Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Blessed Cardinal Schuster on the Wednesday of the Advent Ember Days (Feria Quarta Quatuor Temporum Adventus)


The Introit is from Isaias xiv, 8, in which the meek and peaceful character of this first coming of the Word of God upon earth is wonderfully expressed in two brilliant figures of speech -- namely, the heavens distilling refreshing dew upon Gedeon's fleece, and the earth producing the little flower of the fields upon the mystic stem of Jesse...

Originally, on the days of the stational processions, when the great Litany was sung on the way, the Introit was omitted, and the Pope, on reaching the church, recited the Collect after the last Kyrie. The deacon first invited the faithful to prostrate themselves so that they might pray for awhile in secret -- Flectamus genua; then after a few moments spent in prayer, he gave the signal to get up again, and the Pontiff summed up the petitions of the assembly in a brief formula -- collecta -- and presented them to God...

The Mass for today still keeps the rite of the threefold scriptural lesson which in early times usually preceded the Offertory; the first lesson was as a rule from the Old Testament, the second from the New Testament, and the third from the Gospel.
Source:  The Sacramentary by Blessed Cardinal Schuster
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Advent Ember Days - Starting Tomorrow

Ember Days: December 14, 16, and 17.

If you are in good health, please at least fast during these three days and pray additional prayers. Remember the words from the Gospel: "Unless you do penance, you shall likewise perish" (Luke 13:5).  Ember Days are days of fasting and partial abstinence. Please click here for a special PDF Ember Day Manual, including reflections for the Advent Ember Days.

From Angelus Press Daily Missal:

At the beginning of the four seasons of the Ecclesiastical Year, the Ember Days have been instituted by the Church to thank God for blessings obtained during the past year and to implore further graces for the new season. Their importance in the Church was formerly very great. They are fixed on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday: after the First Sunday of Lent for spring, after Pentecost Sunday for summer, after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (14th September) for autumn, and after the Third Sunday of Advent for winter. They are intended, too, to consecrate to God the various seasons in nature, and to prepare by penance those who are about to be ordained. Ordinations generally take place on the Ember Days. The faithful ought to pray on these days for good priests. The Ember Days were until c. 1960 fastdays of obligation.


To-day the Church begins the fast of Quatuor Tempora, or, as we call it, of Ember days: it includes also the Friday and Saturday of this same week. This observance is not peculiar to the Advent liturgy; it is one which has been fixed for each of the four seasons of the ecclesiastical year. We may consider it as one of those practices which the Church took from the Synagogue; for the prophet Zacharias speaks of the fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months.[1] Its introduction into the Christian Church would seem to have been made in the apostolic times; such, at least, is the opinion of St. Leo, of St. Isidore of Seville, of Rabanus Maurus, and of several other ancient Christian writers. It is remarkable, on the other hand, that the orientals do not observe this fast.

From the first ages the Quatuor Tempora were kept, in the Roman Church, at the same time of the year as at present. As to the expression, which is not unfrequently used in the early writers, of the three times and not the four, we must remember that in the spring, these days always come in the first week of Lent, a period already consecrated to the most rigorous fasting and abstinence, and that consequently they could add nothing to the penitential exercises of that portion of the year.

The intentions, which the Church has in the fast of the Ember days, are the same as those of the Synagogue; namely, to consecrate to God by penance the four seasons of the year. The Ember days of Advent are known, in ecclesiastical antiquity, as the fast of the tenth month; and St. Leo, in one of his sermons on this fast, of which the Church has inserted a passage in the second nocturn of the third Sunday of Advent, tells us that a special fast was fixed for this time of the year, because the fruits of the earth had then all been gathered in, and that it behoved Christians to testify their gratitude to God by a sacrifice of abstinence, thus rendering themselves more worthy to approach to God, the more they were detached from the love of created things. 'For fasting,’ adds the holy doctor, 'has ever been the nourishment of virtue. Abstinence is the source of chaste thoughts, of wise resolutions, and of salutary counsel. By voluntary mortifications, the flesh dies to its concupiscences, and the spirit is renewed in virtue. But since fasting alone is not sufficient whereby to secure the soul’s salvation, let us add to it works of mercy towards the poor. Let us make that which we retrench from indulgence, serve unto the exercise of virtue. Let the abstinence of him that fasts, become the meal of the poor man.’

Let us, the children of the Church, practise what is in our power of these admonitions; and since the actual discipline of Advent is so very mild, let us be so much the more fervent in fulfilling the precept of the fast of the Ember days. By these few exercises which are now required of us, let us keep up within ourselves the zeal of our forefathers for this holy season of Advent. We must never forget that although the interior preparation is what is absolutely essential for our profiting by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, yet this preparation could scarcely be real unless it manifested itself by the exterior practices of religion and penance.

