New Liturgical Movement

More Requiems Related to All Souls

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:07:00 +0000

I have been collecting a few mailings we have received from (or around) All Souls Day, and I am now delighted to show some of them.

St. Mary Magdalen's, Brighton

We begin with a priest who will be familiar with you, Fr. Raymond Blake whose All Souls Day pictures I came across on his site.

(You will note the unbleached beeswax candles)

(The deacon for the Mass was the Rev. Dr. Alcuin Reid)

St. Joseph Church, Woonsocket, Rhode Island

A parish we have featured recently is that of St. Joseph in Woonsocket, RI., where Fr. Michael Woolley offered a Requiem Mass according to the usus antiquior.

Father reports to the NLM that this Mass saw 45 Eighth grade Catholic school students in attendance, who were experiencing the usus antiquior for the first time -- with preparation.

(Note the Requiem version of the Altar Cards)

(This chasuble uses a rather striking brocade)

(You will note here that the candlesticks by the catafalque are not only unbleached, but that the more sombre candlesticks that are a part of our tradition are also employed as well)

A Parish in Bury, England

Finally, photos were sent in from a parish in Bury, in the Diocese of Salford, England, of a Requiem Mass celebrated on November 6th. The parish uses both forms of the Roman liturgy.

The choir sang Faure's Requiem and the celebrant was Fr. Francis Wadsworth.

(Nice to again see unbleached beeswax candles used)

Winter Chant Intensive filling up

noreply@blogger.com (Arlene Oost-Zinner) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:44:00 +0000

As of today, there are 12 spots left in the CMAA's Winter Chant Intensive in Charleston, South Carolina. If you are still weighing your options, now is the time. The deadline is December 14, but there may no longer be any spots available at that time. The course is limited to fifty participants.

We have received a great number of scholarship requests, especially from students and seminarians. With your assistance, we will be able to see that the majority of these requests will be fulfilled, at least with partial scholarships.

If you are going to register, please consider adding $10, $20, or $50 to your own registration to help get these individuals to Charleston. All donations beyond your own tuition cost of $245 are tax deductible.

Remembrance Sunday at the Birmingham Oratory

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:31:00 +0000

In the United Kingdom, yesterday was Remembrance Sunday when the war dead are remembered. (In Canada and various other countries of the Commonwealth, there is "Remembrance Day" which is observed on the 11th of November itself, commemorating the end of the First World War).

Jackie Parkes sent to the NLM news from the Birmingham Oratory where they observed Remembrance Sunday with a Mass for the Dead in the modern Roman Liturgy -- a custom in the U.K. I am informed.

Music for the Mass included chant and polyphony by Giovanni Francesco Anerio (1567-1630), Palestrina and Beethoven. The following video will give you some sense of the music at the Oratory -- so typical of the English Oratories generally. (Visit Jackie Parkes site for more.)

Compendium of the Reforms of the Roman Breviary, 1568-1961: Part 7.3 - The Breviary Reforms of St. Pius X (Continued)

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

We continue with the final installment of our consideration of the breviary reforms pursued in the early 20th century by Pope Pius X.

For terms and their definitions, please see the associated Glossary which accompanies this compendium.

Compendium of the Reforms of the Roman Breviary, 1568-1961

by Gregory DiPippo
for publication on the New Liturgical Movement

Part 7.3 - The Breviary Reforms of St. Pius X (Continued)

An Assessment of the Reform of St. Pius X

The reform of St. Pius X may well be described as an imperfect solution to an otherwise irresolvable problem. By 1911, the office of St. Pius V was generally considered to be too long; that of Leo XIII was extremely repetitive, and largely obscured the whole of the temporal cycle with Saints days. The innovations introduced by Divino afflatu are copied from the neo-Gallican breviaries as the only readily available historical model for the resolution of the problem.

This being said, I believe that most people would agree that it was per se a good thing to restore the recitation of the complete weekly Psalter. On the other hand, it’s use is perhaps over-extended in the 1911 reform; a system might have been created that did not leave St. Mary Magdalene or St. Francis of Assisi with the same psalms as a common feria, or reduce them to a mere commemoration when they fall on Sunday. To do so would have required a general re-organization of the rankings of feasts, but the reformers did not want to make any changes that would seem to diminish the cult of the Saints. As a result, Saints of the highest importance to the life of the Church such as Thomas Aquinas are left on a par liturgically with figures like Venantius of Camerino, of whom absolutely nothing at all is known for certain. A bolder reform might have taken the opportunity to clear away a number of the more historically dubious legends, or at least made them optional, as has been done in the modern Rite.

It is now broadly agreed that the re-arrangement of Lauds is not altogether successful. Anton Baumstark once remarked, a propos of the breaking up of the Laudate psalms (148-149-150), that the reformers had removed from the Breviary the one custom which we can say with certainty was observed by Our Lord Himself when He prayed in the synagogue. The restriction of the “second schema” of Lauds to penitential ferias only means that the very ancient series of Old Testament canticles is used only very rarely; it would certainly have been a better idea to use the second scheme in all ferial offices, regardless of the season.

Many changes were made to the corpus of antiphons, and new antiphons were introduced even where older ones might just as well have been retained, or borrowed from the Monastic Breviary. The psalms of Sunday remained almost unchanged from Lauds to Compline, and yet, of the 13 antiphons for these hours in the Breviary of St. Pius V, eight were removed, and new antiphons put in their place. Slight verbal changes were made to two others, and only three remain untouched. On the other hand, since the Breviary had to be completely reprinted anyway, the opportunity might have been taken restore the hymns of the original Pian Breviary, and permit the optional use of the Urban VIII hymns, if anyone could be found who really wanted to keep them. Instead, the original hymns are preserved only as an appendix in the newly re-arranged Antiphonale, for those who retained the use of the older text by indult or immemorial custom.

The Bull Divino afflatu, which officially promulgated this reform, states at one point “Everyone sees that with this decree, We are taking the first step towards an emendation of the Roman Breviary and Missal.” Although Pope St. Pius goes on to state that a commission will be appointed to study further the questions of liturgical reform, no further steps were taken in his pontificate, and his new Breviary remained substantially unchanged until late in the reign of Pope Pius XII. The reforms instituted in 1955 will be discussed in the next article in this series.

An appendix to this article will be added separately, giving the details of certain other, less significant changes made in 1911.

[In part 8, we will consider the reforms of 1955.]

-- Copyright (c) Gregory DiPippo, 2009

* * *
To read previous installments in this series, see: Compendium of the Reforms of the Roman Breviary, 1568-1961

Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Cœtibus Published

noreply@blogger.com (Gregor Kollmorgen) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:05:00 +0000

The Apostolic Constitution providing for corporate reunion of groups of Anglican clergy and faithful by establishing Personal Ordinariates, which was announced by Cardinal Levada on 20 october 2009, has been published today under the title of Anglicanorum Cœtibus. In addition to the text of the Apostolic Constitution, there are also an accompanying press release, Complementary Norms which will guide the implementation of this provision, and an explanation of the significance of this Apostolic Constitution by the Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University.

APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS

In recent times the Holy Spirit has moved groups of Anglicans to petition repeatedly and insistently to be received into full Catholic communion individually as well as corporately. The Apostolic See has responded favorably to such petitions. Indeed, the successor of Peter, mandated by the Lord Jesus to guarantee the unity of the episcopate and to preside over and safeguard the universal communion of all the Churches,1 could not fail to make available the means necessary to bring this holy desire to realization.

The Church, a people gathered into the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,2 was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, as "a sacrament – a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all people."3 Every division among the baptized in Jesus Christ wounds that which the Church is and that for which the Church exists; in fact, "such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching the Gospel to every creature."4 Precisely for this reason, before shedding his blood for the salvation of the world, the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father for the unity of his disciples.5

It is the Holy Spirit, the principle of unity, which establishes the Church as a communion.6 He is the principle of the unity of the faithful in the teaching of the Apostles, in the breaking of the bread and in prayer.7 The Church, however, analogous to the mystery of the Incarnate Word, is not only an invisible spiritual communion, but is also visible;8 in fact, "the society structured with hierarchical organs and the Mystical Body of Christ, the visible society and the spiritual community, the earthly Church and the Church endowed with heavenly riches, are not to be thought of as two realities. On the contrary, they form one complex reality formed from a two-fold element, human and divine."9 The communion of the baptized in the teaching of the Apostles and in the breaking of the eucharistic bread is visibly manifested in the bonds of the profession of the faith in its entirety, of the celebration of all of the sacraments instituted by Christ, and of the governance of the College of Bishops united with its head, the Roman Pontiff.10

This single Church of Christ, which we profess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic "subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him. Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside her visible confines. Since these are gifts properly belonging to the Church of Christ, they are forces impelling towards Catholic unity."11

In the light of these ecclesiological principles, this Apostolic Constitution provides the general normative structure for regulating the institution and life of Personal Ordinariates for those Anglican faithful who desire to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church in a corporate manner. This Constitution is completed by Complementary Norms issued by the Apostolic See.

I. §1 Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church are erected by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith within the confines of the territorial boundaries of a particular Conference of Bishops in consultation with that same Conference.

§2 Within the territory of a particular Conference of Bishops, one or more Ordinariates may be erected as needed.

§3 Each Ordinariate possesses public juridic personality by the law itself (ipso iure); it is juridically comparable to a diocese.12

§4 The Ordinariate is composed of lay faithful, clerics and members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, originally belonging to the Anglican Communion and now in full communion with the Catholic Church, or those who receive the Sacraments of Initiation within the jurisdiction of the Ordinariate.

§5 The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith professed by members of the Ordinariate.

II. The Personal Ordinariate is governed according to the norms of universal law and the present Apostolic Constitution and is subject to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia in accordance with their competencies. It is also governed by the Complementary Norms as well as any other specific Norms given for each Ordinariate.

III. Without excluding liturgical celebrations according to the Roman Rite, the Ordinariate has the faculty to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and the other Sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical celebrations according to the liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition, which have been approved by the Holy See, so as to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared.

IV. A Personal Ordinariate is entrusted to the pastoral care of an Ordinary appointed by the Roman Pontiff.

V. The power (potestas) of the Ordinary is:

a. ordinary: connected by the law itself to the office entrusted to him by the Roman Pontiff, for both the internal forum and external forum;

b. vicarious: exercised in the name of the Roman Pontiff;

c. personal: exercised over all who belong to the Ordinariate;

This power is to be exercised jointly with that of the local Diocesan Bishop, in those cases provided for in the Complementary Norms.

VI. §1 Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law13 and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments14 may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 4215 and in the Statement In June16 are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, §1.

§2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See.

§3. Incardination of clerics will be regulated according to the norms of canon law.

§4. Priests incardinated into an Ordinariate, who constitute the presbyterate of the Ordinariate, are also to cultivate bonds of unity with the presbyterate of the Diocese in which they exercise their ministry. They should promote common pastoral and charitable initiatives and activities, which can be the object of agreements between the Ordinary and the local Diocesan Bishop.

§5. Candidates for Holy Orders in an Ordinariate should be prepared alongside other seminarians, especially in the areas of doctrinal and pastoral formation. In order to address the particular needs of seminarians of the Ordinariate and formation in Anglican patrimony, the Ordinary may also establish seminary programs or houses of formation which would relate to existing Catholic faculties of theology.

VII. The Ordinary, with the approval of the Holy See, can erect new Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, with the right to call their members to Holy Orders, according to the norms of canon law. Institutes of Consecrated Life originating in the Anglican Communion and entering into full communion with the Catholic Church may also be placed under his jurisdiction by mutual consent.

VIII. §1. The Ordinary, according to the norm of law, after having heard the opinion of the Diocesan Bishop of the place, may erect, with the consent of the Holy See, personal parishes for the faithful who belong to the Ordinariate.

§2. Pastors of the Ordinariate enjoy all the rights and are held to all the obligations established in the Code of Canon Law and, in cases established by the Complementary Norms, such rights and obligations are to be exercised in mutual pastoral assistance together with the pastors of the local Diocese where the personal parish of the Ordinariate has been established.

