WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

I doubt not then but innocence shall make false accusation blush, and tyranny tremble at patience.

Cirque du C of E.

-

Screenshot: Catholic Herald

A circus ride in the heart of a (formerly Catholic) cathedral? What's next, a water slide into a baptismal pool? During the period of installation - of the ride not the bishop - ten thousand of twenty thousand visitors sent themselves down skid row.

You can bet that more than a few folk got a shock when they searched online for 'helter skelter' and he who shall not be named popped up.

Overheard in the pews:
  • "Whoa,... that's one impressive clock!" "Yeah, and I love it when the cuckoo appears."
  • "Nice pulpit."
  • "The Right Reverend Meyrick will be speaking on the tower of Babel."
  • "There was an ol' woman who lived in a... ."
  • "And if he sees his shadow there'll be six more hours of sermon... ."
  • "Amazingly, no one noticed the huge cone in the middle of the cathedral until the verger bumped into it."
  • "The bishop models his new miter. Reactions are mixed."
  • "Parishioners were amazed how quickly the massive stalagmite formed beneath a previously unknown leak in the roof."

Time for a cleansing.


P.S. - Please return to the Catholic Church our cathedral, sans le cirque.

Comments

Post a Comment

Your comments will be appreciated and posted if 1) they are on topic and 2) preserve decorum.

Stand by your word.

Popular Posts

Syro-Malabar Church: The Ad Orientem and Versus Populum Debate

-
Image
The Syro-Malabar Church (SMC), an  Eastern Catholic Major Archiepiscopal Church based in Kerala, India, is visiting the issue of the orientation of the altar. That is, the orientation of the priest at the altar. The question they are visiting: should the priest face in the direction of the liturgical east (ad orientem), or versus populum (toward the people)? The SMC is an autonomous ( sui iuris ) particular church in full communion with the Pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. [Wikipedia] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/syro-malabar-synod-may-take-up-liturgy-alteration-laity-meet-today/articleshow/73062622.cms Times of India reports that the issue pertains to the difference in conducting masses in dioceses under the Syro-Malabar Church (SMC). In Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese (and most other dioceses to the north of Ernakulam), the celebrant faces the laity during the mass. H...
Read more

Divine Worship | Form One of The Offertory

-
Image
Divine Worship: the Missal, the Missal of the Personal Ordinariates, retains the older set of offertory prayers (in the vernacular) and also includes in a separate section the shorter offertory prayers (Form II) found in the Novus Ordo Missal of Pope Saint Paul VI. The longer offertory prayers capture the sacrificial nature of the Mass. Our sacrifice - offerings of bread and wine that represent us - our hopes, our needs, our lives - is joined to the prayer of Jesus to the Father in the Holy Spirit. The bread and wine are accepted by Jesus and become by the power of the Holy Ghost the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. See article :  https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/transubstantiation-for-beginners The one sacrifice of Christ on Calvary is made present in every valid Mass. Time and eternity meet. The congregation becomes present to the banquet of Jesus and the Apostles when Jesus established the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Or...
Read more

You know you're a REAL altar server when... .

-
Image
In a movie theatre, you genuflect before entering the aisle to take a seat. Riding a bus, sitting in class or at the doctor's office, and/or when watching TV, you rest your hands palms down on your thighs, finger tips at your knees. You can identify each and every variety of incense used in the Mass simply by its scent. You habitually wear black socks and black dress shoes... even when wearing shorts for gym class or at the beach. You turn a perfect right angle when entering a building. You have nightmares about serving Mass at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. You hear a bicycle bell ring and you drop to your knees. You can't resist the urge to lift a curtain from the bottom. You have a copy of Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described by Adrian Fortescue on your smartphone for recreational reading. You have a copy of Ritual Notes (11th Edition) on your smartphone for recreational reading. As a torchbearer, you can carry a processional candle without spilling one dr...
Read more

Apostles' Creed Ordinariate Style

-
Image
Members of the Personal Ordinariate are familiar with the following version of the Apostles' Creed. The Creed is here ordered into twelve articles, which is a common thing to do. I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth: and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead ; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead . I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints; the Forgiveness of sins; the Resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. CCC194 The Apostles' Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles' faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol o...
Read more

The Beauty of Holiness: Ordinariate Divine Worship

-
Image
Procession of the Blessed Sacrament | Corpus Christi The Lesson | Requiem for Monsignor Peter Wilkinson, PH | D. Duchesne Boat Bearer, Entrance Procession | Andrea Collins Photography Solemn High Mass | Andrea Collins Photography First Communion | D. Duchesne Holy Matrimony | Andrea Collins Photography Solemn High Mass | D. Duchesne Lift high the Cross! Elevation of the Precious Body | Andrea Collins Photography Elevation of the Precious Blood | Andrea Collins Photography Holy Baptism | D. Duchesne Lectors at the Easter Vigil 2026 | D. Duchesne Midnight Mass | D. Duchesne The Churching of Women | Procession to the Altar
Read more

Ordinariate in the Middle: the Ordinary Form Mass, Divine Worship, and the Extraordinary Form

-
Image
Adapted from a post published in 2018 - edited and expanded  JULY 2023 [ 15 minute read ] Many Catholics are confused. Why? How? Catholics are distracted by liturgical infighting and, consequently, are suffering a confusion of identity. The devil knows that the Mass is the source and summit of the Christian life (LG 11 totius vitae christianae fontem et culmen ). Attack the Mass - or undermine human beings' understanding of what the Mass is and should be - and you divide and conquer, sow confusion, and rob people of their dignity and identity. How might we ease the confusion, promote faith, hope and love, and thwart the devil's assaults? We must be allied to Jesus Christ. We meet Jesus in the Eucharistic Liturgy. Divine Worship, the venerable English Mass of the Personal Ordinariates, offers an authentic via media or middle way past the infighting and confusion, and moves man toward communion with God. Divine Worship affirms all that is good and true and beautiful that is also...
Read more

POPE LEO XIV Magnifica Humanitas

Even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women who refuse to give up, who persevere in doing good, who protect the vulnerable and open pathways to reconciliation. The memory of the saints, righteous people and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good” (paragraph 211).

WORDS TO THE WHYS

The truth will make you odd. Flannery O’Connor