To Trust the Unseen

As we are moving forward in this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, I want to offer a few words on a kind of mercy that can at times be difficult for us to share with others. “[Jesus said,] 'This is how you are to pray:          Our Father in heaven,         hallowed be your name,         your kingdom come,         your will be done,         on earth as in heaven.         Give us today our daily bread;         and forgive us our debts,         as we forgive our debtors;         and do not subject us to the final test,         but deliver us from the evil one.'"         (Matthew 6:9-13) In this narrative of the Gospel, Jesus has just taught his disciples the prayer we know today as the Our Father.  We’ve all heard it and prayed it...

One of Beth's recent posts reminded me of just how special today is.  Today is the Feast of Christ the King, and it is the last time I will hear and say the words of the Mass the way that I learned it, the way I have heard and spoken it since I was little.  Next Sunday, the First Sunday of Advent, not only ushers in a new Liturgical Year, but also the implementation of the New Roman Missal.  For those of us who worship in English, it will still be in English...but in different words.  This new Missal will be closer to the literal translation of the original Latin prayers of the Mass. I must admit, as this important event in Church history draws closer, I have been facing it with some trepidation.  As I said, the Missal as it is now is all my parents' generation and mine have ever known.  Some months back, I read an article about the new Missal in the Arlington Catholic Herald , in which the author said that it would be easier for young people to learn the...

The anniversary of Queen Mary's death was just two days ago.  Interestingly, the day before on November 16, there was a special service at Westminster Abbey--with Queen Elizabeth the Second and her family in attendance--to honor the anniversary of the King James Bible.  Probably the most famous English translation of the Bible, it was published during the reign of King James I in 1611, four hundred years ago. This was fifty-three years after the death of England's first and, to date, only Catholic queen regnant.  But even that has changed recently.  Since times immemorial, succession has always favored sons before daughters; and since 1689, any Catholics, or Anglican heirs who marry Catholics, have been barred from inheriting the English throne.  But as of October 28 of this year, succession now favors age over sex, which means an older sister will not get passed over for a younger brother simply because she is a girl.  Also, any heir who marries a Cathol...

England rejoiced.  Great Harry's daughter was on the throne and all was as it should be.  Queen Mary intended to be a mother to her people, kind and merciful and righting wrongs done to them.  She understood that her rival, the Nine Days' Queen Jane Grey, was only a pawn of powerful men and an unwilling pretender to the throne; Mary did have her put to trial along with her family and in-laws and all were found guilty, but only as a formality.  After having the main conspirators put to death, Mary simply let Jane and the others languish in prison.  She also released Catholic prisoners incarcerated for treason and heresy (that is, beliefs that the Protestant Church of England took for heresy) during her father's and brother's reigns, including the Duke of Norfolk and Bishop Stephen Gardiner. Mary's first Parliament overturned the religious laws instituted during her father's and brother's reigns.  Upon her succession, one of the titles she inherited was ...

Even after satisfying her father with the oaths, Mary continued practicing her Catholic faith.  She wasn't truly breaking any laws: the Church of England was still very Catholic in practice and doctrine, including belief in transubstantiation (the bread and wine truly becoming the Body and Blood of Christ).  The only main difference was the authority figure at its head: for Catholics it was and still is the Pope, for Anglicans it was and still is the reigning monarch.  Mary unabashedly remained a Papist, as Protestants disparagingly referred to those of the Catholic faith who followed papal authority, and retained the support of the Catholic nations of Europe, which naturally included her mother's native Spain.  She was also friendly with the new Queen, wife #3 Jane Seymour, who was herself privately Catholic.  When Queen Jane gave birth to King Henry's long-awaited son, Edward, Mary stood as his godmother.  However, the joy over the new Prince...

Truth, the Daughter of Time -motto of Queen Mary I of England Just because I happened upon someone else's blog about her, I started thinking about Queen Mary, how she was the first queen regnant of England.  And to date, she is the only Catholic queen regnant England has ever had.  I figured she presented a perfect opportunity to bring together my two most passionate interests in this blog: history and religion.  In my college history classes, a lot of my dissertations tied the subject to religion in some way, big or small.  I see no reason not to continue that here. If there was one constant thing in Mary Tudor's life, it was her faith.  She was born on 18 February 1516 to the infamous King Henry VIII and his first Queen, Catherine of Aragon.  All of them were devout Catholics, especially Catherine, who was the daughter of the titans known as the Catholic Kings of Spain: Ferdinand and Isabella.  But as time wore on and Catherine had not given him...