Post #100

Topics: Pope St. Pius V: By James Spencer...Vestments: The Mantelletta...St. Alphonsus Liguori: On Prayer...Have It The Way You Like It : A Church of Convenience?...All Souls: Indulgences...Just a Beautiful Picture: Picture...Sacred Heart Catholic Church: Halstead Kansas

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

We are old. Venite Missa Est! is 100 posts old today! Strike up the band, pop the champagne corks, light the candles and cue the dancing girls!!!

A hearty and heartfelt thanks goes out to those who have contributed to this blog including the original writer (he really IS a writer) James Spencer, original inspiration from Larry Bethel (The Inspirator...[yes I know that's not a word]) and those who have contributed in submission, emails, comments, best wishes and prayer.

I really don't know if this blog has provided any thing of any sort to any individual but it has been fun. Should we continue? Do we serve any purpose? I would like to hear from you, good readers, comments positive or likewise. Feel free to comment at the end of each post by clicking on the little pencil icon.

--------------------------

This past Monday, October 19th, Father Jarrod Lies celebrated Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form in Clonmel. Tony Strunk and Luke Headley assisted. I am told that there was a great turnout and many dusted off their mantillas and 1962 missals to attend. Thanks be to God!

--------------------------

We welcome to the team of altar servers Brody Flavin! Brody (and his bride of course) were married last year at St. Anthony in the Extraordinary Form of mass. It is always good to have new servers.

The Necessaries

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.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Pope St. Pius V

(1566 – 1572)

by Jim Spencer

In 1556, when Michael Ghislieri (1504 – 1572) became Pope Pius V, the outlook everywhere was grim. The Moslems’ navy controlled the Mediterranean and their armies were ravishing the Mid-East, slaughtering thousands of Christians, taking thousands of prisoners (men for slavery, women for harems or prostitution). Protestantism was ripping Western Europe asunder. And internal abuses had long been damaging the Church: Absentee bishops abounded; poorly-formed priests were the rule; the liturgy was in disarray; and the laity was largely ignorant of the Faith.

Granted, the Council of Trent (1545 – 1563) had proposed sweeping reforms, but their implementation had only begun. So, completing them fell to the new 62-year old Pontiff.

And complete them he did!

Clergy and Hierarchy

Per the Council of Trent, he ordered absentee bishops to return to their dioceses and become shepherds for their flocks. Those who refused, he replaced. In all, during his six-year reign, he consecrated 314 new bishops, only a few as replacements for recalcitrants. He selected new bishops judiciously, thereby improving the hierarchy’s overall spirituality.

Also per the Council, he initiated the establishment diocesan seminaries to form new priests properly. Thus began the seminary system we so take for granted today.

Laity

The Catechism the Council had ordered for teaching the Faith to the laity had been started, but not completed. Pius assigned this project to Cardinal (St.) Charles Borromeo, who completed it during the Pope’s first year in office.

Interestingly, this Catechism of the Council of Trent is addressed not to the laity, for whose instruction it was created, but to parish priests, who were to do the instructing. Was this a subtle hint from St. Pius V and St. Charles to priests that they should study this book to upgrade their own formation? Hmm.

Liturgy

Since Pope St. Gregory I (the Great) had issued the Missale Romanum, the liturgy of Mass had suffered dissimilar and unauthorized “revisions” in many dioceses. Similarly, since Pope St. Gregory VII had revised the Breviarium Romanum (Divine Office), it too had suffered many such “freelance” revisions. The Council of Trent had directed that these two liturgical books be restored to their original Church-approved forms.

Pius V promulgated the restored Breviarium Romanum in 1568. He promulgated the restored Missale Romanum 1570. By his Papal Bull, Quo Primum, he mandated that the all priests in the Latin Rite (with certain exceptions) were to use this restored missal. The exceptions were those using other missals that had initially had Church approval and had been in continuous use for at least 200 years. Thus, for example, the Milan Diocese continued using the Ambrosian Rite until 1970. (See Note on Quo Primum below.)

Protestantism

Pius V sent many missionaries into Protestant lands and they did have great success in some areas, especially Southern Germany and Poland.

To inform English Catholics that Elizabeth I and her “church” were in heresy, he excommunicated her. This decision has been widely questioned and criticized ever since, but always on political/diplomatic grounds, never on doctrinal grounds.

Papal White

St. Pius V, originally a Dominican monk, wore his white Dominican habit throughout his life, even after becoming Pope. Because of his immediate successors’ great respect for him and his accomplishments as Pope, they also wore white. Thus “papal white” became a tradition all subsequent popes have honored.

Lepanto

With the Ottoman Turk navy dominating the Mediterranean and harassing Catholic ports at will, Pius patched together a far-less-than-adequate fleet, and put Don Juan of Austria in command. The flag ship’s banner was a replica of the St. Juan Diego’s tilma with its picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This replica that had actually been touched to the original. Every sailor was given a rosary, and they recited the rosary in common every day. Pius V fasted for several days and prayed the rosary several times a day. He also requested that the faithful everywhere recite the rosary daily for the success of this naval expedition.

On October 7, 1571. Pius’ fleet (out-numbered by 80 ships!) routed the Turkish navy at Lepanto, destroying most of their vessels and freeing many Catholic galley slaves. The Turkish navy never recovered from that disaster, so the Mediterranean was thereafter free of Moslem domination.

At the precise moment of that victory, far away in Rome, Pius had a vision of it. He announced victory to his staff and had all the church bells in Rome rung for hours. (And, Folks, that’s a lot of bells!) H attributed this triumph, rightly, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to commemorate it, he established the “Feast of Our Lady of Victory” for October 7. Gregory XIII later changed the title to the “Feast of the Most Holy Rosary” and moved it to the first Sunday of October. Clement III still later extended it to the universal Church.

Last Words

Privately, Pius V always lived the austere life of a Dominican Monk, even when he was Pope. He prayed constantly, fasted often, and meditated every day. He abstained from meat for the last fifty years of his life. In spite of this austerity, or perhaps because of it, he was unusually effective in his short but very active reign on the Chair of St. Peter.

Like all saints, he gladly embraced all the suffering our Lord offered him throughout his life on earth. On his death-bed, after a long and excruciating illness, Pius he was heard to whisper, “Lord, increase my suffering, but if it is Your will, please also increase my patience.”

Note on Quo Primum

Over the years, I’ve heard many claim that Pius V’s Bull, Quo Primum, was an infallible statement mandating that all priests in the Latin Rite use the restored Missale Romanum (now known as the “Extraordinary Form”) forever. However much I may wish that this were true, it’s not even possible for a liturgical mandate to be infallible. According to the Vatican Council I, these are the requirements for an infallible papal statement:

1.) The pope must speak ex cathedra, that is, as the Supreme Pontiff of the entire Church.

2.) He must speak to the entire Church.

3.) He must speak on a matter of faith and morals.

Quo Primum fails on at least two of those three requirements. Although Pius V was speaking as pope, he was not addressing the entire Church, but only the Latin Rite. Furthermore, he was speaking about liturgy, not faith and morals. In other words, he was speaking, not as supreme teacher, but as supreme governor of the Church. Of course, his governance ended with his death.

One out of three jest ain’t good enough! Yeah, hey, I’m sorry too, but we have to stick to the truth even when it doesn’t coincide with our hopes and wishes.

Source Books for this article:

St. Pius V, by Robin Anderson;

Ten Dates Every Catholic Should Know, by Diane Moczar

Islam at the Gates, by Diane Moczar.

END

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The Mantelletta

Submitted by Larry Bethel

Dappled Photos

http://dappledphotos.blogspot.com/2005/12/mantelletta.html

The mantelletta was once even more common than the mozzetta. It is a sleeveless, knee-length, vest-like garment, fastened at the neck and open in the front. Like the mozzetta, its color varies according to

the status of the wearer. It, too, is worn over the rochet. Once upon a time, it was worn instead

of the mozzetta over the rochet by any bishop outside his place of jurisdiction, as well as by cardinals (together with the mozzetta) in the City of Rome. It was likewise ordinary

choir dress for several classes of monsignori. Now, it is reserved to the very highest class of monsignor (protonotaries apostolic de numero), auditors of the Sacred Roman Rota, a few other high functionaries of the Vatican, and certain chapters of canons who have been granted the vestural privilege.

Please visit http://dappledphotos.blogspot.com/2005/12/mantelletta.html for more pictures.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

On Prayer

"…to save one’s soul without prayer is most difficult and even…impossible, according to the ordinary course of God’s providence. But by praying our salvation is made secure…What does it cost us to say, ‘My God, help me! Lord, assist me! have mercy on me!’ Is there anything easier than this? And this little will suffice to save us, if we will be diligent in doing it…

…let us understand, that if we do not pray, we have no excuse, because the grace of prayer is given to everyone. It is in our power to pray whenever we will…God gives to all the grace of prayer, in order that thereby they may obtain every help, and even more than they need, for keeping the divine law, and for persevering until death. If we are not saved, the whole fault will be ours; and we shall have our own failure to answer for, because we did not pray.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Have It The Way You Like It

Our Church of Convenience

December 2005By Paul A. Wagner

The New Oxford Review

http://www.newoxfordreview.org/

Blogger's note: The byline of the title of this article, taken from the new Oxford review, kind of alarmed me when I first read it but the article resonated with me in a very personal way. A parish I have loved over the years has become increasingly "friendly". By that I mean that personal introductions, handshakes, hugs and big soft eyes, have become de rigueur before, during and after the liturgy. This touchy feely approach has almost taken over any sense of the sacred and it hurts me deeply.

Paul A. Wagner is Director of both the Institute for Logic and Cognitive Studies and the Project in Professional Ethics at the University of Houston -- Clear Lake.

As a philosopher and ethicist, I have only once before written anything of direct interest to Christian thinking. Moreover, never once have I written anything Catholic in tone. I suppose I figured the Church could take care of herself over the past thirty years. But I've heard less and less theology and morality from the pulpits and more and more psychology and secular sociology.

Incense and organs seem to have faded away from churches, and in their place are guitars, drums, cymbals, trumpets, and even electric guitars. Seldom are people quiet during Mass. Chatter about dress, politics, or upcoming festivals and barbecues are common. And, when walking to and from Communion, I see people greet each other and chat about weekend festivities. Once, at a charismatic Catholic church I rarely attend, I watched as children ran up and down the aisles playing during Mass, one falling into a very large baptismal font. Fortunately, people were able to react quickly to this mishap since few were paying attention to the altar (more fashionably referred to as the "table").

Long ago, I taught Sunday school classes. Now I find from talking to many Sunday school teachers that they ignore the Catechism of the Catholic Church and teach almost exclusively about capital punishment, abortion, the environment, and sex education. Moreover, the content of the curriculum is indistinguishable from that of the public schools (except for abortion). So, what is the point of sending children to Sunday school?

Evidently, the only thing children, especially teens, get in Sunday school or its equivalent is the same as they get from television or the public school classroom -- save for the condemnation of abortion. Opposition to abortion is seemingly all that sets CCD instruction apart from the rest of "pop" society.

Church has become a place of convenience. Parishioners greet people at the beginning of Mass and again at the handshake of peace. Catholics have become very good at the fashionable "air kiss" and the robust handshake. Parishioners are often treated throughout Mass to warmed-over folk and pop music. Once during the collection of gifts at a Catholic church in Chicago, I watched as the celebrant and deacons sat on the side of the altar talking, smiling, and bobbing their heads to the beat of the music. On occasion I have found Catholic churches in both San Francisco and Houston that dismiss this "muzak" and boogie down to a heavy metal rock 'n' roll. The performers lap up the approval showered upon them, which sometimes comes in the form of spontaneous clapping from the congregation and sometimes in the form of accolades from the celebrant. In the midst of such jubilation, parishioners endure a brief politicized homily and then go home feeling -- feeling what?

