Politicians have extraordinary shoulder joints that enable them to pat themselves on the back, and last week the president, a master of that calisthenic, performed it in the Rose Garden.Source: George Will, "Burned by a tobacco bill" (Townhall, June 18, 2009).
Can you believe this? George Orwell's 1984 unfolding within the first six months of "The Chosen One" in office. Is that Big Brother I hear knocking at your door? Unbelievable. There's nothing original about Obama's agenda. It's the time-worn and repeatedly failed legacy of Stalin's 5 year plans and the more recent trendy-lefty European experiments in womb-to-tomb welfare nanny-governments that were soundly defeated and sent packing in recent European elections.First-time visitors to Assumption-Windsor, St. Josaphat, St. Joseph, St. Albertus, and Sweetest Heart of Mary, among other historic churches in our area, often stop in their tracks, gaze around themselves, and utter the phrase that headlines this week’s column. But how true is that statement?[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@stjosaphatchurch.org. Previous columns are available at www.stjosaphatchurch.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat bulletin insert for June 14, 2009. Hat tip to A.B.]
Most of us have seen photos of, or have been to, modern churches that either look like a hotel conference room or something inspired by Star Trek. No need to rehash those images here. Common sense tells us that with all of the modern technology available to assist architects and contractors, we should be able to build more magnificent churches than ever before. So why don’t we?
One answer is financial: The better the edifice, the more it will cost. Commercial lenders value real estate based on its cash flow rather than its fundamental asset value, thus it is harder to finance costlier projects. Fancy retail space that sits empty is worthless in the eye of a lender; less fancy but occupied and profitable space means the mortgage is more likely to be paid. While understandable, this philosophy can give rise to an architectural minimalism. We get generic strip malls in place of grand stores that graced downtowns of the past. Consider the former Wright Kay Jewelers Building on Woodward in downtown Detroit. Few suburban stores are so grand and memorable. Suburban residents become accustomed to generic looks, and thus bland churches don’t seem to be lacking. Why spend more for a higher ceiling? Won’t it just cost more to heat and cool?
A second answer is political: Some Diocesan Building Departments have attempted to block the use of traditional architectural styles. Some parishioners and priests don’t want that look, either, considering it outdated.
A third answer lies in the choice of architects: Certain projects have been awarded to architects who have no background in Catholic church architecture, or who don’t seem to understand how liturgy, the tenets of our faith, and architecture should be intertwined.
Fortunately, there are encouraging signs for the future. The Motu Proprio, Summórum Pontíficum, presents perhaps the strongest argument in recent years for the use of traditional architectural design elements: A new church should allow for the possibility of celebrating the Extraordinary Form Mass. No longer can a diocesan Building Department logically argue against having a Communion Rail, for example.
Let’s take a look at some impressive projects that have been built in recent years:The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin is an example of the kind of neo-traditional design that we can expect to see more of in coming years. Designed by Notre Dame professor of architecture Duncan Stroik and dedicated in July, 2008, it has a freestanding high altar surmounted by a baldachino. While there are many ceremonial and logistical reasons to prefer a high altar mounted against the back wall of the sanctuary, this is likely a compromise to permit Holy Mass to be celebrated both ad oriéntem and versus pópulum. Like the reredos behind a wall-mounted high altar, a baldachino provides the shrouding of the sacred, and the element of the vertical, so appropriate to reinforcing our experience of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The tabernacle is directly behind the altar, in the center of the sanctuary, on the back wall. There is a communion rail. A choir loft and pipe organ are in the back of the church. Side altars and traditional confessional boxes line the side walls. Latin inscriptions, murals, and plaster ornamentations are visible high up on the walls and dome.
You know “it” when you see it. The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe has got “it”. This is a recognizably traditional Catholic church. See the below photo and the architect’s web site at www.stroik.com/portfolio/ourladyofguadalupe for some excellent high-resolution pictures. Photos 5 and 17 are particularly detailed and revelatory. [Click on "Dedicated Photos]
Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California is another Duncan Stroik design, similar in many ways to his La Crosse project. Dedicated in March, 2009, it is
somewhat less ornate than the former. Keep in mind that over the ages, churches were not always opened with all of the decorations in place. Budget and time concerns made it quite common for portions of the design to be added or completed over time. Stroik has again posted detailed photos on his web site: www.stroik.com/portfolio/ourladyofthemostholytrinity.
. While recognizing certain benefits of the latter, I agree with him in preferring traditional books, not only because of their tactile virtues, but because you can mark them up in the margins and make them your own. Would you trade a personally marked up copy of a book for an unmarked new one?The Extraordinary Form of Holy Mass incorporates rubrics and practices that display reverence towards holy objects and things destined for a sacred purpose. For example, any object handed to the priest during Holy Mass is to be kissed before being handed over. When an object is taken from the priest, it is kissed as soon as it is taken.[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@stjosaphatchurch.org. Previous columns are available at www.stjosaphatchurch.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat bulletin insert for June 7, 2009. Hat tip to A.B.]
Likewise, before Mass, the celebrant kisses each of the vestments as he puts them on, often while reciting a set of Vesting Prayers.
The 1962 Roman Missal contains one chapter of Preparatory Prayers to be said before Mass, and another chapter of Prayers of Thanksgiving to be said after Mass. The Vesting Prayers comprise one section of the chapter of Preparatory Prayers. All of the prayers in these two chapters are optional. Several had been enriched with indulgences according to the pre-1968 list of indulgences. Many older sacristies, including those at St. Florian in Hamtramck and at the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, have cards containing these prayers mounted on their sacristy walls. Since the pious custom of a priest’s preparation for Mass is not well-known, below we present the Vesting Prayers. For those who may not be familiar with them, these vestments were described in our June 25, 2006 column, available on our web site.
Washing Hands
Da, Dómine, virtútem mánibus meis ad abstergéndam omnem máculam; ut sine pollutióne mentis et córporis váleam tibi servíre.
Give virtue to my hands, O Lord, that being cleansed from all stain I might serve Thee with purity of mind and body.Amice
Impóne, Dómine, cápiti meo gáleam salútis, ad expugnándos diabólicos incúrsus.
Place upon me, O Lord, the helmet of salvation, that I may overcome the assaults of the devil.
Alb
Deálba me, Dómine, et munda cor meum; ut, in sánguine Agni dealbátus, gáudiis pérfruar sempitérnis.
Purify me, O Lord, and cleanse my heart, so that, washed in the Blood of the Lamb, I may enjoy eternal bliss.
Cincture
Præcínge me, Dómine, cíngulo puritátis, et exstíngue in lumbis meis humórem libídinis; ut maneat in me virtus continéntiæ et castitátis.
Gird me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity, and quench in my heart the fire of concupiscence, that the virtue of continence and chastity may abide in me.
Maniple
Mérear, Dómine, portáre manípulum fletus et dolóris; ut cum exsultatióne recípiam mercédem labóris.
May I deserve, O Lord, to bear the maniple of weeping and sorrow, that I may receive the reward for my labors with rejoicing.Stole
Redde mihi, Dómine, stolam immortalitátis, quam pérdidi in prævaricatióne primi paréntis: et, quamvis indígnus accédo ad tuum sacrum mystérium, mérear tamen gáudium sempitérnum.
Restore unto me, O Lord, the stole of immortality, which was lost through the guilt of our first parents: and, although I am unworthy to approach Thy sacred Mysteries, nevertheless grant unto me eternal joy.
Dalmatic (Deacons and Bishops)
Índue me, Dómine, induménto salútis et vestiménto lætítiæ; et dalmática justítiæ circúmda me simper.
Lord, endow me with the garment of salvation, the vestment of joy; and with the dalmatic of justice ever encompass me.
Chasuble
Dómine, qui dixísti: Jugum meam suáve est et onus meum leve: fac, ut istud portáre sic váleam, quod cónsequar tuam grátiam. Amen.
O Lord, Who said, “My yoke is easy and My burden light”: grant that I may bear it well and follow after Thee with thanksgiving. Amen.
(2009), as Joan Frawley Desmond shows us in "Fathers and Sons" (InsideCatholic.com, May 14, 2009):When the relatives and friends of William F. Buckley and Patricia Taylor Buckley first learned that Christopher Buckley, the satirical novelist, was completing a memoir of the year during which he lost both his parents, there was considerable and well-founded alarm. All three Buckleys had enjoyed famously contentious relations, and, in recent years, Christopher had not only confirmed his agnosticism on matters religious, but went so far as to announce his plan to vote for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.Read the rest of Desmond's review here.
Has Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir
What more is there to be said? A great deal, actually. Not only does the younger Buckley acknowledge many rich and distinctive moments of parental love and devotion, the narrative reveals something more than the author may have intended: the connection between this ambivalent portrait of his parents and his own waning faith in God. To this reviewer, his critique of the Buckley paterfamilias reads like an attempt to demystify and exorcise the inconvenient Catholic values that shaped the author's upbringing and still plague his conscience.
