Lay Catholics Attracted to Traditional Catholicism

I wish to thank Joie for sending me the following comment. Comments like these emphasize that the desire for Traditional Catholicism strongly exists in Catholics of all ages. Traditional Catholicism is growing and thankfully, the only Catholics that continue to have large families are traditional Catholics.

Hello I am also a catholic that believes in what you feel. I am not a religious but do believe that the Catholics of today need tradition more than ever. The kids as well need to know a church of what it was and not what it is. Religious life is a gift and wearing a habit is a commitment and shows the world there are those that carry faith for all. I have an aunt who is a sister in an order that still wears a habit The Apostles Of the Sacred Heart Of Jesus. They have the choice of wearing either the long habit or a shorter habit. Though many wear the shorter I still believe in the long because of the respect I think it serves to a testimony of faith and sacrifice. I only wish my calling would have been stronger so I could have carried out that faith years ago. I always seeked help with the vocation but many of the priests here in Saint Louis only never paid any attention to my calling when I was younger I am now 45 and still love my faith in my own way. many prayers to those religious young and older who still believe that a habit is a beautiful statement of faith. Thank you.

Peace,

Joie

Image Source: Unknown, Believed to be in the Public Domain

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Agnus Gift Shop: US 2008 Papal Visit

The following was sent to me by email. I would like to pass it along, in honor of the Holy Father's upcoming trip to the United States.

I came across your blog. I am a graphic designer in Miami, FL and I designed t-shirts for my Young Adult Group to commemorate the visit of the Holy Father to Washington D.C. and NYC. I couldn't find any online that's why I decided to create my own. I just wanted to share them with you. You can see them here if you wish:

http://www.AgnusGiftShop.com

Thanks, God Bless and have a great Easter Season. He is Risen indeed!

-Dan

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Oratio Ad Sanctum Iosephum

For those who prefer to follow the 1962 Calendar of Saints, today is the 1st Class Feast of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. While normally celebrated on March 19, it is moved this year due to a conflict with Holy Week. The Novus Ordo Calendar celebrated his feast on March 15, under a newer rule which moves his feast forward rather than later in the calendar. 

Prayer to St. Joseph / Oratio ad Sanctum Iosephum

To thee, O Blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our tribulations, and while imploring the aid of thy most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. By that love which united thee to the Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and by the fatherly affection with which thou didst embrace the Infant Jesus, we humbly beseech thee graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased with His Blood and to help us in our necessities, by thy powerful intercession. Protect, O most provident Guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen children of Jesus Christ; ward off from us, O most loving Father, all taint of error and corruption; graciously assist us from Heaven, O most power protector, in our struggle with the powers of darkness; and as thou didst once rescue the Child Jesus from imminent peril to His life, so now defend the Holy Church of God from the snares of her enemies and from all adversity. Shield each one of us with thy unceasing patronage that, imitating thy example and sported by thy aid, we may be enabled to live a good life, die a holy death, and secure everlasting happiness in Heaven. Amen. 

Latin Version: Oratio ad Sanctum Iosephum

Ad te beate Ioseph, in tribulatione nostra confugimus, atque, implorato Sponsae tuae sanctissimae auxilio, patrocinium quoque tuum fidenter exposcimus. Per eam, quaesumus quae te cum immaculata Virgine Dei Genetrice coniunxit, caritatem, perque paternum, quo Puerum Iesum amplexus es, amorem, supplices deprecamur, ut ad hereditatem, quam Iesus Christus acquisivit Sanguine suo, benignus respicias, ac necessitatibus nostris tua virtute et ope succurras. Tuere, o Custos providentissime divinae Familiae, Iesu Christi sobolem electam; prohibe a nobis, amantissime Pater, omnem errorum ac corruptelarum luem; propitius nobis, sospitator noster fortissime, in hoc cum potestate tenebrarum certamine e caelo adesto; et sicut olim Puerum Iesum e summo eripuisti vitae discrimine, ita nunc Ecclesiam sanctam Dei ab hostilibus insidiis atque ab omni adversitate defende: nosque singulos perpetuo tege patrocinio, ut ad tui exemplar et ope tua suffulti, sancte vivere, pie emori, sempiternamque in caelis beatitudinem assequi possimus. Amen

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SSPX Easter Sunday Mass 2007

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Extraordinary Form of the Mass: Palm Sunday 2008, Assumption Grotto

I was very pleased to receive the following email from Diane:

The 9:30am Liturgy at our parish was a most majestic ceremony, celebrated in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite (more casually called, the Traditional Latin Mass or "Tridentine"). It was a solemn high Mass.

Between three photo posts there are probably more than 50 detailed pictures of the day from before Mass, the blessing of palms, the procession and the Mass itself.

Bloggers, feel free to use some of the photos if you wish. I would humbly request a link back to the post below [Post 3] since it links directly to the other two photo posts. It was too much for a single post.

Photo Post 1
Photo Post 2
Photo Post 3

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Proudly Entered the Catholic Church 2008

Last year and the previous year I created a special post welcoming all new Catholics, and this year I have done the same. I am very pleased that the Curt Jester has again kindly created another image for this project. I have had it created for all of you! Please save it and post it on your blogs, websites, etc.

Please visit the weblogs of these people and welcome them into the Universal Church, the one established by Jesus Christ. Pray for them too!

Please let me know if anyone else should be added to this list.

• Danielle at My Anticipation
• BC at The Sacred Heart Brigade
• Chris at Cow Bike Rider
• Stephen at Proud to be a "Catholic" Convert
• Kelly at Answering the Call
• Erik at Y Taith Cristnogol
• Melissa at Almost Catholic Momma
• Gretchen at Proto-Catholic
• Jim at The Trail Home

Note: If you are interested in entering the Catholic Church, I highly endorse the programs offered through CatechismClass.com.

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St. Louis Jesuits: Morning Light CD

March 20, 2008 Update: Item has been sold on Amazon.com

Over Christmas 2007, I received a copy of the St. Louis Jesuit's "Morning Light" CD. It is still in packaging and has never been opened or used. However, I am not a fan of the St. Louis Jesuits and consequently I do not want this CD. If anyone reading this blog would like this item, please comment below. I am open to offers. If no one is interested I am thinking of selling it over Amazon Marketplace although I have never used Amazon Marketplace before.

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Pope Benedict XVI Celebrates Mass on January 13, 2008, as Ad Orientem

The following story, which we should welcome with joy, concerns Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass on the Baptism of the Lord in an ad orientem posture. The following article is from Reuters and my comments following in red.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict celebrated parts of Sunday's Mass with his back turned on the congregation [The ad orientem posture should never be described as facing away from the people. The ad orientem posture is facing East; both the Faithful and the priest together face East, symbolically facing God and awaiting His return since it is traditionally believed that Christ will come from the Easter], re-introducing an old ritual that had not been used in decades.

The Pope used the Sistine Chapel's ancient altar set right against the wall under Michelangelo's dramatic depiction of the Last Judgment, instead of the altar placed on a mobile platform that allowed his predecessor John Paul II to face the faithful.

A statement by the Vatican's office for liturgical celebrations said it had been decided to use the old altar, where ballots are placed during papal elections, to respect "the beauty and the harmony of this architectonic jewel." [The High Altar is indeed beautiful and should be used more frequently. Vatican II never called for the use of a low altar or the abandonment of the ad orientem posture].

That meant that for the first time in this kind of celebration since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), the pope occasionally turned his back on the faithful [no, everyone is facing God] and faced the Cross [rather Our Lord truly present in the tabernacle]. He also read his homily from an old wooden throne on the left of the altar used by Pius IX in the 19th century [another beautiful addition to the Liturgy].

The conservative German-born pontiff is slowly reintroducing some of the old rituals phased out after Vatican II, which substituted Latin for local languages [it may have allowed the vernacular but Latin remains the chief language of the Church (Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium(Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy), para. 36.1)], modernized the Church [The Church can not modernize; poor choice of words (Pascendi Dominici gregis, Lamentabili Sane)] and encouraged inter-religious dialogue [for the purpose of saving the souls of others through conversion].

In July, the Pope issued a decree allowing wider use of the old Latin mass [Referencing the Tridentine Mass, not the Novus Ordo in Latin and ad orientem, which never required any permission], in what was regarded as a nod to Church traditionalists. He has also said he would like the centuries-old Gregorian chant to make a comeback [According to Vatican II, it is to be held in high regard anyway].

During Sunday's mass commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ, which was celebrated in Italian, the Pope baptized 13 babies, carefully pouring water on their heads from a golden shell.

He spoke about the significance of baptism, which marks the admission of a person in the community of Christians.

Image Source: Believed to be in the AP

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Housekeeping Issues: January 2008

With the start of another year I would like to outline my goals for this blog throughout the year. I will need some help in achieving some of them.

1. Post as often as possible. I can not post while I am in seminary, but I am allowed to post outside of the seminary building. So, if I do have time, I will try and visit a nearby library and post occasionally over the next few months.
2. Edit/Update Past Posts. I have a few thousand to edit because I want to have each spiritual reference link to the verse in the Douay Rheims Bible. I also want to put on each page about a saint the Collect from the 1962 Missal.
   
3. Find Hundreds of Photos of the Tridentine Mass. I have searched Google Images and have a collection of images, but I want to find new images of the Tridentine Mass. If you have some images and would allow me to use them for posts on my blog, please email me at acatholiclife[at]gmail.com
   

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Is the Usage of Graven Images Sinful?

St. Luke was a famous painter. He wrote one of the Gospels and painted a famous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If making images of the saints were a sin, surely a Gospel writer would not have done so!

Scriptural References to counter the claim that making an image is sinful:

• Numbers 21:8 God commands Moses to make the bronze serpent which we learn is a symbol of Jesus Christ (John 3:14). It is only destroyed after it is worshiped (2 Kings 18:4), the making of it was not a sin.
• Numbers 8:4, 1 Kings 6:18 Images are carved
• 1 Kings 7:25,29 Images of lions and bulls are carved to support the base of the temple
• There were images of the cherubim angels in the temple (1 Kings 6:23-31) and God blessed the temple (1 Kings 9:3).
• Exodus 20:5 We are forbidden to worship images or serving them. But by praying in front of a statue of a saint or a crucifix, we do not pray or worship the image, our thoughts are gazed upwards from them towards God.

There are many other passages to counter the notion that our Divine God somehow prohibits the images of our Savior, the saints, et cetera.  This is not a new debate.  This debate first arose in the 7th century and was crushed as a heresy against the Christian religion.  

If you are sincerely seeking to understand the Catholic claims that images are not sinful, I ask for you to read the writings of the Early Church Father St. John Damascus.  His Three Treatises on the Divine Images (available also in a Kindle Version) is as useful today as it was back in the 7th century to show - using Sacred Scripture - why the use of images is permitted and blessed by God!

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