Overheard in the Sacristy

{sigh}

2008-02-16T21:56:00.005-07:00

Even though there have been a few bugs, [scratch, scratch] we've moved into our new web home. Finally. Go to overheardinthesacristy.net. Yay!

Actuosa partipatio

2008-02-12T20:29:00.001-07:00

Pope St. Pius X has written:

The Holy Mass is a prayer itself, even the highest prayer that exists. It is the Sacrifice, dedicated by our Redeemer at the Cross, and repeated every day on the Altar. If you wish to hear Mass as it should be heard, you must follow with eye, heart, and mouth all that happens at the Altar. Further, you must pray with the Priest the holy words said by him. You have to associate your heart with the holy feelings which are contained in these words and in this manner you ought to follow all that happens on the Altar. When acting in this way, you have prayed Holy Mass.

Worship God, not man.

2008-02-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

Ready the Arms!

2008-02-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

Some Dutch Catholics have renamed the Lent fast as the "Christian Ramadan" in an attempt to appeal to young people who are more likely to know about Islam than Christianity. – Daily Telegraph

Sackcloth T $17.99

2008-02-11T21:47:00.001-07:00

Get thyself to LMart for all your Lenten needs.

Defend Us in Battle

2008-02-10T22:48:00.001-07:00

Prayers After Low Mass

2008-02-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

Given the two previous posts we should reintroduce the following at all celebrations of the Holy Sacrifice.

V. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
R. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen. (3x)

V. Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us. And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
V. Let us pray.

O God, our Refuge and our Strength, look down with favor upon Thy people who cry to Thee: and by the intercession of the glorious and immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of St. Joseph her Spouse, of Thy blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints, mercifully and graciously hear the prayers we pour forth for the conversion of sinners, and for the liberty and exaltation of our holy Mother the Church. Through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle: be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. -May God rebuke him, we humbly pray: and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust down to hell Satan and all the evil spirits who roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
R. Amen.

V. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
R. Have mercy on us. (3x)

Masons beware

2008-02-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

For anyone who observes current events, it is obvious that there is a concerted effort to destroy all that is Christian, and promote a godless world government. This opposition to God's plan is as old as the rebellion of Satan and the fallen angels, and has taken place throughout centuries via people working behind the scenes, gathered in secret societies known under various names,

The Catholic Church has always condemned such groups. And this condemnation still stands: on November 1983, the Vatican's Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a “Declaration on Masonic Associations”, signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and approved by Pope John Paul II, which stated that “the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic associations remains unchanged, since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church, and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin, and may not receive Communion.”

Pope Leo XIII wrote on April 20, 1884, a special encyclical letter Humanum genus, addressed to all the Bishops of the world, on the very subject of Freemasonry:

"There exists in the world a certain number of sects which although seemingly different one from another as to name, ritual, form and origin are, however, similar due to the analogy of their aim and chief principles. Indeed, they are identical to Freemasonry which is, for them all, the central point from which they proceed and toward which they converge." Further, in his letter to the Italian people dated December 8, 1892, Pope Leo XIII writes: "Let us remember that Christianity and Freemasonry are essentially incompatible, to such an extent, that to become united with one means being divorced from the other. Let us, therefore, expose Freemasonry as the enemy of God, of the Church and of our Motherland. "

Modernists beware

2008-02-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

In response to someone who begged Saint Pius X to "go soft" on the Modernists, He retorted: "Kindness is for fools! They want them to be treated with oil, soap, and caresses but they ought to be beaten with fists! In a duel you don't count or measure the blows, you strike as you can! War is not made with charity, it is a struggle a duel. If Our Lord were not terrible he would not have given an example in this too. See how he treated the Philistines, the sowers of error, the wolves in sheep's clothing, the traitors in the temple. He scourged them with whips!"

Sweet!

2008-02-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

A man shows lollipops with pictures of Pope Benedict XVI
at a shop outside the Vatican February 10, 2008.

Christ Won, Satan Zero

2008-02-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

Satan Exists, and Christ Defeated Him
Gospel Commentary for 1st Sunday of Lent
By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 8, 2008 (Zenit.org.)- Demons, Satanism and other related phenomena are quite topical today, and they disturb a great part of our society.

Our technological and industrialized world is filled with magicians, wizards, occultism, spiritualism, fortune tellers, spell trafficking, amulets, as well as very real Satanic sects. Chased away from the door, the devil has come in through the window. Chased away by the faith, he has returned by way of superstition.

The episode of Jesus' temptations in the desert that is read on the First Sunday of Lent helps us to have some clarity on this subject. First of all, do demons exist? That is, does the word "demon" truly indicate some personal being with intelligence and will, or is it simply a symbol, a manner of speaking that refers to the sum of the world's moral evil, the collective unconscious, collective alienation, etc.?

Many intellectuals do not believe in demons in the first sense. But it must be noted that many great writers, such as Goethe and Dostoyevsky, took Satan's existence very seriously. Baudelaire, who was certainly no angel, said that "the demon's greatest trick is to make people believe that he does not exist."

The principal proof of the existence of demons in the Gospels is not the numerous healings of possessed people, since ancient beliefs about the origins of certain maladies may have had some influence on the interpretation of these happenings. The proof is Jesus' temptation by the demon in the desert. The many saints who in their lives battled against the prince of darkness are also proof. They are not like "Don Quixote," tilting at windmills. On the contrary, they were very down-to-earth, psychologically healthy people.

If many people find belief in demons absurd, it is because they take their beliefs from books, they pass their lives in libraries and at desks; but demons are not interested in books, they are interested in persons, especially, and precisely, saints.

How could a person know anything about Satan if he has never encountered the reality of Satan, but only the idea of Satan in cultural, religious and ethnological traditions? They treat this question with great certainty and a feeling of superiority, doing away with it all as so much "medieval obscurantism."

But it is a false certainty. It is like someone who brags about not being afraid of lions and proves this by pointing out that he has seen many paintings and pictures of lions and was never frightened by them. On the other hand, it is entirely normal and consistent for those who do not believe in God to not believe in the devil. It would be quite tragic for someone who did not believe in God to believe in the devil!

Yet the most important thing that the Christian faith has to tell us is not that demons exist, but that Christ has defeated them. For Christians, Christ and demons are not two equal, but rather contrary principles, as certain dualistic religions believe to be the case with good and evil. Jesus is the only Lord; Satan is only a creature "gone bad." If power over men is given to Satan, it is because men have the possibility of freely choosing sides and also to keep them from being too proud (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:7), believing themselves to be self-sufficient and without need of any redeemer. "Old Satan is crazy," goes an African-American spiritual. "He shot me to destroy my soul, but missed and destroyed my sin instead."

With Christ we have nothing to fear. Nothing and no one can do us ill, unless we ourselves allow it. Satan, said an ancient Father of the Church, after Christ's coming, is like a dog chained up in the barnyard: He can bark and lunge as much as he wants, but if we don't go near him, he cannot harm us.

In the desert Jesus freed himself from Satan to free us! This is the joyous news with which we begin our Lenten journey toward Easter.

I can

2008-02-07T23:28:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night I renewed my commitment to the Lord.

And Jesus said to me: Can you drink of the chalice that I drink of: or be baptized with the baptism wherewith I am baptized? I said to Him: I can. And Jesus saith to me: You shall indeed drink of the chalice that I drink of: and with the baptism wherewith I am baptized, you shall be baptized.

Innovation

2008-02-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

On March 14, 2000, the Vatican's Congregation of Divine Worship replied to a question about the practice of removing Holy Water from fonts during Lent (and replacing it with pebbles or sand) by saying:

"This Dicastery is able to respond that the removing of Holy Water from the fonts during the season of Lent is not permitted, in particular, for two reasons:

"1. The liturgical legislation in force does not foresee this innovation, which in addition to being praeter legem is contrary to a balanced understanding of the season of Lent, which though truly being a season of penance, is also a season rich in the symbolism of water and baptism, constantly evoked in liturgical texts.

"2. The encouragement of the Church that the faithful avail themselves frequently of her sacraments and sacramentals is to be understood to apply also to the season of Lent. The 'fast' and 'abstinence' which the faithful embrace in this season does not extend to abstaining from the sacraments or sacramentals of the Church. The practice of the Church has been to empty the Holy Water fonts on the days of the Sacred Triduum in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil, and it corresponds to those days on which the Eucharist is not celebrated (Good Friday and Holy Saturday)."

