RORATE CÆLI

Sermon for the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

From the Gospel of St. Luke
“Hail, Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.”

It was the first femtosecond, when from the stillness of the void, from the nothing that was apart from God, the birth of the creation, of the universe, when matter was unbelievably dense, when everything burst forth in a big bang, utter chaos, a incomprehensible burst of energy, seething, writhing, forming matter, like a sea of blood.

People who enjoy reading theological books quickly discover, in the vaults of university libraries, at used bookstores, or by lucky links online, a lot of hidden gems out there — books that were first published 50, 75, 100 years ago or even more, which have long since fallen out of print and yet very much deserve to be back in print for new readers.

Event: Rorate Mass in Kokomo, Indiana, Saturday, December 9

Aureas Manus, the Chant Group of Purdue University, and Una Voce Kokomo will be hosting a Rorate mass the morning of December 9th at St. Patrick's in Kokomo. Fr. Christopher Roberts will be the celebrant. Music will be provided by Aureas Manus and the choir of St. Patrick's. Candles and hymnals will be provided. Breakfast to follow. Those wishing to follow upcoming events of the Latin Mass Community in the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana should email latinmasslafayette@gmail.com.

Mother knows best! Support the seminarians of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

The following letter was given to us by this mother of a seminarian of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICR). When we ask you to consider giving money to causes, you should know we almost always have done so ourselves. We support an ICR seminarian on a weekly basis. We ask you to as well, even in very small dollar amounts, if at all possible. You can click here to do so now, by scrolling down to "International Seminary":

Letter from the Mother of a Seminarian:

The late Father John Hardon, of happy memory, once said, "The proof of love is pain." We see this truth in all it's paradoxical beauty when we gaze upon our crucified King on the Cross.

We have begun a new liturgical year with the start of Advent; that time of joyful waiting for the birth of our Precious Lord. We will prepare for this great feast with special prayers, adornments for our souls and for our homes, and works of mercy, to name a few. We will relish our Advent traditions. We will spend the next four weeks contemplating what we are about to celebrate; the dawn of our Redemption.

"I am the Immaculate Conception"

MARY IN OUR DIVINE HISTORY

Father R. Plus S.J.

The Song of Bernadette (1943 - apparition of March 25, 1858)

We should not be astounded at such a sublime privilege! Are not the reasons which wage battle in favor of the Immaculate Conception of Mary evident? Due to His holiness, Jesus had to be born of a sinless Mother; He ‘who finds specks in the Angels themselves’ and Who ‘takes delight only amongst the lilies’ would never have consented to have been born of a flesh tainted by sin.

The starting point of the elevation to grace is, for each one of us, Baptism. Every man, in fact, enters into existence with the consequences of original sin, and he does not possess that divine life which God wanted to give to humanity, because our first parents lost it. Therefore, born firstly to human life, it is necessary that he be born a second time to the divine life. This is the reason the baptismal rite exists: to introduce him into the Christian life, in the supernatural sphere, into the family of the children of God.

Review: The 2018 Angelus Press liturgical calendar

As we do every year, we are highlighting traditional Catholic calendars that are sent to us. And one of our favorites each year is from Angelus Press. The 2018 theme is The Creed.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW

For anyone who has purchased this calendar in the past, you know three things: It's always big; it's always well made and stands up to the kids grabbing at it; and it's always beautiful and inspiring. And the 2018 calendar is no different.

For the Record: Franciscan Friars & Sisters of the Immaculate status update -- Bergoglio's destruction nearly complete

For so many years now we have both broke and chronicled the news of Pope Bergoglio's destruction of the Franciscans of the Immaculate -- both the Friars (FFI) and the Sisters (FSI). So much has happened, often in the shadows, and has gone unreported.

Below are simple bullet points of what we've been told recently. They come from multiple sources both inside and outside the order. But all must be recorded for history, so we post it today. We do this, as we have for years, while facing both harassment and threats for doing so. It is worth noting that about half of the FFIs who called for the original visitation are no longer in the order. Like the Imperial Prosecutor accusing St. Bernadette, they now know they were wrong, and are hopefully repenting. Please see our notes below, as well as an educated prediction of what comes next for the order.

The original commissioner, the late Fr. Fidenzio Volpi, meeting Pope Francis the day the FFI seminary was shuttered.

The FSI (Sisters) were assigned a commissioner (Noris Adriana Calzavara of the Suore Rosarie di Udine) and two co-commissioners by a decree of the Congregation for Religious. Since the Congregation did not have its decree approved in forma specifica by the Pope, it was open to be challenged in the Signatura. The challenge resulted first in a reduction of the powers of the commissioners. It looked as though a further challenge would lead to the decree being be overturned altogether early this year.

However, before it was overturned, the Congregation went to Pope Francis and got his personal approval for a fresh assignment of the same commissioner. This was obviously very demoralizing for the sisters, who thought they were about to regain their autonomy.

Video: What is an SSPX brother?

Well worth the watch, especially you know of a young man discerning a vocation:

Prepare ye the way of the Ordo

Sunday, 24 December 2017 may be a confusing day for diocesan priests who offer the TLM, a reminder that every priest and sacristy should have an Ordo. On that Sunday, the Vigil of Christmas is the Mass to be offered all day, using the 1962 calendar, including Sunday morning. The Vigil of Christmas takes the place of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, as it has for centuries when landing on Sunday the 24th. As we mentioned last week, the novus ordo (of course) does the complete opposite.

The photo above shows the FSSP Ordo. The Vigil of Christmas entry is based on the rubrics, which state:

Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate can't take postulants for 3 years (Discalced Carmelites benefit)

The tragic story of Francis' all-but-suppression of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate is well known to our readers. The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, we have now learned, have been banned from accepting postulants for three years, on order of their commissioner.

One young lady who now cannot join those Sisters has found her new home as a Discalced Carmelite. Her story, published in the Huffington Post, of all places, is below. Kudos to the publication for giving this wonderful young woman a voice:

Young Woman Jade Banks on Becoming a Nun...

My first memory of meeting an actual nun (as opposed to watching The Flying Nun, played by Sally Field, on TV) was when I was nine years old.

My mom and I were in the New York City Port Authority Bus Terminal and she bought me this awesome doll, which I named Janine. (Mind you, this is before “V” came out, otherwise the doll for sure would have been named Julie.)

So my mom had her wallet out and sitting by the entrance to the building were two nuns. They were handing out pamphlets. My mom said to me, “Let’s make a donation” and she let me put some money into the box.

Fast forward to today.

Jade Banks, 23-1/2 years old, will be entering the Discalced Carmelites on November 30th of this year (2017). I finally had a chance to find out what goes on inside the mind of a young woman who wants to become a nun.

Did you always want to be a nun?

Pope Francis Promulgates Buenos Aires Guidelines Allowing Communion for Some Adulterers in AAS as his "Authentic Magisterium"

This week, the Vatican's organ for promulgating the Official Acts of the Apostolic See, Acta Apostolicae Sedis (AAS), has published its October 2016 issue, containing Pope Francis' infamous Letter to the Buenos Aires Bishops. AAS not only published this letter, declaring that there are "no other interpretations" ("No hay otras interpretaciones") of Amoris Laetitia other than those of the Buenos Aires bishops, but it also published the full Buenos Aires guidelines themselves, which permit Holy Communion in some cases for couples in a state of permanent and public adultery who are not committed to living in complete continence.

This is our monthly reminder to please enroll Souls of the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society. Over the last 30 days we've two new wonderful priests dedicated to bringing relief to loved ones enrolled by our readers. We now stand at 85 priests saying weekly or monthly traditional Latin Masses for the Souls. Come on Fathers, let's get this to 100!

** Click here to download a "fillable" PDF Mass Card to give to the loved ones of the Souls you enroll. It's free for anyone to use. **

Priests: The Souls still need more of you saying Mass for them! Please email me to offer your services. There's nothing special involved -- all you need to do is offer a weekly or monthly TLM with the intention: "For the Souls enrolled in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society." And we will always keep you completely anonymous unless you request otherwise.

How to enroll souls: please email me at athanasiuscatholic@yahoo.com and submit as follows: "Name, State, Country." If you want to enroll entire families, simply write in the email: "The Jones family, Ohio, USA". Individual names are preferred. Be greedy -- send in as many as you wish and forward this posting to friends as well.

