Extraordinary Form Coming to Southern Oregon

 UPDATE — The first quarterly Mass in the Extraordinary Form offered at Our Lady of the River will be this Sunday, February 10th 2013, at 6 PM.

ROGUE RIVER: It’s confirmed… What was previously known as the Tridentine Mass, or Traditional Latin Mass, and most recently, the “extraordinary form” of the Mass, will be periodically offered to worshipers at Our Lady of the River Catholic Church in Rogue River, Oregon.

The first Mass is scheduled for Feb 10th,2013, at 6 pm.

As you may recall, Pope Benedict XVI liberalized celebration of the extraordinary form in September of 2007 in his Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum, which lifted restrictions on celebrations of the Mass according to the Roman Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII.

According to my Pastor, Fr. Bill Holtzinger–who authorized the periodic Mass–announcements and details concerning the new offerings are forthcoming.

But, here’s what we know:

The celebrant will be Father Adam Kotas, from the Diocese of Santa Rosa, Pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Crescent City, California.

After messaging Father Kotas myself on his Facebook page to confirm him as celebrant of the new offering, he replied and affirmed. And most kindly, offered up some helpful suggestions for those of us unfamiliar with the traditional form. He highly recommends reading up on it to familiarize ourselves with the mass before attending, in order to help us appreciate it a lot more.

I’ve provided the suggested links, as well as a bio on Fr. Kotas below.

On a final personal note: I would like to thank both Pastors, Fr. Holtzinger and Fr. Kotas for the opportunity for our family to experience the extraordinary form. 

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE LATIN MASS

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.” — Pope Benedict XVI’s Moto Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, 2007.

· The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is our opportunity to stand on Calvary with our Lady, St. John and the holy women and offer ourselves to Jesus just as He offers Himself for us on the cross.

· At Mass we unite ourselves with Christ, who offers us with Himself to God the Father. It is the way that we render perfect adoration unto the Father. And we do this as a community, not simply as individuals gathered together. In this process the priest represents all of us and presents all of us to God.

· Thus, the priest offers this form of the Mass facing the same direction as the people, because he is taken from among the people to render sacrifice to God. He is not excluding the people, but rather he is leading the faithful in offering worship and sacrifice.

· All face ad orientem (to the East) because the East, according to St. Augustine, is where Heaven begins (symbolized by the rising sun), and it from the East that Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. Thus we face the East in joyful anticipation of our salvation.

· The Traditional Latin Mass is divided into two main parts: The Mass of the Catechumens (the purpose of which is to offer prayer and to receive instruction) and The Mass of the Faithful (by which we re-offer the sacrifice of Calvary and receive Holy Communion).

TIPS FOR ATTENDING YOUR FIRST LATIN MASS (Low Mass)

1. While at first glance the Extraordinary Form of the Mass may seem very different from the Mass you are used to attending, it is helpful to realize they each have a similar structure. Mass begins with prayers, moves through the readings (or lessons), the Gospel, the liturgy of the Eucharist, reception of Holy Communion, and closing prayers with a blessing.

2. Don’t worry if you can’t “keep up” with what the priest is saying, or you can’t find the right page of your missal or booklet. It may take a few times before things start to feel comfortable and you become familiar with the flow of the Mass. If you get lost, just keep giving thanks to Jesus for His sacrifice and prepare your soul to receive Him in Holy Communion.

3. The readings (lessons) and the Gospel are first read in Latin, and then repeated again in English before the priest begins his homily.

4. The daily readings and certain prayers are not included in the red Mass booklets. If you decide to come to the Latin Mass on a regular basis, you will probably want to buy a full Latin Missal, which has all the readings and prayers for any Mass you might attend.

5. The Pater Noster (Our Father) is prayed aloud by the priest, with the congregation joining only for the final line: sed libéra nos a malo (but deliver us from evil).

6. To receive Holy Communion, approach the altar and kneel at the next empty spot at the altar rail. The priest will place the sacred Host on your tongue while saying the words, “Corpus Dómini nostri Jesu Christi custódiat ánimam tuam in vitam æternam. Amen.” (May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy soul unto life everlasting. Amen.). You do not need to say “Amen”. When the person next to you has finished receiving Communion you may rise and walk back to your seat.

7. After the final blessing the priest will read the Last Gospel (the beginning of the Gospel of St. John). Afterwards, he will kneel before the altar and lead the congregation in the prayers after Mass. These include: the Hail Mary, Hail Holy Queen, the Prayer to St. Michael, and the prayer “Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us” (3 times).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LATIN MASS

Q. I don’t know Latin. How am I supposed to know what is happening during Mass?

A. Easy-to-use booklets are available at the back of the church for you to borrow for the duration of Mass. These red booklets have the words in Latin on the left and in English on the right. They also include illustrations to help you follow the movements of the Mass, as well as brief explanations about the parts of the Mass.

Q. Why is it so quiet during Mass? I can’t hear what the priest is saying!

A. During most of the Mass the priest prays to God on our behalf in a low voice. It is not necessary to hear what he is saying, however, you may follow along in the Mass booklet or Missal. This silence means there are less distractions and more time to meditate on the mysteries of our Faith and on Christ’s love for us.

Q. Why don’t we get to say anything? I want to participate in the Mass, too!

A. Since Vatican II, many people have become used to the idea of the laity having specific verbal or physical opportunities to participate in the liturgy. This idea comes from the Latin term participatio actuosa. However, the actual meaning of this “active participation” specifically refers to an interior participation by being attentive during Mass, praying, and giving thanks to God for His many gifts. Our prayers are joined with the entire Communion of Saints who are worshiping God along with us during the Mass. While we cannot see or hear them, they are there – actively participating, too. So, while you may be quiet and still on the outside, your mind and soul should be very active during Mass.

Q. Why do some women wear veils? Do I need one?

A. Women traditionally were required under canon law to cover their heads during Mass. While this tradition fell out of practice after Vatican II, it is still appropriate for women to veil their heads, but not required. Many women view it as a way to give honor to God present in the Holy Eucharist, and also as an act of humility.

MORE LATIN MASS RESOURCES

Una Voce America – Support and resources for the Latin Mass

St. Sylvia Latin Mass Community – A PDF tip sheet for attending the Latin Mass

The Catholic Liturgical Library – Latin and English prayers of the Latin Mass

Sancta Missa.org – more Latin Mass resources & educational material

Father Adam Kotas was born in Poland on November 15, 1984 and moved to Chicago, IL when he was eight years old. He lived in Chicago with his family in Polish neighborhood and attended a Polish Church in Chicago where thousands of recently arrived Polish immigrants gathered to worship in their native tongue. From an early age Father Adam felt a calling to the priesthood as he admired his parish priest in Poland and the priests he came in contact with at his parish in Chicago. At the age of 14, Father Adam entered Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago in August of 1999 where he graduated in 2003. Father Adam always wanted to be a missionary to spread the Good News of the Gospel to those who have not yet heard it. He wanted to particularly work with the poor. Right after attending the high school seminary he spent a year with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a missionary group of priests and brothers whose main mission is to spread the Good News to the poor, in their pre-novitiate program in Miramar, FL where he attended St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, FL. St. John Vianney Seminary in Miami, FL is a bilingual seminary (English-Spanish) and this is where Father Adam first came into contact with Spanish. He studied Spanish diligently and ministered in the Spanish speaking parish in Miramar as well as at other nearby Spanish speaking parishes. After spending a year discerning whether the Oblates of Mary Immaculate were the right fit for him, Father Adam decided he was not called to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and left the pre-novitiate program. He returned to Chicago where he sought admission to St. Joseph College Seminary on the campus of Loyola University Chicago. Father Adam was accepted into the seminary formation program and at the same time he was accepted into the undergraduate program at Loyola University Chicago. Because Father Adam had accumulated many Advanced Placement college credits while in High School and because he took many more than the required minimum credits per semester while at Loyola University Chicago he graduated Cum Laude after only spending 2 years at Loyola University Chicago with a Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy and Spanish in May of 2006.

Upon his graduation from College Father Adam entered the graduate theological seminary of the Archdiocese of Chicago in Mundelein, Illinois where he spent a year. After one year at Mundelein Seminary Father Adam transferred to Ss. Cyril and Methodius seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan. Ss. Cyril and Methodius seminary is a Polish-American theological seminary whose main mission is train priests for missionary service in the United States of America. Priests who graduate from Ss. Cyril and Methodius seminary serve in places around the United States where there is a lack of priests. While at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary Father Adam met Father Thomas Diaz who was at the time the vocation director for the Santa Rosa diocese within whose boundaries St. Joseph Parish in Crescent City is located. St. Joseph Parish is the last parish in the diocese of Santa Rosa going north. The diocese of Santa Rosa is comprised of Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte counties. During his three years at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary Father Adam was ordained a deacon at the seminary on April 23, 2009. For one year while at the seminary Father Adam served as deacon at St. Mary of the Hills Parish in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Father Adam graduated Summa Cum Laude from Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in May of 2010 with a Masters of Divinity degree. He was ordained right after his graduation to the priesthood by the former bishop of the diocese of Santa Rosa, the Most. Rev. Daniel F. Walsh. The ordination took place on May 22, 2010 at St. John the Baptist parish in Napa, California.

During his time at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary Father Adam was given the opportunity to study at the University of Detroit Mercy. He pursued a Masters of Arts degree in Religious Studies. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies from the University of Detroit Mercy in May of 2010. Thus Father Adam not only has a Masters of Divinity degree (M.Div) but also a Masters of Arts degree (M.A.).

Father Adam is fluent in English, Spanish and Polish. He also reads and understand Latin as he studied Latin for four years. Because he knows fours languages from different language families he is able to communicate and read and comprehend many other languages.

Father Adam was appointed right after his ordination to the priesthood as Parochial Vicar (Assistant Pastor) at St. Francis Solano Catholic Church in Sonoma, CA. While at St. Francis Father Adam was responsible for the growing and ever expanding Hispanic ministry. Under Father Adam’s leadership the Hispanic community grew dramatically and many ministries were started at St. Francis including 3 different youth groups.

Father Adam was appointed interim administrator of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Calistoga in February of 2012. He remained in that post unit June 18, 2012 when Bishop Robert Vasa appointed him as Pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Crescent City, California. St. Joseph Church is the only Catholic Church in Del Norte county and this makes Father Adam the only priest in the entire county.

Father Adam leads St. Joseph’s with a passion for the Gospel. He is focused on strengthening the parish with Bible studies, retreats, missions, and engaging liturgies that call attention to the need to be re-evangelized as Catholic Christians in the 21st century. Father Adam is known for his humor and infectious laughter. He is very approachable and easy to talk to and always available to anyone that seeks his guidance and input. Do not hesitate to call on him for spiritual help. Father Adam emphasizes that he is a priest for all people whether they are members of St. Joseph Church or not. Father Adam is a very welcoming and loving priest who tries to make the Masses he celebrates welcoming celebrations of God’s loving presence in our lives.

FULL TEXT: INSTRUCTION ON THE APPLICATION OF THE APOSTOLIC LETTER SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI GIVEN MOTU PROPRIO

PONTIFICAL COMMISSION ECCLESIA DEI

INSTRUCTION
ON THE APPLICATION OF THE APOSTOLIC LETTER
SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM
OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
GIVEN MOTU PROPRIO

I.
Introduction

1. The Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum of the Sovereign Pontiff Benedict XVI given Motu Proprio on 7 July 2007, which came into effect on 14 September 2007, has made the richness of the Roman Liturgy more accessible to the Universal Church.

2. With this Motu Proprio, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a universal law for the Church, intended to establish new regulations for the use of the Roman Liturgy in effect in 1962.

3. The Holy Father, having recalled the concern of the Sovereign Pontiffs in caring for the Sacred Liturgy and in their recognition of liturgical books, reaffirms the traditional principle, recognised from time immemorial and necessary to be maintained into the future, that “each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also as to the usages universally handed down by apostolic and unbroken tradition. These are to be maintained not only so that errors may be avoided, but also so that the faith may be passed on in its integrity, since the Church’s rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds to her rule of belief (lex credendi).”1

4. The Holy Father recalls also those Roman Pontiffs who, in a particular way, were notable in this task, specifically Saint Gregory the Great and Saint Pius V. The Holy Father stresses moreover that, among the sacred liturgical books, the Missale Romanum has enjoyed a particular prominence in history, and was kept up to date throughout the centuries until the time of Blessed Pope John XXIII. Subsequently in 1970, following the liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI approved for the Church of the Latin rite a new Missal, which was then translated into various languages. In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II promulgated the third edition of this Missal.

5. Many of the faithful, formed in the spirit of the liturgical forms prior to the Second Vatican Council, expressed a lively desire to maintain the ancient tradition. For this reason, Pope John Paul II with a special Indult Quattuor abhinc annos issued in 1984 by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted the faculty under certain conditions to restore the use of the Missal promulgated by Blessed Pope John XXIII. Subsequently, Pope John Paul II, with the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei of 1988, exhorted the Bishops to be generous in granting such a faculty for all the faithful who requested it. Pope Benedict continues this policy with the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum regarding certain essential criteria for the Usus Antiquior of the Roman Rite, which are recalled here.

6. The Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI and the last edition prepared under Pope John XXIII, are two forms of the Roman Liturgy, defined respectively as ordinaria and extraordinaria: they are two usages of the one Roman Rite, one alongside the other. Both are the expression of the same lex orandi of the Church. On account of its venerable and ancient use, the forma extraordinaria is to be maintained with appropriate honor.

7. The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum was accompanied by a letter from the Holy Father to Bishops, with the same date as the Motu Proprio (7 July 2007). This letter gave further explanations regarding the appropriateness and the need for the Motu Proprio; it was a matter of overcoming a lacuna by providing new norms for the use of the Roman Liturgy of 1962. Such norms were needed particularly on account of the fact that, when the new Missal had been introduced under Pope Paul VI, it had not seemed necessary to issue guidelines regulating the use of the 1962 Liturgy. By reason of the increase in the number of those asking to be able to use the forma extraordinaria, it has become necessary to provide certain norms in this area.

Among the statements of the Holy Father was the following: “There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the Liturgy growth and progress are found, but not a rupture. What was sacred for prior generations, remains sacred and great for us as well, and cannot be suddenly prohibited altogether or even judged harmful.”2

8. The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum constitutes an important expression of the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff and of his munus of regulating and ordering the Church’s Sacred Liturgy.3 The Motu Proprio manifests his solicitude as Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church,4 and has the aim of:

a.) offering to all the faithful the Roman Liturgy in the Usus Antiquior, considered as a precious treasure to be preserved;

b.) effectively guaranteeing and ensuring the use of the forma extraordinaria for all who ask for it, given that the use of the 1962 Roman Liturgy is a faculty generously granted for the good of the faithful and therefore is to be interpreted in a sense favourable to the faithful who are its principal addressees;

c.) promoting reconciliation at the heart of the Church.

II.
The Responsibilities
of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei

9. The Sovereign Pontiff has conferred upon the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei ordinary vicarious power for the matters within its competence, in a particular way for monitoring the observance and application of the provisions of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (cf. art. 12).

10. § 1. The Pontifical Commission exercises this power, beyond the faculties previously granted by Pope John Paul II and confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, artt. 11-12), also by means of the power to decide upon recourses legitimately sent to it, as hierarchical Superior, against any possible singular administrative provision of an Ordinary which appears to be contrary to the Motu Proprio.

§ 2. The decrees by which the Pontifical Commission decides recourses may be challenged ad normam iuris before the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

11. After having received the approval from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei will have the task of looking after future editions of liturgical texts pertaining to the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite.

III.
Specific Norms

12. Following upon the inquiry made among the Bishops of the world, and with the desire to guarantee the proper interpretation and the correct application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, this Pontifical Commission, by virtue of the authority granted to it and the faculties which it enjoys, issues this Instruction according to can. 34 of the Code of Canon Law.

The Competence of Diocesan Bishops

13. Diocesan Bishops, according to Canon Law, are to monitor liturgical matters in order to guarantee the common good and to ensure that everything is proceeding in peace and serenity in their Dioceses5, always in agreement with the mens of the Holy Father clearly expressed by the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.6 In cases of controversy or well-founded doubt about the celebration in the forma extraordinaria, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei will adjudicate.

14. It is the task of the Diocesan Bishop to undertake all necessary measures to ensure respect for the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite, according to the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

The coetus fidelium (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 5 § 1)

15. A coetus fidelium (“group of the faithful”) can be said to be stabiliter existens (“existing in a stable manner”), according to the sense of art. 5 § 1 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, when it is constituted by some people of an individual parish who, even after the publication of the Motu Proprio, come together by reason of their veneration for the Liturgy in the Usus Antiquior, and who ask that it might be celebrated in the parish church or in an oratory or chapel; such a coetus (“group”) can also be composed of persons coming from different parishes or dioceses, who gather together in a specific parish church or in an oratory or chapel for this purpose.

16. In the case of a priest who presents himself occasionally in a parish church or an oratory with some faithful, and wishes to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria, as foreseen by articles 2 and 4 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the pastor or rector of the church, or the priest responsible, is to permit such a celebration, while respecting the schedule of liturgical celebrations in that same church.

17. § 1. In deciding individual cases, the pastor or the rector, or the priest responsible for a church, is to be guided by his own prudence, motivated by pastoral zeal and a spirit of generous welcome.

§ 2. In cases of groups which are quite small, they may approach the Ordinary of the place to identify a church in which these faithful may be able to come together for such celebrations, in order to ensure easier participation and a more worthy celebration of the Holy Mass.

18. Even in sanctuaries and places of pilgrimage the possibility to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria is to be offered to groups of pilgrims who request it (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 5 § 3), if there is a qualified priest.

19. The faithful who ask for the celebration of the forma extraordinaria must not in any way support or belong to groups which show themselves to be against the validity or legitimacy of the Holy Mass or the Sacraments celebrated in the forma ordinaria or against the Roman Pontiff as Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church.

Sacerdos idoneus (“Qualified Priest”) (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art 5 § 4)

20. With respect to the question of the necessary requirements for a priest to be held idoneus (“qualified”) to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria, the following is hereby stated:

a.) Every Catholic priest who is not impeded by Canon Law7 is to be considered idoneus (“qualified”) for the celebration of the Holy Mass in the forma extraordinaria.

b.) Regarding the use of the Latin language, a basic knowledge is necessary, allowing the priest to pronounce the words correctly and understand their meaning.

c.) Regarding knowledge of the execution of the Rite, priests are presumed to be qualified who present themselves spontaneously to celebrate the forma extraordinaria, and have celebrated it previously.

21. Ordinaries are asked to offer their clergy the possibility of acquiring adequate preparation for celebrations in the forma extraordinaria. This applies also to Seminaries, where future priests should be given proper formation, including study of Latin8 and, where pastoral needs suggest it, the opportunity to learn the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite.

22. In Dioceses without qualified priests, Diocesan Bishops can request assistance from priests of the Institutes erected by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, either to the celebrate the forma extraordinaria or to teach others how to celebrate it.

23. The faculty to celebrate sine populo (or with the participation of only one minister) in the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite is given by the Motu Proprio to all priests, whether secular or religious (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 2). For such celebrations therefore, priests, by provision of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, do not require any special permission from their Ordinaries or superiors.

Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Discipline

24. The liturgical books of the forma extraordinaria are to be used as they are. All those who wish to celebrate according to the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite must know the pertinent rubrics and are obliged to follow them correctly.

25. New saints and certain of the new prefaces can and ought to be inserted into the 1962 Missal9, according to provisions which will be indicated subsequently.

26. As foreseen by article 6 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the readings of the Holy Mass of the Missal of 1962 can be proclaimed either solely in the Latin language, or in Latin followed by the vernacular or, in Low Masses, solely in the vernacular.

27. With regard to the disciplinary norms connected to celebration, the ecclesiastical discipline contained in the Code of Canon Law of 1983 applies.

28. Furthermore, by virtue of its character of special law, within its own area, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum derogates from those provisions of law, connected with the sacred Rites, promulgated from 1962 onwards and incompatible with the rubrics of the liturgical books in effect in 1962.

Confirmation and Holy Orders

29. Permission to use the older formula for the rite of Confirmation was confirmed by the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (cf. art. 9 § 2). Therefore, in the forma extraordinaria, it is not necessary to use the newer formula of Pope Paul VI as found in the Ordo Confirmationis.

30. As regards tonsure, minor orders and the subdiaconate, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum does not introduce any change in the discipline of the Code of Canon Law of 1983; consequently, in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life which are under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, one who has made solemn profession or who has been definitively incorporated into a clerical institute of apostolic life, becomes incardinated as a cleric in the institute or society upon ordination to the diaconate, in accordance with canon 266 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

31. Only in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life which are under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, and in those which use the liturgical books of the forma extraordinaria, is the use of the Pontificale Romanum of 1962 for the conferral of minor and major orders permitted.

Breviarium Romanum

32. Art. 9 § 3 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum gives clerics the faculty to use the Breviarium Romanum in effect in 1962, which is to be prayed entirely and in the Latin language.

The Sacred Triduum

33. If there is a qualified priest, a coetus fidelium (“group of faithful”), which follows the older liturgical tradition, can also celebrate the Sacred Triduum in the forma extraordinaria. When there is no church or oratory designated exclusively for such celebrations, the parish priest or Ordinary, in agreement with the qualified priest, should find some arrangement favourable to the good of souls, not excluding the possibility of a repetition of the celebration of the Sacred Triduum in the same church.

The Rites of Religious Orders

34. The use of the liturgical books proper to the Religious Orders which were in effect in 1962 is permitted.

Pontificale Romanum and the Rituale Romanum

35. The use of the Pontificale Romanum, the Rituale Romanum, as well as the Caeremoniale Episcoporum in effect in 1962, is permitted, in keeping with n. 28 of this Instruction, and always respecting n. 31 of the same Instruction.

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, in an audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei on 8 April 2011, approved this present Instruction and ordered its publication.

Given at Rome, at the Offices of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, 30 April, 2011, on the memorial of Pope Saint Pius V.

William Cardinal LEVADA
President

Mons. Guido Pozzo
Secretary

1 BENEDICTUS XVI, Litterae Apostolicae Summorum Pontificum motu proprio datae, I, AAS 99 (2007) 777; cf. Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, tertia editio 2002, n. 397.

2 BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 798.

3 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 838 §1 and §2.

4 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 331.

5 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canons 223 § 2 or 838 §1 and §4.

6 BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 799.

7 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 900 § 2.

8 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 249; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 36; Declaration Optatum totius, 13.9 BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 797.

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Communio: Cardinal Pell Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops

A step closer to authentic communio…

From Damian Thompson:

Cardinal Pell, critic of the English hierarchy and no fan of the Tablet, takes charge of the world’s Catholic bishops (Damian Thompson, May 5th, 2010, Daily Telegraph)

[A]ccording to authoritative sources in Rome, the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney (a Benedict loyalist), is to succeed Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re (not a Benedict loyalist) as Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. That will give him a significant degree of authority over the world’s 5,000 Catholic bishops. He will be able to “nudge” them – for example, to observe the conservative liturgical reforms for which he is partly responsible, such as the new English translation of the Missal. 

And he will also have a huge say in who becomes a bishop in England Wales, a Church whose maladministration in recent decades has concerned him greatly. He knows this country well, and from an interesting perspective: while he was studying for his doctorate in church history at Oxford he served as chaplain to Eton. One of his best friends is Fr Alexander Sherbrooke, the OE parish priest of St Patrick’s, Soho, and one of the finest evangelists in London.

Cardinal Pell knows – knows for an absolute fact – that many English bishops are (a) not up to the job intellectually, and (b) passively obstructive towards Summorum Pontificum and Anglicanorum Coetibus. Future bishops will not enjoy the luxury of ignoring papal directives. Indeed, I suspect it won’t be long before certain current bishops have their collars felt. (Sorry to use such crude language, but he is an Aussie, and the way the E&W hierarchy ignores Vatican directives is little short of criminal.)

H/T: BROTHERS JUDD

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Scotland: Reporter reconnects with her childhood experiences of the Latin mass

 “…in the end I was humbled by Latin mass, and felt awed by its solemn simplicity.”

There was no heating in the Sacred Heart RC church in Bridgeton, a vast 100-year-old building in the bosom of a parish first established in 1873.

Perhaps that was because there were only 31 of us in the congregation, but being freezing cold certainly helped focus the mind. After all, they do say austerity is good for the soul.

I was curious to remind myself what mass used to be like, following a debate about how the liturgy is celebrated. This was revealed in the Herald on Saturday, and has been sparked by Pope Benedict XVI’s imminent visit to Scotland.

It was the first time I’d been at Latin mass since I was a child in the 1960s, pre-Vatican Council II, and boy did I have to concentrate. Hard.

Although I attended a convent school, have a Latin O-Grade and studied French at University, the rhythmic delivery of our affable celebrant was difficult to follow. Yet the church was in total silence: this being low mass, there was no singing or any participation in the liturgy, apart from responding to Mgr Hugh Boyle’s familiar repetitions of “Dominus Vobiscum”.

Traditional Latin Mass is said with the priest facing the altar rather than the congregation. This is to help us focus on the altar, the symbol of Christ’s perfect sacrifice to his Father’s will. Thus is the mass depersonalised. As Father genuflects and kisses the altar more frequently than usual, the sense of reverence is palpable.

By the term “Latin mass”, I mean traditional mass said in the Extraordinary Form – that is, the old rite, according to the Roman Missal of l962, before Vatican Council II. It is better known as Tridentine Mass. The version that most modern Catholics are familiar with is the Ordinary Form, or new mass, issued by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

In Scotland there has been a resurgence of interest in, and the practice of, the Latin mass, yet traditional Latin mass was effectively re-instated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. In his apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum the Holy Father said that there were two forms of expression of the Roman Rite of the Mass, effectively decreeing that all priests were now free to choose whether to offer the Tridentine Mass or the new mass.

However, the majority of parishes in Scotland don’t offer Latin mass, and some Scottish bishops are not in favour of it. This, say traditionalists, contradicts not only Benedict but even the late Pope John Paul II, who in 1988 asked bishops to actively support those who felt “attached to the Latin liturgical tradition”.

The anticipated visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Scotland in September therefore highlights a problem. If as expected the Holy Father will want to celebrate mass, could it be in the Extraordinary Form?

The majority of his concelebrants, and therefore their congregations, do not know the liturgy in Latin. Unlike 73-year-old Mgr Boyle, who has celebrated Latin mass throughout his ministry, if not always in public, younger priests will not have learned liturgical Latin.

Father Stephen Dunn, the 48-year-old parish priest at Sacred Heart in Bridgeton, started saying mass in Latin only last May, having made what he calls a “concerted effort” to learn it since 2007. Ordained in 1994, he says he feels “bullied and suppressed” by the Glasgow Archdiocese’s “reluctance to accept” the Pope’s 2007 decree, as shown in Archbishop Conti’s response to it in a letter to Glasgow’s priests on August 10, 2007, in which he questioned the need for it.

Yet as I was about to rediscover yesterday, it’s not just the fact that it’s said in Latin that makes the Extraordinary Form so different. The entire structure of the Mass is almost recognisable from what it is today.

The first thing I noticed on entering Sacred Heart were the altar railings. These are a rarity in Catholic churches, because most were removed post-Vatican II to facilitate the taking of the Host from the priest at Holy Communion and self-administering it. The traditional mass, by contrast, encourages us to kneel and be given Communion as we did in the old days because it helps engender a greater sense of reverence for the sacrament, and humility to God.

We’re reminded that only baptised Catholics, and those in the state of grace, are invited to receive Holy Communion. This is to remind us that we are sinners and to encourage us to attend Confession.

Nobody recites the Creed except the priest, and he says most of the Offertory quietly to himself. The Canon – the very heart of the mass, as it leads to the Consecration – is also silent. There is only one form of the Canon, though there are four options in the new mass.

There are no tambourines or guitars, and no lay church members stepping on to the altar.

Everything is in the priest’s gift, which leaves us free to take from mass what we’re meant to.

It does at first feel stern and authoritarian, but in the end I was humbled by Latin mass, and felt awed by its solemn simplicity. It forced me turn in on myself and to examine my conscience in a way that, for better or for worse, reminded me what being a Catholic is really all about. As soon as I returned home, I felt compelled to look out my childhood Catechism and to re-learn the fundamentals of my faith.

Yes, I could warm to it. If they turned up the heating a bit.

Forms of mass

Tridentine Mass was used in the Catholic Church until 1970 when its public use was restricted by most bishops after the introduction of the “new” Mass of Pope Paul VI following the Second Vatican Council.

Pope Pius V said in 1570 that priests could use the Tridentine rite forever “without scruple of conscience or fear of penalty”.

Pope John Paul II in 1988 encouraged bishops to support those who wanted Latin Mass.

In 2007 Pope Benedict XVI allowed priests to celebrate it if they wished.

In a Tridentine Mass, everything is in Latin, the priest conducts the liturgy facing the altar and the congregation follows in private prayer and doesn’t play an active part.

SOURCE: Antiquity confers solemnity in shape of Latin mass – Herald Scotland | News | Home News

END OF POST

Sheep to Shepherd: Pagan! — Thiberville in english (Video)

 

Thiberville, France: Father Michel Vs. Bishop Nourrichard 

 

 Remember, this was Holy Mass, and all of Heaven was present…

PART 1

NOTE: If english subtitles don’t appear, click bottom right red button 

PART 2

EDITOR NOTE: As a 12-year convert to Catholicism I’ve found the “Old Mass” Vs. “New Mass” battle long baffling. I’ve had to explore and educate myself and family on many “breaks” born of Vatican II reforms within the Church. My conclusion on this particular subject, (and I will be teaching my children the same), is that there really isn’t any break at all when it comes to this portion of our sacramental liturgy. Both forms of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass come to us equally through the same Spirit of God, are the source and summit of all worship due God on earth, and remain one-in-the-same rite.

This I believe is the bottom-line when it comes to the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, and the unity it offers. And the sooner this unity, or better put, ” this oneness” is authentically accepted and put into practice by clergy and laity alike, the sooner peace and beauty will prevail within our hearts and within the Church of God…

The evidence is easily discovered, “Continuity within true reform” exists, has always existed, and is real spiritually and bodily–just as Jesus Christ, Himself, is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  To deny this, is to allow oneself  to be taken prisoner by the past over the one Latin Rite. Ironically, and as I suspect, to the silent pleasure of the Devil Himself, my sideline view reveals to me that such prisoner souls are willing to jump ship on both sides of the argument over the practice of their faith, even to the point of excommunication–formally or self-imposed. But, it matters very little to the Devil about your long or short-term historical view or favorite flavor of reform if it has led to such imprisonment–His only concern is that you remain so.  

The Moto Proprio is the key and divine gift offered to the Church for the sake of unity in the truth we each share in. I don’t say this as either a Novus Ordonista or Tradiosupremist, but only as a Catholic realist in union with the Pope and his teaching magisterium. Both forms are valid and holy and need be equally loved, respected, and practiced with due solemnity according to the will of Pope Benedict XVI within Summorum Pontificum.

With a bit of investigation, it’s not hard to come to the conclusion that the parish at Thiberville, France, represents Summorum Pontificum in action. Both forms are equally loved, respected, and practiced with due solemnity and the faith is flourishing as the rest of Catholic France falls into greater apostasy and loss of faith. Every Catholic concerned for the Church, the spread of the Gospel, and salvation of souls, should support the parish at Thiberville and Summorum Pontificum.   

If there is no break found within both forms of the one rite, (and there isn’t), the same cannot be said of obedience and charity expected of Christians found within the videos above. This English translation of the events in Thiberville was sent to me by a reader [HERE] and I agree with Fr. Z over on WDTPRS , this was truly “ugly”.

END OF POST/CONTINUED PRAYERS

[Full Video/Two Parts] Bishop Nourrichard Visit to Thiberville

 

The Epiphany of the Lord — 01.03.10 

STORY BACKGROUND HERE

Part I

Part II

END OF POST

(Video) The Battle of Thiberville — Rainbow vested bishop jeered at by angry parishioners

STORY UPDATE: TO VIEW FULL VIDEO OF THIS STORY WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES: CLICK HERE

Unity…

STORY BACKGROUND

Fr. Anthony Chadwick on episcopal bullying:

“The issue in Evreux is very simple. The parish priest has been in office for more than twenty years, and truly is the pastor of his people. This is stability, a relationship of trust and love built up over many years. This year, we celebrate the Curé d’Ars in a special way, remembering that he was in his parish for more than forty years. Stability has always been important in the spirituality of Benedictine monks and in the life of parishes. The pastoral method now preferred by diocesan bishops is that no priest should be in a parish for more than five or six years, and is to be moved to other parishes to be merely at the beck and call of a team of lay administrators. This prevents a priest from being able to build up a relationship with the faithful, and, above all, leaves the Bishop with a greater degree of control. The latter approach is motivated by a theory of the Church portrayed by the analogy of a pilgrimage. The stability of a priest, vital in country parishes, has no place in this vision of flux and disturbance. Unfortunately, the Bishop is taking this aspect out of context, and his vision of a “pilgrim church” is destroying parochial Catholicism. The ideology fails to provide a real pastoral solution.”

The following video/story was captured on the Spanish blog Santa Englesia Militante. The video is in French, and the story (Spanish) has been roughly translated through Google…

Some comments:  The photo of Bishop Christian Nourrichard above was taken on a pilgrimage, and the shirt appears to be a gift from the locals, along with the bottled beverage. As for the video below, two thoughts come to mind. The first, considering the powder-keg situation and traditional culture, why on earth wear rainbow vestments? Ignorance or intentional? The second, watch carefully as the two women berate the bishop, the church empties out behind them… Bizarre! One last word–Scandal, Consider the children’s reaction on their faces as this terrible scene plays out before them…  

  

Google Translate — Spanish

Bishop Christian Nourrichard, the modernist bishop of Evreux, France, has dismissed as pastor of the church of Saint-Taurin, the people of Thibervilleal, Fr Francis Michel, who celebrates the Traditional Mass – which, much, dislike the Bishop …

Notice in the following video reportage de France 3 the altar and the traditional ornaments used by the P. Francis Michel –el destituido párroco-. Francis Michel, the deposed pastor.

 
 

 Moreover, when displayed as they are, these characters more easily provoke the awakening of the catholic and healthy fighting spirit of the faithful. As has happened here, congratulations.

The attitude of the bishop caused the unjustified reaction of the faithful. Yesterday (3-1-2010) the archbishop appeared in the church next to the new recently appointed pastor at the inauguration of the parish, and had to retire before the booing of parishioners, as shown in this video:

 Worst attitude seems that of the bishops who silently and stealthily, for example, send their assistants to “squeeze” mafia which the priests who held the Tridentine Mass, extorting measures similar to this, or other … Speaking of bishops, a happy Cardinal Bergoglio new year.

You can see also the warm applause that receives the Father Michel and, as we said, the boos and other samples just dislikes Nourrichard Christian Bishop (photo).

In brief footage of the video and give us an idea of what this bishop that rainbow dress, making his entrance with two altar boys …

Comment: I think there is something to be said “for” the obispucho: not hypocritically conceals his modernist and sectarian hatred towards the Tridentine Mass, the Mass as usual, the Mass of the saints. If you are an agent of hell, which I know all that goes …

SOURCES: Secretum Meum Mihi, Surge, Propera, The Stork Tower, Tradi News, France 3, Le Parisien, Kerknet, Fratres. Otros: Diócesis de Évreux . Others: Diocese of Evreux. And what I say about this link …?

END OF POST

Arm and Arm in France: Townsfolk deny enraged Bishop of Evreux access to church sanctuary

 

Summorum Pontificum and the Battle of Thiberville, France:

“At Thiberville, the Bishop of Evreux wants to suffocate the Motu Proprio…”

This is not what St. Ignatius meant when he said, “Where the Bishop is, there is the multitude . . . ”

 Background on today’s story from 01.02.2010:

Communiqué: At Thiberville, the Bishop of Evreux wants to suffocate the Motu Proprio

The Diocese of Evreux is one of the most damaged in France. After Bishop Gaillot and Bishop David, Bishop Nourrichard is presiding over the bankruptcy of a formerly Christian land, where the churches close one after the other, catechism classes no longer attended, vocations discouraged, finances dried up.

In this desert, a priest, Fr. Francis Michel, is in charge of the most vibrant parish, Thiberville. It happens that this parish priest, who is not a product of the traditionalist world, but who is deeply traditionally-minded, a Catholic, anticipated the application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI, many long years ago. Masses are celebrated in his church is the form now called “extraordinary”, and other Masses in the “ordinary form”, but in a way that complies with the wishes of Benedict XVI and “turned” towards the Lord. The result? Thiberville and the 14 other villages Fr. Michel serves form the most vibrant and missionary Catholic ministry – the only one still alive – of the Diocese of Evreux: the church at Thiberville is full at all Masses, and the other churches are served in turn, catechism classes, active participation of the faithful, loads of altar boys, confraternities, all the churches magnificently restored, funerals celebrated by the parish priest himself, etc. These parishes where the communion of all Catholics is lived wonderfully well is a model of application of the Pope’s wishes.

Beyond all the other reasons advanced, this is why the Bishop wants to abolish worship at Thiberville. The ideology of the “spirit of the Council”, 40 years late, has to be applied. After many episodes, Bishop Nourrichard is going to try to bury this ministry: next Sunday, 3rd January, he will go to Thiberville with his advisors and, during the 10 am Mass, he will announce with “pain” his decision without appeal: the parish of Thiberville will no longer have its own priest, who is “removed”, and the parish will be joined to a “pastoral sector”, that of Bernay. The death of parochial Catholicism rather than questioning the ideology.

At Thiberville and in the surrounding areas, everybody is worried. First of all, they really like Fr. Michel and then because the Bishop isn’t going to replace him. All the local authorities of the region and all the parishioners will be present to express their support to this highly popular priest, who might have badly expressed himself at times, but whose main fault, for his Bishop, is to be too “Papalist”.

Sunday 3rd January, the Catholic protest of God’s people will be calm to ask for the Pope’s wishes to be applied at Thiberville.

The support committee for Fr. Michel

 

Here’s the story w/updates: TAC, Fr Anthony Chadwick posted here:

Everyone has been watching this fervent parish in Normandy where the parish priest is far from being extreme. He is simply a Catholic loyal to the Pope. The whole parish community of brave country folk came to protest its anger against the planned euthanasia of a vibrant parish by one of the most “progressive” and anti-clerical bishops in France, Bishop Nourrichard of Evreux.

The bishop arrived at Thiberville this morning with Fr. Vivien, his Vicar General and parish priest of Bernay, to announce the removal of a priest he judged to be too Catholic for his taste. The church was packed. The local Mayor and his council were there in the front pew.

The Bishop began his Mass, which was an improvised mess. Parents took away their children who were serving Mass and the local authorities got up and left the church. All that remained of the hundreds of persons was a small group of 21 and only 3 from the parish of Thiberville. The Bishop was confronted with the anger of the simple country people he despises. They don’t understand the Council – he said. The people suggested that His Lordship would do well to revise his catechism!

Fr. Michel announced that he would celebrate Mass at Bournainville-Favrolles, one of his other parish churches. The crowd of people followed, and the church wasn’t big enough for everyone. It was a reform of the reform (ordinary form) Mass, facing God. The Bishop was in a rage, but was prevented from approaching the sanctuary of the church. During this time, Fr. Michel announced that he remained the parish priest, something a Roman decision would certainly confirm as soon as an appeal is made against the Bishop’s decree. In canon law, a sentence becomes effective only after the definitive judgement.

Everything happened before the French television and local journalists. There were also Parisian journalists one would not call traditionalists, yet they were amazed by the Bishop’s complete mismanagement of the situation he had provoked, and that he should logically resign his See.

Let us continue to support this brave priest in our prayers, and I will try to contact him shortly to tell him about our own combat.

 

Sunday evening update:

There is another side, however, to this story. Fr. Michel has been pastor of this parish for more than 20 years, and the policy in French dioceses is to move priests every five or six years, to prevent people from becoming attached to their priest. The stability of the parish priest is a thing of the past, and people have to get used to dealing with an administrator, a bureaucrat, rather than a spiritual father.

I have known priests who have been in their parishes for thirty or forty years. This makes the difference between a “hireling” and a pastor. Never have bishops and priests been less pastoral than over the past forty years! A petition to support Fr. Michel has collected 4,000 signatures.

It is unfortunate that there has been open conflict between Fr. Michel and his Bishop. He might win an appeal to the Apostolic Nuncio here in France, a conservative and a Ratzinguerian, or directly to the Roman Curia. If such a thing had occurred before 2005, the diocesan Bishop would win every time however unjust and anti-pastoral he was – and resistance has been the only way, as I have seen in other parishes. Perhaps under Benedict XVI, episcopal tyranny in the dioceses will have its limitations. A bishop’s authority is limited by the purpose of his episcopal charge. If authority is used for anti-Christian purposes and for maintaining the ideology of the “hermeneutic of rupture”, then that authority can be resisted and disobeyed.

It is a difficult one. The disobedience of a priest to his Bishop is a serious matter. So is the fact of an anti-Catholic bishop! This crisis in western Catholicism is going to continue until either something is done about the method for vetting and selecting candidates for the Episcopate, or until the old diocesan and parochial structures are dead and the mission must begin anew. This episode goes to show that many people have ceased to attend church because of the dictature of relativism and that clergy which would prefer to die than return to classical Catholicism and loyalty to Rome.

The battle of Thiberville is not won, but people are being woken to the reality!

“Well, this is one way to implement the Moto Proprio, is it not?”

I don’t know… Something just doesn’t sit right within the belly when a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church is physically blocked from entering the sanctuary of a church within his own diocese. And that, by a majority of fellow Christians he’s charged with responsibly caring for as his own as well…

All this proves a point not in vogue today: It is impossible to remain in the true faith without remaining in true union with the Vicar of Christ on earth, the Pope…

Live by it.

Read here for further coverage

END OF POST

Sacramental Integrity: Archbishop John Vlazny on Women Priests, Same-Sex Marriage, Inclusive Language, False Confession, Phony Anointings and Eucharistic Abuse

Sacramental Integrity

by Archbishop John Vlazny/Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon

At heart we Catholics are a sacramental people. The whole liturgical life of the church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and the sacraments. These sacraments have both a visible and invisible reality. The visible reality is the way in which they are administered and received. The invisible reality is God’s grace, the precious gift of God by which we share in his life and through which he shows us the way to salvation.

Sacraments are not simply holy rituals that people of faith have devised over the centuries. We do have such actions but we refer to them as sacramentals. Holy water, blessings with ashes and veneration of sacred objects fall into this category.

Sacraments are different. Again, the Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs us that “the sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church, by which divine life is dispensed to us.” The old Baltimore Catechism definition which many of us learned in our youth was even simpler, “Sacraments are outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace.” My generation will never forget that definition. The present generation may not be acquainted with any definition. No wonder there is confusion at times.

Because of this confusion and consequent uncertainty, all-too-often there are sacramental celebrations which lack integrity. In fact, many of them are not even sacraments. But their agents pretend they are and gullible people go along. Good Catholics become frustrated with us pastors who don’t speak up and condemn such practices. Most of us aren’t very good at condemnation because we know our own failings. But clarification about important matters is very much a part of the responsibility of us pastors. I would like to offer some clarifications.

In recent years the media has informed us about the so-called “ordination of women priests.” There are those who proclaim that it’s a matter of justice that women be allowed into the priesthood. Jesus was clearly an agent for justice in his time and he did not call women to the apostolic ministry as he did the twelve apostles. Priests share in that apostolic ministry with their bishops.

 

Certainly a woman can pretend to be a priest. There are also many men who pretend to be priests but who are not ordained validly, let alone legitimately. But because they claim to be priests and are talented and generous, many choose to accept them as priests and participate in their alleged sacramental celebrations. This is a serious blow to the sacramental integrity which is a hallmark of our church.

In recent times marriage as we know it has been challenged to the limit. People presume that civil marriage can be whatever civil society wants it to be in this present age of secularism and relativism. But that is not how marriage has been understood over the centuries both by civil society and by the church.

This matter is all the more significant for us Catholics because in our community marriage is a sacrament, the love of husband for wife mirroring the love of Christ for his spouse, the church. Even if civil society acknowledges same-sex marriage as legitimate, this is impossible for the church. Because we also see this as harmful to family life, we speak out against such civil marriages and we certainly work to preserve the integrity of sacramental marriage.

Recently the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome had to offer a clarification about Baptism. Because of the concern some folks had about exclusive language, there were actually some church ministers who were baptizing “in the name of the Creator and of the Redeemer and of the Sanctifier.” But that is not the form for the sacrament of Baptism. Remember! What is a sacrament? A sign of grace instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church. It is not entrusted to individual Christians. It is entrusted to the whole church under the leadership of its pastors. People who take these matters into their own hands cause problems for others. Sacramental integrity requires that ministers of the sacraments follow the rituals as defined by church authority.

Even the sacrament of Reconciliation has been too often misunderstood. I heard about a Reconciliation service where participants were instructed to go and confess their sins to any adult, priest or lay person. Yes, we can all confess our sins to whomever we wish but only an ordained priest is able to confer sacramental absolution. Confessing sins to a friend or neighbor may be helpful. But it is not a sacrament, not a sign which produces the effect of forgiveness from God through the action of the church.

The Anointing of the Sick is also something which is at times non-sacramental. Because priests are not always available, some folks take it on their own initiative to anoint sick persons as a sign of their prayers for healing. This can be a gracious gesture, one that leads people to a closer union with God at a difficult time. But it is not a sacrament. It is not that sacred sign entrusted to the church through which God confers physical, emotional or spiritual healing.

The celebration of the Eucharist is our central action as a Catholic people. Over the past forty plus years many changes have been introduced into the rituals of the church. Unfortunately, because some things changed, there were people who thought all things were about to change and they themselves would decide what to change. Other Catholics who do not appreciate the Novus Ordo, the new rite proposed by Vatican II, have chosen to participate in schismatic liturgical celebrations presided over by ministers not in union with the local Catholic bishop.

From the earliest days of the church, there has been a principle which defines integral catholicity, “ubi episcopus, ibi ecclesia.” In other words, the true church of Christ is one that serves the mission of Christ in union with the local bishop. A bishop is the chief shepherd, the chief catechist and the chief liturgist in the diocese. It is his responsibility to define sacramental integrity. His teachings may be challenged, but when they are clearly in union with those of the Bishop of Rome and the other members of the college of bishops, it is more than likely that the challenger is way off base.

In this local church it is my duty from time to time to insist upon sacramental integrity where abuses may occur. Overall, I am greatly impressed with the liturgical life of this local church. But I am also aware that there are those who think they can do things better and as a result cause great harm to the integrity of our sacramental life. When all is said and done, it is important for all of us to remember what the Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs, namely, that “liturgical services are not private functions but are celebrations of the church.” Enough said. I thank God for the good Catholic people among us and those who have gone before us whose good works and holiness are attributed to the power that comes from prayer and especially from the sacraments.

The Catholic Sentinel

Gregorian Rite Mass Celebrated in Bend by Dr. Jay Boyd

Dr. Jay Boyd – 06.24.08

BEND – More than 80 worshipers attended a High Mass in the Gregorian Rite at St. Francis of Assisi Church here last weekend. The term “Gregorian Rite” refers to what was formerly called the Tridentine Mass, or Traditional Latin Mass, and more recently, the “extraordinary form” of the Mass.

Pope Benedict liberalized the celebration of the extraordinary form last September in his Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum, which lifted the restrictions on celebrations of Mass according to the Roman Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII.

Mass in the Gregorian rite is offered monthly at St. Francis of Assisi, organized by the Society of St. Gregory the Great, a local organization of lay Catholics which aims to assist the Church in recovering an appropriate understanding of and appreciation for the sacred.

Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, president of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei in Rome, declared at a press conference in London on June 14 that Pope Benedict wishes this form of the Mass to be available in all parishes, calling it a gift of God and a treasure.

Many of those attached to the Gregorian Rite find that it enhances their sense of reverence for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Before the Mass, a lecture and discussion on Summorum Pontificum was held at the St. Francis Catholic Center. It was the first in a series of catechetical presentations on the older form of Mass and the sacraments. These lectures will be presented before each of the upcoming monthly Sunday Masses. About 30 people attended Sunday’s presentation.

At Sunday’s Mass, first Communion went to Anna-Marie Daggett of La Pine, using the older rite for the sacrament. Following the older form, Anna Marie recited the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer to show her readiness for reception of the sacrament.

At the end of Mass, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed for a brief period of adoration, in keeping with Pope Benedict’s request of paying special honor to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during the month of June. The congregation chanted the Litany of the Sacred Heart, and made acts of reparation and consecration to the Sacred Heart. Benediction concluded the liturgy. The next Gregorian Rite Mass in Bend is scheduled for 4 p.m. on July 13.