Te Deum laudamus!: December 2008

Dec 31, 2008

Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur

At no other time of the year is the "Te Deum" googled or searched more than now. We will sing it tonight. There is a Mass at 11:00pm for the Solemnity of the Mother of God, a holy day of obligation.

There is no greater joy on New Years Eve than to bring in the New Year honoring our Mother Mary and receiving the Eucharist - the ultimate in leaving the world behind. Bring a dish to pass after the Mass and Rosary (about 12:20am). By the time that is done, those typical "Detroit celebrations" have usually ended and we head to the school.

From the Treasury of Latin Prayers site on the Te Deum, the hymn after which this blog get's it's name.

Te Deum, also sometimes called the Ambrosian Hymn because if its association with St. Ambrose, is a traditional hymn of joy and thanksgiving. First attributed to Sts. Ambrose, Augustine, or Hilary, it is now accredited to Nicetas, Bishop of Remesiana (4th century). It is used at the conclusion of the Office of the Readings for the Liturgy of the Hours on Sundays outside Lent, daily during the Octaves of Christmas and Easter, and on Solemnities and Feast Days. The petitions at the end were added at a later time and are optional. A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite it in thanksgiving and a plenary indulgence is granted if the hymn is recited publicly on the last day of the year.

Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi caeli et universae Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae maiestatis:
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Iudex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni: quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.

V. Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.
R. Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.

V. Per singulos dies benedicimus te.
R. Et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.

V. Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
R. Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri.

V. Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
R. In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.

O God, we praise Thee, and acknowledge Thee to be the supreme Lord.
Everlasting Father, all the earth worships Thee.
All the Angels, the heavens and all angelic powers,
All the Cherubim and Seraphim, continuously cry to Thee:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy glory.
The glorious choir of the Apostles,
The wonderful company of Prophets,
The white-robed army of Martyrs, praise Thee.
Holy Church throughout the world acknowledges Thee:
The Father of infinite Majesty;
Thy adorable, true and only Son;
Also the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
O Christ, Thou art the King of glory!
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When Thou tookest it upon Thyself to deliver man,
Thou didst not disdain the Virgin's womb.
Having overcome the sting of death, Thou opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all
believers.
Thou sitest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou willst come to be our Judge.
We, therefore, beg Thee to help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy
Precious Blood.
Let them be numbered with Thy Saints in everlasting glory.

V. Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thy inheritance!
R. Govern them, and raise them up forever.

V. Every day we thank Thee.
R. And we praise Thy Name forever, yes, forever and ever.

And, one of my most favorite versions of a part of this prayer (I call it the Turbocharged Te Deum). You gotta see the little kids singing. There is one boy in the front whose tonsils are about to come out he's singing so hard! And, look at those pipes!

More References on the Te Deum

EWTN's page on the Te Deum

Indepth history at the Catholic Encyclopedia online

Other:

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 30, 2008

Meditation for the Sixth Day of Christmas....

The other day, I pointed you to the blog of Fr. Scott Bailey, C. SS. R. where he has been providing daily meditations through this Christmas season. It's good to surf around the web for the latest and greatest Catholic news. It's even better if you take the time to stop and smell the flowers. Meditations provided by Father (ultimately the words of St. Alphonsus) are simply beautiful. If you haven't followed my advice or are late coming, here is what you have been missing....

MEDITATION VI: Jesus sleeping.

Very short and painful were the slumbers of the Infant Jesus. A manger was his cradle, straw was his bed, and Straw his pillow; so that Jesus was constantly interrupted in his sleep by the hardness of this rough and painful little bed, and by the severe cold of the cave. Notwithstanding all this, nature succumbing to its wants, the sweet babe from time to time slept amidst his
sufferings.

But the sleep of Jesus differed very much from that of other children. The slumbers of other children are useful for the preservation of life, but not for the operations of the soul, because the soul, being buried in sleep with the senses, cannot then work; but such was not the sleep of Jesus Christ: I sleep, and my heart watches (Cant. 5:2). His body was asleep, but his soul was watching; because in Jesus there was united the person of the Word, who could not sleep, nor be influenced by the slumber of the senses. The Holy Infant slept therefore; but while he slept he thought of all the sufferings he was to endure for our sake during all his life and at his death. He thought of the labors he was to undergo in Egypt and in Nazareth during his miserable and despised life; he thought more particularly on the scourges, the thorns, the ignominies, the agonies, and on that miserable death that he should at last suffer upon the cross; and whilst he was sleeping he offered all this to his Eternal Father to obtain for us pardon and salvation; so that while our Savior was sleeping he was meriting for us and appeasing his Father, and obtaining graces for us.

....read the ending at the Evening Devotions blog!

Go to the Evening Devotions homepage for more...

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Upcoming Events...

I have several things to pass along so scroll through here if you are in local metro Detroit.

Mass Schedule, including Last Chance Orchestra Mass

Wednesday, December 31:

6:30 a.m.; 7:30 a.m. (These do not fulfill the obligation for Holyday)

4:00 p.m. (Mass for the Holyday of Obligation)

11:00 p.m. (Mass for the Holyday of Obligation); this Mass is followed by

Benediction at Midnight with Pot Luck, for those who wish, in the gym)

Thursday, January 1st, New Year’s Day:

6:30 a.m; 9:30 a.m (Latin Tridentine); 12:00 noon (no evening Mass)

Saturday, January 3rd:

7:30 a.m. (This does not fulfill the Sunday obligation)

4:00 p.m. (Mass of Epiphany)

Sunday January 4th:

6:30 a.m (Epiphany)

9:30 a.m (Epiphany; new rite Latin)

12:00 noon (Tridentine, Latin Orchestral Mass; Most Holy Name of Jesus

January 3rd, 2009: Day of Remembrance for Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ

Father Hardon Day of Remembrance

Saturday, January 3, 2009

More info on Fr. Hardon:

Last, but not least is a pro-life summit coming up locally (click the pic to enlarge).

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Latin High Mass Training Video (special offer for priests and seminarians)

A new training video is available through SanctaMissa.org - the website run by Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago where one of Grotto's own is studying as seminarian. Brother Matthew Schuster is seen in several of the video shots, as well as in still pictures on various webpages (he is seen in the snapshot I took from the video at the bottom of this post, to the far right, standing sideways).

The priests and brothers of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius serve in parishes and help Catholics to rediscover a profound sense of the Sacred through solemn liturgies, devotions, sacred art and music, as well as instruction in the heritage of the Church, catechetics and Catholic culture.

The music alone in the DVD is well worth the purchase (St. John Cantius has many choirs who focus on the great classics and chant, as well as orchestra. Here is a list of the background music on the DVD.

Missa de Angelis, Kyriale VIII
Offertoire sur des Noëls, l’Organiste Pratique livraison 1, Op. 39 - No. 6, Felix-Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)
Vom Himmel hoch Friedrich Wilhelm Zachau (1663-1712)
Ave Maria, Josquin des Pres (c. 1450 to 1455 – 1521)
In Dulci Jubilo, Op. 28, No. 41, Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
O Magnum Mysterium, Francis Poulenc, (1899 – 1963)
Hodie Christus Natus Est, Jan Peeters Sweelinck (1562 – 1621)
Gaudete Christus est Natus, Swedish Melody from ‘Piae Cantiones’ (1582)

If you are in the Chicago area, it is a must to stop in for Mass, and other devotions, especially on Sundays when you can hear some of the choirs. Click here for a complete schedule of daily liturgical and other devotions.

The DVD is not just for priests and seminarians. It's for anyone - altar servers, sacristans, church musicians and more. But, priests and seminarians can get the DVD for free with the purchase of other items (see the DVD link for details).

If you are unaware of this religious order and their website, and have an affection for a sense of the sacred in the liturgy, then you will want to spend more time perusing the material available through the site. Much is available online free and you can support their work with your purchases. Click on the various links I am providing and bookmark them. Here are just a few samples:

Sancta Missa Latin High Mass Training DVD
Latin Mass Workshops through St. John Cantius
Learning to Serve at the Altar
Sancta Missa Web Store
Go the Sancta Missa Homepage for tons of online information, available in multiple languages.
St. John Cantius Homepage

For Grotto-goers, another picture of Bro. Matthew taken December 23, 2008 where many other beautiful Christmas pics are posted (and he appears quite happy.....can't wait to visit this fine parish with my camera someday):

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 28, 2008

Christmas 2008 - Midnight Mass in Extraordinary Form at Grotto: Photopost 3

After the altar is incensed, the priest, and other members in the sanctuary are incensed, followed by the faithful. In the photo above, the humeral veil is now draped over the shoulders of the subdeacon who uses it to hold the paten from the close of Offertory until after the Pater Noster.

The priest prays the words of Consecration....

The Elevation of the Host permits all to briefly adore Our Lord in the Eucharist.

The priest consumes the Body of Christ with Deacon and Subdeacon off to either corner, bowed in reverence.

More Pictures:

To view even more pics of this event, visit my smugmug gallery for Midnight Mass 2008 and view it in slideshow mode.

Christmas 2008 Midnight Mass Slideshow (interesting effects between some pics where tripod was fixed, but priests were in motion - i.e., bowing to standing, etc.)
Christmas 2008 Midnight Mass Lightbox (view pics individually at your own pace)

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 27, 2008

Meditations during the Twelve Days of Christmas

The red backdrop discussed in a 2008 photopost combox is shown in this 2006 picture. It has not been used since seen here.

I don't always get around to the many blogs I have linked, but want to refer you to one in particular where a priest is offering reflections during the twelve days of Christmas. I plan to get over there myself tonight and read up. Consider doing the same each day he is offering something.

Keeping Christ in Christmas is more than a bumper sticker. It means spending time each day in quiet meditation. What a great way to do so here:

Go visit Fr. Scott Bailey, C. SS. R. at his blog: Evening Devotions and....bookmark it to check back throughout the year.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Christmas 2008 - Midnight Mass in Extraordinary Form at Grotto: Photopost 2

I'm continuing to edit the photos in batches so that I can free up time to do some other things while I have some time off. Once again, as a note, I am having some difficulty with picture quality and I'm not sure if there is something wrong with the camera or not. I took some test pictures last night and have not yet looked at them.

This post covers the reading of the Epistle (first pic, through the homily).

Below, the Deacon (Fr. Paul Ward), kneeling holds up the Gospel before the Priest (Fr. Wolfgang Seitz, ORC).

He provides a ceremonial kiss to the celebrant's hand in what are called, the solita oscula. When the deacon hands something to the priest, he kisses the thing then the hand of the priest. When he receives something, he kisses the priest's hand, then the thing. It is, as I said, ceremonial. In some old texts, I've seen it referred to as a "liturgical kiss". But, we always keep in mind that the hand of the priest will soon confect the Body and Blood of Christ. Hence, it is not the hand of a mere man that the deacon kisses, but a man who, during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is in persona Christi.

The Word of God is now incensed by the Deacon as the Subdeacon (Fr. John Bustamante) holds it.

The Priest turns towards the Word of God to hear it, the maniple on his left arm now clearly visible.

The Subdeacon brings the Book back to the priest, who kisses it in an act of love and reverence.

Altar boys, deacons, and priests in choir, listen to the homily......

Priest, Deacon and Subdeacon listen to the homily. But, wait...who delivered the homily?

We see our pastor, Fr. Perrone getting ready to conduct the orchestra and choir ahead of one of the numbers.

Fr. Perrone then emerged from the left side of the sanctuary and delivered a wonderful homily which I will try to get.

He then made his way to the back of the Church to begin the Credo...

I know for a fact, he did not bilocate. I was in the balcony and can verify he was not with the orchestra while he was giving us the homily.

More pictures to come when I edit them.

Update: See photopost 3 for a set of links to all photos taken.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 26, 2008

Christmas 2008 - Midnight Mass in Extraordinary Form at Grotto: Photopost 1

A photo taken at Midnight Mass as the Gloria was well underway in the orchestra Mass. Alexandre Guilmant's 3rd Solemn Mass was conducted by Grotto's pastor, Rev. Eduard Perrone. During longer versions of the Gloria or Credo, the priests will sit - a signal the faithful follow, as well. As you will see below, in the Extraordinary Form, or Traditional Latin Mass, those wearing biretta's will tip them at the name of Jesus.

If you want to catch an orchestra or symphony Mass, there are still two opportunities: The 9:30am Mass on December 28th (Extraordinary Form), and the Noon Mass on Epiphany (Ordinary Form). These Masses will run between 1.5 and 2 hours, so plan accordingly. However, the time flies by very fast. Also, you will want to get there about 30-45 minutes ahead of the Mass (the sooner the better with regards to parking and seating).

This Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form was celebrated by Rev. Wolfgang Seitz, ORC. Rev. Paul Ward and Rev. John Bustamante, both Grotto associates, were Deacon and Subdeacon respectively.

You may wonder why there are no pictures of the orchestra. This has much to do with contractual issues so you won't see many, if at all.

Clicking on any pic will enlarge it, but I have recently discovered some kind of camera problem that is causing a haze or lack of clarity upon enlarging. More on this later.

A closeup of the above pic reveals a beautiful, detailed reflection, only hindered somewhat by the camera problem I am currently having.

Grotto altar boys will be dressed in the celebratory white cassocks with red shoulder capes throughout the Christmas season.

The Infant Jesus is draped, awaiting the blessing of the Creche which takes place before the Mass begins.

After the blessing took place, all left the Sanctuary and re-emerged moments later in the aisle, ready to process in for the beginning of Mass.

Several of these photos below may look alike. However, if you look carefully, you will notice that the formation of the three priests is different, as well as their position relative to the altar. Each of these things happen at specific points in the liturgy. I hope to come back to it in a future post which is why I am collecting photographs of these things. For example, the first two pics take place during the Confiteor - the first one of the celebrant, and the second part normally done by altar servers. There are times they bow straight forward, and other times they bow toward's each other. Understanding when these things happen during the respective prayers can signal a casual observer to know exactly where we are in the Mass. This is true throughout the Traditional Latin Mass when things like elbow movements can give you a clue as to which prayers are being recited silently.

These last two shots were taken during the Gloria, in wihch the celebrant chose to sit after he recited it from start to finish at the altar and awaited the orchestra to finish. It is a good time to sit in quiet meditation. At the name of Jesus, not only do the priests and deacons remove their birettas, but all should bow their heads in reverence for the name of Our Lord. This is exemplified by the altar boys who can often teach us subtle cues with regards to reverence.

More photos to come, but I need more time to process them.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 25, 2008

Merry Christmas!

A photo taken of the Spanish Infant in Grotto's Sanctuary last year.

It's a little after 4:00am and I have just walked in the door after spending half the night (literally) at Assumption Grotto (ok - so I stayed for a while with friends in the school lounge singing Christmas Carols, led by Fr. Perrone).

I took pictures at Midnight Mass, but they must undergo some processing.

Have a blessed Christmas Day!

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 21, 2008

Photopost of the Extraordinary Form on 4th Sunday in Advent

Today was the Fourth Sunday of Advent. The pews were a little shy of usual numbers due to the fresh coating of snow at Mass time that made driving difficult (especially since municipalities are conserving road salt). You will see the fourth candle of the Advent wreath now lit in many of the pictures.

Introit: Drop Down dew, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One: let the earth open and germinate a Savior. {v} The heavens dclare the glory of God: and the firmament proclaims the works of His hands. Glory to the Father...

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6

1* In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberi-us Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysani-as tetrarch of Abilene, 2* in the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness; 3* and he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4* As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; 6* and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

POST MASS ROSARY CONTINUES
Preceding the National Election in 2008, Fr. Perrone and the priests celebrating Masses knelt down with those serving or concelebrating following the Liturgy and prayed the Holy Rosary for the nation. They continued this practice after the election and will do so for an unspecified amount of time. If the good Fathers go by participation, I would estimate that it is around 98%. Very few people leave before the Rosary is done and the recessional hymn sung. There is something very powerful to hearing a full, or even half-full church praying a Rosary. How much Our Lady must be pleased. Below is a shot taken during today's Rosary, of one of the sisters, with the altar boys in the background, all in prayer.

