Historic St. Anthony Catholic Church
258 Ohio, Wichita, Ks
2nd St. & Ohio
Two blocks east of Old Town
Sunday Mass at 1:oo
English/Latin missals provided. Join us for coffee and donuts after mass downstairs in the St. Clair/Sunshine room, south exterior basement entrance.
Pastor of St. Anthony Parish: Fr. Ben Nguyen
EFLR Celebrants: Fr. John Jirak, Fr Nicholas Voelker
Master of Ceremonies: Tony Strunk
Choir Director: Bernie Dette


Continuing News

+To submit an article or if you have comments contact me, Mark, at bumpy187@gmail.com.

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Did You Know

Mass Propers, the readings that change everyday, can be found in the red missalettes at the entrance of church?

Fr. Nicholas Voelker celebrates Low Mass Saturdays at 8:00 a.m., St. Mary's Catholic Church, 106 East 8th street, Newton. There is no mass this Saturday, January 30, 2016.


Friday, December 26, 2008

Post #59

Topics: Book Review By James Spencer: The Grunt Padre, Viet Nam 1966-67: Servant of God...Blast from the Past: Holy Card of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini... The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles: A Traditional Monastic Community of Women ...Fontgombault Abbey Benedictine Monastery: Polish Website with Pics ...Can Music Really Be Sacred?:From the Winter issue of Sacred Music

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Book Review By James Spencer
The Grunt Padre: Father Vincent Robert Capodanno Viet Nam 1966-67: Servant of God
by Fr. Daniel L. Mode

The Grunt Padre: Father Vincent Robert Capodanno, Viet Nam 1966-67: Servant of God, by Fr. Daniel L. Mode. Published in 2000 by CMJ Marian Publishers, P.O. Box 661, Oak Lawn, IL 60454; (888) 636-6799; http://www.cmjbooks.com/; jwby@aol.com. ISBN 1-891280-08-2 (softcover), 1-891280-17-1 (hardcover); Library of Congress Catalog Card Number #99-069490. 6”X9”, 203 pages. Price: softcover, $15.95; hardcover, $22.95.

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This magnificently written biography narrates the life of Fr. Vincent Capodanno (1929 – 1967), a Maryknoll priest who first served in Far East Missions and then as a Navy Chaplain attached to a Battalion of “grunt” (infantry) Marines fighting in Viet Nam, where he died so heroically that he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously. He lived his entire life in such a holy way that his cause for canonization has been introduced in Rome and he has been declared a Servant of God.

The book starts long before his birth, telling about the two 19th century waves of Italian immigrations to this country. The first took place from Colonial times until the Civil War. This wave consisted mostly of middle-class Italians seeking greater freedom and opportunity. The second wave began after the 1870 unification of Italy and ran into the early twentieth century. This wave consisted mostly of poorer Italians seeking escape from the corruption and abuse of the new Italian government. Fr. Capodanno’s mother was a descendent of the first wave, while his father, who came to this country in 1901, was part of the second wave. They married in 1908 and moved to New York City, where they lived the rest of their lives.

Fr. Capodanno was their tenth and last child. He grew up in a strongly Catholic family in a strongly Catholic (and Italian) neighborhood. He went through public grade and high school and then worked two years before going into the Maryknoll seminary in 1949. Ordained in 1958, he was sent almost immediately to Formosa as a missionary, where he served until 1964, when he was sent back to the U.S.A. for some R&R. In early 1965, he was sent to Hong Kong. After a few months there, he requested and was granted permission to become an U.S. Navy chaplain. The book, in this chapter on Fr. Capodanno’s missionary service, includes a brief but fascinating history of the work of the Maryknoll priests in the Far East.

He was commissioned a Navy Lieutenant on December 8, 1965. After completing chaplaincy school, he was assigned to the Marines. During the last two years of his life (1966-67), he served the “grunt” Marines in Viet Nam’s worst (and bloodiest) areas. He died from machine-gun fire while trying to rescue an injured Marine. That Marine was severely wounded after moving forward unwittingly to within fifteen yards of a hidden enemy machine-gun nest. When he went to assist him, Fr. Capodanno knew full-well where that machine-gun was, but he went anyhow to help the shot-up Marine. Such a courageous and holy death! In this chapter about Fr. Capodanno’s life as a Navy chaplain, this book gives a short but edifying history of military chaplains.

Throughout the book, the author presents an inspiring picture of Fr. Capodanno’s personality and character. He was kind, quietly sociable, and an excellent “people-reader.” All who knew him considered him a person they could talk to, even open up with. These traits made him an excellent priest, an excellent missionary, and an especially excellent chaplain under constantly life-threatening battlefield conditions.

This book is a page-turner, a book you can hardly put down once you start reading it. Amazingly, it started out as Fr. Mode’s Master’s Thesis! It is so well-written, so captivating, that it must be considered the Master’s Thesis that every college professor dreams of getting -- but never actually gets. I mention this only because some of you readers may be college professors who struggle annually through many a theses that tests both your patience and your endurance. If you’re such a professor, don’t despair. Instead, read this book and pray that you may some day receive a thesis that is even half as enjoyable as this one must have been for some fortunate professor back before it became such a successful book.

END
Copyright, 2009, by James B. Spencer. First Serial Rights


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Blast from the Past

Holy Card of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini

Image submitted by Stella Gruenbacher

Stella Gruenbacher, a regular reader of Venite Missa Est!, sent this image to be posted. It is a lovely holy card and third class relic of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini. Thank you so much for sharing Stella. Please send your old pictures of first communions, weddings, baptisms, holy cards etc. to share to bumpy187@gmail.com...I'll post them so that we all can share and reminisce.






Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (July 15, 1850 – December 22, 1917) also called Mother Cabrini, was the first American citizen to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

She took religious vows in 1877 and added Xavier to her name to honor the Jesuit priest, Francis Xavier. She became the mother superior of the House of Providence orphanage in Codogno, where she taught.

Mother Cabrini died of complications from malaria at age 67 in Columbus Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, on December 22, 1917. Though originally entombed in West Park, New York, her body was exhumed in 1931 and is now enshrined in the church's altar at St. Frances Cabrini Shrine, part of Mother Cabrini High School, at 701 Fort Washington Avenue, in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. The street to the west of the shrine was renamed Cabrini Boulevard in her honor.

She was beatified on November 13, 1938, and canonized on July 7, 1946, by Pope Pius XII. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini is the patron saint of immigrants. Her beatification miracle involved the restoration of sight to a child who had been blinded by excess silver nitrate in the eyes. Her canonization miracle involved the healing of a terminally ill nun.

The date fixed at the universal level for Mother Cabrini's feast day is December 22,[2] for the novus ordo and November 13 for the traditional Latin Mass, but other dates may be assigned at a local level.

The housing project in Chicago is named after her, due to her work with Italian immigrants in the location. It has since become a haven for underprivileged and poor people and the MSC sisters still work there.

The Cabrini Mission Foundation is an organization committed to advancing St. Frances Xavier Cabrini's mission and legacy of healing, teaching, and caring around the world.



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The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

Submitted by Larry Bethel
Please help us build a monastery for the glory of God, that by our lives, we may be a sign of Christ’s love, a “light shining in the darkness”, and by our prayers draw down His blessing upon you and yours, Holy Mother the Church, the sacred priesthood and the whole world.

Our young and growing community needs your help through prayer and monetary contributions to build a permanent Priory to house 58 nuns. We are almost half that many! You can be part of this historic foundation from the ground up. Please take a look at the exciting—and quickly becoming urgent—plans.

The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles is a traditional monastic community of women who desire to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary in the giving of herself to God to fulfill His Will, especially in her role of assistance by prayer and work to the Apostles, first priests of the Catholic Church.Society in these latter days is in obvious dire need of re-evangelization and sanctification through the ministry in particular of the sacred priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church. Although times have changed, the divine mission committed to the first Apostles, as well as the needs of those to whom they were sent, have not. It is our ideal to imitate Our Lady's retirement from the world in quiet seclusion, as well as her apostolic charity. Consecrated entirely to her and filled with her spirit, which is none other than the Holy Spirit of God, we aspire to be, to the successors of the Apostles in our times, what she was to them in the beginning: behind-the-scenesencouragement, assistance and support.


http://www.benedictinesofmary.org/page-home.html


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Fontgombault Abbey Benedictine Monastery

Polish Website (pdf) with Great Pics

http://christianitas.pl/pliki/Duch%20Liturgii%20album%20fragment.pdf
Submitted by Larry Bethel


Fontgombault Abbey (or Abbaye Notre-Dame de Fontgombault) is a Benedictine monastery of the Solesmes Congregation located in Fontgombault in the département of Indre, in the province of Berry, France.

