Thursday 20 June 2013
Because of a reference to the GOONS,
Posted by
Supertradmum
...I recalled that I was the first Catholic ever to live in Baptist College. Hope that counts for something on the ecumenical tick list when I get see St. Peter at the Gate...
A Pathetic Arrogance
Posted by
Supertradmum
I have been watching leaders of the Western World, and a few from the East and have come up with a phrase for their strange messianic complexes-a pathetic arrogance.
Now, the word pathetic means, in one definition, arousing pity, and in another, miserably inadequate.
Both of these definitions may be used to describe most of the leaders of Europe and some in the East.
No names are necessary, are they?
My pity is aroused because so many of these neo-communists and socialists of the West are mere puppets.
Someone else is pulling their strings. These men are so locked in the materialistic dialectic that they cannot spot the spiritual dimension of their own lives, their own leadership. That arouses my pity.
For those who have a spiritual view of the universe, the perspective follows a different angle. When the ultimate goal of a person is Eternal Life, the parameters of judgement change drastically. That so many of these men and even some women lack this perspective draws out pity from my heart.
However, the second definition causes me to see the death of the West in their very miserable inadequacies.
The ending of classical education over a hundred years ago, and the violent removing of the soul from secular politics in the Protestant Revolt, making most political movements purely utilitarian, has left us all with a leadership crisis. We in the West are ruled by the second or third or fourth best.
The cream of the crop either were killed in the two Great World Wars, going over the trenches first, or they were marginalized by the secular humanist now atheist cabals of academia.
Pity and mediocrity?
I have no answer except to develop personal holiness, and make your own way through discernment and purification, begging for honesty in your own life.
Do not become one of those whose pity overcomes rational discourse. The victimization syndrome of our leaders is growing-we have allowed them to remain weak, while excluding the strong from public office. And, the weak are in control of all the parties, for the most part.
Without the spiritual, the material takes over. Once the soul has left the body, the body begins to rot.
So, too, with Western Civilization.
Now, the word pathetic means, in one definition, arousing pity, and in another, miserably inadequate.
Both of these definitions may be used to describe most of the leaders of Europe and some in the East.
No names are necessary, are they?
My pity is aroused because so many of these neo-communists and socialists of the West are mere puppets.
Someone else is pulling their strings. These men are so locked in the materialistic dialectic that they cannot spot the spiritual dimension of their own lives, their own leadership. That arouses my pity.
For those who have a spiritual view of the universe, the perspective follows a different angle. When the ultimate goal of a person is Eternal Life, the parameters of judgement change drastically. That so many of these men and even some women lack this perspective draws out pity from my heart.
However, the second definition causes me to see the death of the West in their very miserable inadequacies.
The ending of classical education over a hundred years ago, and the violent removing of the soul from secular politics in the Protestant Revolt, making most political movements purely utilitarian, has left us all with a leadership crisis. We in the West are ruled by the second or third or fourth best.
The cream of the crop either were killed in the two Great World Wars, going over the trenches first, or they were marginalized by the secular humanist now atheist cabals of academia.
Pity and mediocrity?
I have no answer except to develop personal holiness, and make your own way through discernment and purification, begging for honesty in your own life.
Do not become one of those whose pity overcomes rational discourse. The victimization syndrome of our leaders is growing-we have allowed them to remain weak, while excluding the strong from public office. And, the weak are in control of all the parties, for the most part.
Without the spiritual, the material takes over. Once the soul has left the body, the body begins to rot.
So, too, with Western Civilization.
Good review on the far less than perfect upcoming Hobbit movie
Posted by
Supertradmum
I was unhappy with The Return of the King, because the director, Peter Jackson, does not understand the Tolkien view of the monarchy and the entire importance of the restoration of the rule of men. The battle scenes, of course, are Jackson's forte, but battles in Tolkien are NOT the most important theme.
The virtues of the characters have been overlooked at well, for an over modern interpretation and not the Catholic view of frailty, sin and redemption, which Jackson also does not get.
Redemption is a huge theme in Tolkien's books as is the growth in virtue through suffering. Men, women, hobbits change not merely by courageous deeds, but by the awareness of where they stand in the BIG picture, the spirituality of Middle Earth and the Undying Lands. The Afterlife is an important theme in Tolkien, and, as a Catholic who is aware of the ultimate goal of men, the author constantly points to the Afterlife, and the symbolism of the unity and harmony the monarchy brings, as a symbol of that order. Aragorn is one of the Christ figures, but no one would get that from Jackson's interpretation. The reluctant king interpretation is also seen in the odd caricature of Bilbo, no matter how well acted. Jackson is not thinking like Tolkien.
He just does not get it.
Here is a less than positive view of the upcoming Hobbit movie. I shall see it, but without the spiritual dimension, will it be just another adventure flim?
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lookingcloser/2013/06/the-desolation-of-the-hobbit/
The virtues of the characters have been overlooked at well, for an over modern interpretation and not the Catholic view of frailty, sin and redemption, which Jackson also does not get.
Redemption is a huge theme in Tolkien's books as is the growth in virtue through suffering. Men, women, hobbits change not merely by courageous deeds, but by the awareness of where they stand in the BIG picture, the spirituality of Middle Earth and the Undying Lands. The Afterlife is an important theme in Tolkien, and, as a Catholic who is aware of the ultimate goal of men, the author constantly points to the Afterlife, and the symbolism of the unity and harmony the monarchy brings, as a symbol of that order. Aragorn is one of the Christ figures, but no one would get that from Jackson's interpretation. The reluctant king interpretation is also seen in the odd caricature of Bilbo, no matter how well acted. Jackson is not thinking like Tolkien.
He just does not get it.
Here is a less than positive view of the upcoming Hobbit movie. I shall see it, but without the spiritual dimension, will it be just another adventure flim?
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lookingcloser/2013/06/the-desolation-of-the-hobbit/
Sometimes, the West just doesn't get it
Posted by
Supertradmum
How many links does one need?
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/magazine/the-price-of-loyalty-in-syria.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/g8-summit/vladimir-putin-tells-cameron-at-g8-syrian-rebels-are-the-same-as-those-who-killed-lee-rigby-29354824.html
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/06/pamela-geller-on-trentovision-today-new-york-times-honors-muslim-who-believes-apostates-from-islam-s.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/17/online-quran-teaching-pakistan
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/magazine/the-price-of-loyalty-in-syria.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Obama |
Cameron |
Putin |
Walsingham: A Drama in Three Acts
Posted by
Supertradmum
Walsingham: A Drama
in Three Acts copyright 2013
A Play on the History
of Walsingham Pilgrimage Site for the Contemporary Audience
Characters in order of appearance:
Act One: One Scene with Moving Tableaus (not still)
William Shakespeare
Lear
Cordelia
King Louis from Lear
Richeldis and Sir
Geoffry (son) de Faverche or Favarches
Carmelite Anchorites Giles and Nicodemus
Augustinian Friars
Richard II
Act Two: Three Scenes with Moving Tableaus
Scene One
Shoemakers of Walsingham
Bircham, Copping, Wehh, Castleton, Clark ,
Hall, Johnson, Powell, Ringstead, Woodcock
Scene Two
Henry VII
Henry VIII
Katherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn
Courtiers
Scene Three
Mob of 1537
Thomas Sydney
Pub and Innkeepers, the Bull, the Black Lion, the Crown, the
King’s Head, the White Lion, Exchange Inn,
Act Three: Two Scenes with a few Moving Tableaus
Scene One:
Anne Dacre
Lady Throckmorton (1651)
Dooks, a little white dog
Rev Edward Worseley
Martyrs of Walsingham Laity and Augustinian Friars
Martyrs of Walsingham Laity and Augustinian Friars
2013 members of the town; unidentified, shop-keepers, pub
owners, clergy, a few pilgrims, etc.
Scene Two:
(Staging is modern techniques, such as black stage backdrops
for spot lighting; backdrops include only minimalist architectural designs, the
largest being the ruined priory arch which stands today, the House of Nazareth,
the original shrine, the sea at the Norfolk coast, a Tudoresque hall, and a
modern street in Walsingham with shops. One image for each scene as indicated.
All the actors in the First Act must speak in upper class, king’s English. As
to the sets, there are options depending on money. Of course.
These would be more powerful if actually made of wood, but
if money is an issue, can be photographs on canvas with lights in the
background to show designs; muted colours, not bright, such as greys, blacks,
browns, etc. until the modern scene of today, which would be in natural
colours; same with costumes, which, although all of the time of the characters
(historically correct) would be all in browns, blacks and greys, until the
modern scene, again, with colours. One might ask some of the current
inhabitants of the village if they would be willing to be in that last scene in
normal attire. I am sure some would be happy to take part.)
Act I: Scene One
The Introduction by Shakespeare
(Dark Stage, with spotlight into which walks, stage right,
William Shakespeare in historical dress.. He has a Peter Wimsey type voice)
William Shakespeare: Those of you who have been following
the thing you call television or other sources, know by now that I am a
Catholic. Of course, I hid many hints in my plays and sonnets to this effect.
(Sighs)
Look here, look here.
(He points with his left hand to the new spotlighted area to his left and, of
course, the lines are from the end of the play).
{Second Spotlight appears on Lear, Cordelia, and King Louis
of France
scene)
Fairest Cordelia, thou
are most rich, being poor,
Most choice, forsaken
and most loved, despised!
Thee and they virtues
here I sieze upon;
Be lawful! I take up
what’s cast away.
Gods, gods, ‘tis
strange that from their cold’st neglect
My love should kindle
to inflamed respect.
Thy dowerless daughter,
king, thrown to my chance,
Is queen of us, of
ours, and our fair France.
Not all the dukes of
waterish Burgundy
Can buy this unprized
precious maid of me.
Bid them farewell,
Cordelia, though unkind:
Thou losest here, a
better where to find.
(Spot light fades as King and Cordelia hold hands.)
William Shakespeare: Hmm, the new critics missed the point
here, as I was referring also to the Queen of Heaven, the real Queen of England and
France, Our Lady of Walsingham, now dowerless after the horrors of Henry’s
playfellow’s designs. But, I am racing ahead.
The dowry of Mary is England . The Recusants knew this. I
know this. Cruelly was her dowry snatched from her by thieves and murderers, assassins,
one of my favourite words, which I invented, by the way. Her beautiful image
taken to Chelsea
and chopped up for firewood. Here. (He points again to the left and we see
thugs chopping up a wooden statue of Our Lady of Walsingham in the streets of Chelsea and throwing the
bits into a fire.) So many wept at the stealing of her land, England , by those who only loved
themselves. Well, they have an eternity to think about their deeds.
Our Lady of Ipswich image was also chopped up for firewood,
as was an image from Wales, used to burn a holy friar, named Forrest, the image
brought to London for the purpose of martyring this good man. (spotlight goes
to friar being burnt at the stake with image pieces).
She is her own dowry, Our Dear Lady and Mother. She,
dowerless, desires that all England
come back to her loving reign, as one of our later popes have said. I read Leo
XIII’s words for you. (He holds up a scroll “When England returns to
Walsingham, Our Lady will return to England .” In 1893, the English Catholic Bishops
dedicated the land to Mary, Our Mother, again. She will not return to England unless
the Catholics return to Walsingham. Our bishops, our priests, you and I, the
laity, we must pray for this. We must work for this.
But, perhaps you do not know of Walsingham and Mary’s Dowry.
Let a little story of this great shrine begin. Ah, I do miss directing… This is
fun. Shall I start at the beginning, or in media res? Hmm, let me start with
the gentle Richeldis in the year 1061.
(Spotlight leaves Shakespeare and moves on to the original
shrine of the House of Nazareth and two characters, Richeldis and her son, Sir
Geoffry standing by an outside altar, before the building of the shrine. The
altar stands on a grassy flat plain before many trees. Richeldis is holding a vase of Roses and
speaking with her son. They are dressed in subdued colors, but the costumes of
their day. Richeldis is wearing a small coronet.)
Richeldis: Since the Dearest Queen of Heaven came to me, I
have desired this day, my son. Here, in this place, we have made a little Nazareth , where the Angel
Gabriel told Mother Mary she was to be the God-Bearer. How wonderful that Mary
has created a holy stamp, an image of that sacred place here.
Geoffry: Dear Mother, may I continue your work here and
invite the Augustinians to continue your work with our monies, my heritage?
Richeldis: This is my dream, dear one. Yes, let all England come
here to honour the Mother and praise the Son. This statue will wear my coronet, given to me
by your father on the day of our marriage. As we were crowned husband and wife,
so she is crowned the Heavenly Bride. (Richeldis takes off her crown and puts
in on the head of the wooden statue. If this statue has to be a canvas
backdrop, an option, Richeldis lays it on an altar in front of the image.)
Geoffry: Mother, Our Lady of Glastonbury will be the only image which
takes precedence to this, Our Queen and Prince. I shall see this shrine endowed
for years to come. We shall build a small domicile, 16 yards long, 10 yars wide
and a little wooden chapel inside of 7 yards by 30 feet long, just like Mary’s
little house in Nazareth.
Richeldis: Ask the good Carmelite anchorites to buy more boats,
with some of your inheritance, to ferry the pilgrims from the North, as I see
in my mind, many coming here throughout the ages. England
will be renewed if Mary is honored in this little house, this small shrine of Nazareth .
Geoffry: Ah, mother, look, pilgrims, here, now.
(Enter two Carmelite friars with a small group of mixed poor
and wealthy pilgrims-maybe six or seven.)
Giles: Noble Richeldis, we have heard of your holy house
called the New Work, and bring these
good people from the far north. They come from York and the West Riding to see
your image. We have boated them from my anchor hold in All Saint’s near Bishop’s
Lynn . But, my
shoes are so wet, please forgive me if I take them off on this holy ground.
Nicodemus: I shall remove my sandals as well, as here Mary
has visited our people, the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons, together blessed by
Our Lady. We have come from Long Sutton, by the Wash. Some have come from Norwich , via Attlebridge
and Bechospital, the hostel there. Already, there is talk of a great
accommodation for thirteen poor pilgrims to stay over night in that area.
First Pilgrim: Yes, I stayed at an inn free! And had a full
English breakfast!
Geoffry: We shall begin to do penance for England , by
walking barefoot for a mile outside this shrine. What do you think, Mother?
Richeldis: Yes, and I, too, now removes my shoes in honor of
Our Lady. Welcome, Palmers, welcome, all.
(All the pilgrims bend over and take off their shoes,
kneeling on the floor in front of the image and altar. Richeldis places the
vase of roses on the altar.)
This scene ends with the singing of the Ambrosian Hymn one of the oldest hymns. And they say, first,
the little prayer of St. Aldhelm. Augustinian Friars join the group in song.)
Prayer of St. Aldhelm
O Virgin Mother of our
God, O Star
Of life’s dark sea, we
have thee from afar;
O, by they merits keep
in spotless fame,
This altar sacred to
they glorious name.
Aeterna Christi munera,
Et martyrum victorias,
Laudes ferentes debitas,
Laetis canamus mentibus.
Ecclesiarum principes,
Belli triumphales duces,
Coelestis aulae milites,
Et vera mundi lumina.
Terrore victo saeculi,
Spretisque poenis corporis,
Mortis sacrae compendio,
Vitam beatam possident.
Traduntur igni martyres,
Et bestiarum dentibus,
Armata saevit ungulis
Tortoris insani manus,
Nudata pendent viscera,
Sanguis sacratus funditur,
Sed permanent immobiles
Vitae perennis gratia.
Devota sanctorum fides,
Invicta spes credentium;
Perfecta Christi charitas,
Mundi triumphat principem.
In his Paterna gloria,
In his voluntas Filii,
Exsultat in his Spiritus,
Coelum repletur gaudiis.
Te nunc, Redemptor, quaesumus,
Ut ipsorum consortio
Jungas precantes servulos,
In sempiterna saecula. Amen.
Et martyrum victorias,
Laudes ferentes debitas,
Laetis canamus mentibus.
Ecclesiarum principes,
Belli triumphales duces,
Coelestis aulae milites,
Et vera mundi lumina.
Terrore victo saeculi,
Spretisque poenis corporis,
Mortis sacrae compendio,
Vitam beatam possident.
Traduntur igni martyres,
Et bestiarum dentibus,
Armata saevit ungulis
Tortoris insani manus,
Nudata pendent viscera,
Sanguis sacratus funditur,
Sed permanent immobiles
Vitae perennis gratia.
Devota sanctorum fides,
Invicta spes credentium;
Perfecta Christi charitas,
Mundi triumphat principem.
In his Paterna gloria,
In his voluntas Filii,
Exsultat in his Spiritus,
Coelum repletur gaudiis.
Te nunc, Redemptor, quaesumus,
Ut ipsorum consortio
Jungas precantes servulos,
In sempiterna saecula. Amen.
(Light fades and Shakespeare returns in a spotlight to the
stage right, as in the beginning)
William Shakespeare: Sweet. And, as I am an actor, I shall
read the first mention of England
as Mary’s Dowry as we wrap up this part of the story, which would make a great
play, doncha’think?.
But, first, let me remind you that Glastonbury , as noted by Sir Gregory, was the
primary shrine of Our Lady, and William of Malmsbury, in the 12th
century, noted this great place of water and peace. But, I shall let someone
else tell you of that. Even before Glastonbury , St. Augustine , England ’s Apostle, built a church
in honor of Our Ever-Virgin, at Ely, not too far from here, as the crow flies.
One of my favourite ladies, St. Etheldreda, rebuilt the church, after it was
destroyed by Penda, one of the first kings to hate Our Blessed One. Such a
precedent…the destruction of places dedicated to Mother Mary, began so early. But,
again, I race ahead with the advantage of an eternal view. William, Bishop of
Norwich, between 11-46 and 1174, invited the Augustianians into Parva
Walsingham to set up the great priory. Geoffry de Favarches granted to Edwy,
his clerk the chapel which his mother had built and the palmers came in the
hundreds.
Here is dowry reference, which we all knew and loved until
Henry, who, by the way, destroyed all the records of this shrine and others.
How he came to hate Mary and her Son. (He shakes his head and holds up the
scroll.)
The Solemn
Consecration of England
to Our Lady.
(King Richard II comes in and snatches the scroll from
Shakespeare).
King Richard II: I beg your pardon, actor, but I can read my
own decree. And, I hate your play about me.
