Musings of a Pertinacious Papist

Monday, October 17, 2016

Poor black single-mom, a baptized sister in Christ, needs money to buy car to get to work

A good friend of our family (let's call her Tonya), an African-American single mother of two, could easily have gone on welfare. But she was raised under an old-fashioned work ethic and prefers to earn her keep by working at a paying job, such as it is (only part time now). It's the way she chooses to pay the bills and keep body and soul together, God bless her. Those are the same hard-work values she's been teaching her own children.

The trouble is, when you're as far from the celebrated top 1% (super-rich) as she is, it's hard. She's had a number of cars by which she has been getting to and from work, but they keep dying on her. To be honest, when she buys her cars they're usually already on their last legs, so to speak.

For a upwards of a year she's had to depend on someone else to drive her to work, but that option is about to come to an end and she needs to buy a car. In three or four weeks. No bus route is feasible for where she needs to go.

So I'm going out on a limb here and asking for donations. I say "going out on a limb" because I'm not in a position to give you more detailed information about her than I'm providing on this page. Why? It wouldn't be fair to her.

I first tried using a fund-raising website called GoFundMe, but like other sites, they charge a percentage fee and require a photo of the person(s) you're trying to help. But understandably, Tonya doesn't want her picture online. There's just no way. Not going to happen. It would be too embarrassing, she says.

So here's the deal. If our fund-raising drive is successful, and I plan to donate generously myself, what I will do is try to get a photo of Tonya standing beside her new pre-owned vehicle, once she gets it, and then post that online with her thanks.

And as an alternative to a website like GoFundMe, I've decided to use Paypal as the vehicle for soliciting donations (see the 'Donate' button below), which should give you the usual options by which to donate via Paypal -- using credit cards if you don't have a Paypal account.

I set up this Paypal account under the name of 'Academy Press' back when I was involved in a small publishing business on the side in North Carolina, so that's the name you'll most likely see when redirected to the payment page, in addition to my own name (Philip Blosser), depending on whether you pay by Paypal or Credit Card.

We aren't a tax exempt organization, so I'm afraid your donations are not tax deductible, though I can provide you with a receipt if you provide me with your email address.

As another option, if you'd prefer to send a check, please email me [LINK] and I can send you my mailing address. Just put in the SUBJECT LINE of your email the following: 'CAR FUND-RAISER CHARITY.'

This is a limited-time fund-raiser (probably no more than three weeks). And may God bless you as you bless this sister, a sister in Christ, in her need. I will not be taking a percentage of the donations as GoFundMe would. I will forward 100% of what I receive to Tonya with no strings attached.

Please give generously.

If you cannot give money, please pray for the success of this fund-raiser; and pray for Tonya and her family.
Thank you!!

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Tridentine Community News - The Sacristy and Its Arrangement; Chasuble Shapes; TLM Mass schedules

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (October 16, 2016):

October 16, 2016 – Twenty-second Sunday After Pentecost

The Sacristy and Its Arrangement

A church’s sacristy might seem to be a place of mystery to many Catholics. Relatively few have reason to venture into a sacristy, and those who do generally have a purpose in mind, usually talking to the priest. Indeed, the sacristy is typically the domain of the altar servers, sacristans, and those in charge of laundering the altar linens. Let’s take a look around and see what’s typically in there.

The accompanying diagram from Fr. William O’Brien’s book, In Sacristy and Sanctuary, depicts many of the [numbered] key objects found in a typical sacristy: 1) The sink, not to be confused with 3) the sacrárium, a special sink which drains into the ground rather than the sewer. The sacrárium is used to dispose of Holy Water, excess Precious Blood, water in which dropped Hosts have been dissolved, and in general any liquid which has been blessed. 2) The sacristy table contains drawers for altar linens, certain types of vestments and vestment parts (stoles, maniples) that can be stored flat, and supplies of all sorts. Older churches may have one or more framed prayer cards above the table, containing Vesting Prayers and Prayers Before and After Mass. Above the sink in older churches is often found the Prayer Before Washing Hands. All of these prayers are in Latin and are said by the celebrant while vesting before a Tridentine Mass. In newer churches they are provided on portable, framed cards.

5) The incense cabinet, containing the thurible, charcoal, incense, matches, the incense boat, and related supplies.

6) The safe, containing the cibória (containers for the Hosts), chalices, monstrance, reliquaries, and related precious metallic objects.

