Portsmouth Roman Catholic

What is the point of bringing people together for Bible Study?  Is it to show off our scholarship, showing how the Jews borrowed some ideas from other cultures at the time, such as a snake appearing in the Garden of Eden because the goddess Kaila had a snake and the Jews had no ideas of their own or stories of snakes.   Was the flood a myth as we can prove from other cultures of the time since they also spoke about a flood?   Did Joshua really bring down the walls of Jericho with a trumpet or should we perhaps look for a natural solution?  This all comes from what was called in the 80`s the HIstorical-Critical method of study which as it worked its way through the Bible eventually to dismissed the miraculous in the feeding of the five thousand with loafs and fishes as everyone sharing their sandwiches.   Is this really feeding us poor non academics the Word of God?   Why do we study Genesis?  Is it just so that we can compare our s...

It was St Augustine who while he was living a life of sin saw the Church as a contradiction of his way of life.  While sex and sin abounded the members of that Church remained unsullied by adultery and divorce.   They were faithful to the teachings of Christ.   Today when it comes to that text where Jesus speaks about divorce and remarriage how many priests find themselves now murmur things about Catholics being broken and fragmented as though this was some excuse they were giving to God for the unfaithfulness of his people.   As I watched young Catholic girls growing up and becoming single mothers through divorce or just sex outside marriage it broke my heart.   Would that one had only asked "Is this a people living the Gospel?"   There is no subject on which Christ was more outspoken yet that Church of Augustine no longer exists because its members no longer see that `living the word of Christ` not just following  our own sub...

I saw sweet Jesus kneeling in the Garden I saw the tears that glistened on his face I heard him ask the Father for my pardon And that of all this sinful human race I watched the angry crowd of men surround him "Is this the one we seek" their voices hiss I heard my own voice answer "Yes, we`ve found hm" I watched myself betray him with a kiss I saw what pain he suffered as they scourged him With every stroke his eyes were dimmed with tears He did not cry for mercy as they urged him For every stroke atoned for sinful years And as he stood there suffering this violence I pleaded with the soldiers "Set him free" But suddenly my voice was lost i silence I saw the soldier scourging him was me. A purple cloak of shame the soldiers lent him And vowed that they would give this King a crown They gathered thorns to torture and torment him Which deep into his skull they hammered down I saw the blood pour out like gushing rivers His head became a...

Way back in the years before Vatican II people in the Church understood the word `Evangelization`.   They would immediatley translate it to the `Lay Apostolate` and organisations such as the Legion of Mary, the Catholic Evidence Guild, the Society of St Vincent de Paul, the Knights of St Columba, and the many religious orders that flourished at home and abroad.   After Vatican II, when the Spirit of Vatican II had wiped these out completely or reduced them to almost ineffective numbers the word Evangelisation was still there and the word became familiar and people talked about it a great deal but what they actually meant became rather obscure.   Still "Let us Evangelise" when expressed at a meeting can raise the spirit and warm applause - but its meaning?   It is rather like `Power to the People`, it just seems the right thing to say and has a sort of meaning.   As Father Ray Blake was saying in his blog since we all believe in universal...

One of the great claims of those with the Spirit of Vatican II was about the nasty pre-vatican Roman Catholics who thought they were the only ones who went to heaven and that others, especially Protestants were bound for Hell.   I notice in the latest Portsmouth People one regular conributor returning to this theme, we behaved as though they did not exist.    The facts are that I and thousands of others had Protestant friends who believed that the only people going to Hell were the Roman Catholics.   I am no saying though that there were not nasty Roman Catholics, they are still around but they were not following the mind of the church which had recognised that Protestants who followed a right conscience and sought God in their way had what was calle `The Baptism of Desire`.  This was to be put into doctrinal form at Vatican II.    But it really is time we acknowledged that whatever prejudice was on our side was returned with interest by...

One of the things that caused me to stop the Catholic Rights blog was the sudden realisation that the Church had indeed moved on and the speed was breathtaking.   There was no need for me anymore to `pontificate` to the world so I now have a modest blog with an interest coming only from the Diocese of Portsmouth.  I am now content with a readership of an average of 20 people a day instead of 400.   I used to come from Church and Church meetings in almost despair as more and more Catholic teachings and practices were sneered at, but now I find myself actually praising more and more and worrying less and less.  My hour has passed.   Who would ever have thought even up to ten years ago that we would have a Latin Mass celebrated monthly in St Joseph`s.   It was just a nonsense to think this could be, considering the opposition.  But where did this change come from?  The answer is surprising and it is something I have touched on bef...

 On Sunday I was listening to the BBC news.  It mentioned that the Queen will soon be visiting the Pope.  True enough, a good news story.   However it felt it almost compulsory to put the Catholic Church in a bad light by pointing out that this church opposed Abortion and Gay Marriage.   But now we know that it intends to produce a programme prior to her visit which asks if the Catholic church can ever move forward.   I suppose if it follows the example the BBC sets the answer will be never.   Judge not that you be not judged.   Perhaps it should look at the widespread abuse of young girls, the suffering of children in divorces, the heroic single parents who struggle for their children rather than having them killed in the womb, the increase of HIV/Aids among young gays and the STD`s among the sexually liberated , they would have plenty to talk about.

Over a week ago on St Patricks Day we sang "Hail, Glorious St Patrick".  The Hymn Book we sang from was inspired by the Spirit of Vatican II and having no more `triumphalism` in the Church.  For those no acquainted with this Spirit the message was that silly Catholics just stood or knelt at Mass doing nothing before Vatican II, and held triumphalist processions to Our Lady or the Blessed Sacrament which had to be stamped out.   The war against inequalit`y and triumphalism even reached the hymn books.  The feminists searched feverishly for anything which left women out and so in make me a channel of  your peace we sing "In  giving to all that we receive" and not `all men"   They could have written `mankind` but the  the war was on inequality and the mention of men.   "I`ll sing a Hymn to Mary" changed the last two lines "When wicked men blaspheme thee, I love and bless thy name.  I must confess that before the Spirit of Vat...