THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #22

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Fiat

“When I shall be lifted up from the earth, then will I draw all things to Myself” (John 12:32).

“[W]hen the solemn sound of the fall of the cross into the hole prepared for it in the rock was heard, a dead silence ensued, every heart was filled with an undefinable feeling of awe—a feeling never before experienced, and for which no one could account, even to himself; all the inmates of hell shook with terror, and vented their rage by endeavoring to stimulate the enemies of Jesus to still greater fury and brutality; the souls in Limbo were filled with joy and hope, for the sound was to them a harbinger of happiness, the prelude to the appearance of their Deliverer. Thus was the blessed cross of our Lord planted for the first time on the earth; and well might it be compared to the tree of life in Paradise, for the wounds of Jesus were as sacred fountains, from which flowed four rivers destined both to purify the world from the curse of sin, and to give it fertility, so as to produce fruit unto salvation.” – Anne C. Emmerich

In the temple at Jerusalem, it was the custom to sound a horn to signal the beginning of the slaying of the Paschal lambs; at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we hear the alert at the Sanctus with the sounding of the bell. Now the bell rings once more at the elevation as a signal for the faithful to adore the Divine Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ, mystically being slain by the sacrificing priest.

Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, who wouldst be raised on the Cross, and in that manner exalted from the earth for my sake; raise me, I beseech Thee, from all earthly affections, that my soul may always, as far as possible in this land of exile, live in heaven.“ Amen.
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In the N.O., the ringing of the bell is optional, and rarely heard at all. The elevation is often done as a kind of presentation to the people rather than an actual lifting up of the Host.

 

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Archbishop Sartain Assists From the Throne

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Fiat

I was told about this event over a week ago, before it took place.   The reader who mentioned it, has also sent me a link to 189 photos  taken at the Mass and the reception.  Archbishop Sartain was our very own (Joliet diocese) before he was transferred to Seattle.  He was also the one who invited the FSSP into our diocese; we had great hopes that the apostolate would become solidly established and in time, have its own church.

Our new bishop, apparently has no keen interest in traditionalists.  He has told Fr. Berg that there are no churches available in the diocese to turn over to the FSSP.  So, after over three years, the FSSP is still sharing two parishes, and we still only have one priest to cover the entire diocese.   Because Father cannot come to Kankakee to celebrate Masses for us, we have had to have recourse to the Institute, whose priests are unmatched in zeal, generosity and kindness.   We have come to love them dearly!

Below is part of the post from the New Liturgical Movement regarding the March 7 Mass with Archbishop Sartain.

“On Wednesday, March 7, North American Martyrs Parish (FSSP) hosted Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle for a pastoral visit to commemorate the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. Archbishop Sartain assisted from the throne for the Solemn High Mass offered by Fr. Gerard Saguto, FSSP, administrator of North American Martyrs…”

Here is the link to the 189 photos.  Go to Photo gallery of parish events. on the web page.

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Another Institute of Christ the King S.P. TLM for the Joliet Diocese

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Fiat

UPDATE:  We will pray the rosary, starting at 6:30.

We need two men to usher; volunteers, please come forward.  You may let me know this coming Sunday, or e-mail me.

Some of us will arrive at St. Peter at 5:30.  Anyone who wishes to come at that time to meet one another, or to help with food set-up, or to arrange the flowers in the sanctuary, to take pictures, etc., you are most welcome.

Also, I think it might be time to get more structured.  Please consider setting aside some time for periodic meetings.  Your input is most important. It would be good to have one soon after the May 5 Mass.  I have hesitated to follow this route because our families are already overloaded with responsibilities and their own works of charity.  If we do this, we must remember that our families will always come first, ahead of this apostolate for the TLM.  I am always reluctant to impose on any of you, but if you feel drawn to get more involved, your association would be greatly appreciated.

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I wish I could say that it will be a regularly scheduled one, but, no, it’s a one-time thing.  Please pray for us, spread the word  wide and far.  Join us if you can.   Let us know if anyone coming would like to participate.  Singers, servers, food preparation, clean-up.  We need you all.

“Thank you” to Fr. Pennock, and of course, to the Institute!

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Continuing with Meditations for the Month of St. Joseph

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Fiat

From the Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary,  by Msgr. Gentilucci:

“We cannot fix precisely,” says Father Binet, “the year of Saint Joseph’s death; what is regarded as certain is, that he passed from this to another life before the passion of Christ.  He died in the arms of Jesus and Mary: a happiness which causes feelings of the deepest devotion… His passage to the other world was more a triumph than a death…..On that occasion, I doubt not, all the court of Heaven descended to venerate that body, in which had dwelt so great a soul, adorned with those riches of virtue which the Gospel embraces in the name of Just.

“ ‘Go,’ must the angels have said, ‘go, O new precursor, and bear to the holy patriarchs the tidings of their coming liberation, which now appears as the dawn of the Sun of Justice above the horizon, foretokening happiness…Already is thy throne prepared at the right hand of that which awaits thy spouse.  Thou shalt be as the great counselor in the court of Heaven, the treasurer of the riches and grace which the Almighty Father dispenses; thou shalt be the protector of the Church about to arise, and the advocate of its children in all necessities and cares.’

“We…recur to the conjecture of Papebroke, to suppose that Saint Joseph died in Jerusalem, and was buried in that valley, in which stand the tomb of Josaphat and the garden of Gethsemani….where stood the tomb of his illustrious ancestors.”

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #21

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Fiat

Quam oblationem…….

benedictam +adscriptam + ratam +

“They have pierced my hands and my feet” – (psalm 22:16).

First, three crosses – understood as invoking the Trinity – are made over the elements together.  Then, one more is made over each element for a total of five crosses.   

With the movement of the priest’s hand and arm in signing the oblation, one can almost picture the pounding of the nails into the sacred Body of our Lord, a scene which Anne C. Emmerich described as the “dreadful process [which] caused our Lord indescribable agony; his breast heaved, and his legs were quite contracted. They…knelt upon him, tied down his arms, and drove the second nail into his left hand; his blood flowed afresh, and his feeble groans were once more heard between the blows of the hammer…”

The sacrificing priest, in the blessing of the “Quam oblationem”, asks of God that the elements of bread and wine be changed into the Body and Blood of our Redeemer – that the bread be changed into the Sacred Body hung on the cross, and the wine into His most Precious Blood poured out for our salvation.

 Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, who wouldst for my sake be nailed on the cross and on the same didst fasten the handwriting of sin and death that was against me; pierce, I beseech Thee, my body with Thy holy fear, that, firmly adhering to Thy precepts, I may forever be fastened by cords of love with Thee to Thy Cross.”  Amen.

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The corresponding part in the N.O. is this: “Bless and approve our offering; make it acceptable to you, an offering in spirit and in truth. Let it become for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ, your only Son, our Lord.”    

The word “offering”, which has different meanings, including “something that is available for sale or use”, replaces the sacrificial term “oblation”, a word which has a purely religious connotation. Other religious terminology, (benedictam, adscriptam, ratam, rationabilem – words invested with deep theological significance) was eliminated.  Gihr wrote over two pages on the meaning of those words alone.  Also, the 5 signs of the cross were suppressed in the N.O. missal.

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Month of St. Joseph Meditation…

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Fiat

from St. Alphonsus Mary Liguori:

We ought to have great confidence in the protection of Saint Joseph, because he has been extremely dear to God on account of his sanctity.  To estimate Saint Joseph’s sanctity it is sufficient to know that he was chosen by God to discharge the duties of a father to Jesus Christ.  Now Saint Paul tells us:  That God “hat made us fit ministers of the New Testament,” which means, according to Saint Thomas, that whenever God chooses any one for a particular ministry, He gives him all the graces necessary to fit him to fulfill it.  God having then destined Saint Joseph to exercise a father’s authority over the Incarnate Word, we must hold for certain that he conferred upon him all the gifts of wisdom and sanctity which suited so sublime an office.  We cannot then doubt but that he enriched him with all the graces and privileges accorded to other saints.  Gerson and Suarez say that Saint Joseph had three special privileges not granted to other saints.  The first was that of being sanctified in his mother’s womb like Jeremias and Saint John the Baptist.  The second was that of being at the same time confirmed in grace.  The third that of being ever exempt from the movements of concupiscence:  a privilege which Saint Joseph by the merits of his purity may communicate to those who honor him by delivering them from carnal appetites.

Joseph in the Gospel is called JUST.  Now what does the word ‘just” mean?  According to Saint Peter Chrysologus, it means a perfect man who possesses all virtues; so That Saint Jo9seph was already holy before his marriage, but he made still greater progress in sanctity after his marriage with the Blessed Virgin.  The example of his holy spouse alone was enough to sanctify him.  But if Mary, as Saint Bernardine of Siena says, is the dispensatrix of all the graces that God grants to men, with what profusion must we not believe that Mary enriched her spouse, whom she loved so well and by whom in return she was so beloved.

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #20

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Fiat

“…dispose our days in Thy peace, command us to be delivered from eternal damnation…”

20_Hanc Igitur_KankakeeLatin Mass

Fr. N. Gihr: “Let us call to mind the impenetrable darkness that envelopes the mystery of predestination for us poor mortals here below and we shall be moved spontaneously to direct often and earnestly similar petitions for eternal salvation to God to whom alone the number of the elect is known…”   

The priest holds his hands over the oblation with his thumbs overlapped in a cross.  There is mystical meaning in positioning the hands over a victim.  As in the Old Testament, it is symbolic of transferring something to another, and in this case, the transference of our sins and guilt unto the Victim who makes expiation for us through His death. 

The women of Jerusalem bewail the sufferings of our Lord, but He, foreseeing the destruction that would fall upon the city for its great crime, has compassion on them instead.   Isaiah 1:21, “How is the faithful city, that was full of judgment, become a harlot? justice dwelt in it, but now murderers.”  As for Himself, He willingly, joyfully and lovingly accepts to bear our sins for which He will make satisfaction to His Heavenly Father. His sufferings and His death will be efficacious for the salvation of many.   

Gihr continues: “God receives into heaven only those who by faith and works belong to Him and are entirely His. Hence we must faithfully employ the grace of God, work out our salvation in fear and trembling, making our calling and election sure by good works (Phil. 2:12;  2Peter 1:10).  Be poor in spirit, be meek and humble, live in holy and salutary compunction, hunger and thirst after greater perfection, love and practice works of corporal and spiritual mercy, carefully preserve purity of heart, seek and endeavor, as far as possible, to live in peace with all mankind, be glad and rejoice when, by reason of exercising these virtues, and for the name of Jesus, you are obliged to suffer persecutions and insults..”

Prayer:  “Lord Jesus Christ, who, on that miserable road of Thy torture, didst so lovingly admonish the women that wept over Thee to mourn for themselves; give me grace to shed tears of sorrow for my sins which have grieved Thy loving Heart, that with thy grace, I may wash off my sins and become pleasing to Thee, and thus, be able to return Thy love.  Amen.”

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In the N.O., the Hanc igitur was grouped together with the Te igitur, Memento,  Communicantes and the Canon – consecration prayer –  into what all together is called a “Eucharistic Prayer”. The Book of Catholic Worship, 1966, in the one paragraph explaining the N.O. Eucharistic Prayer(s), uses the terms, “holy meal”, “communion meal”, “holy meal”. Nothing is said about the sacrificial nature of the Mass; the symbolic positioning of the priest’s hands forming a cross over the oblation as in the Hanc igitur of the TLM, was eliminated.

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What’s “Iodinews”, and Why are They Saying These Things?

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Fiat

Aaaahhhh, but it does my heart good to hear it!  A few years ago, aside from mostly the SSPX, hardly anybody would dare say such things; but the tide is turning. The dam has sprung a leak and there is no possibility of containing the resurgence of tradition. This article comes posted with our official seal of approval.  Link to the source, Iodinews:

Do people understand the Mass better in English?

Did Jesus speak Latin? What about His conversation with the Roman centurion, recalled at every traditional Latin Mass?

“Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum.” Surely, these words are quoted in the language in which they were spoken. Can we not expect Jesus’ reply to be in the same tongue?

 Officers of an army of occupation (as the Romans) tend not to speak the language of the occupied country. Rather, the natives learn the occupier’s language. How many members of our World War II armed forces returned from Japan and Germany speaking the languages of those nations?

Would the members of the Sanhedrin make their scarcely-veiled threat to Pilate in Hebrew? What about Jesus’ conversation with Pilate? Do you think the two spoke through a translator? Isn’t it as likely that our Lord spoke Latin the same as the sign nailed to the cross above His head?

Be careful of assuming that Latin is merely a novelty. Latin unified the Catholic church in many ways.

You could go to Portuguese-speaking Brazil (or Catholic Nagasaki, Japan) and expect exactly the same Mass. Being a dead language set in stone, the liturgy was also preserved. It couldn’t arbitrarily be “changed.”

Latin also unified the focus of the Sacrifice of the Mass. The priest offered worship toward the Crucifix, tabernacle and altar. They were and are one — Christ’s sacrifice, our salvation. True worship demands oneness.

People say they understand the Mass better in English. Do they? Then why don’t they avail themselves more of the Grace of the Sacraments, specifically confession? Why “six” Protestant advisers in compromise of [the] Latin Mass? The No. 6 represents man (compromise by Pope Paul VI).

Catholics today seem embarrassed to use the word “Catholic.” Why? Catholicism simply represents Christ’s desired unity of His Mystical Body, the church, throughout the world.

Without a unified church within, the Body succumbs to the disease of counterfeits (so-called Christians) from without. Christ taught monogamy — He has only one bride. Latin unified and protected His bride, the Catholic church, through the Eucharist.

Ron Arthur

Lodi

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Short Meditation from St. Eymard

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Fiat

Let us increase our practice of the "Presence of God" during this Lenten season.

“Now to have one’s mind in God is to have the thought of God ever present, ruling, sustaining, and fructifying.  Do you habitually think of our Lord?  If you do, He is in your mind and is living there;  He lives there, since He is there as Lawgiver and as Master.

“If the mind does not live in God and does not nourish the supernatural life, then the heart and the will possess that life only fitfully, by sudden starts.  It is not firmly established and constant unless so nourished.  Therefore pious souls must read, meditate, lay up provision of light and strength.  The more interior one’s life is, the more one needs instruction either from books, mediation, or from God Himself.  Thus it happens that the great crowd of Christians who never think, are virtuous enough; but loving? Ah, no!  There are childishly pious souls who never think of our Lord, excepting, perhaps, to imagine Him fleetingly.  One must keep such people busy with a host of devotional practices and little personal sacrifices.  They do not know how to reflect;  they think only of obtaining particular and momentary graces.  They never think of our Lord Himself, have no idea of asking for His love or for the grace of the interior life.  They think only of good works; of God Himself, the principle of His love, and His perfections, never!  They do not rise very high; they are outside the supernatural life of the spirit……

“To change all this, our Lord must be known and loved in Himself.  Then, whether we do this thing, or that, we shall still love Him…”

 

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See, He has Delivered us From Idolatry.

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Fiat

A portion of this video shows the reception of Holy Communion at a Tridentine Mass in Papau,New Guinea, in the pre-Vatican II era.  One can’t but feel a little how much Our Lord must love his littlest, most poor, most simple of souls.  Instead of descending to their abasement,  Holy Mother Church had always attempted to raise indigenous pagans heavenward, culturally and spiritually.

In watching this, my thoughts were directed to images of Adam and Eve after their expulsion, half-naked, with only caves for shelter, eking out measly and poor sustenance – our parents, mine and yours.

How grateful I am to our Lord Jesus Christ, who at the cost of His blood, has purchased for us pardon and redemption with the promise of eternal happiness.

“I am come that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.” – John 10:10Interestingly, the images on the video of the natives at Mass do not scandalize, unlike that of  the papal Mass with John Paul II, where  in the name of inculturation, a bare-breasted woman did  the readings.  While watching the video, think:  Original Sin, Original Sin, Original Sin…

This Lent, unite closely to Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let’s show Him our gratitude by accompanying Him for the 40 days, in a spirit of mortification and dying to self.  For my part, I will be spending less time on this computer and more time doing spiritual reading and praying.  “Gratitude” will be my watchword.

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