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 Voelkercelebrates 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.
Topics: Book Signing: Local Author Stephanie A. Mann.... Franciscans of the Immaculate Messaenlatino: Nice Pictures....EWTN Broadcast: Missa Cantata For Good Shepard Sunday....Just For Fun: Pic....Thomas A'Kempis: For the Greater Glory of God and the Honor of The Blessed Virgin Mary...SSPX: New Rosary Crusade....Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter: Chant Online in mp3 file format....Newman University Students: Visiting St. Anthony
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Book Signing, Sunday April 26 with Stephanie A. Mann
Supremacy and Survival: How Catholics Endured theEnglish Reformation
A couple of months ago, the Venite blog featured a review by EighthDay Books of Supremacy and Survival:How Catholics Endured theEnglish Reformation published by Scepter Publishers. The author,Stephanie A. Mann, and her husband Mark, often attend the ELFR hereat St. Anthony's. Next Sunday, April 26, she will bring copies of her book for sale (and to sign) at coffee and donuts after the 8a.m. Mass. She will also offer a brief reading. As Venite, Missa Est commented, this is "an enjoyableand important book". Her website is http://www.supremacyandsurvival.com/The price for the book is $15.00, including tax.
From the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Missa Cantata High Mass in the extraordinary form for Good Shepherd Sunday. Times:Sun 4/26/09 8:00 AM ET / 5 AM PTMon 4/27/09 12:00 AM ET / (Sun) 9 PM PT
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Just For Fun
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Thomas A'Kempis For the Greater Glory of God and the Honor of The Blessed Virgin Mary Submitted by James Spencer
"Wouldst to God thou wert worthy to suffer something for the Name of Jesus! How great glory would remain unto thyself! How great joy would it be to all the Saints of God! And how great edification to thy neighbor! All recommend patience, but, alas, how few are there that desire to suffer! With good reason oughtest thou willingly to suffer for Christ, since many suffer greater things for the world." (This is part 13 of 14 from Book II, Chapter 12, "The Royal Road of the Holy Cross," from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A'Kempis.)
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
New SSPX Rosary Crusade
In his latest Letter to Friends and Benefactors (in French, dated April 15, 2009), the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), Bishop Bernard Fellay, after some strong words about those enemies of the Church (inside and outside Church institutions) who have been trying to undermine the Pope's efforts of reconciliation, proposes another Rosary Crusade, much larger than the other two previous Crusades:
"It seems to us that the moment is come to launch a substantial offensive, deeply anchored in the message of Our Lady at Fatima, in which she herself promised the happy ending, for she announces that, in the end, her Immaculate Heart will triumph. It is this triumph that we ask her, by the means that she herself requests, the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart by the Supreme Shepherd and all the bishops of the Catholic world, and the propagation of the devotion to her Dolorous and Immaculate Heart. It is for this that we wish to offer her, with this purpose, from now to March 25, 2010, a bouquet of 12 million Rosaries, as a crown of as many stars around her, accompanied by an equivalent sum of daily sacrifices that we may be able to fulfill most of all in the faithful accomplishment of the duties of our state of life, and with the promise to propagate the devotion to her Immaculate Heart."
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
FSSP: mp3 Chant Files Online
Epistles & Gospels and Holy Week For the Liturical Year
From the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary...here is a great page off their website with mp3 files of Epistle and Gospel chants of the liturgical year. Available also is the sheet music for each chant. Download and enjoy....If you have a cd burner (and most computers now do), I would suggest burning a cd for the car or download the files for your iPod.
On Sunday April 26th St. Anthony will be blessed by the visitation of a large group of Newman University students. Instead of our usual last Sunday Low Mass a High Mass will be celebrated. Let's welcome these beautiful young minds with open hearts and prayers for their continuing education and journey through life.
Topics: Why Do You Care: About Maniples....Overheard of the Web: Snippets Off the Internet....People Look East: Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word...Thomas A'Kempis: For the Greater Glory of God and the Honor of The Blessed Virgin Mary...The Execution of Jesus of Nazareth: The Secular Reasons That Lead to Jesus Death...Of the Virtues Putting Vices to Flight: Kingman Catholic
Someone asked me today: "why do you care so much about maniples?"
Well, it's not a silly traddie vestment thing. Nothing to do with vestments is silly, nor ought it to be exclusively traddie! What is a maniple? The maniple is a narrow strip of linen, of the same colour as the chasuble, which is suspended from the left forearm so that if falls equally on both sides of the arm. It serves to remind the Priest that he must patiently bear the cares and sorrows of this earthly life in the service of God and for Heavenly reward. The use of the maniple was never abrogated in the Ordinary Form but it is a rare sight these days.
As the Priest puts on the maniple, he kisses the Cross on the maniple and prays, in Latin or in English:
Grant, O Lord, that I may so bear the maniple of weeping and sorrow, that I may receive the reward for my labors with rejoicing. Merear, Domine, portare manipulum fletus et doloris; ut cum exsultatione recipiam mercedem laboris.
So why do I care? For one thing, it is an important part of the priestly ministry to be a servant and to live a life of sacrifice.
I also care as a member of the laity. I have been carried this far in my spiritual journey, thanks to God's mercy, even though I have no resources of my own. When God's will seems distasteful to me, as it does at times, I remember that I please Jesus not by feeling discouraged but by bringing Him my weakness. The Offertory of the Mass is the perfect time to do this. The Priest wears a maniple, and from the pews I do my best to interiorly unite myself with the Sacrifice by offering up my own sorrows in the Chalice.
Often the devil tries to convince us not to submit everything to the Lord. The devil does this because he knows that if we bring God our weakness then He will strengthen us. Maniples matter to me because they point to the integrity of the spiritual life and to the theology of the Mass.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Overheard off the Web Snippets Off the Web...Some Good, Some Not...
G.K. Chesterton: I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean. Unknown source: It is because of it’s emptiness that the cup is useful. St. Hildegard of Bingen: The entire world has been embraced by the kiss of God’s love. St. Lawrence burning at the stake: "Let my body be turned; one side is broiled enough." After having been turned over a while, he turned to the executioner and said, "It is cooked enough; you may eat."
For one moment, imagine that you are riding in a huge tour bus; everything seems to be going smoothly, when you notice that the driver is facing the wrong direction. To your surprise, you ask the driver what he is doing driving facing the people. Something is not right with this picture. The driver is not facing the direction that he should be facing while leading the people to their destination. Several people be-gin to notice and with one voice as it were begin to cry out, “Turn around and face the direction we are driving!” The driver had been using a mirror to guide his course of action while facing the passengers. This seemed perfectly acceptable by passengers for most of the trip until some of them intuitively realized that something did not seem just right. The direction of the driver became very important to the passengers once they became aware of the significance of the matter. Practically speaking, direction matters. This can be seen and proven in the most mundane situations in the natural order.
If you grew up in the generation before the Second Vatican Council and if you were asked what are two distinct things that you remember happening afterward, what would they be? The two most common answers would be that the Holy Mass is no longer in Latin and the priest no longer has his back to the people while celebrating Holy Mass. You would think that they were the primary “fruits” of Vatican II. However, the Council itself never discouraged either of the two. Upon reading the Council documents, we see the Church encouraged the faithful to learn basic Gregorian chants in Latin for a full, active, and conscious participation in the Sacred Liturgy. The position or direction of the priest facing the people while celebrating the Sacred Liturgy was something that came into effect after Vatican II. The Council documents never mentioned the priest facing the congregation during the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass. This was done with the best intentions of trying to direct people’s minds and hearts into the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy and the Reality that is being made present on the Altar in the Holy Eucharist.
The question now has to legitimately be asked, “Has this been done?” or better stated, “Has the priest facing the people during the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass actually drawn the faithful into a more full, active, and conscious participation?” or “Has it had drastic effects on how the faithful view and understand the Sacred Liturgy?” Most of our Catholic faithful do not even know that the Novus Ordo or Mass of Paul VI can still be celebrated with the priest facing the same direction as the people during the Eucharistic Prayer. If most of the Catholic faithful saw a priest facing the Altar during the Eucharistic Prayer they might be tempted to think that they are at an Extraordinary Form Mass or Tridentine Mass. The question must be raised, “Why did the priest face in that direction (toward the Altar) for centuries?”
There is a growing realization in the Roman Rite of the importance of liturgical orientation and direction during prayer, most especially during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The terms the Church uses for the posture or direction of the priest during the Eucharistic Prayer are called ad orientem (toward the east) or ad Dominum (toward the Lord). It must be said that the direction of the priest “facing away” from the people was never looked at by the Church as the priest “turning his back” on the people. Rather, from the time of the early Church, the understanding has always been that the priest is facing “with” the rest of the faithful in unison as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is being offered. The direction of this liturgical action was seen as not just something symbolic, but as an entering into (and facing a reality) far greater than ourselves. The Church when she celebrates the Sacred Liturgy is literally facing God and oriented toward the Lord. The Holy Mass is always directed toward the Eternal Father, in the Son, through the Holy Spirit.
