July 4th, partisan politics, Canada, and the Feast of August 15th

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" (Assumption Grotto News, July 1, 2018):

Although I try to keep blissfully free from knowledge of some of the risible affairs euphemistically called politics, I can't remain totally uninformed or unaffected by what passes as the "news." It's a shame and an embarrassment to hear about the conniving and the accusations being flung from political pole to pole. I'll be we're the laughingstock of non-Americans worldwide. "Collusion" or "harassment" or "sex scandal," or gay "rights" or media manipulation of public opinion, and the like -- these have become some of the political "issues" in this sad moment in our country. Certainly there are other things that concern us such as crime, the economy and taxes, health care, international security, immigration, the free expression (or else abatement) of religion. For me, however, these valid and relevant concerns are so buried in the ideological ranting as to give me, if not nausea, disgust when following the daily news.

But on July 4th we manage somehow to put all these divisiveness aside and celebrate Independence Day together. It's a momentary respite in the cultural war, a kind of national truce when all or most of us can be proud patriots and observe a secular sabbath rest from the political wrangling. "One nation under God" is the phrase we utter in common, even though it has itself become a matter of contention.

While we pray together the holy rosary after all our Masses here "for God's mercy on our country," I have been adding to the intentions in my daily private prayers, "for the conversion of our people to the ways of righteousness and of Catholicism." "People" in that intention means our American people, and "righteousness" means "moral goodness." My prayer is that Americans may be delivered from the perverse ideological leanings that have caused so much ruination in our country and that they would be open to the full truth of the Catholic faith -- the one and only Christian religion founded by Christ. That's a tall order, one might say, an awful lot to tack on to one's prayer intentions. Agreed. Yet undaunted by the enormity of it I have now with even greater boldness added to this already heavily-laden intention the same prayer intention for our neighbors in Canada. This comes as a result from speaking to some Catholic Canadians recently who are smarting even more than we from the same philosophical poisons that have been dividing and corrupting us Americans. Religious liberty is seriously endangered for our friends to the north, and it is -- naturally -- the Catholic religion and its moral tenets that are the target for elimination from the governing and even from the minds of Canadians.

Would it be too much to ask you to make the mental (if not outspokenly verbal) intention in your daily prayers, "for God's mercy on our country and on Canada"? It would be a very literal and concrete way of having effective Christian charity on our "neighbor," in this case, our geographic neighbor. Over the issues that trouble and conflict Canadians we stand in a unified worry, for we are all solicitous that the rights of Christ be protected.

While the most blissful month of July is at hand when your pastor tries to forget (not you, but) some of the mundane aspects of parish business, there looms in the not-too-distant future our August 15th celebration. My simple appeal to you is to become much involved in the preparation, the events themselves, and the follow up of Assumption Day 2018. I was reminded at the recent preparation meeting for the feast day that my revered predecessor Monsignor Sawher would goad, urge, and exhort parishioners from the pulpit to take August 15th as a holiday and to clear home calendars so that the entire day could be devoted to Our Lady at the parish. Taking my cue from him I ask you to make this your day of parish involvement and pride by being present and active throughout the day, praying and assisting in the various activities. If Grotto holds a special place in your heart, this is the time to prove it in action. Although it may seem that I'm asking a great favor, the reality is that you will get the greater benefit for the investment of your time and work. Plan now to be a big part of our feast day.

Fr. Perrone

Fr. Perrone: how the majesty of Mary can preserve our reverence for God

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary file] (Assumption Grotto News, August 27, 2017):

On our patronal feast day we were glat to see once again some of the religious of the Holy Cross Order who spent the day with us. One of the perks in being a pastor is the reception of gifts by visitors, and on this occasion I gratefully accepted from the nuns a delicious loaf of homemade spelt bread, some fine chocolates, and a biography of the woman who was the impetus for the Work of the Holy Angels, one Mother Gabriele. The little book is entitled God Is Good, evidently a favorite motto of the holy lady.

I confess that I have always found that phrase somewhat of a trifle. After all, isn't the most obvious, minimalistic thing to say about God that He is good? (Would anyone ever have thought God to be bad?) Of course, the intended meaning of asserting God's goodness is much more than its face-value meaning, for it conveys also His mercy, love, generosity, and much else. The words in question are found in the sacred scriptures, almost as a recurring refrain: "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good." And so, I withdraw my petty objection in humble assent to the word of God which proclaims that He "is good."

My discomfort with that expression was due to something I once grumbled about in a sermon, to wit, that for many God is too little, too small. These are they who undervalue the immensity of Infinite Being; who regard Him casually as their chum, a great gift-giving Giveaway, who dismisses human crimes as mere peccadillos. By such standards He doesn't much care how we talk to Him or about Him, or what clothes we may wear in His Presence. He's no big deal, loving us no matter what, and, sure as He is God, will usher everybody into heaven in the end.

This undue familiarity with and distorted view of the Almighty reduces His size and recklessly ascribes to His all-good nature the dismissal of any consequences for sin. This is the "no-fault," non-judgmental, PC mindset that has formed the moral criteria for the millennial generation and which has affected even those of a more venerable age who ought to know better.

Recently I have been reading The Mystical City of God, a life of the Virgin Mary by the Venerable Mary of Agreda. It's not a book (or rather series of books) for everyone's reading. I would definitely not recommend it to those who have no tolerance or appreciation for mystical discourse: they would find it odious or bewildering. I mention this work because of the portrait of the Virgin Mary which emerges from it. She is a being of such unspeakable, divine-bestowed excellence as to astound the mind over the prodigy of grace and virtue which ennobles Her perfectly saintly life. In coming to know Mary through these prodigious divine endowments, one becomes so much more appreciative not only of who She is in truth but also of who God Himself must be. Put in the context of what is written above, 'God is goo' has a meaning that so far transcends the ability of the intellect as to make one conclude that all one can ever come to know of God, even by the most brilliant of minds, is closer to knowing nothing than to have knowledge. God is that big!

In the practical order this means that the God who is my pal, my buddy, is an offensive caricature, and that His indulgence towards sinners in an unfathomable reach of divine condescension for which no one ought ever to be presuming. On the devotional level, this has made me realize once again that the more one knows the greatness of the Holy Virgin Mary, the better one comes to know God; and the more one effaces himself before the divine Majesty the more one begins to know Him and to see Her as the finest jewel in all His handiwork.

My final word on this is to say that it is important that you pray to God reverentially (not that one needs high-falutin' words); that you dress modestly and decorously for Holy Mass; that you feel deep contrition for your sins, and so on. It is also important to place Our Lady in the uniquely high place She occupies in reality, in the sight of God. And if She is that holy of holies which houses God, and if He is unutterable Infinite Being, we ought to be very much more reverential in our manners before the mysteries of God, of Mary, and indeed of all things we hold in the creed of the Catholic Church.

Does your estimation of things divine perhaps need a little stretching?

Fr. Perrone

Southern Poverty Law Center hate crimes

[Advisory: see Rules ##7-9]

Here Chris Ferrara interviews Michael Matt following his full-length address at a conference at which Ron Paul was the keynote speaker a few years ago. In his full-length address, Michael Matt defended Catholics against the ludicrous charge of anti-Semitism, exposing the ignorance of history, scripture and theology on the part of the Southern Poverty Law Center and other far-Left Christophobes. Watch and learn.



Related:

Fr. Perrone: Cultural impoverishment, nobility of soul, and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Fr. Eduard Perrone, “A Pastor’s Descant” (Assumption Grotto News, August 13, 2017):

I once asked my friend Dan, “When you’re at a stop light and the car next to you has the radio on, how often have you heard classical music playing?” Without skipping a beat he said, “Never.” I also noticed when doing a little food shopping what things were piled up in the shopping carts of those around me. Mostly junk food. Next, I looked over the offerings on non-cable TV (just to take a quick look). Guess what? Trash, silly or filthy, with lots of commercials.

Culturally a great majority of our American people are deficient if not impoverished. That’s not to say they’re necessarily bad, immoral people, but that for the greater part they have a rather low level of culture which can be assessed by standards other than those mentioned above. Reading material, for instance. Language skills. Knowledge of history. Good manners. We may have a pretty good standard of living in terms of technological advances, amenities of life and rather high economic standing, but we’re sorely deficient in what are called “the higher things.”

These observations are hardly news breaking. Our people are by and large the descendants of generally poor, hard-working immigrants who formed a united people that became great in the remarkable achievement that we call the USA. For this we may be forgiven our lowbrow tastes and ignorance about many of those higher things. Yet there’s one measure of a people, and of individuals too, that should not excuse underachievers. This is the attainment of nobility of spirit. It has little to do with schooling or wealth or pedigree, but has all to do with the condition of one’s soul.

This is all by way of an odd introduction to our upcoming feast day. The Holy Virgin Mary is the most noble human person ever to have lived (or yet to live) and this in spite of the mean circumstances of her most humble life. Mary is the exemplar of all that is most excellent in our nature. Our Lord sait that the greatest among us would be as the least. No better instance of this than Our Lady. What we will celebrate on August 15 is god’s acknowledgement of Her incomparable nobility of soul, Her unsurpassed excellence in grace and virtue. She did not need to be schooled in philosophy or science or art, although God may indeed have infused knowledge of these and many other things into Her mind that we do not know of – in this life at least – for She is the Seat of Wisdom. No one can hope to come close to imitating Her exalted degree of excellence in anything, but we can attain to some degree of nobility of soul which is the fruit of the Catholic life well lived.

The Popes, in reference to Her Assumption, have drawn our attention to the ways in which we can become like the Holy Virgin Mary. She set a pattern of life for us that we can imitate no matter what our degree of culture, position, wealth, or any other natural criterion. God rewarded Her in the glorification of Her body immediately after Her death, assuming it united with Her soul into heaven. The other saints – among whom we hope to be numbered – will have to await their rising from the dead and entry into heaven until the end of time. Only those will be glorified, in whatever degree, who have nobility of soul, that is, one healed of sin and elevated by grace.

As always, I make an appeal to our parishioners to be present on August 15th not only for the Mass that they attend, but to spend added time in prayer to and with Our Blessed Mother. This is our parish’[s finest hour and the opportunity to express our devotion and love for Our Lady in a demonstrative way. In this we carry on a tradition that reaches back more than a century when pilgrims came here in search of grace and divine favor. We are privileged to be members of this parish today for all the fidelity it has shown in generations past in honoring Holy Mary. This is the day above all others when we witness Her continuing solicitude for our people.

Let us celebrate together this longstanding tradition of honor to that most noble Lady of the Assumption.

Fr. Perrone

P.S. A reminder to use the shuttle bus from Saint Veronica Church if you can to avoid parking on the neighborhood streets. This is for your convenience and your safety.

If There's an Antichrist, What About an Antimary?

LEFT: Michelangelo, “The Fall of Adam and Eve and their Expulsion from the Garden” from the Sistine Chapel. RIGHT: Master of the Life of the Virgin, “Christ on the Cross with Mary, John and Mary Magdalene”, between 1465 and 1470.

* * * * * * *
Carrie Gress, "If There's an Antichrist, What About an Antimary?" (National Catholic Register, January 27, 2017): No matter how strong the “spirit of antimary” may be, Mary still remains the most powerful woman in the world:

While researching my latest book, The Marian Option: God’s Solution to a Civilization in Crisis (Tan Books, May 2017), I was struck by a new theological concept. I kept running across the notion that Mary is the New Eve—an idea that goes back to the early Church Fathers. Mary as the New Eve is the female complement to Christ, the New Adam. In Scripture, St. John speaks of an antichrist as a man, but also as a movement that is present throughout history (1 John 4:3, 2 John 1:7). This got me thinking: if there is an antichrist, perhaps there is a female complement, an antimary?

What, then, would an antimary movement look like, exactly? Well, these women would not value children. They would be bawdy, vulgar, and angry. They would rage against the idea of anything resembling humble obedience or self-sacrifice for others. They would be petulant, shallow, catty, and overly sensuous. They would also be self-absorbed, manipulative, gossipy, anxious, and ambitious. In short, it would be everything that Mary is not.

While behavior like this has been put under a microscope because of the Women’s March on Washington, D.C., the trend of women-behaving-badly is nothing new. There is, however, ample evidence that we witnessing something, because of its massive scale, quite different from run-of-the-mill vice seen throughout history.

The treatment of motherhood is one of the first signs that we are dealing with a new movement. Mothers (both spiritual and biological) are a natural icon of Mary – to help others know who Mary is by their generosity, patience, compassion, peace, intuition, and ability to nurture souls. Mary’s love (and the love of mothers) offers one of the best images of what God’s love is like – unconditional, healing, and deeply personal.

The last few decades have witnessed the subtle erasing of the Marian icon in real women. First through the pill, then the advent of abortion, motherhood has been on the chopping block. Motherhood has become dispensable, to that point that today the broader culture doesn’t bat an eye when a child is adopted by two men.

Tridentine Community News - New York's St. Patrick Cathedral to hold Tridentine Mass; The Angel's Prayer from Fatima; Food for thought on the Triditional Mass; TLM Mass schedule

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (November 6, 2016):

November 6, 2016 – Resumed Fifth Sunday After Epiphany

New York’s St. Patrick Cathedral to Hold Tridentine Mass


Twenty years ago, in 1996, one of the best attended Tridentine Masses in modern times was held at New York’s St. Patrick Cathedral. The late Alfons Cardinal Stickler, the prefect emeritus of the Vatican Library and a vocal proponent of the Traditional Mass, was the celebrant. The enormous church was overflowing with over 4,000 worshippers. New York’s Archbishop at the time was John Cardinal O’Connor, who had given his blessing to reprint what is now the de facto standard altar missal for the Extraordinary Form in North America, Roman Catholic Books’ Missále Románum 1962. Not long thereafter, a second, more modestly attended Mass was celebrated at St. Patrick’s by Fr. John Perricone. One would think that with such success, additional Tridentine Masses would be held in short order. Unfortunately, such was not the case. Vocal objectors to the Traditional Mass got the Cardinal’s ear, and since that time, despite many efforts, no one has been able to obtain permission to hold another Tridentine Mass there. Until now.


On Monday, November 14 at 7:00 PM, two councils of the Knights of Columbus have arranged the first Traditional Latin Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral in twenty years. It is being promoted as a closing event for the Year of Mercy.

The recent multi-million dollar refurbishment of the cathedral leaves it in pristine shape to host such a Mass. The freestanding altar has been removed, leaving only the High Altar under the baldacchino. The Communion Rail is intact. What a glorious sight it will be to have the Old Rite return there, hopefully on a more regular basis going forward.

The Angel’s Prayer from Fatima


When making a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, or indeed when arriving at a church before Mass, a good way to begin is to pray the Angel’s Prayer from Fatima. It is to be prayed three times, with one’s head profoundly bowed:

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love Thee! I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust, and do not love Thee. O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly, and I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles throughout the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is Himself offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and by the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners.

Food for Thought on the Traditional Mass

Around fifty years ago, Dr. Dietrich von Hildebrand posed the following questions: “Does the new Mass, more than the old, bestir the human spirit – does it evoke a sense of eternity? Does it help raise our hearts from the concerns of everyday life – from the purely material aspects of the world – to Christ? Does it increase reverence, an appreciation of the sacred?”

The texts and rituals of the Tridentine Mass do just that. The Traditional Latin Mass formed Saints over the centuries and continues to inspire commitment to the Holy Catholic Faith today.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 11/07 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (Feria)
• Tue. 11/08 7:00 PM: High Requiem Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (Daily Mass for the Dead)
• Sat. 11/12 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (St. Martin I, Pope & Martyr)

[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. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for November 6, 2016. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Assumption Grotto in July: Day of Recollection, Passionist missionary visit, St. Gemma Galgani, Crossroads Prolife, preparation (beginning July 13th) for Consecration to Jesus through Mary, and preparation for patronal feast day on August 15th

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" (Assumption Grotto News, July 10, 2016):

July usually brings a short pause in the parish activities, but, hopefully, no such pause in our ongoing efforts to live a life in Christ and continue working for the salvation of souls. This weekend brings a welcome burst of activities with Fr. Titus Kieninger of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross preaching a Day of Recollection on Mary, Mother of Mercy. There will be two conferences, one beginning at 2:00 PM and the second beginning at 3:00 PM, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction beginning at 4:15 PM. Following this, those who have completed their formation will make their Consecration to to the Guardian Angel. Fr. Titus will be available after the Consecrations to speak with those interested in beginning the formation year which precedes the Consecration.

This weekend is also our annual Mission Sunday with a visit from Fr. Kevin Dance of the Passionists of Papua New Guinea. The Passionist congregation was founded by St. Paul of the Cross in the early 18th century with the mission to keep alive in the world the love of Jesus Crucified as seen in His Sacred Passion. Fr. Kevin will speak about the work being carried out in Oceania (north of Australia) by the Passionists. As always, do prayerfully consider how you can support the Missionary Activity of the Church spiritually and monetarily. Envelopes are provided that you may bring back next Sunday and place in the collection or you may simply include a donation designated for the Passionists in your regular contribution envelope.

There are many holy Passionist saints in the Church. It is very interesting that the Mission Appeal by the Passionist order would be here the same weekend that Fr. Titus and Sr. Maria Gemma are here for the Day of Reflection. Sr. Maria Gemma takes her name from St. Gemma Galgani, who is one of the prominent saints of the Passionist order. St. Gemma Galgani's remarkable life was a living out of a mystical union with the Suffering Christ. During her brief life, St. Gemma Galgani endured much suffering both physically and spiritually. She received many visions from Our Lord and even spoke with Jesus, the Blessed Mother, her Guardian Angel, and St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. She is among those Saints who received the stigmata. Her obedience to the Lord and His Church was so absolute, that when her spiritual director ordered her to pray that the stigmata be removed, she did so at once and the stigmata disappeared. She died on Holy Saturday in 1903 and was soon canonized. She remains the patroness of religious, priests, and virtually all those who suffer in some way.

