RORATE CÆLI: November 2018

The Three Fruits of the Advent of Our Lord

Advent, the first season of the liturgical year, marked by the chanting of "Rorate caeli", starts tomorrow, at First Vespers of the First Sunday in Advent.

Celebrate it merrily with your loved ones, and especially with devotion with the Church of all times, in Truth, as St. Bernard it explains below:

If we devoutly celebrate the coming of the Lord we do no more than that which we ought to do, for He has not only come to us, He has come for us, Who has no need of our own goods. The enormity of the grace which He gives us demonstrates quite clearly our previous indigence.

PCED: "anticipated" Masses, SSPX-affiliated groups' faculties, and more

The Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" responded to a 29-question letter from a priest in Poland on numerous aspects of the traditional Latin Mass and 1962 liturgical law. Posted on the Church Music Association of America's "Musica Sacra Forum," the questions ranged from ultra-specific Gregorian chant methods permitted, to who may function as a subdeacon.

Some of the answers are standard, and some simply point to Summorum Pontificum or Universae Ecclesiae. But some of the answers are new, or at least newsworthy to see answered in 2018.

Here are a few highlights:

#2: PCED clearly states the Confiteor before the communion of the faithful is licit, responding "in those places where the practice exists, this may be continued."

#5: The practice of "anticipated Masses" -- sadly, found in a handful of TLM locations -- is illicit. Although technically a Mass offered on the evening before a Sunday or holy day of obligation fulfills one's obligation for the Sunday or holy day (under post-Vatican II canon law), the traditional Latin Mass may NOT use the next day's propers. PCED has declared, using the example of a Saturday evening TLM, "the Mass formulary used should be that permitted on a Saturday." This is perhaps the most newsworthy response of the lot, as it will require some TLM churches to change their current practice. A TLM offered on a Saturday evening must use Saturday's propers. A TLM offered on the evening before a holy day of obligation must use that day's (not the holy day's) propers. Although PCED did not give a reason, it is safe to say that the decision is based on the rubrics in place in 1962. Under part one, "general rubrics", chapter two, number four, the liturgical day is explicitly defined as midnight to midnight, with solemn days having first vespers -- not an anticipated Mass -- on the preceding day.

Father Richard Cipolla

From today’s Gospel: For as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines even to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man… And he will send forth his angels with a trumpet and a great sound, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:27 ff.)

Literary critics are a prickly and opinionated group, but they have always agreed that one of the greatest works of Western Literature is Dante’s Divine Comedy, both as poetry and as human epic. A few years ago a human rights organization called Gherush 92, which acts as a consultant to the United Nations body on racism and discrimination called for the banning of Dante’s Divine Comedy, specifically the first part called the Inferno, from the classroom. Dante’s epic is “offensive and discriminatory” and has no place in a modern classroom, said Valentina Sereni, the group’s president. She went on to say: “We do not advocate censorship or the burning of books, but we would like it acknowledged , clearly and unambiguously, that in the Divine Comedy there is racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic content. Art cannot be above criticism”. She goes on to say that school children who studied the work lack the “filters” to appreciate its historical context and were being fed a poisonous diet of anti-Semitism and racism.

SSPX Communiqué: CDF Prefect Cardinal Ladaria meets Superior-General Fr. Pagliarani

The two-hour meeting took place Thursday, November 22, in the Palace of the Holy Office, in Rome, at the invitation of Cardinal Ladaria, with the presence of Ecclesia Dei secretary Abp. Guido Pozzo.

It was agreed that the main point of contention that has prevented the signature of a final deal are doctrinal differences. Therefore, new doctrinal discussions are to take place between both parties.

The whole communique in French is below. As soon as the official English translation is provided, we will post it here.

Communiqué from the General House of the Society of Saint Pius X concerning the Nov. 22, 2018 meeting between Cardinal Ladaria and Fr. Pagliarani

Many Rorate readers will already know about the magnificent website The Josias, which, among other merits, explains and defends traditional Catholic Social Teaching better than any other site I have ever seen. Recently, The Josias published a remarkable three-part essay by Thomas Pink called "Vatican II and Crisis in the Theology of Baptism" (part 1, part 2, part 3). This, to be quite honest, is the best article I have read in years about the unmooring of Catholic theology from traditional Catholic doctrine since the Second Vatican Council, and a deeply insightful explanation of how we have ended up with the debacle of Pope Francis.

De Mattei: Crisis in the Church: a Historical Perspective

The following address was delivered by Professor Roberto de Mattei at the Una Voce Canada Annual General Meeting held at Holy Family Parish, Vancouver, British Columbia, on November 10, 2018, and appears here courtesy of Una Voce Canada.

The Century of Revolutions

The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ: a reality that transcends history, but in history lives and battles and hence is called the Church Militant. For this reason we cannot speak about the Church without reflecting on the historical horizon in which She operates. In 2017, we commemorated three Revolutions which changed [the course of] history: the Protestant Revolution, the French Revolution and the Communist Revolution. Three Revolutions that are part of a single revolutionary process.[1]

2018 is the anniversary of two events positioned inside the same revolutionary process: the hundred years since the end of the First World War and the fifty years since the Revolution of 1968. Two anniversaries that help us to place the crisis of the Church in its historical context.

Today (November 20) on the traditional Roman calendar is the feast of St. Felix of Valois (†1212). Who is this obscure saint, you might ask, and why is he cluttering our calendar? Would it not be fitting to cancel him out? And so, indeed, it was done in the 1969 Novus Ordo calendar: Felix evaporated into thin air, or rather, retreated to his page in the Martyrology where few souls remember him.

“Yes I know Bergoglio [, says a Jesuit superior from another Latin American country]. He’s a person who’s caused a lot of problems in the Society and is highly controversial in his own country. In addition to being accused of having allowed the arrest of two Jesuits during the time of the Argentinean dictatorship, as provincial he generated divided loyalties: some groups almost worshipped him, while others would have nothing to do with him, and he would hardly speak to them. It was an absurd situation. He is well-trained and very capable, but is surrounded by this personality cult which is extremely divisive. He has an aura of spirituality which he uses to obtain power. It will be a catastrophe for the Church to have someone like him in the Apostolic See. He left the Society of Jesus in Argentina destroyed with Jesuits divided and institutions destroyed and financially broken. We have spent two decades trying to fix the chaos that the man left us.”

Paul Vallely

Pope Francis: Untying the Knots
2013

______________________________

In those cases in which the State is interested as well as Religion, your apprehension of man's justice has induced you to divide your decisions into two shares. To the first of these you give the name of speculation; under which category crimes, considered in themselves, without regard to society, but merely to the law of God, you [the Jesuits] have permitted, without the least scruple, and in the way of trampling on the divine law which condemns them.

2019 liturgical calendar reviews continue: ICR

Our latest 2019 liturgical calendar review comes from the always-focused-on-beauty Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

For the Record: Msgr. Bux questions Ratzinger's resignation, Bergoglio's legitimacy

We post this now as an important part of the record during the reign of Bergoglio. While we discussed this on Twitter a few days ago, we are just now able to post this on the blog. Long-time readers know we have followed the "Good Bux" for many years (click the tags at the bottom of the post to read more).

What the Msgr. is speaking to, the validity of Benedict's abdication, and naturally following the legitimacy of Bergoglio's election, is no longer now reserved to online chat rooms and church basement coffee hours. What has been hidden for five years in the shadows is now illuminated and out in the open.

We take no position on this here at Rorate -- other than sunlight is always the best disinfectant.

From PJ Media, with original interview from Aldo Maria Valli:

To address the current crisis, he suggested that an examination of the “juridical validity” of Pope Benedict’s XVI’s resignation was in order to “overcome problems that today seem insurmountable to us.” The theologian consultor to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints was implying that further study of the situation could reveal that Francis is not and has never been a valid pope, but is, in fact, an antipope who could be removed from the papacy, thus nullifying his "insurmountable" errors.

Pope Francis the Problem

In the print edition of today's USA Today, online here, is a sad commentary by Melinda Henneberger, a former Vatican correspondent for the New York Times, where she announces her apostasy.

Henneberger, who is known to be center-left (dissident on, for instance, Humanae Vitae, but sympathetic toward limited pro-life causes) via her many years of writings, blamed her apostasy decision on "these men" and "the men who run the church" while avoiding any blame toward the man who runs the Church.

Who runs the Church? Who is the Supreme Pontiff? Who blocked the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops this week from moving forward with a plan to get serious about the abuse crisis? Even Tom Reese, S.J. (deemed too liberal for America magazine), called the move this week a "disaster" that would result in "terrible public relations for the pope."

De Mattei: The “Viganò case” and the “impasse” of Pope Francis

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

November 14, 2018

An answer has finally arrived. Not the answer – vainly expected - from Pope Francis, but a significant one nevertheless, from a journalist who is part of his close entourage. The author is Andrea Tornielli, the Vatican reporter for La Stampa, in charge of the website Vatican Insider. Along with the journalist Gianni Valente, he just published The Day of Judgment, an extensive paper on the “Viganò case”, with the eloquent subtitle: Conflicts, power struggles, abuses and scandals. What is really happening in the Church (Edizioni Piemme, 255 pp.).

"Two men and a dog": The definition of a happy couple, or of a bishop's residence in a former convent?

"Two men and a dog." That is how Siobhan O’Connor, the former secretary to the extreme-liberal (Francis-style) Bishop of Buffalo, New York, Richard J. Malone, defined the new inhabitants of the gigantic former convent converted, at parishioners' expense, into the new home for retired bishops. He gave the first house tour to a very controversial figure, Fr. Paul Miceli, formerly of Boston Law fame, and the bishop's housemate during his Cape Code vacations.

The pair living in the house will be a site to behold.

From local station WKBW (excerpts):

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) - In April, Buffalo Bishop Richard J. Malone announced he would sell the palatial bishop’s mansion on Oakland Place to help pay settlements to victims of clergy sexual abuse.
...

[The] payouts will likely cost the diocese millions, and the bishop has since moved to a former convent at St. Stanislaus Church on Buffalo’s East Side.

Reminder: FSSP Masses, Adoration, Confessions in Baltimore during USCCB Meeting (Nov 12-15)

Here is the official poster. Please help spread the word on social media!

More information:

The high altar of St Alphonsus is a gem among Catholic churches in the greater area around the nation's capital:

The Francis Effect: A beautiful apology to traditional Catholics

Many of us have been heartened by the recent words of Msgr. Charles Pope. This interview, admission and apology to traditional Catholics everywhere is a wonderful example of how the current, rotten pontificate has brought together faithful Catholics whose disagreements were once a major obstacle.

There has been a lot of this lately. While many who have criticized traditional Catholics over the years have apologized, we were very heartened by the gracious words of Taylor Marshall:

This is how men of good will act toward one another. This is how all serious Catholics must begin to unite. This is how we survive, as a remnant in the words of Msgr. Pope, during this most awful time in the Church under a dictator pope and a cadre of rotten bishops.

Lateran, the Feast of the Church Militant: Rome is the Concrete Name of Catholicity

by P. Edmund Waldstein, O.Cist.

Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica by Pope Silvester I in the year 324. Following closely on All Saints and All Souls, which bring to mind the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering, we can see the Dedication of the ‘Mother of all Churches’ as the day of the Church Militant.

The texts for dedication of a Church are full of references to Jerusalem, the “city of peace”. The peace of Jerusalem is a reflection of the glory of the Lord who thrones above the Cherubim in her temple. Thus love of Jerusalem is love of the Lord: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem…Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers…For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.” (Ps 121/122) All the nations of the earth are destined to come to Jerusalem to offer gifts (cf. Ps 67/68), thus her peace is to fill the earth.

FSSP to offer Masses, Adoration two blocks from USCCB meetings

Two blocks from this month's U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) meetings stands the shrine of Saint Alphonsus, administered by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.

Today the FSSP announced the following:

The USCCB will meet for the 2018 Fall General Assembly next week in our nation’s premier See, that of Baltimore, Maryland. Among the issues they will be discussing is the current abuse crisis in the Church. The National Shrine of St. Alphonsus Liguori, our apostolate in Baltimore, located just two blocks from where the Bishops will meet, is aware of the importance of this Assembly and will be supporting the Bishops in prayer with a special Mass and adoration schedule during the time of the meeting. Our North American Superior, Fr. Michael Stinson, will join the parish this weekend as they prepare to begin the three days of prayer.

Our Lady of Pellevoisin

Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau

Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault

(Fontgombault, November 1st, 2018)

Gaudete et exsultate.

Be glad and rejoice.

(Mt 5:12)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My dearly beloved Sons,

The fascinating sight of a great throng is warming up our hearts on this morning of the feast of All Saints. Our eyes keep gazing towards heaven as the author of the Apocalypse unveils his magnificent vision. First, the hundred and forty-four thousand chosen ones, coming from the twelve tribes of Israel, then “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues.” They stand before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and holding palms in their hands. They are those who, according to the words of one of the elders, “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Ap 7:14)

You Suggest: Traditional Requiem Mass in Brooklyn

Note: Rorate has been to this wonderful Church many times in years past. Please make it out for this. And yes, you Manhattanites can go, you won't get lost ...

You Suggest: Institute of Christ the King day of recollection for young adults in Missouri

You have abandoned me in Purgatory!

From the writings of Don Giuseppe Tomaselli (1902-1989).

In this life of moral wretchedness, to justify our weaknesses, we say: my passions are so strong that I can’t always resist them! Anyway, after sinning I rush back to Confession! Others say: I don’t commit serious sins! I fail constantly in certain small things, which are unavoidable! There are those instead who sin more than I do and much more gravely!

When someone dies, we are want to exclaim: What a holy person! He did so much good! For sure he went to Heaven! On headstones the most illusory and flattering inscriptions present the dear departed as models of noble virtue.

We are simply what we are before God.

This is our monthly reminder to please enroll Souls of the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society. We now have 89 saying monthly and weekly traditional Latin Masses for the Souls.

Also, please, we beg you, don't forget the poor Souls on All Souls Day tomorrow (Friday). Besides getting Masses said for them, as we do here, the best way you can help them tomorrow is this: Plenary Indulgence for each day of the First Full Week in November.

But remember:

* Make a sacramental confession within a week of All Souls Day

* For a plenary indulgence be free from all attachment to sin, even venial sin (otherwise, the indulgence is partial, not plenary, “full”).

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."

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.

Event: Solemn Requiem Mass for All Souls in Chicago

From our friends at the Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago: