“The Illustrated Liturgical Year Calendar” — Beautiful New Posters for the TLM

Set 1, Poster 1: Advent

Back in Print after Nearly a Century: Cardinal Schuster’s The Sacramentary

Traditional Catholic publisher Arouca Press, based in Ontario, has just released an affordable reprint of Cardinal Ildefons Schuster's classic commentary on the Roman rite, The Sacramentary, in both paperback and hardcover, with discount rates for buying the entire 5-volume set directly from Arouca (US $100 for the complete paperback set, and $140 for the hardcover set).

“The heathens have defiled Thy holy temple... Revenge the blood of Thy saints!”: On the Thymotic Realism of the Traditional Latin Mass

Titian, Averoldi Polyptych (1520-22)
SS. Nazarius & Celsus are the standing figures in the lower left

“Let the sighing of the prisoners come in before Thee, O Lord; render to our neighbours sevenfold in their bosom; revenge the blood of Thy saints, which hath been shed. Ps. O God, the heathens are come into Thy inheritance: they have defiled Thy holy temple: they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit. Glory be to the Father... Let the sighing...”

This virile Introit for today’s TLM—in honor of the martyrs Nazarius, the boy Celsus, and Pope Victor I, and the confessor Pope Innocent I (cf. Dom Guéranger’s commentary on them)—is taken from Psalm 78, verses 10–12. Verse 12, a “cursing” verse, was removed from both the Lectionary and the Liturgy of the Hours, so it is nowhere prayed in the Novus Ordo. These saints, too, were given the axe, in spite of being called upon by the Church for well over a thousand years.

In general, the spirited or thymotic psalms have been minimized or excised, which corresponds to the generally effeminate presentation of Christianity in recent times. Think of the doe-eyed Sacred Heart images from the 19th and 20th centuries, where Our Lord is depicted as a saccharine, fragile, androgynous figure, as if He would flinch at a passing softball, or deflate when poked with a needle.

Adventures in the Lex Orandi #2: Old and New Versions of St. Ephrem the Syrian

The Mass in honor of St. Ephrem the Syrian—observed in the traditional Roman calendar on June 18 (his dies natalis of June 9 being already occupied by Saints Primus and Felician, who have been venerated since time immemorial)—displays, as usual, a magnificent Collect. As is often the case, the traditional liturgy does not merely “shred” other saints who fall on the same day but commemorates them. Accordingly, the feast of two great ancient saints and blood brothers is not forgotten.

Collects (MR 1962) 

O God, Who hast willed to illuminate Thy Church by the wondrous learning and excellent merits of the life of blessed Ephrem, Thy Confessor and Doctor: we humbly beseech Thee that through his intercession Thou mayest defend her by Thine everlasting power against the snares of error and wickedness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who celebrate the heavenly birthday of Thy holy martyrs Mark and Marcellian, may through their intercession be delivered from all threatening evils. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Note that these prayers make no bones about acknowledging what we are up against—“snares of error and wickedness” and “threatening evils”—nor do they hesitate to call “humbly” on the “excellent merits” of the saints and on their “intercession.”

Deliver Thy Church, O Lord, from a flawed liturgy

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.

Basking in the glow of Epiphany: The wedding feast at Cana

In the giant new lectionary, poster-child of the liturgical reform, we find very strange things if we take pains to scratch beneath the surface. One of the most surprising, to me, was the discovery that the passage from the second chapter of the Gospel of St. John about the wedding feast at Cana—among the most picturesque, moving, and theologically profound passages in all the Gospels—is read only once every three years in the Novus Ordo (in “Year C”). In contrast, it is read every year in the old Mass, on the Second Sunday after Epiphany, where it has appeared for centuries without interruption.

St. Catherine of Alexandria — broken on the Consilium's wheel

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.

Guest Op-Ed - The festivals of the Church: The glories of the liturgical calendar

By Veronica A. Arntz

The glorious liturgical calendar reveals the heart of the Church. At the center of the Church’s life, we find profound festivity, for the liturgical year is comprised of many feasts in honor of our Lord, His Blessed Mother, and “the great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1, RSV). The liturgical year unites us more deeply with the Church, for through it, we enter into the ancient traditions of the Church, alongside the great communion of saints. At this beautiful time in the liturgical year, having just finished the Christmas Octave and as we approach the Feast of the Epiphany, it is fitting to reflect on what the festivity of the Church is, what it means for her members and how it influences man’s relationship with God.

2015 Calendar Season: 2 - The Monks of Norcia

From our friends at the Monastery of Saint Benedict in Norcia (Nursia), Umbria, Italy:

Should the Feast of Christ the King Be Celebrated in October or November?

With the revival of the traditional Roman Mass throughout the Church, a number of rather significant calendar differences between old and new make themselves increasingly felt by the faithful and those who minister to them. We are all aware, but no one better than our dedicated clergy, that almost every Sunday of the year would demand two different homilies if the same priest, intending to preach on the readings of the day, celebrated Masses in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms.

2015 Calendar Season: 1 - the Calendar of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (Papa Stronsay)

The remarkable community of the Transalpine Redemptorists (the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, based in Papa Stronsay, Scotland) send us news of their 2015 Catholic Calendar, following the liturgical order of the Ancient Roman Rite, along with the promotional video below: