Say “Hello” to Mr. Grumpy.
He is a Pied Starling and was seen perched in a tree
at the Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa.
Picture Credit: Andrew Mayes.
Illustration: BBC
21 May, 2026
Lay Movement Launches International Campaign For “Total Freedom Of The Traditional Liturgy”.
Illustration: EP.
This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at,
EDWARD PENTIN
Being a Catholic in 2024 is no easy endeavour. The West is undergoing a massive de-Christianisation, so much so that Catholicism appears to be vanishing from the public sphere.
EDWARD PENTIN
Being a Catholic in 2024 is no easy endeavour. The West is undergoing a massive de-Christianisation, so much so that Catholicism appears to be vanishing from the public sphere.
Elsewhere, the number of Christians being persecuted for their Faith is on the rise. What’s more, The Church has been struck by an internal crisis that manifests itself in a decline in Religious practice, a downswing in Priestly and Religious vocations, a decrease in Sacramental practice, and even a growing dissension between Priests, Bishops and Cardinals which, until very recently, was utterly unthinkable.
Yet, among all the things that can contribute to the internal revival of The Church and to the renewal of her missionary zeal, there is, above all, the worthy and reverent Celebration of her Liturgy, which can be greatly fostered thanks to the example and the presence of the Traditional Roman Liturgy.
Despite all the attempts that have been made to suppress it, especially during the present Pontificate, it lives on, continuing to spread and to sanctify the Christian people who are Blessed to be able to benefit from it.
It bears abundant fruits of piety, as well as an increase of vocations and of conversions. It attracts young people and is the fount of many flourishing works, especially in schools, and is accompanied by a solid catechesis.
No-one can deny that it is a vector for the preservation and transmission of The Faith and Religious practice in the midst of a waning of Religious belief and a dwindling number of believers.
This Mass, due to its venerable antiquity, can boast of having sanctified countless Souls over the Centuries. Among other vital forces still active in The Church, this form of Liturgical life stands out because of the stability given to it by an uninterrupted “Lex Orandi”.
Certainly, some places of Worship have been granted, or rather tolerated, where this Liturgy can be Celebrated, but too often what has been given by one hand is taken back by the other, without, however, ever managing to make it vanish.
Since the massive decline during the period immediately following the Second Vatican Council, every attempt has been made on numerous occasions to revive Religious practice, to increase the number of Priestly and Religious vocations, and to preserve The Faith of the Christian people.
Certainly, some places of Worship have been granted, or rather tolerated, where this Liturgy can be Celebrated, but too often what has been given by one hand is taken back by the other, without, however, ever managing to make it vanish.
Since the massive decline during the period immediately following the Second Vatican Council, every attempt has been made on numerous occasions to revive Religious practice, to increase the number of Priestly and Religious vocations, and to preserve The Faith of the Christian people.
Everything, except letting the people experience the Traditional Liturgy, by giving the Tridentine Liturgy a fair chance. Today, however, common sense urgently demands that all the vital forces in The Church be allowed to live and prosper, and in particular the one which enjoys a Right dating back to over a millennium.
Let there be no mistake: The present appeal is not a petition to obtain a new tolerance as in 1984 and 1988, nor even a restoration of the status granted in 2007 by the Motu Proprio “Summorum Pontificum”, which, recognising in principle a Right, has in fact been reduced to a regime of meagrely-granted permissions.
As Lay People, it is not for us to pass judgement on the Second Vatican Council, its continuity or discontinuity with the previous teaching of The Church, the merits, or not, of the reforms that resulted from it, and so on.
Let there be no mistake: The present appeal is not a petition to obtain a new tolerance as in 1984 and 1988, nor even a restoration of the status granted in 2007 by the Motu Proprio “Summorum Pontificum”, which, recognising in principle a Right, has in fact been reduced to a regime of meagrely-granted permissions.
As Lay People, it is not for us to pass judgement on the Second Vatican Council, its continuity or discontinuity with the previous teaching of The Church, the merits, or not, of the reforms that resulted from it, and so on.
On the other hand, it is necessary to defend and transmit the means that Providence has employed to enable a growing number of Catholics to preserve The Faith, to grow in it, or to discover it.
The Traditional Liturgy plays an essential role in this process, thanks to its transcendence, its beauty, its timelessness and its doctrinal certainty.
For this reason, we simply ask, for the sake of the true freedom of the children of God in The Church, that the full freedom of the Traditional Liturgy, with the free use of all its Liturgical Books, be granted, so that, without hindrance, in the Latin Rite, all The Faithful may benefit from it and all Clerics may Celebrate it.
Jean-Pierre Maugendre, Managing Director of Renaissance Catholique, Paris, France.
22 April 2024.
For this reason, we simply ask, for the sake of the true freedom of the children of God in The Church, that the full freedom of the Traditional Liturgy, with the free use of all its Liturgical Books, be granted, so that, without hindrance, in the Latin Rite, all The Faithful may benefit from it and all Clerics may Celebrate it.
Jean-Pierre Maugendre, Managing Director of Renaissance Catholique, Paris, France.
22 April 2024.
This appeal is not a petition to be signed, but a message to be disseminated, possibly to be taken up again in any form that may seem appropriate, and to be brought and explained to the Cardinals, Bishops, and Prelates, of The Universal Church.
Si Renaissance catholique a l’initiative de cette campagne, c’est uniquement pour se faire l’interprète d’un large désir en ce sens qui se manifeste dans l’ensemble du monde catholique. Cette campagne n’est pas la sienne, mais celle de tous ceux qui y participeront, la relayeront, l’amplifieront, chacun à leur manière.
Renaissance Catholique is a Paris-based movement of Lay People working to re-establish the social reign of Christ.
Saint Felix Of Cantalice (1515 - 1587). Capuchin Friar. Feast Day 18 May. White Vestments.
Saint Felix Of Cantalice (1515 - 1587).
Capuchin Friar.
Artist:
Circle of Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).
Date: 17th-Century.
Source/Photographer:
(Wikimedia Commons)
Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
Saint Felix of Cantalice, OFMCap (Italian: Felice da Cantalice; 18 May 1515 – 18 May 1587) was an Italian Capuchin Friar of the 16th-Century.
Canonised by Pope Clement XI in 1712, he was the first Capuchin Friar to be named a Saint.
He worked as a Shepherd and Farm-Hand until he was twenty-eight.
His task as a Capuchin was to beg Alms for the Friars. So successful was he, that Brother Felix was able to extend his collections to assist the Poor.
Church of Saint Felix of Cantalice,
Neustadt, Germany.
Date: 1907.
This File: 2 September 2019.
User: SteinsplitterBot
This File is licensed under the
Share Alike 4.0 International licence.
Author: Felix Mader.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Felix was the third of four sons born to Santi and Santa Porri. They were poor Farmers. About the age of ten, Felix was hired out, first as a Shepherd to a family at Cittàducale, where he later worked as a Farm-Hand. Until the age of twenty-eight, he worked as a Farm Labourer and Shepherd.
He developed the habit of Praying while he worked. One day, while ploughing a field, something spooked the Oxen and he fell.
He was trampled, the plough passing over his body. However, he arose uninjured, and, in gratitude, immediately entered a Capuchin Monastery.[1]
Toward the end of Autumn 1543, Felix entered the newly-founded Capuchin Friars as a Lay Brother at the Citta Ducale Friary in the municipality of Anticoli Corrado.
Toward the end of Autumn 1543, Felix entered the newly-founded Capuchin Friars as a Lay Brother at the Citta Ducale Friary in the municipality of Anticoli Corrado.
It is said that he was well-noted for his piety. In 1547, he was sent to Rome as Quaestor of the Capuchin Friary of Saint Bonaventure, where he spent his remaining forty years begging Alms to help in the Friars’ work of aiding the Sick and the Poor.[2]
In Rome, Brother Felix became a familiar sight, wandering barefoot through the streets, with a Sack slung over his shoulders, knocking on doors to seek donations.
In Rome, Brother Felix became a familiar sight, wandering barefoot through the streets, with a Sack slung over his shoulders, knocking on doors to seek donations.
The Vision of Saint Felix of Cantalice.
Our Blessed Lady appears to our Saint
and shows The Infant Jesus.
Artist: Carlo Ceresa (1609–1679).
Date: 1644.
Collection: Chiesa San Giorgio Martire.
This File: 9 June 2011.
User: JarektUploadBot.
Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art.
(Wikimedia Commons)
He received permission from his superiors to help the needy, especially widows with many children. It is said that his Begging Sack was as bottomless as his heart.[3]
Brother Felix Blessed all benefactors and all those he met with a humble “Deo Gratias”(“Thanks be to God”), causing many to refer to him as “Brother Deo Gratias”.[4]
Felix was so successful in his work that during the famine of 1580, the political leader of Rome asked the Capuchins if they would “lend” Felix to them so he could collect food and provisions for the entire City. The Capuchins agreed and Felix embraced his new task.[5]
He Preached in the street, rebuked corrupt politicians and officials, and exhorted young men to stop leading dissolute lives. He also composed simple teaching Canticles, and arranged for children to gather in groups to sing them as a way to teach them the Catechism.[2]
The plain-spoken Brother Felix was a good friend of Saint Philip Neri and an acquaintance of Saint Charles Borromeo.[6]
He Preached in the street, rebuked corrupt politicians and officials, and exhorted young men to stop leading dissolute lives. He also composed simple teaching Canticles, and arranged for children to gather in groups to sing them as a way to teach them the Catechism.[2]
The plain-spoken Brother Felix was a good friend of Saint Philip Neri and an acquaintance of Saint Charles Borromeo.[6]
Felix developed a reputation as a healer.[3] As he got older, his superior ordered him to wear sandals to protect his health.[7]
Cardinal Santori had offered to use his influence to have the elderly Felix relieved of the difficult task of questing, but Felix refused.[6]
Felix died in Rome in 1587 on his 72nd birthday and was buried in the Crypt of the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.[6]
Felix died in Rome in 1587 on his 72nd birthday and was buried in the Crypt of the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.[6]
He was Beatified on 1 October 1625 by Pope Urban VIII and Canonised on 22 May 1712 by Pope Clement XI.[5]
The Bull of Canonisation, “Rationi Congruit”, was published by Pope Benedict XIII on 4 June 1724.[8]
His Feast Day is Celebrated in the Calendar of Saints of the Franciscan Order on 18 May.
A Titular Church in Rome was erected in his honour, San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle
In 19th-Century Poland, the Felician Sisters, a Religious Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Third Order Regular, was Founded to care for the Poor and adopted him as their Patron Saint.
Painting in the Church of Santa Maria della
Concezione dei Cappuccini, Rome. Saint Felix
of Cantalice is shown The Infant Jesus by Our Lady.
Photo: 29 January 2015.
Source: Own work.
This File is licensed under the
3.0 Unported licence.
Author: Dguendel
(Wikimedia Commons)
A Titular Church in Rome was erected in his honour, San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle
In 19th-Century Poland, the Felician Sisters, a Religious Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Third Order Regular, was Founded to care for the Poor and adopted him as their Patron Saint.
Felix is usually represented in art as holding in his arms the Infant Jesus, because of a vision he is said to have had, when the Virgin appeared to him and placed Jesus in his arms.[2]
Pope Saint John Paul II observed that Felix is “shown bearing the Infant Jesus in his arms because, in bearing the burdens of the needy, he had carried in his arms the Poor Christ, Himself.”[9]
Exeter Cathedral (Cathedral Church Of Saint Peter). The Longest Uninterrupted Mediæval Vaulted Ceiling In The World. (Part Six).
Exeter Cathedral.
Renewing the Quire (Choir).
Available on YouTube
unless stated otherwise.
In 1566, the Dean and Chapter presented to Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, a Manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Gospels which had been given by Leofric;[18]
In 1602, eighty-one Manuscripts from the Library were presented to Sir Thomas Bodley for The Bodleian Library at Oxford.
In 1657, under The Commonwealth, the Cathedral was deprived of several of its ancillary buildings, including the Reading Room of 1412–1413. Some books were lost but a large part of them were saved due to the efforts of Dr. Robert Vilvaine, who had them transferred to St John’s Hospital. At a later date, he provided funds to convert The Lady Chapel into a Library, and the books were brought back.
By 1752, it is thought the collection had grown considerably to some 5,000 volumes, to a large extent by benefactions. In 1761, Charles Lyttelton, Dean of Exeter, describes it as having over 6,000 books and some good Manuscripts.
By 1752, it is thought the collection had grown considerably to some 5,000 volumes, to a large extent by benefactions. In 1761, Charles Lyttelton, Dean of Exeter, describes it as having over 6,000 books and some good Manuscripts.
He describes the work which had been done to repair and list the contents of the Manuscripts. At the same time, the Muniments had been cleaned and moved to a suitable Muniment Room.[17]
“Emmanuel”, the thirteen-ton Bourdon of Notre-Dame de Paris being remounted in 1850 during restoration work. 1851 drawing by Daubigny showing the Bourdon “Emmanuel” being lifted into the rebuilt Belfry at Notre-Dame de Paris.
Date: 12 April 1851.
Source: Originally published in “L’Illustration”, 12 April 1851. Republished in 2013 on the official website of Notre-Dame de Paris. After the page was removed, it was archived on campaners.com, then uploaded to Pinterest.
Author: Daubigny
(Wikimedia Commons)
In 1820, the Library was moved from The Lady Chapel to the Chapter House. In the later 19th-Century, two large collections were received by the Cathedral, and it was necessary to construct a new building to accommodate the whole Library.
The collections of Edward Charles Harington and Frederic Charles Cook were together more than twice the size of the existing Library, and John Loughborough Pearson was the architect of the new building on the site of the old Cloister. During the 20th-Century, the greater part of the Library was transferred to rooms in The Bishop’s Palace, while the remainder was kept in Pearson’s Cloister Library.[17]
Today, there is a good collection of early Medical Books, part of which came in 1948 from the Exeter Medical Library (Founded 1814), and part on permanent loan from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (1,300 volumes, 1965).
_(15207410807)4.png)
Decorated Columns, dated 1275, with Painted Arches,
behind the Altar at Exeter Cathedral.
Date: 29 September 2014.
Source: FLICKR/HUGH LLEWLYN
Author: Hugh Llewelyn
(Wikimedia Commons)
The most decorated Manuscript in the Library is a Psalter
(MS 3508), probably written for the Church of Saint Helen, at Worcester, in the Early-13th-Century.
The earliest printed book now in the Library is represented by only a single leaf: This is Cicero’s “De officiis” (Mainz: Fust and Schoeffer, 1465–1466).[17]
PART SEVEN FOLLOWS.
20 May, 2026
The Minor Litanies In The Ambrosian Rite.
Illustration: NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT
By: Gregory DiPippo.
Tuesday, 19 May 2026.
This Post comes entirely from notes written by our Ambrosian expert, Nicola de’ Grandi.
The photos were taken yesterday at the Church of Santa Maria della Consolazione, Milan, where the Traditional Rite is Celebrated, and which observed the Minor Litanies with a Procession and a Station within the Church.
In previous years, it has been held outside, but yesterday it was raining.
Last month, I Posted the Liturgical Texts of the Ambrosian Form of the Major Litanies.
Special thanks to Mr. Andrea Riva for providing the video of the Litany of the Saints, given below.
In the Ambrosian Rite, the Minor Litanies are Celebrated on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, after Ascension Day, not before Ascension Day, as in the Roman Rite.
This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at,
This Post comes entirely from notes written by our Ambrosian expert, Nicola de’ Grandi.
The photos were taken yesterday at the Church of Santa Maria della Consolazione, Milan, where the Traditional Rite is Celebrated, and which observed the Minor Litanies with a Procession and a Station within the Church.
In previous years, it has been held outside, but yesterday it was raining.
Last month, I Posted the Liturgical Texts of the Ambrosian Form of the Major Litanies.
Special thanks to Mr. Andrea Riva for providing the video of the Litany of the Saints, given below.
In the Ambrosian Rite, the Minor Litanies are Celebrated on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, after Ascension Day, not before Ascension Day, as in the Roman Rite.
This custom is attested in the very oldest Ambrosian Liturgical Books, and was observed from very ancient times throughout the North of Italy, not just at Milan, as seen in a Liturgical manuscript at Friuli, in the Veneto region, already in the 6th Century A.D.
They were originally known as the “Major Litanies”, since they were instituted before the observance on April 25th that now bears that name, but which is not attested in the Ambrosian Rite before the 11th-Century.
Although Saint Ambrose writes that it was not the custom of The Church to Fast during the Easter Season (Exposition of the Gospel of Saint Luke 25), a fact which was adduced in criticism of the Milanese custom in The Middle Ages, it was defended in the Later-11th-Century by a Cleric of the City, named Landolfo, who refers to what Christ says when asked why His disciples did not Fast: “The days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they shall fast” (Matthew 9, 15).
Ambrosian Liturgical manuscript of the 13th-Century.
Illustration: NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT
Although Saint Ambrose writes that it was not the custom of The Church to Fast during the Easter Season (Exposition of the Gospel of Saint Luke 25), a fact which was adduced in criticism of the Milanese custom in The Middle Ages, it was defended in the Later-11th-Century by a Cleric of the City, named Landolfo, who refers to what Christ says when asked why His disciples did not Fast: “The days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they shall fast” (Matthew 9, 15).
The three-day-Fast after Ascension Day, the departure of the Bridegroom, therefore imitates what the Apostles did while waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
A contemporary of Saint Ambrose, Saint Philastrius of Brescia, attests to exactly this same custom, and for exactly the same reasons, already in the Mid-5th-Century A.D.
The Mozarabic Liturgy also Traditionally observes a Fast of three days in the week after the Ascension, on the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, before the Vigil of Pentecost.
The rest of this excellent Article can be read at
Oh, Dear. Perkins (Chauffeur) Has Gone Into His Blue Mode !!! He’s Being Difficult, Again.
1932 Auburn 8-100A Speedster
Oh, dear.
Perkins (Chauffeur) has gone into his Blue Mode !!!
Illustration: HYMAN LTD
%20BEING%20DIFFICULT,%20AGAIN-1.png444.png)
Perkins (Chauffeur) seems to be intent on
getting a faster motor car. He has previously been told
there is nothing wrong with the current Charabanc
(see, below, taking Zephyrinus to Sunday Mass).
Perkins (Chauffeur) taking Zephyrinus
to Sunday Mass in the current Charabanc.
Illustration: PINTEREST
The Thirty Most Beautiful German Hymns. Find Inner Peace With God. Die Dreißig Schönsten Deutschen Kirchenlieder. Finde Inneren Frieden Mit Gott.
The Thirty Most Beautiful German Hymns.
Find Inner Peace With God.
Die Dreißig Schönsten Deutschen Kirchenlieder.
Finde Inneren Frieden Mit Gott.
Available on YouTube
“Ave Sanctissima !!! Ave Purissima !!! Sinless And Beautiful, Star Of The Sea”.
“The Virgin Of The Lilies”
“La Vierge Au Lys”.
Artist:
William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
Date: 1899.
Source: PaintingHere.com
Author:
William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
“Ave Maria, O Maiden, O Mother”.
“Ave Sanctissima !!! Ave Purissima !!!”
“Sinless And Beautiful, Star Of The Sea”.
Available On YouTube
“AVE MARIA, O MAIDEN, O MOTHER”.
Ava Maria ! O Maiden, O Mother,
Fondly thy children are calling on thee,
Thine are the graces unclaimed by another,
Sinless and beautiful, Star of the Sea !
Mater amabilis, ora pro nobis,
Pray for thy children who call upon thee,
Ave Sanctissima ! Ave Purissima !
Sinless and beautiful, Star of the Sea.
Ave Maria ! The night shades are falling,
Softly our voices arise unto thee,
Earth’s lonely exiles for succour are calling,
Sinless and beautiful, Star of the Sea !
Mater amabilis, ora pro nobis,
Pray for thy children who call upon thee,
Ave Sanctissima ! Ave Purissima !
Sinless and beautiful, Star of the Sea.
Ave Maria ! Thy children are kneeling,
Words of endearment are murmured to thee,
Softly thy Spirit upon us is stealing,
Sinless and beautiful Star of the Sea.
Mater amabilis, ora pro nobis,
Pray for thy children who call upon thee,
Ave Sanctissima ! Ave Purissima !
Sinless and beautiful, Star of the Sea.
Chester Cathedral Organ. Organist: Jonathan Scott.
Chester Cathedral Organ.
Played by Jonathan Scott.
29 May 2021.
Available on YouTube
Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
The Choral Tradition at Chester is 900 years old, dating from the foundation of the Bendedictine Monastery.
In 1844, an Organ by Gray & Davison of London was installed in the Cathedral, replacing an instrument with parts dating back to 1626, possibly by Father Bernard Smith.
Father Bernard Smith, 1630 – 1708, was a German-born Master-Organ-maker in England in the Late-17th-Century.
The Organ was rebuilt and enlarged by Whiteley Bros. of Chester in 1876, to include harmonic flutes and reeds by Cavaillé-Coll.
It was later moved to its present position at the front of the North Transept. In 1910, William Hill and Son of London extensively rebuilt and re-voiced the Organ, replacing the Cavaillé-Coll reeds with new pipes of their own.
The Choir division of the Organ was enlarged and moved behind the Choir-Stalls on the South side. The instrument was again overhauled by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool in 1969, when a new mechanism and some new pipework made to a design by the Organist, Roger Fisher, was installed; the following year, the instrument was inaugurated by Maurice Duruflé and his wife, Marie-Madeleine Duruflé.
Since 1991, the Organ has been in the care of David Wells, a Liverpudlian Organ-builder.[4]
The Organ Case was built and designed by Sir Gilbert Scott.[5]
The Organ’s four manual keyboards run through a five-octave range and its radiating concave pedal board runs through a two-and-a-half-octave range.
The key and draw stop mechanisms employ electro-pneumatic action. Its bellows are pumped electrically, which is triggered by a key at the console, thus powering the instrument.
The console labels and keys are veneered in ivory; and it has 109 pistons including fourteen generals on thirty-two memory channels.
It is tuned to a' = 440hz in equal temperament. In total, the instrument carries sixty-nine stops accounting to eighty-six ranks of pipes.
“The Power Of Mary”. Sermon By: Fr. David Howel. “A Day With Mary”. May Is The Month Of Mary.
“The Power Of Mary”.
Sermon By: Fr. David Howel.
“A Day With Mary”.
Saint Bede’s Church,
Clapham Park, London.
Available on YouTube
“When Wicked Men Blaspheme Thee, I’ll Love And Bless Thy Name”. May Is The Month Of Mary.
“I’ll Sing A Hymn To Mary”.
Available on YouTube
I'll sing a Hymn to Mary,
The Mother of my God,
The Virgin of all Virgins,
Of David’s Royal blood.
O teach me, holy Mary,
A loving song to frame,
When wicked men blaspheme thee,
To love and Bless thy name.
O Lily of the Valley,
O Mystic Rose what tree
Or flower, e’en the fairest,
Is half so fair as thee ?
O let me, though so lowly,
Recite my Mother’s fame:
When wicked men blaspheme thee,
I’ll love and Bless thy name.
O noble Tower of David,
Of gold and ivory,
The Ark of God’s Own promise,
The Gate of Heaven to me;
To live, and not to love thee,
Would fill my Soul with shame:
When wicked men blaspheme thee,
I’ll love and Bless thy name.
But in the Crown of Mary,
There lies a wondrous gem,
As Queen of all the Angels,
Which Mary shares with them;
“No sin hath e’er defiled thee”,
So doth our faith proclaim:
When wicked men blaspheme thee,
I’ll love and Bless thy name.
Fr. J. Wyze.
1825 - 1898.
Lyrics: LYRIC ADVISOR
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