Vestments and altar servers’ cassocks and surplices are stored in closets, sometimes in a separate sacristy room on the other side of the sanctuary (the “work sacristy”, meant for servers, as opposed to the main “priest’s sacristy”).

There is always a Crucifix in the sacristy, meant as a focal point for prayer. Before Mass, the servers and celebrant all face the Crucifix while the priest says, “Procedámus in pace.” [Let us go in peace], to which the servers respond, “In Nómine Christi. Amen.” [In the Name of Christ. Amen.] After Mass, all bow to the Crucifix and say “Deo grátias.” [Thanks be to God], then the servers kneel and ask for the celebrant’s blessing, saying, “Jube, domne benedícere.” [Your blessing, Father.]

You are welcome to come explore the sacristy after Mass; please ask one of the altar servers to give you a tour.

Chasuble Shapes

The chasuble is the large outer vestment that the celebrant wears during Mass. There are three principal kinds of chasubles:

1) The Roman or “fiddleback” chasuble, so named because it is the regional norm in Rome and has a front side shaped like a cello, or fiddle [Shouldn’t it be “fiddlefront”?]. The back side is squared off. These days, most Tridentine Mass sites employ fiddleback chasubles, as their level of artistic design is typically more expressive and elaborate.

2) The Gothic chasuble is the type most commonly seen nowadays at Ordinary Form Masses. They are robe-like, longer in the front and back, and shorter on the sides for the arms.

3) The rarely seen Conical chasubles are circular pieces of fabric with a hole in the center for the head to go through. They are most commonly used in monasteries.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Mon. 10/17 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin)
Tue. 10/18 7:00 PM: High Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (St. Luke the Evangelist)
Sat. 10/22 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (Saturday of Our Lady)

[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 October 16, 2016. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Collusion of National Catholic Reporter with Wikileaks-exposed anti-Catholic agenda organized by Podesta

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, "Fishwrap rots from the head down" (Fr. Z's Blog, October 14, 2016):

I am sure that by now you have heard about how the anti-Catholic Clinton campaign’s anti-Catholic manager John Podesta helped foment dissent in the Church and revolt by establishing anti-Catholic, catholic organizations. HERE Undermine the Church as a moral force, push her to squander her moral capital by getting her pastors to water down Catholic teaching and you remove an obstacle to garnering by hook or crook more votes for dem candidates. It’s a tried and true method. I saw today an interesting email released by Wikileaks about Podesta’s efforts, through one of his minions. HERE It mentions some interesting catholic entities. Read the whole thing. Take note of the prominent role of the Fishwrap and Commonwelt.

Tridentine Masses coming this week to metro Detroit and east Michigan

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Sunday

Sun. 10/16 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/16 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/16 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/16 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/16 [occasional Tridentine Masses: contact parish] at Our Lady of the Scapular Parish (22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/16 12:00 Noon: Solemn High Mass at St. Joseph, Detroit (22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class) - First Mass in Detroit of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
Tue. 10/16 2:00 PM: High Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada (22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/16 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)

Monday

Mon. 10/17 7:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque - 3rd class)
Sun. 10/16 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/16 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
Mon. 10/17 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque - 3rd class)
Mon. 10/17 12:00 Noon: High Tridentine Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque - 3rd class)
Mon. 10/17 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque - 3rd class)
Mon. 10/17 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque - 3rd class)
Mon. 10/17 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Joseph's Church, Detroit (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque - 3rd class)

Tuesday

Tue. 10/18 7:00 AM Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Luke the Evangelist - 2nd class)
Tue. 10/18 8:00 AM: Low Mass (call for Confession schedule) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Luke the Evangelist - 2nd class)
Tue. 10/18 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada (St. Luke the Evangelist - 2nd class)
Tue. 10/18 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Luke the Evangelist - 2nd class)

Wednesday

Wed. 10/19 7:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Peter of Alcantara - 3rd class, or [Canada] North American Martyrs - 2nd class)
Wed. 10/19 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Peter of Alcantara - 3rd class, or [Canada] North American Martyrs - 2nd class)
Wed. 10/19 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Peter of Alcantara - 3rd class, or [Canada] North American Martyrs - 2nd class)

Thursday

Thu. 10/20 7:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. John Cantius - 3rd class)
Thu. 10/20 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. John Cantius - 3rd class)
Thu. 10/20 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. John Cantius - 3rd class)

Friday

Fri. 10/21 7:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Hilarion - 4th class, or Sts. Ursula & Companions - 4th class)
Fri. 10/21 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at a href="http://www.sspxmichigan.com/#!schedule/c24jx">St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria - 4th class, or St. Hilarion - 4th class, or Sts. Ursula & Companions - 4th class)
Fri. 10/21 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Hilarion - 4th class, or Sts. Ursula & Companions - 4th class)
Fri. 10/21 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Hilarion - 4th class, or Sts. Ursula & Companions - 4th class)
Fri. 10/21 7:00 PM: High Mass (periodically) at St. Joseph's Church, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Hilarion - 4th class, or Sts. Ursula & Companions - 4th class)

Saturday

Sat. 10/22 7:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Saturday of Our Lady - 4th class)
Sat. 10/22 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Saturday of Our Lady - 4th class)
Sat. 10/22 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Saturday of Our Lady - 4th class)
Sat. 10/22 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi, South Lyon, MI (Saturday of Our Lady - 4th class)
Sat. 10/22 6:00 PM Tridentine Mass at SS. Cyril & Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, Sterling Heights (Saturday of Our Lady - 4th class)

Sunday

Sun. 10/23 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (23rd Sunday afte Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/23 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (23rd Sunday afte Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/23 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (23rd Sunday afte Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/23 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (23rd Sunday afte Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/23 [occasional Tridentine Masses: contact parish] at Our Lady of the Scapular Parish (23rd Sunday afte Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/23 12:00 Noon: Solemn High Mass at St. Joseph, Detroit (23rd Sunday afte Pentecost - 2nd class)
Tue. 10/23 2:00 PM: High Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada (23rd Sunday afte Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/23 3:00 PM: Low Mass (call ahead for Confession times, 989-892-5936) at Infant of Prague, Bay City [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (23rd Sunday afte Pentecost - 2nd class)
Sun. 10/23 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (23rd Sunday afte Pentecost - 2nd class)

* NB: The SSPX chapels among those Mass sites listed above are posted here because the Holy Father has announced that "those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins." These chapels are not listed among the approved parishes and worship sites on archdiocesan websites. Also please note that St. Joseph's SSPX Chapel in Richmond has moved to Ray Township, at 57575 Romeo Plank Rd., Ray Twp., MI 48096.

How Amoris Laetitia is balkanizing the Church

Sandro Magister, "In Rome Yes, In Florence No. Here's How 'Amoris Laetitia' Is Dividing the Church" (www.chieza, October 14, 2016): "In the pope’s diocese, the divorced and remarried can receive communion, in other Italian dioceses no. Because every bishop is deciding as he wishes. A manual by Cardinal Antonelli for confessors who want to remain faithful to perennial doctrine."

Meanwhile Cardinal-designate Kevin Farrell says that "Amoris Laetitia is 'the Holy Spirit speaking'" (National Catholic Reporter, October 14, 2016). Go figure.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Bizarre: In Hacked Email, Trump Blackballed by Powerful Secret Society with Occult Ties

Colin Powell's hacked emails, according to David Bixenspan (LawNewz), "relate to his experiences attending the secretive, shadowy Bohemian Grove encampment this past July. Bohemian Grove was described in a 2011 Washington Post article by Elizabeth Flock as a gathering of “some of the richest and most powerful men in the world gather at a 2,700 acre campground in Monte Rio, Calif., for two weeks of heavy drinking, super-secret talks, druid worship, ... and other rituals.” Only one of these rituals, shot by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones exists on video.

The hacked email, sent by Powell to former Canadian Attorney General Peter MacKay on July 24th, reveals Powell talking about how the Bohemian Grove attendees are planning to vote in the upcoming presidential election. (See the above-linked David Bixenspan article for the contents of the email.)

According to Michael Matt, who recently commented on this email, "The theoretical end game of the (Bohemian Grove) retreat is 'to escape the "frontier culture," or uncivilized interests, of common men.' Members and guests reportedly included former Vice President Dick Cheney, Walter Cronkite, Clint Eastwood, and most Republican presidents since Dwight Eisenhower. So it's no surprise that Powell is on their list of elites, but what is surprising is how willing he is to dish on the meetings."

My comment: If this is what the Republican ruling elites do in private gatherings, can one can hardly imagine what their Democrat counterparts do.

Argument of the Month Club debates Catholic views on Trump

Argument of the Month in their Octoberfest Smoker (smokin' pork, smokin' cigars, and smokin' debate) saw Alan Keyes square off with Chris Ferrara on October 11th debating the question: "Must Catholics Be Never Trumpers?" Keyes for the affirmative; Ferrara for the negative. Not online yet, but it should be interesting. I would love to have been there. Both of these guys are pretty sharp.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Stage already set for post-election Orwellian crackdown

Christopher Manion, "The Turnkey Tyranny Game Plan" (LewRockwell.com, October 11, 2016):

“Hence we may learn the lesson that on seizing a state, the usurper should make haste to inflict what injuries he must, at a stroke, that he may not have to renew them daily but be enabled by their discontinuance to reassure men’s minds, and afterward win them over by benefits.… Injuries, therefore, should be inflicted all at once, that their ill savor being less lasting may the less offend; whereas, benefits should be conferred little by little, that so they may be more fully relished."

– Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, Book VIII

Everything is in place. Do you see anything missing?

Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA collects everything on everyone. Thomas Drake, the former NSA senior official who blew the whistle from inside the organization, proved that it would have been cheaper and more useful to keep only information on suspected terrorists – but Cheney and Obama wanted it all.

And they got it. Snowden’s in exile and Drake, harassed by the DoJ for four years, lost his job and is now a genius at an Apple Store in Maryland.

So the fix was in. All that was left was the implementation. Read more >>

[Hat tip to L.S.]

Related: An interesting discussion by two Catholic traditionalists defending their "Never Hillary" position HERE.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

"I can't understand why Trump is doing so well"

Greg Krehbiel, "I can't understand why Trump is doing so well" (Crowhill Weblog, September 30, 2016):

Me: Really? I’m surprised that you don’t. You’re a fairly perceptive fellow.

Him: How can people support a man like this? He’s a serial adulterer, a flagrant liar, he’s bombastic and nasty, he can’t speak in complete sentences, he doesn’t know basic facts about the government …. He is the most unqualified man to ever run for the office.

Me: I think you’re not considering the mood of the people and how fed up they are. A large percentage of the population thinks the system is rigged and corrupt from top to bottom and needs to be completely disrupted.

Him: They’re delusional, but even so that doesn’t excuse asking this horrible man to do it. He’s going to make a mockery of the United States in front of the whole world.

Me: I see. So you expect somebody who’s going to buck the political establishment of both parties, defy the 24-7 scorn of the media and the Internet cry bullies — basically to be at war with almost every social institution in this country — and also be a nice guy?

Him: I don’t want anything of the kind. I don’t think the system is entirely rigged and corrupt, and I don’t think Trump could fix it if it were.

Me: And that’s why you don’t understand why Trump is doing so well.

[Hat tip to JM]

Background soundtrack for reading this post: Master of Puppets, by Metallica.

Monday, October 10, 2016

"The Courage of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship"

Rod Dreher, "The Courage of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship" (American Conservative, October 6, 2016):

We are so accustomed these days to one Christian church or ministry falling by the wayside when it comes to Christian orthodoxy on sexual matters. So it comes as a shock when one — especially a major one — takes a firm and uncompromising stand for orthodoxy. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has done just that. Excerpt:
One of the largest evangelical organizations on college campuses nationwide has told its 1,300 staff members they will be fired if they personally support gay marriage or otherwise disagree with its newly detailed positions on sexuality starting on Nov. 11.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA says that it will start a process for “involuntary terminations” for any staffer who comes forward to disagree with its positions on human sexuality, which holds that any sexual activity outside of a husband and wife is immoral.

Staffers are not being required to sign a document agreeing with the group’s position, and supervisors are not proactively asking employees to verbally affirm it. Instead, staffers are being asked to come forward voluntarily if they disagree with the theological position. When they inform their supervisor of their disagreement, a two-week period is triggered, concluding in their last day. InterVarsity has offered to cover outplacement service costs for one month after employment ends to help dismissed staff with their resumes and job search strategies.
More:
InterVarsity has more than 1,000 chapters on 667 college campuses around the country. More than 41,000 students and faculty were actively involved in organization in the last school year, and donations topped $80 million last fiscal year. The group is focused on undergraduate outreach, but it also has specific programs for athletes, international students, nurses, sororities and fraternities, and others. InterVarsity also hosts the Urbana conference, one of the largest student missionary conferences in the world.
Read the whole thing.

Given how hostile colleges are, and how strongly young adults feel about this issue, taking this stand is likely to be very, very costly, but InterVarsity recognizes the stakes for the integrity of the Christian message. God bless InterVarsity for its impressive courage and steadfastness! ...

... Update:

A reader writes that InterVarsity has posted this on its Facebook page tonight:
You may have seen this evening’s article in TIME about InterVarsity.

We’re disappointed that Elizabeth Dias’ headline and article wrongly stated that InterVarsity is firing employees for supporting gay marriage. That is not the case....

... we believe Christlikeness, for our part, includes both embracing Scripture’s teachings on human sexuality—uncomfortable and difficult as they may be—as well as upholding the dignity of all people, because we are all made in God’s image.

... Within InterVarsity and elsewhere in the Church, there are LGBTQI people who agree with this theology, at great personal cost. We are learning together to follow Jesus.
Another reader, a lawyer and a liberal, writes:
This is a smart legal move on their part. Federal law makes it pretty much impossible to take a stance along the lines of, “This is what we believe, but out of compassion and pragmatism we’re willing to be flexible for a certain amount of time, with certain people, and/or in certain situations.” Either you have a blanket policy that applies to all people in all instances, or federal courts will rule that you don’t “really” have a principled position ....
I appreciate this comment for its honesty. I’ve talked to people in religious schools, both Catholic and Protestant, who are being advised by their lawyers to draw clear, bright doctrinal lines right now, and enforce them. If they don’t, the lawyers advise, they are going to have a hard time in court if they get sued.

[Hat tip to JM]

Sunday, October 09, 2016

Buenos Aires letter last straw for some traditionalists

[Disclaimer: Rules ##7-9]

After recently checking some traditionalist sites, I've noticed that there has been considerable activity (just as there has been on 'conservative' Catholic sites, but far less restrained) since the revelation about Pope Francis's letter to the bishops of Buenos Aires asserting that the only correct interpretation of Amoris Laetitia is that authorizing the admission of couples in irregular (formally adulterous) 'second marriages' to the sacraments of Confession and Communion without any further intention of change of life. Here I simply list a very few of the more notable responses from traditionalist sites [Advisory: please note the 'Disclaimer' at the top of the page]:

Michael Matt, Christopher Ferrara & John Vennari, a Joint Declaration from The Remnant and Catholic Family News, "With Burning Concern: We Accuse Pope Francis," Part I, Part II, and Part III (Catholic Family News, September 19-23, 2016)
"Calamity" (Gloria.TV News, September 26, 2016) [a video reporting on the above-referenced Joint Declaration]
Patrick Archbold, "Vatican: 2017 Synod on Married Priests Won't Really Be On Married Priests (wink wink nudge nudge)" (Fetzen Fliegen, October 6, 2016)
Hilary White, "A New Schism for A New Church" (Fetzen Fliegan, October 2, 2016)

My pastor weighs in on the forthcoming presidential election

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, October 9, 2016):

It's time for me to weigh in regarding the forthcoming presidential election. Can it be, you ask, that he intends to support publically one of the candidates? Relax. The answer is No. Only some privilege Protestant reverends can do political campaigning with impunity. A Catholic priest who would dare to scale the sacrosanct wall dividing church and state would suffer a double penalty: first from the Church which forbids priests from political involvement; then from the state which threats the withdrawal of tax exemption for the church. Yet it is not apprehension over the specter of these sanctions that would dissuade me from writing to you. If I am reticent at all it is because I do not want to be perceived as exceeding the legitimate moral influence a pastor must have over his flock. I have confidence however that my parishioners have been well informed by Catholic principles and doctrines. I would never presume to exert moral pressure for mere personal preferences.

If my intention is not to advance a particular presidential candidate, I do wish to clarify a moral question which is often posed with regard to the November election. The matter is usually phrased this way: When a voter judges that neither contender for political office is entirely satisfying how then should one vote? Must one abstain from voting?

A distinction must immediately be made between issues which are always gravely wrong (intrinsic evils) and others which are considered as the lesser good. Candidates for public office who espouse or intend to advance intrinsic evils such as abortion, gay marriage, or euthanasia may never be supported or voted for no matter what other positions they may adopt. Here is not a question of political partisanship, of support for one political 'machine' over another. To cast a vote for a party or a person who champions such grave evils is to make one an accomplice to those evils. If it so happens that one political party supports immoral causes while another opposes them it is not the Church's doing. She remains neutral with regard to political loyalties but not indifferent with regard to the moral positions which respective candidates represent.