The fast of the Ember days has another object besides that of consecrating the four seasons of the year to God by an act of penance: it has also in view the ordination of the ministers of the Church, which takes place on the Saturday, and of which notice was formerly given to the people during the Mass of the Wednesday. In the Roman Church, the ordination held in the month of December was, for a long time, the most solemn of all; and it would appear, from the ancient chronicles of the Popes, that, excepting very extraordinary cases, the tenth month was, for several ages, the only time for conferring Holy Orders in Rome. The faithful should unite with the Church in this her intention, and offer to God their fasting and abstinence for the purpose of obtaining worthy ministers of the word and of the Sacraments, and true pastors of the people.

From New Advent:

Ember days (corruption from Lat. Quatuor Tempora, four times) are the days at the beginning of the seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. They were definitely arranged and prescribed for the entire Church by Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after 13 December (S. Lucia), after Ash Wednesday, after Whitsunday, and after 14 September (Exaltation of the Cross). The purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. The immediate occasion was the practice of the heathens of Rome. The Romans were originally given to agriculture, and their native gods belonged to the same class.

At the beginning of the time for seeding and harvesting religious ceremonies were performed to implore the help of their deities: in June for a bountiful harvest, in September for a rich vintage, and in December for the seeding; hence their feriae sementivae, feriae messis, and feri vindimiales. The Church, when converting heathen nations, has always tried to sanctify any practices which could be utilized for a good purpose. At first the Church in Rome had fasts in June, September, and December; the exact days were not fixed but were announced by the priests. The "Liber Pontificalis" ascribes to Pope Callistus (217-222) a law ordering: the fast, but probably it is older. Leo the Great (440-461) considers it an Apostolic institution. When the fourth season was added cannot be ascertained, but Gelasius (492-496) speaks of all four. This pope also permitted the conferring of priesthood and deaconship on the Saturdays of ember week--these were formerly given only at Easter.

Before Gelasius the ember days were known only in Rome, but after his time their observance spread. They were brought into England by St. Augustine; into Gaul and Germany by the Carlovingians. Spain adopted them with the Roman Liturgy in the eleventh century. They were introduced by St. Charles Borromeo into Milan. The Eastern Church does not know them. The present Roman Missal, in the formulary for the Ember days, retains in part the old practice of lessons from Scripture in addition to the ordinary two: for the Wednesdays three, for the Saturdays six, and seven for the Saturday in December. Some of these lessons contain promises of a bountiful harvest for those that serve God.

From Catholic Culture:

Since man is both a spiritual and physical being, the Church provides for the needs of man in his everyday life. The Church's liturgy and feasts in many areas reflect the four seasons of the year (spring, summer, fall and winter). The months of August, September, October and November are part of the harvest season, and as Christians we recall God's constant protection over his people and give thanksgiving for the year's harvest.

The September Ember Days were particularly focused on the end of the harvest season and thanksgiving to God for the season. Ember Days were three days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) set aside by the Church for prayer, fasting and almsgiving at the beginning of each of the four seasons of the year. The ember days fell after December 13, the feast of St. Lucy (winter), after the First Sunday of Lent (spring), after Pentecost Sunday (summer), and after September 14 , the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (fall). These weeks are known as the quattor tempora, the "four seasons."

Since the late 5th century, the Ember Days were also the preferred dates for ordination of priests. So during these times the Church had a threefold focus: (1) sanctifying each new season by turning to God through prayer, fasting and almsgiving; (2) giving thanks to God for the various harvests of each season; and (3) praying for the newly ordained and for future vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
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Saturday, December 10, 2011
Seeking Input for an Upcoming Sacred Music Interview

In anticipation for my review of the soon-to-be-released CD "A Blessed Day Has Dawned: Sacred Choral Music: Palestrina, Laude, Gregorian Chant," I will be interviewing Fr. Stephen Concordia.

A Blessed Day Has Dawned is the inaugural recording by the The Saint Vincent Camerata Scholars under the direction of Fr. Stephen Concordia, OSB. The choir is associated with Saint Vincent Archabbey, which was founded in 1846 and is the oldest Benedictine monastery in the United States.

Please submit your questions on Sacred Music, on Vocations, or on this CD to me via the comments section.  I will choose from the questions submitted a handful to ask Fr. Concordia.
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Vigil of the Immaculate Conception

 The Immaculate Conception by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo


Besides being the feastday of St. Ambrose, today is the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception.  And, consequently, today is traditionally a day of fasting and partial abstinence from meat.

For today, we as traditional Catholics are called upon to fast and to refrain from eating any flesh meat, except with the one principal meal allowed on a day of fasting.  Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Also forbidden are soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted.  On this day one, normal-sized meal and two smaller meals that do not equal the normal meal are allowed. Eating between meals, however, is prohibited although fruit juices and milk are allowed. The two smaller meals can not contain flesh meat.

