Laetare Sunday Sermon: Jerusalem is at hand

by Father Richard Cipolla

Saint Josaphat's, Flushing, Queens (New York)

Today we mark Laetare Sunday, so called because of the first words of the Introit of the Mass, “Laetare, Jerusalem”, rejoice O Jerusalem.  This day marks mid-Lent and so Mother Church allows the use of rose vestments, flowers on the altar, use of the organ, as a time of anticipating the joy of Easter even amidst the penitential practices of Lent. The joy of this day is a subdued joy, but this subdued joy is really what Christian joy is all about. Christian joy is not ever immediate or sharp or of the moment.  We all know that life is full of moments of great joy, and we know that life has moments of sadness and disappointment.  What Christian joy is based on is not the good things that happen to us in this life that cause our eyes to brim with the tears of joy.  Christian joy is based on the person of Jesus Christ.  When John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb when Mary greeted his mother Elizabeth, he did so because he recognized Jesus in Elizabeth’s womb.  His own life would at least by the standards of the world not be one of joy.  And he would suffer a violent death at the hands of drunken king involved in a sacrilegious marriage.  The joy in that embrace of Mary and Elizabeth:  of course, the joy of two pregnant women is present and the wonder of those pregnancies is part of this.  But the heart of the joy is in Elizabeth’s words:  But who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  The mother of my Lord.  Elizabeth’s joy is grounded in the person of Jesus in Mary’s womb.  And when Mary sings the Magnificat her joy comes from the child she carries in her womb, whose name will be called Jesus, the one who saves.

Book Review: The Glorious Sacrifice of the Lamb. The Mass and Christian Life - by Fr. Serafino Lanzetta

Fr Serafino M. Lanzetta

The Glorious Sacrifice of the Lamb. The Mass and Christian Life 

(Portsmouth: Mary House Press, 2024).

Review by Myriam Tothill

Glory is not a word often associated with sacrifice. In the very title of his work, Fr. Serafino presents us with what is, to modern ears particularly, an unusual concept, something to make us think, to use a much overused phrase, outside of the box. Glorious is often used to describe beauty and achievement. On the other hand, we live in a society which abhors pain of any kind, preferring to die rather than endure it and even to kill rather than watch others endure it and the word sacrifice is associated almost exclusively with pain and suffering. The juxtaposition of these terms brings to mind Simeon’s prophecy concerning Christ: He will be a sign of contradiction...So we know right from the beginning, before we have even opened the book, that this will be a work challenging us to think about the Mass in unaccustomed ways.

Epiphany Parish in Tampa converted to Shrine dedicated to the Traditional Latin Mass

 A decision of the Bishop of Saint Petersburg, Florida; the Institute of Christ the King will staff the shrine:

(Click for larger view)

Source: Parish Bulletin

Traditional Catholic Retreats in Indiana - 2025

People frequently ask me, "Where can I go on a traditional Catholic retreat with a sound retreatmaster and the TLM?" There are not a huge number of options but one of the very best options out there is Edelweiss. Highly recommended. Below are the 2025 retreats. More info here: https://edelweisshouse.org/ 

Also bear in mind the retreats offered in Ohio by the Benedictine monks of Tasmania (see here).

Irony Alert: Postconciliar Iconoclasts Arrive at the Feast of St John Damascene and Smash It

So much to observe about today's confluence in the Roman Rite, on this Thursday of the third week of Lent, with a commemoration of St. John Damascene.

New Edition of the "Breviarium Monasticum": Complete Benedictine Divine Office in Latin

Magnificent news from our friends at the Monastère Saint-Benoît in Brignoles: a wholly new edition of the great Monastic Office of St. Benedict. Full details below.

Sermon for the Annunciation 2025

by Fr. Richard Cipolla

Annunciation (1894) - James Tissot - The Brooklyn Museum

I am the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say.

The shutter banged against the house in the wind, or so it seemed to the young woman n the small house.  But she looked out the window and the trees were not moving. And then she felt his presence.  Then she saw him with his wings, and she became frightened.  His words came slowly and silently like a song, as if silent words could be a song.  But she hears the words and their meaning confused her. How can this be?  Why should he be saying these words to her?  She almost wished that she were not here. She wished he was not saying these things. And then she heard the question addressed to her out of the silent song. A question that came beyond space and time, a question that was posed to her very being, but yet not a question, for she was being asked to choose to do this, this which was beyond her comprehension, and she was aware of her entire body as never before, she was intensely aware of physical reality, of the room, of everything in it, she was aware that the whole universe had stopped breathing, every nebula, every atom, all creation had stilled for this place and time, this instant, creation in suspension.  And then, out of the stillness of the room and out of something deep in her, she felt a stirring that flooded her whole self, which pierced her fear and her awe. And with great and quiet strength she said, Yes. Let it be done to me according to thy word.

Fiat: A Home for Female Contemplative Religious Vocation Discernment

When the Archangel Gabriel came to Mary, he found her alone in her chamber. She was intent on her prayers. Her sole focus was on God. The angel delivered his message. The Blessed Virgin listened. She accepted. Fiat.

The Decadence of the Church and the Francis Pontificate - by Archbishop Héctor Agüer

 Archbishop Héctor Agüer

Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina

Buenos Aires, March 25, 2025

Twelve years of Francis' pontificate have just been celebrated. The Vatican reports are always self-congratulatory. 

It is very difficult to cover, in a single appraisal, the reality of the Church, which is vast and with differences between countries -- but from a certain point it is possible to contemplate the surroundings; I can do it, then, from this corner of the far south that is Argentina, a nation that is (or was?) mostly Catholic. As the saying goes, “one button is example enough."

For Over Fifty Years, the Traditionalist Faithful Have Been Persecuted: No Repentance from the Hierarchy?...

Christian Marquant

Paix Liturgique

March 2025

(main excerpt)

The website of the Bishops' Conference of France reminds us that, since 2021, at the request of the Holy Father, every year, and from now on, on the third Friday of Lent, a kind of day of repentance is organized. This is a day of prayer for people who are the victims of violence, sexual violence, or abuse of power.

A Follow-Up on Cardinal Pell -- Are They Trying to Get Him Even After Death?

Get Pell even when he’s dead?

A guilty verdict without a court

By Serre Verweij

for Rorate Caeli

[Rorate: Read Verweij's series on Pell here]

One of Australia’s favourite left elite mouthpieces, the ABC, has published an article by Louis Milligan and Charlotte King that reveals new abuse accusations against the late Cardinal Pell. Specifically, they revealed two new accusations against Pell.

ITALIAN NEWS: The most Pathetic Protest Ever

 by Diego Fusaro

Philosopher

 

(Translator’s Comment: I do not agree with all of Professor Fusaro’s ideas but as an informed academic his analyses on the present state of global and Italian scenarios and international issues are frequently right in my view. With this article he is spot on. The way I see it, he is describing the ever-increasing decline of Italian Catholic Culture and the frightening mushiness of the modern mind formed in modernist schools and universities).      F.R.

Rome, March 15th, 2025 - the most absurd public protest ever

The most insane and ridiculous public protest in recent history took place on March 15^th in support of the European Union.

THE FUTURE OF TRADITIONIS CUSTODES -- AND OF THE TRADITIONAL MASS

Kevin Tierney

for Rorate Caeli

(Photo: Nick Hagen, for The New York Times)

Traditionis custodes is back in the news. Following DDW Prefect Arthur Cardinal Roche’s interview with The Catholic Herald, even non-traditionalist commentators are wondering: does Traditionis custodes have a future? (One of the individuals interviewed was RC contributor Joseph Shaw; and RC contributor Peter Kwasniewski's article on Andrea Grillo was linked.) In considering this question, I would like to take a slightly different approach, and also directly answer one of the stated justifications for it in the article.

The Zone is Flooded

One of the biggest threats to the survival of Traditionis has been the ability of traditionalists to dominate the discourse surrounding the Latin Mass. As Cardinal Roche himself admitted in the interview:

Hospitalized Francis announces Vatican III

"Vatican III" as in a new "Ecclesial Assembly" called upon as part of the "synodal process":

Pope approves convocation of post-synodal Ecclesial Assembly in 2028

Pope Francis officially initiates a new phase in the Church’s synodal journey by approving an accompaniment process that will culminate in an Ecclesial Assembly in 2028. [Vatican News]

Wait, Francis? Or "Francis"? 

The Spirit of Lent - by Roberto de Mattei

 Roberto de Mattei

Voice of the Family

March 12, 2025

Most people are unaware of or have forgotten what Lent is. Yet the Catechism of Pope Saint Pius X was very clear, calling it “a season of fasting and penance instituted by the Church according to apostolic tradition”. In the following paragraph, Saint Pius X explained its ends:

“To make known to us the obligation we have to do penance all through our lives; to imitate in some way the rigorous fast of forty days that Jesus Christ did in the desert; to prepare ourselves by means of penance for a holy celebration of Easter.” (No 36)

The Pope and Tradition - Op-Ed by Abp. Héctor Agüer

 Archbishop Héctor Agüer

Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina

Buenos Aires, March 11, 2025

[Author's note:] This article was written before illness led the Supreme Pontiff to hospitalization. Like all the faithful, I too offer my prayers for the physical and spiritual health of Francis. What I write below is valid for the orientation of his pontificate, which is still true today, as can be seen in the recent suppression of the Miles Christi Religious Institute, announced on Thursday, the 6th of this month.

***

 The current Pontificate is distinguished by a true contradiction: the Pope is an enemy of Tradition, persecutor of those who follow it and identify with it. This persecution is accomplished in many ways: he displaces good bishops, appointing coadjutors for them; he elevates to the episcopate progressive characters; he takes care to elevate to the cardinalate those who second his projects of reforming the Church; he promotes progressive religious institutes and undermines or eliminates those attached to Tradition. It is significant that he has chosen the unusual name of Francis - alien to papal history - probably thinking of the saint of Assisi, considering him an ecclesial reformer.

Welcome to Washington, Cardinal McElroy!

 Cardinal McElroy will be installed as the new Archbishop of Washington tomorrow, in the Basilica of the National Shrine.

He is receiving some warm welcome:

For the story on the unbelievable events leading to this, read this from Crux in 2018:

Ordo Hebdomadae Maioris & Memoriale Rituum: Useful Books for the Pre-55 Holy Week

Saint Anthony Press, established with the mission of publishing rare or otherwise “lost” Catholic liturgical and devotional books, has reprinted the Ordo Hebdomadae Maioris (Order of Holy Week) containing the Holy Week liturgies and Order of Mass with seasonal Prefaces according to the 1920 typical edition of the Roman Missal (in use until 1955), restoring the ancient and venerable liturgies replaced by the 1956 Ordo Hebdomadae Sanctae Instauratus (and later incorporated into the 1962 Roman Missal).

The Miracles of the Pre-Conclave: Cardinal Roche says he has no problem with the Latin Mass

Well, that is a "vibe shift" if ever there was one.

The great persecutor of the Traditional Latin Mass, Cardinal Roche, apparently has no problem with Latin or the Latin Mass! What miracles do the airs of a possible upcoming conclave bring forth...

Here is his answer on the matter in his interview to the Catholic Herald:

CH [Herald]: One of the phenomena that has become apparent in the modern Church is the devotion that young people have to the Traditional Latin Mass, the 1962 Roman Missal promulgated by Pope John XXIII. What advice would you give to those who want to remain faithful members of the Church and love the Latin Mass but find themselves restricted in attending?

Book review: Enchanted by Eternity: Recapturing the Wonder of the Catholic Worldview

Enchanted by Eternity: Recapturing the Wonder of the Catholic Worldview by Fr. William Slattery is a stunningly insightful read.

The author, whose name you might recognize from his earlier and also very fine book Heroism and Genius: How Catholic Priests Helped Build—and Can Help Rebuild—Western Civilization, is an unusual combination: a fiery Irishman, a cold-blooded PhD in epistemology who specialized in alethic logic, a professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville, a historian – and a priest who is passionately in love with the Traditional Latin Mass. Listen to these words in the Acknowledgments section of his book:

What Is the Path Forward for the Church? The Church Lives by Her Tradition -- by Archbishop Héctor Agüer

 

The Future Course of the Church

by Archbishop Héctor Agüer

Emeritus of La Plata

Buenos Aires, March 3, 2025

     When a Pontificate lasts for many years, it is natural to think about what will happen when it ends. Catholics look to the future of the Church. What, then, is appropriate for the time to come?

Francis Health Update: More episodes of respiratory insufficiency - ventilation

https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/comunicazioni/2025/03/03/250303b.html

Today the Holy Father presented two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency, caused by a major accumulation of endobronchial mucus, and consequent broncospasm.

Two bronchoscopies were therefore performed, with the need for aspiration of copious secretions.

In the afternoon, non-invasive mechanical ventilation was resumed.

The Holy Father remained alert, oriented and cooperative at all times.

The prognosis remains reserved.

Who Could Be the Next Pope? -- Parolin: Fake Moderate, Sincere Progressive

Paix Liturgique

February 26, 2025

Cardinal Parolin, the Secretary of State, is considered very hostile to the Traditional Mass (playing on the nickname, “the Mass of All Time,” he is quoted as saying, “We must put an end to this Mass for all time!” At this time, when Rome is more or less preparing for a conclave, his friends are doing everything to sell, as the communicators say, an image of Parolin as a “moderate”, “man of consensus.” Pietro Parolin, who is said to be considering the name of John XXIV, would be in perfect continuity with the latter, but in a less disorderly, more administrative style. 

Parolin would be a more efficient Francis

***

Rorate: Paix Liturgique, the French traditionalist newsletter, then makes reference to an article we also published in December 2023. We repost it here now to recall to our readers the main characters of the future conclave, whenever it may take place.

Cardinal Parolin Lying in Ambush

Father Claude Barthe

Res Novae

December 2023

Is Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, the real candidate of the Bergoglian left[1]? It's worth remembering that in 2013, the self-appointed cardinals of the "St. Gallen Group", who brought Jorge Bergoglio to power, used the maneuver of putting forward the name of Cardinal Scherer, Archbishop of São Paulo, to more effectively advance their real papabile, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Similarly today, behind the 66-year-old Filipino Cardinal Tagle, prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, but depressive and rather insignificant, or behind the 65-year-old Jesuit Cardinal Hollerich, archbishop of Luxembourg, rapporteur of the Synod of Bishops for a synodal Church, but too noisily heterodox, would actually be Cardinal Parolin.

“Close the Workshop: Why the Old Mass Isn’t Broken and the New Mass Can’t Be Fixed” — New Book by Peter Kwasniewski

hardcover on the left, paperback on the right

I'm delighted to announce to Rorate readers that my new book from Angelico Press, Close the Workshop: Why the Old Mass Isn’t Broken and the New Mass Can’t Be Fixed, has just been released!

COLLAPSE: 12 Years of the Bergoglio Age in Numbers

 by Paix Liturgique

February 26, 2025

The Bergoglian Age in numbers: in ancient Christian countries, but not only, the number of Catholics is declining. Of course, there are many reasons for this, such as secularization, urbanization, competition from competing ideologies and religions, and the unravelling of family units and traditional values in many places. But the statistics point to a worrying acceleration since the start of Pope Francis' pontificate, particularly in places where bishops and indeed the Church as a whole pride themselves on their progressivism and their entry into the marvellous synodality.

Germany, spearhead of Catholic progressivism, loses 500,000 Catholics a year

New Books Vindicate Pius X's Teaching on Sacred Music and Show that the Church in Africa Is Not a "Vatican II Success Story"

Os Justi Press is pleased to announce its latest pair of releases.

First, in the "Studies in Catholic Tradition" series, we have Dr. Patrick John Brill's The Great Sacred Music Reform of Pope St. Pius X: The Genesis, Interpretation, and Implementation of the Motu Proprio "Tra le Sollecitudini."

Professional singer and choir conductor Dr. Andrew Childs sums it up well: “Dr. Patrick Brill provides thorough and much-needed support for what many traditional-minded Catholics have long known or at least suspected: that St. Pius X’s 1903 motu proprio Tra le Sollectitudini still provides the surest guide for the restoration of Catholic sacred music. Part I of this book provides a detailed commentary on the motu proprio, enlightening for amateur and expert alike, while Part II examines the document’s fate from the time of Pius to today, looking at its canonical force and status, positive efforts of implementation, and the neglect it has suffered since Vatican II. As tradition continues to make crucial gains, it will be books like this that serve as practical guides for restoration.”

Francis in "critical condition"

Blood transfusions were necessary and prognosis remains guarded.

The Holy See Press Office issued the following medical update on Pope Francis on Saturday evening:

Event: Spiritual Lenten Concerts in London, with Jeremy Summerly (March 2025)

Following the French tradition of “Le Concert Spirituel”, The Southwell Consort presents two Lentern recitals of sacred music in London, directed by Jeremy Summerly, the great early music specialist, conductor and lecturer.

The Jubilee Flop: the Flowering Nothingness of the Francis Pontificate

 

A letter sent to our friends in the Argentine blog Caminante Wanderer:

Dear Wanderer,

As I know you and your readers are interested, I am sending you a brief chronicle of my trip to Rome.

I expected, as did the [Italian] government and the merchants of the city, that by this time Rome would be full of pilgrims who had come for the Jubilee, and would join the usual crowds of tourists. Well, neither the one nor the other. Rome is empty and, above all, empty of pilgrims. Everyone agrees that last year at this time there were many, many more people lining up to enter St. Peter's Basilica or to visit the other churches. 

RAI Vaticano Under News Alert for Eventuality

 

Our friends at Italian blog Messa in Latino have just learned that RAI Vaticano (the main and historic service covering the Vatican of Italian public radio and television broadcasting giant RAI) has been placed under news alert: 

Sermon for Septuagesima 2025

 by Fr. Richard Cipolla

This in the Traditional Roman Mass is Septuagesima Sunday, the first of three Sundays before Lent.  These Sundays form a season of preparation for Lent.  This season is one of the oldest elements of the Church calendar, which was omitted in the calendar changes after the Second Vatican Council with no explanation except they were omitted for pastoral reasons.  What these reasons were was never explained, but my guess it was done to make things simpler for Catholics.  That these arbitrary reformers thought that practicing Catholics needed simplicity at a time when Tradition and tradition were being attacked in the Western world shows both misunderstanding and contempt.

"The Masses of Holy Week & Tenebrae": A Publication to Assist in Pre-55 Services

Those who are blessed with access to Holy Week in the Tridentine Rite, that is, the rite celebrated for a thousand years and more prior to Pius XII's changes in the mid-1950s, may find helpful a resource published by Os Justi Press: The Masses of Holy Week & Tenebrae, which contains the liturgy (in Latin with English translation) for Palm Sunday, the Triduum Masses, and the Office of Tenebrae, including complete Gregorian chants. Summary rubrics are indicated. No page turning is required. The book features many medieval illustrations as well.

Cristina Campo -- and The World of Tradition, by Roberto de Mattei

Roberto de Mattei

for Voice of the Family

February, 2025

The profound crisis afflicting the Church is traced by many to the reign of Pope Francis, interpreted as a radical split with the pontificates before it. In reality, the very gravity of the crisis, which today pervades every ecclesiastical sphere, from the upper echelons to the smallest local realities, should make it clear to us that this process of self-demolition has remote origins. A reaction to it, however, manifested itself beginning in the 1960s, and knowing its protagonists is indispensable, out of a duty of justice towards those who, before us, fought the good fight.

A Sick Elderly Francis Hates America - Like Biden, Propped Up to Support Leftist Ideology

The current American administration took office three weeks ago. It has been a busy three weeks, but one thing that has surely not happened are "mass deportations"... Deportation procedures and flights have remained what they were under Biden, and still under much lower levels than they were under the previous Democrat administration (Obama).

Still, the fact that nothing in practice has changed so far, other than the pause of funds to NGOs (including those run by certain dioceses), has not prevented Francis from sending a highly unusual, undiplomatic, ideological (under the appearance of syrupy devoutness), and frankly embarrassing letter to "the bishops of the United States of America":

Birth Rate Collapse: Pets Instead of Children? -- Op-Ed by Archbishop Héctor Agüer

 Children or Pets?

by Archbishop Héctor Agüer

Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina

Buenos Aires, February 11, 2025

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

[The collapse of birth rates in Argentina]

        I read in [the Argentine daily paper] “La Prensa” that, since 2016, births in the City of Buenos Aires have been decreasing. Between January and mid-December 2024, 37,864 births were registered, according to official figures from the Buenos Aires Civil Registry: a twelve percent drop compared to the previous year. 

The true enemies of the Church are bad Catholics

On the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the anniversary of her first apparition to Saint Bernadette, I offer this reprise from our kind benefactor NC:

It is a well-known account. Sister Marie Bernarde (Bernadette) Soubirous is in the convent of the Sisters of Charity in Nevers, it is 1870, war is raging throughout northern France as the Prussian-led German armies march towards Paris. The first printed version of the account,* published while she was still living, is the following. A visitor came to Bernadette at that time and made her the following questions:

 

- Did you receive, in the grotto of Lourdes, or after then, any revelations related to the future and fate of France? Did not the Blessed Virgin deliver any warning for France, any threats?

- No

- The Prussians are at our gates; does that not cause you any fear?

- No.

- There is thus nothing to fear?

- I only fear bad Catholics.

- You do not fear anything else?

- No, nothing else.

Catholic Church leaders are running scared

What would happen if the Holy Father restated some salient items of Catholic dogma? 

 

First of all, I am thinking about this dogma: Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus. This is defined as follows: “We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” (Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302.) If Pope Francis repeated this, one can only guess at what might happen. At the very least he would utterly destroy 60 years of ecumenical dialogue and cause a massive internal rift within the Catholic Church. He may even have to go into hiding!

Catholic Family News Conference - March 1st-2nd, in Orlando, Florida

 

Catholic Family News will be holding a Conference near Orlando, Florida on March 1-2, 2025. The theme is the Global Conflict to Implement the Catholic Plan for Social Order, covering a wide array of topics including politics, education and the current challenges traditional Catholics face today.

A Vatican II Moment: Dancing in Front of the Relics of Saint Maria Goretti

 The relics of Saint Maria Goretti are on a worldwide tour — and in one of those stops, her martyred body has been subjected to the horror and humiliation of a dance by some apparently “devout” “Catholic youth” that is nothing but mockery of her purity.

“TikTok evangelization,” we guess — video below:

The Role of Sisters in the Church: Truly Appreciating Nuns Consists in Helping Them Live Their Own Vocation - by Abp. Héctor Aguer

Sisters in the Church

by Archbishop Héctor Agüer

Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina

Buenos Aires, February 4, 2025

        Pope Francis has discovered that machismo and misogyny reign in his Vatican Curia. And that, therefore, the sisters who work there - numerous in all ranks - are not properly appreciated. He believes that, in order to elevate them, they must be turned into civil servants. In this bureaucratization of the nuns, he has set an example by appointing one as prefect and another as secretary of a dicastery. A belated and curious feminism!