This Trinitarian action is shown in the Holy Mass as the priest, standing in persona Christi (in the person of Christ), offers the once and for all perfect Sacrifice of the Son of God to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. The direction of the priest facing with the faithful toward the Lord as He raises the Holy Body and Blood of Christ has not only a practical, common sense dimension, but more importantly, an eschatological dimension. Simply put, this means our final end or end times when the Son of God and Son of Man will come again from the East.
Facing east during liturgical prayers is much more than an external gesture. It involves the whole of man’s purpose of striving to be a Christian. The external gesture of facing east has to also have an internal orientation of the heart toward the Lord. This internal orientation during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was precisely what Vatican II intended when it spoke of full, conscious, and active participation. When all of us face the Lord together, both priest and lay faithful, all creation comes together to worship the Father in the Son through the Holy Spirit.
Br. John Paul Mary, MFVA
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Thomas A'Kempis
For the Greater Glory of God and the Honor of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Submitted by James Spencer
"Wouldst to God thou wert worthy to suffer something for the Name of Jesus! How great glory would remain unto thyself! How great joy would it be to all the Saints of God! And how great edification to thy neighbor! All recommend patience, but, alas, how few are there that desire to suffer! With good reason oughtest thou willingly to suffer for Christ, since many suffer greater things for the world."
(This is part 13 of 14 from Book II, Chapter 12, "The Royal Road of the Holy Cross," from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A'Kempis.)
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The Utilitarian Case for the Execution of Jesus of Nazareth By Mark Llamas
This writing deals with only the secular and civil circumstances between Jesus of Nazareth, the Roman and Jewish ruling authorities of the time and the tragic circumstances that lead to his execution. The divine and messianic aspects of Jesus Christ are not addressed.
Some two thousand years ago in the city of Jerusalem after a request by the high priest Caiaphas and the Jewish judicial body, a Galilean man was brutally executed by the Roman power establishment. Executions were commonplace, but for many locals of the time and for many worldwide today, one execution in particular stands out amongst the rest: the brutal torture and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.
What lead to this man’s grisly execution? Was it a power play by the Jewish priestly elite to quash a threat to their authority? Had Roman law been broken and the execution of Jesus a simple civic matter? Had the circumstances presented themselves in such fashion as to form a “perfect storm”, a storm in which the two authoritarian bodies acted in unison to extinguish a threat to their fragile co-existence?
Of the Virtues Putting Vices to Flight. Posted by Fr. James Weldon on his blog Kingman Catholic http://stpatskingman.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-really-like-this-one.html
Where there is charity and wisdom there is neither fear nor ignorance.
Where there is patience and humility there is neither anger nor worry.
Where there is poverty and joy there is neither cupidity nor avarice.
Where there is quiet and meditation there is neither solicitude nor dissipation.
Where there is the fear of the Lord to guard the house the enemy cannot find a way to enter.
Where there is mercy and discretion there is neither superfluity nor hard-heartedness.
Topics: Diocese of Wichita: Bishop Jackels on Holy Week Services.... You, O Hell, Have Been Troubled: From An Easter Sermon from St. John Chrysostom...."Good Morning": No More....Random Thoughts: Overheard on the Web ....A Blessed Easter: to All Our Readers....Thomas A'Kempis: For the Greater Glory of God and the Honor of The Blessed Virgin Mary....A Storm is Brewing: Simple Tolerance Forces Radical Change...Christ Changed the World: YouTube, the Vatican
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Participate in Palm Sunday, Holy Week Church Services
Let the Eucharist have its full effect, changing us into Jesus, filling us with the spirit of Christ
By His Excellency The Most Reverend Bishop Jackels
The Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem.
The Holy Thursday foot washing.
The Good Friday passion and cross.
The Holy Saturday resurrection light.
The Holy Week services take us in a participatory way through the most significant events in the life of Christ. This week our imitation is as close to acting as it will ever get.
What might be said about Lent can be said in spades about Holy Week: we do what Jesus did and why to prepare for Baptism or to renew our baptismal promises at Easter so to live our lives in Christ.
The stage of our acting like Christ is clearly not limited to the liturgy in church. Otherwise, those worship services would be cold and empty. They might even be considered harmful for giving us a sense of being holier-than-thou because we went to church.
So, take up a palm branch on Sunday and take it home to adorn a crucifix or holy picture. But let it also be a memento of the Lord’s second coming in glory, stirring us to live in joyful expectation, and reminding us to persevere in our efforts to live our faith (we can be fickle like the inhabitants of Jerusalem that first holy week, turning from Jesus to sin).
On Holy Thursday, kiss the hand of the priest who provides the food of the Eucharist, receive it worthily in Holy Communion, and adore it in the chapel of reservation. But let the Eucharist have its full effect, changing us into Jesus, filling us with the spirit of Christ, such that it is natural and unremarkable for us to wash the feet of others.
On Good Friday, listen again to the story of the Passion, watch as Jesus walks the way to Calvary, and venerate the cross as an expression of contrition for sin and gratitude for being loved so very, very much. But we take up our own cross, Jesus tells his followers, understood to mean putting to death self, or more specifically a selfish, self-centered, self-serving life. No more “I, me, and mine” or at least not only; but now also “we, you, and ours.”
On Holy Saturday, hold a lighted candle in memory of Jesus’ resurrection snuffing out the darkness of sin and death, and renew the promises to life differently, in imitation of Jesus, making the world a different, better place because we try. Allel… (Oops; not yet).
Let me take this occasion to wish you all Easter peace and joy.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
You, O Hell, Have Been Troubled by Encountering Him Below
From An Easter Sermon from St. John Chrysostom
(attributed to Isaias)
Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.
It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.
Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.
O death, where is thy sting?
O Hades, where is thy victory?
Christ is Risen, and you, O death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead; for Christ having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Some Leeds priests have stopped saying "good morning" to their congregations after a diocesan meeting on the work of the International Commission of English in the Liturgy expressed concerns that services had become too informal.
The UK Telegraph reports that priests at the meeting, held in the Diocese of Leeds, were told to question whether it was appropriate to say "good morning" once the priest was on the altar and had made the sign of the cross.
Following the meeting, some priests in the diocese told their congregations that they would no longer greet them in an informal manner at the start of services.
A spokesman for the diocese said: "The review of the liturgy is looking at whether there are elements of the service that have become a bit too distracting.
"People might argue that if you go in to a house, you say 'hi', but the priest is not going in to a house. He is going in to a sacred service. We need to emphasise that the priest is president of the community and is presiding at the service.
"It is a debate that has been going on in the Church for a long time, are we doing a cabaret or are we actually celebrating the Eucharist?
"The fear is that if some guidance is not given and general decisions are not put down, the interpretation of the liturgy leads to unsuitable things, like strobe lights and girls in hotpants. The aim of the new translation is to bring more dignity to the service
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Overheard on the Web
Snippets from the internet....some good, some not....
I forgot where I found this but I have often thought the same: "I can't help but feel that putting the mass into the vernacular has *divided* Catholics rather then uniting us. Instead of every race attending mass together, we're divided up into Spanish mass, Chinese mass, English mass, Korean mass... you get my point! How is this ok???? How is this "progress"??? We now have White People mass and Brown People mass instead of UNIVERSAL (Ca-tho-lic) mass."
Just recently, a 6-yr-old said:“Daddy, why in the English Mass does the priest have his back to Jesus the whole time?”
Referring to the abolished Octave of Pentecost: The story goes that on the Monday after Pentecost in 1970 His Holiness Pope Paul VI rose early and went to his chapel for Holy Mass. Instead of the red vestments he expected, green ones were laid out for him. He asked the Master of Ceremonies, "What on earth are these for? This is the Octave of Pentecost! Where are the red vestments?" "Your Holiness," replied the Master of Ceremonies, "this is now The Time Throughout the Year. It is green, now. The Octave of Pentecost is abolished." "Green? That cannot be," said the Pope, "Who did that?" "Your Holiness, you did." And Paul VI wept.
In regards to His Holiness Benedict XVI, Vatican II and "reform of the reform": Pope Benedict, although he may seem very traditional, actually is doing exactly what the council (VII) called for.
Yogi Berra: If you don't know where you're going, you'll wind up somewhere else.
And for absolutely no reason:You know what still bothers me to this day? My grandfather had a wooden leg, and a real foot.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
A Blessed Easter to All of Our Readers
In the last week we at Venite Missa est! have had visitors from all over the world. Thank you for reading our little blog and supporting us and each other in our collective embrace of Catholicism, Mother Church, our Blessed Priests and religious and especially the ancient liturgy, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
May you have a blessed Easter and let us rejoice together, at home, in community and around the globe in God's grace and Jesus' sacrifice which is our salvation.
The Lord be with you....Sweden, United Kingdom, Ireland, Argentina, Panama, Dominican Republic, Spain, France, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Romania, India, Kenya, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Slovakia, Mexico and Japan.
Here in Kansas...Dodge City, Hutchinson, Caldwell, McPherson, Moundridge, Newton and North Newton, Mission, Manhattan, Lenexa, Belleville, Junction City, Wamego, Lawrence, Olathe, Leawood, Overland Park, Leavenworth, Independence, Pittsburgh and of course Wichita.
Thank you for visiting....Washington, California, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Oklahoma, South Nebraska, Nebraska, Texas, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, N. Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Thomas A'Kempis
For the Greater Glory of God and the Honor of The Blessed Virgin Mary
"Set thyself, then, like a good and faithful servant of Christ, to bear manfully the cross of thy Lord, for the love of Him Who was crucified for thee. Prepare thyself to suffer many adversities and divers evils in this miserable life, for so it will be with thee, wherever thou art, and so indeed wilt thou find it, wheresoever thou hide thyself. It must be so, and there is no remedy against tribulation and sorrow, but to bear them patiently. Drink of the chalice of thy Lord lovingly if thou desirest to be His friend and to have part with Him. Leave consolation to God, to do with them as best pleaseth Him. But be ready on thy part to bear tribulations, and account them the greatest consolations, for the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, although thou alone couldst suffer them all." (This is part 10 of 14 from Book II, Chapter 12, "The Royal Road of the Holy Cross," from The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas A'Kempis.)
If you think the assault by homosexual activists on values, marriage and family doesn’t affect you, think again.
Simple “tolerance”was just a foot in the door to make way for a host of radical social changes that will end up affecting everyone…and trampling on the freedoms of good people.
When it comes down to it, there is no middle ground: homosexual activists demand no less than your full and complete endorsement of their sexual behavior…and if your opinion, rights and freedom take a back seat to that, so be it.
If you’re a doctor, you must not deny lesbians who want to you artificially inseminate one (or both) of them, and if you are a counselor, you must not give the slightest hint that you believe homosexuality is immoral or unhealthy.
If you are a church, ministry or religious person, you must cater to the whims of homosexual depravity or face legal consequences.
If you are a parent, you must allow the politically-correct education system to teach your children that this immoral, unnatural and unhealthy sexual practice is perfectly fine.
If you want to preserve your rights and freedom, if you want to preserve a society that has a moral compass, you must get involved NOW. You no longer have the luxury of sitting on the sidelines.
This video is from the National Organization for Marriage.
Christ Changed the World by Letting Himself Be Killed
Topics:Thomas A'Kempis: For the Greater Glory of God and the Honor of The Blessed Virgin Mary....A Layman's Manifesto: Kneeling at Communion....Passiontide Veils:Courtesy,What Does the Prayer Really Say....Papal Mass Picture: Just a Great Pic....Cardinal Accused of Disobeying Pope: Vatican's Ecclesia Dei Throws Down....Vietnam: Decline in Vietnamese Catholics....The Vatican: On YouTube
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
A.M.D.G et B.V.M.H. From Book II, Chapter 12, "The Royal Road of the Holy Cross" from The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A'Kempis Submitted by James Spencer
"To bear the cross, to love the cross, to chastise the body and bring it under subjection; to fly honors, to love suffering insults, to despise one's self, and wish to be despised; to bear all adversities and losses, and to desire no prosperity in this world -- all this is not according to man's natural inclination. It thou lookest unto thyself, thou canst do nothing of this sort of thyself. But if thou confidest in the Lord, strength will be given to thee from heaven, and the world and the flesh shall be made subject to thee. Neither shalt thou fear thine enemy, the devil, if thou art armed with faith and signed with the cross of Christ."
(This is part 9 of 14 from Book II, Chapter 12, "The Royal Road of the Holy Cross" from The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A'Kempis.)
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Joe's Kneeling Manifesto
Courtesy: Verbum Veritatis (Word of Truth)....in Mahonyland.blogspot
Blogger's note: I recently attended a weekday Ordinary Form mass at the Cathedral. The priest was very young, which always inspires great hope for Catholicism, and was wonderful in the confessional...a great balance of admonishment, teaching, understanding and wisdom (especially since he was so young!).
Mass began and I was sorely aware that it has been a very long time since I have been to a Ordinary Form mass but i found it reverent and prayerful.
What bothered me was taking communion standing. I know this is the norm, but it "just ain't right". I enjoyed Joe's Kneeling Manifesto, especially number 1..............................and here it is.Please note that this blogger, Joe, is speaking from a point of view within his parish and diocese....so you sensitive sorts don't email me about something you may find offensive.
Joe's Kneeling Manifesto
Since apparently the words of the Holy Father, CDF aren't enough to convince priests that I have a right to receive kneeling. This manifesto is to provide the why I receive kneeling and on the tongue. 1. Because I'm NOT holier than thou. If anything, I'm a far greater sinner than many of you can imagine. I'm a total failure at being Catholic, and I don't know about you because of the fact that I'm a failure, I need constant reminders that I'm not God, which leads us to point 2.
2. Humility The ultimate act of humility is to kneel before God in contrition, begging for his Mercy to reign. I don't know about you, but I need a ton of that Mercy for the amount of times I've screwed up. Ever wonder why kneelers are set up in the confessional, hint, it's because kneeling is also a penitential act and we imitate the Saints, (most notably St. Mary Magdelen, Ss John and Mary at the foot of the Cross). It's not just an interior attitude, it should be reflected externally as well.
3. For those that want to kneel and can't. I know that there are many that want to receive kneeling but are physically unable to do so for whatever reason it may be. We are one body in Christ and offering our actions for another is a laudable thing to do :)...I need ALL the brownie points to shorten my purgatory sentence, any act that can help, I'm all for it.
4. Catholic Theology Et Verbum carno factus est. God came to us, we didn't come to God. We receive Holy Communion, we don't feed ourselves. The fact that we're supposed to be converted like children should say something. It doesn't mean we de-progress as humans, but rather that child like innocence, that child like dependency on God.
5. Vatican II didn't say so. I was told that Vatican II was the cause for Communion in the hand, read the documents for myself, turns out the catechist was lying...
6. Imitation of the Saints Who am I to be standing, when all the great lay Saints kneeled before me, my patron St. Thérèse, St. Catherine, Isidore, and many of the other great Saints. :)
7. John Paul II and Mother Theresa were against it. "Wherever I go in the whole world, the thing that makes me the saddest is watching people receive Communion in the hand."- Bl. Teresa of Calcutta" "...privledge of the ordained..." And we all know how EVERYONE loves John Paul II and Bl. Mother Theresa, their words have value.
8. Personal sacrifice and mortification. For those of you that don't know, my left leg has metal rod in it. Some days it can be a real chore to kneel, and others easier. It's much easier to kneel at the rail, than it is on the hard floor, but I offer it up as such and remember that my sacrifices can help those around the world.
**Disclaimer information so I don't get killed 1. I don't believe those who receive in the hand are intrinsically evil.
2. I know that the indult in the US is to stand, I chose not to for the above reasons 3, I didn't quote Church documents on purpose, no one reads them (I know my readers do, but I can't speak for the world)
4. This is also to remind myself of why I kneel, because sometimes it can get mechanical.
In the 1962 Missale Romanum, the Extraordinary Use of the Roman Rite, this is First Passion Sunday. In the Novus Ordo we also call Palm Sunday “Passion” Sunday. Today is the beginning of “Passiontide”. It is known as Iudica Sunday, from the first word of the Introit of Mass, from Ps 42 (41).
We lose things during Lent. We are being pruned through the liturgy. Holy Church experiences liturgical death before the feast of the Resurrection. The Alleluia goes on Septuagesima. Music and flowers go on Ash Wednesday. Today, statues and images are draped in purple. That is why today is sometimes called Repus Sunday, from repositus analogous to absconditus or “hidden”, because this is the day when Crosses and other images in churches are veiled. The universal Church’s Ordo published by the Holy See has an indication that images can be veiled from this Sunday, the 5th of Lent. Traditionally Crosses may be covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday and images, such as statues may be covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil. At my home parish of St. Agnes in St. Paul, MN, the large statue of the Pietà is appropriately unveiled at the Good Friday service.
Also, as part of the pruning, as of today in the older form of Mass, the “Iudica” psalm in prayers at the foot of the altar and the Gloria Patri at the end of certain prayers was no longer said.
The pruning cuts more deeply as we march into the Triduum. After the Mass on Holy Thursday the Blessed Sacrament is removed from the main altar, which itself is stripped and bells are replaced with wooden noise makers. On Good Friday there isn’t even a Mass. At the beginning of the Vigil we are deprived of light itself! It is as if the Church herself were completely dead with the Lord in His tomb. This liturgical death of the Church reveals how Christ emptied Himself of His glory in order to save us from our sins and to teach us who we are.
The Church then gloriously springs to life again at the Vigil of Easter. In ancient times, the Vigil was celebrated in the depth of night. In the darkness a single spark would be struck from flint and spread into the flames. The flames spread through the whole Church.
If we can connect ourselves in heart and mind with the Church’s liturgy in which these sacred mysteries are re-presented, then by our active receptivity we become participants in the saving mysteries of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. To begin this active receptivity we must be baptized members of the Church and be in the state of grace.
The Head of the Vatican’s Ecclesia Dei commission has reprimanded the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, for setting “unduly restrictive” conditions on use of the Tridentine Mass, [Again… update on the terms! No one really says "Tridentine" anymore.] saying they were “in direct contradiction” to the wishes of Pope Benedict XVI.
“Your ‘Archdiocesan Guidelines’ are simply not acceptable as they stand and I ask you to reconsider them,” said the Ecclesia Dei president, Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, in a letter dated 6 March and seen by The Tablet this week. It said “guidelines allowing only a monthly Mass in a chapel of [the] Metropolitan Cathedral” were in violation of the norms established in the motu proprio, “Summorum Pontificum”, issued by the Pope in 2007 for the widespread use of the Tridentine Mass. [Get this…] Cardinal Castrillón said the papal decree was “part of the universal law of the Church” and could not be limited by the “particular law” of a diocesan bishop. [This is the part that the Pope’s enemies in this matter will really hate!] The Archdiocese of Manila ministers to more than 2.8 million Catholics.
“There is simply no legitimate reason why this [Tridentine] Mass cannot and should not be celebrated in any church or chapel of your archdiocese,” Cardinal Castrillón said in his letter to the Archbishop of Manila.
[Read closely…] He insisted that Cardinal Rosales actively promote the implementation of the motu proprio by “helping priests who are desirous to learn how to celebrate” the old rite Mass, which he said only required that the priest be “reasonably competent in Latin”, [which, as WDTPRS has been saying all along, means that the priest can pronounce the words properly. We want more, of course, but that is the minimum. And what is required is sufficiency, the minimum, not expertise.] and that there were faithful [no number set… and the coetus mentioned in the Motu Proprio might be very small indeed.] who wished to assist at its celebration. The Archdiocese of Manila published the Tridentine Mass guidelines on its website last year. But they were quickly removed when supporters of the old rite protested to Rome.
Inability to witness in everyday life to the true meaning of being Catholic, a lazy conviction that evangelization is ultimately the duty of priests alone, hostility if not outright persecution from the authorities, which is often translated into various forms of discrimination - all of this is detracting from the missionary impulse of the Vietnamese Church, and with this, from the percentage of Catholics in the country. This is the analysis that emerges from a conference organized some time ago by the archdiocese of Saigon, precisely in order to examine the causes of the slowdown in the growth of the number of Catholics.
For decades, in fact, the growth of the number of Catholics - although it has continued - has been lower as a percentage than that of the rise in population. "The latest official statistical figures from the Church in Vietnam," says Fr. Anthony Nguyen Ngoc Son, one of the main speakers at the conference, "show that the Catholic population in 2007 was 6,087,700 among 85,154,900 people, or a rate at about 7.15% of national population,. This indicates a decline in number of registered Catholics comparing to 7.2 % in 1933 or 7.5% in 1939." It is also alarming that while the percentage of Catholics has diminished over the past 50 years, that of other Christian denominations has risen. In 1999, these counted 400,000 members, and in 2008, according to the latest report, there were 1.5 million. According to Fr. Anthony Nguyen, "these figures are a clear indication of the ineffectiveness of the Church’s mission in Vietnam during the last 50 years."
The conference highlighted the alarming number of those who, baptized as adults, do not continue their faith life. Over the past seven years, about 35,000 adults have received baptism, in 80-90% of the cases through matrimony. Unfortunately, however, the number of these converts who continue to practice their religion is showing an alarming drop, above all because of the problems that they have to face after receiving baptism, like the loss of privileges and promotions in some jobs, or the subtle discrimination to which they are subjected by the atheist government.
To this must be added the attitude of practical indifference that many have adopted toward missionary efforts. Many are convinced that evangelization is something that concerns the priests, not the laity. Many Catholics also do not act as witnesses of Christ in their lives, and their behavior does not make a good impression on their non-Catholic neighbors and friends. Even among priests, Fr. Anthony Nguyen observes, "the clergy has not assumed the much needed responsibility for the mission ad gentes in the country. Missionary efforts seem to be a personal, sporadic crusade for volunteering individuals and religious orders." Sr. Marie Nguyen, a sociologist in Ho Chi Minh City, adds that "dioceses and the Church in Vietnam as whole lack zeal, a comprehensive missionary strategy and investments of means and tools for evangelical mission, especially in the rural or remote areas."
A significant role is also played by government hostility. In many remote areas of the central highlands and the northern mountain provinces, pastoral activities are blocked by bureaucracy and government harassment. In these areas, missionary activity is always described as "a threat to national security," and local officials make no efforts to hide their hostility toward the Church's efforts to carry out its pastoral duties.
The constant policy of defamation, which is carried forward on all levels of education, also serves to generate confusion among young people and to discourage them from expressing their Catholic identity, in order to avoid a bad reputation. "Faith is often limited to something within a personal sphere that many Catholic youth try to make it as invisible as possible," says Sr. Mari Nguyen. "They try to avoid religion-oriented debates, hence lose chances to bear witness to Gospel."
This reality poses various questions, which were discussed during the meeting. The first is: how can the "Good News" of the Christian message be situated within the context of the bad social, political, and economic developments that the country is experiencing? In the midst of the desperation that is pervading everything, where is there room for the hope and optimism brought by the Gospel?
In the second place, how can the image of the Church as a family be constructed? How can Christian families become authentic domestic churches? What is the role of culture in evangelization? What efforts must be made to facilitate the inculturation of the Gospel into the Vietnamese tradition? What must be done to transmit the Christian message to the socio-cultural, religious, political, and economic reality of Vietnam? What emerged was that all of the answers must be sought in the correct understanding of the person of Christ, of his nature, of his meaning and his message addressed to humanity. Courtesy: http://www.asianews.it/
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The Baltimore Catechism
Lesson Twenty-Third: On The Ends For Which The Holy Eucharist Was Instituted
251. Q. Why did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist?
A. Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist:1. To unite us to Himself and to nourish our soul with His divine life.2. To increase sanctifying grace and all virtues in our soul.3. To lessen our evil inclinations.4. To be a pledge of everlasting life.
To fit our bodies for a glorious resurrection.6. To continue the sacrifice of the Cross in His Church.
252. Q. How are we united to Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist?
A. We are united to Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist by means of Holy Communion.
253. Q. What is Holy Communion?
A. Holy Communion is the receiving of the body and blood of Christ.
254. Q. What is necessary to make a good Communion?
A. To make a good Communion it is necessary to be in the state of sanctifying grace, to have a right intention, and to obey the laws of fasting. (See Q. 257.)
255. Q. Does he who receives Communion in mortal sin receive the body and blood of Christ?
A. He who receives Communion in mortal sin receives the body and blood of Christ, but does not receive His grace, and he commits a great sacrilege.
256. Q. Is it enough to be free from mortal sin to receive Plentifully the graces of Holy Communion?
A. To receive plentifully the graces of Holy Communion it is not enough to be free from mortal sin, but we should be free from all affection to venial sin, and should make acts of faith, hope, and love.
257. Q. What is the fast necessary for Holy Communion?
A. The fast necessary for Holy Communion is to abstain from all food, beverages, and alcoholic drinks for one hour before Holy Communion. Water may be taken at any time. The sick may take food, non-alcoholic drinks, and any medicine up to Communion time. ** This answer has been changed in the 1977 printing to bring it up to date with the current rules.
258. Q. Is any one ever allowed to receive Holy Communion when not fasting?
A. Any one in danger of death is allowed to receive Holy Communion when not fasting or when it is necessary to save the Blessed Sacrament from insult or injury.
259. Q. When are we bound to receive Holy Communion?
A. We are bound to receive Holy Communion, under pain of mortal sin, during the Easter time and when in danger of death.
260. Q. Is it well to receive Holy Communion often?
A. It is well to receive Holy Communion often, as nothing is a greater aid to a holy life than often to receive the Author of all grace and the Source of all good.
261. Q. What should we do after Holy Communion?
A. After Holy Communion we should spend some time in adoring our Lord, in thanking Him for the grace we have received, and in asking Him for the blessings we need.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The Vatican: On YouTube
Were you aware that the Vatican and His Holiness have a YouTube channel? They do...and it is great! You can even subscribe. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/vatican
Low Masses of Easter morn:
