A few days before I left the Oasis for the recent sortie into England I received news that the IGS was prepared to send a priest from Bordeaux to celebrate private Mass in our house chapel here in St. Romain. I had written to Abbe Laguerie towards the end of August asking if this would be possible and had almost given up hope of a reply. Negotiations are now in progress for the date and time of the first Mass and of course as soon as I have news it will be posted here.
In the meantime, I know that my PPL colleagues and regular readers will rejoice with me at this astonishing turn of events, not merely for my husband and myself and our immediate neighbours but for anyone in the south Charente who has been longing for such an opportunity. As soon as details are available I will advertise them on 'Paix Liturgique', the French EF internetworking site. This will also be a way of finding out exactly how much support for the EF there is in this region of France. The Charente is a big Departement (at least the size of Yorkshire). At the moment there are only two reasonably regular EF Masses, both in north Charente. To date there is nothing at all here in south Charente. I should explain also that even the Novus Ordo Mass has not been celebrated in our parish church across the road for at least a decade. So this event whenever it happens, although quiet, will be hugely significant and historic.
Our chapel has been there for almost 20 years and throughout that time I have been praying and preparing for an event which I could hardly believe could ever take place, - that is until three things happened. First, the election of our present Holy Father, second his raising of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, and third, the publication of his Motu proprio: Summorum Pontificum. In the same letter as informed him of the 'In the Sight of Angels' blog, I told him what is about to happen here and thanked him for all he has done to make it possible.
A report on my UK visit will follow soon. I have to say that meeting Fr Tim Finigan and Fr Ray Blake was a highlight of the visit. Thank you Fathers for a most enjoyable occasion.
But now more than ever in my life before I can say and sing:
"Veni Domine, et noli tardare:"
In Christo pro Papa
J
6 comments:
This is exciting news, Jane. Could a Papal Mass be far away on the horizon? You never know! :-)
I hope that you might be able to post some pictures from the event.
Dear Jane, Vous me manquiez beaucoup. Welcome home. And how lovely that will have Holy Mass under your own roof!
Dear Fr Mark,
More contact as soon as possible!
It's impossible to express the extent and depth of my joy at the prospect of our little chapel becoming a temporary 'Cenacle' one day very soon.
Must now go upstairs to it and continue preparations.
Apologies for my silence. The Lord has been ordering my time in a way I most certainly did not expect.
Assurance of prayer as always,
ICPP
Jane
Dear Confiteor,
Certainly intend to take photos.
As for a Papal Mass, well it will be one in a way! As I say in the post, without Papa this could never have happened. A further value, which I have not mentioned is that it will be proof positive to him that the apostolate of the IGS is working and spreading out from Bordeaux. There now exists a window, however small, for the re-evangelisation of this part of France and in all humility I am certain this will gladden his dear heart. He put the Bordeaux IGS under a five year trial period and this kind of thing can only help the likelihood of his future decision to extend that period.
The first time I wrote to Papa at the beginning of May, it was to thank him for the MP:SP and I received an answer within three weeks. I have begun to watch daily for the postman!
God bless,
ICPP
J
Hi Jane,
Would you be able to translate the following from the IGS website?
Qu’en est-il alors de votre engagement par rapport à Vatican II ?
Il est indéniable que Vatican II pose à l’Église les questions essentielles de la modernité : la conscience, la liberté religieuse, la vérité, la raison et la foi, l’unité naturelle ou surnaturelle du genre humain, la violence et le dialogue avec les cultures, etc. Mais le Concile date de 1965 et il n’est plus aujourd’hui un discours clôt. Nous le reconnaissons pour ce qu’il est : un concile œcuménique relevant du magistère authentique, mais non infaillible en tout point et, en raison même de ses nouveautés, en butte à certaines difficultés dans sa continuité avec l’Évangile et la Tradition. Face au faux « esprit du Concile » qu’il a nommément mis en question le 22 décembre 2005 devant la Curie comme une cause de « rupture » dans l’Église, Benoît XVI affirme qu’il entend soumettre Vatican II à une relecture pour en donner une interprétation authentique, encore à venir. Dans cette perspective, nous sommes invités à mener de façon constructive, à notre modeste niveau, un travail critique. Le débat fondamental qui est latent depuis quarante ans va pouvoir s’ouvrir au sein de l’Église, sans esprit de système, sur les points majeurs de discontinuité posés par le Concile et qui troublent la foi.
Confiteor:
Yes, of course I will, probably later today (very busy this morning) basically it's about doing as Papa wishes and humbly examing the Council documents in the hope of arriving at a more 'authentic' putting into practice than has been the case over the past decades.
Will post on Oasis when done.
ICPP
J
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