IX. Both the lay faithful as well as members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, originally part of the Anglican Communion, who wish to enter the Personal Ordinariate, must manifest this desire in writing.

X. §1. The Ordinary is aided in his governance by a Governing Council with its own statutes approved by the Ordinary and confirmed by the Holy See.17

§2. The Governing Council, presided over by the Ordinary, is composed of at least six priests. It exercises the functions specified in the Code of Canon Law for the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, as well as those areas specified in the Complementary Norms.

§3. The Ordinary is to establish a Finance Council according to the norms established by the Code of Canon Law which will exercise the duties specified therein.18

§4. In order to provide for the consultation of the faithful, a Pastoral Council is to be constituted in the Ordinariate.19

XI. Every five years the Ordinary is required to come to Rome for an ad limina Apostolorum visit and present to the Roman Pontiff, through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and in consultation with the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, a report on the status of the Ordinariate.

XII. For judicial cases, the competent tribunal is that of the Diocese in which one of the parties is domiciled, unless the Ordinariate has constituted its own tribunal, in which case the tribunal of second instance is the one designated by the Ordinariate and approved by the Holy See.

XIII. The Decree establishing an Ordinariate will determine the location of the See and, if appropriate, the principal church.

We desire that our dispositions and norms be valid and effective now and in the future, notwithstanding, should it be necessary, the Apostolic Constitutions and ordinances issued by our predecessors, or any other prescriptions, even those requiring special mention or derogation.

Given in Rome, at St. Peter’s, on November 4, 2009, the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo.

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

1959 Dominican Holy Week Chants available

noreply@blogger.com (Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P.) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:02:00 +0000

I am pleased to announce that, through the kindness a friar reader of Dominican Liturgy, we can now make available at Dominican Liturgy, in PDF format for download, the chant book Cantus Gregoriani ad Ordinem Hedomadae Sanctae Iuxta Ritum Ordinis Praedicatorum (Rome: Santa Sabina, 1959).

As many of our readers know, and as I have explained in my history of the Dominican Liturgy from 1950 to 1970, the Dominican Rite Holy Week rituals underwent extensive revision in the 1950s to make them conform to the reformed Roman Liturgy. As the Dominican Rite is a monastic rite and did not have any provisions for blessings of the font (non-existant in monastic churches), baptisms, and other aspects of the secular liturgy, this was a major revision. To supply chants for the reformed rites presented great challenges. The editors of the Cantus Gregoriani sought out as many authentic medieval versions of the chant as they could find and adopted others from the modern Roman tradition.

This set of chants represents the last effort to conform the Dominican Rite Holy Week to Roman practice using medieval music. In 1965, this material would be consolidated into the last edition of the Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae, but in that edition the music would be drastically revised to conform to the Solesmes methods of execution and notation. Those interested in the music of the Dominican Rite before accommodation to the Solesmes regime will find this download especially useful.

The music may be downloaded on the side bar under Hebdomadae Sanctae Cantus Novi.

Altar Consecration in the Usus Antiquior in Cologne

noreply@blogger.com (Gregor Kollmorgen) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:44:00 +0000

This Saturday, 7 Novemebr 2009, H.E. Msgr. Klaus Dick, Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of Cologne, consecrated the restored altar in the church of the Fraternity of St. Peter in Cologne, Maria Hilf (Our Lady of Perpetual Help). This was the first such occasion in Germany since the liturgical reforms 40 years ago. Subsequently, Bishop Dick celebrated Pontifical Mass at the throne the chant for which was provided by the Schola Cantorum Coloniensis.

You can download the texts for the altar consecration in Latin and German from the website of Maria Hilf here.

Here are somem photographs of the occasion taken by our friend Martin Bürger of exsultet.net and by Stanislaus of Politisch Unpolitisches (click to enlarge):

The unconsecrated altar before the ceremony:

Litany of the Saints:

Deposition of the relics:

First Offering of incense upon the newly consecrated altar:

Preparation of the newly consecrated altar for Holy Mass:

Pontifical Mass:

The sermon focussing on the Holy Sacrifice which from now on is going to be offered upon this altar, and on the patrocinia of the altar, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Vincent de Paul.

Leaving Before Mass Ends

jeffrey.a.tucker@gmail.com (Jeffrey Tucker) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:43:00 +0000

Catholics have lots of bad habits that are just in plain-old bad taste. One that bothers me is their tendency to walk out during the organ postlude. Here we have a organist performing a serious piece of music following Mass, an offering of talent to God and the community, but instead of listening and reflecting, regarding it as a special time of the week, many people just grab their stuff and fly out.

This practice really must change. It reflects poorly on our communities. It is also an insult to the organist. It says: I don't care what you are playing. You music and your efforts mean nothing to do me as compared with my own selfish desires to get the heck out of this place. It is even worse when people have loud conversations during the organ postlude, sometimes shouting over the organ so that they can hear each other. When a quiet spot in the music appears, you can suddenly hear a roar of conversation.

But as you read this, I know what you are thinking: this is only the beginning of the trouble we face at the end of Mass. Catholics have also developed the habit of leaving Mass even before the celebrant says "The Mass is ended." They receive and skedaddle, like consumers at a take-out buffet. This offends the celebrant and the entire community gathered. It is dismissive of everyone's efforts, and, especially, disrespectful toward the mystery of the Eucharist and the astonishing privilege of receiving.

The result is that during the postcommunion period of reflection, when the entire nave is quiet and contemplative, knelling in prayer, you can hear the door to the outside the Church slamming and slamming and slamming, as people bolt for the cars and race out of the parking lots while others are still inside praying. Ouch. The person is long gone but the sting for everyone else remains.

For the person who does this, it usually begins with a small decision on the margin. One particularly busy Sunday, there are relatives coming into town or a pot-roast in the oven and the person is a bit panicked to get out of there. The person leaves early with reluctance. But then the upside appears: the person gains a new appreciation for what it means not to have to fight traffic. There seems to be no great downside.

A couple of weeks later, following communion, the same person is faced with the decision to go back to the pew or head for the exit. The exit door suddenly beckons. It is easy and there is an immediate time payoff. Maybe no one will notice. And what if they do notice? You will already be gone and won't have to explain yourself anyway. So you do it again. And again. And again. Then others catch on. And pretty soon it becomes quite the thing, sweeping through the whole community.

