The treasure of our Catholic Faith

The Gospel for this Sunday tells the parables of the treasure buried in the field and the pearl of great price. So often we not only take the amazing gift of our faith for granted, we don't feel confident in sharing it with others. The American CatholicsComeHome site presents a bold invitation to rediscover that treasure.

Apostleship of the Sea

Today we support the charity that has pastoral care for seafarers:

http://apostleshipofthesea.org.uk/cms/welcome-to-apostleship-sea

It seems to have been transformed into a highly efficient organisation in recent years.

Portreath (see image on the parish website) is the only patch of coast in the parish. The small port was formerly used for sending copper ore to Wales and receiving coal in return and for pilchard fishing.

Honouring the wisdom of Christ

Today is the octave day of the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

The English teacher-mystic Teresa Higginson (died 1906) claimed that Jesus had requested this day as a time to venerate his Sacred Head, the seat of divine wisdom and shrine of the powers of his soul (memory, understanding, will). This would bring glory to the Church and repair in some way the rejection of his saving wisdom in this modern world. Mass will be offered this evening in Redruth for that intention.

There is an increasing interest in this holy woman and moves are afoot to restart the cause for her canonisation.

More information here: http://www.sacredhead.org/

A Visit to Gwennap Pit

The parish priest of Launceston, Bude and Holsworthy is visiting the far west for a few days. Being a local history buff, he wanted to see the place where the famous luminary of Methodism, John Welsey, preached 18 times (lastly in 1789 when he was 86).

As you can see, we didn't have too many people listening this time, but then Methodists wouldn't expect their preacher to wear a Pope Benedict t-shirt.

The Chideock Martyrs

Today we celebrate some special martyrs of our diocese: Blessed John Cornelius and his companions. Blessed John was born of Irish parents in Bodmin. Sir John Arundell of Lanherne sent him to Oxford. He then studied at Rheims and was ordained in Rome. He worked for 10 years in England before being arrested as chaplain to Lady Arundell at Chideock castle.

A cousin of the Arundells, Thomas Bosgrave, gave John his hat as he was being escorted to the sheriff's house and was promptly arrested - along with two servants of the castle (so be careful who you give your hat to). All were executed at Dorchester on July 4th 1594.

Chideock is a peaceful spot in west Dorset; there is a fine shrine to the martyrs with its own website:  http://www.chideockmartyrschurch.org.uk/

New windows for St John's

A photo from 1909 shows the front of St John's - before the doorway was made.

The windows were 'leaded light panes'

These must have been replaced (not as a result of the riots - which were in 1882) with what really looked like opaque bathroom glass:

So at long last, thanks to Finbars Glass of Liskeard, the glass has now been restored to the original 'leaded light' type. They certainly let more light into the interior of the church, but they also smarten up the fronting.

Presenting the New Translation

We had our first of four evenings on the new translation of the Mass last night; 22 people attended. We watched a series of video clips from the  resources provided by the bishops.

In particular we looked at the historical development of the Mass and the background to the first translation into English in the 'Sixties. It followed the technique devised by the scholar Eugene Nida and known as 'dynamic equivalence'. However, it seems he really intended this technique for Scriptual translation and since the whole process was rushed through in those heady days, we were left with a slightly dumbed-down version of the Mass.

Following the latest version of the Roman Missal, the Church was given clearer guidelines for translation in 2001. This has resulted in the more 'formal equivalence' version that we will begin using shortly. The language will be a little more formal - it will be more consciously addressed to God and therefore appear more sacral in tone; the scriptural allusions will be more pronounced and the theological significance of the prayers will be richer for being more clearly and accurately articulated.

It will be a challenge for all of us getting used to some of the texts (others have barely changed). Everyone in the parish will shortly be issued with a booklet and there will be Mass cards for all. However, as Pope Benedict told us last year, it is going to a real moment of grace for us all. If some older priests across the waters are unsure about it all, it has to be said that there are many priests in this country who are looking forward to it with great hope.