England Rededicated
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| The Wilton Dyptych c. 1395–1399 |
Andrew Cusack at the Catholic Herald.
(T)oday at noon(, Richard II's) dedication (of England as Mary's Dowry) was renewed, as Catholics knelt to make an Act of Entrustment of England to Mary.
The rededication was not performed by a monarch in a great abbey; it did not even take place, as had been planned, in our cathedrals. Instead, it was carried out by bishops, priests, and laity throughout the realm, isolated by pandemic but united by faith and common purpose.
Our religion is not local, but universal — the very meaning of the world “Catholic”. But we have always found the universal in the particular. The English are a varied bunch — Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Vikings — most of whom have been here since time immemorial. But in addition to those there are many who, like myself, have come from abroad but made this land our home. This Diptych, however English, is also undoubtedly international. It is painted on wood from the Baltic, and some of the pigment is made using precious lapis lazuli mined far from home. Even in this great English work of art — but even more through what it depicts —all people can find a place of belonging.
This act is a reminder that the Faith is far from foreign in this land: it is deeply rooted, if sadly ill-tended too for so long. In calling for England to renew itself in the universal Faith, this rededication calls on England to be more truly English. And the only way for that to come about is for us as individuals to be more truly ourselves, more truly what God wants us to be.
Mary, Mother of God: pray for us.
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TRUE PARTICIPATION IN THE MASS
"I was gathered into the offering of the Son to the Father. I participated in the self-offering of God today."
FEATURED SCRIPTURE | St Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
THE GOLDEN ARROW
May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.
FEATURED QUOTE
There is but one thing of real value - to cultivate truth and justice, and to live without anger in the midst of lying and unjust men. Marcus Aurelius
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