Post #46

Topics: Random Thoughts: Not Enough Time!...St. Anthony Catholic Church: Architecture.... From John Senior's: "The Restoration of Christian Culture"... Air-purifying Church Windows : Early Nano Technolog.... Confessions of a Traditional Catholic: Web Opinion Article.... Tradition Rising in Wisconsin: The Remnant Web Article

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Random Thoughts
Not Enough Time!!!!

For those that don't know me I am a full time student (after many, many years) and work 33 hours per week plus some side jobs on the weekend. I have an unhealthy blogging addiction, two dogs, a sweetheart and chickens (and last week...our first eggs!) plus homework atop it all. Since this was the first week back at school, let me apologize for all the web articles I am posting, I realize you could read these all on your own...I just haven't had time to write original pieces.

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St. Anthony Catholic Church
The Architecture

St. Anthony’s attains architectural significance through its being a well executed and preserved ecclesiastical product from the turn of the Century that speaks highly of Roman Catholic aspirations and ideals in Wichita at the time.

Stylistically, St. Anthony’s is a late Victorian Era design that makes sound use of the round, or Roman arch.
Such feature is of substantial historical importance, for it carries on the significant German Heritage of this Parish: this house of worship’s architectural spirit is that of the German Romanesque - a fusion of essential Gothicism with Romanesque forms that were somewhat peculiar to Northern Europe.

Construction of the exterior brick walls is expertly carried out and serves as a model for the brick mason’s art. Also notable is the eclectic wooden steeple/tower centered on the front with its Moorish design implications: perhaps this feature is meant to represent the faith’s universality.

It is realistically assumed that the Franciscan Order, when hiring Louis Piket, the Church architect, chose a designer who; had familiarity with the history of European Church architecture - especially with the Romanesque mode as interpreted in Germany. thus, continuity of regional and ethnical/national heritage was felt appropriate for the Parish of St. Anthony Church by is designer.

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From John Senior's "The Restoration of Christian Culture"

Whatever we do in the political and social order, the indispensable foundation is prayer, the heart of which is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the perfect prayer of Christ himself, Priest and Victim, revealing in an unbloody manner the bloody selfsame Sacrifice of Calvary.

What is Christian Culture? It is essentially the Mass.That is not my or anyone's opinion or theory or wish but the central fact of two thousand years of history. Christendom, what secularists call Western Civilization, is the Mass and the paraphenalia which protect and facilitate it. All architecture, art, political and social forms, economics, the way people live and feel and think, music, literature- all these things, when they are right, are ways of fostering and protecting the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

To enact a sacrifice, there must be an altar, an altar has to have a roof over it in case it rains; to reserve the Blessed Sacrament, we build a little House of Gold and over it a Tower of Ivory with a bell and a garden round about with roses and lilies of purity, emblems of the Virgin Mary- Rosa Mystica, Turris Davidica, Turris Eburnea, Domus Aurea- who carried his Body and His blood in her womb, Body of her body, Blood of her blood. And around the Church and garden, where we bury the faithful dead, the caretakers live, the priests and religous whose work is prayer, who keep the Mystery of Faith in its tabernacle of music and words in the Office of the Church; and around them the faithful who gather to worship and divide the other work that must be done in order to make the perpetuation of the Sacrifice possible - to raise the food and make the clothes and build and keep the peace so that generations to come may live for Him, so that the Sacrifice goes on even until the consummation of the world.

From John Senior's "The Restoration of Christian Culture"

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Air-Purifying Church Windows
Early Nano Technology
from Nanite News @ nanitenews.com

Stained glass windows that are painted with gold purify the air when they are lit up by sunlight, a team of Queensland University of Technology experts have discovered.

Associate Professor Zhu Huai Yong, from QUT's School of Physical and Chemical Sciences said that glaziers in medieval forges were the first nanotechnologists who produced colors with gold nanoparticles of different sizes.

Professor Zhu said numerous church windows across Europe were decorated with glass colored in gold nanoparticles.

"For centuries people appreciated only the beautiful works of art, and long life of the colors, but little did they realise that these works of art are also, in modern language, photocatalytic air purifier with nanostructured gold catalyst," Professor Zhu said.

He said tiny particles of gold, energised by the sun, were able to destroy air-borne pollutants like volatile organic chemical (VOCs), which may often come from new furniture, carpets and paint in good condition.

"These VOCs create that 'new' smell as they are slowly released from walls and furniture, but they, along with methanol and carbon monoxide, are not good for your health, even in small amounts," he said.

"Gold, when in very small particles, becomes very active under sunlight.
"The electromagnetic field of the sunlight can couple with the oscillations of the electrons in the gold particles and creates a resonance.

"The magnetic field on the surface of the gold nanoparticles can be enhanced by up to hundred times, which breaks apart the pollutant molecules in the air."
Professor Zhu said the by-product was carbon dioxide, which was comparatively safe, particularly in the small amounts that would be created through this process.
He said the use of gold nanoparticles to drive chemical reactions opened up exciting possibilities for scientific research.

"This technology is solar-powered, and is very energy efficient, because only the particles of gold heat up," he said.

"In conventional chemical reactions, you heat up everything, which is a waste of energy.
"Once this technology can be applied to produce specialty chemicals at ambient temperature, it heralds significant changes in the economy and environmental impact of the chemical production." Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by the Queensland University of Technology

http://www.nanitenews.com/research/Air-purifying_church_windows_early_nanotechnology.asp

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Confessions of a Traditional Catholic
by Steve Skojec for http://insidecatholic.com

"Hello. My name is Steve, and I'm a 'traditional' Catholic." So begins my admission of membership in a disparate group that, as you've already read, is far too well known for its bitterness, anger, and lack of evangelical spirit.

I don't like being typecast in this way. Just because I have a profound love and respect for -- and even a belief in the superiority of -- older liturgical and sacramental forms does not mean that I am an unreasonable malcontent oozing acid from every pore.

I am first and foremost a Catholic, and I detest even needing to wear a label to distinguish myself. Unfortunately, I must, for it is still an uncommon thing among Catholics to venerate many of the traditions that I hold dear. I'll be honest: There was a time when I was an "angry trad," when I lashed out at others as I clawed for a spiritual inheritance I felt was stolen from me. While this is probably a natural reaction, I now know it gained me nothing. There is no value in promoting the beauty of something when one's conduct in so doing is itself repulsive.

So why, then, are traditional Catholics so angry?

In his homily on October 21, 2007, the first time his parish would celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form following the promulgation of Summorum Pontificum, Rev. Franklyn McAfee, pastor of St. John the Beloved in McClean, Virginia, offered an insight: What flowed from the promised renewal of the Mass in the late 60s was something entirely new. The American Theologian Avery Cardinal Dulles has pointed out that the new rite of the Mass violated every norm for liturgical renewal prescribed by Vatican II. He said it was the only Mass in history that was put together by a committee. As a result . . . many people stopped going to Mass. Some even left the Church.

My parents were shaken but they did not abandon the Church. But my older sister did. In the 50s, more than 80 percent of parishioners attended Mass in their parish church. Today it is far less than 30 percent. It is not my purpose here to prove causality, but the fact that the change in the liturgy of the Roman Rite and the exodus of Catholics from the Church coincide is hard to dispute. People were hurt, immensely, by the drastic nature of the change. The liturgy on which they had been nourished their entire lives became something unrecognizable -- a Mass as alien to them as my first experiences with the old form were to me.

Some, like Sts. Padre Pio and JosemaríaEscrivá, asked and obtained permission from Rome to continue saying the older form of the Mass. And a group of intellectuals, artists, writers, and actors from England petitioned Rome not to change the Mass at all. Throughout the Catholic world, there was controversy and upheaval over the changing shape of the liturgy. Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani asked during the first session of the Second Vatican Council if the gathered fathers wanted to "stir up wonder, or perhaps scandal among the Christian people, by introducing changes in so venerable a rite, that has been approved by so many centuries and is now so familiar?"

Following the Council, in his famous Intervention, the good cardinal, along with "a group of theologians, liturgists and pastors of souls," urged Pope Paul VI not to replace the venerable Mass of the Church with the new creation that was the Novus Ordo Missae. Their study showed quite clearly in spite of its brevity that if we consider the innovations implied or taken for granted which may of course be evaluated in different ways, the Novus Ordo represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass as it was formulated in Session XXII of the Council of Trent (emphasis added). Despite all of the objections, exceptions, and petitions, Rome moved ahead with the new rite.

The old liturgy was effectively suppressed, leaving innumerable Catholics shanghaied in a new Mass that adopted a different form, different postures, a different language, and a different theological focus than that to which they had been accustomed their entire lives. They felt alienated and forgotten.

When Pope John Paul II issued the apostolic letter Ecclesia Dei in 1988, in which he discussed the schismatic action of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, he also commented that respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of all those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition, by a wide and generous application of the directives already issued some time ago by the Apostolic See for the use of the Roman Missal according to the typical edition of 1962. But it fell on deaf ears. At a conference I attended several years ago, a priest reported the response of one of the American bishops when contacted by a cardinal with whom John Paul II had entrusted the mission of spreading the indult allowing the old Mass: "I am the bishop of my diocese," the bishop said, "Not the Holy Father."

An anecdote from yet another priest concerned a bishop who locked the parishioners of a diocesan-approved traditional parish out of their church during the Easter Triduum, following an edict that no Good Friday services were to be allowed in Latin. The church was locked from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday morning to enforce the edict.

If these are extraordinary examples, it has been a common experience for the average traditional Catholic to have to drive long distances to get to a Mass at an inconvenient time -- often the only such Mass available in the diocese. Nothing was done to facilitate their devotion, while every other Catholic special interest group imaginable was happily accommodated.
This repression suffered for four decades by those attached to the older form has lead -- it is true -- to great bitterness.

Not every traditional Catholic is afflicted with it, and among those who are there are many good and faithful people who want nothing more than to be fully a part of the life of the Church. Nevertheless, it would be false to deny that there is an angry, malignant, ugly streak running through the heart of traditionalism that threatens to rot the group to its core. It has grown necrotic in the years spent without sympathetic leadership, without cause for hope, living constantly with the knowledge that something was horribly awry in the life of the Church. Then came Summorum Pontificum.

In his introductory letter, Pope Benedict XVI said, "What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful." Further, in the text of the motu proprio itself, the Holy Father instructed that, "It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated . . ." (emphasis added). Never abrogated.

The traditionalists who spent decades arguing that the Mass could not be abrogated -- that any priest had the right to say it, that it was as much a part of the Church as it had ever been -- had finally been exonerated. The Mass that they loved so dearly and fought for so valiantly was finally free, in no small part because of their defense of its status as a Mass immemorial.

However justified it may be, traditional angst has always been counterproductive. If we desire to help build a better Church, one that honors its traditions and pays them the reverence they are due, we must conduct ourselves in a constructive fashion.

Do I believe that the older form of Mass is an objectively better expression of Catholic worship than the newer form? Absolutely -- if I didn't, this would be hardly worth the effort. But I want to argue that position on its merits, and not be dismissed because I'm perceived as a member of a rancorous and unpleasant sub-group of Catholics.

Those of us seeking to restore what we believe has been lost have some reputation-building to do if we want to avoid being painted with the broad brush strokes some of our peers have earned for us. In his wisdom, the Holy Father has reconciled the two Roman liturgies within the unity of one rite. It's time those of us attached to them started working together, too.
Steve Skojec is a columnist and blogger for InsideCatholic.com. He writes from Northern Virginia. Visit his blog at www.steveskojec.com.

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Tradition Rising in Wisconsin
Priest Terminates Altar Girl Program, Restores Latin Mass

(www.RemnantNewspaper.com) On July 3, 2008, an obscure radical group calling itself "Women's Ordination Conference" (WOC) released a press release blasting the courageous decision of Rev. John Del Priore of St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie, Wisconsin to terminate the altar girl program as part of a larger measure to encourage vocations to the priesthood. Having been installed as pastor only one month before, Father Del Priore obviously wasn't wasting any time righting the ship.

The relevant portions of WOC's rather whining release were as follows:

Women's Ordination Conference Decries Ban on Altar Girls in Wisconsin Diocese

WASHINGTON, DC – July 3, 2008 – On Tuesday, June 24, Rev. John Del Priore of St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie, Wisc. declared that he will no longer allow girls to serve at liturgy. Rev. Del Priore was assigned to the parish on June 1, 2008. In response, Women’s Ordination Conference has requested that Bishop Robert C. Morlino, of the Madison diocese, overturn Rev. Del Priore’s decision and reinstate female altar servers in that parish. Women's Ordination Conference members have made dozens of calls to the church, asking to speak to Rev. John and expressing their serious concerns about this decision.

“With this policy, Rev. John brings the Madison diocese into the infamously sexist ranks of only one other diocese in the country that bans young women and girls from faithfully serving their church in this capacity,” said Aisha Taylor, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference. “Around the country, young women have been lawfully serving at the altar for well over a decade.”

WOC called for immediate action in protesting the Catholic priest's decision.

The Remnant asks its readers and website visitors to please send their support to Father Del Priore, not only for this but also for his recent decision to support Pope Benedict's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum by making the Traditional Mass available every Saturday at 8:30 at St. Barnabas. Please encourage Father del Priore to continue his brave defense of orthodoxy and tradition. Readers in Wisconsin should also send letters to Father Del Priore, thanking him for the Traditional Mass on Saturday but also requesting it on Sundays, as well.

Father's contact information is as follows:

Rev. John Del Priore
St. Barnabas Catholic Church
410 Cramer St
Mazomanie, WI 53560
Tele: (608) 795-4321

Post #45

Topics: Parishioners Pictured: Ye That Art Still, His Image Shall Be Captured... Learning About the Tradition: That Which is Veiled is a Holy Vessel .... Holy Smoke! Video : The Famous Botafumeiro Thurible.... Eastern Rite Catholics: Maronite and Ukrainian Divine Liturgy.... Local History: Origin of St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church

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Parishioners Pictured
Ye That Art Still, His Image Shall Be Captured

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Learning About the Tradition
That Which is Veiled is a Holy Vessel

When I first came to the ancient liturgy I was awe struck by the beauty of the women who were wearing veils (mantillas, chapel veils, scarves). So much piety and respect was expressed in this simple gesture that I wished for myself that I, as a man, could convey such reverence in such great volume.

When I approached the love of my life about the idea of veiling at mass her immediate reaction was acceptance...much to my delight.

I find women in veils to be as beautiful as I imagine angels to be.

From http://www.fisheaters.com/theveil.html

For 2,000 years, Catholic women have veiled themselves before entering a church or any time they are in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

According to St. Paul,women veil themselvesselves as a sign that His glory, not ours, should be the focus at worship, and as a sign of our submission to authority. It is an outward sign of our recognizing headship, both of God and our husbands (or fathers, as the case may be), and a sign of our respecting the presence of the Holy Angels at the Divine Liturgy. In veiling, we reflect the divine invisible order and make it visible.
Now, think of what else was veiled in the Old Testament -- the Holy of Holies!

Hebrews 9:1-8

The former [Old Covenant] indeed had also justifications of divine service and a sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made the first, wherein were the candlesticks and the table and the setting forth of loaves, which is called the Holy. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies: Having a golden censer and the ark of the testament covered about on every part with gold, in which was a golden pot that had manna and the rod of Aaron that had blossomed and the tables of the testament. And over it were the cherubims of glory overshadowing the propitiatory: of which it is not needful to speak now particularly. Now these things being thus ordered, into the first tabernacle, the priests indeed always entered, accomplishing the offices of sacrifices. But into the second, the high priest alone, once a year: not without blood, which he offereth for his own and the people's ignorance: The Holy Ghost signifying this: That the way into the Holies was not yet made manifest, whilst the former tabernacle was yet standing.

...The Ark of the Old Covenant was kept in the veiled Holy of Holies. And at Mass, what is kept veiled until the Offertory? The Chalice -- the vessel that holds the Precious Blood! And, between Masses, what is veiled? The Ciborium in the Tabernacle, the vessel which holds the very Body of Christ. These vessels of life are veiled because they are holy!

And who is veiled? Who is the All Holy, the Ark of the New Covenant, the Vessel of the True Life? Our Lady -- and by wearing the veil, we imitate her and affirm ourselves as women, as vessels of life.

This one superficially small act is:

* So rich with symbolism: of submission to authority; of surrender to God; of the imitation of Our Lady as a woman who uttered her "fiat!"; of covering our glory for His glory; of modesty; of
chastity, of our being vessels of life like the Chalice, the Ciborium and, most especially, Our
Lady;
* An Apostolic ordinance -- with roots deep in the Old Testament -- and, therefore, a matter of
intrinsic Tradition;
* The way Catholic women have worshipped for two millennia (i.e., even if it weren't a matter of
Sacred Tradition in the intrinsic sense, it is, at the least, a matter of ecclesiastical tradition,
which also must be upheld). It is our heritage, a part of Catholic culture;
* Pragmatic: it leaves one free to worry less about "bad hair days";
* ...And for the rebels out there, it is counter-cultural nowadays, you must admit!

Traditionally, single women wear white or ivory head coverings, and married or widowed women wear black, but this isn't a hard and fast rule, and is often ignored.

Common scarves and hats are just as acceptable.

Sisters, veil yourselves, even if you are visiting a Novus Ordo parish and are the only woman to do so. Be true to Tradition, to Scripture, to your own desire to submit to God. Be not afraid... And lovingly encourage other women to do the same, teaching them what veiling means.

http://www.fisheaters.com/theveil.html

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Holy Smoke!
The Famous Botafumeiro Thurible

Addendum: Rats!!! Apparently YouTube has removed this video so it cannot be viewed below...I posted a picture though it's not quite as exciting.

The famous Botafumeiro, found in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral of Spain was created by the gold and silversmith José Losada. It is made of bronze, bronze and plated with silver. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela occupies the place of a former church built atop the tomb of St. James.

Normally a display piece, the thurible is hauled out occasionally to be attached to ropes and a pulley system that was installed in the year 1604. The thurible is loaded by shovel with about 88 lbs. of charcoal and incense. Once in motion it can reach speeds of 45 mph and heights of 69 feet. As can be imagined there have been several accidents The best known accident happened in 1499 as Princess Catherine of Aragon stopped in to visit on her journey to marry the heir to the English throne, Arthur, Prince of Wales, brother of the future Henry VIII. As it was swung it dislodged itself and propelled out the window…perhaps as dire warning foretelling the death of her intended, her marriage to the brother of the deceased, unfaithfulness, an annulment and the eventual start of the Church of England.

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Eastern Rite Catholics
Maronite and Ukrainian Divine Liturgy

For those of you who are visiting Tulsa, I encourage you to attend a Maronite rite Liturgy at Saint Therese Catholic Church, 8315 S. 107 Street Ave., (Hwy 169 and East 81st Street) .

http://www.saintherese.org/

For those of you who are visiting Topeka I encourage you to attend the Ukrainian-rite
Divine Liturgy at a temporary chapel at Third and Van Buren streets, consecrated
Holy New Martyes Apostolate. It was canonically established by Bishop
Seminack, in May 2008 with approval by Archbishop Joseph Newmann of Kansas
City. The Ukranian Greek Catholic Church is one of 21 Particular Churches that
are blessed with full communion with the See of Saint Peter, Pope of Rome.

http://www.blogger.com/www.ukiecatholictopeka.wordpress.com/

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Local History:
Origin of St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church, Wichita

The bustling boom times of the post Civil War era, the appeal of cheap land, and the promise of a better life had attracted a number of families of German descent to the Wichita area. Dedicated to their faith, these
German-Americans were unable to participate in local Masses where scripture readings and sermons were not in their native language. Therefore, in 1886, Bishop Louis Marie Fink (Bishop of Kansas) decided that the German speaking Catholics would have their own Church with German speaking priests.

In 1886 the northeast corner of 2nd Street and Ohio Avenue was a cornfield owned by “Buffalo Bill” Mathewson. That became the site of the new parish, named St. Boniface after the 8th Century Missionary to the German tribes. In 1887, a wooden frontier Church was built on that corner, and in 1890, German speaking Franciscans arrived to take charge of this German Parish. The Franciscans staffed the Parish until 1988.

The Parish family rapidly outgrew its wooden Church and in 1902 work began on a new brick structure designed by the Cincinnati architect, Louis Piket. The new Church would be named after St. Anthony of Padua, a 13th Century Franciscan Saint. When work began of the new Church, the Parish had raised $2,650 for that purpose. The actual building of the Church took until 1905 to complete. Based on photos and artist’s signing, the decoration of the interior was completed in 1909. The recent restoration completed in 2005 was based on those remaining photos.

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Post #44

Topics: Parishioner Featured: Larry Bethel....Learning About the Mass: Sacred Vessels ....Thimble Full of Sarcasm: One of These Things Just Doesn't Belong...Summorum Pontificum One Year Later : Interview with Fr. John Berg, F.S.S.P....Guest Blogger, Michael J. O’Neill: The Transformation of the Jewish Liturgy into the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the New Law....A Parable:The Story of Two Monks

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Parishioner Featured: Larry Bethel

Sitting in the same spot every Sunday beneath the crucifix on the north wall you will find a tall intense looking fellow quietly praying at mass. He has an air of seriousness about him, a quiet contemplative sort of energy around him…the aura of a man who loves his faith and practices it seriously. Indeed this man dearly loves the Church but he is far from unapproachable and stodgy….he is Larry Bethel…St. Anthony parishioner and bell ringer (see Post #43, Quasi Modo in the Bell Tower?).

I’ve known Larry only for a short time and mostly from mass, by email and in collaboration on this blog, but I figured Larry to be an intense but private person so I was thrilled when Larry agreed to share his story with all of us.

If I may digress for a moment….When I ask people for an interview I always find that people are quite astonished to learn that anyone might be interested in their “ordinary’ life. But the very opposite is true. I have found that people are very interested in others lives (perhaps because of shared experience and commiseration) and that the most mundane and unglamorous of lives are usually the very opposite…lives full of triumph and hardship, wonderment, amusement, anecdotes, humor and sadness…the profound experiences that great epic novels and lesser telenovelas* are made of.

Larry L. Bethel was born in Wichita to Eugene and Mary Bethel into one of those peculiar family traditions: all the Bethel boys were given the same first two initials. Father Earl Eugene, Uncle Dick Dwight, Grandfather Donald Delbert, brother Robert Roark (Fr Francis) and Larry’s own son named Jesse Jared. “Sadly my mother never told me my middle name” says Larry.'

Larry was not raised in the Church. “…We were not Catholics, we weren't even Protestants. We were golfers. My dad worked 6 days a week from 5 am till whenever. (My grandfather, father and uncle owned dry cleaners). Sunday morning he was golfing and you didn't get in his way. To be honest if I didn't have the Catholic Church I would choose golfing also.”

We are so glad you found Holy Mother Church, Larry…and now I will let Larry share his life in his own words.

“I have been a member of St Anthony's for about 3 years. I had been attending the Mass at St. Anthony steadily since Fr Lies was made celebrant and often before. I have a son who lives in Tokyo and works for Kikkomann, a brother who is a monk at Clear Creek Monastery and a cousin, Debra, who lives in west Wichita.”

“In about 1973 my brother came home from KU and told my parents he was going to enter the Catholic Church and oh yes, go to France to see if he had a vocation as a Priest and Monk. We were shocked by my brother's decision! I figured my brother had entered a phase, but I guess I was wrong there, as this month he will have been a Priest for 25 years!”

“I went to France to his Monastery, Fontgombault, in 1980. I was impressed with the beauty, order and peace. For those of you not familiar with Fontgombault it is a traditional (Benedictine) Monastery using the 1962 Missal and breviary.”

“During this trip we went to Lourdes (my mother had a stroke in 1970 and we hoped Lourdes would help her with some of the after effects of the stroke.) Although, neither my parents nor I were Catholics on this trip we were in awe of Lourdes and since that trip I have always carried a medallion of the Blessed Mother's appearance there.”

“Now fast forward to around 1994 when a couple of things happened. First, my mother, Mary, entered the Church. I have a picture of her first Mass and there beside my beaming mother are two of our former celebrants Fr Jackson and (now) Bishop Conley."

"About the same time I was given a book by some of my brother's friends, This Tremendous Lover by Dom Eugene Boylan. This was the first serious Catholic book I read and it helped me see there was more to the Catholic Church than Galileo, Inquisition, Crusades and the fairy tales made up about them. At the same time I stumbled across the writings of Hilaire Belloc and G. K. Chesterton which I loved (and love) that showed me the "truths" being spouted all over Lawrence (where I lived at that time) were actually age old heresies dressed up in new age clothing.”

Larry then made the choice to enter into RCIA but sadly found that the teacher espoused a “namby pamdy” point of view. “I just needed more teaching with meat on the bone, so that was enough and that was the only time I went.”

Larry moved back to Wichita in 1999 after his father died. Larry continues “I began going down to Clear Creek (Our Lady of the Annunciation Monastery of Clear Creek) which the Monks of Fontgombault had founded in 1999 with 12 intrepid monks, my brother included (see http://www.clearcreekmonks.org/index.htm )."

In 2001 Larry came into the Church and was baptized at age 50. “Oh, happy day!” exclaims Larry. “I started attending St Anthony's Mass and as most remember we only had the Mass on 2nd and 4th Sundays. On other Sundays I would traipse off to Clear Creek or go north to Kansas City or Topeka for the Traditional Masses there. I loved those Masses! All of them! I also found I had a great respect for the people attending, my fellow pew sitters.”

Larry has held many occupations and avocations including cooking, baking, owner of a bakery, a deli and a restaurant. “We had a good run, but after about 9 years the area of our restaurant was getting run down and after that many years of 12 hour or more days I was getting run down too.”

After that Larry traveled all over Missouri and Northeastern Kansas as a salesman and now operates a small internet business based from his home here in Wichita.

I asked Larry about the Traditional Latin Mass (EFLR). “I, of course love the old Latin Mass and am thrilled to be able to attend every Sunday. It did take me a while to catch on to what is happening at the Traditional Mass and I am still catching on. It's the beauty of the whole thing that hits me…the beautiful poetry of the liturgy, the music lifting our hearts and the form and colors of our beautiful St Anthony Church. But most of all I love the quiet stillness of the consecration as we worship our Lord.”

*telenovela: Latin American soap opera

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Learning About the Mass Liturgical Vessels
Pictures and descriptions courtesy of
http://www.fisheaters.com

As a cradle Catholic I was familiar with the sacred vessels but needed further explanation and understanding once I started serving at the Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite).
I find these sacred vessels fascinating in the fact that these are actual material things that are touched by God or have been assigned such value by Mother Church as to render them sacred and (some vessels) untouchable by the common man.
These vessels all have special meaning and value to the Church, the liturgy and all Catholics, with specific rules of use and decorum.
The following is from the good folk at Fisheaters, http://www.fisheaters.com and is short enough to be interesting without being laborious. Another good web page for explanation of sacred vessels is http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01357e.htm which is the New Advent website.
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A. Chalice Veil which covers the Chalice underneath B: Burse
C: Cross on front of veil. D: Corporal on which the veiled Chalice sits.
E: Chalice F: Paten
G: Purificator H: Corporal
I: Ciborium J: Folded Chalice Veil
K: Pall L: Burse

	Chalice The consecrated gold or gilded silver cup used to hold the Precious Blood. Only priests or deacons are allowed to touch the Chalice (though sacristans may in the course of their duties). Pewter Chalices are "okay" for use during times of persecution but, even then, the inside of the bowl must be gilded. When Mass begins, the Chalice is covered by the folded purificator and the pall (see below).
	Paten The consecrated gold or gilded silver plate on which the Sacred Host is laid. Only priests or deacons are allowed to touch the Paten (though sacristans may in the course of their duties). A Communion Paten has a handle and is held under the chin of one receiving the Eucharist so that in case the Host is dropped, it won't fall to the floor.
	Ciborium A chalice-shaped vessel with a lid used to hold consecrated Hosts for distribution during the Communion of the faithful. It can be made of any material as long as the inside is gilded. It is kept in the Tabernacle between Masses, covered with a white veil (which can be decorated with precious metals).
	Cruets These vessels hold the water and wine before Consecration
	Monstrance (or "Ostensorium" or "Ostensory") A gold or silver vessel, often in a sunburst shape, with a clear glass area, called a "luna," for viewing the Sacrament. The Host is kept in place inside the crystal or glass frame by a crescent shaped gold or silver gilded clip called a "lunette." The monstrance is used during Benedictions and processions, etc., for adoration by the faithful. It doesn't require a blessing, but it should be blessed.
	Aspersory and Aspergillum (or "Aspergill") The Aspersory is a container for holding Holy Water. The Aspergillum is a stick-shaped implement with holes in it to dip into the Aspersory and catch the Holy Water for sprinkling the people and things. Because of Leviticus 14:49-52, Numbers 19:18, Psalm 50:9, etc., the aspergillum used to contain crushed Biblical hyssop (Origanum syriacum) to catch the water, but nowadays a small sponge is more often used.
	Thurible (or "Censer") and Boat A thurible is the incense burner used at Mass. It hangs from chains so it can be swung to incense people and things. The boat is where the incense is stored until it is placed in the thurible.
	Pyx A small container, also called a custodia, used to carry the Sacred Host when taking it to the sick and homebound. It is made of the same material as the Ciborium -- gilt on the inside.
	Altar Linens
	Chalice veil Small silk cloth, of the same color as the priest's vestments, used to cover the Chalice
	Purificator (or "Mundatory" or "Purificatory") Rectangular piece of linen or hemp used to wipe the Chalice before the Offertory and after Communion, the priest's lips and fingers. It requres no special blessing.
	Pall A blessed, stiff square piece of linen, sometimes decorated with a Cross or other embroidery, used to cover the Chalice to prevent impurities from falling into it. If it is embroidered or made of silk, the side touching the Chalice must still be made of linen. Another type of pall is the cloth used to cover coffins at Requiem Masses.
	Finger Towels These may be made of any material (preferably linen) and are used at the lavabo and after Communion
	Corporal A blessed square linen cloth which is spread out by the priest in the middle of the Altar. From the Catholic Encylopedia, "after it [the corporal] is washed, bleached, and ironed, it is folded into three equal parts, both in its length and in its width, i.e. the anterior part is folded over the middle; then the posterior part is turned down over the anterior part; after this the part at the priest's right is folded over the middle, and finally the part at the priest's left is folded over these. The corporal is placed in the burse in such a manner that the edge of the last fold is towards the opening of the burse."
	Burse A 10-inch square container to hold the Corporal. The burse covers the chalice before the Mass, with the opening of the burse facing toward the priest. (The leather pouch used to hold the pyx is also called a burse)

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Thimble Full of Sarcasm
One of These Things Just Doesn't Belong

OK, we all remember our mothers saying "If you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all", right? Right...BUT (Pee Wee Herman quote:"Everyone has a big but...!")...a pinch of cayenne spices up a spaghetti sauce so here is my sarcastic spice of the week....thimble size.

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

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Summorum Pontificum One Year Later
An Interview with Fr. John Berg, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/Archives/archive-2008-summorum_pontificum_one_year_lat.htm
Brian Mershon
THE REMNANT COLUMNIST, Texas

In conjunction with Michael Matt’s exclusive report from the priestly ordinations performed May 30 by Darío Cardinal Cas trillón Hoyos for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) in the Cathedral of Lincoln, Neb., The Remnant provides this exclusive interview with Fr. John Berg, Superior General of the FSSP.


Fr. Berg outlines the current growth in apostolates for the F SSP both in the U.S. and worldwide, along with his impressions of the deeper significance behind the recent ordinations by high-ranking members of the Roman curia.

He also provides an update on the FSSP’s role in assisting with the education of diocesan and religious priests wishing to learn the Traditional Roman rite. In addition, Fr. Berg touches on some controversial issues regarding concelebration and the “cross-pollination” of the two forms of the Roman rite.

Continued at original article...(click here)

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Guest Blogger, Michael J. O’Neill
The Transformation of the Jewish Liturgy into the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the New Law
With extracts from How Christ Said the First Mass by Fr. James L. Meagher, 1984 TAN reprint and the Catechism of the Council of Trent.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the High-priest of the New covenant, instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the New Law at the Last Supper; this is an indisputable doctrine of the holy Catholic Church. Moreover, our Lord Jesus transformed the ancient Jewish Temple liturgy, and the Passover, familiar to His twelve apostles and their successors, into the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the New Law. This author uses the proper noun Eucharistic Sacrifice of the New Law as opposed to Roman-rite of the Mass because the Eastern Catholic Churches employ different terms for the one, same perpetual Eucharistic Sacrifice; for example, Byzantine Liturgy, Divine Liturgy, or Eucharistic Liturgy.

Our Lord, the Apostles, and His disciples frequently participated in the Temple liturgy, particularly on the Sabbath, which occurred on Saturday. Inside the magnificent Temple was the Holy of Holies, a room measuring 30 square feet, “concealed by a great veil, measuring 60 by 30 feet, so heavy and thick that it required 300 Hebrew priests to hang it” (Fr. Meagher, pg. 19). Access to the Holy of Holies was restricted because it signified the closure of Heaven because of Adam’s sin; only the high priest could enter this room on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle the blood of sacrificial animals killed in the Priests’ Court. This liturgy prefigured our Lord’s bloody on the cross and His reopening of Heaven to mankind. Once inside the Holy of Holies the high priest venerated the Ark of the Covenant, constructed of fragranced acacia wood, measuring 3 feet long and 2 feet wide and 2 feet high, covered with gold; prototypes of tabernacles placed in every Catholic sanctuary. Stored inside the Ark was a “gold plated cup, like a ciborium, was preserved the miraculous manna that fell from Heaven to feed the wandering Hebrews in the desert; the manna profoundly signified the Eucharist which Christ now feeds us during the Holy Eucharistic Sacrifice” (Fr. Meagher, pg. 20). The presence of the Blessed Sacrament inside the tabernacle fulfills what our Lord said to Moses, “and they shall make me a sanctuary and I will dwell in the midst of them” (Book of Exodus 35: 8, Douay-Rheims).

In the middle of the Holy of Holies is a golden alter, a prototype of Jesus Christ, which was incensed by the Jewish priest just like Catholic priests incense the alter before or during the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Remarkably, Eastern Catholic Churches’ arrange their sanctuaries like the gold alter of incense inside the Holy of Holies. Also placed in the Holies is a large candleholder, called candelabrum, with 7 lamps signifying both the 7 gifts of the Holy Ghost and the seven sacraments.

This concludes the first installment of how our Lord transformed the Hebrew Liturgy into the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the New Law.

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A Parable
The Story of Two Monks

Two monks were making a pilgrimage to venerate the relics of a great Saint. During the course of their journey, they came to a river where they met a beautiful young woman -- an apparently worldly creature, dressed in expensive finery and with her hair done up in the latest fashion. She was afraid of the current and afraid of ruining her lovely clothing, so asked the brothers if they might carry her across the river.

The younger and more exacting of the brothers was offended at the very idea and turned away with an attitude of disgust. The older brother didn't hesitate, and quickly picked the woman up on his shoulders, carried her across the river, and set her down on the other side. She thanked him and went on her way, and the brother waded back through the waters.

The monks resumed their walk, the older one in perfect equanimity and enjoying the beautiful countryside, while the younger one grew more and more brooding and distracted, so much so that he could keep his silence no longer and suddenly burst out, "Brother, we are taught to avoid contact with women, and there you were, not just touching a woman, but carrying her on your shoulders!"

The older monk looked at the younger with a loving, pitiful smile and said, "Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river; are you still carrying her?"

Post #43

Topics: Parishioner featured: Nellie Roets....Random Thoughts: The Mass Used to Be Said in Latin .... Quasi Modo in the Bell Tower?: Who's Ringing the Bell? ....Requiescat in Pace: Margaret Kelley...Small Duties: St. Thérèse of Lisieux

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Parishioner Featured:Nellie Roets

Long time parishioner and volunteer, Nellie Roets, was featured this week in the latest edition of the Catholic Advance. See Volunteer Hopes She’ll Be Cleaning St. Anthony Church on Her 90th Birthday by Christopher M. Riggs @ http://www.cdowk.org/catholic_advance/parishnews.html.

Mr. Riggs wrote a short but warm article on Nellie who we all know from St. Anthony. Nellie can always be spotted around the church, early in the morning and throughout the day whenever anything needs to be done…from unlocking the doors, to errands for Fr. Pham, to stocking the restrooms or securing mass offerings.

My first encounter with Nellie was when I was a newbie to the traditional Latin Mass (EFLR) and I acquired my very first missal. I had been coming to mass for about 8 months when the church went under reconstruction/renovation and mass was being held across the street in the school gymnasium.

One morning before mass I was in the hallway trying to figure out how to use my shiny new missal. I must have looked totally and completely lost because Nellie, whom I had never met, walked straight up to me and without a word of introduction or formality said “what’s the matter…you lost?” and promptly snatched the missal from my hands, proceeded to find the correct propers for me and then just as abruptly, shoved it into my hands with a curt “there!” and walked off!

Charmed indeed…

After the initial shock of being accosted by this gruff lady I was to later learn that she was in fact a charming and dedicated soul to her church and faith…and I am grateful to have met her.

Please take the time to mention that you read the Catholic Advance article about her and give her a pat on the back and a thank you for her continued service to the parish.

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Random Thoughts:
The Mass Used to Be Said in Latin at St. Anthony
Men go mad in crowds, but come to their senses slowly, and one by one.

Christopher M. Riggs article in the Catholic Advance covering Nellie Roets had an interesting and very telling Freudian slip. In his article Mr. Riggs states “Nellie has been volunteering at St. Anthony since the mass was in Latin."

Indeed! Nellie has been volunteering for a whole week it seems.

I find this slip of the keyboard as a telling sign of the general attitude of the Ordinary rite community; the Catholic Advance and the prevailing authority of this diocese in regard to the Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite)…an attitude of disregard if not barely concealed disdain…a view I may note which is not held by the Bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Christ, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

I am sure we who love and adore the traditional Mass (EFLR) have, at one time or another, been faced with this kind of contempt and condescension when it comes to the old liturgy. The tired old chestnuts of “Latin is a dead language, it’s too early in the morning, I can’t understand the priest, he faces away from the people….we don’t HAVE to do that (insert personal preference here) anymore, we should move forward with the “reforms” of the 60’s……”

Ok, all well and good…but why must there be open disparagement on what some Catholics refer to as “the most beautiful thing this side of heaven” the holy sacrifice of the Mass!

A friend of mine when faced with such naked indifference toward the EFLR, in his extreme sadness and frustration said “If they hate the Latin Mass, then they don't understand their faith. I'm not saying that they have to make it their preference, but to hate it shows so much ignorance.” My friend is prone to passion in what he so adores.

While contemplating what it is we can do to share our beautiful mass with others I was consoled in these thoughts sent to me by my friend L.

"Men go mad in crowds, but come to their senses slowly, and one by one."

And I came to realize that I guess what we can do, in a positive way, is to continue what we already do in our own small way…chip by chip we can sculpt what we desire....person by person...email by email...blog post by blog post...invitation by invitation.

So I personally invited Mr. Riggs of the Catholic Advance to come to St. Anthony for the traditional Mass…and tempted him with coffee and donuts.

Postscript: Random Thoughts are just those...random and personal to my point of view and in no way reflect the opinions of the staff of Venite Missa Est! or any persons remotely attached to St. Anthony. M.L.

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Requiescat in Pace

St. Anthony parishioner Mrs. Jim Kelley, Margaret, passed recently. Mrs. Kelley was a WW II Veteran and retired Stearman Elementary teacher. She passed Sunday, July 27, 2008, at the Kansas Veteran's Home, Winfield. She is survived by her husband, James P. Jr.; son, Jim III; 3 grandchildren; and brother, Thomas. (Source the Wichita Eagle).

Please pray for Mrs. Kelley as she makes her journey onward and for Mr. Jim Kelley in this his hour of mourning.

The Roman Missal (1962), Baronius Press

We beseech Thee, O Lord, of thy goodness to have mercy upon the soul of Thine handmaiden Margaret, do thou, who hast freed her from the perils of this mortal life, vouchsafe to number her for evermore among the saved. Though our Lord Jesus Christ who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

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Quasi Modo in the Bell Tower?

Have you heard? Above the quiet whispered prayers of Father Lies and the sweet ringing of the Sanctus bells comes the solemn deep ring of the bell in the tower during the consecration at holy mass.

No, it is not Quasimodo, the character from French author Victor Hugo's 1831 novel Notre Dame de Paris. It is St. Anthony’s own Larry Bethel pulling on the bell rope during mass!

Larry quietly and discreetly pardons himself from his pew to run up the balcony stairs to ring the bell. This had previously been done by Mr. Bob Wells, but Bob can get so busy with all his other duties that Larry stepped into, and up, to the task.

Larry tells me that the rope is situated behind the choir and the organ in a sort of closet area. He cannot see the altar so he relies on timing to ring the bell at the correct moment. He also says that he cannot hear the bell ring, so that must make it especially challenging.

I find the ringing of the bell to be humbling….as if the great presence of God in Christ on the altar is being announced to all within earshot.

Thank you Larry for your service.

ADDENDUM

Bob Walterscheid was kind enough to comment on this piece. Bob writes:

The bell Larry B rings during the Consecration is the "Toll Bell" which is different from the big bell which sometimes is rung 5 minutes prior to Mass.
I'm sure this was rung in the past so parishioners who lived in the neighborhood would know they had little time to get to Mass.
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS.

Thanks Bob....I love that we have the generation before us to teach us about these things. I have only been back to the church for about 7 or 8 years now and there is so much to learn, re-learn and discover.

m.l.

ADDENDUM II

Luke Headley informs me that there is a single bell in the tower but showed me the two ropes that extend downward. One rope operates a hammer, the other actually swings the bell ...both sounding a different tone. The full swing is the "toll bell".

Fantastic info!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Small Duties
St. Thérèse of Lisieux the "Little" Saint"

All this volunteering stuff is wearing me out. Larry Bethel on bells, Nellie Roets in house…phew!

It reminds me of St. Thérèse of Lisieux the "little" saint of simplicity and abandonment in God's service and of the perfect accomplishment of small duties.

From New Advent (online)
http://home.newadvent.org/cathen/17721a.htm

She was the ninth child of saintly parents, Louis and Zélie Martin, both of whom had wished to consecrate their lives to God in the cloister. The vocation denied them was given to their children, five of whom became religious, one to the Visitation Order and four in the Carmelite Convent of Lisieux. Brought up in an atmosphere of faith where every virtue and aspiration were carefully nurtured and developed, her vocation manifested itself when she was still only a child. Educated by the Benedictines, when she was fifteen she applied for permission to enter the Carmelite Convent, and being refused by the superior, went to Rome with her father, as eager to give her to God as she was to give herself, to seek the consent of the Holy Father, Leo XIII, then celebrating his jubilee. He preferred to leave the decision in the hands of the superior, who finally consented and on 9 April, 1888, at the unusual age of fifteen, Thérèse Martin entered the convent of Lisieux where two of her sisters had preceded her.

The account of the eleven years of her religious life, marked by signal graces and constant growth in holiness, is given by Soeur Thérèse in her autobiography, written in obedience to her superior and published two years after her death. In 1901 it was translated into English, and in 1912 another translation, the first complete edition of the life of the Servant of God, containing the autobiography, "Letters and Spiritual Counsels", was published. Its success was immediate and it has passed into many editions, spreading far and wide the devotion to this "little" saint of simplicity, and abandonment in God's service, of the perfect accomplishment of small duties.

The fame of her sanctity and the many miracles performed through her intercession caused the introduction of her cause of canonization only seventeen years after her death, 10 Jun, 1914.

[Editor's Note: After the publication of this article, St. Thérèse was canonized and later declared a Doctor of the Church.]

http://home.newadvent.org/cathen/17721a.htm