Wisdom of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

"Anyone who nowadays advocates the continuing existence of this [Traditional Latin] liturgy or takes part in it is treated like a leper; all tolerance ends here. There has never been anything like this in history; in doing this we are despising and proscribing the Church's whole past." (Cardinal Ratzinger, Spirit of the Liturgy. San Francisco: Ignatius. 416)

"I am of the opinion, to be sure, that the old rite should be granted much more generously to all those who desire it. It's impossible to see what could be dangerous or unacceptable about that. A community is calling its very being into question when it suddenly declares that what until now was its holiest and highest possession is strictly forbidden and when it makes the longing for it seem downright indecent." (Cardinal Ratzinger. Salt of the Earth. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1997. 176)

"The second great event at the beginning of my years in Regensburg was the publication of the Missal of Paul VI, which was accompanied by the almost total prohibition, after a transitional phase of only half a year, of using the missal we had had until then. (...) The prohibition of the missal that was now decreed, a missal that had known continuous growth over the centuries, starting with the sacramentaries of the ancient Church, introduced a breach of the liturgy whose consequences could only be tragic." (Cardinal Ratzinger. Milestones–Memoirs 1927–1977. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1998. 146)

"A venerable rite such as the Roman rite in use up to 1969 is a rite of the Church, it belongs to the Church, is one of the treasures of the Church, and ought therefore to be preserved in the Church." And "what was up until 1969 the Liturgy of the Church, for all of us the most holy thing there was, can not become after 1969…the most unacceptable thing." (Cardinal Ratzinger. Address to a liturgical conference at the Benedictine abbey of Fomtgonbault, 2001)

Everything old is new again

Old rite wins new Mass appeal

washingtontimes.com

Working Vacation

Pope Benedict XVI waves to the faithful during the Angelus prayer from his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, July 29, 2007

This just in!

If factual, this would be an historic event!

Papa: Potrebbe celebrare in publico la Messa di S. Pio V

Si indica la prima domenica d’avento – Il direttore di “Latinitas”, ben venga avremo preghiera comune di lode a Dio.

Citta' del Vaticano, 28 lug. - (Adnkronos) - Il Papa potrebbe celebrare pubblicamente la messa in latino secondo il rito di San Pio V. Un'introduzione ufficiale del rito che, a quanto apprende l'ADNKRONOS da autorevoli fonti vaticane, potrebbe avvenire la prima domenica di Avvento, inizio dell'Anno liturgico.

The Pope: Could celebrate the Mass of St. Pius V in public

Signs point to the First Sunday of Advent – The Director of "Latinitas", at last we will have a common prayer of praise to God.

Vatican City, July 28. - (Adnkronos) - The Pope could celebrate publicly Mass in Latin according to the Rite of St. Pius V. An official introduction of the Rite which, as far as ADNKRONOS has learned from authoritative Vatican sources, could take place on the 1st Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the liturgical year. (Fr. Zuhlsdorf’s translation)

OK ... Traditionalists, Neo-traditionalists, Conservatives, Neo-conservatives, Restorationists, Neo-restorationists, and all faithful Catholics ... time once again to "storm" heaven with our prayers. Remember the Spiritual Bouquet of Rosaries presented to the Holy Father? ... Ah, the power of prayer.

Lord, teach us to pray.

One of our deacons offered the following as part of his homily this morning:

Our Father

Do not say:
"Our," if you persist in your ego.
Do not say:
"Father," if you don't share like a family.
Do not say:
"Hallowed be Thy Name," if you only believe in earthly things.
Do not say:
"Thy Kingdom Come," if you confuse it with materialism.
Do not say:
"They Will be Done," if you won't accept His commandments.
Do not say:
"On Earth as it is in Heaven," if you don't believe in His creation.
Do not say:
"Give Us This Day," if you don't feel compassion for the poor.
Do not say:
"Forgive Us Our Trespasses," if you don't forgive others.
Do not say:
"Lead Us Not into Temptation," if you don't avoid occasion of sin.
Do not say:
"Deliver Us from Evil," if you don't trust Him.
Do not say:
"Amen," if you don't take seriously the words of the Our Father.

Another good read

Back to the people, face up toward God

Latin Mass Rising

by Joe Cullen | NCRegister | July 15-21, 2007 Issue

Summorum Pontificum, the motu proprio granting greater freedom to celebrate the old Latin or Tridentine Mass, puts me in mind of the mercy of God, and how he comes to the aid of his suffering people.

While not all of his people need or want the old Mass, there is a significant constituency for whom the lack of this familiar and time-honored form of worship has been a hardship, and Pope Benedict’s action is that of a genuine pastor.

I am 50 and can barely remember the liturgy that started to drastically change when I was 8, in late 1964.

I first discovered the old Mass by coming upon pictures of President Kennedy’s funeral Mass in an old issue of Life magazine.

Later, I found a pre-Vatican II missal and was fascinated by the color photos of a young priest at various stages of celebrating a Mass.

Despite growing up in the 1960s in an “updated” Church, I was eager to know more about the Latin Mass and longed for it despite never having really known it.

By the time I was in college, this was largely behind me as I concluded that the door had been closed on the traditional form of Mass.

This was reversed in a meaningful way some 20 years ago as Pope John Paul II allowed for limited use of the Tridentine Mass. I found that my original attraction had been warranted, and that my occasional assistance at the old Mass is a great aid to prayer and faith at every level.

I am not alone — and most of the people attracted to the Latin Mass that I know are younger than me.

A now-elderly former colleague called me just this week to tell me how Sunday Latin Mass and daily Rosary are now sustaining her and her husband as he faces cancer treatment. They had been away from the sacraments for decades.

It was not as easy for a childhood neighbor of mine, a gentle and charitable woman who spoke lovingly of the Mass of her youth but who no longer went to church. Over time, it became clear to me that she was put off by the changes. She was too estranged (and too frail of health) to ever come back.

Based on what I have read and seen for myself, many fallen-away Catholics were disaffected by the drastic change in our liturgy — some without fully grasping that this was such a significant factor. Others avoided naming the reason so as not to appear out of step.

The editor of a glossy trade publication, a man of 57 and a connoisseur of modern music, recently told me that, as a high school student, he simply lost his faith at the sight of Mass in English accompanied by folk guitar.

The late and legendary rocker Jerry Garcia was lost to the Catholicism of his childhood, drawn away by other things, no doubt, but he fondly remembered “the wonderful Latin Mass with its resonant sonorities and mysterious ritual movements.”

Many, like the poet Tito Casini, novelist Agatha Christie, and a host of other artists and intellectuals, were of an elevated sensibility, deeply appreciative of the beauty that all readily ascribe to the old Mass, and did not hesitate to identify the nature of their difficulties.

Through it all, God’s ways are not our ways. He tests us — and cares for us — in a variety of ways. I like to think that Pope Paul VI and his collaborators were doing the old Mass a great favor by insisting on a full switch to the new Mass.

It was in those years, the late 1960s, when the western world experienced profound tumult — a true cultural hurricane. When a hurricane is bearing down, you wrap your old treasures up and find a safe place for them, usually the attic, and you leave them hidden until the storms have certainly passed.

English Jesuit Father Hugh Thwaites is especially fond of this analogy because much of the blame for the collapse that Catholicism experienced in many places in those years would have fallen disproportionately on the Latin Mass — had it been around to take the hit.

Instead, the classic form of the Mass was out of sight and safe, and now those who remember it and those who are just discovering it, are reaping what the poet Casini foresaw in 1976 when he predicted the return of the Tridentine missal with the same confidence that he placed in tomorrow’s sunrise:

“It will rise again, ... the Mass will rise again … because it is the sun, and God thus established it for our life and comfort.” When it happens, he said, our eyes will be found “guilty of not having esteemed it worthily before the eclipse; our hearts guilty for not having loved it enough.”

News from the East Coast (US)

McLean Virginia Pastor and Summorum Pontificum

From The Pastor:

Despite what the media tells you, the Pope is not renouncing the Second Vatican Council, he is authentically implementing it. He is correcting the mistakes and misinterpretations that came after the Council. One of them is with the return of the Mass. Contrary to what most of the media tells us, Vatican II did not:

1. order Mass to be said in the Vernacular
2. tell priests to face the people at Mass
3. establish Communion in the hand
4. tell people to stand for reception of Communion

The Mass we now say at St. John’s whether in English or Latin came after the Council. The Council ended in 1965, the new order of the Mass came in 1970.

The Church, since the days of Pope St. Pius X, has encouraged actual participation at the Mass. The 1962 missal contains changes that foster that participation, so the charge of the congregation being dumb spectators is not true.

Why was the Motu Propio issued? Pope Benedict, as a Cardinal, wrote extensively on the liturgy and frequently mentioned the suppression of the older form of the Mass by Pope Paul VI when promulgating the new reformed missal of 1970 (the Mass we now celebrate either in English or Latin) after an intervening period of a temporary missal (1965).

He believed and continues to believe that something so ancient (going back 1500 years) and sacred could be forbidden and those who were attached to that form considered, as one author put it, like “the nutty old aunt in the attic”.

The Pope does not question the holiness of the new missal, but he says that the way in which it came about was alien to the Church’s traditions. Many who were enthusiastic about a renewal of the Mass during the years of the Council felt betrayed by the reformed missal of 1970. They claim (as does the Pope) that this was not what the Council had envisioned.

Is the Holy Father leading us backwards? Most people would say no, but I would say yes – in order to lead us forward. He wants to bring the church into contact with that form of the Mass which was the only western liturgy (outside the rite of Milan) that was celebrated during the Second Vatican Council. There was a rupture after Council in the liturgy, the Holy Father wants to go back to heal that break so that the liturgy may continue as a living continuum. That is why he says we need internal reconciliation. The Church has been suffering these past 40 years because of the unintended rupture. The Church must reconcile herself with her own tradition, for that is who she is, it is her own identity.

The missal of Paul VI will benefit from the infusion of sap from the 62 missal and after a reform of the reform be even more resplendent and effective.

I plan on implementing the Motu Propio here at St. John’s but it will not effect a change in anyway in which most of you worship. It allows the former rite for anybody who chooses to attend. The Motu Propio simply allows, it does not impose. What does this mean for St. John’s? The following is my policy for implementation of Summorum Pontificum:

1. the noon Mass, which is now said in Latin according to the missal of Pope Paul VI (1970 – Novus Ordo) will become a Solemn High Mass or High Mass celebrated according to the missal of Blessed John XXIIII (the most ancient rite”). This will occur sometime in early October.

2. I will allow the celebration of all sacraments except Confirmation according to the rite of 1962 if a person requests them. This will also take effect in October.

3. I will allow occasional Masses (wedding anniversaries, etc.) in the 1962 rite for those who request it.

4. I will allow weddings and funerals in the 62 rite for those who request it.

5. I will establish one Mass on a holy day according to the 62 missal; there will still be 4 Masses in the present rite.

6. I will consider another additional Mass on First Fridays after consulting with the pastoral council.

The date given by the Pope for this decree to become law, i.e., go into effect is September 14 of this year. We await further guidance from the bishops on these matters. We also need to buy items unique to those types of Masses; financial donations towards this would be appreciated.

The V2 Popes said WHAT?

“The Catholic Church has a dignity far surpassing that of every merely human society, for it was founded by Christ the Lord. It is altogether fitting, therefore, that the language it uses should be noble, majestic and non-vernacular.” (Pope John XXIII, Veterum Sapientia, 1962)

“The Latin language is assuredly worthy of being defended with great care instead of being scorned; for the Latin Church it is the most abundant source of Christian civilization and the richest treasury of piety... we must not hold in low esteem these traditions of your fathers which were your glory for centuries.” (Pope Paul VI, Sacrificium Laudis, 1966)

Canon Law says WHAT?

"The program of priestly formation is to provide that students not only are carefully taught their native language but also understand Latin..." (Code of Canon Law,1983, Can. 249)

"The Eucharist is to be celebrated in the Latin language or in another language provided the liturgical texts have been legitimately approved." (Code of Canon Law, 1983, Canon 928)

Vatican II said WHAT?

"The use of the Latin language ... is to be preserved in the Latin rites." (Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium [Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy], para. 36.1)

"In accordance with the age-old tradition of the Latin rite, the Latin language is to be retained by clerics in the Divine Office." (Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium [Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy], para. 101.1)

The Honest Prayer

A woman had invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied.

"Just say what you hear Mommy say," her mother answered.

The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, this is the last time I invite all these people over for supper?"

Overheard

EWTN Q & A on MP SP

What is a motu proprio?

Most documents signed by a pope originate as a function of the ordinary business of the Roman Curia in its role at the service of the pope. A few documents are initiated and promulgated by the pope himself for reasons he considers sufficient. Such a document is issued motu proprio (of his own accord).

Is a motu proprio the highest kind of ecclesiastical document?

No, although a motu proprio represents a particular papal solicitude the highest form of legislating, or teaching, document is the Constitution, which itself could be issued motu proprio.

Is a motu proprio limited in force in any way?

Although any document issued in the pope's name participates in his supreme authority (CIC c.360), canonists consider a motu proprio to have a certain finality to it.

What is the Mass according to the Roman Missal of 1962?

This is the Mass as celebrated according to the Roman Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII. It was in use at time of the Second Vatican Council (October 11, 1962 to December 8th 1965), and thus prior to that Council's call for a reform of the liturgical books. The Pope refers to this post-conciliar form of the Mass as the extraordinary form.

Is this the same as the Tridentine Rite?

Tridentine is the adjective for anything connected with the Council of Trent (1548-1570). The term Tridentine Rite is not an accurate term. While the Missal of 1962 corresponds largely with the rite of the Mass promulgated after the Council of Trent by Pope St. Pius V, and therefore it has sometimes been called the Tridentine rite, it nonetheless is not identical. Several Popes over the centuries have made changes to the Tridentine missal. In the decade before the Second Vatican Council, Pope Pius XII modified the ceremonies of Holy Week and Pope John XXIII added St. Joseph to the saints' names mentioned in the Roman Canon.

Further, as Pope Benedict makes clear there is one Roman Rite, with two forms, an ordinary form (according to the Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, last revised in 2002), and an extraordinary form (according to the Missal of 1962). These two forms should peacefully co-exist, as do other occasionally celebrated forms of the Mass in the Western Church, such as the Ambrosian (Milan) or Mozarabic (Toledo, Spain), or, the various forms of the Divine Liturgy in the Eastern Churches (e.g. Liturgy of St. Basil, Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom etc.).

Is it the same as the Latin Mass?

The expression Latin Mass is popularly applied to the Mass according to the Missal of 1962, since one of its most notable characteristics is that the prayers are entirely in Latin. However, this is true also of the Missale Romanum of the post-conciliar rite, which is typically celebrated in the vernacular languages of the world. All translations are made from the "typical edition" in Latin (currently the third edition, of 2002), and every missal in vernacular translation must also contain the Latin text, since any priest may freely celebrate the ordinary form of the Mass in Latin.

Some, therefore, distinguish Mass according to the 1962 Missal from the current rite by calling it the traditional Latin Mass. While this is preferable to Latin Mass, it still does not establish the exact form of the traditional Latin Mass in question.

When will the norms in Summorum Pontificum take effect?

On 14 September 2007.

Who may celebrate the Mass according to the Missal of 1962?

According to the Apostolic Letter any priest of the Latin Rite may celebrate it in private, or in public according to the norms.

What about religious order priests?

They, too, may celebrate it in private. An institute of consecrated life and a society of apostolic life (both pontifical and diocesan) may also do so publicly for their community Mass, although for this to be habitual or permanent, the approval of the Major Superior, in accordance with the specific laws of the institute or society is needed.

May the faithful participate in private Masses?

Yes, those who freely request it may participate in private Masses of the clergy.

What about public Masses, such as in parishes?

If there is a stable group of people in a parish who want the extraordinary form, the Holy Father says that "the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962... avoiding discord and favoring the unity of the whole Church."

What if a pastor won't allow it?

This would be a matter for the bishop, who is "strongly requested" to resolve it by the Holy Father. He can seek the help of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, and if he cannot resolve it, he should forward the matter to the Commission, which exercises the authority of the Holy See with regard to the norms.

May the older rites be used in the celebration of the other Sacraments?

Yes, pastors may permit the public celebration of these rites at the request of the faithful.

Must priests be schooled in the celebration of this form or just take the missal and offer it?

No, a priest must either know how to celebrate it, as many older priests still do, or become qualified in some way. Neither form of the Roman Mass should be celebrated in a slipshod or haphazard way.

Also, a priest must not be juridical impeded, as would a priest who has been suspended by his bishop for acting independently of the Church in this matter, laicized, or is otherwise canonically irregular.

May parts of the rites according to the Missal of 1962 and the current missal be intermingled?

The rites themselves may not be intermingled, each has its own proper form. However, the Holy Father suggests in his letter to the bishops that the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei "in contact with various bodies devoted to the usus antiquior" could study whether recent Mass texts (e.g. the propers of saints like Padre Pio who have been canonized since 1962) may be adapted for use with the Missal of 1962. This is interesting since it suggests the possibility of the continuing and organic development of that missal in line with its nature, as would have occurred if the liturgical reforms of Vatican II had not intervened. In this way this extraordinary form of the Roman Rite would remain both living and true to itself.

What about the former edition of the Liturgy of the Hours or Breviary?

Yes, the clergy may use the former Roman Breviary to fulfill their obligation to pray the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office.

Answered by Colin B. Donovan, STL

More MP SP News

The Phoenix Diocese Catholic Sun Newspaper Online

March 15, 2008

St Patrick's 'day' moved to 15^th | ireland.com

Worldwide celebrations for St Patrick's Day could face disruption after the Catholic Church decided to move the Irish patron saint's feast day.

Bishops were left with sore heads after they discovered the traditional March 17th festivities will clash next year with the second day of Holy Week.

Under the Church's rules, the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar, the saint's feast day does not rank as high as the Monday before Easter and has to be moved.

After much deliberation, Rome gave Irish authorities the green light to shift the official religious celebrations two days back to March 15th, which falls on a Saturday.

Fr Peter Jones, of the Liturgy Commission, insisted the move was necessary under the laws that govern the Church diary.

"It's about the religious aspect of the feast and mass on the day. It's not about whether it's a public holiday or not, it's not about whether sports events and parades take place," he said.

"It's about the Holy Day which can't be observed on the Monday of Holy Week and therefore has to be transferred in accordance with the usual rules."

In strict accordance with the rules, next year's St Patrick's Day should have been moved to the next available day in the Church's calendar, which is April 1st.

But senior Irish clerics were anxious to keep the date as close as possible to the international civic celebrations, which are often planned many years in advance.

The Vatican approved the irregular step of moving the day backwards next year to January 20th, but details have only just emerged.

The last time St Patrick's Day had to be moved was in 1940 when it was changed to April 3 rd because it coincided with Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week.

Summorum pontificum

TIME Online Article

I Confess, I Want Latin

Traditional Latin Mass Mp3

http://www.latinmassireland.org/mp3/latinmass_audio.mp3

Vatican City State Website

http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/homepage.jsp

MP3 TLM

Click on Blessed John XXIII

And so will this priest

Pope Benedict uses older ritual for his private Mass

Vatican, Jul. 16, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI, who recently issued a motu proprio allowing all Catholic priests to celebrate the old Latin Mass, uses the older ritual himself for his private Mass, CWN has learned.

Informed sources at the Vatican have confirmed reports that the Holy Father regularly celebrates Mass using the 1962 Roman Missal.

In his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum the Pope says that the older form-- the form in universal use before the liturgical changes that followed Vatican II-- was never abrogated.

Since becoming Roman Pontiff, Benedict XVI has always used the new ritual-- which he identifies in Summorum Pontificum as the "ordinary form" of the Roman rite-- for public celebrations of the Eucharistic liturgy. However few people have witnessed the Pope celebrating his private daily Mass.

Unlike his predecessor John Paul II, who regularly invited visitors to attend the Mass that he celebrated each morning in his private chapel, Benedict XVI has made it his regular practice to celebrate Mass with only a few aides. The Pope's closest associates have established a reputation for preserving confidences.

Pope Benedict has long been known as an ardent defender of the Catholic liturgical tradition. In the early 1990s he raised eyebrows in Rome by writing a laudatory preface to the book The Reform of the Roman Liturgy, in which Msgr. Klaus Gamber decried many of the liturgical changes of the past few decades.

Then-Cardinal Ratzinger also traveled to Wigratzbad, in Bavaria, to ordain priests for the Fraternity of St. Peter, a group devoted to the use of the traditional liturgy. He performed those ordinations, as well as Mass on Easter Sunday in 1990, using the 1962 Roman Missal

Apres moi le deluge

Oreo slept all day after being awakened this morning by thunder, lightening, and a 30-minute downpour. He leaped about three feet straight up abut 4:30 a.m. (I only jumped two feet!)

Non-Catholic identity

New Age nuns calling it quits

“Earth spirituality” retreat center in Alpine to close this fall

Groovy, man ... NOT!

The Mass of All Time
Will Outlive the Sixties Revolutionaries

Film at 11

Shawn Tribe at The New Liturgical Movement has posted the following:

Thanks to a reader sending in these two video stories on Fox News. I thought people would be interested particularly because of who they feature.

First, in the story, In Good Faith: Allowing More Catholic Churches To Use Old Latin the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem are featured.

In the second story, More Catholic Churches Return To Latin Mass, the ICRSS in Chicago are featured.

Thanks Shawn!

Thank him for Summorum Pontificum

benedictxvi@vatican.va

Apostates and heathens and heretics. Oh my!

apostate – adjective 1. not faithful to religion or party or cause. – noun 1. a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.

heathen – adjective 1. not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and Islam. – noun 1. a person who does not acknowledge your god.

heretic – noun 1. a person who holds religious beliefs in conflict with the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. 2. a person who holds unorthodox opinions in any field (not merely religion).

pagan – adjective 1. not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and Islam. – noun 1. a person who does not acknowledge your god. 2. a person who follows a polytheistic or pre-Christian religion (not a Christian or Muslim or Jew). 3. someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures.

-- WordNet® 3.0 © 2006 Princeton University Published by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

Causa finita est

Heretic alert!

Click on "Sr." Joan Chittister OSB, for a commentary in her usual feminazi rant and rhetoric, featuring The Blogline of the Week ... "B. as in B. S. as in S." ... Thank you Fr. Z!

On Holiday

Dominus Vobiscum

"Holy Father, Holy Father! Just one question:
What are you going to do now that you've signed
Summorum Pontificum?"

(Come on bloggers! Suggest a response. Share your dream.)

Motu Proprio blog

Click on the Elevation
for all things
Summorum Pontificum.

'It's like walking into eternity'

Jim Ritter, Staff reporter | jritter@suntimes.com

The 12:30 p.m. Sunday mass at St. John Cantius has none of the modern trappings. No altar girls, no guitars, no sign of peace -- and almost no English.

During most of the hour-long mass, the Rev. James Isaacson's back is toward the worshippers, in the traditional manner.

At one point, he kisses the altar, turns toward the people and sings, "Dominus vobiscum." (The Lord be with you.)

"Et cum spiritu tuo," the choir responds. (And also with you.)

The traditional Latin mass has been making a comeback since 1984, when Pope John Paul II approved its use.

On Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI decreed that a priest no longer needs his bishop's approval to say Latin mass. And, if parishioners ask their priest to say a traditional mass, "the pastor should willingly accept their requests."

Every Sunday, more than 200 Latin masses are offered in the United States, according to Glenview-based Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei. That's up from about 175 in 2001.

At least six churches in the Archdiocese of Chicago offer Latin masses.

The pope's decree might not have any immediate impact on the Chicago archdiocese, because Cardinal Francis George already allows Latin masses.

Still, the pope's statement likely will generate interest in traditional masses, "particularly among the young," said Christina Borges of the Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest on the South Side, which offers Latin masses.

In the modern mass, adopted in the 1960s, the priest faces parishioners and speaks their language. In the traditional Latin mass, the priest faces the same direction as worshippers.

In 1988, St. John Cantius, 825 N. Carpenter, became the first parish in the Chicago archdiocese to reintroduce traditional masses. The church offers one English and three Latin masses on Sunday.

The Latin masses attract worshippers from Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Parishioners offer a litany of adjectives to describe the experience: sacred, contemplative, poetic, serene, spiritual, reverent and timeless.

"It's like walking into eternity," said parishioner Kevin Haney.

Some older worshippers are nostalgic for the Latin mass they grew up with. But a growing number of parishioners grew up after Vatican II.

Sarah Michalowski, 18, drives 60 miles each way from McHenry County to attend Latin mass each Sunday.

"I'm in love with the traditional mass," she said. "We almost lost it for a while."

Summorum Pontificum

In Honor of Benedict XVI
Summorum Pontificum

MISSA CANTATA

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Friday | September 14 | 7:00 p.m.

St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church
Peoria, AZ

Rev. Fr. Loren W. Gonzales | Celebrant
Mr. Eric A. Ramos | Choir Master
St. Charles Borromeo Combined Choirs

Latin/English Missals, Hymnals and Chapel Veils Provided

Sancta Missa, we have loved you

Ode to Sancta Missa
(Sung to the 50’s hit “Mona Lisa” Artistic liberties taken)

Sancta Missa, Sancta Missa, we have loved you.
You’re so like the heav’nly Mass in the sky.
Is it only ‘cause you’re Latin they have blamed you?
For that Sancta Missa belongs to you and I.

Do you live to tempt a lover Sancta Missa?
Or is it your way to grace a fallen heart?
Many prayers have brought to your altar,
And they live there and they grow there.
You are warm, you are real, Sancta Missa;
Not simply a cold, and lonely, lonely work of God.

Do you live to tempt a lover Sancta Missa?
Or just a great and lovely, lovely work of God?

...

Thank you. Thank you very much. I'll be here all week.

Confiteor Deo omnipotenti

“Hey, guys! Benedict XVI says
the 1962 Missal was never abrogated."
...
"Here it says the Classical Mass
is to be the forma extraordinaria!"
...
"Where’s my maniple?”

Party hardy!

Sisters celebrate Summorum Pontificum.

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS

DEO GRATIAS
SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM
VII | VII | MMVII

Summorum Pontificum Cura in France

Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum Cura
La Messe Tridentine dans les diocèses de France
La vie dans les diocèses après la publication

Motu Proprio Special on EWTN

The World Over Special
Analysis of Motu Proprio: Summorum Pontificum

Discussion of the newly- released papal document by Pope Benedict XVI widening use of the 1962 Roman Missal with the Most Rev. Fabian Bruskewitz, Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska, Monsignor James Moroney, Executive Director of the USCCB Secretariat for the Liturgy, Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ, Editor of Homiletic & Pastoral Review, the Most Rev. Thomas G. Doran, Bishop of Rockford, Illinois, and Fr. George Gabet, FSSP, North American District Superior of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.

Monday, July 9 9:00 p.m. Eastern | 6:00 p.m. Pacific

Christmas in July

It's Official

VATICAN CITY, JUL 6, 2007 (VIS) - Tomorrow, Saturday July 7, the Vatican Information service will transmit a special service for the publication of the Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data" of His Holiness Benedict XVI, "Summorum Pontificum," concerning the use of the pre-1970 Roman liturgy. The document will be accompanied by an explanatory Letter from the Holy Father.

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Summorum Pontificum

Summorum Pontificum ("...of the Supreme Pontiffs...") is the incipit (beginning of the Latin text) of the Motu Proprio of His Holiness Benedict XVI liberalizing the use of the "Mass of Saint Pius V", according to I.MEDIA.

Which rite is right?

You decide. Click on the image.

The convent, a habit, and sacred silence

Sister, the habit is far better fitting your state-of-life as a consecrated religious rather than a polyester pantsuit or a cotton summer dress. The convent awaits your return.

I am the Lord's little lamb

El sábado 30 de junio se llevó acabo el cuarto retiro anual de niños. El tema de este año fue, “Soy Ovejita del Señor “. Los niños aprendieron a hacer decisiones como ovejitas que siguen al pastor; también reconocieron como todos fuimos creados a imagen de Dios y por lo tanto nos parecemos a nuestro pastor. Asistieron un total de 62 niños y disfrutaron mucho de la presentación de los Títeres del Señor Luis Estrada al hacer la narración y actuación del evangelio de Juan 10 : 1 “Yo Soy el Buen Pastor”. Agradecemos mucho a los catequistas por donar su tiempo y su talento con los niños quienes son la iglesia del futuro.