THE P RTAL
November 2011 Page 8
Snapdragon
Two conversations , a Cardinal & Christmas !
Two conversations after mass Worshipper : Thank you for taking the Mass , Father . Ordinariate priest : My privilege . W : I am an ex-Anglican too . O . P .: Good . ( Comment : You missed a trick here , Father . Instead of polite nonsense , a challenge was in order . Catholic ex- Anglicans should be asked for their help , positive assistance and prayers in the building up of the Ordinariate in their area . They are vital in commending it to their own Anglican friends , and themselves need to be encouraged in learning how to support this new venture .)
Worshipper : T hank you for taking the Mass , Father . Ordinariate priest : My privilege . W : I am an ex-Anglican . There is not really a great deal of difference , is there ? O . P .: Oh , Yes there is !! ( Comment : Better this time , Father , but you should go on to arrange a meeting to discuss the main areas of divergence .)
The Cardinal came to the seminary
The sun shone ! How it shone on Michaelmass Day . The garden in the Chelsea seminary was a picture of late summer bloom . All were decked in best bib and tucker to greet His Eminence , who was flying back to Rome that evening , no doubt to inform His Holiness of the health of the Ordinariate as he had seen it . How had he seen it ?
Well , the Mass in the chapel at mid-day had been celebrated with 60 or so con-celebrants , most of whom were wearing the Ordinariate chasuble . Two well known hymns ( Ye watchers and ye Holy Ones and Let all mortal flesh keep silence ) were sung , one of the Ordinariate deacons proclaimed the gospel , and the Cardinal gave the homily on the Holy Angels . The students who were crammed into the nave must have wondered at what marvels they had seen that day !
The previous evening there had been a reception for the great and the good , with the Cardinal encouraging support for this initiative of Pope Benedict . He also took time the next morning to address the clergy in session , and took questions from them as to their ongoing experience of life in the Catholic church .
Botticelli ’ s Christmas painting - The Mystic Nativity
Do congregations listen to sermons ? How many people change a course of direction after listening to the preacher ? One such was the painter Botticelli . He lived in Florence at the time of the eccentric and fiery Dominican preacher , Savonarola . He it was who took the Florentines and the contemporary clergy to task for their immorality , and whose influence spread throughout the city in reforming zeal of church and state . You can see his influence on Botticelli by contrasting the painter ’ s earlier works ( The birth of Venus for example , rising from the shell ) with the restrained and under-stated later work of the nativity . Having listened to the ascetic cleric , all extravagance is expunged ; the wise men bring no expensive gifts , and wear crowns of laurel , as do the shepherds ; the stable is replaced by a tomb or a cavern ; the angels are three in number and are representations of Faith , Hope and Charity , whose presence is necessary for the faithful to perceive the mystery depicted . In case the viewer misses the point there is an inscription at the top linking the birth with the Last Judgement . All a far cry from the usual Botticelli cards you will shortly receive with those angelic cherubs !
Another stocking filler
Anthony Howard ’ s biography of the late Cardinal Basil Hume came out five years or so ago ( Basil Hume - The Monk Cardinal published by Headline Book Publishing . Paperback . ISBN 978 0 7553 1248 1 ) and received rave reviews , “ splendid ” “ captures the man to perfection ”. If you have not read it you are in for a treat , and it would make an ideal Christmas gift . What makes it different from many a church trudge through the subject ’ s life , is the freshness on each page . Howard is a brilliant communicator , and the fact that he describes himself as a “ wistful agnostic ” has a certain strength in his task of presenting Hume sympathetically but with complete candour .
There are plenty of laughs . One such . “ Something of a legend in his own life-time , Abbot Byrne acquired a certain renown from his encounter with a young monk who had come to see him in order to announce that he felt he needed “ wider horizons ”. The response he got was brief and to the point : “ What ’ s her name ?”