Ecclesia Militans

2005-01-24T10:48:00.000-08:00

Originally uploaded by Catholicnerd.

The Sisters of St. Basil the Great have a new website. Stop on by and give a shout out to these wonderful servants of God!

God grant them many years!

2005-01-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

Originally uploaded by Catholicnerd.

Jane and I would like to wish Drs. Michael and Catherine Tkacz of Gonzaga University a happy twenty-fifth anniversary!

My heart is intiding of a good matter!

2005-01-01T23:50:00.000-08:00

Originally uploaded by Catholicnerd.

A small miracle occurred in the Tri-Cities last night. A few days ago, I was invited to play at a rather un-POD parish for the Vigil of the Solemnity of the feast of St. Mary, Mother of God. I've played at that parish before, and have usually had the assistance of talented cantors. Unfortunately, most of those cantors have been ignorant of the richness of our musical heritage and I've found myself defaulting to wretched OCP hymns and the "Mass of Creation" just to make the priest, cantors, and music director happy. My prayers to St. Pius X for courage to stand up to heterodox priests and music directors were finally answered last night.

Up until about 3:00pm on Thursday, I didn't know who was going to be cantoring at Mass. When I heard her qualifications over the phone, I was overjoyed. "Don't worry, Gavin, she can sightread anything and will be fine with a half hour's worth of practice. And I think she reads Vatican notation, too." That certainly got my attention, and I began thinking of all kinds of possibilities. Initially I contemplated asking the cantor to sing the propers from the Graduale Romanum and the Missa Cum Jubilo ordinaries, but I figured that I'd be shot by the pastor after Mass ended. So I arranged for the next best thing...

Enter the Anglican Use Gradual, courtesy of C David Burt. The gradual was compiled for use in Anglican Use parishes of the Roman Rite, and draws heavily upon the work of GH Palmer and Francis Burgess, two Anglicans who were disenchanted by the liturgical upheaval in their ecclesial community. I figured that since the propers of the Anglican Use Gradual match those of the Graduale Romanum and since the translation is just slightly better than those found in "By Flowing Waters," I'd give the gradual a try. Just before Mass, I penned simple accompaniments to the propers and prayed to St. Pius X, my patron, for success.

The cantor was unfamiliar with the Anglican Use Gradual, but pulled it off marvelously well. Hard not to, I suppose, considering that most of the chants are set to simple melodies. Singing the propers of the Mass--something not done for almost thirty years at this parish-- combined with the lineup of Marian hymns, "made the Mass meaningful again" for many parishioners. Several families came up to the organ after Mass to let me know. For many of them, it was the "most reverently conducted Mass" they had ever attended. The homily was surprisingly orthodox, and the priest offered Prex I without any alterations. Something deep inside of me is inclined to believe that the Holy Spirit worked through those simple yet elegant propers to lift the hearts and minds of the celebrant and congregation to the things of God. St. Pius X, thank you for the miracle.

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!

2004-12-06T00:47:00.000-08:00

St. Nicholas
Originally uploaded by Catholicnerd.

"We gather to celebrate and to praise in song the model of bishops and a glory to the fathers, a fountain of miracles and a great helper of believers. Let us sing to the saintly Nicholas: Rejoice, O Protector of Myra who was revered as its leader and strongest pillar! Rejoice, O Radiant Star whose light of miracles shines throughout the world! Rejoice, O Divine Joy to those in sorrow! Rejoice, O Defender of those who are oppressed! For even now all-holy Nicholas, you still pray to God for us who celebrate your feast with faith and who honor you with zeal and joy!"

Urgent Plea

2004-11-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I received a call from the Tri-Ciies and was informed of the dire situation the Ecclesia Dei community at my parish is facing. Due to several deaths, moves, and Tridentine Mass bashing by members of the regular parish, the community that was once 60 strong is now down to 30. The future of the Tridentine Mass in Eastern Washington (yes, ALL of Eastern Washington as this is the only indult Mass) is dim. It seems that people have grown weary of a somewhat badly recited low Mass and have given in to the Society of St. Pius X, which I hear has designs on the Tri-Cities. The bishop of the Diocese of Yakima has apparently considered dissolving the community if numbers don't rise (the priest drives in from Toppenish about an hour away, and it's expensive to support his travel apparently). Such a move would deprive the Eastern half of the State of Washington of the right to a Tridentine Mass. The Bishop of the Diocese of Spokane, despite the presence of at least three schismatic communities in the city of Spokane alone, will not grant the indult to any parish in the Diocese, and it looks like he'll be around for a while.

So my question is this: If any of you have had any luck at convincing your bishops to hold off withdrawing the Ecclesia Dei Indult (and consequently boosting numbers at a dying Tridentine Mass), I'd appreciate it if you could share how you managed to pull it off. Would some sort of media campaign be effective? For one thing, I'm not sure that any Catholics outside of St. Joseph's Parish even KNOW about the Indult Mass that's offered, let a lone the Tridentine Mass. Additionally, what would it take to convince a few of the diocesan deacons to show up for a High Mass (no subdeacons around. Drat!)?

Byzantine fun!

2004-10-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

Trikery-Dikery-Dock
Originally uploaded by Catholicnerd.

My girlfriend and I drove up to Olympia WA from the Tri-Cities on Friday, August 27 to attend the Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help sponsored by the Eparchy of Van Nuys. After fighting through West-side traffic all afternoon, we arrived at Holy Theophany (a monastic community hoping to soon be officially recognized) almost an hour later than we had initially planned. Unfortunately, this meant that I missed my check-in time at the hotel in Lacey, and I had to fight to get my room back (well, I almost didn't get one because I'm 19 and apparently they don't usually rent rooms to under-21's).

So, I was a bit stressed out and I was wondering how my girlfriend was doing with the Sisters (we knew very little about the Basilians at the time). By the time I was checked into my room, showered, and dressed, it was too late to go to confession at the parish church and I was beginning to go from stressed out to flustered. When I made it back to St. George's, though, all of that frustration quickly disappeared.

My girlfriend and the Sisters had walked over from the monastery, and from a good distance away I could see my girlfriend smiling sincerely and having a wonderful time with all of the Sisters! I said to myself "This is good..." So I walked over to her and asked how things were going and she had the most wonderful things to say about the monastery and the Sisters. I could tell that all of the anxiety she had been feeling about doing anything remotely un-Latin had completely disappeared. A short time after I met up with my girlfriend and the nuns, the clergy, sans bishop that is, emerged from St. George's vested for the Vesperal Divine Liturgy offered that night and ready to start the procession to the Shrine.

Enter Bishop William Skurla... Our jaws just about hit the ground when we saw his vestments. We knew to expect something ornate, but photographs of His Grace and other Eastern bishops just don't do the vestments justice. Absolutely stunning, particularly his mitre and the Episcopal staff. Certainly quite different from the vestments a certain member of the Episcopacy in my diocese wears.

The procession began shortly after His Grace took his place. The clergy led, followed by the Knights of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem (or something like that. My apologies if I butchered the name. Their longswords are certainly much spiffier than the little foils that the Knights of Columbus carry around), and finally the other laymen. We arrived a the Shrine after singing a hymn in honor of the Dormition from the Byzantine Seminary hymnal. There was then a vesperal Divine Liturgy, which was absolutely wonderful. Fr. William O'Brien of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Spokane gave the homily. He spoke of the various challenges the Church is facing and reminded us that our very participation in the pilgrimage is proof that the Church is not dead, nor is She asleep.

After the Liturgy, His Grace then offered the mystery of the Annointing of the Sick, and while at first I was very hesitant to present myself for the reception of that mystery, I went forward anyway upon remembering that Eastern Christians generally receive the mystery 3 times during the year. For those of you who aren't aware, I've been suffering from severe clinical depression for years, and I elected to cease taking my medication last year after the side-effects made life worse than it was before. After my conversion, I was healed emotionally, but many of the undesirable physical effects of depression flare up from time to time. Immediately upon reception of the mystery, I could feel something being lifted from me. Remission of sins and physical/emotional healing is rather nice, dontcha think? Since then, I have found the physical side effects to be minor annoyances and not life-stopping things.

The day concluded at the monastery. The sisters graciously invited me to stay for dinner, and I must say the food was absolutely marvelous considering it was monastic fare (you think Western monastic dietary regulations are strict...). I bid the sisters and my sweetheart goodnight and drove back to my hotel in Lacey (apparently His Grace was staying just a few doors down) awaiting the next day's activities.

Be to us, O Virgin, nigh,lest in flames we burn and die,in His awful Judgment Day.

2004-09-15T14:50:00.000-07:00

Stabat Mater dolorosa iuxta Crucem lacrimosa, dum pendebat Filius. Cuius animam gementem, contristatam et dolentem pertransivit gladius. O quam tristis et afflicta fuit illa benedicta, mater Unigeniti! Quae maerebat et dolebat, pia Mater, dum videbat nati poenas inclyti. Quis est homo qui non fleret, matrem Christi si videret in tanto supplicio? Quis non posset contristari Christi Matrem contemplari dolentem cum Filio? Pro peccatis suae gentis vidit Iesum in tormentis, et flagellis subditum. Vidit suum dulcem Natum moriendo desolatum, dum emisit spiritum. Eia, Mater, fons amoris me sentire vim doloris fac, ut tecum lugeam. Fac, ut ardeat cor meum in amando Christum Deum ut sibi complaceam. Sancta Mater, istud agas, crucifixi fige plagas cordi meo valide. Tui Nati vulnerati, tam dignati pro me pati, poenas mecum divide. Fac me tecum pie flere, crucifixo condolere, donec ego vixero. Iuxta Crucem tecum stare, et me tibi sociare in planctu desidero. Virgo virginum praeclara, mihi iam non sis amara, fac me tecum plangere. Fac, ut portem Christi mortem, passionis fac consortem, et plagas recolere. Fac me plagis vulnerari, fac me Cruce inebriari, et cruore Filii. Flammis ne urar succensus, per te, Virgo, sim defensus in die iudicii. Christe, cum sit hinc exire, da per Matrem me venire ad palmam victoriae. Quando corpus morietur, fac, ut animae donetur paradisi gloria. Amen.

The Stabat Mater, prescribed as a Sequence for the Mass of the Seven Sorrows of Mary in 1727, is perhaps one of the most inspiring and evocative prayers of our faith. Next to the Mass, no other prayer has received as much attention by composers, poets, novelists, and artists. I think that it is an especially relevant prayer for many Catholic Americans who have lost the sense of the gravity of sin and the importance of the Sacrifice at Calvary (and, consquently, the reality of what's going on at Mass). Sometimes it is easy for us to turn going to Mass- or, God forbid, saying the Mass- into something rote. I've noticed that one factor that contributes to the formulation of this mindset in my life is the lack of frequent recourse to the Sacrament of Penance-even for venial sins. The pastor of my parish has asked me not to confess my venial sins in the confessional and has urged the parishioners to only make a confession once a month, if that. I find something gravely disordered about that mindset. True, scrupulosity is not a good thing, but I do believe that most people have a conscience that has been formed well enough to tell them the difference between scrupulosity and the genuine confession of a venial sin. When praying the Stabat Mater, we are exposed to the antidote for forgetting the gravity of sin: Our Sorrowful Mother. I will not attempt to write a treatise on the role of Mary in our salvation. Instead, I ask you to place yourself at the foot of the Cross, mourn with her, and find out for yourself.

Thoughts on the Use of the Pre-Conciliar Mass

2004-09-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Mr. John Heavren, in his comment on the first post on this blog, asked us to clarify our "Tridentine" status, meaning, I think, where we stand on the issue. I will leave CatholicNerd to post his own views because I am not sure we entirely agree on the issue, but I will be happy to explain my thoughts on the matter.

I think the pre-Conciliar Mass, aka Tridentine Mass, was a good and a beautiful thing. I also agree with Council, which thought it needed reform. Unfortunately, the "reform" which actually happened at the diocesan and parish level left the average Roman Catholic parish with a liturgy that is severely lacking in reverence, beauty, and mystery. This problem created a variety of responses among Catholics who missed these aspects of the pre-Conciliar Mass. One response was schism (obviously not a very good or helpful response). Another response was to request permission to continue to use the pre-Conciliar form, and to create societies like the FSSP. A third response was to call for a "reform of the reform," to go back to the Council's original intentions of reforming the Mass of Trent, instead of rendering it nearly unrecognizable. I am in this third camp.

My reasons for not belonging to the first camp are simple--I am a member of the Body of Christ, and I submit myself to Pope and the bishops, whose authority comes from Christ. The second school of thought, though, is more complex. Though it seems to be a pretty unified group, there is more than one side to their thinking. Some tridentinists (is that a word?) are nostalgic. This group is shrinking rapidly. Others believe that the English translation of the Mass currently in use is invalid or at least suspect--which to my mind is little better than schism. It's not the best translation possible, but it is approved and we should work with it until we get something
better. Still others are looking for a beautiful and reverent Mass, and think that this is the easiest or the only way to find it. They are of the mindset that if we remind people of how things used to be, perhaps they will go back to it. This is what I really object to.

Continuing to use the pre-Conciliar Mass in parishes is an impediment to gaining a more reverenty celebrated post-Conciliar Mass. What happens, in my limited experience, is that the really conservative people who are concerned about issues of liturgical abuse go to the Tridentine Mass, and everyone else goes to the Novus Ordo Mass, including some very devout people who are not educated on these issues, or who, like my father, are intimidated by a Mass totally in Latin which isn't always easy to follow.

In addition to this, while some priests celebrate the pre-Conciliar Mass with great care and reverence, assisted by altar servers and a schola who sing the chants beautifully, others don't. The Tridentine Mass, while unfailingly formal and solemn (lack of this is a big problem in the Novus Ordo), can still be ugly. It is deficient in beauty when there is no singing at all. It is distracting when the single altar server is badly trained, and the lady in the pew next to you is rattling her rosary. It is harsh on the ears when the priest rushes everything, has terrible Latin pronunciation, and through these and simple lack of care uses wrong endings on words, wrong words, and words that don't actually exist in Latin. I've been to Masses like this, and I really don't think that this is any better than the Novus Ordo Mass where the priest improvises on a few of the prayers and the choir sings awful pop-influenced music.

To my mind, the best option would be to remove the pre-Conciliar Mass from regular parishes. This removes much of the possibility of abuse of it by priests, or overuse by people who think it is an easy solution to problems with the post-Conciliar Mass. We have had the Council, and the Council said we needed change, and now we cannot go back. We can, however, go far enough back to correct the mistakes made during the revisionary process. Having the pre-Conciliar Mass available in regular parishes is an impediment to making this revision because it is seen as an "easy" solution, an escapist solution. But trying to escape from your problems will not help you solve them. Instead, I would advocate preserving the form of that Mass in a few places by a few priests, such as members of the FSSP. In fact, I would advocate the use of several historical forms and rites of the Mass in particular settings, but for regular use in Roman parishes, there ought to be a standard.

I will not attempt to say now what I think should be re-revised. I hope that I have laid out my thoughts on this subject in a coherent fashion. If anyone disagrees, I would like to hear your reasons.

Audacious, but Well-Done

2004-08-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

Matthew at the Shrine of the Holy Whapping is putting forward his own proposal for a compromise between the pre- and post-Conciliar Masses, with a few revisions and additions of his own. He has called it the Karolingian Mass, in honor of Karol Wotyla (for some reason he doesn't like the sound of Ioannopauline):
Introduction
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V

I respect Matt's proposal, because I think it is well-thought out, and provides an excellent starting point for discussion about liturgical use and abuse, beauty, functionality, mystery, historical precedent, and pastoral sensitivity. Many volumes have been written complaining about various aspects of both new and old Masses, but I don't recall ever seeing someone actually lay out what his ideal Mass would look like in quite this fashion.

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti

2004-08-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks for stopping by the blog! For those of you who may be curious about the name, let me promise you that I'm not a Feenyite, and that I have no connection with shady sedevacantist/heretical sites that may bear the same name. That said, you may be wondering why I've decided to create yet another Catholic blog. Well, it is my hope that this will not be merely "another Catholic blog." I'd like it to be a forum that will support and enhance the already wonderful Catholic blogging community. Specifically, I'd like to address liturgical abuses in the post-conciliar Church and how we as Catholics may work to nudge our parishes back towards orthodoxy. In addition to that, I'd like to showcase (I hate to phrase it like this) exceptional parishes that are following the liturgical decrees of the Second Vatican Council. Maybe we could call it Good Masskeeping? ;) I don't really think that I can do this alone. A forum is not much of a forum if only one user broadcasts his rants to the world. If you want to get involved, just drop me a line at Catholicnerd@hotmail.com and I'll set up a user account for you!

Ecclesia Militans

God grant them many years!

My heart is intiding of a good matter!

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!

*Urgent Plea*

Byzantine fun!

Be to us, O Virgin, nigh,lest in flames we burn and die,in His awful Judgment Day.

Thoughts on the Use of the Pre-Conciliar Mass

Audacious, but Well-Done

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti

Urgent Plea