Mozart Requiem at Assumption Grotto Saturday - All Souls Day

Assumption Grotto will have a Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form on Saturday at 9:30 AM with the Assumption Grotto Choir and Orchestra offering the Mozart Requiem.

This Friday is All Saints, and a Holy Day of Obligation.  On Saturday, we have All Souls Day. While not obligatory, it is a true act of mercy to go to Mass and pray for the dead in purgatory.

Here is Fr. Perrone discussing it all from last Sunday's bulletin:

This coming Friday is a holy day of obligation: All Saints Day. Every Catholic is obliged to assist at Mass that day. Our parish schedule will be as on Sundays (6:30 and 9:30 a.m.; 12:00 noon) plus a 7:00 p.m. Mass.

This coming Friday is a holy day of obligation: All Saints Day. Every Catholic is obliged to assist at Mass that day. Our parish schedule will be as on Sundays (6:30 and 9:30 a.m.; 12:00 noon) plus a 7:00 p.m. Mass. 

The day following, All Souls Day, November 2, is the day for you to pray for your beloved dead and for all the souls yet detained in purgatory. Masses that morning will begin at 6:00 a.m. and continue on continuously until 8:30 am. At 9:30 a.m. there will be a Solemn High Requiem Mass to the accompaniment of the incomparable Mozart Requiem, the composer’s very last work. 

Purgatorial Society envelopes to record the names of your deceased may be found in the pews today. Such persons will be prayed for in the Masses offered for them. Please submit those envelopes today in the collection basket. 

Do visit the cemetery November 1-8 to gain the plenary indulgence for the dead. This is one of those benevolent and maternal acts of largesse on the part of holy Church towards her faithful departed that only you can win for them. While making your pious cemetery visit, say some prayers for the dead. You must have no attachment to any sin (Confession plus and Act of Contrition for all your sins would do), you must go to Communion and you must also pray for the intentions of the Pope. 

As the Christian faith wanes in our country so the secular and even the demonic gain ascendancy. I’m thinking here of the big to-do over Halloween and the increasingly macabre and occult emphasis given to it. Many of our parish children costume themselves as saints as an antidote to the ghoulish and bizarre goings-on. I should add that there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with having innocent fun about things spooky but only that the limits of due discretion need be observed here–as in all other matters generally.

Here is a 30 second audio advertisement on the orchestral Mass.


You can see photos from the 2011 All Souls Day Mass.  They were a bit "color-challenged" due to the darkness.  Night photography within Grotto is always an added challenge because there is no other light coming in.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Michigan seems to be missing Archbishop Sample...

Archbishop Sample got moved to Portland, Oregon, from Marquette earlier this year and now Michigan makes a license plates in his name!  The Mackinac Bridge is especially suited.

Picture Source: WDIV-Detroit Facebook page discussing possibility of front and rear license plates for Michigan again.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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This and that...

Friends, I've been really bogged down with little time for things like blogging lately and still have not finished going through my photos from last week's ordination of Fr. Louis Lapeyre.  I'm hoping the weekend will see the completion of that, and more.

I have some other good things coming, in addition to those photos, including a two great homilies on vocations - one by Archbishop Vigneron given at that ordination, and one given about two months ago by a recently ordained priest, at Grotto.

Grotto News for All Souls and more... 

Each week, you can read the bulletin from Assumption Grotto, online (or for any other parish for that matter), using Seek and Find.  Bulletins are usually only kept online for a few weeks, so right click and save any PDF's you want to reference later.  Here is the page to bookmark for Assumption Grotto.

Look at the October 27 bulletin for some important news from Fr. Perrone about upcoming Masses for All Saints, All Souls, and about the 40 Hours Devotion coming up.   On All Souls, there will be a series of Masses running continuously from 6:00 AM until 8:30 AM, then there will be a Solemn High Requiem Mass with orchestra and choir doing the Mozart Requiem.  

In other news:

Two American bishops, thus far, have been stricken with Hepatitis C after attending "bishop's school" in Rome (contaminated food, from what I understand).  People are being warned to get checked if, under certain conditions, they have been in contact with them.

Monsignor Charles Pope has written a great blogpost for Saturday reading that should encourage us to frequent Confession:  Stages of Sin from St. Bernard of Clairvaux - Fasten your Seatbelt!

Pope Francis:  Going to Confession is not a torture chamber

Christians continue to be persecuted in the Middle East; most media outlets continue to ignore.  

Bishop Paprocki isn't mincing words upon learning the Rainbow Sash Movement has plans for disrupting Mass.

Grotto-goer Kevin Tierney is talking Theology of the Body and the Sacraments.  It is at Catholic Exchange, but I'm sending you to his blogpost which has links to his full series and more.

Please don't forget about the American Papist, Thom Peters, who suffered a broken neck this summer and is continuing to recover.  There is a special website chronicling this part of his life's journey and donations are being taken there to help with expenses.  The good news is that it sounds like Thom is heading home next week, but he has a long road ahead of him with therapy.  I had read on some of the posts that he was regaining some feelings, and some use of his hands.  Please continue to pray for his recovery.  Keep in mind that even a lot of $5 donations can add up.

Lastly, I've been getting emails about this movie coming out in time for Advent, "The Christmas Candle".  It looks good and I anticipate seeing it.  Archbishop Chaput, writing on his Facebook wall says:

I’m sharing some information about a new feature film scheduled to be released in theaters nationwide next month. The Christmas Candle is based on a book by Christian author Max Lucado and focuses on the season of Advent. It’s also the first film from former U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate Rick Santorum through his production company Echolight Studios.

If you’re looking for a family friendly, Christ-centered movie this year, this is the one to see.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Pictures from the Solemn High Mass for Fr. Perrone's Mother

I was unable to be at the funeral for Grace Perrone and am still looking for time to finish going through the photos I took of the ordination of parishioner, Fr. Louis Lapeyre down in Monroe at the same time.

I received a few photos from the funeral through Ray Long, taken by Stan Williams.  I got approval from Fr. Perrone last night to share some of these.

Mrs. Perrone died just after 6:30 PM last Tuesday following a massive stroke suffered during a morning funeral Mass for her brother, which was being celebrated by Fr. Perrone.

While it is easy to see the Knights of Columbus, the altar boys and other clerics in choir, what may not be so visible unless you look are Mrs. Perrone's brothers and sisters in Carmel lining the procession route in the pews on either side.  Despite her advanced age, at 92, she continued to come to most monthly Carmelite meetings on First Saturdays.

This was a Mass for the Dead in the extraordinary form.  My wish is to be buried this way for the depth of prayers within the Mass and following afterwards with the burial.  There is no mistaking the Mass for the Dead as a celebration of the life of the deceased.  Rather, the focus is on helping to mitigate their suffering in purgatory, assuming most go there before entrance into heaven.  So few Catholics today really understand this, sadly.  We need our priests to start talking about it more often.

See the Mass for the Dead, the Requiem, online here.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Today: Priestly Ordination of Grotto parishioner, Dcn Louis Lapeyre

On the day that Grotto's pastor must bury his mother, Grace, the people of Assumption Grotto can rejoice over the 'birth' of a priest today.  At 11:00 AM at St. Mary's in Monroe, Michigan, Deacon Louis Lapeyre will become Father Lapeyre at the hands of Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron.  Some parishioners will witness this great event on behalf of the many who would have otherwise been at the ordination, if not for the funeral; those at the funeral will witness the burial of a woman who gave us a such a fine priest, for those at the ordination.  It's what big families do.  Grace would have been at the ordination, no doubt, if God didn't have other plans.  I myself have waited many years to  see my fellow parishioner, and friend, Deacon Lapeyre, become a priest and will be in Monroe. Many who are going to the funeral are looking forward to witnessing his ordination through the lens of my camera.


The Michigan Catholic has a nice write-up.  Here is the beginning:

MONROE — As a child, Deacon Louis Lapeyre expected to become an Air Force pilot like Tom Cruise in “Top Gun.” 

But as a teenager, he began to grow closer to God through his activities at his parish, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Grotto), including singing in the choir.“And when you grow closer to God, he tells you things,” said Deacon Lapeyre, who will be ordained to the priesthood on Oct. 19. “He said, ‘why don’t you become a priest?’”“It became this invitation, this desire that didn’t go away, that I felt I had to pursue,” he said. 

Deacon Lapeyre was born in New Orleans but grew up in Royal Oak, and participated in the Civil Air Patrol as a teenager, where he learned a lot about the need for personal discipline and self-knowledge. 

He realizes now that it was not training him for the rigorous lifestyle of the Air Force, but rather for the equally rigorous lifestyle of the Catholic priesthood. 

“I was always thinking about what I could do for others, for the people around me,” he said. “It really dawned on me that this was connected with my faith. That’s something that came to me in prayer. I realized, ‘why not become a priest?’” 

Deacon Lapeyre comes from a long line of French Catholics, with several of them belonging to religious life: “It goes all the way back to the original French settlers,” he said. 

More recently, he had a great-aunt who was a religious sister with the Society of the Sacred Heart, and a late great-uncle who was a Jesuit. Additionally, his mother, Ruth Lapeyre, teaches at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. 

He said it can be hard for families when their son discerns a call to the priesthood, but the reasons vary according to the person. 

“They might say ‘I know this person, he’s not that holy; he might not make it.’ Or, ‘I don’t know how to support that,’” explained Deacon Lapeyre, admitting it can be somewhat overwhelming. “They know you, they know everything about you.” 

But at the same time, he said the best witness a man who’s becoming a priest can offer is in his humility, “in our care for others, and regarding others as individuals all working toward the kingdom.”

Please read the rest of the article at The Michigan Catholic

The newly ordained Deacon Lapeyre on Pentecost Sunday at a Solemn High Mass
in the Extraordinary Form, earlier this year, to Fr. John Bustamante's right.
Also in the photograph, to the left of Fr. John is Tim Ferguson,
now completing his final studies for the priesthood
for the Diocese of Marquette.  

Over the summer you may have seen Deacon Lapeyre in choir or as involved in the Masses at Assumption Grotto or preaching.

Some might wonder why this is not happening at the Cathedral.  I don't know the reasoning behind it, but I know that all of the priests who have been ordained after the minimum canonical requirement of 6 months in the transitional diaconate, have been at whatever parish to which they were assigned.  The bulk of ordinations take place after about one year and those happen the Saturday before Pentecost in the Archdiocese of Detroit.  We have a group coming up this Pentecost, so keep them all in your prayers.  I photographed their ordination to the diaconate earlier in the year.    Behind them is yet another group.  Brick-by-brick.

One thing I can say about this practice is that it gives many more people an opportunity, being so close to home, to witness a priestly ordination.

I know his First Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary's in Monroe on Sunday.  I don't know what time, so someone can leave a comment if they have it, otherwise I should know later today.  Watch for an update to this post on that.

Grotto parishioners note - Father Lapeyre will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at Assumption Grotto, probably the following weekend and I hear Fr. Perrone is pulling out all the stops!  Details to come.

Please pray for the new Father Lapeyre on the day of his priestly ordination.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Fr. Perrone on the death of his mother, and a few more thoughts

Grace Perrone listening to her son speak during a Lenten Friday meal at Assumption Grotto

The bulletin for October 18th is online.  Father Perrone discusses the passing of his mother.

At the passing of his own mother some years back, my good friend Charles Fantazzi said that he had begun a new period of his life: the time of life without a mother. The death of one’s mother is an event unlike others. It delineates a time before and after, everything being reckoned in reference to it. 

Perhaps the circumstances of my mother’s unexpected death have already circulated. Of all the ways and times possible, it was the very best. Consider that she had what was determined to have been a massive stroke in church, during the funeral Mass of her brother, my Uncle Frank, celebrated by her son, surrounded by all her family and relatives, with a minimum of pain (though she whispered to my sister that it was the “worst headache I’ve ever had”), after having been anointed by Fr. Ludwig, on the feast day of Saint Teresa of Avila (Mom was a Third Order Carmelite whose patron is Saint Teresa), with speedy medical attention thanks to Phyllis Baussano and Ray Long’s paramedic skills. Her death took place later that day (Tuesday) in the hospital with all her family and most of her relatives surrounding her, and after the entire rite for the dying from the old Roman Ritual had been said. Given that all must die in satisfaction of the debt of original sin, could there have been a better way to leave this earthly “exile” than that? Mom had already fallen in unconsciousness before being taken away by EMS. 

I don’t really want to write about Mom here because I will need to speak about her in my funeral oration on Saturday and don’t want to anticipate now what I intend to say then. Another reason is that I do not want to weigh heavily my personal loss upon my parishioners who have already been so expressive of their affections for her–and for me. Yet I can hardly write about anything else since nothing else preoccupies my mind. 

Her name was Grace and she preferred to be called by that name, though parishioners, out of deference to me, often referred to her as “Mrs. Perrone,” which caused one curious little child to ask her, “Are you Father Perrone’s wife?” Grace is, of course, a lovely name by its very definition, and a kind parishioner remarked that she was appropriately named. My Dad thought so, of course, and composed lyrics and melody of a song about her that captured this, expressing his own deep affection for her. I hope you don’t mind me quoting it here. 

Grace, my lovely, / You’re enchanting, / Precious as a jewel so fine. / Every day I pray / The Lord will let me stay / With you until the end of time. / Grace, my lovely, / Words have failed me. / Since you made / My dream come true, / How can I express / All my happiness? / Grace, my lovely, / I love you. 

For a long time Mom had been a daily Mass goer, until she could no longer drive due to macular degeneration. Then she would watch weekday Mass on TV, coming to church whenever she could get a ride–usually about three times during the week, when she would cook at the rectory. At ninety-two years of age she was still spry and mentally sharp. I wanted her to stay active in this way which I thought good for her (as well as for me).
Her outstanding quality, the one I most admired, if I may say so, was her ordinariness. 

That may seem a rather thin tribute but is not really so. Mom did not like being fussed over, even by me. Ordinariness, as I said in an occasional sermon, is the nearest equivalent I know of forhumility. Too often that word conjures up the dread picture of a vaunted obsequiousness, a mere caricature of the real thing. Mom did [not] put on airs nor act as though anyone owed her special recognition, though I know she was proud to be the mother of her children. It is that estimation of ‘non-special’ status that made her so approachable and—may I add—likeable (certainly much more so than her sometime redoubtable priest-son). 

I must now toughen-up a bit to remind you of an important point of parish business. Our annual Benefit Dinner with raffle and auction takes place today after the noon Mass. Mom would certainly have been there, taking her place among other parishioners (no head table seating for her!), wanting in any way to support the parish, which means, in effect, yourselves. 

Fr. Perrone

Fr. Perrone's column sparked even more memories for me.

Anyone who knew her can attest to what he says about "non-special" approach to life.  Grace was dignified yet simple.   She also showed the strength of a woman who lived a life filled with responsibilities and duties.  Certain days were for cooking at the rectory and there was a day set aside for her laundry; First Saturday's were for Carmelite meetings at Grotto, and so on.  Though she had every right to not have any schedule at all, she seemed to be oblivious to her advanced age.  The first time I tried to assist her into my car from her drive way, she made very clear she didn't need any help (and she was right).  The only time she made an exception is when it was really slippery, but even that was only at my firm insistence.  I told her if she was going down, we were going down together and that's all there was to it.

Grace loved being a mother, grandmother, and great great-mother.  On our rides into Grotto she beamed when speaking about an upcoming baby shower, a visit with long-time friends,  a trip to Traverse City to surprise her daughter for her birthday, going to hear the Detroit Symphony with Fr. Perrone, or the great family gathering with all the generations. Those were the things that could interrupt the schedule at a moment's notice.

When Grace was aware that I was not well on a given occasion, I would get a phone call out of blue, asking me how I was doing.  "I'm just checking up on you," she would say.  Even though I insisted that being just 3 miles from me, it was no inconvenience at all to pick her up, she had to express her gratitude.   It came in the form of dinner at Scallopini's, or a package of Rinaldi sausage (she knew I liked Italian, with fennel).  Not long ago, she brought me back a cute red cup with white polka-dots on it, and a ceramic spoon built into a holder in the handle, with, "Traverse City" written on it.  I took it to work the next day.

Did I mention she was a Tiger's fan?  I didn't always follow the Tiger's games, but sometimes when I picked her up she would just start talking about the ballgame!

As tragic as it was for her to suffer a massive stroke in the middle of her brother's funeral Mass, I'm just glad it did not happen to her when she was home alone.  Like many in advanced age, she would sometimes talk about  her days coming to an end.  My own mother did that for the last 25 years of her life! It was only about 6 weeks ago when she mentioned it again, and, referencing an expression of my mothers I said, "Grace, you're here until God pulls your time-card and until then, you have work to do."  I can still picture her hearty laugh at that quip.

Rest in peace, Grace.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Obituary for Grace Marie Perrone (1921 - 2013)

I made an earlier post, but just saw the obituary come out this evening, for Fr. Perrone's mother, Grace.

Grace Marie Perrone passed away peacefully with family by her side at St. John Hospital in Detroit on October 15, 2013 at the age of 92. She was born on March 22, 1921 in Detroit; daughter of Alphonso and Angelina (nee Viviano) Pizzimenti. She graduated from Miller High School in Detroit in 1939. 

On February 14, 1942 Grace married Philip Perrone at St. Charles of Borromeo Catholic Church in Detroit. The lived in Detroit until 1971 when they moved to Chesterfield Twp. In 1987 Grace moved to Warren. Grace lived a wonderful life. She was gregarious and funny. She was very socially active and loved spending time with her family. Mrs. Perrone was a devout Catholic who would attend daily Mass until she couldn't drive anymore, which reduced her attendance to three or four times a week. She was a third order Carmelite. Grace's hobbies included cooking, ushering at the music hall, and spending time with family and friends. 

She was predeceased by the love of her life Philip, who passed away two days after their 40th wedding anniversary. Grace leaves behind her loving children Chi Chi (Don) Hobart, Father Eduardo Perrone, Philip (Cindy) Perrone, and Angela Perrone. She was proud of her grandchildren Derek, Christian, Philip, Mark, Nicholas, and Michelle. She adored her 5 great-grandchildren. She will be missed by her siblings Domenic, Rose, Elizabeth "Boots", Theresa, and Bill "Pete". She was predeceased by her sister Angela, and brothers Joseph, Jerry, and Frank. 

Visitation will be held on Friday from 2:00 until 9:00 pm at the A.H. Peters Funeral Home, 20705 Mack Ave., at Vernier Rd., Grosse Pointe Woods. A Rosary will be recited at 8:00 pm. Mrs. Perrone will lie in state at Assumption Grotto Catholic Church on Saturday from 10:30 until the time of the Mass of the Resurrection at 11:00 am. She will be buried next to her beloved Philip at Assumption Grotto Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Assumption Grotto Church, 13770 Gratiot, Detroit, MI 48205.

There is a guestbook there that you can sign.   See the original obituary and guestbook here.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Funeral Arrangements for Grace Perrone

Dear Friends, 

I got this information from the rectory:

Friday, October 18 is the wake from 2:00 -9:00 p.m. Rosary at 8:00 p.m.  Peters Funeral Home Grosse Pointe, Mack & 8 Mile.

Burial will be on Saturday October 19 at 10:30 in state 11:00 a.m. Latin Mass - Luncheon to follow in the Grotto school gym

She will be buried in Grotto Cemetery.

Side note:

A Grotto parishioner, Louis Lapeyre, is being ordained to the priesthood at St. Mary's in Monroe on Saturday at the same time (he was ordained to the transitional diaconate earlier this year).  It's an unfortunate conflict for a number of parishioners, but understandable given the number of people that will want to be at the funeral.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Requiescat in Pace (R.I.P.) Grace Perrone, mother of Rev. Eduard Perrone

Grace Perrone with Bishop Sample following the Pontifical Mass at Assumption Grotto
October 2012

It's with great sadness that I write this post to share with you the news that Grace Perrone, the mother of Fr. Eduard Perrone, pastor of Assumption Grotto, has departed this life at 6:35 PM this evening following a massive stroke this morning during the funeral for her brother Frank.  Please pray for the repose of her soul, and for the repose of her brother's soul.  Also keep the family in mind.

I was at the funeral Mass for her brother this morning when she took ill during a beautiful solo of the Ave Maria.  By the time the Angus Dei hit, it was clear something serious was wrong and EMS was called.  Fr. Ludwig happened to be on site and came in the Mass to anoint her as we awaited since Fr. Perrone was in the middle of Mass and unable to stop.  She died this evening surrounded by Fr. Perrone and the rest of the family, several of whom had come in from out of town for today's funeral.

Mrs. Perrone was a secular Carmelite at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Community at Assumption Grotto, where Fr. Perrone, also a secular Carmelite, is chaplain.  There is something very deep about God taking the soul of a Carmelite on this great feast day of St. Teresa of Avila.  Grace was active in the community right to the end.  She persisted in trying to pray the breviary even after her eye sight was failing.

I grew closer to her in the past year since I began driving her to Mass on Sundays, and to the Saturday Carmel meetings. She finally gave up her license around age 90, due to macular degeneration. Grace still cooked for the priests on a regular basis several times weekly and helped out at many functions at the parish, including the Shrine, feast days, and so much more.  We talked about cooking often during our rides, as well as the the old days.  Listening to her talk about the Big Band Era was like listening to my own mother.

Today I was reflecting on the closeness that many of us had to Grace Perrone.  She wasn't just a friend. Many agreed she felt like a second mother.   But it's not so strange that the mother of a Catholic priest became a mother to many.  And now, we entrust her to Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,

that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,

implored your help or sought your intercession,

was left unaided.

Inspired with this confidence,

I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother;

to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate,

despise not my petitions,

but in your mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

May she rest in peace.

We will miss you,  Grace.  Thank you for giving us our pastor.

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For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Pope Benedict XVI on St. Teresa of Avila from 2011 General Audience

Today is the feast day of St. Teresa of Jesus, more commonly known as, St. Teresa of Avila.  On February 2, 2011, Pope Emeritus Benedict spoke about the Doctor of Prayer during his General Audience.  After reviewing her life, which you can read here in his short synopsis, I quote the second half of his address:

It is far from easy to sum up in a few words Teresa’s profound and articulate spirituality. I would like to mention a few essential points. In the first place St Teresa proposes the evangelical virtues as the basis of all Christian and human life and in particular, detachment from possessions, that is, evangelical poverty, and this concerns all of us; love for one another as an essential element of community and social life; humility as love for the truth; determination as a fruit of Christian daring; theological hope, which she describes as the thirst for living water. Then we should not forget the human virtues: affability, truthfulness, modesty, courtesy, cheerfulness, culture. 

Secondly, St Teresa proposes a profound harmony with the great biblical figures and eager listening to the word of God. She feels above all closely in tune with the Bride in the Song of Songs and with the Apostle Paul, as well as with Christ in the Passion and with Jesus in the Eucharist. The Saint then stresses how essential prayer is. Praying, she says, “means being on terms of friendship with God frequently conversing in secret with him who, we know, loves us” (Vida 8, 5). St Teresa’s idea coincides with Thomas Aquinas’ definition of theological charity as “amicitia quaedam hominis ad Deum”, a type of human friendship with God, who offered humanity his friendship first; it is from God that the initiative comes (cf. Summa Theologiae II-II, 23, 1). 

Prayer is life and develops gradually, in pace with the growth of Christian life: it begins with vocal prayer, passes through interiorization by means of meditation and recollection, until it attains the union of love with Christ and with the Holy Trinity. Obviously, in the development of prayer climbing to the highest steps does not mean abandoning the previous type of prayer. Rather, it is a gradual deepening of the relationship with God that envelops the whole of life. 

Rather than a pedagogy Teresa’s is a true “mystagogy” of prayer: she teaches those who read her works how to pray by praying with them. Indeed, she often interrupts her account or exposition with a prayerful outburst. 

Another subject dear to the Saint is the centrality of Christ’s humanity. For Teresa, in fact, Christian life is the personal relationship with Jesus that culminates in union with him through grace, love and imitation. Hence the importance she attaches to meditation on the Passion and on the Eucharist as the presence of Christ in the Church for the life of every believer, and as the heart of the Liturgy. St Teresa lives out unconditional love for the Church: she shows a lively “sensus Ecclesiae”, in the face of the episodes of division and conflict in the Church of her time. 

She reformed the Carmelite Order with the intention of serving and defending the “Holy Roman Catholic Church”, and was willing to give her life for the Church (cf. Vida, 33,5).
A final essential aspect of Teresian doctrine which I would like to emphasize is perfection, as the aspiration of the whole of Christian life and as its ultimate goal. The Saint has a very clear idea of the “fullness” of Christ, relived by the Christian. At the end of the route through The Interior Castle, in the last “room”, Teresa describes this fullness, achieved in the indwelling of the Trinity, in union with Christ through the mystery of his humanity. 

Dear brothers and sisters, St Teresa of Jesus is a true teacher of Christian life for the faithful of every time. In our society, which all too often lacks spiritual values, St Teresa teaches us to be unflagging witnesses of God, of his presence and of his action. She teaches us truly to feel this thirst for God that exists in the depths of our hearts, this desire to see God, to seek God, to be in conversation with him and to be his friends. 

This is the friendship we all need that we must seek anew, day after day. May the example of this Saint, profoundly contemplative and effectively active, spur us too every day to dedicate the right time to prayer, to this openness to God, to this journey, in order to seek God, to see him, to discover his friendship and so to find true life; indeed many of us should truly say: “I am not alive, I am not truly alive because I do not live the essence of my life”. 

Therefore time devoted to prayer is not time wasted, it is time in which the path of life unfolds, the path unfolds to learning from God an ardent love for him, for his Church, and practical charity for our brothers and sisters. Many thanks.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Marian Day of Prayer and Pope Consecrating the World to Mary

Today the Holy Father is having a Marian Day of Prayer in Rome.

The Vatican player should be working at 11:00 AM ET (set your language in the upper corner), but you an also catch it on EWTN at 1:00 ET.  Check other local Catholic listings.  There will be encores too.

Tomorrow, he will consecrate the world to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Read also about the Fatima statue coming to Rome in VIS News

Yesterday, the Pope explained that the Devil is real.

(Vatican Radio) Christians must always guard against the deceit of the devil, said Pope Francis at Friday’s morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta. The Pope underlined that Christians cannot follow the victory of Jesus over evil “halfway”, nor confuse or relativize truth in the battle against the devil.  

Jesus casts out demons, and then someone offers explanations “to diminish the power of the Lord,” he said. The Pope focused his homily on the day’s Gospel and immediately underlined that there is always the temptation to want to diminish the figure of Jesus, as if he were “a healer at most” and so as not to take him “so seriously”. It is an attitude, he observed, that has “reached our present day”. 

“There are some priests who, when they read this Gospel passage, this and others, say: ‘But, Jesus healed a person with a mental illness’. They do not read this, no? It is true that at that time, they could confuse epilepsy with demonic possession; but it is also true that there was the devil! And we do not have the right to simplify the matter, as if to say: ‘All of these (people) were not possessed; they were mentally ill’. No! The presence of the devil is on the first page of the Bible, and the Bible ends as well with the presence of the devil, with the victory of God over the devil.”  

For this reason, he warned, “we should not be naïve”. The Pope observed that the Lord gave us certain criteria to “discern” the presence of evil and to follow “the Christian way when there are temptations”. One of the criteria is “not to follow the victory of Jesus” only “halfway”.  

“Either you are with me, says the Lord, or you are against me,” the Pope said. Jesus, he added, came to destroy the devil, “to give us the freedom” from “the enslavement the devil has over us”. And, he cautioned, this is not “exaggerating”.  

“On this point,” he said, “there are no nuances. There is a battle and a battle where salvation is at play, eternal salvation; eternal salvation” of us all.  

There is criteria for watchfulness. “We must always be on guard,” exhorted the Pope, “on guard against deceit, against the seduction of evil”. 

Continue reading: http://en.radiovaticana.va/articolo.asp?c=736378 of the Vatican Radio website 

 

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Do we take our discourse lessons from Home Simpson?

Crisis Magazine has an article by James Kalb: "A Catholic Response to the Denial of Rational Public Discourse."  The title alone caught my attention because I've lamented the fact that classical education in things like philosophy which teaches how to reason and think, and rhetoric,  have been absent.  From that void, people have taken their lessons from Homer Simpson.  What would St. Augustine or St. Thomas Aquinas think about the way we talk all these centuries later, with less civility and smarts.  Catholic com-boxes resemble a night at the fights; some online evangelization efforts are nothing more than Catholic tabloidism.   That is not necessarily what this article is about, but it sure comes to my mind just reading the title.

I have not read this in full yet, but here is the beginning.

To follow the news today is to get the impression that public life, in the sense of rational discussion oriented toward some reasonable understanding of the common good, has come to an end. Everyone notices the partisanship, the bad faith, the indifference to truth, and the substitution of entertainment for hard news. Catholics in particular notice the disappearance of natural law reasoning, even in the informal everyday form that had always upheld principles such as the natural family and the protection of unborn children. 

The dominant view seems to be that things mean whatever those with position and power can get people to accept, and claims to the contrary are rhetorical attempts to put something over on people. Such views are held not only by cynics, flacks, and operatives, but by many who hold positions of intellectual authority. 

In some respects the disappearance of rational public life is not surprising,... [continue reading at Crisis]

*From the article: The image above entitled “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” was painted by Briton Riviere in 1872.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Some U.S. Catholic soldiers denied Sacraments during government shutdown

From FNC:

The U.S. military has furloughed as many as 50 Catholic chaplains due to the partial suspension of government services, banning them from celebrating weekend Mass. At least one chaplain was told that if he engaged in any ministry activity, he would be subjected to disciplinary action. 

“In very practical terms it means Sunday Mass won’t be offered,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services told me. “If someone has a baptism scheduled, it won’t be celebrated.” 

The Archdiocese for the Military Services tells me the military installations impacted are served by non-active-duty priests who were hired as government contractors. As a result of a shortage of active duty Catholic chaplains, the government hires contract priests.

Broglio said some military bases have forbidden the contract priests from volunteering to celebrate Mass without pay. 

“They were told they cannot function because those are contracted services and since there’s no funding they can’t do it – even if they volunteer,” he said. 

John Schlageter, general counsel for the archdiocese, said any furloughed priests volunteering their services could face big trouble. 

“During the shutdown, it is illegal for them to minister on base and they risk being arrested if they attempt to do so,” he said in a written statement.  “During the shutdown, it is illegal for them to minister on base and they risk being arrested if they attempt to do so,” he said in a written statement.

A well-placed source told me that a furloughed Air Force chaplain was threatened after he offered to forgo pay. The chaplain was told he could not go on base or enter his chapel offices. He was also barred from engaging in any ministry activity.

There's much more in the article.  Go read: Catholic priests in military face arrest for celebrating Mass.

Update: Catholic Vote is following it.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Pope Francis: Franciscan peace not, "a kind of pantheistic harmony with forces of the cosmos"

The feast of St. Francis of Assisi has reduced itself, in many quarters, to the blessing of animals.  A pity, that.  There's nothing wrong with having one's animals blessed. But how many go beyond that to learn about the Gospel from this great saint?

Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Assisi today (you can watch rebroadcasts several times today on EWTN, so check your local listings.) Finally, you can often find video-on-demand at the Vatican's website.  Go to this page and choose your language in the upper, right-hand corner of the player.

The Holy Father only briefly mentioned animals in his homily, and it was in the context of all God's creation, with man being his central focus.  I have not seen the full schedule to know if Pope Francis will even follow what has become the most popular ritual in many parishes today, by blessing animals.

Let's look at a few excerpts from each of the three sections of the released, prepared, homily (if anything off-the-cuff is released later, I'll try to get to it).

First, he speaks about imitating Christ fully, including the crucified Lord.

On that cross, Jesus is depicted not as dead, but alive! Blood is flowing from his wounded hands, feet and side, but that blood speaks of life. Jesus’ eyes are not closed but open, wide open: he looks at us in a way that touches our hearts. The cross does not speak to us about defeat and failure; paradoxically, it speaks to us about a death which is life, a death which gives life, for it speaks to us of love, the love of God incarnate, a love which does not die, but triumphs over evil and death. When we let the crucified Jesus gaze upon us, we are re-created, we become “a new creation”. Everything else starts with this: the experience of transforming grace, the experience of being loved for no merits of our own, in spite of our being sinners. That is why Saint Francis could say with Saint Paul: “Far be it for me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:14).

Secondly, he talks about how authentic peace of Christ was another central theme in the life of St. Francis of Assisi (follow through below for an excerpt from today's Office of Readings on this part).  Returning again to the need to meditate and imitate Christ crucified:

This is the second witness that Francis gives us: that everyone who follows Christ receives true peace, the peace that Christ alone can give, a peace which the world cannot give. Many people, when they think of Saint Francis, think of peace; very few people however go deeper. What is the peace which Francis received, experienced and lived, and which he passes on to us? It is the peace of Christ, which is born of the greatest love of all, the love of the cross. It is the peace which the Risen Jesus gave to his disciples when he stood in their midst and said: “Peace be with you!”, and in saying this, he showed them his wounded hands and his pierced side (cf. Jn 20:19-20).

Now this part was interesting.  He debunks a kind of heresy found among some followers of St. Francis.  These are strong words.

Franciscan peace is not something saccharine. Hardly! That is not the real Saint Francis! Nor is it a kind of pantheistic harmony with forces of the cosmos… That is not Franciscan either; it is a notion some people have invented! The peace of Saint Francis is the peace of Christ, and it is found by those who “take up” their “yoke”, namely, Christ’s commandment: Love one another as I have loved you (cf. Jn 13:34; 15:12). This yoke cannot be borne with arrogance, presumption or pride, but only with meekness and humbleness of heart.

Fr. Hardon defines pantheism in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, as follows:

Any of a variety of views that claim that all things are divine, or that God and the universe are really identical, or that there is ultimately no real distinction between God and what believers in creation call the world. (Etym. Greek pan, all + theos, god.)

You can read much more about pantheism, it's many faces, and problems in the Catholic Encyclopedia

I don't have time now, but I'm sure there is going to be commentary on this point later by others who can break this down better than I.  I'll try to round that up and bring it here in another post.

Finally, Pope Francis talks about creation in his third point.

“Praised may you be, Most High, All-powerful God, good Lord… by all your creatures (FF, 1820). This is the beginning of Saint Francis’s Canticle. Love for all creation, for its harmony. Saint Francis of Assisi bears witness to the need to respect all that God has created, and that men and women are called to safeguard and protect, but above all he bears witness to respect and love for every human being. God created the world to be a place where harmony and peace can flourish. Harmony and peace! Francis was a man of harmony and peace. From this City of Peace, I repeat with all the strength and the meekness of love: Let us respect creation, let us not be instruments of destruction! Let us respect each human being. May there be an end to armed conflicts which cover the earth with blood; may the clash of arms be silenced; and everywhere may hatred yield to love, injury to pardon, and discord to unity. Let us listen to the cry of all those who are weeping, who are suffering and who are dying because of violence, terrorism or war, in the Holy Land, so dear to Saint Francis, in Syria, throughout the Middle East and everywhere in the world.

Read the full, prepared text of the homily at news.va.

Pope Francis is on a pastoral visit to Assisi today, so there is much more to come than just the homily from the Mass.

Excerpts from the Office of Readings for October 4

There are some things I want to pull out of the Office of Readings for today.  In the first reading comes from Philippians 3:17 - 4:9).  I'm only excerpting part of it here.

Be imitators of me, my brothers. Take as your guide those who follow the example that we set. Unfortunately, many go about in a way which shows them to be enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often said this to you before; this time I say it with tears. Such as these will end in disaster! Their god is their belly and their glory is in their shame. I am talking about those who are set upon the things of this world. As you well know, we have our citizenship in heaven; it is from there that we eagerly await the coming of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will give a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of his glorified body, by his power to subject everything to himself. 

[snip] 

The Lord is near. Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude. Then God’s own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus.

