Traditional Roman Catholic Philippines - Societas Ecclesia Dei Sancti Ioseph - Una Voce

Jorge Sesé (ASemTa Fotografía Cofrade)'s photostream

2011-10-04T11:34:00.001-07:00

Jorge Sesé (ASemTa Fotografía Cofrade)'s photostream on Flickr.

gLn98's photostream

2011-09-30T05:16:00.001-07:00

gLn98's photostream on Flickr.

The 1st Diocese of Pasig Mass According to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite After Vatican II

2011-04-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday 2011

Novaliches Bishop Celebrates Solemn Pontifical High Mass

2011-04-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/dennis.maturan#!/media/set/fbx/?set=a.2014213877624.2123830.1312110926
Easter Monday, April 25, 2011. The Ordinary of the Diocese of Novaliches, Most. Rev. Antonio R. Tobias, D.D., celebrated a Solemn Pontifical High Mass at the throne, according to the 1962 Missal promulgated by Bl. Pope John XXIII (the Extraordinary Form of... the Roman Rite), in the Cathedral Shrine and Parish of the Good Shepherd, the seat of his diocese. It was the first Extraordinary Form Mass ever celebrated in the Cathedral. Deo gratias! Credits to Alex Alivio and Macky Villasis for the photos.

Maundy Thursday Rites According to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

2011-04-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

The Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph this year observed the Maundy Thursday Rites according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite at an earlier time of the day since no other time is free later in the day at the Parish of the Lord Divine Mercy in Sikatuna, Q.C., Philippines. Celebrant was Rev. Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo, Parish Priest; assisted by the EDSSJ acolytes and choir.

