HOSPITALLERS

Old v. New

2011-05-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

Concerning the Novus Ordo versus the Usus Antiquitor, this pamphlet, published by Angelus Press, says it all (click image to enlarge).

Highlights from the National Gallery of Art

2011-04-29T17:01:00.001-07:00

The Scripture of Holy Mass

2010-10-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

Book of Kells (The Bible as art)

It is not widely known, although it should be, that much of the Traditional Latin Mass comes directly form Holy Scripture, both Old and New Testaments. The Mass is a prayer, the ultimate prayer, the Unbloody Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Below is the Ordinary of the Mass, and below each part that quotes from, or alludes to, the Bible, I have included that quote below it in large-type (Douay-Rheims translation.) I think in this way, readers will better understand the Biblical underpinnings of Holy Mass (at least the way it was prior to 1970; before that date, the Mass was prayed in one voice, one tongue, throughout the world, for century-upon-century), and will better appreciate why it is called the Sacrifice of the Mass.

The Ordinary of Holy Mass

A. PREPARATORY PRAYERS AT THE FOOT OF THE ALTAR
[Prayers of humility, love, desire, contrition, and confidence.]

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS
[During Mass, the priest makes 52 times the Sign of the Cross, the summary and emblem of the bloody Sacrifice of the Cross, which the Mass represents and renews.]

The priest, bowing down at the foot of the altar, makes the
Sign of the Cross, from his forehead to his breast, and says:

In nomine Patris, et Filii, † et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, † and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 28:19)

Then joining his hands before his breast, he begins the Anthem:

Sacerdos. Introibo ad altare Dei.

Priest. I will go in unto the altar of God.

Minister. Ad Deum qui laetificat iuventutem meam.

Server. To God who giveth joy to my youth.

And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth. (Psalm 42:4)

THE PSALM 42 -- IUDICA ME
[The priest alternates with the server in reciting this psalm to express his desire, joy and confidence in going to the altar of the Sacrifice.]

[In Masses for the Dead and from Passion Sunday till Holy Saturday exclusively, this psalm is omitted.]

S. Iudica me, Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta: ab homine iniquo, et doloso erue me.

P. Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation which is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.

M. Quia tu es Deus fortitudo mea: quare me repulisti, et quare tristis incedo, dum affligit me inimicus?

S. For Thou, O God, art my strength: why hast Thou cast me off? and why go I sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me?

S. Emitte lucem tuam, et veritatem tuam: ipsa me deduxerunt, et adduxerunt in montem sanctum tuum et in tabernacula tua.

P. Send forth Thy light and Thy truth: they have conducted me and brought me unto Thy holy mount, and into Thy tabernacles.

M. Et introibo ad altare Dei: ad Deum qui laetificat iuventutem meam.

S. And I will go into the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth.

S. Confitebor tibi in cithara, Deus, Deus meus: quare tristis es anima mea, et quare conturbas me?

P. To Thee, O God, my God, I will give praise upon the harp; why art thou sad, O my soul, and why dost thou disquiet me?

M. Spera in Deo, quoniam adhuc confitebor illi: salutare vultus mei, et Deus meus.

S. Hope in God, for I will still give praise to Him: the salvation of my countenance and my God.

S. Gloria Patri, et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.

P. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

M. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper: et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

S. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

A psalm for David. Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man. For thou art God my strength: why hast thou cast me off? and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me? Send forth thy light and thy truth: they have conducted me, and brought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles. And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth. To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp: why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me? Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God. (Psalm 42:1-6)

The priest repeats the Anthem:

S. Introibo ad altare Dei.

P. I will go in unto the altar of God.

M. Ad Deum qui laetificat iuventutem meam.

S. To God who giveth joy to my youth.

The priest, signing himself with the Sign of the Cross, says:

S. Adiutorum nostrum † in nomine Domini.

P. Our help † is in the Name of the Lord.

M. Qui fecit coelum et terram.

S. Who made heaven and earth.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 128:8)

THE PUBLIC CONFESSION
[It is an acknowledgement of his guilt before God and that of all others assisting at the divine Sacrifice.]

Then, joining his hands, and humby bowing down, he says the Confiteor:

S. Confiteor Deo . . .

P. I confess to almighty God, . . .

M. Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis tuis, perducat te ad vitam aeternam.

S. May almighty God be merciful to thee, and forgiving thy sins, bring thee to everlasting life. (Cf. 3 Kings 8:50)

The priest answers: Amen.

The server says the Confiteor.

Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae semper Virgini, beato Michaeli Archangelo, beato Ioanni Baptistae, sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo, omnibus Sanctis, et tibi Pater: quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, et opere:

I confess to almighty God, to the blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the Saints, and to you, Father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed,

Here he strikes his breast thrice.

mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, beatum Michaelum Archangelum, beatum Ioannem Baptistam, sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et te Pater, orare pro me ad Dominum Deum nostrum.

through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech the blessed Mary, ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the Saints, and you, Father, to pray to the Lord our God for me.

Almighty God. (Apoc. 4:8), Blessed Mary ever a Virgin. (Luke 1:27), Blessed Michael the Archangel (Daniel 10:13), Blessed John the Baptist (John 1:6), Saint Peter (John 21:15), Saint Paul (Apoc. 7:9), All the Saints (Apoc. 7:9)

Then the priest, with his hands joined, says:

S. Indulgentiam, † absolutionem, et remissionem peccatorum nostrorum, tribuat nobis omnipotens et misericors Dominus.

P. May the † almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon, absolution, and remission of our sins. (Cf. Ps. 84:8)

M. Amen.

S. Amen.

Bowing down, he proceeds:

S. Deus, tu conversus vivificabis nos.

P. O God, Thou wilt turn again and quicken us.

M. Et plebs tua laetabitur in te.

S. And thy people shall rejoice in Thee.

S. Ostende nobis Domine, misericordiam tuam.

P. Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy.

M. Et salutare tuum da nobis.

S. And grant us Thy salvation.

S. Domine, exaudi orationem meam.

Thou wilt turn, O God, and bring us to life: and thy people shall rejoice in thee. shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation. (Psalm 84:7)

P. O Lord, hear my prayer.

M. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

S. And let my cry come before Thee.

S. Dominus vobiscum.

Hear, O Lord, my prayer: and let my cry come to thee. (Psalm 101:2)

P. The Lord be with you.

M. Et cum spiritu tuo.

The Lord be with you (Ruth 2:4)

S. And with thy spirit.

S. Oremus.

The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:22)

P. Let us pray.

THE PRIEST ASCENDS THE ALTAR
[With a prayer for pardon on his lips the priest ascends the altar, which he kisses. He kisses the altar 9 times during the Mass, begging for the intercession of the Saints whose relics repose in the altar stone.]

First extending, then joining his hands, the priest says audibly Oremus;
then ascending to the altar, he says secretly:

Seven days shalt thou expiate the altar and sanctify it, and it shall be most holy. Every one that shall touch it shall be holy. (Exodus 29:37)

Aufer a nobis, quaesumus, Domine, iniquitates nostras: ut ad Sancta sanctorum puris mereamur mentibus introire. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that we may be worthy to enter with pure minds into the Holy of Holies, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I have sinned very much in what I have done: but I pray thee, O Lord, to take away the iniquity of thy servant, because I have done exceeding foolishly. (2 Kings 24:10)

His hands joined, and bowing down over the altar, the priest says:

Oramus te, Domine, per merita Sanctorum tuorum,

We beseech Thee, O Lord, by the merits of Thy Saints,

He kisses the sacred stone.

quorum reliquiae hic sunt, et omnium Sanctorum: ut indulgere digneris omnia peccata mea. Amen.

whose relics are here, and of all the Saints, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to forgive me all my sins. Amen.

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. (Apoc. 6:9)


[In Solemn Masses the altar is here incensed. Whilst blessing the incense the priest says:]
	Ab illo † benedicaris, in cuius honore cremaberis. Amen.	Be blessed † by Him in whose honor thou art burnt. Amen.




B. FROM THE INTROIT TO THE OFFERTORY Prayer of faith THE INTROIT [FIRST VARIABLE PART.] [The Introit meaning entrance, is so called because the chant is begun as the priest enters the sanctuary to begin Mass.] The Introit, Collects, Gradual, Gospel, Offertory, Secrets, Communion and Postcommunion are variable and wil be found in their places in the order of properMasses. The priest, signing himself with the Sign of the Cross, reads the Introit of the day. (At the Masses for the Dead, the priest makes the Sign of the Cross on the Missal.)

THE KYRIE ELEISON [A series of invocations addressed to each of the Three Divine Persons.] Then, joining his hands, he says alternately with the ministers:
	S. Kyrie eleison.	P. Lord, have mercy.
	M. Kyrie eleison.	S. Lord, have mercy.
	S. Kyrie eleison.	P. Lord, have mercy.
	M. Christe eleison.	S. Christ, have mercy.
	S. Christe eleison.	P. Christ, have mercy.
	M. Christe eleison.	S. Christ, have mercy.
	S. Kyrie eleison.	P. Lord, have mercy.
	M. Kyrie eleison.	S. Lord, have mercy.
	S. Kyrie eleison.	P. Lord, have mercy.

O Lord, thou son of David, have mercy on us. (Matthew 20:31) THE GLORIA IN EXCELSIS [The priest, filled with confidence in the divine mercy, unites his praises with those of the heavenly spirits who sang "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will," at the birth of the savior.] Afterwards, standing at the middle of the altar, extending and then joining his hands,and bowing slightly, the priest says -- except during Lent and Advent and in Masses for the Dead -- the Gloria in excelsis. When he says the words: We adore Thee, We give Thee thanks; Jesus Christ; and Receive our prayer, he bows, and at the end he signs himself with the Sign of the Cross from forehead to breast:
	Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.	Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace to men of good will.
	Laudamus te.	Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will. (Luke 2:14) We praise Thee. (Ps. 21:23)
	Benedicimus te.	We bless Thee. (Gen. 12:2)
	Adoramus te.	We adore Thee. (Ps. 65:4)
	Glorificamus te.	We glorify Thee. (1 Mac. 15:9)
	Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.	We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory. (Luke 18:11)
	Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens.	O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty. (Dan. 4:34)
	Domine Fili unigenite Iesu Christe.	O Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son. (John 3:16)
	Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris.	O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. (John 1:29)
	Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.	Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. (Jn. 1:29)
	Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.	Who takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.
	Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.	Who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
	Quoniam tu solus Sanctus.	For Thou only are holy. (Apoc. 15:4)
	Tu solus Dominus.	Thou only art the Lord. (Isaias 37:20)
	Tu solus Altissimus Iesu Christe.	Thou only art most high, O Jesus Christ. (Ps. 96:9)
	Cum Sancto Spiritu † in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.	Together with the Holy Ghost † in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Then the priest kisses the altar, and turning to the people says:
	S. Dominus vobiscum.	P. The Lord be with you. (Ruth 2:4)
	M. Et cum spiritu tuo.	S. And with thy spirit.
[The little ceremony of the Dominus vobiscum, repeated several times during the Mass, shows how intimately the priest andfaithful should be united in offering the Sacrifice.]

THE COLLECTS [SECOND VARIABLE PART] [The Collects mean the collected prayers of all the faithful assisting at the Holy Sacrifice. Raising his voice, his hands, and his sentiments to God, the priest excites the faithful to unite their prayers with his.]
	S. Oremus.	P. Let us pray.
[Here follow the Collects, variable according to the Mass that is being celebrated, and which will be found in their place.] At the end of the first and last Collect the server answers:
	M. Amen.	S. Amen.
[The word "Amen," answered to these and other prayers, indicates that all those assisting subscibe to the petitions in the priest's prayers.]

THE EPISTLE [THIRD VARIABLE PART] [The Epistle is a short selection taken from the epistles or letters of St. Paul or another Apostle, or from another book of the Old or New Testament, except the Gospels.] Then is read the Epistle of the Day. At High Mass the subdeacon sings the Epistle. At the end of the Epistle, the serveranswers: E.G. O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him? For of him, and by him, and in him, are all things: to him be glory for ever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)
	M. Deo gratias.	S. Thanks be to God.

THE GRADUAL Blessed art thou, that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the cherubims: and worthy to be praised and exalted above all for ever. Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven: and worthy of praise, and glorious for ever. (Daniel 3:55-56)


At Low Masses, the priest, bowing down at the middle of the altar, with his hands joined, says:
	Munda cor meum ac labia mea, omnipotens Deus, qui labia Isaiae prophetae calculo mundasti ignito: ita me tua grata miseratione dignare mundare ut sanctum Evangelium tuum, digne valeam nuntiare. Per Christum Dominum notsrum. Amen.	Clease my heart and my lips, O almighty God, who didst cleanse the lips of the prophet Isaias with a burning coal, and vouchsafe, through Thy gracious mercy, so to purify me, that I may worthily announce Thy holy Gospel. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
At Low Masses, the priest says the following prayer:
	Iube Domine benedicere.	Give me Thy blessing, O Lord.
	Dominus sit in corde meo, et in labiis meis: ut digne et competenter annuntiem Evangelium suum. Amen.	The Lord be in my heart and on my lips, that I may worthily and in a becoming manner, proclaim His holy Gospel. Amen.


In Solemn Masses the priest blesses the incense, and the deacon, kneeling before the altar with his hands joined, says the Munda cor. Afterwards he takes the book from the altar, and again kneeling down before the priest, asks his blessing, saying:
	Iube domne benedicere.	Sir, give me thy blessing.
The priest answers:
	Dominus sit in corde tuo, et in labiis tuis: ut digne et competenter annunties Evangelium suum:	The Lord be in thy heart and on thy lips, that thou mayest worthily and in a becoming manner, proclaim His holy Gospel.
	In nomine Patris, et Filii, † et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.	In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, † and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


Then, turning back to towards the book, with his hands joined, the priest -- at Solemn Masses the deacon -- says:
	S. Dominus vobiscum.	P. The Lord be with you.
	M. Et cum spiritu tuo.	S. And with thy spirit.

THE GOSPEL [FIFTH VARIABLE PART] [The Gospel is a selection drawn from one of the gospels of Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. The Gospel is the most solemn of the readings at the Mass, because it tells a story of our Savior Jesus Christ, whose words and deeds it recalls. The faithful rise and remain standing during the Gospel. At the beginning they make the Sign of the Cross upon the forehead, lips and heart to declare that they will never be ashamed of the word of God, that they are ready to confess it by word of mouth, and that they love it with all their heart.] And while saying:
	Sequentia (vel Initium) sancti Evangelii secundum N . . .	The continuation (or beginning) of the holy Gospel according to N . . .
The priest signs the Book, and himself on the forehead, mouth, and breast; the server says:
	M.Gloria tibi, Domine.	S. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
The priest then reads the Gospel of the day. (See Proper of the Seasons or of the Saints.) At High Masses the deacon sings the Gospel. Then is said by the server:
	M. Laus tibi, Christe.	S. Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
The priest kisses the Gospel, and says:
	S. Per evangelica dicta deleantur nostra delicta.	P. By the words of the Gospel may our sins be blotted out.

[At Solemn Masses he is then incensed by the deacon.] [In Masses for the Dead, the Munda cor is said, but the blessing is not asked, and the priest does not kiss the Gospel.]

THE CREDO (CREED) [On Sundays and certain Feasts the priest recites the Creed, a summary of the Catholic Doctrine. This profession of faith was drawn up in the General Councils of Nice in 325 and Constantinople in 381 to condemn heretics who denied that Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost were God.] [It is usually sung at High Mass.] [Recite the Apostles' Creed with fervor and attention.]
	Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium, et invisibilium.	I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things, visible and invisible.
	Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum.	And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.
	Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula.	And born of the Father, before all ages.
	Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero.	God of God: Light of Light: true God of true God.
	Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri: per quem omnia facta sunt.	Begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made.
	Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis.	Who, for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven.
Here kneel down.
	Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine: et homo factus est.	And became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary: and was made man.
	Crucifixus etiam pro nobis: sub Pontio Pilato passus et sepultus est.	He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried.
	Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas.	And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures.
	Et ascendit in coelum: sedet ad dexteram Patris.	And ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father.
	Et iterum venturus est cum gloria iudicare vivos, et mortuos: cuius regni non erit finis.	And He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end.
	Et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum et vivificantem: qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.	And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life, proceeding from the Father and the Son.
	Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur, et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per prophetas.	Who together, with the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified: Who spoke by the prophets.
	Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.	And in one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
	Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.	I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
	Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorem.	And I look for the resurrection of the dead.
	† Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.	† And the life of the world to come. Amen.


I believe in One God (Hebrews 11:6), The Father (1 Cor. 8:6), Almighty (Apoc. 1:8), Maker of Heaven and earth (Exodus 20:11), And of all things visible and invisible (Colossians 1:16), And in One Lord (Acts 10:36), The only Begotten Son of God (John 1:14), Born of the Father before all ages (1 John 4:9), God of God, Light of Light (John 1:4), True God of true God (John 5:18), Begotten, not made (John 8:58), Consubstantial with the Father (John 10:30), By Whom all things were made (John 1:3), Who for us men and for our salvation (Matthew 1:21), Came down from Heaven (John 3:31), And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:35), Of the Virgin Mary (Luke 2:6-7), And was made man (John 1:4), He was crucified also for us (Mark 15:25), Suffered under Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:26), And was buried (Matthew 27:60), The third day He rose again (Matthew 28:6), According to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 5:4), And ascended into Heaven (Luke 24:51), Sitteth at the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19), And He shall come agine with glory (Matthew 25:31), To judge both the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1), Of whose Kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:33), And I believe in the Holy Ghost (John 14:26), Giver of Life (Romans 8:2), Who Proceedeth from the Father (John 15:26), And the Son (Romans 8:9), Who, together with the father and the Son, is adored and glorified (Apoc. 4:8), Who spoke by the prophets (2 Peter 1:21), And in One (John 10:16), Holy (Eph. 5:26), Catholic (Romans 10:18), Apostolic Church (Ephesians 2:20), I confess one Baptism (Eph. 4:5), For the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), And I look for the Resurrection of the dead (Romans 6:5), And the Life of the world to come (Matthew 25:34) II. MASS OF THE FAITHFUL [This is the most important part of the Mass. Those who do not assist at it entirely do not hear Mass.] A. FROM THE OFFERTORY TO THE PREFACE (Offertory) [Prayers of self-surrender and oblation.] THE OFFERTORY VERSE [SIXTH VARIABLE PART] The priest kisses the altar, and turning to the people says:
	S. Dominus vobiscum.	P. The Lord be with you.
	M. Et cum spiritu tuo.	S. And with thy spirit.
[After saluting the people once more, the priest enters upon the Sacrifice of the Mass proper and urges the faithful to pray with him.]
	S. Oremus.	P. Let us pray.
Then the priest reads the Offertory-verse, a short quotation from Holy Scripture which varies with the Mass of each day. [This being finished, he offers the bread andwine, which, by virtue of the words of consecration, he is going to change intothe adorable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.]

THE OFFERING OF THE BREAD AND WINE

He takes the paten with the host and offering it up, says:
	Suscipe, sancte Pater, omnipotens aeterne Deus, hanc immaculatam hostiam, quam ego indignus famulus tuus offero tibi Deo meo vivo et vero, pro innumerabilibus peccatis, et offensionibus, et negligentiis meis, et pro omnibus circumstantibus, sed et pro omnibus fidelibus christianis vivis atque defunctis: ut mihi, et illis proficiat ad salutem in vitam aeternam. Amen.	Accept, O holy Father, almighty and eternal God, this unspotted host, which I, Thy unworthy servant, offer unto Thee, my living and true God, for my innumerable sins, offenses, and negligences, and for all here present: as also for all faithful Christians, both living and dead, that it may avail both me and them for salvation unto life everlasting. Amen.
Cf. 2Peter 1:3, Philippians 4:18 Making the Sign of the Cross with the paten, he places the host upon the corporal. He pours wine and water into the chalice, blessing the water before it is mixed. [He pours a few drops of water into the chalice containing wine, in remembrance of the water and blood which flowed from the side of Jesus when pierced by the soldier's lance.]
	Deus, † qui humanae substantiae dignitatem mirabiliter condidisti, et mirabilius reformasti: da nobis per huius aquae et vini mysterium, eius divinitatis esse consortes, qui humanitatis nostrae fieri dignatus est particeps, Iesus Christus Filius tuus Dominus noster: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus: per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.	O God, † who, in creating human nature, didst wonderfully dignify it, and still more wonderfully restore it, grant that, by the Mystery of this water and wine, we may be made partakers of His divine nature, who vouchsafed to be made partaker of our human nature, even Jesus Christ our Lord, Thy Son, who with Thee, liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God: world without end. Amen.

[In Masses for the Dead, the foregoing prayer is said, but the water is not blessed.] Then the priest takes the chalice, and offers it, saying:
	Offerimus tibi, Domine, calicem salutaris, tuam deprecantes clementiam: ut in conspectu divinae maiestatis tuae, pro nostra et totius mundi salute cum odore suavitatis ascendat. Amen.	We offer unto Thee, O Lord, the chalice of salvation, beseeching Thy clemency, that it may ascend before Thy divine Majesty, as a sweet savor, for our salvation, and for that of the whole world. Amen.
The priest makes the Sign of the Cross with the chalice, places it upon the corporal, and covers it with the pall. Then, with his hands joined upon the Altar, and slightly bowing down, he says:
	In spiritu humilitatis, et in animo contrito suscipiamur a te, Domine: et sic fiat sacrificium nostrum in conspectu tuo hodie, ut placeat tibi, Domine Deus.	Accept us, O Lord, in the spirit of humility and contrition of heart, and grant that the sacrifice which we offer this day in Thy sight may be pleasing to Thee, O Lord God.
Raising his eyes towards heaven, extending and then joining his hands, the priest makes the Sign of the Cross over the host and the chalice, while he invokes the Holy Spirit.
	Veni, Sanctificator, omnipotens, aeterne Deus: et bene†dic hoc sacrificium tuo sancto nomini praeparatum.	Come, O almighty and eternal God, the Sanctifier, and bless † this Sacrifice, prepared for the glory of Thy holy Name.


THE INCENSING OF THE OFFERINGS AT HIGH MASS [What is offered unto the living God: 1) Bread; 2) Wine; 3) We ourselves -- all the faithful. Hence this threefold gift unto God is incensed because all the faithful, through this offertorial act, have become holy unto God.] At Solemn Masses, the priest now blesses incense, saying the following prayers:
	Per intercessionem beati Michaelis Archangeli, stantis a dextris altaris incensi, et omnium electorum suorum, incensum istud dignetur Dominus bene†dicere, et in odorem suavitatis accipere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.	May the Lord, by the intercession of blessed Michael the Archangel, who standeth at the right side of the altar of incense, and of all His Elect, vouchsafe to bless † this incense and receive it as an odor of sweetness: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Receiving the thurible from the deacon, the priest incenses the bread and the wine, while he says:
	Incensum istud a te benedictum ascendat ad te, Domine: et descendat super nos misericordia tua.	May this incense, which Thou hast blessed, O Lord, ascend to Thee, and may Thy mercy descend upon us.
Then he incenses the altar, saying:
	Dirigatur, Domine, oratio mea, sicut incensum in conpectu tuo: elevatio manuum mearum sacrificium vespertinum.	Let my prayer, O Lord, be directed as incense in Thy sight: the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
	Pone, Domine, custodiam ori meo, et ostium circumstantiae labiis meis.	Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and a door round about my lips.
	Ut non declinet cor meum in verba malitiae, ad excusandas, excusationes in peccata.	May my heart not incline to evil words, to make excuses for sins.
Giving the censor to the deacon, he says:
	Accendat in nobis Dominus ignem sui amoris, et flammam aeternae caritatis. Amen.	May the Lord enkindle within us the fire of His love, and the flame of everlasting charity. Amen.
The priest is then incensed by the deacon, who then incenses the others in order.


THE WASHING OF THE HANDS [The priest washes his fingers to symbolize the great purity and inner cleanliness of those who offer or participate in this great Sacrifice.] Psalm 25. 6-12
	Lavabo inter innocentes manus meas: et circumdabo altare tuum, Domine.	I will wash my hands among the innocent: and I will compass Thine altar, O Lord
	Ut audiam vocem laudis: et enarrem universa mirabilia tua.	That I may hear the voice of praise: and tell of all Thy wonderous works.
	Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuae: et locum habitationis gloriae tuae.	I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of Thy house and the place where Thy glory dwelleth.
	Ne perdas cum impiis, Deus, animam meam: et cum viris sanguinum citam meam.	Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with blood-thirsty men.
	In quorum manibus iniquitates sunt: dextera eorum repleta est muneribus.	In whose hands are iniquities, their right hand is filled with gifts.
	Ego autem in innocentia mea ingressus sum: redime me, et miserere mei.	But I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy on me.
	Pes meus stetit in directo: in ecclesiis benedicam te, Domine.	My foot hath stood in the direct way, in the churches I will bless Thee, O Lord.
	Gloria Patri . . .	Glory to the Father . . .
I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy altar, O Lord: That I may hear the voice of thy praise: and tell of all thy wondrous works. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with bloody men: In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand is filled with gifts. (Psalms 25:6-10)

THE PRAYER TO THE MOST HOLY TRINITY Bowing down before the middle of the alter, the priest, with joined hands, says:
	Suscipe sancta Trinitas, hanc oblationem, quam tibi offerimus ob memoriam passionis, resurrectionis, et ascensionis Iesu Christi Domini nostri: et in honorem beatae Mariae semper Virginis et beati Ioannes Baptistae, et sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, et istorum, et omnium Sactorum: ut illis proficiat ad honorem, nobis autem ad salutem: et illi pro nobis intercedere dignentur in coelis, quorum memoriam agimus in terris. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.	Receive, O holy Trinity, this oblation which we make to Thee, in memory of the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in honor of Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints, that it may avail unto their honor and our salvation, and may they vouchsafe to intercede for us in heaven, whose memory we celebrate on earth. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE ORATE FRATRES The priest kisses the altar and, turning towards the people, extending, then joining his hands, says audibly:
	Orate fratres, ut meum ac vestrum sacrificium acceptabile fiat apud Deum Patrem omnipotentem.	Brethren, pray that my Sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father almighty.
The server answers:
	M. Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium de manibus tuis ad laudem, et gloriam nominis sui, ad utilitatem quoque nostram, totiusque Ecclesiae suae sanctae.	S. May the Lord receive the Sacrifice from thy hands, to the praise and glory of His Name, to our benefit and that of all His holy Church.
The priest answers in a low voice:
	S. Amen.	P. Amen.

THE SECRETS [SEVENTH VARIABLE PART] [The priest recommends the offering just made in one or several short prayers, called Secret Prayers.] Then, with outstretched hands, he recites the Secret Prayers, not beginning with Oremus. The Secret Prayers vary with the Mass, and are found in the Mass of the Day. These being finished, the priest says or sings:
	S. Per omnia saecula saeculorum.	P. World without end.
	M. Amen.	S. Amen.

B. FROM THE PREFACE TO THE PATER NOSTER (Consecration) [A prayer of thanksgiving, the Preface, introducing a prayer of impetration, the Canon.]

THE PREFACE [The priest begins the preface, a call to render thanks to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in union with all the heavenly spirits. The prayer of thanksgiving and praise varies with inportant Feasts. There are at the present time 15 different prefaces which are given in the Ordinary of the Mass.] The priest begins the Preface, holding his hands over the altar:
	S. Dominus vobiscum.	P. The Lord be with you.
	M. Et cum spiritu tuo.	S. And with thy spirit.
He raises them a little when he says:
	S. Sursum corda.	P. Lift up your hearts.
	M. Habemus ad Dominum.	S. We have lifted them up to the Lord.
He joins them before his breast, and bows his head, when he says:
	S. Gratias agimus Domino Deo nostro.	P. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
	M. Dignum et iustum est.	S. It is meet and just.
The priest then disjoins his hands and keeps them thus until after the end of the Preface, which varies with the day, after which he again joins them and bowing says Sanctus. When he says Benedictus, he blesses himself. The different prefaces will be found in their respective Propers.

THE SANCTUS [The triumphal hymn of the Angels, the "Trisagion" (thrice holy) is addressed to the three divine Persons. It is composed of words taken from Isaias (6. 3), from Psalm 117, and from the acclamations which greeted Jesus on the occasion of His solemn entry into Jerusalem (Matth. 21.)]
	Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.¹	Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory! Hosanna in the highest!¹
The "Benedictus"* is usually sung after the consecration, but is said before by the priest:*
	Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.²	Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!²

Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory. (Isaias 6:3) And the multitudes that went before and that followed, cried, saying: Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. (Matthew 21:9) THE CANON OF THE MASS [The word Canon is derived from the Greek, and signifies: Rule, direction, order. The Canon comprises the fixed forms of prayer in the Mass from the Sanctus to the Pater noster: The Ruleof Consecration.]THE PRAYERS BEFORE THE CONSECRATION [Before the Consecration the priest recommends to God: a) the Church, the ecclesiastical authorities; b) the living persons for whom he prays especially, and the faithful who are present; c)then he invokes the Saints and implores their protection.] a.) For the Church and the Ecclesiastical Authorities The priest, extending, raising and then joining his hands, raising his eyes towards heaven and deeply bowing, says in a low voice:
	Te igitur, clementissme Pater, per Iesum Christum Filium tuum Dominum nostrum, supplices rogamus ac petimus, . . .	We therefore, humbly pray and beseech Thee, most merciful Father, through Jesus Christ; Thy Son, our Lord,
He kisses the altar
	uti accepta habeas, et benedicas,	that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to accept and bless
He joins his hands and signs the oblation thrice with the Sign of the Cross.
	haec † dona, haec † munera, haec † sancta sacrificia illibata.	these † gifts, these † presents, these † holy unspotted Sacrifices,
Then extending his hands, he proceeds:
	in primis, quae tibi offerimus pro Ecclesia tua sancta catholica: quam pacificare, custodire, adunare, et regere digneris toto orbe terrarum: una cum famulo tuo Papa nostro N. et Antistite nostro N., et omnibus orthodoxis, atque catholicae, et apostolicae fidei cultoribus.	which in the first place we offer Thee for Thy holy Catholic Church to which vouchsafe to grant peace, as also to preserve, unite, and govern it throughout the world, together with Thy servant N., our Pope, and N., our Bishop, and all orthodox believers and professors of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith.

b) Commemoration of the Living [In union with thepriest, mention here the names of the persons and the intentions for which youoffer the Divine Victim.]
	Momento, Domine, famulorum, famularumque tuarum N. et N.	Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy servants and handmaidens, N. et N.
The priest joins his hands and prays silently for those for whom he intends to pray. Then extending his hands, he proceeds:
	et omnium circumstantium, quorum tibi fides cognita est, et nota devotio, pro quibus tibi offerimus: vel qui tibi offerunt hoc sacrificium laudis, pro se, suisque omnibus: pro redemptione animarum suarum, pro spe saluts, et incolumitatis suae: tibiqeu reddunt vota sua aeterno Deo, vivo et vero.	and of all here present, whose faith and devotion are known unto Thee, for whom we offer, or who offer up to Thee, this sacrifice of praise for themselves, their families and friends, for the redemption of their souls, for the health and salvation they hope for; and who now pay their vows to Thee, the everlasting, living and true God.

c) Invocation of the Saints [The feasts and octaves of Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, the Ascension, and Whitsunday have their own proper Communicantes, which may be found in their respective propers.]

	Communicantes, et memoriam venerantes in primis gloriosae semper Virginis Mariae, Genitricis Dei et Domini nostri Iesu Christi: sed et beati Ioseph, eiusdem Virginis Sponsi; et beatorum Apostolorum ac Martyrum tuorum, Petri et Pauli, Andreae, Iacobi, Ioannis, Thomae, Iacobi, Philippi, Bartholomaei, Marrhaei, Simonis, et Thaddei: Lini, Clet, Clementis, Xysti, Cornelii, Cypriani, Laurentii, Chrysogoni, Ioannis et Pauli, Cosmae et Damianis: et omnium Sanctorum tuorum; quorum meritis, precibusque concedas, ut in omnibus protentionis tuae muniamur auxilio.	Communicating with, and honoring in the first place the memory of the glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of Our Lord and God Jesus Christ: as also of the blessed Joseph, her Spouse, and of the blessed Apostles and Martyrs Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon, and Thaddeus; Linus, Cletus, Clement, Xystus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and of all Thy Saints, through whose merits and prayers, grant that we may in all things be defended by the help of Thy protection.
And the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the publican, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus (Matthew 10:2-3) Cf. 2. Timothy 4:21, Phillipians 4:3 He joins his hands.
	Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.	Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE PRAYER AT THE CONSECRATION a) Oblation of the Victim to God [In the name of the Church the priest prays that almighty God graciously accept the oblation.] Spreading his hands over the oblation, he says:
	Hanc igitur oblationem servitutis nostrae, sed et cunctae familiae tuae, quaesumus Domine, ut placatus accipias: diesque nostros in tua pace disponas, atque ab aeterna damnatione nos eripi, et in electorum tuorum iubeas grege numerari:	We therefore beseech Thee, O Lord, graciously to accept this oblation of our service, as also of Thy whole family; and to dispose our days in Thy peace, preserve us from eternal damnation, and rank us in the number of Thine Elect.
He joins his hands.
	Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.	Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
(The Hanc igitur for Easter and Whitsunday is different, and is found in their respective Propers.)
	Quam oblationem tu Deus, in omnibus quaesumus,	Which oblation do Thou, O God, vouchsafe in all respects,
He signs thrice the oblation with the Sign of the Cross.
	bene†dictam, adscriptam † , ra†tam, rationabilem, acceptabilemque facere digneris:	to bless, † approve, † ratify, † make worthy and acceptable;
He signs again the Host and chalice with the Sign of the Cross.
	ut nobis Cor†pus, et San†guis fiat dilectissimi Filii tui Domini nostri Iesu Christi.	that it may be made for us the Body and Blood of Thy most beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

b) Words of the Consecration and Elevation Consecration of the Host
	Qui pridie quam pateretur,	Who, the day before He suffered,
He takes the host.
	accepit panem in sanctas, ac venerabilis manus suas,	took bread into His holy and venerable hands,
He raises his eyes to heaven.
	et elevatis oculis in coelum ad te Deum Patrem suum omnipotentem, tibi gratias agens,	and with His eyes lifted up towards heaven unto Thee, God, His almighty Father, giving thanks to Thee,
He signs the host with the Sign of the Cross
	bene†dixit, fregit, deditque discipulis suis, dicens: Accepite, et manducate ex hoc omnes.	He blessed † it, broke it and gave it to His disciples saying: Take and eat ye all of this, (Matthew 26:26)
[The words of the Consecration of the Host:]
	HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM.	FOR THIS IS MY BODY.

After pronouncing the words of the Consecration, the priest, kneeling, adores the Sacred Host; rising, he elevates It. -- Look up at the Sacred Host, with faith, piety, and love, saying: "My Lord and my God."³ -- and then placing It on the corporal, again adores It. After this he never disjoins his fingers and thumbs, except when he is to take the Host, until after the washing of his fingers. Consecration of the Wine Then, uncovering the chalice, the priest says:
	Simili modo, postquam coenatum est,	In like manner, after He had supped,
He takes the chalice with both his hands.
	accipiens et hunc praeclarum Calicem in sanctas ac venerabilis manus suas: item tibi gratias agens,	taking also this excellent chalice into His holy and venerable hands
He takes the chalice in his left hand, and with his right he signs it with the Sign of the Cross.
	bene†dixit, deditque discipulis suis, dicens: Accipite, et bibite ex eo omnes,	He blessed †, and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take and drink ye all of this, (Matthew 26:27-28)
[The words of Consecration of the Chalice]
	HIC EST ENIM CALIX SANGUINIS MEI, NOVI ET AETERNI TESTAMENTI: MYSTERIUM FIDEI: QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR IN REMISSIONEM PECCATOREM.	FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL TESTAMENT, THE MYSTERY OF FAITH; WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR MANY UNTO THE REMISSION OF SINS.

After the elevation of the Chalice, the priest says in a low voice:
	Haec quotiescumque feceritis, in mei memoriam facietis.	As often as ye do these things, ye shall do them in remembrance of Me.
The priest kneels and adores the Precious Blood; rising, he elevates the Chalice, and setting it down he covers it and adores it again.

c) Oblation of the Victim to God [In the name of the Church the priest asks God the Father to accept the Body and Blood of His Son as He did that of Abel, of Abraham, and of Melchisedech, which were figures of the Sacrifice offered first on Calvary and then renewed in each Holy Mass.] With his hands held apart, he then proceeds
	Unde et memores, Domine, nos servi tui, sed et plebs tua sancta, eiusdem Chrisi Filii tui Domini nostri tam beatae passionis, necnon et ab inferis resurrectionis, sed et in coelos gloriosae ascensionis: offerimus praeclarae maiestati tuae de tuis donis, ac datis.	Wherefore, O Lord, we Thy servants, as also Thy holy people, calling to mind the blessed Passion of the same Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, and also His Resurrection from the dead and His glorious Ascension into heaven: do offer unto Thy most excellent Majesty of Thine own gifts, bestowed upon us,
He joins his hands and signs thrice the Host and Chalice with the Sign of the Cross.
	hostiam † puram, hostiam † sanctam, hostiam † immaculatam.	a pure † Host, a holy † Host, an unspotted † Host,
He signs the Host and the Chalice, with the Sign of the Cross.
	Panem † sanctum vitae aeternae, et Calicem † salutis perpetuae.	the holy † Bread of eternal life, and the Chalice † of everlasting salvation.
Extending his hands, he proceeds
	Supra quae propitio ac sereno vultu respicere digneris: et accepta habere, sicuti accepta habere dignatus es munera pueri tui iusti Abel, et sacrificium patriarchae nostri Abrahae: et quod tibi obtulit summus sacerdos tuus Melchisedech, sanctum sacrificium, immaculatam hostiam.	Upon which vouchsafe to look with a propitious and serene countenance, and to accept them, as Thou wert graciously pleased to accept the gifts of Thy just servant Abel, and the sacrifice of our patriarch Abraham, and that which Thy high priest Melchisedech offered to Thee, -- a holy Sacrifice, and unspotted Victim.
But Melchisedech the king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God, (Genesis 14:18) Bowing down, with his hands joined and placed upon the altar, he says:
	Supplices te rogamus, omnipotens Deus, iube haec perferri per manus sancti Angeli tui in sublime altare tumm, in conspectu divinae maiestatis tuae: ut quotquot,	We most humbly beseech Thee, almighty God, command these offerings to be borne by the hands of Thy holy Angels to Thine altar on high, in the sight of Thy divine majesty, that as many
He kisses the altar.
	ex hac altaris, participatione sacrosanctum Filii tui	as shall partake of the most holy
He joins his hand, and signs the Host and the Chalice with the Sign of the Cross.
	Cor†pus, et San†guinem sumpserimus,	Body † and Blood † of Thy Son
He signs himself with the Sign of the Cross.
	omni benedictione coelesti et gratia repleamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.	at this altar, may be filled with every heavenly grace and blessing. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE PRAYERS AFTER THE CONSECRATION [Here the priest a) offers the Body and Blood of Christ for the comfort of the souls in Purgatory, b) invokes the saints that through their intercession we may share in the heavenly inheritance destined for us, c) and finishes the Canon.]a.) Commemoration of the Dead [The faithful departed receive a special memento here. Mention your departed parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, benefactors, teachers . . .]
	Memento etiam, Domine, famulorum famularumque tuarem N. et N., qui nos praecesserunt cum signo fidei, et dormiunt in somno pacis,	Remember also, O Lord, Thy servants and handmaids N. and N., who are gone before us with the sign of faith, and rest in the sleep of peace.
He joins his hands and prays for such of the dead as he intends to pray for, then extending his hands he proceeds:
	Ipsis, Domine, et omnibus in Christo quiescentibus, locum refrigerii lucis et pacis, ut indulgeas, deprecamur:	To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and peace;
He joins his hands, and bows his head:
	Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.	Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

b) Invocation of the Saints [Nobis quoque peccatoribus are the only words in the Canon which the priest pronounces in a somewhat elevated tone of voice, to symbolize an act of public self-humiliation; at the same time he strikes his breast in a token of contrition.]
	Nobis quoque peccatoribus famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus partem aliquam, et societatem donare digneris, cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus: cum Ioanne, Stephano, Matthia, Barnaba, Ignatio, Alexandro, Marcellino, Petro, Felicitate, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucia, Agnete, Caecilia, Anastasia, et omnibus Sanctis suis: intra quorum nos consortium, non aestimator meriti, sed veniae, quaesumus, largitor admitte.	To us also, Thy sinful servants, confiding in the multitude of Thy mercies, vouchsafe to grant some part and fellowship with Thy holy Apostles and Martyrs, with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicitas, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and with all Thy Saints, into whose company we beseech Thee to admit us, not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offenses.

c) Final Doxology of the Canon and Minor Elevation [It is now, with the closing prayer of the Canon, that the Body and Blood of our Lord are offered up to God.] He joins his hands.
	Per Christum Dominum nostrum.	Through Christ our Lord.
	Per quem haec omnia, Domine, semper bona creas,	By Whom, O Lord, Thou dost ever create.
He signs thrice the Host and the Chalice, saying:
	sancti†ficas, vivi†ficas, bene†dicis, et praestas nobis.	sanctify, † quicken, † bless, † and give unto us all these good things.
He uncovers the Chalice, and genuflects: then taking the Host in his right hand, and holding the Chalice in his left, he signs with the Sign of the Cross three times across the Chalice, saying:
	Per ip†sum, et cum ip†so, et in ip†so,	By Him, † and with Him, † and in Him †
For of him, and by him, and in him, are all things: to him be glory for ever. Amen. (Romans 11:36) He signs twice between the Chalice and his breast.
	est tibi Deo Patri † omnipotenti, in unitate Spiritus † Sancti,	is to Thee, God the Father † almighty, in the unity of the Holy † Ghost,
He elevates a little the Chalice with the Host.
	omnis honor et gloria.	all honor and glory.
Replacing the Host, and covering the Chalice, he kneels down, and rising again, he says (or sings):
	S. Per omnia saecula saeculorum.	P. World without end.
	M. Amen.	S. Amen.
[The priest brings to an end all the preceding prayers of the Canon by saying aloud, "Per omnia . . .", while the faithful assent to all that has been said by answering "Amen."]

C. FROM THE PATER NOSTER TO THE ABLUTIONS (Communion) [Prayers of love and desire.]

THE PATER NOSTER [Thereupon the priest sings or says aloud the Lord's prayer, taught us by the Savior Himself.] The priest joins his hands:
	S. Oremus.	P. Let us pray.
	Praeceptis salutaribus moniti, et divina institutione formati, audemus dicere:	Instructed by Thy saving precepts, and following Thy divine institution, we are bold to say:
He extends his hands:
	Pater noster, qui es in coelis: sanctificetur nomen tuum: adveniat regnum tuum: fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo, et in terra. Panem nostrum quoditianum da nobis hodie: et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem.	Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; (Mattew 6:9) Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (6:10) Give us this day our daily bread. (Luke 11:3) And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation. (Matthew 6:13)
[The server, or the choir, in the name of the people, says the last petition.]
	M. Sed libera nos a malo.	S. But deliver us from evil.
The priest says in a low voice:
	S. Amen.	P. Amen.

THE LIBERA NOS AND THE DIVISION OF THE HOST [This prayer mentions in detail the evils from which we beg to be delivered. At the end of this prayer the Sacred Host is divided to symbolize the immolation of the Victim, the separation of the Body and Soul of Jesus when He died upon Calvary.]Then the priest takes the paten between the first and second finger and says:
	Libera nos, quaesumus, Domine, ab omnibus malis, praeteritis praesentibus, et futuris: et intercedente beata, et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria cum beatis Apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque Andrea, et omnibus Sanctis,	Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present, and to come; and by the intercession of the Blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and of the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, and of Andrew, and of all the Saints,
He signs himself with the paten, and then kisses it.
	da propitius pacem in diebus nostris: ut ope misericordiae tuae adiuti, et a peccato simus semper liberi, et ab onmi perturbatione securi.	mercifully grant peace in our days, that through the assistance of Thy mercy we may be always free from sin, and secure from all disturbance.
He places the paten under the Host, uncovers the Chalice, and makes a genuflection; rising, he takes the Host and breaks It in the middle over the Chalice, saying:
	Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum	Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord.
He puts the Part which is in his right hand upon the paten, and breaks a Paricle from the other Part in his left hand, saying:
	Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus.	Who with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth God,
He places the Half which is in his left hand on the paten, and holding the Particle which he broke off in his right hand, and the Chalice in his left, he says:
	S. Per omnia saecula saeculorum.	P. World without end.
	M. Amen.	S. Amen.

THE MIXTURE OF THE BODY AND BLOOD [This was the mixture which was formerly received.] The priest makes the Sign of the Cross with the Particle over the Chalice, saying:
	S. Pax † Domini sit † semper vobis†cum.	P. The peace † of the Lord be † always with † you.
	M. Et cum spiritu tuo.	S. And with thy spirit.
He puts the Particle into the Chalice, saying:
	Haec commixtio, et consecratio Corporis et Sanguinis Domini nostri Iesu Christi, fiat accipientibus nobis in vitam aeternam. Amen.	May this mixture and consecration of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ be to us who receive it effectual unto eternal life. Amen.

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. (John 6:55) THE AGNUS DEI [The priest repeats the words of St. John the Baptist, who proclaimed to the Jews the Messias.] He covers the Chalice, genuflects and rises; than bowing down and striking his breast thrice, he says:
	Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.	Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
	Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis.	Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
	Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem.	Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.


Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) In Masses for the Dead, he says twice, instead of Miserere nobis: have mercy on us.
	Dona eis requiem.	Grant them rest.
And lastly:
	Dona eis requiem sempiternam.	Grant them eternal rest.


THE PRAYERS FOR HOLY COMMUNION [The priest says three prayers of immediate preparation for holy Communion.] With his hands joined and resting on the altar, standing inclined, he says the three following prayers: [In Masses for the Dead, the first of the following prayers is omitted.] a) Prayer for Peace
	Domine Iesu Christe, qui dixisti Apostolis tuis: Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vois: ne respicias peccata mea, sed fidem Ecclesiae tuae: eamque secundum voluntatem tuam pacificare et coadunare digneris: Qui vivis et regnas Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.	O Lord Jesus Christ, who saidst to Thine Apostles: Peace I leave you, My peace I give you: (John 15:27) regard not my sins, but the faith of Thy Church; and vouchsafe to grant her that peace and unity which is agreeable to Thy will: Who livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.


In Solemn Masses the kiss of peace is now given; the Celebrant kisses the altar, then saluting the deacon, says:
	S. Pax tecum.	P. Peace be with thee.
	M. Et cum spiritu tuo.	S. And with thy spirit.
[The position of this sign of fraternal charity is characteristic. Before receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord the Christians should show that they are at peace with their brethren.] [In Masses of the Dead, the kiss of peace is not given.]


b) Prayer for Sanctification⁴
	Domine Iesu Christe, Fili Dei vivi, qui ex voluntate Patris, cooperante Spiritu Sancto, per mortem tuam mundum vivificasti: libera me per hoc sacrosanctum Corpus et Sanguinem tuum ab omnibus iniquitatibus meis, et universis malis: et fac me tuis semper inhaerere mandatis, et a te numquam separari permittas: Qui cum eodem Deo Patre, et Spiritu Sancto vivis et regnas Deus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who, according to the will of Thy Father, with the cooperation of the Holy Ghost, hast by Thy death given life to the world; deliver me by this Thy most sacred Body and Blood, from all my iniquities and from all evils; and make me always cleave to Thy commandments, and suffer me never to be separated from Thee, Who livest and reignest, with the same God the Father and the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

c) Prayer for Grace
	Perceptio, Corporis tui, Domine Iesu Christe, quod ego indignus sumere praesumo, non mihi proveniat in iudicium et condemnationem: sed pro tua pietate, prosit mihi ad tutamentum mentis et corporis, et ad medelam percipiendam. Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.	Let not the partaking of Thy Body, O Lord, Jesus Christ, which I, though unworthy, presume to receive, turn to my judgment and condemnation; but let it, through Thy mercy, become a safeguard and remedy, both for soul and body; Who with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.

THE PRAYERS AT THE COMMUNION a) Communion of the Priest Communion of the Body The priest genuflects, rises and says:
	Panem coelestem accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo.	I will take the Bread of heaven, and will call upon the Name of the Lord.
[He then repeats the words of the Centurion whose humble prayer obtained the healing of his servant.] Slightly inclining, he takes both halves of the Host between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand, and the paten between the same forefinger and the middle one; then striking his breast with his right hand, and raising his voice a little, he says three times devoutly and humbly:
	Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea.⁵	Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; say but the word, and my soul shall be healed.⁵
Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. (Matthew 8:8) Then with his right hand, making the Sign of the Cross with the Host over the paten, he says:
	Corpus Domini nostri Iesu Christi custodiat animam meam in vitam aeternam. Amen.	The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve my soul unto life everlasting. Amen.
He then reverently receives both halves of the Host, joins his hands, and meditates a short time. Communion of the Blood Then he uncovers the Chalice, genuflects, collects whatever fragments may remain on the corporal, and purifies the paten over the Chalice, saying:
	Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi? Calicem salutaris accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo. Laudans invocabo Dominum, et ab inimicis meis salvus ero.	What return shall I make to the Lord for all He has given to me? I will take the chalice of salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord. Praising I will call upon the Lord, and I shall be saved from my enemies.
What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things he hath rendered unto me? I will take the chalice of salvation; and I will call upon the name of the Lord. (Psalms 115:12-13) The priest takes the Chalice and making the Sign of the Cross with it, says:
	Sanguis Domini nostri Iesu Christi custodiat animam meam in vitam aeternam. Amen.	The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve my soul unto life everlasting. Amen.
Then he receives all the Precious Blood, together with the Particle.

b) Communion of the Faithful If Holy Communion is to be distributed, the server says the Confiteor. [This was omitted in the 1962 Missal.]
	Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae semper Virgini, beato Michaeli Archangelo, beato Ioanni Baptistae, sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo, omnibus Sanctis, et tibi Pater: quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, et opere:	I confess to almighty God, to the blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the Saints, and to you, Father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed,
Here he strikes his breast thrice.
	mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, beatum Michaelum Archangelum, beatum Ioannem Baptistam, sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et te Pater, orare pro me ad Dominum Deum nostrum.	through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech the blessed Mary, ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the Saints, and you, Father, to pray to the Lord our God for me.
After which the priest communicates those who are to communicate, if there be any, saying:
	Misereatur vestri omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis vestris, perducat vos ad vitam aeternam.	May almighty God have mercy upon you, forgive you your sins, and bring you unto life everlasting.
	M. Amen.	S. Amen.
Making the Sign of the Cross, he continues:
	Indulgentiam, † absolutionem, et remissionem peccatorum vestrorum tribuat vobis omnipotens, et misericors Dominus.	May the almighty and merciful Lord grant you pardon, † absolution, and remission of your sins.
	M. Amen.	S. Amen.
Elevating a particle of the Blessed Sacrament and turning towards the people, he says:
	Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi.	Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world.
And then he says three times:
	Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea.	Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; say but the word, and my soul shall be healed.
He administers the communion, saying to each:
	Corpus Domini nostri Iesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam. Amen.	The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy soul unto life everlasting. Amen.
[If you do not communicate at the Mass, make an act of Spiritual Communion.]

D. FROM THE ABLUTIONS TO THE END (Thanksgiving)

THE PRAYERS DURING THE ABLUTION [After the Communion ceremony the priest makes two ablutions (washings) of the Chalice.] The priest says silently:
	Quod ore sumpserimus, Domine, pura mente capiamus: et de munere temporali fiat nobis remedium sempiternum.	Grant, O Lord, that what we have taken with our mouth, we may receive with a pure mind; and from a temporal gift may it become to us an eternal remedy.
Then he holds out the Chalice to the server -- in Solemn Masses to the deacon -- who pours wine into it for the first ablution, then the priest proceeds:
	Corpus tuum, Domine, quod sumpsi, et Sanguis, quem potavi, adhaereat visceribus meis: et praesta; ut in me non remaneat scelerum macula, quem pura et sancta refecerunt sacramenta: Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	May Thy Body, O Lord, which I have received, and Thy Blood which I have drunk, cleave to my bowels; and grant that no stain of sin may remain in me, who have been fed with this pure and holy Sacrament; Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.
The priest then washes his fingers and receives the second ablution. Then he covers the chalice and folding the corporal, places it on the chalice, as at the beginning of Mass, and goes to the right side of the altar to say the prayers from the Missal.

THE COMMUNION-VERSE [EIGHTH VARIABLE PART] [The Communion-verse, which varies with the Feast, is a short selection from Holy Scripture.] The priest kisses the altar. Then he turns to the people, and says or sings:
	S. Dominus vobiscum.	P. The Lord be with you.
	M. Et cum spiritu tuo.	S. And with thy spirit.
	S. Oremus.	P. Let us pray.


III. CONCLUSION OF THE MASS [The dismissal and blessing of people, and the last Gospel.]

THE DISMISSAL [The priest announces that the Eucharistic action is ended.] He turns to the people and says:
	S. Dominus vobiscum.	P. The Lord be with you.
	M. Et cum spiritu tuo.	S. And with thy spirit.
	S. Ite, Missa est.	P. Go, the Mass is ended.
	M. Deo gratias.	S. Thanks be to God.
[At Solemn Mass the dismissal of the people with the chant of Ite, Missa est pertains to the office of the Deacon.]


If the Gloria in excelsis has not been said, there is said instead of the Ite, Missa est:
	S. Benedicamus Domino.	P. Let us bless the Lord.
	M. Deo gratias.	S. Thanks be to God.

In Masses for the Dead is said:
	S. Requiescant in pace.	P. May they rest in peace.
	M. Amen.	S. Amen.

In Easter Week is said:
	S. Ite, Missa est, alleluia, alleluia.	P. Go, the Mass is ended, alleluia, alleluia.
	M. Deo gratias, alleluia, alleluia.	S. Thanks be to God, alleluia, alleluia.


THE BLESSING The priest, making a profound reverence, again asks the Blessed Trinity graciously to accept this Holy Sacrifice.] Bowing down before the altar, with hands joined upon it, he says:
	Placeat tibi, sancta Trinitas, obsequium servitutis meae: et praesta: ut sacrificium, quod oculis tuae maiestatis indignus obtulit, tibi sit acceptabile, mihique et omnibus, pro quibus illud obtuli, sit, te miserante, propitiabile. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.	May the performance of my homage be pleasing to Thee, O holy Trinity: and grant that the Sacrifice which I, though unworthy, have offered up in the sight of Thy Majesty, may be acceptable to Thee, and through Thy mercy, be a propitiation for me, and for all those for whom I have offered it. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
[Then he turns to the faithful, invoking upon them the blessing of God and making over them the Sign of the Cross.] He kisses the altar, and raising his eyes, extending, raising and joining his hands, he bows down his head and says:
	S. Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, † et Spiritus Sanctus.	P. May almighty God the Father, Son, † and Holy Ghost, bless you.
	M. Amen.	S. Amen.
[In Masses for the Dead, the Blessing is omitted.]

THE LAST GOSPEL [The beginning of the Gospel of Saint John, which retraces the Incarnation of the Son of God, is read from the card at the altar. If the book is used, a different gospel is read. At the end, the server answers "Deo gratias." It is eminently proper that the last word of the Mass should be one of thanksgiving.] Then turning to the Gospel side of the altar, the priest says:
	S. Dominus vobiscum.	P. The Lord be with you.
	M. Et cum spiritu tuo.	S. And with thy spirit.
He then traces the Sign of the Cross, first upon the altar, and then upon his forehead, lips, and breast, and says:
	S. Initium † sancti Evangelii secundum Ioannem.	P. The beginning † of the holy Gospel according to John.
	M. Gloria tibi, Domine.	S. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
	In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt: et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est: in ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominem: et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt.	In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was made nothing that was made: in Him was life, and the life was the Light of men; and the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
	Fuit homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Ioannes. Hic venit in testimonium, ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, ut omnes crederent per illum. Non erat ille lux, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine. Erat lux vera quae illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum.	There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to testify concerning the Light, taht all might believe through Him. He was not the Light, be he was to testify concerning the Light. That was the true Light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world.
	In mundo erat, et mundus per ipsum factus est et mundus eum non cognovit. In propria venit, et sui eum non receperunt. Quotquot autem receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri, his, qui credunt in nomine eius: qui non ex sanguinibus, neque ex voluntate carnis, neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt.	He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him to them He gave power to become sons of God, to them that believe in His Name, who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Here all kneel.
	Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis: et vidimus gloriam eius, gloriam quasi Unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratiae et veritatis.	And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us: and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
	M. Deo gratias.

Jansenism, redeux

2010-09-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

Interior of Belmont Abbey Basilica, North Carolina, prior to Vatican II

Interior of Belmont Abbey, after Vatican II (to wit, how some in the Church embraced past heresies after Vatican II; to include iconoclastic austerity).

"The Ecumenical Vatican Council II: A Much Needed Discussion" Msgr. Brunero Gherardini

2010-06-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

This is a remarkable book, not necessarily because it espouses especially new propositions, theories, or analysis on Vatican II, but because it espouses ideas the Fraternal Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX) espoused for years, and was termed "heretical" or "schismatic" for espousing, AND this book was written (and, this is the important distinction) by a Vatican theologian, and published by a Vatican-based publisher. This would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago. So, let's poke our noses into this book, and I am going to let Msgr. Gherardini speak for himself, hopefully not rendering his words out-of-context [page numbers and occasional comments will be in brackets.] Finally, before we embark, or, rather, hone-in, here is the brief biography of Msgr. Gherardini given by Christopher Ferrara: "Gherardini is nothing less than a Canon of St. Peter’s Basilica, a secretary for the Pontifical Academy of Theology, a professor emeritus at the Pontifical Lateran University, and the editor of Divinitas, a leading Roman theological journal. The book includes a forward by Bishop Mario Oliveri (ordinary of the Italian dioceses of Albenga and Imperia) and an introduction by Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, former secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and now Archbishop of Colombo."

Now to quote from the book itself:

"The purpose of Vatican II, in fact, sets it apart from any other Council, especially Trent and Vatican I. Its scope was not to give definitions, nor was it dogmatic or linked to dogma; it was pastoral. Thus based on its specific nature it was a pastoral Council." [55]

...

"In all truth Modernism hid itself under the cloak of Vatican II's hermeneutic...The new rite of Holy Mass practically silenced the nature of sacrifice making of it an occasion for gathering together the people of God...the eucharistic gathering was given the mere sense of sharing a meal together...After having said all of this about Vatican II, if someone were to ask me if, in the final analysis, the modernist corruption had hidden itself within the Council documents themselves, and if the Fathers themselves were more or less infected, I would have to respond both yes and no...But yes as well, because not a few pages of the conciliar documents reek of the writings and ideas of Modernism--this can be seen above all in GS." [92--boldface mine]

...

"This [the general guidance of the Holy Spirit at a Council] does not mean that the Holy Spirit may not encounter formal or material resistance from the free-willed men who give life to the counciliar event. It is from this possibility that there arises the great risk which casts itself upon the background of the Council...namely, the possibility that it may even fail in some way. Someone has even gone further and has asked if an Ecumenical Council can fall into error in Faith and Morals. The opinions are at variance..." [29, boldface mine.]

...

"Anyone who, in quoting it [VII], puts it on a par with Trent or Vatican I, and accredits to it a normative and binding force which it does not possess in itself, commits a crime and, in the final analysis, does not respect the Council itself." [30]

...

"It is absurd...to even think that modern and contemporary culture--that which is understood as having its beginning in the Enlightenment and which today finds expression in 'weak thought,' or materialism, or indifferentism and relativism--can be recognized as a natural development of ancient Tradition." [34. This may seem an obvious point, and space doesn't allow me to flesh-out Msgr. Gherardini further on it, though he does speak of it more, though his book is limited in scope. Suffice it to say that many prelates have the "weak thought" of thinking indifferentism, and, even, syncretism, somehow--because every one is so lovey-dovey like the Jesus of their imaginations who suffered not the children (He who would have been horrified to not let them come to Him, as so many ecumenically-obsessed boobs in the Church are wont)--these ideas of the Church, as understood by modernists, are linked with the past, when they not.]

...

"[A] reconciliation of the Church and the world was being spoken of." [46, boldface in original]

...

"Let me say immediately that not even a single dogmatic definition included in the intentions of LG or the other Vatican II documents. The Council--we do well not to forget this--could not have even proposed one since it had refused to follow along the lines traced out by other Councils...This means that none of its doctrines, unless ascribable to previous conciliar definitions, are infallible or unchangeable, nor are they even binding: he who denies them cannot, for this reason, be called a formal heretic." [58. Boldface mine.]

...

"It is licit, therefore, to recognize a dogmatic nature in Vatican II only where it re-proposes dogmas defined in previous Councils as the truth of Faith." [59]

...

"GS and DH formed the Anti-Syllabus of condemnation...[so that] a relationship of cooperation could be built up, cooperation even with those who were shackled in proclaimed and condemned errors." [82]

....

[After VII] "[A] missionary conception of the Church now freed from any form of or temptation to proselytism...this type of ecumenism, unfortunately, found a license to legitimacy from the spirit of assisi, thanks to the 'multi-religious' meeting celebrated there..." [86-87]

...

"The Council, therefore, in spite of its basic arguments, became imprisoned by the distress of the 'temporary' and the tyranny of the 'relative.' [ 93. Boldface mine.]

...

"[A] reform is not necessarily a development; it could actually be its opposite." [102]

...

[After VII, there was] "...the signing of insane agreements like that on 'justification' which leaves out the articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae upon which Luther had founded his reform...frenzied ecumenism [even]...official declarations of the saving efficacy of non-Catholic professions of the Christian faith and even Judaism..." [110]

...

"As a result [of the likes of Rahner], a tombstone was placed over metaphysics...Rahnerians make up a large part of the Bishops who have the Church in their hands...The air we breathe to this day continues to be both defiled and defiling." [118-121. Boldface mine.]

...

"How many times the very men, into whose hands Jesus had entrusted the sacred deposit of the Faith, solemnly and pompously said 'no' to this or that doctrine, like the Marian Coredemption, because otherwise it will prejudice ecumenical dialogue. It was as if to say, 'There is no other truth or value besides ecumenical dialogue.'..." [122. In fact, Pope Paul VI wanted the new mass to be as much like protestant worship as possible--See Alfonso Cardinal Stickler's piece in the Latin Mass Magazine, Summer, 1995. Thus we see "horizontalism," the looking at each other, as if Mass is a "meal," versus "verticalism," looking to Christ immolated, as Sacrifice, and Redeemer.]

...

"It is only to the Church's authentic Magisterium that the Holy Spirit entrusts the office of transmission. It would not be a bad idea if some of the enlightened, post-conciliar innovators (who so flippantly presume to attach the Holy Spirit to their personal theories) were to reread at least a couple of the 26 theses of Franzelin on Tradition..." [135. Bold face mine. In other words, they are throwing around the Truth of the Holy Spirit as freely, and as falsely, as Benny Hinn]

...

"'I would not even be ready to believe in the Gospel, if the authority of the Catholic Church were not to compel me to do so'...[quoting St. Augustine]...Tradition, in the last analysis, is the very life of the Church; its action upon the Church comes about through an iter or sacramental or institutional guaranteed by the Holy Spirit." [142-143. Sans the Catholic Church, there is no Gospel. Not only did the Church canonize it in the "dark" ages, but she passed it on; but these texts have been perverted and muddied by the rebellious spirits of Luther, Calvin and Henry VIII's progeny's penchant to misinterpret and reformulate Scripture to their own ideologies. It's amazing to me how so many protestants look over Sacraments, blatant in the Bible: the anointing of the sick, the Holy Eucharist, Confession, etc., yet they, seemingly, find Baptism and Marriage to be valid. Me thinks there is a cognitive dissonance there.]

...

"Scripture is not, strictly speaking, the living Word of God; it is the witness and memorial of Gods Word. For this reason Scripture is sacred and venerable; yet it does not have the saving efficacy of the other instruments of salvation (i.e. the Sacraments)." [144-145]

...

"Scripture is divinely inspired, Tradition is divinely assisted; both of them pass on the 'Good News' of the saving mystery..." [152]

...

"...Is there not in SC itself an element of that which Pius XII had so strongly worked to keep at bay?" [168]

...

"And if someone passed through that door to introduce into the Church a Liturgy subversive to the very nature and primary end of the Sacred Liturgy...the responsibility for this, in the final analysis, is none other than the conciliar text itself." [171-172]

...

"[T]he Liturgy which systematically boycotted the versus Domino orientation, the sacredness of the rite, the sense of latria, the irreplaceable beauty of Gregorian chant, the solemnity of gestures and vestments, and kneeling...[was committed in a] boundless cult of man..." [186-187. Although in this short piece I couldn't extrapolate on Gherardini's exposition of the fact that VII favored man (anthropocentricism) with God, it is there.]

...

"It is to be remembered that no one is morally free before the truth (God, revelation, true religion). Directly willed ignorance that leads a person to reject that which he is duty-bound to know is an act of grave, more irresponsibility; actually, it is the gravest moral mistake...The position of DH, therefore, rests on an absurd paralogism whose false reasoning makes equivocations, appeareances, or illusions seem true then indeed they are not...Worse still is the judgment helf by many theologians and egoumenoi of the Holy Church regarding the Church's missionary nature: a judgment which is theoretically and practically opposed to proselytism...Some have even reached the point...of counseling against conversion to Christianity...this is very different and distant from the tree described in MK 4:32...." [211-215]

...

"The content of DH and the contents of the previous Magisterium are different. So there is neither continuity nor development of the previous Magisterium in DH." [217]

...

"Man himself, for whose salvation God Himself became incarnate and offered Himself as an expiatory sacrifice, was elevated by the Council and placed as the center of ecclesial activity: "Man himself, whole and entire, body and soul, heart and conscience, mind and will' (GS 3). This capsized the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas who taught that God cannot create for ends which are foreign to His own reality." [220]

...

"I have already made mention of this anthropocentrism in the Constitution GS, a concern which Vatican II manifests in general through its dedication to man. It is a concern steeped in naivete and, I would say, in irrational kindness; it is based upon the dignity of the human person and the exaltation of his freedom through predominantly naturalistic premises. As a consequence, devastatingly little is said about the due distinction between the ontological and moral in man. This can be seen in n.22. In this passage there is not only the devastation of naive, ecumenical nature which is absurd and unsustainable, but one of unprecedented gravity precisely because it wishes to unite its own absurd thought to Christ Himself...That this reveals an absurdity (that of confusing the natural with the supernatural, which throws all to the cards on the table regarding the anthropocentric conception of the Council) is clearly understood in the events after the Council; notwithstanding, if there is a more ridiculous absurdity it is the following: 'All this holds true not only for Christians, but for all men of good will in whose hearts grace works in an unseen way.' (n.22). This text seems to open itself decisively to syncretism and its echo is recognizable a million miles away in K. Rahner's 'anonymous Christian'...MK 16:16 is rendered bogus..." [232-233]

All quotes taken from:

"The Ecumenical Vatican Council II: A Much Needed Discussion," Msgr. Brunero Gherardini.

Translated by the Franciscans of the Immaculate, From the Italian edition of March 25, 2009.

This volume is available from the "Academy of the Immaculate," 124 North Forke, Advance, NC 27006. Ph. 1-888-906-2742.

The Path to Rome

2010-02-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

Prose just doesn't get any better (or funnier) than this! First, Belloc deftly and humorously details an encounter where he was almost knifed in a tavern in a small Italian town on his pilgrimage, by foot, to Rome:

"The room within was of red wood. It had two tables, a little counter
with a vast array of bottles, a woman behind the counter, and a small,
nervous man in a strange hat serving. And all the little place was
filled and crammed with a crowd of perhaps twenty men, gesticulating,
shouting, laughing, quarrelling, and one very big man was explaining
to another the virtues of his knife; and all were already amply
satisfied with wine. For in this part men do not own, but are paid
wages, so that they waste the little they have.

I saluted the company, and walking up to the counter was about to call
for wine. They had all become silent, when one man asked me a question
in Italian. I did not understand it, and attempted to say so, when
another asked the same question; then six or seven--and there was a
hubbub. And out of the hubbub I heard a similar sentence rising all
the time. To this day I do not know what it meant, but I thought (and
think) it meant 'He is a Venetian,' or 'He is the Venetian.' Something
in my broken language had made them think this, and evidently the
Venetians (or a Venetian) were (or was) gravely unpopular here. Why, I
cannot tell. Perhaps the Venetians were blacklegs. But evidently a
Venetian, or the whole Venetian nation, had recently done them a
wrong.

At any rate one very dark-haired man put his face close up to mine,
unlipped his teeth, and began a great noise of cursing and
threatening, and this so angered me that it overmastered my fear,
which had till then been considerable. I remembered also a rule which
a wise man once told me for guidance, and it is this: 'God disposes of
victory, but, as the world is made, when men smile, smile; when men
laugh, laugh; when men hit, hit; when men shout, shout; and when men
curse, curse you also, my son, and in doubt let them always take the
first move.'

I say my fear had been considerable, especially of the man with the knife,
but I got too angry to remember it, and advancing my face alsoto this
insulter's I shouted, _'Dio Ladro! Dios di mi alma! Sanguinamento!
Nombre di Dios! Che? Che vole? Non sono da Venezia io!
Sono de Francia! Je m'en fiche da vestra Venezia! Non se vede
che non parlar vestra lingua? Che sono forestiere?'_ and so forth.
At this they evidently divided into two parties, and all began raging
amongst themselves, and some at me, while the others argued louder
and louder that there was an error.

The little innkeeper caught my arm over the counter, and I turned
round sharply, thinking he was doing me a wrong, but I saw him nodding
and winking at me, and he was on my side. This was probably because he
was responsible if anything happened, and he alone could not fly from
the police.

He made them a speech which, for all I know, may have been to the
effect that he had known and loved me from childhood, or may have been
that he knew me for one Jacques of Turin, or may have been any other
lie. Whatever lie it was, it appeased them. Their anger went down to a
murmur, just like soda-water settling down into a glass.

I stood wine; we drank. I showed them my book, and as my pencil needed
sharpening the large man lent me his knife for courtesy. When I got it
in my hand I saw plainly that it was no knife for stabbing with; it
was a pruning-knife, and would have bit the hand that cherished it (as
they say of serpents). On the other hand, it would have been a good
knife for ripping, and passable at a slash. You must not expect too
much of one article.

I took food, but I saw that in this parish it was safer to sleep out
of doors than in..."

And just a few pages later he succinctly describes why the modern world hates the Church, and why, at the same time, it loves some of what the Church has given to the world, for instance much of the greatest art, architecture and the soul of Europe:

"Have you ever noticed that all the Catholic Church does is thought
beautiful and lovable until she comes out into the open, and then
suddenly she is found by her enemies (which are the seven capital
sins, and the four sins calling to heaven for vengeance) to be hateful
and grinding? So it is; and it is the fine irony of her present
renovation that those who were for ever belauding her pictures, and
her saints, and her architecture, as we praise things dead, they are
the most angered by her appearance on this modern field all armed,
just as she was, with works and art and songs, sometimes superlative,
often vulgar. Note you, she is still careless of art or songs, as she
has always been. She lays her foundations in something other, which
something other our moderns hate. Yet out of that something other came
the art and song of the Middle Ages. And what art or songs have you?
She is Europe and all our past. She is returning."

You can read more at the Project Gutenberg site:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7373/7373-h/7373-h.htm

Reading Belloc at Ecola Beach

2010-02-22T18:41:00.001-08:00

I think I might be the first person to compare Belloc writing of the Alps to Ecola beach in Oregon, or the first person to have read Belloc at Ecola beach, period! But that does not mean Belloc was a stranger to the west coast; in fact, he imported his wife from California, after having traveled there cross country, mostly on foot--at a time when there were no cars! Belloc was also a man who loved the sea; he wrote about, and others wrote about, his sailing adventures around England. So Ecola beach is a fitting place for Belloc, since no where else in America does it appear that mountains proceed out of the sea (though, in reality, they are only hills.)

So, before I proceed in getting sentimental, placing Belloc’s quotes above pictures from Ecola (which, you will see, I’m soon about to do, to either your approbation or bemused amusement), I want to make it clear that Belloc is anything other than a sickly-sweet sentimentalist. He is actually one of the funnier writers in recent memory. His Path to Rome is full of hilarious episodes.

To give one example, he describes an episode where he had just emerged from the Alps in Switzerland, crossing several peaks, and averaging thirty miles on foot a day, when a peasant with a “brutal face” driving his cart “very rapidly, came up with me. I said to him nothing, but he said to me some words in German which I did not understand. We were at that moment just opposite a little inn upon the right hand of the road, and the peasant began making signs to me to hold his horse for him while he went in and drank.

How willing I was to do this you will not perhaps understand, unless you have that delicate and subtle pleasure in holding of horses’ heads, which is the boast and glory of some rare minds. And I was the more willing to do it from the fact that I have the habit of this kind of thing, acquired in the French manoeuvres...I held the horse for the peasant; always, of course, under the implicit understanding that he should allow me when he came out to have a drink, which I, of course, expected him to bring in his own hands.

Far from it...the peasant sat in there drinking with his friends for a good three-quarters of an hour. Now and then a man would come out and look at the sky, and cough and spit and turn round again and say something to the people within in German, and go off; but no one paid the least attention to me as I held this horse.

I was already in a very angry and irritable mood, for the horse was restive and smelt his stable, and wished to break away from me. And all angry and irritable as I was, I turned around to see if this man were coming to relieve me; but I saw him laughing and joking with the people inside; and they were all looking my way out of their window as they laughed. I may have been wrong, but I thought they were laughing at me. A man who knows the Swiss intimately, and who has written a book upon ‘The Drink Traffic: The Example of Switzerland,’ tells me they certainly were not laughing at me; at any rate, I thought they were, and moved by a sudden anger I let go the reins, gave the horse a great clout, and set him off careering and galloping like a whirlwind down the road from which he had come, with the bit in his teeth and all the storms of heaven in his four feet. Instantly, as you may imagine, all the scoffers came tumbling out of the inn, hullabooling, gesticulating, and running like madmen after the horse, and one very old man even turned to protest to me. But I, setting my teeth, grasping my staff, and remembering the purpose of my great journey, set on up the road again with my face towards Rome.” [Rome, 125-126.]

“Here were these magnificent creatures of God [beholding the Alps]...” [114]

“These great Alps, seen thus, link one in some way to one’s immortality.” [114]

“...and could strike one motionless with the awe of supernatural things. Up there in the sky, to which only clouds belong and birds and the last trembling colours of pure light, they stood fast and hard; not moving as do the things of the sky.” [114]

“Their sharp steadfastness and their clean uplifting lines compelled my adoration. Up there, the sky above and below them, part of the sky, but part of us, the great peaks made communion between that homing creeping part of me which loves vineyards and dances and a slow movement among pastures, and that other part which is only properly at home in Heaven.” [114]

“So little are we, we men: so much are we immersed in our muddy and immediate interests that we think, by numbers and recitals, to comprehend distance or time, or any of our limiting infinities...” [113-114]

“Let me put it thus: that from the height of Weissenstein I saw, as it were, my religion. I mean, humility, the fear of death, the terror of height and of distance, the glory of God, the infinite potentialty of reception whence springs that divine thirst of the soul; my aspiration also towards completion, and my confidence in the dual destiny. For I know that we laughers have a gross cousinship with the most high, and it is this contrast and perpetual quarrel which feeds a spring of merriment in the soul of a sane man.” [114]

MEDJUGORJE: DIVINE INTERVENTION OR DIABOLICAL DECEPTION?

2009-09-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

"[Evil spirits] have at times recommended that which is good in order to hinder a greater good, and have encouraged persons to do a particular act of virtue that they may the more easily deceive the unwary..." Pope Benedict XIV, Servorum Dei beatifactione et Beatorum canonizatione.

I used to believe in Medjugorje; I believed it with my whole heart. As an agnostic turned Catholic, who turned to Catholicism after being touched by Our Lady of Lourdes, France, I was ripe to believe that Medjugorje was another divine intervention in the modern world. Moreover, I believed that those who did not believe in Medjugorje had hardened their hearts, in a sense, against God.

So what is “Medjugorje” to those who do not know what this phenomenon is? Medjugorje is a town in the former Yugoslavia where six mostly teenage “visionaries” are reputed to have begun seeing Our Lady, a receiving messages from her, beginning
in the summer of 1981, while frequenting their favorite smoking hide-out.

Millions of souls flock to Medjugorje; good souls, holy Catholic souls, searching for greater meaning; searching for a touch of grace—a ray of meaning in this difficult life. The souls who go there are almost without exception good Catholics: They pray there, they go to confession, they attend daily mass, and many of them return home extolling the “fruits” of Medjugorje.

We hear of a millionaire stockbroker who became a priest; drug addicts who renounce their habits; those who have been away from the Church for decades returning to the fold. James Caviezel, who played Jesus in The Passion, is a friend of one of the “visionaries.”

Despite such inflated hyperbole, one cannot deny that many fruits from Medjugorje have been good: A woman, Rita Klaus, was apparently healed of multiple sclerosis after reading about Medjugorje; the divorced and remarried Protestant journalist Wayne Weible was so overcome by Medjugorje that he wrote several books on the subject and converted to Catholicism. Most interestingly, a former editor at Rolling Stone magazine, Randall Sullivan, experienced such “phenomena” at Medjugorje that he wrote a book largely devoted to the phenomena, The Miracle Detective, had his kids baptized Catholic, but still—to my knowledge—has not converted to the Faith himself.

However, my wife, myself, and, just recently, my eighty-four year old grandmother converted to Catholicism without ever having heard of Medjugorje, and so I doubt it is, or ever has been, the great converter of the unconverted that some claim it to be. The Catholic missionaries used the Traditional Latin Mass and steely resolve to convert millions to the faith. Still, there are, seemingly, good fruits coming out of Medjugorje. Early scientific and psychological testing of the “visionaries” did not show signs of duplicity. It’s likely that the visionaries believe in what they see; I don’t think they conspired with each other to make a buck. The visionaries are basically good, and honest people trapped in a, possibly, diabolical deception. The devil parades as an angle of light. 95% of what is said and happening at Medjugorje seems good, it is the 5% of strange unorthodoxy that is troublesome. The air of legitimacy and good fruits coupled with messages out of whack with the deposit of faith is what makes Medjugorje phenomena to be treated with caution. On the one hand, we Catholics love Our Lady, but we should be cautious in the milieu of today’s Marian apparitions for just that reason: We need to love Our Lady for who she really is, and not a deception. One need only look to Bayside, New York, where a delusional woman claimed to see Our Lady, to see how strange Marian “apparitions” can become. Bayside had a huge cult following; it had reputed miracles to support it, including silver rosaries turning gold, miraculous healings and seemingly unlimited financial resources—these things also happen at Medjugorje. Bayside was declared invalid by the local Bishop, as has Medjugorje by every local Bishop since the phenomena started.

But I am not the ultimate arbiter on Medjugorje, the Church is. I accept her judgment either way. Perhaps the strange behavior of some of the seers at Medjugorje are similar to the way one of the seers acted in later life at the nineteenth-century Church-approved apparition site of La Salette, in France. It is possible to distinguish an apparition from its visionary. However, one can look at the two most recent examples of Church-approved apparitions, and see a great contrast with Medjugorje: At Lourdes, France, the one visionary, Bernadette Soubirous, became a nun. Similarly, the one surviving visionary from Fatima, Portugal, became a nun. On the other hand, the seers at Medjugorje have become hotel owners, jet setters, and live on the newly created “millionaires-row” in the once extremely humble hamlet of Medjugorje. One of them, Vicka, has even claimed that Mary wanted a hotel built in 1995 (Mary the contractor)! Some of the seers split their time between Medjugorje and other locations. One seer married “Ms. Massachusetts,” has driven a Mercedes and BMW, and splits his time between Medjugorje and Boston, where two years ago he sold his condo for $640,000 because. He is also known to take a smoking break during mass.

Not to say wealth is bad, per se: King Saint Louis IX was “wealthy” (though swore it off, and wore sack cloth before he died on Crusade). The great Saint Therese of Liseux had parents of means, but St. Therese swore-off wealth and died a poor nun. Jesus was born in a manger, and his earthly father was a carpenter, and his other an extremely humble servant of God. Therefore, one can assume, God does not favor the rich. If this is true, why would God, though Mary, set-up a situation where a group of seers, claiming Mary as their Visionary, would become wealthy hotel-owners?

But still, you might ask, why would I wish to disparage phenomena that is near and dear to the hearts of so many? Why would I write negatively of phenomena inspiring to millions of Catholics—phenomena which has produced good “fruits?” One need only look at the phenomena of Neale Donald Walsch’s “Conversations with God,” a heretical series of books followed by millions throughout the world, to see how easily millions of souls can be led astray by those claiming contact with the divine. Medjugorje has captured the hearts and minds of millions of Catholics throughout the world; Priests, Bishops, a few Cardinals, and even, possibly, Pope John Paul II believed in it. If it is false, it has the power of altering the Church away from her Divine mission.

The Church was built on the blood and bones of the martyrs. When Vicka says that Our Lady is not calling people to become Catholics, but that, “[T]he Blessed Mother says all religions are dear to her and her Son.” (“The Visions of the Children,” Janice T. Connell, St. Martin’s Press, 1992, pg. 119.) One is left with a feeling of indifferentism towards the Catholic faith. The martyrs' blood: Those who sacrificed all to teach the True Faith, and "convert all nations" becomes irrelevant. For the same reason, some of the greatest Saints' teachings become irrelevant. Also, the Bible becomes irrelevant because we are exhorted to spread the True Faith in it; but if God doesn't desire others to become Catholic, why bother? Catholicism, at least as understood in the non-modernistic sense, is not a "faith,” per se, but Truth itself. Medjugorje is diminishing that age-old understanding of our Faith. Dicey business, because the fruits, otherwise, seem good; I do believe people experience "signs and wonders" there, and there have been “conversions.”

In March 2007, I traveled to Paris with the express wish of visiting Our Lady of Chartres Cathedral; a ninety-minute train rides from Paris. Since it was still cold, I had the opportunity to experience Chartres away from the crowds, and in the off-season. This Cathedral holds mysteries that the average person cannot fathom. Christians worshipped at the very site where Chartres was built for a millennium and a half (one can still descend into the crypts and visit part of the church destroyed by the Normans in the ninth century.) In that span, the vapors of time have erased much of the history of that place, since the modern concept of written history is not available to us with respect to most of the history of Chartres, and we can only rely on oral history, conjecture, and the walls of the Cathedral itself to guide us.

Suffice it to say that Christians lived, died, and worshipped at Chartres for over a thousand years; long before it was turned into a “temple of enlightenment” during the Revolution in the eighteenth century, when local secularists even contemplated tearing it down! One can descend into the crypts of Chartres and pray where the earliest Christians prayed, over fifteen hundred years ago.

So how does Chartres tie-in to Medjugorje? Notre Dame de Chartres was dedicated to Our Lady, and held the shawl she wore when she gave birth to the Redeemer. In the crypts of Chartres I imagined Our Lady as the humble, selfless woman born without sin to St. Ann. Humbly giving birth to Our Lord in a stable, and raising Him as a child. I imagined the Catholics at Chartres praying to this humble Virgin century upon century. Chartres is a place of spiritual depth and meaning.

Medjugorje, on the other hand, has become the Disneyland of “mystical” phenomena. There is even an etymological term known as the “Medjugorje phenomena,” where there are those who stare at the sun for so long, expecting a miracle, that they damage their retinas.

On October 1, 1981 the seers asked Our Lady: "Are all religions the same?" to which the “Gospa” replied, "Members of all faiths are equal before God. God rules over each faith just like a sovereign over his kingdom. In the world, all religions are not the same because all people have not complied with the commandments of God. They reject and disparage them."
Interestingly, this quote cannot be found on the semi-official website for Medjugorje. Clearly, this quote is heretical. God cannot “rule over each faith like a sovereign over his kingdom,” for to do so would mean God gives credence and meaning to each faith, just like a sovereign does to his kingdom. Christ is King of just one Faith: The Roman Catholic Church. There are not multiple expressions of Truth, but a single Truth, contained in Christ, and expressed fully in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Deposit of Faith. The idea that Christ reigns over, say, the Moonies is absurd.

The “Gospa” has left tens of thousands of messages in Medjugorje, or, by extension, with the visionaries throughout the world, who seem to be able to conjure her wherever they may be, whether in the United States, Italy, or anyplace else. The famous “Mariologist,” Fr. Rene Laurentin, named one of the top 100 Catholic by “dailycatholic.org”—slightly behind Wayne Weible—is a major proponent of Medjugorje. Fr. Laurentin claims that Medjugorje is verified, in part, by the veracity of its visionaries. But are the visionaries really trustworthy? It is known that the “apparitions” started when the then teenage visionaries were smoking near a site where Croat Nazis slaughtered nearly a thousand people during World War II. The visionaries have been known to lie, or at least speak inconsistently, again and again. But the most troubling aspect with Medjugorje is the sense of syncretism inspired by it. It’s almost as if Medjugorje is inspiring a new faith within the Faith by very subtle means.

Fr. Rene Laurentin is also a huge proponent of a seer named Vassula Ryden, a Pan-Orthodox divorcee who claims that Jesus personally guides her hand in writing messages (http://www.tlig.org/en/background/handwriting/laurentin/). Ryden frequently speaks before the United Nations, where she espouses a syncrenistic understanding between protestants, Catholics and Orthodox. Fr. Laurentin cannot be relied upon as an authority on the veracity of Medjugorje since he has advanced a highly unorthodox seer. See, (http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFRYDN1.HTM.)

Vassula Ryden and Medjugorje both espouse a syncrenistic and indifferent understanding of the Church. This is opposed to the tradition of our Church. It is opposed to the great Saints and Martyrs who gave their live to advance the truth that Christ died to forgive us our sins, and created one Church to advance His mission on earth, and in that Church created the unbloodly Sacrifice of the Mass, as a mode whereby He would remain with us until the end of time.

E. Michael Jones wrote a book called "The Medjugorje Deception," Fidelity Press, 1998--it is a counterbalance to the superabundance of pro-Medjugorje books circulating and making millions out there (Michael Davies also wrote a book countering the Medjugorje phenomena.) As an aside, Jones was physically threatened by devotees of Medjugorje, do they not know that Christ's revelation ended around 2,000 years ago? One can believe or disbelieve in church-approved apparitions as one pleases (no less non-church approved ones, such as Medjugorje), and still be a good Catholic.

Generally well researched, here are a few nuggets from Jones' book: Bishop Peric, who was Bishop of Medjugorje at the time, was actually man-handled--his pectoral cross ripped off--by devotees of the "Gospa" of Medjugorje, who whisked him away to a chapel run by the Franciscans, and he actually had to be rescued by the Mayor of Mostar with U.N. troops in tow! [pg. xvii, from the introduction] Jones provides a nice quote regarding those who are constantly seeking a "high"-- a fix-- from ever-changing "mystical" phenomena, especially those in the charismatic movement, who the devotees of Medjugorje seem to be in abundance: "Either one grows into a mature faith--i.e. one not based on signs and wonders--or one looks for signs and wonders in ever-increadsing doess in order to maintain the spiritual high one remembers from the past." [pg. 37]

Quoting Father Jean Galot, Jones rightly points out that, "The frequency of an apparition, for example, is an argument against its authenticity because, '...it would arouse the image of a Christian religion that was nourished much more by actual visions than by the revelation brought in the past by the coming of Christ on earth. Piety would develop more as a function of constant apparitions than by the leap of faith...'" [pg. 66] Indeed! Although certainly Our Lady's coming to Fatima was necessarily predicated on our modern times, and scientific materialism.

Here is a passage that has long troubled me about Medjugorje, "The visionaries made virtually no show of devotion to the Eucharist and spent their time during mass talking and walking around [based on the impressions of Bishop Zanic]" [pg. 92] Whereas Fatima began and ended with the Eucharist, and the approved apparition of Akita was Eucharistically-based (and even Garabandal, which I'm not giving my opinion to one way or the other, was Eucharistically based) all Medjugorje could muster-up was a message by the Gospa that the children should prepare for the Eucharist for an hour "at least," before mass. [Messages, 1985] And then there are reports of Ivan, even in recent years, taking smoke breaks during mass; one is left with the impression of, "why would God create such a circus of irreverence towards his only Son?" Granted, the Gospa is given plenty of piety, but Mary herself would agree that her central role is to lead to Christ-God. Medjugorje seems to leave Christ in the periphery, all too often me thinks.

In the "visionary" Vicka's diary [9/4/1981] is a story about a bloody "handkerchief" soaked in blood, given to a "conductor." He was told to throw it into a river (by an unknown persona). He held-off, and met a woman, who turned out to be the Gopa. She asked for a handkerchief, and when he offered his own instead, she asked for the bloody one! He gave it to her, and she stated that if he had thrown the bloody one into a river, as instructed, the world would have ended. "The Gospa confirmed that this was the truth." [pg. 94]

Priests at Medjugorje also have a penchant for getting nuns pregnant. The recent story of Fr. Vlasic getting a nun pregnant and getting erstwhile with the Vatican is only one such story (although the biggest, since he was THE "spiritual advisor" to the "visionaries" and the major early proponent of their messages for some time), there is also the story of Fr. Ivica Vego, who also got a nun pregnant! This is a priest which the Gospa defended in his battle with the local Bishop previously. [pg. 147]

Then there is the fact that the Gospa can be transported from place to place to have messages broadcast, particularly if the person sponsoring the particular message-conduit-visionary has money! In one instance, the Gospa was amenable to having her apparition in a field in America at the base of a large tree, when thousands of pilgrims were too many to have it in a home. [pg. 153]

A Priest associated with Medjugorje for over ten years, who was a firm supporter, went to being a confirmed skeptic when he began to think that, indeed, the children were seeing a spiritual entity, but not the Virgin Mary. [pg. 352]

My eighty-four year old grand mother lives with the “Little Sisters” in Gallup, New Mexico. She became a Catholic at 84, after living with those holy sisters for a little over a year. Many of the nuns there hail from India and Southeast Asia. Those young, holy, and selfless nuns—giving their lives over to the care of the elderly—as well as my grandmother’s friends in Gallup, impressed upon her the Catholic faith the first weeks she was there. I stood next to my grandmother as she was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic faith. I also stood there while she took her First Holy Communion! It was a beautiful, and holy experience. And, for the record, I must say that Medjugorje had nothing to do with it. My grandmother, I’m sure, had never heard of Medjugorje when she became Catholic; I never heard of Medjugorje before I became Catholic. Part of the reason for my grandmother’s late-life conversion is no doubt due to the selfless labor of those holy—and habited, nuns—who give their all for those in the most need: the elderly. Medjugorje is not even a factor there.

The Holy Sacrifice

2008-09-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

The Holy Sacrifice

“In the liturgy…we die with Christ in order to arise with Him; in the liturgy, too, we die to the world in order to live to God” (Liturgy and Personality, D. von Hildebrand, New Hampshire, 1986, pg. 156)

On July 7, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI issued his Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum. This document, issued on the Pope’s “own initiative,” essentially allows any Priest, even without his Bishop’s permission, to pray the Traditional Latin Mass. This is a watershed document for traditionalists. After Vatican II, the presumption was that the Old Rite had been abrogated, in favor of the Novus Ordo, “New Order,” Mass created under Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, at the behest of Pope Paul VI. Many traditionalists were persecuted even within their Church for saying otherwise. After Summorum Pontificum, the presumption changed. See, http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/b16SummorumPontificum.htm.

The Novus Ordo, “New Order,” Mass itself was an attempt to assuage Protestant sensibilities. Cardinal Alfons Stickler wrote that the, “French philosopher Jean Guitton [said] that Pope Paul VI revealed to him that it was his [Pope Paul VI’s] intention to assimilate as much as possible of the new Catholic liturgy to Protestant worship.” (The Attractiveness of the Tridentine Mass, Alfons Cardinal Stickler, Latin Mass Magazine, Summer 1995.) The Novus Ordo mass was a “banal, on the spot,” (in the words of then Cardinal Ratzinger) liturgy, created in a liturgical think-tank, with the help of six protestant “observers.” The Novus Ordo is a veritable Protestant wish-list of reforms: Where—to many—the Altar becomes the table; the Body of Christ, communion bread, and Latin English etc. (See Cranmer’s Godly Order: The Destruction of Catholicism Through Liturgical Change, Michael Davies, Roman Catholic Books, 1995, particularly ch. XI.)

Of course, the Sacrifice is still present, but is often hidden by the mumbo-jumbo shenanigans of the priest “performing” in front of his happy-clappy parishioners. Worship becomes horizontal: It’s all about community fellowship; hugging each other, holding hands, clapping, etc., while totally forgetting the Sacrifice of Christ. The correct understanding of true participation on the part of lay people was not lost on the minds of pre-conciliar Popes. Pope St. Pius X: “[t]he first and necessary font of a truly Christian spirit for the faithful is their active participation in the most holy and sacred mysteries and in the solemn and common prayer of the Church.” (“Liturgy and Christian Unity”, Marshall and Taylor, Prentice-Hall, 1965, pg. 126,) and Pope Pius XII: “It is desirable that all the faithful should be aware that to participate in the Eucharistic Sacrifice is their chief duty and supreme dignity…” (St. Joseph Missal, Imprimatur, Francis Cardinal Spellman, Catholic Book Publishing Company, pg. 1.) So, these great souls knew the necessity of active participation, in mind body and soul, of the parishioner at the Latin Mass. Indeed, there is nothing more beautiful than participating at the Sacrifice of the Mass, and it is easily done with a hand missal, and soon many learn the Latin of the Mass without a missal, and can participate freely without one. It would be absurd to say that the Novus Ordo has created a more profound understanding of the Sacrifice of the Mass.

Even before the Novus Ordo was manufactured, the liturgy had become almost exclusively vernacular (an exclusively vernacular mass was anathemized by Canon 9 at the council of Trent, btw.) The preface to a Mass book of 1965 states that, “The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy emphasized the communal nature of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the importance of the people taking their rightful parts in the Mass.” (Parish Mass Book, Catholic Book Publishing, 1965). The only Latin in this book is found on page 282 for the “Preface—Canon,” during the “Eucharistic Banquet,” on page 290, and during the dismissal prayer on page 292. At Mass, we should have our full attention directed towards the eternal Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross; we should grant our entire being to God during this small time-frame in our lives once a week; we should meditate on Christ’s Sacrifice during Mass; one hour spent with God.

Aside from runaway ecumenism, and a de-emphasis on the Sacrificial aspect of the mass, there was also the emphasis on the vernacular. Although the topic of a vernacular mass was treated thoroughly four centuries earlier at Trent, 60’s Catholics somehow thought they had discovered a new-found Truth: If only the mass were vernacular, there would be full and active participation, and the Age of Aquarius would dawn. The Latin Mass, to them, was a time when old ladies prayed their rosaries during mass, and the general parishioner had no clue what was going on.

There is a book published in 1965 titled “Liturgy and Christian Unity,” (Prentice-Hall) written by a Catholic Priest, Michael J. Taylor, S.J., and a Protestant, Romey Marshall, “President-emeritus, the Order of St. Luke,” which is a smorgasbord of ecumenical ideals. In it we read from Taylor, mind you he’s a priest, that, “The people…in the middle ages especially…lost a sense of being a vital part of the assembly [sic] action; it so happened that events caused them to take on a detached, spectator’s view.” (Pg. 103) This comports with the Protestant counter-point, “When we think only of the wonder of the Mass, of a miracle which we believe takes place upon the altar, when we become content to see and hear, as did the Christians of the Middle Ages [at least this Protestant has the respect to capitalize this glorious time in the Church], then we lose sight of the greatest miracle of all—that God through Christ gave himself for us…” (Pg. 29). That argument, underwhelming as it is, is the Protestant-Jansenist ideal of a Church bereft of adornments or accoutrements, which are superfluous in a “pure” church of Christ. But such an unadorned “church” bypasses the fact that Christ said He would “build” His Church on earth, and that the Church would be built upon Saint Peter (Matt. 16:18). The “building” is literal and spiritual—Christ Himself permitted His feet to be anointed with costly oil even though one of His disciples, Judas, who would ironically betray Him for money, protested that to do so would take away from the poor (Jn. 12: 3). Do Protestants think that all the Councils, magnificent Cathedrals, anathemas, pronouncements, decrees and dogmas through the centuries were in vain, but somehow Luther and Calvin found a truer path, even though most of their progeny now favor abortion?

The reality is that false ecumenism is alive and well in the Church; there is a new chapel in the Vatican for those outside the Church to offer their liturgies (http://www.cfnews.org/EcuChapel.htm;) it’s almost as if some prelates in the Church are unsure of the Church, and Her role—her essentiality—in the Salvation of the world through Her founder, Christ.

The Second Vatican Council imagined that there was a new ecumenical spirit alive in the 1960’s wherein, supposedly, the Holy Spirit was leading faith communities together:

"Today, in many parts of the world, under the inspiring grace of the Holy Spirit, many efforts are being made in prayer, word and action to attain that fullness of unity which Jesus Christ desires. The Sacred Council exhorts all the Catholic faithful to recognize the signs of the times and to take an active and intelligent part in the work of ecumenism.

Unitatis Redintegratio, 4.

The sad reality is that, today, the Catholic Church and various protestant sects are drifting further apart. Not because the Catholic Church is drifting, but because She is standing firm. For instance, it might have been conceivable in the 1960’s for the Episcopalians and Catholics to someday reconcile (through the Anglican church,) today this is inconceivable since Episcopalians ordain female bishops; a stance the Church will never budge on (unlike, say, married priests, which has historical precedent; and, in fact, there are married Priests in the Church today, though the general law of the Church is that Priests should be celebrate.)

Of course, there is nothing wrong with true ecumenism as properly understood. Dietrich von Hildebrand wrote that: "The attitude which goes with true ecumenism involves sympathetically emphasizing the elements of truth in other religions while clearly rejecting the errors they contain." (The Devastated Vineyard, Roman Catholic Books, 1985.) The problem with the Catholic ecumenical enterprise is that it has made manifold efforts to appease the Protestant position while the vast majority of Protestants have made no movements to the Catholic side. Many Catholics, in fact, have had their faith so watered-down, at times, by false ecumenism that they often look in the mirror and do not see a Catholic anymore (for instance, a minority now do not believe in the Real Presence, which is the central mystery of our Faith.) False ecumenism, therefore, has gained nothing for the Church, and has caused her to lose much. In the last decades, the Church became so intent on appeasing her separated brethren that she began to lose her essence. Fortunately, Pope Benedict XVI has made efforts to reverse the trend.

But how did such a situation arise in the first place? Did Vatican II call for us to give the Church’s treasures away and acquiesce to Martin Luther and his progeny? What good was served to the Church when John Paul II conducted a joint prayer service with two Lutheran Bishops inside St. Peter’s on October 5, 1991? Did this act tend to teach that the Catholic Church is just one branch of the Christian family tree, or did it affirm the Catholic doctrine of extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (outside the Church there is no Salvation)? John Paul II was a man of great faith and prayer, and possibly a Saint, but is the purpose of ecumenism, in the Catholic sense, to assuage the manifold Protestant denominations, or to affirm what is true in them, while “clearly rejecting” what is false?

The last message of Vatican II’s document on ecumenism is that unity is to be found only in the bosom of the Church: “The Council moreover professes its awareness that human powers and capacities cannot achieve this holy objective-the reconciling of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ.” UR, 24 (boldface added.)
Somehow this truth is lost on the likes of Cardinal Walter Kasper:

"The old concept of the ecumenism of return has today been replaced by that of a common journey which directs Christians toward the goal of ecclesial communion understood as unity in reconciled diversity…The Ecumenism of return is no longer applicable to the Church after Vatican II."

L’Osservatore Romano, January 20, 2000 (quoted in The Great Façade, pg. 201, Thomas E. Woods, Jr. and Christopher A. Ferrara, Remnant Press, 2002.)

So we have a Catholic publication—indeed, the Vatican’s official publication—publishing a piece diametrically opposed to the Church’s own understanding of the purpose of ecumenism; that is, the return of all Christians to the one and only Church of Christ. Though Vatican II made the point so small that it was easily obscured, it is there, nevertheless.

Cardinal Ratzinger, before he became Pope, spoke of a “unity in diversity,” (The Great Façade, pg. 202.) A unity in diversity is possible only if the diverse faith communities subscribe to the doctrines and dogmas of the Church, and offer the Sacrifice of the Mass, much as reconciled Byzantine Catholics do: They may have unique rites but they hold fealty to the one Church of Christ and her teachings.

Mixed signals have also been sent by Popes since Vatican II. Pope John Paul II, at the infamous interfaith “prayer gatherings” of Assisi I and II, stood in line with “muftis, Buddhist monks,” and others, holding potted olive plants for peace. The prayers for peace included an “Animist prayer to the Great Thumb,” (The Great Façade, pg. 84.) More shocking, at Assisi II:

"[v]arious religions were assigned rooms in the monastery attached to the Basilica of St. Francis to perform various pagan rituals. Thus at a profoundly sacred Catholic site, where for centuries holy monks had prayed for the conversion of such souls, a (polytheistic) Jainist minister burned wood chips in his sacred urn, and practitioners of the other religions, including voodoo, observed their own ‘traditions.’ "

The Great Façade, pg. 86 (citation omitted.)

It is a good thing to pray for peace, but such gatherings go beyond any conceivable notion of ecumenism that the Fathers who signed Unitatis imagined, and begin to stink of syncretism. Not that syncretism was the Church’s intention, but syncretism, by the Church not explicitly denouncing it, was the practical outcome for many at the prayer meeting and for many of those who observed since. Conducting joint prayer services with Lutheran ministers inside St. Peter’s Basilica, was a nice gesture in the modernist sense, but would have horrified the great Saints. The Church should be in the business of saving souls, not appeasing them.

The phenomena of Medjugorje isn’t helping things. The Church was built on the blood and bones of the martyrs. When Vicka, a “visionary” from Medjugorje, says that Our Lady is not calling people to become Catholics, but that, “[T]he Blessed Mother says all religions are dear to her and her Son…” (“The Visions of the Children,” Janice T. Connell, St. Martin’s Press, 1992, pg. 119,) one is left with a feeling of indifferentism towards the Catholic faith (in fairness, this is not an official message from Our Lady of Medjugorje, but Vicka’s interpretation.) The martyrs' blood—those who sacrificed all to teach the True Faith, and "convert all nations”—becomes irrelevant. For the same reason, some of the greatest Saints' teachings become irrelevant. Also, portions of the Bible become irrelevant because we are exhorted to spread the True Faith “to the ends of the earth”; but if God doesn't desire others to become Catholic, why bother? Why did the Martyrs shed their blood? Why did the Missionaries risk all, often also becoming martyrs, to spread the Faith? Why did Our Lady of Guadalupe appear to Saint Juan Diego, leaving her image on his tilma, which resulted in the conversion of millions, if all faiths are “dear”?

The practical effect of runaway ecumenism is that there are those in and out of the Church who think that Salvation is equally available to those outside of the Church. Again, Pope Benedict XVI has been making efforts to correct the mistake that the Church somehow espouses syncretism. And although Vatican II did not teach relativism, it has been misused and misconstrued by many to do so.

Returning to the book, “Liturgy and Christian Unity,” (which of course advocates ad-nauseam about the necessity for the vernacular—how stupid a Latin Mass was, and, by extension, all those Saints formulated by it—and for a table instead of an altar etc.) the most blasphemous parts are the advancements for “periodic intercommunion.” From the Priest on page 170: “After a history of common prayer, we would be better disposed to undertake occasional intercommunion together. Aware of our basic spiritual unity…we could approach the Eucharist not as a sign of union in faith and worship, but as an extraordinary supplication for God’s intervention in our move towards unity.” (Pg. 170) Wow! That is where things were leading in the 1960’s. Christ as a political tool for unity! No longer is He Christ the King, the Lord of Lords, etc, but He’s a vehicle for unity! This is Liberation theology before its time. Now I’d like to distinguish this sacrilegious misunderstanding.

The Mass which formed the majority of the great Saints, including Saint Therese de Lisieux, Saint Bernadette, Saint Theresa of Avila, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Thomas More, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Saint Juan Diego, and hundreds others, was done in Latin, in the “Extraordinary” form, and it was a Sacrifice, not a “service.” These Saints, many of them illiterate, came to the Church through the Latin Mass. The missionaries on the great plain brought millions to the Church through the same rite, yet there were those with the gall in the 60’s to say that it was “deficient,” and the mass should be vernacularized and protestantized.

The Church has through the centuries maintained the Latin language in worship, which Cardinal Stickler explains:

"Chapter 8 [of the Council of Trent] is dedicated to the peculiar language of worship in the Mass. It is known that in the cult of all religions a sacred language is used. In the Roman Catholic Church during the first three centuries the language was Greek, being the common language employed in the Latin world. From the fourth century on, the Latin language developed into the common idiom in the Roman Empire. Latin remained for centuries in the Roman Catholic Church as the only lanuuage for worship. Quite naturally, Latin was also the language of the Roman rite in its central act of worship, the Mass. This remained the case even after Latin was replaced as the living language by the various Romance languages.
Now we come to the question: why not chance again? We answer: divine Providence establishes even secondary things. For example, Palestine—Jerusalem—is the place of the Redemption by Jesus Christ. Rome is the center of the Church. Peter was not born in Rome. He came to Rome. Why? It was the center then of the Roman Empire—that means, of the world. That is the practical background of the diffusion of the Faith by the Roman Empire, only a human thing, a historical thing. But it enters certainly in divine Providence.
A similar process can be seen even in other religions. For the Moslems, the old Arab language is dead and yet it remains the language of their liturgy, of their cult. For the Hindus, the Sanskrit. Due to its necessary connection with the supernatural, worship naturally requires its own particular religious language, which should not be “vulgar” one.
The fathers of the Council knew very well that most of the faithful assisting at the Mass neither understood Latin nor were able to read translations. They were generally illiterate. The fathers also knew that the Mass contains a great deal of instruction for the faithful.
Nevertheless they did not agree with the view held by Protestants that it was necessary to celebrate the Mass only in the vernacular. In order to provide instruction for the faithful, the Council ordered that the old custom approved by the Holy Roman Church—the mother and teacher of all churches—be maintained everywhere, and that care should be had for souls in explaining the central mystery of the Mass.
Canon 9 threatens with excommunication those who affirm that the language of the Mass must only be the vernacular. It is noteworthy that in both chapter and canon the Council of Trent only rejected the exclusivity of the “vulgar” language in the sacred rites. On the other hand, we need once again to take into account that these various Conciliar regulations do not only have a disciplinary character. They are based on a doctrinal, theological foundation that involves the Faith itself.
The reasons for this concern can be seen, firstly, in the reverence that is due to the mystery of the Mass. The decree which immediately followed concerning what has to be observed and avoided in the celebration of the Mass states, “Irreverence cannot be separated from impiety.” Irreverence always involves impiety. In addition, the Council wished to safeguard the ideas expressed in the Mass, and the precision of the Latin tongue safeguards the content against misunderstanding and potential errors based on linguistic imprecision.
For these reasons the Church has always defended the sacred tongue and even recently Pius XI expressly stated that this language should be non vulgaris. For these self-same reasons Canon 9 established excommunication against those who affirm that the rite of the Roman Church, in which a part of the Canon and the words of consecration are pronounced silently, must be condemned. Even silence has a theological background."

Latin Mass Magazine, Id.

Because of Vatican II and its deleterious aftermath, a whole generation has been brought-up to understand the Mass as a community gathering, not as the Worship of God in the Sacrifice of the Mass. We can gather with and greet one another before or after mass, but the practical effect of, say, the Novus Ordo Kiss of Peace, is to distract us from God (a peace offering interiorly should be done with the Priest.) Mass is a time to worship God, not communicate with each other (which we can readily do AFTER mass.) When we hold hands at the Our Father, we are distracted from God, and think of the sweaty palm in ours, not the sublime prayer we are reciting.

One unbridgeable bride between Catholics and Protestants is the nature of the Mass itself. The Protestant worship service is a community gathering of song, praise and fellowship. The Mass, despite the best efforts of the liberal periti at Vatican II, and screaming liberal Catholic “theologians” since, was and remains the Unbloody Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, first and foremost, perpetuated as He Himself commanded us to perpetuate: “For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come.” (1Cor.11:26) No one did better to describe the significance of the Mass than the late Michael Davies:

"[T]he altar of sacrifice in the Jewish Temple represented God, just as the Christian altar represents Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The blood of the victim was said to contain its life, and when poured upon the altar it had been returned to God in Whom that life originated. …. The Christian religion has only one sacrifice, the sacrifice that was once offered when Our Lord Jesus Christ, acting both as priest and victim, shed His Blood for us upon the Cross. Every type and every purpose of Old Testament sacrifice was fulfilled to perfection on Calvary. Holocaust, peace offering, sin offering were all merely types, shadows, figures of that one perfect sacrifice on the first Good Friday when God the Son made Man reconciled all tings unto Himself, ‘making peace through the Blood of His Cross, both as to the things that are on earth and the things that are in heaven’ (Col. 1:20).
In so far as the Old Testament sacrifices had been offered sincerely with an humble and contrite heart, they had pleased God and brought blessings upon those who had offered them. But such sacrifices could never atone for the sin of Adam and the sins of all his descendants. In a perfect sacrifice priest and victim must be identical, but this had been impossible before the coming of Our Lord.
…
When Christ on the Cross cried out His Consummatum est, few were the men who noticed it, fewer still the men who perceived that this phrase announced a turning point for mankind, that this death opened into everlasting life gates through which, from that moment on, all the people of the earth would pass. Now, to meet the expectant longing of mankind, this great event is arrested and, through Christ’s institution [of the mass] held fast for these coming generations so that they might be conscious witnesses of that event in the last centuries and amongst the remotest nations, and might look up to it in holy rapture.’…[t]he Catholic Church has meaning and significance only in so far as it is directed towards God. It is equally true that it has meaning and significance only in so far as it is considered as an exercise of the priesty office of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord’s priestly office on earth did not come to an end when He ascended into heaven. He perpetuates it in His Mystical Body, the Church, which, in its innermost reality, is an extension of the Incarnation throughout the nations and the centuries. Our Lord is present among us today in His Church, teaching, ruling, and sanctifying us. Priests who have received their orders in direct succession from the Apostles offer the Mass in Christ’s name and in His person, in persona Christi. Our Lord Himself is the true High Priest of every Mass, the priest at the altar acts only as His instrument. In the traditional Mass of the Roman Rite, now commonly known as the Tridentine Mass, this sublime truth is symbolized fittingly by the manner in which the priest subordinates himself to the awe inspiring holiness and majesty of the rite which he is celebrating, the rite which Father Faber described as the most beautiful thing this side of heaven.’ A prayer in the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom evokes the profound truth that: ‘It is really Thou Who dost offer and art offered, Thou Who dost receive the offering and art given back to us, Christ our God.’ The Sacrifice of the Mass is truly the Sacrifice of Calvary made present among us, a sacrifice at which we should dare to be present only in a spirit of the utmost reverence and most abject humility, conscious of our unworthiness in the presence of the all holy God. ‘Quam terribilis est haec hora!’ cries out the deacon in the Syrian liturgy. ‘How awesome is this hour!’ Awesome it is indeed when our Savior and our God is present among us as priest and victim."

Michael Davies, The Eternal Sacrifice, Newman Press, 1987, pages.11-14, citation omitted.

Now, the obvious Protestant response is: “My personal relationship with Jesus is all.” That is a natural response, and I don’t judge it. But let me ask my Protestant friends this: By what authority do you base your opinions? If private judgment is authoritative, why so many sects and beliefs? Did Christ institute one Church, as He says in the Bible, or 33,000 protestant denominations? The Catholic, if he is such, also must have a personal relationship with Christ to be saved. But we need more; we need the Sacraments, we need to do good works, we need the “Bread of Life.”

The Unbridgeable gap between Catholics and Protestants really is the Eucharist confected in the Holy Sacrifice. Many Protestants are interested in the early Church, but the early Church was decidedly Catholic. The Eucharist was all important to the Church Fathers: Saint Ignatius, third Bishop of Antioch after St. Peter, on his way to martyrdom at the Flavian ampitheatre for being a Christian, for instance, wrote in a letter that, “[The Eucharist is] the medicine of immortality, and the sovereign remedy by which we escape death and live in Jesus Christ for evermore.” And, “There is no pleasure for me in any meats that perish, or in the delights of this life; I am fain for the bread of God, even the flesh of Jesus Christ, who is the seed of David; and for my drink I crave that Blood of His which is love imperishable.” (Cir. 110 A.D.) St. Ephraim the Syrian (d. AD 373) wrote that, “one particle from [the Eucharist’s] crumbs is able to sanctify thousands and thousands, and is sufficient to afford life to those who eat of it.” Justin Martyr wrote that:

"Just as our Savior Jesus Christ was made flesh by the word of God and took on flesh and blood for our salvation, so also were we taught that the food, for which thanksgiving has been made through the word of prayer instituted by him, and from which our blood and flesh are nourished after the change, is the flesh of that Jesus who was made flesh."

First Apology, cir. 155 A.D.

Saint Augustine wrote:

"It is an excellent thing that the Punic Christians call baptism itself nothing else but 'salvation' and the sacrament of Christ’s Body nothing else but “life.” Whence does this derive, except from an ancient, and I suppose, Apostolic Tradition, by which the Churches of Christ hold inherently that without Baptism and participation in the Table of the Lord it is impossible for any man to attain either to the kingdom of God or to salvation and life eternal. This is the witness of Scripture too. "

De Peccatorum Remissione et de Baptismo Parvulorum, AD 412

There are many more quotes from the early Church Fathers regarding the Eucharist. One of the earliest quotes on the Sacrificial aspect of Mass, where ordinary bread becomes the Body of Christ during Transubstantiation, comes from Saint Cyprian, a convert, Bishop and Martyr:

"[i]n the priest Melchizedek we see prefigured the sacrament of the sacrifice of the Lord…
…
[t]he Lord’s sacrifice [is not] celebrated with a legitimate consecration unless our oblation and sacrifice respond to His passion.
…
For if Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, is Himself the chief priest of God the Father, and has first offered Himself a sacrifice to the Father, and has commanded this to be done in commemoration of Himself, certainly that priest truly discharges the office of Christ, who imitates that which Christ did; and he then offers a true and full sacrifice in the Church to God the Father, when he proceeds to offer it according to what he sees Christ Himself to have offered.
…
And because we make mention of His passion in all sacrifices (for the Lord’s passion is the sacrifice which we offer), we ought to do nothing else than what He did. For Scripture says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show forth the Lord’s death till He come.” [1 Corinthians 11:26] As often, therefore, as we offer the cup in commemoration of the Lord and of His passion, let us do what it is known the Lord did. And let this conclusion be reached, dearest brother: if from among our predecessors any have either by ignorance or simplicity not observed and kept this which the Lord by His example and teaching has instructed us to do, he may, by the mercy of the Lord, have pardon granted to his simplicity. But we cannot be pardoned who are now admonished and instructed by the Lord to offer the cup of the Lord mingled with wine according to what the Lord offered, and to direct letters to our colleagues also about this, so that the evangelical law and the Lord’s tradition may be everywhere kept, and there be no departure from what Christ both taught and did."

Epistle 62, 4-17, cir. 250 A.D.

Of course, the Bible is full of references to the Eucharist and Sacrifice. Christ said three times that the Eucharist IS His body (Matt. 26:26, Mk. 14:22, Lk. 22:19,) Christ didn’t say, “this is like my body,” but, “this IS my body.” That point is lost by many. Although Christ’s actual death was a one-time event, Heb. 7:27, Christ clearly wanted His disciples to re-present the event of His Sacrifice in an unbloody manner in the Consecration. The Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world. Rev. 13:8.

Paul speaks specifically about the altar of the Sacrifice: “We have an altar, whereof they have no power to eat who serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the holies by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered without the gate.” Heb. 13:10-12.

Paul Says again in 1 Cor. 10:16-22:

"The chalice of benediction, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread, which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord? For we, being many, are one bread, one body, all that partake of one bread. Behold Israel according to the flesh: are not they, that eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the altar? What then? Do I say, that what is offered in sacrifice to idols, is any thing? Or, that the idol is any thing? But the things which the heathens sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God. And I would not that you should be made partakers with devils. You cannot drink the chalice of the Lord, and the chalice of devils: you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord, and of the table of devils."

Christ said:

"I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.
For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever."

Jn. 6:41-59, Duay-Rheims.

Many Protestants advocate for a literal interpretation of the Bible, except when it comes to certain Eucharistic passages, including the one above, or, for instance, where Christ tells his Apostles that they can forgive sins (the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, Cf. Jn. 20:23.) Some passages are, admittedly, “hard” teachings in the Bible. Christ wasn’t advocating cannibalism, an idea which crossed his listeners’ minds, but the teaching of the Church, of which He is the head, is that the Eucharist really is the soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, as hard as that is to believe for some. There are many more Eucharistic and Sacrificial aspects in the Bible, too numerous to go into for the purposes of this article.

Instead of continuing the down-ward, watering down of our faith to protestant sensibilities, we should grasp the initiative of Pope Benedict XVI in his Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, and regain what has been lost in the essence of Catholic identity—namely, the understanding of the Mass as Sacrifice. It seems as though prelates after Vatican II thought the imperative was to modernize, mechanicalize, and make palatable the mass to modern senses. But Christ said that His Kingdom was not of this world, but of the next. The mass should be a time to transcend the banal in everyday life, and live with God for a short time. Thus, the Latin Mass has been called, “the most beautiful thing this side of heaven (Fr. Frederick Faber;) this mass was celebrated by Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, on April 18, 1999: http://www.unavoce.org/ratzinger1.htm. This might be seen as the beginning of the restoration of the true worship of Catholicism in the world after Vatican II.

Pope Benedict, before he became Pope, spoke of Martin Luther and his progeny as saying that it is "the most appalling horror and a damnable impiety to speak of the sacrifice of the Mass." Our Pope went on to confirm the understanding of the Mass as Sacrifice: http://www.christianorder.com/features/features_2004/features_junejuly04_bonus.html.
But it is this “damnable heresy,” that will restore Catholicism. The disbelief in the Mass as Sacrifice is the true heresy, which is easily demonstrable by the three prongs of Catholic teaching: The Magisterium, Sacred Scripture and Tradition; without the true belief in the Eucharist, Catholicism is null and void. So, true ecumenism is not in acquiescing to and appeasing our separated brothers and sisters in the protestant faiths in having our faith more palatable to them, but in reaffirming our traditional values and teach in a firm way that the Mass really is an unbloody Sacrifice, and the Eucharist the Body of Christ. We can do this, first and foremost, by returning to the Latin Mass, the “Extraordinary Form” of mass, as contemplated by Pope Benedict XVI. Only in this way will we show by example what true worship is. The Church had no lack of converts before Vatican II. Watering-down our faith has gained us nothing, and lost us so much.

True Ecumenism is to teach others the Truth, found only in the Catholic Church, not to cooperate in the faith and beliefs of our separated brethren. We should teach, exhort, call to the fold our separated brothers; not join them in unnecessary interfaith prayer gatherings or intercommunion; activities which leave the impression that all Christian churches are branches of the Church of Christ. There is only one Church of Christ: The Roman Catholic Church; all ecumenical activity should be geared towards exhorting the return of our separated brethren back into the Ark of Salvation, outside of which “there is no salvation.”

The Sacrifice of the Mass is hard to understand. It is hard to comprehend. It is a “hard teaching.” But that is no reason to diminish it. Many Catholics may be embarrassed by it, they may wish for a protestant prayer service in lieu of it, but it remains nevertheless. The unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass was the bulwark which great Saints, great missionaries, etc. counted on to feed them in their trials and tribulations.

After seeing the Priest ascend the three steps leading up to the Altar--representing Faith, Hope and Charity--and seeing Christ lifted-up in the Eucharist above the Altar, we see again His Sacrifice; we experience both the sorrow of His Mother seeing Her Son both immolated, but also made the Salvation of the World. We see Christ as He is: the One who humbles and presents Himself everyday on the altar during Mass, to be among us, and as the Savior of the World.

Early Church Fathers on the Eucharist

2008-04-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

The earliest "letter" outside of the New Testament is the so-called "First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians," which is, actually, not an "epistle (letter)" but a homily. It was written c. 96 A.D:

"In the same way, my brothers, when we offer our own Eucharist to God, each one of us should keep to his own degree. His conscience must be clear, he must not infringe the rules prescribed for his ministering, and he is to bear himself with reverence....at the altar in front of the Temple." ("Early Christian Writings," translated by Maxwell Staniforth, Penguin Classics, (1968.)

Ignatius, third Bishop of Antioch after St. Peter, on his way to martyrdom at the Flavian ampitheatre for being a Christian, wrote these pieces to ancient churches in the ancient world, c. 110 A.D.:

"[The Eucharist is] the medicine of immortality, and the sovereign remedy by which we escape death and live in Jesus Christ for evermore." (Id.)

"There is no pleasure for me in any meats that perish, or in the delights of this life; I am fain for the bread of God, even the flesh of Jesus Christ, who is the seed of David; and for my drink I crave that Blood of His which is love imperishable." (Id.)

"Make certain, therefore, that you all observe one common Eucharist; for there is but one Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and but one cup of union with His Blood, and one single altar of sacrifice." (Id.)

"The sole Eucharist you should consider valid is one that is celebrated by the bishop himself, or by some person authorized by him." (Id.)

Saint Ignatius was sacrificed to the lions as Christ sacrificed Himself for us; that is, willing to go to death for love of others. It is no exaggeration that the Eucharist and Sacrifice that Ignatius, as Bishop, prayed so many times, is what preserved him in his martyrdom. It is through the blood of Christ, that we are Redeemed, and it is the blood of Saints such as Ignatius, shed for his fellow Christians and through love of Christ, that the seeds of Faith were planted.

TRUE WISDOM

2008-01-15T19:39:00.000-08:00

Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, Doctor of the Church: "Let us be persuaded that the truly wise are they who know how to acquire the divine grace, and the kingdom of heaven; and let us incessantly implore the Lord to give us the science of the saints, which he gives to all who ask it from him. Oh! What a precious science to know how to love God, and to save our souls! This science consists in knowing how to walk in the way of salvation, and to adopt the means of attaining eternal life. The affair of salvation is of all affairs the most necessary. If we know all things, and know not how to save our souls, our knowledge will be unprofitable to us, and we shall be forever miserable: but on the other hand, though we should be ignorant of all things, we shall be happy for eternity, If we know how to love God. “Blessed is the man,” says St. Augustine, “ who knows Thee though he be ignorant of other things.” One day, Brother Giles said to St. Bonaventure: Happy you, Father Bonaventure, who are so learned. I am a poor, ignorant man, who knows nothing. You can become more holy than I can. “Listen,” replied the saint.; ‘If an ignorant old woman loves God more than I do, she shall be more holy than I am.” On hearing this, Brother Giles began to exclaim: O poor old woman! Poor old woman! Listen, listen: if you love God, you can become more holy than Father Bonaventure.
“The unlearned rise up,” says St. Augustine: “and bear away the kingdom of heaven.” How many rude and illiterate Christians, who, though unable to read, know how to love God and are saved! And how many of the learned of this world are damned! But the former, not the latter, are truly wise. Oh! How truly wise were St. Paschal, St. Felix the Capuchin, St. John of God, though unacquainted with human sciences! Oh! How truly wise were so many holy men, who, abandoning the world, shut themselves up in the cloister, or spent their lives in the desert! How truly wise were St. Benedict, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Louis of Toulouse, who renounced the throne! Oh! How truly wise were so many martyrs, so many tender virgins, who refused the hand of princes, and suffered death for the sake of Jesus Christ! That true wisdom consists in despising the goods of this life, and in securing a happy eternity, even worldlings know and believe: hence of persons who give themselves to God, they say; Happy they, who are truly wise, and save their souls! In fine, they who renounce the goods of the world go give themselves to God, are said to be undeceived. What then would we call those who abandon God for worldly goods? We should call them deluded men.
Brother, to what class do you wish to belong? In order to make a good choice, St. Chrysostom tells you to visit the sepulchers of the dead. The grave is the school in which we may learn the science of the saints. “Tell me,” says St. Chrysostom, “are you able there to discover who has been a prince, a noble, or a man of learning? For my part,” adds the saint, “I see nothing but rottenness worms and bones. All is but a dream, a shadow.” Everything in this world will soon have an end and will vanish like a dream or a shadow. But, dearly beloved Christians, if you wish to be truly wise, it is not enough to know your end, it is necessary to adopt the means of attaining it. All would wish to be saved and to be saints; but because they do not employ the means, they never acquire sanctity, and are lost. It is necessary to fly from the occasions of sin, to frequent the sacraments, to practice mental prayer, and above all, to impress on the heart the following maxims of the Gospel: ‘What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world?’ ‘He that loveth his life shall lose it’ That is, we must even forfeit our life in order to save the soul. ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself.’ To follow Jesus Christ it is necessary to refuse to self-love the pleasures, which it seeks. ‘Life is His good will.’ Our salvation consists in doing the will of God. These and other similar maxims should be deeply impressed on the soul."

Summorum Pontificum, Athanasius and SSPX

2007-11-06T20:35:00.001-08:00

As the world knows our Pope “liberated” the Tradition Latin Mass, or Vetus Ordo (VO: old order) mass in July. This is a significant event for the Church; possibly the most significant event since Pope Paul VI ordered the creation of the Novus Ordo (NO: new order) mass on the heels of the Second Vatican Council. The NO mass was created in a liturgical think-tank in the span of a few years, was spearheaded by Archbishop Bugnini, who some accused of being a Mason, and was promulgated in 1970.

Conspiracy theories (or, maybe not) aside, the NO mass was a radical break from nearly 2,000 years of Catholic tradition. The VO mass is an organically developed liturgy from the time of the Apostles, and has highly developed forms and linguistically beautiful prayers to show its development through the centuries; the NO mass was a novelty created by a man known to hate, or at least disregard, tradition, and has since been the catalyst for novelties which would have horrified most Catholics prior to Vatican II (and still horrify many after).

Now comes word that the Vatican may lift the “excommunications” vs. the Bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). Most canon lawyers and major thinkers in the Church do not think those excommunications are of the same degree or substance as most, since the SSPX has, in fact, not denied any dogma or doctrine of the Church. In fact, it was Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s intention to uphold the tradition, dogmas and doctrines of the Church which led him to consecrate the four Bishops, now “excommunicated” (because they were done without papal mandate). Many believe the “excommunications” are void (or voidable), null, or otherwise invalid considering the extreme emergency the Church has been going through since Vatican II. That is a point I don’t intend to discuss here, but for a general outline of the very real emergency in the Church, a good book is “The Great Facade” by Thomas E. Woods Jr. (now a mainstream writer) and Christopher Ferrera (a lawyer by trade), both of whom are faithful to Pope Benedict XVI. Written some years ago, this book outlines the extreme, universal abuses going on in the Church, the world over, and the causes thereof. In fact, this book is a treatise that, indeed, our Church is in one of the greatest crisis in Her 2,000 year history (a crisis almost imperceptible in these modernistic times, since the modernist, by definition, thinks everything is peachy keen in the world).

Which leads me to the two booklets I would like to briefly discuss: “The Eternal Sacrifice” and “Saint Athanasius; Defender of the Faith,” both by the eminent liturgist and historian, Michael Davies (Requiescat in pace), who hailed from the United Kingdom.

It’s useful to know that Pope Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Ratzinger, had great respect for Michael Davies, and spoke of losing a good son of the Church at his death; the Pope and Davies were known before Davies’ death to be on very friendly terms.

I’m not going to belabor that point, except to say it is quite percipient as to the current Pope’s mind on these things.

In his preface to “Saint Athanasius,” Davies directly implies that his reason for writing this book was to compare the situation of St. Athanasius (who was excommunicated by a Pope) with that of Lefebvre: “‘What happened over 1600 years ago is repeating itself today, but with two or three differences: Alexandria is today the whole Universal Church the stability of which is being shaken, and what was undertaken at that time by means of physical force and cruelty is now being transferred to a different level. Exile is replaced by banishment into the silence of being ignored, killing by assassination of character.’…The most evident parallel elicited in the book is that between the role played by St. Athanasius in the fourth century and that of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in the decades following the Second Vatican Council. It must be made clear that at no time did the Archbishop ever compare himself to St. Athanasius….” “Saint Athanasius” (Foreword, 21 March 1994, 1995, Angelus Press, citation omitted.) Indeed, St. Athanasius was banished multiple times, excommunicated by two councils (and the excommunication was ratified by Pope Liberius), and he is now one of the greatest Saints of the Church. Of that time, Athanasius writes, “The whole world groaned and was amazed to find itself Arain [the heretical belief that the Son is not co-eternal with the Father.]” Id. pg. 30. St. Athanasius wrote, “Our churches are taken from us and given to the Arians; they have our places, but with have the faith. They cannot rob us of that.” Id. pg. 20.

Obviously the differences between the modernist of today and the Arian of the fourth century are different in form. But in inherent content, the comparisons are similar: In the fourth century almost every believer in the Christian world believed in a heresy because of Arianism. Today, almost the entire Christian world believes in the heresy of all heresies: modernism: The relativistic notion that all truths [sic] lead to, or are co-equal with, the one Truth. It is syncretism and relativism wrapped all into one. And it is the direct result of Vatican II (or the Spirit thereof) and it manifests itself in joint-prayer services, Assisi I and II, and in most (or all?) of the dioceses throughout the world, which welcome, hold-hands with, and otherwise placate other faith traditions as co-equal with Catholicism; whereas in the past, through charity, we respected other faiths, and other people, but, ultimately prayed for them, and asked them in to the Catholic Faith, which is the only, sure, way to heaven. Christ is the only door to heaven (adherents in other faiths may be saved, St. Thomas Aquinas tells us, but only through the Baptism of desire, which is, arguably, a near impossibility in this day and age, where nearly everyone has heard of and knows of Christ, and few take advantage of the Sacraments, which were instituted by Christ for a reason, and not in a vacuum.)

The second book is “The Eternal Sacrifice,” which I would like to add as a contrast to the de facto heresy which exists throughout the world in denying the transubstantiation of the Eucharist: The Truth that Christ—God—is truly present in every particle of the Eucharist. It would take a thousand pages herein to outline all of the abuses to the Eucharist since Vatican II; suffice it to say, that since VII the Eucharist is passed-around by disinterested “Eucharistic ministers” to disinterested lay people who could care less about Christ truly present in the Eucharist. Today, only 25% of the 25% of Catholics who still go to mass believe in this central mystery of our Faith. This is significant, and is a direct result of the reforms during and after VII which watered-down our faith.

“‘When Christ on the Cross cried out His Consummatum est, few were the men who noticed it, fewer still the men who perceived that this phrase announced a turning point for mankind, that this death opened into everlasting life gates through which, from that moment on, all the people of the earth would pass. Now, to meet the expectant longing of mankind, this great event is arrested and, through Christ’s institution [of the mass] held fast for these coming generations so that they might be conscious witnesses of that event event in the last centuries and amongst the remotest nations, and might look up to it in holy rapture.’…[t]he Catholic Church has meaning and significance only in so far as it is directed towards God. It is equally true that it has meaning and significance only in so far as it is considered as an exercise of the priesty office of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord’s priestly office on earth did not come to an end when He ascended into heaven. He perpetuates it in His Mystical Body, the Church, which, in its innermost reality, is an extension of the Incarnation throughout the nations and the centuries. Our Lord is present among us today in His Church, teaching, ruling, and sanctifying us. Priests who have received their orders in direct succession from the Apostles offer the Mass in Christ’s name and in His person, in persona Christi. Our Lord Himself is the true High Priest of every Mass, the priest at the altar acts only as His instrument. In the traditional Mass of the Roman Rite, now commonly known as the Tridentine Mass, this sublime truth is symbolized fittingly by the manner in which the priest subordinates himself to the awe inspiring holiness and majesty of the rite which he is celebrating, the rite which Father Faber described as the most beautiful thing this side of heaven.’ A prayer in the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom evokes the profound truth that: ‘It is really Thou Who dost offer and art offered, Thou Who dost receive the offering and art given back to us, Christ our God.’ The Sacrifice of the Mass is truly the Sacrifice of Calvary made present among us, a sacrifice at which we should dare to be present only in a spirit of the utmost reverence and most abject humility, conscious of our unworthiness in the presence of the all holy God. ‘Quam terribilis est haec hora!’ cries out the deacon in the Syrian liturgy. ‘How awesome is this hour!’ Awesome it is indeed when our Savior and our God is present among us as preist and victim.” (Michael Davies, The Eternal Sacrifice, Newman Press, 1987, pages.13-14, citation omitted.)

“God is our Creator, we are His creatures. Without Him we would not exist, without Him we would not have that hope of everlasting happiness in heaven which alone enable us to endure the suffering and sorrow of our exile in this valley of tears. We owe God everything, and He owes us nothing. Those who are created have a duty to love and serve their Creator…’Who is like God?’ These are the words which should be at the forefront of the mind of every Catholic. The answer, of course, is that no one is like God. He is infinite, and we are finite. Between infinite and finite there can be no comparison. We must, therefore, as the Catechism teaches us, devote our lives to knowing, loving and serving God in this world so that we can be happy with Him forever in the next. This is our duty as His creatures.
….
The Commandments of God enjoin a solemn obligation of sanctifying the Sabbath by rendering Our Heavenly Father worthy and reverent public worship. The only adequate expression of our absolute submission to almighty God is the offering of the sacrifice. ….
The essence of sacrifice lies in the offering of a victim to God on behalf of the people by their publicly appointed representative…The most significant moment of Jewish sacrifice was the pouring of the blood of the victim upon the altar. The altar of sacrifice in the Jewish Temple represented God, just as the Christian altar represents Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The blood of the victim was said to contain its life, and when poured upon the altar it had been returned to God in Whom that life originated.
….
The Christian religion has only one sacrifice, the sacrifice that was once offered when Our Lord Jesus Christ, acting both as priest and victim, shed His Blood for us upon the Cross. Every type and every purpose of Old Testament sacrifice was fulfilled to perfection on Calvary. Holocaust, peace offering, sin offering were all merely types, shadows, figures of that one perfect sacrifice on the first Good Friday when God the Son made Man reconciled all tings unto Himself, ‘making peace through the Blood of His Cross, both as to the things that are on earth and the things that are in heaven’ (Col. 1:20).”

"On the Theology of Death"

2007-08-08T19:01:00.001-07:00

I found the essay, “On the Theology of Death” by Karl Rahner at a garage sale last weekend, where it was given to me, gratis. I couldn’t resist the title, even though Rahner—though admittedly a brilliant theologian—was a peritas at Vatican II (that confusing but valid, non-dogmatic council of policies; instead of formulating doctrine and house-cleaning, as most councils are intended to do, VII opened the Church’s windows and invited the world to dirty the house some more). Rahner is a golden-boy of the Catholic left. He was admonished by the Vatican to quit advocating for interfaith services. So, I entered this book with some trepidation, even though the title was alluring enough for me, and, as an ex-firefighter, who used to deal with death on a daily basis, I felt compelled to read it.

At the outset, before looking at this book, let’s make very plain the concept of death, since many in our culture seem to forget about its true reality. We live in a materialistic age where matter becomes more significant to the average person than the maker. We all fancy nice cars and i-phones, even while the average person in the world lives in abject poverty. Christ said, “blessed are the poor.” Last Sunday’s reading was on-point, Luke 12: 16 – 21:

The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits. 17 And he thought within himself, saying: What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said: This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer. 20 But God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

If any of us love this life, we will “lose it.”

In the context of the modern world, man forgets about his final end. Let’s realign ourselves: Everyone reading this shall die. We all will end in the grave; our bodies will corrupt until they become bones or dust, until the general resurrection at the end of time, which is a dogma of our faith. Your soul will leave your body, our God will draw your soul. Your body will corrupt. Your skin will “leather”, your eyes will shrink, first into pea pods, but then they will crumble. Your hair will matte, and begin to fall out, until all falls away. Your skeleton will remain for a time longer, as it is of stronger substance, but it too will crumble and fall away. Only your soul will live on, and that is for eternity. Eternity is a long, long time. Imagine all of the particles of sand on all of the sea shores on earth, trillions of pieces of sand, to say the least, and pretend that each piece of sand equals a billion years, and pretend that you spend this amount of time in eternity. That, of course, does not equal even one day of your life in eternity; not even one second of eternity’s time, but of course God is outside of time.

I am not illustrating anything new here--even a child can understand that point—but meditating upon this is beneficial in the context of situating our souls to face eternity. Death is the beginning of our eternity either in union or separated from God.

Like I said, I approached Rahner’s essay with great caution. Although Rahner flirts with the heterodox notion that God might have saved humanity in a perfectly non-violent, unbloody, manner, he nevertheless comes to the Orthodox conclusion that Christ’s bloody Sacrifice was not only salvific, but that God could not have saved us by any other means:

“His life redeems, inasmuch as his death is axiologically present in his entire life. And in so far as any moral act of man is to be considered as a disposing over his entire person with regard to his interior destiny, and in so far as such a disposition receives its final character only in death, it is clear (on the supposition that Christ assumed the flesh of sin and death) that we cannot really say that Christ could have redeemed us through any other moral act than his death, even had God been disposed to accept some other act.” (Herder, New York, 1961, pg. 63.)

Rahner is a notoriously hard read, and you can almost see him strain to say the words, but he did: even God, according to Rahner, could not have saved us through any other means then through the death of Christ, His Son, the Second Person of the Trinity. Some Christians tend to meditate exclusively on Christ risen (even some Bishops do this). It’s much “cleaner” to think of Christ this way. It’s more happy-clappy, feel-good. They think of Christ’s earthly ministry, His miracles, and on the periphery acknowledge that Christ’s blood washes away our sins. But, strangely, they steer from the Passion Narratives in the Bible, even though this is the summit, the apex of why Christ came among us. We don’t like to think of bloody death, but Christ and the martyrs teach us otherwise. Even Rahner dedicates the last forty pages or so of his essay to the Christian martyrs, because they were the perfect embodiment of what it means to be Christian: giving up one’s life on earth in a Christ-like sacrifice:

“[A] martyr is one who freely accepting his death in faith, is killed by powers inimical to Christ, and bears a noble testimony as a ‘witness’ to faith in Jesus Christ…Martyrdom has to do with death. In order to understand martyrdom, death must be understood. And so the mystery of death enters into martyrdom, and makes martyrdom itself a mystery. One only dares approach the subject of death hesitantly. For the hidden incomprehensibility of death is also concealed from the average everyday mind, by the fact that death happens daily, and the dullard thinks that what happens every day must be understandable.” (pg. 82-83).

But the average Christian must, too, die in Christ to attain everlasting life. Every action that we make has everlasting impart:

“But the affirmation of faith concerning the definitive ending by death of the state of pilgrimage means, as well as the survival of man’s conscious personal existence, that the fundamental moral decision made by man in the mundane temporality of his bodily existence, is rendered definite and final by death. This doctrine of the faith involves taking this earthly life with radical seriousness. It is truly historical, this is, unique, unrepeatable, of inalienable and irrevocable significance.” (pt. 27.)

Rahner doesn’t shrink from the concept of original sin; what else explains the often absurd dimension of sin and suffering on earth?

“[D]eath is a visible expression of the disharmony between God and man in man’s very being which supervened at the beginning of his spiritual and moral history. Because man has lost the divine life in union with God by grace, his earthly existence also disintegrates. Man’s subjection to death is the manifestation of his disharmony with God.” (pg. 34).

“The end of man, considered only from man’s point of view, presents an inseparable and irreducible unity an ontologically dialectical opposition of elements…with no assurance that it [death] will strike him at the moment in which interiorly he has completed his life. Death is a blow of fate, a thief in the night, an emptying and reducing of man to powerlessness, in fact, the end.” (pg. 40).

“It [death] will always, therefore, include the character of a divine judgment among its notes. But it is sin that is manifested in death. The emptiness, hopelessness, the transitoriness, indeterminateness, the inextricable confusion of noblest action and most humiliating passivity, of plain meaning and ultimate ambiguity, all these characteristics of the death which we must actually die are nothing but the manifestations of sin, to which in some higher and hidden dimension these characteristics analogically belong. Because a creature belonging to God, it shrinks back, by a movement of its very essence, from this last mystery of emptiness, of finality, of nothingness, form the mystery of iniquity. Because this same creature, whether holy or sinful, is driven as long as he lives by the power of the divine life which calls him and works in him, he will always experience a mysterious horror of death, which can never be explained by himself, or from what he can observe in himself. In this horror of death, there emerges on the visible surface of human life, the horror of that death which alone is true death. If men try effectively to hide the reality of this horror from themselves by explaining it away by their manner of life, by taking refuge either in frivolity, despair or tragic heroism, then by this very act they make of it what they will not admit terrifies him in it, the beginning of eternal death. Death and man’s attitude towards it, which of course is really part of its very nature, is not abolished or extinguished by is permanently transformed only when in the light and power of Jesus Christ who died and rose again, it is seen and borne as what is can be, the darkness of that night of the Cross in which eternal life penetrated in death the very depths of the world, in order to give life to the world.” (pg. 55).

The Bible is full of passages concerning death, and the Christian’s relation to it. (Cf. Rom 1:32; 7:9-10; 6:16, 21, 23; 7:5; 8:2; James 1:15 and much of St. John, etc.) But it’s Christ’s death, and dying in Christ, which is the refuge, the final hope of the Christian:

“A Christian in the state of grace dies a different death from that of the sinner…the Council of Trent…states…that the death of the Christian in the state of grace no longer has the mark of a punishment for sin, but, like concupiscence in the justified man, has the character of a mere consequence of sin (poenalitas sed non poena)” (pg. 67).

To die in a state of grace we must frequent the Bread of Life. In John 6:54-59 Christ tells us:

Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. 55 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. 56 For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. 57 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him. 58 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me. 59 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever.

St. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 24-26:

24 And giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me. 25 In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me.
26 For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come.

This is why the traditional Latin Mass is so important, and has been the source and training-ground of so many Catholic Saints. In it, we “shew the death of the Lord.”

Rahner writes:

“The second sacrament which repeatedly and visibly reveals and deepens this companionship in suffering and death with our Lord, by grace throughout the whole course of the Christian life, is the sacred mystery of the Eucharist. This is the continuously renewed celebration of the death of the Lord, making that death present here and now in our lives. In the Eucharist, according to his command, we announce his death, which is our death and our life, again and again until he comes once more and it is no longer revealed in ritual sign but in the radiance of his visibly manifested glory, that in his death our death is swallowed up by the victory of life. What is done in this mystery is the sacramental enactment of Christ’s death, and what we receive in this mystery is the grace which became ours, n his death…In this sacrifice and sacrament, not only is the mystery of the Cross brought near to us in a spatio-temporal relation, but it actually produces its effect on our own lives, drawing us into itself, subjecting us to its own unfathomable laws and communicating its strength to us. Of necessity, therefore, anyone who takes part in this mystery in divine worship, announcing in it the death of the Lord, must also announce this death in his own life, by experiencing it in himself in the reality of his life…For we must consider as the effect of this sacrament all that Scripture means by our communion in the passion and death of Christ: that we must suffer with him, in order to be glorified with him (Rom 8:17; that though participation in his passion we are conformed to his death (Phil 3:10); that he has to be glorified in our bodies in life and in death (Phil 1:20); that for Christ’s sake we are constantly delivered into the power of death (2 Cor 4:10f.); that with him who was crucified in infirmity, we also are weak (2 Cor 13:4); that it is a grace, not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him (Phil 1:29; that only if we have died with him shall we live with him (2 Tim 2:11). We share his death because we daily celebrate and receive the sacrament of his death.” (Pg. 76-77)

I will end by quoting that beautiful passage in the Bible of the raising of the twelve year old daughter of Jairus Luke 8:41-55:

41 And behold there came a man whose name was Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at the feet of Jesus, beseeching him that he would come into his house: 42 For he had an only daughter, almost twelve years old, and she was dying. And it happened as he went, that he was thronged by the multitudes.
….
49 As he was yet speaking, there cometh one to the ruler of the synagogue, saying to him: Thy daughter is dead, trouble him not. 50 And Jesus hearing this word, answered the father of the maid: Fear not; believe only, and she shall be safe.
51 And when he was come to the house, he suffered not any man to go in with him, but Peter and James and John, and the father and mother of the maiden. 52 And all wept and mourned for her. But he said: Weep not; the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. 53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he taking her by the hand, cried out, saying: Maid, arise. 55 And her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And he bid them give her to eat.

"The Eucharist makes the Church"

2007-07-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

When we look at the great Cathedrals in Europe, they were built to give glory to God. The highest expression of glorifying God is through the unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass. In a very real sense, then, the Cathedrals of Europe were built to house the Latin Mass, and Gregorian Chant. Today, they are all too often tourist attractions and living history museums, which perhaps is the only thing keeping them open, funded and maintained. Mass attendance in Europe hovers at around eight percent of the population even in such purportedly "Catholic" countries as France. Instead of maintaining tradition, and nurturing the ancient, beautiful Sacrifice of the Tridentine Mass (which itself was a mere codification of the mass dating back to the time of St. Gregory the Great), which would certainly increase mass attendance, many Bishops want to trivialize even the great Cathedrals. I was in Notre Dame Cathedral a few months ago. There was a giant projection screen over the altar, draped in such a way as to make it look like a giant sail. On it were projected words. The overall effect was one of banality, and trying to be "cool", "hip", even "avant garde." When will some Bishops get a clue? People want to be transported out of the banal, media-saturated world when they go to mass, not back into it.

On Malta

2007-07-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

Malta is the most conservative Catholic country in the European Union. It has the highest number of citizens who attend mass of any country in the European Union. Catholicism is it's official state religion. Abortion is illegal in all circumstances. Many people in the general population still venerate Our Lady in processions. Catholic schools are still sponsored and funded by the state. Malta, standing as it does between Europe and Muslim countries across the sea to its south, has withstood the onslaught of Muslim armies as recently as the sixteenth centuries. She withstood the fascists in Italy and Germans during the Second World War. President Franklin Roosevelt, describing this situation, called Malta "one tiny bright flame in the darkness." She expelled the Revolutionary French who invaded her because the Maltese considered them ungoldly. She welcomed the British in the nineteenth century, but asked them to leave in the twentieth, which they did. Today most Maltese speak English. But Malta remains first and foremost a Country devoted to Our Lady and Christ Truly Present in the Eucharist. No wonder there are forces biting at the bit to destroy her culture.

Perhaps Saint Paul is praying for Malta still for the courtesy she showed him during the three months that he was on the Island after he was shipwrecked there; Acts 27: 41-44 to 28: 1-11:

41 And when we were fallen into a place where two seas met, they run the ship aground; and the forepart indeed, sticking fast, remained unmoveable: but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the sea. 42 And the soldiers' counsel was, that they should kill the prisoners, lest any of them, swimming out, should escape. 43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, forbade it to be done; and he commanded that they who could swim, should cast themselves first into the sea, and save themselves, and get to land. 44 And the rest, some they carried on boards, and some on those things that belonged to the ship. And so it came to pass, that every soul got safe to land.

1 And when we had escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita. But the barbarians shewed us no small courtesy. 2 For kindling a fire, they refreshed us all, because of the present rain, and of the cold. 3 And when Paul had gathered together a bundle of sticks, and had laid them on the fire, a viper coming out of the heat, fastened on his hand. 4 And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging on his hand, they said one to another: Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, who though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance doth not suffer him to live. 5 And he indeed shaking off the beast into the fire, suffered no harm.
6 But they supposed that he would begin to swell up, and that he would suddenly fall down and die. But expecting long, and seeing that there came no harm to him, changing their minds, they said, that he was a god. 7 Now in these places were possessions of the chief man of the island, named Publius, who receiving us, for three days entertained us courteously. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever, and of a bloody flux. To whom Paul entered in; and when he had prayed, and laid his hands on him, he healed him. 9 Which being done, all that had diseases in the island, came and were healed: 10 Who also honoured us with many honours, and when we were to set sail, they laded us with such things as were necessary.
11 And after three months, we sailed in a ship of Alexandria, that had wintered in the island, whose sign was the Castors.