Archbishop Burke offers 1st Tridentine High Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in 40 years

Wonderful news!

Archbishop Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, has offered the first solemn High Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite in St. Peter’s Basilica since the promulgation of the ordinary form four decades ago. The Pontifical Mass took place in the Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament...

Read more at Catholic Culture here

Story of the First Weekly TLM in Fitchburg, Massachusetts

The first weekly Mass in the Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin Mass) at Immaculate Conception Church in Fitchburg was held on Sunday, June 28^th.  The Missa Cantata was very well attended by people of all ages.  The superb acoustics in the large  Romanesque Church accentuated the Latin prayers intoned by the celebrant, Reverend Father David Phillipson, as well as the traditional Gregorian chants and motets sung by the choir directed by Sam Schmitt, an organist, singer, conductor and composer who holds a Doctorate in musicology and other graduate degrees in liturgical music and music history.   The seven altar boys in attendance added much to the reverent and transcendent atmosphere of the Solemn Liturgy: the incense from the thurible, the candlelight from the torches carried by the boys, and the sound of the bells rung at key points.

 

The following impressions from one of the attendees are typical of the responses expressed:

 

        "I think it's fair to call this the beginning of the restoration of the immemorial Holy Mass codified by St. Pius V to the church of the Immaculate Conception. I'm glad to say that our (my family's) hopes were high, but we were entirely unprepared for the palpably sacred ambience that persisted in the church throughout the sacred liturgy and  which accompanied us right out the door and into the church hall (where I spent most of my time talking about the Mass, I think). It brought back a flood of memories of the best days I'd seen when I was a boy and the blessed years we had the privilege of going to Mass at Holy Trinity in Boston (where our two girls were baptized). I had the distinct impression that Father, the altar servers, and the choir were actually praying (not acting out roles) as they solemnly carried out their offices with unaffected reverence. I trust that everyone could plainly see how beautiful the church is with its French blue and gold, especially in the magnificent statue of Our Lady, and the organ filling every corner, at times with sounds of reflection, at others with those of majesty; but even now when I recall the ensemble of those impressions, I'm overwhelmed.  I think one cannot really overestimate the beguiling power of the truly sacred.

    "My family thanks you and all those who worked so long, so hard, and with such loving devotion to bring the truly extraordinary Holy Mass back to Immaculate Conception Church.  May Our Lord and His holy Mother and ours bless you abundantly with their most excellent graces here on Earth and forever in Heaven. 

With gratitude in Jesus and Mary, John and Connie Mick and family."

 

All are invited to experience worship in this Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite which will be offered every Sunday at 8AM as a Sung High Mass when possible (or else as a Low Mass).   The Sacrament of Confession takes place before the Mass from 7:15 to 7:50AM, and the Rosary is recited at 7:30AM.    For more information, visit the website which is under construction at www.immaculateconceptionfitchburg.com.   

 

Father David Phillipson was trained to offer the Ancient Roman Rite by the Fraternity of St. Peter and has worked in traditional parishes for several years.  Father will also hold spiritual conferences and traditional devotions, and administer the Sacraments according to the Extraordinary Form.  "Together with the Latin Mass Community, I wish to thank Bishop McManus and Father Thien for making available the celebration of Mass in the Ancient Rite in this beautiful Church.  I look forward to serving the community and invite all to attend and experience Mass in the Ancient Usage.  I am happy to help anyone to learn to follow the missal or to answer any questions they may have.  Any priests who would like assistance in learning this rite are welcome to contact me:  frdavidphil4@gmail.com."

 

Contributions to help with the start up costs for this endeavor are very welcome and may be sent to the Church at 59 Walnut Street in Fitchburg 01420.  Please make your tax deductible donation to Immaculate Conception Church EF  (EF designating the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite).

 

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Submitted by (and a Special Thanks to) Todd Tabbaa of Leominster, MA

Archbishop Raymond Burke, The Overseer of Justice

From Inside the Vatican by Andrew Rabel, reporting from Rome:

Pope Benedict XVI one year ago ago called an American, Archbishop Raymond Burke, to head the Apostolic Signatura, the office which oversees the correct administration of justice in the Church. Here, after one year at his post, Burke discusses his work in Rome, but also the controversial shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe he established in Wisconsin, and President Obama's speech at Notre Dame...

Editor's note: Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, recently invited Andrew Rabel, Australian ITV correspondent, to a friendly lunch nearby his offices at the Palazzo della Cancelleria (photo). Never to be outdone, Andrew always carries his dictaphone with him. So the former archbishop of St Louis, with his typical graciousness, consented to an interview, despite the noise in the crowded restaurant. It is the second interview ITV has conducted with His Excellency in less than a year.

This wonderful interview can be read at Inside the Vatican here. Enjoy!

Lay ministers of holy Communion should stop offering "blessings-in-lieu-of-Communion" at Mass

Dr Edward Peters writes:

Concerns about swine flu have prompted many parishes to discontinue the routine administration of the Precious Blood. Okay, fine.*

But there's another Communion rite practice that should also cease if only out of concerns for public health. This time, however, it's a practice that (unlike distribution from the Cup) is an abuse per se, namely, that of lay ministers of holy Communion purporting to confer “blessings-in-lieu-of-Communion" on every Tom, Pat, and Harriet who comes up in line.

Many have seen this "abuse" a number of times, especially when confronted by horders of Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. It's nice to see it being addressed again. Perhaps, some day, we might see a restoration of liturgical norms in parishes...

Read more about what Dr Peters says here.

Bishop Robert Hermann: We live in hope!

We live in hope. This time immediately preceding a national election can be a time of turmoil, or it can also be a time of great transformation. If we live on the horizontal and cyclical plane only, we will find ourselves frustrated....

We live in hope. God could very well be saying to us today: "You shall not molest or destroy the child in the womb. Remember that when you were in the womb you were protected and given a chance to live!" We may say to ourselves: "I am against abortion, but I will still vote for a candidate who is pro-abortion, because I am voting for a better economy, and that will reduce abortions." If that is the case, then why were there not millions of abortions in the Great Depression of the 1930s? Instead, parents often had large families, because they lived in a faith society that supported life, and not death....

We live in hope....Yet we may say to ourselves: "I believe in God, and yet I will vote for a candidate who promotes abortion." How can we say that we believe in God but act as if God did not exist? Jesus told us: "Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father." Again He tells us: "By their fruits you shall know them." If we promote abortion by our vote, we participate in society’s great lie.

We live in hope. How can I say that I believe in God and yet vote for candidates who promote the Freedom of Choice Act which would, in effect, nullify every limitation put on abortion during the past 30 years? How can I say I believe in God but vote for candidates who would support legislation that would permit the destruction of a child who survived a botched abortion? In other words, with my vote I can continue to drench this land with the blood of millions of our children, or with my vote I can take a stand to help end this senseless slaughter of the innocent children....

We live in hope. Finally, I encourage everyone, once again, to pray the Rosary daily for the sake of our country. Pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe....

We live in hope. Remember that eight years ago the outcome of the national election was not made known until Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe! We live in hope!

An excellent article by Bishop Hermann!

Fatima group has election Masses

The St. Louis Division of the World Apostolate of Fatima will sponsor a vigil of Masses on election day, Nov. 4, at St. George Church in Affton. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

The effort was organized in response to the Missouri bishops’ request for prayers for the elections and for the United States, said Mary Broome, president of the St. Louis Division of the World Apostolate of Fatima.

Masses will be offered by a different priest each hour from 6 a.m. until the closing Mass at 7 p.m. at St. George, 4980 Heege Road in the Gardenville neighborhood of Affton. The recitation of the Rosary will follow each Mass.

Bishop Robert Hermann, archdiocesan administrator, will celebrate 10 a.m. Mass.

At each hour, there will be a personal consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, patroness of the United States.

A complete schedule of Masses and celebrants is as follows:
6 a.m. — Msgr. Charles Forst;
7 a.m. — Father David Novak;
8 a.m. — Father Thomas Robertson;
9 a.m. — Father Edwin Albers, OFM;
10 a.m. — Bishop Robert Hermann;
11 a.m. — Msgr. Eugene Morris;
noon — Father Dennis Doyle;
1 p.m. — Father Bernadine Hahn, OFM;
2 p.m. — Msgr. Timothy Cronin;
3 p.m. — Father Timothy Henderson;
4 p.m. — Father Jack Siefert;
5 p.m. — Father Jibran Bou Merhi (Maronite);
6 p.m. — Father Thomas Grady;
7 p.m. — Father Thomas Hogan, SJ.

For more information, call (314) 352-0229.

Warriors with Our Eyes Fixed on Heaven (Bishop Finn's Column)

Last Saturday I had the privilege of consecrating the restored church of Old St. Patrick. This is the oldest existing Catholic church in Kansas City. It will serve as the Oratory for the Latin Mass community which first began here under Bishop John Sullivan, and for many years has shared the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows.

One of the beauties of the Traditional Latin High Mass that I celebrated is that it highlights a most profound aspect of the Mass, namely our participation with the Communion of Saints.

The high altar, multiple candles, incense and Gregorian chant, collectively give us a striking image of the Heavenly Jerusalem which is our ultimate home. Every Mass celebrates this reality, but I must admit that the traditional Mass captured this magnificent expression of the ultimate hope and goal of Christians in a powerful way. We should reflect on this often, because the ultimate goal of everything we do is to get ourselves to heaven and bring with us as many as we can....

...let us resolve to be warriors of the Church militant; warriors with our eyes fixed on heaven. Let us ask God's mercy and strength to persevere in our call - individual and collective - to holiness. Mary, Mother of the Church, Pray for us!

Dr Edward Peters: Priestless Sundays and the Sunday obligation

A news story out of the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska describes an upcoming "priestless Sunday" wherein priests will be away from their parishes to serve remote missions, leaving their parishioners without Sunday Mass that weekend. I can see arguments for and against this unusual action and I don't think that outsiders are in a position to conclusively support or reject the basic idea.

One point in the news article, however, needs to be corrected: After noting that Communion services will be celebrated in most parishes left without pastors, the article asserts that such services are "not Mass but will satisfy the Catholic obligation to attend Mass."

That's wrong.

See why here.

Institute of Christ the King to Celebrate Live Televised Mass

On Sunday, September 14th, members of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest will celebrate a Solemn High Mass at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration in Hanceville, Alabama. The conventual Mass will be broadcast live by EWTN, the Global Catholic Network, to a worldwide audience of 140 million homes, through TV, radio, and live streaming video online.

September 14th marks the first anniversary of the implementation of Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum" [PDF]. The Solemn High Mass will be in commemoration of, and thanksgiving for, this pivotal document of His Holiness, which confirms that the Latin Rite in its ancient form as presented in the 1962 liturgical books of the Roman Catholic Church was never abrogated and is available to all priests and all faithful who desire it.

The live broadcast from Our Lady of the Angels Monastery will take place at 8:00 AM Eastern Time USA [That's 7:00AM for us in St Louis], 14:00 Central European Time, 12:00 UTC.

Another Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form) in St Louis!

We have just been informed that the Extraordinary Form of the Holy Mass is now celebrated in another St Louis location on Sunday at 9:00AM at the Shrine of St. Joseph located on 1220 North 11th Street.

This is a beautiful church well worth visiting if you have the opportunity. The web site offers a virtual tour.

HT to KC for the tip!

Archbishop Burke. God Bless You and Thank You!

Below is a short pictorial of today's standing room only Celebration of the Eucharist and Farewell from the Archdiocese of St. Louis to The Most Reverend Raymond Leo Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, and Archbishop Emeritus of St. Louis at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis...


Archbishop Burke proceeds toward the Sanctuary flanked by Knights of Columbus Honor Guards.


Archbishop Burke greets one of the faithful.


As the cathedra is vacant, Archbishop Burke did not occupy the marble seat where the faithful had become familiar seeing him and where his Coat of Arms had previously hung. Here he sits on the opposite side while one of the lectors reads the 2nd Reading.


Archbishop Burke gives his homily from the ambo.


Archbishop Burke hugs his sister, who with her husband were among the gift bearers at today's Mass.


At the conclusion of Holy Mass, Archbishop Burke offer thanks to all who helped in preparing for the liturgy and to all the faithful of St Louis. He also promised to continue to pray for us and asked all of us to pray for him as well. This was an emotionally trying time for many of us and for our spiritual father, Archbishop Burke.


At the recessional, Archbishop Burke reaches out to comfort his sister, who like others was in tears.


On leaving the Cathedral for what may be the last time, His Excellency imparts his blessing to the faithful.


Archbishop Burke listens intently, as he always does, to one of the hundreds of faithful who gathered to wish him farewell and thanks for his courageous leadership and fidelity.

It's difficult to accept the fact that he is leaving us and many hearts grieve. Many have nurtured a deeper faith and understanding because he was our shepherd. May all faithful Catholics continue to pray for him and remember to give thanks to Our Lord that He saw fit to grant us such a wonderful bishop, although it was such a short time. Many Catholics across this country have yearned for a bishop like Archbishop Burke, and now, we are now numbered among them.

May God bless Archbishop Raymond L. Burke and may our Blessed Mother cover him with the mantle of her protection!
____________

The Archdiocese has more here:
Archbishop Burke Leaves His Mark on the Life of the Church

Archbishop Burke Photo Gallery

Farewell Mass Program (440.22 Kb PDF file)

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The Post Dispatch has an article here.

New Website for Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

The Institute of Christ the King has launched a new Web site at www.institute-christ-king.org.

The new Web site features:

* a fresh, elegant design easy navigation and better organization
* a new email list
* RSS news feed
* more resources and information
* new mini-sites for each apostolate with new pictures and maps
* a new home page that pulls the site together
* a solid, secure online donation system

and much more...

This new site should be a great resource for news and information about the Institute, as well as Catholic Liturgy, Tradition, and culture.

Please visit and bookmark this updated website and pass it along to family and friends.

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: The Fruits Of Hearing Mass

By The Rev. H. G. Hudson
____________

"This man went down to his house justified." St. Luke xviii, 14.

We have in today's Gospel, dear brethren in Jesus Christ, a lesson imparted by our blessed Lord Himself on the right dispositions in which we ought to go to Church. Now, for a Catholic, going to Church means first and foremost hearing Mass; for Holy Mass is the great and central act of worship of the Catholic Church.

So today I shall speak to you on the subject of the Holy Sacrifice. And I shall treat of the Holy Mass today, not so much as the means by which our Divine Lord's Sacramental presence is brought amongst us, or as the means by which we are enabled to give to God a perfect worship, and worthy praise and thanksgiving, but rather from the point of view of the immense blessings and benefits that it brings to our souls--that character of the Mass because of which it can be more truly said of a Catholic who has devoutly heard Mass than of any other: "This man went down to His House justified."

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not only a sacrifice of worship and thanksgiving; it is also what is called a Sacrifice of Propitiation. That means, it is a sacrifice offered for sin, to make satisfaction to God for our sins, and also to obtain from God all blessings, graces and benefits, spiritual blessings and graces, and, under certain circumstances, also earthly blessings and benefits.

Let us take first the idea of propitiary sacrifice, making satisfaction and atonement to God for our sins. It is a point of Catholic faith that the Holy Mass does this. The Council of Trent laid this down in the following words:

"If anyone shall say that the Sacrifice of the Mass is only one of praise and thanksgiving, or the bare commemoration of the sacrifice offered on the Cross, and not also propitiatory, or that it ought not to be offered for the living and the dead, for punishments and satisfactions and other needs, let him be anathema."

Here the Protestant comes in and says: "This is wrong; Christ offered Himself for our sins, and to obtain for us all graces, blessings and benefits once for all upon the Cross; there I is no other sacrifice needed."

To this the Catholic replies: "That is true, but we Catholics do not say that the Holy Mass is a different sacrifice from that of the Cross. We say it is the same sacrifice, carried on, reproduced in a wonderful and miraculous manner, instituted by Jesus Christ Himself, when, at the Last Supper, taking bread, He said: ‘This is My Body, which is given for you,' and likewise taking the chalice, said, 'This is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins,' and gave His Apostles the command, 'Do this, in remembrance of Me.'" It is the same sacrifice as that of the Cross; the Victim offered is the same, Christ Himself; and the Great High Priest who offers Himself is the same Christ Jesus who offered Himself on the Cross.

Only the manner of the offering is different. And the manner of the offering is different in two ways: First, on the Cross Christ died and shed His Blood, and in the Mass Christ does not actually die, nor actually shed His Blood. Having died once, He dies no more; death has no more dominion over Him. But His death and His Blood-shedding are vividly and truly represented and set before God and before us in the Mass, and this is by the separate consecration of the Bread and Wine, by which Christ's own true Body and Blood, and Christ Himself are truly made present on the Altar. The Sacred Host on the Altar, and the Precious Blood in the Chalice are a picture of the death and blood-shedding on Calvary; and not a mere picture, but a picture that contains the reality; we should rather call it a re-enacting, a reproduction, in mystic, wonderful fashion, of that blood-shedding and that death.

Secondly, on the Cross Christ won our salvation; in the Mass what He won is applied to each individual soul through the ages.

Thirdly, on the Cross Christ alone offered Himself; but in the Mass He associates with Himself in making that great offering His Church, His priests, and the faithful individually.

But let us come to the question how, while it is perfectly true that the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross perfectly satisfied and made atonement for the sins of the whole world, yet it is also true that the Holy Mass is also a propitiatory sacrifice, making atonement for sin. I think I can best explain this by drawing out for you the Catholic and the Protestant view of the way in which all that Jesus did for us upon the Cross is conveyed to our' souls.

When Christ died we did not exist; we were in the far-off future. Now a period of nearly 2000 years separates us from the time of His Passion and Death. How is what He did then to be conveyed to my soul now? How are those precious drops of cleansing Blood which flowed down on the hill of Calvary to fall upon me? How are the graces, which He then won, to be brought into my soul, and the pardoning atoning power of the Cross to cover my evil deeds and thoughts and words, done and thought and spoken so many hundred years afterwards?

The Protestant says that I am to lay hold on these fruits of Christ's Passion by faith; that I, individually and personally and alone, am to plead in prayer here on earth before God the death of my Saviour, while He pleads it before the throne of God in heaven. Actually, I am separated by long centuries from what was done on Calvary; and by all the distance that lies between earth and heaven from the pleading of the human voice of God-made Man before the Throne.

God, my brethren, might have ordained that it should be so. But He has not. He has found and ordained a way more wonderful, more loving, more in accordance with human needs and with human nature. The Protestant view makes things more difficult, more far-off, and, let me say, less humane, less human, less in accord with the whole dispensation of the Incarnation and with the character of a Saviour who is not only God, but also Man, our Brother, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh.

So the Catholic view of the matter, the Catholic doctrine of the matter, which we know to be the true view and the true doctrine, is this: By a wonderful invention of Divine wisdom Christ Himself in Holy Mass, present on the Catholic Altar, pleads His death and the merits of that death, not only in heaven, but here in our midst; and He leaves us not alone, individually and personally only, to plead His death before God, but associates us with Himself in that pleading, our prayers, etc.; associates us with His holy Church, whom He purchased on the Cross to be His Bride. This pleading of the Holy Mass is a pleading in which indeed we can and do take an individual personal part, an intimately personal part by uniting our wills and intentions and prayers with the priest who bears Christ's Priesthood and acts in Christ's Name and Person when offering Mass--but it is a pleading, a representation, a setting before God of the Death of Calvary, a reproduction of the Sacrifice of Calvary by Christ in our midst, by Christ among us, by Emmanuel truly God WITH us.

In that offering anew of the Death of Christ we are not separated from Him in His Humanity and Divinity by centuries of time nor by the distance that stretches between earth and heaven; but Christ, and Christ's death and what He did upon Calvary are brought down here in the midst of us, and done again, not in the same manner as they were first done, as I have shown you; .yet truly done, truly enacted day by day, through the ages for each succeeding generation of God's people in the Church.

And in this way, by the Holy Mass, to say nothing now of the Sacraments, Christ's Blood and Merits, and all He did and won for us upon the Cross, are conveyed to and applied to our individual souls, bringing us into such nearness to God that, if the children of Israel could say, still more we can say of ourselves in the Church, "Truly, there is no nation so great, that hath its gods so nigh them, as our God is present to all our petitions" (Deut. iv, 7), and of every Catholic church as truly as of the great Temple of Solomon it can be said: "The Lord hath said, 'I have chosen this place to Myself for a house of sacrifice. . . . My Eyes shall be open and My Ears attentive to the prayers of him that shall pray in this place; for I have chosen and have sanctified this place, that My Name may be there forever, and My Eyes and My Heart may remain there perpetually."

The Holy Mass, then, is truly a propitiatory, a sacrifice for sin, because it is the pleading by Christ here amongst us of the Sacrifice of the Cross; a pleading that consists in a real offering of Himself again and again; a pleading and an offering in which He associates us with Himself so that our offering and His go up before God as one.

And by that pleading all spiritual graces and benefits are given to us. By the offering of Holy Mass pardon is obtained for the greatest sins, since through the Mass the graces of contrition and a good confession are granted. By the Holy Mass sinners are reclaimed and the just obtain perseverance! God's just anger is warded off, and His rightful chastisements averted; the temporal punishment of Purgatory is done away, light refreshment and peace are given to the faithful departed.

Is it any wonder, I ask, that the Church demands our presence on Sundays and holydays when this great thing, this compendium of God's merciful works, is done in our midst?

One more word. Since our blessed Lord has deigned to associate us personally and individually with Himself and with His Church, so that we can make His offering our own by joining our wills and intentions with His own and His Church's in the Holy Mass, it follows that, particularly in matters that affect ourselves personally, the amount of grace and blessing which we obtain individually depends to a certain and real extent upon our own devotion and attention in hearing Mass. What a strong reason for making the most of every Mass we hear--trying more and more to understand what the Mass is; not being content with a mere perfunctory presence, or mere perfunctory prayers at Mass, uniting ourselves heart and soul with Jesus our High Priest in the four great objects of the Holy Sacrifice--the worship and praise of God; thanksgiving for all His benefits, especially the supreme benefit of Redemption; the obtaining of all we need; and the making of satisfaction and reparation to God through Christ for all our many sins and daily faults.
__________________
Adapted from Plain Sermons by Practical Preachers, Vol. II(©1916)
Nihil Obstat: Remegius Lafort, S.T.D
Imprimatur: John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

Aug 17-Archbishop Burke's Farewell Mass

A farewell Mass for Archbishop Raymond L. Burke will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, Lindell Boulevard and Newstead Avenue in the Central West End.

Archbishop Burke will be the celebrant, and everyone in the archdiocese is invited to the Mass. A reception will be held after the Mass at nearby Boland Hall....

July 12-20, 60th Annual Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The 60th Annual Outdoor Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel will be held at the Carmel of St. Joseph, 9150 Clayton Rd. from July 12-July 20.

Rosary and Benedic­tion each evening at 7:15 pm in the Carmelite chapel, fol­lowed by an outdoor Mass at 8 pm.

The Novena homilists who will celebrate Mary under nine of her different titles are:
Saturday July 12 - Holy Mary, the New Eve
Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke, Archbishop of St. Louis

Sunday July 13 - The Blessed Virign Mary, Seat of Wisdom
Rev. Monsignor Richard F. Stika Pastor Annunziata Parish

Monday July 14 - Holy Mary Queen and Mother of Mercy
Rev. John L. Suenram, OCD, Pastor of the National Shrine of the Little Flower

Tuesday, July 15 - The Blessed Virgin Mary Pillar of Faith
Rev. John L. Suenram, OCD, Pastor of the National Shrine of the Little Flower

Wednesday, July 16 - Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Rev. John L. Suenram, OCD, Pastor of theNational Shrine of the Little Flower

Thursday, July 17 - Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace
Rev. Michael J. Houser, Newly Ordained, Associate Pastor, Holy Trinity Parish in St. Ann

Friday, July 18 - The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Divine Hope
Rev. Edward G. Nemeth, Newly Ordained, Associate Pastor, St. Joseph Parish in Imperial

Saturday, July 19 - The Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians
Rev. Noah A. Waldman, Newly Ordained, Associate Pastor, Sts. Joachim and Ann Parish in St. Charles

Sunday, July 20 - The Blessed Virign Mary, Gate of Heaven -
Rev. Timothy P. Elliot, Pastor St. Giana Parish, Lake St. Louis
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Click here for more information.

Sacred Music that Serves the Word of God (Part 1)

Father Samuel Weber on Sacred Music Institute

From Zenit:

By Annamarie Adkins

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, JULY 4, 2008 (Zenit.org). Parish music directors -- and congregations -- in the Archdiocese of St. Louis soon will benefit from Archbishop Raymond Burke’s recent initiative: The Institute for Sacred Music.

Archbishop Burke, who has since been named to head the Apostolic Signature, the Church's supreme court, appointed Benedictine Father Samuel Weber as the first director of the new institute earlier this year.

Father Weber is a professor in the divinity school of Wake Forest University in North Carolina and also a monk of the St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana.

In Part 1 of this interview with ZENIT, Father Weber discusses how the Institute for Sacred Music will try to restore Gregorian chant’s “pride of place” in the liturgy....

Possible Changes in the Novus Ordo Liturgy?

The New Liturgical Movement web site is reporting that:

The rite of the Mass could change. According to some indiscretions, Benedict XVI has charged the Congregation for Divine Worship to study some modifications in the liturgy. In particular, the Pope is said to have the intention to restore Latin for the formula for the Eucharistic consecration within the Mass in the "vernacular language", i.e. the one celebrated in the different national languages. The same could happen to the formulae of Baptism, Confirmation, Confession and of the other sacraments. In addition, the exchange of peace among the faithful during the Mass, which today takes place prior to the distribution of the Eucharist, could be anticipated (as in the Ambrosian rite) to the offertory so as not to disturb the recollection that precedes Communion....

While this would be great news, it is unclear at this time if the report is accurate. Therefore, we remain skeptical until further verications are made.

Televised Extraordinary Form of the Mass Today on EWTN

Feast of the Most Precious Blood - July 1st, 2008
First Solemn High Mass of Fr. Jared McCambridge, FSSP

Airtimes:
Tue 07/01/08 8:00 AM ET & 5 AM PT LIVE
Tue 7/01/08 7:00 PM ET & 4 PM PT Encore
Wed 7/02/08 12:00 AM ET & 9 PM PT (Tue) Encore

The American TFP Participates in a Historic Latin Mass

Here is a story on one of the first Masses celebrated by newly ordained priest, Father Jonathan Romanowski in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The TFP choir sang at the Mass. You can see photos and read about the event by clicking here.

6th Sunday after Pentecost, Confidence In God's Providence (Extraordinary Form)

Confidence In God's Providence
By Rev. Ferdinand Heckmann, O.F.M.
__________________________________
"From whence can anyone fill them here with bread in the wilderness?” (Mark viii, 4).

In the miracle related in today's Gospel our Divine Savior teaches us an all-important lesson. A great multitude, so we read, had followed Him for three days even into a wilderness. Forgetful of the things of earth, of their temporal affairs, and even of the needs of the body, they were wholly intent upon listening to the words of power and grace that fell from His lips. For, as St. Matthew tells us, "The people were in admiration at his doctrine. For he was teaching them as one having power, and not as the scribes and Pharisees" (Matt. vii, 28, 29).

Such devotion to Him touched the compassionate heart of Jesus. And "calling his disciples together, He saith to them: 'I have compassion on the multitude, for behold they have now been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I shall send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way; for some of them came from afar off.' And his disciples answered him: 'From whence can anyone fill them here with bread in the wilderness?'" (Mark vii, 1-4).

A peculiar and astonishing question on the part of the disciples who should by this time have learned in the school of Christ that in all needs we can and must have a firm trust in God's providence and His omnipotent power. They had witnessed on another occasion how their Divine Master fed five thousand men besides the women and children in a miraculous manner. They had seen with their own eyes how with one word He raised the dead to life, restored speech to the dumb and hearing to the deaf, and performed many other miracles, thus manifesting His Divinity and almighty power, that with Him nothing is impossible. How could they doubtingly ask: "From whence can anyone fill them here with bread in the wilderness?"

They knew from the history of their own people how almighty God during the space of forty years had fed the immense multitude of Israelites on their journey through the desert with a miraculous bread which every morning fell from heaven. If they had recalled all this to their minds, how could they have doubted that their Divine Master was able to feed this comparatively small multitude with seven loaves and a few fishes? The Apostles at that time sadly lacked, what is often sadly lacking to many Christians, namely, a lively faith in God's omnipotent power and a firm trust in His providence.

Let us then consider the reason why we should have always a firm 'confidence and trust in God's providence.

No article of our holy faith is more clearly revealed in Holy Writ, more expressly proposed to our .belief by our holy Mother, the Church, and more consonant with right reason than the article which commands us to believe that the all-knowing, all-powerful and all-wise God who created this world rules and regulates every thing in this world according to the unchangeable decrees of His Divine Providence; that this Divine Providence watches over every man and fills with blessings every living creature, so that they will lack nothing if they only have a firm confidence in Him and fulfill the purpose for which they were created, which is to know God, to love Him and to serve Him in this world.

In whom could we and should we place a greater confidence than in Him who has a perfect knowledge of our wants and necessities, who has the power to relieve them and whose goodness and love for us assures us that He will relieve them. Now God perfectly knows everything that concerns us and what is necessary for us.

"All things," says St. Paul, "are naked and open to his eyes" (Heb. iv, 13). "He cares for each one in particular," says St. Augustine, "as if He were occupied with him alone, and He cares for the whole world as He would for one individua1.”

Nothing is so small and insignificant as to exclude it from His care and providence. "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?" says our Divine Savior, "and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; better are you than many sparrows" (Matt. x, 29-31). If God then cares for the least things that to our mind seem of no importance whatever, how much more careful will He not be of us who were made to know love and possess Him for all eternity. We can truly say with David: "I am a beggar and poor; the Lord is careful of me" (Ps. xxxix, 18).

God knows the needs of His own creatures and from the beginning of the world has cared and provided for them. Before He formed man out of the slime of the earth He created all things necessary for his sustenance and comfort. "Behold," said God to our first parents, "I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth, and all trees that have in themselves seed of their own kind, to be your meat; and to all the beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all that move upon the earth, and wherein there is life, that they may have to feed upon" (1. Mos. i, 29, 30).

After the flood God said to Noah: "Everything that moveth and liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herbs have I delivered all to you" (1. Mos. ix, 3). For the aid and comfort of His chosen people He sent Joseph into Egypt that during the seven years of plenty he might provide for the seven years of famine. "Be not afraid," said Joseph to his trembling brethren, "and let it not seem to you a hard case that you have sold me into these countries, for God sent me before you in Egypt that you may be preserved upon the earth and may have food to live" (1. Mos. xlv, 5, 7).

For forty years He provided for the needs of the people of Israel in their journey through the desert. When they lacked water He commanded Moses to strike a rock "and gave them to drink, as out of the great deep. He brought forth water out of the rock, and made streams run down as rivers" (Ps. lxxvii, 15, 16). When they doubtingly asked: "Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can he also give bread, and provide a table for his people?" God "commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven. And He rained manna upon them to eat, and had given them the bread of heaven, and sent them provisions in abundance. And He rained upon them flesh as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea. So they did eat, and were filled exceedingly, and He gave them their desire; they were not defrauded of that which they crave" (Ps. lxxvii, 15, 16, 19-30).

When God commanded the prophet Elias to flee before the wrath of Achab, to whom in punishment for his idolatry he had predicted that neither rain nor dew would fall upon the earth for three years, and hide himself by the torrent of Carith, He said to him: "There thou shalt drink of the torrent; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the torrent. But after some time the torrent was dried up, for it hath not rained upon the earth. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying: 'Arise and go to Sarephta of the Sidonians, and dwell there; for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed thee.' He rose and went to Sarephta. And when he was come to the gate of the city he saw the widow woman gathering sticks, and he called to her and said to her: 'Give me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.' And when she was going to fetch it he called after her, saying: 'Bring me also, I beseech thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.' And she answered: 'As the Lord thy God liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of meal in a pot, and a little oil in a cruse; behold I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it, for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.' And Elias said to her: 'Fear not, but go and do as thou hast said; but first make for me of the same meal a little hearth cake and bring it to me; and after make for thyself and thy son. For thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruse of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth.' She went and did according to the word of Elias; and he ate, and she, and her house, and from that day the pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the Word of the Lord, which He spoke in the hand of Elias" (III. Kings xvii, 3-17).

When the prophet Daniel was confined for six days in a den of lions at the instigation of the Babylonian priests, an angel of the Lord commanded the prophet Habacuc to carry the dinner which he was bringing to the reapers in the field to Daniel in Babylon. And when the prophet answered: "Lord, I never saw Babylon, nor do I know the den," the angel of the Lord took him by the top of his head and carried him by the hair of his head, and set him in Babylon over the den in the force of his spirit. And Habacuc cried, saying: "0 Daniel, thou servant of God, take the dinner that God hath sent thee." And Daniel said: "Thou hast remembered me, O Lord, Thou hast not forsaken them that love Thee" (Dan. xiv, 34-37).

In the New Testament God has shown the same merciful care of His own, because in great need He has provided for them even in a .miraculous manner, as is attested by the lives of the saints. Truly has David said: "Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches. Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart. Commit thy way to the Lord, and he will do it. I have been young, and now am old; and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread" (Ps. xxxvi, 3-6, 25).

God knows our needs before we are aware of them. According to the Gospel story our Divine Savior knew that the people were in want of the necessary food; they had not to ask him to provide for their needs. Therefore, "calling His disciples together, He saith to them: 'I have compassion on the multitude, for they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat. And if I shall send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way; for some of them came from afar off.'" How beautifully did Jesus here show Himself as the true Son and image of Him of whom He says: "Be not solicitous saying: 'What shall we eat,' or 'what shall we drink,' or 'wherewith shall we. be clothed?' For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and His justice, i. e., His love, grace and friendship, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. vi, 31-33). "And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in much speaking they may be heard. Be you not therefore like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask Him" (Matt. vi, 7, 8).

When our Lord visited the two sisters, Martha and Mary, the former was busy concerning the things of the body, how she might entertain her Guest, while Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to the words of life that fell from His lips. And Martha said to Jesus: "Lord, hast Thou no care that my sister hath left me alone to serve? Speak to her therefore, that she help me." And the Lord, answering, said to her: "Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things; but one thing is necessary," and that one thing is the salvation of our soul.

We are created for one thing; we are bidden to seek one thing; and we often seek everything else but that. The thoughts that burn within us are often not the thoughts of God and heaven, but thoughts of our earthly success and possessions. We are often too solicitous for the things of earth and of amassing transitory riches to the detriment of our eternal salvation. Man consists of a body and a soul, and he must labor for the preservation and salvation of both, for the Scripture says: "In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat thy bread until thou return to the earth, out o~ which thou wast taken" '( I. Gen. iii, 19).

God therefore demands that we should faithfully labor for the things we stand in need of, for, says the Apostle: "If any man will not work, neither let him eat." But this care and labor for the things of the body must be secondary and subordinate to the care and labor for the salvation of our soul. "Having food and wherewith to be covered, with these we should be content," says the Apostle. "For they that will become rich fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition. For the desire of money is the root of all evils" (1. Tim. vi, 8, 9).

Our Lord warns us against this too great solicitude for the things of earth when He says : "You cannot serve God and mammon." And He said this to the Pharisees who were covetous, and they derided Him. "Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat, and the body more than the raiment? God has created our body and soul, and in their union consists our present life. For the preservation of this life we need food, shelter and clothing. Now, if God has given us this life, how can we in any way doubt that He will also give us the things necessary for its preservation? He who has given us the greater, our life, will certainly also give us the less, the things necessary for its preservation. "The eyes of all hope in Thee, 0 Lord; and Thou givest them meat in due season," says the royal prophet. "Thou openest Thy hand and .fillest with blessing every living creature" (Ps. cxliv, 15, 16).

And in order to inspire us with greater confidence, our Divine Savior calls our attention to God's solicitude and care for His other creatures. "Behold the birds of the air," He says, "for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?" If God, then, provides all things needful for the birds of the air because He has created them, with how much more reason will He not do the same for man, created to His image and likeness, and redeemed by the precious Blood of His only Son. "And which of -you by taking thought," our Divine Savior adds, "can add to his stature one cubit. If then ye be not able to do so much as the least thing, why are you solicitous for the rest? And for raiment why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they labor not, neither do they spin. But I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. . And if the grass of the field, which is to-day, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe, how much more you, 0 ye of little faith?" . (Matt. vi, 26-3 I ) .

God, therefore, not only knows our needs, but His goodness will also relieve them. "He is rich unto all that call upon Him." "Christ did not say," says St. John Chrysostom, "God knoweth, but your Father knoweth, so as to encourage men to have greater confidence in Him. For if He is our Father, He cannot disregard the needs of His children. For what father would allow his children to be in want even of necessaries if he is able to provide them?" "Ask and it shall be given to you," says our Divine Savior. "For every one that asketh receiveth. Or what man is there among you of whom, if his son shall ask bread, will reach him a stone? O~ if he shall ask him a fish, will he reach him a serpent? If you then being evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him" (Matt. vii, 7-1 I). "Can a woman," says God by the prophet Isaias, "forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? And if she should forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee in My hand" (Is. xlv, 15, 16). So great is the fatherly and more than motherly care and solicitude of God for us, His children.

If, then, God our Creator and loving Father watches with a tender care and solicitude over all His creatures and provides for their needs, what reason have we not to abandon ourselves with childlike confidence to His providence. Everything in our life depends upon His blessing, and therefore does the Apostle say: "Neither he that planteth is anything, nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase" (I. Cor. iii, 7). How useless for us and injurious to God are our excessive cares, anxieties and fears, our desperate efforts to provide everything that concerns our bodies, our earthly lives, our state and welfare, as if there were no one in the world to take care of us but ourselves, as if there were neither a God nor Providence to look after us. "Cast all your care upon him," St. Peter admonishes us, "for he hath care of you" (I. Pet. v, 7).

Our chief care should be to lead a good and Christian life; to observe the commandments of God; to use a moderate and diligent care in, regard to the acquirement of temporal things; to have recourse to God in all needs with a firm assurance that nothing will then be wanting to us. Christ has promised this when He said: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things will be added unto you."
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Adapted from Plain Sermons by Practical Preachers, Vol. II(©1916)
Homily by Rev. Ferdinand Heckmann, O.F.M.
Nihil Obstat: Remegius Lafort, S.T.D
Imprimatur: John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York