William Shakespeare: Sorry, I was being a bit too
politically correct.
King Richard II. A bit? You ruined my reputation for
centuries, cad.
William Shakespeare: Well, I was being paid by the Tudors
and Boleyns.
King Richard II: I shall speak with you later. These good
people want to move on to the gory stuff. There all used to computer games and
you are so long-winded, Will. But first, the pledge…one of the best things I
ever did was make this consecration. Well, if Mary Our Queen of Heaven can
forgive you, I suppose I can. But the play is awful. Poor Anne, how she
suffered…
William Shakespeare: Stop it, my Liege Lord and read.
Richard II: Alright.
O Blessed Virgin here
Behold this is thy
Dowerie.
Defend it now, preserve
it still
In all prosperities.
William Shakespeare: Is that it?
Richard II: Well, there is a bit more about making the
shrine a national site and stuff. But Henry…destroyed all the documents and
this is a historical guess. It is in the Bodelian, I think.
I was here, you know, in 1315. The pub was great-lovely lamb
and good French wine. Anne especially loved getting new shoes made after the
mile walk. She chose white lamb’s skin with embroidered roses. Of course, some
kings came before me.
William Shakespeare: Really?
Richard II: Yes, Henry III came in 1241 and Edward I came
two times, 1280 and 1296. (He can be thinking on his fingers, as it were.) David
Bruce came three years after me, in 1364, but I do not know if he left
anything. We all left many gold things, like jewelry, swords and scabbards,
even small trinkets, like medals made of gold and silver, and our own rings. Of
course, Henry Creep stole them all for you-know-who.
William Shakespeare: That is all in the next act.
Richard II: You don’t say. I think I shall join these curs,
and watch the rest of the play.
William Shakespeare: Ah, there is a chair just for you, my
Lord. ‘Til Act II, adieu. King sits on a chair at the edge of the
audience.) By the way, do you know that
there is a window in the now Anglican church, which has you in it, as well as
Henry Creep?
Richard II: What? Me in a window with a Tudor! I have to see
this, Will. I am sure the Wilton Diptych is better. Where is this thing?
William Shakespeare: I shall take you there. Do not be too
upset, my Lord. The widow is modern.
Richard II: Let us go, then.
(They leave and the First Act ends).
Act II
(The act begins with many men at shoe working benches with
tools making shoes. The stage is brightly lit at first. There are shoes
everywhere. These actors must use broad Norfolk
accents, as a break from the above and the typical Shakespearean technique of
alternating upper and lower class scenes.)
Copping: How much did you make last year, Bircham?
Bircham: Not bad, but I am not going to tell you. Too many
shoes in the tithe barns, though. And, if I have to be honest, I would have to
pay more taxes, and more tithing. Plus, the misses has another bun in the oven.
Copping: I remember the old days when all the shoe taxes
were the same. Blast it. The next thing you know, they’ll be taxing the slits
in the sides where the silk stockings show through. Can they tax a hole, I
wonder?
Bircham: Hey, Ringstead and Wehh, you’re awfully quiet
today.
Ringstead. I am not in the mood to talk.
Wehh: He knows somethun’
(All stop working and look at Ringstead)
Wehh: He ain’t gonna tell. Are you, Ringstead?
Ringstead: I am not talking.
Bircham: Woodcock, Smith, get over here. What’s with
Ringstead?
Woodcock: It’s the Second Visitation.
(Silence)
Hall: Those goons aren’t commin’ agin, are they?
Wehh: Ringstead has a brother-in-law in Norfolk
who said that they were shoeing horses three days ago and visitin’ monasteries
and priories across the plains, up from London .
Some of the Palmer’s left early from Attlebridge and went back home, rather
than coming here.
Ringstead: Shut up, Wehh. This is my business.
Bircham (getting up in a threatening way and going over to
Ringstead) This is all of our business. If they are going to shut down the
shrine, our businesses will go. Cannot you see that, Ringstead?
Ringstead: I only know what my sister’s kin said.
Bircham: One has to think of one’s family first. A
revolution is not a dinner party.
Castleton: One has to think of God first.
Wehh: You will be the first to go with that fairy attitude.
Castleton: We need to stand up to this. No one has a right
to destroy religion. No one.
Hall: I heard rumors of places, like even…what’s that noise?
Castleton: Horses, horses. (He gets up and looks out stage
left)
Visitators. Right here, in the street, in front of the
Priory.
Copping: I can’t believe this is happening in Walsingham.
Henry was just here in my dad’s day.
Hall: Yeah, dancing with the royal whore.
Bircham: I wonder if they need shoes?
Woodcock: Who took the Oath here? Which one of you have
taken the Oath?
.
(Some hold there heads down)
Castleton: I will never take the Oath. (He leaves).
Wehh: You can be holier than me, but I took it and all my
kin. I do not understand all this anyway. Besides, what has the Church done for
me?
Castleton: Provided you and your family with work for
generations…that’s all. Given you the Holy Bread and shriven you once a year so
you don’t go to hell.
Bircham: I no longer believe in hell, or the Church, but
only in Bircham and my family.
Ringstead: I can and I will.
Wehh, and several others. No, we will fight, we won’t let
them take the friars. One is George Aysborrow, the subprior. I can see his
face. He has been beaten. There ae about sixteen friars in ropes and chains.
(Castleton had gone out and runs back in.): They have gotten
Nicholas Mileham and Tom Guisborough. They’ve got them by the hair.
Ringstead: Those men were in prison all night. Thomas
Cromwell said that it was never merry in England since the litany was
brought into the service. I agree with him. Get rid of this popery.
Wehh: Let’s go help them.
(He is stopped by Ringstead.)
Ringstead: It’s the times, Wehh, think of your Cecily and
your Thomas. Think of us. Painted timber is not God. God is not in that image.
(Castleton leaves quickly. Bircham is at the door)
Bircham: They are taking them out and I betcha I know where
they are going. Now, they got six more friars, but I cannot see their faces.
(Sound of horses neighing and loud voices yelling, Traitors,
devils)
Bircham: One has the image. One has the Lady on his horse.
(They all look out the door and windows)
Wehh: Look, Castleton is fighting one of the king’s men.
They’ve got him down.
Ringstead: Religion makes no difference. It’s all the same.
Men get what they want. You get what you want and I get what you want.
Bircham: Clark , look after
Mary. I am going with Castleton. Look, one visitator is Richard Southwell.
Hypocrites all. Blood, blood on the saffron plants across the road.
Bircham: Taking the Lady is too much. Look after my Mary, as
I look after Jesu’s Mary.
Hall: The friars are singing. Listen:
O blessed Virgin,
praise to thee;
Was lost, is turned by
thee againe
From schisms and
heresies.
(Lights out and the scene changes)
Scene Two: (Dark night in the main street of Walsingham. A
man in aristocratic dress is standing in the middle of the street. He is St.
Philip Howard. There is a large barn owl hooting, The spotlight is on Howard.
He has a scroll. He is standing on stage left.)
Philip Howard: I have my poem here. It is not too long. I
want to read it to you. It is about how “brazen faced heresy” stole my Lovely
Lady of Walsingham.
I call it Lament of
Walsingham. But, before I read it. I want to share a story of a king’s
life, or at least, his love of
Walsingham.
Henry VIII first came here—no wait—let me start with his
father, Henry VII.
After Henry VI came in 1455 and Edward IV in 1469, leaving
wondrous gifts, Henry VII came in thanksgiving in favour of a battle of Lambert
Simnel in 1487. After the Battle of Stoke, he sent a banner and willed a gold
statue of himself to Our Lady. Young Henry came with his fiancée, Katherine.
That was the first visit of the corrupt king.
In 1510, Henry VIII walked barefoot in the last stage and
gave a fantastic necklace to the Holy Queen, which, typical, he took back 28
years later. His saintly wife, his real
wife, Katherine, came with him in that year of 1510 and she came again in 1513
to give thanks for the victory of the battle of Flodden .
Happier days of gratitude and love for Our Lady…
(As he is referring to these incidents, spotlights at stage
right highlighted these royal pilgrims walking and kneeling before the image of
Our Lady. They leave gold jewelry and especially the large, valuable necklace
from Henry VIII.)
(A spotlight moves to a Tudor dancing hall where Henry sees
Anne Boleyn and asks her to dance, interrupting another man who is with her).
But, Henry’s third visit to the area was the beginning of
the end of Catholic England.
Just up the road apiece (Howard gestures), Henry saw Anne
Boleyn for the first time and danced with her. What a dance they made, in the
ruins of the One, Holy Catholic Church, a dance which continues today in the
ruins of Walsingham.
I cannot remember the date, maybe 1523. She was always
engaged to someone or another. However,
that meeting has led to this lonely owl hooting in the ruins of the priory.
(Priory arch comes up in the back of the mostly grey stage.)
I must confess that I ignored my own dear Anne for years,
caught up in the court. But I repented and her love for me never failed.
Here is my poem, which I wrote in prison before my own death
by starvation and illness in 1595. And, by the way, if you caught the name of
one of the visitators, Richard Southwell, his grandson is also one of the great
martyrs, Robert Southwell. Such was the chaos and choices of families in those
days. (An owl hoots) Ah, my poem.
A Lament for
Walsingham
In the wrecks of
Walsingham
Whom should I choose
But the Queen of
Walsingham
To be guide to my
muse?
Then, thou Prince of
Walsingham,
Grant me to frame
Bitter plaints to rue
thy wrong,
Bitter woe for thy
name.
Bitter was it, O, to
see
The sily sheep
Murder’d by the
ravening wolves
While the shepherd did
sleep.
Bitter was it, O, to
view
The sacred vine,
Whilst the gardeners
play’d all close,
Rooted up by swine.
Bitter, bitter, O, to
behold
The grass to grow
Where the walls of
Walsingham
So stately did show.
Such were the worth of
Walsingham
While she did stand;
Such are the wrecks as
now do show
Of that so holy land.
Level, level with the
ground
The towers do lie,
Which with their
golden glittering tops
Pierced out to the
sky.
Where were gate no
gates are now,--
The ways unknown
Where the press of
friars did pass
While her fame far was
blown.
Owls do shriek where
the sweetest hymns
Lately were sung;
Toads and serpents
hold their dens
Where the palmers did
throng.
Weep, weep, O
Walsingham
Whose days are nights—
Blessings turn’s to
blasphemies,
Holy deeds to
despites.
Sin is where our lady
sate;
Heaven turn’d is to
hell;
Satan sits where our
Lord did sway—
Walsingham, O,
Farewell.
(Philip puts down the scroll and just stares sadly at the
audience for a moment. Lights out.)
Scene III (The famous wall painting in the local shop is main
design. Thomas Sydney, the hounds and the hare).
Thomas Sydney: Ah, come on, people. You will have jobs with
me. Look, I can put you back to work in some small shoe shops. I have bought
the saffron fields. I need servants for the new hall I am going to build. Get
over this hatred of the king and you will be thanking your lucky stars.
Mob of 1537 speaking one after the other, as unidentified
groupies: Why should we go along with you. Henry ruined all our business. We
have no customers. No palmers. No royalty…this is a disaster. You got what you
want for 90 shillings. What do we get? Nuthin’ Latimer took the Lady and
chopped her up. How do we know you won’t do the same to us?
Thomas Sydney: Fine, than you can take your wives, your sons
and daughters and move elsewhere. I have friends who have men who want jobs. I
can bring them here in a minute. Are you going to the king’s church? Let me
read this from the Convocation of June, 1536. “..that our Lady, the blessed
Virgin, was no better than another woman, and that she can prevail with our
Saviour no more than another sinful person of her sex.”
Mob of 1537: Well, we are not theologians. We are just
workers. How do we know what Mary is. We
cannot depend on religion to feed us. Sure, we get fined otherwise and only
those rich nobles can afford to be recusants. What choices do we have? Hey,
where is Lady Elizabeth Andrew’s ring and where is the golden cloth vestments
of Lord Scales? Where is the Countess of
Warwick’s image? Who got these things? What happened to all the goods the Franciscans
had from Elizabeth de Burgh, the Countess of Clare, in the Great Guest House.
Where is all the wealth?
Thomas Sydney: Well, some made good choices and were
rewarded with the offerings to idols, and some made bad choices and they are
dead. Their quartered bodies lie in the ditch of the field beyond the walls.
Their heads have been eaten by crows.
Mob of 1537: We don’t like what you did to the Eucharist.
Dumped the Holy Bread on the ground. Stomped on it. Spit on it. Peed on it.
Thomas Sydney: Now, now, that was not me. Those were the
soldiers of Thomas Cromwell, as you well know. They just got carried away a
bit. Haven’t we all sinned?
Mob of 1537: Blasphemy will haunt this place for centuries.
Sacrilege stalks the village. We feel it.
Thomas Sydney: Stop being superstitious fools. I think you
better realize your own here and now. Take my offers or you and your families
will starve. The tiger will eat you whether you are kind to it or not.
(Mob of 1537 individuals talk among themselves.)
Mob of 1537: We are not martyrs like Aysburrow or the
others. Do we really have choices?
Thomas Sydney: Stop pretending there is a heaven or a hell.
We only have the now.
Mob of 1537: We shall
take the jobs. We choose the now. Life is hell enough.
(Black out of scene.)
Act III
(Two young and beautiful women come to the fore, center
stage, in the spotlight but they move to stage right when the second spot comes
up. Their dresses are of a different time, as Anne died in 1630 and this Lady
Throckmorton is from 1651-so change the costumes a little. They are sitting on
a garden bench with the arch of the ruin behind them. Lady Throckmorton has a
little white dog, like a Westie.)
Anne Dacre: Many of us went into hiding and then to France . Many
more cooperated with the Parliament and saved their lands, but not their souls.
Some benefitted by buying land cheaply to the cash-strapped king.
Lady Throckmorton of 1651: My dear Jesuit priest wrote to me about the
Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I
shall share with you, Dear Countess of Arundel, what he wrote to me.
Anne Dacre: And I shall share with you my vow.
Lady Throckmorton: Good, we Catholics must support each
other in these terrible days.
Father Edward Worseley writes: (and a Moving Tableau appears
with the Jesuit, Fr. Worseley reading this note out of a book he is writing
with a quill pen.
I made choice to
compare this work in honour of the most Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, whos
Dowry our own now distracted country was sometimes not undeservedly stiled.
Both in respect of the peculiar devotion our religious predecessors, above
other nations of the Christian world, ore towards her, and her reciprocal
procuring, by her powerful intercession, innumerable select favours for them.
Anne Dacre: And I have made a long vow, dedicating my life
and belief to the Immaculate Conception. Here is part of my written note.
Lady Throckmorton: Yes, dear, let me hear it.
Anne Dacre: It is very long. I keep it at the castle. I
shall read part of it.
…I, Anne, following
the steps and examples of many most learned, virtuous and holy person, in this
sacred place, and on this cheerful and happy day of the festivity of thy
Conception, do confess thee, O Mother of God, to have been preserved from original
sin in the first instant of thy Conception, through the merits of Christ, the
Son of God and thee, foreseen from all eternity. And I take God thy Son and thy
self to witness that I will constantly, by His grace, retain even to the last
moment of my life this judgment of they preservation from original sin. This I
promise, this I vow, this I swear, so help me God and His holy saints, --always
understood with due submission to the determination of Holy
Church and the chief pastor thereof,
His Holiness of Rome …
There is much more. I love the Immaculate Conception, Our
Lady of Walsingham. I pray at the end of this piece for purity of mind and
hatred of all sin.
Lady Throckmorton: That is lovely and profound. And, in a
letter of St. Omer’s to the English Poor Clares at Graveling, in 1665, is this
sad, sad note:
That land, once
bearing title of the Dowry of the Virgin Mother, heretofore holy and fruitful
in this land, but now, alas, overrun with heresy and sin.”
But, Anne, where are the saints now? We need holy men and
women again, dear Anne. Dooks, come here. We are the Church Militant in this
evil age. We need more purity of mind, purity of heart and soul.
(Behind them in a spotlight are the Walsingham martyrs, both
lay and friars, as well as Philip Howard.)
Anne Dacre: But, gone before us, are the great martyrs of
Walsingham and those of Tyburn, and those of the Tower, like my dear husband.
They intercede for us daily, I am sure. Tyburn to Walsingham, they stand in a
long chain from there to heaven, asking God to strengthen us in these times.
Lady Throckmorton: But, what will the generations after us
believe? Will they know Our Lady of Walsingham? Will they love her? Will the
one, true, holy and Catholic Church return to Walsingham? I fear for the long
years to come, dear Countess. Those good martyrs, like Christ, were taken
outside the town walls, at Tyburn, in Walsingham, like anathemata. Will the
outcasts be remembered, like Christ on our burnt altars?
Anne Dacre: Let us pray, dear one.
(They bow their heads and all the 2013 people of Walsingham
appear, old and young, going to the arch of the priory and praying all together
the Hail Mary. Lights down after coming up very bright).
Scene Two (Spotlight on one man, who has keys in his right
hand. He has a strong Norfolk
accent. Make sure this is said slowly and deliberating, not rushed.)
.
I, Turnkey Burton of the Bridewell, can tell you that the
history of Walsingham is not over yet. No, it is not. But, who knows where this
story will end or how, I don’t know. Look around you, look at yourselves. Will
there be a Walsingham when you are old and grey? Will there be Catholicism in
this land? Maybe not. There was a long time without Catholics here, I can tell
you, a long time. Now, myself, I was not a Catholic, at least not one that
anyone knew about, anyway. I kept an Agnus
Dei under my pillow, like many good Anglicans. But, I can tell you that
when Mary, Our Mother, was loved and honoured here, things were different.
I cannot put my finger on it. I cannot say what the
difference was, exactly. Maybe the roses bloomed the same and the owls hooted
just as loudly all night, keeping us locals awake, maybe people were kinder,
gentler, more loving, more true…
Something was different. A life, a spirit of motherliness,
of care wafted in the air like the chant of the friars. We were the dowry of
Mary, and maybe, maybe we still are….maybe we still are…The story has not
ended, yet.
(He walks off jingling his keys, out of the spotlight. One
hears the hoot of the barn owl in the distance and the arch of the Priory
remains lit for a few minutes.)
The End.
Quote of the Day
Posted by
Supertradmum
“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”
― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
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