Aujourd’hui notre monastère est choqué d’apprendre, en même temps que le reste de la France et du monde, les révélations faites hier par la Conférence des Évêques de France concernant le comportement de nombre de ses membres et particulièrement la confession de l’Archevêque émérite de Bordeaux.
 
Together with all in France, and beyond, our monastery is deeply shocked by the revelations yesterday of the Conference of Bishops of France in respect of the behaviour of too many of its members, and of the admissions of the Emeritus Archbishop of Bordeaux in particular.
 
Le vendredi 11 novembre, fête du grand Saint Martin de Tours, Apôtre des Gaules, la communauté monastique exposera le Très Saint Sacrement de 13h00 à 14h00 et offrira une heure additionnelle de prière en réparation des horreurs commises, en intercédant humblement pour la guérison des victimes de ces crimes scandaleux, pour la conversion de ceux qui les ont commis ainsi que pour l’accroissement de la vertu et de la sainteté chez les religieux et le clergé – particulièrement chez ceux à qui fut confiée la charge d’être les successeurs des apôtres. Devant de tels maux nous devons tout d’abord recourir à la prière.
 
On Friday 11 November, Feast of the great St Martin of Tours, the monastic community will Expose the Most Blessed Sacrament between 13h00 – 14h00 and offer an additional hour of prayer in reparation for the evils committed, in humble intercession for the healing of the victims of these scandalous crimes, for the conversion of those who have perpetrated them and for the growth in virtue and holiness in all religious and clergy—above all for those entrusted with the ministry of being successors of the apostles. In the face of such evil, prayer must be our first recourse.
 
Nous invitons tous ceux qui sont physiquement proches du monastère à se joindre à nous ce vendredi dans cet acte de réparation et d’intercession. Nous demandons à nos oblats, associés et amis disséminés à travers le monde, de prier pour l’Église de France : qu’elle puisse de nouveau être digne du titre « Fille aînée de l’Église ».
 
We invite all those physically near to the monastery to join us in this act of reparation and intercession on Friday, and we ask our oblates, associates and friends throughout the world themselves to pray earnestly for the Church in France, that she may once again come to be worthy of the title of ‘the eldest daughter of the Church’.

Notre Dame de l’Assomption, intercédez pour les affligés !
 
Our Lady of the Assumption, intercede for the afflicted ! 

​+ Contemporary western civilization boasts of a longstanding separation of the Church from the State. Indeed, as a result of what is deftly and deceptively called “the Enlightenment” and of the revolutions that were undoubtedly its bitter mutant fruit, we live in a world that worships secularism with more dogmatic determination, seemingly, than any realm of what was once known as Christendom worshiped our Blessed Lord. For in this epoch of the reign of secularism the Church, those who seek to follow her teaching (and those who dare even to preach and teach it) and even Almighty God Himself, are increasingly consigned to a cultural and intellectual ghetto from which there is no legitimate intercourse with the rest of society. The Church may be a curiosity and the God of whom it speaks may be of occasional cultural or mythical interest, but the world and its affairs are secular. Full stop.
 
At first glance, Our Lord’s teaching in this morning’s Holy Gospel which instruct us to "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God’s” may seem to support this demarcation. They certainly teach—in principle—the legitimacy of worldly power in and of the duty to support it through taxes, etc. The Sacrament of Holy Baptism does not exempt a Christian from involvement in and engagement with the world, its organisation, government, etc. Rather the opposite: Baptism empowers us to be “the salt of the earth…the light of the world” (Mt 5:13, 14) especially in the important fields of administration, the law, government and politics at all levels. The noble vocation of the Christian politician, lawyer and civil official is a difficult one in our times, carrying with it the risk of ostracism if not social martyrdom, as well as the temptation to compromise too far once too often.
 
For whilst Our Lord most certainly teaches us to render unto Caesar that which is justly his, He did not worship Caesar as god. Nor did He place the edicts of the secular authority on a par with the commandments of Almighty God. For while we must indeed render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, we must first and foremost give unto God the things that are God’s.
 
The working out of this twofold principle in history has seen many martyrdoms of those who have sought faithfully to uphold it, and innumerable compromises that have violated it. The lust for power is an ever-present temptation in men, as is the desire to avoid conflict with authority that can cost much in terms of personal comfort, career and even one’s liberty. How can we forget the shining example of St Thomas More, the renowned Chancellor to King Henry VIII of England, who was executed in 1535 protesting that he was ever “the King’s good servant, but God’s first.”  So too, we must not forget the holy bishops whose fidelity to Christ and the defence of His Church in the face of the overreaching of secular power earned them the martyr’s crown—foremost amongst whom we must count St Thomas Becket (†1170).
 
Our own times, however, do not so much see a simple overreaching of authority by secular power, as they do the arrogation of all authority to the secular state—including the power to dictate what may or may not be said to belong to the competence of Almighty God. Secular governments worldwide forbad Christian worship in the past two years, even depriving the dying of the last sacraments. At times the manner in which they enforced their ban manifested a mindless, godless zeal that reminds one of the persecution of the early Christians.
 
It is now commonplace for secular governments to presume to overrule the God-given right to life of the innocent in their societies, or to encourage their citizens to kill themselves legally through euthanasia. Not only have governments become ‘tolerant’ of relationships contrary to the order of creation, some have begun to make the assertion of the truths about human sexuality and relationships a so called “hate crime”. This charge can also be levelled against anyone who expresses the belief that there is One True Faith and that other religions are false—well, at least against Christians who dare to make such a claim!
 
In the face of this increasing marginalisation, derision and ghettoisation of the things of God, Our Lord’s teaching remains true: we are to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God’s.” If in order to be faithful to this precept we must suffer, so be it, for the life of God given to us in the Sacrament of Baptism cannot be taken away by secular authorities, even if they can sanction us in this world in various ways. For He who teaches us this Himself suffered and died on a cross rather than compromise the Truth. And He rose victoriously from the dead in order that we too might have that life which the world cannot extinguish—if we are but faithful to Him.
 
As we enter more intimately into this renewal of Christ’s sacrifice in this Holy Mass, let His victory in which at this altar, give us the courage and the strength, in our families, in our places of work, amongst our friends and in our society, always, and without compromise, to render unto Almighty God the things that are God’s +

 + In the Anglophone world at least, kings and queens have been very much to the fore in recent weeks as the death of Queen Elizabeth II has been mourned around the world (and her virtues rightly praised) and as the accession of King Charles III has been marked and plans for his coronation next year have begun. The pageantry we have witnessed has been rich and the symbols it has employed are powerful—and instructive.
 
If we can prescind for a moment from the sad and somewhat incongruous reality that rites involved were conducted (splendidly) by a protestant ecclesial community, the ritual removal of the orb—the symbol of the monarch’s power being derived from Almighty God—and the sceptre from the coffin of the late queen immediately before her burial and their placing upon the altar, from which King Charles shall receive them at his coronation, taught us everything we need to know about any monarchy: its authority comes from Almighty God and is exercised under Him. We do not yet know exactly how King Charles’ coronation ceremony shall be modified according to modern sensibilities, but it is nevertheless sure to include that anointing which—when performed in the Catholic rites of Coronation—is regarded as one of the most powerful sacramentals and has at times in history even been regarded as a sacrament conferring the particular grace of state of kingship: the power authoritatively to govern their kingdom in the name of Almighty God, alongside and under His Church.
 
As poignant as these ancient rites are, and as comforting as it may be that they survive in the modern world, they ring somewhat hollow not only when they are celebrated by protestants, but all the more so when the monarch who is mourned or who is anointed is what is quaintly called a “constitutional monarch”, whose authority is regulated and restrained by a Parliament to which he or she owes obedience above all. Despite the cross surmounting the orb, the opinions of the majority of a group of elected men, not the eternal truths revealed by Almighty God, are that which is supreme. Laws that flatly contradict the law of God are routinely promulgated without any possibility of the monarch’s conscience being involved. 
 
To this day an Act of Parliament excludes the possibility of any Catholic acceding to the British throne: the exclusive claims of pernicious papists are far to dangerous even to be allowed anywhere near a constitutional monarchy—for Catholics insist that their obedience is not to men, not even to the personal preferences of the pope, but to Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, our unique Saviour, whose life and saving death and resurrection from the dead is the definitive revelation of God in history for the salvation of all of mankind. A Catholic monarch could not but take the cross on the orb seriously—for he would know that his own salvation depends on his faithful obedience to Jesus Christ, the Eternal King of kings (who is also the Eternal King of presidents or prime ministers or anyone who holds authority on this earth).
 
As indeed does the salvation of each one of us. Upon our obedience to Christ, the King of Heaven and Earth, we shall be judged. His teaching on matters of faith and morals faithfully taught by His One True Church throughout the centuries is the just and life-giving law by which we must abide and indeed propagate, regardless of those who deny, deride or despise the Truth, to which the Holy Gospel of this Mass teaches us, Our Lord came to bear witness. For he is the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6) He is the Narrow Gate by which all men must enter. (cf. Mt 7:13) His is the Flesh and Blood that we must eat if we wish to have eternal life. (cf. Jn 6:53)
 
In spite of this, our own times are seeing various attempts within the Church to reduce Our Lord Himself to little less than a constitutional monarch—to constrain His voice; to limit His authority; to subject the Truth to the opinions of men. From the deification of dialogue to the sacralisation of synodality, we are witnessing the subjection of Christ’s sovereignty to the desperate designs of men in endless endeavours that make ends out of means, prostrating themselves before the god of process thereby reducing eternal Truth to mere opinion—thus facilitating its banishment as irrelevant or inconvenient.
 
No matter how men seek to dismiss Him, as the orb in the hand of the crowned Christ-child held by the Virgin here in our monastery church bears witness, Our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of Heaven and Earth. Neither the world nor even His Church can take away from His authority nor His power—and we rightly resist any attempts so to do (as have many before us in Christian history).
 
Let our celebration of this great feast move us to pray in particular for those in the Church and the world who exercise authority, that they may do so in humble obedience to the King of Kings, and let it move us to pray and work for all that the collect of this Mass asks: that all things may be made new in Jesus Christ and that people of the earth may come to rejoice under his gentle rule. +

+ There is much about which rightly to complain in respect of the current situation in the Church and in the world. The recent pandemic raised issues of the state’s ability to curtail basic human freedoms. The war in the Ukraine, which has seemingly now become an accepted ‘fact of life’, has the potential rapidly to escalate in Europe if not beyond. Politics in post-Christian democracies seem to become more and more extreme whilst basic human rights—most especially the right to life—have long since been left behind.
 
As the world leaves Christ further and further behind the Church has embarked upon a seemingly endless path of self-referential “synodality”: her mission to preach the Gospel to all nations seems to have been paused, or even to have been discarded because it is seen as politically incorrect.
 
In the meanwhile, the German bishops agitate for changes to Catholic faith and morals that are simply inadmissible. The Flemish bishops have defied a ruling of the Holy See last year by approving a blessing for unions of people of the same sex. Formal heresy and schism seem to be on the horizon, if they are not here already.
 
An atheist in favour of abortion has been appointed to the Pontifical Academy for Life in an apparent desire to dialogue with the devil within the very walls of the Vatican. The erosion of the sanctity of marriage and the Blessed Eucharist continues in the light of the supposedly ‘pastoral’ provision to admit remarried persons to Holy Communion. The spread of the cancer of syncretism is furthered by the signing of declarations at world meetings of religious leaders that do not affirm Our Lord Jesus Christ, “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn 14:6) as the unique Saviour of Mankind. Good bishops who have worked long and hard to promote initiatives in their dioceses, rather than being content to manage their decline, are censured or removed whilst the vocations they have fostered are endangered, if not lost.
 
Young, vibrant and fruitful communities who celebrate the older rites of the Church are marginalised if not closed down because of a gerontic incapacity on the part of authority either to comprehend or to embrace and rejoice in the true evangelical good they propagate, in an ideological pursuit of a ‘liturgical correctness’ which, in truth, amounts to an idolisation of the tastes and enthusiasms of their own youth in a display of the very rigidity and lack of inclusivity and openness they themselves so frequently decry.
 
(As we offer this Mass let us thank God for the freedom integrally so to do—a freedom that is not without its price—and carry with us to the altar those many faithful whose ability to do so has been restricted or removed: here in France one thinks in particular of the faithful in Le Mans, in Strasbourg, in the diocese of Bellay-Ars, and of those in Chicago, Washington DC and Arlington, Virginia in the USA, amongst others around the world.)
 
All of this can tempt us to think that our times are apocalyptic, that the end of the world is at hand. How can it get any worse? Surely Almighty God must act and vindicate His justice!
 
But we must recognise that this is a temptation—the ultimate temptation to self-pity. Whilst we must be ready for the end, it is not for us to know the day, nor the hour, of the return of the Son of Man (cf. Mt 24). Occupying ourselves with speculation about this is an insidious trick of the devil that distracts us from that which is our duty every day we are given by God to live on this earth.
 
What, then, is our duty? The Church teaches us clearly and succinctly in the Epistle of this Holy Mass:
 
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
 
Be we monks, clerics, religious or lay men or women, in these evil days the Word of God speaks to us eloquently through these words of St Paul. We may not be able to influence the paths taken by authorities in the Church and in the world (if we can, it is our God-given duty to do so for the good). But we can each take the injunctions of St Paul to heart in the given circumstances of our particular vocation, consuming ourselves not with worry about impending doom, but “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all [our hearts].” For if we do this, God’s grace can take root in us and give us the graces of perseverance, fortitude, courage, etc. that we need in order, in God’s Providence, to bring about good where evil seeks to triumph.
 
If we read and re-read this Epistle in the coming week, if we ponder it in silence and prayer and allow God’s Word to penetrate, fill and encourage us through it, no matter what distress arrives we shall know that peace amidst the thorns that will enable us “always and for everything [to give] thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father”—just as we do at the altar this morning, and every morning, as we offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. +

+ The severity of the Gospel of this Holy Mass is remarkable. Those invited to the wedding feast but who fail to attend are simply left behind as they go about their mundane activities; those who mistreated the king’s messengers are put to death and their city is burned to the ground. And, in the end, even one of those sought out and brought in to replace the wedding guests was, when he was found to be without a wedding garment, abruptly removed, bound hand and foot and cast out into the darkness. “For many are called, but few are chosen,” Our Lord teaches us.
 
It is a temptation, sometimes prevalent in the history of Christianity—even in our own times, to interpret these words as implying a predestination whereby if I am amongst the chosen everything is fine, and if I am not then everything is not fine (eternally) regardless of how I live my life: neither my faith nor my moral life count—whether I go to heaven or hell is pre-determined by whether or not I am one of the “chosen” or “elect”. But this is to misread the Gospel. It is an insidious ploy of the devil to induce uncertainty, even despair, as we strive to take up the daily burden of persevering in faith and in conforming our lives to the teaching of Christ and His Church.
 
For the many who were invited to the wedding feast of the King had a choice: to respond or not. And those who, in the end attended (even unexpectedly) had the choice whether or not to comport themselves appropriately at the feast. There is much here to consider.
 
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son of God, became man, suffered and died so that all people of all times and races could find eternal salvation in and through Him. Jesus Christ is Himself the Invitation to the Wedding Feast of the King of Heaven and Earth. But how many of our contemporaries are too busy to accept Him? The distractions of the world, the flesh and the devil consume and deafen them. In the face of this terrible reality the Church—and each of us in according to our particular vocation and circumstances—must do all that we can to help them clearly to hear and understand the voice of He who is the Invitation to eternal life.
 
And how many in this day and age mistreat and even kill those who announce Him and His invitation? The reality of shedding one’s blood for Christ is by no means a past reality, even if it is seemingly rare. More and more, however, in the modern world the outrage and intolerance fomented by aggressive secularism seeks to starve Christianity of the very oxygen it needs to breathe and to kill its influence, denying it even the right to speak in public. Even polite Christian ‘dialogue’ is excluded. This morning’s Gospel teaches quite starkly that those who perpetrate these crimes against the King shall have their just reward.
 
So too, even those who accept the King’s invitation must comport themselves properly. The poor guest found to be without a wedding garment was dealt swift justice—something which may seem overly harsh to our sensitive ears, particularly in a world where “casual attire” (and behaviour) is almost universally accepted as the norm.
 
In seeking to understand this requirement we would do well to remember that the wedding feast of the King can most certainly be understood to refer to the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which makes present to us the eternal Wedding Feast of the Lamb. The requirement of the wedding garment may then be understood as the comportment of the dispositions necessary to partake in the Blessed Eucharist: the conversion of our lives, the living of it in conformity to the teaching of Christ and His Church, the confession and absolution of any mortal sins committed, due penance and perseverance in striving to avoid the occasions of sin in the future. Certainly, as the Gospel makes clear, both rogues and honest men were brought to the wedding feast when those originally invited failed to come, but they were nevertheless required to comport themselves appropriately; to have the correct dispositions. The King’s justice required it. His mercy did not dispense it.
 
The Holy Gospel calls us, then, to face up to the stark realities it teaches, in respect of ourselves and with regard to our brothers and sisters who are ever so busy with so many different things in this world. We must ensure that we comport the dispositions necessary—and if we lack some, we must convert our lives so that we may take our rightful place at the wedding feast without fear of being justly excluded. And we must do all that we can to assist those who either do not hear the King’s invitation, or who think other things more important to it—for this invitation is the invitation to eternal life, nothing less.
 
For the grace of our own conversion of life, and of that of others, and for an increase in missionary zeal in ourselves and throughout the Church, that all those who are called may be counted amongst the elect, let us earnestly beg Almighty God before His altar as we assist at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb this morning. +

+ From our earliest years in the schoolyard, through our studies and in respect of any surprising news that comes to us we demand proof that this or that assertion is true: “Prove it!” we insist. We quickly learn that much must be taken on trust, relying on the research and evidence of others: it is impossible for every person himself to study every question or issue that arises, and it is perfectly good and reasonable to make use of the knowledge and wisdom that previous research has yielded. Even then, however, when strange or shocking phenomena confront us, we react by demanding proof.
 
Our Lord encountered this phenomenon often enough and, in the Holy Gospel of this Mass, He voluntarily counters the Scribes’ murmuring about His assertion that the sins of the paralytic have been forgiven with proof of His divine power with those famous words: “That you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, take up your bed and go home.”
 
It is interesting that this healing is the by-product of the Scribes’ incredulity. It was not asked for by the paralytic or by those who brought him. Rather, it is a gratuitous act bestowed on one whose faith and humility was evident to Our Lord. And it is an act which does not simply heal a long-standing disease, but one which gives glory to Almighty God and which leads others to faith in Him. The paralytic, it seems, moved by faith in Christ, sought the forgiveness of his sins. This was granted to him, as was much more as well.
 
Physical discomfort and illness arrive often enough and sooner or later our bodies succumb to the limitations of age or the degradation wrought by disease. Some must carry the cross of disabilities of mind or body throughout their lives, or for a large portion of them—as seemingly did the paralytic of this morning’s Holy Gospel. And rightly, in the face of such suffering, we turn to Almighty God in prayer asking for His healing and assistance.
 
In respect of this, however, we can learn much from this morning’s Holy Gospel. For in the face of suffering we are often a little too impatient for a miracle, stamping our feet as it were, as we “storm heaven” for this or that intention. It can be as if we decide the response to our prayers almost before we offer them!
 
Through His Gospel, however, Our Lord teaches us first and foremost to have faith in Him, and then to seek the forgiveness of our sins. This is what is necessary in the face of suffering and disability. Certainly we may hope and desire and pray and work for the physical and psychological healing of disease: ordinary miracles of medical science occur daily; extraordinary miracles are worked by Almighty God as and when He pleases, for His purposes (such as to rebuke the incredulity of the Scribes). But we must have faith in Him—faith that trusts that even the heaviest of crosses can be carried unto His glory and to our salvation; faith that does not stamp its foot like an impatient child demanding this or that, but that leads us humbly to confess our sins and to seek the mercy and forgiveness that we truly need.
 
In this respect it is instructive to remember that one of the principal effects of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction (the Anointing of the Sick) is the forgiveness of sins—when individual confession is not otherwise possible. Certainly, this much-neglected sacrament can also bring about the grace of healing, and many priests can attest to the miracles it has occasioned, but, as in this morning’s Gospel, that is not the primary end of the sacrament. Its purpose is primarily to unite the suffering person with the sufferings of Christ, cleansed of all their sins that they might have the grace and strength necessary to embrace the cross that has been laid upon them, if that is indeed God’s Holy Will.
 
For if we have faith in Christ, miracles do happen. Our sins—our terrible, disgusting and shameful sins!—can be forgiven. Indeed, they are forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession, no matter how many times we fall back into them, if only we have the humility and faith to do penance and to do what is necessary sincerely to try not to sin again. And the miracle of conversion happens: sinners do turn away from sin and become saints. It may take a lifetime, or a great deal of it, to reach the moment where we finally reject the devil and all his empty promises, but there is much rejoicing in heaven rejoices each time this occurs. (cf. Lk 15:7) So too, the miracle of “a good death” is worked around the world daily: ordinary men and women full of faith embrace the end of their lives without fear, but in the sure and certain hope of life eternal. These are the miracles to which we rightly aspire. And they are the proofs that Our Lord offers us in our own times so as to increase our faith in Him.
 
So too is the miracle of Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the dead: a miracle in which we are privileged to participate in each celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. As we do so again this morning let our prayer be that of the apostles: “Lord, increase our faith,” (Lk 17:5) or perhaps also that of the father of the boy cured by Our Lord: “I believe; help my unbelief.” (Mk 9:24) +