A reminder that the pro-life group Crossroads will be here next weekend. Each summer, members of Crossroads Prolife walk from Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. witnessing to the dignity and sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death. They visit Assumption Grotto each year as the Northern Walk passes through Michigan in order to raise awareness about their cause and accept any donations that are offered. One of the major battlefields for the heart and soul of young Americans is the colleges and universities of this great nation. The anti-life forces control much of what is taught, promoted and funded on college campuses. That ideology eventually winds up becoming the law of the land through subsequent generations of politicians and judges, and, of course, voters. Please take some time to learn about this remarkable effort and support them financially and spiritually as you are able.

The 30-day preparation for the Consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary begins July 13. The preparation is not precisely a novena, but a period of preparation that precedes the Consecration on August 15. The more effort that can be put into preparation, the greater the spiritual benefit. If you haven't started the preparation to make or renew your Consecration it is not too late to begin today. Booklets are available in the Gift Shop.

As our patronal feast day approaches, we are always in need of volunteers to help with the many activities before, during and after August 15. Please contact the rectory if you are able to help.

The Third Secret of Fatima saga continues

Christopher A. Ferrara, "Dollingergate: That Curious Vatican Denial" (Fatima Network Perspectives, May 27, 2016). Excerpts:

... In response to the communiqué, 1P5’s reporter, a native German speaker, “telephoned Father Dollinger with the news of the Vatican statement, and at that time he again confirmed to her emphatically and clearly his previous remarks. In other words, he stood by his story.”

Given these facts, the anonymous communiqué leaks water from every part, to use an Italian saying. Consider:

First, there is no indication the Vatican contacted Fr. Dollinger to obtain a denial from him that he said the things the Press Office claims were falsely “attributed” to him. That omission speaks volumes: the Press Office made no such effort because it knows or at least suspects that Fr. Dollinger did indeed say what 1P5 reported and it did not wish to be confronted with his confirmation of the story, which the Press Office could not very well hide.

Second, the Vatican has gone very far out on a very thin limb when it declares flatly that Benedict claims “never to have spoken with Professor Dollinger about Fatima.” Really? Never? Not at any time? Not a single word ever passed between the former Cardinal Ratzinger and his close friend Fr. Dollinger on the subject of Fatima? That claim does not pass the smell test.

Third, the Press Office’s assertion that Benedict called Fr. Dollinger’s statements on the matter “pure inventions, absolutely untrue” necessarily involves the accusation that Fr. Dollinger is a bald-faced liar who concocted statements the former Cardinal Ratzinger never made, or that the reporter for 1P5 is a liar who concocted the statements. But, again, no effort was made to obtain a denial from Fr. Dollinger because, no doubt, a denial was not expected. Thus, the Press Office has published a libelous accusation against both Fr. Dollinger and the reporter who related his statements — statements the Press Office made no effort to confirm because it knows or suspects the statements were made.

Fourth, a lawyer could have drafted the Vatican’s carefully worded declaration that Benedict “confirms decisively that ‘the publication of the Third Secret of Fatima is complete.’” Of course the Vatican claims publication is “complete” because it has no intention of publishing anything else respecting the Secret. That is, the text — which must exist — wherein the Virgin explains the meaning of the vision published in 2000, which the Vatican ludicrously insisted that a corrupt Vatican bureaucrat, Cardinal Sodano, would “interpret” for us. The real issue is whether the Vatican has published the complete Secret, not whether the act of publication is complete so far as the Vatican is concerned. And, to this day, the Vatican has refused squarely to answer the crucial question: Is there a text written by Sister Lucia, whether or not it is deemed “authentic” by certain Vatican personages, in which she recounts the Virgin’s explanation of the vision published in 2000?

Fifth, and finally, the anonymous author of an unsigned communiqué expects us to believe that the cropped phrases he (or she) “attributes” to Benedict are unquestionably true and accurate, whereas the statements 1P5 “attributes” to Fr. Dollinger are pure lies and inventions — including Fr. Dollinger’s confirmation, days ago, that he made the statements! Really? I don’t think so.

Fr. Perrone: Primavera, springtime, children, the Blessed Virgin, irrepressible hope of faith, and grand feast days of spring

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, May 8, 2016):

Primavera - literally, 'the first green' -- is Springtime. Nature shows her loveliest, maidenly beauty at this very time. The famous, mysterious paintings by Botticelli comes to mind when I see the enticing, chaste blossoms of early spring. A tree just outside the rectory show herself at the most arresting just now. That tree -- which perhaps should be removed because its jumbled roots entangle the ground and stress the rectory's basement walls -- I can't get myself to take down simply because at this very time of year she dazzles me with her beauty. Ah! the season of love! Holy Church, seizing the opportunity, makes us look upon the loveliness of the Virgin Mary, She whose month this is. Both virginal and yet maternally fruitful, Holy Mary is the apogee of created beauty, of holiness and supernatural grace. Because this is the month of Mary we have the May Crowning today and the First Communion of our children. The comeliness of innocence is difficult to speak of in words but so readily recognized when seen. Children, springtime, Virgin Mary -- the three go naturally together, as various facets of this singular, perennially youthful manifestation of beauty.


It would be easy to fall prey to pessimism or cynicism over so many bad things happening in our world these days. It's a temptation to which we must not yield, not even an inch. Just as nature obstinately puts forth her glories in spring, just as the emergence of the sun causes life daily to spring up, just so God bestows the marvels of supernatural blessings upon His undeserving children day after day. We need to pull ourselves out of any self-indulgent tendencies towards moroseness about the many things we might (justly) find worthy of complaint and, with St. Paul, look above, upon the things of heaven, rather than down upon the base, sorroful things here below. I'm not suggesting we acquire the technique of "positive thinking" -- a vain, secularist, stupid exercise -- but that we recognize the truth of stubbornly insistent goodness in prevailing over evil, of beauty over vulgarity. In terms of our faith, it's the truth of Christ's victory over the devil, even though he, in the short run, is given his allotted time and influence to fulfil his providential role in making us struggle, fight, for the truth and for the kingdom of God so that by contending with him we might merit for ourselves a place in heaven.

Be ye then of good cheer, though you will surely have a share in the woes of this life. Spring is a reminder of the good things of God and an invitation to look above the many wicked beckonings of the evil one, and to persevere in hope. The Virgin Mary is the Mother of holy hope, Mater sanctae spei. We turn to Her with confident love, She who never abandons us "unaided" (as the Memorare reminds us).

Some great days just ahead of us. Next Sunday will be Pentecost, that once minor Jewish festival forever converted into a Christian feast of momentous significance through the coming of the Holy Spirit. We will celebrate the day with full solemnity at the 9:30 Solemn High Mass with the 'Credo' Mass by Mozart. The Men's League will gather to appear before the Eucharistic Lord this Saturday at 6:30 a.m. adoring and petitioning Him for things many and untold. The Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred not this Tuesday but one week from then -- on the 17th. Our friend, Father Aiden Logan will return here to give a talk on patriotism (a much neglected topic) on May 22 in a fundraising event for the K of C. Then, of top-drawer significance, Corpus Christi Sunday will greet us on May 29th with its stirring, inspiring prayers and chants composed by St. Thomas Aquinas. This day concludes with the Eucharistic Procession and the four-fold blessing with the Blessed Sacrament. Concerning which I want to sent out a general call to our parishioners to see if any families (or individuals) would set up and adorn the outdoor altars for Corpus Christi Sunday, altars upon which the Lord will repose. We need four such altars by four families or persons. It's an honor for anyone to undertake this, a task which is -- I think -- not too onerous and immensely rewarding. If you think you'd like to do this for the Lord and for your parishioners, please call the rectory soon and let us know. You'll be given particulars about what's to be done and what the parish will supply for you.


In fine I should mention the feast of the Sacred Heart June 3 which we will observe with all due solemnity this year, accompanied by Schubert's Mass in G Minor at the 7:00 evening Mass; the special Mass at 9:30 a.m. June 5, the day of Canonization of Saint-elect Stanislaus Popcaynski, founder of the Marians, whereupon the Schubert Mass will again be performed and the image of the Saint will be blessed, and an open banquet will be offered to all in the gym following the Mass. (More about that day later.)

For the moment, however, delight in the pleasant expectation of these joyful celebrations in these most lovely days of Primavera.

Fr. Perrone

"The Young Messiah," reviewed by a Evan Pham

Evan Pham, "The Young Messiah" (Holy Smack, March 14, 2016).

Mr. Pham begins thus:

Biblical films that surprise me and move me are the only ones I recommend, and that’s not an easy thing to do since I am a very critical viewer with a high aversion to cheesiness. But I am glad to say “The Young Messiah” was worth the admission cost and worth my two hours and months of waiting. Here’s why ... [spoiler alert]

Read his entire interview HERE. Perhaps you'll find it as compelling as I did. Now I've got to see the film.

Incidentally, Mr. Pham is a former philosophy student of mine at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, now taking graduate classes there in theology. While you're at it, visit his Holy Card Archive and see some of his great productions. He has a new one of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that he just showed me today, which is amazing, but not yet posted online. The prayers on the back are consistently very well-thought-out. He will happily send them to you for any amount you wish to donate. They are beautiful.

One of my favorites is this Asian depiction of the Archangel St. Michael and his angels battling the dragon Satan in the Book Revelation, ch. 12:

Fr. Eduard Perrone: The meaning of the biblical Ecce! ("Behold!") in the Incarnation narrative

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [Temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, December 20, 2015):

Details are important. In the former translation used for Mass the prophetic text referring to Holy Mary who, as a virgin, would bear a child, omitted the first word, Behold, and so the phrase dryly ran, “The virgin will be with child and bear a son.” The omission, you say, is a trifle and one should not quibble about such things. In general I’d agree, but that single word (now restored in the newer version) conveys both the imperative to take notice and the wonder over something that’s marvelous to tell. Thus it is that the Latin text begins with the word Ecce! and now we, even in our language, and made to stand up and take notice about what’s being said. “Behold! The Virgin will be with child and bear a Son.” Saint Matthew here is quoting Isaiah of the Old Testament showing how he foretold the marvel of the virgin-mother bearing the infant Christ in Her womb. (Observant hearers will note that this text is used today on the Fourth Sunday of Advent for the Communion Chant.)

One may ponder why it was that God should have willed a virgin-mother for Himself in order to come into the world, and why Mary was at the time of His conception only betrothed (a true legal act) to Joseph but not yet married to him. One may speculate that had our Lady conceived before the betrothal She may have been thought–abhorrent even to mention it–a sinner. Had She conceived our Lord after her marriage, Her Son may have been thought the natural offspring of Joseph. By divine providence, however, it was in this intermediate state of betrothal (our “engagement” bears only a pale semblance to it) that the Son of God was united to humanity and had legal, though not physical, sonship through Joseph’s public commitment to Mary. Thus the wonder: Ecce, behold! Just as Christ unites divinity and humanity in Himself, so Mary unites in Herself both virginity and motherhood.

When some non-Catholic Christians postulate that Holy Mary, after the birth of Christ, may have had other children (basing this presumption on a misunderstanding of those called in the New Testament the “brethren” of Jesus), they bear both Her and God an insult. One must try to imagine what it means to be the Mother of God! Is it thinkable that after donating Herself body and soul to God for the purposes of God to become man that She would have borne ordinary human children? Should someone hold to a notion false as this, he would be thinking too little of Christ the infinite God, forming a down-sized concept of Him whose miraculous conception and nativity would be quite ordinary.

And the birth of Christ from Mary was as wondrous as His conception: God passing through the Virgin in some unknown miraculous manner, analogous to light shining through a glass. She placed Her newborn in a manger and–Ecce!–the mother adored Her literally adorable child. Nothing before or since has equaled the noumena (far beyond mere ‘phenomena’) of the mysteries set before us in the Christmas story.

You will need to spend some quiet moments before the creche this Christmas and let your eyes pass from Virgin to Child and back again to imagine the interior conversation of souls that must have taken place on Christmas. Saint Joseph could scarcely have been less in awe over the sight of his spouse and the child given over to his care. Mary and Joseph certainly knew as much as the shepherds: “a Savior has been born to you.” The word savior conjures up a mighty warrior, a deliverer from enemy forces. This baby was indeed such a savior. Mary knew the more precise sense of this word. He would “save His people from their sins.” Mysteries thus abound and become more complex the longer we dwell on the scene at Bethlehem.

Would that we could re-engage the wonderment of our childhood–often dissipated on holiday frivolities–and focus them on the Incarnate Son of God born of the Virgin Mother. We would not thus be regressing to our youth but advancing towards the maturity of a deeper faith and a greater comprehension of divine things, having become “like little children to enter the kingdom of God.”

Christmas is not for kids, but for child-like souls who see the divine light of the Infant Christ and His reflection shining upon the face of Mary–that brightness ‘round yon Virgin Mother and Child.’ The liturgy of the Church speaks of all this as a magnum mysterium, a great mystery. We need to get into that spirit which alone can make sense of all the fuss we make in celebrating Christmas. Ecce!

Fr. Perrone

Fr. Perrone: Pope's Jubilee and terrorism, St. Peter's light show, alms and panhandling, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Gaudete Sunday, and an upcoming archdiocesan synod

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, December 13, 2015):

A friend wrote me recently expressing his fear that the Holy Father may have inaugurated the new Holy Year at a most inopportune moment of the reigning world tension over international threats of terrorism. With pilgrims in great numbers descending upon Rome it would be nigh impossible to protect the holy places from suicide bombers and random-shooting gunmen. My friend worried that these sacred edifies of irreplaceable value–Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel among them–could be reduced to utter ruin.

Hearing today about the environmental light-show that was permitted to be projected upon the façade of Saint Peter’s for the opening of the Holy Year last week I fear that the destruction of the holy places has already taken place–not ‘bodily’ (in the sense of the physical structures) but in their ‘soul.’ Some have aptly judged it to be a “sacrilege” to use the most sacred edifice of the Catholic Church as a backdrop for the images of lions, tigers, snakes and the like. I’m compelled to agree. Is nothing sacred anymore? It makes one wonder about the prophecy of the abomination that is said to be erected in the holy place...

On another unhappy note, I’ve been asked to address a word to you about people who may be asking you for money. I have not had to write about this for a long while but the time may have come round again. Contrary to how things may seem, it is not generally good to be giving money to those who are panhandling. While I would not want to discourage good works proceeding from your generous hearts, the truth is that charities of this kind may do more harm than good, even to the one asking. Our parish has a competent way of assessing real needs of this kind and of offering help where the need is deemed genuine. When our people begin to give handouts on their own, a balance is upset which addresses the way these matters are effectively and best handled. Moreover, there is the good possibility that the receiver is enabled to continue on in fraudulent claims of need which would only be to his spiritual disadvantage. Please refer all requests to the rectory where these matters are best controlled. One can always donate to our parish’s Saint Vincent de Paul Helpers to assist those with real needs. I thank you for your cooperation.

Two notes of a more cheery kind.

Saturday is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe whose image is so familiar to us. I remarked in my sermon on Immaculate Conception Day that our Lady is depicted there, in miraculous fashion, as being enveloped by the sun, a symbol of the radiance of divine grace. In that image She is ‘great with child,’ making Her an apt object for our meditation during Advent. She is still awaited as the one who will crush the serpent’s head–an expectation that is direly sought in these upsetting times.

The other thing pleasant to dwell on is Gaudete Sunday. Today’s liturgical lift is meant to direct our thoughts to the coming of the Lord’s nativity with joyful anticipation. This is the day whence the commencement of Christmas decorations makes good sense. We already begin to feel the closeness of the feast of the nativity of the Son of God. It’s also a kind of ‘last call’ for doing something spiritually rewarding for Advent, for a more meaningful Christmas. The Advent Novena will begin this Wednesday when we will hear once again those wonderfully poetic prophecies about the coming of the Lord who would unite fallen humanity to Himself.

Today in the gym after the noon Mass our Grotto parishioners will be asked for their input on the Archdiocesan Synod to be held next year. This is the chance for our people to make their voices heard regarding the way they believe the local Church should be moving for the future. One should not crab about things in the Church without at least having made the effort to change things as they are. This may well be that chance. I was told that a complementary lunch will be served to participants. Kindly speak your mind and make good use of this opportunity to help the Archbishop of Detroit.

Fr. Perrone

John Paul II: "We are facing the final confrontation .... it is no longer possible to avert the coming tribulation"

I picked up a flyer on the way out of Mass this morning. Apparently a group called "A Call to Mary" (along with "Men of the Sacred Hearts" and "The International Marian Catechist Apostolate") is presenting an "Urgent Conference" in commemoration oft he forthcoming 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima in 1917. The title reads: "Fatima: Hope for the World ~ A Warning and Final Plea from Heaven to return to the Mercy of God."

The conference is scheduled for Saturday, October 24, 2015 at the St. Louise Chapel, 3477 S. Lapeer Rd, Metamora, MI 48455 (248-808-8954), and speakers include Fr. Ben Luedtke, Msgr Arthur B. Calkins, Fr. Ladis Cizik, Prof. Robert Fastiggi, Dr. William Thomas and Matthew Hill.

But what interested me were two quotes on the flyer from John Paul II, which struck me as clearly prophetic:

• "We are now standing int he face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel, between Christ and Antichrist." (Pope St. John Paul II, Philadelphia, 1976)
  
  
• "We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, with a total dedication to Christ and for Christ. With your and my prayers it is possible to mitigate the coming tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because only thus can the Church be effectually renewed." (Pope St. John Paul II, Germany, 1980)

Fr. Perrone on the Assumption of Mary

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, August 16, 2015):

“You, Lord, will not allow your faithful ones to undergo corruption.” 

This line from the psalter applies in a particular way to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose body, soon after Her death, did not begin the process of decay as it must for the rest of us mortals. She indeed had had Her share in the sufferings of Christ through what we call compassion, a sensitive participation in the agony of soul and even, one would think, the physical pains of Her Son’s Passion. Though not Herself the Redeemer, She is a sharer in the work of redemption, a “co-redemptrix” (the Latin suffix indicating the feminine gender). It was only right then that Her unsullied soul should not long be separated from Her body after death but be shortly (if not immediately) reunited with Her body in a state of glory, the prelude to Her glorious arising into the heavens, trailing after Her Son’s Ascension. 

The reason why the Assumption is little known and appreciated is that the Virgin Mary is an unfathomable mystery which only the infinite God fully comprehends. If we could grasp the significance of a soul–anyone’s–in a state of grace, we would be in a state of perpetual wonder. How then would it be to understand the one human person who was ever “full of grace,” even from the moment of Her conception? How ineffably marvelous would She then appear? One of Her many titles in the litany is “Mirror of Justice,” a curious metaphor which indicates in a covert way that Holy Mary was so pure a light, that is, so suffused with grace, that She, like a mirror, seemed as if to be the light reflected. The truth is that only God is Light. Mary then is the reflected light, so clearly shining as light would reflect into a mirror. The words ‘of justice’ there signify utter goodness, righteousness, before God. Only the Holy Virgin stands thus before God, so radiant Herself that, if we were to see Her in all Her heavenly splendor, we would be led to think She Herself were God. As I indicated, the reason why the mystery of Mary is little appreciated is because of the disability of our minds to be able to understand what it means for anybody to be in a state of grace. Grace is something entirely supernatural, dazzlingly brilliant as it is, but entirely evading our senses. So impoverished are we in regard to spiritual things generally in our overly sensate condition that we tend to downplay, if not disregard entirely, supernatural things. Too bad for us, this blindness to divine truth. We should not on that account belittle things we do not, cannot understand. We should rather rely on the teachings of holy Church to which the revelation of Mary’s greatness has been conveyed and thank God that there was at least one human person who lived in an extraordinary way so as to have been found wholly pleasing and acceptable to Him, without any deviation or compromise. Her incomparable greatness is the reason why Saint Bernard said, “Of the Virgin Mary there can never be enough.”

This is our parish’s great feast day. I have been the fortunate pastor of this parish for twenty years now, yearly recalling some new aspect of the fascinating mystery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Were I to go on as pastor for another score of years–Heaven forbid!, you may say–I could never begin to discover all the richness of this single mystery of the Catholic faith. (If full comprehension of any aspect of natural science is impossible–e.g. the complete knowledge of the working of a single cell in a human body–how much more so is the impossibility to comprehend supernatural things.)

I am hoping, as I write this in advance, that our day will be another blest day. Our Lady’s Heart appeals to Her Son to grant graces untold upon all those who implore Her help. We are indeed much in need of Her intercession. As our world goes ever farther from the ways of truth and morality, we need the Mother of Christ to speak to Jesus as She did at Cana when She said, “they have no wine.” Applied to our time this becomes, ‘they have little truth, few guides, little faith, hope, and love.’ Our Lord knows the sound of Her voice and stands ever at the ready to Her prayers.

May all benefit from the maternal goodness of Mary this Assumption Day 2015, and especially those who make their way to visit our parish and our Grotto to honor Her and spend their prayers. I am grateful to be the unworthy pastor of such a blest place, and am grateful to all of you as well, parishioners and visitors, for carrying on in the long line of tradition which recognizes and celebrates a mystery we can never completely appreciate: Mary’s triumphal Assumption into heaven.

Fr. Perrone

" Cardinal: 'What Sister Lucia told me: Final Confrontation between the Lord and Satan will be over Family and Marriage.'"

Cardinal Carlo Caffara (Archbishop of Bologna), "A Cardinal tells: Sister Lucia wrote me ..." (Rorate Caeli, June 17, 2015).

Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima

"Fatima, Saint John Paul II and the third secret" (Vatican Radio, May 13, 2015) - and, yes, I know there's much more to the story.

Mother's Day hilarity and profundity from Fr. Perrone

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, May 10, 2015)

In a home school reading class we are reading a book which has certain passages in Elizabethan English. Such texts are charming to read and–at times–intriguing to decipher. I offer to you here a text in celebration of today’s secular observance taken from a pastor’s column from some legendary past time–first in contemporary English for your easy comprehension, and then in its original form. In my modern translation it reads:

To whom it may concern: Happy Parent B Day! you birthing persons and child-care givers. Though you were selfish in your inability to control your desires to have offspring, and though you have, as a result, burdened the environment and consumed precious resources of Earth–Blessed be It!–in order to provide for them, have nice day, all the same.

I now quote the original text:

To those irreplaceable ladies deserving of praise: Happy Mothers Day! you who gave birth to and loving cared for your children. How generous of you in sacrificing yourselves to become mothers and in providing for your children at great personal expense in feeding, clothing and educating them with all that almighty God–Blessed be He!–gave you. May you be specially honored and blessed for this today!

Ah, yes! It is with nostalgia that we look back to former times when motherhood was honored, not as a means of personal fulfillment for certain women who made that their choice, but for the noble and indispensable role mothers have in God’s plan for the human race.....