No, he was not the Christian answer to Euell Gibbons, nor a Birkenstock-sporting spouter of America Magazine- or Fr. James Martin-like platitudes. In fact, I wonder if he might even find the Crunchy Cons a bit too eager to embrace their 'Can't We All Just Get Along' Monday morning water cooler pacifism. ... But one thing is certain, and not at all surprising to me: all the folks who so eagerly eulogize Saint Francis' feed-the-birds, lawn-ornament affinities seem to have it more than a bit skewed in terms of the saint's celebrated rhetorical soft gloves. The same man who preached to the air threw himself in a fire. He was hardly harmless, in word or deed.Our HBCU Correspondent then refers us to the following observations from Mark Galli, "Speak the Gospel" (Christianity Today, Mary 21, 2009):
I've heard the quote once too often. It's time to set the record straight—about the quote, and about the gospel.[Hat tip to J.M.]
Francis of Assisi is said to have said, "Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words."
This saying is carted out whenever someone wants to suggest that Christians talk about the gospel too much, and live the gospel too little. Fair enough—that can be a problem. Much of the rhetorical power of the quotation comes from the assumption that Francis not only said it but lived it.
The problem is that he did not say it. Nor did he live it. And those two contra-facts tell us something about the spirit of our age.
Let's commit a little history ...
First, no biography written within the first 200 years of his death contains the saying. It's not likely that a pithy quote like this would have been missed by his earliest disciples.
Second, in his day, Francis was known as much for his preaching as for his lifestyle.
... He apparently was a bit of a showman. He imitated the troubadours, employing poetry and word pictures to drive the message home. When he described the Nativity, listeners felt as if Mary was giving birth before their eyes; in rehearsing the crucifixion, the crowd (as did Francis) would shed tears.
Contrary to his current meek and mild image, Francis's preaching was known for both his kindness and severity. One moment, he was friendly and cheerful—prancing about as if he were playing a fiddle on a stick, or breaking out in song in praise to God and his creation. Another moment, he would turn fierce: "He denounced evil whenever he found it," wrote one early biographer, "and made no effort to palliate it; from him a life of sin met with outspoken rebuke, not support. He spoke with equal candor to great and small."
... In the fall of 1208, he sent the brothers out two by two to distant reaches. What did he tell them to say? In an early guide written during this period, Francis instructed his brothers to tell their listeners to "do penance, performing worthy fruits of penance, because we shall soon die … . Blessed are those who die in penance for they shall be in the kingdom of heaven. Woe to those who do not die in penance, for they shall be children of the devil whose works they do and they shall go into everlasting fire."
... Why is it, then, that we "remember" Francis as a wimp of a man who petted bunnies and never said a cross word, let alone much about the Cross?
I suspect we sentimentalize Francis—like we do many saints of ages past—because we live in a sentimental age. We want it to be true that we can be nice and sweet and all will be well....
"Preach the gospel; use words if necessary" goes hand in hand with a postmodern assumption that words are finally empty of meaning.... Of course we want our actions to match our words as much as possible. But the gospel is a message, news about an event and a person upon which the history of the planet turns. As blogger Justin Taylor recently put it, the Good News can no more be communicated by deeds than can the nightly news.
[I]f you want to understand the state of American religion, you need to understand why so many people love Dan Brown.[Hat tip to E.E.]
It isn’t just that he knows how to keep the pages turning. That’s what it takes to sell a million novels. But if you want to sell a 100 million, you need to preach as well as entertain — to present a fiction that can be read as fact, and that promises to unlock the secrets of history, the universe and God along the way.
Brown is explicit about this mission. He isn’t a serious novelist, but he’s a deadly serious writer: His thrilling plots, he’s said, are there to make the books’ didacticism go down easy, so that readers don’t realize till the end “how much they are learning along the way.” ...
Brown’s message has been called anti-Catholic, but that’s only part of the story....
... Brown doesn’t have the soul of a true-believing Enemy of the Faith. Deep down, he has a fondness for the ordinary, well-meaning sort of Catholic, his libels against their ancestors notwithstanding....
... Having dismissed Catholicism’s truth claims and demonized its most sincere defenders, Brown pats believers on the head and bids them go on fingering their rosary beads.
In the Brownian worldview, all religions — even Roman Catholicism — have the potential to be wonderful, so long as we can get over the idea that any one of them might be particularly true. It’s a message perfectly tailored for 21st-century America, where the most important religious trend is neither swelling unbelief nor rising fundamentalism, but the emergence of a generalized “religiousness” detached from the claims of any specific faith tradition.