One more parting shot was the throne basking in sunlight cutting through the stained glass. This photo doesn't do it justice. It had a multi-color hue.

See the Assumption Grotto Orchestra Mass Schedule:

Christmas Season Mass & Confession Schedule and Fr. Hardon Remembrance

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

A Snow-Capped Assumption Grotto in December

The above photo was taken today around 12:30PM on my way out. The sun had come out and the snow-capped church looked beautiful against the emerging blue sky.

Below was a shot of the cemetery towards the big outdoor shrine just a few minute before the picture at the top.

As an aside, I am still having problems with clarity in my pics when viewing up close. There is a haze over everything. I've cleaned the lenses of the grime I found on them. I'm going to have to take a closer look and hope it isn't the sensor which gets self cleaned, or something worse - a mechanical problem.

The rest of these pics were all taken at about 9:15am, just ahead of the 4th Sunday of Advent, TLM, which started at 9:30am. It was still snowing, and it wasn't the sudden cold, but the howling winds which sent chills up my spine.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 20, 2008

Christmas Season Mass & Confession Schedule and Fr. Hardon Remembrance

Holy Smoke! Light coming from the windows illuminates incense after a Mass celebrated at Assumption Grotto by Archbishop Raymond L. Burke in remembrance of Fr. John A. Hardon in 2007.

With Christmas quickly approaching and many things yet to be done in preparation, there will be little posting. However, stay tuned for news out of Assumption Grotto and any other special breaking news. I will try to keep posting, but it will be difficult timewise, as you can probably understand. I suspect many will not have much time for blog reading right now.

However, there are some things I want to pass along. I'm really late giving this out so hopefully, people have been regularly checking the trusty, main Assumption Grotto website.

Pre-Christmas Confession schedule at Grotto:

Today - Saturday: 2:30-3:30pm
Sunday - 9:00am and 11:30am
[CORRECTION - This is at Sts Cyril & Methodius in Sterling Heights] Special day and time: Monday - 10:00am - Noon and 6:00 - 9:00pm

The usual Mass schedule still applies for the weekend and for the upcoming holy day with the exception noted below about the New Years Eve celebration of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Christmas Season Orchestra Mass Schedule:

Note: If you are planning on coming to an Orchestra Mass, you will want to get there up to 45 minutes before start of Mass to ensure a decent parking spot. It is an experience you will never forget. Also, consider that the music was written for the old Masses. Orchestra Masses tend to run about 90 - 105 minutes, but the time really flies.

Alexandre Guilmant's 3rd Solemn Mass

(first orchestral performances in the USA)

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and New Year's Eve
Also noteworthy, is that Assumption Grotto holds an 11:00pm Mass on New Years Eve for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God - a holy day of obligation. It is an awesome thing to hear the world outside bring in the New Year while we are inside the Church receiving Communion and honoring the Blessed Mother on her feast day. Father leads us in the Holy Rosary afterwards and by the time that is done, things have settled down outside (hey - it's the inner city and yeah - it gets interesting). We then make our way to the school building to have a New Year's Eve potluck dinner around 12:20am.

January 3rd, 2009: Day of Remembrance
for Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ

Note: There is a flyer that goes with this info, but I need it uploaded on the Grotto site first. It has been forwarded to the webmaster of the main Grotto site.

Father Hardon Day of Remembrance

Saturday, January 3, 2009

More info on Fr. Hardon:

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Funeral Mass for Avery Cardinal Dulles at St. Patrick's

Cardinal Egan uses incense at the funeral Mass for Avery Cardinal Dulles, who passed away this past week.
Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. 1918-2008 (by Cardinal Egan)
For Cardinal Dulles, a Farewell Filled with Majesty (NY Times)
The Last Goodbye (Whispers)
Earlier: Cardinal to Have Three Funeral Masses (Zenit)

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 19, 2008

Dr. Alcuin Reid Reviews, "Dominus Est"

From the Catholic Herald (H/T NLM)

"The little book that will cause a great storm"

Alcuin Reid, OSB on a book endorsed by Cardinal Francis Arinze
19 December 2008

Dominus Est: It Is The Lord
By Athanasius Schneider
Gracewing £5.99 [for UK orders]

It was 1969. Paul VI was the Pope. The Congregation for Divine Worship issued an Instruction, Memoriale Domini, on the manner of receiving Holy Communion. It makes very interesting reading.

After recalling the development of the reception of Communion on the tongue as a fruit of "a deepening understanding of the truth of the Eucharistic mystery, of its power and of the presence of Christ in it", the Instruction declares that "this method of distributing Holy Communion must be retained... not merely because it has many centuries of tradition behind it, but especially because it expresses the faithful's reverence for the Eucharist.

"The custom does not detract in any way from the personal dignity of those who approach this great sacrament: it is part of that preparation that is needed for the most fruitful reception of the Body of the Lord," it said.

It also warned: "A change in a matter of such moment, based on a most ancient and venerable tradition, does not merely affect discipline. It carries certain dangers with it which may arise from the new manner of administering Holy Communion: the danger of a loss of reverence for the august sacrament of the altar, of profanation, of adulterating the true doctrine."

And it published a survey of the world's bishops, which led it to conclude: "The vast majority of bishops believe that the present discipline should not be changed, and that if it were, the change would be offensive to the sentiments and the spiritual culture of these bishops and of many of the faithful."

For this reason it reported: "The Holy Father has decided not to change the existing way of administering Holy Communion to the faithful." So, given that Communion in the hand is now practically universal and younger generations know practically nothing else, what happened?

A "loophole" existed. The Instruction contained the provision for bishops' conferences to make a decision to allow Communion in the hand in places where "contrary usage... prevails". And over the coming decade or so this loophole was exploited.

Today, the Instruction's warnings about loss of reverence for, belief in and even the profanation of the Blessed Sacrament have - sadly - been vindicated. It is time to look again at the question of Communion in the hand. This is precisely what a young bishop from Central Asia has done in Dominus Est.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider, a patristic scholar, appointed a bishop by Pope Benedict in 2006, has raised his voice in prophetic call for the western Church to recall the importance, if not the necessity, of returning to the previous discipline of the reception of Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue.

There is, of course, no question that - as Memoriale Domini itself attests - it is "true that ancient usage once allowed the faithful to take this divine food in their hands and to place it in their mouths themselves".

This fact was much flaunted throughout the 1970s, together with talk about receiving Holy Communion as mature adults, and not as children. We were encouraged to return to the primitive purity of early Church practice as we emerged from centuries of supposedly corrupt accretion in the way we worshipped.

However, in our egalitarian excitement we ignored the sober facts that, as Bishop Schneider attests, the "organic development" of the practice of receiving Communion on the tongue is nothing other than "a fruit of the spirituality and Eucharistic devotion stemming from the times of the Fathers of the Church", and that the exclusion of kneeling for Holy Communion was a feature of the Protestant theological revolt of both Calvin and Zwingli.

Indeed, no less a scholar than Klaus Gamber points out that the reception of Communion in the hand "was in fact abandoned... from the fifth or sixth century onwards".

The Church as she proceeds through time accrues wisdom. Her Sacred Liturgy, developed in tradition, is a privileged repository of the same. All but the most partisan liturgists today recognise that many of the hasty decisions taken in respect of liturgical reform and practice in the Sixties and Seventies were infected by an antiquarianism that was at best naïve and at worst unbalanced. It is time to reconsider some if not many of those decisions and to take decisive steps to correct them where necessary. Communion in the hand is one such.

Lest we think that this young bishop - whose account of his formation in Eucharistic piety under Communist persecution in the first chapter is a spiritual treasure in itself - raises his voice alone, let us be clear that the book carries the approbation of the superiors of the Congregation for Divine Worship. Cardinal Arinze, who retired this month, states: "I have read the whole book with delight. It is excellent."

And Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, a true prophet of the liturgical reform of Benedict XVI, writes in the preface: "I think it is time to evaluate carefully the practice of Communion in the hand and, if necessary, to abandon what was never actually called for in the Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium nor by the Council Fathers but was... 'accepted' after it was introduced as an abuse in some countries."

This little book, a brief but insightful survey of the Fathers, the Early Church, the Magisterium and the Eastern and Western liturgical rites, is capable of creating a storm - not in a teacup, but in the minds of those unduly attached to the flawed external changes made to the liturgy in what can only be described as a peculiar period in the Church's history.

That it will provoke a storm is unfortunate, for the practice it advocates is a practice of love and of humility, one from which no one who truly adores Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament ought to recoil.

But perhaps today some controversy is necessary. Future generations, though, may well wonder why we took so long to realise that it is, indeed, the Lord, and once again to behave accordingly.

This is 2008. Benedict XVI is the Pope. The Holy Father has himself already reformed the manner of reception of Holy Communion at the Masses he celebrates. Let us follow his example. It accords with the teaching of Pope Paul VI.

I have found another place online to purchase Dominus Est in addition to getting it local at the Grotto Gift Shop. Orders can be obtained in the UK from Gracewing.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 17, 2008

Reminder: Bishop Schneider on EWTN Tonight

Tune in tonight:

Author of Dominus Est, Bp Athanasius Schneider, to appear on EWTN Wednesday

This will rebroadcast 3 more times as shown on the EWTN Live page. I'll try to catch the catalogue number for the show too in case someone wants to get the DVD or CD. Podcast is always an option too, but there is nothing like seeing Bishop Schneider talk.

UPDATE: Here are some snapshots. Sorry, this will not take you to video. But if you go to EWTN.com, you can catch it on live feed (choose "Television" and follow the menu).

Update 2:

The EWTN Catalogue Codes are...

MPD324 (DVD)
MPC324 (CD)
Book discussed in the interview: Dominus Est (Note: you can pick this up at the Grotto Giftshop if you are local).

You can listen to the podcast for EWTN Live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa here until they post next week's (not sure if December 17th is uploaded yet). If you have iTunes, just subscribe and you'll get the historical archives to find the December 17th, 2008 broadcast.

Scroll through my Bp Schneider tag to see the many posts with pics taken while he was at Assumption Grotto in July of 2008.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

The "O Antiphons" ....

The beautiful "O Antiphons" start today. They are among the most beautiful antiphons of the year and come in the final days of Advent starting on the 17th of December.

To get some background and explanation see this excerpt by Fr. William Saunders:

What are the "O Antiphons"?

Here is the translation he provides of today's antiphon:

O Sapientia: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (11:2-3), and “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.” (28:29).

Fr. Tim Finigan, in his blog The Hermeneutic of Continuity, posted this YouTube video containing the chant for this antiphon:

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Dec 15, 2008

Author of Dominus Est, Bp Athanasius Schneider, to appear on EWTN Wednesday

Bishop Schneider of Kazakhstan standing in the sanctuary at Assumption Grotto, July 20th, 2008 following the 9:30am Mass. The bishop delivered the sermon at all Masses that weekend and went to Sts Cyril & Methodius to celebrate Mass the following Saturday. It was during his July visit that he went to EWTN where he appeared in a televised Mass, and recorded the program to be aired this Wednesday.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC of Kazakhstan will be featured on EWTN Live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa this coming Wednesday night, December 17th. If you don't have cable, watch it online if you have something better than dialup.

If you missed Bishop Schneider's visit to Assumption Grotto in July (when the taping for this episode took place) or are not local, do tune into this event. The bishop discusses his childhood and growing up behind the Iron Curtain. Reading Dominus Est is good. But, reading it after hearing him speak, helps the reader to understand how the bishop came to have such a great love and devotion for the Eucharist.

If you want to know what the book is about, I highly recommend reading the excerpt that appeared in the Vatican's newspaper: Historical-Liturgical Notes on the Rite of the Eucharist by Bishop Athanasius Schneider

The photo on the back cover was taken at Assumption Grotto ahead of the 9:30am Mass on July 20th, 2008

If you are local, you can purchase this book at the Grotto gift shop after the 9:30 or Noon Mass on Sunday, or any weekday after the 7:30am Mass until around 9:30/10:00am.

If you are not local, you can purchase bulk orders through Newman House Press, the publisher. They were offering 50% off on orders of 5 or more.

Help Get the Word Out on the Book
Please ask your local Catholic book store to order copies of this book. If you order a copy for yourself, order one or two extra and give them to priests, seminarians and others.

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St. John of the Cross (observed on December 15th by Carmlelites this year)

A beautiful icon of St. John of the Cross by Lynne Taggart, who has created icons of other Carmelite saints

The Feast of St. John of the Cross fell on a Sunday, so we were notified at our last Carmel meeting, that we would be observing it on Monday the 15th.

St. John of the Cross, along with St. Teresa of Avila, founded the Discalced Carmelites. From the online Catholic Encyclopedia detailing the life of St. John of the Cross:

....Already at that early age he treated his body with the utmost rigour; twice he was saved from certain death by the intervention of the Blessed Virgin. Anxious about his future life, he was told in prayer that he was to serve God in an order the ancient perfection of which he was to help bring back again. The Carmelites having founded a house at Medina, he there received the habit on 24 February, 1563, and took the name of John of St. Matthias. After profession he obtained leave from his superiors to follow to the letter the original Carmelite rule without the mitigations granted by various popes. He was sent to Salamanca for the higher studies, and was ordained priest in 1567; at his first Mass he received the assurance that he should preserve his baptismal innocence. But, shrinking from the responsibilities of the priesthood, he determined to join the Carthusians.

However, before taking any further step he made the acquaintance of St. Teresa, who had come to Medina to found a convent of nuns, and who persuaded him to remain in the Carmelite Order and to assist her in the establishment of a monastery of friars carrying out the primitive rule. He accompanied her to Valladolid in order to gain practi cal experience of the manner of life led by the reformed nuns. A small house having been offered, St. John resolved to try at once the new form of life, although St. Teresa did not think anyone, however great his spirituality, could bear the discomforts of that hovel. He was joined by two companions, an ex-prior and a lay brother, with whom he inaugurated the reform among friars, 28 Nov., 1568. St. Teresa has left a classical description of the sort of life led by these first Discalced Carmelites, in chaps. xiii and xiv of her "Book of Foundations". John of the Cross, as he now called himself, became the first master of novices, and laid the foundation of the spiritual edifice which soon was to assume majestic proportions. He filled various posts in different places until St. Teresa called him to Avila as director and confessor to the convent of the Incarnation, of which she had been appointed prioress. He remained there, with a few interruptions, for over five years.....

In some circles, St. John of the Cross is considered with disdain. He was, and is even moreso today, very counter cultural (like many of the saints, and Mary, who have been stuffed into the closet because their words and examples would lead us to include Calvary, to pursue humility, virtue, sacrifice and other things also held in disdain today). In imitating Christ, we cannot simply focus on the Nativity and the Ressurection. Rather, our imitation of Christ must include the Cross. St. John of the Cross teaches us how to die to self, to recognize our worldly attachments so that we may purge ourselves with the grace of God, in pursuit of union with Him.

The world does not comprehend detachment, nor does it comprehend mortification or taming of the will.

In an era when Catholics willfully feed off of shows like Desperate Housewives, we need to step back and examine our every act. What else but our lower nature would attach itself to such things?

Rarely do we hear priests from the pulpit challenge us on what we watch and how we spend our time. Is it pleasing to God? Does it build virtue or fuel vice?

Taming the will or moritifcation went out of fashion decades ago, but does the concept apply today? Yes! More than ever. Our society is filled with examples of behavior whereby people follow their will the way a magnet sticks pulls to metal. When the will is in control, it means trouble. We want to eat as much as we want, to watch TV or be on computer, or play in numerous sports leagues or other activities, but we don't want to cut into these things. Do we spend even a fraction of that time with God, in silent prayer and reflection?

St. John of the Cross challenges us to examine our soul for attachments and gives us an understanding of why mortification is important. If we don't tame our will, our will tames us. If you have ever tried to lose weight, fought an addiction of some kind, or intemperate use of something, you know the power of the will when it is in control.

The best relationship we can have with Jesus Christ is one without boat anchors (attachments).

While St. John is writing the passage below in the context of religious life, there is much here applicable to ordinary people going about their day. It is from the Introduction to the Counsels to a Religious. Added emphasis in bold and [my comments in red]:

3. To practice the second counsel, which concerns mortification, and profit by it, you should engrave this truth on your heart. And it is that you have not come to the monastery for any other reason than to be worked and tried in virtue [are we not to be tried and worked in virtue in our everyday lives?]; you are like the stone that must be chiseled and fashioned before being set in the building. Thus you should understand that those who are in the monastery [or your home, workplace, parish, school, etc.] are craftsmen placed there by God to mortify you by working and chiseling at you. Some will chisel with words, telling you what you would rather not hear; others by deed, doing against you what you would rather not endure; others by their temperament, being in their person and in their actions a bother and annoyance to you; and others by their thoughts, neither esteeming nor feeling love for you. You ought to suffer these mortifications and annoyances with inner patience, being silent for love of God and understanding that you did not enter the religious life for any other reason than for others to work you in this way, and so you become worthy of heaven. If this was not your reason for entering the religious state, you should not have done so, but should have remained in the world to seek your comfort, honor, reputation, and ease.

St. John of the Cross gets at a key point in religious life - that you go there to surrender your all to God. However, out of pure love of Christ, we can work at these things in our everyday lives with those around us. In the same way that a religious offers it up, so should we.

While not all writings are applicable to lay people, many of them are indeed worth contemplating and mining for your state in life. Secular Carmelites, while fully Carmelite, are not bound by some of the same obligations as the priests and religious because when one is married, with children, has work responsibilities outside of the home, some things may not be practical. In a Carmel, one distances themselves from family. Those of us living in the world may ask ourselves, whether we are placing any one person above God. If we place God first, we give our very best to all of those around us, especially those who depend on us.

Here is one last excerpt, this time illustrating the beauty of his writing. It is from the first Chapter of the Dark Night of the Soul (paragraph 2), where St. John talks about the imperfections of beginners:

2. It must be known, then, that the soul, after it has been definitely converted to the service of God, is, as a rule, spiritually nurtured and caressed by God, even as is the tender child by its loving mother, who warms it with the heat of her bosom and nurtures it with sweet milk and soft and pleasant food, and carries it and caresses it in her arms; but, as the child grows bigger, the mother gradually ceases caressing it, and, hiding her tender love, puts bitter aloes upon her sweet breast, sets down the child from her arms and makes it walk upon its feet, so that it may lose the habits of a child and betake itself to more important and substantial occupations. The loving mother is like the grace of God, for, as soon as the soul is regenerated by its new warmth and fervour for the service of God, He treats it in the same way; He makes it to find spiritual milk, sweet and delectable, in all the things of God, without any labour of its own, and also great pleasure in spiritual exercises, for here God is giving to it the breast of His tender love, even as to a tender child.

The "Christ of St. John of the Cross" painted by Salvador Dali, first revealed in 1952.

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Dec 14, 2008

Gaudete Sunday 2008 at Assumption Grotto - TLM

I made a post before Mass today with pics from the Gaudete Sunday, Latin Novus Ordo (2006), not knowing if I would be fortunate enough to photograph it in the extraordinary form. There are only two days out of the year that Rose colored vestments are worn: Gaudete Sunday (in Advent) and Laetare Sunday (in Lent). Last year, there was a terrible ice storm and opted to walk to the parish next to my home.

Unfortunately, I was having all kinds of camera problems today, prompted hopefully, just by a lack of maintenance on my lenses. These are fine for the web, but up close there is a haze. Some of that is due to heavy incense smoke in the sanctuary, but the rest is most likely due to smudges I found on my lenses when I got home.

I'll post some here and you can see the rest taken today my Smugmug site (links at the bottom).

Most of the pics taken today are shown here, but if you want to see a few more, or see them in slideshow mode, follow these links. I recommend setting the speed to "Fast" in the upper left hand corner:

Gaudete Sunday 2008 Slideshow
Gaudete Sunday 2008 Lightbox (paging through individual pics)

Also see these posts:

A Gaudete question revisited: “Real priests wear ‘rosacea’”! (Fr. Z)
The Advent Wreath (Fr. Abe in the Philippines)
Gaudete AND Bambinelli Sunday (Fr. John Trigilio)
Pope: closeness of God is not physical or temporal, but "of love" (Pope Benedict)

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Gaudete Sunday - Rejoice!

Fr. Perrone is seen elevating the Chalice at the 9:30am Gaudete Sunday Mass (Latin Novus Ordo) in 2006. It was prior to Summorum Pontificum when I was last able to capture this particular chasuble on Gaudete Sunday.

The third Sunday in Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday. The name is taken from the first word of the Introit - Gaudete (Rejoice):

Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known to all men: for the Lord is near. Have no anxiety, but in everything, by prayer let your petitions be made known to God. (Philippians 4: 4, 5)Psalm ~ You have favored, O Lord, Your land; You have restored the wellbeing of Jacob. (Psalm 84:2)

The online Catholic Encyclopedia offers some history on Gaudete Sunday.

Fr. Z examines the Collect for Gaudete Sunday (2002 MR). Here is an excerpt (click the link to read the entire post):

Now for the 3rd Sunday of Advent, also nicknamed Gaudete.... the plural imperative of gaudeo, “Rejoice!”. Today, there is a relaxation of the penitential aspect of Advent. In the first week of Advent we begged God for the grace of the proper approach and will for our preparation. In the second week, we ask God for help and protection in facing the obstacles the world raises against us. This Sunday we have a glimpse of the joy that is coming in our rose colored (rosacea) vestments, some use of the organ, flowers. Christmas is near at hand.

Visit EWTN's page for Advent Reflections

Fr. Edward McNamara answers a readers question about Rose Vestments. Was the practice abandoned? Should priests wear Rose? Read his response to see what the General Instruction of the Roman Missal says, and to read his interpretation.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 13, 2008

Requiescat in Pace: Avery Cardinal Dulles

I saw this yesterday morning, but I was unable to post on it at the time.

If you are familiar with the Cardinal's works, please see my note at the bottom of this post!

Avery Cardinal Dulles was a great voice of Catholic Orthodoxy. While his voice was silenced for some time by post-polio syndrome, his words were not. He continued to communicate through other means.

From Zenit:

Cardinal Dulles Dead at 90
Scholar Suffered From Post-Polio Syndrome

NEW YORK, DEC. 12, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The New York Province of the Society of Jesus reported that renowned theologian and prolific author Cardinal Avery Dulles died this morning at 90.

Avery Dulles was born Aug. 24, 1918, in Auburn, New York. He was the son of John Foster Dulles, who later served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight Eisenhower.

Dulles converted to Catholicism in 1940 while studying at Harvard University. After graduation he continued at Harvard studying law, but after a year and a half he left the university to join the Navy during World War II, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant.

He entered the Jesuits in 1946 and was ordained 10 years later. He earned a doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1960.

Father Dulles taught theology at Woodstock College from 1960 to 1974 and at the Catholic University of America from 1974 to 1988.

He served as the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University from 1988 until April of this year.

He was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001, making him the first American-born theologian not a bishop to receive this honor.

A respected theologian, he served as president of both the Catholic Theological Society of America and the American Theological Society. He authored over 750 articles on theological topics, and dozens of books, the latest including "The History of Apologetics," (revised edition, 2005), and "Magisterium: Teacher and Guardian of the Faith" (2007).

The cardinal had been suffering of complications of post-polio syndrome, which he contracted as a Naval officer. Confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak, the cardinal continued to read and communicated by slowing typing on a computer keyboard or writing on a pad of paper.

...continue reading at Zenit: Cardinal Dulles Dead at 90

Unfortunately, I have not read any of his works, but after doing just a little online research, would very much like to.

Have you read his works? Talk about the Cardinal and his works in the combox! What is your favorite book or quote?

Related Links:

Avery Cardinal Dulles Homepage
Avery Cardinal Dulles Online Archives (jackpot of resources from the above-listed homepage)

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Dec 12, 2008

Notes and headlines...

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the protectress of the unborn

Things have been very hectic for me the last two weeks and I've not had time to post much. For now, I'll point you to some interesting posts. Around the Catholic blogosphere:

Ha;;py Birthday, Guadalupe (Whispers)
Scenes from a Fiesta (Whispers)
Is Fr. Bourgeois still a Maryknoll priest? Yes. For now. (Ed Peters)
A reader’s reactions after a first TLM, followed by my little rant (Fr. Z)
The Philippines: Christmas midnight TLM live on TV (Fr. Z)
More Ad Orientem in the Modern Liturgy (NLM - scroll down))
Bishop Restores Ad Orientem Mass: Diocese of Tulsa (NLM - scroll down)

I'll leave you with a word from St. Augustine (hat-tip Fr. Z)

Augustine: from a Christmas sermon - on the harmony between Matthew and Luke on the Lord’s genealogy:
And so, whatever else there is to be said regarding these hidden treasures among God’s mysteries, this is for others who are more diligent and more worthy than we, to bring out. At all events, we have spoken on this subject to the best of our ability, as the Lord assisted us and inspired us, and as the limitations of time permitted us. If there be anyone among you who has a profounder grasp of this, let him knock at the door of Him from whom we, too, receive what we are able to grasp, what we are able to say. But this do keep in mind before all else – you must not lose your composure over matters in Sacred Scripture which you do not yet understand; and when you do understand them, you must not feel conceit. What you do not understand, threat with reverence and be patient; and what you do understand cherish and keep. (s. 51.35)

A closeup of the stained-glass window figure of St. Augustine at Assumption Grotto

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Dec 9, 2008

BREAKING: Cardinal Arinze Retires; Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera takes the helm at CDW

I'm headed out the door to work, but wanted to pass this along.

The much anticipated change at the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship, headed by Francis Cardinal Arinze, has been announced on today's Bollettino:

RINUNCIA DEL PREFETTO DELLA CONGREGAZIONE PER IL CULTO DIVINO E LA DISCIPLINA DEI SACRAMENTI E NOMINA DEL SUCCESSORE

Il Santo Padre ha accolto la rinunzia presentata dall’Em.mo Card. Francis Arinze, per raggiunti limiti di età, all’incarico di Prefetto della Congregazione per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti ed ha chiamato a succedergli nel medesimo incarico l’Em.mo Card. Antonio Cañizares Llovera, finora Arcivescovo di Toledo (Spagna).

I don't speak Italian, so you'll have to accept the Google Translator version:

SURRENDER AND APPOINTMENTS PREFECT SURRENDER OF THE CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP AND THE DISCIPLINE OF SACRAMENTS AND APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR
The Holy Father has accepted the resignation submitted dall'Em. Card. Francis Arinze, on grounds of age, the post of Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and has called to succeed him in the same position Em. Card. Antonio Cañizares Llovera, until now Archbishop of Toledo
(Spain). [01901-01.01]

For some background, click this link and scroll down past the headlines to read: "The Little Ratzinger" to head CDW? It was written in June at NLM.

Previous posts on this topic:

Rumor: Change coming at Congregation for Divine Worship?

AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE and in the news(watch for updates)

Cardinal Cañizares New Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship (NLM)
Spanish cardinal slams "Christophobia" (From Nov 25)
Official... Finally: "Ratzingerino" Rises at CDW (Whispers)
Pope names Cañizares to succeed Arinze at the Vatican sacraments post (CNS)
Spanish cardinal to head liturgy office (AP)
As widely anticipated... (Rorate Caeli)

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 8, 2008

Recent Posts on Te Deum:

News & Blogpost Headlines:

Abortion Empire Collapses As Abortionist Pleads Guilty To 9 Felonies (LifeSiteNews)
Newsweek nonsense equates "Jesus has two (Immaculate) Mommies" (AmP)
QUAERITUR: another dropped Host, the EMHC delays (Fr. Z)
Planned Parenthood hides the statutory rape of a 13 year old.... (In Caritate non Ficta)
Great Music in the Churches of Rome. But in the Vatican, They're Deaf (Sandro Magister)

And, a video leaping it's way around the Catholic blogosphere on this Marian feast day. It is Francis Cardinal Arinze discussing Apparitions and Private Revelations. He is providing a catechetical overview of private revelations - approved and not yet approved.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

December 8: Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Today marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. From the CCC:

The Immaculate Conception

490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role."132 The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace".133 In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.

491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God,134 was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.135

492 The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son".136 The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love".137

493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia), and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature".138 By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.

It also helps to understand Original Sin. John Martingnoni has a good write up from an old, "This Rock" magazine in an article entitled, "To Explain Infant Baptism you Must Explain Original Sin"

Some have a misunderstanding of Original Sin and therefore have difficulty comprehending the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

Great Marian Resources:

UPDATE: Fr. Perrone talks about the Immaculate Conception in his column this week...

Now that the play The Hertitance has
had its premiere and its performances
nearly over, I can turn my thoughts more
calmly to Advent. It’s a time of singular
beauty in the Church’s life. I suppose it’s
underappreciated on account of the
towering solemnity of Christmas. Then
too, all the commercial promotion of the
holidays drives the significance of
Advent far from people’s minds. But of
all the liturgical seasons, Advent focuses
closely on the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Monday we will celebrate the solemnity
of Her Immaculate Conception, by
which God began the reversal of sin and
its consequences. Holy Mary became
that rising dawn that promised the full
light of day in the coming of Christ.
We should always ponder the ways of
God and try to draw forth their meaning.
In this case we are struck by the fact that
Mary need not have been necessary for
God to have come to our rescue.
Realizing however that this was God’s
desired way, we ought to ask why She
should have been made part of the divine
plan. Why does Mary exist when God
could have done without Her? My
thoughts, searching for an answer, are
drawn to the wedding at Cana. Why was
it that Mary appeared in the story? Did
not Christ work many signs and miracles
without Her intercession? Why then was
this episode recorded then for us to read
in our bibles? Was it not specifically to
show us the intermediary purpose and
position of Mary?
It’s always at best an estimated guess
when we ask why does God do what He
does. The choice of Mary by God shows
us the way God has ordered His creation
in a supernatural way. For a mental
picture, if we were to imagine God as the
hub of a wheel in which all His creatures
at its rim surrounding Him were
connected to God its center, we would
have a model of how God did not choose
to relate to us supernaturally, which is to
say, directly: each one to Him. He rather
chose a hierarchical formation,
somewhat like a pyramid, in which the
lower are related to Him, the pinnacle,
through an ascension of elemental parts.
The wheel idea is characteristic of many
non-Catholic Christian religions which
so emphasize God’s direct dealings with
each individual that they ignore the
hierarchical structure God established.
Yet it was the divine will to create an
ordering of creation according to the
place everyone has in the divine scheme.
The other image better represents the
Catholic understanding of God’s dealing
with His creatures where He
communicates with them mediately for
the greater part. Here is the whole
ordered world of angels and men
hierarchically arranged. In this one we
should recognize that the first of all His
creatures and the one therefore who is
the supernatural link of all of them to
God is the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this
position She distributes the graces of
God to the Church and She intercedes
for men before God. Her Immaculate
Conception first established that
supernatural link. It did not exist–except in
the mind of God–before then. In this we
can see the importance of the place of
Mary and how God made of Her a
necessity in the order of grace. All this
was in view of God’s becoming man in
Christ, the most momentous event of
history.
Our present place in the unrolling of the
chronology of humanity allows us to look
back to the time when God had not yet
become man, when that connecting
‘bridge’ of Mary did not yet exist. We are
then made aware of the great significance
of the Immaculate Conception which was
the immediate preparation for Christ’s
Incarnation. Advent also makes us long for
the fulfillment of the whole divine plan
when the human drama will have come to
completion, its denouement. Christ the
Judge and Sovereign will be seen by all
and each creature’s place in the scheme of
human history will be made evident. You
will inevitably be somewhere in that
picture, either among the saints or among
the demons, but you will not be without a
place. The vigilance of Advent is meant to
help secure us a place at God’s right rather
than at His left side. In that final scene
there will be the first place given to that
Woman radiating with the fullness of
grace, uniquely resembling Christ Himself.
Advent then is a preparation for the vision
of heaven which wouldn’t have
been made possible for us without the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
Fr. Perrone

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 7, 2008

The Heritance ends it's three-day run to a sold-out audience

It's been a long week and I have many photo samples to share. However, tomorrow is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception - a holy day of obligation. It's too late for me to catch the 6:30am Mass so I'll likely go to the 7:00pm liturgy. I have several nights backed up with things that must get done, from doctor appointments to laundry and housework so it will take some time for me to finish the editing.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Photopost: Fire that Shutdown Gratiot Ave this Afternoon

Many of us were detained getting to Assumption Grotto which is on Gratiot just south of 7 Mile Road. On the east side of Gratiot and just a few buildings south of the I-696 service drive, B&D Upholstery building was engulfed in flames (according to an article in the Detroit Free Press online, it was unoccupied). People had seen it on fire at 11:00 and I passed by just after Noon when I got caught these pics. Gratiot was shutdown for several hours - on the southbound side with fire trucks and on the northbound side due to heavy smoke.

UPDATE: View a slideshow of the fire which includes these pics and more at my Smugmug site (set the speed to fast in the upper left hand corner).

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Heroic Stand by the Grand Duke of Luxemborg

H/T to Rocco Palmo on this story out of Luxemborg where Grand Duke Henri - a Catholic, is aiming to veto a euthanasia bill, all the while lawmakers are preparing to strip him of his veto power.

It's a sad story of the times where many people in powerful positions will have to follow their well-formed conscience and accept the worldly consequences. From Spiegal Online:

Grand Duke of Luxembourg Will Lose His Veto
Luxembourg's parliament looks ready to strip the Grand Duke of his last lawmaking power as a controversy over euthanasia comes to a head. One of Europe's last royals with political sway may lose his formal veto by taking a stand against a law legalizing euthanasia.

The Grand Duke of Luxembourg, who has said he would interfere with a decision by parliament, will likely be stripped of his veto in a historic decision after a heated showdown over a bill to legalize euthanasia.

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg protested the bill and threatened to kill it next week by refusing to sign it into law.

The Grand Duke of Luxembourg, who has said he would interfere with a decision by parliament, will likely be stripped of his veto in a historic decision after a heated showdown over a bill to legalize euthanasia.

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg protested the bill and threatened to kill it next week by refusing to sign it into law.

"I understand the Grand Duke's problems of conscience," said Juncker, "but I believe that if the parliament votes in a law, it must be brought into force."

The euthanasia bill has been controversial since 2001. It would let patients with "grave and incurable" conditions die at the hands of a doctor if they ask repeatedly to be euthanized and earn the consent of two doctors and a panel of experts. Medical and physician groups have opposed the bill, though, and so have many citizens of this traditionally Catholic nation.

It follows similar laws in the Netherlands and Belgium, where King Baudouin -- Henri's uncle -- abdicated for a day in 1990 to avoid signing a Belgian abortion law. The current Belgian king, Albert II, has signed Belgium's recent euthanasia and homosexual-marriage laws over his private Catholic beliefs.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a constitutional monarchy, and the Grand Duke is its head of state. He has indicated that he won't stand in the way of any change to the constitution.

I'm wondering how many of those lawmakers in parliament working to strip the Grand Duke of his veto power are Catholics.

Rocco notes something else in his blogpost:

The incident evokes echoes of Belgium in 1990, when the late King Baudouin I abdicated his throne for a day in objection to a measure placed before him loosening restrictions on abortions. The government temporarily assumed the king's powers, and enacted the law in his stead. Earlier this year, Baudouin's widow Queen Fabiolarevealed that she had suffered five miscarriages; the couple remained childless.The famously-devout Belgian sovereign -- the last person to receive the top honor of papal knighthood, the Supreme Order of Christ -- was Henri's uncle.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Catholic Leaves Behind Vulgar Work Culture

This was brought to my attention by Denise over at Semper Fi Catholic:

Frank Ramirez: Porn in the workplace
05:14 PM CST on Tuesday, December 2, 2008

In the midst of an economic crisis, it would seem like nothing short of foolishness to walk away from a job, especially if one has a family to support. But I had no choice.

This is not a story about corporate callousness or abuse; it's a story about our culture's shedding of civility and common decency. I should say up front that I'm a Christian, but a tolerant one. I have become good friends with some former co-workers on the sales floor who don't share my faith or ethics. But I have boundaries. That's why I quit. Everyone at that store – managers and employees both may share my planet, but we live in different worlds.

When the security officer showed me a picture on his phone of a woman who was practically naked, I looked away. When one of the temps told me he couldn't wait to get an iPhone so he could download pornography, I shook my head in disbelief. When one of my co-workers exclaimed, "You don't look at porn!?" I chuckled over how weird I must've seemed.

Sex was conversational fodder every day there. Male employees would speculate among themselves about what female customers would look like naked. Sometimes, female employees would join these conversations. Once I saw an argument between a gay male employee and a woman over which had performed the most oral sex. And so on.

You'd think I was working at a strip club! But in fact, this was a highly trafficked store in a prosperous part of town, a retail outlet selling everyday products to middle-income and upscale folks. We went to great lengths to please our customers. If only they knew what the staff was saying about them behind their backs.

After a year, I couldn't take it anymore. But understand: I don't consider this experience sexual harassment. With few exceptions, my co-workers never intentionally tried to upset me or make me feel uncomfortable. They were always welcoming.

The problem is not really that vulgar workplace. The problem is our culture.

Pornographic garbage is everywhere, and we've grown to love its stench. In the current issue of Newsweek, M.J. McMahon, who runs a trade journal tracking the adult video industry, explained the rise in workplace online porn usage by saying, "You're looking at a younger consumer who has grown up with pornography being out there in the pop culture."

It's not just young adults. I'm in my twenties, and most of my sex-obsessed co-workers were older.

When I'd had enough, I called the chain's human resources manager and told her that it was time for me to quit. She wanted to know why and – somewhat embarrassed, because men are not supposed to be offended by such things – I told her. She wanted specifics. I gave her a couple of instances, but told her that it was not a matter of what this or that person said. Rather, it was how a pornographic mentality, one with no boundaries of propriety, had taken over the minds of our store's employees.

She offered to transfer me to another location. I agreed, but never heard from her again. In retrospect, I think that once she was satisfied that I wasn't going to sue the company, she cut me loose.

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," a wise man once said. Though a lawsuit might forcibly change my former co-workers' behavior, it's not going to change who they are. It's not going to change the eroticized culture that we live in, and our children are growing up in, a culture that degrades human dignity and calls it liberation.

And as the father of two daughters, that depresses me more than being unemployed.

Frank Ramirez lives in Dallas and may be contacted at traditional_culture@hotmail.com.

Source article in Dallas Morning News

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 4, 2008

Advent Rorate Masses

The Elevation of the Chalice during a 7:00pm Rorate Mass in the ordinary form on December 11, 2007 at Assumption Grotto

As we have had the last few Advents, Rorate Masses will again take place on Tuesday nights until Christmas. I was unable to pass along the news of this past Tuesday's Mass because it all came together abruptly the night before.

This is a Mass done entirely under candlepower. It is a custom that originated in German-speaking countries. A brief overview is given by one of the German priests who works out of Assumption Grotto.

There is a desire to do this Mass early in the morning as a TLM, but making it happen has been a challenge. Since it is happening on Tuesday nights at 7:00pm, it must be in the Novus Ordo, or ordinary form of the Mass. This is when the priests of the Holy Cross celebrate weekly.

What is a Rorate Mass and why is it celebrated with white vestments and by candlelight?

The Rorate Mass got its proper name from the first word of the Introit (Entrance antiphon): "Rorate caeli désuper et nubes pluant justum". "Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness". We know Gaudete and Laetare Sunday which also got their names from the Introit.

Before the liturgical changes after Vatican II this Mass was celebrated very early in the morning on all Saturdays. In some areas it was celebrated on several or even all weekdays during Advent.

ORIGINS

The Rorate Mass has a long tradition in the Church, especially in German-speaking countries. It is a Votive Mass in honor of the Blessed Mother for the season of Advent. Our Lady shows herself in a special way as our leader through Advent to Christmas. The celebration by candle light had originally a more practical reason. According to the Missal of 1570 no Mass could be said after 12.00 Noon. On the other hand, people had to go to work in the morning. Also the Rorate Masses were celebrated in a more solemn form and therefore would last longer. For these reasons the Masses had to begin relatively early in the morning when it was still dark due to winter-time.

SYMBOLISM

There is a beautiful symbolism associated with the Rorate Mass. Through the snow and cold and darkness of early morning the faithful would trudge with lanterns and candles in their hands to the then brightly lit Church (no electric light!) where the Mass was celebrated.

MARIAN DIMENSION

In Advent we live spiritually between the Annunciation and the birth of Christ. Mary teaches us the spirit of Advent and inner attitude we should have during Advent. During the nine month of pregnancy Mary lived a hidden life, in the spirit of silence and intense intimacy with Christ she carried in her womb. This spirit of intimacy with God the faithful are to cultivate during the season of Advent more intensely by listening attentively to God's message and by obedience to His word.

RORATE MASSES TODAY

Today this Mass with candlelight can either be celebrated in the morning or in the evening when it is dark, because there is no restriction any more with regard to the hours Mass can be said. In fact it is frequently celebrated in German-speaking countries because of its popularity). Popular piety attributed to these Masses a special efficacy and they were held in great esteem. People would ask these Masses to be said for their intentions far in advance.

USE OF CANDLES

What we see so often in Church history: certain things have been done first for practical reasons, but then in the course of time there was also attributed a spiritual meaning. And the use of candles during Advent belongs into this category. The symbolism of the candle matches very well with the spirit of Advent. Advent is dawn. It is still not the bright light of Christmas. Advent is a time of preparation for something exceedingly joyful that will be going to happen. The Church and the soul are still struggling through the darkness toward the Light. There is a longing and expectancy of Advent. The light of our candles is a symbol for our longing for the coming of our Savior Whose light is already dawning. On Christmas Eve we will enter the Church in procession by candlelight. When the Gloria is sung all the lights will be turned on meaning that Christ is now born.

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

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Dec 3, 2008

Bishop Jamie Soto takes the Helm in Sacramento

Bishop Jamie Soto, who has served for a year as the co-adjutor of Sacramento has taken the reigns from Bishop William Weigand.

Yes.....that Jamie Soto!

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Pope: Man needs God, even without realizing it.

Pope Benedict, in an address to members of the Pontifical Seminaries of Las Marcas, Puglia and Abruzzo-Molise:

Benedict XVI acknowledged that there is a certain culture that reveals "the face of a self-sufficient humanity, anxious to carry out its projects on its own, which chooses to be the sole architect of its destiny and which, consequently, believes that the presence of God does not count and so excludes it from its choices and decisions."

Read the short address in full at Zenit.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Dec 2, 2008

Seeing a "virus" when visiting this blog? Don't panic

I just learned from a reader who kindly sent me an email that her computer was indicating my website had a virus:

Actns/Swif.T

If you have seen this when visiting sites it is likely not the sites, but an error in the code of your virus/spyware checker. It is reading part of the embed code as malware - something harmful.

In this post, the person claims to have spoken with YouTube and Google and it is not a legitimate virus, but an error.

In any event, I have removed embedded videos from my front page for the time being.

False alarm: Actns/Swif.T Virus in embedded Youtube videos?

Actns/Swif.T virus affecting embedded YouTube vids?

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Great News - GOP wins seat in Georgia

One thing the pro-life movement really feared was the Democratic super majority had they won 60 seats. Georgia and Minnesota were still open. A run-off election in GA was taken by Saxby Chambliss, the Republican incumbant. Even if Franken wins in Minnesota, the possibility of a 60 seat majority by Democrats is a goner.

As a result, there will be some kind of check and balance in the Senate.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

The Heritance: Just three performances - starting Wednesday night!

There will be a heavy focus on The Heritance and posting will be slow this week. I will be at Grotto tomorrow after work, Friday, and all day Sunday. Thursday I drive my mom to the doctor after work and Saturday is our monthly Carmelite meeting. In between, I have loads of photo editing, including a large backlog of things I owe people from pics to audio!!!

Details on dates, ticket info and the like can be found at the bottom of this post.

A few teaser-photos I took during a recent rehearsal. If you are within driving distance, just let go of stuff and join us. People have been working for months on it and I promise you it is NOT your ordinary school play. Volunteers, professionals in their respective fields, coached the performers. There is an orchstra pit with professional musicians. The pastor of the parish is conducting the symphony and choir. I tell you that when you hear it all mixed together, it will send chills up your spine. The music is, at times, downright haunting. Other times, it is joyful enough to make you want to join in. There are many warm and comical moments.

This next picture is not that of an actor, but our pastor! An original musical would not be possible without an original composer and conductor. Assumption Grotto's pastor, Fr. Eduard Perrone, used his composition skills for the symphony and the choir parts (see press release at the bottom of this post). Here he is conducting the symphony during the dress rehearsal.

I give you now a peak behind stage and in other areas of support in the gym. We have a retired carpenter in the parish who worked with an entire team of young people and other volunteers to construct &paint moveable set pieces. The stage crew, which includes performers between acts, then works to remove some things and add others as needed for each scene.

While you will see many performers on stage singing and acting, there are many more people behind stage in support roles handling lights, curtains, makeup, microphone wiring, and much more. There is seamstress backstage working with costumes. On the gym floor is an elaborate sound system run by another team of volunteers with skill in this area. And, at the back of the gym is Grotto's associate, Fr. John, running a slideshow projector with text for each number sung. It is truly amazing how all of this chaos has turned itself into well-running machine.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Microphones, hair and makeup....

Here is the press release which is on the Assumption Grotto website:

Detroit Pastor PRODUCES broadway style musical TO PROMOTE priesthood and religious life.

Detroit, mi, november 10, 2008: 30 years ago, Rev. Eduard Perrone, pastor of Assumption Grotto Catholic Church in Detroit, announced to his famous father, renowned big band musician Phil Perrone, that he had decided to enter the seminary, his father exclaimed that the music community had lost a “great one”. But today, the Rev. Perrone is making history from his Detroit parish by producing wholesome family musicals in the grand tradition of the great classics.

“It’s not just good music.” Rev. Perrone says, “What last year’s musical, Palla Eius and this year’s new musical, called The Heritance, represent is what we hope will be the beginning of a Catholic cultural renaissance, beginning in Detroit and spreading throughout the world. We desperately need this genre of theatre given the immense influx of filth and violence of so many contemporary films, music and stage productions which have not resisted even unto attacking the Catholic Church and the priesthood.”

To assure the success of the musical productions, Rev. Perrone has teamed up with Detroiters from the international entertainment community. Joe Maher, a producer of live entertainment from Hollywood; Sonja Krolik, a choreographer and dancer from Broadway; Emmy and Grammy Award winner Ed Wolfrum who engineered the sound for the great Motown hits of the 60’s; and the music during the performances will be accompanied by members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

“There’s a lamentable void in the Church’s involvement in the arts today, even though the Church formerly has been a great promoter of them. This deficiency has resulted in the proverbial ‘vacuum’ for evil to take ascendancy in film, TV, literature, vulgar music, etc. From time to time we need incentives to our faith. The arts should help supply for this. We need a Catholic cultural revival!” Rev. Perrone said.

The new musical, The Heritance, will be performed at Assumption Grotto Catholic Parish, 13770 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48205 on Wednesday, December 3rd at 7:00 p.m., Friday, December 5th at 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, December 7th at 3:00 p.m. Call the Assumption Grotto Rectory for tickets: (313) 372-0762. Ticket prices are $30 per family; $10 per adult; $7.00 per teen; $3.00 per child and Children 6 and under are free. There is free lighted and secured parking.

Real Catholic TV also plugged the event on their December 1, 2008 News segment.

It starts at about 4:30 into this broadcast. Click here to watch (the link mentioned by Vic takes you directly to the press release on the Grotto website that I provided above).

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