June 2009 Archives

This is a good article found on the Rorate Caeli blog. It begins with the following:

St. Teresa of Avila once indicated she would willingly die a martyr for the least liturgical rubric of Holy Church.

How far we've come! I'm not surprised to hear the good Doctor of the Church say that, for this illustrious lady also once said:

It was that vision [of Hell] that filled me with the very great distress which I feel at the sight of so many lost souls—especially of the Lutherans—for they were once members of the Church by baptism—and also gave me the most vehement desires for the salvation of souls; for certainly I believe that, to save even one from those overwhelming torments, I would most willingly endure many deaths.

Nowadays, Lutherans and Catholics swap pulpits, and few would consider driving an extra mile to avoid liturgical abuses. But St. Teresa would rather die to save us from this.

Back the the article. The author, Bonetus, looks at changes to the Rite of Baptism, made in 1959 by the future destroyer of the Roman Rite, Annibale Bugnini.

(From True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis Marie de Monfort)

49. The salvation of the world began through Mary and through her it must be accomplished. Mary scarcely appeared in the first coming of Jesus Christ so that men, as yet insufficiently instructed and enlightened concerning the person of her Son, might not wander from the truth by becoming too strongly attached to her. This would apparently have happened if she had been known, on account of the wondrous charms with which the Almighty had endowed even her outward appearance. So true is this that St. Denis the Areopagite tells us in his writings that when he saw her he would have taken her for a goddess, because of her incomparable beauty, had not his well-grounded faith taught him otherwise. But in the second coming of Jesus Christ, Mary must be known and openly revealed by the Holy Spirit so that Jesus may be known, loved and served through her. The reasons which moved the Holy Spirit to hide his spouse during her life and to reveal but very little of her since the first preaching of the gospel exist no longer.

50. God wishes therefore to reveal Mary, his masterpiece, and make her more known in these latter times:

Maybe it's due to Our Lady. Maybe it's the thought of driving women to Planned Parenthood. Whatever the reason, Cardinal O'Malley is backpedaling on his commitment to provide abortion referrals at his Caritas hospitals. In a June 10th press release, the Cardinal makes it sound as if there will be no referrals. However, as is recapped below, that's not what Caritas said earlier. There is now an effort to change the story. As the Boston Globe noted today, "The archdiocese would not specify the changes it is seeking to the joint venture, called CeltiCare, which is 49 percent owned by Caritas Christi." The Cardinal is eager to tell Catholics that all is well, but is afraid to get specific in front of the state.

A Recap of the Facts

From the CeltiCareHealthPlan.com website: "CeltiCare is a partnership between Celtic Group, a subsidiary of Centene Corporation, and Caritas Christi Health Care." As noted above, Caritas is a 49% owner. The venture receives money from the state to provide health care to uninsured persons, including abortion. This is affirmed on the Celticare site: under Outpatient Medical Care it clearly lists "Abortion Services," and the list of providers includes Planned Parenthood.

The Solemn Mass of Corpus Christi
According to the Missal of 1962
Featuring Missa Octavi Toni
By
Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594)

Gregorian Chant
By
The Schola of St. Mary Church

Sunday; June 14, 2009
12 Noon
Saint Mary Church
Charlotte Avenue
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49048
(269) 342-0621

Benediction will follow the celebration of Mass.

The story of George Tiller, the notorious abortionist gunned down by a vigilante, is very sad on many fronts. First, there is the loss of a soul that will be eternally tormented by the angry face of his God and the faces of his victims. Next is the testament against this country for allowing, nay, protecting this murderer. Then there is the whacko who took the law into his own hands. Finally, to add insult to injury, there's the Archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas, who threw doctrine to the wind and offered Mass for the repose of Tiller's soul [article].

Lutherans denounce the practice of praying for the dead, so it is practically an insult to them to offer prayers for one of their deceased. From a Catholic perspective, it serves no purpose to pray for the soul that dies a slave to Luther, because it cannot enter Heaven. This is the case at hand, for the man died suddenly in the house of Luther while still an unrepentant abortionist. Could Alfred Hitchcock have filmed a starker portrayal of a tragic end? So why did Apb. Naumann offer Mass for Tiller? Symbolism, and faulty doctrine.

LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE
BENEDICT XVI
PROCLAIMING A YEAR FOR PRIESTS
ON THE 150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE "DIES NATALIS"
OF THE CURÉ OF ARS

Dear Brother Priests,

On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 – a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy –, I have decided to inaugurate a “Year for Priests” in celebration of the 150^th anniversary of the
“dies natalis” of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide. This Year, meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world, will conclude on the same Solemnity in 2010. The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus”, the saintly Curé of Ars would often say. This touching expression makes us reflect, first of all, with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself. I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ’s words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as “friends of Christ”, whom he has called by name, chosen and sent?

Continued on the Vatican Web Site

Despite the media hubbub, such as Reuters Vatican warns traditionalists not to ordain priests—total nonsense, by the way—the Society of St. Pius X continued to grow today. Thirteen men were ordained to the priesthood at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona, Minn.

It is so funny how the media cannot stand it. The AP has to say Breakaway Catholic group ordains 13 in Minnesota, and runs a quote from the diocese, "the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona says none of the men ordained Friday will be eligible to serve as priests in southeastern Minnesota or any other Roman Catholic diocese." Since when does Reuters or the AP give a whit what the Catholic Church thinks?

Please pray for these new priests. This opens a new horizon for the Society, given the lifting of the bishops' excommunications earlier this year. Pope Benedict has had ample opportunity to intervene, but has chosen not to do so, thus allowing his pardon to foster life in the Society.

P.S. The Remnant has an article here.

Through the grace of God, Bishop McManus has approved a request to implement Summorum Pontificum in the Worcester Diocese of Massachusetts. Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be offered at Immaculate Conception Parish, 59 Walnut Street in Fitchburg every Sunday at 8am, beginning on June 28th. The Pastor of Immaculate Conception, Father Thien Nguyen, has generously invited Father David Phillipson to offer the Ancient Mass on a regular basis, including Holy Days according to the Traditional Calendar. Father will also hear confessions (at 7:30am on Sundays), hold spiritual conferences and traditional devotions (Rosary at 7:30am on Sundays), and administer the Sacraments according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. For any questions, please contact Father David Phillipson, frdavidphil4@gmail.com.

Father Phillipson was trained to offer the Ancient Roman Rite by the Fraternity of St. Peter and has worked in traditional parishes for several years.

The Immaculate Conception Parish Website can be seen here.

On June 24th, the Church celebrates the birth of St. John the Baptist, the greatest of all the Old Testament saints. John came to prepare the way for Our Lord. He gave the same call to penance as Our Lord, he identified Our Lord, and was despised, as was Our Lord. To this day, St. John remains a "sign of contradiction," no more so than in Novus Ordo circles.

Recall the glory of St. John, as recorded by St. Matthew, Ch. 3:

1 And in those days cometh John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea. 2 And saying: Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying: A voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

4 And the same John had his garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the country about Jordan: 6 And were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 And seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: Ye brood of vipers, who hath showed you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance. 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. For I tell you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doth not yield good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire.

Thanks be to Our Lord and His Blessed Mother! According to C.J. Doyle, the deal is off; there will be no cooperation in the abortion business. More details to come.

Folks, I'm convinced that we've just been hoodwinked. Cardinal O'Malley claims to have reviewed the Caritas plan, and to have chosen the Catholic option to move ahead. I suspect that, besides some "legalese," nothing has substantially changed.

Consider two quotes, the first of which extols serving the poor (article):

'The goal of this review was to ensure that Caritas Christi could serve the poor through a plan for participation in the Connector that is in complete accordance with Catholic moral teaching,' said Cardinal O'Malley. (emphasis added)

The "Connector" is the name for the Massachusetts plan to kill the poor. Any entity that receives money from the State via the Connector must agree to murder the poor. Caritas is no longer that entity, legally, for the partnership is ended. Hence, it's a done deal, and Caritas has clean hands, right?