On Private Revelations, Eight

A saint is not canonized because of revelations, but because of personal holiness. All parts of revelations are not true. A distinction between private revelations and sainthood must be seen, even by those who have a hard time discerning the difference.

One of the problems with my friends who are into private revelations is that they base 50% or more of their spirituality on such private visions or elocutions. This is dangerous. As in the last post, I quote EWTN on the importance of following public revelation, that is that in the Bible, as that of private revelation. The rules are simple-does the revelation conform to Catholic teaching which already exists, and do the revelations support doctrines and dogmas of the Church. If not, these are false in part, if not in essence.

One must think like a Catholic and not like a Protestant--a theme of this blog. I have several previous posts on this topic, including one here--http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/on-false-prophets-and-supposed-seers.html

and here http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.fr/2012/01/sometimes-i-prefer-secular-humanism.html

and a connected idea here http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.fr/2012/01/apostolicam-actuositatem-and-dumbing.html


Here is second EWTN note on the subject.

It is not spiritually good to center one's life around private
revelations. They are good when approved, and may be used, but the core is
in public revelation, especially some of the things just mentioned.
Really, the essence of spirituality is conformity of my will to the will
of God--for the only free thing in me is my free will. If I could make it
match exactly the will of God, nothing more need be done. To develop this
takes time and effort, more than just one nice prayer. 

There is much room for error in private revelations, even when they are
given to Saints (cf. file on discernment of spirits). Canonization of a
Saint does not at all guarantee the truth of alleged private revelations.
St. Catherine of Siena seems to have claimed Our Lady appeared to her and
denied the Immaculate Conception.

My advice to is be patient and wait for Holy Mother Church to examine revelations and apparitions. We have so much to study and read and use for prayer, that the plethora of such revelations at this time are not necessary.

More on the Problems of Private Revelations--Part Seven on This Blog

In my travels, I have met many excellent, traditional and NO Catholics who follow private revelations, both present and past, which I do not do. I admit I am of a critical nature and prefer to wait until the Church decides on visions and apparitions before reading or spending time concerning myself with such. There are hundreds of approved visionaries, including the Great Teresa of Avila.

However, as many of my friends have become enamored with private revelations, I have had to learn more from an objective viewpoint, in order to answer their questions, or contradict some of the errors, by gently pointing out the Teaching of the Catholic Church.

I have failed more than I have succeeded and this is because of one attitude. Some people who are into private revelations will not read the CCC and will not listen to rational objections to their favorite seers. I know good Catholics who have become defensive and called me "an enemy" because I have tried to point out such ideas as in the previous three posts here.

And, there is more. I am convinced of two things regarding the following of seers. One, those who do so daily have fallen into an anti-intellectual Catholicism. They want experiential religion only. They want short-cuts to grace.

Secondly, some of these good people do not value obedience to the hierarchy of the Church. For the benefit of many, here are some guidelines from EWTN, with link. Please scroll down and read all this section.


Five causes of error in revelations
(1) Faulty interpretation of visions by the recipient.
St. John of the Cross warns about this in Ascent of Mount Carmel II. 19. Thus St. Joan of Arc in prison had a revelation that she would be delivered by a great victory--it was her martyrdom, which she did not suspect.
Prophecies of punishment, and promises of special favors should be considered as conditional. E.g., the Scapular promise should not be taken to refer to mere physical wearing of the Scapular: it must be, as Pius XII said, the outward sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that is really lived. If it is used this way then even if the vision of St. Simon Stock might not be true, the promise will be fulfilled, as we explained earlier.
2. Visions of the life and death of Christ, or other historic scenes, must be understood to be approximate only.
Thus some saw Jesus with three nails, some with four. Blessed Veronica of Binasco saw the whole life of Christ, and so did St. Frances of Rome and Catherine Emmerich. The Bollandists, Jesuit experts in studying the lives of the Saints, tell us there are many historical errors in these.
NOTE: Pope John XXIII, ordered The Poem of the Man God put on the index, on Dec. 16, 1960. The Index is now abolished, but Cardinal Ratzinger in a letter of Jan 31, 1985 wrote:..."The Index of forbidden books keeps all of its moral authority and therefore the distribution and recommendation of the work is considered improper when its condemnation was not made lightly but with the most serious motivation of neutralizing the harm which such publication could inflict on the more unwary faithful." So the Pontifical Imprimatur claimed for it is bogus.
3. Human action may mingle with the divine action.
St. Catherine Labouré foretold many events correctly, but failed on others. It is especially easy for this to happen with ideas that appeal to our own desires or fit with preconceived ideas. Benedict XIV (Heroic Virtue III. 14. p. 404) said: "The revelations of some holy women canonized by the Apostolic See whose saying and writings in rapture and derived from rapture are filled with errors."
4. A true revelation may later be altered involuntarily by the recipient.
This happens especially with intellectual locutions which need to be translated into words. Again, God may seem to promise a cure without saying if it is total or partial, sudden or slow, or even physical or moral. Again if a revelation is received in an instant, but it takes long to write it all down. St. Bridget admits such a thing in her own case.
5. Secretaries may alter without intending to do so.
The accuracy of the text is disputed in the works of Mary of Agreda, Catherine Emmerich, and Mary Lataste. It has been shown that 32 passages from the latter have been taken word for word from St. Thomas' Summa Theologiae.
Similarly, compilers sometimes modify them. The first edition of Catherine Emmerich had St. James the Elder present at the death of the Blessed Virgin. When it was seen that this was incompatible with Acts of Apostles, it was dropped from later editions.


Five Causes of False Revelations
1. Pure bad faith, fakery.
Magdalen of the Cross was a Franciscan of Cordova, born in 1487, who entered a convent at age of 17. From the age of 5 the devil appeared to her as various Saints, led her to desire to be considered a saint. At 13 he said who he was, offered an agreement: he would spread her reputation for holiness, and give her at least 30 years of pleasures. She agreed, and it all came true--ecstasies, levitation, prophecies, simulated stigmata. At door of death she confessed. Exorcism was needed.
2. Overactive imagination.
We said above that human faculties may mingle with the divine action. Someone may imagine a saint is near him. He may imagine intellectual locutions. Cf. St. John of Cross, Ascent II. 29. St. Teresa said (Interior Castle 6.6) that if one has once had a real vision, he will recognize the deception.
Hallucinations can come from excess in abstinence, fasting, and vigils.
3. Illusion in thinking one remembers things that never happened.
Some may imagine they have had visions. Some invent stories and convince themselves--in good faith. Some relate trips to far lands where they have never been. The line between imagination and reality is dim in young children--something similar can happen later too. This is not rare. If a spiritual director finds his advice has little effect, there is reason for seeing illusion. Some make false charges in courts in this way.
4. The Devil may give false visions or revelations.
We saw this in the case of Magdalen of the Cross.
5. Predictions by falsifiers.
Some make these at first for their own amusement, then find they have a tiger by the tail. St. Bonaventure (De profectu religiosorum III. 76) said he was fed up with such things, on the troubles of the Church and the end of the world. During the great Western Schism at end of 14th century, there were many holy mortified men who had false revelations, and even thought they would be the pope. At fifth Lateran Council in 1516 Leo X had to publish an order prohibiting preachers from giving public prophecies. There were many during the French Revolution, clear and in detail on the past, vague on the future.
In 19th century there was an epidemic of prophecy especially on "the great Pope and the great King" inspired by the 17th century commentary on the Apocalypse by Ven. Holzhauser. Pius IX in an Allocution of April 9, 1872 said: "I do not give much belief to prophecies, because those especially that have come recently do not deserve to be read."


