Photos from Pluscarden Sacred Music Symposium

Blogging friend Monachus Benedictus has posted a selection of photographs from the Pluscarden Abbey Sacred Music Symposium 2009 on his blog:


The selection is available here, with more in a flickr set.

There is also a report on an ordination at Pluscarden and the text of Abbot Gilbert's meditation on Priesthood here (Spiritual Mothers of Priests).

upcoming events - October [updated]

Monday 5 October 2009
Queensferry Quench: "Mad, Bad or Sad?"
Why does anyone still believe in God today?
talk with David Robertson (more info)
7.15pm onwards, Orocco Pier, 17 High Street, South Queensferry

Wednesday 7 October 2009
Holy Hour - Prayer for Priests
7.00 - 8.00pm, St Mary's RC Cathedral, Broughton Street, Edinburgh

Thursday 8 October 2009
Life Society Talk: "Should we create animal-human hybrids?"
guest speaker: Dr. Calum Mackellar
7.30pm, Lecture Theatre 1, Appleton Tower, George Square, Edinburgh
Dr Mackellar is Director of Research, Scottish Council of Human Bioethics

Thursday 15 October 2009
Solemn Vespers and Benediction for the feast of St Teresa of Ávila
6.45pm, St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh

Friday 16 October 2009
All Night Vigil
6pm - 6am, St Lucy's, Cumbernauld (see here)

Wednesday 21 October 2009
The Ethics of the Death Penalty (Debate)
7.15 - 9.00pm, Chaplaincy Room 2, Edinburgh University

Saturday 31 October 2009
Holy Mass
11.00am, ruins of Cambuskenneth Abbey, near Stirling

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Please comment with details of further events.

confirmed: Pope Benedict XVI to visit UK

Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office officially confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI will visit Great Britain next year.

Father Lombardi told reporters about plans for papal voyages in 2010 to Malta, Portugal, and Great Britain. The trips to Malta and Portugal have already been announced by the hosts in each country. Father Lombardi added that it was a "good hypothesis" that the Holy Father would visit Great Britain, and the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman would be "an obvious occasion" for that trip. He said that preparations for all of the projected trips on the calendar for 2010 are still incomplete.

Sisters of the Gospel of Life welcome new postulant

by Fr Tim Finigan

Congratulations to the Sisters of the Gospel of Life and to Sr Amanda Brennan (above: centre) who has joined them as a new postulant.

The Sisters do great work in helping mothers who are tempted to abort their unborn child, offering compassion, kindness, and spiritual and material support. Their work is very worthy of your almsgiving - see the sidebar of their website to donate via paypal.

(reproduced with permission from The Hermeneutic of Continuity)

Nothing wrong with that?

Lifesitenews reports that Mrs Blair has once again stated her opposition to the Catholic Church's 'ban' - as she calls it - on contraception. She clearly says that it has been a part of her and her husband's married life.

Addressing the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Cherie Blair has again called upon the Church to change her perennial teaching on contraception. “I personally don't think there is anything wrong with that, said the wife of the former British prime minister, and indeed without being able to control that I wouldn't have been able to achieve the things that I've been able to do. I think there's a lot of difference between preventing a life coming about and actually extinguishing a life when it has come about, she added. A spokesman for the Church in Scotland defended Catholic teaching after hearing Mrs. Blair’s remarks. Referring to the abortifacient nature of some contraceptives, he said that extinguishing a life “is exactly what the morning-after pill does, while the conventional pill can potentially do the same.”

We are in a time of bold dissent from the Catholic Church's teaching and we must pray that our bishops will be inspired by the Holy Spirit to guide their faithful according to the Natural Law.

(source: gloria.tv/Fr John Boyle)