RORATE CÆLI: April 2025

Renewal and Restoration in the Church: An Open Letter to the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

(The document below may be downloaded as a PDF here.)

An Open Letter to the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Your Eminences:

The following document emerged from discussions over the past year among theologians, pastors, and canonists, who had been encouraged to produce this document by a senior cardinal. Originally our thought had been to seek for signatories—knowing, as we do, how many notable figures in the Catholic Church are in agreement with or sympathetic to the points made herein—but in view of the suddenness of the upcoming conclave, we have decided to publish the statement as it is.

In publishing this statement, we do not wish to take upon ourselves tasks to which we have not been called by God. Rather, we simply wish to offer, out of love for the Church and according to our lights, some suggestions that may be helpful to those who have received the awesome responsibility of governing Christ’s flock. This we do, moreover, on the traditional feast of St. Catherine of Siena, a laywoman who was a light to the Church in her time, and reminds us of the need to speak with boldness or parrhesia, as befits disciples of the one Master.

The authors recognise that “in vast areas of the world, the faith is in danger of dying out like a flame which no longer has fuel” (Benedict XVI, Letter to Bishops), while errors and deviations abound within the Church; and they hope that the proposals here set forth constitute a timely call to metanoia.

With the assurance of our fervent prayers to the Holy Ghost for the College of Cardinals especially in the upcoming Conclave, we humbly ask your prayerful consideration of the content that follows.

April 30, 2025

St. Catherine of Siena

(usus antiquior)

Roberto de Mattei
Corrispondenza Romana
April 30, 2025

The funeral of Pope Francis on the parvis of St. Peter's Basilica and the translation of the coffin to St. Mary Major, in the grandiose setting of ancient, Baroque, and 19th-century Rome, represented a historic moment charged with symbolism. Sovereigns, heads of state and government, public men of all ranks, gathered from all over the world in Rome did not pay homage to Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but to the institution he represented, as had happened on April 8, 2005 for the funeral of John Paul II. Although many of these personalities belong to other religions or profess atheism, all were aware of what the Roman Church, caput mundi, the center of universal Christianity, still means. The image of Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky face to face on two simple chairs, between the aisles of St. Peter's Basilica, seemed to express their smallness, under the vault of a basilica that holds the destinies of the world. And the 170 leaders gathered in the Eternal City, by their presence also seemed to question the future of the world, on the eve of the conclave that will open on May 7.

Cardinal Burke: "Given the gravity of the situation"

The Sacred College of Cardinals during the General Congregation of Monday, April 28th last, has set the date for the beginning of the Conclave: May 7, 2025. Given the gravity of the situation, I ask that those who will complete the Novena on May 5th next, immediately begin a second Novena, continuing to pray the Novena Prayer until the new Successor of Saint Peter is elected. For those who have begun the novena after April 26th, I ask you to continue praying the Novena Prayer, until the new Successor of Saint Peter is elected. If you have not yet begun to pray the Novena Prayer, I urge you to begin praying it immediately.

I thank all who have been praying the Novena Prayer or who will begin praying it now. We can be confident that Our Lady of Guadalupe will intercede powerfully for the election of a good and holy Shepherd of the Universal Church.

Raymond Leo Cardinal BURKE

***

April 29, 2025

2025 Conclave Novena Prayer

Conclave Chronicles: Francis died too fast, and the College of Cardinals is adrift

by Jaime Gurpegui

for InfoVaticana

Rome, April 29, 2025

Rome is living these days in an atmosphere of unreality. The sentiment conveyed in the Eternal City, in the midst of the pre-conclave period, is a mixture of bewilderment, discretion, and silence.

May it be a Minimal Papacy: For a Pontificate of the Essential, with no more Personalism, Narcissism, and Despotism

Camillo Langone

Il Foglio

April 24, 2025

Limited to its essential tasks. The head of the Church is not the Pope, but Christ. Let the new Pontiff's motto be John the Baptist's words about Jesus, “He must increase, I decrease.”

May it be a minimal Papacy. A Papacy like the Minimal State theorized by liberal philosopher Robert Nozick, that is, limited to its essential tasks. Few things, but done well. Not only because the vain loudness of an overwhelming Papacy, and an idolatrous and unbelieving Papolatry, disturb my ears. Especially because “the head of the Church is Christ, not the Pope” (Pope John XXIII). Because “the figure of the Pope is praised too much. One risks falling into the cult of personality” (Pope John Paul I). Because “the Pope is not an oracle, he is infallible only on very rare occasions” (Pope Benedict XVI). Let us begin again with the beautiful Gregorian title “Servus servorum Dei.”

On Easter Sunday, the Holy Father Francis, visibly weakened, once again gave the Easter blessing Urbi et Orbi. On Easter Monday, he died in the early hours of the morning as a result of a stroke. This Easter Monday is traditionally associated with the Gospel that contains the story of the journey taken by two disciples, still deeply affected by the shadow and supposed failure of Good Friday, from Jerusalem to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35). On their way, they meet a stranger with whom they strike up a conversation. This stranger is the risen Lord, whom they do not recognize as Jesus of Nazareth. Rather, they get the impression that this stranger, who walks with them for a while, is someone who has never heard of Jesus and, above all, is the only one who does not know what happened to him in the days before: crucified, died, and buried. Lost in death.

2025 Conclave Start Date: May 7

From Italian blog Silere non possum:

Today, at the fifth General Congregation, the Cardinals assembled in the Vatican during the sede vacante period have established that the Conclave for the election of the new Supreme Pontiff will start on May 7th, 2025.

[Source, in Italian]

The Price of Humility: The Destruction of a Massive Doorway from the Early 17th Century in Saint Mary Major

One needs lots of destruction to fit humility in. Performative humility, that is.

With so many crypts and modest places to be interred in Rome, the humblest pope ever, possibly one of the humblest men ever to inhabit the earth, had a massive and beautiful doorway, including all surrounding precious inlaid stones, destroyed in order to place his humble gigantic tomb

(Click for larger view)

In Memoriam: Catafalque for Pope Francis

In our church of Saint Francis de Sales in southern Maryland we have erected a catafalque in memory of His Holiness Pope Francis.

The catafalque, derived from the Italian word catafalco, literally means a scaffold or elevation, but in its strictly liturgical sense the word is employed to designate the cenotaph-like structure which is used at the exequial offices of the Church and takes the place of the bier whenever the remains are not present. It is covered with a black cloth or pall, is usually placed immediately outside the sanctuary, and is the centre of the ceremonies of that part of the exequial office known as the absolution, receiving the same attention as the corpse would if present.

Basilica Liberiana pic.twitter.com/fdTYqbnZGz
— April 26, 2025

A RORATE Guide to the Cardinals and the Conclave

by Serre Verweij

April 26, 2025

[Read our previous piece on the Conclave here.]

The spectre of the coming conclave hangs ever over the heads of more than 130 cardinal electors and 1.2 billion Catholics. Speculation is rife. Will the next Pope be like Pope Francis or more ‘conservative’, like Pope Benedict?

This question is crucial. The Vatican is dealing with grave financial problems. Pope Francis has not been able (or willing) to solve this problem, in spite of the fact that it was part of the reform mandate he received in 2013. The Vatican has also become rather discredited on the foreign policy level. Even worse is the risk of schism resulting from the radical German bishops and their allies in Belgium and Switzerland The Anglican church was torn apart by disagreements over homosexuality. Only an orthodox Pope can ensure this doesn’t happen to the Church of Christ.

The stakes are even higher due to the extension of the Synod on Synodality. The ‘ecclesial assembly’ in Rome in 2028 risks (further) disempowering the bishops of the Catholic Church and creating a new governance structure, where the Pope and (handpicked) laymen and laywomen (and activists) call the shots. Early in Francis’ pontificate progressives, and even some moderates, were hoping for greater collegiality between Rome and local bishops’. Instead, the opposite happened. Francis’ divisive policies and unfinished curial reforms have destabilized the Curia itself and raise the possibility of laywomen serving as prefects and providing dictates to the bishops of the world.

The next Pope will need knowledge of canon law, theology and the inner workings of the Curia. Who is up to the task? What heretics or corrupt figures might be put forward? Rorate Caeli has previously warned of a repeat of the 2013 conclave, where false candidacies and rumours were used to distract from the real progressive candidate, Jorge Bergoglio. Who could the real candidates be and who are the false leads?

Unlikely progressives

Cardinal Müller in Interview: "Pope a successor of Peter, not of his predecessor"; "Pope not a symbol of secularized religion"; "We cannot accept that atheistic Communists, enemies of humanity, write our catechism books."

Cardinal Müller granted the following interview to Iacopo Scaramuzzi, for Italian daily Repubblica, and published yesterday:

Iacopo Scaramuzzi

Repubblica

Rome, April 24, 2025

“The future pope is not a successor of his predecessor but a successor of Peter": thus German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, a member of the conservative wing of the College of Cardinals.

Your Eminence what are your feelings at this moment?

At a time of turmoil, nothing could be better or more important than rooting ourselves deeply in the Catholic tradition. One of my favorite quotations is by St. Prosper of Aquitaine (390-455), writing in his own age of chaos: “Even if the wounds of this shattered world enmesh you, and the sea in turmoil bears you along in but one surviving ship, it would still befit you to maintain your enthusiasm for studies unimpaired. Why should lasting values tremble if transient things fall?”

With the death of Pope Francis and upcoming conclave to elect the next Supreme Pontiff, the organizers of Missae pro Missa ("Masses for the Mass") hereby announce our third -- and perhaps most important -- campaign: a worldwide spiritual bouquet imploring God for a holy pope as the next Successor of St. Peter.

“Blessing Gives Strength to Love”: German Bishops’ Conference Releases Authorized Pastoral Guidelines on Imparting Blessings to Homosexual Couples

It’s as if they were just waiting for the perfect moment—the moment when the last obstacle to their plan would be removed, and no one could stop them. The German original may be found here. -PAK

“Blessing Gives Strength to Love”:
Blessings for couples who love each other
Handout for pastors

Resolution of the Whole Conference [of German Bishops], April 4, 2025 [released April 23]

Lazy “Mainstream” Reporters and their Tired Sources

News of the papacy and the upcoming conclave dominate every media website, newspaper and social media outlet right now. Here is how to tell if you are reading a balanced article. Are the only quoted sources in it from the left? Villanova’s Massimo Faggioli. Father Thomas Reese, LGBTSJ. Father James Martin, LGBTSJ. Georgetown’s John Carr. Former USCCB official John Gehring. If a reporter consistently features these men, without balance from a conservative or traditional viewpoint, it is called Media Bias.

by The Wanderer

Argentina

April 23, 2025

Shortly after the death of Pope Francis, the Vatican was a hornet's nest, in every sense of the expression. In other words, it was and is chaos. It could not be otherwise when those who are at the head of the most delicate mechanisms of the Church are useless people placed there at the whim of the tyrant.

At 7:35 a.m., on April 21, 2025, Easter Monday, Jorge Mario Bergoglio's soul separated from his mortal body to present itself to the Divine Judgment. Only on the day of the Last Judgment will we know what the sentence of the supreme tribunal to which each of us must one day present ourselves was for Pope Francis. Let us pray today for the suffrage of his soul, as the Church publicly prays in its novendials, and, precisely because the Church is a public society, let us join our prayers with an attempt at a historical judgment on his pontificate.

A Simple Comparison to Overcome Idolatry - by Massimo Viglione

The world, especially this world, will never pay homage to Goodness and Truth.

The totalitarian idolization of Pope Francis by all the media (newspapers, television, talk shows, journalists, pseudo-intellectuals, politicians, singers, hacks, buffoons, etc.), which is pathetically taking place at this very moment, is the reward that the Revolution reserves for its most faithful servants.

FSSP on the Death of Francis

Fribourg, April 21, 2025

Having learned of the passing from this world of Pope Francis today, April 21, 2025, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is ardently praying for the repose of his soul. As the Servant of the Servants of God, he often humbly asked to be remembered in the prayers of those who met him. We are indebted to him for being a Father toward our Fraternity in particular by his decree of February 11, 2022, clearly reaffirming the practice and charism that the Fraternity has had from its foundation.

News pages and newspapers are filled today with reports on who are those most likely to succeed Francis as the next Roman Pontiff. While Romans have for centuries cautioned outsiders that, "he who enters [the conclave] as pope, leaves as a Cardinal," this is not exactly what we have in mind.

What we do have in mind is what happened in the 2013 conclave, a conclave that should have never taken place and was caused by the absurd and indefensible decision of Benedict XVI to resign the papacy instead of remaining in office until his natural death.

It is quite possible that Benedict had in mind a specific successor: Cardinal Scola. If so, he did not make any effort to have him elected. But the greatest manipulation, both in the news and in rumors, regarded the election of Cardinal Bergoglio. Despite being already over the age of retirement, he had been the progressive candidate in the 2005 conclave, and therefore was a plausible candidate.

Speak only well of the dead, teaches the Latin motto we have chosen as our title. And, to stay with Latin: parce sepulto, or respect the buried. Jorge Maria Bergoglio, a.k.a. Pope Francis, was a fierce opponent of Traditionalism and anything that vaguely resembled it, going so far as to revoke the motu proprio liberalizing the rites, on which Pope Ratzinger had placed so much hope to restore some sanity to the Church. Nevertheless, although we are devotees of the poet Horace, from whom this long-standing website takes its motto ('multa renascentur quae iam cecidere': many things that have already fallen will be reborn), we will refrain from echoing the words of his poem on the death of the hated Queen Cleopatra: nunc est bibendum, nunc altero pede pulsanda tellus.

The Will and Testament of Francis - Interment at the Liberian Basilica (Saint Mary Major)

TESTAMENT OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS

__________________

Miserando atque Eligendo

In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

As I sense that the twilight of my earthly life is approaching, and with firm hope in Eternal Life, I wish to express my final wishes regarding my burial place.

Pope Francis was truly inimitable. A Pope to remember, and one of a kind.

How to describe such a unique pontiff? Coming from "the end of the world," as he said, he truly represented a peculiar voice.

Francis, Bishop of Rome, Supreme Pontiff, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in Buenos Aires, on December 17, 1936, died in Rome minutes ago, on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025 -- the 2778th anniversary of the Foundation of the City of Rome. May he rest in peace.

At 9:45 AM on Easter Monday, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, spoke these words at the Casa Santa Marta:

Easter Sunday Sermon - 2025

by Father Richard Cipolla

Saints Cyril and Methodius
Bridgeport, Connecticut

From the Acts of the Apostles: They killed him finally, nailing him on a tree, only to have God raise him up on the third day.

What we celebrate here today is indeed that Mystery that lies at the very heart of our faith. Without Christ’s resurrection, our faith, St. Paul tells us, is in vain. Christmas would be meaningless, the sacraments could not exist except as mere reminders of something that happened in the past, the whole Faith falls apart if Christ did not rise from the dead. But that is precisely what we come here to do: to affirm and celebrate our Faith. And that faith can never be a mere product of intellectual investigation, can never be a product of gathering information or data. In the account of the Resurrection in the gospel according to St. John, Peter and John run to the tomb, look inside, saw what they saw—and they believed. Surely what they saw—no body, the linen cloths folded—could have another explanation: someone stole Jesus’ body; someone moved the body. But they saw and they believed.

In Britain, a revival of Catholicism, especially among young men -- making it the most popular Christian affiliation for the first time since the Anglican revolt.

In France, a record number of adults and young adults baptized this Easter.

Traditional-minded young people are seeing that the survival of European civilization, and the salvation of their souls, depend upon the return to the Source: Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church.

For this, we say: Deo Gratias -- and Happy Easter!

Latin Mass ending in all regular parishes in Detroit

The Archdiocese of Detroit is blessed to have settings exclusively dedicated to the Traditional Latin Mass -- the most famous being the Saint Joseph Shrine. Thankfully, this one is safe.

However, the several other Traditional Masses celebrated in regular parishes, pursuant to the generous implementation of Summorum Pontificum, and kept by the generosity of Abp. Vigneron, are about to be abolished by the newly appointed Archbishop, Edward Weisenburger.

The news comes from the Facebook page of one of those parishes, Our Lady of the Scapular, in Wyandotte:

The End of the Vatican II Era and the Future Conclave

Aging Bergoglians and the End of an Era

By Serre Verweij

for Rorate Caeli

Pope Francis has been suffering from chronic health problems for over three years now and was in the hospital for over a month. Bishops and cardinals have been increasingly acting as if he were incapacitated, some trying to quickly promote new projects with his alleged approval. Cardinals have been maneuvering for the next conclave, which could be both a referendum on the legacy of Pope Francis and synodality, as well as the so-called ‘spirit of the Second Vatican Council’.

Palm Sunday 2025 (Sermon): "The Cross is a Triumph"

Fr. Richard G. Cipolla

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

How did this all begin? It began with a unique ceremony that is like a Mass without a consecration: There is an introit, an opening prayer, an epistle, a tract, a gospel, which is the Gospel of the Palms, a preface, a Sanctus, and then the blessing of the palms with five prayers, each of which refer to the procession that follows and which are among the most glorious prayers in the Missal, and finally the procession itself. The purpose of the procession is not to re-enact Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, the end of which would be his Passion and Death. The antiphons that were just sung in the procession today are hymns of praise to Jesus the Redeemer King. It is a triumphal procession that leads back to the entrance to the church. But then, on the way back to the church, climbing up the steps, there is a pause, for the front door of the church is closed shut. And then comes that strange but wonderful back and forth singing of the choir inside and the priest and people outside. Then the deacon takes the processional cross and bangs on the base of the door three times for the doors to open and allow the procession to go into the church.

An Exemplary Traditional Catholic Apostolate, Under Persecution and in Dire Need of Help

The following post, by Dan Sevigny, first appeared at OnePeterFive and is reprinted here with permission. I will add that I know Dan personally, have visited the ranch, and have seen the incredible work they are doing. This apostolate fully deserves whatever support people can send their way! - PAK

In a world where traditional Catholic values are increasingly challenged, Sanctus Ranch stands as a beacon of faith and reverence—a sanctuary where souls can retreat from worldly pressures and experience the authentic love of Jesus Christ. Today, this sacred refuge faces an unprecedented crisis, one that threatens its very existence and the vital mission it serves.

"The Pope's Health" - by Archbishop Héctor Agüer

The Pope's Health

Archbishop Héctor Agüer

Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina

Buenos Aires, April 8, 2025

Francis was hospitalized for 38 days at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome for treatment of a double pneumonia. Thanks be to God, he got better and returned to the Vatican, to his usual place in Casa Santa Marta.

The Atlantic on TLM Catacombs

Francis X. Rocca, who wrote many good pieces about or mentioning the TLM for the Wall Street Journal as its Vatican correspondent, has a new article today in the Atlantic.

Below is an excerpt. To read Frank’s full article click here.

Perhaps counterintuitively, this return to tradition seems to be led by young Catholics, who make up a disproportionate share of Latin Mass devotees. According to a recent survey that Cranney and Bullivant conducted of parishes that offered the traditional Mass, 44 percent of Catholics who attended the old rite at least once a month were under the age of 45, compared with only 20 percent of other members of those parishes. Patrick Merkel, a senior at Notre Dame who attends Latin Mass on campus, believes that the traditional rite appeals to young people because, unlike most things in their lives, it doesn’t change. “A Latin Mass in small-town Wisconsin is the same as in London or New York,” Merkel told me. “It is always the same consoling home to return to.”

Announcing a Complete Guide to the Theology and Use of the Chapel Veil

Os Justi Press's latest release is a revised and expanded new edition of Anna Elissa's Mantilla: The Veil of the Bride of Christ, this time in full color. (It first came out 9 years ago in Indonesia and quickly become a favorite of many readers until it sold out; it was time for a superior presentation, with better distribution channels.)

Mantilla: The Veil of the Bride of Christ is the most thorough, insightful, and serene guide to veiling ever written—one that will equip you with answers to your own questions as well as the never-lacking questions of friends, relatives, and strangers.

Resting her account on Scripture and Tradition as interpreted by the Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and papal, liturgical, and canon law texts, Anna Elissa—a wife, mother, psychiatrist, and lay Dominican—offers arguments of fittingness on behalf of veiling, responds to common objections against it, offers practical advice for choosing, wearing, and even designing mantillas, and shows how the veil contributes to a Eucharistic way of life that treats femininity as a gift, a treasure, and a mystery.

To illustrate and verify her points, Elissa presents a substantial collection of testimonials from women of all ages about their experience adopting and wearing the veil—and from men, too, including clergy, about why they value the practice and its return.

Appropriately for a work about the language of signs and beauty, Mantilla is graced with exquisite artworks in color.

In his foreword, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Guido Filipazzi describes the book as a "beautiful surprise." Whether you are a long-time veiler, a skeptic of veiling, or simply curious to learn more, this is the book for you!

Paperback, 5" x 8", 152 pp. $16.95

(Hardcover and ebook also available.)

From Os Justi Press or any Amazon outlet.

Event: Sacred Music Symposium in Ontario in July 2025

A great opportunity for those interested in matters of Sacred Music in the Traditional Roman Rite, in New Hamburg, Ontario -- halfway between Buffalo, NY, and Detroit, MI, so a great summer outing during what is a vacation week for many for the national holidays of both Canada (July 1st) and the US (July 4th).

From the organizers:

"Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites Shew me the tribute money." And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, "Whose is this image and superscription?" They say unto him, "Caesar's." "Then," saith he unto them, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."

The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew, ch. xxii

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For many years, the United States Government was a major funder of the "charitable" actions of the charitable institutions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Catholic dioceses. The recent actions of the current U.S. administration to reduce immigration and refugee programs has meant a considerable reduction of the transfers of this government money.

Ted is Dead

Former Cardinal and Archbishop of Washington Ted McCarrick, serial abuser, and a man who was the very embodiment of the Vatican II hierarchy, died today. He was a major influence in the election of Francis (for which he worked from the outside), until he was unmasked. The entire liberal hierarchy of the United States today is directly related to him.

His influence is present in the Vatican even today -- for instance, his former secretary was one of the main promoters of a recent beatification, as revealed this week by The Economist.

McCarrick as a priest with one of his victims, James

James, one of his many victims, was baptized by McCarrick himself, and the then-priest was a very close friend of the family -- Ted abused him later, repeatedly, as a 13-year-old boy: more details in the 2018 New York Times article.

We'll let these incredible quotes from this week's Economist article be McCarrick's obituary:

The Crisis of the Church: What to do about the Decrease in the Number of Priests, and the Free Fall in the Number of Seminarians? - Article by Abp. Héctor Agüer

In face of the decrease in the number of priests and the free fall in the number of seminarians.

Archbishop Héctor Agüer

Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina

Buenos Aires, April 2, 2025

Courtyard of the Metropolitan Seminary of the Immaculate Conception
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Villa Devoto)

On numerous occasions I have referred to a crucial issue for the Church: the formation of candidates for the priesthood. Today, I do it once again, without pretending, of course, to exhaust the subject, with this article. And I do so on the twentieth anniversary of the departure of St. John Paul II, who lived his seminary life “clandestinely” because of Nazism and Communism that ravaged his native Poland. And who, as Pope, together with the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -later his successor, Benedict XVI- did so much to repair, in part, the mess of the post-conciliar period.

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.

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.