Where have all the Candles Gone

Although millions of candles are sold each year in Lourdes for burning at the grotto and being carried in the torchlight procession,  it seems that candles, and especially candlesticks, have practically disappeared from the churches.  At the chapel of St Gabriel in the main basillica, there was just one candle, or rather an oil burning imitation of a candle, with no candlesticks.  At Bartres, and at the chapel of the Sacred Heart, it was exactly the same, although the sacristans did manage to find a second, non-matching, candle.  Only at the Ukrainian Church did we find proper candlesticks.

At the Benediction at the end of the procession of the Blessed Sacrament there was not a single candle to be seen!

Another ecclesiastical item in short supply in Lourdes is the thurible.  At Bartres an exceedingly diminutive and unimpressive one was found, and at the Ukranian Church, as one would expect, they had an Orthodox style thurible with bells.  Otherwise, they seem to have gone out of fashion in Lourdes.

On Return from Lourdes

There were 23 pilgrims on the Latin Mass Society pilgrimage to Lourdes -  somewhat fewer than I had expected, and it seems that many had decided that the cost at £500 to £600 was too great.  I have to agree that that is beyond the budget of many people.

Despite the small numbers, the pilgrimage was a great success.  Mass was celebrated each day by Fr Michael Brown, with three of the five being sung.  I had doubted whether such a small group could support sung Masses, especially since some of our number were not Catholics at all; but whith the help of David O'Neill was was able to sing the propers to a psalm tone, we made a reasonable job of it.  In fact the congregation sang the ordinary parts with great enthusiasm, and the sung Masses were perhaps the highlight of the pilgrimage.

One of the sung Masses was in the village of Bartres, and this excursion also included a visit to Lac du Lourdes for a picnic lunch.  Another was in the Ukrainian Catholic Church, which was a fair walk from our hotel, but a delight to visit.  We were made very welcome by the sister in charge.  Our third sung Mass was at the chapel of the Sacred Heart in the Hospital Saint Frai.  This chapel was a great discovery and ideal for the traditional Mass.

The group did most of the usual things including visiting the grotto (many visited it several times) and taking part in the processions.  We also took the Way of the Cross high up the mountain that overlooks Lourdes.  Some of our number were inspired to purchase an enormous candle (20 kg I think).  This was inscribed with the words Latin Mass Society 2012 and should be burning for many weeks to come, close to the grotto.

A Protestant funeral for Richard III?

The BBC reports here that it is highly likely that the remains of Richard III have been discovered. We will know for sure in about twelve weeks once the DNA tests have been completed. All very interesting and a very rare find indeed but the most worrying thing about it is what they propose to do with the remains if they are confirmed as being those of Richard III. The BBC story states that:

If their identity is confirmed, Leicester Cathedral said it would work with the Royal Household, and with the Richard III Society, to ensure the remains were treated with dignity and respect and reburied with the appropriate rites and ceremonies of the church.

So I think this means that Leicester Cathedral intend to bury the remains which will mean a Protestant ceremony. This would have been completely alien to Richard III who was of course a Roman Catholic as were all Englishmen at that time. In fact if Richard III had won the battle of Bosworth Field there would have been no Henry VIII and quite likely therefore no break with Rome.

We can only pray that if the remains are confirmed as being those of Richard III that he is re-buried with the appropriate rites and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church of which he was a member.

Extra Mass in York

On Sunday 16th September, there will be an extra Mass at the Church of the English Martyrs in York. as usual, it will be at 4pm.  (16th September is the third Sunday of the month.)

The Mass will be celebrated by Fr David Smith, who is a military chaplain.  Until recently, he has been serving in Afghanistahn, but is now stationed in Harrogate.  Since Fr Smith will have to travel a fair distance to York, we could do with a good sized congregation.

Fr Smith does not yet know the extent of his duties in his new posting, but may be available to help out with Masses in York on a more regular basis.  Developments will be posted on this blog.