Thursday, November 30, 2006

Wisdom

From Rorate Caeli blog:

It is sad to realize that the most striking words during the journey of our Supreme Pontiff to Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace were pronounced not by the visiting Vicar of Christ, but by the welcoming Patriarch of Constantinople in imperfect communion with him. Words of wisdom from the Phanar on that most sublime of subjects, Sacred Liturgy:

...
Every celebration of the Divine Liturgy is a powerful and inspiring con-celebration of heaven and of history. Every Divine Liturgy is both an anamnesis of the past and an anticipation of the Kingdom. We are convinced that during this Divine Liturgy, we have once again been transferred spiritually in three directions: toward the kingdom of heaven where the angels celebrate; toward the celebration of the liturgy through the centuries; and toward the heavenly kingdom to come.

...in Christ, there is a deep connection between past, present, and future. In this way, the liturgy is more than merely the recollection of Christ's words and acts. It is the realization of the very presence of Christ Himself, who has promised to be wherever two or three are gathered in His name.

At the same time, we recognize that the rule of prayer is the rule of faith (lex orandi lex credendi), that the doctrines of the Person of Christ and of the Holy Trinity have left an indelible mark on the liturgy, which comprises one of the undefined doctrines, "revealed to us in mystery," of which St. Basil the Great so eloquently spoke.
...
Thus our worship coincides with the same joyous worship in heaven and throughout history. Indeed, as St. John Chrysostom himself affirms: "Those in heaven and those on earth form a single festival, a shared thanksgiving, one choir" (PG 56.97) ... In its spacious embrace, it includes the whole world, the communion of saints, and all of God's creation. The entire universe becomes "a cosmic liturgy", to recall the teaching of St. Maximus the Confessor. This kind of Liturgy can never grow old or outdated.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Genoa archdiocese says Traditional Mass never abolished

This one gets my "Where's Waldo" award.

Read the story here

Responding to rumors that Pope Benedict XVI will soon issue a motu proprio encouraging broader use of the pre-conciliar liturgy, the Archdiocese of Genoa, Italy, has posted a detailed notice assuring the faithful that the traditional liturgy was not abolished by the Second Vatican Council.


Why do the faithful need to be reassured that the Traditional Mass was never abolished?

Well... perhaps it's because for almost 40 years, they've been told it was abolished. If they did find one to attend, then they would be told that it was schismatic; if they tired to offer it in St. Peter's Basilica, the priest would have his Missal taken from him; if they did attend one, the local bishop would try to excommunicate them; if they requested the indult, they would have to swear on their kids' lives that they accepted the Novus Ordo was valid regardless of every abuse that came with it... and so on.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Tridentine images in Rome

From Fr. Zuhldorf's blog at http://www.wtdprs.com/blog

Absolutely Beautiful!

In Rome on Sundays Holy Mass is celebrated with the 1962 Missale Romanum at the Church of Gesù e Maria on the Via del Corso. Here are a few images.



Dominus Vobiscum:



Communion:

Friday, November 17, 2006

Una Voce & FSSP poised to assist laymen and Priests with Latin Mass

The November 23 Edition of The Wanderer is reporting that International Federation Una Voce (FIUV) and its 60 chapters were preparing to assist laity and priests interested in assisting at, and celebrating the Traditional Roman rite.

Here's the story posted on RenewAmerica website

and here:

Una Voce America Eager for Increased Access to Traditional Latin Mass

Apparently the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter would also assist in assisting diocesan and other priests to learn the rubrics of the Traditional Latin Mass according to the 1962 missal.

"A noble experiment that didn't quite work"

An article in the Palm Beach Post ( Latin Mass would restore mystery ) refers the Mass in the vernacular as "A noble experiment that didn't quite work".


The Author (Steve Gushee) goes on to write:
English might have helped the English-speaking faithful understand what worship was about, but explaining a mystery in any language is an oxymoron. The use of English in the church's central act of worship turned a profoundly moving and, yes, mysterious experience into a dull, pedestrian meeting with little power to stir the spirit or motivate the faithful.


I have always thought that the language of worship should be different from that of everyday life. God deserves to be worshipped in a Language that cannot be modified to suit the devices of everyday life. I much prefer to worship God in a language that is different from that which everyone uses to curse His Name with on a daily basis.

You will often hear the objection that people "don't understand Latin". Of course, most people today believe that the Mass is "for them". They don't realize that the Mass is the official prayer of the Church to GOD. God understands, you don't have to. He understood the greek Jews when they worshipped in Hebrew - which was the official language of worship at the time. It unified the Jews throughout the roman empire. Latin Unified the Church throughout the entire world.

Another though also crosses my mind when people say that they don't know latin. We are the most civilized & educated generation in the history of Humanity. We can learn computer languages & new technologies almost on a daily basis, but are we too stupid to learn Latin? The peasants of old knew and understood the Mass. How dumb we've become!

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Can Americans adapt to the Tridentine Mass?

Audio Coverage - NPR interviews a few people regarding the rumored revival of the Tridentine Mass.

Click here to listen

Obviously biased against the Tridentine Mass, but hey... We like to see these liberals cringe at the possibility of having Latin Masses without a bishop's heel on traditionalists' throats. They act as if freeing the Tridentine Mass is akin to forcing it down everyone's throats like it was done about 40 years ago.

Listen to these descriptions:

"Priest with his back to the congregation"
"Barely audible tone"
"Vatican Council decreed that services should be in the vernacular of the people"
(liar, liar, woman with man's pants on fire)
"Liturgical Dark Ages"
"Small groups of Catholics who...never accepted the new understanding of the Church"
"Young Romantics who pine for a day they never knew"
"They came out feeling less than inspired"
"When it's said in English, we know what's going on"

And so on...

Monday, November 13, 2006

French shout at Pius V Mass


Sandro Magister writes an article in Chiesa describing some more details about the possible Universal Indult, and how the French hierarchy wants the right to veto the implementation of the rumored Matu Proprio to celebrate the Mass of Pope Pius V, or the Tridentine Mass.

This surprising admission was made during the October 26th conference celebrating the 50 years of the Institut Supérieur de Liturgie:

In his address, Vingt-Trois admitted that the liturgical renewal that had been implemented in France over the past decades had seen developments that were “sometimes clumsy or crude, which may have given the impression of a rupture with tradition.”

He also recognized that “in some liturgical gimmicks or tendencies one has been able to identify the assembly’s celebration of itself, instead of the celebration of the work of God – means the proclamation of a new model of the Church.”


But then he continued, to the applause of those present:

“On the other hand, one has witnessed a radical criticism of Vatican Council II, a pure and simple rejection of some of its declarations, under the pretext of mobilization in defense of a form of the liturgy. The rejection of validly promulgated liturgical books was followed by public insults against the popes, and crowned by acts of violence such as the forcible seizure of a parish church in Paris. [...] None of the protagonists of these uprisings either believed or stated that the problem was primarily, much less exclusively, liturgical. It was, and remains, an ecclesiological problem. It clearly poses the question of the meaning of ecclesial unity in communion with the see of Peter. It clearly poses the question of the authority of an ecumenical council.”

The uproar was quickly stifled by comments from Cardinal Arinze, who said:


“We must distance ourselves from that coldness, that horizontalism that places man at the center of the liturgical action, and also from the openly egocentric showmanship that our Sunday assemblies are sometimes obliged to witness...”

“Unfortunately, many homilies seem like addresses marked by considerations of sociology, psychology, or – even worse – politics. Sometimes they are delivered by members of the lay faithful, who are not even authorized to deliver the homily, which is reserved for those who have received ordination...”



Read the entire article from the link above. I promise it's worth reading!

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Dona Nobis Pacem

French Bishops: Tridentine Mass will not destroy the world

An article in The Universe quotes a leading French Cardinal (Cdl. Jean-Pierre Ricard) as reassuring the French bishops and priests that the soon to be released Universal Indult by Benedict XVI will not reverse the direction of the post Vatican II Church.

Apparently this is good news to the French (not reversing the direction of their country after Vatican II). Judging from the Mass attendance figures in France since Vatican II (5% attendance or less), one can only wonder what direction these people think is best for the Church.

FSSP Minor Orders on Feast of St. Martin of Tours

Magnificent ordinations to Minor Orders of Porter, Lector, Exorcist, Acolyte and Subdiaconate in the Diocese of Lincoln Nebraska by his Excellency Reverend Fabian W. Bruskewitz, Bishop of Lincoln on November 11, 2006.

6 seminarians ordained to Porter & Lector
1 Seminarian ordained to Porter & Exorcist
7 Seminarians ordained to Exorcist & Acolyte
3 ordained to Subiaconate.




Friday, November 10, 2006

French People Speak

Rorate Caeli is reporting on a recent poll taken by the prestigious CSA Institute regarding the opinion of the French people on the Traditional Latin Mass. The French Bishops, who claim to be speaking for the French people are obviously a wee bit out of touch.


1) Do you believe it is desirable that Catholics may have the choice to, according to their sensibility, go to either the Traditional Mass in Latin with Gregorian chant or to the Modern Mass in French?

Yes: 65%
No: 13%
Do not care: 22%

2) If you had the occasion to occasionally go to a Mass in Latin with Gregorian [chant], what would you say?

I would go: 60%
I would not go: 39%
No answer: 1%

3) In your opinion, the fact that various kinds of celebrations of the Mass, one Traditional, in Latin and with Gregorian [chant], and the other modern in French, may be recognised by the Church would be...?

A good thing, because it allows for some diversity within the Church: 65%
A bad thing, because it risks provoking divisions within the Church: 31%
No answer: 4%

4) If a Mass in its Traditional form were celebrated, in Latin and with the permission of the Pope, close to your home, you would say...

I would go there frequently: 6%
I would go there occasionally: 31%
I do not know if I would got there or not: 12%
I would rarely go there: 29%
I would never go there: 22%