Te Deum laudamus!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Archdiocese of Detroit: Profiles on New Priests

In my photostory about the first Mass of Fr. Charles White IV, I had embedded a link to the profiles of the men who were ordained. Many missed it so I want to focus on it again here.

I think you will have great hope for the Archdiocese of Detroit when you read their profiles in full. Each of them has a brief bio, and they address a couple of interesting topics. I see a common theme.....do you? Talk about it in the combox (remember, I don't get to moderate comments sometimes until late evening).

Scroll here to read about each of these fine men: Meet the Ordinandi.

There are more resources available now at the AoD's website for the 2009 Presbyteral Ordination.

Please keep them all in your prayers, and ask God for more vocations. I am saying it here, and now.....my strongest sense is that we will see a vocations boom in this archdiocese, as will others. I don't just mean young men hearing their call to the priesthood. I mean, vocations to the religious and consecrated life. It may take 15-20 years, but I believe we will witness rectories with multiple priests, rather than a single priest handling multiple parishes. I also believe we will see a return of habited, religious sisters back in parishes.

Pray!

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!

What to do with AdOrientem.com?

In 2006, I purchased the domain name: AdOrientem.com.

At the time, Summorum Pontificum wasn't even on anyone's radar. My intent at the time, was to develop a site with an array of liturgical and spiritual resources centered around the reform of the reform.

However, once the Traditional Latin Mass was opened to all priests, without permission from the local bishop, and Grotto started celebrating it, the many ideas I had, fizzled right out. Also, there are some sources out there providing some of what I had envisioned for the site, and those people are far more qualified. Much of what Fr. Scott Haynes has done at the Sancta Missa site, captures things I had envisioned, and it's even better than anything I could have put together.

I'm convinced there is a purpose for AdOrientem.com. Right now, I'm leaning towards something more spiritual - a place for some deeper reflections on the liturgy through the words of the great saints and authors on the Mass through the ages.

Pray that I discover God's will for the site, and that he helps me to find the time and resources & skills to develop it.

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!

New Video of Bishop Schneider on his book, Dominus Est, and an update on the Karaganda cathedral, "Our Lady of Fatima"

Many thanks to Fr. Markus Doppelbauer for sending me the following video clips. Bishop Athanasius Schneider - an auxiliary bishop from Kazakhstan, who speaks many languages, has made the this video available in several of them. I have embedded the English version. Look below for links to the video in other languages...

Auxiliary bishop Athanasius Schneider on communion in the hand

Weihbischof Schneider über die Handkommunion

Bispo Athanasius Schneider no comunhão na mão

Vescovo ausiliare sulla comunione nella mano

Bishop Schneider visited Assumption Grotto last summer, and will be back again in October of this year, where he will speak at the Call to Holiness conference. Reserve the date, and register early! Fr. Z will also speak at the conference!

If you want to see some of my photoposts from his visit to Assumption Grotto and Sts Cyril & Methodius, read this post and go through the links at the bottom: Bishop Athanasius Schneider on his book, "Dominus Est" and the Church in Kazakhstan

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!

Abp-elect Carlson to be installed Wednesday in St. Louis

Bishop Carlson of Saginaw will be installed the 10th bishop and 9th archbishop of St. Louis this Wednesday.

There is a good article on him in the St. Louis Catholic....check it out.

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!

D-Day Anniversary: All gave some, many gave all....

President Ronald Reagan, in his famous 1984 speech at Point-du-Hoc, Normandy, recalling the day. Some of the best comes towards the latter half. Do listen to it.

God bless those who sacrificed so much.

I so miss Ronald Reagan. He was a great president.

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!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Twitter Feed updated...

I haven't been home, but just updated my twitter feed with some interesing things.

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!

Assumption Grotto on Wikipedia

I stumbled on a page at Wikipedia dedicated to Assumption Grotto.

Thanks, to whomever put it together!

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!