When I ask parishioners what exactly it is they feel when going to Mass, the most frequent response I get is that they feel "positive." A few times I have been so indelicate as to ask what it means to feel "positive," and I am usually told things like, "I feel positive about me," or "I feel positive because I know that regardless of what I have done God still loves me." So there you have it. Catholicism has become a feel-good Church like so many other Christian-lite denominations.

It is true that Catholic doctrine makes clear that God forgives and loves us regardless of what we have done wrong -- provided we repent. Moreover, Catholic doctrine does not condone whatever wrongs one intends to do in the future. This seems to be a point glossed over in these days of perpetual comfort and convenience.

The clergy officiating at such celebrations (the Mass) justify the party atmosphere by reference to the Psalms, in particular to the Psalmist's reference at times to celebration with harp, timbrel, cymbal, and even dance (Pss. 81, 149, 150). If my memory serves me right, the Psalms were written before the time of Christ, before the Last Supper, before the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and before the Crucifixion. In short, before there was ever reason for a solemn sacrifice of the Mass.

The Psalms are a type of prayer service. And they continue with Compline. Nevertheless, as beautiful and devotional as the Psalms are, they are not a substitute for sacramental devotion.

For example, one could argue that the Last Rites represent a cause for celebration. And why not? The dying are about to be blessed, their chance for eternal bliss enhanced. Even so, I haven't heard of any requests by the dying for some heavy metal accompaniment to the Sacrament or even a request for a bit of jazzy pop. Indeed, most regard this beautiful moment as much too solemn for an ostentatious demonstration of revelry.

Partying is fun. But when does partying become too much in the religious context? When does it promote negligence toward the Lord or, worse yet, disrespect?

Practitioners of Catholicism-lite don't fancy anything "negative." When their vocabularies were bigger they used to say they didn't like "fire and brimstone" homilies. Now they say they don't like guilt-trips. It's just better to be positive! Clergy now seem to agree.

In concert with this more "positive" approach to Church life, I have heard more than one priest explain in sympathy, "I can't imagine the Apostles were solemn men. They must have been wildly joyous because they knew the Lord!" I wonder, have these clerics ever read the New Testament? Where was the joy when the Apostles feared they were about to drown in turbulent seas? What do these clerics make of the scorn the Apostles at times shared with Christ? What do they make of the Apostles' mindset at the time of the Crucifixion?

These clerics of the "Church of Catholic Convenience" made their understanding of New Testament history patently clear on American television when, for example, following Pope John Paul II's approval of Mel Gibson's traditional Catholic movie The Passion of the Christ, they apologized for the Pope and condemned the movie. Many Catholic priests went on to speak against the movie from the pulpit, on television, and in written editorials. Evidently, these priests found the movie not joyful enough, as too much of a "bummer."

The followers of Catholicism-lite don't like anything that is in any way a downer. The idea of a Final Judgment is abhorrent to them. This dismissal of a final call to Judgment is surprising since the Bible contains numerous verses referring to a Day of Judgment by Christ Himself.

Catholicism-lite is deliberately kept free of anything uncomfortable. To remember Bible accounts of responsibility or judgment are felt to be -- well, depressing and anachronistic. There are other consequences to think about as well. If parishioners become gloomy on occasion when attending Mass, they may not come as often. That would mean their financial contributions would diminish. Fewer contributions would certainly be an inconvenience to the American Church now that there are so many lawsuits to pay.

Oddly enough, even with all the pandering to remove inconvenience from the Church, I still come across former Catholics who loathe the Church because they remember how she did once inconvenience them. Because of such admitted inconvenience they left the Church in search of a community that would welcome them for "being who they are." They want a religion that fills them with boundless self-affirmation.

An example here can be educative. I recently ran into a professional colleague who holds a Ph.D. and works for a large medical school. She is a former cradle Catholic who now loathes the Catholic Church. It is not clear why she feels this way, although she has been divorced twice. Even though she has never sought an annulment, it seems her dismissiveness of the Church runs deeper than her resentment of Church policies regarding marriage, divorce, Communion, and annulment. She claims to disavow not just Catholicism but all formal religions as well. She explains that she now belongs to a "spiritual group" that carries the incorporated name "You Deserve a Miracle!" She finds her participation in the group a very "positive" experience. So, alas, where church was once a place for her to come to grips with her relationship to God, the point now seems simply to find some positive experience of self.

Many clergy are sympathetic to this spin on positive thinking on the part of parishioners. As a result, religious ceremonies, including even the Mass itself, have been turned into a form of entertainment. The draw is no longer God, but is now "community" and "celebration." The prevailing theme is that Christians are gloriously happy people. God is no longer the God who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Practitioners of Catholicism-lite claim unrelenting joyousness as seemingly something of a duty. When questioned about their single-minded focus on celebration, many are quick to point to Jesus' participation in the marriage feast at Cana, the party for the prodigal son's return, and so on. God loves us and wants us to have fun. That, they explain, is the essence of spiritual enlightenment.

Unfortunately, in contrast to this unrelenting promotion of personal exuberance, the God of the Bible and of Catholic tradition has made it known that He is vulnerable to being rejected by humanity. And that is surely nothing to celebrate. Moreover, those who do reject Him run the risk of that rejection setting in permanently and separating them from Him forever. This is the spiritual reality the Bible describes. There are ups and there are downs. There is good and bad. There is reward and punishment. And lastly, there is consolation -- and for the eternally lost, despair.

The biblical God participates in humanity. But surely people can't expect God to be a participant in some of the wrongs in which they freely engage.

God made it clear that the people who reject Him and His ways are not with Him now and will not be with Him later. Is this a cause for celebration? Or for sacrifice and repentance?

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

All Souls Day Indulgences

by Jim Spencer

Mr. Jim Spencer sent this in an email but, like a lot of smart folks, his common every day thought is worth sharing. I hope you don't mind that I posted this Jim!

Good Folks:

The current issue of the Fraternity Newsletter explains in detail the indulgences for the poor souls the Chruch makes available on All Souls Day and on all days between November 1 and November 8. I'm sure you'll read about them in some publication, but if you don't, I'll show this newsletter to anyone in the rosary group who is interested next Monday evening.

Back in the bad old days, All Souls Day was the only day in the year in which the Church granted "toties/quoties" (as many . . . as often) indulgences for the poor souls. On that day, a person could gain a plenary indulgence for the poor souls every time he stepped inside a Catholic Church and said certain prayers for the poor souls (I've forgotten what those prayers were, but they were minimal). People would walk back and forth in and out of a church repeatedly for long periods of time to free as many poor souls from purgatory as they had time for. This may seem silly today, but getting a poor soul out of purgatory was and is a significant work of charity.

Purgatory ain't no fun. The souls there suffer constantly, 24/7/52. No naps. No coffee breaks. No meals. No TV. No books, magazines, or newspapers. In fact, nuttin' 'cept sufferin'. Of course, these souls can and do pray for people on earth, but other than that life in purgatory is totally unpleasant monotony. Can you imagine how grateful such a soul is to the person who springs him via an indulgence so he can go to heaven?

Gaining indulgences for the poor souls is surely the best way on earth to gain very good friends in very high places. Why not try it?

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Halstead Kansas

While visiting Halstead Kansas, 8 miles west of Newton on highway 50, I stopped in at Sacred Heart Church. What a beautiful little church this is, almost untouched by modern(ist) hands. It almost looks like the original paint is still in place. Renovations are planned though I hope they don't mean a "wreckovation".

My apologies for the cell phone pictures, they are not of the best quality.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Just a Beautiful Picture