What degree of certainty or probability is possible?
1. When God so wills, He can give full certainty to the recipient. We who are not the recipients can also be sure of revelations given to another, e.g. , the OT prophets, for they furnished certain signs of their mission. This can be done by miracles worked in a framework in which a tie is made between the miracle and the claim.
2. Beyond this area, probability is the most that is attainable. We need then to work with various signs. We should: (a) Get detailed information on the person to whom the revelation seems to have been made; and on what facts seem to have been revealed.
Often we must work by exclusion, i.e. , show that it comes not from the devil, nor from the human mind. But psychology still cannot give full replies on some things that seem supernormal operations of the human mind: hypnotism, somnambulism, telepathy, thought-reading, etc. For data on the uncertainties of psychology see Richard M. Restak, [Neurologist in Washington D. C. ] "See no Evil. The Neurological defense would blame violence on the damaged brain" in The Sciences, July/August 1992, pp. 16- 21.
3. Inquiries to be made about the alleged recipient:
(1) If the person is canonized, the Church has already checked--but canonization does not guarantee the truth of any supposed revelation given to the Saint.
(2) If not canonized: (a) What are the natural qualities or defects, physical, intellectual, and moral. Is he sincere, cool-headed, of sound judgment, of perfect mental equilibrium. Or is his mind weakened by poor health, vigils, fasts etc.
(b) Degree of education of the recipient--what books he has read, what information he may have picked up from other more learned persons. Much care is needed. Some say that Mary of Agreda was an ignorant girl. But she could read, knew the Bible well, and Cardinal Gotti showed several of her revelations were borrowed from a 15th century book, The Raptures of Blessed Amadeus. And she admits the help of theologians. Yet she said, in exaggeration: "No human mind could have imagined this work" (III, # 789).
(c) What virtues does the person have? What was his general level before and after the alleged revelation? If a great advance in holiness is seen, and it seems to have come from the revelation, there is good probability for the revelations. We think of the Fatima children. But if the seer has stayed at the ordinary level of virtue, the visions come under some suspicion, for would God use extraordinary means to lead to a merely ordinary state of holiness? Exception: God might use an ordinary person to help others. The message of Fatima for example would have ample justification even if the children had not become holy: this message God wanted given to the world. And the three things asked for are theologically sound and called for independently of any revelation.
(d)We need to watch out for the work of satan--he may really promote good things for a while, provided that in the long run he gains. The revelations of Necedah, Wi. seemed to have good fruits, yet were false. Rosaries were said to change to gold. Similarly for Bayside. But disobedience showed them false. St. Margaret Mary was told by Our Lord: (Autobiography, # 57):"Listen, My Daughter, and do not lightly believe and trust every spirit, for satan is angry and will try to deceive you. So do nothing without the approval of those who guide you. Being thus under the authority of obedience, his efforts against you will be in vain, for he has no power over the obedient."
Sometimes satan urges people to immoderate penances, so that they will in time give up. He may make contemplatives desire the active life, or vice versa. Blessed Jordan of Saxony, second General of the Dominicans, contracted a high fever. He had a prior skilled in medicine who told him to sleep on a soft bed. But satan appeared to Jordan in the night and rebuked his self-indulgence. Jordan gave into this two nights. But the third night Jordan saw that he should obey his doctor, and so did. Jordan had previously put himself under obedience to the doctor.
(e) Humility is a major key. Satan has the greatest horror of it. (Cf. the above words of Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary.) Yet satan can lead a person to false humility. Pride shows in contempt for others, in an independent spirit as to the Superior and the spiritual director, in obstinacy in opinions, in refusal to submit to examinations (cf. Teresa Neumann), in anger. It shows too in desiring to publish the graces the person thinks he has received--when it is not necessary. Humility leads to wanting to hide them, except in cases of real usefulness.
(f) Has the person claimed revelations before? Made predictions that were not fulfilled? If there was no reason to suppose the failed predictions were conditional, then they will seem not of divine origin.
(g) Has the recipient suffered great trials before or after the revelation, such as sicknesses, contradictions, lack of success. Extraordinary graces are very likely to bring great trials, as St. Teresa of Avila remarked, (cited above), in Interior Castle 6. 9. It is specially likely that the recipient will encounter skepticism or hostility. Bl. Juliana of Liege was chosen by God to establish the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament. Visions on it began two years after her entering the novitiate at age 16 in 1208. Only 22 years later did she dare to submit her project to some learned theologians, who approved it, but her enemies got revenge by pillaging her convent. In 1256 the Bishop of Liege established the Feast in one parish in his diocese, but died the same year. The convent was again pillaged. She was calumniated, forced to leave the convent, wandered during the last 20 years of her life, and died at age 66 after fruitless work for 50 years. Finally Pope Urban IV established the feast a century after the start of the revelations.
Yet not always do such things happen. St. Catherine Labouré had early success with the Miraculous Medal.
(h) Has the recipient been fearful of deception, open to Superiors or Director, and never desired revelations? St. Teresa of Avila was told in a vision to found a reformed Carmelite house, but yet did nothing until she had consulted four advisors (Autobiography 32). Mary of Agreda is quite the opposite. St. Ignatius in his rules for first Week, 13, says satan tries to keep the person from being open. St. Monica as St. Augustine reports desired revelations about his coming marriage; they were false (Confessions 6. 13). So if a revelation has been desired that alone makes it doubtful. This is especially so if answers of pure curiosity are desired or answers to scholastic questions. Mary of Agreda was imprudent here, and was encouraged in imprudence by her confessors.
(i) It is probably good to employ the testimony of expert psychologists as to ecstatic states etc. However, psychology is not so solid and exact a science that absolute trust should be placed in their results.

Thoughts and Links on Thursday's Meetings on Money

Some people are wondering what went wrong in the Eurozone. Now, I have always been against the euro, simply because when you give up your coinage and currency, you give up sovereignty. But, the real reason is simply, greed. I have had interesting conversations with several Irish people on the greed behind the rise and demise of the Celtic Tiger. This article, linked here, explains some of the ridiculous hubris of some cities in Spain. Building went out of control in both countries, without any long-term considerations, only short-term fantasies of making big money.

On Thursday, Cameron made some intelligent comments, but his chancellor made more sense by being caustious concerning the fiscal union, that is, banking consolidation, in Europe. "There is no way that Britain is going to be part of any eurozone banking union," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "I think Britain will require certain safeguards if there is a full blown banking union." UK Chancellor George Osborne


There is a danger of Great Britain capitulating to pressure to change the stricter banking standards here. But, I hope the pressure lessens in these talks.

As to Greece, here is the quote of the day. Tory MP Andrew Tyrie said the IMF should evaluate the costs and benefits of a smaller euro area since Germany was "unlikely to maintain the citizens of Greece in the style to which they are accustomed".


For an interesting story on the Bank of England's meetings today, check this out. Remember the Beeb is way, way liberal.....

It's a Wonderful Life

A four-post day---just thinkin'

A quotation from It's a Wonderful Life.

Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he? Clarence the Angel

Zenit article by Dr. E. Christian Brugger

This is from Zenit on Wednesday. Dr. Brugger writes on the website listed here. He has other interesting articles found there.

Three Cheers for the CDF: A Long Overdue Admonition

Errors in US Ethicist's Teaching Pointed Out

By E. Christian Brugger
WASHINGTON, D.C., JUNE 6, 2012 (Zenit.org).- For all the weaknesses with Catholic moral theology in the two centuries before Vatican II, one weakness it did not suffer from was a lack of consistency with the settled doctrine of the Church on matters of sex and marriage. 
We all know the story that followed the Council. Pope Paul VI published Humanae Vitae in 1968. A tidal wave of dissent against its central moral judgment by Catholic theologians crashed on the Church. Since that judgment was not only connected to divine revelation but also to traditional methods of moral reasoning, most prominently Aquinas' moral theory, new methods were explored. Consequentialism, called "Proportionalism" in Catholic ethics, gained the high ground. Within a few years advocates of the new methods in Europe and the US, who included some of the most influential moralists in the Church, began questioning the exceptionless status of moral norms against masturbation, extra-marital intercourse, homosexual acts, and divorce and remarriage. 
The undisputed matriarch of dissenting US Catholic ethicists is the influential emerita professor of ethics at Yale Divinity School and Religious Sister of Mercy, Margaret A. Farley. She's an old woman now and has been in the vanguard of voices calling for change in the Church for decades (she was a signatory in 1984 of the notorious "A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion," a full-page ad in The New York Times paid for by Catholics for Free Choice to support the VP campaign of pro-choice Catholic, Geraldine Ferraro… who?). She has trained and placed in academic positions a generation of gifted female Catholic ethicists sympathetic to her methods and ready to lay down their lives for her conclusions. 
On June 4, 2012, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) published a  "Notification" on Farley's 2006 text,Just Love: A Framework for Christian Ethics. The Notification states that her text takes positions contrary to Catholic teaching on at least five issues: masturbation, homosexual acts, homosexual unions, the indissolubility of marriage, and divorce and remarriage. The CDF "warns the faithful" that Farley's book is inconsistent with Catholic teaching, and consequently that it cannot validly be used as an expression of the Catholic faith "in counseling and formation, or in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue."
In Farley's published reply, she says straightforwardly, "I do not dispute the judgment that some of the positions contained within [Just Love] are not in accord with current official Catholic teaching."  She says that she wishes to clarify, however, "that the book was not intended to be an expression of current official Catholic teaching, nor was it aimed specifically against this teaching.  It is of a different genre altogether." In other words, "current official Catholic teaching" is irrelevant to her framework for sexual ethics. 
Why then is the CDF concerned about her text? Because Sister Farley is one of the most visible Catholic ethicists in the US, a member of an influential Catholic religious order, and past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. Academics see her as a Catholic scholar. And her works are treated as (among other things) contributions to Catholic scholarship. She and likeminded colleagues draw a sharp distinction between "current official teaching" and the rich perennial tradition of Catholic theology, to which they see themselves as validly contributing. The cardinal prefect of the CDF is well aware that Sister Farley is widely considered a courageous and far-sighted and utterly integral member of the Catholic theological community. And that's how she'll be presented to credulous college freshman in classrooms throughout the English-speaking world.
The letter published in protest against the CDF Notification by the President of Farley's Religious Congregation, Sister Pat McDermott, RSM, makes transparently clear that Farley means to be seen as a Catholic scholar: "(she's a) highly respected and valued member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas;" "has enlivened the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and enriched the entire Church;" "assiduously attempts to present the Catholic tradition as formative of her own rich experience;" "(is) faithful to her own faith tradition and commitments;" "is an extraordinary teacher and pastoral minister who is deeply committed to the Gospel and the following of Jesus Christ;" and so on. 
Readers might be interested in seeing a few characteristic quotes from Sister Farley's book "Just Love": 
On Masturbation: "Masturbation… usually does not raise any moral questions at all. … It is surely the case that many women… have found great good in self-pleasuring – perhaps especially in the discovery of their own possibilities for pleasure – something many had not experienced or even known about in their ordinary sexual relations with husbands or lovers. In this way, it could be said that masturbation actually serves relationships rather than hindering them" (p. 236).
On Homosexual Activity: "My own view… is that same-sex relationships and activities can be justified according to the same sexual ethic as heterosexual relationships and activities. Therefore, same-sex oriented persons as well as their activities can and should be respected whether or not they have a choice to be otherwise" (p. 295).
On Same-Sex Marriage: "Presently one of the most urgent issues before the U.S. public is marriage for same-sex partners – that is, the granting of social recognition and legal standing to unions between lesbians and gays comparable to unions between heterosexuals" (p. 293).
On Gender Reassignment Surgery: "When transsexuals want to change bodily identity, surgically and otherwise, they do so in a way that their deepest personal identity does not change; they understand themselves, after all, as seeking to become more wholly themselves. I am reminded of the deeply poignant scene in the film Normal, when the husband (who is in the process of changing his body to a woman's body) says to his wife, "It's me. I'm still here"; and she still loves him, for "he is in my heart, he is in my heart, he is in my heart," she tells an uncomprehending minister. No one ought here pass judgment on any configuration of gender" (155).
The CDF ends its Notification with the words: "the Congregation wishes to encourage theologians to pursue the task of studying and teaching moral theology in full concord with the principles of Catholic doctrine." I fear that this paternal and salutary admonition is likely to fall on deaf ears on the girls at Yale.
[For a detailed critique of Farley's book, see William E. May, Critical Review of "Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics by Margaret A. Farley," National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 8.4 (Winter 2008), 703-798.]
* * *
E. Christian Brugger is a Senior Fellow of Ethics and director of the Fellows Program at the Culture of Life Foundation; and the J. Francis Cardinal Stafford Chair of Moral Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado

Owls in the Daytime

I have seen many, many owls in my life of various types. But, until the other day, I had never seen an owl out in the daytime in the wild. A large Barn Owl swooped over a small stream, next to a field. I was amazed. Talking with some local people here in Norfolk, I discovered that seeing the English Barn Owl in the daytime was not that unusual. The last time I had seen such a large owl was in Missouri, in August of 2011. Both that bird, which flew very low over the sidewalk by my garage, and this bird, had wing spans of over three feet. These birds create an impression of power and agility.

However many local people here tell me that a sighting of the Barn Owl in the day is common, I find it disturbing. As a child, we had an enormous Western Screech Owl living in our garage. He was there all day, sleeping. I have seen Barred Owls, which are the Hoot Owl, but only at night. The Eastern Screech Owl also was in the Midwest when I grew up.

Norfolk is home to many types of birds, including hawks or harriers of several varieties, some of which I saw today above the fields. I am told there are Short-Eared Owls here as well, but as I am not out at night, I have not seen one. The Barn Owl seems to be the only owl which is appears in the daytime. Comments on owls and other Norfolk or any birds are welcomed.

On Friendship

One subject I have not written about concerning love is friendship. Now, this is a lost art, as the virtual world has created online relationships which are very different from the friendships of old. Some online relationships are merely extensions of friendships made elsewhere, as in college, or the workplace.

What I am referring to here are face-to-face friendships, found and created by shared interests. Many people have friends, especially when married, who are either the husband's friends or the wives friends. My parents had friends in common. They went out together dancing, played bridge together, were in the choir and had choir picnics at the home, went to concerts together, and so on. Some of their friends, in fact, most, were not only Catholics, but from the same parish. Some of their friends were good neighbors, one couple they have known for 70 years.

In this day and age of mobility, friends usually are kept via the phone or Internet if one moves. But, I am discovering a problem when some of my older friends, who are treasures indeed, do not use social networking. They are only comfortable with the phone and face-to-face relationships.

I am all for this, but when one is traveling either for a job or pleasure, friendships with those outside the social networking must rely on trust and that special thing which means that no matter how far away or how long one has not seen or heard from a friend, meeting is like only being away for one day. One can pick up where one left off very quickly with good friends. Such friendships are based on mutual respect.

I have been blessed with friends, mostly Catholics, who are either academics, or moms, or homeschooling moms, or involved in the Church. However, some of my good friends are single women, who are highly intelligent and deeply spiritual. These women, traditional and orthodox, even though we cannot get to the Latin Mass, are guides and real sisters. We may not see each other often, but we can pick up where we left off. Sadly, sometimes, these relationships end in death, as I am entering into the age where people become ill and die.

I hope the art of friendship has not been lost. My dearest friends are, like me, idea people, who love to discuss religion, theology, philosophy, prayer, and who do not gossip or talk about clothes, getting their nails done, hair, weight loss or gain, vacations or other people's business (ugh).

I have friends of all ages as well. My younger friends keep me focused on the world in which they live, and keep me young at heart. These friends are real blessings.

May God bless you with good and holy friends who help you move towards God and eternal life.

Catholics as idolaters and polytheists

Catholics are believed to be polytheists and idolaters by over one and a half-billion people on this globe. We were heretics to the Romans, who had a state religion. The idolatry label is easily stuck on us as we adore Christ in the Eucharist, have smells and bells for Mass, hopefully, venerate the Theotokos and see the value of Beauty, an Attribute of God, in our places of worship The other day in Walsingham, low church Protestants yelled through mega-phones that we and the Anglo-Catholics who gathered here, were idolaters of the worst kind, making Mary into a god and worshiping a piece of bread. The low church Protestants here are very low church, not believing in any sacraments except baptism, and hating all "Popery". I wanted to go up to the lady in brown and an apron condemning my point of view, and engage her in some of the New Evangelization, but I was with friends who did not want to stop. Next time.


Now, both the low church Protestants and the atheists, including some of the anarchists below, would be shocked to know that they have in common the idea that we are idolaters par excellence. The academic craze for atheism in the West sees us real Catholics are worshiping fools, believing in superstitious nonsense and irrational. In my own family, I am seen as one of those ladies in a mantilla, saying my rosary in the back of Church, with no brain. That strange grouping accounts for the half-billion who think we are deranged and medieval.

Whatever.

Ishtiaq Masih killed in Pakistan in 2009 for being a Christian

The other billion are the Muslims who call Christians polytheists because of our belief in the Trinity.

God the Father, the loving Abba, who Christ revealed to us, the First Person in the Blessed Trinity is no Allah.

The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, is not God to the Muslims.

The Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit, given to us through the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, is not on the Islamic radar.

Occupy Rome, October, 2011

We are not doing a good job evangelizing, which is what Our Lord told us to do in Matthew 28:19: Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. DR


We do not obey and as I did, pass up opportunities of grace. All you Catholic polytheists and idolaters get off your sofas and spread the Good News, while we still are able to do so freely.








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Against a popular private revelation-part two

I shall just highlight one more point from the website which is getting Catholic followers. This supposed mystic is dangerous and her revelations are protestant in theology. Many errors can be found. I listed three earlier, and another one to address is obvious. The person states that Jesus gives a plenary indulgence to those who say a prayer for seven days. No. Jesus does not give indulgences, the Church does. Obviously, this seer does not see the Church as the arbiter of grace and merit-only the Church's has the power to forgive sins and deal with punishment due to sin, as Christ gave that power to St. Peter, see John 20:23. Again, the seer circumvents Catholic teaching and tradition regarding the sacraments, in this case, Confession. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. DR


The consistent view of this false prophet is that such graces as the seal of Confirmation, discussed in the last post, and now the forgiveness of sin or the temporal punishment or penances due to sin, is outside the provenance of the hierarchy, the Teaching Magisterium, the Tradition of the Church.


If any Catholic follows the teaching of this woman, they have moved out of the mainstream of Catholicism and need to consider their souls. I wrote part two in the title, but there are several more posts of the same theme on this blog. These points hold significance for many, many people.

Against a popular private revelation--part one

Two months ago, I wrote of the dangers of private revelation. Today, I have learned of another person who is into a false prophet online who publishes items about the Second Coming. In 45 minutes, I found 22 errors, including serious doctrinal errors. Catholics who cannot be bothered to spend time reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or encyclicals, or commentaries on The Creed, seem to be drawn to private revelations which are based on a protestant theology and which fall into Gnosticism. Gnosticism is one of the most prevalent heresies alive and well in our times. The need for some people to feel holy, to want secret or arcane knowledge, or who would rather seek out seers and people seeing apparitions presents a problem for the Church, especially in England and Ireland. For some reason, this tendency to follow false prophets seems more prevalent here than in other countries. To seek out false seers is a sin of pride. To desire secret knowledge is a form of pride.

The website is full of errors. I have several sheets of errors which I have passed out to four people, and now I find another person has fallen into the seduction of looking for revelation outside the Catholic Church.

I am going to list only four of the serious errors. If anyone wants to entire list, I can e-mail it to them.

First, there is no further revelation from God after the last word of the Book of Revelation. This is a teaching of the Catholic Church found in the CCC in section 65, 66 67, and Lumen gentium 12, with regard to private revelations. We call the set revelation in the Catholic Church "the deposit of faith". 


Secondly, the Second Coming happens at the end of the world and does not introduce a time, such as a thousand years of peace. I can refer readers to the Catholic Encyclopedia online and to the early Councils of Florence, Trent,   Also, we have Scripture clearly stating "Knowing this first, that in the last days there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts, Saying: Where is his promise or his coming? for since the time that the fathers slept, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they are wilfully ignorant of, that the heavens were before, and the earth out of water, and through water, consisting by the word of God. But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of the ungodly men. The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance. But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and the earth and the works which are in it, shall be burnt up." 2 Peter 3:3-5,7,9-10


and "The Sacred Scriptures inform us that there are two comings of the Son of God: the one when He assumed human flesh for our salvation in the womb of a virgin; the other when He shall come at the end of the world to judge all mankind. This latter coming is called in Scripture the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord, says the Apostle, shall come, as a thief in the night; and our Lord Himself says: Of that day and hour no one knoweth." Catechism of Council of Trent, The Creed, Article VII


Also, the CCC 1040 on the Second Coming is clear.


A third point concerns sacramental theology. The seer claims that Christ gives a seal to those special people who listen to her and follow Christ. Yes, Christ does give a seal and it is given in the Sacrament of Confirmation. We are then sealed, if we are confirmed in the Catholic Church, with an indelible mark as Catholics. From the CCC, which refers to the Catechism of Council of Trent. The seer consistently undermines sacramental theology by speaking of such things as seals and grace outside of the sacramental life of the Church. This is a protestant view. I shall do one more later.

1295

By this anointing the confirmand receives the "mark," the seal of the Holy Spirit. A seal is a symbol of a person, a sign of personal authority, or ownership of an object.¹⁰⁶ Hence soldiers were marked with their leader's seal and slaves with their master's. A seal authenticates a juridical act or document and occasionally makes it secret.¹⁰⁷

Partisan Gap Widens in the States

There is a new poll on partisan gaps in the States. Here is the link and a graph. Not surprised...this president has caused even more of a split, as his rhetoric and attacks on the Constitution are divisive.

The June Sky in the North

Mars is obvious in the southwestern part of the sky. I saw it this evening. late about 10:45. Bootes, the Herdsman, is the big constellation in the sky. Arcturus and Izar are visible plainly, the first being very bright.

Corona Borealis is clear as well, the great Northern Crown. Another clear constellation is Draco. In England, if it is not raining, like tonight, these constellations are clear.

Tomorrow, in some parts of the world, the great, second, and last transit of Venus will occur. One must not look directly at the sun. There are many websites on this rare event explaining how to look at Venus crossing the sun without damaging one's eyes.

At the end of the month, one can see Jupiter and Venus together in the pre-dawn sky.  Right now, in Walsingham, as I am writing this, it is 41 degrees Farenheit. I am not going to stand outside and look at the stars any longer! However, I did see the full moon rising. This was an extraordinary experience, as I was standing in a country field, waiting for the lighting of the beacon and a display of fireworks, when the move took  all my attention.

Enjoy the sky this month.

The Walsingham Beacon

Tonight I saw the Walsingham Beacon, as I was standing outside in a cold field with a friend and about another 100 Norfolk visitors. The beacon was lit for the Jubilee and as I noted the other day, about 4,000 beacons across Great Britain were all lit at the same time,10:00 p.m. At the same time, fireworks of a great variety and colour exploded next to the Beacon.

For my American readers, the Beacon was a remembrance of the original Anglo-Saxon beacons, lit at the invasions of the Danes. See post below for a beacon celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

Of course, Tolkien used this tradition in his books and above is the clip from the movie.

A Brave Bishop in England at the National Shrine

I am in Walsingham and missed the Mass at noon where Bishop Davies gave this homily. However, here is the text from the website.

Letters and Homilies

‘The Future of Humanity Passes by Way of the Family’

Homily for the National Association of Catholic Families

National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham

“The future of humanity passes by way of the family”

 We gather during this celebration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. We rejoice with many today not only in the Queen’s constitutional role carried out with unfailing dedication but also in her Christian witness of faith and prayer. However, it is significant that a family stands always at the centre of our constitution, at the heart of our national life. The Crown passes by way of a family! It was, of course, in this Norfolk countryside almost a millennium ago that a simple house was built to remind all generations of the centrality and holiness of the family revealed by God’s plan in the Holy Family of Nazareth. True, it was a monarch, King Henry VIII, not noted for his reverence for marriage, who saw both house and shrine destroyed four centuries ago. Yet Walsingham has now visibly returned in its Catholic and Anglican witness. Here we will always be reminded in Blessed John Paul II’s unforgettable words that, “the future of humanity passes by way of the family” (Familaris Consortio n. 86). It is a self-evident truth which too often is obscured in our consciousness today that the future of humanity, the future of society, depends on the family.

The Deputy Prime Minister was recently reported as saying he could not understand why Christians and other people of faith saw a legal redefinition of marriage as a matter of conscience: it would not he claimed impinge on religious freedoms. Experience, of course, might make us cautious of such assurances, even those given by a Deputy Prime Minister, that this agenda will not threaten religious freedom. However, our concern is not only with religious freedom but also with the enormous good which marriage represents as foundational to family-life. Today we see a government, without mandate, disposing of any credible consultation, seeking to impose one of the greatest acts of “social engineering” in our history by uprooting the legal definition of marriage. Marriage lies at the very foundation of the family. For all generations to follow one generation of politicians is setting out to demolish in the name of an “equality agenda” the understanding of marriage that has served as the timeless foundation for the family. The government is seeking to do this at the very moment when marriage as an institution has been more weakened than ever before. Yet it asks: why are people of faith concerned?

One of England’s greatest and clearest thinkers the now Blessed John Henry Newman famously distinguished what he called “notional assent” from “real assent.” It seems that most people in public life give a notional assent to the value of the family as that first and vital cell of society – and never more so than in those moments of social disturbance such as the riots of last summer. However, what is needed is not just a notional agreement to the importance of family but a real assent to the place of the family in our society as securing the well-being of generations to come. This involves the recognition of what marriage uniquely is. A recognition comes not only from faith but from reason which clearly sees that it is from the family that “citizens come to birth and it is with within the family that they find the first school of the social virtues which are the animating principle of the existence and development of society itself” (Familaris Consortio n 42). In this way it is in the family that the future of society will be decided. So far from weakening and confusing the foundation of the family we invite our political leaders to give back to the institution of marriage and the family the recognition and confidence it deserves.

Here in Walsingham where across so many centuries of our history the sacredness of marriage and family were recognised in the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth, we wish to affirm in the words of Blessed John Paul II that “the Creator of all things has established marriage as the beginning and basis of human society” (Familaris Consortio 42)). May the gift of marriage and the family be held sacred by us all for the sake of every generation to come.

Amen.

Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us and for your priests, seminarians, and for my readers today

This post is a bit later as usual as I was travelling and stupidly forgot that the Queen's Jubilee has created four days of limited train and virtually no bus services.

However, I am in the north, in the Holy Shrine of Walsingham, which is the National Shrine of England. The town is a mixture today of Anglo-Catholics, Catholics and even some Presbyterian group which is against the procession and protestant services (I can't use the term Mass), which are happening. The protesters are pointing out that the Bible does not support the Eucharist, devotion to Mary, or all the lovely statues here. Well, if Presbyterians look at Tradition seriously, they would not be Presbyterians.

The police are out in force, which is a really odd thing to see in Walshingham. I am not worried about the Presbyterians getting violent, although they are very zealous.

Christianity comes and goes, flowing in and out of Walsingham, the shrine which even Henry could not completely destroy despite the martyrs, whose blood was shed here.

Every Catholic, at least once in his or her lifetime, should visit Walsingham. I was here last year as well. The Anglican shrine sadly causes some confusion, as Catholics go there thinking it is the Catholic shrine, which is out on the outskirts.

The Anglican shrine even has so-called holy water.

What is most wonderful to me is that the Ordinariate in England is dedicated to Our Lady of Walsingham. I am making this little pilgrimage for all my Ordinariate friends, my son, the priests who are on my prayer list. and for your, dear readers. May God bless you all.

I just finished the Consecration to Mary of St. Louis de Montfort again. Pray I can get to Confession. It is not as easy as one would like in Walsingham.

By The Grace of God

The phrase Dei Gratia,  is part of the title of the monarch of Great Britain. By the grace of God, she reigns. Now, Americans have a hard time with this overlap of religion and politics. And, this weekend's amazing celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth I, brings out all the pomp and circumstance, religion and nationalism.

The existence of a monarch, who does not represent a political party, is a great symbol of unity for the people of Great Britain.

I find it interesting that the nation is responding so wonderfully to this celebration. For some, it is just a long, four day weekend. For others, it is a real day of celebration.

The countryside lies under miles of bunting. There are parties everywhere, and I hope, on Monday, to witness live the lighting of at least one of the beacons. If any of you saw The Lord of the Rings and the lighting of the beacons, that originated here in England as a warning for invasions. Thousands of beacons will be lit on Monday night as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Here is a link for that. There is an interactive beacon map, which is really cool.

I attended the Jubilee Celebration concert at Sherborne Abbey on Saturday. I lived in Sherborne for three years and love this area so much. I know the Abbey well, as we lived in the precinct area, and I felt quite at home. The Sherborne Chamber Choir, Sherborne Abbey Choir and orchestra, with Conductor Paul Ellis, gave us a superb evening of music. The program included what one might expect at such a  concert:  Parry's "I was Glad" and "Blest Pair of Sirens", Vaughan William's "The Old Hundreth", Walton's "Coronation Te Deum" and "Crown Imperial", Handel's "Zadok the Priest", Orlando Gibbons "O Clap Your Hands", Rutter's "This Is the Day". Mealor's "Ubi Caritas" (this was the first time I have heard this in concert), Elgar's "Coronation Ode", and Britten's arrangment of the "National Anthem".

My house was right behind the Almshouse, which one can see in this picture. Trendle Street is a very, very short street. As to the above music, I am familiar with all of these, except for the Mealor, which was a great introduction to his work, as I did not watch the royal wedding last year, where this piece was introduced. I was glad to hear it for the first time in my old hunting grounds....

Only Anglophiles could handle such an evening of pure monarchism. But, we were all reminded by one of the readings, that it is only by the Grace of God that this present, and all monarchs reign. How appropriate this reading was in this ancient home of the Benedictines, Sherborne Abbey. By the way, some of you may not know that St. Stephen Harding, one of the founders of the Cistercian Order, came from Sherborne.

By the way,the other day I wrote about the engraved windows at Moreton. Laurence Whistler has one at Sherborne Abbey as well. I had forgotten this until I was in the Abbey Saturday night. More connections. I had seen it years ago and knew about both sites, but this window was forgotten by me. Life is full of small threads....

The Treasure Which Is Montacute and Blessed Margaret Pole

I have been visiting a friend I have known since 1991, which is a treat, as she is a very spiritual person and we can talk about God and the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

On Saturday, we went to Montacute, as we both have National Trust Memberships. This is, I think, the fourth time I have been there. Montacute is one of my favorite houses and set of gardens in England. I love this period of history. Out of all the treasures, the real beauty, for me, is the National Portrait Gallery's show of paintings. I love the Long Gallery, the longest in England, and have my "must sees" there. The must sees today included Blessed Margaret Pole, so my week began with her and ended with her. How is that for synchronicity? How blessed was I to start the week in Sussex where Blessed Margaret's Mass was celebrated in the Arundel and Brighton Diocese, and then to see her fantastic painting at Montacute? I did not even know her portrait was there until I visited this time. I wanted to see St. Thomas More's famous portrait, which I did , and I wanted to see Sir Walter Raleigh's and Bess Throckmorton's. I saw the two famous men, but Bess's portrait was not there. However, to see the Last Plantagenet was not an accident. I shall claim her, now, as a personal patron.

I have seen the gardens in several seasons, including winter. Today, the yellow irises were glorious and the famous hedge cut to strange Tudor and Jacobean shapes. Some houses are more peaceful and pleasing than others. Montacute leads my list of peaceful houses and restful gardens, and I highly recommend going soon, as the roses, except for the White Rugosas, have not yet bloomed. My only sligh t disappointment was that there were no sheep in the wilderness area, a first for me there. I wonder, are there no more sheep at Montacute?

Another highlight was the millefleurs tapestry of the 15th century. I cannot help but re-print here an entire article on this outstanding example of the thousand flowers genre of tapestries. I think Blessed Margaret is happy knowing her portrait is in such good company, even though she was definitely not appreciated by the reigning Monarch when she was alive.

The Montacute Tapestry History, heraldry and horticulture Apollo, June 1993

One of the rarest treasures of the National Trust is a millefleurs tapestry of a French knight on horseback at Montacute House in Somerset. The tapestry has nothing to do with Montacute, having arrived there recently and by chance, but the knight was involved in a turning point of European history, and the tapestry made at the end of his life in 1481 celebrates his triumphs in fifteenth century war and politics. The knight has been identified as Jean de Daillon, Seigneur du Lude and Governor of the Dauphine, by the coat of arms in the top left hand of the tapestry - 'Quarterly, in the first and last azure, a cross engrailed argent; in the second and third, gules fretty or, a canton argent charged with a crescent sable; and as an inshield, gules, six escutcheons or.' Jean de Daillon's parents were of noble extraction, the crosses of Daillon he inherited from his father and quartered them with the crescents of his mother's family, but they were not eminent and no text explains why, as a child, Jean came to be a playmate of the dauphin - the future Louis XI. They understood one another well. If Jean of necessity outdid Louis in charm, and Louis was the master of intrigue, they shared the same self-interest. In his letters to Daillon the King repeated what must have been a childhood catchphrase, part affectionate, part cynical, 'Take care of Maitre Jean and I'll take care of Maitre Louis'.

Both men spent their youth as knights at arms. In the 1440's they were in the south suppressing the rebellions of Jean IV d'Armagnac and the Swiss. Daillon's first lordship, however, was gained not by war but by his marriage in 1434 to Renee de Fontaines, which made him Seigneur de Fontaines. In 1445 he became Chamberlain to the dauphin and Captain of Roussillon in the Dauphine. At this point Louis began to feel that his father Charles VII did not appreciate him sufficiently and he grew impatient to be king. Daillon joined his intrigues and was banished from court in 1446. It was around this time that he appropriated the lands and insignia of an ancient Angevin family called Mathefelon. Although the family was not extinct, La Cropte (including Melsay and Leval) fell into Daillon's hands and their arms - six gold escutcheons on a red ground - were added as an inshield to Jean de Daillon's arms. Their first appearance in this form was on the seal of a document dated 1451, and this is how they appear in the Montecute tapestry. In 1457 Daillon, who already had a part of the lands of Lude on the upper Loire, seized the rest from Guy de Carne and became Seigneur du Lude, his chief title from then on. Two years later he married Marie de Laval (the date of his first wife's death is not known) with whom he had two sons, Jacques, who inherited Lude, and Francois who inherited La Cropte, and three daughters Jeanne, Louis and Françoise. Daillon was back at the court of CharlesVII at this time, having left the dauphin in 1452 and made his peace with the king. He was made Captain of a hundred lances and took part in the battle of Castillon which finally drove the English from France and put an end to Henry VI's lingering claims to the French throne. With the restoration of peace Daillon was reorganising the army. Meanwhile Louis was living in Flanders under the protection of Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, both men waiting for Charles VII to die. When he finally did so in 1461, Louis XI was crowned at Rheims and entered Paris in triumph with Philip of Burgundy at his side. But Jean de Daillon took no part in these festivities and had to wait until 1466 before he and Louis XI were reconciled. He then returned to his natural position as Louis' confidant, and earned from him the nickname 'Maitre Jean des habilites.' He managed to achieve a happy balance between the king's interests and his own aggrandisement. Comines described him as 'Monseigneur du Lude who got on so well with the king on all occasions and who so loved doing well for himself.' He was Baillif of Cotentin from 1470-3, Governor of Perche and Alencon, and then Governor of the Dauphine from 1474. That year he also acted as Louis' ambassador to negotiate the Treaty of Perpignan with the king of Aragon (which re-stored Rousillon to neutral status after its occupation by French and Spanish armies). The following year at the opposite end of France he served as ambassador to the Flemish Count of St. Pol, to try and fix this powerful noble's vacillating loyalties away from Burgundy and onto the French side. Louis XI's aim was to restore his war-battered kingdom and to outwit his rivals by intrigue whenever possible rather than force. The degree of his success can be measured by the term 'universal spider' always applied to him by the Burgundian chroniclers. The turning point for Burgandy and France was the 1475 Settlement of Puligny. Charles the Bold remained embroiled on his eastern frontiers and was killed fighting the Swiss at Nancy in January 1477, leaving his vast possessions in the hands of his young daughter Mary. Comines has described in vivid terms the delirious joy with which Louis XI received the news, and the messengers who brought it were led by none other than Jean Daillon himself, 'who knew the king could be generous to those who brought good tidings.' Jean de Daillon did benefit from this turn of events, both personally when the confiscated lands of the Duke of Nemours (Conde, La Ferte-Milon, Luzarches and Domfront) came into his hands, and as a lieutenant of the king as he pursued his campaign against the Flemish border towns. Arras, after much privation, fell in May 1477 and Jean de Daillon Became Lieutenant du Roi for the city and made out of it '20,000 crowns and 2 martens skins.' In nearby Tournai, which had been the independent fief of its archbishop, another intimate of Louis XI led in the troops and Cardinal Archbishop Clugny fled to Bruges. Daillon confided to Comines that he hoped to become Governor of Flanders 'and be made of gold.' This did not happen. Although France annexed Picardy and Artois, Flanders and the Low Countries remained fiercely loyal to the Burgundian connection, and when the Duchess Mary married Archduke Maximillian of Austria in August 1477 their freedom from France was guaranteed. It was at this point that the tapestry was commissioned as a gift from the city of Tounai to Jean de Daillon in repayment for 'certain kindnesses' (one hopes this was not a euphemism for extortion). The first official entry in the archives of Tournai is dated 1 April 1481: To William Desreumaulx, tapestry weaver, who had agreed with Monsieur du Lude, Governor of the Dauphine, to make a tapestry of verdure for a room, the said tapestry being a gift and present made to the said gentleman by the city, in recognition of divers past favours and acts of friendship he has made to the aforesaid city…. on the price of which agreement, it has been ordered to be paid to the said William to advance and expedite the work of the said tapestry the sum of 70 livres. It is likely that the original commission for the tapestry was made some years before the date of this entry in the archives. In 1479 Jean de Daillon left Artois to become Governor of Tours and the work may have slowed down considerably with his departure. But certainly the tapestry was sufficiently advanced in February 1480 to be taken as a model by the magistrates and merchants of Tournai, who then wished to offer to Monseigner du Baudricourt 'a verdure tapestry with silk as good and valuable as that which Monseigneur du Lude has had made in this town.' A further payment to William Desreumaulx refers to the tapestry given to the Lord of Lude 'which he has had made in several and divers pieces measuring no less than 457 square ells', and Jerome de Callonnne was sent as inspector for the magistrates to 'the workers who made the tapestry in several different workshops, where he had to ensure that the materials used I in its making were of the right quality, and received payment for his great pains.' All of which indicates that the Montacute tapestry was originally one of a series. Jean de Daillon never received the tapestry which sanctified his fierce and acquisitive life in art form. He died in Roussillon in 1481, and in December 1482 the Tournai archives recorded receipt of letters from his widow, asking that the tapestry be handed over to Pasquier Grenier on behalf of herself and her children. Delivery was finally made in April 1483 when the Bishop of Sens, brother of the widow, made a visit to Tournai which proved rather expensive for the magistrates, and took possession of the tapestry for his sister. What of the other dramatis personae involved in its making? William Desreumaulx was one of the leading master craftsmen of Tournai, but Pasquier Grenier was a great merchant entrepreneur who first flourished when Philip the Good was Duke of Burgundy. He was based in Tournai and probably contributed greatly to its rise to pre-eminence among the Flemish tapestry towns in the second half of the fifteenth century. Commissions for tapestries from the court and other wealthy patrons were entrusted to him. He could employ the artist designers and distribute the work among ateliers specialising in the style required and offering the best terms. In 1459 he delivered a series of the Life of Alexander the Great, and in 1461 the Passion of Christ. The story of Esther and Le Chevalier de Cygne both followed in 1462. In 1472 he was responsible for the Trojan War series bought by the by the city of Bruges for Duke Charles the Bold. Pasquier Grenier was also a wine merchant, well acquainted with the trade routes of northern Europe and the workings of the great ports of Bruges and Antwerp. He could organise the necessary supplies of wool, silk, gold and silver and could wait - because of his own capital and banking credit - for deferred payment. This procedure had already been established in the golden days of Arras under Duke Philip the Bold (d. 1404) when Hughes Walois and Jean Cosset joined the commerce in wine and tapestry. Each year for twenty years Cosset provided one or several tapestries which he contracted from different workshops. He even set up an atelier at the Duke's fairy-tale palace of Hesdin in Picardy to make a series, 'Douze pairs de France', in situ. The Italian connection was at Bruges in the hands of patron/entrepreneurs such as Giovanni Arnolfini and Tommaso Portinari. As for the English connection, since 1393 when Richard II and his uncles of York, Lancaster and Gloucester all received tapestries from Philip the Bold, the Dukes of Burgundy had wooed the English with tapestries. When the ducal line died out and the French wars were over, Henry VII decided to buy his own tapestries. In September 1486 he gave his protection to 'Paschal and Jean Grenier merchants of Tournai in France' and allowed them to import into England 'cloths of Aras, tapysserie werk and carpets'. In March 1488 he told the Bishop of Exeter, Guardian of the Privy Seal, that he had bought from Jean Grenier '2 alter clothes and 11 pieces of cloth of Arras of the history of Troy', expected at the port of Sandwich, and asked the Bishop to ensure that Grenier had to pay no customs duties. Henry VII's Trojan War tapestries were a copy of those commissioned in 1472 by the city of Bruges for Charles the Bold, which were also organised by Pasquier Grenier and woven in Tounai. The surviving examples show interesting stylistic links with the Montacute tapestry. The richly decorated caparison of Jean de Daillon's horse is very like those of the Greek and Trojan warriors, including the unusual leather cabochon behind the rider on the horse's back. The standard which Daillon carries with it's appropriate ravening wolf and long fluttering pennants corresponds in style to the standards of the Greek warriors - their favoured animal was a lion. Even the monogrammed pennants also appeared in the tapestry of the Fall of Troy, now lost. Fifteenth-century tapestries often contained a monogram, and very few can be easily identified as the initials of the patron. In the Montacute tapestry the 'J' which appears on the pennants and the horse's caparison could well stand for Jean but the 'E' is unlikely to be simply the second letter of his name, any more than it would be in modern initials. Nor does it correspond with either of his wives' initials. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Philip the Good adopted the mysterious monogram EE, which was variously explained as the initials of a lady love, of which he had many, or a secret motto. Possibly it stands for Eques Ecclesiae, in reference to his unfulfilled longing to be a crusader - and by the same token the Montacute initials could be Jean Eques, enhancing the whole atmosphere of the tapestry which, did one not know otherwise, is that of 'a verray parfit gentil knight'. No similar tapestries of a knight on horseback survive, and it is impossible to estimate how many there may once have been. In the inventory of Henry VIII's possessions at Hampton Court is listed 'One odde pece of Tapistrie having on it a man pictured in harneys (armour) on horseback'. And his other collections included two pieces 'having a man armed on horseback with a border of bells at the top' (bells feature in other early sixteenth-century tapestries attributed to Tournai and in the Montacute tapestry they adorn the horse). Pierre de Rohan, Marechal de Gie, had a series of tapestries in his chateau at Verger in one of which he appeared like Daillon, in armour on a superbly decorated horse. The inexplicable initials on the standard and the horse are two 'F's facing one another. The background is not a millefleurs, but is decorated with his insignia - a pilgrim's staff and cockle shell. Armorial tapestries had been in vogue since the beginning of the fifteenth century. The early ones were sometimes simply saddlebags or bedcovers. In Brussels so many knights had ordered armorial tapestries and then proved unable to pay for them that the ateliers were selling them off, until in 1411 an injunction forbade them to do so without the consent of the owners. When the great chancellor of the Dukes of Burgundy, Nicholas Rolin (d. 1462), had his armorial tapestry made the background was covered with the keys of Rolin and the castles of his wife Guigone de Salins, while the centre contained the Lamb of God with the symbols of the Crucifixion. The first known armorial tapestry to feature a millefleurs background was commissioned by Philip the Good from Jehan le Haze of Brussels (an important tapissier like William Desreumaulx of Tournai) and paid for in 1466: 'For 8 pieces of verdure tapestry worked in gold, silver and silk and fine woollen thread; and in the centre of each of the said pieces are the arms and crested helm with wreath and lambrequins of the said seigneur, and in the corner of each the device of monseigneur and four pairs of EE coupled'. Another superb armorial millefleurs that still survives contained the arms of John Dynham (who contrived to serve every English king from Henry VI to Henry VII). It has the order of the garter surrounding his arms and since he received this in 1487 or '88 the tapestry may have been made mark the honour. Although it has its precursors, the tapestry of Jean de Daillon is now unique in combining a millefleurs background with a knight on horseback complete with arms, monogram and insignia. Millefleurs or verdue tapestries were very popular and many survive. They are distinguished by the flower-scattered back-ground which obviates normal perspective and proportions. The style continued into the early sixteenth century and survived alongside more apparently sophisticated tapestries where people move realistically through landscapes and buildings. Millefleurs tapestries vary greatly, from highly stylised flowers repeated in strips to exquisitely individual and botanically identifiable plants. In Brussels in 1476 a dispute between weavers and artists resulted in a transaction whereby weavers established their right to design 'trees, boats, animals and grasses for their verdures', but were obliged to employ professional artists for the rest of the design. No doubt similar rules applied in the other tapestry weaving centres, and rendered possible a degree of mass production in popular lines such as armorial millefleurs. Philip the Good's millefleurs at Berne has the pattern repeated twice, but the flowers are finely observed and recognizable. There is no repetition of the pattern in Jean de Daillon's tapestry, and all but a few of the flowers identifiable. The background teems with heavy-headed poppies and trumpetty daffodils, scillas, wallflowers and thistles, while a few plants appear only once or twice, such as the honeysuckle under the horse's reins, and the fritillary behind its tail. Jean de Daillon as he appears in the chronicles of France was a man of some charm and great greed, but in such a tapestry he can be nothing less than a figure of high romance.

Thank you to http://www.teachingthinking.net/flowersinart/apollo.html