For those of us praying the Divine Office and attending frequent Mass, we recognize the importance of the Feast of Candlemas. The spiritual focus of the season of Epiphanytide through Candlemas is essentially a continuation of Christmas and contemplation of the Divine Childhood. After Candlemas (February 2nd), the celebration of events of His young life gives way to a focus on His adult life.
The Feast of Candlemas, exactly 40 days after Christmas, commemorates Mary's obedience to the Mosaic law by submitting herself to the Temple for the ritual purification, as commanded in Leviticus.
The Feast of the Purification, is called Candlemas for the traditional blessing and distribution of candles on that day. It is customary to bring candles from home to be blessed -- at least 51% beeswax candles that one uses for devotional purposes (candles for the family altar, Advent candles, etc.) -- so they can be lit after dusk on All Saints' Day (1 November), during the Sacrament of Unction, and during storms and times of trouble. Nowadays, though, for those few parishes continuing this ancient observance, the parish will provide the candles.
Mass on Candlemas is typically preceded by a procession with the lighted candles and the singing of anthems. The lighted candles are held during the reading of the Gospel and from the beginning of the Canon of the Mass to Communion.
Romanitas Press has put together these Ceremonial Guides for the Feast of Candlemas in PDFs. See here.
The choir heard is from St Mary's Norwalk, CT. The mass was immediately before the talk by Mr Martin Mosebach on the subject of the Old Missal and Vatican II. This Mass was said on the 4th Sunday after the Epiphany at Our Saviour, Park Ave, NYC on 1//30/11
Vestments: Green
INTROIT Psalm 96: 7, 8
ADORE GOD, all you His angels: Sion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Juda rejoiced. Ps. 96, 1. The Lord hath reigned; let the earth rejoice: let many islands be glad. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
COLLECT - O GOD, WHO knowest that we are beset by perils so great as to be unendurable be cause of our human frailty, grant us health of mind and body, so that by Thine assistance we may conquer the things with which we are afflicted because of our sins. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
EPISTLE Romans 13: 8-10
BRETHREN, owe no man any thing, but to love one another; for he that loveth his neighbour hath fulfilled the law. For thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is comprised in this word, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The love of our neighbour worketh no evil. Love, therefore, is the fulfilling of the law.
GRADUAL Psalm 101: 16, 17
THE GENTILES shall fear Thy name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth Thy glory. V. For the Lord hath built up Sion, and He shall be seen in His majesty.
LESSER ALLELUIA - ALLELUIA, alleluia. V. Ps. 96, 1. The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice: let many islands be glad. Alleluia.
GOSPEL Matthew 8: 23-27
AT THAT time, when Jesus entered into the ship, His disciples followed Him. And behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the ship was covered with waves, but He was asleep. And they came to Him and awaked Him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And Jesus saith to them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up, He commanded the winds and the sea, and there came a great calm. But the men wondered, saying, What manner of man is this, for the winds and the sea obey Him?
Commentary by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
Let us adore the power of our Emmanuel, who is come to calm the tempest which threatened the human race with death. In the midst of their danger, the successive generations of men had cried out: Lord! save us; we perish. When the fulness of time had come, he awoke from his rest; he had but to command, and the power of our enemies was destroyed. The malice of the devils, the darkness of idolatry, the corruption of paganism--all yielded. Nation after nation was converted to Jesus. They had said, when in their misery and blindness: "Who is this Jesus, whom no power can resist?" and then they embraced his Law. This power of Jesus to break down every obstacle, and that, too, at the very time when men were disquieted at his apparent slumbering, has often shown itself in the past ages of the Church. How many times has he not chosen for saving the world that period which seemed the least likely for rescue! The same happens in the life of each one among us. Oftentimes we are tossed to and fro by violent temptations; it would seem as though the billows must sink us; and yet our will is firmly anchored to God! And what is all this, if not Jesus sleeping in the storm-tossed boat, protecting us by this his sleeping? And if our cry for help at length awaken him, it is only to proclaim his own and our victory; for he has already conquered, and we have conquered in him.
OFFERTORY Psalm 117: 16, 17
THE RIGHT hand of the Lord hath wrought strength, the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me: I shall not die, but live, and shall declare the works of the Lord.
SECRET - GRANT WE beseech Thee, almighty God, that this sacrifice offered to Thee, may purge us of all evil and fortify our weak nature. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
PREFACE (Preface of the Most Holy Trinity) - It it truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored. Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise: who cease not daily to cry out, with one voice saying:
COMMUNION LUKE 4:22
THEY ALL wondered at these things, which proceeded from the mouth of God.
POST COMMUNION - MAY THY gifts, O God, free us from the allurements of earthly things, and ever restore us with heavenly nourishment. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
The Society of St. Pius X website has just announced the upcoming 2012 Confirmation Schedule for the USA
Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais will be administering the sacrament of confirmation at the following SSPX chapels:
March 10: Greenwood, IN
March 11: Chicago, IL [I will likely be in attendance]
Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta will be administering the sacrament of confirmation at the following SSPX chapels:
March 18: El Paso, TX
March 20: St. Louis, MO
March 22: St. Paul, MN [A Chapel close to my heart as I went there for over 2 years]
March 25: Post Falls, ID
March 31: Glendale, CA
April 1: Arcadia, CA
April 2: Colton, CA
And let us not cease in praying that these people will worthily receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Thursday, February 2
Candlemas Day, Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin 7:00pm Blessing and Distribution of Candles, Candlelight Procession, High Mass Click Here
Here is a great piece, likely much overlooked by the media, on the pro-abortion man that is Warren Buffett.
Warren Buffett’s comment that the rich should pay higher taxes, now enshrined by President Barack Obama as the “Buffett Rule,” is drawing much applause. What is not being discussed is the billionaire’s support for anti-Catholicism. First some background information.
Over several decades, Buffett has spent a fortune funding radical abortion organizations like NARAL and Planned Parenthood; he has lavishly given money to train a new generation of abortion physicians; he has spent millions to help RU-486 (the abortion-inducing drug) to win FDA approval; and he gave his pro-abortion, population-control friends at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation nearly $31 billion in 2006 for more of the same. There’s nothing anti-Catholic about any of this, but when he intentionally seeks to subvert Catholicism by dishonestly funding pro-abortion organizations that have hijacked the Catholic name, that’s another story.
To be specific, Buffett has given hundreds of millions over the years to anti-Catholic front groups like Catholics for Choice (formerly Catholics for a Free Choice) and its sister organization in Latin America, Catholics for the Right to Decide. In 2010, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation alone gave $759,822 to the former, and almost $1.7 million to the latter. These letter-head organizations wouldn’t exist if they depended on donations from members—they don’t have any—they exist because of the likes of Warren Buffett.
If Buffett, or someone like him, were to throw millions upon millions funding Jews for Jesus, what would the Jewish community call him? Now you know why Warren Buffett has earned the tag anti-Catholic.
In honor of the upcoming Feast this Sunday of St. Francis de Sales (Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church), Angelus Press Online has made available an article for free entitled St. Francis de Sales: Patron and Hero of Journalists. The article is written by Fr. Francis Gallagher and is a highly appropriate read for this time of year.
Appropriate words for the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday after Epiphany. These are taken from the Roman Breviary. If you are not familiar with the story of Fr. (now saint) Damien of Molokai, please get a copy of the film showing his life and missionary work on a colony of lepers. You can then grasp the extent of leprosy and see just how horrific of a incurable condition it was.
When the Lord was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. They were not able to follow Him when He went up. And first there came a leper. This poor creature's disease had prevented him from hearing the Saviour's long sermon on the Mount. Let it be noted that he is the first person specially named as being healed. The second was the Centurion's servant; the third was Peter's wife's mother, who was sick of a fever at Capernaum; the fourth were they who were brought unto Christ as being troubled with evil spirits, from whom He by His word cast out the evil spirits, at the same time that He healed all that were sick.
And, behold, there came a leper, and worshipped Him, saying properly after preaching and doctrine cometh occasion for a sign, that the power of the miracle might confirm in the hearers the truth of the teaching that had gone before. Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. He that prayeth the Lord to have the will, doubteth not but that He hath the power. And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying I will; be thou clean. As soon as the Lord put forth His Hand the leprosy departed. Let us remark how lowly and unbragging is the Lord's language. The leper had said, If Thou wilt; the Lord answereth, I will. The leper, Thou canst make me clean, the Lord, Be thou clean. Most Latin readers, misled by the identity of form in that language between the Present Infinitive Active and the Second Person Singular Present Imperative Passive of the Verb, read Christ's answer as if it were, I will to make thee clean. This is wrong. The sentences are separate. First cometh the expression of volition, I will, then the command, Be thou clean.
And Jesus saith unto him See thou tell no man. What need was there to tell what his body showed? But go thy way, show thyself to the Priest. There were divers reasons why Christ should send him to the Priest. First, for humility's sake, that He might show reverence to God's Priest. Then there was a command in the law that they that were cleansed of leprosy should make an offering to the Priests. Moreover, that, when the Priests saw the leper cleansed, they might either believe in the Saviour, or refuse to believe; if they believed, that they might be saved, and, if they believed not, that they might have no excuse. Lastly, that He might give no ground for the accusation that was so often brought against Him, that He was unobservant of the law.
This Solemn High Nuptial Mass was celebrated on January 9, 2010. The celebrant, Fr. Brendan Kelly, was assisted by the pastor of North American Martyrs Catholic Church, Fr. Gerard Saguto, FSSP, and Fr. Gregory Pendergraft, FSSP. Br. Corwin Low, O.P. sat in choir. The organist was Dr. Tom Joyce.
Mass in this video is of the 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany at the Institute St. Philipp Neri in Berlin,
Vestments: Green
INTROIT Psalm 96: 7, 8
ADORE GOD, all you His angels: Sion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Juda rejoiced. Ps. 96, 1. The Lord hath reigned; let the earth rejoice: let many islands be glad. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
COLLECT - ALMIGHTY, eternal God, look with mercy upon our infirmities, and stretch forth the right hand of Thy majesty to protect us. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
EPISTLE Romans 12: 16-21
BRETHREN, be not wise in your own conceits. To no man rendering evil for evil: providing good things not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of men. If it be possible, as much as it is in you, having peace with all men. Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written, Revenge is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. But if thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink, for doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.
GRADUAL Psalm 101: 16, 17
THE GENTILES shall fear Thy name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth Thy glory. V. For the Lord hath built up Sion, and He shall be seen in His majesty.
LESSER ALLELUIA - ALLELUIA, alleluia. V. Ps. 96, 1. The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice: let many islands be glad. Alleluia.
GOSPEL Matthew 8: 1-13
AT THAT time, when Jesus was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him; and behold a leper came and adored Him, saying, Lord, if Thou wilt Thou canst make Me clean. And Jesus stretching forth His hand, touched him, saying, I will, be thou made clean: and forthwith his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith to him, See thou tell no man: but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them. And when He had entered into Capharnaum, there came to Him a centurion beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grievously tormented. And Jesus saith to him, I will come and heal him. And the centurion making answer, said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth: and to another, Come, and he cometh: and to my servant, Do this, and he doth it. And Jesus hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed him, Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. And I say to you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion, Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee: and the servant was healed at the same hour.
The human race was infected with the leprosy of sin: the Son of God touches it by the mystery of the Incarnation, and restores it to health. But he requires that the sick man, now that he is healed, shall go and show himself to the priest, and comply with the ceremonies prescribed by the law; and this, to show that he allows a human priesthood to co-operate in the work of our salvation. The vocation of the Gentiles, of which the Magi were the first-fruits, is again brought before us in the faith of the centurion. A Roman soldier, and millions like him, shall be reputed as true children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; while they who are the sons of this Patriarch according to the flesh, shall be cast out from the feast-chamber into the gloom of blindness; and their punishment shall be given as a spectacle to the whole earth. Let man, then, saved as he has been by the coming of Emmanuel, sing a hymn of praise to the power of God, who has wrought our salvation by the strength of his almighty arm. Man had been sentenced to death; but now that he has God for a Brother, he shall not die: he will live: and could he spend his life better than in praising the works of this God that has saved him?
