Retreat, Tuesday

Abbot Marcel Rooney, former abbot of Conception Abbey in Missouri, and also former Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Order is our retreat master. He taught liturgy in Rome for many years and is a great speaker and teacher. I am enjoying his presentations immensely.

He is concentrating on the liturgy of the Mass, and giving us the background for it. He has drawn careful distinctions between the Roman-North African liturgical tradition and the Gallican. Interesting note: even though Charlemagne demanded the conversion of his empire to the Roman Liturgy vis-a-vis the Gallican in the 9th century, the last Gallican Mass was celebrated in Cologne in 1929. Emperors, kings, popes, councils and bishops all tried, but it took 1,200 years. Then there are some who wondery why the Tridentine Mass has hung on for so long. It's hard to kill a tradition---although many have tried.

The community seems reasonably happy, although getting older all the time. Father Aaron lost his little dog yesterday, but "Thor" was found caught in the parish hall this morning---disaster averted. The cool and humid weather of yesterday is leaving and hot and humid is the forecast. I hope that my garden and plants are being taken care of in Eldo. I'm off to the first morning conferenc for Wednesday.

Retreat Monday

Monday: I left Eldo at 11:30 and arrived at Subiaco around 3:15 in the afternoon. Somewhere around Mt. Petit Jean it started raining. Lots and lots of rain. After getting to the rectory of St. Benedict's Parish in Subiaco, where I'm staying with my confrere, Father Aaron, I got changed and went to the abbey across the highway for the annual jubilee Mass for our monks who are celebrating the anniversaries of their professions or ordinations. Father Hugh Assenmacher celebrates 50 years as a priest this year, and Father Brendan Miller celebrates 25 years also. Abbot Jerome presided at the Mass and preached.

This past year, we've lost three monks by death: Abbot Raphael, Father Harold, and Brother Martin. This month, two solemnly professed monks have received or are applying for dispensations from their vows and are leaving the community. One monk in temporary vows is also on the way out. This means that our community will have been reduced by six this year, with no new ones coming in. Such a situation cannot long obtain. We have to get more young men to come and to stay or else we will all be gone, sooner rather than later.

Guess Who's Watching

David Berlinski says in his book The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions:

What Hitler did not believe and what Stalin did not believe and what Mao did not believe and what the SS did not believe and what the Gestapo did not believe and what the NKVD did not believe and what the commissars, functionaries, swaggering executioners, Nazi doctors, Communist Party theoreticians, intellectuals, Brown Shirts, Black Shirts, gauleiters, and a thousand party hacks did not believe was that God was watching what they were doing.

Recent and Coming Events

Last weekend I was at Subiaco for the annual alumni reunion. It was my class' 40th anniversary of graduation. The abbot invited me to be the main celebrant and preach the Alumni Reunion Mass in the Abbey Church. It went off smoothly and everyone was edified.

This coming Monday I go back to Subiaco for the annual monastic retreat and chapter meetings. It is always good to go back and see the brethren and be released from the duties of pastoring. There are, however, several parishioners that are on death's door, and it is likely that one or another of them will die next week, so my plans are subject to change.

The third week of June will see me and our organist-choirmaster, Michael Odom, in Chicago for the Church Music Association of America's annual convention. This should be good for both of us.

There is a garage sale going on the old parish hall this morning. We are going to tear it down and build an education building in its place. This is something that we sorely need, as even with our new space that we've enjoyed for the past eight years, we have been out of room. While I don't believe that growth is automatically a sign of the Spirit at work, it is sometimes and indicator. I pray that this is so in this case.

Bishop of Rockville Centre forbids weekday Communion services

As we approach the feast of Corpus Xsti, it is interesting to see this development. I believe that this is the right approach. See the full article at Catholic News Service.

"Bishop William Murphy has issued a pastoral letter restricting the practice of Communion services at parishes and schools in his diocese. He said the ban on Communion services would bring the diocese into conformity with the liturgical norms of the Church.
Writing in an eight-page letter sent on Friday, Bishop Murphy reflected on the importance of the Eucharist. "The Eucharist is the greatest gift Jesus left us… The celebration of the Eucharist gives us our identity as well as our life,” he said.
The bishop said that Communion services, in practice, often sever what he called “the connection between receiving the Sacrament and celebrating the sacrifice. The two go hand-in-hand,” he continued. “Receiving the Sacrament is the culmination of participating in the sacrifice. There is an inherent interconnection between sacrifice, Real Presence, and Communion,” Bishop Murphy said.
“In the popular mind, all too often the purpose of Mass is still seen as an action simply to consecrate hosts; some people think their participation in the Eucharistic Prayer is all about watching the priest and then receiving Holy Communion,” he wrote.
Bishop Murphy said that the internal “offering” of ourselves both differentiates a Mass from a Communion Service and provides context for the laity’s “full, conscious, and active” participation in the Mass.
He ordered the Communion services in the diocese to end by July 1. Bishop Murphy explained in his letter that the Communion services were originally intended for use on Sundays only in remote, missionary parishes where priests could rarely visit."

Ad Orientem

I have done something that has been gnawing at me for months. I have read several books on church architecture that have concentrated on the concept of "relative space." The prevailing philosophy or our day is Relativism. Since all things are relative, then all things are equal.

In relative space, all spaces are equal, and no one place within a building is more important or sacred than another. Yet, despite all attempts to relativize liturgical space, Catholics still have an appreciation for the "sanctuary" or "chancel" as a particularly sacred and focus-worthy area. The "thrust-stage" arrangement of the altars of most churches, where the priest faces the people is conducive to gathering around and celebrating a sacred meal, but I wonder if that juxtaposition is conducive to reverence and, ultimately, faith. Given the great lack of faith that I've encountered in the course of my ministry I wonder if familiarity has not bred contempt rather than the theological virtues.

For a period of discernment that will be for I-do-not-know how long, we will celebrate the daily Mass ad Orientem. This is not for the purpose of making some statement against "the Spirit of Vatican II," nor is it an exercise in antiquarianism.

For most of the centuries of the Church, the Sacred Liturgy was celebrated facing East. Even where altars were set up so that they were free-standing, nevertheless the direction of the priest and people was toward the East (or to "liturgical" East where a church was not built on an eastern axis).

I found this so in Bethlehem, when I was on pilgrimage in 2006, and attended a baptism at the Syrian Orthodox church there. It was also the direction of the liturgy when I was a youth, before Vatican II.

The idea of the priest, standing at the head of the people and offering the sacrifice of Christ for himself, for them, and for the world, is an idea that we've lost by having the liturgy facing the people. I have found that so far I like this "new" way for these reasons:

1. I am addressing prayers to God and not looking at people while I'm doing so. (This has always been a problem with Mass versus populi.) I have always been very careful about this anyway, when I celebrate facing the people. I try, unless I have to read the prayers directly from the Sacramentary, to direct my eye "Godwards," i.e., upwards, except for the prayer for peace that comes after the Lord's Prayer and which is directed (unlike the Eucharistic prayer and the collects that are addressed to the Father) to Christ. I look at the sacramental elements on the altar during that prayer as I've always tried to practice custody of the "liturgical" eye.
2. The people don't have to be distracted by looking at me, and I don't have to be distracted by looking at them.
3. It makes the chapel bigger by cutting down on the "footprint." In a small room this can be a great advantage, and I was able to relegate the original processional cross that was made for the chapel to be the p-c for Lent, and now use the original altar cross from the church.
4. There is something ineffable about it that I experience as I offer the Mass in this way.

Of course, I turn toward the people and address them at the proper times. Not gonna just say "The Lord be with you." glancing back over my shoulder.

This will not in any way affect the arrangement in the church of the altar for Sunday and Holy Day Masses (the only days we use the church anyway).

Let us see . . .

The First Novena

The descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the Church after the Ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father, represented the culmination of nine days of prayer and expectation. It is the source of the devotion called a "novena." While other novenas have come to be, directed to the honor of some saint, or for some spiritual purpose, yet the original novena started at the Ascension and completed at Pentecost is till the Ur-novena from which all take their name.

The readings of the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Hours in these days are replete with the most wonderful and expectant writings of the New Testament and the Holy Fathers. May the annual celebration of that original outpouring of the Spirit form our hearts more and more into the dwelling place of Christ.

O Magnum Mysterium by Martin Lauridsen

I just heard this on Kent State classical streaming radio. The performance by the UST alumni singers is marred by the poor recording and gratuitous camera flashes, but the piece and their singing are magnificent! It moves me to tears as I listen to it. How wonderful it would be if our choir could do it for Christmas eve.

O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum. Alleluia!

O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear
Christ the Lord. Alleluia!

St. Pius V and my Baptism Day

Michele Ghisleri (Pope Pius V) was born 17 Jan., 1504 elected 7 Jan., 1566; died 1 May, 1572. His family was poor, and he was taken in by the Dominicans and trained in theology and ordained. He was made a bishop and then a cardinal. He was noted as the Inquisitor General for all Christendom, and was particularly active against the Prods and the Turks. His real claim to fame is his support of the Christian league against the Turks, and assisted in various ways to the defeat of the Turkish navy at the battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571.

From the New Catholic Encyclopedia: The original title of the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary. On Sunday 7 Ocotber 1571 the combined Christian fleets under Don John of Austria achieved a significant naval victory over the Turks in the Straits of Lepanto. Thousands of Christians were liberated, the Turkish fleet was destroyed, and they suffered their first great defeat at sea. In gratitude to God and Our Lady, Pope St. Pius V ordered an annual commemoration to be made of Our Lady of Victory. Pope Gregory XIII transferred the feast to the first Sunday of October with the title Most Holy Rosary since it victory was won through invocation of Our Lady of the Rosary In the reform of the liturgy the feast was returned to its original day.

The reason why I commemorate him as a patron is because on this day in 1950 I was baptized by Fr. Joseph Quinn at Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas. My parents and godparents were of course present: Paul, and Mary Elizabeth Sherrey, Charles, my father (all gone to their eternal reward, and my mother, Darleen.

St. Louis of France once said that of all the cathedrals and churches of his realm, he prized above all the church of his baptism. As the church of our baptism is the place where we entered into eternal life, we should all hold that place and those persons who brought us to the font in great esteem.

The Epitome of Priestly Narcissism

Where have I been?

From the Fifth Sunday of Lent until now, I have been whelmed with the cares and liturgies of the Church. H0ly Week was a time of great grace and beauty. At the Easter Vigil I baptized an infant, a child, and an adult. I confirmed seven. On Easter Sunday I baptized an infant at the English Mass and three infants at the Spanish Mass. There were baptisms at the Spanish Mass last Sunday, too.

This Sunday (Emmaus Sunday) is our first communion Sunday. There will be a group at each of the Masses.

Last night I was in Little Rock for the section meeting of the members of the Diocese of Little Rock who are in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. We are planning for the Southwest Lieutenancy meeting that will be held in the see city in October. I was also drumming up participants in the pilgrimage that I am leading to the Holy Land and Rome in November.

On top of everything, I came down with a cold a few days ago, and am only now getting over it.

The insurance assessor was here last week and informed us of many stupid things that we have to do, like Plexiglas beneath the vigil light stands, and velcro-ing the statutes to their plinths. It was unbelievable.

Can you imagine? Some Mohammedans in the world got their feelings hurt by the baptism of a former member of their cult by B16. Poor things.

And my little dog, Butch is doing well, and is with me here in the office as I type. He says hell0 to all of you and prays that you had and will have a blessed Easter season.

Patron Saint of the (new) New Age

Here's John Hagee and a wonderful example of Christian Zionism and why we should hate it

Snow in El Dorado

It is very unusual to get snow of any quantity down here in the sunny south where the Gulf of Mexico is usually our big weather maker. A combination of a cold front from the north and moist air from the south have combined to create quite a snow for us. Everybody is quitting work and going home. The schools got out at noon after the snow started coming down. I have a wake tonight and a funeral tomorrow. I just hope the musicians will be there. Our organist-choirmaster is stuck in Louisville, KY where he was attending the ACDA convention (American Choral Directors Association). Anyway, we'll enjoy this snow while it lasts.

Now I'm a mandarin

I'm a Mandarin!

You're an intellectual, and you've worked hard to get where you are now. You're a strong believer in education, and you think many of the world's problems could be solved if people were more informed and more rational. You have no tolerance for sloppy or lazy thinking. It frustrates you when people who are ignorant or dishonest rise to positions of power. You believe that people can make a difference in the world, and you're determined to try.

Talent: 51%
Lifer: 28%
Mandarin: 59%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

What kind of sports car are you?

I'm a Lamborghini Murcielago!

You're not subtle, but you don't want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you're a raging bull.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Amazing!

Finally, someone!

Bedlam in the Spirit

In 18th century London, an Sunday afternoon's recreation might consist in going to the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem (shortened to "Bedlam" from where we get the word) to watch the poor, insane, inmates roll, scream, and jump around. Such gazing on the insane was later judged unseemly, and the hospital was eventually turned into the Imperial War Museum (trading one insanity for another). Watching this video of a group on Indian pentecostals is almost as sick. Of course the people who produced it thought it was something beautiful for God. That's sick, too.

Cindy Sheehan agitates in Egypt for the Muslim Brotherhood

If you don't believe it, click here: http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/019944.php

Tuesday nights in Lent

Our parish will be having a series of lectures called Tuesday Nights in Lent. It will consist of Vespers and Eucharist at 5:30, followed by a simple supper in the parish hall. At 6:30 I will give a talk on various topics. Tonight is on "Prayer." The subsequent Tuesdays will cover liturgical music, forgiveness, hospitality and the liturgies of Holy Week. Indications show that these will be well attended.

False rumor about the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

A false rumor concerning His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, is circulating at the moment. According to it, His Beatitude visited Africa: Congo, Rwanda, etc. He was hospitalized following an accident, and is asking for urgent financial support to cover the costs of medical care. All of this information is false. His Beatitude is in Jerusalem and is doing very well, thanks be to God. Please ignore these rumors.

Fr. Humam Khzouz
Chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate
of Jerusalem

Brother Martin Gocke, OSB

I have received word that my confrere, Brother Martin, passed away at 9:45 a.m., Sunday. He professed his vows as monk of our monastery on May 1, 1947. He was an interesting man. For many years he worked in the Abbey kitchen. He was a simple monk who has gone to his reward. May God bless and receive him as a faithful servant.

Like being a pastor

Ave Maria

Bobby McFerrin takes on Bach.

Video from the funeral of Archduke Charles Ludwig in the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna

Tantum ergo is sung to the magnificent Kaisarhymne of Haydn.

Death of His Imperial Highness Charles Ludwig, of Austria-Hungary

His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Carl Ludwig Maria Franz Joseph Michael Gabriel Antonius Robert Stephan Pius Gregor Ignatius Markus d'Aviano of Austria, also known as Carl Ludwig Habsburg-Lothringen, died on 11 December 2007. (Born, March 10, 1918) He was the fifth child of Blessed Charles I of Austria and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. He was born in Baden, Austria, and died in Brussels.
He was married in Beloeil on 17 January 1950 to Princess Yolande of Ligne (born May 6, 1923). They had four children:
Archduke Rudolf (b. 1950) married Marie Hélène de Villenfagne de Vogelsanck. Eight children.
Archduchess Alexandra (b. 1952) married Héctor Riesle Contreras. Three children.
Archduke Carl Christian (b. 1954) married Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg. Five children.
Archduchess Maria Constanza (b. 1957) married Franz Josef, Prince (Fürst) von Auersperg-Trautson. Three biological daughters (one died shortly after her birth) and one adopted daughter.

The Archduke joined the US army in 1943, and participated in the D-Day invasion. He was honorably discharged in 1947. His Imperial and Royal Highness was buried in the Capuchin crypt in Vienna after a funeral service in the Cathedral of St. Stephen, presided over by the Papal Nuncio. Requescat in pace.

Zaporozhian Cossacks---interestingly anti-islam

I recommend the following for some historical stuff on the Cossacks:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaporozhian_Host

http://turbanbomb.blogspot.com/2007/09/surrender-up-yours.html

Nothing like telling the Sultan where to go!

Oriana Fallaci

“A moderate Islam does not exist. It does not exist because there is no difference between Good Islam and Bad Islam. There is Islam and that it the end of it. Islam is the Koran, and nothing other than the Koran. And the Koran is the Mein Kampf of a religion that desires to eliminate others- non -Muslims-who are called infidel dogs, and inferior creatures. Read the Koran, that Mein Kampf, yet again. In whatever version and you will see that the evil which the sons of Allah against us and themselves has perpetrated comes from that book”. (Oriana Fallaci”The Force of Reason” AMEN!

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, OP, priest, friar, doctor of the Church

Thomas Aquinas' feast day is today.

