Will Grotto-goers notice a difference between Latin Novus Ordo, and Extraordinary Form of the Latin Mass?

Consider that after the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated this coming Friday at 7:00pm (Solemn High Mass with Fr. Perrone as celebrant), the Sunday 9:30am time slot, which had been for the Latin Novus Ordo, will shift to the Extraordinary Form starting next Sunday.

I heard a few people recently saying that most people wouldn't notice a difference. I suppose this is because of how solemn our Latin Novus Ordo is celebrated. However, I respectfully disagree that little difference will be seen, but this is my personal opinion.

SMELLS & BELLS (and I don't mean this in a disrespectful manner)

Well I must concede that we won't notice much of a difference in bells, because they get used at each and every Mass, whether a weekday or a Sunday Mass. I really miss the sounds of those bells when I assist at a weekday Mass at another parish since the 7:30 is already too late for me with regards to getting to work.

EDIT 9/9/07: I have been informed today by one of the servers in training at Grotto, that we will notice a difference in bells because there is much more ringing than we have used in the Novus Ordo. Not only will we hear them several times through the Consecration of the Sacred Host and Precious Blood, they will ring during the Sanctus.

If there is one thing that gets good use at our parish every Sunday at 9:30 it is the thurible. Even though it is only used then, and on occasion at other times, the sweet smell of incense greets you at Assumption Grotto as soon as you enter any day of the week, especially if you use the north side door. Here is testimony in smoke in a photo I took after a Mass celebrated by visiting Archbishop Raymond L. Burke:



SIGHTS

I think we will notice a difference in sights. While I expect to see many of the brilliant and beautiful vestments already in use at Grotto, there will be other things which we are not necessarily accustomed to seeing at Mass.

You may recognize the biretta, but perhaps not the maniple over the arm of the priest.

The Catholic Encyclopedia gives us a history of the maniple. But more important to me is the spiritual symbolism of the maniple as it is viewed more currently, also explained in that same text:

In the Middle Ages the maniple received various symbolical interpretations. At a later period it was common to connect this vestment with the bonds which held the hands of the Saviour. In the prayer offered by the priest when putting on the maniple are symbolized the cares and sorrows of this earthly life which should be borne with patience in view of the heavenly reward.

As this illustrates, vestments are not without meaning, and with them, each has a prayer the priest prays as they go on. This is true of the vestments worn in the Novus Ordo, as well, and we can only hope that all priests do pray as they vest. Here is the prayer for the maniple according to the 1962 Missal, compliments of the Catholic Liturgical Library online:

As he places the maniple over his left arm:

Lord, may I worthily bear the maniple of tears and sorrow so as to receive the reward of my labor with rejoicing

TEXT

First there are the prayers of the priest which differ in a most beautiful way in the 1962 Missal from the Novus Ordo. An interesting side-by-side comparison of the Mass text can be found at the website of the Latin Mass Society. Here is one example: Offering of the Host.

In the Novus Ordo:

P: Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.

R. Blessed be God for ever.

[The celebrant pours wine and a little water into the chalice saying quietly:]

P: By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

Now, the 1962 Missal:

P: Receive, O Holy Father, almighty and eternal God, this spotless host, which I, Thine unworthy servant, offer unto Thee, my living and true God, for my countless sins, trespasses, and omissions; likewise for all here present, and for all faithful Christians, whether living or dead, that it may avail both me and them to salvation, unto life everlasting. Amen.

[The priest goes to the Epistle side and pours wine and water into the chalice.]

P: O God, Who in creating man didst exalt his nature very wonderfully and yet more wonderfully didst establish it anew: by the mystery signified in the mingling of this water and wine, grant us to have part in the Godhead of Him Who hath vouchsafed to share our manhood, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God; world without end. Amen.

WOW! Not only is the 1962 version and translation artistic, but the prayers have such depth. This is only one example. You have to follow along in a Missal or pamphlet, which I know Fr. Perrone either has developed, or will, for this Mass.

The People's Part

It's true that there is less for people to say in the older form of the Mass. But, there is a mistaken notion that active participation means "doing" something physically - in this case speaking. Not so. Pope John Paul II pointed this out in 1998 in an ad limina address to bishops out in the western US.

Active participation certainly means that, in gesture, word, song and service, all the members of the community take part in an act of worship, which is anything but inert or passive. Yet active participation does not preclude the active passivity of silence, stillness and listening: indeed, it demands it. Worshippers are not passive, for instance, when listening to the readings or the homily, or following the prayers of the celebrant, and the chants and music of the liturgy. These are experiences of silence and stillness, but they are in their own way profoundly active. In a culture which neither favors nor fosters meditative quiet, the art of interior listening is learned only with difficulty. Here we see how the liturgy, though it must always be properly inculturated, must also be counter-cultural.

One example that will be noticeable, is that we the laity do not vocalize the Our Father. Rather, the priest prays it and we follow mentally. I found that I could pray the Our Father interiorly at this time. For me, the stillness and silence left me in more of a meditative mode than when I vocalize the prayer.

Similarly, we do not say, "Amen" when the priest presents Holy Communion to us. This brings up something else we will notice: Communion will not be intincted in the Precious Blood.

DISCOVERING THE RICHNESS OF THE OLD LATIN MASS

There is so much more to explore with the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The spirituality of everything from what is worn to what is used, and what is prayed, has a richness that, in my humble opinion, elevates worship of God to a new level in the Mass. As we uncover the depth of spirituality, I believe more people will develop a fondness for it.

I am grateful for the opportunity to assist at this Mass, and I am supportive of my pastor who has longed to provide it to the many in our parish who have also longed to have it.

We'll continue to look at more over time, but these were a few examples I wanted to point out.

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"Wake up and Smell the Incense"

That title is a quote from Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, the vicar general of the archdiocese and pastor of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis which appeared in his response to a rather distasteful article by Fr. Peter J. Daly. I linked to this post on the topic by Fr. Z several days ago, but wanted to update you with some responses he had when he challenged those with graphic art skills to come up with something suitable for that now famous quote.

You can see more submissions in this post on Fr. Z's blog.

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Fr. Perrone speaks further on the old form of Latin Mass

Please come to Assumption Grotto this coming Friday for a Solemn High Mass on the first day it is permitted to be celebrated - September 14, 2007 on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at 7:00pm.

In his weekly Grotto News column - The Descant - Fr. Perrone has spoken once again about the Old Latin Mass, and on the topic of feast day on which it falls. I have added "white space" by breaking it up into more paragraphs so that it would be easier to read in this narrow-formatted column.

September 9

The big news story of the week is Friday’s Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Our Lord once said that when He would be lifted up He would draw all men unto Himself. That image of Christ borne aloft over an innumerable throng can be taken as a figure of the sacrifice of the Mass offered at all times and places for the salvation of all mankind. The Mass itself is truly the exaltation of our Lord’s cross, the crowning work of His blessed life, the redemptive action by which His one sacrifice is perpetuated until the end of time.

How appropriate a day this is then for the reinstatement of the so-called Tridentine Mass into the mainstream of Catholic life! Granted that any valid celebration of the Mass fulfills the bare bones essentials, yet the ‘exaltation’ of the sacred mysteries is rather harder to detect when the externals of the celebration have a glazing, secular cast. I have been diligently working to master the details (rubrics) of the Solemn Tridentine High Mass in preparation for the great return of this form of the Mass here on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. While I have celebrated this form of the Mass several times–even a few times in solemn form–I have not previously needed to prepare altar servers and oversee the other requirements needed for this splendid liturgy. As I write, I still have miles to trek in order to be ready for Friday’s Mass.

There is one point I want to make in response to an objection that sometimes circulates when the subject of bringing back “the Latin Mass” (so is the matter often phrased) comes up in conversation, namely, that it is an exercise in nostalgia, or even, an attempt to ‘live in the past.’ First, I want to complain that this is a pejorative phrase, that ‘living in the past,’ a psycho-babbling expression meant to describe a form of pathology whereby one, unable to face the harshness of reality, mentally recedes into an imaginary past as if he were still living there and then. Similarly insulting is the attribution of returning to the old Mass as an indulgence in sentimentality, as in the offensive (in my view) expression, ‘with bells and smells.’

If anything, the ‘old Mass’ (pardon the expression) was tougher, more austere, like a towering gothic church, a monumental reality that was ‘out there,’ which one had to enter into by turning his back on the familiar, the secular, and the narrowness of the individual, to embrace the holy, the overarching, the transcendent and divine world without end. Compare that to the way the new Mass is sometimes celebrated, with the feel-happy music, the pleasant chitchat in church with your neighbor, and the casual ‘talk show’ atmosphere. Question: Which form of Mass would be more aptly described as sentimentality? (Careful now! This is a quiz of one’s intellectual prowess.)

Pardon me. I’m only having a little fun. What I mean to say is that the desire to celebrate again the Tridentine Mass, after an absence of so many years, is not to want to live in the past any more than visiting with one’s friends, or eating again a favorite dish, or hearing a familiar song is living in the past. But just if, let us say, in the present moment, one were forced to do without his familiar friends, foods, music, etc. and had to live alone, hungry and without his accustomed consolations. Would one then say that desiring to have those former goods restored would be a disordered yearning, a ‘living in the past’?

As I intimated already in this space, there is a true sense in which the Mass always means a return, a living in the past: the memorial of our Lord’s Passion, the re-enactment of His sacrifice in an unbloody form. Yet it is this sense precisely which has been vacant in many a modern Mass: the sacrificial emphasis, the immersion of the Church in the paschal mystery of Christ. Sure, this is necessarily there in any valid Eucharist, but it may be far from the consciousness of celebrating priests and their congregations. The old Mass nearly compels one to consider the cross, Calvary, and to become involved in Fr Perrone world: the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

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Kneeling for Holy Communion: Part 2 - GIRM 160 Clarified by Holy See

Cardinal Medina Estevez, Prefect Emeritus of the CDW, who wrote the Responsum ad Dubium on genuflecting before receiving Holy Communion (below), is seen here in this unforgettable moment telling the world, "Habemus Papam" and then introduced us to Benedict XVI

In Part One of this topic, we looked at GIRM 160 in it's present form, and as adapted by the Diocese of the United States. It discusses posture during reception of Holy Communion. There have been several clarifications on GIRM 160 in various forms, and we will look at these chronologically, so we will now backtrack.

I want to be careful not to get into all kinds of peripheral topics. In debating this issue with others in Catholic forums over the years, those discussions get sidetracked with many other topics. So, this series will be limited to the topic of posture immediateloy before and during Holy Communion.

As far as I can tell, the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani (IGMR), third typical edition, was released in Latin on Holy Thursday 2000.

THE FIRST CLARIFICATION: NOVEMBER 2000

Interestingly, as early as November of 2000, a question in the form of a dubium (meaning: doubt, hesitation, reservation; to call into question), was answered by His Eminence, Cardinal Medina Estevez, who was the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments (in short, CDW). You may recognize the name of the current Prefect, Francis Cardinal Arinze.

There were two questions raised, in this Responsum ad Dubium¹. I have in bold what pertains to a part of our topic.

Cardinal Medina Estevez's Responsum ad dubium
(November 7, 2000: Prot. n. 2372/00/L)

Dubium 1. Is it the case that the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, by No. 43 of the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, intends to prohibit the faithful from kneeling during any part of the Mass except during the Consecration, that is, to prohibit the faithful from kneeling after the Agnus Dei and following the reception of Holy Communion?

Resp.: Negative.

Dubium 2. Does the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments intend by Nos. 160-162, 244, or elsewhere in the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, that the people may no longer genuflect or bow as a sign of reverence to the Blessed Sacrament immediately before they receive Holy Communion?

Resp.: Negative.

So, a clarification was quickly provided by the Holy See which makes it clear that thew newly published IGMR did not intend in any way to prohibit people from bowing or genuflecting before the Blessed Sacrament when receiving Holy Communion.

A reader asks in the comment box of Part One, if I can include genuflection before receiving. In my humble opinion, and someone can correct me, this Protocol seen above, covers that. It would not make sense for any diocese to prohibit something in it's adaptations, that the Vatican says may not be prohibited. Keep in mind, those adaptations must be submitted to the Holy See for approval and as we look at subsequent documentations on the topic, we will look at how various later interpretations mesh with these earlier communications.

What happened next?

You'll have to wait until my next post. This gets more interesting as we unpeel the layers chronologically.

Incidentally, you will see these protocol numbers in letters such as these. The online Catholic Encyclopedia explains Protocols, if this is of interest to you.

References:

[1] Adoremus Bulletin, Online Edition - Vol. VII, No. 5-6 - July-August 2001

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NOTE: I had not mentioned it in my earlier post, but will do so now for your benefit. I have several documents lined up for this series, but want to move in a methodical fashion. Comments are welcome, but I prefer not to publish those which contain information I have not yet gotten to in our sequence. My experience in debating this issue with people, is that the sequence of events is important and therefore, I don't want to put the horse before the cart.

If someone sees an error in any of these posts, by all means, please email me at TeDeumBlog@aol.com or drop a clarification in the combox. This kind of exercise is always a learning experience for me too.

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Kneeling for Holy Communion: Part 1 - GIRM 160

A recent discussion with a friend on kneeling during reception of Holy Comunion prompts me to hunt down some references I had studied about two years ago.

Suppose you are in a more traditional parish where communicants have a preference for using the Communion rail, which managed to survive the jack-hammering in the wake of Vatican 2 (and NO - Vatican 2 did not authorize removal of the rails, but many were taken out in the name of that council. Hence, it is not the fault of Vatican 2, but the errant and misguided application of it).

Imagine, that in such a parish, the priests are willing to charitably honor the desire of communicants to use that rail. A visiting teen experiencing it for the first time, who never seen a Communion rail, much less ever used one, said to me following Mass, "That felt so right....receiving Jesus on my tongue while kneeling". Out of the mouths of babes....

Moving right along.

What happens when people from such a parish travel and kneel for Communion, not to make some sort of statement, but out of pure adoration for Our Eucharistic Lord? Sometimes, they can be met with rather harsh treatment by priests, Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist (EMHC's), or by ushers. It is becoming more rare now, but a few years ago, people were actually denied Communion by some priests if they kneeled to receive. Denial on the grounds of posture is a violation of Canon Law. But, the uncharitable manner in which "catechesis on the norm" is sometimes handled can be shocking to a soul who intended nothing other than to receive Jesus in a manner they personally deem proper.

I want to give you a closer look at the norms and related documents, and finally to provide some things to consider when traveling.

This topic has an interesting history and I am choosing to break it up into multiple posts. When they are all done, I'll pull the links together into one single post. In part 2, I will get into the clarifications provided by the Holy See which came out following some controversial and errant applications of what is below.

GENERAL INSTRUCTION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL (GIRM)
(based on 3rd edition, 2002)

The Holy See puts out a universal set of norms in the GIRM and bishop's conferences of the various countries can make adaptations for their respective dioceses, such as the Diocese of the United States. These adaptations must be submitted to the Holy See for approval. Hence, there is never a case where a bishops conference can trump the Holy See. Rather, it is the other way around. This process is far from blanket approval and from the examples I've seen in my internet travels, modifications by, and conditions set forth, by the Holy See come into play.

GIRM 160

The universal norm reads as follows. Emphases are mine :

160 The priest then takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who, as a rule, approach in a procession.

The faithful are not permitted to take up the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice themselves, and still less hand them on to one another. The faithful may communicate either standing or kneeling, as established by the Conference of Bishops. However, when they communicate standing, it is recommended that they make an appropriate gesture of reverence, to be laid down in the same norms, before receiving the Sacrament.

In the Diocese of the United States, the following adaption was approved. Emphases are mine:

160. The priest then takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who, as a rule, approach in a procession.

The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them from one to another. The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally, by providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons for this norm.

When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his or her head before the Sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant. When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the Precious Blood.

Before we can get into a discussion about the italicized text with regards to catechesis on the norm for standing in the US, we need to take a closer look at some notifications issued by the Holy See which dig deeper into the part I have in bold and underlined right above. I will do this in my next post on this subject.

Reference: Roman Missal Index (USCCB)

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Sacrament of Confession - A New Trend Among the Young

Deo Gratias! Fresh in from Sandro Magister at his blog:

Emerging Trends: The Return to the Confessional

The indications are modest, but consistent. The latest one comes from Loreto, where twelve thousand young people received the sacrament of forgiveness, with the pope's encouragement. And in the seminaries, there's a return of books for studying "cases of conscience"

by Sandro Magister

ROMA, September 6, 2007 – During the two-day meeting between Benedict XVI and the young people who flocked to Loreto by the hundreds of thousands from Italy and from many other countries, something happened that was unexpected in terms of its intensity and breadth: mass participation in the sacrament of confession.

Between Saturday, September 1, and Sunday, September 2, in the large open plain beneath the town and the shrine of the Virgin Mary, 350 priests heard confessions nonstop from two o'clock in the afternoon until seven in the morning, besieged by twelve thousand young people seeking forgiveness.

But even before the pope's arrival, the rite of penance had been part of the preparations for many of the young people attending the event. Almost all of the pilgrimage venues on the way to Loreto included opportunities for sacramental confession. Such was the case with the abbey in Fiastra, which at times became one giant confessional. Such was the case with the shrine of Canoscio, in the Apennine mountains. Each time, there were dozens and dozens of priests all administering the sacrament at the same time.

This was not an absolute novelty. Great numbers of young people also confessed at the World Youth Day events held in Rome in 2000: 120,000 in three days, in the immense stadium of pagan Rome, the Circus Maximus, which had been transformed into an open-air confessional.

But what seemed at first like a flash in the pan turned out to be a lasting trend. And it is a growing one, especially at shrines and at large gatherings. Of course, the percentage of young Catholics who go to confession is still small. In Loreto, they were less than five percent of those present. But a trend reversal is underway, considering that reception of the sacrament had almost died out some years ago.

Continue reading Confession at www.chiesa


Dear Father....



"...I have heard for 40 years how much God loves me. Please, teach me how to love Him back...."


Those were among the very first words I said to Fr. Perrone when I first met him in 2005 and emptied my "closet" on his desk with a general confession. Teach me he did and so did the other fine priests at Assumption Grotto, which is the key reason for my staying and joining the parish. Our human fallen nature truly needs for us to hear frequently how to show our love for God. The first thing I learned was to take the Ten Commandments seriously, and to understand them better.

My first few months at Grotto were crushing, but in a most pleasing way. It was painful to see all the ways I had offended God throughout my life, and to actually come to grips with the fact that these were choices I myself made. The "spirit of Vatican 2" outlook was to avoid pain on the premise that God wants us to be happy. We sometimes make the mistake of avoiding the very thing that is necessary in spiritual growth - to purge ourselves of that which is not God-pleasing.

The first bad choice was to remain ignorant of Church teaching, and the more serious was to blow-off those few teachings that didn't quite mesh with my outlook on life. Relativism's ugly head was revealed only by the grace of God. I had been "jarred" abruptly by then Cardinal Ratzinger's pre-conclave sermon.

All of this was painful, yet it was pleasing to experience a new beginning and a new outlook on life which would have me putting God at the center in my daily life, and not the ways of the world.

Confession is Catchy

The news reported by Sandro Magister is very promising. And, I can tell you that it get's "catchy". I discovered this when I first came to Grotto two years ago. There is something about seeing long lines of confession that draws the soul to contemplate it's own sinfulness, prompting thoughts of using the Sacrament. That makes it a grace to be in the presence of people confessing sins and one that we should act upon should we feel that draw, even where there is no serious sin.

Confession becomes even more "catchy" when you learn to use it for the purpose of building virtue. This is where priests can really help a soul on a personal level to build holiness. There can be no pursuit of holiness while we are in a state of mortal sin because it weighs a soul down like boat anchor. In reality, it is in working on the small things - the venial matters, that we learn to tame our apetites on the heavy hitters - grave or mortal sin. This was one of the key things that Fr. Perrone taught me that day. His advice as we parted following that general confession was to read one small section of My Daily Bread each day. This little book was instrumental in further purgings as the weeks and months went by. I highly recommend it as a great little read for re-tooling your soul. It breaks you down, then teaches you how to get back up with a whole new attitude.

I also discovered then, that people respond to a priest in the confessional, especially when he is persistant. So, Fathers - if you are reading this, talk about it in your sermons - just be there consistently and pray that the people come, even when it seems no one will. I witnessed Confessions on Sunday mornings because priests make it available in the 45 minutes prior to Mass. When they celebrate Mass they put a sign up indicating confessions will need to stop 10 minutes prior so they may finish vesting. Priests at my parish also have a habit of going to the confessional outside of regularly posted times when there are large numbers of people present - and people respond.

Confession: Didn't Vatican 2 do away with that?

Confession waned in the years following Vatican 2 when, in that name of that council, it was de-emphasized. I recall vividly when a Catholic friend said to me, "Confesion? Oh, Vatican 2 did away with that!". Not!

This de-emphasis from my perspective, came right along with the growing banality of sermons in which talk of things like sin, sacrifice, self-denial, justice, and mortification were labeled as "passe".

Banal Sermons Contributed to the Decline of Confession

Sermons of the last 40 years have done much to teach us about how much God loves us, but have fallen terribly short on teaching us how to love God back. Many of our youth, and even many not-so-youthful people, have been literally tricked into believing that God wants us to be happy, even to the point of "enjoying" sinfulness. This was my key error for justifying those Church teachings I blew off: God wants me to be happy. Yeah, right! As if there can be happiness in Hell.

A few years ago, I would probably have recommended seeking out an older priest who seriously values the Sacrament of Confession and knows the graces it brings to soul. The good news is that in growing numbers, it is not only that senior priest (you know - the one who is looked upon as an outcast by the "spirit of V2" crowd), but the younger and newer priests who are emphasizing the merits of Confession.

These priests are not annoyed with the Sacrament, but are interiorly joyful at the opportunity to bring a soul back to a state of grace, which is required for worthy reception of Holy Communion. The fruits of a poorly catechized Catholic community are seen in long Communion lines, but Confession lines that are low or non-existent.

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Vatican International Exhibition of Eucharistic Miracles in Sountheast Michigan

If you are in Southeast Michigan or the surrounding area, Sts Cyril & Methodius on Ryan Rd. near 18 Mile has this:

Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit
What: Vatican International Exhibition of Eucharistic Miracles.
When: September 2 to 9, 2007
Where: Here at St. Cyril and Methodius!

Get there while there is still time.

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Holy Smoke! Now that's a thurible!

Wow! It takes 8 guys to swing it!!!

I wonder if we can have one at Grotto. Ok - who do we talk to? We'll have to put Lenny on a fundraiser for this.

Source: http://www.amicsdelspelegrins.org/

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Wake up and Smell the Incense, says Monsignor

You have to read this post by Fr. Z. You may recall a pretty nasty and controversial article surrounding Summorum Pontificum in CNS by Fr. Peter J. Daly, which Fr. Z jumped on not that long ago. Catholic News Service is operated by the USCCB.

Well, someone else has spoken and Father covers it in this post - do read it:

Monsignor stands up to the bullies: Wake up and smell the incense



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Opus Angelorum Day of Recollection - Sept 16th

I mentioned earlier that Opus Angelorum was having another Day of Recollection on September 16, 2007 at Assumption Grotto. Here are the details I promised. I hope they are clear enough to read. Click on the picture to enlarge.

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September 5 Blogpost Roundup

God in the Grotto
This is one of many such photos in the video slideshow covering the Sacrament of the Sick and the Benediction which took place on Assumption Day in the outdoor grotto area

I've made several posts and want to accumulate them here. This is a listing of my most recent posts, which you can always see in the sidebar, but I would like to highlight on my "home" today.

• Rosary for Truth in the Twin Cities


• The Medievil Mass


• Coming Soon: Opus Angelorum Day of Recollection


• Coming Soon: Helpers of God's Precious Infants Vigil


• Witnessing Christ on the Streets of the Philippines


• Have the Laity been Clericalized?


• Coming Soon: EWTN Special on the Motu Proprio


• Coming Sept 14: High Mass at Assumption Grotto - 7:00pm

Along with that last one, Fr. Z is accumulating a list of those parishes providing the Extraordinary form of the Latin Rite on the first day it is permitted - September 14, 2007 - the Triumph of the Holy Cross. Add yours to the list if it is not yet there. But, watch his homepage too for more. It appears this is part of a project he is putting together.

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Rosary for Truth in the Twin Cities area

Something else in my inbox, but first...

I am not sure that the person who sent it to me - Peter - is the contact person and I don't want to just give out the email it came from. In the body of the letter it says to "contact me". If anyone knows for certain who that contact person is and their contact info, please add it to the combox. I would prefer it to come from that contact person.

This sounds like a good idea.

Rosary for Truth
For those in the Twin Cities metro area, I would like to encourage you to participate when you are able in the lay outreach "Rosary for Truth". This group goes every Sunday to a different parish in the Twin Cities Archdiocese where there has been open support of the active gay-lifestyle, where the parish has invited anti-Catholic/pro-choice speakers to talk, and where the liturgies are severely illict and even invalid.

The group meets 20 minutes before the mid-morning Mass, and prays together silently the Rosary in the main church. The intention for this Rosary is to pray for the ongoing conversion of the parish and clergy, for their hearts and minds to be open to the fullness of the faith that they profess to be in communion with. The group also prays for our Archbishop, that he may be strengthened by the Holy Spirit, and be more willing to stand for Christ and His Church, charitably but uncompromisingly.

Since beginning this project, many fruits have already emerged. Regular parishoners have approached Rosary for Truth members desiring to join them in prayer, or wishing to learn how to pray the Rosary themselves. Others have asked about other ways to pray, as they have never been told how before. Many are beginning to seek out Adoration. All because they first saw these people silently gathering in their church one Sunday, and wondered what was going on!

So many of the Catholic faithful have actively sought out faithful and orthodox parishes, and in doing so have left behind parishes that are struggling. While it is important for our own spiritual growth that we find a good parish that will nourish our faith, it is not to be done by completely abandoning our brothers and sisters in Christ. They need our prayers, they need our presence, they need to see the joy that we have found in the fullness of the Church founded by Jesus Christ to carry on His mission in the world!

If you are in the Twin Cities area and would be interested in participating occasionally with the Rosary for Truth group, please contact me and I will get you in touch with them. If you are not in our area, please consider beginning a similar group in your diocese!

The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love.

--Catechism of the Catholic Church, 25

SEPTEMBER 2007 SCHEDULE

Rosary for Truth
Schedule for September, 2007

The history of the Rosary shows how this prayer was used . . . at a
difficult time for the Church due to the spread of heresy. Today we
are facing new challenges. Why should we not once more have recourse
to the Rosary?

John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002), 17.

Schedule of Dates, Churches and Mass Times
Date Mass Time Church

Sept. 8 (Saturday) 4:30 p.m.
St. Thomas the Apostle
Rosary at 4:05 p.m.
2914 West 44 th Street, Mpls, 55410
612-922-0041

Sept. 22 (Saturday) 5:00 p.m.

Church of Christ the King
Rosary at 4:35 p.m.
5029 Zenith Ave. S, Mpls, 55410
612-920-5030


Sept. 29 (Saturday) 5:00 p.m .

St. Frances Cabrini
Rosary at 4:35 a.m
1500 Franklin Ave SE, Mpls
612-339-3023

We invite you to pray the Rosary with us for a return to the Orthodox
Tradition of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and for the
conversion of our brothers and sisters who are involved, whether by
intent, deceit or ignorance, in disordered movements contrary to the
teachings of the Magisterium of the Church and Holy Scripture.

St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesian Church commanded, Take no part
in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. . . .
when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible. (Ephesians
5:11,13) Our struggle is not against our brothers and sisters, but
for their conversion in love, For we are not contending against flesh
and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against
the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) Together we
can expose the works of darkness by bringing, through this mighty
prayer, the light of truth and love in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our intent is to gather over a period of time at various churches in
our Archdiocese approximately 25 minutes before Mass, quietly kneel
and silently pray the most holy Rosary of the blessed Mother of God.

If you sense the Spirit of God prodding you then please join with us.
Please carry your Rosary exposed so we can identify one another and
sit together if you wish.

Arrive 30 minutes before Mass is scheduled to begin.

A testimonial is found on the blogs of Cathy of Alex, who was impacted by this herself. See her post on The Recovering Dissident

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The "Medievil Mass"

A reader has sent me a link to an interesting website with some video clips. Henrietta writes:

Danish scholar Knud Ottosen has put together a very interesting website. He is a retired professor of theology who is dedicating his time to liturgical studies. There are some nice videos re-enacting a medieval Mass with explanations in English by Dr. Ottosen. The videos are on the link "Medieval Mass." There is also chant if you follow the link to "Music" on the left.

http://www.liturgy.dk/default.asp

It is interesting to see how the present day "traditional Mass" is not so different from the Medieval Mass. Tradition has deep roots.

I have yet to fully watch them due to some technical problems I'm having with getting video to run smoothly from the web (connection issue). But it looks intersting nonetheless.


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Opus Angelorum: Day of Recollection - September 16th, 2007

Reserve the afternoon on Sunday, September 16th , 2007. After the Noon Mass, with time to grab a hamburger or hotdog in the gym, the Priests of Opus Angelorum will have a Day of Recollection from 2pm to 5pm. This is an opportunity for the whole family to take part in a "retreat" for the day. More details to come.

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Helpers of God's Precious Infants Vigil

Click the pic to read the front and back of the latest flyer from Helper's of God's Precious Infants here in Southeast Michigan. Please take time out of your day and come with your family. This is a peaceful prayer vigil, not a protest. I can guarantee that if you come once, you will be hooked on coming to all 3-4 vigils they host yearly.

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