Ugly Vestment War

2008-02-07T15:39:00.001-07:00

Pay the piper

2008-02-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

What a difference Don Guido makes

2008-02-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

Ash Wednesday February 6, 2008

Ash Wednesday February 21, 2007

Ash Wednesday March 1, 2006

More ashes

2008-02-06T15:09:00.001-07:00

Danke, Papst Benedikt!

2008-02-06T13:52:00.001-07:00

Thank you Pope Benedict
for the Hermenutic of Continuity
seen today in your vesture!

Parce, Domine

2008-02-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Inter vestibulum et altare plorabunt sacerdotes ministri Domini, et dicent: Parce, Domine, parce populo tuo: et ne claudas ora canentium te, Domine.

Between the porch and the altar, the priests, the Lord's ministers, shall weep and shall say: Spare, O Lord, spare Thy People: and close not the mouths of them that sing to Thee, O Lord.

The Christ Our Hope Papal Tour

2008-02-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, April 15

Arrival at Andrews Air Force Base. Greeting by President Bush and Mrs. Bush. Also present will be local dignitaries of the church and the apostolic nuncio.

Wednesday, April 16, 10:30 a.m.

President Bush and the First Lady meet the Holy Father on the south lawn of the White House. This is only the second time in history that a pontiff has visited the White House. At the end of the welcoming ceremony, a private meeting is scheduled for the Holy Father and the President, while dignitaries of the two states also meet.

5:30 p.m.

Private prayer service and meeting with the 350 bishops of the United States at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Before the prayer service, which will be held in the crypt of the Shrine, there will be outdoor photo opportunities of the public welcoming the pope to this national church.

Thursday, April 17, 10:00 a.m.

The pope will offer Mass at the new Nationals Park in Washington. This will be the first non-baseball event in the park, and Catholics from around the country are making plans to attend.

5 p.m.

The heads of the more than 200 Catholic colleges and universities in the United States and superintendents from the 195 Catholic dioceses have been invited to an address by Pope Benedict XVI on the importance of Catholic education. The address will be on the campus of The Catholic University of America, the only college in the United States operated by the bishops.

6:30 p.m.

Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindi, Jews and representatives of other religions will gather with the Holy Father for a prayer service at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, next door to Catholic University.

Friday, April 18, 10:45 a.m.

Pope Benedict XVI will address the United Nations, after an early morning flight to New York.

6 p.m.

Prayer service with leaders from other Christian denominations at St. Joseph's Church, founded by German Catholics, in Manhattan

Saturday, April 19, 9:15 a.m.

Mass for priests, deacons and members of religious orders at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the heart of New York City.

4:30 p.m.

The Holy Father will meet with young Catholics, including 50 youngsters with a range of disabilities, at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers. Thousands of young people, including hundreds of seminarians, are expected to participate in a rally/prayer service and to hear the pope speak.

Sunday, April 20, 9:30 a.m.

The Holy Father will visit Ground Zero, the site of the disaster at the World Trade Center.

2:30 p.m.

Mass at Yankee Stadium will bring this historic visit to a close. The 200th anniversary of the Baltimore Archdiocese’s designation as an archdiocese, as well as the birth of four dioceses – Boston, New York, Louisville and Philadelphia – will be highlighted during the Mass.

8 p.m.

Shepherd One lifts off from John F. Kennedy airport in the Brooklyn Diocese, heading east to the Eternal City.

A moment of clarity

2008-02-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

I haven’t quoted the NCR (National unCatholic Reporter) since my pagan days at Berkeley [forgive me Father, for I knew not what I said or did], but every once-in-a-while the liberal rag has clarity as shown by John L. Allen’s opening words of this week’s commentary:

“Without a doubt, the push for robust assertion of traditional Catholic identity is the most consequential mega-trend in the life of the church today, and it is also the core of Benedict XVI's agenda as pope.”

Our eyes do not deceive us. The NCR actually printed the word “traditional”. It’s the end of the world…They sky is falling…One if by land. Two if by sea…[singing] A three-hour tour. A three-hour tour…

Quick, get me the aluminum foil. Must cover head. Must cover head.

The Official Papal Beverage

2008-02-02T22:00:00.001-07:00

Nunc dimittis servum tuum

2008-02-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace.

V.: Because my eyes have seen Thy salvation.

V.: Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples.

V.: A light for the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.

A testimonial!

2008-02-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Caveman has bestowed upon me
and nine other bloggers his
E for Excellence Award.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
I now bestow upon the
following bloggers,
quoting Great and Wonderful Oz:

“Back where I come from there are men who do nothing all day but good deeds. They are called phil....er.....phil...er...er....good-deed-doers and their hearts are no bigger than yours, but they have one thing you haven't got! A testimonial! Therefore, in consideration of your kindness, I take pleasure at this time in presenting you with a small token of our esteem and affection. And remember, my sentimental friend, that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.”

Thomas Peters

http://www.americanpapist.com/blog.html

Paul Nichols

http://catholiccartoonblog.blogspot.com/

Jackie Parkes

http://catholicmomof10.blogspot.com/

Brian Michael Page

http://christusvincit.blogspot.com/

Carolina Cannonball

http://thecrescat.blogspot.com/

Danny Garland Jr

http://irishanddangerous.blogspot.com/

John Paul Sonnen

http://orbiscatholicus.blogspot.com/

Jeff Miller

http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/

Diane K

http://te-deum.blogspot.com/

Zadok

http://zadokromanus.blogspot.com/

Thy Word Is A Lamp Unto My Feet

2008-02-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake:

Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you:

Luke 11:49 For this cause also the wisdom of God said: I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute.

Luke 21:12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands upon you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, dragging you before kings and governors, for my name's sake.

John 15:20 Remember my word that I said to you: The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also.

Romans 12:14 Bless them that persecute you: bless, and curse not.

The Pope on EWTN

2008-02-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

The celebration of the Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord with Pope Benedict XVI presiding, live from Rome. Sat, 2/2/08 11:30 AM Live Eastern

Holy Mass with the Blessing and Imposition of the Ashes 90 min Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Ash Wednesday Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the beginning of Lent. Wed, 2/06/2008 10:30 AM Live Wed, 2/06/2008 6:30 PM Encore Eastern

Back to the Future, Sister!

2008-01-31T22:44:00.000-07:00

When Sisters knew their place.

Russell Shaw in The Catholic World Report states that in 1965 there were 180,000 sisters in the U.S. There are now only 65,000.

Vision 012808

2008-01-28T20:41:00.001-07:00

In the presence of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar God presented me this vision:

The Sacred Host in the monstrance changes into the face of the Crucified Lord crowned with thorns. His eyes are closed, and there seems to be a serenity in his countenance. His face is marked by rivulets of sweat and blood. As I gaze upon this beauty I realize we are in the midst of the *Novena to the Holy Face. My spirit is drawn into the Blood upon His cheek. I fall into an infinite pool of His Blood. I sense waves of the warm Blood circling out from where I fell. His warmth comforts the winter aches of my body. I am at peace. I then find myself holding a precious chalice filled with this life-giving liquid. I drink, knowing I am consuming That which consumes and heals me. Henceforth, each drop of His Sacrificial Offering will bring me peace.

*Novena to the Holy Face Day 2

Preparatory Prayer

O Most Holy and Blessed Trinity, through the intercession of Holy Mary, whose soul was pierced through by a sword of sorrow at the sight of the passion of her Divine Son, we ask Thy help in making a perfect Novena of reparation with Jesus, united with all His sorrows, love and total abandonment.

We now implore all the Angels and Saints to intercede for us as we pray this Holy Novena to the Most Holy Face of Jesus and for the glory of the most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Psalm 51, 5-6a.

My offenses truly I know them; My sin is always before me. Against Thou, Thou alone, have I sinned; What is evil in Thy sight I have done.

Most Holy Face of Jesus, we are truly sorry that we have hurt Thee so much by constantly doing what is wrong; and for all the good works we have failed to do. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Saint Joseph, intercede for us, help us to console the Most Holy Face of Jesus. Pray that we may share in the tremendous love Thou hast for one another, and for the most Holy and Blessed Trinity. Amen.