In a more sober vein, I will have a word about Holy Mary, our spiritual mother and Mother of Christ, about Her own indispensable part in God’s plan for the human race, precisely as a mother–not only in the obvious sense of Her divine maternity through consenting to what was revealed to Her by the Archangel, but also in the sense of Her place in establishing, with and under Christ, the new order, the new Testament, the new religion of Christ. I’m thinking here of the fascinating event that took place at the wedding in Cana. Notice that it was Mary’s astute observation which precipitated the miracle our Lord was to perform. “They have no wine,” She said. As in the case of Saint John’s writings, there is a deeper significance to this than may appear at first. Our Lady was not only noticing an approaching predicament for the wedding guests, but one for all of Israel whose people had become spiritually depleted. The miracle of Christ made the new and superior ‘wine’ of the New Testament: a new faith, a new sacrifice, ceremonies and sacraments. But what concern was this of Hers? Indeed, that’s the very question Christ put to Her, not in order to belittle Her (as some have thought) but to indicate that She indeed has that concern because She has claim to the graces Christ imparts. The interceding, mediating role of Mary is one part of Her spiritual maternity. (The greater part is being the literal Mother of Christ.) We will meet with Her again on Pentecost Sunday where Her maternal position in the Church is highlighted further. Although She was not one of the apostles, She was there with them, mothering them and through them the entire Church. This event was somewhat of a parallel to the incarnation: Mary, by the fertility of the hovering of the Holy Spirit, brought about a conception and a birth: the first time to Christ; at Pentecost to the Church, His mystical body.

If even in today’s radically secularized world we have a remnant of recognition for the indispensable place of mothers, we Christians ought not to forget as well the necessary place of Holy Mary (by God’s choosing) in bringing about the salvation of mankind.

Today, at the noon Mass, we will celebrate First Holy Communion for some of our children. How much we wish this to be a memorable day for them with their beloved Jesus, and the first of many devout receptions of the Holy Sacrament! In an image from the Book of Revelation, one can see a dragon ready to devour the offspring of the woman–the evil one scheming to snatch these innocent ones from the hand of God. May Holy Mother Mary keep them ever near Christ through His sacraments!

Fr. Perrone

Why the priests of this church lead their congregations in the Holy Rosary every Sunday

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [updated weekly] (Assumption Grotto News, October 5, 2014):

Our Lady of the Rosary is the devotional focus for October. The Tridentine liturgy allows us celebrate this feast of Mary even today – Sunday – in anticipation of the October 7th calendar date of this feast. It’s only right that our parish should take advantage of Marian feasts that are offered to us.

We have remained rather faithful to the practice, begun a few years ago, of the public recitation of the holy rosary after each Mass, with the priest himself leading it, whenever possible. This practice was initiated as a buffer against what was foreseen to be a time of moral crisis for our country following upon the election of the current resident of the White House who has not failed to inflict alarm on people of good will generally and Catholics in particular. Our daily praying of the holy rosary was meant to fortify the Church in view of this circumstance and to help avert the worst that might follow. Whether our paltry efforts to comply with the wishes of the Virgin Mary in being faithful to the rosary have been deemed acceptable by heaven or not, we continue to do that little but so necessary a part to “beg God’s mercy on our country” (the stated intention of these rosaries).

This reliance on the intercessory prayers of the Virgin Mary is urgent in view of this intensive drive to neutralize the moral force of the Catholic Church over men’s lives. The blame for this lies not only with those outside the Church. Catholics themselves have helped erode their faith (which I attribute in great part to dissenting theologians and clergy). The clerical scandals of recent years have given those with an anti - Catholic animus to make destructive advances against the Church which puts our bishops in a defensive mode and weakens their moral voice as teachers and leaders.

Recently I was present in a rather large gathering of priests. There were many good men among them surely, and some of them are known as such to me. Yet I felt a certain sadness in being there on account of a sensing that many priests are losing a sense of the sacredness of their calling as ‘other Christs.’ So much of what the modern parish and its priests must do are about secular concerns that I fear we are forgetting our supernatural purposes. So much activity; so much less spirituality.

I am especially concerned over our young people who are often ignorant of the beauties of the Church’s doctrines, her history, her devotions, her liturgical richness, her saints. What chances have they with all the anti - Catholic bias they are likely to encounter in their secular education and in the media to find in the Church the stability, solace and peace their souls need so greatly? Where will mother Church be for these her children when they need her most? The proposal to recite the rosary publically after each Mass was meant to invoke Holy Mary to take on our families as Her own, to protect them, fortify them, to preserve them in truth and in God’s grace. I know many of you say the daily rosary by yourselves rather than in communal recitation. You would find added strength in your prayers, however, from prayer in common, as a parish united under Mary. In this way, each one prays for all – the total effect being so much the greater than prayer said in isolation.

All, priests and laity, have got to be renewed in determination to be exemplary Catholics. The Marian dimension to our faith, an essential element to the devout life, is so often missing, as is also Eucharistic piety. How we can recover these things on a wide scale is unknown. We do what we can here, admitting our own failures to attain the desired perfection. Our rosary is one means to keep us on track. I hope you will continue to pray with us after Mass in that small but mighty prayer of the holy rosary.

... (emphasis added)

EF Immaculate Conception: Sunday, not Monday

According to the liturgical calendar of the 1962 Missal still in force, this Sunday, December 8, is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Novus Ordo has transfered its feast to Monday while declaring there is no obligation to hear Mass on the transfered holy day.

"The traditional Latin Mass, however, follows the calendar and rubrics in place for 1962, as specified in #28 of Universae Ecclesiae. To that end, when the first class feast of the Immaculate Conception falls on the same day as the first class Second Sunday of Advent, the feast of the Immaculate Conception is observed, and the Second Sunday of Advent is commemorated."

[Hat tip to Kenneth J. Wolfe at Rorate Caeli, 12/6/2013]

CDF contra Medjugorje

Fr. Z, "CDF directs clerics, faithful not to attend conferences favorable to Medjugorje" (November 6, 2013).