By the Babe Unborn, GK Chesterton

"By the Babe Unborn"

by G.K. Chesterton

If trees were tall and grasses short,
As in some crazy tale,
If here and there a sea were blue
Beyond the breaking pale,

If a fixed fire hung in the air
To warm me one day through,
If deep green hair grew on great hills,
I know what I should do.

In dark I lie; dreaming that there
Are great eyes cold or kind,
And twisted streets and silent doors,
And living men behind.

Let storm clouds come: better an hour,
And leave to weep and fight,
Than all the ages I have ruled
The empires of the night.

I think that if they gave me leave
Within the world to stand,
I would be good through all the day
I spent in fairyland.

They should not hear a word from me
Of selfishness or scorn,
If only I could find the door,
If only I were born.

There will be a Chesterton Conference in Oxford on Saturday 2nd July. Chesterton Prayercards can be printed from here.

Stuart McCullough

A Tweet From Pope Benedict XVI

H/t to American Papist Today the Vatican published www.News.Va. To celebrate, Pope Benedict sent out his first tweet

Ronald Reagan's words of wisdom

"I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born."
Ronald Reagan
New York Times, 22 September 1980

Stuart McCullough

St John The Baptist Mass for Good Counsel

For the last six months or so a group of youngsters have been coming to the Good Counsel Mass on the 2nd Friday of each month at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, at 6.30pm. After Mass they would go out for dinner. They are now starting to have Mass at St Patrick's details below. As well as this the Mass at Corpus Christi will still continue. (Photo)

Juventutem London have moved to St Patrick's, Soho. This will be our first Mass in the new location. The Mass at 6.30pm will be offered for the Good Counsel Network. (But the collection will be for Juventutem)

Celebrant: Fr Patrick Hayward
Deacon: Fr Seán Finnegan
Subdeacon: Fr Timothy Finigan
Preacher: Fr Aidan Nichols OP

In choir: Fr Ray Blake

Music provided by Schola Abelis, University of Oxford Gregorian Chant society.

After the Mass we shall move to the square for a picnic if conditions are favourable. Otherwise, we shall go to a restaurant as usual.

For more details about the Masses organised by Juventutem London click here. We're especially keen for people to realise that the Mass is not only for people between the ages of 18-35, but that the social afterwards is!

Stuart McCullough

Father Corapi, Right or Wrong.

I don't believe in disobedience to Church authorities and superiors. It's also true that I don't always believe in the way the local Church authorites handle alleged cases of sexual impropriety - it is against all justice and wounds many innocent people. But learn more about that here. Sadly that isn't the root of the problem in this case.

I do believe Fr Corapi is in great need of prayer. Let us bear in mind the truths he preached fearlessly and pray for him. If we cannot be bothered to pray for him, let us blame ourselves for the state of the Church. Here's a sample of the heart and mind of the man himself, as a seminarian:
With all due tippings of the hat to The Eponymous Flower.
"I received a link via e-mail to a site that contains a letter sent by then seminarian John Corapi to a correspondent who had sent him a religious medal. The letter is really very frank and very telling, much more than a mere thank you note, it goes into the reasons for Corapi's vocation and his divinely inspired mission in the Church. Itis something that should be read in light of recent events. An excerpt below:
Before I ever heard of The Message of Garabandal The Mother of God, in a very personal way, made it known to me. She made me acutely aware of certain things concerning the Eucharist. These abuses I became aware of cause me much suffering. I often cry at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and I very often cry at night, not sleeping at all.
Whenever I would doubt this insight, almost immediately I would be given a sign to confirm that what I was feeling was correct. Some examples: (1) Seeing the priest at a church daily fail to Purify the Paten & Chalice and profanely disgarding the consecrated Host and Precious Blood down a drain! (2) Hearing homilies that state that no longer do we owe primary allegiance to the Pope, but rather to local Bishops who are more aware of our needs! (3) Listening to a Diocesan Vocation Director tell me that his Diocese would not be interested in Ordaining any man who was not open to Priests being able to marry and to serve a limited term as a Priest (Like an Army enlistment)! To say that I suffer to hear these things would be to say the least. However, there is a purpose to it all. My dear friend, the Mother of God, wants me to be aware of these dangers so that I can help her to wage war against the enemy. She has given me a vocation to the Priesthood so that I might help her to bring back holiness to her Son's Church and end these horrible abuses of the Eucharist.
There are many who do not wish to see me become a Priest because of my fierce loyalty to the Vicar of Christ and my outspoken defense of him and my condemnation of certain irreverent and even profane practices I see today. I have enemies because of this. So too did Our Beloved Saviour have enemies.
I have had to endure abuse and suffering because my views are now not popular with the local clergy. They call me a fanatic and say my views are outdated. Luckily, there are 3 archbishops (retired) who agree with me and protect me, gaining admittance for me to a good Orthodox Seminary where my views are generally shared.
I know very well that my vocation will be that of a soldier engaged in a mortal combat. There will be more and worse suffering for all of us to endure. That is fine, for, as we know, Our Blessed Lord did not tell us to take up a bed of Roses and follow him. He said to take up a CROSS and follow Him! By the Grace of Almighty God and the Holy assistance and intercession of Our Good Friend, The Mother of God, I shall do so!
Being a weak and miserable creature that I am, I am much in need of Prayer. Please pray for me that I might be all that Our Blessed Mother wishes me to be.

from SANCTE PATER by Vincenzo
by tantamergo

Playboy club opens in London

Hugh Hefner was on the BBC news recently telling viewers that opening a Playboy club in London along with his pornographic magazine would help free women! I found this quote in Rising Above Pornography by Rebecca Lomas.

As difficult as it is to give graphic accounts of sexual abuse, the reality is there. Their ugliness, and the shame associated with them are what keep people from reporting abuse. It is only through reality that others understand. Pornography has been accessible for many decades; it is nothing new or modern, and through the years it has gained wider distribution and support, with more openness.

There is an account of a woman who recalls that she was molested as a child. From seven to nine years of age, she was molested for two years by a fourteen-year-old male teenager. The teenager kept a pornographic magazine next to him while he was molesting her. He kept the magazine handy as if it were a stimulating or hands on guide. She now compares his keeping a pornographic magazine near him to a dental intern who keeps an open dental guide handy, while working on trial patients. This woman definitely saw how pornographic material was a contributor to the sexual molestation she suffered. She resented her abuser for years, even though he as also a victim of the same pornographic power.

Today's Pro Ecclesia Conference Cancelled

The Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice Conference in Westminster Central Methodist Hall today has been cancelled. Although replacement speakers had been booked, the Conference has now been cancelled outright by the management at the venue. For more information see Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice's own website here.

And spread the word to anyone you know.

What a shame that the Conference didn't go ahead with the original speaker, Cardinal Burke. We should probably keep everyone at PEEP in our prayers at what must have been a very difficult time for them.

Clare McCullough

Happy Birthday Pro-Life English Bishop.

Today is the 75th birthday of Bishop Thomas McMahon of Brentwood. We wish him a Happy Birthday. If you were wondering what to get a Bishop for his birthday when he reaches the age of retirement, let me tell you. Bishop McMahon has for a number of years prayed outside Marie Stopes Abortuary in Buckhurst Hill. On Saturday 16th July (the next day will be the 31st anniversary of him being made a Bishop) he will do so again. So the best present you could give him, would be to attend this vigil.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be offered in St Thomas of Canterbury Church, 557-559 High Road, Woodford Green, IG8 0RB at 9am. At 9.45 approx the Bishop and the faithful will process to the abortuary saying the Rosary etc. on route. We will then return at 12 noon to the Church and at 12.30pm break for tea and a get together. Please bring a packed lunch. For more details. If you are not sure if you can attend please click here.

There will also be a Vigil at Bedford Square abortuary on Saturday 2nd July, in honour of The Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Photo from Fr Finigan's blog.

Offering up 72 Miles of pain to save lives

Hi everyone,

I am going on The Chartres Pilgrimage over the Pentecost weekend. It is my first time doing this Pilgrimage and I am really looking forward to completing it. It is a Pilgrimage in the true sense of a Pilgrimage. We leave London very early on Friday 10th June having had Mass at Westminster Cathedral. We then travel to Paris by coach, staying one night in a hotel in the outskirts.

On Saturday we get up really early and have our last proper meal for three days. Mass is said in Notre Dame Cathedral and then the Pilgrimage starts. Over the next three days we will walk 72 miles to Chartres, praying, singing and generally giving glory to God. We will have Mass every day and survive on bread water, and whatever we can carry. Each night we camp out in large tents which I am told are bitterly cold (even though we are in the middle of Summer).

Finally at about 3pm on Monday we arrive at Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres where we have Mass and finally a rest.

I am hoping that you will sponsor me for my efforts with all the money raised going to The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel which is a Catholic Pro-life Charity who give support to expectant Mothers who are in the most difficult and desperate circumstances before, during and after the birth of their child. For more information about their work please see www.goodcounselnetwork.com or to donate.

This is from Gaelle's Just Giving page, I'm pleased to say that she made it. You can still donate.

Stuart McCullough

Can You Put Your Money Where Our Mouth Is to Save 7 Lives?

This amazing and blessed week we have had SEVEN turnarounds from four different London abortuaries.

Anyone standing outside an abortuary will know that you can stand there for years without necessarily witnessing a turnaround (though many women change their minds that we may never know about).

To get a turnaround at all is a blessing, but 7 in one week is pretty amazing by any standards!

It has been a real blessing to us to be involved in talking to these women on the doorsteps of the abortuaries and being able to offer real tangible help and support.

Congratulations to Eddie, Kay, Josie and all the other faithful supporters of London abortuary vigils.

Now we have to deliver the goods - or rather provide the help we have offered. Can you help?

If you love life and support the Church's teaching on it, this is what we URGENTLY need to provide for these women and their children:

A low-rent 2 bed flat in North West London, for a couple being evicted because they refused to abort.

A 3 bed flat/house in Brent that will accept a DSS tenant.

Your financial support

Lots of prayers.

With your support we can really live the Church's teachings on building a civilization of love

Please spread the word.

Clare McCullough

Mass for the Feast of The Ascension at Good Counsel

Happy Feast day to one and all. As the Priest saying Mass at Good Counsel today, Fr Leworthy FSSP, says the Old Rite, we had the Mass of The Ascension.

Stuart McCullough

Twitter To Save The World, But Not England

I could not help but remember GK Chesterton's poem, The Secret People, when hearing an English MP talking in Parliament about a well known Welsh Footballer. He had already been 'named' by thousands on Twitter and the like.

Chesterton's poem talks about Nations raising up in the past, much as people in the Middle-east are today with modern technology. He says that the English will be the last.

And so now we have state sponsored television (BBC) telling us about mass civil disobedience by the English posting on Twitter. Regime change a la the Middle-East? Revolution like the French? Ending the killing of over 500 babies a day through abortion in this Country? Not likely! This is England we twits demand the right to gossip about who may have been sleeping with who?
God help us, because no one else would bother!

For Chesterton prayercards.

The Secret People

G. K. Chesterton

SMILE at us, pay us, pass us; but do not quite forget.
For we are the people of England, that never have spoken yet.
There is many a fat farmer that drinks less cheerfully,
There is many a free French peasant who is richer and sadder than we.
There are no folk in the whole world so helpless or so wise.
There is hunger in our bellies, there is laughter in our eyes;
You laugh at us and love us, both mugs and eyes are wet:
Only you do not know us. For we have not spoken yet.

The fine French kings came over in a flutter of flags and dames.
We liked their smiles and battles, but we never could say their names.
The blood ran red to Bosworth and the high French lords went down;
There was naught but a naked people under a naked crown.
And the eyes of the King's Servants turned terribly every way,
And the gold of the King's Servants rose higher every day.
They burnt the homes of the shaven men, that had been quaint and kind.
Till there was not bed in a monk's house, nor food that man could find.
The inns of God where no main paid, that were the wall of the weak,
The King's Servants ate them all. And still we did not speak.

And the face of the King's Servants grew greater than the King:
He tricked them, and they trapped him, and stood round him in a ring.
The new grave lords closed round him, that had eaten the abbey's fruits,
And the men of the new religion, with their bibles in their boots,
We saw their shoulders moving, to menace or discuss,
And some were pure and some were vile, but none took heed of us.
We saw the King as they killed him, and his face was proud and pale;
And a few men talked of freedom, while England talked of ale.

A war that we understood not came over the world and woke
Americans, Frenchmen, Irish; but we knew not the things they spoke.
They talked about rights and nature and peace and the people's reign:
And the squires, our masters, bade us fight; and never scorned us again.
Weak if we be for ever, could none condemn us then;
Men called us serfs and drudges; men knew that were were men.
In foam and flame at Trafalgar, on Albeura plains,
We did and died like lions, to keep ouselves in chains.
We lay in living ruins; firing and fearing not
The strange face of the Frenchman who know for what they fought,
And the man who seemed to be more than man we strained against and broke;
And we broke our own right with him. And still we never spoke.

Our patch of glory ended; we never heard guns again.
But the squire seemed struck in the saddle; he was foolish, as if in pain.
He leaned on a staggering lawyer, he clutched a cringing Jew,
He was stricken; it may be, after all, he was stricken at Waterloo.
Or perhaps the shades of the shaven men, whose spoil is in his house,
Come back in shining shapes at last to spil his last carouse:
We only know the last sad squires ride slowly towards the sea,
And a new people takes the land: and still it is not we.

They have given us into the hand of new unhappy lords,
Lords without anger and honour, who dare not carry their swords.
They fight by shuffling papers; they have bright dead alien eyes;
They look at our labour and laughter as a tired man looks at flies.
And the load of their loveless pity is worse than the ancient wrongs,
Their doors are shut in the evening; and they know no songs.

We hear men speaking for us of new laws strong and sweet,
Yet is there no man speaketh as we speak in the street.
It may be we shall rise the last as Frenchmen rose the first,
Our wrath come after Russia's wrath and our wrath be the worst.
It may be we are meant to mark with our riot and our rest
God's scorn for all men governing. It may be beer is best.
But we are the people of England; and we have not spoken yet.
Smile at us, pay us, pass us. But do not quite forget.

Stuart McCullough