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that had obtained for centuries. This crisis flared up just as universities were being founded. Thomas, after early studies at Montecassino, moved on to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican Order. It was at Naples too that Thomas had his first extended contact with the new learning. When he joined the Dominican Order he went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, which had been formed out of the monastic schools on the Left Bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master Thomas defended the mendicant orders and, of greater historical importance, countered both the Averroistic interpretations of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result was a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy which survived until the rise of the new physics. Thomas's theological writings became regulative of the Catholic Church and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource which is now receiving increased recognition. The following account concentrates on Thomas the philosopher and presents him as fundamentally an Aristotelian. (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aquinas/)

One of my favorite saints, I used him greatly in teaching. I wish that I had had time to study him more when I was in the seminary.

Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas: Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you,a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.

Another prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas: [Recited in Preparation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass]
Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I come sick to the Doctor of Life, unclean to the Fountain of Mercy, blind to the Radiance of Eternal Light, and poor and needy to the Lord of Heaven and Earth. Lord, in your great generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I receive the bread of angels, the King of kings and the Lord of lords with humble reverence and with the purity and faith, the repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help to bring me salvation. May I receive the Lord’s body and blood, and its reality and power. Kind God, may I receive the Body of your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His Mystical Body and numbered among his members. Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, may I one day see Him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with you forever. AMEN.

B16 to the Slovenian Bishops

Zenit.org "Not all forms of humanism are the same," he added, "nor are they equivalent in moral terms. I am not referring here to religious aspects, but limit myself to ethical and social questions. The various visions of man that can be adopted have consequences for civil coexistence. If, for example, man is conceived -- following a widespread modern tendency -- in individualistic terms, how can we justify efforts for the construction of a more just and united community?"

"Each generation is called to renew the choice between life and goodness and death and evil. We as pastors have the duty to show Christians the path of life, that they in their turn may become the salt and light of society. I encourage the Church in Slovenia, then, to respond to materialist and selfish culture with a coherent evangelizing activity that begins in parishes."

The Huck and the Second Amendment

Diversity

There are many who believe that the politically correct concept of "diversity" is something that makes life better for everyone. Diversity is, of course, the bastard child of "multiculturalism," i.e., the idea that all cultures and their characteristic "values" are equal. This is an idea that should be resisted by everyone. It was brought home to me by someone mentioning the absurd idea that it is wonderful that there are so many different Christian denominations---as if that were something to rejoice in---and by the presentations at the National Pastoral Musicians convention in Indianapolis in July of last year. There we had contemporary Catholic liturgy served with a large helping of multiculturalism and two scoops of diversity. It was silly.

Look, the only reason why these other Christian bodies exist is because we Catholics didn't do our job right.

If we had fulfilled the mission that Christ gave us at his Ascension, then the world would've been evangelized, the Gospel preached, and those who came to Faith would've been baptized and joined to his body. It is a shame, and it is contrary to the desire of Christ himself (See the Last Supper discourse in the Gospel of John.) Of course, we can't go back and change history, but we should be able to learn from it, you'd think.

The work of Christian ecumenicism is not to rejoice in diversity in the essentials of the Faith. There is no room for diversity in the essentials, that's why they are essentials. The existence of different rites, and spiritualities are diversities of the non-essential variety, and to be gloried in. But the Faith itself is only one, as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, and for which Christ prayed so earnestly on the night before his death. To pretend otherwise is simply to fall into religious indifferentism, and no Catholic can hold to that.

A new martyr for Christ

(AINA) -- According to the Assyrian website ankawa.com, a 14 year old Christian Assyrian boy, Ayad Tariq, from Baqouba, Iraq was decapitated at his work place on October 21.

Ayad Tariq was working his 12 hour shift, maintaining an electric generator, when a group of disguised Muslim insurgents walked in at the beginning of his shift shortly after 6 a.m. and asked him for his ID.

According to another employee who witnessed the events, and who hid when he saw the insurgents approach, the insurgents questioned Ayad after seeing that his ID stated "Christian", asking if he was truly a "Christian sinner." Ayad replied "yes, I am Christian but I am not a sinner." The insurgents quickly said this is a "dirty Christian sinner!" Then they proceeded to each hold one limb, shouting "Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!" while beheading the boy.

Translated from Arabic by AINA

© 2008, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved

Some Dutch are not taking Islamisation lying down.

Jewish Professor at Roman University defends the Pope

Defending the Pope comes with a cost, says a Jewish math professor from Rome's La Sapienza University. (See full article in Zenit: http://www.zenit.org/ ) Giorgio Israel spoke with L'Osservatore Romano last week after protesters at La Sapienza objected to a planned visit from Benedict XVI. The protesters wrote a letter in which they claimed the Pope is "hostile" to science. The event eventually escalated to the point of students taking over the rector's offices and the cancellation of the trip, planned for Jan. 17.
The Jewish math professor admits that there is an anti-papal climate in the universities that is difficult to address. Again, the university, supposedly a place of calm pursuit of truth, is revealed to be just the opposite. Liberal factions and politically-correct thought police rule the day. If the universities fail us in the pursuit of truth, then where will it happen for most folks?

The Games Muslims Play

For those interested in a quick overview of Muslim hypocrisy, take a look at this: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Games-Muslims-Play.htm#other

Knights of Columbus continue their work at the National Shrine

Click below to see the continuing work of the K of C for the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC:

http://www.kofc.org/news/releases/detail.cfm?id=506224

LA Diocese to sell Catholic Center.

(01-22) 19:42 PST Los Angeles (AP) --
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has sold its 12-story administrative headquarters building to help pay last year's $660 million settlement with people alleging sex abuse by clergy, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The Archdiocesan Catholic Center was sold to Jamison Properties of Los Angeles for $31 million, archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg said.
Staffers who oversee the archdiocese's cemeteries will move to office space on the grounds of a cemetery, Tamberg said. Others will consolidate in four of the building's floors that church officials will lease from the new owner, Tamberg said.

It is sad that a problem that was brought on by the bishops has to be paid for by the faithful by the selling of Church property. I lay this completely at the feet of the bishops without apology. They told us that they had it fixed, and then didn't do it.

St. Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon and Martyr

Saint Vincent of Saragossa, also known as Vincent of Huesca, is the patron saint of Lisbon. His feast day is January 22 Catholic; November 11 Orthodox. He was born at Huesca and martyred under Diocletian in 304.

One of the things that the authorities sought in Dioceltian's persecution was the copies of the scriptures. The imperial authorities also went after the bishops, presbyters (priests), and deacons of the Church, figuring that by cutting of the head(s) the Church would quickly did. Of course, that was a mistake.

He was born at Huesca but lived in Zaragoza (Saragossa in English; also in the Aragon region of Spain) and is also known as Saint Vincent the Deacon. The title "deacon" (diakonos) means minister or servant. Vincent served as the deacon of Saint Valerius, bishop of Saragossa. Imprisoned in Valencia for his faith, and tortured on a gridiron — a story perhaps adapted from the martyrdom of another son of Huesca, Saint Lawrence— Vincent, like many early martyrs in the early hagiographic literature, succeeded in converting his jailer. Though he was finally offered release if he would consign Scripture to the fire, Vincent refused.

The earliest account of Vincent's martyrdom is in a carmen (lyric poem) written by the poet Prudentius, (348 – after 405), who wrote a series of lyric poems, Peristephanon ("Crowns of Martyrdom"), on Hispanic and Roman martyrs, including Lawrence. Prudentius describes how Vincent was brought to trial along with his bishop Valerius, and that since Valerius had a speech impediment, Vincent spoke for both, but that his outspoken fearless manner so angered the governor that Vincent was tortured and martyred, though his aged bishop was only exiled.

Eternal Father, you gave St. Vincent the courage to endure torture and death for the Gospel: fill us with your Spirit and strengthen us in your love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Papal visit to Roman University cancelled

VATICAN CITY, 16 JAN 2008 (VIS) - The Pope will not make the visit he was scheduled to make tomorrow, 17 January, to Rome's "La Sapienza" University for the inauguration of the academic year, according to a communique released yesterday evening by the Holy See Press Office.
The communique reads: "In the wake of the widely-publicised events of the last few days relating to the Holy Father's visit to Rome's 'La Sapienza' University which, at the invitation of the rector, was to have taken place on Thursday, 17 January, it was considered opportune to postpone the event. The Holy Father will, nonetheless, send the text of the speech he had been due to pronounce".
The "events" to which the note refers include a petition to the rector signed by 67 professors asking for the invitation to Benedict XVI to be withdrawn, and protests by groups of students who yesterday occupied the rector's office to demand the right to demonstrate within the university campus on the day of the Pope's visit.
The signatories of the petition take exception to a talk given by the then Cardinal Ratzinger in 1990, and in particular to a phrase he used on that occasion to the effect that "in Galileo's time the Church remained much more faithful to reason than Galileo himself. The trial against Galileo was reasonable and just". The future Pope's remarks, a quote from a work by the philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend, were made in the context of a talk on the crisis of confidence in science, in which he used the example of changing attitudes towards the case of Galileo. OP/PAPAL VISIT/LA SAPIENZAVIS 080116 (290)

So much for freedom of speech and the honesty of the scientific method.

Ordinary Time

The earliest day that Easter can be is 22 March---an event that happens only once every 200 years. This year Easter is 23 March, something that comes once a century. This fluxuation is brought about by the ancient problems of determining Easter anyway. It combines a lunar calendar such as the Jews used, and a solar calendar such as the Romans used. The purpose is to keep Easter a) on a Sunday, and b) in the spring. In the history of the Church there have been other attempts to fix the date of Easter. Some wanted it to coincide with Passover, but that meant that "The Lord's Day" would not always be Sunday. The Church found this unacceptable since it had already been celebrating Sunday as the Lord's Day from the time of the Apostles. To celebrate the annual observance of his resurrection on a day other than Sunday would make no sense.

Thus, we have at the Council of Nicea (325) the formulation of the calculating of the date of Easter: The First Sunday after the Full Moon, after the Vernal Equinox. This has kept Easter in the spring, and on a Sunday, and more or less around the time of the Jewish Passover.

Between Ash Wednesday and now we are in ordinary time. This is so-called because the Sundays are ordered from one to thirty-four. This cycle is disrupted by Lent and Easter, but takes up again after Pentecost. The Sundays between Epiphany and Lent were formerly called Sunday's after Epiphany. They were followed by the pre-Lenten cycle of Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima Sundays before Ash Wednesday. The reform of the liturgical calendar after Vatican II did away both with the Sundays after Epiphany and the pre-Lenten Sundays. This year we will have four Sundays of Ordinary Time before Lent.

Someone with too much time on his hands

It is possible to make a trumpet out of 12 feet of garden hose and a mouthpiece. Here's an organist/trumpeter who can collect both salaries:

Becket

We celebrated on the 29th of December the feast of the "Holy, blissful martyr" St. Thomas Becket, one of the great saints of the middle ages, and one of my favorites as well. He was slain by knights of Henry II who thought they were following orders. It was a martyrdom that shocked Europe and made the cathedral of Canterbury a place of pilgrimage as important as Rome or Compostella. The Archbishop was also the Abbot of the cathedral monastery and as is described by William the monk below:

"He suffered on this day, who was Primate and Legate, in the Church and on behalf of the Church, about the hour of the evening prayer, while the choir of monks sang psalms round about, and the clergy and the company of the people stood by, and while reigned our Lord Jesu Christ to Whom be honour for ever and ever. Amen."

I had the privilege of praying at the place of his murder and in the crown chapel in 2002 (so called because one of the knights sliced off the top of his skull with his sword). The knights wounded him terribly, and after slicing off the top of his skull used their swords to scrape out his brain onto the pavement. One of the monks almost had his arm cut off as he raised it to try to fend off the blows that the Archbishop-Abbot was receiving.

St. Thomas Becket's shrine in the cathedral became one of the most richly endowed. St. Louis of France sent a special stone for it called the "Regale of France" that became part of the shrine for several hundred years, until the heresiarch and fornicator, Henry VIII, destroyed the shrine, taking the votive offerings for himself and destroying the relics of this saint who dared defy his king.

Epiphany

This weekend, the Solemnity of the Epiphany falls on a Sunday. Since it is not a holy day of obligation in the US, it used to be celebrated only in monasteries, cathedrals and at daily Mass in parishes. After Vatican II, the American bishops moved it to the closest Sunday. The principle of double-effect is at work here. While moving it to Sunday allowed American Catholics to celebrate this wondrous feast when they would normally be going to church anyway, it also cut the Epiphany from its calendrical mooring of January 6. Thus Twelthnight (Epiphany night) often falls on less or more days than the traditional twelve days of Christmas. This is some cultural loss, except this year when Epiphany and Sunday are the same day. We will truly have the full twelve days of Christmas and Twelthnight on the proper day.

Three things are celebrated at the Epiphany: the visit of the Magi, the Lord's baptism, and the miracle at the wedding feast at Cana. All three are "epiphanies" of Christ: to the gentiles in the person of the Magi; to John the Baptist and the Apostles at the Jordan; and the first miracle of Christ's ministry,recorded by St. John the Divine.

In the Greek Orthodox Church, this feast centers on the Jordan, and usually, wherever possible, the bishop will throw a cross into the nearest river, and young men will dive for it. This can be quite exhilarating, especially in a Russian winter!

The Hurdy-gurdy

For those of you who know not the hurdy-gurdy, then I say "Gentlemen, behold!

Awake My Soul

When I was in college at St. John's to of my friends and I got hooked on the music from William Walker's Southern Harmony, and B.F. White's Sacred Harp, both published in the 1850's The rough-hewn angularity and back-country vitality of these hymns are refreshing. Many of the melodies are quite touching as well. I've loved this music ever since. Even though it is quintessentially Protestant in its scope, I still love it. For those who are interested in the Sacred Harp, this DVD will come in handy and is very interesting.

Childermas Day 28 December

Today we celebrate Childermas or the feast of the Holy Innocents. Matthew describes this incident as the murder of the boys of Bethlehem up to two years old by Herod seeking to destroy thereby the new-born King of the Jews as the Magi called him. Children are blessed today by their parents.

The following blessing of children is from the "fisheaters" blog: http://www.fisheaters.com/customschristmas5.html

The father of the home should formally bless the children. A common way of doing this is as follows:
Father: O Lord, hear my prayer.
All: And let my cry come unto Thee.
Father:
Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, once Thou embraced and placed Thy hands upon the little children who came to Thee, and said: "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and their angels always see the face of my Father!" Look now with fatherly eyes on the innocence of these children and their parents' devotion, and bless them this day through our prayers.
The father signs the forehead of each child with holy water.
Father: In Thy grace and goodness let them advance continually, longing for Thee, loving Thee, fearing Thee, keeping Thy commandments. Then they will surely come to their destined home, through Thee, Savior of the world. Who lives and reigns forever and ever.
All: Amen.
Father: May God bless you. And may He keep your hearts and minds -- the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.

The Comites Xsti

The three days after Christmas celebrate three saints or group of saints. The first, celebrated on the 26th, is the feast of St. Stephen, the Protomartyr. Then, today, the Feast of St. John the Divine, and tomorrow, the Feast of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem. I suppose that we could lump in St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose feast is the 29th.

Comites Xsti or Christi, if you don't want to use the ancient abbreviation, is the name for these saints: the Companions of Christ. They were given this name in the middle ages since their feasts came right after the Nativity. All of them, except Thomas (who only comes from the 12th century) were celebrated early on in the Roman Rite. This year, none of them will be knocked out by the Feast of the Holy Family, that is the Sunday between Christmas and Epiphany.

St. John the Divine is the patron saint of wine, because when someone offered him a goblet of poisoned wine, he blessed it and it broke and a snake came forth. Today wine is blessed in honor of St. John. A blessing for it follows:

O Lord God, deign to bless and consecrate with Thy right hand this cup of wine and of whatever drink: and grant that through the merits of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, all who believe in Thee and who drink from this cup may be blessed and protected. And as blessed John drank from the cup of poison and remained completely unharmed, may, through his merits, all who drink from the cup on this day in honor of blessed John be rescued from every sickness of poison and from every kind of harm; and, offering themselves up body and soul, may they delivered from all fault. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bless, O Lord, this creature of drink: that it may be a remedy of salvation for all who consume it: and grant through the invocation of Thy holy name that whoever will have tasted of it may, through Thy giving, experience health of the soul as well as of the body. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, descend upon this creature of wine and of whatever drink, and remain forever. Amen.

As St. Stephen's day is the feast of Deacons, so is today, St. John the Divine, the feast of priests, and tomorrow, the Holy Innocents is the feast of novices, students, and choirboys.

St. Nicholas' Day

Today, the 6th of December is the feast of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. He had been a monk and an abbot before being elected bishop of Myra. During the persecution of Diocletian he was tortured as were many of the bishops of the Church. He was one of the fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea. This council addressed the teachings of Arius on the nature of Christ: that Christ was only a good man whom God exalted. This was refuted by the bishops of the Church and Arius was condemned. Many of the bishops, as Nicholas, had suffered persecution during the reign of Diocletian, so the council must have looked like a gathering of war veterans.

