The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

August 15 2012 

O most sweet Lady and our Mother, by the merits of thy happy death obtain for us holy perseverance in the divine friendship, that we may finally quit this life in God’s grace; and unite with the blessed spirits in praising thee and singing thy glories as thou deservest. Amen.



St. John the Baptist

June 24:

St. John the Baptist

is the last of the prophets and the first of those to approach the Kingdom. He occupies a place of transition. Christ acknowledges him in a strange way: 

When the messengers of John had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. “What did you go out to the desert to see – a reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine garments? Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously are found in royal palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom scripture says: ‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, he will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

(Luke 7:24-28)

Somehow the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John. The least are greater than this courageous prophet who spoke truth to power and was beheaded for his efforts. Aren’t those of the Kingdom not born of women? Isn’t John’s courage and faithfulness a model for all Christians? Christians are born again of water and the Holy Spirit. John announces the coming of the Lord and for all of the wonder and importance of this role, it is not as privileged as the least in the Kingdom of God.

The feast of St. John the Baptist is a time to reflect on the privilege and grace of our invitation to the Kindgom. In the earlier verses of this chapter, Jesus tells the the messengers of St. John to report to him what the signs of the Kingdom are: the blind see, the lame walk, the sick are cured.

____The article above comes to us from the blog Theologica.



Liturgical piety.

The following is a Paper published at
Rorate Caeli. It represents a
very worthwhile exploration of some of the liturgical-theological
positions proper to a correct "Traditionalist" understanding of
the situation in the life of the Church today. I present it here
for your perusal and edification.



FIUV Position Paper 2: Liturgical Piety and Participation

1. The term ‘Liturgical Piety’ refers to a piety which is fostered by frequent participation in the liturgy, draws inspiration from the unfolding of the sacred mysteries through the cycle of the liturgical year, and for which the texts of the liturgical books and the ceremonies of the liturgical rites as central rather than peripheral to its formation. It is contrasted with a piety which is formed predominantly by non-liturgical devotions, whether these be public or private. The fostering of liturgical piety, and the participation in the liturgy conducive to such piety, might be said to be the ultimate objects of the Liturgical Movement, from its beginnings in the nineteenth century up to, and including, the influence that Movement had on the reform of the liturgy after the Second Vatican Council. It was the task of successive popes to encourage this movement while simultaneously guarding against the exaggerated and misguided conclusions which were sometimes derived from this ideal. The concept of liturgical piety is of particular interest in the context of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Missal, since this ideal continues to influence discussion of the participation of the faithful in the liturgy, and the discussion of how the Extraordinary Form should be celebrated, and its liturgical books further developed over time. In particular this paper is intended to shed light on the question of whether the ‘former liturgical tradition’ is itself a barrier to a proper liturgical participation by the faithful, and whether the arguments of the Liturgical Movement, and the contemporary Magisterium such as Pius XII’s encyclical Mediator Dei, should be read as indicating that it is a barrier.

2. The desire for a more liturgical piety arose naturally from two observations. First, that the Catholic liturgy is an enormously rich source for the devotional life. As the English Cardinal Wiseman exclaimed as early as 1842:

Why there is not a place, or a thing, used in the worship which [the Catholic] attends, upon which there has not been lavished, so to speak, more rich poetry and more solemn prayers, than all our modern books put together.[1]

3. Secondly, the liturgy, and in particular the Eucharist, is of its very nature the privileged opportunity for the Christian to communicate with God. The liturgy is the public prayer of the Church, and the Mass is the re-presentation of Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross: in joining themselves to the first, the faithful can take part in the perfect prayer offered to God by His spotless Bride; in joining themselves to the second, the faithful can associate their own offerings with the perfect Sacrifice offered to the Father, that of the spotless Victim.

4. For the liturgy to have the place in the ordinary Catholic’s devotional life which it ought to have, his participation in the liturgy must be as profound as possible. One way of fostering this was to promote liturgical formation, both of the clergy and the faithful,[2] notably by books, both of the liturgy—missals for the laity—and about the liturgy, such as Dom Prosper Guéranger’s monumental ‘L’Année liturgique’, published between 1841 and 1844. Guéranger wrote in his general preface, after noting the special value of prayer united with the Prayer of the Church:

Liturgical prayer would soon become powerless were the faithful not to take a real share in it, or, at least, not to associate themselves to it in heart. It can heal the world, but only on the condition that it be understood.[3]

5. Even at its very dawn, the aims and inspiration of the Liturgical Movement encompassed a tension. On the one hand, the richness, which is to say the theological profundity, density, and complexity of the Catholic liturgy, is part of the reason for promoting a greater appreciation of it, particularly as the basis for devotional contemplation. On the other hand, if participation in the liturgy, which was also recommended by the contemporary Magisterium,[4] requires an adequate understanding of it, then it would seem that participation could be enhanced both by the exposure to view of parts of the liturgy traditionally hidden, in one way or another (by saying silent prayers aloud, by the use of the vernacular, by saying Mass ‘versus populum’), and also by the simplification of the rites.

