THE OLD CATHOLIC MISSION IN SUSSEX

Though I take it up as the fourth in this series, surely the Resurrection of Jesus Christ provides the first and most obvious reason to be both a Christian and a Catholic, for it is Christ’s Resurrection which bears ultimate witness to the truth of the relationship between man and God which He both revealed and accomplished. Question: How do we know Christ’s teachings are true? Answer: Because He rose from the dead.

Christ himself argued that we should believe in Him because of the works He did. His miracles were a proof that He came from God and, therefore, that His words were true. Indeed, when he drove the money-lenders out of the temple, claiming that it was his Father’s house, he replied to those who challenged his authority by referring them to a stupendous miracle still to come: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again” (Jn 2:19). In several places, Scripture makes clear that He was talking about “the temple of His body” (cf. Jn 2:21)—that is, His own Resurrection from the dead.

The Resurrection, then, is the culmination of all the signs which validate Christ’s authority, the truth of His teaching, the reliability of His message, the reality of His Divine sonship, into which he would incorporate all of his followers. But note that there is a double significance to this formidable proof. In the first place, again, it is the guarantee of the Divine authority behind all of Christ's sayings and everything He instituted. Apostles, bishops, priests, sacraments, the Church: all are guaranteed by the Resurrection to be Divine institutions, established by the One who proved He came from God. The first great significance of the Resurrection, then, is that it directly or indirectly guarantees not only the truth of Christ’s own words but the authority of the Church, the inspiration of the Scriptures, and the efficacy of the whole order of grace.

This is, if you will, the Resurrection’s macrocosmic significance. But what of its microcosmic significance? What of the significance of the Resurrection in that microcosm of the Christian mystery which is my own personal life, my own being? St. Paul addressed this question specifically when he rebuked those who denied the resurrection of the dead:

For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor 15:16-22)

In other words, Christ’s Resurrection is the guarantee of our own resurrection, our own personal immortality, not just as disembodied souls but as complete human persons, body and soul united to God. An inkling of what this means may be gained by reflecting on the aging process. As we get older, we sometimes look in the mirror with surprise. We don’t think of ourselves as “old”. We think of ourselves as simply ourselves—the same as ever, the same self we were aware of when we first reflected as children, not necessarily the young self, but certainly the very same self. We find it strange, even a little disturbing, that the body can betray through change, growth, and decomposition this self, this me whom I permanently understand myself to be.

In Christ’s Resurrection, this “permanent me” is guaranteed to enjoy the fullness of life forever: Elevated, purified of sin, perfected, living in unlimited love—but always essentially myself. No other philosophy or religion offers so much or, to put it differently, no other philosophy or religion captures so perfectly what we instinctively understand about ourselves, about our difference from the rest of nature, about the essentially permanent and potentially glorious character of our own being. The reason is simple, for no other philosopher or theologian boasts a resurrection, and when it comes to being Christian and Catholic, all the difference is made by that single, solitary, concrete and miraculous historical fact.

by Dr Jeff Mirus Catholic Culture

Part of the apostolate of St Cuthman's is making the daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass accessible to those unable - perhaps through work, illness or lack of mobility - to view the Mass online! While this affords no benefit to the viewer in terms of fulfilling one's obligation to attend Mass on holy days of obligation, nonetheless it provides an opportunity to hear the Word of God, a homily and make an Act of Spiritual Communion. It also provides a way for people to connect with the worshipping community of the Church.

The three days of the Sacrum Triduum i.e. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, though not strictly holy days of obligation, are arguably some of the most important days in the Church's kalendar. For on each of these days Holy Church relives those salvific events in the history of our Salvation; the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrifice of Calvary, the Resurrection.

The Sacred Liturgy (according to the pre-1955 Holy Week ceremonial) was celebrated on each of these three days by St Cuthman's and broadcast online. A record 170 souls viewed the online broadcast of the Liturgies - including a staggering 95 people during the long (2.5hrs) Paschal Vigil on Holy Saturday night which began at 1030pm and didn't finish until 1am! In total just under 700 souls observed the seaons of Lent, Passiontide, Holy Week and Easter this way (Feb 25-April 12).

In addition to our outreach programmes, "Ex Ecclesia", our developing visiting ministry to hospices and nursing homes, our daily Masses, and of course our 100% turn out for the recent ecumenical Procession of Witness; it is clear our internet ministry too is growing and effectual in developing and sustaining the spiritual lives of many souls. Deo Gracias!

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI

EASTER 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world,

From the depths of my heart, I wish all of you a blessed Easter.  To quote Saint Augustine, “Resurrectio Domini, spes nostra – the resurrection of the Lord is our hope” (Sermon 261:1).  With these words, the great Bishop explained to the faithful that Jesus rose again so that we, though destined to die, should not despair, worrying that with death life is completely finished; Christ is risen to give us hope (cf. ibid.). 

Indeed, one of the questions that most preoccupies men and women is this: what is there after death?  To this mystery today’s solemnity allows us to respond that death does not have the last word, because Life will be victorious at the end.  This certainty of ours is based not on simple human reasoning, but on a historical fact of faith: Jesus Christ, crucified and  buried, is risen with his glorified body.  Jesus is risen so that we too, believing in him, may have eternal life. This proclamation is at the heart of the Gospel message.  As Saint Paul vigorously declares:  “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”  He goes on to say: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:14,19).  Ever since the dawn of Easter a new Spring of hope has filled the world; from that day forward our resurrection has begun, because Easter does not simply signal a moment in history, but the beginning of a new condition: Jesus is risen not because his memory remains alive in the hearts of his disciples, but because he himself lives in us, and in him we can already savour the joy of eternal life.

The resurrection, then, is not a theory, but a historical reality revealed by the man Jesus Christ by means of his “Passover”, his “passage”, that has opened a “new way” between heaven and earth (cf. Heb 10:20).  It is neither a myth nor a dream, it is not a vision or a utopia, it is not a fairy tale, but it is a singular and unrepeatable event: Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, who at dusk on Friday was taken down from the Cross and buried, has victoriously left the tomb.  In fact, at dawn on the first day after the Sabbath, Peter and John found the tomb empty.  Mary Magdalene and the other women encountered the risen Jesus.  On the way to Emmaus the two disciples recognized him at the breaking of the bread.  The Risen One appeared to the Apostles that evening in the Upper Room and then to many other disciples in Galilee.        

The proclamation of the Lord’s Resurrection lightens up the dark regions of the world in which we live.  I am referring particularly to materialism and nihilism, to a vision of the world that is unable to move beyond what is scientifically verifiable, and retreats cheerlessly into a sense of emptiness which is thought to be the definitive destiny of human life.  It is a fact that if Christ had not risen, the “emptiness” would be set to prevail.  If we take away Christ and his resurrection, there is no escape for man, and every one of his hopes remains an illusion.  Yet today is the day when the proclamation of the Lord’s resurrection vigorously bursts forth, and it is the answer to the recurring question of the sceptics, that we also find in the book of Ecclesiastes:  “Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’?” (EcMors et vita, duello conflixere mirando:  dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus – Death and life have come face to face in a tremendous duel:  the Lord of life was dead, but now he lives triumphant.”  This is what is new!  A newness that changes the lives of those who accept it, as in the case of the saints.  This, for example, is what happened to Saint Paul. 1:10).  We answer, yes:  on Easter morning, everything was renewed.  “

Many times, in the context of the Pauline year, we have had occasion to meditate on the experience of the great Apostle.  Saul of Tarsus, the relentless persecutor ofChristians, encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, and was “conquered” by him.  The rest we know.  In Paul there occurred what he would later write about to the Christians of Corinth: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17).  Let us look at this great evangelizer, who with bold enthusiasm and apostolic zeal brought the Gospel to many different peoples in the world of that time.  Let his teaching and example inspire us to go in search of the Lord Jesus.  Let them encourage us to trust him, because that sense of emptiness, which tends to intoxicate humanity, has been overcome by the light and the hope that emanate from the resurrection.  The words of the Psalm have truly been fulfilled:  “Darkness is not darkness for you, and the night is as clear as the day” (Ps 139 [138]:12).  It is no longer emptiness that envelops all things, but the loving presence of God.  The very reign of death has been set free, because the Word of life has even reached the “underworld”, carried by the breath of the Spirit (v. 8).

If it is true that death no longer has power over man and over the world, there still remain very many, in fact too many signs of its former dominion.  Even if through Easter, Christ has destroyed the root of evil, he still wants the assistance of men and women in every time and place who help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons:  the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love.  This is the message which, during my recent Apostolic Visit to Cameroon and Angola, I wanted to convey to the entire African continent, where I was welcomed with such great enthusiasm and readiness to listen.  Africa suffers disproportionately from the cruel and unending conflicts, often forgotten, that are causing so much bloodshed and destruction in several of her nations, and from the growing number of her sons and daughters who fall prey to hunger, poverty and disease.  I shall repeat the same message emphatically in the Holy Land, to which I shall have the joy of travelling in a few weeks from now.  Reconciliation – difficult, but indispensable – is a precondition for a future of overall security and peaceful coexistence, and it can only be achieved through renewed, persevering and sincere efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  My thoughts move outwards from the Holy Land to neighbouring countries, to the Middle East, to the whole world.  At a time of world food shortage, of financial turmoil, of old and new forms of poverty, of disturbing climate change, of violence and deprivation which force many to leave their homelands in search of a less precarious form of existence, of the ever-present threat of terrorism, of growing fears over the future, it is urgent to rediscover grounds for hope.  Let no one draw back from this peaceful battle that has been launched by Christ’s Resurrection.  For as I said earlier, Christ is looking for men and women who will help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons:  the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love.

Resurrectio Domini, spes nostra!  The resurrection of Christ is our hope!  This the Church proclaims today with joy.  She announces the hope that is now firm and invincible because God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  She communicates the hope that she carries in her heart and wishes to share with all people in every place, especially where Christians suffer persecution because of their faith and their commitment to justice and peace.  She invokes the hope that can call forth the courage to do good, even when it costs, especially when it costs.  Today the Church sings “the day that the Lord has made”, and she summons people to joy.  Today the Church calls in prayer upon Mary, Star of Hope, asking her to guide humanity towards the safe haven of salvation which is the heart of Christ, the paschal Victim, the Lamb who has “redeemed the world”, the Innocent one who has “reconciled us sinners with the Father”.  To him, our victorious King, to him who is crucified and risen, we sing out with joy our Alleluia!

The Most Glorious of Mysteries

Today is the glorious Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord, the most uplifting feast of the year. As the Apostles discovered, as millions who came after them, and as we see today. YES! It was worth it! But He could not have risen had He not died willingly for us on the wood of the Cross which we commemorated on Good Friday. Today our somber tone has turned to joy and exhilaration. Let us all resurrect in our hearts, minds and souls what this means and recommit ourselves to carrying out Christ's words in Matthew 28: 10, "Do not be afraid..." and keep the Faith no matter what the odds, no matter how great the resistance, ennui, or apostasy. In all things He is "the Truth, the Way, and the Life" (John 14: 6).

What is there left to say that hasn't been said? The mourning is over. It is time to celebrate the triumph over death. Today we need to proclaim from the rooftops the culture of Life and the teachings of Jesus Christ over the pagan culture of death and satan's lies. This has become all the more evident in light of the national attention on one person - Theresa Marie Kathleen Schindler-Schiavo who, like her Master, has suffered, mocked and ridiculed. But when she breathes her last breath, will be comforted by the One Who promised "the resurrection of the body and life everlasting." Alleluia.

He is risen. Alleluia. It is time for us to rise, just as the flowers of spring blossom, so also must our faith, courage and conviction bloom so that we may beautify this world with the love of Jesus and His Blessed Mother Mary as They have asked us, Their loyal remnant.

A flower that remains dormant in the spring will wither and die. So also, if we do not use the talents God has given us and preach to all as Jesus charges us to do in Matthew 28: 18-20 for all we need do is remember His words "Be not afraid" (Matthew 28:10).

As we come to the end of another Lent and embrace with joy the Glorious Resurrection, let us remember that we cannot achieve the Resurrection unless we have first embraced and borne the Cross, suffered with Jesus, and died to ourselves in and for Him. Leave the rest to God. Let Him decide what is best, and how and when to use us in His Plan of Salvation. This is His Immaculate Mother Mary's call to all of us. This is her plea to all her little ones gathered beneath her loving and protective mantle.

The cross each carries will be different. But they all come from the One True Cross of Christ, Who alone is the Savior of the world. If we look only to Him, then we'll stop looking at one another, making comparisons, allowing our human weakness to get the better of us, and allowing satan to keep us divided. If we look only at Jesus on the Cross and then see Him gloriously risen from the dead, how can we be divided? He died for all mankind, even though He knew there would be many who would not accept Him. He did not compare or grumble or complain. He was obedient to the Divine Will, even unto death. And so, too, must we be.

We must decrease that He may increase in us. Let this be for us the motto of every day henceforth, that with Mary, we may stand fearlessly at the foot of the Cross, and with her offer our lives for the salvation of our own soul and the souls of others. This way the Resurrection takes on a new meaning - the flowering of fulfillment - the evangelization of God's Love. We offer Jesus' Own words in St. John 11: 25-26 as proof that if we trust in Him we will conquer every obstacle and be united with Him forever. "I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in Me, although he be dead, shall live. And every one that liveth and believeth in Me, shall not die for ever. Believest thou this?"