The original Santo Niño by Ambeth Ocampo

2011-01-25T20:08:00.000-08:00

The original Santo Niño

By Ambeth
Ocampo
Philippine Daily
Inquirer
First Posted 06:09:00
01/26/2011

TWO YEARS ago I accompanied the Czech prime minister in visiting the Abbey
Church of Our Lady of Montserrat in San Beda College near Malacañang. In this
church is a tangible link between the Czech Republic and the Philippines: the
venerated image of the Santo Niño de Praga or Infant Jesus of Prague carved by
Maximo Vicente in the early 20th century. All of 10 minutes was allotted for
photo opportunity and an exchange of pleasantries with the abbot, Fr. Tarcisio
Narciso, OSB, but the prime minister opted for conversation and asked for
coffee.
Welcomed into the cloister, we waited for freshly brewed coffee. When one of
the Presidential Security Group escorts saw the prime minister munching on
cookies he found on the refectory table, he whispered, “He cannot take anything
here. We didn’t bring a taster.” I replied, “We are in a Benedictine monastery,
an order with centuries-old tradition of hospitality.”
Coffee arrived and the PSG escort moved to delay things until the taster
arrived. I prayed to the Santo Niño and reassured him, “I will take full
responsibility. Let him have the coffee.”
Hearing this the abbot softly told me in Kapampangan, “I don’t take coffee at
this time, but pour some into my mug to prove it is not poisoned.”
Nobody keeled over, there was no untoward diplomatic incident, and everything
went well.
The prime minister was added to the list of prominent visitors to the Niño de
Praga in San Beda that includes the late President Corazon Aquino and St.
Maximilian Kolbe, who celebrated Mass there years before he was martyred in a
Nazi concentration camp.
The Pista ng Santo Niño ng San Beda is celebrated
annually on the last Sunday of January. It is amazing that we see no sign of
Santo Niño fatigue since the feast of the Santo Niño de Tondo and the Santo Niño
de Cebu falls on the third Sunday of January. A Santo Niño fiesta was organized
this year by Filipinos in Saint Ignatius Church in the Jesuit-run Sophia
University in Tokyo, drawing curious Japanese to the display of different
images.
There seems to be a Santo Niño for every occupation: doctor, fireman, baker,
etc. There is even a Santo Niño in street clothes known as “Yagit.” Sometimes
you will spot a family in a mall buying clothes for their Santo Niño. I leave
anthropological explanation for this with my neighbor, Mike Tan.
The cult of the Santo Niño goes back a long way. The oldest existing image is
venerated in the minor basilica in Cebu that many people, including me, mistake
for the cathedral. Antonio Pigafetta, chronicler of the Magellan expedition,
wrote that on Sunday morning April 14, 1521 Magellan met with Humabon of Cebu
and convinced the king to convert to Christianity and burn all the idols in his
dominions.
Magellan literally took Humabon by the hand, acting as his ninong when
Humabon was christened Carlos, after the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, also
known as Charles I of Spain, a name beloved of Filipino drinkers as Carlos
Primero. Fifty men were baptized that morning.
After lunch on the ship, the chaplain returned to Cebu to baptize Humabon’s
wife whose name was not recorded by Pigafetta, which is surprising because a
name has just one or two words compared with his detailed description of her as
being, “very young and beautiful, covered with a black and white sheet; she had
a red mouth and very red nails, and wore on her head a large hat made of palm
leaves, with a crown, also of palm leaves, over it like that of the Pope.”
She arrived with a retinue of 40 ladies and was shown an image of Our Lady,
of wood, holding her little child, which was very well made, and a cross.
Humabon’s queen asked to be baptized and was christened Juana, in honor of the
mother of Carlos Primero who, unknown to the Cebuanos then, has gone down in
history as “Juana la loca” (Joanna the mad).
Juana then asked for a baptismal present because Humabon/Carlos was given an
image of the “Ecce Homo” by Magellan. Juana did not choose from the cross or the
Virgin with Child shown her earlier. She asked for the Santo Niño.
Days later Magellan admonished Juana to get rid of her idols and replace them
with the Santo Niño. Juana promised to keep the image and care for it.
We all know what happened next. Magellan, who was not politically savvy,
aligned himself with Humabon against Lapulapu of Mactan. He got involved in a
local political problem and got killed in the process.
Thus, from the time Magellan was skewered like the roasted fish that now
bears Lapulapu’s name in 1521 to 1565 when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi took
possession of Cebu and the rest of what they knew to be the Philippines, for the
Spanish crown, we don’t know what happened to the Santo Niño de Cebu. Those 44
missing years are indeed a mystery because the image survived.
The recovery of the image in 1565 was met with great rejoicing. Cebu was then
placed under the protection of the Santisimo Nombre de Jesus, the Holy Name of
Jesus. A church was erected on the spot where the image of the Santo Niño was
found, unscathed, in the ruins of a burned hut. That church has grown and
expanded into the Minor Basilica of the Santo Niño de Cebu, the focal point of
the rowdy Sinulog festival.
Almost four centuries since the image arrived in the Philippines we see no
signs of Santo Niño fatigue yet.

O esca viatorum (Franz Joseph Haydn)

2010-11-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

A Tribute to Father Damien Track 13 of 13 Veni Jesu Amor Mi

2010-11-09T01:11:00.000-08:00

Veni Jesu Amor mi

2010-11-09T01:09:00.000-08:00

My Hospitalization!

2010-10-21T00:08:00.000-07:00

Just regained my composure 2 hours after a fit with coughs, phlegm and shortness of breathing. Last Sept. 30 after the cardiac arrest episode at S & R Global City, after going to the ER of St.Luke's Global City and was transported by ambulance to Q.C., after learning that I had myocardial infarction and cardiac ischemia through ECG; I was admitted to St. Luke's Q.C. for further tests and observations.

I had to undergo angiogram where they had to open a large blood artery near my groin and insert a needle thin wire on order to put dye inside my heart to see the extent of blocked or damaged blood vessels and proceed with angioplasty (clearing the clots and placing supports on the arterial walls so it will not collapse and remain open so as not to restrict the flow of blood. It revealed 3 major blocks which could be remedied better by an open-heart surgery.

As I was being prepared for operation within the next few days then, I experienced days of fever and diarrhea making me dehydrated and weak, imagine going to the bathroom 16 times a day. Then I had to be injected in the belly dozens of times with insulin in different times of the day and even at night to control my high sugar levels (303 and the normal is 80-120 only). All my fingers were pricked 4x daily to see the blood sugar level. Then I was bombarded with anti-biotics to fight infection only to find out that I had pneumonia too in both of my lungs after a series of x-rays and ultrasounds which further revealed that my albumin and hemoglobin was low and I also have fatty liver. I also had sleepless nights to due difficulty in breathing and another chest pain episode. Oxygen is attached on my nose 24 hours dailt.

