Sandy Hook and Baby Butchery

Some nice, constructive ironies here . . .

[Hat tip to Elizabeth Fitzmaurice]

Archbishop Fulton Sheen on preaching

"Many a modern preacher is far less concerned with preaching Christ and Him crucified than he is with his popularity with his congregation. A want of intellectual backbone makes him straddle the ox of truth and the ass of nonsense ..."

Fulton J. Sheen

Prayer requests

Please pray for the following: (1) Yunus, Shams, and their their first baby, a son named Musa, who was born prematurely at 29 weeks and is in critical care. (2) Anita, Brian and their family of five children: Anita has been diagnosed with cancer and is being treated with chemo infusions for cancer in a breast and proximate lymph nodes. (3) The eighteen-year old daughter of a relative of a friend who was recently hospitalized for an overdose of prescription pills. Bless you!

The Church and the Democratic Republic

Protestant Clergy Abuse Equals or Exceeds Catholic Clergy Abuse

As Janet Smith mentioned in an email, this is something that many of us have known for some time, but it's good to have some data verifying the fact publicly. It provides little consolation, but does balance out the picture.

Bob Allen, "Protestant Clergy Abuse Equals or Exceeds Catholic Clergy Abuse" (June 20, 2008):

The Associated Press reported recently that three insurance companies receive upward of 260 reports each year of young people under 18 being sexually abused by Protestant clergy, challenging the assumption that clergy sexual abuse is an exclusively Catholic problem that does not take place in other churches.

Read more >>

[Hat tip to Janet Smith]

Absolutely hilarious

[Hat tip to Rose Farrugia]

Kenneth Woodward on the Novus Ordo

Newsweek magazine's religion editor, Kenneth L. Woodward, has an essay in the latest issue of First Things (February 2013 -- not online yet) with a title reminiscent of Edmund Burke's: "Reflections on the Revolution in Rome" (FT, February 2013), pp. 25-31. The whole article is a revelation, but I thought the portion on liturgy particularly interesting. Here are excerpts:

And then there was the new rite of the Mass. At its inception it was better described, as one forgotten wit put it, as "the participation of the laity in the confusion of the clergy." Compared to the old Latin liturgy, I found the new version about as moving as a freight train. Silence was now a liturgical vice, conscripted congregational responses the new regiment of worship. In a pale imitation of the early Christians' kiss of peace, there was now a scripted pause. I remember vividly the funeral of the great Catholic apologist Frank Sheed at St. Patrick's Cathedral: Swinging round to shake hands with whomever was behind me, I found only a pair of hands holding a limp missalette at arm's length. One middle finger was extended. I shook the finger -- there was nothing else to grab -- and looked into the disdainful eyes of William F. Buckley Jr. "You S.O.B.," I wanted to say, "I don't like this Rotary Club routine any more than you do."

Buckley's National Review, a magazine produced mostly by Catholics, had responded to the Church reforms with a question on its cover: "What, in the name of God, is going on in the Catholic Church?" Good question. Defecting priests and secularizing colleges did not affect me directly, but the new liturgy did. In place of my much-loved Latin hymns and chants, the new liturgists bade us sing old Reformation anthems like Martin Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." I could not bring myself to join in when the chosen hymn was "Amazing Grace" -- in fact, I still refuse to do so. It's a lovely piece, all about getting one's self individually saved, Evangelical-style, but theologically it has no place in the corporate worship of the Catholic Church.

What the liturgists didn't borrow from Protestant hymnals, they conjured up by themselves. Mostly, it was folk music sung to plucked guitars with relentless upbeat lyrics about how much a nice God loves us and aren't we fortunate to be his chosen people. There was no awe, no hint of the biblical fear of the Lord in this music, only the mild diuretic of self-congratulation. Our children loved it: It matched the treacle they were learning in Sunday school classes, which is why my wife and I pulled them out to teach them the fundamentals ourselves. The Church's failure to pass on the faith, through the liturgy or through the classroom, would eventually snip two generations of young Catholics from their own religious roots.

Then, this telling conclusion:

In 1971, Newsweek again polled American Catholics for the cover story -- "Has the Church Lost Its Soul?" -- that, with copious charts, went on for seven pages. What we found was a once apparently cohesive community in disarray: As one liberal monsignor bluntly told us, "The Chuch is one god-damned mess." Nearly as many American Catholics, for instance, said they now looked for spiritual guidance to evangelist Billy Graham as did those who still looked to the pope. By "soul" I meant "an integral Catholic subcultue with its own distinctive blend of rituals and rules, mystery and manners" which, as I saw it then, "has vanished from the American scene."

Had I that cover story to write all over again, I would have added that the membrane that once separated Catholics from other Americans had been finally rent. The assimilation of Catholics -- a quarter of the population -- into mainstram American culture and society had been accomplished, though at heavy cost to the institutions of the Church. And after Humanae Vitae and its fallout, the internal boundaries by which Catholics had differentiated themselves from their neighbors gradually receded.

Most Catholics clung to their faith and said they expected their children to do the same. In closing the story, I tried to lay a journalistic finger on the reasons why. For that I had to look inside myself, and this is what I wrote: "When the Catholic faith runs deep, it establishes a certain sensuous rhythm in the soul, a sacramental sensibility that suffuses ordinary things -- bread, water, wine, the marriage bed -- and transforms them into vehicles of grace. In these spiritual depths, doctrine and Church laws fade in importance."

In focusing on the idea of religion as a distinct sensibility, formed through a set of communal practices based on a comprehensive religious worldview, I was trying to understand how -- and for how long -- any religious tradition might persist without the sociological protection provided by geographic, ethnic, and other socially constructed boundaries. The reforms of Vatican II may have hastened but certainly did not cause the collapse of those boundaries by which Catholics, like all minority groups, had maintained their identity. That was the work of other social forces. I was in my early thirties at the time, but already I could sense that these forces would affect not only the Catholicism of my children but of my children's children as well.

Epiphany as Invasion

If we think of Epiphany at all, we may think of it as a passing season on the liturgical calendar. We may associate it with the Three Wise Men who followed the Star to find the baby King Jesus. We may even remember that Epiphany somehow adumbrates our Lord's Second Advent, and associate this with baroque paintings or Hallmark pictures of Jesus in the clouds. What most of us probably do not think of is how C.S. Lewis once described our Lord's Second Coming. "He will invade earth," he said. Think on that a few moments. And have a Blessed Epiphany.

Video: "I'm a Daddy and I know it!"

A venture in the New Evangelization for Catholic fathers?


[Hat tip to Sonnie Wilson Cooke]

Extraordinary community news

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News (January 6, 2013):

Epiphany Traditions

In many dioceses, the Feast of the Epiphany in the Ordinary Form calendar is transferred to the Sunday between January 2 and January 8. In the Extraordinary Form calendar, however, Epiphany always occurs on its traditional date of January 6, which this year happens to fall on a Sunday. Epiphany is the last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and therefore is the day after which many parishes take down their Christmas decorations.

The Tridentine calendar views Epiphany as the start of a new Octave, eight days with a consistent theme. This is seen most vividly in the use of the Preface and Communicántes of the Epiphany through January 13. Because of the solemnity and joyful nature of the season, the Church prohibits the use of the Daily (Requiem) Mass for the Dead during throughout Christmastide and the Octave of the Epiphany.

Blessing of Chalk and Epiphany Water

There is a longstanding tradition of blessing chalk, water, and occasionally incense on the Epiphany. The European custom is to take the blessed chalk home and use it to write over the door of the house, 20 + C + M + B + 13, where the letters stand for the names of the Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. It is a way of dedicating the year and one’s home to our Lord. If blessed incense was also distributed, the door of the house is incensed.

“Three Kings Water” is blessed with an elaborate ceremony from the Rituále Románum. At Assumption Church Fr. Hrytsyk performs this blessing before Mass. The ceremony includes an impressive and unequivocal prayer of exorcism, printed below. This prayer is more detailed than the prayers of exorcism used in the blessing of regular Holy Water. The pure and exorcised Epiphany Water is then taken home and sprinkled in the rooms of the house as a protection against evil.

The full English translations of the Blessings of Epiphany Chalk and Water were published in our January 3 and January 10, 2010 columns and are available on our web site.

Exorcism Against Satan and the Apostate Angels

We cast thee out, every unclean spirit, every devilish power, every assault of the infernal adversary, every legion, every diabolical group and sect, by the Name and power of our Lord Jesus + Christ, and command thee to fly far from the Church of God and from all who are made to the image of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of the Divine Lamb +. Presume never again, thou cunning serpent, to deceive the human race, to persecute the Church of God, nor to strike the chosen of God and sift them as wheat +. For the Most High commands thee, + He to Whom thou didst hitherto in thy great pride presume thyself equal; He Who desireth that all men might be saved, and come to the knowledge of truth. God the Father + commandeth thee! God the Son + commandeth thee! God the Holy + Spirit commandeth thee! The majesty of Christ commands thee, the Eternal Word of God made flesh, + Who for the salvation of our race, lost through thy envy, humbled Himself and was made obedient even unto death; Who built His Church upon a solid rock, and proclaimed that the gates of hell should never prevail against her, and that He would remain with her all days, even to the end of the world! The Sacred Mystery of the Cross + commands thee, as well as the power of all Mysteries of Christian faith! + The most excellent Virgin Mary, Mother of God + commands thee, who in her lowliness crushed thy proud head from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception! The faith of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul and the other apostles + commands thee! The blood of the martyrs commands thee, as well as the pious intercession + of holy men and women!

Therefore, accursed dragon and every diabolical legion, we adjure thee by the living + God, by the true + God, by the holy + God, by the God Who so loved the world that He gave His Sole-Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but shall have life everlasting – cease thy deception of men and thy giving them to drink of the poison of eternal damnation; desist from harming the Church and fettering her freedom! Get thee gone, Satan, founder and master of all falsity, enemy of mankind! Give place to Christ in Whom thou didst find none of thy works; give place to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church which Christ Himself bought with His Blood! Be thou brought low under God’s mighty hand; tremble and flee as we call upon the holy and awesome name of Jesus, before Whom hell trembles, and to Whom the Virtues, Powers, and Dominations are subject; Whom the Cherubim and Seraphim praise with unfailing voices, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord God of Hosts!

St. Albertus Masses

St. Albertus Church will be offering Holy Masses in the Extraordinary Form on eleven Sundays in 2013, all at noon. The first Mass will be held in two weeks, on January 20. Additional Masses will be offered on February 17, March 17, April 21, May 26, June 9, July 21, August 25, September 22, October 20, and November 17.

On Saturday, January 19 at noon, Rich Kowalewski and Iwona Kur invite all readers of this column to attend their Wedding Mass in the Extraordinary Form at St. Albertus, the first Tridentine wedding to be held there in over 40 years.

Holy Redeemer Church Masses

Over 200 people attended the New Year’s Day Tridentine Mass at Holy Redeemer. The parish is planning to hold additional Extraordinary Form Masses on Sunday, February 3 and Sunday, March 10, both at 2:00 PM.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 01/07 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (Feria After the Epiphany) [Celebrant may choose a Votive Mass] Tue. 01/08 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Assumption-Windsor (Feria After the Epiphany) [Celebrant may choose a Votive Mass]
• Tue. 01/08 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Assumption-Windsor (Feria After the Epiphany) [Celebrant may choose a Votive Mass]

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat (Detroit) and Assumption (Windsor) bulletin inserts for January 6, 2013. Hat tip to A.B., author of the column.]

Extraordinary Community News: 2012 Year in Review

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News (December 29, 2012):

2012 Year in Review

At the end of each year, it is worth looking back to review the noteworthy developments on the local Extraordinary Form front of the previous twelve months.

Juventútem: 2012’s top development was the explosive success of Juventútem Michigan, the local chapter of the international organization of young adults interested in the Tridentine Mass. Starting from scratch with only an idea and the successful model of the London, England Juventútem chapter, Paul Schultz, Andrew Fanco, _____________, and James Hitchcock have given their British counterparts some serious competition in just a few months. Masses, special events, pilgrimages, and social events abound. Blanketing the media with a web site, Facebook presence, Facebook event pages, e-mail list, and Catholic radio and newspaper interviews, Juventútem is inescapable. It should be little surprise that over 200 young adults have joined, and that every event so far has been a success.

Bus Tours: Similar to Juventútem, Mike Semaan’s growing Prayer Pilgrimages bus tour operation has brought the Tridentine Mass to a number of historic churches, two for the first time.

Special Masses in Historic Churches: Just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable to have imagined the Extraordinary Form making special appearances in any of the below churches. In 2012, members of our extended readership were able to bring the Traditional Liturgy to these eleven sites for the first time in over 40 years. Masses organized by Juventútem and Prayer Pilgrimages are so designated.

1. St. Joseph Shrine, Brooklyn, Michigan (J)
   
2. St. Mary Star of the Sea, Jackson [pictured]
   
   
   
3. National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, Carey, Ohio (PP)
4. Holy Family, Detroit (J)
5. St. Francis Xavier, Tilbury, Ontario
6. St. Peter, East Tilbury, Ontario
7. Holy Redeemer, Detroit
8. St. Matthew, Flint (J)
9. St. Alphonsus, Windsor
10. Resurrection Parish, Lansing (J)
11. Mundelein Seminary Resident Chapel, Chicago (PP)

Special Events: Highlights included Msgr. Arthur Calkins’ visit to Assumption Church in July – the first (retired) Vatican official to celebrate the Tridentine Mass in our region in modern times; and Confirmations at Assumption in October, at which Bishop Eugene LaRocque administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 43 candidates according to the Extraordinary Form.

Please pray that 2013 will continue to bring advancement to the Metro Detroit and Windsor Tridentine Mass Communities, and that our efforts will expose an increasing number of people to the beauty of the Church’s Traditional Latin Liturgy.

Holy Year Plenary Indulgences

On September 14, 2012, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI released Urbis et Orbis, a document outlining the Plenary Indulgences available to the faithful for the Year of Faith. Among the several Indulgences offered is the following:

“Every time [emphasis ours] they go as pilgrims to a Papal Basilica, a Christian catacomb, a cathedral church, a sacred place designated by the local Ordinary for the Year of Faith...and take part there in some sacred function or at least pause in recollection for a suitable length of time with devout meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary or, depending on the case, to the Holy Apostles or Patrons.”

Of particular interest to our readers, in the Diocese of London, Bishop Fabbro has designated our very own Assumption Church in Windsor as one of the sites to obtain the Indulgence.

Full details on the options to earn Plenary Indulgences for the Year of Faith are available on the web sites of the Archdiocese of Detroit and the Diocese of London.

Epiphany Water Blessing

In accordance with tradition, Epiphany Water and Chalk will be blessed according to the Extraordinary Form at Assumption Church at 1:30 PM next Sunday, January 6. Please bring a small, clean bottle if you would like to take some home with you.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 12/31: No Mass at St. Josaphat
• Tue. 01/01 2:00 PM: High Mass at Assumption-Windsor (Octave Day of the Nativity)
• Tue. 01/01 2:00 PM: High Mass at Holy Redeemer, Detroit (Octave Day of the Nativity)
• Tue. 01/01 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Philip Church, Battle Creek (Octave Day of the Nativity) [Reception for young adults age 18-35 sponsored by Juventútem will follow the Mass – Please see the Facebook event page for more information]

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat (Detroit) and Assumption (Windsor) bulletin inserts for December 29, 2012. Hat tip to A.B., author of the column.]

Beautiful! The St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal

For more information and pre-ordering of this magnificent 1000-page new Missal for the laity, check out this site, and read the foreword to this Missal by Rev. John Berg here.

[Hat tip to Rorate Caeli]

Update (1/31/2013): Campion Missal and Hymnal for the laity: first images (WDTPRS)

Shock: De Lubac on the post-conciliar Church

"It is clear that the Church is facing a grave crisis. Under the name of 'the new Church', the post-conciliar Church, a different Church from that of Jesus Christ, is now trying to establish itself: An anthropocentric society threatened with immanentist apostasy which is allowing itself to be swept along in a movement of general abdication under the pretext of renewal, ecumenism, or adaptation."

-- Cardinal Henri de Lubac, Temoinage Chretien (Paris, September 1, 1967),
quoted in Tom Reidy, Critical Mass: A Chronicle of the Catholic
Church in the First Generation After Vatican II(2012)

[Hat tip to I Am Not Spartacus]

Alice von Hildebrand and the proposed canonization of Paul VI

In "Interview with Alice von Hildebrand: Should Pope Paul VI be Canonized?" (Les Femmes - The Truth, January 2, 2013), von Hildebrand is reported as saying:

Considering the tumultuous pontificate of Paul VI, and the confusing signals he was giving, e.g.: speaking about the “smoke of Satan that had entered the Church,” yet refusing to condemn heresies officially; his promulgation of Humanae Vitae (the glory of his pontificate), yet his careful avoidance of proclaiming it ex cathedra [infallible doctrine]; delivering his Credo of the People of God in Piazza San Pietro in 1968, and once again failing to declare it binding on all Catholics; disobeying the strict orders of Pius XII to have no contact with Moscow, and appeasing the Hungarian Communist government by reneging on the solemn promise he had made to Cardinal Mindszenty; his treatment of holy Cardinal Slipyj, who had spent seventeen years in a Gulag, only to be made a virtual prisoner in the Vatican by Paul VI; and finally asking Archbishop Gagnon to investigate possible infiltration in the Vatican, only to refuse him an audience when his work was completed – all these speak strongly against the beatification of Paolo VI, dubbed in Rome, “Paolo Sesto, Mesto” (Paul VI, the sad one) ...

Dr. von Hildebrand paints a dark picture indeed, but one that should not simply be ignored. Read more >>

Das ist so cool? Nein: What a bore ...

When will they learn to take the secular out of the sacred? Vaudeville has its place, and I suppose I enjoy musicals as much as anyone. But the divine liturgy is not vaudeville, and a cathedral is not a public music hall. The modern church is dying of this confusion.

The first step toward retrieving a proper distinction between the two lies in understanding the meaning of the word "sacred" -- an undertaking that has become nearly impossible for the majority of men and women in our day.

This is why we are dying of the deception that the "sacred" is something boring that must be "gussied up" with secular baubles and bling, which only succeeds in making it look like a total bore.

A shame. Particularly since the Real Article, when stripped of its secular "makeover" and encountered in its simple aboriginal purity, is utterly ravishing and enthralling. Try a traditional Latin High Mass.

[Hat tip to Rorate Caeli]