day, about 3 years ago, I was at Mass and noticed that the priest had taken the candles off the altar and placed them on the floor. I thought that was a bit odd, then looked around the church and noticed the tabernacle hidden around the corner; the statues I remembered so well gone; the altar rail gone; few people genuflecting before entering the pew; the chattering etc., etc. It was a Damascus experience for me. I cornered the priest and started asking questions, which were not answered to my satisfaction, so I (having just entered the computer age) started reading. The first thing I read was Bp. Lefebvre's "Letter to a confused Catholic". That sounded just like me. Then I read the Ottaviani Intervention. One thing led to another and I read virtually day and night for 18 months. I was then perfectly sure and secure and became a sede. I wrote a formal letter to my Archbishop explaining why I was formally leaving the NO church. I wrote to Fr. Cekada, who most kindly answered some remaining questions and introduced me to Fr. Miller O.F.M., who took the Sacraments to a family in Durban. Ever since, Fr. Miller visits the family in Durban and me in Pretoria, at his own expense, twice a year. I have been ostracised by my longstanding Catholic friends, who won't even discuss sede. I wish I could find a little group to make Fr.'s trip a bit more worthwhile. This visit I had a pamphlet printed, put on my finery, tried to look official and planted myself in the middle of the gate of my old NO parish and handed out my pamphlets after the main mass yesterday advertising a Tridentine Latin Mass on next Tuesday evening. There were about 100 pamphlets and I'm praying to get 1,or 2 souls. If 50 arrive, I'll have a problem, because I've only got 8 coffee mugs. We have a saying in South Africa: " n boer maak n plan" = "a farmer makes a plan". Well, it's in the Hands of the Holy Spirit! I truly believe sede is the Catholic way to react to the terrible current circumstances. God bless you. I'm going to try to attach the pamphlet for interest, but I don't know if it will be possible.
PS You and yours are not forgotten on my prayer list. :)
@ Peter Lamb
Thank you very much for the prayers. We need them.
Thank you for your story.
I was raised by ma Catholic Parents. Father lost his job in communist Poland over his faith, and I just had to, some 20 years later, to devastate him with the news that I lost my faith completely. He fell to his knees and cried.
He thought it was the university "education", I was convinced it was just faithfulness to truth. Another 20 years passed and I saw the devastation the so called progress I initially embraced did to my loved ones who are non-believers. High IQs, poor thinking skills. Good hearts, many virtues, yet poor moral choices.
I am still not fine, though I attend the Mass now. Got so many doubts... I pray that God will forgive me past transgressions and give me strong faith. For now I fancy myself a fighter for sanity and against hypocrisy. A doubter or not, I see clearly the lies and cognitive dissonance of many Catholics today. I hesitate to call myself a Catholic, because I do not believe the entire doctrine, though I live in obedience to Church teaching, with hope that God will increase my faith. Many do not live the faith nor care to know the doctrine. It is morally and intellectually rotten my view. No one is obligated to be a Catholic. They should leave, not you. God bless you and give you strength. Much success with your project!
Dear Dorota, Thank you for your story. I have no doubt that your Dad will make sure you never lose the Faith. What a fine man he must have been. We pray for our children. They are at a huge disadvantage. They were born into the NO and know nothing else. What little catechesis they had (if any) was NO. They simply cannot know the Catholicism we knew and lived. They live in a completely changed world. I reckon one has to be at least 65 years old to have known the pre-conciliar Church. My advice (for what it's worth) is to above everything else, say the Rosary daily. St. Louis Marie de Montfort says that one who does that WILL NOT be led astray. Wear the brown scapula. Wipe Vatican II out of your mind along with all the modern heresies and apostasy. Read holy books, especially lives of the Saints. Read pre VII Catechisms. Burn the conciliar Catechism of JP II, if you have one. Only assist at traditional Latin Mass - virtually on the internet if you have to. You can make a Spiritual Communion and do receive the "reality" of the Sacrament. In short, shake all NO dust off of your shoes. Know that the Immaculate Heart WILL triumph. Our Lord is in control. The world is being punished for sin - Our Lady of Fatima was ignored. Our faith is being tested by the mystery of iniquity as Our Lord said it would be. This is all part of Our Lord's plan. All we have to do is keep the Faith.
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