A reader sent me a link to some photos of the episcopal consecration of the UK’s new Bishop of the Forces, H.E. Most Rev. Richard Moth, olim VG of the Archdiocese of Southwark.
In the photos take note of the beauty of the sanctuary of Westminster Cathedral without the dreadful versus populum picnic table altar.
I particularly like the touch of deer in the headlights in this one:
WDTPRS wishes Bp. Moth a good and fruitful ministry to the Armed Forces.
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Note the pontifical dalmatic, just visible in one of the last photos on the Southwark website, to which you link.
I had heard of this via the woman who made all his vestments for the consecration, a childhood friend of the new bishop. A good Catholic tradition.
GORGEOUS picture of the High Altar. I love how the sun is shining down. You would think thats on Purpose…..oh wait…It is :)
I also note that +Vincent, who did not preside at the Mass, appeared in choir dress rather than chausable. Excellent!
That is just great.
One question though, do we still call it consecrating a bishop or do we now say ordain? Does it matter? I remember hearing once that the linguistic shift expressed a difference in the way the now articulate the ontology of a bishop.
Beautiful photos. The photos of Bishop Zarama’s ordination are not quite so lavish. Christ the King Cathedral does not stack up against Westminster Cathedral, I’m afraid.
Westminster Cathedral is AWESOME!
Tell me Fr. Z, was the Last Supper held on a picnic table?
I’m just askin’.
To Bthompson:
Latin ‘consecratio’ means in a broad sense a religious dedication of a thing or a person to God. This dedication is full, complete and irrevocable.
From this follows that we take a thing or a person from this world and give them entirely to God’s service. Thus a person or thing is excluded from secular service or usage and included for ever into the service of God.
‘Ordination’ – means simply receiving and/or conferring of Holy Orders.
Thus you can use the word ‘ordination’ when referring to whichever Holy Order you are talking about. One can be ordained deacon, priest(presbyter) or bishop, but ONLY a of a bishop can we say that he is consecrated. Maybe someone else can expand on it a little. My take is that since episcopacy confers the fullness of priesthood and also since it uis the the bishop’s head that is anointed (presumably to signify the whole of his person) rather than just hands as in the case of a priest, the wiord consecration applies only to the bishop.
What’s bishop of the forces, preciousss?
In some of the pictures on the linked site, there appear to be female altar servers wearing cassocks…
Unfortunately the RACD is having a terribly difficult time attracting new Catholic chaplains. There are now only about 40 full time Catholic chaplains serving in HM Forces. Catholic soldiers will soon have to go without access to the sacraments, that is particularly frightening in a theatre of war.
“In some of the pictures on the linked site, there appear to be female altar servers wearing cassocks”
I didn’t notice that before. It looks like they’re tasked with holding crosiers. They look rather young as well, I’m surprised they’re being used for a Mass like this. Even at Bishop Zarama’s ordination on Tuesday they only used adult male servers (I think a lot of them were seminarians).