For a week I was not even allowed to stand to go to the bathroom until only today, where I can answer the call of nature but not to take a bath. Medicine to thin my blood is given daily so as not to trigger another arrest or even a stroke. Right now I have no craving for food which alarmed my nutritionists since my calorie intake is less than 20% of what is required. All of these factors delayed my operation ( which I wouldn't want to have in the 1st place).

We considered transferring to the Heart Center where another doctor made a second opinion but when my present cardiologist learned of our plan he reviewed my results and now agrees to have the angioplasty tomorrow instead of a bypass next week slashing the fee from P1M to P500K (where will I get such amount?)

God is Great! Blessed Teresa of Calcutta is His servant! My cardiologist just decided not to proceed with the angioplasty and transfer to another hospital since St. Luke's is asking for a substantial amount of deposit before the procedure. I will be allowed to rest at home while waiting to which hospital I will be transferring to and have the angioplasty.

I am now home since Saturday so kindly continue offering prayers for my well-being since I really want to resume my school duties and regular activities. Thanks to those who are still continuing with their prayers.

Las Pinas Church of St. Joseph, Las Pinas, Philippines

2010-09-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

Link

Filipino Liturgists Bat for Use of Vernacular,

2010-09-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

Filipino Liturgists Bat for Use of Vernacular,

Inculturation in Liturgy
Liturgists from all over the country ended the National Meeting of Diocesan Directors of Liturgy (NMDDL) organized by the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy (ECL) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, on September 16 with a six-point statement on what they look forward to and want to be done in the Church’s worship rites and meanings.
This silver jubilee meeting held at the Pius XII Catholic Center from September 13-16, 2010, was hosted by the Archdiocese of Manila. Its theme was “The Veneration of Saints.”. The NMDDL is an organization established in 1985 by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Episcopal Commission on Liturgy (ECL). It aims to gather once a year all the directors of the diocesan liturgical commissions in the Philippines in order to update them on liturgical questions, create closer ties among them, and promote a greater coordination between the ECL and the diocesan liturgical commissions.

As part of its silver jubilee the NMDDL conferred the Sacrosanctum Conciliumwards on six people as a recognition of the outstanding contribution they have made to the promotion of the Church’s teachings on liturgy. The awardees were the late Bishop William Brasseur, CICM, Fr. Camilo Marivoet, CICM, Fr. Hermann Gräf, SVD, Fr. Jamess Meehan, S.J., Ozamis Archbishop Jesus Dosado, and Capiz Arcbhsihop Onesimo Gordoncillo.

Following is the statement of the 25th NMDDL.

NATIONAL MEETING OF DIOCESAN DIRECTORS OF LITURGY

SILVER JUBILEE STATEMENT

September 13-16, 2010

Manila
Peace!
We, the delegates to the 25th National Meeting of Diocesan Directors of Liturgy (NMDDL), raise our hearts and voices in thanksgiving to Jesus Christ, the Leitourgos of divine worship. For twenty-five years, NMDDL has been a consistent instrument of the continuing liturgical formation of diocesan directors of liturgy. It has created closer ties among the directors and has promoted better coordination between the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy and the diocesan commissions in the implementation of the liturgical reform of Vatican II.
As we look back with gratitude at what NMDDL has accomplished, we look forward to what remains to be done so that the liturgy will become more vibrantly the source and summit of the Church’s life in the Philippines. Hence, we recommend attention in the future meetings to topics like the following:
1.The Use of the Vernacular. While we respect the option to use Latin and celebrate the Tridentine liturgy, we uphold the use of the vernacular in our parishes and communities and recommend translations that faithfully reflect both the spiritual doctrine of the texts and the linguistic patterns of our vernacular languages.

2.Spirituality of Liturgy. Active participation is one of the many blessings Vatican II has bestowed on our parishes and communities. We wish to remind ourselves, however, that active participation should lead to deeper spiritual encounter with Christ and the Church. Hence our liturgical celebrations should foster the necessary environment of prayer and awe in the presence of the divine mysteries, excluding those expressions that trivialize the sacred celebration.