People's minds become confused in the debates because apart from these never-to-be-admitted evil issues there are other valid areas of concern for the common good, such as the economy, international peace, immigration, taxes, etc. The importance of these matters, which have their own legitimacy, must not override the more basic, fundamental matter of a candidate's intention regarding those moral evils which must always and everywhere be opposed, which cannot ever be admitted. Casting a vote for such a candidate is itself a grave evil, a mortal sin. Such a voter becomes a cooperator in the evils that would ensue from the election of that candidate.

Too bad that in our time we are constrained to side with a candidate exclusively on account of moral issues that ought never to be a matter of discussion. Were it the case that candidates were equally pro-life, pro-heterosexual marriage, etc. one would have the legitimate moral freedom to vote for the candidate who would best represent the common good in the other areas. We are not in such a position as this. We cannot overlook at candidate's stance (or those of a political party) on those intrinsic evils.

Responsible voting is in the domain of the laity. Moral teaching however is a duty of the priestly office. A pastor who turns aside and is silent to his people when the moral law of God is in the balance and great social evils are at stake must prepare to hear words such as these: "The watchmen are blind; they are without knowledge. They are dumb dogs; they cannot bark. The shepherds have no understanding. Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! says the Lord" (cf. Is 56:10-11; Jer 10:21).

My concern then is twofold: the good of your souls first (and the way you vote is a determining factor in your spiritual health), and the good of the society in which all must live according to the express will of God.

Fr. Perrone

Michael Matt & Christopher A. Ferrara, "Catholic Journalist & lawyer discuss 'Trumping Hillary'" (Remnant TV, July 26, 2016).
Fr. John Lankeit, "Homily for October 2, 2016" (Fr. Z's Blog, October 5, 2016)

Tridentine Community News - Detroit's Ste. Anne Church This Tuesday; St. Paul Albanian Mass Sets Attendance Record; Shrine of the Little Flower Mass Report; Reminder: Dr. Phil Blosser Talk at OCLMA on Oct. 16; TLM Mass schedule

October 9, 2016 – Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (October 9, 2016):

This month is busy season for special Tridentine Masses in our region. This Tuesday, October 11 at 7:00 PM. the Oakland County Latin Mass Association has arranged a special High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at Detroit’s historic Ste. Anne Church. Fr. Mark Borkowski will be the celebrant, and Wassim Sarweh will lead the music. Ste. Anne is the oldest parish in Detroit, dating back to the time of University of Michigan co-founder Fr. Gabriel Richard, whose tomb is in the church’s chapel.

Ste. Anne until recently was run by the Basilian Fathers, as is its sister church on the other side of the Ambassador Bridge, Windsor’s closed-for-now Assumption Church.

St. Paul Albanian Mass Sets Attendance Record

Between 700-900 of the faithful attended the first Tridentine Mass held at St. Paul Albanian Church in Rochester Hills last Sunday, October 2. This Mass set the record for attendance at a local Tridentine Mass in the post-Vatican II era. A handful of people traveled from as far away as Saginaw to be part of the event, which was supported by volunteers from the Oakland County Latin Mass Association and Windsor’s St. Benedict Tridentine Community. Feedback from the parishioners and pastor was enthusiastic, and St. Paul’s plans additional Tridentine Masses in the future.

Shrine of the Little Flower Mass Report

Approximately 400 faithful turned out for the Solemn High Mass at Royal Oak’s Shrine of the Little Flower last Monday, October 3. At least 200 of them appeared to be locals, new to the Extraordinary Form. [Photo by Teresa Chisholm]

Reminder: Dr. Phil Blosser Talk at OCLMA on Oct. 16

Sacred Heart Seminary Professor of Philosophy Dr. Phil Blosser will speak on “Liturgy and Beauty” at a reception following the 9:45 AM Mass at the Academy of the Sacred Heart Chapel in Bloomfield Hills next Sunday, October 16.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Mon. 10/10 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Francis Borgia, Confessor)
Tue. 10/11 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Tue. 10/11 7:00 PM: High Mass at Ste. Anne de Detroit (Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Sat. 10/15 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin)
Sun. 10/16 12:00 Noon: Solemn High Mass at St. Joseph (Twenty-second Sunday After Pentecost) – First Mass of Institute of Christ the King

[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 October 9, 2016. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]