Through the merits of Thy precious blood and Thy Holy Face, O Jesus, grant us our petition, , Pardon and Mercy.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, Sanctifier, all powerful God of love, Thou who didst fill the Virgin Mary with grace, Thou who didst wonderfully transform the hearts of the apostles, Thou who didst endow all Thy martyrs with a miraculous heroism, come and sanctify us, illumine our minds, strengthen our wills, purify our consciences, rectify our judgments, set our hearts on fire and preserve us from the misfortune of resisting Thine inspirations. We consecrate to Thee our understanding, our heart and our will, our whole being for time and for eternity. May our understanding be always submissive to Thy heavenly inspirations and to the teachings of Thy Holy Catholic Church, of which Thou art the infallible guide; may our heart be ever inflamed with love of God and neighbor; may our will be ever conformed to the divine will, and may our whole life be a faithful imitation of the life and virtues of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and Thee be honor and glory forever. Amen

Pray one (1) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary?s, (1) Glory Be.

O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine. (Three times)

"...abandon the current practice..."

2008-01-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

Considering my last post, The New Liturgical Movement's, Shawn Tribe offers a timely translation of Archbishop Malcomb Ranjith’s (Secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments) forward to the book Dominus Est by Bishop Athansius Schnedier, who analyzes the question of communion received kneeling and on the tongue.

Of note is the following statement by Msgr. Ranjith:

Then there are those who abuse takes away the sacred species to keep them as souvenirs, those who sell, or worse yet, who take them away to desecrate it in Satanic rituals. Even in large concelebrations, also in Rome, several times the sacred species has been found thrown onto the ground.

He goes on to say:

Now I think it is high time to review and re-evaluate such good practices and, if necessary, to abandon the current practice that was not called for by Sacrosanctum Concilium, nor by Fathers, but was only accepted after its illegitimate introduction in some countries. Now, more than ever, we must help the faithful to renew a deep faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic species in order to strengthen the life of the Church and defend it in the midst of dangerous distortions of the faith that this situation continues to cause.

Sacrilege

2008-01-26T15:14:00.001-07:00

Profanation wrought by communion in the hand:

Ebay again!

UPDATE: The consecrated host offered for bid has been removed.

Conversi ad Dominum

2008-01-23T11:53:00.001-07:00

Here is Father John Zuhlsdorf’s translation of an important portion of today's audience:

“Behold, the meaning of prayer: to open our hearts, to create in us a willingness which opens the path to Christ. In the liturgy of the ancient Church, after the sermon, the bishop or president of the celebration, the principal celebrant, would say: "Conversi ad Dominum…Turn (around) toward the Lord". Then he himself and all there rose up and turned themselves toward the East. The all wanted to gaze toward Christ. Only if we have been converted, only in this turning toward Christ, in this common gaze at Christ, can we find the gift of unity.”

Awwwww

2008-01-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict blesses a lamb during the feast day of Saint Agnes at the Basilica Sant'Agnese in Rome January 21, 2008.

I found it!

2008-01-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

The Spirit of V2 in a bottle.
BTW: Expiration date says 070707.

Thus saith Don Marini

2008-01-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

A succinct raison d’et of the Benedictine liturgical reforms has been uttered by papal Master of Ceremonies, Msgr. Guido Marini in an interview on Radio Vaticana.

“Non si deve parlare, dunque, di un ritorno al passato, ma di un vero arricchimento per il presente, in vista del domani.”

“We must not speak, then, of a return to the past, but of a true enrichment of the present in expectation of tomorrow."

True Wisdom

2008-01-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

A large crowd attends the weekly Angelus prayer by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter's square at the Vatican January 20, 2008. Tens of thousands of students, politicians and ordinary Romans thronged the Vatican on Sunday in a major show of sympathy for Pope Benedict after protests led him to cancel a speech at Rome's top university this week. REUTERS/Dario Pignatelli (VATICAN)

From the Holy Father today: "As a professor — shall we say, emeritus — who has met with so many students in my life, I encourage all of you, dear university students and professors, to always be respectful of other people's opinions and to search for truth and goodness with a free and responsible spirit." – AP Translation

Confident, assertive, provocative

2008-01-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Fr. Z for directing us to this insightful opinion piece in the UK's Catholic Herald.

A breath of fresh air is wafting through St Peter’s | James MacMillan | Friday January 18, 2008

There is a bewildering array of American Catholic blog sites these days. Some are liberal, but the overwhelming majority seem to express an ever-more confident Catholic orthodoxy on matters of faith, morals and liturgy. Many of the posters seem to be young, and take an apparent delight in winding up that generation of post-Vatican II Catholics still moaning about not getting their way in the contemporary Church.

One particular American blogger, Fr John Zuhlsdorf, has recently hailed what he calls “the return of triumphalism”. Ever since Vatican II this has been a taboo word in the Church, but he sees it as a good thing. Is this yet more evidence that we are moving into a new, more confident era for the modern Church? That Catholics are more and more prepared to stand up for their identity and their core values? That liberal secularists and liberal Christians have failed in bullying orthodox Catholics into submission? Is it really time to become assertive about the faith in the public square?

To be honest, there is nothing particularly serious, scholarly or analytical about Fr Zuhlsdorf’s site. There is, however, a knowing lightheartedness in appearing to indulge some guilty pleasures. He is in raptures about recent liturgical developments in St Peter’s, and that “more and more, Pope Benedict’s intentions are being clarified in regard to the Church’s traditional liturgical expressions”. There is great enthusiasm for the increased reappearance of Gregorian chant, flappable excitement at the use of the correct, ornate vestments, and at the good taste of medieval images of Mary chosen for the ceremonies. The Holy Father is hailed for his “dedication to formal liturgical ceremony and also popular devotion, which is also of great importance in the life of the Catholic people. They strengthen each other, and the Holy Father understands that.

“He is giving a good example as Bishop and chief pastor of Rome to his city and to the world… his way of showing the bishops and priests of the world how this is to be done”. Confident, assertive, provocative stuff.

It is not just in the liturgical sphere that we see a new impatience with the comfy laxness of the previous generation. For many years successful professional Christians have sought to ingratiate themselves with their liberal secular associates by playing down the parts of the Church’s teaching that caused most offence. Nevertheless there was more at stake here than just their incorporation into trendy sophisticated company.

Secular liberals have gladly gobbled up all these concessions and now want more – the complete obliteration of religion from public life. In the process liberal Christians have lost the respect of their secular peers. They gave no indication of intellectual rigour or ethical integrity in their eagerness to ditch bits and pieces of the faith. Their faith has been caught in a cruel light – their Christianity is bland, sentimental and anaemic.

History will look back unkindly on the generation of Vatican II Catholics who were handed such a precious pentecostal gift of grace – a unique opportunity to purify the Church, only to squander it disastrously. They bent over backwards to accommodate the zeitgeist, rather than open a generational heart to the Heilige Geist. This is not what John XXIII foresaw when he inaugurated his great reforming council. He would have been horrified to see how many Catholics fell prey to the trendy nihilism of the 1960s, duped by a destructive iconoclasm which has eroded so much of the West’s culture and morals.

This is the basis of the new positivist impulse among young Catholics, disdained and dismissed by some of their elders as conservative and reactionary. In the new generation, we need to rediscover the optimism that lay at the heart of Vatican II. We need to confront the radical dissatisfaction that led many 1960s Catholics to turn away from or against the Church. We need to challenge their disdain for tradition and that smug superiority that many Catholics of a certain age display towards the deep pieties of the ordinary, “old-fashioned” faithful. Catholic liberalism has had its day, and the legacy of Vatican II requires us to understand the pernicious, corrosive effects of the pick-and-mix tendency.

The recent experience of our sister faith communities in the Reformed tradition has shown that those who strive to make their churches “acceptable” to the prevailing, but probably transitory zeitgeist, have triumphed. There are those, within and without the Catholic Church, who have been encouraged by this and are forever pushing in the same direction. They see no problem in being fully communicant while urging the rejection of the most precious doctrines on faith and morals. This rejection can sometimes cover the divinity of Christ Himself, can involve a campaign to legitimise abortion and euthanasia (there is an organisation in America called Catholics for a Free Choice), and the defeatist acceptance of the sexual hooliganism which has so harmed the position of marriage and the family in modern life.

The western world’s love affair with self may have taken off in the 1960s but it will only get worse. The Catholic Church must provide a counter-cultural challenge to this, and offer the alternative of Christ’s own way.

It is not triumphalist to say this, but it requires the Church to be happy and confident in its own skin. Catholics need to know what it means to be Catholic – to understand what our core values are, and to feel they are not just worth defending, but worth proclaiming from the rooftops. The young generation of Catholics are right to be assertive about our beliefs in the public square. If we do not speak boldly and honestly to power in these contexts, if we run scared in the face of the new anti-religious elites, we will be expelled from the public square, never to return.

Perhaps American bloggers like Fr Zuhlsdorf know this. Our British reserve can make us cringe with embarrassment in the face of such brash self-confidence, but we may have to develop our own ways of being assertive.

We can begin with the liturgy. Nothing signals the weakened state of the modern Church more than the contemporary practice of Catholic liturgy in hundreds of churches throughout the land. A breath of fresh air is wafting through St Peter’s, and in his own gentle way Pope Benedict is inviting the universal Church to taste the beauties and spiritual sustenance of true Catholic worship. I am convinced that from the liturgy everything else will flow. We British don’t flap with excitement, but there may be good reason for us to pray for Christ’s Church with a warm glow of expectation and confidence as we look with hope to the future.

Commentary

2008-01-16T10:53:00.001-07:00

Excerpts from Phil Lawler at CWN Forum on the Benedictine Reforms

Actions speak louder

Before he ascended to the throne of Peter, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote frequently about the liturgy, and explained his love for the Mass celebrated ad orientem—with the priest facing toward the altar, toward the east. Now as Roman Pontiff he has made his argument all the more eloquent, simply by celebrating Mass ad orientem himself in the Sistine Chapel…

When the priest-celebrant faces the altar, he looks like what he is: the leader of a community at prayer. Everyone is facing the same way; everyone is involved in the same action. When the priest faces the people, on the other hand, he appears to be a performer, with the people as his audience.

The liturgical changes of Vatican II were intended to encourage more active participation by the laity in the Eucharistic liturgy. But think of any other situation in which one man faces a group: a classroom lecture, a musical concert, a product demonstration, an after-dinner speech. In those situations we ordinarily expect the group to be passive: to listen but not to participate. The speaker or soloist is the focal point of the action; he commands the spotlight…

When priest and congregation face in the same direction, toward the altar, their posture reflects the unity of the Catholic community at worship. When they face in opposite directions, with the priest facing toward the people, that unity is broken. Liturgists refer to the usual posture for Mass today as versus populum. The Latin phrase sounds as if the priest is in competition with the people, and sometimes I think that is true.

As it happens, however, no reform is necessary. Neither Vatican II nor any subsequent liturgical directive required priests to face the people. In 2001, when asked whether priests could still use the ad orientem posture in celebrating Mass, the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship replied that both postures, ad orientem and versus populum "are in accord with liturgical law; both are to be considered correct." In fact, the Congregation added, "there is no preference expressed in the liturgical legislation for either position. Now, with his own public celebration of Mass ad orientem, Pope Benedict has called public attention to this option and shown the beauty of the liturgical tradition…

Read the entire article at CWNews.com

Viva Papa Benedetto! Viva!

2008-01-16T10:35:00.001-07:00

Snicker

2008-01-14T21:19:00.001-07:00

Baptism is a Sacrament, not a pool party!

1000 WORDS

2008-01-13T14:09:00.001-07:00

People Look East!

2008-01-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ad Orientem at the Sistine Today

The Baptism of the Lord @ the Sistine Chapel

2008-01-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the Solemn Mass (according to the Missal of Paul VI facing the Altar of the Sistine Chapel) for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and the Sacrament of Baptism live from the Sistine Chapel in Rome. EWTN broadcast Eastern US Standard Time-- Sunday, January 13, 2008 4:00 AM LIVE , 12:00 PM, Monday, January 14, 2008 12:00 AM.

True reverence

2008-01-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

Bishop says Catholics should kneel, receive communion on tongue

By Cindy Wooden | Catholic News Service | United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The reverence and awe of Catholics who truly believe they are receiving Jesus in the Eucharist should lead them to kneel and receive Communion on their tongues, said a bishop writing in the Vatican newspaper.

"If some nonbeliever arrived and observed such an act of adoration perhaps he, too, would 'fall down and worship God, declaring, God is really in your midst,'" wrote Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, quoting from the First Letter to the Corinthians.

In a Jan. 8 article labeled a "historical-liturgical note," Bishop Schneider reviewed the writings of early church theologians about eucharistic reception and said the practice of laypeople receiving Communion on the tongue was the predominant custom by the sixth century.

The article in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, appeared under the headline, "Like a nursing child in the arms of the one who nourishes him."

Bishop Schneider said that just as a baby opens his mouth to receive nourishment from his mother, so should Catholics open their mouths to receive nourishment from Jesus.

"Christ truly nourishes us with his body and blood in holy Communion and, in the patristic era, it was compared to maternal breastfeeding," he said.

"The awareness of the greatness of the eucharistic mystery is demonstrated in a special way by the manner in which the body of the Lord is distributed and received," the bishop wrote.

In addition to demonstrating true adoration by kneeling, he said, receiving Communion on the tongue also avoids concerns about people receiving the body of Christ with dirty hands or of losing particles of the Eucharist, concerns that make sense if people truly believe in the sacrament.

"Wouldn't it correspond better to the deepest reality and truth about the consecrated bread if even today the faithful would kneel on the ground to receive it, opening their mouths like the prophet receiving the word of God and allowing themselves to be nourished like a child?" Bishop Schneider asked.

St Lawrence Pray for Me

2008-01-08T18:55:00.001-07:00

St. Lawrence Jubilee Under Way

3rd-Century Martyr Considered the Poor as Church Treasure

ROME, JAN. 8, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's vicar for Rome launched the jubilee year of St. Lawrence, which marks the 1,750th anniversary of the martyrdom of the saint who considered the poor as treasures of the Church.

Cardinal Camillo Ruini presided over the opening Mass of the jubilee year Jan. 1, held in the Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls.

Lawrence was one of seven deacons of Rome condemned by Emperor Valerian I to die on a grill in 258. Tradition says he was originally from Osca in Roman Spain.

The complete program for the jubilee year that will span all of 2008 is not yet finalized. But the pastor of St. Lawrence's Basilica, Father Bruno Mustacchio, gave a preview of some of the events: "On the feast day of St. Lawrence, Aug. 10, we are organizing a procession in the neighborhood, preceded by a triduum of special preparation."

The pastor said the celebrations will also have a cultural dimension: "Most likely we will organize a cycle of conferences about St. Lawrence the martyr and the history and architecture of this church."

Persecution

Lawrence lived in Rome when Sixtus II was elected Pope in 257. As a deacon, Lawrence had the mission of administering the goods of the Church and was entrusted with the care of the poor.

During the persecution of Emperor Valerian I, in 258, many priests and bishops were condemned to death, while the Christians who belonged to the nobility or the senate were deprived of their possessions and exiled.

Pope Sixtus II, one of the first victims of this persecution, was crucified on Aug. 6. The death of Lawrence and other Christians came shortly afterward.

Tradition says that authorities sought out Lawrence because they knew he administered ecclesiastical possessions destined for worship and for the poor. They ordered Lawrence to hand over the "riches" of the Church. The deacon promised to do so and arranged a place for the meeting. Meanwhile, he gathered all the poor of Rome. When the attendants arrived to claim the supposed "treasure," Lawrence pointed to the multitude of underprivileged people and said: "These are the riches of the Church."

The basilica was constructed in the area where Lawrence was buried after his martyrdom.

Succeeding pontiffs embellished the old structure until a new basilica was built in the time of Pope Honorius III (1216-1227). The most recent works of restoration were repairs in 1946-1949, after the Second World War, due to damage from the bombing of Rome.

St. Lawrence is also the patron of the city of Huesca, Spain, where people venerate the memory of his parents, Sts. Orencia and Paciencia.

"We need a greater hope"

2008-01-06T11:20:00.001-07:00

Pope decries world with luxury for few and poverty for many

The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday criticized a world with luxury for a few and poverty for many and called for moderate lifestyles to ensure fair distribution of wealth amid a scramble for natural resources.

"One cannot say that globalization is synonymous with world order — it's the opposite," Benedict said in his homily in St. Peter's Basilica to mark the Catholic feast day of the Epiphany.

"The conflicts for economic supremacy, and the scramble for energy and water resources and raw materials render difficult the work of all those who strive to construct a more just and united world," Benedict said.

"We need a greater hope, which allows us to prefer the common good of all to the luxury of few and the poverty of many," the pontiff said.

"If true hope is lacking, you search for happiness in intoxication, in the superfluous, in excess, and you ruin yourself and the world," he said. "Moderation is not only an ascetic rule, but also a way of salvation for humanity."

"By now it is obvious that only by adopting a sober lifestyle, accompanied by a serious commitment to a fair distribution of wealth, will it be possible to install a just and sustainable model of development," Benedict said.

On the Epiphany, the Church marks the visit of the Three Magi, or Wise Men, to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem, and Benedict praised their courage for undertaking a long journey guided only by the light of a star.

"We all need this courage, anchored to solid hope," the pope said.

Benedict's remarks reflected the 80-year-old German pontiff's worry for the environment, a developing theme of his papacy.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi elaborated on the pope's concerns in an interview with Vatican Radio.

"Until a little while ago, environmental issues seemed the concern of the rich rather than of the poor, of developed countries rather than of more backward ones for which economic development was instead the priority," Lombardi said.

"Now, frequent disasters due to environmental imbalances hit hard those who have few resources to defend themselves," the spokesman said. "Today, humanity fears for its future ecological balance, and to this observation, the pope links a strong moral call to solidarity," Lombardi said.

To the East

2008-01-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

"It is not without reason or by chance that we worship towards the east. On the contrary, since we are composed of a visible and in invisible nature, of an intellectual nature and a sensitive one, that is, we also offer a two-fold worship to the Creator. It is just as we also sing both with our mind and with our bodily lips, and as we are baptized both in water and in the Spirit, and as we are united to the Lord in two ways when we Sacrament and the grace of Spirit. And so, since God is spiritual light and Christ in Sacred Scripture is called 'Sun of Justice,' and 'Orient,' the East should be dedicated to His worship. For everything beautiful should be dedicated to God from whom everything that is good receives its goodness.

Also, the divine David says: 'Sing to God, ye kingdoms of the earth; sing ye to the Lord; who mounteth above the heaven of heavens, to the east!' And still again, Scripture says: 'And the Lord had planted a paradise in Eden to the east; wherein he placed man whom He had formed,' and whom He cast out when he transgressed 'and made him to live over against the paradise of pleasure,' or in the West. Thus it is that, when we worship God, we long for our ancient fatherland and gaze toward it. The tabernacle of Moses had the veil and propitiatory to the East; and the tribe of Juda, as being the more honorable, pitched their tents on the east; and in the celebrated temple of Solomon the gate of the Lord was set to the east.

As a matter of fact, when the Lord was crucified, He looked toward the West, and so we worship gazing towards Him. And when He was taken up, He ascended to the East and thus the Apostles worshiped Him and thus He shall come in the same way as they had seen Him going into heaven, as the Lord Himself said: 'As lightning cometh out of the east and appeareth even into the west: so shall the coming of the Son of man be.' And so, while we are awaiting Him, we worship towards the East. This is, moreover, the unwritten tradition of the Apostles, for they have handed many things down to us unwritten." -- St. John Damascene

010108 @ The Vatican

2008-01-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

Mass on the
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
at Saint Peter's Basilica.

(Nice miter!)

In Circumcisione Domini

2008-01-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

O God, Heavenly Father of Mercy, God of all Consolation!
we thank thee that from our birth to this day,
Thou hast so well preserved us,
and hast protected us in so many dangers;
we beseech Thee, through the merits of Thy beloved Son,
and by His sacred blood which He shed for us
on this day in His circumcision,
to forgive all the sins which, during the past year,
we have committed against Thy commandments
by which we have aroused Thy indignation
and wrath against ourselves.
Preserve us in the coming year from all sins,
and misfortunes of body and soul.
Grant that from this day to the end of our lives,
all our senses, thoughts, words. and works,
which we here dedicate to Thee for all time,
may be directed in accordance with Thy will,
and that we may finally die in the true Catholic faith,
and enjoy with Thee in Thy kingdom a joyful new year
that shall know no end.
Amen.

Magnificent!

2007-12-31T21:31:00.001-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates First Vespers and Te Deum in Saint Peter's Basilica December 31, 2007.

Pio Nono Photo

2007-12-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

In answer to an interesting comment/question of an earlier post, Pope Pius IX may have been the first pope to be photographed.

Deo Gratias

2007-12-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

In Thanksgiving
for the blessings received this past year
First Vespers and the Te Deum
will be sung at
6:00 p.m. at
Saint Charles Borromeo Parish
on December 31, 2007

Mater Dei

2007-12-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

The Solemnity of
Mary, Mother of God
will be celebrated with
Holy Mass at
10:00 a.m. at
Saint Charles Borromeo Parish
on January 1, 2008

Sacristy storageroom unlocked

2007-12-27T22:49:00.001-07:00

Benedict XVI

[Forty year gap]

Paul VI

John XXIII

Pius X

Leo XIII

Hee Hee Hee

2007-12-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Luke 14:23

2007-12-25T16:33:00.001-07:00

And the Lord said to the servant:
Go out into the highways and hedges,
and compel them to come in,
that my house may be filled.

It's My Birthday

2007-12-25T16:32:00.001-07:00

Gloria in altissimis Deo

2007-12-24T21:39:00.001-07:00

et in terra pax homnibus bonae voluntatis

Make Space for God

2007-12-24T21:29:00.001-07:00

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict led the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics into Christmas with a midnight mass on Tuesday, urging people to find time and space for God, the needy and the suffering.

Benedict, marking the third Christmas season of his reign, said a solemn mass for about 10,000 people inside St. Peter's Basilica on a chilly night. The ceremony was broadcast live to 42 countries.

Wearing gold and white vestments, the 80-year-old pontiff wove his sermon around today's significance of the birth of Jesus.

He said the fact that Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room for Mary and Joseph at the inn in Bethlehem had modern parallels.

"In some way, mankind is awaiting God, waiting for him to draw near. But when the moment comes, there is no room for him," he said.

"Man is so preoccupied with himself, he has such urgent need of all the space and all the time for his own things, that nothing remains for others -- for his neighbor, for the poor, for God. And the richer men become, the more they fill up all the space by themselves. And the less room there is for others."

The spirit of Christmas, the Pope said, should make everyone recognize the darkness of a world where many people were closed into themselves because they did not want to receive God or his message.

"Do we have time for our neighbor who is in need of a word from us, from me, or in need of my affection? For the sufferer who is in need of help? For the fugitive or the refugee who is seeking asylum?

"Do we have time and space for God? Can he enter into our lives? Does he find room in us, or have we occupied all the available space in our thoughts, our actions, our lives for ourselves?" he said.

In the run-up to Christmas, the Pope several times urged Catholics to rediscover its religious significance, lamenting that the holiday had been dominated by materialism.

On Monday the Pope lit a peace candle and placed it at the window of his apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square as the Vatican's life-size nativity scene was unveiled to the public below.

Later on Tuesday, the Pope will deliver his traditional Christmas "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and the world") blessing from the basilica's central balcony. He was also due to deliver Christmas greetings in more than 60 languages.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-24T13:24:00.001-07:00

Altar ready for Traditional Latin Missa Cantata Midnight Mass.

Daddy sang bass. Momma played fiddle.

2007-12-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

Out-of-work "liturgical" musicians find new venue.
(snicker, snicker)

US Papal Visit Art Revealed

2007-12-20T15:09:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON The message "Christ Our Hope," atop an image of an open-arms Pope Benedict XVI before the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, has been chosen as the logo for the visit of Pope Benedict to the United States, April 15-20.

The papal visit will include visits to the Archdioceses of Washington and New York as well as a visit to the United Nations. The theme reflects Pope Benedictís encyclical Spe Salvi, issued in late 2007 as an invitation for people to personally encounter Jesus Christ. In the encyclical, the pope said that faith in Christ brings well-founded hope in eternal salvation, the "great hope" that can sustain people through the trials of this world.

The logo features a full color photograph of Pope Benedict XVI waving both hands. Behind him is a yellow-screened image of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. In black type running at the top and over the cupola of the dome are three lines of type reading "Pope Benedict XVI/Christ Our Hope/Apostolic Journey to the United States 2008."

Logo designer Donna Hobson, director of publications at The Catholic University of America (CUA), explained her goal with this design.

"I wanted to incorporate the papal colors — yellow and white — and my vision was to show a welcoming, arms-open, smiling Pope Benedict," she said.

Ms. Hobson has been a graphic designer for more than 20 years. She has been CUA's publications director for more than two years, after she returned to Washington from Detroit, where she was creative director at Wayne State University.

Father David O'Connell, C.M., CUA president, said he was "pleased to volunteer the services of our university's excellent publications office to design the logo" and delighted that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops accepted the design.

"Our CUA community is eagerly awaiting the pontiff's visit to the United States, and especially to our campus, and we want to contribute to its success in every possible way."

Papal Schedule

2007-12-18T11:54:00.001-07:00

The Holy Father will celebrate Midnight Mass on Monday, December 24, in St. Peter's Basilica.

The next day at 12:00 p.m. from the central balcony of St. Peter's, he will deliver his Christmas message to the world and will impart his blessing "urbi et orbi".

On New Year's Eve, in St. Peter's Basilica, he will preside at First Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, followed by the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and the singing of the traditional "Te Deum" hymn of thanksgiving for the conclusion of the year.

New Year's Day, the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, the Pontiff will celebrate 10:00 a.m. Mass in St. Peter's.

On Sunday, January 6, the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Benedict XVI will preside at Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at 10:00 a.m.

On January 13, the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, the Pope will celebrate Mass in the Sistine Chapel at 10:00 a.m., during which he will baptize a number of children.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

2007-12-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Received via email

2007-12-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Father,
I am writing to you in hopes that you would visit our site, Venite Missa Est! at http://venite-missa-est.blogspot.com and perhaps find it interesting, hopefully inspiring adn ultimately finding it worthy of a link on your site.

We are a lay group with the simple goal of spreading the good news of the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite and it's liberation by his Holiness Benedict XVI in his Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum issued Motu Proprio.

Here is our purpose statement: This blog is intended for Catholics who hold and practice the Catholic and Apostolic Faith, who love the Church, and who find especially inspiring the Liturgy of Mass Pope Benedict XVI has named (in his Apostolic Letter, Summorum Pontificum) "the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite." This blog is also intended for whatever seemingly serendipitous purposes our Lord may have in mind for it.

We have a link list, pdf files for download of the Propers of Mass and excellent writing. Our posts have covered: Indulgences . . . . More on Indulgences . . . . An Excerpt from The Imitation of Christ . . . . A Saint's Life from The Roman...St. Thomas Aquinas' First Way...The Catechism & The Bible....and much more.

Thank you for your consideration. We are trying to find some success for our blog in spreading the good news of Christ through the Traditional Latin Mass Liturgy.

Sincerely,
Mark Llamas
Wichita, Kansas

V2 false notion revealed (again)

2007-12-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

I am certain that most Catholics are unaware of the false notion that Vatican II ordered Holy Communion in the hand and other ridiculous modernist innovations. What follows is a very small portion of an interview of 11/28/07 of Archbishop Ranjith of the Congregation of Divine Worship (who is rumored to be Cardinal Arinze’s replacement.)

I mention for example, a change not proposed by the Council Fathers or by Sacrosanctum Concilium, Holy Communion received in the hand. This has contributed to some extent to a weakening of faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This, and the removal of altar rails and kneelers in church and the introduction of practices which oblige the faithful to sit or stand at the elevation of the Sacred Host, weakens the genuine significance of the Eucharist and the Church’s profound sense of adoration for the Lord, the Only Son of God. Moreover in many places, the church the ‘house of God’, is used for meetings, concerts or inter-religious celebrations. In some churches the Blessed Sacrament is almost hidden away in a little chapel, hardly seen and little decorated. All this obscures a belief so central in the Church, belief in the real presence of Christ. The church, for Catholics, is the ‘home’ of the Eternal One.

Personal Parish Established

2007-12-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

"Personal Parish for the Extraordinary Form to be established in Rome: the traditional Mass apostolate in Rome under Fr Joseph Kramer is to be elevated into a personal parish, with Fr Kramer as its first parish priest. The apostolate will move early in 2008 into a larger Church, which will be given for the exclusive use of the new Parish: the Church of Trinita dei Pellegrini. We are told that the Holy Father wishes this model to be “an exemplar for the whole Church”. We thank God for this development, rejoice in the Holy Father’s leadership, and congratulate Fr Kramer and his community."

Liturgical Changes at Griswold

2007-12-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

The last few months, at the North American Mother House for the Franciscans of the Immaculate in Griswold, CT have been marked with great excitement, ever since the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross when the extra ordinary form of the Mass (Traditional Latin Mass or TLM) was celebrated with great solemnity by Fr. Peter Fehlner, who, following the Mass in the sacristy turned to the Acolytes and commented joyfully “that is the Mass that St. Peter celebrated”. The following day Fr. Angelo Geiger celebrated a beautiful low Mass and the momentum and zeal for the TLM has been growing rapidly ever since.

With the visitation of our Most Reverend Father Founder and Minister General, Fr. Stefano Manelli, came the news that he desired the novices to be proficient in serving the TLM as soon as possible. Of course, this news was received with great enthusiasm on the part of the novices who were given a few days a week to learn the detailed rubrics of serving it. Currently, the Griswold friary offers the TLM periodically, but with ever increasing frequency especially on Wednesdays for the 5:30 St. Joseph Mass, and for the evening Masses on feast days in honor of Our Lady. Diligently, the friars are preparing to celebrate a Missa Cantata (a Sung High Mass without Deacon and Sub-Deacon) with great solemnity for Christmas Eve Mass. To ensure that the Mass is offered with the greatest dignity and reverence as it has been passed down to us by Holy Mother Church, a careful study and preparation has been undertaken to learn the detailed but beautiful rubrics for the varying degrees of solemnity for which the Mass can be offered. Thankfully, we have had wonderful resources at our disposal and owe special thanks to the Society of St. John Cantius through their web site Sancta Missa, as well as receiving hands-on guidance from The Saint Gregory Society in New Haven, CT which is dedicated to preserving the TLM and has been doing so for over 20 years.

All this excitement about the liturgy has spilled over to the ordinary form of the Mass (Novus Ordo) inspiring our Father Guardian, Fr. Ignatius to announce that all Masses at the friary will be celebrated Ad Orientem (when the priest faces east, with the people, toward Our Lord in the tabernacle). There has also been an increasing number of Novus Ordo Masses offered in Latin, including our Sunday liturgy. Currently, the friars are working towards developing a schola choir to sing the Gregorian Mass parts for the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Mass. Also we are implementing the long planned switch to Latin for our community prayers at the Griswold friary, such as meal prayers, visitation to the Blessed Sacrament, and a daily Rosary.

For all this excitement we sincerely say Deo Gracias, Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, and Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.

RIP

2007-12-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

Funeral Mass at the Altar of The Chair in St. Peter's

In this photo released by the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano newspaper, Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the funeral service for Austrian Cardinal Alfons Maria Stickler, at the Vatican, Friday Dec. 14, 2007. The former archivist and librarian at the Vatican, died Wednesday Dec. 12. He was 97 (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, HO)

Official Portrait

2007-12-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 12, 2007 (Zenit.org).- It happens only once during a pontificate. Benedict XVI received his official portrait today from renowned Russian painter Natalia Tsarkova. The unveiling took place during a private meeting in Paul VI Hall after the weekly general audience…

Today in Rome

2007-12-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

Saluting the Sovereign of Vatican City

In Nativitate Domini

2007-12-12T17:28:00.001-07:00

The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
will be celebrated at Midnight December 25
at the Roman Catholic Parish of
Saint Charles Borromeo, Peoria, AZ
according to the usus antiquor.

I unite to thy purity

2007-12-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Heart of my Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe,
I unite to thy purity, thy sanctity, thy zeal and thy love,
all my thoughts, words, acts, and sufferings this day,
that there may be nothing in me
that does not become through thee,
a pleasure to Jesus, a gain to souls,
and an act of reparation
for the offenses against thy Heart.

A few words from Card. Hoyos :)

2007-12-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Rorate Caeli blog reports:

“On December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Cardinal Hoyos, president of the Ecclesia Dei commission, received representatives of a dozen associations of Faithful calling for the implementation of the Motu proprio in their respective dioceses.”

In part the Cardinal said:

“Prayer is always necessary but even more so in our time when progressivism has wreaked havoc in the heart of the Church. He cited the lack of piety and respect for things holy and the difficulty of attempting to make these things meet contemporary taste on account of bad habits that have been acquired. The Cardinal asked to bear in mind that the since the Church is universal, problems and solutions may not be uniform and that time is needed to design and implement reforms.”

St Michael Pray for Us

2007-12-11T19:05:00.001-07:00

The battle for Catholic Tradition is a spiritual one.

Sancte Michael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio.
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:
Tu que, Princeps militiae coelestis,
Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,
qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute, in infernum detrude.
Amen.

Thank you Pope Benedict!

2007-12-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

I heard some good news today. A young priest in this diocese who recently became a Parish Administrator is going to begin offering the Traditional Latin Mass.

Introit for 12|10|07

2007-12-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

St Charles Borromeo Altar Readied for TLM

Populus Sion, ecce Dóminus véniet ad salvándas gentes: et audítam fáciet Dóminus Glóriam vocis suæ in lætítia cordis vestri. (Ps. 79: 2) Qui regis Israël inténde: qui dedúcis velut ovem, Joseph. v. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

People of Sion, behold the Lord shall come to save the nations: and the Lord shall make the glory of His voice to be heard, in the joy of your heart. (Ps. 79: 2) Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. v. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Rainy Day

2007-12-08T19:54:00.001-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI waves from his “popemobile” as he drives through Rome's Via Condotti street on his way to the Spanish Steps to pray before a statue of Mary on the occasion of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, on a rainy Saturday, December 8, 2007. Benedict XVI said Saturday that boys and girls at ever younger ages are in danger of being deceived by adults hawking false models of happiness and leading them down 'the dead-end streets of consumerism.' Dec. 8, which the Catholic Church celebrates as the Immaculate Conception of Mary, is a national holiday in predominantly Roman Catholic Italy. (AP Photo/ Alessandra Tarantino)

EWTN Advent Special

2007-12-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

EWTN Global Catholic Network will air a Solemn High Tridentine Mass, live from the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama on Saturday, December 15: 8:00 AM (Live) | 6:00 PM (Encore) | Sunday, December 16 12:00 AM (Encore)

Known as the Rorate Mass, the liturgy will be celebrated by clergy of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP). The Rorate Mass, so called because it begins with the words, “Rorate caeli desuper et nubes pluant iustum…” (“Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down upon the Just One…”), is a votive Mass offered within the season of Advent in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Celebrated by candlelight and traditionally held before dawn, this beautiful liturgy is esteemed particularly as part of the patrimony of the German-speaking peoples. Very Rev. Fr. John Berg, FSSP, the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity, will travel from the community’s headquarters in Switzerland and will serve both as the celebrant and preacher. Priests and seminarians from Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, the FSSP’s international seminary in North America, will also travel to Alabama to assist.

Ave Gratia Plena

2007-12-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

This feast was established for the universal Church by Pope Pius IX when He proclaimed that from all eternity, the Triune Divinity chose the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the tabernacle of the Son of God. The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception proclaimed once and for all that it was unthinkable that Mary be defiled in any way by sin in any manner whatsoever. Thus, in that infinitesmal second that God created Mary He made her Immaculate. This grace, like all other graces since Adam and Eve's fall, was given to Mary through the merits of her Divine Son Jesus. She stood alone as one free of the stain of original sin, redeemed not from the evil already present at birth, but from any evil that threatened this sacred temple known as the Mother of God.

Extraordinary!

2007-12-07T15:57:00.001-07:00

Fr. Z at WDTPRS? Blog has some great news from three persons regarding the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA.

1. “I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that the rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia made the announcement tonight at the rector’s dinner. Next semester St. Charles will have the Mass according to the 1962 Missal, an elective on the Mass and Sacraments from the 1962 form, and the Eucharist and Liturgy classes will be modified to cover the extraordinary form.

These are all the details for now. God Bless Pope Benedict! We never thought this could ever happen, even a year ago. There will be celebration tonight in Philadelphia!”

2. “Excellent news! St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, which trains seminarians from about 17 dioceses will be having the Traditional Latin Mass here starting next semester. Our rector just announced it to us tonight and many of us were very excited. He even said they will incorporate the theology of the Traditional Mass into our semester class on the Eucharist, as well as offer an elective class to the theology students on how to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.

This decree came straight from Cardinal Rigali, the Archbishop of Philadelphia. We have yet to receive details on how often the Mass will be celebrated, but either way, this news is overwhelmingly exciting!”

3.“Good news from the front!

The rector here at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary has just announced that the seminary will be saying the Traditional Latin Mass in accord with the Motu Proprio. He also said that the seminary will be offering a course on how to say the Extraordinary Form as well as how to perform all the pertinent sacraments in that form with a proper understanding of the theology of it. Additionally, this theology will be incorporated in the course on the Eucharist. This plan was drafted a while ago, sent to the Cardinal, and was recently approved. Further details concerning the nature and frequency of the Holy Sacrifice will be announced at the beginning of next semester (Spring 2008).

This announcement has been such an encouragement to the many traditional minded seminarians here. We rejoice greatly over this great gift that God has given us as we await His Greatest Gift, His Son, Jesus Christ.”

O Tannenbaum

2007-12-06T16:48:00.001-07:00

Workers erect a massive fir tree from northern

Italy

's alpine Val Badia valley, in St. Peter's square at the

Vatican

, Wednesday Dec. 5, 2007

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie grün sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie grün sind deine Blätter!

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat schon zur Winterszeit
Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Dein Kleid will mich was lehren:
Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit
Gibt Mut und Kraft zu jeder Zeit!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Dein Kleid will mich was lehren!

Nicholas

2007-12-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Deus, qui beátum Nicoláum Pontíficem ínnúmeris decorásti miráculis: tríbue quæsumus; ut ejus méritis et précibus, a gehénnæ incéndìis liberémur. Per Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.

O God, Who didst adorn blessed Nicholas, the bishop, with miracles unnumbered, grant, we beseech Thee, that by his merits and prayers we may be delivered from the fires of hell. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, forever and ever.

Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Asia Minor, from the childlike innocence of his own life and his devout care for the young, is looked upon as the patron of children. He died in the middle of the Fourth Century, and seven hundred years later his holy relics were translated to Bari in Italy. Because of the power he exercised over flames, we pray that through his intercession we may be preserved from the flames of hell. He is remembered for the money which he threw in a window that three young girls might have a dowry for their marriage.

Also notable:

2007-12-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

the papal dalmatic (gold trimmed violet) under the chasuble.

Alter Altare

2007-12-03T16:38:00.001-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI conducts Holy Mass during his pastoral visit to the Roman Hospital "San Giovanni Battista" of the Order of

Malta

in Rome December 2, 2007. REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito (

ITALY

)

Sign the Petition

2007-12-03T16:11:00.001-07:00

Catholic League

Ad Altare Dei

2007-12-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

The Traditional Latin Mass
will be said
at Saint Charles Borromeo Parish
every weekday morning
at 8:00 a.m.
beginning the First Monday of Advent
December 3, 2007

Where's Waldo?

2007-12-02T18:00:00.001-07:00

If this is joining the 21st century, just count me out. Thanks [?] to Catholic Church Conservation blog for calling our attention to this.

Details. Details. Details.

2007-12-01T22:34:00.001-07:00

Detail of Pope Benedict's cope and lace alb from First Vespers this evening. Also, note the gilt putus on Leo XII's throne as he looks toward His Holiness.

"Sisters" take note

2007-12-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

SISTERS: Tradition spurs order's growth

THE WASHINGTON POST | Saturday, December 1, 2007

People wait an hour in line to talk with her, pack standing room only into a bar to hear her, and some even squeal when they see her, this woman in a sister’s habit.

She is Sister Mary Jordan Hoover, the principal of Northern Virginia’s first new Catholic high school in 20 years, a $60 million state-of-the-art project that will open in Dumfries next fall. At a time when it’s possible to count on one hand the number of Catholic secondary schools that open each year in the nation, her arrival in Virginia represents good news for supporters of Catholic schools.

But Hoover, a cheery 42-year-old, brings another major layer of buzz to the Arlington Diocese because she is a member of the Nashville Dominicans, rock stars in the world of Catholic religious orders. Although the number of religious sisters in the United States has plunged since the 1960s, resulting in an average age of about 70, there has been an increase in recent years among traditional, habit-wearing orders, including the Nashville-based Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, which has 226 members and a median age of 35. It recently raised $46 million to expand its chapel because the sisters were spilling into the hall.

In her floor-length white habit with black veil and a rosary around her waist, Hoover is the picture of affirmation for traditional dioceses.

With a stated mission of teaching, the Nashville Dominicans get letters and phone calls almost daily from dioceses across the country, asking that they send their youthful - and overtly devout - vibe to one school or another.

“The bishops are circling Nashville,” said Timothy McNiff, schools superintendent in the Arlington Diocese, who introduced Hoover at an open house in Woodbridge, Va., this month for the new school, which will be called Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School.

There is little detailed research on women who join Catholic religious orders - called “women religious,” “sisters” or often “nuns,” although technically that means a woman who is cloistered. Although traditional orders make up a small slice of the pie, they are where the growth is.

“This generation is more conventional in their outlook and more traditional in values,” said Brother Paul Bednarczyk, the executive director of the National Religious Vocations Conference. “Given the relativity of our culture, they really want to know what it means to be Catholic, and symbols - like habits - speak to them deeply. They want people to know they have made this radical choice.”

Some experts say that the growth of traditional groups is because their work goals of teaching and nursing, for example, have remained clear; they haven’t strayed as much as more progressive orders into a broader array of careers where they often live and work alone, apart from their sisters. Others say that they are the natural result of Pope John Paul II’s papacy, during which the church refocused on its orthodox roots after the social turbulence of the 1960s and ’70s. Some think that their meditative lifestyles are simply more attractive in an era of nonstop communication.

Regardless, a sister in a habit makes clear what is special about Catholic schools at a time when there are hundreds of thousands fewer students there than 10 years ago. “If Catholic schools don’t look any different and use the same textbooks and have the same teachers and the same standards, why have them?” asked Sister Patricia Wittberg, a sociologist at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis who studies religious orders. One way to distinguish yourself is “to get a bunch of women in habits in there. They are icons of Catholicity in a diocese that wants Catholicity.”

Given at Rome

2007-11-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

"As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: how can I save myself? We should also ask: what can I do in order that others may be saved and that for them too the star of hope may rise? Then I will have done my utmost for my own personal salvation as well." – Spe Salvi 48.

Too late for the draft

2007-11-30T14:46:00.001-07:00

I got a call today from the Cleveland Browns who are in town for Sunday's game against the AZ Cardinals. The new stadium is just three miles from the church. I've been asked to celebrate Mass for the Browns at their hotel Saturday night. [whisper] Pssst, don't tell the Cardinals.

Christian Hope

2007-11-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

Encyclical Letter
Spe Salvi
of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI
to the Bishops, Priests and Deacons
Men and Women Religious
and All the Lay Faithful
on Christian Hope

Introduction

Faith is Hope

The concept of faith-based hope in the New Testament and the early Church

Eternal life – what is it?

Is Christian hope individualistic?

The transformation of Christian faith-hope in the modern age

The true shape of Christian hope

“Settings” for learning and practising hope

I. Prayer as a school of hope
II. Action and suffering as settings for learning hope
III. Judgment as a setting for learning and practising hope

Mary, Star of Hope

Novena to the Immaculate Conception

2007-11-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

Say once a day for nine days, starting on November 29 and ending on December 7

Immaculate Virgin! Mary, conceived without sin! Remember, thou wert miraculously preserved from even the shadow of sin, because thou wert destined to become not only the Mother of God, but also the mother, the refuge, and the advocate of man; penetrated therefore, with the most lively confidence in thy never-failing intercession, we most humbly implore thee to look with favor upon the intentions of this novena, and to obtain for us the graces and the favors we request. Thou knowest, O Mary, how often our hearts are the sanctuaries of God, Who abhors iniquity. Obtain for us, then, than angelic purity which was thy favorite virtue, that purity of heart which will attach us to God alone, and that purity of intention which will consecrate every thought, word, and action to His greater glory. Obtain also for us a constant spirit of prayer and self-denial, that we many recover by penance that innocence which we have lost by sin, and at length attain safety to that blessed abode of the saints, where nothing defiled can enter.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

V. Thou are all fair, O Mary.
R. Thou art all fair, O Mary.
V. And the original stain is not in thee.
R. And the original stain is not in thee.
V. Thou art the glory of Jerusalem.
R. Thou art the joy of Israel
V. Thou art the honor of our people.
R. Thou art the advocate of sinners.
V. O Mary.
R. O Mary.
V. Virgin, most prudent.
R. Mother, most tender.
V. Pray for us.
R. Intercede for us with Jesus our Lord.
V. In thy conception, Holy Virgin, thou wast immaculate.
R. Pray for us to the Father Whose Son thou didst bring forth.
V. O Lady! aid my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto thee.

Let us pray

Holy Mary, Queen of Heaven, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and mistress of the world, who forsakest no one, and despisest no one, look upon me, O Lady! with an eye of pity, and entreat for me of thy beloved Son the forgiveness of all my sins; that, as I now celebrate, with devout affection, thy holy and immaculate conception, so, hereafter I may receive the prize of eternal blessedness, by the grace of Him whom thou, in virginity, didst bring forth, Jesus Christ Our Lord: Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, in perfect Trinity, God, world without end. Amen.

A voice in the desert

2007-11-28T18:53:00.001-07:00

A 15-year-old young man’s prophetic voice:

“The good news is today’s generation of kids and young adults (People born after 1983 or so) are more traditional than ever! That is why the people that look forward to Summorum Pontificum are people about 75 or older and people 20 or younger. Some baby boomers are growing to like it too, but most people from the hippie or baby boomer generation aren't too fond of the Latin mass.

The reason all of this stuff is going on is the product of 2 things: #1, the baby boomer generation was into all of that hippie-protestant guitar, wave-your-hands-in-the-air crap. #2 Vatican II shattered the seminary system so any priest ordained between 1965-1980 was the product of a formation that told them to protestantize the Mass so the new generation would like it.”

BTW: Refugees, he’s talking about you (hippie-boomers)! Yes, I'm a boomer too, but a faithful one.

Vision 112607

2007-11-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

At Holy Hour this morning the Lord gifted me with the following:

I was standing on a sand dune with waves and waves of sand to the East before me. Moving toward me was our Lord. He stopped, put His hand upon my shoulder and turned me around. A beautiful lush oasis spread out before us. The scene was green and cool. We came to a clear spring-fed pool, and sat at its edge; the cool water refreshed my scorched bare feet. Tall palms were laden with dates. Waterfowl splashed about. I noticed a pelican feeding her young.

The Lord spoke. His voice resounded amidst the flora and fauna of the oasis. There was gentle authority in his words: “You will help me.” “Yes, Lord. I am Your servant.” I replied. “Restore this for the good of those I have given you.” We stood. We embraced. He was gone.

I turned to the North and walked, the sand beneath my feet became lush grass. A woman stood before me standing on the hot burning sand, her hand reached out to me for comfort. I took hold of her and brought her to the refreshment of the oasis. Her family soon joined us. I continued to walk; everywhere I walked the oasis expanded and more people came to inhabit this place of nourishment.

Deo gratias.

For whom the bell tolls

2007-11-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

Mexico City cathedral reopens after rowdy Mass

MEXICO CITY, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The Mexican capital's cathedral, a 400-year-old Roman Catholic bastion, reopened on Saturday under police surveillance almost a week after it shut its doors following a rowdy leftist protest during a Mass.

A mob angry at the church bells tolling during a rally outside burst into the cathedral last Sunday, tearing down railings and overturning pews.

"The biggest symbol for us Catholics is reopening, this is very important for us," churchgoer David Paz told local radio station Formato 21.

More than 30 policemen will guard the cathedral and 30 video cameras will be installed to monitor the premises, Mexico City police chief Joel Ortega said. Police searched bags as people entered the church.

It was the first time the cathedral had shut since the start of the "Cristero" war in the 1920s, in which Catholics fought federal authorities over an anti-clerical campaign by the government after the Mexican Revolution.

The cathedral, whose construction over an Aztec temple was ordered by the clergy accompanying Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s, is a big attraction for foreign tourists in Mexico City's central plaza.

Tensions have risen between Church leaders and the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, since the party narrowly lost last year's presidential election to the conservative National Action Party, which is seen as close to the Catholic Church.

The Church also has sparred with the PRD over recent laws in Mexico City to legalize abortion and gay civil unions. Mexico's top churchman, Cardinal Norberto Rivera, said last month he had received death threats from members of the party.

Mexico is the world's second most populous Catholic nation after Brazil. (Reporting by Cyntia Barrera Diaz; Editing by Chris Wilson)

Accepit

2007-11-25T23:03:00.001-07:00

"Take this ring from the hand of Peter and know that,
with the love of the Prince of the Apostles,
your love for the Church is strengthened."

Just resting my eyes

2007-11-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

A thousand words

2007-11-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

Pope Pius XII Low Mass & Pope Benedict XVI Today

Christ the King at St Peter

2007-11-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

Glorious!