6. This tension explains the debate within the Liturgical Movement over liturgical reform, which continued for more than a century. Many writers in the movement were profoundly attached to the liturgy as it had been handed down, and opposed (for example) the use of the vernacular: Guéranger himself being an example of this. Others took the opposite view.[5]

7. This tension can be resolved, however, by two observations. First and most simply, taken to its logical conclusion, the attempt to ease the comprehension of a rite by simplifying it is self-defeating, since the process of simplification has the result that there is less to comprehend. Removing prayers and ceremonies, clearly, removes things which could be the object of fruitful meditation.

8. Secondly, the ‘comprehension’ at issue in liturgical participation is not primarily a matter of the grasp of propositions; it concerns rather the spiritual impact of the liturgy on the participant. Fr Aidan Nichols OP, discussing the views of a number of sociologists concerned with religious ritual, observes:

To the sociologist, it is by no means self-evident that brief, clear rites have greater transformative potential than complex, abundant, lavish, rich, long rites, furnished with elaborate ceremonial.[6]

Again:

The notion that the more intelligible the sign, the more effectively it will enter the lives of the faithful is implausible to the sociological imagination. ...a certain opacity is essential to symbolic action in the sociologists’ account…[7]

9. This is not just a matter of aesthetic impact, but of the general issue of non-verbal communication. Elaborate ceremonial indicates in a universal language the importance of whatever is at the centre of the ceremony. The use of Latin serves to emphasise the antiquity and universality of the liturgy, as Pope Blessed John XXIII pointed out.[8] The use of silence is a very effective means of emphasising the sacred character of what is happening.[9] Similar things can be said of many aspects of the former liturgical tradition which might superficially appear to impede the comprehension of the faithful. Pope Blessed John-Paul II refers to such things in speaking of the liturgy of the Oriental Churches:

The lengthy duration of the celebrations, the repeated invocations, everything expresses gradual identification with the mystery celebrated with one’s whole person.[10]

Again, as the Instruction Liturgiam authenticam points out:

The Sacred Liturgy engages not only man’s intellect, but the whole person, who is the “subject” of full and conscious participation in the liturgical celebration.[11]

10. The point is underlined by Pope Pius XII’s encyclical Mediator Dei. While approving a number of the initiatives of followers of the Liturgical Movement, as well as deprecating others, he makes an important qualification.

Many of the faithful are unable to use the Roman missal even though it is written in the vernacular; nor are all capable of understanding correctly the liturgical rites and formulas. So varied and diverse are men’s talents and characters that it is impossible for all to be moved and attracted to the same extent by community prayers, hymns and liturgical services. Moreover, the needs and inclinations of all are not the same, nor are they always constant in the same individual. Who, then, would say, on account of such a prejudice, that all these Christians cannot participate in the Mass nor share its fruits? On the contrary, they can adopt some other method which proves easier for certain people; for instance, they can lovingly meditate on the mysteries of Jesus Christ or perform other exercises of piety or recite prayers which, though they differ from the sacred rites, are still essentially in harmony with them.[12]

11. With the aid of this fuller understanding of participation, which is certainly both active and liturgical, but which is of the whole person, and not merely the intellect, we can look again at the questions raised by the Liturgical Movement about the form that a properly liturgical piety should take. To be imbued with the spirit of the liturgy, to have the liturgy in its proper place of honour in one’s spiritual life, requires a degree of liturgical catechesis, but it is above all to be effected in the way the Church, in the liturgy, wishes us to be effected. This is with a profound sense of awe, awe being the rational response to the apprehension of the Holy. It is this sense which stimulates us to participate spiritually in the Sacrifice as intensely as possible. Pope Benedict XVI has noted that a particular charism of the Extraordinary Form in its ‘sacrality’, its evocation of awe.[13] The mysteriousness of the ceremonies, the fact that prayers are said in a sacred language, even silently, the fact that parts of the liturgy are veiled from sight, naturally contribute to that awe, and in this way facilitate, rather than impede, the participation of the faithful.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor: Jan. 15th.

On their arrival in New Orleans, December 30,18lO, the statue of the Blessed Mother under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor was solemnly installed in the Convent
Chapel of the Ursuline nuns , and from that time the homage and veneration offered to Mary under this title of "OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR" has been constant in the city of New Orleans and indeed throughout the who of the of Louisiana.

Two historical facts are especially worthy of notice here: the great fire in 1812, and the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Devotion to Our Lady of Prompt Succor was only beginning to be known in New Orleans when, in 1812, a terrible fire ravaged the city. The wind rapidly drove the flames toward the convent, and the danger being imminent an order was given to leave the convent. Just then, Sister Anthony placed a small statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor on a window sill facing the fire, and Mother St. Michel prayed aloud: "Our Lady of Prompt Succor, we are lost, unless you hasten to our help." Instantaneously, the wind changed, the convent and its neighborhood were out of danger, and the flames extinguished. Witnesses of this inexplicable incident cried out unanimously: "Our Lady of Prompt Succor has saved us!"

General Andrew Jackson's glorious victory over the British in the battle of New Orleans, fought on the plains of Chalmette on the 8^th of January, 1815, is another signal favor rightly attributed to the all-powerful intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Before the combat, in order to obtain God's blessing upon the American forces, the weeping, terror-stricken wives, mothers, children, and sisters of Jackson's valiant little band spent the night of January 7th in prayer before the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in the Ursuline Chapel. On the morning of January 8th, Very Rev. William Dubourg, Vicar General and, later, Bishop of New Orleans, offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the main altar, above which the statue had been placed, and the Ursulines, through their Prioress, Mother Ste. Marie Olivier de Vezin, made the vow to have a Mass of Thanksgiving sung annually should the Americans be victorious. At the moment of Communion, a courier rushed into the chapel, announcing the glad tidings of the English defeat. After Mass Father Dubourg intoned the Te Deum, which was sung enthusiastically and with heartfelt gratitude. No one could reasonably doubt the miraculous intervention of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Jackson himself did not hesitate to admit of a Divine aid in his favor, and came in person to the convent, accompanied by his staff, to thank the nuns for their prayers on his behalf. The vow made by the
Ursulines has been faithfully kept ever since.

Rome has officially approved "DEVOTION TO OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR." On September 27, 1851, His Holiness, Pius IX, graciously authorized the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Prompt Succor and the singing of the yearly Mass of Thanksgiving on January the 8^th with in the territory of the State of Louisiana.
A second feast is celebrated throughout the United States on the 15^th of January.

The Holy See approved and confirmed the choice of Our Lady of Prompt Succor as the Principal Patroness of the City of New Orleans and of the State of Louisiana, conceding at the same time each and all of the liturgical privileges proper to the principal patrons of places.

Saint Martin I. Pope and Martyr

Saints Martin, Clement, Sixtus II, Lawrence.
Church of San Apollinare Revenna.

Feast: 12 November

Pope Martin I was born in the Tuscan town of Todi on the Tiber, and elected Pope--the seventy-fourth Pope--on the 21 of July, 649. without imperial approval. Saint Martin Convened the Lateran Council which condemned and deposed the patriarch of Constantinople for the crime of the heresy of Monothelitism, a heresy which taught that our Lord lacked a human will. This act placed the holy Pontiff in direct opposition to the Emperor Constans II himself a Monothelialite heretic. The Emperor had the Pope arrested brought before the Senate at Constantinople where after declaring him deposed from the throne of Saint Peter and charged with rebellion against God and the state, he was tortured, striped before the public and loaded down with a great number of heavy chains. The Pope was after placed in prison. Patriarch Paul of Constantinople, after witnessing the cruel manner in which Saint Martin had been treated, and moved by the Holy Spirit, repented of his heresy, a move which saved Saint Martin from execution, but was exiled instead to Cherson in the Crimean peninsula(modern day Chersonesus Taurica). The pope arrived at Cherson on the 15^th of May 655 died soon after on the 16^th of September from starvation and the rough treatment he suffered during his imprisonment and transportation to the Crimean. Saint Martin is listed among the holy martyr because of the manner in which he died, he is the last Pope martyrs.

His relics are venerated in the city of Rome in the church of San Martino ai Monti.

Traditional Dominican All Saints Nov. 12

The Saints of the Dominican Order

The Martyrology for the Twelfth Day of November

The Feast of All the Saints of our Order. A totum duplex feast of the second class.

St. Martin I, pope and martyr, whose birthday is commemorated on September 16.

At Vitebsk in Poland, the suffering of St. Josaphat, of the Order of St. Basil a Polish archbishop and martyr. He was cruelly slain by the schismatics in their hatred of Catholic unity and truth. He was numbered among the martyrs by Pope Pius IX. His feast, however, is kept on November 14.

At Alcalá in Spain, the birthday of St. Didacus, confessor, of the Order of Friars Minor, who was noted for his humility. He was canonized by the Sovereign Pontiff, Pope Sixtus V; his feast is celebrated on November 13.

In Asia, the suffering of the holy Bishops Aurelius and Publius.

At Eachen in Belgium, St. Livinus, bishop and martyr. He had convcrted many persons to the Christian faith when he was slain by the heathens. His body was later transferred to Ghent.

At Gnesen in Poland, the holy hermits and martyrs Benedict, John, Matthew, Isaac, and Christian. They were engaged in prayer when they were savagely attacked by robbers and put to the sword.

At Sergines near Sens, St. Paternus, monk and martyr. He met some robbers in the nearby forest and when he tried to persuade them to correct their lives, they put him to death.

At Avignon, St. Rufus, who was the first bishop of that city.

At Cologne, the death of St. Cunibert, bishop.

At Tarazona in Aragon, Blessed Emilian, priest. He was remarkable for his many miracles. St. Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa, wrote his admirable life.

At Constantinople, St. Nilus, abbot. In the reign of Theodosius the Younger, he had been prefect of that city and then became a monk. He was distinguished for his learning and holiness.

V. And elsewhere, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.

R. Thanks be to God.

Reflection on the Sacred Liturgy.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

It is essential for all Catholics, but most especially for those Catholics who desire a restoration of the Sacred Liturgy in the Western church, to reflect from time to time on the nature--the doctrinal nature--of the Church's worship.

The following comes to us by way of an Anglo-Catholic who in turn comments on a post from a Russian-Orthodox blog. The insight is profound, moving, and very much on target.

A friend recently referred me to an excellent blog with which I had not been previously familiar. It is written by an Orthodox priest, and his insights are astounding. However, unlike most Roman Catholic blogs, the comments sections of his posts are also valuable and full of insight. One such insight sent me reeling a few days ago when I read it:
One of the first times I saw a liturgy was in a Russian church. I didn't understand anything, of course, and at first I was a bit distressed that people came and went, children wandered around, etc. But then I noticed that no matter what anyone was or wasn't doing, the liturgy continued. It was obvious that the audience was God, not the restless congregation. When I returned to my evangelical church, I asked the pastor if he would do the same things he had planned to do this Sunday if no one showed up. He was very struck by that and couldn't answer.
I know what the answer would have been in the pentecostal church of my youth, and I daresay that nearly every Protestant church would have the same answer to that question: dumbstruck silence. Odds are that this question would never have occurred to them. Which is understandable, but regrettable.

In most Protestant worship services, the "worship plan" simply would not work if the congregation did not show up for services. Nearly every element of it is dependent upon the participation, whether active or passive, of those gathered. Worship leaders would have no one to lead. Large, white screens projecting song lyrics that adorn either side of the platform would have no readers. Hymn boards would go unnoticed. No one would "amen," and no one would "testify." No one would listen or scribble notes in the margins of their Bibles during a 50 minute sermon. When the invitation was given, no one would respond.

Liturgical Catholic worship, the greatest expression of which is the Mass (or the Divine Liturgy, Holy Eucharist, whatever you wish to call it based on your tradition), is different, or at least it should be different. No one could show up but the priest, and yet the worship could, and should, happen anyway. And not only should it happen, but anyone who could not make it for some unforeseeable reason could, in faith, unite themselves spiritually with that worship no matter where they happened to be, because they knew the "game plan" well in advance.

However, we as Catholic worshippers must be careful not to fall into the same trap. Innovations which seek to elevate the worshipper over the Worshipped must not be permitted to enter the liturgy. Our focus should never be on ourselves. We enter our holy houses to be in the presence of One who far surpasses our ability to understand. We gather to worship and sacrifice; as a community, to be sure, but community is not the end. (This is why I emphatically advocate worship ad dominum at the Altar, instead of the precarious orientation that many churches have adopted during the last century.) It takes a little more doing, but it is possible for Catholic worship leaders to come up with the same response as their Protestant counterparts when asked the question of the day: dumbstruck silence.

Smug smiles and pats on the back should be shelved for a moment by "traditionalists," many of whom might think that this question doesn't apply to them. It does. The circumstances can become a bit trickier, but it is still a danger that even traditional Catholic worship can be turned from its purpose: worship. I dare not attempt a list of possibilities lest I begin a comments war that rivals those of a Minnesotan birdwatcher. Use your thinkers.
Would your corporate worship work if no one showed up? I pray yes.

Pax et bonum.