WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

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

England Rededicated

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.

Comments

Popular Posts

Divine Worship | Form One of The Offertory

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

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

Apostles' Creed Ordinariate Style

Rorschach Test For Catholics

The Beauty of Holiness: Ordinariate Divine Worship

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 opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject. - Marcus Aurelius