Reply received to my letter to the Holy Father

Well, it is a reply, but in no way is it an answer to my letter to the Holy Father. It was posted yesterday from the Papal Nunciature in Paris and is signed by a Monsignor Assessor. The paper has the letterhead of the Secretariat of State and it is dated as being from the Vatican on April 20. In my experience that is quite normal, if a bit delayed because of recent pressures . It is however almost certainly a 'standard' letter and in no way convinces me that the Holy Father knows anything about the humble request I made to him. You all know that it was to do with the possibility of adding an invocation to the Litany of Our Lady which would invoke her under the title of Mother, or of Queen of Clergy, so appropriate and indeed particularly necessary at this time. There is absolutely no mention of this matter in the letter that arrived this morning.

I am tempted to write to the Monsignor and ask why, as he states, when writing to me at the request of the Holy Father and in his name, he doesn't actually answer my letter at all. Did the Holy Father instruct him to remain silent? I hardly think so. Rather, I suspect that 'someone' didn't think it improtant enough to bother him with.

I do not know what to do and I expect you will be as disappointed as I am with this, at best overlooking, and at worst, shirking of the subject I raised.

Any ideas or suggestions anyone?????????

Watching and waiting....

This is just to let you know that I've not yet received a reply to my letter to the Holy Father regarding the addition to the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Up to now I've always received reply within three weeks. It is now nearly double that and I'm beginning to think my letter may have been lost. Be assured that if necessary I will write again before the end of the Year of the Priest.

God bless Bishop Slattery of Tulsa ,OK

It's late. But this is such great news. See WDTPRS for details. More tomorrow DV.

Pope Benedict meets Maltese abuse victims:"And he put his hand on the head of each..............blessing them."

In his post "I saw the Pope weep", Father Z does a remarkable and tremendously effective thing. His attention having been drawn to a report in La Stampa on the Pope's meeting with abuse victims, he has teased out, and published, only the exact words of Lawrence Grech, and has shorn away all other comment. How refreshing, and how much nearer it brings us to the truth of the atmosphere of the meeting and what happened during it, than yards of agenda-driven secular journalistic verbiage.

A hugely grateful hat-tip to Fr.Z. Link to his post here.

Defending the Pope: Catholic Culture.org launches excellent project

If you are feeling depressed and powerless in the face of the current unjust attacks on our Holy Father, and on the damage they are doing to him and to the Church, help is at hand. There IS something you CAN do, both practically and spiritually. Jeff Mirus and Phil Lawler are to be thanked and congratulated for havng put this very thorough project together. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is clear, concise, straight to the point and includes valuable links. It is laid out under five headings - Overview; To read; To discuss; To do; Documents. All are printable and available in pdf format. (All these sections are indispensable and there is a most helpful document which will reward close and concentrated reading. It lists 'dos and don'ts' to be followed when dealing with the media, local as well as national.)

The Vatican is fighting its corner; you may think it sometimes strikes the wrong note and makes things worse. After reading the document mentioned above, some may be tempted to send a copy to the Holy See Press Office! Seriously though, it needs our help at grass roots level, rather than criticism, deserved or not. Wherever you are in the English-speaking world, here is a chance to make a constructive difference. PLEASE, FOR LOVE OF GOD, OUR HOLY FAITH AND OUR HOLY FATHER, go here to reach the project.

In Christo pro Papa

J

Vatican News Services announces new blog

Here's the link they give in email just received. Hope it works!

Life can never be the same. Deo gratias.

Sorry there is no musical offering today. There simply has not been the time.

I have been absent from blogging for longer than intended. Those of you who noted earlier that Our Lord's Eucharistic presence arrived in St. Romain on the eve of Palm Sunday, will understand why. I now have responsibility for the daily unlocking and locking of the church, and spend at least two hours a day with Our Lord. Pere Marchand is taking a few days well-merited break but when he returns I''ll be seeking his help to get a weekly Holy Hour started and to encourage others to visit Our Lord. I'm most grateful to Fr Mark Kirby for putting me in touch with a new French community who have a special mission to help Parishes with this kind of initiative. I will keep you posted as to how things develop.

In the meantime, the Lord is on His own in our church, which is one reason why I'm with Him as much as possible. Another reason is that I do not quite know how I would have managed over the current days of persecution of our dear Holy Father, had the Lord not been there. As it is, He has converted my panic-stricken anxiety and pain for Pope Benedict and the Church, into a calm offering up for them. In the silence and space thus created He makes me a marginally more fit vessel to adore Him.

Please sign new petition to support His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Do please investigate this site, sign the petition here and tell as many of your friends about it as possible. Grateful twitch of the mantilla to Annie of LMS Arundel and Brighton blog. I trust you all keep an eye on her. She's often first with important things like this.

In Christo pro Papa

Easter Sunday

Gradual of Easter Sunday, Haec Dies:

Easter Morning 2010

With my prayers for a holy and peaceful Easter.

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Cardinal Ruini's Meditations for tonight's 'Via Crucis' at the Colloseum

The Way of the Cross, presides over by our Holy Father will be televised live on EWTN and kto tv. 8.15pm UK time. Here is a link to the full text which you may like to print off beforehand (14 pages)

My prayers for all of you on this holiest of Fridays.

In Christo pro Papa.