Assisi v. Assisi

Assisi (null hypothesis)

















Assisi I, II, et III.

The Roman Rite

There are, of course, many rites of Holy Mass. They are all considered Catholic. According to the new canon law of 1983, strictly speaking, you may fulfill your Sunday obligation by participating in any of the following (and a few more.)The Byzatine Rite is called Liturgy, and that is for the East. The Coptic Rite is more Egyptian. The Syriach Rite for the Palestinians and in the native tongue of Jesus. The Maronite Rite is glory of Lebanon, also in Aramaic.

Then, we look at the Latin Rites. Milan can use the Ambrosian Rite. The Carmamelites, the Dominicans, and the Carthusians are religious orders that have their own Rite. However, it was the champions known as the Franciscans that spread the Rite of Rome to the world. These all have the unification of being offered in the same language: Latin.

The Roman Rite is found in 99% of the parishes around town. A little known fact is that Vatican II focused only on the Roman Rite, and any rite that changed after Vatican II did not change by promulgation, but by adapting the Spirit of Vatican II. This blog entry will focus on the Roman Rite only.

The Holy Father says there are two forms of the Roman Rite. One is the "ordinary form," from the Missal of Paul VI, the other is the "extraordinary form," the Mass of John XXIII. Both are written in Latin. The Mass that 99% of parishioners hear is an English translation of the Latin Mass. There is no argument that the first attempt of turning it into English was not so much of a "translation" as it was an attempt to communicate the ideas from Latin to English. This is being corrected with the new translation. So, this year, we will have the Mass of Paul VI in English.

On to the Mass of John the XXIII. This Mass was never popularized in the vernacular. It does have an vernacular translation, and that is found in a thousands of hand missals all over the world. Latin on one side, English, Portuguese, French, Chinese, (you name it) on the other. This is to help people around the world worship God, all in a unified way. The Mass in Italy is the Mass in China is the Mass in Mexico is the Mass in the Philippines. While having Holy Mass in your own language might be nice, especially convienient if you cant read, one can make a case that there is still a language barrier. There are a lot of Polls in my diocese. I would be so lost if I went to a Polish Mass. Even Spanish Mass would be too much for me. So, it can be said that Mass in the vernacular has to, by language's very nature, exclude some people. I.e. there can not be one language that will please everyone. However, there is one language... in a very Lord of the Rings way... to rule them all (and in the darkness bind them?)

Latin is the official Language of our Church.

" The Latin language can be called truly catholic. It has been consecrated through constant use by the Apostolic See, the mother and teacher of all Churches, and must be esteemed "a treasure ... A most efficacious bond which unites in an admirable an unalterable continuity the Church of today with that of yesterday and of tomorrow."

-Pope John XXIII. Veterum Sapientia

Not only is it beautiful, but it is dead. Not being a living language that changes meaning over time is exactly what we need to mean the exact same things Catholics meant 1900 years ago, and what us Catholics will mean in 1900 years.. What else does the Church say about Latin?

"Care must be taken to ensure that the faithful may also be able to say or sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them."- Vatican II. Sacrosanctum Concillium.

So, technically, we should have been taught by our parish priests the responses to the Latin Mass, but many of us have not. What to do now?

My suggestion would be to go to the "extraordinary form." The first time you go it will be confusing. No doubt about it. Sit in the pew second from the front. You can see the sanctuary better, and there will be someone in front of you who knows when to stand, sit, and kneel. You may not know whats being said, but don't worry. The prayers are magnificent. Try to read them ahead of time. If you try to follow along because the person next to you hands you a missalette, you are still going to get lost. The first time it may be best just to observe. If the priest doesn't say anything out loud for a while, enjoy the sacred silence in prayer (he's busy talking to God, not you.) If you feel offended his back is facing you, just think, he is leading you on a march to Calvary. After Holy Mass is over, you may not like it one bit OR you may like it very much. I would ask that you give it a second try regardless. The Latin doesn't bother you as much the second time, and you know what to expect which is half the battle.

While we're learning "where is the bathroom" in 50 languages, my opinion is we should learn the Pater Noster, the Ave Maria, and the Gloria Patri. Also, these two responses should get you started...

Et cum spiritu tuo "eht coom spee-ree-too too-oh" (And with thy spirit.) The response to "Dominus Vobiscum."

Amen "Ah-men" (after prayers. Often the answer to "Per omnia saecula saeculorum.")

There are a few more, but just learn a couple at a time. This way, when we are around people who don't know English, we could be eager to say, "Celebremus in Latinum"(lets celebrate in Latin) and the might respond "Nunc dices es" (now youre talking!) How unifying!

Two sides to every story?

Dear (lay-person wondering if they can go to a Non-Diocesan Catholic Church) ,

I passed your email on to Fr. ______, the chancellor for our diocese, requesting him to explain where Fr. (in question) stands regarding his position in the Catholic Church.

I’m sending you his response so that you have the full picture. A “celebret” is a document (The Latin means “He may celebrate [the Mass]”) that is valid only for one year as Fr. [chancellor] explains.

I hope this helps.

Bishop _____

----------------------------------------------

Bishop,

At [the vocation director's] request, because of the prospective seminarian from UNF who attends [the chapel in question,] only last week I checked with the Diocese of Scranton where Fr [in question] is incardinated.*1 I was told that he holds a celebret directly from the Ecclesia Dei Commission, and that, by decree of that Commission he is incardinated into the Diocese of Scranton. The date of that celebret would apparently be sometime in 2001 or 2002.

From the chancellor of the Scranton diocese I have the following information -

1. His incardination into the Scranton diocese was, indeed, directed by the Ecclesia Dei Commission

2. He does hold a celebret from that commission, but as celebrets are supposedly good only for about 1 year*2 (according to the Code), it would be out of date now

3. Fr [In question] does NOT have any faculties from the Diocese of Scranton. He was described by the chancellor there as very disobedient.*3

4. ...Unless there is some sort of papal decree placing that parish directly under the Holy See, or within some other ecclesiastical conscription,*4 it is not possible to be in communion with the Bishop of Rome (who they may say they recognize), but not in communion with the Bishop of (our diocese)!

As I understand it, if someone knows of the situation (and I understand that a few there do not) it would be gravely sinful to satisfy their Sunday obligation *5 by attending Mass at [the chapel in question.]

Fr. Chancellor
----------------------------------------------------

okay...

This looks pretty scary at first. Lets take it step by step.

#1 The priest in question is under another bishop of another diocese.

#2 I know that local sees update their priests' celebrets every year. However, The priest in question got one from Rome in 2001 and did not get another from Rome for 3 years when he was incardinated. All while he was in "good standing." If all celebrets are only good for a year, he was saying Mass illicitly for two years under the care of Ecclesia Dei. And they didn't seem to mind.

#3 That is correct. The priest in question does not have all of his faculties. He claims they were taken away unjustly and appeals to the law "ecclesia suppelit" He is seen as disobedient , however has never been suspended. (I asked him once if his bishop called him to return home for a meeting, would he go. He said he would out of obedience. But I have a feeling at that time, there would be a line drawn in the sand, and he would be suspended, and be in the boat of all the other Society priests.

#4 Speaking of Society priests, he has "friends" status with the society. He is not independent, he is under the wing of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X. Although,the SSPX may not officially be a "ecclesiastical conscription," Rome sure does deal with them like they are.
"The situation of the members of this Society is an internal matter of the Catholic Church. The Society is not another Church or Ecclasial Community in the meaning used in the Directory." -Cardinal Edward Cassidy on May 3, 1994.

#5 The official word from this diocese must be readdressed. "As he understands it", the Lord Chancellor does not have all the information needed to make this judgement.
"You may fulfill your Sunday obligation by attending a Mass celebrated by a priest of the Society of St. Pius X" (letter, January 18, 2003.) (one of many found on the internet.)

Because Christ set up the Church, we should have recourse to her. I am about to print my own letter to Card. Leveda, president of Ecclesia Dei. I hope this matter will be put at rest when Rome herself makes judges my case. I will update this post in 4 or so months, depending on how fast Rome operates nowadays.

Let the Dead bury the Dead

Closure isn't everything. Our Lord tells that to a disciple who wants to follow Him to Jerusalem, but first bury his dead father. Christ responds by saying... "Follow Me, let the dead bury the dead." And "preach the kingdom of Heaven." This must have been hard to hear.

A man sees it as his duty to bury people, most of all, his father. Its a corporal work of mercy, even. However, Our Lord knows this man's heart. He knows he is sad. He knows he wants to have peace. He knows he wants this chapter in his life to end "And my father died, and like a good son I buried him, and like a good father, he left me my inheritance." But sometimes God doesn't want that. God wants Himself to be only what we inherit. We might say we are ready to follow God with our voice, but in our heart, we don't want to forfeit the goods that shoulda, woulda, coulda been.

God may ask us to have chapters end in the middle of a sentence, right as things were getting juicy. We can't look back or hope and wish there was more! He wants us to trust in Him more than anyone or anything. He wants us to know that while we can grieve for losses, we have to get up immediately and move on, looking forward only, because there is precious little time. He knows we want peace of mind, but we will not have it until God's will is done.

Let the dead bury the dead is not practical. It cannot even happen, I'm pretty sure. So when Jesus says this to us, we have to hold back that thought "Really, Jesus? Are You really going to expect me to just be miserable. Are You really going to let these loose ends be left untide? Instead, replace these thoughts with the prayer "My Dear Lord, I might be a wreck. Vivify me, self pity and moping is not for me. You know what I want. You know what I need. If what I want is not what You want, allow me to accept that. Please let chapters in my life close when they need to. Only the spiritually dead are concerned about everything ending with a pretty pink bow. Please, don't let me be one of them. Amen.

Obviously the question isn't whether the father gets in the ground! Let the dead bury the dead. It might be the hardest thing that we have to do, but we don't have to do it alone!

Through the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
St. Mary Margaret Alacoque, pray for us!

St. Thomas on Love

There are two types of Love in human action.
Selfish-you wish good for the pleasure it will give you. This is technically called the love of concupiscence.
Unselfish-you wish good to another not for your own sake, but for the other persons sake. This is technically called the love of friendship.

The love of concupiscence isn't evil. Self love will lead a man to seek perfect happiness! But it is true that the love of friendship is a higher kind of love, because this love is what allows you to grow out of the limitations of your own small self and into the larger world of intimacy with other free spirits, human, angelic, and the divine.

Knowledge is key for love, St. Thomas says. The appetite is only moved by something that attracts it, or repels it. But this attraction or repulsion cannot take place unless the object is known and recognized as such. Some people say love is blind. But love isn't the mystery, it is the objects of love or the actions that flow from love that is the real mystery. Love is blind only when there is no knowledge of the object first. Love can be moved to an unsuitable object because only the good in it, and not the evil, was proposed to the senses. We will see what happens after the evil is proposed to the senses, later. What is important to remember is that you cannot love what you do not know.

But, the knowledge doesn't have to be perfect to love something. Lets look at a steak, for instance. You can love a steak when you smell that bad boy and see how juicy it is. You can cut into it and feel how tender it will be from the ease of the knife slicing through, only to reveal a perfect medium rare. A person can love a steak without actually trying it. But once the appetite is engaged, all you want to do is know it more, in this case, find out how it tastes. The point is that some knowledge that an object as a good is necessary for love to exist at all. Imagine if you were blindfolded, and your nose was pinned shut, and the same steak came to your table all ready cut up. You can not have the same feeling of love, because the knowledge isn't there, right?

Goodness in the object, when perceived, is the fundamental cause of love. Likeness is also a cause of love. People say opposites attract, but St. Thomas says if a angry person seeks a calm and collected person, it is actually the likeness, rather than the unlikeness, that draws one to another. You actually admire the quality, and would like it for yourself.

"Where ever love is seen in action, it is obvious that love aims at the union between the lover and the loved one. It is love that drives a young man to want to be with his fiancee. It is love which makes a wife want the presence of her husband who is out of town.

The union caused by love is found at its best in the intimate life that lovers lead in one another. A man in love with a woman has the thought of her with him always. She lives in his mind and in his imagination. She lives in his will for when she is with him he is pleased, and when she is away he desires her presence. The lover seeks also to live in his beloved. They desire to know everything about each other. This explains why courting couples find so much to talk about. They are trying to get into one another's personalities by learning all they can about one another. The lover seeks even to live in the heart and will of his or her beloved. So lovers never are satisfied with one declaration of love, they want to say it and hear it over and over again. When this unifying effect of love is found in both parties, then human love between human beings is found at its highest.

Love is also ecstatic. To be in ecstasy means to go out of ones self. But it is characteristic of love that it makes you think less of yourself and more of the object you love. It will even move you to make personal sacrifices for the sake of the one you love... In this way is also the cause of zeal and jealousy. A lover is zealous and energetic in trying to do good things for the person he or she loves. Or he is jealous of anyone or anything which seems to threaten his exclusive possession of the one he loves."

But love can also injure or wound you, too. It is a movement of the appetite whether sensible or rational to Good. But sometimes a particular good thing is not suitable for mankind. Food is good, sure, but the love for too much food is gluttonous. An injury has objectively occurred. Love must be under the control of judgement of right reason or it can harm you more than it benefits you.

Even though there is a danger of loving things rashly, we must always remember love is basically an inclination for a good. Its behind every human action. Even if Hitler wanted to rule the world, its because he loved power. if you want to play the lotto, its because you love money.If you volunteer at an animal shelter, its because you love animals (or were court ordered to do service hours.) The bottom line is love seeks good.

The opposite of love is hate. Love, we said, is a movement towards good. Hate is a movement away from evil. If I set that steak before you again, you would see it as a good, and eat it. However, if I replaced that steak with a green and moldy piece of meat that you knew was left out for the flies for a couple of days, you would know its bad and hate it. All hatred is based on a love that comes before it. You hate it, because it will rob you of something you love. In this case, your health or life.

Hatred makes such a strong impression that we might think of hatred as stronger than love. But St. Thomas goes on, that with a little reflection, we will see love as always stronger. The stronger the hate, the stronger the love. I don't like mosquito bites because they are itchy and I like my comfort. I really hate eating rancid food, because it will kill me I love my life. Hatred is okay. It lets us make decisions not to do things that will ultimately destroy us. BUT BE CAREFUL! Why do we hate "hate?" Because so often hatred is for its own sake. Make sure what you hate is evil! Do not hate a good! Then hate becomes a disservice! If someone has made you hate something good, it is their fault, not the object's fault which remains good. That is why the edification of your neighbor is so important. And that's when this author interjects with a prayer.

Oh my God, I am dearly sorry for having turned off many souls from love of Your holy Church. Please, allow them to hate me (or the evil in me) instead of hating something so pure. Thank You for giving us the Church, and all of the successors of St. Peter. Make my love for each and every one of them grow by wanting to know them more. For the ones that are dead and I will never meet, and the one that is alive, this can be achieved by researching them and praying to them or for them. Give me the grace to read documents from Pre-Councillior or Post-Councillor popes, not because I may like/dislike what they say, but because they are popes, and because they reigned in Your good name. Allow me to know; so that I may love good, and hate evil. That I may then DO good, and avoid evil. Amen.

I covered what I wanted to cover pretty much. However, I would like to end with St. Thomas' teachings on desire. Desire is distinct from love. Love is complacency in the good. Desire is a tendency toward a good which is not yet present (or I might add lost.) When people have what the love, they no longer desires it, they only enjoy it...

St. Thomas, Angelic Doctor, pray for us.


up next... I don't know...

Source- My Way of Life, the pocket edition of the Summa

The sequence of Holy Father Francis

New signs of highest sanctity
Deserving praise exceedingly,
Wondrous and beautiful to see
In Francis we behold.

Unto the newly-gathered band
Directed by his guiding hand,
Francis receives the king's command
The new law to unfold.

Before the world's astonished view
Arise the life and order new,
Whose sacred laws again renew
The evangelic state.

The rule monastic he reforms,
Unto the law of Christ conforms,
And all the apostolic forms
He holds inviolate.

In raiment coarse and rough-endued,
A cord his only girdle rude,
Scant the measure of his food,
His feet withal unshod.

For poverty alone he yearns,
From earthly things he loathing turns,
The noble Francis money spurns
Despising all for God.

He seeks a place to weep apart,
And mouths in bitterness of heart
Time precious lost, when taking part,
In earthly joys and vain.

Within a mountain-cavern lone
He bides to weep, and lying prone
He prays with many a sigh and groan,
Till calm returns again.

There in that rocky cave's retreat,
Rapt high in contemplation sweet,
The earth (wise judge) spurned neath his feet,
To heaven he aspires.

His flesh by penance is subdued,
Transfigured wholly and renewed:
The Scriptures are his daily food,
Renouncing earth's desires.

Then Seraph-like from heaven's height,
The King of kings appears in sight,
The patriarch, in sore affright,
Beholds the vision dread.

It bears the wounds of Christ, and lo!
While gazing on in speech-less woe,
It marks him, and the stigmas show
Upon his flesh, blood-red.

This body like the Crucified,
Is signed on hands and feet; his side
Transfixed from right to left, and dyed
With crimson streams of blood.

Unto his mind words secret sound,
Things future all in light abound,
Inspired from high, the saint hath found
Their sense, and understood.

Now in those bleeding wounds, behold!
Black nails appear, within, all gold;
Sharp are the points, the pain untold,
Unspeakable the woe.

No instrument of man was brought
To make these wounds- here art did nought,
By nature's band they were not wrought,
Nor cruel mallet-blow.

We pray thee by the cross's sign
Marked on thy flesh, whereby twas thine,
The world, the flesh, the foe ma1ign,
To conquer gloriously.

Take us, O Francis, to thy care,
Shield us from woe, from every snare,
That we thy great reward may share,
In heaven eternally.

O Father holy! Father sweet!
Devoutly we thine aid entreat,
May we and all thy brethren meet
Victorious in the strife.

In virtue's way our footsteps train
And bring us with the saints to reign;
So may thy flock of Minors gain
The joy of endless life.

Amen. Alleluia.