After a time, only two-thirds of the parishioners remain even to watch the recession take place. By the time the organ postlude is finished, the whole place is a ghost town. Everyone who has worked so hard to make the liturgy beautiful has some sense that their efforts are not appreciated in the slightest. The entire spiritual dimension of the liturgy in which time is suspended is offended.

Now, contrast this with what one most likely would have experienced several decades ago. Following communion, everyone would return to the pew. They would stay kneeling in prayer. They would hear "The Mass is ended" is Latin. The recession of the celebrant and servers would take place, accompanied by a hymn, an organ piece, or a hymn. Then people would kneel again. They would stay for 5 to 10 minutes in prayer and silence.

To be sure, I wasn't around back then. But one gains a sense of the practice by attending parishes where there has been an uninterrupted tradition from preconciliar times. In every one I've attended, this is the tendency and it is fairly uniform, and very impressive. People stagger their leaving long after silence is regained. It strikes me that this is the Catholic way.

How to revive it? Start doing this yourself. Suggest it to others. Suggest it even to the pastor. It would only take one or two announcements in the homily to make the difference. The bottom line is that Mass is no time for impiety and rudeness. And rude and impious is exactly how I would describe the practice of bolting before Mass is over or before the postlude has finished.

If you have finished praying, there is no downside to just sitting in the pew for a few minutes in silence. It is only 5 extra minutes every week. Surely we owe it to the liturgy and the efforts of everyone involved, and surely our faith is important enough in our lives, to offer this one small thing.

Deacon Jack Sullivan, Newman’s Oratory and the ‘hermeneutic of continuity’

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:33:00 +0000

From the website of the Cause for John Henry Cardinal Newman, one of the beloved site patrons here on the NLM, comes this story today: Deacon Jack Sullivan, Newman’s Oratory and the ‘hermeneutic of continuity’.

Here is that piece:

Deacon Jack Sullivan, whose miraculous healing in 2001 is the basis for Newman’s Beatification next year, is to visit the Birmingham Oratory (UK) this week, in a event which the Boston deacon has said will be ‘the greatest moment of my life’. His wife Carol will be accompanying him throughout the visit.

On Wednesday and Thursday Deacon Sullivan will visit Cardinal Newman’s room, assist at Mass in his private chapel, and visit his library, a collection of international importance. At the Birmingham Oratory, he will give the only two personal interviews that will be conducted during his visit to the U.K, for the Catholic News Service (U.S.) and EWTN. It was after watching an EWTN broadcast about Newman in 2000 that Jack started praying to Newman for his spinal condition to be healed. Jack wrote down the address of the Birmingham Oratory, heralding the beginning of his Providential connection with Newman’s own community.

Jack Sullivan will also be deacon at Mass in the Church of the Oratory, otherwise known as ‘Little Rome’, in Edgbaston. He will also visit Rednal, where Newman was buried in 1890, on the edge of Birmingham.

On Monday and Tuesday, Jack Sullivan will visit London, the place of Newman’s birth, where the Archbishop of Westminster has invited him to a press conference and Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Monday evening (9th November).

On Tuesday evening he will give the Catholic Truth Society 2009 Lecture at the London Oratory, the second Oratory founded in England by John Henry Newman, in 1849. Father Ian Ker, the internationally renowned Newman scholar, will be giving an introductory address.

From Thursday to Saturday Deacon Sullivan will be staying at Littlemore, where Newman made his first confession and was received into ‘the one true fold of the Redeemer’, the Catholic Church, in 1845. He will pay visits to Trinity and Oriel Colleges.

On Saturday he will visit the Oxford Oratory, founded in 1990, which fulfilled Newman’s hopes of an Catholic Oratory in his own university city.

Newman retained an abiding affection for Oxford, writing of it in his 1875 Letter to the Duke of Norfolk: “No one mourns, for instance, more than I, over the state of Oxford, given up, alas! to ‘liberalism and progress,’ to the forfeiture of her great medieval motto, ‘Dominus illuminatio mea’ [‘The Lord is my Light’]”.

When Jack Sullivan exercises his diaconate at Mass at the Birmingham Oratory at 12.45pm on Wednesday 11 November, he will do so at the Oratory’s ad orientem (east-facing) High altar. This traditional position for Catholic altars has, exceptionally, been preserved at the Birmingham Oratory. Pope Benedict XVI has often spoken of the deep theological and spiritual significance of celebrating Mass ad orientem, and of what has been lost through the current practice of celebrating Mass facing the people. Anticipating a Papal visit to England next year, Wednesday’s Mass links in a special way Newman’s Beatification to Benedict XVI’s own ‘hermeneutic of continuity’.

Father Paul Chavasse, Actor of Newman’s Cause, and Postulator-General of the Oratorian Confederation, said: “Deacon Jack Sullivan’s visit to England will be a special opportunity for English Catholics to discover more about the fascinating figure of Newman, to learn that he is an intercessor in their needs, and to renew their devotion and obedience to the Vicar of Christ, whose anticipated visit to the U.K. will be a powerful affirmation of the universal value of Newman’s path to the Catholic religion.”

The NLM will be providing further coverage of this visit in coming days.

Confirmations at St. James, Spanish Place

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:58:00 +0000

Blogger Mulier Fortis sent news to the NLM today of Confirmations in the usus antiquior from St. James, Spanish Place in London -- a beautiful church in the heart of the city.

Fr. Tim Finigan (of the Hermeneutic of Continuity) and Fr. Andrew Southwell assisted Bishop George Stack.

Visiting Rome Virtually

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:29:00 +0000

Those of you who have never visited Rome, or who simply wish to revisit it, may be interested to know that Google Maps has a rather interesting feature that will allow you to do it "virtually" in a rather unique way that is actually somewhat proximate to being there, walking those streets.

I have been rather interested in this Google feature for some time, and no doubt, many will already be aware of it, but I am sure many others are not.

If you go to Google Maps and double click on the maps, zooming in, eventually you will be taken to views such as these:

(Ss. Trinita, the FSSP parish in Rome)

(The Pantheon, Sancta Maria ad Martyres)

You can do this with Rome, Paris, London, Oxford or many other cities as well.

The interesting thing about this method is you can look around in almost 360 degrees, and you can actually "walk" along the path as though you were walking along the roads in person.

It is a very interesting feature.

Different Forms of Altars as Historically Seen in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Sioux Falls

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:30:00 +0000

We recently shared news about a renovation that is taking place at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Sioux Falls, South Dakota -- a post which stirred up some very interesting debate and discussion surrounding the specific plans for the high altar and its new ciborium.

On a related note, as it concerns the high altar of this cathedral that is, one of our readers sent in some historical photographs of the various high altars that have adorned the sanctuary of this cathedral over the years.

These photos provide some interesting views of different forms and styles of altars within the context of one and the same building; accordingly they also provide a vehicle for the more general consideration of different forms of altars found within our tradition. Beyond this, they may also be understood as showing forth some of the trends and movements that were to be found within the 20th century Liturgical Movement as it related to church furnishing.

The original high altar

The second high altar

The third high altar; a ciborium magnum

This photograph shows the ciborium and altar rather better in the context of an ordination

Comparisons such as these certainly invite us to consider the various forms of the altar that we have seen within our liturgical tradition. Those interested in this sort of subject may be interested in re-reading: The History and Forms of the Christian Altar. Part 1: The Early Christian and Early Roman Forms. (The series is as yet unfinished, but not forgotten.)

Living a Liturgical Life: Customs of Advent

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:33:00 +0000

It may seem strange, just on the heels of All Saints and All Souls, to be discussing the Season of Advent, the beginning of the liturgical year in the West, but in point of fact Advent is only three weeks away, beginning with the First Vespers of Sunday, Saturday evening, November 28th.

Accordingly, those of you who have taken in earnest the idea of living a liturgical life, you will want to begin to consider how you might manifest this, this coming Advent season.

The primary way to manifest this of course, as in all times of the liturgical year, is by way of the Mass and the Divine Office itself. By this, I am referring to going to Mass and praying the Divine Office of course. A further extension or supplement to this might also be found in the practice of prayerfully and meditatively lingering on the liturgical texts of the Proper, such as the introits or collects for instance.

Secondarily however, cultural and domestic customs can also be of importance for they can further tie us to the liturgical feasts and seasons in their own particular ways. Typically these are manifest through family customs of prayer and ritual, through special foods associated with the season and so forth. Advent is one of the times of the liturgical year which (like Christmas) has seen a number of rich customs and traditions developed around it, particularly within Northern Europe -- some of which have spread to other parts of the world as well.

Accordingly, it is our hope to pursue a consideration here in the coming weeks of at least some of these Advent customs and traditions, both for interest's sake, and also that it might be of some personal inspiration or use.

While the emphasis here is Northern Europe, those of you who would like to submit particular cultural customs associated with Advent from your own regions of the world, please do feel free to write in with them for consideration.

In the meantime, I am hopeful this will serve as a reminder that in establishing for ourselves or for our families a liturgical life, until habits and customs are firmly re-established, we need to make considerations and preparations for how we will approach this in our own circumstances, lest these opportunities and enrichments potentially slip by.

Latin Table Blessing

jeffrey.a.tucker@gmail.com (Jeffrey Tucker) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:11:00 +0000

Many people have written me to ask for the copy of the Latin table blessing that the MusicaSacra forum distributes. Glad to provide this link. Every family should consider using this at every meal. It is a fantastic way to teach both Latin and music.

Transalpine Redemporists Issue Liturgical Wall Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:23:00 +0000

It is that time of year again when we should begin to think of purchasing a Catholic liturgical wall calendar for the forthcoming calendar year.

Liturgical calendars are very useful for living a liturgical life for they remind us and provide us with easy access to the particular feasts of a given day, they tell us of the particular Sunday and week in liturgical time, and they also bring before us the liturgical seasons. They are both useful in their own regard and also helpful for those who have taken up the practice of praying the Divine Office for instance -- amongst other benefits.

Some people will select a calendar that follows the modern Roman calendar, others the calendar of the usus antiquior, while still others opt for a liturgical calendar that includes both liturgical calendars, or they will buy one of each.

Today, the Transalpine Redemportists contacted the NLM to let us know of the release of their own liturgical wall calendar -- their very first.

They describe the calendar as a "liturgical one with daily brief mention of feasts and other pious and holy commemorations" and I would presume this particular calendar would follow the liturgical feasts and seasons of the usus antiquior given that this is their own liturgical focus.

Here is what they have to say about it:

Here in the monastery we are busy preparing something new for 2010 — the Papa Stronsay Calendar.

It is the first time we have printed a wall calendar and we hope that it will be for all of our friends and readers an uplifting companion during the forthcoming year. Our calendar shows you the feastdays and holy seasons at a glance with beautiful images from the monastery island of Papa Stronsay in 2009.

What we now need to know is what the response will be to the publication. Each Catholic subscriber is going to receive a copy free with their paper but what we must find out is how many extras we must print. Hence this post.

Extra calendars, in full colour and printed on glossy paper, cost £5 each.

For more information, including how to order, please visit their website. They are in need of knowing how many they need to produce in the coming weeks, so if this particular calendar is of interest to you, now is the time to order.

Old St. Paul’s, London

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Within certain streams of English culture, one is rather accustomed to hearing occasional references to "the Dome of St. Paul's." This, of course, is made in reference to St. Paul's in London, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. (See right)

Today Andrew Cusack reminds us of what preceded Wren's St. Paul's; the mediaeval gothic structure now known as Old St. Paul's.

Here are just two of the drawings Andrew provides.

Do look at the other drawings he provides.

Additionally, I found one other drawing which shows the great church with its spire yet in tact:

More from Catholic Italy: Santuario di N.S. Dell'Assunta, San Remo, on All Saints

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:35:00 +0000

The Italian blog Messa in Latino have up some more beautiful photographs of an All Saints Day Mass in San Remo, Italy, from Maranatha.it.

The Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Vittorio Marteletti, rector of the Santuario di N.S. Dell'Assunta, San Remo. The art and architecture of this church is quite stunning to say the least.

Here are a selection of their photographs.

One Priest Shares His Impressions of Celebrating Sung Vespers in His Country Parish

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 +0000

"Pastors of souls should see to it that the chief hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and the more solemn feasts. And the laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually."
-- Sacrosanctum Concilium, para. 100

* * *

A priest of my acquaintance, Fr. Paul Nicholson, recently undertook, for the first time, Sung Vespers in his parish of St. Patrick's in Kinkora, Ontario -- which parish and priest we also recently showed to you in the context of their Sung Requiem Mass offered there on All Souls Day.

As part of the NLM's continued efforts to promote the use of the Divine Office both on the part of laity within the privacy of their own homes and also within the public context of the parish church, I asked Father if he would mind sharing a brief consideration of this endeavour and his experience of it so that it might help to inspire each of us, both as it relates to our own personal practice, and also as it relates a revival of Sung Vespers within our parish practice.

Here is that consideration.

I come from a very small country church where Vespers has not been sung for at least two or three generations. Recently, I discovered a schola from a nearby city and they graciously offered to come to the parish to sing the Vespers of All Saints (according to the more ancient usage).

St. Patrick's Church, Kinkora, Ontario

I borrowed a splendid cope from a young priest and sent out the word to my parishioners that, yes, we would be having Sung Vespers on All Saints Day!

I am pretty confident in saying that if this can be coordinated in my country parish in Kinkora, Ontario, it can surely happen in most any parish with a little determination!

We were by no means celebrating Solemn Vespers to the level of a Brompton Oratory of course; we were just one country priest and a few country folk endeavouring to praise God according to the Church's more ancient forms. And what a splendid moment it was! It was liberating to place oneself before Our Lord, to praise Him, by simply being. St. Augustine says in his Confessions: "How I wept when I heard your hymns and canticles, being deeply moved by the sweet singing of your Church. Those voices flowed into my ears, truth filtered into my heart, and from my heart surged waves of devotion. Tears ran down, and I was happy in my tears."

With Vespers sung in the local church, we give people a pattern for prayer and allow truth an easy entry.

I had heard of other parish priests, often in small, out of the way parishes, celebrating choral vespers with the help of some very talented people. They were not afraid to go "outside the parish" to find assistance to provide a unique liturigical enrichment to the parish. I thought that if they could do it, so could we!

Having Sung Vespers is not like other parochial events. Attendance may be small and there is no way to gauge the effect, but that is precisely what parishes need at this time. People need to surrender from the business model of doing things to simply being in the Lord's presence.

I highly encourage other parish priests to make an attempt at having Sung Vespers.

Fr. Paul Nicholson celebrating Sung Vespers

Some Images of Today's Papal Mass for Deceased Cardinals and Bishops

noreply@blogger.com (Gregor Kollmorgen) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:56:00 +0000

As is customary, the Holy Father today celebrated Mass at the altar of the Chair of St. Peter's for the Cardinals and Bishop who died in the course of the last year. Some particularly beautiful images have become available through Daylife (click to enlarge):

(In the picture above, note that the prie-Dieu used for Holy Communion bears the coat of arms of Pope Benedict)

The Holiness of Beauty and the Beauty of Holiness

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:42:00 +0000

(Photo source unknown)

Martin Mosebach and Others Appeal to Benedict on Sacred Art and Music

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:54:00 +0000

From Sandro Magister's Chiesa site today.

An appeal to Benedict XVI "for the return to an authentically Catholic sacred art." The main signatory is the great German writer Martin Mosebach. And in the meantime, the meeting between the pope and artists in the Sistine Chapel is drawing near

by Sandro Magister

ROME, November 5, 2009 – A few days before the meeting announced for November 21 between the pope and artists in the Sistine Chapel, an appeal anticipating its principal motivation has already come to Benedict XVI's desk.

The appeal is "for the return to an authentically Catholic sacred art," and was signed not by artists, but by scholars and other figures who are passionately concerned, for various reasons, about the fate of Christian art. Two names stand out above all: Martin Mosebach, and Enrico Maria Radaelli.

Mosebach is an established German writer whom Joseph Ratzinger knows well. His latest book: "The heresy of the shapeless [Formlessness]. The Roman liturgy and its enemy" was published this year, including an Italian edition by Cantagalli. And it is a stunning apologia on behalf of great Christian art, and more than that, of the Catholic liturgy itself as art. With biting invective against the iconoclasm that reigns today within the Catholic Church itself.

Radaelli, a disciple of the great Catholic philosopher and philologist Romano Amerio, is a sophisticated scholar of theological aesthetics. His masterpiece is: "Ingresso alla bellezza [Entryway to beauty]," released in 2008, a magnificent introduction into the mystery of God through his "Imago," which is Christ. Beauty as the manifestation of the truth.

The appeal was born from seminars held in recent months in the library of the pontifical commission for the cultural heritage of the Church, hosted by the vice-president of this Vatican commission, Benedictine abbot Michael J. Zielinski. Active participants in the meetings included Fr. Nicola Bux and Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, consultants for the office of papal liturgical celebrations. Fr. Lang is also an official at the congregation for divine worship. But no clergyman figures among the promoters of the appeal, not to mention any Vatican official. The signatories are laymen, of various competencies and professions.

After a brief introduction, the test unfolds in seven small chapters dedicated to the causes of the current fracture between the Church and art, to theological references, to the commission, to the artists, to the sacred space, to sacred music, to the liturgy.

And it ends with the appeal itself, which is formulated in this way:

"For all the reasons set out above, we are eager to receive from Your Holiness a fatherly listening and the merciful attention of the Vicar of Christ. We beseech you, Holy Father, to read in our heartfelt appeal our most pressing concern for the appalling conditions of contemporary sacred art and sacred architecture, as well as a modest and most humble request for your help so that sacred art and architecture can once again be truly Catholic. This so that the faithful can again enjoy the sense of wonder and rejoice once again at the presence of the beauty in God's House. This so that the Church can be once more regain her rightful place, in this era of irrational, mundane and malforming barbarism, as a true and attentive promoter and custodian of an art that is both new and truly "original": an art that today as always flowers in every age of progress, which reflowers from its ancient roots and eternal origin, faithful to the most intimate sense of Beauty that shines in the Truth of Christ."

The complete text with the list of signatories can be read, in multiple languages, on the website created for this purpose:

Appeal to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for an authentically Catholic sacred art

The following is a sample chapter:

VI. SACRED MUSIC AND LITURGICAL CHANT

Holy Father, the Church has today the opportunity to regain his "highly" role in the magisterium of music, mainly in the field of sacred music and liturgical chant, which must necessarily respond to the categories of "good" and "right" for their intimate connection, not just correspondence, with the liturgy itself (Paul VI, Address to the singers of the papal chapel, March 12th, 1964).

In the ancient history of Christianity the dialectical relationship between sacred music and secular music has produced many times the intervention of the Church to "clean up the building of the Roman liturgy" (a term explicitly used by many popes) from the secularist intrusions that the music itself lead in the temple and that, over the centuries and the gradual technical and musical development, have become increasingly severe and spill-over from the proper liturgical use, ending often in the assumption of roles of self-referencing or profane nature.

From the time of the Const. Ap. “Docta Sanctorum” issued by Pope John XXII (1324), the magisterium has always indicated the righteous ways of understanding music in the service of worship, gradually adopting new techniques compatible with the liturgy, but always and consistently pointing up to the present day (including the magisterium of Vatican II and the entire post Vatican II period) in the Gregorian chant, the primal root, the source of constant inspiration, the highest – because it’s simply the most noble – form of music that can perfectly embody the Catholic liturgical ideal also by virtue of its anonymity and its meta-historical true aesthetical, verbal and sensitive universality.

We cannot now definitely establish musical forms and styles a priori, but the
recovery of Gregorian chant, good polyphonic and organ music (even inspired by the Gregorian), – ancient, modern and contemporary – would certainly, after decades of absolute shock and “probability” in music, recall the liturgical "words" that the Catholic tradition in art and music has given us for centuries: they have worked – using a representative expression of Pope Paul VI in the Enc. "Mysterium Fidei" – as real "tiles of the Catholic Faith", which was always founded on sensible data, endowed with truth and beauty; and always devoid of sterile and mannered or archaeological intellectualism, to be avoided with care (as indicated by Pope Pius XII in Enc. “Mediator Dei” that introduced the liturgical reform of the late twentieth century.

Maybe in the arts devoted to the service of worship, music is the strongest, for that constant "catechetical" meaning which the magisterium has constantly recognized, and also the more delicate because, by its nature and unlike the other arts, requires a tertium medium between the author and the viewer, or the interpreter. For this reason the Catholic Church should take better care of the music than of other arts and should, as happened in the past, urge the education of both authors and interpreters: for sure today the effort is much more difficult than in Middle Age, Baroque period or in the XIX century, since the actual society is completely secularized. However today is needed a clear knowledge of the fundamentals so that the musicians – once endowed with the needed expertise – can recover the "sensus ecclesiæ" together with the "sensus fidei".

A View into the Life of the Canons Regular of the Mother of God

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:24:00 +0000

Readers will recall that I recently featured some stills from a DVD which shows a day in the life of the Canons Regular of the Mother of God at the Abbey of Sainte-Marie in Lagrasse, France.

I am pleased to let our readers know that, with the permission of the Abbey of Lagrasse, I was able to take out a couple of short excerpts from the 45 minute edition of this DVD recording, which will serve to both give you a sense of the DVD and give you some specific insights into the Canons and their liturgical life. (Though the DVD's themselves show various aspects of the life of the Canons I would note.)

I generally hope you will find these of edification and that it will likewise inspire your interest in the Canons Regular of the Mother of God.

* * *

To order the DVD, send 16 Euros (9 Euros for the 12 minute version) payable to "ICMD Librairie" and mail it, along with your shipping address, to:

Abbaye Canoniale Sainte-Marie,
Commande DVD,
6, rive gauche,
11220 Lagrasse

Juventutem Argentina

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:08:00 +0000

One of our Argentinian readers shared with us today a Mass in Argentina on the Vigil of All Saints which comes from an Argentinian chapter of Juventutem, the young adults group attached to the usus antiquior.

See their site for all the pictures.

Official Report from the Roman Summorum Pontificum Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:27:00 +0000

The NLM recently reported on a liturgical conference held in Rome. This was the conference which was concluded by the Solemn Pontifical Mass offered by Archbishop Raymond Burke in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Peter's Basilica. (To re-review those articles, see: Day One, Day Two and the Solemn Pontifical Mass).

The NLM has now been provided with a summary report (originally reported in Italian on Corrispondenza Romana) from that conference which it is pleased to present to you today. (The photos were inserted by the NLM as were certain bolded emphases of names and papers delivered.)

A Conference on the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum

A long awaited conference has been held in Rome on 16–18 October, just a few steps from the Vatican, entitled A Great Gift for the Entire Church, on the Motu Proprio “Summorum Pontificum” of H.H. Pope Benedict XVI. The success of this important event is undeniable and it was marked with a Papal greeting to the participants.

The event was organized by the association “Amicizia Sacerdotale Summorum Pontificum” (Priestly Friends of Summorum Pontificum”) and the lay group “Giovani e Tradizione” (Youth and Tradition). The conference was chaired, directed and concluded by the organizer and founder of the two aforementioned organizations, the Dominican theologian, Father Vincenzo Nuara.

The Conference proper, which was preceded by a retreat for priests on Friday 16 October, commenced on 17 October. The great numbers of young priests, seminarians and religious, many of them under the age of 30, was a clear signal that the current “signs of the times” are indicating a clear return to the roots of Christian faith, doctrine and spirituality.

Following the celebration of Holy Mass in the extraordinary form by Monsignor Athanasius Schneider, Fr. Nuara gave a remarkable opening speech to the conference in which he reminded his audience that since the promulgation of the Motu proprio the lives of many of those present had been changed. Regretting the difficulties surrounding the application of the pontifical text, Fr. Nuara recalled the ascetic significance of suffering for a just cause: it was precisely because of the pains endured in silence and abandonment by those priests and faithful who are wholeheartedly attached to the traditional rite that the true reform of the Church will begin.

The first lecture was that of Mgr Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Karaganda (Kazakhstan), on the theme “The Sanctity and Beauty of the Liturgy of the Holy Fathers”. According to the prelate, the worship of God must take place in awareness of divine sanctity. This fundamental and unavoidable notion has been present since to the very first ancient liturgical texts that come from tradition. In practice, this is the exact opposite of that which the prevalent liturgical “fashion”, steeped in humanistic and worldly values, has tried to impose for the past few decades. The symbolism and gestural expressiveness are essential for the proper understanding of the mystery being celebrated. As far as the prelate is concerned, nothing - absolutely nothing - must be left to chance, improvisation or human discretion.

This was followed by a presentation by Professor Roberto de Mattei, president of the Lepanto Foundation, who spoke on “Catholicism and Romanità in the Church Today”. He presented a synthesis of the significance of Rome and of the Roman tradition within the Catholic worldview. He noted that the Roman tradition is not merely a supplementary note of secondary value used to identify God’s true Church; rather, it is the quintessence of Catholicism. It is not by chance that the enemies of the Church are also enemies of the (true) Roman and Latin traditions. Modernism, inaugurated by the Lutheran anti-Romanism, demonstrates two phenomena which are in fact mirror images of one another. On the one hand it seeks to purify Christianity from the Roman tradition — as do all Protestant sects, Jansenism, and then modernism and neo-modernism. On the other hand, Ancient Rome is exalted so as to create a sort of anti-Catholic idol: one thinks of Frederick II, Machiavelli, the Ghibellines, Jacobins and lay nationalism of the 1800's.

That same morning, there were two brief but important talks given by the Vice President of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church and for Sacred Archeology, Dom Michael John Zielinski, and Mgr Valentino Miserachs Grau, President of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music. Both were meant to stress the importance for sacred art and Church music of their ties to the Latin and Gregorian liturgical traditions. Both prelates criticized many of the recent artistic and musical evolutions that hide that sanctity which is so necessary for Christian worship and the spirituality of the faithful.

After lunch, the lecture by Mgr Guido Pozzo, new Secretary of the Ecclesia Dei Pontifical Commission, was warmly received. The prelate reiterated the importance of the traditional liturgy for the continuity of Catholic doctrine and noted that, despite the current difficulties, implementation of the Motu proprio will continue to expand.

The lecture by Fr. Stefano M. Manelli, founder of the “Francescani dell’Immacolata” (Franciscans of the Immaculate) - one of the youngest and most prominent families of the “Franciscan reformation” – had been eagerly awaited. The distinguished priest addressed, at length and with heartfelt pleas, the inseparable bond that exists between religious life - which he has lived for well over half a century - and liturgy. The current liturgical decadence, often pointed out by Benedict XVI, has certainly had an impact on priestly and religious vocations, as well as on the secularization of monasteries, convents and institutes that once flourished. The decision by the Franciscans of the Immaculate to return to the traditional Mass and liturgical offices is bearing precious fruit, both in terms of the number of vocations and in terms of the improvement of the spiritual life in both their male and female communities. According to Fr. Manelli, the Motu proprio especially encourages religious to resume the ancient liturgical and ascetic practices; by doing so, will they form those holy oases that the faithful say are ever more necessary.

The last speaker was the renowned theologian Mgr Brunero Gherardini, the author of a recent important study on the development on the value (and limitations) of Council documents. After having reminded the audience that the Motu proprio has been set up as a “sanatio”, he demonstrated the true sense of Tradition, as a banner of dogmatic and magisterial continuity. With acumen and theological depth, Mgr Gherardini demonstrated the opposition between living Tradition, understood in a Catholic sense - that is to say, the infinite capacity of the Magisterium to proclaim “new” dogmas which in fact are already a part of Divine Revelation - and the so-called “living tradition” invented by Modernism that uses this expression to adjust dogma and doctrine to the almost infinite variations of the fragile human mind.

Fr. Nuara closed the conference by thanking all guests and noting that the Conference itself was the result of God’s grace and its success a true miracle.

On Sunday, 18 October, the participants had the joy of attending Pontifical Holy Mass, celebrated by Mgr Raymond Leo Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signature, in St. Peter’s Basilica. It should be noted that the final Mass, as with those throughout the conference, was attended by members of all the institutes that use the old Missal: from the Fraternity of St. Peter to the Institute of Christ the King, from the Franciscans of the Immaculate to the Institute of the Good Shepherd, as well as the well known figure of Mgr Perl.

The unity of the “traditional Catholic family”, even among so many difficulties, is not the least of the successes of Fr. Vincenzo Nuara’s initiatives.

During the Angelus on that same day the Holy Father greeted all Conference participants, thereby supporting this important initiative from on high.

Relics of St. Charles Borromeo

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Tribe) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:18:00 +0000

With today being the Feast day of St. Charles Borromeo, I wanted to share with you some photos taken by myself and two other pilgrims, one of whom was John Sonnen, of the earthly remains of the sainted Cardinal and Archbishop of Milan which are found beneath the sanctuary of the Duomo in Milan, just off of the chapel of the Canons of the Cathedral of Milan.

Speaking liturgically, I have a particular interest in this saint due to his association with the archdiocese of Milan, which of course is the home of the Ambrosian rite -- one of the liturgical rites in the Western Church which, alongside the Mozarabic liturgy, I find of most personal interest.

(The Duomo seen from the Archepiscopal residence)

(The circular chapel of the Canons of the Metropolitan Cathedral. The entrance to chapel which holds the remains of St. Charles Borromeo is located after a short passageway to the left.)

(The altar and relics)

(The chapel altar has a beautiful metallic frontal and stretched tapestry walls.)

(You have to look closely through the glass in this photo to see the vested relics of the saint.)

(A closeup)

Above the Tomb

Some of you may also recall us showing some of the vestments used by St. Charles Borromeo, such as these kept in the museum beneath Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

Allow me to use this opportunity to suggest that those of you who are interested in the Ambrosian rite may wish search the NLM archives for "Ambrosian" which will bring up various pieces. One good place to begin is here (though this will not bring up all the pieces we have featured on the Ambrosian rite).