Mainz Cardinal Criticizes Mass of All Ages

The stupid Traditionalists don't see through the zeitgeist of the "historical relativism" of the immemorial, unchangeable liturgy -- opines the Prelate.

Old Liberal Cardinal Lehman at Lecture in Wurzburg

(kreuz.net)Critics of the post-Conciliar liturgical reform, who are attached to "immemorial, unchangeable forms", do not see through "the historical relativism".

Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz said this on Saturday during a lecture about the liturgical reform at the St. Burkardus-House in Wurzburg.

This was according to the Press Office of the Diocese of Wurzburg.

The occasion of the lecture was the 47th anniversary of the publication of the Conciliar Documents on the Liturgy of "Sancrosanctum Concilium".

The pastoral and liturgical break after the Pastoral Council was termed by Cardinal Lehman as a "great work".

The Pastoral Council is said to have nourished "the meaning of the Liturgy for the life of the Church" -- joked the Cardinal just then.

Then he said, that the Pastoral Council did not issue "a charter to make one's own forms", although that -- with the complete agreement of the Bishop-- is what happened.

The arbitrariness and lawlessness after the Council was supposedly not a goal of the reform.

The Cardinal continued, saying, that it was good, when the divine services brings "our lives" into fullness-- without clarifying what he meant with that.

Then on the other hand he said that one must "altogether" give room for Jesus Christ.


© Bild: POW, Pressebild Bistum Würzburg

The Pope Plans to Allow Women to the Office of Lector

Editor: It's just a matter of time?


Assignments since 1972 already no longer required ordination.

Vatican City (kath.net/KAP) Benedict XVI is evidently planning to allow women to act as lectors at services. This was confirmed by the new prefect of the Vatican Bishops Congregation, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, this Thursday afternoon.  Ouellet outlined this in the context of the post-synodal document "Verbum Domini" by Pope Benedict XVI., which dealt with "The word of God in life and in the mission of the Church".

In the 220 page document on the structure of the recommendations of the Bishops Synod 2008 dealt with the necessity of a "rediscovery" of the Bible for the life of the Church, for the engagement in society and for inter-religious dialogue.

The Pope recalled among other things the liturgical rules of the Mass in the document: "As is well known, the Gospel is announced by the Priest or Deacon, the first and second reading in the Latin tradition, however, can be assigned to a man or a woman."

Lectoresses will now no longer be the exception.

Till now it has only been men who've been assigned to read the first and second reading, even though in many parishes in the German-speaking world it has turned out otherwise.  That either men or women could be assigned in the lector role was actually foreseen as an exception.

 From the outset on, lectors -- consistently men -- were authorized by the local bishop in the majority of cases.  Besides these lectors assigned as needed by the Bishop, baptised women and men were assigned the  role of reader in the Mass out of necessity.

Till 1972 the lector and acolyte (Altarservers) were assignments reserved for "lower ordinands".  Since 1972 both assignments are no longer tied to one who is ordained.

By the presentation on Thursday afternoon Cardinal Ouellet pointed out that the Pope  seized upon this indirectly from "Proposal 17" of the Bishops Synod on the Bible of  2008: "The Synod Fathers desired that the office of lector should be open also to women -- that therefore ought to take place. And the Holy Father studied this matter intently."

The German edition of Radio Vatican speculated that with the preparedness of the Pope to allow women as lectors, this could also open the way for discussing allowance of women in the office of the diaconate. The possible renewal, of which Cardinal Ouellet speaks, does not mean altogether a step toward the direction of lay preachers, says the broadcaster.

The French Catholic newspaper "La Croix" also took a look on Friday at the expressions of the new papal document with regard to Judaism.  As the paper recalled, it happened two years ago for the first time that there was a Jew who was invited -- a head rabbi from Haifa, Shear-Yashuv Cohen -- to be a lecturer at the Bishops Synod.  And Benedict XVI had explained in his writing, how valuable the dialog with Judaism is for the Church. "We are close together as we share the same spiritual roots.  We encounger one another as brothers -- brothers, who in certain moments of their history have had a tense relationship, but who've now decided to take pains, to build bridges of understanding and friendship", it was said among other things.


Link to original at kath.net...

Mr. Taylor's photo, from here .

Wymyn Priestess photos, here.

Related Articles:

Stealth Deaconess, already in play, here.

Lay Investiture, here.

Linz Bishop, "concelebrates", here.

Stephen Kiechle SJ,will applaud too, here.

Jesuit Revolutionary: Incense Was Enemy Number 1

When the readings of the Old Testament are replaced by readings of Karl Marx. Jesuit Father Edmund Runggaldier has now brought to light background information about Jesuit Education of the 68-Generation


Munich-Innsbruck (kath.net) The Jesuit priest Edmund Runggaldier has illustrated the 68 Generation, for the benefit of the official news of the Jesuits of the German Province. Edmund Rundggaldier, the current professor at the Theological Faculty of the University of Innsbruck currently, was from 1966 to 1968, a novice in St. Andra in Austria. Then he studied philosophy in Pullach near Munich till 1970. There he experienced, according to his own report, a kind of cultural revolution and the awakening of a "delayed inner-Catholic revolution". He avowed himself that sometimes there were excesses among the Novices and Scholastics and he was fully involved. "I was an active, almost a fanatical participant in that revolution: we have formally destroyed Iconography with Nazarene Style", wrote Runggaldier.

Especially explosive are his thoughts on liturgy. "We were combative and missionary especially in the 'renewal' of the Liturgy, that means in the dumping of things that were in our eyes impeding ballast. Incense was enemy number 1," he openly acknowledged. Then he explained that experiments were undertaken in the Jesuit College in Innsbruck in "authentic" Eucharistic Celebrations in the setting of a mirror. These celebrations were, in any event forbidden by the superior. Although, the readings from the Old Testament and the Letters of Paul were replaced by those of Marx or the philosophy of Existentialism. "I was thrilled as the classical Codices which were then still studied in the Scholastic sense critically degraded." Self-critically Ruggaldier then asked how he had come from "Novice" to "Iconoclast" and why one with such an enthusiasm and with such a fanaticism throw overboard a Philosophy tried over centuries, or to be won over by modern Existentialism and a one sided political philosophy.

The Jesuit professor explained then, that one encouraged the oversimplification and use of a fundamental biblical message. "What counted, was -- completely in the sense of the Reformation -- the origins, the ipsissima vox des Herrn." According to his opinion of what took place then was a philosophic approach between the Catholic students -- and Student Camps (Like Highland or Catholic Youth Camps) and the Marxism. For Runggaldier combined extensively the roots and the driving force. "We were especially convinced by the necessity of protecting persistent renewal i.e., permanent revolution, against untruth and alienation.," he wrote in illustration.

For his enemy image was "true Christendom" which belonged to consumer and capitalist liberalism. Things that were alienating were valued then as "subjective forms" an "internalized spirituality." "It was not the subjective well-being that counted, rather the reality itself, the pure original message of the Gospel, the expression of the motives of political affairs, finally the restructuring of Church and Society. Questions like: How do you feel? were strange to us." Some Jesuits left the order or resigned who were under the "pressure of the high ideals". Finally, explained Runggaldier, that he does not want to distance himself from the fundamental motivations of the movement. "The careful abolition of all that, what was held to be secondary in the Rite, which were in any case mistakes. Man needs sustenance for his senses in liturgical execution. The word and nature alone can be hard for a man to taste. Ignatius knew that we ignored it back then", so concluded the Jesuit Father.


Link to original...kath.net...

Pro Multis -- Translation of the 'Missale Romanum' Proceeds in Linz

Papal Commission met under the direction of Bishop Schwarz in the State Capital

Linz (kath.net/KAP) The review of the new translation of the Latin Missal (Missale Romanum) into German is the job of the Papal Commission "Quo Principia", which is shortly under the direction of the Linz Bishop, Ludwig Schwarz, not so much as otherwise in Rome, rather will meet at the Linz Seminary. Members of this Vatican Congregation for Worship and the Order of Sacraments are part of a Commission of academics assigned from diverse German speaking Universities and Diocese.

The new translation of the "Missale Romanum" comes from the Papal Commission "Ecclesia celebrans" under the direction of Cologne Bishop Cardinal Joachim Meisner. This work group generally comes together several times a year and develops translated elements for correction by "Quo principia". The work is done in parallel.

The Linz Diocesan Bishop is an authority in classical studies and was for that reason a leading collaborator at all levels of the development process. Based on this process, there should be a Missal which reflects on the one side the German language as spoken today, while on the other side staying true to the liturgical texts of the celebration of the Mass and expressing up to date language.

What is The Real Threat to The Unity of The Roman Rite? Cardinal Ratzinger's Letter.

In 1999 then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger answered the objections of an old liberal Roman Liturgist. Now the letter is on the internet!

[kreuz.net] On the 16th of November 1998 the old liberal Liturgist and Claretian, Father Matias Augé (74), wrote a letter to the former Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine and the Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.

Father Augé is from Spain. In the late 90s he was a Professor at the Benedictine Liturgical Institute 'Sant'Anselmo' in Rome, on the theological faculty of the Papal Lateran University and advisor to the Vatican Congregation for Liturgy.

In his letter he had criticized a proposal by Cardinal Ratzinger to keep the 10 year anniversary of the Motu Proprio 'Ecclesia Dei' on October 24th 1998.

He could not understand how one could celebrate the Old Rite, without contradicting the Constitution of the Council -- exclaimed the priest to the Cardinal.

For the Tridentine and the effective Rite are a single Rite -- namely "the Roman Rite in two different phases of its history".

Father Augé also mentioned in his letter that a return to the Old Rite brings with it the danger of destroying Church unity and bring into question the decisions of Pope Paul VI (+1978).

Brutal Liturgical Reform

The then Cardinal Ratzinger answered the priest on the 18th of February 1999 in a personal letter.

The exchange of letters was recently published by Father Augé on his Weblog 'liturgia-opus-trinitatis.over-blog.it'.

In his answer Cardinal Ratzinger then recalled that a "not inconsiderable number of Catholic Faithful, mostly of French, English and German language are very strongly attached to the Old Liturgy."

John Paul II. did not have the intention to review for them what happened in the year of 1970 -- "to impose a transitory period of only six months in the extremely abrupt manner as the New Liturgy was."

The then Cardinal mentioned that the "respectable" Liturgical Institute of Trier recommended a time frame of about 10 years for such a transition.

So, it was necessary upon the question of the authority of the ruling Pope and his respectful pastoral disposition to take them into consideration.

The Old Rite Must Help the New Mass

Cardinal Ratzinger made it clear that the unity of the Roman Rite is not today "threatened by a small community, who use the Indult [Permission to Celebrate the Old Mass] and are generally treated like they have the plague, as people not understood, if not even possibly doing something immoral."

"No" -- insisted Cardinal Ratzinger: "The unity of the Roman Rite is threatened by wild creativity, which is often encouraged by the Liturgists."

He reproved the project in Germany, "Missale 2000" which propagated the argument that the Missal of Paul VI. was already obsolete:

"I will remind you, what I have said in my proposal, that the difference between the Missal of 1962 and the Mass, which is truly celebrated according to the Missal of Paul VI, is much smaller, than the differences between the various so-called "creative" uses of the Missal of Paul VI."

Then the Cardinal brought his hope to expression that the presence of the old Missal will form a Dam against the sadly common aberrations of the Liturgy and to serve as an example of "authentic reform".

Today's Pope has sharply criticized the claim that the Old Mass threatens the unity of the Roman Rite:

"That the use of the Indult of 1984 (1988) stands against the unity of the Roman Rite, is in my experience a disposition, that is very far from reality."

In conclusion he stressed his regret that the priest had not noticed in the proposal the "invitation to the <>".

He also requested this, "to open up to the Council, to come to reconciliation, in the hope, with time that the break between the two Missals can be overcome."


Link to original...

The German Bishops are Daydreaming: Dragging Their Feet

The decadent German Church once again finds itself on the crossroads: will the Bishops finally obey the Pope or will they regard him as a fool?

[Kreuz.net, Fulda] Today the President of the German Bishops Conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg, held the findings of the complete assembly of the Bishops Conference, which took place this week in Fulda.

A press text from the website of the German Bishops Conference was published.


The Bishops turn everything to sex

According to the Bishops, future dialogue will be directed to the supposedly "bulky themes".

As an example, they will address the relentless journalist litany of sex, priest sex and the dispensing of sacraments for adulterers.

So that the empty sex-chatter won't come to an early end, so should an actual "dialogue initiative" of the Diocese and Parishes take place.

one of the "many" Episcopal chattering cooperating partner is according to reports from the press text of the Anti-Catholic lay association 'Central Committee of German Catholics'.

A long point of the press conference occupied itself further with the the abuse product which sells itself, with which the Bishops get taken for a ride.

One of the proposed measures for the future is the internet site 'www.praevention-kirche.de'.

Attended by the wrong man

On the catch phrase "Mission to the Jews" the press release made clear that Cardinal Lehmann of Mainz in connection with the bishops Conference had worked a statement.

The text is not available on-line.

Cardinal Lehman has contradicted in the past the New Testament and promoted error that there is a path of sanctity for the Jews without Christ.


Celebration of the violations of 'Kirchentag'

The press release recalled then the Anti-Catholic 'Ecumenical Church Day' [A Lutheran Women-Bishop was honored there after her DUI conviction and resignation] in Munich.

The Bishops praised the godless event to the skies.

There isn't a single criticism of the 'Kirchentag' in the press release.

Now the new believers are conservative

The Liturgy, explained the press text, that the translation of the new Mass Book, which was published in the original Latin, is complete.

Now the Vatican must approve the translation.

The press release broke a lance for the old new Rite. The texts used now that are in full effect are trusted by the priests and people.

The Bishops did not want to endanger these values through a fundamentally new translation:

"The reception of the proposed Missal may be put in danger because of the translation of individual primary words or those translations which occur without necessity in the following translation of words that were till now expressed in good German text and replaced by strange uses." -- said the old liberal Bishops sounding like conservatives.

It is unclear if the Press text meant that "individual primary words" also meant "words of Consecration".

Poe Benedict XVI has tried to correct since November 2005 the previously used erroneous translation of "pro-multis" with "for all".

Up until now he has shown the Bishop's long noses.

A lot of time for nothing.

After the short point about the liturgy, the press release discussed the circumstantial cultural and social questions -- for example, environmentalism.

There was not a single syllable uttered about the very endangered unborn children lost in Germany.

Further points in the press release were Education and Schools, Science and Culture or the theme complex, "World Church".

The most interesting point regarding peronell is that Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke of Eichstatt will be a member of the Liturgy Commission. [Bishop Hanke is apparently quite liberal and was favored by a local liberal CSU politician in Eichstaet to succeed Bishop Mixa.

Link to original...kreuz.net

When One Sees How the Holy Father Celebrates Mass Today, One can Barely Notice Any Difference Between That and His Ordination Mass

The Meal Table Is Frequently Little More than a Night Table in Front of a Magnificent Altar

A German Bishop has sharply criticized the post-conciliar liturgical reform. One wanted to tear out the altar --- and horribly degraded it.


[kreuz.net] The Liturgy must be recovered as the "holy life's blood" of the Church.

Bishop Emeritus Klaus Dick (82) of Cologne explained most recently in a lecture in Cologne. On Friday the Cologne 'Domradio' (Cathedral Radio) recording of the presentation. It consists most substantially from citations -- predominantly from Pope Benedict XVI.


A Break with Tradition

The effect of the post-conciliar Liturgical reform called for-- said Msgr Dick -- "the virtual self-destruction of the Liturgy".

More precisely he criticized so-called "creativity" in the Ligurgy.

He warned about that attitude, "that even the new form of the Liturgy is an obligation".

In the post-conciliar period Msgr Dick perceived with a citation from Cardinal Joseph Höffner (+1987) of Cologne that there was a cataclysmic "break with Tradition".


Porous Texts with an arbitrary Interpretation

In his lecture Msgr Dick criticized the Mass in the vernacular as well as the Eucharistic Celebration on the "Supper Table"

After the pastoral council it was known, that the Latin was suppressed (disestablished). The prelate corrected this, "The opposite is the case."

More accurately the Council deleted the value of the altar.

Indeed after that the Altar "had been so horribly degraded as never before."

In many churches there is placed before a high altar a "post-conciliar thing" -- lamented the Auxiliary Bishop the Furniture Industry.

In the concept "People's Altar" the Auxiliary Bishop said, that every altar must serve as a celebration with the people.

Even the term "celebrations-altar" Msgr Dick indicated was false: "Are there any altars where we don't celebrate?"

Already in these examples Msgr Dick sees, that the Liturgical Reform "is crooked".


Considerable Shortcomings only in the New Mass

In his lecture the Auxiliary Bishop tore the cheap polemics against the Mass of All Ages to pieces: "The Old Liturgy had considerable shortcomings."

He could not find any evidence of these.

In the entire lecture he mentioned only -- at another point --. that in the Old Mass on Sunday that [only] the preface of the Trinity was used.

Against that he found the New Missal used numerous prefaces for Sunday.

The Auxiliary Bishop found these to be "a great honor" for the Old Mass.

He desires practical changes in the Old Mass. So that the Rite would be, which is directed by Peter, supposedly "improved".

For that, he argued for the Pope's wish, that both Masses should enrich one another side by side.

Eucharistic Celebration Without Holiness

Bishop Dick submits, that in the New Eucharistic Celebration it loses sacrality.

Indeed this is a natural part of that Liturgy.

One gets the false intonation of the character of a meal applied to the liturgy: "It must be a successful meal."

Finally, Msgr Dick indirectly points out, that he doesn't understand the difference between the Old and the New Mass:

"When one sees how the Holy Father celebrates, one can barely notice any difference between that and his ordination Mass."

Link to original..

New Head of Christian Unity Says Good Things

Rorate Caeli has published this from Gaudium Press, which is a statement from the new head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, holding forth on things liturgical, not explicitly ecumenical (although they are related as we shall see in the interview), necessarily from the Vatican Council in the interview, here at Gaudium Press.

Of course, the Archbishop acknowledges a fundamental truth that the Council was made to do things which were never explicitly mandated, or even implicitly. Whatever else is going on here one thing is certain, this is not something Cardinal Kasper would have said. The former head of Christan Unity would never have said anything like this, in fact, he was at often at pains to say anything that wasn't offensive to pious ears.

One commenter at Rorate identifies how the addle-headed idea of facing versus populum (like your ordinary USA Novus Ordo Mass was originated from a man Paul VI believed to be a Freemason, Archbishop Annibale Bugnini and the German liturgist, Pius Parsch.

The Archbishop's statement is surprising for a man who is otherwise accused of being for Women's Ordination and generally opposed to Benedict XVI and Father Fessio's "reform of the reform"; he certainly oppposed the Bishop of Chur years ago in his attempt at reform.

We see this as an auspicious and surprising beginning. Perhaps now we could have the Archbishop repudiate his position on Women's Ordination too?

Gaudium Press - These two views [of the Church as People of God and as Mystery] also influence one's position on the liturgy. How should the liturgy be understood today?

All those things that some people say that was new after the Second Vatican Council were not a theme of the Constitution on the Liturgy [Sacrosanctum Concilium]. For instance, celebrating the Eucharist facing the faithful was never an object of Tradition. The Tradition had always meant celebrating facing East, because that was the position of the resurrection. In Saint Peter's Basilica, the celebration took place facing the people for a long time because that was the direction facing East. The second thing was the vernacular language. The Council wished that Latin remain the language of the liturgy.

Yet all those very deep, fundamental, things of the liturgical Constitution, are still ignored by many. For instance, the entire liturgy and the Paschal liturgy. The Easter of mystery, of death, and of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. One cannot celebrate the Paschal [mystery] without sacrifice, and that is the theme that is mentioned in theology. Because the Constitution on Revelation [Dei Verbum] is not yet known in the Church either. We still have much to do in order to receive the Council.



Rorate Caeli...

Archbishop of Zaragosa Presides Over Traditional Burial

Fides et Ratio

At 9:41 AM, by Isaac García Expósito

Archbishop Manuel Ureña Pastor, Archbishop of Zaragoza, presided over a solemn funeral, which was conducted entirely in Latin and the ancient liturgical books in the Parish of Épila. This beautiful memorial service was fully justified by the beauty of the temple and the historic nature of the event.

During a restoration, the remains of the family of the Count of Aranda, who have rested in the church of Épila since 1745 - had to be moved. The entire ceremony was done using traditional ritual, with ornaments in black, and sung in Latin (De profundis, Domine Deliver me, In Paradisum, Ego sum, etc.).

Monsignor Ureña also gave a great reflection on the meaning of death and Christian hope. It was very well received by the faithful who packed the church.

The stupid prejudices of the past decades are abandoned and the liturgical heritage of the Catholic Church is used again and is supported enthusiastically by the faithful.

Link to original ...Fides et Ratio (more photos)

44 Percent of Germans want the Old Mass

Catholic Knight reports similar numbers for the States, here.

The past running brutal Church persecution in Germany has also revealed, that the believers themselves are having a change of attitude about the means of healing for their religion.



At least 44% of practicing Catholics in Germany would regularly participate in an Old Mass, if the requirements of the Motu Proprio 'Summorum Pontificum' were established in their country.

This was reported by the French organization 'paixliturgique.com' today in an article.

The organization maintains, that a great part of the German hierarchy is hostile to the liturgical rapprochement desired by the Pope.

The Bishops are at pains to disparage the numbers of requests for the Use of the Motu Proprio.

Indeed, now 'paixliturgique.com' has launched a representative poll with the US opinion research institute 'Harris Interactive'.

The poll was held from the 18th to the 25th of February. 2,611 Catholic households in Germany with ages above 18 were questioned. Here are the questions and answers:

First Question: Do you go to Holy Mass?

Every Week: 5.9%
Once a Month: 4.1%
For a big Holy Day: 18.9%
Occasionally (e.g., weddings, funerals): 42.3%
Never: 28.8%

Second Question: Do you know, that the Pope has allowed two forms of Mass, a modern one with the people facing the priest and communion in the hand, and the traditional latin, with the priest facing the altar and Communion orally received on the knees?

Yes: 43.1%
No: 56.9%

Third Question: Would it be normal, if both forms were regularly celebrated in your community?

Normal: 50,6%
Not Normal: 24.5%
No Opinion: 24.9%

Fourth Question: Would you attend the old Mass, even if the new Mass were also celebrated nearby?

Answer of regular or monthly Massgoers:

-25 percent would participate every week.
-19 percent would participate once a month.
-9 percent would participate by great feasts.
-40 percent would occasionally [wow] participiate.
- 7 percent would never, [ever?] attend. [wow, only 7?]

The organization 'paixliturgique.com' maintains, that every fourth German who practices would attend the Old Mass every Sunday, if he had the opportunity in his community.

A further 19 percent would at least attend the old Mass once a month. That gives a total figure of 44 percent. [!]

In Germany 1,185,310 Catholics go to Mass every Sunday. A further 823,690 visit Church services at least once a month.

'Paixliturgique.com' informs, that this investigation in Germany yielded similar results in Paris, Versailles, Italy and all of France.

Opposition against the Old Mass is, with 25 Percent of all Catholics, in a decisive minority.

© Bild: birmingham_lms_rep, CC

Reflections on the Liturgy

by Jonathan Bennett

The sacred mysteries on Earth are reflections, shadows of the ineffable mysteries of the faith, and allow the senses something of a taste of that which cannot truly be perceived by the senses- the incomprehensible is made comprehensible to the limited capacities of man's condition through the rites of the Church. Herein we encounter the commerce of Heaven and Earth, the natural and the supernatural, where, as God was made Man so that man might know God, the faith becomes manifest in tangible forms so we might know the faith.

The liturgy is meant to give a temporal vision of Heaven. How could the sublime and complex rites of the sacred ministers- clothed in sumptuous vestments, bathed in clouds of incense and illuminated by innumerable candles- as they attend to the altar amidst the celestial hosts brought forth in lavish iconography, to the voices of a multitude of choirboys raised in the ancient chants which echo the never-ending praise of the seraphim surrounding the Throne of God, not impose itself in a most magnificent way upon the mind and the senses? Is this not a foretaste-though still inadequate by far- of the Beatific Vision, of eternal contemplation of God?

What a difference then is the state of the liturgy in our own times. Even amongst many traditionalists the liturgy is the subject of much sad neglect. When the priest stomps about the sanctuary in muddy boots, vested in cheap polyester vestments, speeding through the Latin prayers and performing his sacred office in a manner so routine as to strip it of all outward dignity, within a church lacking in any beauty or adornment (or if there is an actual attempt at artwork and ornamentation it is gaudy and banal), the faithful may perhaps be excused for hearing Mass not out of piety but out of obligation, whilst the Divine Offices are relegated to the private prayers of the clergy (meant to sanctify every hour of the day, they are more often than not said all at once, or in two or three sittings at convenient times) and all but ignored by laity.

This of course is neglect in the extreme and not a general accusation, and in some cases more reflective of local conditions than intent, but serves to illustrate to what extent the liturgical patrimony of the Church may be diminished. In other cases it is most certainly intended (the author himself has heard, on no small number of occasions, diatribes against great solemnity and lavish ceremony, interestingly much akin to similar arguments from the Jansenists of previous centuries) and there are those who would pride themselves on the trappings of a persecuted sect- hurried Low Masses at ungodly hours of the day, in tiny isolated chapels, with plain vestments and vessels- out of choice rather than necessity. It might be well to recall the Curé D' Ars, the most austere of priests for whom the vestments could not be rich enough, nor the sacred vessels ornate enough for the service of the altar.

Perhaps what has suffered most from this liturgical minimalism is the Church's immense treasury of music. Not only is the full repertoire of Gregorian chant neglected- in efforts to maintain congregational singing, an early twentieth century novelty for most of the Latin Church, it is often the most simple chant settings which are employed- but choral and polyphonic compositions are regarded as too complex and time consuming for choirs to manage (in fact many Masses and individual pieces were written for a small number of voices for the very purpose of making them accessible to smaller choirs) while orchestral settings, such as those by Haydn, Mozart and Gounod, are unthinkable. Even organ preludes and interludes (not to mention the full organ Masses of the French tradition) are frowned upon in some locales, reputedly for "distracting" the faithful from prayer. Choirs themselves have long been bereft of their hierarchal structure and laicized (no longer even to be found in the actual 'choir' of the church, but in the loft), and in all but a precious few cases have abandoned the once-proud tradition of boy choristers in favor of women to provide the higher voices.

In a like manner has art and architecture declined. From the modernist extreme- that is, those churches of recent decades which on first glance would make one think an airplane crashed into a museum of modern art- many traditionalists have fled to another entirely, in the form of chapels better suited to the Amish than Catholics. Is the answer to near sacrilege (or worse, as exemplified by some of the recent additions to the Stephansdom in Vienna) really to be found in iconoclasm? Fortunately those who really believe so are likely a minority; unfortunately however the majority appears to find their answer deep in the tradition of that golden age of Elvis, poodle skirts and Americanism- the 1950s, from whence comes those almost-infuriatingly cutesy depictions of the Blessed Virgin and the saints, and statuary which resembles sugar candy. Your humble writer finds himself at loss as to whether or not he should concede the excuse that gaudy is better than nothing in that same capacity for which the Church was once the greatest patron of all the arts.

Of course such excuses hinge on two oft-spoken claims. First, that it is just not possible to have "nice things" in this day and age. Tasteful art, let alone entire churches, is a hefty expense and decent choirs demand an amount of time and effort nobody seems to have. That is to say, idealism be damned, it is just not practical to expect such things even if the faithful would treble their efforts should they be made to know just what might come it. Second, that doctrinal orthodoxy is superior to external form, and that this somehow justifies liturgical minimalism. To the former, the author answers that it is better to trust in Providence than to trust in fatalism. To the latter, that the faith cannot be made distinct from form and action- liturgical form is the faith made manifest and is inherently to doctrinal orthodoxy.

In bygone days it was a noted fact that even some of the worst of sinners and the most lacking in faith would attend the liturgy, if not for any remnant of pious inclinations then for the aesthetic beauty of the ritual. Contrary to the belief that the sacraments are rewards for the faithful and virtuous and that the Mass is the privilege of an initiate few, is it not to be hoped that simply being in the presence of the celebration of the sacred mysteries might produce medicinal effect and that these persons may receive even a small amount of grace? Though the very same may be said for all- truly blessed is he who has such faith that it does not need to be strengthened by anything external. Here we perhaps see a part of the motivation of our ancestors in all those centuries of building massive, opulent churches filled with imagery and statues and such things as to delight the mind and raise it from the drudgery of life to thoughts of the supernatural.

What this inadequate and humble writer dares to suggest is that crucial to restoring all things in Christ is the restoration of a liturgical spirituality which sees the august rites of the Church as the living manifestation, the resplendent garb of the Catholic faith and the theurgic act which elevates the mind and soul beyond this mortal coil and brings us into the very presence of God. This demands a perception of the liturgy as something no less than the centerpiece of a Christian society, the fountainhead of all art, the sanctifier of every aspect of earthly life and the means through which we may enter into eternal life, worthy of all the pomp and splendor it is possible to bestow upon it.

Posted on the Feast of the Seven Holy Founds of the Order of the Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a.D. MMX

Ambrosian Rite. Cardinal Biffi's Ax Falls on New Lectionary

Chiesa


It has come into use in Milan with the approval of the Vatican. But the archbishop emeritus of Bologna, Milanese and a leading expert on Saint Ambrose, has found it to be full of eccentricities and errors. He wants Rome to reexamine it from the top

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If the cosmos were what scientism affirms it to be,

By Wolfgang Smith

Nothing strikes the contemporary mind as more certain and authoritative than the findings of physics, astronomy, chemistry, and, of late, molecular biology. These are the “hard” sciences of the present age, which, by empirical means, of a scope and accuracy that stagger the imagination, have put us in touch with fundamental realities that could not even have been conceived in bygone days. Moreover, this group of sciences has been in a sense “visibly validated,” for all to see, by the technological miracles which now surround us on all sides; how, then, can one doubt—much less deny—its findings? In truth, one cannot; quantum particles and fields, galaxies and quasars, molecules and the genetic code—all these are undeniable facts, which must henceforth be reckoned with.

We must remember, however, that facts and their interpretation are not the same thing. And since, subjectively, facts are invariably associated with an interpretation of some kind, it comes about that science as a rule presents us with two disparate factors: with positive findings, on the one hand, plus an underlying philosophy in terms of which the formulation and disclosure of these discoveries are framed. In its actuality science is never the kind of purely empirical enterprise it is generally reputed to be, which is to say that ontological as well as epistemological presuppositions do inevitably play an essential role. What is more, these various philosophical articles of belief are rarely if ever examined or subjected to critical scrutiny by the scientific community. They are the foundational ideas one absorbs, as if by osmosis, in the course of one’s scientific education; they pertain, one might almost say, to the scientific unconscious. And when it happens that one or the other of these ingrained philosophical dogmas does emerge into the light of day as a subject of discourse, the typical response on the part of scientists is to point immediately, by way of validation, to the success of the scientific enterprise: “It works!” one is told in effect. And yet in reality no philosophical belief has ever been validated by an empirical finding; the fact is that verification as well as falsification through empirical means apply to scientific as opposed to philosophical propositions. The separation between these two domains, however, is rarely attempted by scientists; only in times of extreme crisis, when the foundations of a science seem to be crumbling, does one encounter serious thought concerning questions of this kind, and even then such inquiries are pursued only by an adventurous few; it takes an Einstein or a Heisenberg to descend, as it were, to the foundational level, where philosophical axioms begin to come into view. What the rank and file absorb from these founders, moreover, pertains mainly to the technical aspect of the enterprise: one accepts the equations of relativity or the formalism of matrix mechanics, while all but ignoring the philosophical side of the coin. It is safe to say that the men and women who engage in the day-to-day business of scientific research tend not to be overly interested in philosophical subtleties; and so they incline to retain the philosophical axioms to which they have become accustomed over the years, and which could only be recognized as such, and dislodged, through serious and concentrated inquiry. It thus comes about that in the minds of scientists today, good science and inferior philosophy coexist and are in fact inextricably intertwined; as John Haught of Georgetown University has recently pointed out, “Some of the most prominent scientists are literally unable to separate science from their materialist metaphysics.”

This said, I can proceed to state my primary thesis: I contend that by virtue of the aforesaid confusion scientists have promulgated philosophic opinions of the most dubious kind as established scientific truths, and in the name of science have thrust upon an awed and credulous public a shallow world-view for which in reality there is not a shred of scientific support. Having gained the trust and admiration of society through the technological wonders which they have engineered, I maintain that scientists as a class have usurped their authority by predisposing the public against the high truths of religion. I am not suggesting, to be sure, that they have consciously deceived others, but rather contend that they have themselves been misled as a rule in matters pertaining to philosophy, metaphysics, and religion. Meanwhile the fact remains that these “blind guides” are exerting an inestimable influence upon education and public belief, with disastrous consequences to human welfare, both here and hereafter.

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Fr. James Martin does Liturgy

The author doesn't even believe in scriptural inerrancy, so we don't know why he wants to talk about liturgy. Perhaps he's like the stereotypical white make who comes home from a hard day's work and wants to kick the dog?

America Magazine

James Martin "SJ"

This comes from CathNews, the Australian Catholic news website. The text is from a link to the Broken Bay Institute-University of Newcastle's new program in liturgical studies. Strong words, indeed.

World-renowned expert in liturgical inculturation, Fr. Anscar Chupungco OSB, challenged recent announcements on liturgical reform decrying their “absence of a historical and cultural approach to the liturgy, or, in a word, the inability to fuse together the two basic concepts of Vatican II’s liturgical renewal, namely sound tradition and legitimate progress.” He noted that recent statements coming from no less than the papal master of ceremonies, Msgr Guido Marini, which called for a reform of Vatican II’s reform were part of an agenda to turn the clock back 50 years, that “seems to conveniently forget that since Vatican II, the Church has been marching with the times, acknowledging the changes in social and religious culture, and adopting new pastoral strategies.”

Fr Chupungco received a standing ovation for his paper, “Liturgical Studies and Liturgical Renewal” that was delivered at the launch of The Broken Bay Institute-University of Newcastle’s programs of Liturgical Studies (Graduate Certificate in Theology – Liturgical Studies and Master of Theology – Liturgical Studies). Fr Chupungco, a scholar whose expertise in liturgical inculturation has placed him in a critical staging area for the Church, is the first Filipino on the Pontifical Institute’s faculty, serving as the Institute’s President for 12 of his 23 years in Rome.

Fr Chupungco noted that students of liturgy should be aware of recent developments, including recent Roman documents “that are becoming increasingly perplexing.” Fr Chupungco noted that the good “student of liturgy should know how to critique historical development in the light of Vatican II’s liturgical principles, like the central place of the paschal mystery, the place of God’s word, active participation with all that this implies (vernacular, congregational singing, lay ministry), and the ecclesial dimension of the sacrament and sacramentals. These constitute the guiding principles to decide whether things are liturgically acceptable or not.” Fr Chupungco urged students to become “equipped with a critical mind that allows them to weigh the value of new norms and directives, though always in the spirit of ecclesial obedience.”

Fr Chupungco concluded: “The long and short of it is that liturgical reform requires serious academic work, not mere romantic attachments to the past that close the eyes to the reality of the present time. The drive for legitimate progress makes us run towards the realisation of Vatican II’s liturgical reform, but we should not run as if we did not carry on our shoulders the weight, both heavy and precious, of sound tradition.”

The launch which was held on January 21 at Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney, marked a significant step in the growth of The Broken Bay Institute. BBI’s Director, Dr Gerard Goldman, expressed the hope that current and new students wishing to embark on a journey of theological studies would find both courses of immeasurable value. Dr Goldman referred to Sacramentum Caritatis (#35) in which Pope Benedict XVI highlighted, “The liturgy is a radiant expression of the paschal mystery in which Christ draws us to himself and calls us to communion . . . [in a] concrete way in which the truth of God’s love in Christ encounters us, attracts us and delights us, enabling us to emerge from ourselves and drawing us towards our true vocation, which is love.”

Fr John Frauenfelder, BBI’s Academic Dean and Head of Liturgical Studies, noted the courses, “offer a unique opportunity within the Australian Church context for formal study in, and pastoral response to liturgy in its historical, theological, ecclesial, scriptural and pastoral sources.” “Liturgy is about searching out the mystery of God expressed in fragile human terms and actions, and attempting to give expression to the Real Presence. It is the life of the church from which the belief of the church arises – touch liturgy, and one touches all theology,” said Fr Frauenfelder.

Fr David Orr OSB, commenting on behalf of the National Liturgical Commission, welcomed this new offering from BBI-University of Newcastle for the Church: “Without tertiary study of liturgy we run the risk of losing the guidance of the liturgical heritage which forms the celebration of the Liturgy of the Church.”

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"Pray, Tell", Collegeville's Answer to Liturgical Restoration

The good folks at Commonweal are talking about a campy new blog from Collegeville and Liturgical Press called, "Pray, Tell". Perhaps it should be "Prey".

The Jesuit editor of America, Father James Martin SJ, thinks it's worth a look. He goes more deeply, if less revealingly than he ought, to discuss the blog's connection with Worship:

The blog chiefs quote from the first issue of Orate, Fratres, one of the great liturgical magazines (now Worship) that helped foster the liturgical renewal that led to the Second Vatican Council's document Sacrosanctum Concilium. "Our general aim is develop a better understanding of the spiritual import of the liturgy. … [We hope] that many persons may find in the liturgy the first answer to the intimate need of their souls for a closer contact and union with the spiritual and the divine.” The new blog, the progeny of Orate, Fratres, is nothing if not candid

The New Liturgical Movement reports on it as well, and is less enthusiastic, some of the commenters note the unwillingness of the moderator to allow dissent, despite the Blog's claims of "openness".

What NLM doesn't tell you, and what Father Martin above omits to say is the connection of the Blog's print publication, Worship (Previously Orate Fratres when it was founded by Fr. Virgil Michel in 1929 at St. John's Abbey in Minnesota), to one of its editors, a credibly accused homosexual Fr. Dunstan Moorse, or one of the notorious and early collaborators who designed the cover art for the first issue of the magazine, Eric Gill, whose own revolutionary liturgical efforts are no less suspicious than the current sponsors of "Prey, Tell".

Book on Traditional Liturgy Best Seller in Italy

Orbis Catholicus has reported that a new book on the traditional liturgy is a best seller in Italy.

Archbishop Nienstedt on the new Translations of the Roman Missal

The new translations will emphasize the role of the priest in persona christi and rather than muting the prophetic, priestly and royal imperatives in the prayers which the current 1985 translation does, it will be more close to the original translations of the prayers and the mind of the Church. Rather than watering down, it becomes more declarative, forceful and instructive. Prayers accomplish what they ask, and if they're asking for vague, subjective statements, they lose their significance and power.

One of the principal goals of the Second Vatican Council was to initiate a reform of the Sacred Liturgy.

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Archbishop John C. Nienstedt

The goal of this reform was not a matter of simply revising texts. Even less was it a matter of abandoning the treasured traditions of the past. Rather, at its heart, the liturgical reform of the council was a divinely inspired desire to foster within us, the People of God, a renewed love of the liturgy, the source and summit of our Catholic way of life.

Praying the liturgy

The goal of “active and conscious participation of the faithful” in the liturgy, so central to authentic liturgical reform, is not so much a matter of merely doing more things, but rather of actively internalizing and, in short, praying the liturgy.

Tremendous successes have been made in realizing this crucial goal, while much work remains. The church continues to invite all of her members to make her own liturgical life the source and summit of their lives, as she prays with Christ, in Christ, and through Christ in this service of love that is the liturgy.

In a matter of a few short years to come, the English-speaking church will receive a historic text that marks a special moment in the continuing implementation of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. This text is a new English Roman Missal, more commonly known as the Sacramentary.

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Shocking Halloween Display at Blackfen England

When will the liturgical aberrations stop? This just in from Mulier Fortis Blog, depicting the most indescribable Halloween Liturgy ever seen.

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