De Mattei: Cardinals Burke, Brandmüller and Müller and The Dictator Pope

Roberto de Mattei
Corrispondenza Romana
November 29, 2017

Over the last few weeks three interviews from prominent cardinals have appeared. The first was released by Cardinal Walter Brandmüller to Christian Geye and Hannes Hintermeier for the Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung on October 28^th 2017; the second was given by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke to Edward Pentin on November 14^th for The National Catholic Register; the third, to Cardinal Müller, appeared on November 26^th in the Corriere della Sera, by Massimo Franco.

A note, below, from the founders of the group:

New year, old calendar

It's that time of year, when a novus Ordo we actually like is issued.

Much of the world is already celebrating a secularized version of Christmas. As the lights and trees go up, it is a good time to emphasize some key dates concerning the new liturgical season.

Advent begins on Sunday, 3 December, this year (technically beginning with first vespers on 2 December).

The feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 8 December, falls on a Friday this year, meaning one may eat meat that day following the centuries-old discipline where abstinence is waived on days of precept. The winter ember days are 20 December, 22 December and 23 December.

Christmas Eve, 24 December, falls on a Sunday this year instead of the Fourth Sunday of Advent (this differs from the novus ordo), the first time that will happen since Summorum Pontificum. The Vigil of Christmas TLM, celebrated in violet, will be new to a lot of communicants. The traditional discipline of fasting and abstinence on Christmas Eve does not apply this year due to the vigil falling on a Sunday, although many dinner menus will probably still go with the customary seven fishes.

Wonderful: Fraternity of St. Peter at the PBS Newshour

Wonderful report on the FSSP, their Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, and their new CD -- broadcast yesterday evening at the flagship news program of American public television network PBS:

Guest Op-Ed: Praying to the Saints in the Confiteor

By Veronica A. Arntz

The Great Cloud of Witnesses:

Praying to the Saints in the Confiteor

In the older form of the Confiteor, which is prayed three times in the 1962 liturgy, specific saints are invoked: the Blessed Mother, St. Michael the Archangel, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter, St. Paul, and then all the Saints. While the listing of these saints in the Confiteor was not retained in the liturgical changes after the Second Vatican Council, this ancient tradition is vital for the spiritual growth of the members of the Body of Christ, for a number of reasons. Indeed, praying for the intercession of the saints while we are on our journey toward the heavenly patria is essential for our sanctification, for these individuals have come before us and are now worshipping before the heavenly throne of God.

The Confiteor is the prayer that asks the Lord to pardon of us of our sins. We admit that we have sinned against our Lord, and we recognize that we are in need of His mercy, of which we are certainly not deserving. How fitting, then, for us to pray to the saints when asking for the Lord’s mercy. Indeed, the Psalms of David reveal a saint who prayed to the Lord for mercy, because he was aware of his deep and profound sinfulness: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your merciful love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51:1).

Excerpts from an interview conducted by Massimo Franco of Corriere della Sera:

Chiesa e Post Concilio

November 25, 2017

“There is a front of traditionalist groups, just as there is with the progressivists, that would like to see me as head of a movement against the Pope. But I will never do this. I have served the Church with love for 40 years as a priest, 16 years as a university professor of dogmatic theology and 10 years as a diocesan bishop. I believe in the unity of the Church and I will not allow anyone to exploit my negative experiences of recent months. Church authorities, on the other hand, need to listen to those who have serious questions or justified complaints; not ignoring them, or worse, humiliating them. Otherwise, unwittingly, the risk of a slow separation that might lead to a schism may increase, from a disorientated and disillusioned part of the Catholic world. The history of Martin Luther’s Protestant Schism of 500 years ago, should teach us, above all, what errors to avoid.”

Help a former Franciscan Friar of the Immaculate -- and sanctify your family

As we did last year when he was setting up his new hermitage, we once again ask our readers to help a priest formerly of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate (FFI), who is now living as a hermit in the Diocese of Harrisburg.

We here at Rorate chronicled the brutal treatment of these priests -- and the utter destruction of their order -- under the current pontificate for the last few years. So those of you who have read this blog for a while know what they've gone through. This good priest's request is a win-win for him, his new mission and you. By helping him you are helping sanctify your family and/or other families you enroll. What a great Christmas present this would make for your family or a family you care about! Deadline to enroll is December 17.

CLICK HERE TO HELP THIS HERMIT PRIEST NOW

Bishop Ronald Gainer, Fr. Maximilian Mary (black habit), witnesses and servers after Father’s 1st profession as a hermit in the Diocese of Harrisburg on Sept. 12th, 2017.

Good news from La Crosse, Wisconsin: Pontifical Mass with Cardinal Burke — and the Start of a Sunday Latin Mass

We always like good news! From our friends in the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin:

* Cardinal Burke will be celebrating his second Pontifical High Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 10. See the image below for more information.

* The city of La Crosse is gaining a weekly Sunday Latin Mass. It will be at 11:00 AM at St. James the Less Catholic Church. The first Mass will be on December 3, the First Sunday of Advent. Masses will be Missae Cantatae.

Church history and Catholic Social Doctrine on Soundcloud

Dr. John Rao (Photo: The Remnant)

There is a great deal of good Catholic audio to be found on the internet nowadays. We want to alert our readers to things in particular.

First, our friends at the Roman Forum have put a large number of lectures on Church History by John Rao up on Soundcloud. Included are the completed lectures of the current year (2016-2017), which is about the years 1794-1846, and all the lectures of last year (2015-2016), which was about the years 1748-1794. We encourage our readers to take a break from current events, and recall the Church’s struggles in previous centuries. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were periods in the Church’s life with many parallels to our own. The temptation to water down the faith, and try to make it palatable to modernity can be found then as now. And Rao masterfully shows how all attempts do so were counter-productive and disastrous, whereas attempts to recover the fullness of the Church's Tradition bore great fruit.

Venice 31 October 2017: What goes around comes around!

Note: We missed this one on the official day -- but better late than never. What goes around comes around!

Last October 31st on the five hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Revolt, some unidentified person/people stuck a copy of Pope Leo X’s Bull Decet Romanum Ponteficem, excommunicating Martin Luther, on the main door of the Chiesa Evangelica Alemanna in Venice.

As one who has spent many years of my life studying and teaching philosophy, I have always felt a special devotion to St. Catherine of Alexandria -- or at least, ever since I first learned of her existence and patronage.

A friendly and tasty annual reminder that there is a strong argument to be made that there is no required abstinence from meat this Friday for our American readers.

While always a topic of great discussion, it is widely known by those alive in the 1950s, that Venerable Pope Pius XII granted Americans a dispensation from their Friday abstinence, so that they could enjoy turkey the Friday after Thanksgiving.

A Personal Letter to the Readers of Rorate Caeli on the Feast of Saint Cecilia

Fr Richard G. Cipolla

I am writing this as a personal letter to the readers of Rorate Caeli for a special reason, which I will address in the third paragraph below. Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr. We know little about her life and even her martyrdom in the third century from contemporary sources. But we know the strong and early devotion of Christians to this young woman, and the basilica raised in honor of Saint Cecilia by Pope Urban I in the third century in Rome. Many of the popular stories about her come from the Acta of her life written much later, probably in the sixth century. Scholars seem to say that the details of her life and martyrdom as depicted in this work may have little real historical detail. We’ll leave that for the experts in hagiography to work out. No experts are needed to tell us that the antiphons at Lauds and Vespers come from the Acta, and they are beautiful indeed.

Traditional Catholics who attend Mass or recite the Office today for the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary will pray this beautiful Collect:

For the record: Fr. Minutella threatened with "double excommunication"

There's no point in even comparing the good Don Minutella with every wretched heretical priest -- even some speaking on behalf of the Vatican -- who bring countless souls to Hell through their preaching and television appearances. Not only do these priests not not face excommunication, but are widely praised, and are empowered by Pope Francis himself. But the names are too endless to even start comparing. So we simply bring you this sad video, dubbed over in English. Welcome to the Church of Francis:

FIUV Position Paper: The EF and the New Age

Ceiling painting from the Church of St Nicholas, Gardone
Riviera, Italy

Today I am publishing, after a bit of a break, another in the series of Position Papers which have been produced by the FIUV (Una Voce International). This one addresses the challenge to the Church of the New Age movement, and the role the Traditional Mass could have in meeting that challenge.

Relevant to this is the review I wrote on this blog of Roger Buck Cor Iesu Sacratissimum, on his journey from the New Age to Catholic Tradition, here.

I have written some further reflections on the paper on my own blog here.

Download the pdf here.

See all the papers in the series here.

Newly published Reader in Catholic Social Teaching emphasizes traditional doctrine [UPDATED]

I am glad to announce the publication of a book that may, with truth, be said to have been under development for over 20 years. This collection has three points of origin. First, there was my exposure as a student at Thomas Aquinas College to the powerful anti-liberal encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII (not, mind you, as part of the regular curriculum, but due to an extracurricular reading group run by traditionally-minded Catholics). This awakened my mind to the perspective of the Syllabus of Errors, the gauntlet thrown down to the supposed triumph of enlightened modernity.

Second, when I began to teach at the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria (now in Trumau), we needed a Catholic Social Teaching course, and in keeping with our “Great Books” approach, decided to make the course consist entirely of magisterial documents. That gave birth to the first draft of the book announced below.

Third, when Wyoming Catholic College opened its doors in 2007, there was agreement that we should require of the students at least one semester of moral theology and social doctrine. Using materials from ITI, WCC created a course that begins with the foundations of moral theology, moves to marriage and family, and ends with political, economic, and cultural issues. The readings for this course, duly edited, arranged, and introduced, have become A Reader in Catholic Social Teaching.

Bishop Li in 2013

Bishop Luke Li Jingfeng of Fenghsiang, an 'underground' bishop consectrated secretly, died this morning (11:20pm GMT) at 97. Please pray for him.

Bp. Li was a pillar of traditionalism, as well as of true fidelity to the See, in the Chinese speaking Church.

In his nineties he translated the 1962 missal into Chinese, to aid Chinese speaking clergy in the understanding of the prayers. This massive project will continue to be of great significance for Chinese Catholics far into the future.

On a more personal level, he and some of the priests in his diocese gave the old Mass movement much support.

The Novus Ordo Missae was not introduced into China until the 1980s, so there remains a generation of priests who were taught the the ancient Mass in seminary. See the FIUV Position Paper on the Extraordinary Form and China.

De Mattei: Friendly Criticism of Rocco Buttiglione’s Theses

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

November 15, 2017

I have known Rocco Buttiglione for more than forty years. Both of us were assistants to Professor Augusto Del Noce (1910-1989) at the Faculty of Political Science at La Sapienza University in Rome, but since then our positions have diverged, mainly regarding our judgment on modernity. Buttiglione believed that the historical process inaugurated by the French Revolution was compatible with Christianity, but I believed it incompatible. Despite these differences, I appreciated Buttiglione’s work as Minster of National Cultural Heritage in Berlusconi’s government (2005-2006) and expressed my solidarity with him in 2004 when he didn’t attain the nomination as European Commissioner as a result of having called homosexuality “a sin”. I refer to all this in order to show my sincerity in my “friendly criticism” of his theses, just as Buttiglione is truly sincere when he argues with Professor Seifert, his “life-long friend” in his most recent book (Friendly Responses to the Critics of Amoris Laetitia, which included an essay introduction by Cardinal Gerard Ludwig Müller, Ares, Milan 2017, p. 41).

Once again we hear from the highest circles of power in the Church of the possibility of ordaining married men to the priesthood. But this time, what is being talked about is not men in “special circumstances” but in general. I was able and gratuitously blessed to be ordained a Catholic priest while married because of a special Pastoral Provision instituted by Saint John Paul II in 1982 that gave permission for married Episcopal priests who had left the Episcopal Church because of reasons of conscience to be considered for the Catholic priesthood. For me these reasons for leaving Anglicanism included the ordination of women priests and women bishops and the rapidly accelerating cutting of ties to Christian orthodoxy. The recent formation of the Anglican Ordinariate is the result of a similar situation where Anglican priests who want to be in full Communion with the Catholic Church are given this special privilege and grace.

Archbishop Naumann beats Cardinal Cupich

Surprising liberals and the social justice wing of the American Church at today's U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops general assembly, Archbishop Joseph Naumann beat Cardinal Blase Cupich in an election for the chairmanship of the committee on pro-life activities.

Mission Tradition of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) is pleased to announce that registrations are now open for two different programs this summer.

The Saint Francis Xavier Mission Trip is now in its 6th year. This year there will be trips to Mexico, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. These mission trips give young people and families the chance to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and be enriched by daily Traditional Mass by FSSP chaplains. Please visit our new site website (here) and view the promotional video (here).

De Mattei: Pope Francis and his “Lutheran turning point”

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

November 8, 2017

100 years later, the Lessons of the October Revolution

In the post-Christian West, this is seen over and over again: in the end of the 20th century, and first decades of the new one, the same mistake that paved the way in the mighty Russian Empire in the end of the 19th century, and first decades of the new one: a rejection of good CONSERVATISM, a "slavery to Progressive quirks."

Hill of Crosses, Šiauliai, Lithuania

Dostoevsky's DEVILS - apparently a provincial nightmare fantasy of the last century - are crawling across the whole world in front of our very eyes, infesting countries where they could not have been dreamed of; and by means of the hijackings, kidnappings, explosions and fires of recent years they are announcing their determination to shake and destroy civilization! And they may well succeed.

The young, at an age when they have not yet any experience other than sexual, when they do not yet have years of personal suffering and personal understanding behind them, are jubilantly repeating our depraved Russian blunders of the Nineteenth Century, under the impression that they are discovering something new. They acclaim the latest wretched degradation on the part of the Chinese Red Guards as a joyous example. In shallow lack of understanding of the age-old essence of mankind, in the naive confidence of inexperienced hearts they cry: let us drive away THOSE cruel, greedy oppressors, governments, and the new ones (we!), having laid aside grenades and rifles, will be just and understanding.

IL FOGLIO: A prayer to St. Charles Borromeo - bless the artists who stand firm where priests are giving in

Camillo Langone

Il Foglio

November 4, 2017

Oggi, festa di San Carlo, flagellatore dei protestanti, Gasparro sta dando le ultime pennellate a questo clamoroso soggetto. Giovanni Gasparro, San Pio V e San Carlo Borromeo difendono il Cattolicesimo dall'islam e dall'eresia protestante. Olio su...

St. Pius V and St. Charles Borromeo defending Catholicism against Islam and the Protestant Heresy

By Giovanni Gasparro

St. Charles Borromeo, flagellator of Protestants, I entreat you on this your feast day, concerning the infatuation many priests have for Martin Luther, witnessed recently in Milanese exhibitions and Vatican stamps. Yet, where priests are surrendering, painters are resisting. In Imola, Sergio Padovani at present is exhibiting a portrait fittingly entitled "Martin Luther, the Heretic" while in Aldefia Giovanni Gasparro is busy putting the final brushstrokes to his work of the following sensational title: "St Pius V and St. Charles Borromeo defending Catholicism against Islam and the Protestant Heresy." Commissioned, naturally, not by an ecclesiastic, but a member of the laity. He who was called “a blind heresiarch” by St. John Bosco and by St. Peter Canisio “an impious blasphemer” is depicted alongside a pig and with swinish eyes: inclined to evil, to guzzling and nuns, [in fact] his contemporaries used to call him Porcus Saxioniae.

On Sunday, November 12th, His Excellency Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, will perform the reconciliation of the St. Willibrord church in Utrecht, the Netherlands. A Pontifical Mass will be celebrated afterwards. A reconciliation is the ritual restoration of the dedication of an unholy church. The public is invited and a reception will follow.

Program:

10:30 a.m. Reconciliation and Pontifical Mass

1:30 p.m. Reception

6.00 p.m. Adoration with Rosary

Address of the church: Minrebroederstraat 21, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Reception Address: Restaurant Zindering (City Theater), Lucasbolwerk 24

Utrecht, the Netherlands (max 10 minutes on foot from the church)

For the record: San Antonio archdiocesan firearms policy

The archbishop of San Antonio, Texas -- Gustavo Garcia-Siller -- issued a statement following yesterday's massacre in a Protestant church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, saying: "These Baptist brethren are our family, friends and neighbors who live among us in the archdiocese; just minutes away from our Wilson County parishes of Sacred Heart in Floresville, St. Ann in La Vernia, and St. Mary in Stockdale."

Yet, if the mass shooting had indeed been at a nearby Catholic parish, we are sad to say law-abiding citizens would be forced to merely watch the massacre, despite anyone in the pews having a state-issued license to carry a firearm. Although firearms can be carried in a church in Texas with a license, the church owner has the right to object.

Sign on door of Saint John Neumann church in San Antonio

From the 1 February 2016 memo to all pastors in the Archdiocese of San Antonio: