Couple of quick updates ...
First, we brought to your attention a couple of weeks ago our annual request for you to enroll your loved ones in the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles Novena of Masses. The Novena starts on June 3, so please click here to enroll those you care about (or yourselves) now.
Second, we recently provided our readers with a Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society Mass Card, that can be printed and given to the family and friends of the souls you enroll. We had readers ask if there was a download of the Mass Card that would be a better quality than just printing off a website. Thanks to the efforts of a reader, you may click here now to access a PDF of the Mass Card. It's also "fillable," so you can type in the name of the enrolled soul on the Card.
Exclusive Op-Ed - Pio Pace on latest Roman Comments on the Bizarre Dual Papacy
We are very honored to post this new article by a very wise, knowledgeable, and highly influential cleric, writing under the pen name of don Pio Pace. This time, don Pio Pace reveals to us the startling opinion mill in Rome surrounding the explosive revelation by Abp. Georg Gänswein on how he (and presumably Benedict XVI) sees the current dual status of the papacy.
***
"Contemplative Pope versus Active Pope"
"Contemplative Pope versus Active Pope"
by Father Pio Pace
 |
| Pope Benedict XVI meets Cardinal Bergoglio in Rome, January 13, 2007 |
It is not doubtful that the document we will consider as the most important one in the Pontificate of Francis will be the exhortation Amoris Laetitia, just as Summorum Pontificum is already for that of Benedict XVI. Nobody truly believes in a consequential reform of the Roman Curia, regarding which Pope Francis has never revealed the beginning of a glance...and on which he is not at all interested. On the other hand, Amoris Laetitia, which opens up the Magisterium of the Church to liberal interpretations, truly represents the essence of his project: a papacy legitimized by the media, and having become a provider of good feelings to the modern world.
FSSP news: New Apostolate in Pennsylvania | Follow tomorrow Ordination Mass live from Nebraska (3 PM GMT)!
1. A press release from the North American District of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter:
The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter is pleased to announce the opening of a new apostolate in the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Fraternity will take over the administration of St. Stephen of Hungary parish on July 1, 2016.
The announcement that the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter will be assuming pastoral responsibility for St. Stephen was made at the parish on the Feast of Pentecost, May 15, 2016, prior to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The members of the parish are very excited to welcome the FSSP to their parish, and are deeply thankful for the priests of the Diocese of Allentown who have offered the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Stephen’s over the years, as well as all those who have prayed and sacrificed for the FSSP to be invited into the diocese.
The Fraternity is grateful to the Most Reverend John O. Barres, Bishop of Allentown, and his priestly assistants of the chancery for this opportunity.
Congratulations to the FSSP and to the local parishioners! And thanks to Bishop Barres!
(We thank local readers D, J, and L, who had sent us the news days ago.)
***
2. This Saturday, May 28, as in the past few years, Live Mass will broadcast the Ordination Mass of 4 Deacons to the Holy Priesthood. Please, follow LiveMass and their wonderful events, and be sure to watch this beautiful ceremony tomorrow:
The Ceremony will take place in St. Cecilia Cathedral, Omaha, Nebraska, at 10 AM Central Daylight Time (that is 11 AM EST, 3 PM GMT, 4 PM London, 5 PM Rome).
The celebrant will be His Excellency Fabian Bruskewitz, Bishop Emeritus of Lincoln.
De Mattei - Completeness or not of Fatima message is beside the point: what matters is that what is known is unfolding
Church Crisis in light of the Fatima secret
Roberto de Mattei
Corrispondenza Romana
May 25, 2016
The centenary year of Fatima was opened on Pentecost Sunday to news that caused quite a sensation.
Fontgombault Sermon for Corpus Christi: "Let us answer the Master Who rent the veil of the Temple"
CORPUS CHRISTI
 |
| 1981 recording |
Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau
Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault
(Fontgombault, May 26, 2016)
For My flesh is meat indeed: and My blood is drink indeed.
(Jn 6:56)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
My dearly beloved Sons,
It is a great mystery that the Church offers today to our adoration and thanksgivings. The Blessed Eucharist is the gift of the God Who wishes to abide in our midst. It appears as a continuation of the mystery of Incarnation. After He came not for those who are healthy, but for those who are ill and sinners, after He encountered in His humanity the entreaty of the widow, but also the joy and thanksgivings of the man who was curved under the burden of sin and then became free, Jesus offers us today to encounter Him in His Eucharistic presence.
Family Synods were a hugely expensive Fraud: Essential Passages of Exhortation had already been written 10 years ago
Yes, the fabulous Rector of the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA), elevated to the position of titular Archbishop -- His Excellency Victor Manuel "Tucho" Fernández. We had already reported here in January that he was the main ghost-writer of the post-synodal Exhortation (later published under the title Amoris Laetitia, "The Joy of Love"). This of course had been clear since the Pope named him a member of the Synod drafting committee: as we had called him at the time, "the Pope's closest theological adviser and first named bishop, (fabulously efficient) Rector of the Catholic University of Argentina, member of the original 6-liberal Synod drafting commission".
New, free Mass Card available for the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society
A reader recently took it upon himself to create a Mass Card when he enrolled someone in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society. We liked his idea so much that we asked the creator of our new Society logo, Melissa, to turn it into something beautiful that we could share with all of you.
Below is the card she created. This can be printed out, filled in and sent to the loved ones of the deceased you enrolled. And, as always, enrolling someone in the Society (of which there are over 70 priests saying traditional Latin Masses for the enrolled) is free, as is using this new Mass Card.
NB: This is not intended to replace having individual traditional Latin Masses said for someone who dies. We still recommend having TLMs said for your loved ones -- and purchasing the Mass cards from the churches -- when they die and for years afterwards.
Below is the card she created. This can be printed out, filled in and sent to the loved ones of the deceased you enrolled. And, as always, enrolling someone in the Society (of which there are over 70 priests saying traditional Latin Masses for the enrolled) is free, as is using this new Mass Card.
NB: This is not intended to replace having individual traditional Latin Masses said for someone who dies. We still recommend having TLMs said for your loved ones -- and purchasing the Mass cards from the churches -- when they die and for years afterwards.
What sort of Mass did 'Vatican II' want?
 |
| The Traditional Mass on the Chatres Pilgrimage. Not as off-putting to young people as Pope Paul VI imagined. Photo by John Aron. |
Liturgical conservatives and progressives argue endlessly about this. Their argument will never be resolved, both because Sacrosanctum Concilium was and the subsequent magisterium has been self-contradictory, but also because neither side in the debate is willing to be honest about the historical facts. I am sorry to be harsh, but having read the output of both sides of the debate over a number of years, it is time it was said.
One is Simon, the other is Peter? - Gänswein: Papacy was changed in 2013 into an "expanded" Petrine Office with two members. - Does this confirm the Socci-Messori thesis of a papal diarchy?
 |
| Double-Headed Church? |
Edward Pentin's latest column on National Catholic Register (Archbishop Gänswein: Benedict XVI Sees Resignation as Expanding Petrine Ministry) reports on a speech delivered by Archbishop Gänswein at the Pontifical Gregorian University, May 20. The speech, as reported by Pentin, has two topics of capital significance.
Help traditional Catholics fight sex trafficking
Sex trafficking is a horrific reality for all of us -- regardless of your country of origin. Please read the following report and pray on it. Go to the bottom of the post to see how you can help:
A New Zeal for Souls
“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me” (Mark 9: 37).
In our day, a well-formed Catholic can see the attack on the family from rampant lust: The objectification of women, artificial contraception, abortion, pornography, and prostitution. The gift of procreation -- the greatest gift to our nature -- suffers under this vice. It has broken lives through the centuries and today lust is even more free to break souls. The counter attack is to build up the family, live the virtues of modesty and chastity, and work for a virtuous culture.
Sermon for Trinity Sunday 2016
Sermon for the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
Father Richard G. Cipolla
 |
| Colijn de Coter The Throne of Grace (c. 1510) Musée du Louvre |
I have always loved those diagrams of the Holy Trinity in the form of an equilateral triangle. When I taught geometry I was never much interested in the practical applications and problems that had a numerical answer. I always loved the proofs, their elegance, their almost supernatural quality that never depended on calculations but rather on clear thinking and use of axioms. In those wonderful diagrams of the Holy Trinity as an equilateral triangle, the Father is at the top of the triangle, the Son at the left bottom and the Holy Spirit at the right bottom. And the word God is in the center of the triangle.
Events: Three traditional Latin Solemn High Masses in NYC this Thursday!
A reader pointed out that there will be three traditional Latin Solemn High Masses for the feast of Corpus Christi this Thursday in New York City -- almost certainly the first time this has happened since the smoke filled the sanctuary.
We already told you about the Mass at Holy Innocents.
There is also a Solemn High Mass Mass and procession at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
Last, see below for info on the third Solemn Mass of the night:
Benedict XVI dismisses supposed new Fatima revelations as "pure invention" and "absolutely untrue"
 |
| Recent image of the Pope Emeritus in a concert offered for his birthday (April 2016) |
From the Holy See Press Office:
False Collegiality: Full Text of new Rule demanding Bishops consult with Vatican before erecting Diocesan Institutes, and Our Comment
Comments below the text:
The Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, aware that every new Institute of Consecrated Life, even if coming into existence and developing within a Particular Church, is a gift made to the entire Church, seeing to the need of avoid that new Institutes be erected in the diocesan level without the sufficient discernment that will confirm the originality of the charism, which defines the specific characteristics that the consecration through the profession of the evangelical counsels will have in them and that specifies the real possibilities of development, has ascertained the opportunity of better determining the necessity, established by Can. 579 CIC [Code of Canon Law], of requesting its opinion before proceeding to the erection of a new Diocesan Institute.Therefore, following the opinion of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts,
the Holy Father Francis
First Traditional Personal Parish in New England: Nashua, New Hampshire
Another abandoned church that would go the way of complete dereliction is to be saved by the Traditional Mass -- the church of St. Stanislaus, built for the Polish community of Nashua, NH, in 1908.
The press release was made public today by the Diocese of Manchester (the diocese that covers the entire state of New Hampshire):
The press release was made public today by the Diocese of Manchester (the diocese that covers the entire state of New Hampshire):
 |
| High Altar - St Stanislaus |
Papal spokesman praises radical pro-abortion, pro-divorce politician
Yesterday, on word that "bisexual," atheist, radical politician Marco Pannella had died, Fr. Federico Lombardi praised -- in a written statement, not off the cuff -- the man who helped lead Italy in the 1970s to legalize divorce and abortion.
A fan of Pope Francis, Pannella was sent a copy of the pope's book by Francis himself, and the pope had even called Pannella asking him to end a hunger strike.
ANSA editorial
May 19, 2016
“I remember him with esteem and in friendship. I think he has left a human and spiritual legacy of some significance; candid relations, free expression and generous civic and political commitment towards others, especially for the weak in need of solidarity” said the Pope’s spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi. Pannella was a person with whom, in the past, we were often in disagreement. However, his complete, disinterested commitment to noble causes cannot but be appreciated.”
Whitsunday Sermon: "The Spirit of God Makes Human History"
Sermon for Pentecost, 2016
Fr. Richard G. Cipolla
 |
| Carlo Urbino The Descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles (c. 1570) Chiesa di San Marco, Capella di San Giuseppe, Milan |
“When the day of Pentecost came….” (Acts 2:1)
When it came….this must mean that its coming was important, and not only for those who were in that Upper Room, for this is about the marvels that God has accomplished. But if this is that important, if this is not merely a local event, then it must be from the very beginning, the beginning of all that there is: it must be from the void, from the times when all was a formless void, and the mighty wind, the ruach, swept over the waters, when the large bird breathed over the formless void, when the beating of its wings compressed everything into the singularity point that exploded into the myth of the big bang. If this is important, ultimately important, then it must be present, must be a part of creation itself, of life itself: “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
Concluding Sermon of the 2016 Paris-Chartres Pilgrimage, by the Father Abbot of Fontgombault
-The True Meaning of Pilgrimage
Whitsun Monday
Notre-Dame de Chrétienté (Notre-Dame de Paris to Notre-Dame de Chartres) Pilgrimage
 |
| Dom Pateau in Notre-Dame de Chartres, Whitsun Monday |
Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau
Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault
(Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral, May 16, 2016)
For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son.
(Jn 3:16)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The bodily assessment of these few days is pitiful... Painful muscles, feet reddened with blisters, perhaps the secret desire to catch up right now a few minutes’ slumber, thus anticipating a still faraway refreshing night...
Pope Francis speaks: "The Society of St. Pius X are Catholics on the path to full communion."
[UPDATED BELOW] Pope Francis granted an extensive interview to Guillaume Goubert, the director, and Sébastien Maillard, the Rome correspondent of the semi-official daily of the French Bishops, La Croix, on May 9. The interview (including videos) has been published today, and included the following very relevant excerpt:
Help the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles
As we always do, we are urging our readers this year to help the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, as they raise funds to build a new church.
We apologize that the links in the flyer the sisters made do not work -- it's one of the many limitations of being on Blogger. Below, please find the links to each of the ways you can help.
* Enroll your loved ones in the Novena of Masses starting June 3 (click here)
* Purchase their award-winning CDs -- including their new album (click here and here)
* Make a tax-deductible donation through their online form (click here)
Rorate on the Road ... in North Carolina
Rorate was on the road yesterday and this time we were in North Carolina at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Mt. Holly (just outside of Charlotte). The church is run by priests of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX).
While we travel the globe and go to many traditional Latin Mass sites, we normally do not post pictures of the historic churches we visit in the major cities, and focus rather on the little-mentioned yet wonderful experiences we have in smaller towns.
Fontgombault Sermon for Pentecost: "Are our souls intimately united with the Lord?"
PENTECOST
Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau
Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault
(Fontgombault, May 15, 2016)
| Initial "S" of the Introit of the Feast |
Repleti sunt omnes Spiritu Sancto.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 2:14)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
My dearly beloved Sons,
The feast of Pentecost commemorates the gift of the Holy Spirit that has been granted to the Apostles gathered in the Cenacle around Mary, as Jesus had promised them shortly before His Ascension. The Lord Who went up to Heaven has not left His disciples orphans. This assertion is still valid. Nobody has ever been forsaken by God, nor will anybody ever be, unless he should refuse the gift of God, the light that comes from God and illuminates every man.
“The world they say is new is as old as the Devil himself”
François de Charette
 |
| Julien Le Blant Execution of François de Charette |
“Our Fatherland is our villages, our altars, our tombs and all that our fathers loved before us. Our Fatherland is our Faith, our Land, our King.
Paris-Chartres Pilgrimage begins
The Pentecost Weekend "Notre-Dame de Chrétienté" Paris-Chartres pilgrimage began earlier today. The first event was the Mass in Notre-Dame de Paris:
Godspeed to all pilgrims!
(Image source: NDC twitter account)
Godspeed to all pilgrims!
(Image source: NDC twitter account)
One Year from the Centennial - FATIMA: the prophecy of a crisis and the promise of an eagerly awaited triumph
 |
| Bl. Jacinta Marto |
Francesca Bonadonna
Famiglia Domani
May 22, 2014
Almost a century has passed since the great Fatima event when Our Lady, messenger of God, appeared to the three little shepherds to give an immensely important message and to offer Her maternal intercession for a humanity afflicted by sin - a humanity, more narcotized than ever by creeping secularization, Most Holy Mary is the Queen of the eagerly awaited kingdom, foreseen according to Her promise and unforeseen according to its time and modality; the hope of a new millennium for the children of Light i.e. the militant forces of the People of God moved by the Holy Ghost amid the breakers of unrest and disorder but heading towards the safe harbor described in St. John Bosco’s dream, which points to the two pillars of salvation: the Holy Eucharist and the Virgin Mary.
For the Record: Pope on "Deaconess Commission", and clarification
 |
| The Future of the Church? (Image of Lutheran Female Deacon) |
What happened on Thursday:
Not your usual liturgical dancers
Young nuns. In full, traditional habits. Dancing at a charismatic Mass (apparently celebrated this past Sunday) in a parish in Brazil.
New home for the TLM in California
From the Monterey Bay Area Latin Mass Community:
Starting Trinity Sunday, May 22, the old Sacred Heart Church in Hollister, California, will become the new site for the Traditional Latin Mass in the Monterey Bay Area.
A great new website for the Institute of the Good Shepherd
The Latin America District of the Institute of the Good Shepherd (IBP) asked us to let our readers know about its new website.
De Mattei - The current crisis in the context of Church history
Roberto de Mattei
Speech, Roman Life Forum 2016
May 6, 2016
In the Gospel, Jesus uses many metaphors to indicate
the Church He founded. One of the most fitting is the image of the boat threatened
by a tempest (Matt. 8, 23-27; Mark, 4, 35-41; Luke 8, 22-25). This image has often been used by the Fathers of
the Church and the Saints when depicting the Church as a barque at sea, shaken
and tossed by the waves and, which lives, we could say, amid tempests, without ever being submerged by the
waves.
Well-known in the Gospel, is the scene of the
tempest on Lake Tiberias, calmed by Our Lord: “Tunc surgens imperavit ventis et mari” (Matt. 8, 26). When the Papacy was in Avignon, Giotto depicted the
scene of Peter’s tempest-tossed boat in a famous mosaic originally found in the
gable of Old St. Peter’s Basilica and
which is now in the atrium of the new Basilica.
During Lent of 1380, Saint Catherine of Siena made a
vow to go to St. Peter’s every morning to pray in front of this image. One day,
the 29th of January 1380, around the time of vespers, while
Catherine was absorbed in prayer, Jesus, came out of the mosaic and placed the
‘Navicella’ of the Church on her shoulders. The Saint, overwhelmed by so much
weight, fell unconscious to the ground. This was the last visit made to St.
Peter’s by Catherine, who had always
exhorted the Pope to guide the ‘Navicella’ of the Church fearlessly.
Throughout two
thousand years of history, the mystical Ship of the Church has always braved
storms and tempests.
Fontgombault Sermon for the Ascension: "The Lord did not leave us orphans."
ASCENSION
Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau
Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault
(Fontgombault, May 5, 2016)
[Excerpts]
Why stand you looking up to heaven?
(Acts 1:11)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
My dearly beloved Sons,
The readings of today’s Mass present us with two accounts of Our Lord’s Ascension. The first one is taken from the book of the Acts of the Apostles, and it is its opening. Conversely, the second one is the conclusion of St. Mark’s Gospel.
The Ascension thus appears as a turning point. A new leaf is turned, a new period begins. The Word of God, after completing His visible mission, ascends back to His Father, and the Apostles have to begin fully their own mission.
St. Mark is very terse in his narration of the event:
The Tetragrammaton rocks the Sistine Chapel
Pope Francis addressed participants of the International Conference on the Progress of Regenerative Medicine and its Cultural Impact in the modern Paul VI audience hall on Friday. U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden also spoke at the conference. The next day, the locale for the entertainment for those in attendance was the Sistine Chapel.
Mister David Evans, known as "The Edge," is the lead guitarist for the rock and roll band "U2." Wearing his hat inside the Sistine Chapel on Saturday, he played four rock songs there (making history not even accomplished during the John Paul II papacy), one of them entitled "Yahweh."
Just eight years ago, under Pope Benedict, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued a letter "By directive of the Holy Father" to the bishops' conferences on the name of God:
Reminder: Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society
This is our monthly reminder to please enroll Souls of the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society. We now stand at 73 priests saying weekly or monthly traditional Latin Masses for the souls.
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."
The overwhelming majority of our priests are diocesan with all the time crunches that parish life brings. So we are making a special plea today for you traditional order priests -- join the Society! Our traditional Mass only priests must lead by example. This is a great way to do just that. We are only asking for one TLM a week or a month. Nothing more.
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.
EGO FLOS CAMPI
ET LILIUM CONVALLIUM
IESUS - MARIA - IOSEPH
Jesus, Lily of the Valleys
Mary, Queen of May
Joseph, Patron of Laborers
Orate pro nobis!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)