Photo Commemoration of Tridentine Latin Mass on the 5th Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum

On this 5th anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, I wish to present the following series of 70+ images.  Let us lay aside politics and disagreements and appreciate the Mass of the Angels and Saints.  This is truly the "most beautiful thing this side of Heaven."  Let us wonder in amazement at the work of God, who through the Holy Sacrifice continues His work of Redemption!

Should you know of the title or authors of any of these images, please leave those details in the comment box so credit may be given to where credit is due.

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Exaltation of the Holy Cross & 5th Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum

Today we commemorate the great Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  Today is also the 5th Anniversary of the implementation of Pope Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum.  For this day I wish to highlight some of my past posts.

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, where we recall the triumph of the Cross against sin, satan, and death as well as fact that when we are baptised each one of us becomes part of Christ on His Cross so that through our daily crosses we may be brought to the Resurrection (Luke 9:23, 24).

"The Cross is more than something to be looked at. It’s something to join. The Cross is an invitation to the Christian to join Jesus on the Cross. Oftentimes, this is a part of the mystery of the cross we just don’t understand. There are many references in Sacred Scripture that tell us that we are invited to participate in the cross. Jesus said, "What I have done, so must you do also." He said that on Holy Thursday after He washed feet, but what He meant was, "If I have been a servant, then you too must be a servant. If I have washed feet, you must wash feet. And if I have suffered, so you must suffer." It says elsewhere in the scriptures, "Where I have gone, you must follow." In 1st Peter it is so clear – "Christ suffered for you, and left you an example to have you follow in His footsteps."

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The Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum

It is at this time that I wish to especially remember Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who resisted the Second Vatican Council's false propositions of ecumenism, religious liberty, and the altering of the Mass of All Times. It is through his witness and the formation of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (SSPX) that the Mass of All Times has spread. And, I will venture to say that without Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's role, the Traditional Latin Mass would have been at last forgotten and no organized resistance to the change would have existed.It is Archbishop Lefebvre who has been slandered in recent years. The cause of canonization of his saintly mother has long been forgotten. Instead, in the words of Bishop Bernard Fellay during a sermon in Paris following Archbishop Lefebvre's death said, "Archbishop Lefebvre has gone, but the Mass is saved, the Catholic priesthood is saved..." Because of his resistance to all of changes affecting all of the Sacraments, the Society of St. Pius X is largely responsible for Pope Benedict XVI's issuance of the motu proprio and then the clear declaration that the Bishops of the Society of St. Pius X consecrated by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre are not excommunicated.

In the words of Father Franz Schmidberger at the Requiem Mass of Archbishop Lefebvre, "The work of the Archbishop on this earth is accomplished. Now begins his ministry as intercessor in eternity. He has given everything he could give...the miracle of a new generation of priests."


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SSPX Ordination of Mendicant Friars

The French SSPX District website (LaPorteLatine.org) has just announced that Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta has been delegated by the SSPX's Superior General, Bishop Fellay, to ordain three priests and four deacons of two monastic communities affiliated with the Society.

The ordinations will take place at the Benedictine monastery of Notre Dame de Bellaigue on Thursday, October 11, 2012. To be ordained will be:
 
For the Capuchin friars of Morgon, France:

• Br. Diego de Burgos Joseph to the priesthood
• Br. Fidele-Marie d'Aubonne the priesthood
• Br. Pio de Bordeaux to the priesthood
• Br. Paul-Marie to the diaconate

For the Dominican friars of Avrille, France:

• Br. Hyacinthe-Marie to the diaconate
• Br. Reginald to the diaconate
• Br. Terence to the diaconate

Please keep these ordinands and their communities in your prayers.

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Lest We Ever Forget - 9/11/2001

Let us never forget September 11th, 2001, and the great people who died on that day. May God Bless America and may America praise and glorify God.

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

I was at home sick that day. I woke up around 8 AM, sat on the end of my bed and turned on the television. Then I saw the Twin Towers burning on channel after channel. I ran into my famiy room and everyone else in my family was watching it on television in there already.

I went to the doctor that day and on the way I heard that the first tower fell. I remember going down the road and seeing one man place a large sign painted on wood in his yard asking for God's mercy. At the doctor's office, I clearly remember everyone huddled around the television. The nurses were watching it through the blinds of their office while talking on the phone. I was watching television when the second tower fell. I'll never forget it. I'll never forget thinking about all of those lives snuffed out. It's hard for me to think that it's already been five years. It's hard to think about that day. I remember the pain and confusion and fear the rest of the week.

I recently re-watched a documentary on that day filmed by two French brothers and narrated by Robert DeNiro. They actually have footage from inside the burning towers. The part where people actual were jumping out of the windows was the worst part.

Kyrie eleison!

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Blessed Charles Spinola

Born in Genoa in 1564, he was the son of the Count of Tassarolo and the nephew of Cardinal Philip Spinola.

He was educated in Spain and in the Jesuit school in Nola, Italy. He entered the novitiate in 1584 and was ordained in 1594.

In 1596, he received a letter appointing him to the missions in Japan. His journey was marked by shipwrecks and delays, which included captivity in England, and he reached his destination only in 1602, six years later. For twelve years, he worked at ministering to the growing Christian community in Japan. In 1614, all foreign missionaries were banished so Charles went into hiding, eluding capture for four years. After enduring four more years of captivity, he was burnt at the stake on September 10, 1622.

Charles was declared Blessed in 1867, along with 30 other Jesuits, over half of whom were Japanese.

Source: Nobility.org

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Apostacy: Masons Honored in a Catholic Church

As shockingly reported by the SSPX. How long can this silent apostacy go on? Kyrie eleison!

First reported on August 28 by the Brazilian web-forum, FRATRESINUNUM, a “Day of the Mason” was observed on August 20 at the church of Nossa Senhora da Conceicao (Our Lady of Conception) in the Brazilian town of Belo Jardim in the diocese of Pesqueira-Pernambuco.

The event consisted of Mass (per the Novus Ordo Missae) with Masons processing into the church in full Freemasonic regalia of ribbons, collars and aprons, and bearing tools of their “craft”, the compass, hammer and square.

In addition to being granted an official place of honor in the church during Mass, they were also allowed to speak from the altar and present their tools as memorial gifts to the celebrant, Fr. Geraldo Magela de Silva. Even worse though, these Freemasons – were also given Communion.

All of this is a direct violation of the Church’s law concerning Freemasons, as expounded first by Pope Clement XII In Eminenti Apostolatus in 1738 and most famously by Pope Leo XIII in Humanum Genus in 1884, which Cardinal Ratzinger (now the Holy Father) reiterated with Pope John Paul II’s approval in 1983:

Therefore the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion

The first condemnation against Freemasonry given by Pope Clement XII per In Eminenti (1738) was repeated and even extended by Benedict XIV (1751), Pius VII (1821), Leo XII in Quo Graviora (1826), Pius VIII (1829), Gregory XVI (1832), Pius IX (Qui Pluribus in 1846, 1849, 1864, 1865, 1869, 1873), and of course, Pope Leo XIII in Humanum Genus (1884) and Custodi di Quella Fede (1890). Later, the 1917 Code of Canon Law explicitly declared that Catholics who joined a Masonic organization incurred a penalty of ipso facto excommunication. It is also noteworthy that in a response dated February 17, 1981, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith also reiterated the 1917 Code’s penalty.  

When will more people realize the prophetic character of (St.) Archbishop Lefebvre?

They talk to us of obedience. We wish to and we try to obey more and more every day the Church of all time founded by Jesus Christ, Son of God and Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity but we refuse to obey Masonry with its promotion of liturgical reform resulting in the “naturalization of the Incarnation.” The effects of the liturgical reforms are every day more clear and obvious to all. The ecumenical Mass leads logically to apostasy. One cannot serve two masters. One cannot nourish oneself indifferently with truth and error because error with its evil tendencies will triumph over the more austere and demanding truth...  Source

Recommended Reading - Why Catholics Cannot Be Masons

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Upcoming Surgery - Updated

Update (8/31): The surgery went well aside from some bleeding that has lasted longer than expected.  The recovery time will be longer than I had originally thought due to the bleeding complications.  I appreciate all of your prayers.  Thank you.

Original (8/8): I typically do not write to ask for prayer requests for myself, but lately I feel that not doing so would be an act of pride.  And today I am asking for your prayers.  In short, I have a surgery on my jaw on August 30th to fix a painful jaw condition that has troubled me for several years.  I simply can not delay the surgery any longer.  I will have to travel nearly 500 miles to have surgery up in Minnesota and the cost for the procedure will come in over $6,000.  Last week I returned from a pre-surgery consultation with the surgeon.

I ask for your prayers at this time and, if possible, your donations to help defray the costs associated with the procedure.  Any donations submitted through the sidebar this month and likely for several months afterwards will go to cover these costs.  Since I have been out of full time work since November, your support (financial and spiritual) is quite important to me at this time.  Thank you and God bless

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Moral Implications in the Life of a Catholic

If you want to call yourself a Catholic, you have to live what you profess. The faith has two aspects.  The Church refers to these as “fides qua” and “fides quae.” Fides qua is “believing” and fides quae is “that which is believed.”  Especially during your school years, when you’re immersed in an atmosphere of learning, it’s easy to focus so much on the fides quae that we forget about the fides qua.  Part of maturing in our faith is having it affect every part of our life.

Let us look at some of the reasons why our lives need to change by what we learn.  Christ DIED for us, in order to bring us to eternal life with God in heaven.  We have become God’s adopted sons and daughters, and as a result, our lives need to be affected.  God offers us redemption, but we need to show our acceptance by living the virtues of faith, hope and love.  We need to work daily towards the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Just as a reminder, let us spend a moment thinking about the Last Things.  We will die.  When we die, we will be brought face to face with God, and He will show us, in our personal (or particular) judgment, all of the ways in which we have chosen ourselves rather than Him.  He will show us that by His justice, we cannot possibly deserve Heaven.  If we have not deliberately chosen ourselves over Him (unconfessed mortal sin), we will be offered His mercy, which will triumph over His justice. 
“At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love” (St. John of the Cross).

If we are deemed worthy of someday entering Heaven, we will be offered Purgatory as a great gift of grace.  Some of us will be brought directly to Heaven – and we have to remember that Heaven is our goal, not Purgatory.  Just think, if you were aiming for Purgatory but missed, there’s no chance for you.  At least if you’re aiming for Heaven and only miss by a bit, the mercy of God will give you Purgatory.

The entire point of our lives is holiness.  Every person, regardless of gender, role in the church, age, nationality, ability, etc., is called to holiness.  We are made in the image of God because He gave us intellect and free will.  He asks us to use those to freely choose Him, and to profess that to the world by our way of life.  Our personal response to His call is enabled through the graces given to us by the Holy Spirit.

The Church is clear that there is one main thing that MUST be in a life if it is to be growing in holiness:  self-examination.  If we honestly examine our lives to see how closely we are following and accepting Jesus’ teachings, we can only grow closer to Him.  We will love Him, worship Him and lead a life of prayer as a result.  Our hearts and minds will turn towards Him (conversion) and we will put Jesus’ moral and spiritual teachings into practice.

To live as an adult in the church, we will live as He wants us to.  We will live chastely, according to our station in life.  We will serve those less fortunate than ourselves.  We will bring His gospel to all those we meet.  We will serve the Church and others by being stewards of all that He has given us.  We will use our talents for the benefit of all.

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