Now for the Second Reading, in full, which underscores much of what Pope Francis said:

Stigmata of St. Francis,
Vincenzo Carducci

From a letter written to all the faithful by Saint Francis of Assisi We must be simple, humble and pure

It was through his archangel, Saint Gabriel, that the Father above made known to the holy and glorious Virgin Mary that the worthy, holy and glorious Word of the Father would come from heaven and take from her womb the real flesh of our human frailty. Though he was wealthy beyond reckoning, he still willingly chose to be poor with his blessed mother. And shortly before his passion he celebrated the Passover with his disciples. Then he prayed to his Father saying: Father, if it be possible, let this cup be taken from me.

Nevertheless, he reposed his will in the will of his Father. The Father willed that his blessed and glorious Son, whom he gave to us and who was born for us, should through his own blood offer himself as a sacrificial victim on the altar of the cross. This was to be done not for himself through whom all things were made, but for our sins. It was intended to leave us an example of how to follow in his footsteps. And he desires all of us to be saved through him, and to receive him with pure heart and chaste body.

O how happy and blessed are those who love the Lord and do as the Lord himself said in the gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul, and your neighbor as yourself. Therefore, let us love God and adore him with pure heart and mind. This is his particular desire when he says: True worshipers adore the Father in spirit and truth. For all who adore him must do so in the spirit of truth. Let us also direct to him our praises and prayers saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, since we must always pray and never grow slack.

Furthermore, let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. Men lose all the material things they leave behind them in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve. We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God’s sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father’s children who do his work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Did Pope Francis show his hand on Medjugorje?

Some days ago a report came out, from an Italian news site, Correspondenza Romana, claiming that Pope Francis had mentioned Medjugorje in his September 7, 2013 homily at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, but that it was cleaned up before it was released at news.va, eliminating that reference.  The original Italian article cites no source.

Richard Chonak has done a full translation of the piece at his blog, Catholic Light.  Here is the heart of it:

Last Saturday, September 7, at his morning meditation in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Pope Francis, speaking on the theme “there is no Christian without Jesus” criticized “revelationist” Christians and expressed his strong reserve about the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje.

However, the official site of the Holy See and the Osservatore Romano (here is the Italian version) purged their words of any reference to Medjugorje, referring to it only in these terms: “There is another group of Christians without Christ: those who look for rarities and curiosities that come from private revelations,” whereas Revelation was completed with the New Testament. The Holy Father warned about the desire of such Christians to go “to the spectacle of a revelation, to experience something new”. But the Pope addresses to them this exhortation: “Pick up the Gospel!”

The author then opines:

On the coming 13th of October, at the foot of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Francis will consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and will almost certainly talk about the role of Marian apparitions in the economy of salvation. Considering the Pope’s character and his way of governing, it is hard to think that he would avoid expressing his position in public or in private on the delicate case of Medjugorje.

After mentioning the commission being led by Cardinal Ruini on Medjugorje which was formed in 2010, the author closes:

The definitive results of the inquiry will be submitted to Pope Francis shortly for a definitive decision.

Father Z also has the information now, and did his own partial translation.  He left a brief comment before closing the com-box (not that I blame him).  He writes:

Here’s the deal. 

There isn’t an attribution here, a source, the name of the person who heard the Holy Father speak specifically about Medjugorje. 

That said, if you are interested in Medjugorje in a positive way, I suggest that you get used to the idea that there may be an official pronouncement about it that you are not going to like. My spies used to tell me that the former Pope was not a supporter either. 

I’m just saying.

It will be interesting to see what he says publicly on October 13th.

I think I'll follow Father Z's course and close comments.

Pray for everyone concerned.

For those interested, I had written a post on Pope Francis not long after he was made pope.

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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A Collection of Audiences of Pope John Paul II and Paul VI on the Holy Angels

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to Whom his love commits me here; 

ever this day be at my side, to light and guard and rule and guide. Amen.

Today is the feast of the Guardian Angels in both calendars.  This post contains a link to a page with seven General Audiences of Pope John Paul II, and one with Pope Paul VI dedicated to the angels.

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "the existence of angels is a truth of the faith" and, "Christ is the center of the angelic world."

The angels are referred to throughout Sacred Scripture, from the Old Testament to the New.

Catechesis on the Angels by Pope John Paul II, and Pope Paul VI

See an extensive collection of catechesis on the angels at the site of Opus Angelorum. These are teachings from the Church, which includes links seven General Audiences from Pope John Paul II and and one to Pope Paul VI.  And, even more on the holy angels on this page of links.  (See the 2011 note from the Holy See's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Opus Angelorum and this 2010 news summary (with links) of the Vatican's warning about a splinter group of ex-members who rejected reforms that OA itself embraced, winning apostolic approval, under the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI.  Many reports were terribly misleading in 2010, and even prior.  The correct source for information is the Holy See.  The correct home page for this apostolate, which has it's base currently in Detroit, on the grounds of Assumption Grotto, is http://opusangelorum.org.  If you have any questions, feel free to email me at TeDeumBlog (at) gmail (dot) com.  I don't want to clutter the com-box with discuss of this side issue.

Further Reading on the Angels

• The Catholic Church on Devotion to the Holy Angels 
• St. Padre Pio's 1915 letter to a woman urging her to have devotion to her guardian angel. 
• Read about the angels from the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa (scroll down)
• Background on the Feast of the Guardian Angels from the Catholic Encyclopedia
• Meditations on the Holy Angels (Air Maria; Magnificat)
• St. Gemma Galgani and her relationship with her guardian angel. 

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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!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.