Thank you, Mom - for the Gift of Life!

As I have done each June 4th for this, the third year, I will give to my mother a dozen roses and thank her for saying "yes" to life.....my life.

Oh....and for those wondering.....I'm 29............................again!

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!

Thursday Night Passio Domini, First Fridays, First Saturdays and the Two Hearts

News broke in recent days that President Obama had declared the month of June: Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Pride month.

As one reader pointed out to me in an email, this is a good time to recall that June is the month of the Sacred Heart, and this is a time to make acts of reparation.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus goes back at least to the 11th century, but through the 16th century, it remained a private devotion, often tied to devotion to the Five Wounds of Christ. The first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated on August 31, 1670, in Rennes, France, through the efforts of Fr. Jean Eudes (1602-1680). From Rennes, the devotion spread, but it took the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) for the devotion to become universal.

In all of these visions, in which Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus played a central role. The “great apparition,” which took place on June 16, 1675, during the octave of the Feast of Corpus Christi, is the source of the modern Feast of the Sacred Heart. In that vision, Christ asked St. Margaret Mary to request that the Feast of the Sacred Heart be celebrated on the Friday after the octave (or eighth day) of the Feast of Corpus Christi, in reparation for the ingratitude of men for the sacrifice that Christ had made for them. The Sacred Heart of Jesus represents not simply His physical heart but His love for all mankind. [source]

There is a devotion to the Sacred Heart for the nine consecutive first Fridays and Assumption Grotto offers Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the main parish Church from 8:30am until around 6:45pm tomorrow, as it does all First Fridays.

It is also good to point out that along with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Our Lady Establishes the Devotion of the Five First Saturdays

The Apparition of December 10, 1925

On this day Our Lady, holding Her Immaculate Heart in Her Hand, appeared to Lucia, and by Her side stood the Child Jesus on a luminous cloud. The Child Jesus said: "Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them."

Then the Blessed Virgin Mary said to Lucia: "Look, my daughter, at My Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console Me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Me."

On another occasion the Child Jesus reappeared to Lucia and asked that those who practice this devotion, receive Him in Holy Communion when in the state of grace.

Reparation for what?

Catholics have always honored the Blessed Virgin on Saturday because of the pious tradition of her constant faith in Jesus on that first Holy Saturday before the Resurrection. According to Sister Lucia, five first Saturdays of reparation were requested to atone for the five ways in which people offend the Immaculate Heart of Mary [source]:
attacks upon Mary's Immaculate Conception;
attacks against her Perpetual Virginity;
attacks upon her Divine Maternity and the refusal to accept her as the Mother of all mankind;
for those who try to publicly implant in children's hearts indifference, contempt and even hatred of this Immaculate Mother, and
for those who insult her directly in her sacred images.

The Carmelites have their monthly 8:30am Mass at Assumption Grotto on First Saturdays - a time when others can take advantage of the special time (there is only a 7:30am Mass on the other Saturdays, but Fr. Perrone maintained the 8:30am on First Saturday for Carmelites to accomodate those commuting considerable distances.

Also, this is a good time to remind people about the special Passio Domini devotion held on Thursday nights at Assumption Grotto. Here again, is an opportunity to go to Mass at 7:00pm, then to spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament exposed during a Rosary and meditations on Our Lord's passion. It runs until about 9:00pm. Please join us!

Related Links:

Devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary: Its Origin and History (Catholic Culture)
The revelations of the Two Hearts in Modern Times (EWTN)
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Catholic Encyclopedia)
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Mary (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

A bouquet of 700,000 prayers and Masses for 83 bishops

From the Cardinal Newman Society:

Beginning the weekend of May 31, Pentecost Sunday, the 83 U.S. Catholic bishops who publicly opposed the University of Notre Dame’s commencement honor for President Obama started to receive Spiritual Bouquet Certificates consisting of hundreds of thousands of prayers. The prayers, primarily from people who signed The Cardinal Newman Society’s petition opposing the Notre Dame scandal, were offered in thanksgiving for the bishops’ inspiring witness to the importance of Catholic identity.

The request for the prayers was made by The Cardinal Newman Society on Ascension Thursday, May 21, and were sent to the bishops on Friday, May 29, in advance of Pentecost Sunday.

Each of the 83 bishops was sent a Spiritual Bouquet Certificate which reads:

“On behalf of the members and staff of The Cardinal Newman Society and the more than 367,000 faithful who signed the petition at NotreDameScandal.com, this spiritual bouquet is made on the twenty-ninth day of May Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi two thousand and nine in grateful appreciation to the Church’s shepherds who prayerfully provided witness for a strong Catholic identity on Catholic campuses.”

A copy of the Spiritual Bouquet Certificate sent to the bishops may be viewed by clicking here. A list of the 83 bishops may be viewed at LifeSiteNews.com.

The overwhelming prayer response in the spiritual bouquet includes:

Mass Intentions: 116,741

Divine Mercy Chaplets: 74,974

Aspirations: 57,728

General Prayers: 236,615

Eucharistic Holy Hours: 37,125

Holy Rosaries: 146,944

Novenas: 19,877

Days of Fasting: 28,862

In addition to these prayers, Catholic priests offered 3,272 Holy Sacrifices of the Mass for the bishops.

“Our bishops deserve our support and prayers for their defense of Catholic identity, and as the battle for the soul of Catholic campuses continues, the bishops will need them more than ever,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society.

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!

Omaha, NE gets a new archbishop

From the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska:

On June 3, 2009, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed The Most Reverend George J. Lucas, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, as Archbishop of Omaha. He will be the fifth Archbishop of Omaha and the tenth to lead the archdiocese when he is installed on July 22, 2009.

He succeeds Archbishop Elden Curtiss who served since 1993.

The archdiocesan website has provided a "press kit" page with biographical and other info.

Update: Tom Peters has a lively combox going with some pretty good info on Abp-elect Lucas. Sounds like a winner for Omaha.

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!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Photos: First Mass of Rev. Charles White IV - Solemn High Mass - Pentecost 2009

Fr. Charles White IV of Assumption Grotto was ordained with five other men by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron on Saturday May 30th. Fr. White celebrated his First Mass on Pentecost at the parish. He celebrated a Mass in the Extraordinary Form (1962 Missal) and it was a Solemn High Mass. Newly ordained transitional deacon, John Dumas - also of Assumption Grotto - was the deacon of the Mass, and Fr. John Bustamante was sub-deacon. Fr. Paul Ward is seen in the photos in cope, as Assistant Priest. From Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described(Fortescue, O'Connell, Reid)⁽¹⁾:

....When a priest says or sings his first Mass, or first three Masses, he may be assisted by another priest. If it is a solemn Mass, the assistant priest may wear a cope. In this case many of the ceremonies performed by the ministers are modified.
A seat, a stool without a back, is prepared for the assistant priest (AP) near the sedilia, to the right of the deacon's place, facing down the church; or it may be to the lef of the subdeacon, so that the AP faces the altar....

Fr. Francis Dobrzenski, pastor of St. Joseph parish in Lake Linden, MI (Diocese of Marquette) delivered the sermon. Father was an instructor of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary and served as spiritual director of college seminarians from 1999 - 2002. Fr. Dobrzenski has agreed to send me his excellent sermon for publishing after he gets back up north.

Fr. Eduard Perrone, Grotto's pastor, was conducting the orchestra and choir (music will be repeated for Corpus Christi on June 14th at Noon).

For those wondering, the Assumption Grotto altar boys are wearing their festive white cassocks, with red shoulder capes. These are worn mainly during Christmas season, but also come out on Pentecost. Throughout Easter Season, and on Corpus Christi, the white cassock and gold shoulder capes are worn. Ordinarily, they were black cassock with white surplice. The liturgical season changes in dress is a long-standing tradition at Assumption Grotto parish.

You may view the photos I took in this slideshow, or use one of the links below to view it at my smugmug site in various ways. If you are a Catholic blogger or have a Catholic site, you may use the pictures found at my smugmug gallery for these photos, provided you link back to this post (copy the shortcut in the title or timestamp). For professional use in print, please contact me at TeDeumBlog@gmail.com

You can start the slideshow from the beginning by placing your cursor over to the left on the filmstrip and an arrow should appear. You can also change the speed. I recommend "fast".

Other ways to view the pictures:

Click through individual pics in the gallery

View a full screen slideshow

View collection as a light box (nice way to advance one frame at a time)

You can read more about Fr. Charles White IV in Fr. Perrone's May 31st pastor's column. ⁽²⁾

Please pray for all of the transitional deacons ordained this year, and newly ordained priests. Profiles for all of the men ordained can be found on this page at the Archdiocese of Detroit. May their words bring you hope for the future of Church in metro Detroit.

Archbishop Vigneron's homily is also up on the AoD's website.

[1] Posted edited at 8:00pm on June 2nd to include information about the Assistant Priest.
[2] Posted edited at 5:50pm on June 3rd to include link to Fr. Perrone's article about Fr. White.

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!

Fr. Eduard Perrone on Fr. Charles White IV

In his May 31, 2009 Pastor's column, Fr. Perrone wrote about the newly ordained Fr. Charles White IV, who celebrated Mass this Sunday for the first time, and as a Solemn High Mass (1962 Missal).

Greeting you today on this page is the happy face of our newly ordained priest, Father Charles White, who is celebrating his first Solemn Mass at the 9:30 Pentecost Orchestral Mass. Fr. White was ordained to the priesthood yesterday by Archbishop Allen Vigneron at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. Since this event has not yet taken place at the time of writing, I cannot report of it here, except to say that I have the honor of being the priest designated to vest him in priestly attire during the rite of ordination.

The First Mass of a newly ordained priest is always a most festive occasion for a parish. It is a day of grace and blessing, not only for the priest himself, but also for all those fortunate to be a part of the celebration. I will suppress here the recital of happy memories of my own First Mass (old people like to reminisce, you know) in order to speak about Fr. White.

If many of you are not well acquainted with him, this is to be expected. The White family was not reared in this parish. In fact, the priest’s father (also Charles White–the 3rd), as well as the priest himself, are converts to the Catholic Church. Having been brought up in Sterling Heights, and at the time a Baptist, Charles entered the Air Force, where he served our country for two years. After this time, he was employed as a contractor in the auto industry for a while, during which time he began to study religious matters with growing intensity. Here he believes the seeds of his priestly vocation were sown. Working as a security officer, he made several holy hours and delved ever more deeply into the Catholic faith which he entered in 1998 during the Easter Vigil Ceremonies. Feeling the inclination to become a priest, he entered Sacred Heart Seminary where for eight years he studied first philosophy and then theology.

In the course of his seminary studies, Charles had the good fortune to study under Mr. Cal Shenk who directed the music department at the seminary in those years. You may recall that, after leaving Sacred Heart Seminary, Cal came here to assist with the music program of the Grotto where, once upon a fine day, seminarian White stopped by for a visit. This was his first call to a parish he had heard much about. Here I first met him and we began to speak about our mutual love for the Church. By this time it had become manifestly clear to him that not all parishes were alike and that in fact there were some wide differences from parish to parish, differences which, while not signaling separation, indicated a disparity of religious practices. As Charles’s knowledge of the liturgical tradition of the Church began to widen, he came to appreciate more deeply the reasons for the tradition of reverence and piety that have marked our parish’s liturgical life. This led him to become a registered parishioner here. He found not only that the Mass was said with due respect to liturgical directives for Masses in English, but he also discovered the richness of our Latin heritage in the celebration of the new rite of Mass. When the return of the Tridentine Mass was observed here with all due solemnity September 14, 2007, he was among those fascinated by the restoration of the Church’s solemn and ancient rites. By studying these ceremonials in greater detail on his own, he came not only to appreciate their intrinsic value, but their usefulness in uncovering the deeper meaning of the Mass when celebrated in the new rite as well. This liturgical study led him to request from me that he be permitted to offer his first Mass here in the Tridentine Solemn Mass form, a request which I was only too happy to grant. This will be the first time that a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit will have offered his first Mass in the Tridentine form since the time when the old Latin missal was discontinued. This is an historic occasion for the Archdiocese, for Fr. White and for us.

All what I have said has been pretty much a recital of facts, but does not speak of the great pleasure I have in presenting Fr. White to the parish. He is a man truly devoted to the doctrines of the faith, to the devout celebration of the Mass and the sacraments, and who is most eager to place himself at the disposal of the Church for the salvation of souls. That’s the old-fashioned way of saying that he’s our kind of priest and a man of God. We are stronger, we are better provided for–thanks to the Providence of God–for the gift of his priesthood.

Father White’s first assignment will be Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Plymouth, Michigan, where Fr. John Riccardo is pastor and Fr. Lee Acervo the associate. This promises to be a mighty triumvirate of priestly grace. The people of Good Counsel Parish will be enriched by Fr. White’s pastoral zeal and he no doubt will be blest through the exercise of his priestly work for his people. We count on Father White to return from time to time to the Grotto (he in fact will have several Masses here in June) for a happy visit to the place which he has adopted as his own and which proudly claims him.

In the gym following the 9:30 Mass there will be a dinner and reception during which time Father White will give to those presenting themselves his priestly blessing.

Father Charles White, you are another Christ and a priest forever! God’s grace be always with you!

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!

Pentecost - First Mass of Rev. Charles White IV.....later today

Well, I got the photos edited last night from the 9:30am Solemn High Mass celebrated by the newly ordained, Rev. Charles White IV.

I'm hoping to have a post some time tonight, so do check back!

In the meanwhile, I've added many more links to the post on George Tiller's murder.

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!

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Breaking: Late Term abortionist George Tiller murdered at his church

This post has been updated with many more links to reactions coming in (scroll to bottom).

George Tiller - often dubbed "Tiller the Killer" by pro-life groups for his involvement in late-term abortions, was shot and killed just after 10:00am today at Reformation Lutheran Church where he was an usher. His wife was in the choir loft when it happened.

A suspect was in custody, but no further details have been given.

The Catholic Church teaches that the ends do not justify the means (Veritatis Splendor - 75). Hence, killing someone to end the evil of abortion is not aligned with our faith.

As reprehensible as his work was, this is not how problems are solved. I pray for his soul and for the family.

Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life released a statement, that reflects my thoughts:

“I am saddened to hear of the killing of George Tiller this morning. At this point, we do not know the motives of this act, or who is behind it, whether an angry post-abortive man or woman, or a misguided activist, or an enemy within the abortion industry, or a political enemy frustrated with the way Tiller has escaped prosecution. We should not jump to conclusions or rush to judgment.
“But whatever the motives, we at Priests for Life continue to insist on a culture in which violence is never seen as the solution to any problem. Every life has to be protected, without regard to their age or views or actions.”

Of course, the mainstream media is not bothering to notice what pro-life workers like Fr. Frank Pavone have to say. They are looking for anything they can to exploit the notion that the pro-life movement in general is a radical fringe movement. Read some of the secular media stories and you will notice one pro-life advocate stands out.....because he fed them precisely what they were looking for.

UPDATE: Matthew Archbold at CMR has done some googling of a name thrown out as the possible suspect and turned up some interesting results of what someone by the same name posted online about Tiller and his clinic.

Related links: