Dear Member of the Confraternity,
It has been a while since I was able to send out an email. This is the time of year that I travel to the corners of the vast boundaries of the FSSP apostolate in Florida to bless the homes of our parishioners with the Epiphany Blessing.
The Epiphany Blessing is truly inspiring and definitely one of the greatest protections we can provide for our homes. On the evening before Epiphany, the priest will spend 45 minutes blessing special Holy Water, that can only be blessed on that day, with a prolonged public chanted exorcism. Then incense and chalk is blessed with specific blessings.
After, the custom varies from parish to parish. Some priests, because of the distance and quantity of homes, bless them all at once from the church. But for those who are fortunate to have the priest come to their home, the ceremony is quite impressive. The priest arrives, begins to recite the Magnificat and the Antiphon from the Divine Office of the Feast of the Epiphany. Then he proceeds to douse the house with the specially exercised Holy Water, and spread incense throughout the house. That incense will linger in the house and can often be smelt several days later.
Then the prayers continue. What is beautiful about the blessing is that it is no longer asking to rid the home of evil spirits, as that was done when the Holy Water was blessed, but rather to fill the home with so many good petitions: health, chastity, the victory of virtue, humility, goodness, meekness. It asked God to grant that the Commandments be always followed, and that the blessing remain in the home forever.
Then the chalk is used to write an inscription on the door post, so that the home can be distinguished like the blood on the doorposts of the homes of the Israelites. This distinguishing mark is the initials of the Three Kings - Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, framed with the year: 20+C+M+B+12. With a play on Latin words, the inscription can also read Christus Mansionem Benedicat - May Christ bless this home.
Finally a prayer may be included that is such a beautiful prayer: "May the door of this home be wide enough to receive all who need charity and companionship... narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and strife... May its threshold be no stumbling block to children nor to straying feet... may it be rugged and strong enough to turn back the Tempter's power."
Our home is the sanctuary where we spend most of the time preparing for our future home, God willing, in Heaven. It is here that we learn virtue. It is here where we are tempted. It is here where we study our faith. It is here where we waste our time. The home is a sanctuary where the world should find no admittance, and where the angels and saints should be welcomed to teach us and guide us to our Heavenly Home. People invest in good locks to secure their home and alarm systems to protect from potential theft or violent intruders. But our homes should also be secured by blessing from the attacks of the Enemy who will break in to our home to steal our souls from Everlasting Life. The Enemy spends a lot of time in homes. In an occasional home he will haunt and make noise. But that is so rare that it's almost just a thing from the movies. Far more often he will be hidden in the home, not making noise, but seeding discontent, rebellion, hatred, anger, impurities, disobedience, pride, and the list goes on. If he makes noise we immediately panic. But we let him live under our roof tempting us at full volume and don't even notice, nor do we care.
I know, I should have sent this email before the Feast of the Epiphany, not after the fact. But if you have not had your house blessed, ever, maybe you should just give up locking your doors or something! Because the greatest Enemy of your family is finding himself quite welcome and comfortable. Or better, ask your priest, when he is able, to come and bless your home. There are other blessings beside the Epiphany Blessing that can be given to the home throughout the year, to protect you and make your home the sanctuary where your family can grow in the path to holiness and prepare for their true home in Heaven.
In the next few months I will be traveling to give conferences on the Confraternity of St. Peter. I will be in Atlanta GA, at the FSSP parish of St. Francis de Sales, on Sunday February 12th. Then on Saturday, March 31st I will be giving a Recollection at Our Lady of Fatima Chapel in Pequannock NJ. We will announce others as they are planned. If there are enough people in your area and you would like for me to come and give a Recollection or a Mission, ask your pastor if he will consider inviting me. I will be happy to come.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
From the Desk of the Chaplain: Epiphany
From the monthly email circular of the English-speaking Chaplain of the Confranterity of St. Peter, Rev. Fr. J. Fryar FSSP:
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
TradNews Roundup
*But, Archbishop, we've all been betrayed by the Obamanation of Desolation. Maybe the next time the bishops will listen to the traditionalists when they say someone "is not the Antichrist, but he's definitely a Antichrist."
*Obama's personal attack on the Catholic Church has even the dissenters in a tizzy.
*Bishop Sample to President Obama: "We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law."
*Bishop Zubik: "On January 20, 2012, the Obama administration answered you and me. The response was very simple: 'To Hell with You.'"
*Obama's personal attack on the Catholic Church has even the dissenters in a tizzy.
*Bishop Sample to President Obama: "We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law."
*Bishop Zubik: "On January 20, 2012, the Obama administration answered you and me. The response was very simple: 'To Hell with You.'"
*Archbishop Gregory Aymond calls the Obama Anti-Catholic mandate an "outrage".
*Bishop Jenky calls the Anti-Catholic mandate a "bigoted and blatant" attack on the First Amendment rights of Catholics.
*Archbishop Dolan's Wall Street Journal Op-Ed on the Obama Administration's direct and blatant attack on Catholics.
*Rorati Cæli reports a practical approval of the Neo-Cat Way liturgical messes. Dóminus miserére nobis! However, Fr. John Zuhlsdorf strongly disagrees. At any rate, the whole thing is indicative of the modern Magisterium's impotence in dealing with liturgical and doctrinal dissent.
*Holy Father says America is "increasingly hostile to Christianity". His strong words are in response to the Obama Administration's contraceptive mandate that threatens to push Catholic institutions underground.
*Any Distrubitists or Trads out there still sympathetic to the "Occupy Movement"? The "Occupy Movement" once again reveals itself for the liberal thuggery that it is.
*Bishop Joseph McFadden of Harrisburg states that the public school system in America is the model system desired by totalitarian dictators such as Hitler and Mussolini.
Warren Buffet Is Anti-Catholic, by Bill Donohue
This is from The Catholic League website. I'm reproducing it here in its entirety because it is critically important to get this information out.
Warren Buffet is probably one of the most powerful men in the United States, and during the Obama Administration he has become more and more cavalier in flaunting the influence he wields over the government in the USA and other governments worldwide.
Many people admire Buffet, they call him brilliant, savvy, extraordinary. However, what few people know is how radically pro-abortion and anti-Catholic he is, and how ruthless and diabolical are his tactics. I strongly suspect that he is the architect of many of the attacks on the Catholic Church from the Obama Administration and other politicians, the secular media, political action groups, and even organizations that call themselves Catholic.
Warren Buffet is probably one of the most powerful men in the United States, and during the Obama Administration he has become more and more cavalier in flaunting the influence he wields over the government in the USA and other governments worldwide.
Many people admire Buffet, they call him brilliant, savvy, extraordinary. However, what few people know is how radically pro-abortion and anti-Catholic he is, and how ruthless and diabolical are his tactics. I strongly suspect that he is the architect of many of the attacks on the Catholic Church from the Obama Administration and other politicians, the secular media, political action groups, and even organizations that call themselves Catholic.
Buffet's primary goal is not to make money, as many have quipped. His primary goal is to consolidate money and power in order to advance his anti-Catholic, anti-Life, Satanic agenda.
Why Warren Buffet Is Anti-CatholicWritten by: William Donohue
January 25, 2012
Warren Buffett’s comment that the rich should pay higher taxes, now enshrined by President Barack Obama as the “Buffett Rule,” is drawing much applause. What is not being discussed is the billionaire’s support for anti-Catholicism. First some background information.
Over several decades, Buffett has spent a fortune funding radical abortion organizations like NARAL and Planned Parenthood; he has lavishly given money to train a new generation of abortion physicians; he has spent millions to help RU-486 (the abortion-inducing drug) to win FDA approval; and he gave his pro-abortion, population-control friends at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation nearly $31 billion in 2006 for more of the same. There’s nothing anti-Catholic about any of this, but when he intentionally seeks to subvert Catholicism by dishonestly funding pro-abortion organizations that have hijacked the Catholic name, that’s another story.
To be specific, Buffett has given hundreds of millions over the years to anti-Catholic front groups like Catholics for Choice (formerly Catholics for a Free Choice) and its sister organization in Latin America, Catholics for the Right to Decide. In 2010, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation alone gave $759,822 to the former, and almost $1.7 million to the latter. These letter-head organizations wouldn’t exist if they depended on donations from members—they don’t have any—they exist because of the likes of Warren Buffett.
If Buffett, or someone like him, were to throw millions upon millions funding Jews for Jesus, what would the Jewish community call him? Now you know why Warren Buffett has earned the tag anti-Catholic.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the Republican Primary
Notice: Comments are disabled for this post because I knew what the tone and tenor of the comments would be. I haven't been disappointed, as a number of people have left comments about this blog entry elsewhere, and almost every single one was disrespectful and rude both to me and to a man who has passed away! While comments are disabled here, if you use Facebook, you can comment on the Ars Orandi page.
________________________________
It is not my intention here to discuss politics, but there's one particular issue connected with the Republican primary race in the United States that has finally gotten on my last nerve. I would like to highlight something for my fellow American traditional Catholics on the 39th anniversary of the devastating Roe v. Wade decision. Many of you may disagree, and most of my closest friends, I know, definitely will disagree, but I have to in good conscience say what I have to say.
It seems to me that other agendas have gotten in the way of clear thinking on the Pro-Life and social issues in traditional Catholic circles, and this is extremely troubling to me. In the traditional Catholic world one Republican candidate seems to have gotten as close to an endorsement as a candidate can get, but I honestly believe for all the wrong reasons.
In regards to this candidate I have this to say: A Pro-Life, social conservative DOES NOT leave the abortion issue up to the state legislatures; DOES NOT support gay marriage as a personal choice; DOES NOT support the legalization of illegal narcotics. At the very heart of a civilization swept away by all manner of perversity, sensuality, immorality, and immodesty, are traditional Catholics really supporting a man who would leave the rule of law up to individual choice instead of the natural and divine law? Libertarianism is opposed to traditional Catholic social and moral teaching. How can traditional Catholics endorse Libertarianism when never before have individuals had such ill-informed consciences? Whatever agenda that you might think this candidate endorses, that agenda pales in comparison to the millions of innocent children that have been killed in the worst holocaust in human history.
Traditional Catholics do not have a candidate in this race. It's sad, but it's true. Therefore, we must set our priorities straight. There is only one issue that should take precedence in the voting booth for the traditional Catholic... and it isn't the Fed or foreign policy or the economy or some fantasy that a Libertarian will insure our little enclaves a measure of autonomy. We have to take a stand in this election for an end to legalized abortion, the safe-guarding of traditional marriage, and the rule of law. To do this we have to sacrifice other agendas and fears.
Morality can not be legislated; that is true. However, the government must legislate in such a way that is moral. Can we trust a Libertarian to do that? Will he legislate morally? or legislate as a libertine?
________________________________
It is not my intention here to discuss politics, but there's one particular issue connected with the Republican primary race in the United States that has finally gotten on my last nerve. I would like to highlight something for my fellow American traditional Catholics on the 39th anniversary of the devastating Roe v. Wade decision. Many of you may disagree, and most of my closest friends, I know, definitely will disagree, but I have to in good conscience say what I have to say.
It seems to me that other agendas have gotten in the way of clear thinking on the Pro-Life and social issues in traditional Catholic circles, and this is extremely troubling to me. In the traditional Catholic world one Republican candidate seems to have gotten as close to an endorsement as a candidate can get, but I honestly believe for all the wrong reasons.
In regards to this candidate I have this to say: A Pro-Life, social conservative DOES NOT leave the abortion issue up to the state legislatures; DOES NOT support gay marriage as a personal choice; DOES NOT support the legalization of illegal narcotics. At the very heart of a civilization swept away by all manner of perversity, sensuality, immorality, and immodesty, are traditional Catholics really supporting a man who would leave the rule of law up to individual choice instead of the natural and divine law? Libertarianism is opposed to traditional Catholic social and moral teaching. How can traditional Catholics endorse Libertarianism when never before have individuals had such ill-informed consciences? Whatever agenda that you might think this candidate endorses, that agenda pales in comparison to the millions of innocent children that have been killed in the worst holocaust in human history.
Traditional Catholics do not have a candidate in this race. It's sad, but it's true. Therefore, we must set our priorities straight. There is only one issue that should take precedence in the voting booth for the traditional Catholic... and it isn't the Fed or foreign policy or the economy or some fantasy that a Libertarian will insure our little enclaves a measure of autonomy. We have to take a stand in this election for an end to legalized abortion, the safe-guarding of traditional marriage, and the rule of law. To do this we have to sacrifice other agendas and fears.
Morality can not be legislated; that is true. However, the government must legislate in such a way that is moral. Can we trust a Libertarian to do that? Will he legislate morally? or legislate as a libertine?
Joe Paterno
Update: If you want to comment about the Penn State sex scandal, please go here, read the entry, and then you are welcome to post your comments there. This, however, is not the place for that subject.
Comments for the blog entry, The Anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the Republican Primary are disabled for a reason, so please do not comment about that subject here.
Despite the fact that I'm a lifelong Ohio State fan, I've always had the highest regard and respect for Mr. Joseph Vincent Paterno, a devout Roman Catholic, a World War II veteran, a faithful husband and father, and a successful football coach who always pursued the good of those put in his charge. For me and for most other sports fans of my generation the name, Joe Paterno, means respectability and nobility in sports, character, grit and honor.
He was also a thoughtful conservative and a caring person. His character and leadership is unquestioned among those who played for him, but his views and the manner in which he carried himself and coached was formed by the realities of nature as explicated by sport. It is amazing how all the ideological dogmas that are shoved down our throat by the liberal media, politicians and university professors disappear on the athletic field. In athletics there is no such thing as absolute egalitarianism; rather, unequal talents and abilities raise some to leadership and drive others to greater effort, just as nature intended. There is no strength in diversity; rather, strength comes from becoming a team, by putting the goals of the team and school before self-interest. No player is entitled to a place on the team or a win; rather, everything must be won by hard work, blood, sweat and tears. Joe Paterno understood this, understood its implications on and off the football field, and articulated it with intelligence and wit like few others have been capable.
Thankfully, for those of us who admired him from afar, Joe Paterno conveyed these principles to the wider world. I suppose most will look at his winning career and reduce his achievements to what he did on the field of play. These achievements, certainly, are laudable, but winning coaches come and go. For many of us, the greater share of Joe Paterno's legacy will be for what he stood for beyond the field of play, and for this I am thankful.
Comments for the blog entry, The Anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the Republican Primary are disabled for a reason, so please do not comment about that subject here.
Despite the fact that I'm a lifelong Ohio State fan, I've always had the highest regard and respect for Mr. Joseph Vincent Paterno, a devout Roman Catholic, a World War II veteran, a faithful husband and father, and a successful football coach who always pursued the good of those put in his charge. For me and for most other sports fans of my generation the name, Joe Paterno, means respectability and nobility in sports, character, grit and honor.
He was also a thoughtful conservative and a caring person. His character and leadership is unquestioned among those who played for him, but his views and the manner in which he carried himself and coached was formed by the realities of nature as explicated by sport. It is amazing how all the ideological dogmas that are shoved down our throat by the liberal media, politicians and university professors disappear on the athletic field. In athletics there is no such thing as absolute egalitarianism; rather, unequal talents and abilities raise some to leadership and drive others to greater effort, just as nature intended. There is no strength in diversity; rather, strength comes from becoming a team, by putting the goals of the team and school before self-interest. No player is entitled to a place on the team or a win; rather, everything must be won by hard work, blood, sweat and tears. Joe Paterno understood this, understood its implications on and off the football field, and articulated it with intelligence and wit like few others have been capable.
Thankfully, for those of us who admired him from afar, Joe Paterno conveyed these principles to the wider world. I suppose most will look at his winning career and reduce his achievements to what he did on the field of play. These achievements, certainly, are laudable, but winning coaches come and go. For many of us, the greater share of Joe Paterno's legacy will be for what he stood for beyond the field of play, and for this I am thankful.
Réquiem ætérnam dona ei Dómine;
et lux perpétua lúceat ei. Requiéscat in pace. Amen.
et lux perpétua lúceat ei. Requiéscat in pace. Amen.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Christ the King Cathedral Exterior
Some exterior photos of Christ the King Cathedral, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Enjoy!
Christ the King Cathedral
Here are a couple of photos of one of the beautiful portals of Christ the King Cathedral in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Note the words "Christus Regnat" (Christ Reigns) near the handles. This beautiful cathedral was dedicated in 1933.
Friday, January 20, 2012
TradNews Roundup
*Is government enforced homosexual "marriage" coming to your parish hall?
*The editorial staff of Si Si No No responds to Fr. Cavalcoli's shrill and unreasonable attack.
*Pontifical Solemn Mass in the Archdiocese of Miami for Candlemas.
*New Hampshire votes to de-fund Planned Parenthood and exposes the Obama administration's Planned Parenthood related corruption.
*Corapi drops off the radar. He is no more.
*The editorial staff of Si Si No No responds to Fr. Cavalcoli's shrill and unreasonable attack.
*Pontifical Solemn Mass in the Archdiocese of Miami for Candlemas.
*New Hampshire votes to de-fund Planned Parenthood and exposes the Obama administration's Planned Parenthood related corruption.
*Corapi drops off the radar. He is no more.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Purpose of the Reform of the Reform
Roberto de Mattei on the "Reform of the Reform":
Well said.
The "Reform of the Reform" which is mentioned makes sense and is worthy only as a "transition" of the "novus ordo" towards the traditional rite, and not as a pretext for the abandonment of the latter, that must be kept in its integrity and purity.
Well said.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
A Reasonable Criticism of "About this Blog"
I received an email recently that had this say:
After giving this criticism some thought, I had to admit this seems like a pretty reasonable suggestion. Therefore, I added at the very top of the page the following:
I think that should do it.
I really appreciate all the help and support, and well intentioned criticisms, I receive from readers. I especially appreciate all those who send me edits.
Thanks for your blog. It really is beautiful and spiritually enriching. I love the holy images, and I really enjoy reading the reflections from Dom Gueranger. However, I'm not sure your "About this Blog" page answers clearly and succinctly the question "what is this blog all about?"
I think the article on that page is very good, but I'm afraid that a drive-by visitor will be a bit overwhelmed by it, and probably won't read it. I didn't actually read the whole thesis until recently, and I've been visiting your blog for over a year. While you should definitely keep the thesis up, it might be good to put at the very top of that page a one-sentence explanation of the raison d'etre for the blog.
After giving this criticism some thought, I had to admit this seems like a pretty reasonable suggestion. Therefore, I added at the very top of the page the following:
In a nutshell, this blog is dedicated to rediscovering a traditional Catholic liturgical piety by fostering a greater knowledge and love for the traditional liturgical year and renewing an appreciation for methods of hearing the Mass.
I think that should do it.
I really appreciate all the help and support, and well intentioned criticisms, I receive from readers. I especially appreciate all those who send me edits.
Friday, January 13, 2012
TradNews Roundup
*Fr. Alain Lorans of the SSPX gives some insight into the SSPX objections to the Doctrinal Preamble. As suspected, the difficulties were summed up by the response of Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize to Msgr. Fernando Ocariz's article that was published L’Osservatore Romano. Essentially the problems are in the "new doctrines" of the Second Vatican Council.
*Fr. Giovanni Cavalcoli, O.P. fires off a shrill attack on Italian traditionalists, and the SSPX in particular. Cavolcoli claims that the "new doctrines" of Vatican II are infallible (despite the fact that the reigning Pontiff at the close of the Council stated they were not). The councilarists, it appears, are circling the wagons.
*Pope says that gay marriage is a threat to "the future of humanity".
*The story of Ian Verrier, a seminarian for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.
*Yet another leftist bishop is at the center of a sex scandal.
*Catholics are welcome in the Obama Administration as long as they are Catholic in name only. This is a form of anti-Catholic bigotry.
*SCOTUS upholds ministerial exception despite pressure from the Obama Administration to allow the government to intervene in the internal affairs of religious organizations. (PDF of the full text of the SCOTUS decision)
*Rick Santorum's tax policy would reward marriage and large families.
*Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta is accused of defending a "pedophile priest". (The article actually admits that the priest was not a pedophile, but a homosexual who liked teen age boys... but why let things like the truth get in the way? The point in Frisco is to condemn the Catholic Church, not implicate active homosexuals as the depraved perverts they are.)
*Reason 411,987 to homeschool.
*The antichrist European Union will bend all its diabolical power on Hungary to purge its new constitution of any Christian values.
*Make'm pay!
*Fr. Giovanni Cavalcoli, O.P. fires off a shrill attack on Italian traditionalists, and the SSPX in particular. Cavolcoli claims that the "new doctrines" of Vatican II are infallible (despite the fact that the reigning Pontiff at the close of the Council stated they were not). The councilarists, it appears, are circling the wagons.
*Pope says that gay marriage is a threat to "the future of humanity".
*The story of Ian Verrier, a seminarian for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.
*Yet another leftist bishop is at the center of a sex scandal.
*Catholics are welcome in the Obama Administration as long as they are Catholic in name only. This is a form of anti-Catholic bigotry.
*SCOTUS upholds ministerial exception despite pressure from the Obama Administration to allow the government to intervene in the internal affairs of religious organizations. (PDF of the full text of the SCOTUS decision)
*Rick Santorum's tax policy would reward marriage and large families.
*Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta is accused of defending a "pedophile priest". (The article actually admits that the priest was not a pedophile, but a homosexual who liked teen age boys... but why let things like the truth get in the way? The point in Frisco is to condemn the Catholic Church, not implicate active homosexuals as the depraved perverts they are.)
*Reason 411,987 to homeschool.
*The antichrist European Union will bend all its diabolical power on Hungary to purge its new constitution of any Christian values.
*Make'm pay!
Live Stream of Confraternity Monthly Recollection Tonight
Just a reminder that tonight (Friday, January 13th) Fr. Fryar will stream live the monthly recollection for the Confraternity of St. Peter.
The live stream will begin at 6:30 PM EST. Please see the link for LiveMass.net in the side bar to the right.
The live stream will begin at 6:30 PM EST. Please see the link for LiveMass.net in the side bar to the right.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Banality on the heels of displacing the Epiphany
The calendar for the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the novus ordo, is replete with mediocrity, but at least twice a year this mediocrity is brought to a crescendo: at the feasts of the Ascension of Our Blessed Lord and the Epiphany. Lost from the mentality and spiritual life of the average mainstream, novus ordo Catholic is the notion that Christmastide is a twelve day affair.
The lost notion of the twelve days of Christmas only helps to displace the whole season. The Protestants, along with the pagan secular world, feigning Christian symbolism and heritage, have already moved the celebration of Christmas to the time before December 25th. Most novus ordo Catholics are as ready as the pagans and Protestants to jettison the whole notion of Advent as a penitential season, and have already tossed their spent Christmas trees to the curb to be picked up by the garbage men. The denuding of the Christmas season by moving Epiphany to the Sunday nearest January 6th has done nothing but help facilitate this process among Catholics. Rushing the season away for some "pastoral" effort to make things easy has utterly failed to fix the Church's new liturgical calendar into the lives and daily habits of the faithful. Mainstream Catholics have no connection to a calendar, even the woefully inadequate novus ordo calendar, and thus have been denied that very fruitful and uniquely Catholic structure of a deeply spiritual life. The resulting banality is only too apparent.
I attend Mass at a mission apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, which means we share our parish with the novus ordo establishment. The bigger share, currently, belongs to this novus ordo establishment, thus we are often met each Sunday by the mundane, banal imagery of that iniquitous shadow of Catholicism on the cover of the parish bulletin. The cover for this Sunday's parish bulletin was the usual hodgepodge of amateurish impressionism, complete with stick figure wise men, and a background that strangely resembles something from an Aztec ziggurat.
The pastoral imprudence of making things easier translates into an immature spirituality that is reflected by this childish imagery that possesses only a marketing appeal devoid of any real effort or depth of thought. It's a commercial for the Epiphany, rather than something meant to inspire and raise the mind beyond the mundane. Forgotten is the rich heritage of Western Catholic art. The mindset of the modern mainstream, novus ordo establishment simply can not grasp an aesthetic principle that goes beyond sloganeering commercialism with subtle hints of ancient paganism.
This reality is corroding what is left of the Catholic foundations of the novus ordo edifice. Once the the last tethers of authentic Catholicism is corroded beyond repair, the novus ordo establishment will careen into the oblivion of Protestantism and secularism. It isn't a matter of "if", but "when". This is bad news for Western society that rests on the shoulders of the Church that built it.
However, in the wake of the novus ordo establishment are the ever growing Traditional Latin Mass communities. These communities are already working as the last lifelines for a Western world on the brink of slipping into complete cultural senility. However, these Traditional Latin Mass communities must constantly strive to incorporate the traditional calendar into the daily lives of the faithful. Let us pray that it is not too late.
The lost notion of the twelve days of Christmas only helps to displace the whole season. The Protestants, along with the pagan secular world, feigning Christian symbolism and heritage, have already moved the celebration of Christmas to the time before December 25th. Most novus ordo Catholics are as ready as the pagans and Protestants to jettison the whole notion of Advent as a penitential season, and have already tossed their spent Christmas trees to the curb to be picked up by the garbage men. The denuding of the Christmas season by moving Epiphany to the Sunday nearest January 6th has done nothing but help facilitate this process among Catholics. Rushing the season away for some "pastoral" effort to make things easy has utterly failed to fix the Church's new liturgical calendar into the lives and daily habits of the faithful. Mainstream Catholics have no connection to a calendar, even the woefully inadequate novus ordo calendar, and thus have been denied that very fruitful and uniquely Catholic structure of a deeply spiritual life. The resulting banality is only too apparent.
I attend Mass at a mission apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, which means we share our parish with the novus ordo establishment. The bigger share, currently, belongs to this novus ordo establishment, thus we are often met each Sunday by the mundane, banal imagery of that iniquitous shadow of Catholicism on the cover of the parish bulletin. The cover for this Sunday's parish bulletin was the usual hodgepodge of amateurish impressionism, complete with stick figure wise men, and a background that strangely resembles something from an Aztec ziggurat.
The pastoral imprudence of making things easier translates into an immature spirituality that is reflected by this childish imagery that possesses only a marketing appeal devoid of any real effort or depth of thought. It's a commercial for the Epiphany, rather than something meant to inspire and raise the mind beyond the mundane. Forgotten is the rich heritage of Western Catholic art. The mindset of the modern mainstream, novus ordo establishment simply can not grasp an aesthetic principle that goes beyond sloganeering commercialism with subtle hints of ancient paganism.
This reality is corroding what is left of the Catholic foundations of the novus ordo edifice. Once the the last tethers of authentic Catholicism is corroded beyond repair, the novus ordo establishment will careen into the oblivion of Protestantism and secularism. It isn't a matter of "if", but "when". This is bad news for Western society that rests on the shoulders of the Church that built it.
However, in the wake of the novus ordo establishment are the ever growing Traditional Latin Mass communities. These communities are already working as the last lifelines for a Western world on the brink of slipping into complete cultural senility. However, these Traditional Latin Mass communities must constantly strive to incorporate the traditional calendar into the daily lives of the faithful. Let us pray that it is not too late.
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