The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the faith stating that Mary was conceived sinless in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. The Blessed Virgin Mary remained without sin throughout her entire life. Remember, Mary is not just an average woman but the Mother of God; she is extraordinary (Luke 1:42). She is, by no means, divine in anyway, but she certainly is the greatest of all saints. She is the perfect model of charity. Let us try and imitate Mary by wearing her Brown Scapular and praying the Rosary. To imitate Mary, is to grow closer to Jesus Christ, Our Savior.

Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum:

An interval of a few months will again bring round that most happy day on which, fifty years ago, Our Predecessor Pius IX., Pontiff of holy memory, surrounded by a noble crown of Cardinals and Bishops, pronounced and promulgated with the authority of the infallible magisterium as a truth revealed by God that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception was free from all stain of original sin. All the world knows the feelings with which the faithful of all the nations of the earth received this proclamation and the manifestations of public satisfaction and joy which greeted it, for truly there has not been in the memory of man any more universal or more harmonious expression of sentiment shown towards the august Mother of God or the Vicar of Jesus Christ.
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE ST. PIUS X ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FEBRUARY 2, 1904
Mary, Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
Bishop Williamson on Liberalism as a Disease

His Excellency Bishop Williamson again writes a powerful & bluntly truthful article on the evils of liberalism in our modern world, highlighting the contradictions rampant in it. No further commentary is needed for this excellent column.
ACCURSED LIBERALS

Liberalism is a frightful disease, consigning to eternal Hell millions upon millions of souls. It “liberates” the mind from objective truth and the heart (will and affections) from objective good. The subject reigns supreme. It is man in the place of God, with man allowing to God only as much importance as man chooses to allow him, and that is normally not much. Almighty God is put on a leash, so to speak, like an obedient little puppy dog ! In fact the “God” of the liberals is a mockery of the true God. But “God is not mocked” (Gal.VI, 7). Liberals are punished in this life by becoming false crusaders, true tyrants, and effeminate men.

A classic example of the false crusader is provided by the revolutionary priests in Latin America, according to Archbishop Lefebvre. He used to say that priests losing the Faith under the influence of the modernizing movement in the Church made the most terrible of revolutionaries, because to the false crusade of Communism they would bring all the force of the true crusade for the salvation of souls, for which they had been trained, but which they no longer believed in.

The true crusade being for God, for Jesus Christ, for eternal salvation, then when it is no longer believed in, it leaves a correspondingly huge gap in people’s lives, which they attempt to fill by crusading for anything and everything : for a ban on tobacco (but freedom for marihuana and heroin); for a ban on capital punishment (but freedom to execute efficacious right-wingers); for a ban on tyrants (but freedom to bomb any country into “democracy”); for the sacredness of man ( but freedom to abort the human baby in the womb) – the list can go on and on. The contradictions just highlighted are perfectly consistent in the liberals’ crusade for a total new world order to replace the Christian world order. They pretend they are not fighting Christ, but the pretence is wearing thin.

Liberals also become, logically, true tyrants. Since they have “liberated” themselves from any God or Truth or Law above them, then there remains only the authority of their own minds and wills to impose on their fellow human beings whatever it may be. For example, having lost all sense of any Tradition limiting his authority, Paul VI forced upon the Catholic Church in 1969 his New Order of Mass, to fit the New World Order, regardless of the fact that only two years before a significant number of bishops had rejected a substantially similar experimental rite of Mass. What did he care for the opinions of anyone beneath him, unless they were liberals like himself ? They did not know what was good for them. He did.

Logically again, liberals become effeminate, because they cannot help taking everything personally. Yet any sane opposition to their authoritarianism is based on that Truth or Law above all human beings which the liberals are flouting. That is how Archbishop Lefebvre resisted the liberalism of Paul VI, but Paul VI could only think that the Archbishop wanted to take his place as Pope. He was incapable of understanding that there was a far higher Authority than his own, on which the Archbishop in all tranquillity was leaning. Who needs to worry that the Lord God will ever fail ?

Sacred Heart of Jesus, grant us to deserve the good leaders who can come only from you

Kyrie eleison.
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
The Soul of Orthodox Chant: CD Review




I was recently given the opportunity to review "The Soul of Orthodox Chant". The CD features the recordings of some beautiful Orthodox chants.  If you are like many Roman Catholics and are not familiar with the music of the Eastern Rite Churches, you simply must begin to listen to these musical and spiritual gems.

The CD features 15 beautiful chants appropriate for this season of Advent. I highly recommend this CD to all Catholics.  You may listen to samples of the chants by clicking here.

Divna: The Soul of Orthodox Chant

The latest recording by Divna and the Melodi Choir is a selection of hymns from the festal cycle of the Nativity. This recording has the pure and intimate feeling of a small choir and is a perfect fit for Christmas. In addition to the festal hymns, the album features two carols. Divna is recognized as one of the finest female chanters alive, and one who has worked diligently to help the world rediscover the beauty of Orthodox chant.

Tracklisting
1.    Kontakion on the Nativity of Christ
2.    Sticheron
3.    God is With Us
4.    O Yulelog, O, Yulelog!
5.    Prokimenon
6.    Photagogikon
7.    Polyeleos
8.    Kontakion
9.    Prokimenon for the Epistle
10.    At the Little Entrance
11.    Troparion
12.    Kontakion
13.    Communion Hymn
14.    Sessional Hymn
15.    All ye Nations clap your hands!
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thanksgiving Day (USA)


Happy Thanksgiving!

Let us remember to thank God today for the many blessings we have received. Remember to say a special Blessing before your Thanksgiving meal today.


Suggestions for today:
  • Invite someone to dinner who has no place to go for Thanksgiving.
  • If you have no other commitments volunteer to help serve Thanksgiving dinner at a place which is serving the poor.
Mass of Thanksgiving (1962):

Collect:

O God of Whose mercies there is no number, and of Whose goodness the treasure is infinite: we render thanks to Thy most gracious Majesty for the gifts Thou hast bestowed upon us, always beseeching Thy clemeny; that as Thou grantest the petitions of them that ask Thee, Thou wilt prepare them for the greater rewards that still await them.

Secret:

Receive as a sweet savor, O Lord, this sacrifice of thanksgiving: do Thou in the future shield from all harm those whom until now Thou hast been pleased to hear and to save: and grant that they may serve Thee better and love Thee more. Through our Lord.

Post Communion:

O God, Who sufferest not that any who hope in Thee should e over afflicted, but listenest kindly to their prayers: we thank Thee for having heard our requests and granted our desires, and devoutly entreat Thee that what we have received may make us worthy to be delivered from all adversities. Through our Lord.
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Monday, November 21, 2011
Monday November 28th - Free Shipping for Angelus Press


I"m passing along the following email for your benefit:
Matthew,

I am writing to let you know that this upcoming Monday, November 28, Angelus Press will be offering Free Shipping on all orders to the continental United States.  I'm letting you know since I think that this is a sale of which many of your readers may want to take advantage.

In Christ the King,

--
Mark Riddle
Director of Marketing and Sales
Angelus Press
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Saturday, November 19, 2011
SSPX Religious Communities Grow in Arville and in Kenya

As published on the SSPX website, the following two recent stories give hope that Catholic Tradition will continue to spread and that the Catholic Faith, which is under such great assault in the past half a century, will not all to the attacks of satan.

Firstly, Bishop Tissier de Mallerais conferred the order of subdeacon to three of the clerical friars at the Dominican monastery in Avrille, France, a first for the community.  Included amongst the three holy friars is an American from Pennsylvania.  Please join me in praying for Br. Hyacinth-Marie Okuniewski (Poland), Br. Reginald Brocard (France), and Br. Terence Boyle (USA). 


Secondly, on October 3rd at Our Lady of Angels Novitiate in Nairobi, Kenya, three new novices joined the community.  Fr. Philippe Pazat was the celebrant of the High Mass at the ceremony.  The Society of St. Pius X continue to need our prayers for growth in Africa as it resists the paganism of the past and the Novus Ordo which in African practice is nothing more than a blend of paganism witth some Christian elements. 

Source: SSPX.ORG
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Thursday, November 17, 2011
2012 Angelus Press Catholic Calendar - Highly Recommended


For the year 2011, I posted a review of the Saints Calendar and Daily Planner and a few months afterwords I posted a link to some free online 2011 liturgical calendar.

This year, though, I decided to try a different calendar in order to review it and see if there were even better options on the marketplace. My search led me to Angelus Press' Calendar for 2012 which features an overall theme on the 15 mysteries of the Rosary.  Images from the calendar are featured above.

When I received my calendar in the mail I was astonished by its quality. The images on each page are not only beautiful but they are extraordinary images that by and large I have not seen before. From a blogger and a professional catechist, it can be hard to find new images of these central moments in salvation history but this calendar delivered just that - beautiful and inspiring new images that raise the heart and mind to God.

The calendar itself is beautifully typeset and features symbols to denote which dates are days of mandatory fasting, mandatory abstinence, traditional fasting, traditional abstinence, or combinations thereof. I have hung this calendar next to my home altar and eagerly look forward to next month when I can start using it.

My overall recommendation is an A+ for Angelus Press' liturgical year calendar. In fact, they might have just found a life-long calendar customer in me.
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