Armistice Day: 90th Anniversary

The Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month at the Eleventh Hour...

Before Omaha Beach, D-Day (June 1944)

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be

During World War I (1914 - 1918)

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

Funeral Mass (Date Unknown)

A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers blest by the suns of home.

Mass on the Battlefield (Date Unknown)

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thought by England given;

Mass on the Battlefield (Date Unknown)

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English Heaven

Source: "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke (1887 - 1915)

Image Sources: Believed to be in the Public Domain

Read more >>

Tridentine Mass at St. Rose of Lima in Kankakee, IL

This past month the annual Tridentine Latin at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Kankakee, Illinois took place. The Mass is yearly celebrated by the Institute of the Christ the King Sovereign Priest and includes a Rosary Procession.

Attached are the parts of the pamphlet for the Mass.

If anyone is interested in the DVD of the Mass, please email me as I have a copy and can produce additional copies for those interested.

Read more >>

Proposition 17: Women to be Lectors!?

From HallowedGround, illustrating the alarming presence of modernism still deep within the modern Church. This is completely antithetical to the Order of Lector.  St. Pius X, ora pro nobis!

Probably the most newsy — and somewhat unexpected — item in the final propositions of the Synod of Bishops on the Bible was a proposal to allow women to be officially installed in the ministry of lector.

The issue was raised in Proposition 17 on “The ministry of the word and women,” and on Saturday morning it passed with 191 votes in favor, 45 opposed and three abstentions, according to our sources***.CNS article

Isn’t that special? I cringe when I hear people speak of Modernism in the past tense, as if it was some early 20th century heresy that was crushed, vanquished, and we can now breathe easy. Nonsense. Modernism has the Church in a strangle hold, and is slowly squeezing the life out of Her as we watch. These men with itchy ears are running the Church, and are the instruments of destruction. You never know what they are going to do, they’re almost totally untrustworthy. Another abuse becomes the norm.

Source: Hallowedground

Shall we ever see a return to the minor orders?

Read more >>

Summorum Pontificum Is Being Used to Expose Conservative Seminarians so that They Can be Expelled

Summorum Pontificum Is Being Used to Expose Conservative Seminarians so that They Can be Expelled From: The Fathers

Reports are coming in that Summorum Pontificum is being used by Newchurch bishops to ferret out conservative seminarians and expel them. The same technique was used with the "indult" of 1988. The seminarian thinks that he is protected by Benedict-Ratzinger's Apostolic Letter, but fails to recognize that the post-conciliar popes have given up their control of Newchurch and passed that authority down to the Newchurch bishops. Novus Ordo seminarians admitting to an interest in the "Motu" Mess are being kicked out of Novus Ordo seminaries. Loyalty to the Novus Ordo service is being used as a litmus test.

The current policy of the Newchurch bishops simply confirms the advice that the TRADITIO Network has given: no one considering himself Catholic should ever attend a Novus Ordo seminary. They are simply not Catholic, and, in the end, you will not even be ordained to offer Mass for the living and the dead, but only be "installed preside over the assembly" in the Novus Ordo Protestant fashion. It will be a waste of many years, and the seminarians won't even get a decent education out of it.

Source: http://www.traditio.com/comment/com0709.htm

Read more >>

50th Anniversary of Pope Pius XII's Death

Image Source: REUTERS/Osservatore Romano

Related Posts:

• Coronation of Pius XII (Video)
• Strong defense of Pius XII by Cardinal Bertone (2007)
• Cause for Beatification of Pius XII advances (2007)
• Pope Pius XIl condemned Nazism (POPULAR POST)
• Quotations by Pope Pius XII

Read more >>

Pope Benedict XVI Recalls Apostolic Trip to France

HOLY FATHER RECALLS HIS APOSTOLIC TRIP TO FRANCE VATICAN CITY, 17 SEP 2008 (VIS) - In today's general audience, which was held in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope spoke of his recent apostolic trip to France, which culminated in his pilgrimage to Lourdes for the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette. The Church in France "has since the 2nd century played a vital civilising role", said the Holy Father, noting how, "in this context, the need developed for a healthy distinction between the political and religious spheres. ... True laicism", he went on, "does not mean overlooking the spiritual dimension, rather it means recognising that such a dimension is, in a radical way, the guarantor of our freedom and of the autonomy of earthly things, thanks to the dictates of creative Wisdom which human conscience knows how to accept and put into effect. "This was the perspective of my broad-ranging reflections on the theme of 'the origins of western theology and the roots of European culture', which I delivered at my meeting with the world of culture in a place chosen for its symbolic significance, the College des Bernardins". The starting point of that talk, Benedict XVI explained, was "a reflection upon monasticism, the aim of which was to seek God, 'quaerere Deum'". This practice, "by its nature, led monks to a culture of the word. ... In seeking God Who revealed Himself to us in Sacred Scripture, an important role was played by the physical sciences, which seek to investigate the secrets of language. Consequently, what developed in monasteries was the 'eruditio' which facilitated the formation of culture. Precisely for this reason 'quaerere Deum' - seeking God - is today, as it was yesterday, the foundation of all true culture".

The Pope recalled how he had encouraged priests, deacons, religious and seminarians "to give priority to listening to the divine word", while to young people "I consigned two treasures of Christian faith: the Holy Spirit and the Cross. The Spirit opens human intelligence to horizons larger than itself, and brings it to understand the beauty and the truth of God's love revealed on the Cross". During the Eucharistic celebration on the esplanade of Les Invalides, said the Pope, "I invited the faithful ... to seek the living God, Who showed us His true face in Jesus, present in the Eucharist, encouraging us to love our fellows just as He loved us". "In Lourdes", he went on, "I immediately joined thousands of faithful on the 'Jubilee Way'" and "participated in the traditional torchlight procession, which is such a stupendous expression of faith in God and of devotion to His Mother and ours. Lourdes really is a place of light, of prayer, of hope and of conversion, ... where pilgrims learn to see the crosses of their own lives in the light of the glorious Cross of Christ". The Pope highlighted the fact that "the first gesture Mary made when she appeared to Bernadette in the Grotto of Massabielle was the sign of the cross. ... That gesture encapsulates the entire message of Lourdes", he said. During the Mass for sick people, celebrated in front of the basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary on the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, Benedict XVI recalled, "I meditated upon the tears Mary shed upon the Cross, and upon her smile which illuminated Easter morning". Having called on the faithful to render thanks to God for the fruits of this apostolic trip, the Holy Father affirmed that "in Lourdes the Holy Virgin invites everyone to consider the earth as the place of our pilgrimage towards our definitive homeland in heaven. The truth is we are all pilgrims, we need the Mother who guides us; and in Lourdes her smile invites us to continue our journey trusting in the knowledge that God is good, God is love".

Read more >>

Rev. John Del Priore of St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie, Wisconsin

This is an excerpt from an article in the Remnant. God bless and protect Rev. Fr. John Del Priore for abolishing the "altar girl" program at the parish. I encourage you to visit the article and send Fr. Del Priore a letter of support at this time.

On July 3, 2008, an obscure radical group calling itself "Women's Ordination Conference" (WOC) released a press release blasting the courageous decision of Rev. John Del Priore of St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie, Wisconsin to terminate the altar girl program as part of a larger measure to encourage vocations to the priesthood. Having been installed as pastor only one month before, Father Del Priore obviously wasn't wasting any time righting the ship.

Update (April 2009): I have written him a letter of support

Read more >>

Catholic University of San Diego Nixes Feminist Professor

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The University of San Diego has withdrawn its offer of an endowed chair to a Catholic feminist scholar who supports abortion rights.

The announcement that Rosemary Radford Ruether had been appointed to the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology was greeted with dismay by many Catholic and anti-abortion groups, the San Diego Union-Tribune said Wednesday. Ruether sits on the board of Catholics for a Free Choice.

University spokeswoman Patricia Gray Payton said that one person who did not object was the anonymous benefactor who endowed the chair.

"Her public position and the symbol of this chair are in direct conflict," Payton said. "This chair is a powerful, visible symbol of Roman Catholic theology, and in Roman Catholic theology abortion is disallowed."

The news that Ruether's appointment had been rescinded has created more controversy. Two Catholic women's groups have gathered 2,000 signatures on petitions asking the university to change its mind again.

Source: UPI

Read more >>

Into Great Silence: Office of the Night

I was recently given the opportunity to review "Into Great Silence: Office of the Night". The CD features the recording of the Monks of the Grande Chartreuse chanting the Sunday offices of Matins and Lauds. I tremendously enjoyed listening to this CD on Sunday mornings as I sat outside and watched the sun rise. As I listened to the beautiful chant, I prayed along with the monks with my Douay Rheims Bible. I highly recommend this CD to all Catholics.

Product Description
Only in complete silence, one starts to hear.
Only when language resigns, one starts to see.

In 1984, German filmmaker Philip Gröning wrote to the Carthusian order for permission to make a documentary about them. They said they would get back to him. Sixteen years later, they were ready.

In 2007, the documentary film Into Great Silence came to American theaters. Audiences and critics embraced it immediately. After releasing the soundtrack to the film, Jade Music is proud to release Into Great Silence: Office of the Night.

This is the first time that any recording of the Office of the Night at the Grande Chartreuse is made available in its entirety. The two-CD album is a collection of chants, readings, prayers, and sounds of silence recorded by the film director Philip Gröning during his six-month stay at the monastery.

This Office of the Night appeared to me to be the core of the Monks life and spirituality, the heartbeat of the Order for more than 1000 years. I wanted to share my experience with an audience. - Philip Gröning

Read more >>

St. Stanislaus Oratory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Solemn High Mass

On Sunday, August 10, 2008, I decided to take a trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While in Milwaukee, I attended Mass at the Oratory of St. Stanislaus, which is the location of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Solely by Divine grace did I choose to attend Sunday Mass there on a highly important day for the local Traditional Latin Mass community. On this occasion, a Solemn High Mass was celebrated according to the Missal of 1962 by Right Reverend Father R. Michael Schmitz, Vicar General in the Institute and Provincial for the United States.

Afterwards, I was able to take a few photos of the Oratory of St. Stanislaus. I have attached them to this post. If you wish to publish these photos on the Internet, I ask you to first specifically write to me about your request. I would also be most interested in finding any photos of the Solemn High Mass, as I did not feel it was appropriate to take photos of the Mass while sitting in the midst of the faithful.

After Mass and Breakfast at a nearby restaurant, I attended the Brewers - Nationals Major League Baseball Game, where the Brewers won 5-4 in the 13th Inning. It was a good game to watch.

Photos:

Read more >>