I have a bad habit of losing track of blogs I really like. My favorite section of IE is a mess. I really need to put them on my link list on the blog right when I decide it is a keeper but often put it off. Why I don't is a mystery(laziness) it just takes a minute.
Anyway, I have rediscovered this great blog by a British Priest that is now going to be in Vermont USA for a vacation. His blog is called South Ashford Priest .
I have always had this fascination with Vermont. I really think it is a place a Southerner might feel at home for some reason. I think I became fascinated with it after watching the 80's comedy series "Newhart" where Bob Newhart ran a Vermont inn and all his neighbors were so quirky, odd , and fun. Also that was sort of reinforced by one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movies. That is The Trouble With Harry which is a great hilarious dark comedy that takes place in Vermont. The politics are odd too. It is both Liberal (They have that darn Socialist Senator up there) but then it has things like really militant GAY pro gun rights pro NRA people. Yeah that is another blogger I am trying to find again .
Anyway this blog is great and I like his bluntness and wit too. What does this have to do with the Bishop of Vermont? Well South Ashford Priest paid a visit to him when he arrived and this is what he had to say:
Yesterday, my first day in Vermont, my host Father Benedict Kiely took me to the diocesan curial offices where I met His Excellency Bishop Salvatore Matano, the Bishop of Vermont. He was most gracious and we had a wonderful discussion about reverence in the Liturgy. Bishop Matano recently celebrated the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite on the feast of the Assumption. You can read the impressions of a blogger who was present at the Mass here.You can also find Bishop Matano's letter to the faithful concerning Pope Benedict's Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificem.
Bishop Matano paid tribute to the intellectual greatness of our theologian Pope. He also made it clear that I would be welcome to visit the diocese any time, and even to stay for a summer, a sabbatical or even longer... Nice to be invited!
Why not visit the diocesan website. Bishop Matano has published a directory on the administration of sacraments and sacrementals in his diocese. For example, he wants all extraordinary ministers of the eucharist to sign a profession of faith in the Real Presence and an acceptance of all the Church's teachings.
Ah Sounds like Vermont people are in good hands. GO visit the rest of his blog. Fun entries. I am anxious to find out through his blog and his unique viewpoint if Vermonters are eccentric as advertised
I find this interesting, for two reasons.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I can't think of any Extraordinary Minister who does not believe in the Real Presence. (At one time, I signed up to be a EM, but couldn't do it; it made me far too nervous to handle the Real Presence. The priest who trained me for First Communion back in 1965 would have been proud of me.)
Second, it was established a long time ago that the validity of a sacrament does not depend on the sanctity of the person giving the sacrament. Therefore, while it would be nice to have all the EMs sign off on being orthodox, it really doesn't make a difference; it's still the valid Body & Blood of Christ, even if they are not 100% Orthodox in their thinking.
Kathryn
www.fromtherecamier.org