OFFERTORY Psalm 117: 16, 17
THE RIGHT hand of the Lord hath wrought strength, the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me: I shall not die, but live, and shall declare the works of the Lord.
SECRET - MAY THIS offering, we beseech Thee, O Lord, wipe out our sins, and sanctify the bodies and minds of Thy servants for the celebration of the sacrifice. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
PREFACE (Preface of the Most Holy Trinity) - It it truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored. Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise: who cease not daily to cry out, with one voice saying:
COMMUNION LUKE 4:22
THEY ALL wondered at these things, which proceeded from the mouth of God.
POST COMMUNION - O LORD, Who dost give freely the enjoyment of so great mysteries, we beseech Thee that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to render us truly worthy to receive their effects. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
A few months ago in Spain the superior of the Fraternidad de Cristo Sacerdote y Santa María Reina, Padre Manuel María de Jesús, published a little book titled "Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, Problem or Asset?" This work was soon translated into Portuguese, showing the interest it has garnered in the Iberian peninsula.
This self-published book goes straight to the crux of the issue and is actually breaking the silence surrounding Benedict XVI's liberation of the traditional Mass in Spain as in Portugal. This great silence has been quantified in the survey polls conducted in those countries: in Portugal, according to the 2010 Harris Interactive survey, 74% of Catholics had never heard of the Motu Proprio; in Spain, according to the 2011 Ipsos survey, the proportion reaches 81.7%.
Father Manuel's work is deserving. It is deeply concerned with obeying the Holy Father and is filled with joy and gratitude for the discovery of the traditional liturgy.
I – INTERVIEW WITH PADRE MANUEL (taken from Paix Liturgique)
1) Father Manuel, would you introduce yourself to our readers?
Father Manuel: My name is Manuel Folgar Otero--Father Manuel María de Jesús in religion. I was ordained in 1988 for the diocese of Santiago de Compostela where for ten years I was an assistant priest at Saint Joseph of Pontevedra, as well as a hospital chaplain, director of the Legion of Mary Curia and spiritual director of a section of the Ladies' Night Adoration. I taught Religion in middle school for twelve years. I have also been the administrator for a number of rural parishes for the past fifteen years and, finally, founder of a private lay association, the Fraternity of Christ the Priest and of Saint Mary Queen (Fraternidad de Cristo Sacerdote y Santa María Reina). From this fraternity came the Missionaries of the Fraternity of Christ the Priest and of Saint Mary Queen, a public clerical association (editor's note: like the Community of Saint Martin) which is also in formation. It is located in Toledo and I have been its superior since 2009.
2) What is your experience of the extraordinary form of the Roman rite and of the place held by the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum in your life as a priest?
Father Manuel: Given my age--I was born in 1962--I have no memory of the traditional Mass in my childhood, not to mention my youth or later. The first time I ever attended a celebration of holy Mass according to what is now called the extraordinary form was after the year 2000. It was only from 2004-2005 that I got to know the traditional liturgy, during my visits to the monastery of Le Barroux. And in 2007 I was also able to discover the international seminary of the Institute of Christ the King, in Gricigliano, and Cardinal Cañizares who was conferring priestly ordinations there at the time. In fact, it was only after 2007, when the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum was published, that I began regularly celebrating the extraordinary form. In October of that year, during an unforgettable audience, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, president of the Ecclesia Dei commission, encouraged us.
Today the extraordinary form is a characteristic of our community and is acknowledged as such in our statutes.
My experience has been very positive and, in certain respects, even exciting. I have travelled along the path of discovery of this marvelous treasure that had been hidden from us in the company of my community's brothers as well as with my parishioners. For the older ones it was a rediscovery; for the younger ones, a total novelty. In my various parishes I have never encountered the slightest aversion or resistance against the traditional Mass. This may surprise some people, but it is so. My faithful and I, together, have lived in our own flesh the experience mentioned in the Gospel of the father, a householder, "who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old" (Mt 13:52). For us this father was His Holiness Benedict XVI, who opened up to us this marvelous treasure, old yet always renewed, that is the Church's 2000-year-old liturgy, an authentic monument of faith and piety.
In my priestly life it has meant an enrichment at all levels: in doctrine, prayer, identification with Christ priest and victim, etc. And also in so many other aspects I need not get in to today. I'll take this opportunity to point out an error. Some people acknowledge that the traditional liturgy can enrich the priest who celebrates it, but deem it to be detrimental to the faithful on the grounds that it would impoverish them spiritually by markedly decreasing or even preventing their participation and understanding of the liturgy. I must humbly say that this does not correspond to my own experience, quite to the contrary.
The celebration of the traditional liturgy compels the priest to give greater pastoral attention to the faithful, in the sense of devoting more time and energy to their doctrinal and spiritual formation. This permanent formation rests on teaching the true meaning of "actuosa participatio": the interior disposition to uniting oneself to Christ the Victim through the priest as the intermediary who, as minister of Christ and the Church, renews and offers the Holy Sacrifice. It also rests on the greater care with which one forms one's faithful liturgically and mystagogically. What right or basis do we have to underestimate the laity's capacity to participate in the Church's twice-millennial liturgy worthily and fruitfully? There are laymen with little education from simple backgrounds who could tell a thing or two to any number of those who think themselves learned. These are laymen who have never set foot in a school of theology yet who know by heart the content of the faith and who live out the Eucharistic mystery incredibly deeply and in profound union with Christ the Priest. They draw from their participation in the Holy Sacrifice the force and the inspiration to offer themselves up in turn, in their daily life, as living hosts, holy and agreeable to God.
Today, thank God, the faithful can read and follow the texts of the Holy Mass in their missal. They thus associate themselves more perfectly to the Prayers of the Holy Liturgy. This demands a greater concentration and attention than among those who rest content with listening.
Behind many of the objections to the Motu Proprio, one finds more ideology than legitimate reasons.
3) In the introduction to your book, you justify your work by the lack of knowledge regarding the Motu Proprio among Spanish priests and, to an even greater degree, laymen. So you are not surprised by the result of the Ipsos survey that Paix Liturgique commissioned just before the WYD, which indicates that 69.5% of Spanish practicing Catholics had never heard of it?
Father Manuel: I am not surprised at all. As a matter of fact I find that the result seems to fall short of the reality. I am convinced that the overwhelming majority of the faithful has never heard of the Motu Proprio. And that those who have heard something of it, including priests, do not know its content. There is little to be read about it. The idea that predominates, which is totally distorted, is that the Pope has authorized the Latin mass for Bishop Lefebvre's followers, period. Many are those who spread this equivocation with a view to soft-pedaling the Pope's teaching and to minimizing the importance of the Motu Proprio which, by the way, has force of law for the universal Church and which, as such, dictates authentic rights and duties to be respected by all.
Unfortunately, many people satisfy themselves with the sensational headlines that certain media offer and which distort the reality and truth of the report's content.
To obtain the book (in its original Spanish version), you can send an email to: santamariarenet@hotmail.com
or call at: 0034 619 011 226.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links on this blog are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate, for instance, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made by those who click on the Amazon affiliate links included on this website. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Matthew is a Third Order Dominican from Chicago and an expert on Catholicism, with an emphasis on Traditional Fasting. He has written for "A Catholic Life" since 2005. Matthew is a Certified Catechist and is a speaker available to address your next parish or Catholic conference gathering. Matthew spends his leisure time traveling, teaching, writing, and enjoying Catholic culture. He is also a writer for "Catholic Family News" and "The Fatima Center." Please contact Matthew directly regarding advertising requests for A Catholic Life or in regard to speaking engagements.