The legends of St. Nicholas are many, and he is the patron saint against imprisonment, robberies, and robbers. He is patron of pharmacists, bakers, barrel makers (coopers) sailors, boys, brewers, brides, captives, children, dock workers, fishermen, grooms, judges; lawsuits lost unjustly, Ireland, maidens, merchants, murderers; newlyweds, old maids, parish clerks, paupers, pawnbrokers; perfumeries, perfumers, pilgrims, poor people, scholars, school children, shoe shiners, single women, thieves, travelers, and water men, among others.

I always told the boys in the dorm to put their shoes out before they went to bed and St. Nicholas would come and give them something in the night. Mostly I would put candy in them, but there were some who merited a trip to the old powerhouse at the abbey so that I could bring a few lumps of coal. The point was made.

The picture above shows the saint preventing the execution of innocents.

Wachet auf!

I wanted to get this posted for Advent, but wasn't able to. It is a glorious rendition of the Bach chorale setting of Wachet auf (Sleepers awake) played by Ton Koopman. Enjoy.

The Solemnity of Christ the King

Today is not only the patronal feast of our Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, but we also celebrate the anniversary of its dedication in 1923, by Bishop John B. Morris, of Little Rock. We had a bi-lingual Mass at 11 o'clock followed by a parish pot-luck lunch. This evening we'll be having solemn vespers and I have invited the ministers of the downtown churches to attend and their congregations. It is always nice, and we have a reception in the parish all afterward. Dr. Loomis from First Presbyterian is preaching for us this evening.

It has not always been that ecumenical here in El Dorado. There was, and is, still much anti-Catholicism amongst the rednecks. However, the downtown churches have worked together for many years. First it was the annual Holy Week services between the six churches. One church gets a year off, since these services are only for the weekdays of Holy Week, but the ministers take turns preaching in the other churches. I've preached in all of the downtown churches now over the years. They include First Baptist, First Presbyterian, First Methodist, First Christian, St. Mary's Episcopal, and Holy Redeemer.

The next thing that got us working together was Interfaith Help Service (IHS) that has been a way for us to pool our contributions to the poor and have some system to take care of those who come to us for help. This has been going on for over ten years now, and has been a great help, and a great success.

Shortly after starting IHS, we began the Interfaith Clinic to provide a place where the working uninsured could come see a doctor or dentist. This grew so quickly that it was finally signed over to the Share Foundation here in El Dorado to manage.

Then, over the years, we have kept up our weekly ministers' discussion group. We've studied documents from the WCC, the Vatican, joint Catholic-Anglican and Catholic Mennonite documents. It has been very rewarding to see how similar we are, but how very divided that we still are. No amount of glossing over will ever hide the facts of our divisions. We still try ourselves to come to greater mutual understanding, and it, at least for us, has paid off.

Nashville, day 4

This has been a relaxing time with no pressures. I visited with Don Ruesewald yesternight. He took me out to dinner and then home to meet his wife and two children. He was one of my choir members for the four years he was at Subiaco, graduating in 1984. He's done well for himself, and was probably one of the best voices I had to work with in those years.

Butch has been very well behaved. He's such a sweet dog. I'm glad that I have him.

As one drives onto the campus of John Paul II High School here, there is a sign on the left side of the drive. It is black with gold letters and says: BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE. Every morning as the children and staff come to school they see that sign. It may not resonate with them every day, but at least they read it every day that they come there. I would think that there would be some kind of long-term formation that it does for all of them to be daily reminded of that great truth of our Faith.

After a day of rain, a cold front has moved in, and the temperatures are only supposed to be in the low sixties at best. This is true fall weather, and I love it.

Nashville

I'm taking a few days off and visiting friends in Nashville, TN. It is a relaxing time, much needed. The trees are much further along here in the colors of their leaves. Many are quite brilliant. It will be a few weeks before our trees in south Arkansas start to turn.

I went to a choir party for the choir of St. John Vienney last night. A good time was had by all. It included stargazing, but the clouds were bothersome. Did manage to see one comet, though.

A former student of mine from Subiaco lives here with his family, and I'm getting together with him this afternoon. He was one of the best singers that I had when I directed the Subiaco Men's Chorus.

There is a certain life in larger cities that cannot be found in a little town like El Dorado. Both have their advantages, but a change now and then is a good thing.

It looks as if the new translation of the Roman Missal is completed, and is now being reviewed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Bishops of the episcopal conferences of the English language. It will be different, and our hymnals are going to be out of sync with the new missal which means that we will have to get new ones. I am going to be very careful this time about choosing one, but I am sure not going to invest in "missalettes!"

Despite all the horror stories that have been making the rounds, I believe that the new translation will be much better. The one that we've been using for the last 30+ years was done in haste with the idea that it would be revisited at a later time. Finally that time has come. The changes will take some getting used to by the congregation, but mostly by the priest. Things that I have memorized will no longer be the same, and I will have to have my head buried in the book during many parts of the Mass that I know by memory.

My little dog, Butch, is a good travelling companion. He is quiet and seldom needs to stop for the necessities of nature. There's a baby in the house where we're staying, and I have to admit that he's been a model of patience with her.

Men's Prayer Breakfast

This morning at 6:30 we celebrated Lauds from the Office for the Dead and included Holy Communion for first Friday. Afterwards we adjourned to the parish hall for a delicious breakfast of bacon, grits, biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit, coffee and oj prepared by a couple of the men of the parish. I'm very glad to see that more men are attending now that we've moved the time to 6:30, instead of 7. Perhaps we'll have to start something for the women of the parish as well. I'll suggest it and leave it up to them to decide. The great thing is to get people to the church for something other than the Mass. Hard to do these days.

All Souls Day

On November 2, we celebrate the feast of All Souls. It came about through strongly Benedictine influence especially from the Cluniac Congregation in the middle ages. We commemorate all the souls of the faithful departed today. This feast proclaims the doctrine of Purgatory in both its scriptural and traditional bases. It also shows the Church's solicitude for all those who have died, and therefore are in need of our prayers and supplications. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

All Saints Day

Today the Church commemorates all of those who "have gone before us with the sign of peace and are now at rest." This feast was, in the Latin Church, begun with the consecration of the Pantheon in Rome to St. Mary and all Martyrs. Later, in the middle ages, it was moved to November 1.

The readings for today's Mass remind us that "what we will be then," i.e., in heaven, has not yet been revealed to us. We are on our way, becoming what we shall be on that day. They remind us also of that vast throng "which no man could number, of every tribe, language, people and nation," who are washed in the blood of the Lamb (Holy Baptism) and wearing white robes, with palm branches in their hands, give eternal worship with all the angels to the All-holy, and Blessed Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever.

New possibilities of dialog

A group of Muslim scholars sent a letter to various Christian leaders, including the Roman Pontiff. It is a refreshing opening of dialog after many years of standoffishness. Below is a quote from a recent article in Zenit. I suggest reading the full article.

ZENIT [zenitenglish@zenit.org] The letter sent by the Muslim scholars, noted the pontifical institute, did "not seek refuge in a convenient one-sided protest," but rather placed "themselves as partners within humanity."The response said that a fundamental point of the open letter sent by the Muslims was common ground, in particular the commandment to love one's neighbor: "Only this can guarantee success in a genuine relationship between culturally and religiously diverse communities.""In addition," the letter continues, "as faith always goes together with good works, as the Koran never fails to repeat, [...] love of God is inseparable from love of neighbor."The text sent by Muslim scholars referred to various Christian texts of the Gospel, and the pontifical institute noted, "This is evidence of deep respect and genuine attentiveness to others, while at the same time of a true scientific spirit. In this respect also, we note the emergence of a new attitude."

With Lamps Burning

We are approaching the end of the ecclesiastical year that will conclude on the Solemnity of Christ the King. The readings for the day and for Sundays turn to the end times and the second (and final) coming of Christ. Today's reading is from Luke 12:35-38: See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes, I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready.

The picture of the wise and foolish virgins above is all that I could find. The parable is similar to the message of today's gospel, but not quite apt.

To be dressed for action is like a warrior wearing his military kit. As St. Paul tells us in another place: Put on the armor of light. A soldier who is not ready for battle is useless, and ultimately, dead. In Jesus' day there was no real public lighting, and mostly only thugs and the rich who could afford torch carrying body guards would be out at night. The servants at home had to be ready to immediately open the gate when the Master returned. Failure to open promptly would result in severe punishment. Here, however in contrast to the reading a few Sundays ago, the Master then serves the servants in reward for their readiness. It doesn't matter whether he comes in the 2nd watch (between 9 and 12) or the 3rd watch (between 12 and 3), those servants will be blessed.

As we prepare for Advent, Holy Mother Church again reminds us to stay awake. We must be ready for Christ whenever he calls upon us. Blessed is that servant who follows the Lord's admonition!

Sexual misconduct by teachers?

In a recent article:

ttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071020/ap_on_re_us/teacher_sex_abuse the vast problems of sexual abuse by teachers with students is finally beginning to be revealed. Naturally, the sex-abuse crisis in the Church is brought in, but no attempt is made to put it into perspective with the same crisis in American public schools. Private schools also get bashed because they often use non-credentialed teachers. (Of course this not true of accredited private schools, all of which have sexual abuse policies in place.) Here is a quote from the article:

Two of the nation's major teachers unions, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, each denounced sex abuse while emphasizing that educators' rights also must be taken into account. "Students must be protected from sexual predators and abuse, and teachers must be protected from false accusations," said NEA President Reg Weaver, who refused to be interviewed and instead released a two-paragraph statement.

Notice that the concern is for both the rights of students, and the rights of teachers. This is something lacking in the Catholic Church's situation, where even a false accusation results in immediate suspension a divinis, i.e., net able to celebrate the liturgy or sacraments, and the priest is immediately removed from his position,often overnight, and is then never allowed to serve again, contrary to the decrees of canon law. Said priest must then go to therapy and evaluation before he can be cleared (if the accusation was unfounded). But since no one can get any higher clearance than that they are probably unlikely to commit such an offence, what bishop would ever put said priest back into service again? It's like trying to prove a universal negative: the priest will never do it again. Only when he's dead.

The two new American cardinals are both associated with the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. Cardinal-Archbishop Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston is the Grand Prior of the Southwest Lieutenency of the EOHSJ, and Cardinal-Archbishop John Patrick Foley has been the pro-Grand Master of the EOHSJ. Now, as a cardinal he drops the "pro" from his title and is simply called the Grand Master of the EOHSJ.

(From Zenit.org) Pope Benedict XVI announced the names of 23 new cardinals for the Church, including a historic move to bestow the first red hat to the head of a Texas archdiocese.The consistory, the second of the Pope's pontificate, will be held Nov. 24, the eve of the solemnity of Christ the King, the Vatican press office said today."The new cardinals," the Pope said at the end of today's general audience, "come from various parts of the world. And the universality of the Church, with the multiplicity of her ministries, is clearly reflected in them."Alongside deserving prelates who work for the Holy See are pastors who dedicate their energies to direct contact with the faithful." Two of the new cardinals are U.S. prelates: Archbishop John Patrick Foley, pro-grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and Archbishop Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Texas.