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.

Like us on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/VeniteMissaEst?ref=hl

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.


Saturday, August 29, 2009

Post #92

Topics: Martyrs of the Recusant Era: By Stephanie Mann...More Vietnamese Catholic Oppression: Bulldozers Raze the Church of Tam....The Catafalque: Used for the Absolution of the Dead Without a Body Present...Architecture: St. Anthony Catholic Church...Liturgy 101: Why?...The Traditional Ambrosian Rite of 1954: A Short History and the Rubrics




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The Necessaries

This week Stephanie Mann, author of Supremecy and Survival, Scepter Publishers 2007 (http://www.blogger.com/www.supremacyandsurvival.com) is back with a great article on martyrs of the Recusant Era.

We are still working on those mp3/wav audio files of Fr. Lies' homilies...that should be ready this week.

Here is a site that looks interesting, the Catholic Liturgical Library at http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm. The site lists its purpose as "...dedicated to providing accurate historical and current information about the liturgies of the Latin (Roman) rite of the Catholic Church. Currently this includes the missal of 1970 (Novus Ordo) and the missal of 1962 (Tridentine)." I haven't had time to investigate it but perhaps you good readers can browse it and give me the 411.

And now the necessary housework: Please note: St. Anthony Catholic Church is the only local church celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass (EFLR) in the Wichita area. Though this blog is loosely centered around this parish and it's members, Venite Missa Est! is by no means, in any way an official voice of, or for, St. Anthony Parish or the Diocese of Wichita. Venite Missa Est is strictly a private layman's endeavor.

Enjoy this weeks post. We are always looking for contributers.

Feel free to contribute thoughts, articles, poems, artwork or anything else for that matter to bumpy187@gmail.com for consideration for next weeks post.

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Margaret Clitherow, Margaret Ward, and Anne Line, Martyrs of the Recusant Era
By Stephanie Mann

During this Year of the Priest, meditation on these three saint’s lives and deaths during the Elizabethan, recusant era in England is especially fruitful. All three women were martyred because they protected priests from capture by the Elizabethan authorities--capture that would have meant imprisonment, torture, and horrifying death--since it was illegal for Catholic priests to be present in England or for Catholics to receive the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, especially Holy Communion.

Margaret Clitherow is also called the Pearl of York. She was a convert to Catholicism, joining the Church when she was eighteen and married for three years to John Clitherow. Their son Henry went to France to study for the priesthood, and John supported both him and Margaret in the practice of their Catholic faith. He paid her fines for not attending Church of England services, for example, and he allowed her to welcome priests in their house to celebrate Mass. In 1586 she was arrested for harboring a priest and she refused to plead either guilty or not guilty to the charge. She did so to protect her children, who would be questioned and perhaps tortured to reveal evidence of her guilt. Under English common law this refusal to plead led to her unique form of martyrdom, being pressed--or crushed--to death. On Good Friday, March 25, 1586, she was laid on the ground with a sharp stone behind her back and her arms outstretched; then a door was placed upon her and nearly 800 pounds of stone gradually added on top of the door. She endured 15 minutes of agony and died with the name of Jesus on her lips. Her other son William also became a priest and her daughter Anne became a nun in Flanders.

Margaret Ward is a virgin martyr: she helped Father William Watson escape from Bridewell Prison. She visited him often enough that the jailer finally allowed her to enter without searching her, so she was able to smuggle in a rope. Father Watson injured himself unfortunately while escaping and was unable to retrieve the rope. Margaret found John Roche to help the injured priest once out of prison and both she and John were arrested; John because he had exchanged clothing with the priest and Margaret because the jailer figured out that she was the last person to visit Father Watson before he escaped. She was held in chains, hung up her hands and scourged as the authorities attempted to force her to tell them where Father Watson went after escaping Bridewell prison. She refused, even though she acknowledged that she helped him. Offered a pardon for attending Church of England services, she again refused and was hung at Tyburn Tree in London on August 30, 1588, along with John Roche.

Anne Line was another convert; she and her brother William Heigham were disinherited and disowned by their Calvinist father. In 1586 she married Roger Line, another disinherited convert. Not long after Anne and Roger married, he and William were arrested for attending Mass and were exiled from England. Roger lived in Flanders and died in 1594. Father John Gerard, author of the famous book Autobiography of an Elizabethan, asked her to manage two safe houses for Jesuits, even though she was rather ill. She was arrested on February 2, 1601, when Father Francis Page was celebrating Mass; he escaped with her help. She was tried on February 26, carried to court in a chair, where she admitted joyfully that she had helped Father Page escape and only regretted that she had not been able to help even more! She was hung in London on February 27 and repeated her statement from court before her execution: "I am sentenced to die for harboring a Catholic priest, and so far I am from repenting for having so done, that I wish, with all my soul, that where I have entertained one, I could have entertained a thousand." Two priests, Father Roger Filcock and Father Mark Barkworth, paid tribute to her before their own executions, drawn, hung, and quartered. There are some literary critics who believe that William Shakespeare wrote “The Phoenix and the Turtle[dove]” as a eulogy for Anne and Roger Line, separated by exile but united in faith and love.

These three women martyrs were canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970 among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. The Catholic Church in England remembers them on a separate feast, August 30. In their zeal to receive the Blessed Sacrament, and the other Sacraments of the Catholic Church, they each recognized the preciousness of the priesthood, and thus sacrificed their very lives to protect the priests who served them. We may not have the opportunity to die to protect priests today, but we can at least pray for our priests, sacrifice for them, and support them as they serve us.

--Stephanie A. Mann discussed these saints on the “Son Rise Morning Show” Friday, August 28. The “Son Rise Morning Show” blog publishes pod casts of their programs (for a limited time) at http://sonrisemorningshow.blogspot.com/ She will discuss Our Lady of Walsingham with host Brian Patrick on September 24. For more details, visit her website at www.supremacyandsurvival.com

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More Vietnamese Governement Catholic Oppression
Bulldozers raze the Church of Tam Toa quashing Catholic demands
by Emily Nguyen Asia News

Blogger's note: St Anthony parish, in Wichita, has many Vietnamese parishioners which is why this story is pertinent to this blog. Please pray for our fellow Catholics in this troubled part of our world.

The government has decreed that the ruins of the ancient church will become a public park, having in mind to build a tourist village, and refuse to give it back to the Catholics for sacred use. Criticism from the bishop, who recalls the arrests, beatings, theft against the faithful by the police. On the day of the Assumption, 200 thousand people celebrated Mass at Xa Doi. Another 500 thousand, prevented by police from reaching the meeting place, celebrated Mass along the highway.


Hanoi (AsiaNews) - The standoff between the authorities of Hanoi and the Catholics of the diocese of Vinh (central Vietnam) for the use of the ruins of the church of Tam Toa came to an end on August 20 when city government bulldozers flattened the last shreds of the sacred building, leaving only the bell tower standing.

Days earlier, on 17 August, Ngau Bui Xuan, vice president of the People's Committee of Dong Hoi issued a decree (No 137/TB-UBND) ordering the conversion of the church of Tam Toa in a public park.

The bill is similar to the one issued in the cases of the former Nunciature of Hanoi and for the church of Thai Ha. In all three situations, the Catholics demanded a return to the rightful owners of the land that the government - after they were requisitioned for the public good - wanted to use for private real estate speculation. Faced with the resistance of the Catholics, the government has decided to change the destination of the land (for now) and have turned it into a public park.

In the defence of the sacred use of the Tam Toa church, Catholics were beaten, arrested, and robbed. Two priests were hospitalised and hundreds of thousands of faithful have held prayer vigils and sit-ins.

The church of Tam Toa stands on breathtaking scenery. Fr Claude Bonin who built it in 1887, chose a hill on the shore of Nhat Le river, thinking that it was easier for Catholics to reach the church by using boats. With the economic and building development of the town (Dong Hoi), the zone has become the most expensive in the area.

The greed of the party cadres led them first to determine that the remains of the church must serve as a war memorial (the church had been bombed by the Americans in the '60s). A tourist was to be built village around the ruins of the sacred building (cf. AsiaNews.it, 21/07/2009 Beatings and arrests of priests and faithful in the historic church of Tam Toa).

Already last year government bulldozers had cleared a lot of ground around Tam Toa and many luxury apartments have been built for members of local government. Days ago, after the decree that transform the site into a public park, construction was concluded. According to local witnesses, the Hanoi government, concerned about the publicity the case has received at home and abroad, decreed that the tower was also to be razed. But local authorities want to preserve it as an elegance feature in a future holiday village. This notwithstanding they are in complete agreement with Hanoi to remove all traces of Catholicism from the region.

The office of the Diocese of Vinh has protested against Bui Xuan Ngau’s decree, but in vain.

For the Feast of the Assumption, on 15 August, at least 200 thousand people gathered in Xa Doi for mass. But another 500 thousand were detained by the police for fear of new pressures on the government. Those unable to reach Xa Doi for the celebration decided to celebrate Mass at the edge of the road, on Highway No. 1. The state media described the gesture as "illegal” and of goving rise to “public disorder", but for the locals it was "a wonderful scene, one never seen until now."

During the celebration on August 15, the Bishop of Vinh, Msgr. Mary Paul Cao Dinh Thuyen, 83, expressed his sorrow at police violence against Catholics.


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The Catafalque
Courtesy The New Liturgical Movement

......priestly reader sent in the following question:

I have been offering Mass in the usus antiquior only since last September.

My question is: how is one to construct a catafalque for the Absolution after Mass on All Souls?

It is a good question that others may likewise wonder about, and it is nice to see this matter being prepared for. With All Souls Day only 9 weeks away, it is certainly not too soon.

A catafalque is of course what is used for the absolution of the dead without a body present. Here are two examples:
Catafalque for All Souls at St. Francis de Sales Oratory, St. Louis. (Image courtesy of Mark Scott Abeln)


Catafalque setup at Ss. Trinita in Rome. (Image courtesy of John Sonnen)

Before discussing the catafalque itself, a few other notes are in order.

The first point is that one typically sees six candles (though this number does not seem to be formally so defined by the rubrics) and candlesticks used; three on each side of the catafalque, set on the ground.

These candles are of unbleached beeswax. (One will not uncommonly see bleached candles used also today for this purpose, but I would certainly like to make the appeal to our pastors -- or for that matter to parish donors, though please consult your parish priest first to make sure you purchase candles of the right size and type -- to make the investment and purchase some unbleached beeswax candles to use for the occasion of Masses for the Dead. Not only is this best in accord with the rubrics, they, like black as a liturgical colour, lend to somber tone of Masses for the Dead. Unbleached beeswax candles would be used both around the coffin/catafalque, and also for the candles on the altar as well. They might also be used for the candles carried by the acolytes.)

One will also need a black pall.

There 's more at NLM

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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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Liturgy 101: Part 1 - Why?
By Donna Conaway
Courtesy Philadelphia Catholic Examiner

At the Last Supper, Jesus broke bread and shared it with his disciples. Today, there are vestments, bells, music, processionals, incense, more music, lots of talking, and then the bread is broken and shared.

Why are we doing all this?

Answer - for many of the same reasons people incorporate other rituals into their lives - to encourage unity, to acknowledge common beliefs, and to raise what can easily become ordinary and routine to the extraordinary and sacred. In addition, rituals help preserve history and protect past events from the manipulations of human imagination.(see Holocaust deniers and moon landing conspiracy)


In spite of the various smells, bells, and whistles now attached to Jesus’ original breaking of bread with his disciples, it is through the observance of ritual that the significance of his actions has been preserved.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when discussing any ritual is to remember who benefits from its observance. God, ever eternal and unchanging, cannot be made greater or lesser as a result of any ritual offered in God’s name. There is nothing humanity can add to God, and nothing humanity can subtract from God. Rituals affect the person(s) engaging in its practice. Any discussion of ritual that assumes it must be done because God needs it is headed down the wrong road leading to nowhere.

In the Catholic Church there is one ritual, the Mass, that unites Catholics the world over. Everything that occurs within the Mass is there for a purpose. The Mass offers Catholics continuity in the sacrifice and message of Christ bringing them into union with each other and with God.

Within the Roman Catholic Church there are two distinct rites of the Mass - the 1962 Missal or Latin (Tridentine) Rite, and the 1970 Missal or Novus Ordo Rite. Despite the sometimes acrimonious debates over which one is “better” and even though some don’t like to admit it, they are both valid Masses.

Catholic liturgy is serious business (at least it should be) and the Church has instituted a host of instructions on how to do it up right. From the architecture of the church itself, to the materials to be used for the altar, to the types of chalices to be used, to the vestments of the priest and altar servers, to the postures and movements of the congregation, the details are spelled out. There is purpose, message, and reason for every element.

The more you learn about what those elements mean, the more is understood about the whole liturgy, and the more that is understood about the liturgy, the easier it is to become fully engaged in it. The more one is fully engaged in the liturgy, the more one becomes fully engaged with God.

In coming weeks this page will present the various elements of the liturgy and a more in-depth study of the Latin and Norvus Ordo Rites of the Mass. If you want to get a head start, the Catholic Liturgical Library is a good resource.


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The Traditional Ambrosian Rite of 1954
A Short History and the Rubrics
Courtesy A Catholic Life

The Ambrosian (Milanese) Rite is named after none other than St. Ambrose, a bishop of Milan from the fourth century Anno Domini (AD), though St. Ambrose did not compose this Rite. Approximately five million Catholics in the greater part of the Archdiocese of Milan, Italy, in some parishes of the Diocese of Como, Bergamo, Novara, Lodi and in about fifty parishes of the Diocese of Lugano, in the Canton Ticino, Switzerland, regularly attend the Ambrosian Rite which differs from the Roman Rite.

Editions of the Ambrosian Missal were issued in 1475, 1594, 1609, 1902 and 1954 with a later post-Vatican II edition unfortunately occurring in 1966, which removed and/or altered many of the priest's inaudible prayers and genuflections. This "revision" also led to the Eucharsitic Prayer being said in the vernacular and the sacred altar being orientated no longer towards the East - as a symbol of watching for the Risen Christ, as the sun also rises in the East - but rather facing the congregation. No longer facing Christ in the Blessed, August Sacrament, the priest would turn his back to the Sacrament. Therefore, for this reason, this article will focus exclusively on the Ambrosian Rite as practiced before the Second Vatican Council.

The Missale Ambrosianum of 1954 (editio quinta post typicam) is presently said on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation in the church of San Rocco al Gentilino in Milan, which the Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini explicitly permitted beginning on July 31, 1985. Additionally, beginning on October 18, 2008, the Ambrosian Rite of 1952 was permitted on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation in Legnano, a town in the north-west of Lombardy [Source: Sacri Palazzi]

How Does The Ambrosian Rite Differ from the Roman Rite?

Some changes from the Traditional Ambrosian Rite of 1952 and the Roman Rite include the following:

  • When the deacon and sub-deacon are not occupied, they take up positions at the north and south ends of the altar facing each other.
  • The Prophecy, Epistle, and Gospel are read, in Milan Cathedral, from the great ambon on the north side of the choir, and the procession thereto is accompanied with some state. Such readings in the Tridentine Latin Mass take place generally on the altar with the exceptions of an ordained lector reading the Epistle as well as the chanting of the Gospel at a Pontifical High Mass.
  • The offering of bread and wine are done by the men and women of the Scuola di S. Ambrogio.
  • The filing past and kissing the north corner of the altar at the Offertory.
  • The silent Lavabo occurs just before the Consecration and not in the offertory, which is a clear change from the rubrics of the 1962 Roman Rite.
  • The absence of bell-ringing at the Elevation.
  • The name of St. Ambrose is added to the Confiteor
  • The Fraction is done immediately after the Canon, accompanied by an antiphon called the Confractorium [as was the case in the Roman Rite up until St. Gregory the Great]
  • There is no Agnus Dei except in Masses for the Dead

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Post #91

Tpocis:St Anthony's Saint-King Statue:The Only One In Wichita....Pope Pius XII: Canonization Catherine Labouré....Amsterdam:Apartheid at Islamic Schools....Oklahoma Bishop: Explains Return to 'Ad Orietnem' Worship...The Mass: The Introit, the Collect, the Sung Ordinary...Book Review by James Spencer: How to Pray Well


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The Necessaries

Venite Missa Est! is planning an exciting feature to the site. Starting soon we will feature Fr. Lies' homilies in mp3 and/or .wav audio formats available for download to listen and share. I am working on a section dedicated to these audio files. i am so excited about this as I personally believe that we don't have to travel or search the internet for good, meaty, solid Catholic teaching when we have Fr. Lies' homilies for our personal use and enjoyment. Coming soon!

And now the necessary housework: Please note: St. Anthony Catholic Church is the only local church celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass (EFLR) in the Wichita area. Though this blog is loosely centered around this parish and it's members, Venite Missa Est! is by no means, in any way an official voice of, or for, St. Anthony Parish or the Diocese of Wichita. Venite Missa Est is strictly a private layman's endeavor. Enjoy this weeks post. We are always looking for contributers.

Feel free to contribute thoughts, articles, poems, artwork or anything else for that matter to bumpy187@gmail.com for consideration for next weeks post.


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St Anthony's St Louis IX Statue
Only statue of a Saint-King in any of the Wichita area Churches
By Larry Bethel


St Anthony's may have the only statue of a Saint-King in any of the Wichita area Churches. In full regalia next to the St Joseph statue is St Louis IX, consecrated king of France in 1226 at the age of 11 who then reigned for 44 years. His mother queen Blanche, brought him up piously in the faith, and he liked to be called Louis of Poissy, the place of his baptism. He came of age in 1234 and married Margaret of Provence with whom he had 12 children. He lived a serious liturgical and prayerful life, beginning each day with the office of Prime and attending two masses a day in his chapel. In his chapel he introduced the practice of genuflecting at the words in the Creed: Et homo factus est and of bowing humbly at the passage in the Passion
when Jesus expired. Both practices were adopted by the Church. He twice led crusades to retake Jerusalem. On the first one he had successes until he was captured by the Saracens and was ransomed and then spent 5 years in the areas of the Holy land helping Christians and rebuilding shrines. During this time he received from the Emperor of Constantinople the Crown of Thorns and a particle of the Cross which he later preserved at Saint Chapelle, which he built for the purpose.
Returning to France when his mother died he, for 15 years, assured the profitability and peace of France, where he was looked upon by all of Europe, including the Pope, Gregory IX as a great ruler. Perhaps even more telling is a quote from Joinville, a chronicler of medieval France, "Often, I have seen the good king, after Mass, go to the wood at Vincennes, sit down at the foot of an oak tree and there listen to all who had to speak to him." In 1270 he underwent another crusade but this time was foiled by an epidemic decimating his army and killing him. His son, Philip the Bold, brought his remains back to Paris where they were interred at the church of St Denis. During the French religious wars his body disappeared leaving only one index finger, still at the church. This is from the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1918:

"He was renowned for his charity. The peace and blessings of the realm come to us through the poor he would say. Beggars were fed from his table, he ate their leavings, washed their feet, ministered to the wants of the lepers, and daily fed over one hundred poor. He founded many hospitals and houses: the House of the Felles-Dieu for reformed prostitutes; the Quinze-Vingt for 300 blind men (1254), hospitals at Pontoise, Vernon, Compiégne."

The only consecrated king of France, St Louis, Mo, Louisville,Ky and Louisiana are all named after our saint, along with many other cities, churches and basilicas throughout the world.

St Louis' feast day is August 25. Here is the Secret from his Feast day Mass;

Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God, that even as blessed Louis, Thy Confessor, spurning the delights of the world,
sought to please Christ his King alone, so may his prayers render us acceptable to Thee. Through our Lord.

Evidently, we are blessed with the statue of St Louis IX for the reason he was a patron of the 3rd order of St Francis along with St Elizabeth of Hungary, the statue on the other side of the St Joseph statue. When the St Anthony parish was Franciscan, the St Louis and St Elizabeth statues were in the sanctuary above the arcs on each side of the altar. Today, next to St Joseph, St Louis is dressed in a purple cloak denoting royalty with a sword in one hand and in the other a jewel box which holds replicas of the crown of thorns and 2 nails from the true cross.

I want to thank the St Anthony Church historian, Camilla Hartman, who spent time with me telling about the statue's history as well as about the Saint himself.
The image above is St Louis IX meeting with Pope Innocent IV at Cluny.
One more personal note; while researching St Louis I found he and I have the same birthday; April 25. Ora Pro Nobis, St Louis.


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Canonization Catherine Labouré
by Pope Pius XII in front of 10,000 Children of Mary in White (1947)
Submitted by Michael O'Neil

What is admirable about Catherine, the visionary of the Rue du Bac, the little sister of the poor, the apparitions, with their prestige and their fruit? Or is service, more important, to the poor: "our masters" as Catherine used to say after Saint Vincent de Paul? She knew how to reach out to the poor in her own poverty. She did the same quality of mending their clothes as she did on her own: always carefully patched, that went hand in hand with an impeccable cleanliness, witnesses said. ...

She had no complexes. She dared to speak about God to those she helped. Give God and give bread, give our Lord and to give our own love to those who suffered, it all went together, coming from the same heart.

Like Bernadette, she disappointed those who sought a more mystical visionary. The "mystical" Catherine was simplicity, according to the Gospel, and it was transparency. In her, at the dawn of the nineteenth century, the Holy Spirit began to train a new kind of holiness found at the source of the Gospel for a new era: holiness without success or human triumph.

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Apartheid at Islamic Schools
NIS News Bulletin

AMSTERDAM, 18/08/09 - Orthodox Islamic schools treat Dutch teachers who are not Muslims as inferior beings. They have to have their meals separately and cannot be greeted in the same way as Muslims, says a former teacher at the As Siddieq school in Amsterdam.

Hennie Metsemakers was suspended by the school a year and a half ago because she spoke of religions other than Islam in the lessons. "I had drawn a timeline and shown the most important events of a number of beliefs on it." Not only was that forbidden, but she was also ordered to teach the children that Christianity would be abolished, she told Het Parool newspaper.

A few years ago, a number of teachers had already left the As Siddieq school due to the extremely orthodox attitude of its management. According to Metsemakers, the board has meanwhile succeeded in imposing the orthodox signature on all staff members, even though half the team consists of non-Muslim teachers.

Non-Muslim teachers at As Siddieqschool and other schools are treated kindly, but not as full-value colleagues. Metsemakers had gone to work at the school full of integration ideals. "The leadership was attentive and nice, but turned out to have a hidden agenda. In the breaks, we had to eat separately. We were not allowed to be greeted in the same way as Muslim teachers, not with the word salaam, peace, because non-Muslims cannot know what peace is."

According to Metsemakers, the school wants to teach children that they are not allowed to be friends with non-believers. "Only Muslims can after all be good people."

Metsemakers has meanwhile warned the Education Inspectorate about the school. The As Siddieq is subsidised by the Dutch government.

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Oklahoma Bishop Explains Return to 'Ad Orietnem' Worship
Catholic Culture

Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has returned to the practice of celebrating the Eucharistic liturgy ad orientem in his cathedral. Bishop Slattery explained in his diocesan newspaper that he recognized the advantages of the Mass celebrated with the priest facing the people, but:

Unfortunately this change had a number of unforeseen and largely negative effects. First of all, it was a serious rupture with the Church’s ancient tradition. Secondly, it can give the appearance that the priest and the people were engaged in a conversation about God, rather than the worship of God. Thirdly, it places an inordinate importance on the personality of the celebrant by placing him on a kind of liturgical stage.
Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.


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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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Book Review
How to Pray Well, by Fr. Raoul Plus, S.J.; published in 2009 by Sophia Institute Press, NH, 1-800-888-9344, www.sophiainstitute.com; first translated from French and published in English in 1929 by Burns, Oates, and Washbourne, Ltd., London; softcover, 174 pages (5”X7”); $10.95.
By James Spencer

This book is a classic – and a gem that can lavishly enrich the reader’s prayer-life. It not only explains the four hierarchical levels of prayer (adoration, thanksgiving, repentance, and petition) clearly and completely, but more important, it inspires the reader to “pray well” in all four levels.

Fr. Plus devotes the first four chapters to prayer of adoration. This positioning of adoration is appropriate, not only because it’s the highest level of prayer, but also – and sadly – because it’s the kind we beggars here on earth most often slight or even neglected. In Chapter 1 (“The Most Perfect Prayer”) he explains that, of the four kinds of prayer, adoration is the most perfect because it gives the most glory to God, and because in it we most perfectly fulfill our function as intelligent and loving creatures. In Chapter 2 (“Affective Adoration”) he relates how different saints down through the ages have offered simple but beautiful prayers in loving praise of God. In Chapter 3 (“Effective Adoration”) he stresses the importance of good works as a form of adoration, using the life of our Blessed Mother as a perfect example. In Chapter 4 (“Adoration through Christ and in Christ”) he stresses that our adoration is made truly worthy of God only because we are members of Christ’s Mystical Body, that is, because we are branches from the Vine that is Christ.

Fr. Plus devotes the next four chapters to prayer of thanksgiving. In Chapter 5 (“The Rarity of Gratitude”) he shows how ungrateful the human race has always been for God’s many blessings. This cannot but helps the reader to realize and regret his own ingratitude. In Chapter 6 (“Gratitude for the Blessings of Nature”) he describes the wonders of the created universe, for which we should, but seldom do, express our gratitude to God. In Chapter 7 (“Gratitude for the Supernatural Life”) he reminds the reader that God has, through Sanctifying Grace, made human beings sharers in His Nature, thereby in a sense deifying men. For this we should be constantly grateful. In Chapter 8 (“The Incarnation and Redemption”) he expresses both awe and gratitude that God the Son so debased Himself as to become man in order to redeem our fallen nature and then died such a horrible death to redeem us. If these last two chapters seem out of sequence, believe me, you won’t mind at all as you read and are awe-struck by Fr. Plus’ thoughts.

Fr. Plus devotes the next three chapters to prayer of repentance. In Chapter 9 (“A Sense of Sin”) he helps the reader realize that, to some degree or another, each of us is a prodigal son. Some are great sinners; others have failed in less serious ways; but all have offended the infinite Goodness of God, and therefore need to repent. In Chapter 10 (“Belief in God’s Mercy”) he uses the different reactions of Judas and St. Peter after they had fallen to lead the reader away from despair and toward hope. In Chapter 11 (“The Purpose of Amendment”) he emphasizes that repentance is not sincere, therefore not efficacious, unless it is accompanied by a firm purpose of amendment.

Fr. Plus devotes the final three chapters to prayer of petition (at last, at last, says the typical reader, for example, moi!). In Chapter 12 (“The Nature of Petition”) he stresses that, although prayer of petition is the lowest of the four hierarchical levels of prayer, it is good and pleasing to God. Requests for spiritual blessings are especially so, but so also are requests for temporal blessings that are accompanied by “but Thy will be done.” In Chapter 13 (“The Possibility of Petition”) he refutes arguments against the very possibility that God could answer such prayers. In Chapter 14 (“The Efficacy of Petition”) he encourages the reader to “ask big” in his prayers of petition. God can grant anything, so why not “shoot the moon,” so to speak, in one’s requests, especially in the spiritual area, but also in the temporal.

The book ends with a brief biography of the author, Fr. Raoul Plus, S.J. (1882-1958), a French Jesuit who led a full and active life along with a rich prayer life.

This book will be valuable to anyone who wants to improve the quality of his prayer-life. It’s a book a person can read over and over throughout his life, gaining fresh inspiration with each reading. Rereading the first two sections (adoration and thanksgiving) should especially benefit the devout soul experiencing dryness in prayer.


Friday, August 14, 2009

Post #90

Topics: Suprememcy and Survival: Book Review By James Spencer.... Invocation:of The Nine Choirs of Angels...Through the Oxford Experience: By Stephanie Mann...Dressed in Your Sunday Best: Examiner.com....Just a Picture: A Picture (wadya think?)...New TLM: Diocese of Dodge City...Words of Wisdom: St. John Vianney...St Theresa:Hutchinson Kansas




The Necessaries
It occurs to me that last week I was absent from Venite without leave. Tsk, tsk. Some people's kids I tell ya.....to the moon Alice!

Instead of our planned week long trip to Santa Fe we opted for a weekend flurry of activity in Kansas City which is why, in my haste to get out of town, I failed to post a non-post...post. Miss me?

We ate some yummy Italian, walked the art scene, saw the WWI memorial, rode some spine wrenching coasters, had wonderful margherita pizza(yum) at Grinders (a kid's and hippy dive bar...as seen on Food Network) and went to Mass at Old St. Patrick's Oratory. A nice weekend overall.

It's nice to get away but always better to get home.

This week's post features not one but TWO fabulous writers for the low price of free with no money down and no long term commitment. Stephanie Mann, author of Supremecy and Survival, Scepter Publishers 2007 (http://www.blogger.com/www.supremacyandsurvival.com) is back, along with the ever prolific writer James Spencer, he of large brain, fluid Latin and just about perfect health.

And now the necessary housework: Please note: St. Anthony Catholic Church is the only local church celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass (EFLR) in the Wichita area. Though this blog is loosely centered around this parish and it's members, Venite Missa Est! is by no means, in any way an official voice of, or for, St. Anthony Parish or the Diocese of Wichita. Venite Missa Est is strictly a private layman's endeavor. Enjoy this weeks post. We are always looking for contributers.

Feel free to contribute thoughts, articles, poems, artwork or anything else for that matter to bumpy187@gmail.com for consideration for next weeks post.




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Book Review By James Spencer
Supremacy and Survival
by Stephanie A. Mann
published in 2007 by Scepter Publishers, Inc., NY; http://www.blogger.com/www.scepterpublishers.org; ISBN 978-1-59417-079-9; softcover, 167 pages (5.5”X8.5”); $14.95.

This is a concise and smoothly written history of the Catholic Church in England from 1509, shortly before the English Reformation, until well after the 1829 Emancipation of English Catholics, and even into the twentieth century. Covering all this in 167 pages as fully and completely as Mrs. Mann does in this book requires very tight writing. Such writing, being free from wordiness and pointless digressions, usually makes a book a pleasure to read, as is certainly the case here.

Part I: The Tudor Reformation:

Part I covers the reigns of four Tudors: Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. During that period England was changed from a solidly Catholic nation into a largely Protestant and ant-Catholic Empire.

The first chapter describing how solidly and contentedly Catholic the English were before Henry VIII’s break with Rome in 1534. Unlike some peoples in Continental European countries, most Englishmen were devoted to the Church. Granted, a few intellectuals with close ties with their Continental peers were glancing longingly at this “new thing,” Protestantism, but they had little influence on either the nobility or the common people.

The next chapter tells of Henry VIII’s reign (1509-1547). Henry, whom the Pope once proclaimed “Defender of the Faith” for his defense of the Church Doctrines against the heresies of Luther, suddenly wanted his marriage to Catherine, his wife and queen, annulled. Historians offer two reasons for this desire: his lust for the crafty Anne Boleyn and his desire for a male heir. In general, Catholic historians favor the former and all but write off the latter, while non-Catholic historians champion the latter and trivialize the former. Mrs. Mann, apparently realizing that only God and Henry -- and maybe only God -- knew what was going on in this wildly emotional King’s mind, presents both motives with complete impartiality. This is refreshing.

But the Pope, having reviewed the case carefully, determined that Henry’s marriage to Catherine was valid, and that therefore he could not grant Henry’s request for an annulment. Infuriated by this, Henry decided to separate himself and the English Church from Rome. To make the break official, Henry directed that both Parliament and the Convocation of English Bishops declare him “Head of the Church in England,” which they did. Sadly, of the many bishops in England, only St. John Fisher refused to sign this declaration.
Henry then had Cranmer, his newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, declare his marriage to Catherine null. Having gained the annulment/divorce he wanted and having married Anne Boleyn, hoping she would present him with male heir, Henry was content. In fact, for the rest of his reign, he insisted that the English retain the traditional Catholic religion, except for his schismatic separation from Rome. He also required everyone in Church and State to swear a series of oaths related to his supposed supremacy, his divorce, and his intended successor to the throne. Thus began the long series of brutal and bloody Catholic martyrdoms of those who refused to take these oaths. Bishop Fisher’s and Sir Thomas More’s are the most famous of these many, many martyred “recusants.”

Soon thereafter, the spendthrift Henry made another tragic mistake, one with far more lasting consequences: He authorized the dissolution of monasteries in order to replenish his depleted coffers. By selling these properties to well-healed nobles, he turned the nobility and their descendents irrevocably toward Protestantism, because for them, returning to full communion with the Catholic Church would mean, in conscience, returning their stolen monastery property.

The next chapter covers the reign of Edward VI (1547-1553), during which the English Reformation became Protestant. In 1547 Edward VI was only ten years old, so his uncle, Edward Seymour, took control of the government, acting as the young king’s Lord Protector. Seymour and his noble allies turned England toward Protestantism. They replaced the Traditional Latin Mass with a English communion service from Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer. This brought on revolts and uprisings from the common people, but these were eventually put down. Martyrdoms increased.

The next chapter covers the reign of the deeply Catholic Mary I (1553-1558), who was very popular with the still-Catholic common people. She restored the English Church to full communion with Rome and brought back the Traditional Latin Mass. Although she made no effort to reclaim stolen Church property, her “welcome” among the nobility was cool and short-lived. Sadly, she died without leaving an heir. In this chapter Mrs. Mann tells of Mary’s triumphs, struggles, and sorrows, all in touching detail.

The final chapter in Section I covers the forty-five year reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603), who unfortunately cared less about religion than about power. During these years, she and her noble accomplices established the Church of England and restored harsh anti-Catholic laws and penalties that drove the Catholic Church in England underground. Englishmen were forbidden to attend Mass and were required to attend the Anglican service every Sunday. Priests were outlawed, hunted, and (frankly) butchered. Bloody martyrdoms of English Catholics were common throughout her reign. She even imprisoned and eventually executed Queen Mary of Scotland, her Catholic rival for the throne of England.

Part II: Stuart Reformation and Religious Settlements from the 17th Century to the 20th:
The first chapter in this section tells of the reign of the first Stewart King, James I (1603-1625), a Protestant son of Mary of Scotland. He initiated the “Divine Right of Kings” theory that eventually became so popular with monarchs all over Europe. Persecution of Catholics continued, exacerbated by the 1605 “Gunpowder Plot,” a foiled attempt by Guy Fawkes and a few other Catholics to blow up the House of Commons.

The next chapter covers the reign of James’ brother, Charles I (1625-1647). He had a Catholic wife, who persuaded him to be more lenient with Catholics. However, he was harsh with Puritans (Calvinists), which led to the Civil War (1642-47), during which Charles I was captured, escaped, and was recaptured, tried, and executed.
Oliver Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector until his death in 1660. This period has since been called the “Interregnum” (between kingdoms). It was a time of Puritan triumph, during which persecution of Catholics increased, especially in Ireland.

The next chapter covers the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II (1660-1685), during which the Church of England was re-established. Although he was inclined toward Catholicism because of his Catholic wife, Charles allowed the persecution of Catholics to continue, although somewhat less “enthusiastically.” But the trumped-up “Popish Plot” (1678-79) so riled the people that the persecution greatly increased. Perhaps surprisingly, Charles II was received into the Catholic Church on his deathbed.

In 1685, Charles’ brother, James II, a convert to Catholicism, came to the throne. He tried to ameliorate the conditions for Catholics in England while maintaining support of the Church of England (of which he was the Head!). All went reasonably well with his subjects until his wife had a son, which meant the establishment of a Catholic dynasty. Fear of this led to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which brought the Protestants, William and Mary, to the throne.
The next chapter covers the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution. Mary died in 1694; William died in 1702. Queen Anne, the last of the Stewarts, came to the throne and reigned until her death 1714.
Because of the complicated laws of succession enacted during the reign of William and Mary, the German House of Hanover provided George I as the successor to the English throne. He and his successor, George III, continued persecution of Catholics until 1791, when Parliament passed the Roman Catholic Relief Act. George III still refused to emancipate Catholics fully.

The final chapter in Section II tells of 1829 Catholic Emancipation Act, which ended the persecution of Catholics. Mrs. Mann concludes this chapter of her book with an inspiring presentation of the Oxford Movement and the subsequent rich treasury of cultural and literary contributions made by English Catholics, most of them converts, since the Emancipation Act. Among these are: Cardinal Newman, August Pugin, Fr. Faber, Gerard Manly Hopkins, G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, Christopher Dawson, Frank Sheed, Maisie Ward, and many others.

Nota bene: In the front of this book, Mrs. Mann includes the following three appendix-like supplements that the reader should find most helpful: Diagrams of the Tudor and Stewart family trees: a brief bio of important historical persons; definitions of theological and political terms; and the important historical events during the years covered by this book.

This book should appeal to anyone interested in the English Reformation. It should especially interest Catholics who have studied history only in non-Catholic schools and colleges. It is brief, yet full of interesting details. It is complete, yet free of meaningless meanderings. It is well-written, a delight to read – and re-read.


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Invocation of the Nine Choirs of Angels
Tip 'o the hat to Kansas Catholic.com at http://kansascatholic.blogspot.com/ for the Inspiration

Invocation of the Nine Choirs of Angels

O Holy Angels, watch over us at all times during this perilous life:
O holy Archangels, be our guides on the way to heaven;
O heavenly choir of the Principalities, govern us in soul and body;
O mighty Powers, preserve us against the wiles of the demons;
O celestial Virtues, give us strength and courage in the battle of life;
O powerful Dominations, obtain for us dominion over the rebellion of our flesh;
O sacred Thrones, grant us peace with God and man;
O brilliant Cherubim, illuminate our minds with heavenly knowledge;
O burning Seraphim, enkindle in our hearts the fire of charity.

Amen.


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Through the Oxford Experience
By Stephanie Mann
Author of Supremecy and Survival, Scepter Publishers 2007

This summer I went to Oxford, England to attend a class on the Oxford Movement as part of the annual Oxford Experience. I stayed in an “undergraduate study room” (a dorm room) and shared bathroom facilities in one of the quads of Christ Church. Christ Church is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It has the distinction of being the only one with a Cathedral as part of its structure. The Oxford Experience brings people from around the world to attend week long, non-academic (no papers, tests, or grades) courses while experiencing all that Oxford has to offer.

The city of Oxford, distinct from the University of Oxford, does have a lot to offer. It has the second-best bookstore in the world, Blackwell’s. (I think Eighth Day Books in Wichita, Kansas is the best.) It has a great art museum, the Ashmolean, unfortunately closed for extensive renovations during my visit. It has other bookstores, coffee shops, pubs (including the famous “Bird and the Baby” where the Inklings met), and a thriving tourist economy.

The University of Oxford provides the visitor with beautiful architecture and historic colleges with chapels and halls. If you are interested in English literature and history, the associations of the different colleges with their illustrious alumni are tremendous. The Great Hall at Christ Church, for instance, was filled with portraits of statesmen, clergy, artists, and writers. The same is true of the other colleges including Merton, St. John’s, Corpus Christi, Jesus, Magdalen (pronounced “maudlin”), All Souls, Trinity, and Oriel.

Because of my interest in Venerable John Henry Newman and in the history of the English Reformation, I appreciated visiting sites important to understanding the past. Visits to the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin meant more because Newman preached there; tours of Trinity and Oriel because Newman studied and tutored there. Our tutor took us to Keble College chapel, built to emphasize High Church Anglican rituals and to the Martyr’s Memorial, founded in the 19th century to honor the Protestant reformers burned at the stake during the reign of Mary I: Latimer, Ridley, and Cranmer. St. Mary’s the Virgin recently added a memorial to all the Reformation martyrs of Oxford, Catholic and Protestant including the Catholic Edmund Campion, Nicholas Owen, Cuthbert Mayne, and others— among the many who had connections to Oxford and were martyred in the 16th and 17th centuries.

I also had the opportunity to meet the proprietor of Southwell Books, an on-line bookstore offering Supremacy and Survival: How Catholics Endured the English Reformation. He and I discussed the Traditional Mass opportunities in Oxford, which he and his family appreciate so much. St. Aloysius Gonzaga, the Oxford Oratory, offers the Traditional Mass every Sunday morning at eight o’clock, while other churches offer weekly Masses on Saturday and Wednesday (Low), and First Fridays (Sung). The Traditional Mass community schedules training in Gregorian chant, pilgrimages and processions, and other activities.

I attended Mass at the Oxford Oratory on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, which was the Novus Ordo in Latin. I noticed, however, that the acolyte rang the bells at Consecration in the manner of the Traditional Mass, and poured both wine and water during the purification of the chalice after Holy Communion, and of course, we received Holy Communion kneeling at the altar rail.

I enjoyed my stay in Oxford this July, and would recommend The Oxford Experience as a great way to live and study in one of the greatest college towns in the western world. I have posted a photo album on Picasa, linked on the Contact page of my website, www.supremacyandsurvival.com


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Dressed in Your Sunday Best
by Denise Hunnell, M.D.
Examiner.com

"Dressed in your Sunday best" is a phrase that harkens back to a time when people made a point of putting on their nicest clothes for attending church on Sunday. Contemporary culture is far more casual, but is that appropriate for Mass? Notes like this one from the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington are appearing in Sunday bulletins with increasing frequency:
The temperatures have risen, and so we dress accordingly, right? Shorts, sleeveless tops, whatever keeps us cool. But wait a minute, it’s Sunday morning and time to prepare for Mass. Whether we consciously think of it or not, this will be the most important event of the day, and certainly worth a bit of “fuss” when it comes to choosing what to wear. Think about it—the angels hide their face before His Majesty—and what have we just pulled off the hanger? If we’re dressed for a backyard barbecue,we need to back up and try again! It’ll only take a minute, and God will bless us for the effort.

What is appropriate Mass attire? Assisting at Mass is not about greeting your friends and neighbors. It is about greeting God Himself as he is present in the Eucharist. Churches in Rome often require women to wear skirts that reach at least to the knee, no bare shoulders, and have their head covered. Men are not allowed to wear shorts or tank tops.

Here in the Washington D.C. area, the customary dress is not quite so restrictive but similar principles should apply. Let three words guide your clothing selection: neat, clean, and modest. Out of respect for the Eucharist women should not wear plunging necklines, spaghetti straps or strapless tops, nor should they display bare midriffs. Extremely short skirts or shorts, or tight pants are also inappropriate. Any clothing that calls attention to the wearer and away from the Mass is disrespectful. These guidelines are also applicable if you are going to be a guest at a Catholic wedding. While the wedding reception may have a cocktail party feel, the wedding Mass is a solemn religious rite. Therefore it is wise to have some sort of shawl or jacket to provide modesty during the wedding. Similarly, men should dress in a respectful way. Tank tops, frayed shorts, and T-shirts that seem suited for the beach do not honor God.

Since 1983, the Code of Canon Law has not required women to cover their head in church. However, a growing number of women are finding that wearing a chapel veil or mantilla is a helpful form of personal piety. The veil symbolizes the woman's role as a humble servant of Christ and a woman of the Church. It helps her to approach the Eucharist with humility and reverence. In most parishes in the D.C. area, only a handful of women will wear a head covering at any given Mass, but it is an acceptable practice.

If you attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass, the dress is customarily more formal. Men should wear a tie and many will also be wearing a suit or sports jacket. Women wear skirts or dresses and usually wear some sort of head covering.

Clothing for Mass does not need to be expensive or elaborate. However, the care with which we dress reflects the care with which we pray. Most people take great pains to show up for a job interview or a party in appropriate clothing. It is only reasonable that we make the same effort to be suitably dressed at Mass to meet God.


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Just a Picture
I love this picture, though I have a feeling I have posted it before. I assume it is WWII Europe, the church being a victim of bombing..there's the horrible tear of the exterior with the glaring naked light threatening the solemnity of mass....but no, the candles burn even brighter, the incense probably sweeter, the invocation perhaps deeper...the participants more grateful than ever before.

Ok, I made all that up...but I love the pic.




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New TLM in the Diocese of Dodge City
Rorate Caeli

From a reader:

There is now a twice-weekly traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Dodge City, Kansas. Retired Benedictine Father Rene Guesnier, OSB, has moved to his hometown parish, St. Francis Xavier parish of Seward, and offers the TLM (Low Mass) Sundays at 11 am, and Mondays at 8:30 am. He also offers Novus Ordo Masses at the same parish.

The church is located at 8th and Lincoln in Seward, Stafford County, south of Great Bend and east of Larned.

This diocese had previously been one of the holdouts versus Summorum Pontificum in the USA, lacking even a single regular TLM.
Post Script: This morning Rorate Caeli had a comment from a reader that sheds more light on the TLM in the Diocese of Dodge City
Anonymous said...
It is not quite true that the Diocese of Dodge City has held out. Prior to Fr. Rene Guesnier celebrating Mass in Seward, KS another priest had been offering the TLM mondays and tuesday at SS. Peter & Paul, North Ellinwood, KS on a regular basis (site of Fr. Leontiev, F.SS.P's solemn High Mass four years ago!)when he had gone home to visit his mother over a year ago. Unfortunately, the church is no longer a canonical parish and thereby requires permission of the local Ordinary to offer any Mass there. Permission was given for the TLM on the occasion of the Feast of SS. Peter & Paul last June with Dr. John Rickert, F.SS.P giving the sermon and Fr. P. Klein celebrant. The formal request to offer the TLM at the historic church of SS. Peter & Paul had not yet been given! Nevertheless,the TLM mass is offered on 1st Sat. in Hugoton, KS and depending on circumstances, offered once during the week. Fortunately, Fr. Rene provides the consistent offering of the TLM every week.
15 August, 2009

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Words of Wisdom

Put all the good works in the world against one Holy Mass.
They will be as a grain of sand beside a mountain.
St. John Vianney


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St Theresa Hutchinson Kansas

While in Hutchinson this week I stopped in at St. Teresa, a beautiful old church which has undergone some recent renovation. The smell of incense was still in the air as I walked into the quiet afternoon light. The ornate high altar stood proudly, the refurbished original tabernacle gleamed in the light streaming from windows above and the votive candles flickered in front of traditional side altars. In the pews sat prayer cards with the Sanctus and Agnus Dei in Latin...a nice touch.

What a wonderful old church. Please follow the link to see other pictures....forgive the poor quality of pictures as I used my phone to take the shots at http://picasaweb.google.com/bumpy187/StTheresaSOfHutchinsonKansas#

Monday, August 3, 2009

Post #89

Topics: Pope Benedict : Kneel For Communion....ICEL Backs Plainchant: Trendy Composers Wail...Half a Million Vietnamese: Protest Against Police’s Brutality


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The Necessaries
We here at Venite Missa Est! are aware of the increasing readership, email and RSS feed subscribers to our little corner of the blogosphere. Thank you! For you folks who recieve us through email or RSS feeds please note that the blog does at times contain pictures and video that you may not be seeing...so at your convenience...navigate over to http://venite-missa-est.blogspot.com/ for complete contents.


That being said let us be clear that this blogs intention is to the greater glory of God and will at times feature local stories, parishioners, guest writers and artists from within Wichita, the Latin Mass (EFLR) community of Kansas at large as well as national and international news stories. Occasionally there may be some articles that some may find controversial. It is not our intention to cause harm or insult to any fellow Catholics, ordained or lay but to present information that pertains to the Catholic world at large.


And now the neccesary housework: Please note: St. Anthony Catholic Church is the only local church celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass (EFLR) in the Wichita area. Though this blog is loosely centered around this parish and it's members, Venite Missa Est! is by no means, in any way an official voice of, or for, St. Anthony Parish or the Diocese of Wichita. Venite Missa Est is strictly a private layman's endeavor. Enjoy this weeks post. We are always looking for contributers.


Feel free to contribute thoughts, articles, poems, artwork or anything else for that matter to bumpy187@gmail.com for consideration for next weeks post.


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Bloggers Note: This summer was suppose to be dedicated to reading and writing original articles for the blog. My intention was to cover more history of St. Anthony Parish (Wichita), take more pictures, write more articles....alas the summer is ending.


This week is sparse in content and contains no original work...but the articles within are worth reading. Enjoy and, as always, send me your original thoughts, stories, pictures pertaining to Catholicism and how you have experienced it in life. I would love to post your contributions!


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Pope Benedict to Catholics: Kneel For Communion
8/1/2009 8:22:00 AM By David Martin -www.newsblaze.com
Catholic Citizens of Illinois
Submitted by Larry Bethel





"Whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and of the Blood of the Lord... For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord" - 1 Corinthians 11:27,28
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Pope Benedict XVI does not want the faithful receiving Communion in their hand nor does he want them standing to receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. According to Vatican liturgist, Monsignor Guido Marini, the pope is trying to set the stage for the whole church as to the proper norm for receiving Communion for which reason communicants at his papal Masses are now asked to kneel and receive on the tongue.

The Holy Father's reasoning is simple: "We Christians kneel before the Blessed Sacrament because, therein, we know and believe to be the presence of the One True God." (May 22, 2008)
According to the pope the entire Church should kneel in adoration before God in the Eucharist. "Kneeling in adoration before the Eucharist is the most valid and radical remedy against the idolatries of yesterday and today" (May 22, 2008)


The pope's action is in accord with the Church's 2000 year tradition and is being done in order to foster a renewed love and respect for the Eucharist which presently is being mocked and treated with contempt. The various trends and innovations of our time (guitar liturgy, altar girls, lay ministers, Communion in the hand) have worked together to destroy our regard for the Eucharist, thus advancing the spiritual death of the church. After all, the Eucharist is the very life and heartbeat of the Mystical Body around which the entire Church must revolve.


Kneeling also coincides with the Church's centuries old ordinance that only the consecrated hands of a priest touch the Body of Christ in Holy Communion. "To priests alone has been given power to consecrate and administer to the faithful, the Holy Eucharist." (Council of Trent) This teaching is beautifully expressed by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica: "Because out of reverence towards this sacrament, nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest's hands, for touching this sacrament."


It is for reason that Pope Paul VI in his May 1969 pastoral letter to the world's bishops reaffirmed the Church's teaching on the reception of Communion, stating that: "This method on the tongue must be retained." (Memoriale Domini) This came in response to the bishops of Holland who started Communion in the hand in defiance of the centuries old decree from the Council of Rouen (650 A.D.) where this practice was condemned as sacrilegious. "Do not put the Eucharist in the hands of any layperson, but only in their mouths." To date this prohibition has never been overturned legally.


Today Communion in the hand is carried on illegally and has become a major tool of the enemy to destory the Faith throughout the world. For this practice serves no other purpose than to warp our conception of Jesus Christ and nourish a contempt for the sacred mysteries. It's no wonder St. Basil referred to Communion in the hand as "a grave fault."


That is to say, Communion in the hand is not tied with Catholic tradition. This practice was first introduced to the Church by the heretical Arians of the 4th century as a means of expressing their belief that Christ was not divine. Unfortunately, it has served to express the same in our time and has been at the very heart of the present heresy and desecration that is rampant throughout the universal Church. If we have 'abuse' problems today it is because we're abusing the Sacrament - it's backfiring on us!


Thanks to Communion in the hand, members of satanic cults are now given easy access to come into the Church and take the Host so that they bring it back to their covens where it is abused and brutalized in the ritualistic Black Mass to Satan. They crush the Host under their shoes as a mockery to the living God, and we assist it with our casual practice? Amongst themselves the satanists declare that Communion in the hand is the greatest thing that ever happened to them, and we do nothing to stop it?

Hence, the Holy Father is doing his part to try to purge the Church of abuse and we as members of Christ are called upon to assist him. For your encouragement we include the following quotation from Cardinal Llovera, the new prefect for the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments speaking to Life Site News on July 22, 2009: "It is the mission of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments to work to promote Pope Benedict's emphasis on the traditional practices of liturgy, such as reception of Communion on the tongue while kneeling."

Also worth considering is the recent decree from Cardinal Caffarra, the Archbishop of Bologna Italy, forbidding the practice of Communion in the hand: "Many cases of profanation of the Eucharist have occurred, profiting by the possibility to receive the consecrated Bread on one's palm of the hand... Considering the frequency in which cases of irreverent behavior in the act of receiving the Eucharist have been reported, we dispose that starting from today in the Metropolitan Church of St. Peter, in the Basilica of St. Petronius and in the Shrine of the Holy Virgin of St. Luke in Bologna the faithful are to receive the consecrated Bread only from the hands of the Minister directly on the tongue." (from his decree on the reception of the Eucharist, issued April 27, 2009)

Technically all bishops and clergy are bound to follow the Holy Father's directive on this issue, but in the meantime the faithful are not obliged to wait for the approval of their bishop in order to kneel for God. The directives of the Holy Father are not subject to the veto or scrutiny of the bishops and therefore all pastors and laity have a right and duty to put these directives into practice for the edification of their communities.



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Trendy Composers Wail as ICEL Backs Plainchant for New English Mass
By Damian Thompson
Telegraph.co.uk

The publisher of those toe-curling classics, the “Israeli Mass” and the “Clap-Hands Gloria”, is one of many “liturgists” worried by ICEL’s suggestion that the new (better) English Mass should be accompanied by vernacular chant based on plainsong.
As the Tablet reports, clucking sympathetically:

UK music publisher Kevin Mayhew said his firm would be commissioning many new Masses, but said worshippers would take months to learn new settings, and felt sure that favourites such as the “Clap-Hands Gloria” and the “Israeli Mass” would remain in use.

Not so fast, Kevin. First, those two works are not “favourites”. They are LOATHED, especially by young people. Second, the Congregation for Divine Worship and ICEL will now have a policy of zero tolerance for liturgical settings that monkey around with the Ordinary of the Mass (as I seem to remember the “Israeli” excrescence does).

I don’t know what the new secretary of ICEL, Fr Andrew Wadsworth, thinks of the greedy cartel of guitar-strumming copyright hawks who’ve had Catholic music sewn up for so long. But he is a classically trained musician who specialises in the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. So it’s not looking good, boys.


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Half a Million Vietnamese Catholics of Vinh Diocese
Protest Against Police’s Brutality
VietCatholic News
Blogger's note: St Anthony parish, in Wichita, has many Vietnamese parishioners which is why this story is pertinent to this blog. Please pray for our fellow Catholics in this troubled part of our world.
In unprecedented event after the communist takeover of Vietnam, half million Vietnamese Catholics joined in huge protests demanding the justice for victims who were assaulted brutally by police in central costal province of Vinh as they were trying to rebuild their worship place.
Police in provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Quang Binh had been put on high alert in the wake of huge protests joined by half million Catholics. At 7 am local time on Sunday morning, 170 priests and 420 women religious led 500,000 Catholics of Vinh Diocese and neighboring dioceses in peaceful protests being held throughout 19 deaneries. The event is reportedly observed as the most crowded religious protest in Vietnam history.

Across the entrance of the Bishop’s Office and on the façade of every church in the diocese hung big banners which stated the reasons why people were protesting, a testimonial evidence of severe conflict between the increasingly dictatorial regime and a normally peace loving, law abiding citizens and Catholics. The banners asserted Catholics had no choice but holding these protest as it was the only way the world could hear their indignant voice on police's brutality and the injustice that parishioners of Tam Toa have been suffering almost since the beginning of communism in Vietnam.

In more details, Catholic protestors demanded the immediate release of their brothers and sisters who were beaten cruelly in a violent police raid on Monday and have since then been detained indefinitely. During the said incident, police fired teargas at parishioners, who were erecting a Cross and patios on the grounded of the bombed Tam Toa church, before kicking and beating them brutally with stun guns, and batons. 18 were thrown into police trucks. 7 of them are still behind the bar and risk being prosecuted.

Police have charged Catholic activists of “counter-revolutionary crimes, violating state policies on Americans’ War Crimes Memorial Sites, disturbing public order, and attacking officials-on-duty,” state-run media outlets reported.Right after the incident, Nhan Dan (People), a mouthpiece of the Politburo – the supreme leading body of Vietnamese Communist Party – initiated a media campaign calling for severe punishments against Catholics of Tam Toa. The article in the Nhan Dan has seen as a strong signal from the Party for extreme actions against efforts of Catholics to regain Church properties.

The start shot of the highest power newspaper has been followed by most state-own media outlets including television channels.
Facing the wake of fierce attacks from state media, on July 24, 2009, the Bishopric of Vinh Diocese issued a statement rebuffing accusations from Vietnam government.

“Parishioners of Tam Toa did not violate the laws when they build patios on the ground of Tam Toa church. Up till now, Tam Toa church premise, and its bell tower still remain in the ownership of Tam Toa parish of the diocese of Vinh,” said the statement, demanding the government to “stop immediately the distortion of truth, the defamation of religion, and the instigation of hatred between Catholics and non-Catholics.”

News relating to the Vatican visit of communist leader Nguyen Minh Triet on November and a potential pastoral Vietnam visit of Pope Benedict XVI at un-specified time have been also exploited to their wildest extends. Citing them as an evident of a significant improvement on religious freedom, state media have attacked Catholic leaders and faithful who have actively involved in struggles for the requisition of Church properties as “bad Catholics” who blatantly disregard the laws and continually disrupt public order. In particular, the parishioners of Tam Toa have been accused as “a group of gang rivals” who challenged the laws by attacking officials-on-duty.

In its response, the Bishop’s Office of Vinh Diocese was determined to set the record straight: “We have enough evidence to state that the police of Quang Binh had beaten our faithful before arresting them illegally. Police seized our Cross and confiscated other Church properties as well as our faithful's ones,” the statement said.

On July 22, 2009, the People’s Committee of Quang Binh province sent summoning orders to representatives of the Bishop’s Office and the College of Priests of Vinh Diocese to ask them come to the Committee to discuss on the “the situation of Catholic activities on the area”. The orders were rejected. “While our Cross – a great, sacred symbol of our faith is still being profaned by the police of Quang Binh, and while our faithful are still being jailed unjustly, we cannot come to talk with the Provincial Committee,” explained Fr. Anthony Pham Dinh Phung, Chief Secretary of Bishop’s Office in a response letter to the Committee.

Bishop’s Office of Vinh Diocese also sent a letter to the local authorities of Quang Binh demanding that the local government:

1) Release immediately and completely all Catholics who have been beaten, arrested and jailed.
2) Provide medical care for wounded Catholics beaten by police.

3) Make compensation for the patios of Tam Toa parish.
4) Return the Cross and other Church properties as well as our faithful's ones.
5) Stop immediately the distortion of truth, the defamation of religion, and the instigation of hatred between Catholics and non-Catholics.

On Sunday, Vietnamese Catholic Communities in large cities around the world spent a minute of silence to pray for victims of police violent raid at Tam Toa, and for the Church in Vietnam which has recently continually suffered persecutions by the atheist government.

From the diocese of Vinh, organizers of the protests have reported a couple of incidents in which Catholics had clashed with police who tried to turn them back to their villages when they tried to join in protests. Especially, at Tam Toa, at least 20 women and children were beaten badly by plain-clothed police when they were on their way to the church.

Latest reports stated that after the protest at Tam Toa, on Sunday night police raid parishioners’ houses and arrested at least a women and a male university student.