Bishop Mark Davies on the Veneration of Relics

Preaching at the Birmingham Oratory on 8th October for the Feast of B John Henry Newman, the Bishop said:

The tombs of the Saints and the Blessed ones have throughout England’s history spoken a word of encouragement and hope to successive generations.  Like those “witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us,” (Heb. 12: 1) of which the Letter to the Hebrews speaks, the shrines and relics of the saints in every corner of this land have urged us towards that victory which faith assures. We think of the body of St Cuthbert carried from Lindisfarne to its resting place in Durham amid the fury of the Norseman or the shrine of St Edward the Confessor standing at Westminster for almost a thousand years amid the changing scenes of our history. And we cannot forget those first missionaries to the English people urged by Pope St Gregory to bring relics to this land to awaken the hope of holiness and witness to the communion of saints. Amid a “new evangelization” fourteen centuries later few could have imagined the spirit of prayer and repentance the relics of St Therese of Lisieux would awaken in Birmingham, Manchester and London.

It is precisely this 'new evangelisation' which inspires our Society.  

The Bishop of Shrewsbury under fire

H/t to Fr Tim

Santa Lucia prega per noi!

Developments in Ireland

An aspirant to membership of SSIM in Ireland is very keen to connect with others there who are interested in SSIM.  His message to the Master includes:

I'm struck by the Society's purposes that are both simple and worthy.  They are simple in that you ask members to reconnect with the places and people that make up the history and traditions of our faith -- the current artifacts of what we refer to as the "communion of saints."  They are worthy in that these are things that we should be doing anyway as people of faith.  In addition, there is the added bonus of doing the venerations in the context of a spiritual society where we are joined to one another in the exercise of prayer, all to the purpose of growing in grace as we go about the work of the Society.  Seems to make good sense to me.

The prospect of being (a member) of the Society in Ireland is exciting -- especially as this Irishman has his history and roots n the United States.  I now live in Ireland and am permanently settled here now for the last four years.  I think I'd enjoy the prospect of promoting membership in the Society among the Irish, especially at a time when we are challenged here to renew our relationship with the Church as we (1.) work to heal from the clerical sex abuse scandals, and (2.) move forward towards the 2012 Eucharistic Congress in June as a hoped-for occasion of prayer and grace among the faithful of the Irish church.  As far as possible pilgrimages to ancient church sites, we have an abundance of those here, thanks to the work of St. Patrick and his followers.  I've managed to discover a number of them and look forward to doing more.  

If you live in Ireland and are interested in joining in this apostolate then get in touch:  magister.ssim@gmail.com

 

Universal Call to Holiness

Our founding documents make reference to the Universal Call to Holiness.  This is what is meant by there phrase:

Universal Call to Holiness and Apostolate is a teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that all people are called to be holy. (See Lumen Gentium, Chapter V) ^[1] This Church teaching states that all within the church should live holy lives.

Living a holy life, as defined by the Catholic church, has little to do with perfection (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, Chapter Two.) Rather, it is a lifelong process of seeking God himself, through the person of Jesus Christ.

God's holy people are simply those who love God and live in Him.

The universal call to holiness in the Roman Catholic Church is rooted in baptism, a sacrament which configures a person to Jesus Christ who is God and man, thus uniting a person with the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, bringing him in communion with intra-trinitarian life.

John Paul II states in his apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte,^[2] his master plan for the new millennium, a "program for all times", that holiness is not only a state but a task, whereby Christians should strive for a full Christian life, imitating Christ, the Son of God, who gave his life for God and for his neighbor. This entails a "training in the art of prayer". According to the Pope, all pastoral initiatives have to be set in relation to holiness, as this has to be the topmost priority of the Church. The universal call to holiness is explained as more fundamental than the vocational discernment to particular ways of life such as priesthood, marriage, or virginity.

Source: Wikipedia 

The Pope

Tomorrow the Sovereign Pontiff will go the the Piazza di Spagna to pray before the image of the Immaculate Virgin. Pray for our Holy Father, long may He reign!

Happy Feast

A very happy feast of the Immaculate Conception to all of our members and friends!

Tomb of S Justin

The Tomb of S Justin Martyr in the Chapter House of the Capuchin Church in Rome

Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

Congratulations to Ryan Bloomfield, Esq. of the Bournemouth Ordinariate Group who has recently been admitted to SSIM. If you know members of the Ordinariate who might be interested in SSIM please encourage them to apply. Magister

2nd Chapter Meeting

The second meeting of the Chapter took place on 2nd December 2011, presided over by the Master. among the decisions made were changes to the Statutes to allow Catholics in Sweden to be Full members of SSIM because of the historical situation there in relation to former Catholic places of worship. Magister