The founding monks at Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek Benedictine monastery, in the diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma were all members of this monastic community at Fontgombault, France, or of her daughterhouses Randol, Triors, and Gaussan.


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Can Music Really Be Sacred?

http://www.musicasacra.com/sacred/

From the Winter issue of Sacred Music, volume 135, number 4

Our liturgical choices depend upon our understanding of what sacred means, particularly in music, because many contend that there is no such thing as sacred or non-sacred music. Many years ago, Msgr. Schuler contended that notes are not sacred, but it is the associations of music which bring to it the connotation of sacred. I would like to explore that notion, placing it in the context of “reception.”

We have two similar words in English, but they have important differences: “Sacred” and “holy;” Latin has similar, but not quite identical words, sacer and sanctus. “Sacred” is a participle, expressing the object of some action; something sacred has been set aside, dedicated to a particular and noble purpose. Holy, on the other hand, refers to the intrinsic aspect of the other, a quality of being whole, complete, perfect, even health-giving, saving. We call a saint holy, but a bishop sacred, the Mass holy, but the liturgy sacred. “Sacred,” then, emphasizes a substantial component of reception—things not naturally taken to be sacred can become so by usage; it concerns things that have been set aside for the service of the holy. But there is another consideration: Some things are more apt for the service of the holy than others; their characteristics are congruent with their sacred use.

The reception of sacred things can be one of two different kinds. Take, for instance, the vestment used for Mass, the chasuble. It was in Roman times a normal outer garment; presumably, it was worn by the priest when he said Mass. In the course of time, it became obsolete as a conventional garment but was retained by the priest celebrating Mass, and so ultimately it became received as an exclusively sacred garment. Thus, something originally secular can be assimilated to a sacred context by gradual reception. This is not all, however; the chasuble is apt for its purpose, because it is an encompassing garment, covering the whole body, symbolizing the transformation of the priest into an alter Christus. Moreover, in the process of sacralization of the garment, it takes on more sacred characteristics: its form becomes more ample, the materials chosen for it become more precious (traditionally silk), and it takes on sacred symbols. This is, then, a matter of the evolution of a gradual reception, a transformation of something secular into something unambiguously sacred.

The other kind of reception is of things perceived as always having been sacred, since time immemorial. Incense is an example of that. Incense was already used in the Hebrew temple, and in spite of the theories of some rationalists that its purpose was to cover the stink of animal sacrifice (which it may have done), its stated sacred purpose was to represent the ascent of prayer; see Psalm 140:2, dirigatur oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu tuo (let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight). It is apt for its purpose, because it visually ascends; its fragrance is unlike anything else, and so it can be easily recognized as set aside; it is a precious material, the immolation of which constitutes a worthy sacrifice, and its use is ample. There are those who would say that it came to the Western Church from the Byzantine court, which was a secular one; the Byzantine Emperor, however, was received very much as a sacred person, and the use of incense there must also have been sacred.

I draw this distinction between those things always received as sacred and those whose reception evolves gradually, because the same distinction can be drawn with music. Gregorian chant has always been received as sacred; the early fathers of the church jealously guarded the sacredness of the music of its liturgy, and though this is pure speculation, its earliest stages were probably based upon Jewish precedent, also sacred. Over its history, it has maintained the distinction of being exclusively sacred; even though it may be quoted occasionally in concert music, its presence there serves to bring an element of the sacred to the concert. Moreover, its musical style is apt for sacred use: its non-metric rhythm conveys a sense of transcending the temporal limits of the here and now; its unison singing represents a unified voice, suitable to its sacred usage; its most melismatic forms are so ample as to preclude its employment for any mundane purpose; and its intimate link with the texts and actions of the sacred liturgy identify it with the sacred purposes of the liturgy. Its unambiguous sacred reception forms, then, a bedrock of the sacred in the liturgy.

Sacred polyphony evolved out of Gregorian chant, elaborating several voice parts upon the sacred chant melodies. But it had an important interaction with the secular; once the process of elaboration upon chant was developed, whether it was in a cantus firmus style or in thorough-going imitation, it was employed in both sacred and secular contexts. The interaction of the sacred and secular in music came to an important point with the Renaissance Mass, in which a secular piece, whether monophonic or polyphonic, was the basis of a Mass. This is often cited as evidence of a lack of distinction between sacred and secular in the Renaissance, but I would contend that it is evidence of a more important process. A Mass based upon the tune, such as “L’Homme armé,” incorporates that tune in long notes—a cantus firmus, and in an intricate and learned polyphonic texture. It is no longer just the tune, but a part of a larger whole, whose sacred character is unmistakable. Thus, the secular has been sacralized, turned to a sacred purpose through an apt stylistic transformation.

This is entirely appropriate to a Christian world view. The sacred is not something simply merely separated from the world; rather the sacred transforms elements of the world to a transcendent purpose. The Eucharist is the most outstanding example: what was ordinary food for the Hebrews was transformed into the Passover meal; this, in turn was transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Bread and wine, elements of natural nourishment, progressively became transcendent, supernatural, saving nourishment. In my study of the Medieval Sarum Rite of England, I concluded that, contrary to the theorists of comparative religion, who looked to the opposition of sacred and profane (in the sense of secular), the medieval (and Christian) sense of the sacred was that the important differences were between the more sacred and the less sacred, and the continuity of these was more important that their opposition.

In music, the transformation of elements of our ordinary world conveys the message that our ordinary lives can also be transformed. The hitch is: what if the incorporation of music into the liturgy does not involve a discernable transformation? What if the use of styles clearly identifiable with worldly and secular purposes retain their identity in liturgical use? Is the message, then, that there is no transformation? that the secular life-styles are all that there is? I would contend that this is the danger of the present use of secular styles, since the instruments they use, their vocal styling, their simplistic musical construction all retain their secular identity. Rather, it is crucial that whatever musical styles are used in the liturgy, there be clear elements of their sacralization, that their incorporation is unambiguously for the sake of transformation into something sacred. The regular use of a few pieces of Gregorian chant and of sacred polyphony can be enough to signal that difference, to inspire a congregation to higher purposes in their participation in the liturgy.

I am reminded of the principal Sunday Mass as a certain Midwestern cathedral; I attended it some five years ago, and there was a typical repertory of music in popular styles, some of the latest compositions for the Ordinary of the Mass, all accompanied by a heterogeneous and not particularly excellent instrumental group—piano, flute, drums, string bass, guitar—that gave a rather “scrappy” tone to the whole proceeding. It was clear that the musicians were dedicated, but the total effect was ambiguous and unfocused. I returned to that Mass last year, and heard an excellent organ in the loft played by an expert organist. The priest sang most of his parts, and a choir provided some worthy attempts at sacred polyphony. Much of the music was the same as the time before, but now the priest’s singing, the organ accompaniment, and the presence of sacred polyphony gave a sense of purpose and focus that was entirely different. It was not the ideal, but in it the ideal was discernable, and in my view, that is real progress, a kind of progress we are now witnessing in many places.
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Professor William Mahrt teaches musicology at Stanford University and is president of the Church Music Association of America and editor of Sacred Music. mahrt@standford.edu

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Post #58 Christmas Greeting

A Blessed and Joyous Christmas Greeting to All
from Venite Missa Est!

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On this joyous and blessed day we here at Venite Missa Est! wish you a most hearty (and heartfelt) Merry Christmas greeting.

Midnight mass was celebrated at St. Anthony (Wichita) by His Excellency Bishop Emeritus Eugene Gerber and what a wonderful, humbling and exciting occasion it was. Flanked by a small army of humble servers, acolytes and torch bearers, Bishop Gerber offered the sacrifice of the mass in a steady and precise manner, born of many years of service and duty.

The church sparkled with poinsettias and candles, the air almost shimmered in joy and anticipation of the holy birth, the adults donned their finest, the children were on their best behaviour....shoes were shined and shirts were pressed, womens hair was freshly washed and combed under dainty mantillas. The choir borrowed voices directly from heaven, the servers recited prayers rehearsed a hundred times, the rubrics followed closely in military precision....all in the celebration of our Saviour's birth.

I hope that this message finds you, dear reader, well, happy and hopeful in this, a new year of our salvation. May old wounds be healed, may hate be banished by love, and may courage be found in the midst of fear. All this can be accomplished in light of our dear Lord's majestic birth.

Peace be upon you, deo gratias.








By the way, if any of you dear readers have any pictures of midnight mass please contact me so we can post them. You can reach me at bumpy187@gmail.com.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Post # 57

Topics: Saint Nicholas and the Origin of Santa Claus: Yes Virginia, There Is No Santa Claus...Canonistic Notes on Summorum Pontificumr: Gregor Kollmorgens... To Jesus Through Mary: Latin Mass Society...Receiving Holy Communion: In Praise of Tradition


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Saint Nicholas and the Origin of Santa Claus
St. Nicholas Center

How did the kindly Christian saint, good Bishop Nicholas, become a roly-poly red-suited American symbol for merry holiday festivity and commercial activity? History tells the tale.

The first Europeans to arrive in the New World brought St. Nicholas. Vikings dedicated their cathedral to him in Greenland. On his first voyage, Columbus named a Haitian port for St. Nicholas on December 6, 1492. In Florida, Spaniards named an early settlement St. Nicholas Ferry, now known as Jacksonville. However, St. Nicholas had a difficult time during the 16th century Protestant Reformation which took a dim view of saints. Even though both reformers and counter-reformers tried to stamp out St. Nicholas-related customs, they had very little long-term success; only in England were the religious folk traditions of Christmas permanently altered. (It is ironic that fervent Puritan Christians began what turned into a trend to a more secular Christmas observance.) Because the common people so loved St. Nicholas, he survived on the European continent as people continued to place nuts, apples, and sweets in shoes left beside beds, on windowsills, or before the hearth....



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Canonistic Notes on Summorum Pontificum
by Gregor Kollmorgen
http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/




The first 2008 issue of Liturgisches Jahrbuch ("Liturgical Yearbook") contains some very clear and sound notes from a canonist's perspective on the implications of Summorum Pontificum. This is all the more surprising and gratifying as Liturgisches Jahrbuch is a quarterly edited by the German Liturgical Institute (Deutsches Liturgisches Institut), the centre of German liturgical "officialdom" maintained by the German Bishops' Conference. The article (Liturgisches Jahrbuch 1/2008, p. 3 ff.) is written by Prof. Norbert Lüdecke who teaches Canon Law at the University of Bonn. A summary of the article is given in the current issue of Una Voce Korrespondenz, the quarterly of the German Una Voce association (4/2008, p. 371 ff.), of which a summary appeared, on December 1st, 2008, on the website kath-info.de, which we present to you here in an NLM translation:

1. The bishops may issue "annotations and instructions for the implementation" of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, but they may not add "new mandatory content" (cf. the analysis of the "guidelines" of the German Bishops' Conference by Prof. Georg Muschalek).

2. The "guidelines" of the German Bishops' Conference of 27 September 2007 are not binding upon the individual diocesan bishop.

3. The celebration of the Missa sine populo is, except in the case of insurmountable obstacles, to be allowed "at any legitimate place". "Restrictions of the usus antiquior to certain places or times by particular law are (...) inadmissible."

4. In a Missa sine populo (literally translated: "Mass without people") the faithful may participate sua sponte (i.e. without compulsion). They may also advert other faithful to this Holy Mass.

5. For a group, which according to the Motu proprio is a prerequisite for the celebration of a Holy Mass with the people, the number of three persons is sufficient. The diocesan bishop cannot establish a higher minimum number.

6. The parish priest must not discriminate against Masses according to the old use "by keeping them secret or scheduling them at times difficultly accessible".

7. "The Pope has not ordered that the parish priest could meet the request of interested faithful. He has mandated that the parish priest must do so"(Lüdecke).

8. Faithful whose right to Holy Mass in the older use is being denied by the parish priest do not only have the possibility, but the duty to inform the diocesan bishop about this.

9. "Applications" for the traditional liturgy are "not petitions of grace or favour." "Parish priests as well as diocesan bishops are legally held to meet this request" (Lüdecke).

10. The consent of the bishop to a Holy Mass according to the old use instituted by a parish priest according to the desire of faithful is not required.

11. Laypeople as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and women as altar servers are not allowed in the traditional liturgy.

Again, this is as excellent as it is unexpected, and its importance is not to be underestimated. The only caveat I would add refers to no. 5: I think it is an overly restrictive interpretation of Summorum Pontificum to say that a request by a group of faithful is "a prerequisite for the celebration of a Holy Mass with the people". It is a prerequisite for the faithful having a right to this Mass, not for a public celebration of the usus antiquior itself - or, as Fr Tim Finigan calls his apposite post on this question, If... but not "only if".


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“To Jesus Through Mary”
Taken from the Latin Mass Society's May 2004 Newsletter


When offering the traditional Mass for those who may be assisting for the first time, Fr Hugh Thwaites SJ distributes a short text which explains what the old rite expects of the laity.


The text is a powerful meditation on the redemptive work of Our Lord and Our Lady and is fitting reading for all who wish to unite themselves with ‘the Passion of the Christ’. For some of you, this may be the first time you have come to a Mass in the old Latin rite, and you may be wondering what you are meant to do. You may be wishing you could at least come up to the sanctuary with the offertory procession, if not give one of the readings or even help with Holy Communion.

But you are not going to be allowed to do anything. You have just got to sit there. Or maybe kneel or stand. But you cannot do anything.

However, I will try to show you that there is indeed something you can do, something indeed you are meant to do, and something which will make you very like Our Lady on Calvary.

On Calvary she also must have felt frustrated.

She would have given anything to have been allowed to

brush the flies from her Son’s face.

Or moisten his lips with a damp sponge.

Or even kiss his feet.
But the soldiers were there on crowd control duty.

Their job was to keep people away from the men on the crosses.
And so our Blessed Lady could only stand there in silence.

And she prayed.

She and her Divine Son were the only ones

who knew what was actually happening.
She knew that He was the world’s Redeemer.

She knew that He was offering a Sacrifice,

the Sacrifice.

He was offering the Sacrifice

that would once more open to us

the gates of Heaven.

Being God as well as Man,

the price He was paying for our salvation

was of infinite worth.

Though our sins are great and innumerable,

they must always be

quite outweighed by this

ransom of infinite worth.

So she joined with Him

in offering this sacrifice to the Father.

And loving Him as she did,

she united her own suffering heart

to His divine Heart.

She offered herself in union with Him,

immolating her heart on the altar of her love.

So in this Mass, try to be like Our Lady on Calvary.

Our Lord told us that we have all to be

like little children if we wish to have

the right approach to salvation.

And little children look to their mother to learn what to do.

In this Mass, look at Our Lady,

and try to do what she did on Calvary.

Offer Jesus to the Father, as she is doing.

And offer yourself in union with Him.
Words are not needed.

You do not need to do anything, outwardly.

But inwardly you need to do much.


You need to be “actively engaged”, as Vatican II says,

trying to be like Mary on Calvary,

your heart filled with love,

offering the Divine Victim on the altar to the Father,

and offering yourself to God in union with Him.


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New Vatican Prefect Praises Traditional Manner
of Receiving Holy Communion
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=1423

Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, whom Pope Benedict appointed last Tuesday as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has praised the traditional manner of receiving Holy Communion. The comments, which were made during a telephone interview, were published Sunday in a Madrid newspaper.

During the interview, in which Cardinal Canizares Llovera is characterized as a man who combines commitment to principle with “exquisite tact and gentleness,” the prefect said, “What does it mean to receive Communion in the mouth? What does it mean to kneel before the Most Holy Sacrament? What does it mean to kneel during the consecration at Mass? It means adoration, it means recognizing the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist; it means respect and an attitude of faith of a man who prostrates before God because he knows that everything comes from Him, and we feel speechless, dumbfounded, before the wondrousness, His goodness, and His mercy. That is why it is not the same to place the hand, and to receive Communion in any fashion, than doing it in a respectful way; it is not the same to receive Communion kneeling or standing up, because all these signs indicate a profound meaning. What we have to grasp is that profound attitude of the man who prostrates himself before God, and that is what the Pope wants.”

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Monday, December 1, 2008

Post # 56

Topics: Random Thoughts: Me A Writer? LOL!!!...Book Review by James Spencer: The Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and Angelus Press Ordines... Ad Orientem: From The New Liturgical Movement...Gaudete Sunday: From Old St. Patrick Oratory (and new blog)...Catholic Online: New Head of the Congregation for Divine Worship
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Random Thoughts: Me A Writer? LOL!!!...
Merry Christmas to you all! What a wonderful and eventful time of year.

There is just so much Catholic news as of late that I thought I would leave the work to the real writers such as Wichita's own James Spencer (review of two ordos), a great piece from the granddaddy of blogs, The New Liturgical Movement, and some great news for Traditional Catholics from Catholic Online concerning the new head of the Congregation for Divine Worship.

With all that is going on I just had to step aside. I love to write (in my amateur fashion) but I have to face reality...me writing along side this talent? LOL!!!! (laugh out loud!!!) I'll save my ramblings for another day. :)

There is also a piece on Gaudete Sunday from Our Parish News Blog, the work of lay members (like us here at Venite) of Old St. Patrick Oratory, Kansas City, MO. Please visit their site and mention Venite Missa Est!.

Peace upon you.

Mark Llamas

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Book Review by James Spencer

TWO ORDOS

The Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and Preserving Christian Publications (PCP) each publish an annual Ordo, which identifies the appropriate liturgy for each day of the year for those who use the 1962 Missal and Breviary. Together those two closely-related books (1962 Missal and Breviary) contain the Church’s entire Liturgical Prayer for the Extraordinary Form (E.F.). To use a football analogy, they constitute the Church’s E.F. liturgical “play book,” while the annual E.F. Ordo is the vehicle by which the Church (as “quarterback”) calls the specific E.F. “play” for each day. [Nota bene: Not surprisingly, in the Ordinary Form (O.F.), the 1970 Missal and the Liturgy of the Hours together constitute the Church’s O.F. “play book” and the annual O.F. Ordo calls the O.F. “play” for each day.]

Why is such a booklet called an Ordo? The Latin word, ordo, meaning order, has for centuries been the first word of this booklet’s title (see the Latin title of the PCP Ordo below), so Ordo became its “call name” among the clergy. To extend the above football analogy, the Ordo specifies the daily sequence in which the Church directs the “team” to run the liturgical “plays” through the calendar year.

Incidentally, the plural of ordo is ordines, not ordos. I misspelled it in the title above for the benefit of the one or two readers out there somewhere who aren’t yet fully fluent in Latin; from here on I’ll spell it correctly.

Clearly, every priest who uses the 1962 Liturgical Books needs an E.F. Ordo. For laymen who attend E.F. Masses, an Ordo simplifies setting up their hand-held missals. For those laymen who also say the Divine Office, an Ordo is essential. Ergo, since both of these Ordines are inexpensive, every Traddie household should have one or the other.

These two Ordines give the same liturgical information for each day of 2009, but in different formats. Believing what Emerson wrote long ago, namely, that “comparisons are odious,” I won’t compare the two, but will simply present each one separately. Whichever one you choose will do very nicely. That said, let’s take them one at a time.

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2009 Liturgical Ordo and FSSP Directory, published by The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, North American Headquarters, St. Peter’s House, Griffin Road, P.O. Box 196, Elmhurst, PA 18416; (570) 842-4000; http://www.fssp.com/; info@fssp.com. 6”X9” spiral-bound softcover, 90 pages. $10.00 plus s&h.

This booklet’s main section, titled “The 2009 Liturgical Ordo,” contains the 2009 Ordo in a tabular or matrix form that is very easy to understand and follow. It goes from December 25, 2008 through January 13, 2010. Each liturgical season begins with a series of general instructions and comments, followed by the liturgical information for each day of that season. This section also contains several helpful explanations of related subjects, such as the 1962 Missal, a Table of Moveable Feasts, Holy Days, Days of Fast and Abstinence, Notes on the Office, Feasts Celebrated in some North American Dioceses.

This booklet’s second session, titled “The FSSP Worldwide,” gives contact information for each FSSP location throughout the world. After that section, this booklet includes the following helpful addenda: Responses for Serving Holy Mass; The Sunday Divine Office; Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; Prayer before the Crucifix; Act of Consecration of the North American District of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter to the Blessed Mother of God; Canon Law Codes for Sundays and Holy Days; Indulgences; Benedict XVI’s motu proprio, titled “Summorum Pontificum,” and its accompanying letter to Bishops; John Paul II’s motu proprio, titled “Ecclesia Dei”; and the 1988 Decree from the Ecclesia Dei Commission giving FSSP the “Pontifical Right” to use the 1962 Missal, Breviary, and other related books and ceremonies.

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Ordo Divini Officii Persolvendi Missaeque Sacrificii Peragendi Pro Anno Domini 2009, published by Preserving Christian Publications; (866) 241-2762; http://www.pcpbooks.com/. 5.5”X8.5” perfect-bound softcover, 159 pages. $15 plus s&h.

The title of this Ordo is in Latin (translation: “Order of the Divine Office Recited and of the Sacrifice of the Mass Celebrated for the Year of our Lord 2009”), but the contents are in “user-friendly” English. In this, it differs from the pre-Vatican II Ordines used throughout the Church, which were (as I recall) totally in Latin. In all else, it is just like the pre-Vatican II Ordines.

This booklet’s main section contains the 2009 Ordo in a “bulleted paragraph” form, in which each calendar date serves as the bullet for one or more paragraphs of liturgical information. It goes from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.

It also contains the following four Appendices: A: Proper Feasts Kept in the Dioceses of The United States; B: Proper Feasts Kept in the Dioceses of Canada; C: Proper Feasts Kept in the Dioceses of Great Britain; and D: Proper Feasts Kept in the Dioceses of Australia and New Zealand. These Appendices give Ordo information for each listed feast.

END

Copyright, 2008, by James B. Spencer. First Serial Rights


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Ad Orientem
From The New Liturgical Movment

Fr. Peter Stravinskas 12/05/08 Homily to the Poor Clares in Portsmouth, OH
The Season of Advent has a two-fold emphasis which many, many people do not seem to either remember or ever have known. And it’s on two comings of Christ: the first on His coming into time as the Judge of the world; His second, which most people associate with Advent exclusively, is His coming in history as the Babe of Bethlehem. But actually, until December 17, it is His final or second coming that the Church would have us focus all our attention on. And, the themes that the Church brings to our attention during this time period are those to do with light - the Light that is coming into the world. You see that in all of today’s readings as a matter of fact.

The early Christians believed that Jesus would come again during the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy, and that He would come to them out of the east. And so, whenever possible churches were constructed so that they faced east.

When you came into the Chapel this morning, if you were somewhat awake, you may have noticed that there is a slightly different arrangement of the sanctuary. The different arrangement is to suggest a different focus.

In theological or liturgical language, we call this liturgical orientation, the liturgy celebrated facing east; which cannot always be a geographical east. But it does mean that priest and people face Christ, the coming Dawn, together, who’s coming to them out of the east.

And there are some very practical implications to all of this: there is much less attention on the priest and much more attention on Christ. John the Baptist, the particular voice and figure par excellence for the Advent Season, said, “He [Christ] must increase, I must decrease.” And so, there is less of a personality cult centered on the priest, there is less distraction for the priest who ought to be looking at God not the congregation and less distraction for people - who are not diverted by some of the idiosyncrasies of priests.

And let me then offer a few clarifications." And let me then offer a few clarifications."

First, there is nothing in the Second Vatican Council that ever once called for the turning around of altars, just as nothing in Vatican II called for getting rid of Latin in the Liturgy, nor did they ever envision things like communion in the hand, or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion or female servers. All of that is something that happened many, many years after the Council, and that the Council Fathers themselves would have been quite shocked to discover ever happened.

Secondly, the current or reformed Roman Missal, even in English as a matter of fact, presumes that the priest is not facing the congregation, and, therefore, the rubrics (the directives for the celebration of the Liturgy) consistently say things to the priest like, “The priest now turns faces the people and says, ‘The Lord be with you.

Thirdly, for the parts of the Mass that are directed to the people, the priest continues to face the people, and so, the Liturgy of the Word. It makes no sense for me to read the Gospel facing the wall or to preach in that direction. (Although, sometimes you get the impression you might get as much of a reaction.)

Fourth, for years, Cardinal Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, wrote repeatedly about the importance of returning the former practice of facing east. Why? To restore a healthy sense of the sacred, the transcendent. So that this is not perceived as a social hour or “Entertainment Tonight”, but the Church’s worship of the triune God.

Fifthly, many priests (especially younger ones interestingly enough) are taking the former Cardinal’s, now present Pope’s, admonition to heart. Last week, I was in Greenville, South Carolina, and all the Masses in that parish have been celebrated ad orientem, as we say, facing east for a full year now. Just Wednesday, I visited Holy Family Church in Columbus, where since the beginning of Advent, three of the four Sunday Masses are now celebrated facing east.
As I indicated the other day, Advent is a time of new beginnings. And so, this is a good time for us to make this act of restoration here at the Monastery and, appropriately, also during the nuns’ annual retreat. Now, this may take a bit of readjustment for some of you, but I think you’ll find great spiritual benefit in reasonably short order.

You may not realize it, but all religions have used geography as a theological reference point. You know, I’m sure, that Muslims turn to face Mecca, no matter where they are. When they go to pray, they turn to face Mecca. Orthodox Jews, to this very day, turn to face Jerusalem. Each day in the celebration of Lauds (or Morning Prayer) the Church prays the Benedictus, the Canticle of Zechariah, which he recited as he reacted to the birth of his newborn son, John the Baptist. In that canticle Zechariah prophesies, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that the Dawn from on high shall break upon us. We know that the dawn breaks in the east; that Dawn, that rising Sun shall appear on this altar in but a few minutes. And so, let us, you and I, priest and people, face east together, prepared to meet the One who is coming into the world as the Light of the world.


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Gaudete Sunday

Thanks to the folks at Old St. Patrick Oratory - Kansas City, MO

The third Sunday of Advent, so called from the first word of the Introit at Mass (Gaudete, i.e. Rejoice).

The season of Advent originated as a fast of forty days in preparation for Christmas, commencing on the day after the feast of St. Martin (November 12th), when it was often called "St. Martin's Lent"-- a name by which it was known as early as the fifth century.
The introduction of the Advent fast cannot be placed much earlier, because there is no evidence of Christmas being kept on December 25th before the end of the fourth century (Duchesne, "Origines du culte chrétien", Paris, 1889), and the preparation for the feast could not have been of earlier date than the feast itself.

In the ninth century, the duration of Advent was reduced to four weeks, the first allusion to the shortened season being in a letter of St. Nicholas I (858-867) to the Bulgarians, and by the twelfth century the fast had been replaced by simple abstinence.

St. Gregory the Great was the first to draw up an Office for the Advent season, and the Gregorian Sacramentary is the earliest to provide Masses for the Sundays of Advent. Our thanks to New Advent for this information.

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Venite Missa Est! thanks Our Parish News Blog, the work of lay members of Old St. Patrick Oratory - Kansas City, MO at http://ourparishtoo.blogspot.com//. Please visit their site and be sure to mention Venite Missa Est!.

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New Head of the Congregation for Divine Worship
By Deacon Keith A. Fournier, Catholic Online 12/10/2008
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=30968



ROME (Catholic Online) - Pope Benedict XVI accepted the retirement of Cardinal Francis Arinze from his position as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and appointed the Primate of Spain, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera of Toledo, to succeed him.

The Cardinal is sometimes called a “little Ratzinger” in stories and commentaries discussing his theological convictions and deep love for the Liturgy. The expression indicates the closeness of his theological and liturgical positions with those of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. In addition, the Cardinal served the Spanish Bishops conference as a protector and defender of orthodoxy. This was similar to what was done by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger when he was head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, prior to ascending to the Chair of Peter.

The new prefect was the youngest of those chosen in the consistory by Pope Benedict XVI to be elevated to Cardinal. He is known to be a friend of the Holy fathers as well. He comes from Valencia, Spain and has special expertise in catechetical theology.

This position is of great significance because of the centrality of the Sacred Liturgy in the life and worship of the Catholic Church. Just who would be chosen to succeed Cardinal Arinze has been watched very closely by observers. It was of particular concern to those who have an interest in the implementation of the “Motu Propio” wherein Pope Benedict authorized the expansion of the use of the extraordinary form of the Liturgy (often called the Tridentine Rite) for all the faithful who request it. The new Prefect is known to be a friend of this use of the Extraordinary form and is a man deeply committed to liturgical fidelity.

The appointment process was also watched closely by multitudes of the faithful throughout the world who are concerned with the minimalist trends in certain liturgical circles, the declining quality of liturgical music and what seems to be a growing disregard of fidelity to liturgical norms.

The appointment of Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera is seen by most observers as an indication of the continued emphasis on fidelity in the application of the Holy See’s liturgical directives and the implementation of what is being called the “reform of the reform” of the Sacred Liturgy.

This appointment has been the subject of much speculation among the “Vaticanisti’s” on the World Wide Web and was accurately predicted by the chief among them, Rocco Palmo of the increasingly popular and almost always correct “Whispers in the Loggia”.

Spanish news sources report the new Prefect will have the unusual distinction of remaining the apostolic administrator of his Diocese in Toledo, Spain until his successor, the 63 year-old Archbishop Manuel Ureña Pastor arrives. However, the new Prefect will be in Rome and in his new seat of responsibility within 48 hours.






Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Post #55

Topics: Book Review by James Spencer: Manual of Episcopal Ceremonies... Novus Ordo Liturgy Change: Pope Benedict XVI Considers Moving the Sign of Peace ...Blast from the Past Picture: Our Lady of Guadalupe...Learning About the Mass: The Introit, the Collect, The Sung Ordinary...Kansas City: Website of Traditional Latin Mass...

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Book Review
Reviewed by James Spencer

Manual of Episcopal Ceremonies, fifth edition, in two volumes, by Rt. Rev. Aurelius Stehle, O.S.B., D.D. Originally published in 1961 by The Archabbey Press, Latrobe, PA; reprinted in 2008 by Preserving Christian Publications, P.O. Box 221, Boonville, NY 13309, www.pcpbooks.com, (315) 942-6617. ISBN 978-0-9802084-3-6. Hard cover, 6.5” by 9.25.” Volume one has 240 pages; volume two has 216 pages. Each volume has a ribbon place marker. Price: $60 ($52 + $8 S&H, within U.S.A.)
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By reprinting this two-volume set, PCP is promoting wider use of the Extraordinary Form (EF) of Mass throughout the English-speaking world. These books contain, in great detail, all the rubrics necessary for each participant in the various EF episcopal ceremonies, that is, the ceremonies in which one or more Bishops, Arch-Bishops, Abbots, or Cardinals participate. Proper rubrics are almost transparent to most people in the congregation. Improper rubrics are a distraction and sometimes an embarrassment. Ideally, each person in the sanctuary should do his job so smoothly and should interact with the others so precisely that, collectively, they seem to perform like a well-coached, well-coordinated athletic team. Together they should make the entire ceremony so beautiful, so inspiring, that the congregation never realizes how extensive and detailed the rubrics are for each “player.”

Who are the “players”? Well, depending on the ceremony, they may include one or more Bishops (Abbots, Arch-Bishops, and/or Cardinals), an Assistant Priest, a Deacon, one or more Assistant Deacons, a Subdeacon, a Master of Ceremonies, a Choir, a Book-Bearer, a Candle-Bearer, a Staff-Bearer, a Miter-Bearer, a Thurifer, several Acolytes, a Gremial-Bearer, a Train-Bearer, a Cross-Bearer, plus “Other Ministers”! Clearly, with so many folks moving about within the sanctuary, each one must do his individual job precisely and in proper coordination with all other participants. Otherwise, the ceremony would quickly become pandemonium, with people running into one another, tripping one another, and so on. Without good rubrics and participants well-trained therein, sanctuary space might have to be allocated for emergency medical personnel!

Happily, this two-volume set presents all of the sometimes complex rubrics for each participant in each ceremony in great but easily understood detail. Therefore, with this book and a reasonable amount of training and practice, those involved in any of these ceremonies can perform faultlessly and so transparently that God will be properly adored and the congregation will be properly edified.

What ceremonies are covered? Volume I contains rubrics for “Ordinary Episcopal Ceremonies,” which are: Pontifical Mass at the Throne; Pon
tifical Mass at the Throne for the Dead; Pontifical Mass at the Faldstool; Pontifical Mass at the Faldstool for the Dead; Solemn Mass in the Presence of the Ordinary, Cardinal, Papal Legate, or Metropolitan; Solemn Mass in the Presence of the Ordinary in Cappa Magna and Biretta; Solemn Mass in the Presence of the Ordinary when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed; Solemn Mass for the Dead in the Presence of the Ordinary; Solemn Mass in the Presence of the Ordinary in Rochet and Mozetta; Low Mass in the Presence of the Ordinary, a Cardinal, Papal Legate, or Metropolitan; Low Mass celebrated by a Bishop; Confirmation; Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament when a Bishop officiates; and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Presence of the Ordinary. Volume I also contains detailed instructions on the rubrics for Incensation and the Pax, and for the choir at Pontifical Mass.

Volume II contains rubrics for “Occasional Episcopal Ceremonies,” which are: Pontifical Vespers at the throne; Pontifical Vespers at the Faldstool; Vespers in the presence of the Ordinary, a Cardinal, Papal Legate, or Metropolitan; Pontifical Vespers for the Dead; Pontifical Compline; Pontifical Matins and Lauds on Solemn Feasts; Pontifical Matins and Lauds for the Dead; Annual Episcopal Ceremonies (Candlemas Day, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Tenebrae, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Rogation Days, Corpus Christi); Holy Orders (Ordination); and the Investiture of a Monsignor.

WOW! What an array of ceremonies! About all I couldn’t find in these two books is what to do during a non-episcopal church ceremony if a Bishop, Abbot, Arch-Bishop, or Cardinal happens to drive by on his way to the airport or wherever. Perhaps I just didn’t look closely enough. I wouldn’t bet it isn’t in there somewhere.

These two volumes are a reprint of the 1961 edition of this classic rubrical text, which is the edition that applies to the 1962 liturgical books. Every Bishop, Abbot, Arch-Bishop, and Cardinal who intends to participate in EF liturgies shoul
d have a copy. So should parishes, chapels, and monasteries where these episcopal ceremonies are likely to take place. It’s another PCP reprint of an old, out-of-print treasure that has again become relevant since the publication of Summorum Pontificum in 2007. For more such reprints, go to the PCP website.

End
Copyright, 2008, by James B. Spencer. First Serial Rights


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Novus Ordo Liturgy Change
Pope Benedict XVI Considering Moving the Sign of Peace ('bout time)
Associated Press foreign, Sunday November 23 2008

VATICAN CITY (AP) - A high-ranking Vatican official says Pope Benedict XVI is considering introducing a change to the Mass liturgy.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, who heads the Vatican office for sacraments, says pope may move the placement of the sign of peace, where congregation members shake hands or hug.

Arinze told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano in an interview published Friday that the pope has asked bishops to express their opinions and will then decide.

Under the change, the sign of peace, which now takes place moments before the reception of communion, would come earlier. Arinze said the change might help create a more solemn atmosphere as the faithful are preparing to receive communion.

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Blast from the Past Picture:
Our Lady of Guadalupe Appears to Juan Diego

"Listen and let it penetrate your heart…do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?” (Our Lady’s words to her servant Juan Diego.)
click image for bigger version
This picture hung on the wall of my parent's house since I was born (or before). Having been born in Mexico (coming to the States as children), my parents had a special devotion to Blessed Mother and the Miracle of Tepeyac.

On Dec. 9, 1531, the Virgin appeared on a hill named Tepeyac to a Chichimec neophyte named Juan Diego, born with the name Cuauhtlatoatzin, which means “the talking eagle.”

According to traditional Catholic accounts of the Guadalupan apparitions, during a walk from his village to the city on the early morning of December 9, 1531, Juan Diego saw a vision of the Virgin - a young girl of fourteen to sixteen, dark skinned and black haired, surrounded by light- at the Hill of Tepeyac.

Speaking in Nahuatl, imploring him in the diminutive case, the Lady asked for a church to be built at that site in her honor. After much hand wringing and imploring for release of such a responsibility, Juan Diego spoke to the Spanish bishop, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the bishop asked him for a miraculous sign to prove his claim.

The Virgin asked Juan Diego to gather some flowers at the top of the hill, even though it was winter when no flowers bloomed. He found there Castilian roses, gathered them, and the Virgin herself re-arranged them in his tilma. When Juan Diego presented the roses to Zumárraga, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe miraculously appeared imprinted on the cloth of Diego's tilma.

I remember marveling at this story because the Blessed Virgin appeared dark skinned ...which was comforting to me (as well as the poor oppressed natives in 1531) because in the early 60's our families still had to sit in the back of the church.

For a most wonderful telling of this story please follow this link to catholicism.org


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Learning About the Mass: The Introit, the Collect, the Sung Ordinary

The Introit (Latin: introitus, "entrance") is part of the opening of the celebration of the Roman Catholic Mass . Specifically, it refers to the antiphon that is spoken or sung at the beginning of the celebration. It is part of the Proper of the Mass; that is, the part that changes over the liturgical year.

The Collect is both a short, general prayer, also part of the Proper. In the Middle Ages, the prayer was referred to in Latin as collectio, but in the more ancient sources, as oratio. In English, and in this usage, "collect" is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable.

Traditionally, the liturgical collect was a dialog between the celebrant and the people. It followed a hymn of praise (such as the "in Excelsis Deo", if used) after the opening of the service, with a greeting by the celebrant "The Lord be with you", to which the people respond "And with your spirit." The celebrant invites all to pray with "Let us pray". In the more ancient practice, an invitation to kneel was given, and the people spend some short time in silent prayer, after which they were invited to stand.
The Sung Ordinary
Tip O' the Hat to the Monterey Traditional Mass Blog
http://monterey-tlm.blogspot.com/2008/11/faq-on-music-13-sung-ordinary.html

Q.What is the sung Ordinary?

A: The Ordinary refers to the parts of the Mass that are generally repeated in each liturgy. These include the introductory and penitential rites, the Preface dialogue, the communion rite, and the concluding rites. The sung Ordinary refers to the five principal Ordinary chants, which are identified by their opening word(s): Kyrie (Lord have mercy), Gloria (Glory to God), Credo (Creed), Sanctus and Benedictus (Holy, holy), and Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). Traditional polyphonic Mass settings consist of these five movements.

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Kansas City: Website of Traditional Latin Mass

Christopher over at Lost Lambs, http://www.lostlambs.net , pointed this site out to me: Kansas City Latin Mass at http://www.kansascitylatinmass.org/ which features three different churches on both sides of the state line. Old St. Patrick Oratory, St. James Parish and St. Philipine Duchesne Latin Mass Community at Blessed Sacrament Church are listed (with links).

Please support these communities by visiting their sites and churches and, as always, don't forget to mention Venite Missa Est!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Post #54

Topics: Should We Be Ashamed of the Crusades?: By Jerrilyn Szelle Holladay ...Featured Parishioner: Diana D'Amato...Random Thoughts: Day Dreaming...EWTN Priests: Learning the Latin Mass...

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Should We Be Ashamed of the Crusades?: By Jerrilyn Szelle Holladay
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Submitted by Larry Bethel with a special thanks to Jerrilyn Holladay
for allowing us to link to this article.

Jeri Holladay writes from Wichita, Kansas, where she has been Director of Adult Education at the Spiritual Life Center of the Diocese of Wichita, Associate Professor of Theology, Chairman of the Theology Department and founding Director of the Bishop Eugene Gerber Institute of Catholic Studies at Newman University. She teaches moral theology and church history.This is the first in a series she will offer to the readers of Catholic Online.

Using the Crusades as a club to bludgeon the West into guilty silence is a modern practice that has more to do with twentieth century events like the First and Second World Wars and the strains of passivism these engendered, than with the reality of the 12th and 13th centuries.

In fact, the Muslims were proud of the Crusades. After all, they won. And the Europeans? The Crusades were the first stirring of coordinated defense against centuries of attack by Muslim forces. Until the 20th century the Crusades were viewed as honorable wars, by all sides.

So, be ready when someone flips you the Crusades trump card. The historical context is the key to this puzzle, not 20th century sensibilities. The events leading up to and following the Crusades place them where they belong in the flow of history.......follow this link to web article


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Featured Parishioner: Diana D' Amato

You can hear her voice, floating above the pews, rising and falling in song. You may have seen her bring donuts for our Sunday sweet treats. Perhaps you have seen her at communion, or kneeling to pray the rosary...perhaps you have served along side her ....but no doubt you know her. It's Diana D'Amato, St. Anthony parishioner!

Diana Madeline D'Amato (confirmation name Bernadette, after her 3rd grade nun) has been a St. Anthony parishioner since 1993 and has proven to be an inextricable church servant ever since.

Born in Middletown, NY. Diana found St. Anthony to be reminiscent of the churches back East. "I was amazed at all the statues and how traditional it was, just like back in New York...most Wichita Catholic churches are so plain and severe looking."

Since Diana became a Wichitan she has worked for the Wichita Eagle and Westar and is currently enjoying retirement. "At this time I am doing volunteer things at the Humane Society and have volunteered at the Orpheum theater for many years." Diana enjoys music, reading and movies and has two nieces and 3 great nephews in California.

It's Diana's work at St. Anthony that benefits us directly...she sings in the choir (multiple masses), cleans the church, helps with coffee and donuts, works on the parish council and used to lead rosary before the Traditional Latin Mass. "I feel I am a member of the entire parish and as such should help where ever I can" she says. "A parish is like a family and you would do anything for that family."

I asked Diana about the Traditional Latin Mass (Extra Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite).

"Whenever the Latin Mass is mentioned, I get on my soap box. There is no worship of God that can be found anywhere else (that is) better. I mean it is the ultimate form. I don't understand how people cannot like or understand it. I must have charity towards them though...both Masses offer up the same thing, but the Latin satisfies the senses so much more. I think too, the Latin Mass teaches better with the different readings than the English Mass (Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite)."

Thank you for your service to our community Diana. And as always, these short interviews do not do a person justice in portraying a life, a personality or a faith. So give Diana a smile, a wave and thank her in person for her service.

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Random Thoughts: Day Dreaming

I have a tendency to see things in mundane occurrences and situations. You might call it an active imagination or (mistakenly) personal insight. I call it ...daydreaming.

Today at mass, as I sat as an acolyte listening to Father's homily, my mind began to wander(ok, I know, I know...forgive me). As I sat listening, ram rod straight, eyes affixed ahead, I was mesmerized by the thurible. It hangs on a stand in the sacristy when not being used, amidst the soft shadows and soft colorful light of the stained glass. As I sat I watched the smoke of the incense and coals pour out of the holes and curl and sway in the cool sacristy air.

I got to thinking that this smoke was so much like many a man's personal journey within their faith.

The lighted coals, smoldering in the thurible, represent the smoldering power, love and omnipotence of God. Once realized the incense of faith and love (in every man) is sprinkled atop this ever burning coal. Once the incense is lit it pours forth, hurriedly, heavily rushing out to greet the world...running into obstacles head on, flowing unabated, full tilt, full of life rushing headlong to and fro.... until it hits something it cannot overcome.

How many times have we been at this point? Something in life, circumstances, trials, loss...life in general...makes us question who we are, who God is... our faith is shaken.... our "smoke" hits a wall and is temporarily halted, turning on itself over and over.

But then something happens...time passes, a window is opened, a crack is revealed and our faith slowly gravitates to it....hesitantly at first but gradually faster and with more assurance.

In this instance the smoke of the incense had reached a level around 7 feet (the ceilings are perhaps 12 feet) leveling off in mid air, now not so hurried but settling into a layer of "fog"...more relaxed, more dense not as concentrated but more pervasive. "This is like maturity" I thought, "when the urgency of youth is replaced by the mellowness of age. "

The layer of smoke slowly and deliberately curled up around the door...the open door. How many doors has God opened for us when we thought all were closed? As the smoke left the sacristy and flowed into the sanctuary it rolled up in long curls and floated upward like so many prayers of the fervent and the needful, curling around the columns and past the statues ascending the stenciled walls toward the ceiling and God.

"Ahh", I thought "This is like our love and faith. Even with walls in it's way, it will find a way to seep through, wedge into, break out of and find a way to continue..."

And as the sweet odor of incense permeated the church I imagined it embracing, co-mingling and marrying our prayers of supplication and devotion to God almighty.
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1962 Missal
May the Lord be pleased to bless this incense and to receive its sweet fragrance through the intercession of the Blessed Archangel Michael who stands at the right hand of the altar of incense and of His chosen ones, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Psalm 141
Douay-Rheims Bible
I have cried to the, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to thee.
Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.
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Catholic Online Web Article
http://www.catholic.org/prwire/headline.php?ID=5425

EWTN: Priests Learn the Latin Mass

11/23/2008 - PST

CHICAGO, IL (NOVEMBER 23, 2008) - The Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, based in the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama, recently sent two of their priests to the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago to learn to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.

The Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word were founded in 1987, by Mother Mary Angelica, PCPA, who also founded the Eternal Word Television Network.

Fr. Joseph who serves in Irondale, AL, at the EWTN studios, and Fr. Miguel, who is stationed at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama, where Mother Angelica and the Poor Clare Nuns are cloistered, came to St. John Cantius ready to work intensely on the rubrics and ceremonies of the Traditional Latin Mass, referred to by Benedict as the "Extraordinary Form."

Each day Fr. Joseph and Fr. Miguel took the opportunity to study and observe the various forms of the Traditional Latin Mass with the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius.

They attended Low Mass, High Mass, High Mass with Incense, Requiem High Mass with Incesnse and the Absolution over the Catafalque, Nuptial High Mass, Baptisms as well as Solemn High Mass and Solemn High Requiem Mass.

Since the Summer of 2007 the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius have trained almost 175 priests to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Mass through the "Sancta Missa Latin Mass Workshops."

Future workshops are planned for the Winter and Spring of 2009 to be held on the campus of Mundelein Seminary at the Cardinal Stritch Retreat House. See: http://www.sanctamissa.org/workshops/for-priests/

After one week of intense instruction with the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius these priests began to offer Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form. In a short time they were able to offer the High Mass.

They studied certain variations in the celebration of Mass, such as the differences that pertain to the Requiem Mass, Ember days, Rogation days, and Passiontide, and they have each offered Requiem Low Mass.

Priests who are interested to learn Low Mass or High Mass should enroll in the SANCTAMISSA WORKSHOPS offered periodically by the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius. Visit this link for details: http://www.sanctamissa.org/workshops/for-priests/

The next Priest-Seminarian Training Workshop is offered at the Cardinal Stritch Retreat House on the campus of Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary from February 9 – 13 , 2009.

In the final week of training for the priests from the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word ending November 21st, Fr. Miguel offered his first Solemn High Mass according to the 1962 Missale Romanum. Fr. Scott Haynes, SJC, served as Deacon and Fr. Joseph served as Subdeacon. The brothers of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius served and sang for the special Mass.

Rev. C. Frank Phillips, Founder of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius delivered the homily at Fr. Miguel’s First Solemn Mass on the Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

Also in attendance was Fr. David McLeod of the Military Archdiocese of Canada, who sat in choir for the Solemn Mass. Fr. McLeod arrived recently to study the celebration of the Extraordinary Form under the tutelage of Fr. Bartholomew Juncer, S.J.C.

On Friday, November 21, 2008, Fr. Joseph offered his first Solemn Mass according to the 1962 Missale Romanum. Fr. Miguel served as Subdeacon and Fr. Scott served as Deacon.

To thank the Blessed Mother, who is the mother of all priests, for the rich graces bestowed upon these priests learning the Traditional Latin Mass, Solemn Vespers in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary was chanted in Latin from the 1962 Liber Usualis. Fr. Scott Haynes, S.J.C. was the celebrant and Fr. Joseph and Fr. Miguel served as coped assistants.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Post #53

Topics: Book Review: Islam at the Gates by Dr. Diane Moczar...Pictures: Solemn High Pontifical Mass Denver_Bishop Conley...Video: Godspeed! Chapel of Bones, Évora, Portugal...Our Anniversary: One Year of Venite Missa Est!...Old Saint Patrick Rededication/ Consecration Pictures: Lost Lambs Blog...Blast from the Past: Old Pics


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Book Review
Reviewed by Jim Spencer
Islam at the Gates: How Christendom Defeated the Ottoman Turks, by Dr. Diane Moczar (published in 2008 by Sophia Institute Press, Box 5284, Manchester, NH 03108; 1-(800) 888-9344; www.sophiainstitute.com. ISBN 978-1-933184-25-8. Softcover, 8.5” X 5.5”, 243 pages. $17.95 plus s&h.)

Although history, and well-written history at that, this book offers much more than history to 21st century readers. It offers a clear and most unsettling picture of what we face if the Muslims of today launch an all-out offensive as their ancestors did against Eastern and Western Christendom from the seventh through the seventeenth centuries. Dr. Moczar presents this offensive as a “Drama in Five Acts.” She summarizes the pre-Ottoman centuries as Acts One through Three in her Prologue, and then devotes Chapters One through Nine to the almost successful onslaught of the Ottoman Turks from the fourteenth through the seventeenth centuries. In her final Chapter, “Islam at the Gates Once More,” she assesses our situation today relative to the once again rising power and ambition of Islam.

The Story
The Ottoman Turks started as an almost insignificant band of nomads. However, beginning with their leader, Osman (hence the name “Ottoman”), in the fourteenth century, they benefitted from a long series of outstanding leaders who gradually made them dominant throughout Islam. Once in control of Islam, these Ottoman Turk leaders launched successful jihad after successful jihad against Christendom, starting of course in the east and working ever westward. They conquered Constantinople in 1453. Then they swept through the Balkans, conquering the rest of Greece, Serbia, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia. By 1552 they had conquered all of Hungary and were moving toward Vienna, the gateway to Europe.

The Turks belatedly developed sea power, but during the 16th century they came to dominate the Mediterranean Sea.

One major reason for Turkish success through these ten centuries conquest was that various countries of Europe failed to cooperate for their mutual defense. They were often too busy squabbling with one another to present a united front. More than one country went so far as to side with the Turks against another European country. One Italian State even provided oceanic transportation for Muslim soldiers and the Muslim slave trade!

Of course, we’re all familiar with the story of Pope St. Pius V and the victory of Don Juan of Austria in the sea battle of Lepanto in 1571. We’re also familiar with the story of the Polish King, John Sobieski’s successful defense of Vienna in 1683, when he routed the Turkish army, which retreated in disarray, never to return.

The Consequences
Following every successful jihad, the Ottoman Turks inflicted a savagery beyond imagination on their victims. First, they brutally slaughtered enough men to get the full attention of the conquered people. Then, they gathered as many slaves, men and women, as they felt they needed and shipped them to other parts of the Ottoman Empire. The men became common slaves, while the women were either delivered into the clutches of amorous soldiers or put into various harems. Through these centuries, countless millions of Christians men and women were thusly enslaved. The conquering Turks also took as many young boys as they felt they needed as Devsirme and Icoglan. The Devsirme, 14 to 20 years old, were converted to Islam and trained, most as elite infantrymen for the Janissary Corp, while some were trained for diplomatic service. The Icoglan, six to ten years old, were converted to Islam and trained for fourteen years for service in various positions in the Sultan’s administration. It was also a custom to require conquered people to supply some annual number of slaves as well as Devsirme, and Icoglan. It has been estimated that about one-fifth of the young males in these conquered lands were thusly taken from their parents.

Forced conversions were common under such a terrorist regime. But what about those who refused to convert? They, the dhimmi, were taxed heavily but allowed to live, provided they recognized themselves as “subdued.” They had to wear identifying clothes, step aside with visible humility to allow any Muslim to pass, and so forth. Any dhimmi who failed to act properly subdued could be (and usually was) summarily killed.

The Future
In her final chapter, Dr. Moczar sounds a wake-up call for those who feel this could never happen again. She makes an interesting comparison between Islamic occupation and Communist occupation, a comparison that rings our collective chimes because we’re so familiar with the horrors of Communist occupation.

Overall, this is a very timely book, It’s also a very well organized and a very well written book.

End

Copyright, 2008, by James B. Spencer. First Serial Rights


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Pictures: Solemn High Pontifical Mass
In Denver Celebrated By
Bishop James Conley

From the Our Lady of Mount Carmel (FSSP) website at http://www.olmcfssp.org/cms/index.php/olmc/ .



Here is an excellent gallery of pictures from the Solemn High Pontifical Mass at the Cathedral Basilica in Denver Colorado. Celebrating is Bishop James Conley, formerly the pastor of Blessed Sacrament, Wichita, and liaison and co-celebrant (along with Fr. Jarrod Lies) to Bishop Jackels for the Latin Mass Community (EFLR) of St. Anthony, Wichita.

I'm digging those groovy shoes and gloves...can someone tell me the proper names for these accoutrements (leave in comments section below)?

Follow link here for a great gallery of pictures.

http://www.olmcfssp.org/cms/index.php/gallery/category/C7/


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Our Anniversary: One Year of Venite Missa Est!

It has been just about a year now that a small group of Latin Mass devotees decided to start a blog to celebrate, honor and comment on the Usus Antiquior, especially the celebration at St. Anthony Catholic Church(but not limited to) in Wichita Kansas.

We started as a support team built around a professional, central writer (thank you Jim Spencer) then moved to less formal writing and contributors...missing a few issues now and then, losing some reade
rs and gaining some fans...stumbling here and soaring there...but always with the spirit of the ancient liturgy in our hearts...so impassioned with the love of the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite and Mother Catholic Church.

We've had readers from all over central Kansas and the KC area, from around the world...Japan, Netherlands, India, Brazil and many more....but most importantly we have had you, our fellow mass attendees, at our side to read (or ignore) our posts , to comment on, laugh, sigh or shake your head to...and we appreciate your support. Thank you.

A special thanks to Jim Spencer, whose professio
nal writing, experience and wise guidance steered us from the beginning (and returns to us to write book reviews). Thank you to Larry Bethel for the inspiration and bell ringing at mass, thank you to Father Lies and Bishop Conley for offering the sacrifice on our behalf. We are so appreciative of Bernie Dette and the choir for the heavenly sounds that emanate from the balcony...where would we be without you Mr. Tony Strunk, our Master of Ceremonies (and avuncular leader to the servers) for so long.

Thank you Bob Walterschied and Bob Wells for the longevity of faith and all those great old stories that you tell and don't think anyone really remembers...and to all, thanks for the donuts and coffee, for showing up in the pews with bleary eyes, sleepy thoughts, but open and loving hearts...thank you Your Holiness Pope Benedic
t XVI for your Apostolic Letter "Summorum Pontificum" issued Motu Proprio but most of all thank the Blessed Mary ever virgin, St. Michael, St. John, Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the Saints and Almighty God for the sacrifice for our sins: Jesus Christ.

Please continue to read Venite Missa Est!, subscribe, share and feel free to contact us to contribute writings
, pictures or comments. Your support is most appreciated.

Dominus tecum.

Mark Llamas


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Old Saint Patrick Rededication/Consecration Pictures: Lost Lambs Blog

Christopher over at Lost Lambs, http://www.lostlambs.net/ , has taken some very nice pictures of the (re)dedication/consecration of Old Saint Patrick Oratory in Kansas City, MO.


Thank you Christopher...please visit Lost Lambs often and mention Venite Missa Est!

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Video: Godspeed! Chapel of Bones, Évora, Portugal




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Blast from the Past: Pics and Images from Days Past

Here are some images from my childhood home in which I now live. It is nice to uncover these old images that I remember from childhood.

clockwise from upper left:

The Santo Niño de Atocha is a Roman Catholic depiction* of the Infant Jesus and is popular in the Hispanic cultures of Spain, Mexico, and the southwestern United States, especially New Mexico. * If I am correct the Nino de Atocha is NOT a saint but, again, a depiction of Jesus Christ as a child.
San Lorenzo/Saint Lawrence was one of seven deacons under Pope St. Sixtus and was condemned to death by the Prefect of Rome. The story goes that he was slowly roasted to death and even joked: "Turn me over, I`m done on this side!" Then he prayed that the city of Rome might be converted to Jesus and that the Catholic Faith may spread all over the world.
He is shown with a grill and garlic and is the Patron saint of cooks (apropos).
Prayer tract from 1944 with an imprimatur by samuel Alphonsus Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago.