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
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
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. 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
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
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.
March 20, 2008 Update: Item has been sold on Amazon.com
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.Image Source: Believed to be in the AP
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.
