Thousand attend first Latin mass in 40 years at South Miami church – South Miami – MiamiHerald.com

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Fiat

Lead us, and we will follow!  See what happens when a worthy successor of the Apostles, a true shepherd to his flock, is docile to the directives of Peter?

I found particularly noteworthy,  the Archbishop’s remark that in the TLM, “We’re united with our ancestors in the faith so this is another way of representing the unity of the church.”

I know  a priest who said we, the traditional-minded faithful in his parish, were divisive just by existing!   Father,  Archbishop Wenski disagrees with you.

Thousand attend first Latin mass in 40 years at South Miami church – South Miami – MiamiHerald.com.

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS # 15

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Fiat

Removing the pall from over the chalice may seem to be an insignificant, matter-of-fact occurrence; but if we delve deeper into what the pall is, we can better understand and appreciate the mystery of the Mass as it unfolds before our very eyes.

The pall has to be of white linen, this to remind us of the sudarium, the white, linen napkin which was used to wrap the blood-stained Head of our Lord at His burial.  When the corporal and the pall are blessed, the accompanying prayer asks that they “may be made, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, a “novum sudarium” for the Body and Blood of our Redeemer”.   The pall, then, is a new sudarium.  It reminds us of the piece of linen used to bind the Sacred Head.

At this point in the Mass, it is most opportune to call to mind why the sudarium was blood-stained.  We recall that painful moment when Christ’s sacred Head was sadistically pierced with a crown of thorns, and pray thus:  “Lord Jesus Christ, who for my sake wouldst be so cruelly crowned with thorns, pierce me so thoroughly with the thorns of penance that I may have a right to be crowned by Thee in heaven.  Amen.”

As for the impoverished, cut-and-edited N.O., there is not even mention of the pall in the General Instructions. The bloodied, thorn-crowned Sacred Head of our Lord is probably the furthest thing from the mind of many in the pews of the typical N.O. I am reminded of a lay “Eucharistic extraordinary minister”, who when shown a holy card of our Lord scourged, crowned, and bleeding, recoiled in horror and exclaimed, “Get that away from me!”   

“The liturgical reform, in its concrete realization, has distanced itself even more from its origin. The result has not been a reanimation, but devastation. In place of the liturgy, fruit of a continual development, they have placed a fabricated liturgy.”  – Cardinal Ratzinger

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[1] The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: dogmatically, liturgically, ascetically, by Fr. Nicholas Gihr

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The Liturgy is Understood Visually

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Fiat

“The active participation of the faithful consists not so much in singing and prayer, rather in the visual apprehension of things, which happen on the altar.”  – Cardinal James Louis McIntyre († 1979)

Have you ever gone to Mass – a N.O. – in a very somber mood because of things weighing heavy on the mind?  And, it happened that you just didn’t feel like being vocal, but you were praying in the stillness of your soul because you understood that THE Mass is the greatest prayer one can offer to God?   You expected to find comfort, a lessening of  the weight of your burden, a lighter heart.  But, instead, exactly the opposite happened.  It was not so much the talking and levity of the congregation.  That, like an annoying insect, you were able to ignore.  It was Father.  He just scolded you, and all the rest who either were not making the responses, or were not making them loudly enough.  Father told all of you to turn up the decibels!

What! After Vatican II God began suffering from sensorineural hearing loss?

What a pity that even at Mass, a soul cannot find rest.

They just don’t get it.

The above quote is from a post on Eponymous Flower.  The full article can be found there.

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Forthcoming Duncan Stroik Renovation

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Fiat

In this recent photo, you see the chapel of the Carmelite Monastery of Traverse City, Michigan.  Duncan Stroik has been commissioned to do the renovation.  I thought it would be fun to do a before and after.  But you will have to wait until June to see the end results.  In the meantime, you may speculate on what might be done to make the place more suitable for traditional, ad orientem worship.

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #14

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Fiat

The priest prays: “Accept, O Holy Father, Almighty and eternal God, this spotless host, which I, thine unworthy servant, offer to Thee, my living and true God, to atone for my countless sins, offenses and negligences; on behalf of all here present and likewise for all faithful Christians living and dead; that it may avail for my own and for their salvation unto life everlasting.”

The Holy Trinity is addressed, and the Holy Spirit is specifically invoked, to come and sanctify the elements – the matter of the Sacrifice. In this way, the bread and wine are sanctified by Him, that is, set apart and made holy so as to be made worthy for their exalted purpose. By anticipation, the priest also already offers the Divine Victim to His Father. “We offer unto Thee, O Lord, the Chalice of Salvation…”

At this point, it would be most appropriate to make the offering of one’s self to our Redeemer. In the words of St. Aphonsus Liguori, “Since Jesus Christ gives entirely His Body and His Blood, let no one approach without giving himself entirely to the Lord.” And, we find this in the Roman Catholic Daily Missal, 1962: “In the Offertory, Christ unites our desires and prayers to His own offerings of Himself to the Father. As our intentions are joined to the Passion of Christ, they assume the value of the Passion in the eyes of God.”

We recall the continuation of Our Lord’s Passion when He was scourged: “Lord Jesus Christ, who for me wouldst be bound unto a pillar, and there cruelly whipped; give me grace to willingly bear the rods of Thy paternal correction and never more to scourge Thee by my sins. Amen.”

In the N.O. the reformers suppressed the Offertory prayers entirely and replaced them with a prayer that is not of Apostolic origin, but rather, is derived from the post 70 A.D. Jewish “Haggadah”, a text for the rituals of their Seder meal: “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands…”, etc. Being of Jewish origins, it obviously does not point to the sacrificial and expiatory nature of the Mass with Our Lord as the immolated Victim; nor is the Trinity addressed.

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS # 13

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Fiat

The chalice, being a consecrated vessel meant to hold the Divinity, has been kept covered out of reverence for it.  Now, the immediate preparation for the Sacrifice begins with the removal of the veil because Divine mysteries of our Faith are about to be revealed.

The ancient Eastern liturgy of St. James has most beautiful “prayers of the veil” which makes reference to the flesh of Our Lord as the veil :  “We thank Thee, Lord our God, that thou hast given us the freedom of entry into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, inaugurating for us a new and living way through the veil of His flesh”,  and  “…unveiling the coverings of the mysteries which in symbol surround this sacred rite, show them to us clearly and fill the eyes of our minds with Thy incomprehensible light, and purifying our poverty from every defilement of flesh and spirit….”

We may recall that Our Lord was unvested in preparation for the scourging, and pray thus:  “O Lord Jesus Christ, who wouldst be despoiled of Thy garments, and stripped and scourged for my sake; grant me by a sincere and entire confession of my sins to put off the old man, with all his acts, and never to appear devoid of virtue in Thy sight.  Amen.”

The chalice veil is not always used in the N.O. since the 2000 GIRM does not make it mandatory.  It merely says that “it is good to cover the chalice with the veil.”  If you question priests who don’t use one, they may tell you that the chalice coverings were only meant to keep the flies out in the days when churches had to leave the windows open.

While the coverings would certainly do that, there is rich symbolism behind the use of the chalice veil which has been forgotten or ignored. The Godhead took upon Himself a veil of human flesh which was torn by stripes and scourges, to make entrance for us into heaven: “A new and living way which he hath dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:20).

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Monsignor, Our Lady of Fatima and Hell

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Fiat

Yesterday,  a dear priest-friend of our family expressed his consternation over the loss of the sense of the sacred which he sees even amongst parishioners considered to be good people.   Well, today, I came across a youtube on Angel Queen in which Monsignor Moss identifies one most effectual method by which the devil has succeeded in ensnaring souls these past 40-50 years.   In watching the youtube,  towards the end of the sermon, Msg. Moss,  mentions one of the things which greatly annoys our priest-friend.   Watch it and see if you can relate.  It is something that commonly plays out in churches where the N.O. is celebrated.

One more thing.  I would advise anyone to flee from those who would suggest that True Devotion and a firm and loving attachment to Our Lady of Fatima shows too extravagant a regard for our Blessed Mother.

How many times I have come across that mentality from even fellow-Catholics!

Msgr. Moss speaks: 

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #12

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Fiat

When seeing the altar boy remove the missal from the Epistle side to place it on the Gospel side, recall how Our Lord was shuffled to and fro between Herod and Pilate. Also consider the mystical significance of removing the missal: When the Chosen People of the Old Covenant rejected Jesus, the Good News of salvation was brought instead to the pagans, the Gentiles.

In the Gospels, our Lord teaches truths necessary for our salvation. Those truths do not depend on whether we accept them or not. In the economy of salvation, no grace is wasted. The gift of faith rejected by one, will be given to another.

Prayer:  “Lord Jesus Christ, who wouldst be again sent back by Herod to Pilate, and by that means caused a reconciliation between them; grant me not to fear the designs of my enemies, but to profit in being persecuted by them, and to faithfully adhere to all Thy teachings.  Amen.”

In the Novus Ordo, the readings are done from only one lectern so that it is impossible to see the theology  conveyed by the shifting of the missal and the movement of the priest to the opposite side.  Also, as Jacob Michael has demonstrated in his study of the readings for Sunday Masses,  entire passages of Scripture were dropped from the N.O.  Lectionary. He gives this example: “The New Lectionary does include the rather tame words of Our Lord in John 3:16, which affirms that ‘God so loved the world,’ but it cuts out these verses, which highlight the opposite side of the Gospel coin: ‘He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.'”

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Don’t do it! (CITH)

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Fiat

I believe Msgr. Schneider is right.  It is going to take a great deal of catechesis to put an end to CITH.   The ignorance amongst the faithful is so prevalent, the loss of faith in the Real Presence of colossal proportions, that most Catholics have no clue as to why they should not take the consecrated Host in the hand.   But where does one begin?  Most likely, you won’t get it in the standard CCD classroom, and priests are certainly not going to preach it from the pulpit.  So,  when a new article comes up on this topic, I hope to be able to post it.    Here is a more recent one found over at Eponymous Flower:

“Hand Communion promotes the erroneous assertion that the Host is a precious little piece of bread,  that one can simply snap up.” -kreuz.net

(kreuz.net) Hand Communion could not be banned like a revolution.

This is what Msgr. Schneider (50) of Astana in Kazakhstan for the website ‘gloria.tv’ on the end of October.

Msgr Schneider is a sharp critic of hand Communion.

He recommends that the faithful can be led to kneeling Communion on the tongue with much patience and catechesis.

The Calvinist Form Leads to Calvinist Content

Msgr Schneider argued psychologically against the Calvinist practice of hand communion stemming from the sixteenth century.

One takes ordinarily with one’s fingers what one wants in a commonplace way.

On the other hand, kneeling Communion on the tongue is a “complete gesture of sacrality, which expresses  the sublime.”

No mature person goes to a knee, to receive a meal.

Hand Communion promotes an erroneous understanding that the Host “is more bread, that one can take.”

Above all children may no longer experience, because of the daily form of hand Communion, the sublimity and greatness of Holy Communion.

That Wasn’t Hand Communion

Hand Communion has let the belief in real presence and in the transubstantiation of the bread disappear.

The traditional form of the Mass impresses this belief much better than in the New Eucharistic Celebration.

Msgr Schneider stressed that the ancient form of the reception of Communion was on the tongue.

The faithful merely received the Host on their hands.

BUT:  They bent themselves down from below, in order to take the Communion with their tongue.

The transition to direct distribution of Communion in the mouth in the 6th and 7th centuries is something that was a logical consequence of a deepening Eucharistic understanding, according to Bishop Schneider.

Original, kreuz.net…

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So loveable, so precious…

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Fiat

….so vulnerable.    Who would want to kill them?

Today is the day on which we are called to make reparation for the deliberate destruction of      children in the womb.   Please do something.

 

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