3.Liturgical Inculturation. The interest in recent times to revive the Tridentine Liturgy should not draw the attention, especially of the Church leaders, from the unfinished agenda of liturgical inculturation. We are of the persuasion that liturgical renewal, as envisioned by the Constitution on Liturgy of Vatican II, entails liturgical inculturation and that our rich cultural heritage has much to offer to make the Roman liturgy truly Filipino.

4.Liturgical Studies. Sound tradition and legitimate progress are key phrases that express the program of liturgical reform. It is consequently necessary to study the history and theology of the liturgy, be familiar with culture, and be imbued with liturgical spirituality and pastoral zeal for the Church. We, therefore, recommend that those involved in liturgy, particularly the clergy, should be sent by their bishops or superiors to enroll in academic institutions that specialize in liturgical studies.

5.Lay Ministers. Our parishes and communities are blessed with numerous and worthy lay liturgical ministers. However, some dioceses in the Philippines still reserve to male persons ministries like serving at the altar and leading Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest. We believe that we should encourage the ministry of women where it is allowed by universal law.

6.Liturgy Newsletter. Part of continuing liturgical formation of diocesan directors and their collaborators is liturgical information. We request the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy to publish and disseminate regularly through newsletter, in print or by electronic media, recent liturgical norms, guidelines, and other pertinent information on the liturgy.

As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of NMDDL, we recall the visionary initiative of Archbishop Jesus Dosado who, together with Fr. Camilo Marivoet, CICM, and Fr. James Meehan, SJ, established and promoted the annual meeting. We are in their debt. Likewise, we remember with gratitude the dioceses that have generously hosted NMDDL and the speakers that shared their liturgical expertise with us. Lastly, we thank His Eminence Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales of the Archdiocese of Manila for hosting NMDDL at this significant year of its existence.
That in all things God may be glorified!

Word of the Lourd: Slang

2010-08-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

San José con el Niño Jesús

2010-07-15T22:22:00.001-07:00

San José con el Niño Jesús
Originally uploaded by Estaba El Senhor InigoDeloyola

Artist: Estaba El Senhor InigoDeloyola

Sto. Nino Dormido

2010-07-15T22:21:00.001-07:00

Originally uploaded by Estaba El Senhor InigoDeloyola

Estaba El Senhor InigoDeloyola

Virgen de Soledad

2010-07-11T19:56:00.001-07:00

workinprogress_mobileupload
Originally uploaded by Estaba El Senhor InigoDeloyola

Virgen de la Soledad

2010-07-11T19:52:00.001-07:00

Virgen de la Soledad
Originally uploaded by Estaba El Senhor InigoDeloyola

Ntra. Sra. de la Soledad de Porta Vaga

2010-07-11T19:50:00.001-07:00

la Soledad
SOLEDAD ( poster)
Originally uploaded by Estaba El Senhor InigoDeloyola

Holy Face Appears at Back of Priest's Head

2010-06-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

This is the famous "appearance" of what seems to be the face of Jesus Christ at the back of Rev. Fr. Thomas Chao's head (He is now in his 90's and is a priest from China who was tortured during the communist take-over and migrated to the Philippines; he was an assistant priest at St. Peter's Parish in Paco, Philippines and is now back in China continuing his apostolate. His priestly vocation has been renewed and reinvigorated when he started celebrating Tridentine Mass as requested by EDDSJ). This happened sometime April 1996 when during the Gloria, members of the congregation noticed the image and fortunately, someone brought a video recorder. Fr.Chao had no idea of what was happening and after Mass, people were telling him of what occured and he was informed of the image still remaining in his head. He seemed to be confused of what truly happened since people started weeping. It took the following Sunday for him to see the video of what happened and was overwhelmed of the event. The succeeding Sunday, he returned to celebrate Mass with his head almost shaved yet the image could still be seen forming through the little hair left. The video is more dramatic since it can be seen clearly through a certain angle. I was present during his Tridentine Mass and can attest of the truthfulness of the event that no trickery was involved either through tattooing nor coloring/shaping his hair. He was featured in one of the episodes of the now defunct channel 2's ":Balitang K" TV program of Korina Sanchez which interviewed him and several witnesses. When a local Church official was interviewed too, he did not give a favorable view on the event since he said there was no clear message given (he did not even bother to investigate). However for us, the message is clear, that it is really Jesus Christ who is the celebrant of the Holy Mass and that he favors our Tridentine apostolate inspite of trials coming from both the progressive and traditonalist sides of the local Catholic Church in the Philippines. Fr. Chao who is so humble and is very saintly occassionally visits the Philippines and still celebrates the Tridentine Mass inspite of his advanced age. May he have more years to come!

The International Una Voce Federation

2010-06-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce

A Brief History.

Formation: In 1964, Dr. Borghild Krane, an eminent psychologist in Norway, sent out an appeal to concerned Catholics to group together in defence of the Church's liturgical heritage. As a result of that appeal a number of national associations came into being in 1964/65. Delegates from six European associations met in Rome early in 1965 and the International Federation was formally erected in Zurich on January 8th, 1967 when delegates from 20 associations approved the draft statutes and elected the first Council.
A Lay Movement: The International Una Voce Federation is a lay movement, and its principal aims are to ensure that the Missale Romanum of Pope John XXIII (1962 edition) is maintained in the Church as one of the forms of liturgical celebration, and to safeguard and promote the use of Latin, Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony. A General Assembly is convened every two years in Rome and elections are held for the Council and Presidency. The current President is Mr Jack Oostveen from Una Voce Delft, The Netherlands. The Federation is recognized by the Holy See, its views are received with courtesy and respect by the relevant Roman Congregations, and its representatives are received by them in the same manner. Over the years it has made successful interventions with Rome on numerous occasions to safeguard the traditional Mass and ancient liturgical practice. Its first President, Dr. Eric de Saventhem was instrumental in convincing Pope John Paul II in 1986 to convoke a special Commission of Cardinals to investigate to situation concerning the celebration of the traditional Mass.

The Federation is not an organization run from above by a central committee. Each national association is an autonomous body that is encouraged to do all that it can to achieve the objectives of the Federation at the local level but the International Federation is better placed to represent the common concerns of traditional Catholics world-wide at the highest level of Church government. Negotiations with Rome tend to be carried out behind the scenes and are not normally made public.

Membership: The International Federation represents 30 member associations in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Chile, England and Wales, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the USA. In 2004 the International Federation made remarkable progress. Applications for information and assistance came from Bogota in Columbia, from Katmandu in Nepal, from Madras in southern India, from Belarus, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Mexico, and Hungary.

Comments from Cardinals:

On 25 July 1996 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith commended the International Una Voce Federation for playing an important role in supporting the use of the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal in obedience to the directives of the Holy See.

Cardinal Medina Estévez, until recently the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, feels that use of the 1962 Missal should be granted to all who request it and has stated that on the basis of his personal research the rite of St. Pius V has never been abrogated.

On 4 September 2000, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos told Una Voce representatives that he considered the Missal of St Pius V to be a great treasure of the Church, and that he could see no reason why we should not be granted the use of all the liturgical books in use in 1962. It was his opinion that the motu proprio "Ecclesia Dei" puts a serious responsibility upon bishops to implement it, and that only when there are serious reasons to the contrary should requests be denied.

Contact (by E-mail)

President: Mr. Leo Darroch,

Vice-President: Mr. Jack P. Oostveen,

Vice-President: Mr. Bill Basile,

Secretary: Mr. Rodolfo Vargas Rubio,

Treasurer: Frau Monika Rheinschmitt.

The International Federation Una Voce Welcomes a New Member from the Philippines

2010-06-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

8 June 2010

The International Federation Una Voce Welcomes a New Member from the Philippines.

The International Federation Una Voce is pleased to announce the admission of a new member. The application from the Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph (The Philippines) has been approved by the FIUV Council and membership has been granted with immediate effect. The Federation is delighted to welcome such an active group in the Philippines and hopes and prays that membership of the world-wide organisation will help the EDSJ to further the cause of tradition in South East Asia.’

This is now the new name of EDDSJ: Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph-Una Voce Philippines

Church Kicks Out Popular Fake Priest

2010-06-22T02:40:00.000-07:00

Church kicks out popular fake priest
By Roy Lagarde, Manila
Xavier Eubra de Borja

A fake priest who reportedly built up quite a following through his “Latin Masses,” has had his priestly career cut short by a Philippines diocese.
Cubao diocese in Quezon City announced this week it had excommunicated former seminarian Xavier Eubra de Borja on June 2.
Father Fredrick Edward Simon said Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao issued the excommunication order.

De Borja, a resident of St. Ignatius Village in Quezon City, served as an altar boy at Christ the King Parish during his student days.

After leaving the country and entering a seminary in Russia, he returned to the parish in 2009 saying he was an “ordained priest” on vacation.
He even presented documents proclaiming himself a member of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine in France.
Taken in by the elaborate ruse, the parish accepted De Borja as a “guest priest” while on vacation, supposedly before returning to his “assignment in Russia.”
However, a check with the Vladivostok-based Mary Mother of God Mission Society, revealed that no Filipino priest was assigned there.
In the meantime, Church authorities also learned De Borja had celebrated Mass, heard confessions and conducted retreats and recollections while “on holiday”.
He reportedly attracted parishioners with his celebration of the Mass, which was described as “reminiscent of all the reverence and strict compliance with the movements and rituals whenever traditional Latin Masses are celebrated.”
The fake priest is also reported to have delivered good homilies and even said Mass in Latin.

De Borja is now barred from attending Mass, receiving communion and participating in religious ceremonies.

Establishment of the TLM Personal Parish in the Diocese of Cubao

2010-06-21T01:26:00.000-07:00

Establishment of the TLM Personal Parish in the Diocese of Cubao

By Shirley Monreal ~ June 19th, 2010 // 5:16 pm

It is of utmost joy that Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph – Philippines, a lay organisation of faithful predilecting the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite has now initiated the erection of a personal parish dedicated solely to celebrating the Tridentine Latin Mass according to the Missal of Bl. John XXIII. EDSSJ Founding chairman Bro Dennis Maturan has posted this recently through the official yahoogroup :
The Bishop of the Diocese of Cubao, his excellency Bishop Honesto F.Ongtioco, D.D., has permitted the erection of a personal parish for those who are attached to the Extra Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite. The church building will be dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and will under the auspices of Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo and the Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph to consolidate efforts aong various groups advocating the return of the form of Mass popularly known as the Tridentine Mass. The parish will also be available for other Sacraments to be administered according to the liturgical books of 1962 or prior to 1970. It will also be a venue of training for priests who would like to learn the ancient usage of the Roman Rite and others who would like to learn the rubrics of serving at the traditional rites, including schola and choir training. The Diocese is now looking for a venue for the said personal parish and funds are solicited in order to commence such as august aposolate. Funds may be channeled through Fr. Michell Joe B. Zerrudo, Parish of Our Lord of Divine Mercy, Diocese of Cubao, Maamo cor. Madasalins Sts., Sikatuna, Quezon City, Philippines or may call his parish at 029213337. We therefore appeal to traditonal Catholic communities to help us in such endeavor.
We appeal for prayers such that this aspiration may be accomplished in God’s time.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam! Sancti Ioannes Marie Vianney, ora pronobis

This Week’s Notices: Feast Days, Our Lady of Fatima Visit

2010-06-21T01:14:00.000-07:00

This Week’s Notices: Feast Days, Our Lady of Fatima Visit

By Shirley Monreal ~ June 20th, 2010 // 9:29 pm

For this week and the next:
June 24 : Feast Day of the Birth of John the Baptist (1st Class)

June 29 : Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (1st Class)

Philippine visit of the international pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima : 1st week of July to last week of August

Visit of pilgrim statue in the Diocese of Cubao : July 2-6 *

* Fr. Jojo Zerrudo requests for any volunteers to help out in organising for the said visitation, especially on accommodating the pilgrim entourage. The programme of her arrival consists of a Holy Mass then devotees’ visits. There are also plans of holding confessions while the pilgrim image is stationed for devotions. Please stay tuned for updates regarding this event.

Jaleville Tridentine Mass Feast of OL of Mother of Perpetual Help

2010-06-21T00:59:00.000-07:00

The Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of 'Lex orandi,' and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage..therefore, {it is} permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and {it was} never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church.

- Summorum Pontificum, H.H. Pope Benedict XVI -
You are most cordially invited to the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite of the 5th Sunday after Pentecost at 9 o'clock in the morning on the 27th of June 2010 in Jaleville, Parañaque.

Promoting Worship With the Traditional Mass

2010-06-21T00:49:00.000-07:00

Promoting Worship With the Traditional Mass

Interview With St. Peter's Fraternity Priest Calvin Goodwin

By Traci Osuna
DENTON, Nebraska, JUNE 8, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Since the Second Vatican Council, Catholics have been attending Mass said in their native tongue. Today, Latin references are completely foreign to some, and lingering memories to others.

But then there are those who are dedicated to keeping the Latin liturgy alive, and included in this group is the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, a growing community of priests that are devoted to celebrating the extraordinary form of the Mass.
As many religious orders are desperately praying for vocations, this community has young men waiting to get into their seminary program at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton.
This relatively new society of priests -- founded in 1988 -- has garnered the attention of, not only those who seek to go back to the Latin Mass, but also those who want to share in the beauty, the reverence and the piety of the traditional Latin Mass for the first time.

ZENIT: The priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a relatively new entity -- established in 1988 -- that has as one of its characteristics the sole use of the liturgy of 1962. Could you explain what drew you to this traditional priestly fraternity?

Father Goodwin: We are a community completely gathered around the Church's traditional liturgy. It really is at the heart of our vocation. As to what drew me to the fraternity, it wasn't my idea; it was God.

I was a member of a large religious community for a number of years when I stumbled upon a church where [the Traditional] Mass was being celebrated. I don't think I could really say that I knew in a conscious way, but something in me knew that, after this, my life was going to be different.

One day, an elderly gentleman who had been asking for permission for a [Latin Mass] in the Diocese of Portland, Maine, received a letter from the bishop, explaining why they did not offer the traditional Mass. The gentleman said to me, "I guess I have to resign myself to dying without having access to the old Mass."

I stuck a little note on the letter that said "I'm sure your Excellency will do whatever you can for this gentleman," and I mailed it.
About 6 months later, I received a letter from the chancellor of the diocese, explaining why they didn't have the Latin Mass. At the end of the letter was written, "The bishop is wondering if you would be willing to do something on an ad hoc basis for some of these people." So I called and told him I'm willing to do whatever the bishop wants me to do.

Of course, I had to learn how to say the Traditional Mass. My own spiritual director taught me how to do it over one weekend. On Sept. 16, 1991, the Diocese of Portland celebrated its first Traditional Mass in about 20 years. It just went on from there.

I was saying the Traditional Mass more and the newer form of the mass, less. After a while, I began to realize that my whole spiritual life as a priest was centered on this Mass. One of the priests of the Fraternity of St. Peter came to do a lecture on the traditional Mass and he [invited me to their] district house in Pennsylvania.
I thought, "If God has led me in this direction, then I should take responsibility for this grace." Rather than wishing that everything around me would change, I'm the one who has to change. That's what brought me to the Fraternity of St. Peter and I've been here since [1999].

ZENIT: Why do you feel that following the traditional Roman rite is vital to "re-Christianizing" our world?

Father Goodwin: The Traditional Mass is a very important element in the re-Christianization of the world because it so clearly and fully embodies the faith of the Church. The whole notion of Christ's sacrifice is the central point of the Mass.
Of course, the primary objection that's most often offered to it is "Why would you want to celebrate the Mass in a language that people don't understand?" But that makes the assumption that the relationship of people to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is primarily one of comprehension; that the Mass is a piece of information to be learned and understood.

Today, Mass is most often celebrated in the world where people can see everything that is going on and understand everything that's said. Can we honestly say that the result of this has deepened their appreciation for what's going on? When pollsters tell us that 80% of Catholics under the age of 59 have a non-Catholic idea of what the Blessed Sacrament is, the whole communication thing may not be so successful. That should not be the primary goal. The primary goal is the worship of God.

The Mass is not a bunch of jumbled elements that we put together or we construct in order to make something that is meaningful to us. The Mass is something that exists in itself, to which we conform ourselves, so that we can more perfectly unite with God.

I think that's what young people find in the Traditional Mass. They're not looking for an explanation; they're looking for the presence of Christ. This is, in a very primary way, about reverence, piety and devotion.

ZENIT: While priestly vocations are waning in many other orders in the United States and around the world, ordinations within the Fraternity of St. Peter are increasing. What do you think draws these men to the Fraternity?

Father Goodwin: We have seminarians who have grown up with the Traditional Mass. We also have seminarians who have come to us after seeing the Traditional Mass two or three times before they entered. One found it on the Internet and said, "As soon as I saw it, I knew that it was for me."
The vocations come from God. He is sending them to us. He picks [these men] and he points them toward that perennial treasury of the Church. Prayer and faith, having spoken to human hearts for 2,000 years, is hardly likely to become a dried-up, unusable source just over a couple of decades. The human heart does not change and God's appeal to it does not change.

We started the seminary here about 10 years ago. We've had, more or less, 12 or 15 candidates a year. This year we have more than 25 coming in. We could take more if we had the room and the staff to take care of them.
ZENIT: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who is now Benedict XVI, has been supportive of the society since the very beginning, has he not? What has this meant to the Fraternity?

Father Goodwin: There wouldn't be any fraternity if it weren't for the Holy Father. Our founders, and particularly Father Bisig, went to Rome without any expectations or any guarantees of help whatsoever. But when they got there, Cardinal Augustine Meyer, a Benedictine cardinal, led them to Cardinal Ratzinger.

Cardinal Ratzinger really was the lynch pin, not only in the founding of our priestly fraternity, but also in obtaining for it a papal status, which means we're directly under the authority of the Papal See. This gave us a lot of freedom to act within certain restrictions and really established us on a good canonical foundation right at the beginning. It usually takes years to get that status of being a society of papal rite, and we got it in a matter of weeks.

The Holy Father has been incalculably helpful and supportive to us, as was his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, under whom our society was founded. Without his support, it would not have been possible.

ZENIT: In July, it will be three years since the publication of Benedict XVI's letter "Summorum Pontificum" on the traditional form of the Mass. What effect has that letter had on the fraternity?

Father Goodwin: It has made possible a relationship between our community and other entities in the Church, such as dioceses and other religious communities. We've been able to conduct our training program, in which we train priests in saying the Traditional Mass.

We can pass this grace, this resource that we have, on to other priests and that's very important in two ways. These priests will be able to offer the Traditional Mass to members of the faithful for whom it is helpful. It also reflects the fact that the Traditional Mass movement is almost principally a movement of priests rather than a movement of the faithful.
It's true that many of the faithful have asked for the restoration of the Traditional Mass for a long time. But it's also a very strong movement among a number of priests who have been looking for a way of entering into liturgical prayer that is more nourishing to their relationship with God and their desire for God.

We've probably trained several hundred priests, at least, in the last three years since "Summorum Pontificum," just in our North American district. A large number of those priests have said to us, "This mass has saved my priesthood." When you hear something like that, you know you're on to something good. God is making use of you.
But it also means that the Holy Father's instinct is very soundly grounded and he has the needs of priests so profoundly at the center of his work and his service in the church. He knows that there are priests who need this Mass to nourish, and even preserve, their priesthood.

DLS-CSB Marian Exhibit October 2008

2010-06-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

DLS-CSB Marian Exhibit October 2008

Dennis Raymond P. Maturan, MAT

2010-03-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

Finally last March 22 in the morning, San Sebastian College-Recoletos of Manila held its Graduation Rites for the undergraduate and graduate students. I finally received my Master of Arts Degree in Theological Studies (Master of Arts in Theology for Laypersons) after successfully defending my thesis on the Tridentine Mass. I was the only layperson in this year's batch to receive the degree and was the last person to be called after the MBA graduates received their diplomas. Kneeling infront of the Graduate Institute Dean, Dr. Vaughn S. Elwyn Buaquina, my mother Sylvia Policarpio Maturan and my sister Ma. Theresa Maturan bestowed upon me the blue hood while Dr. Buaquina placed upon my head the Masteral Cap then receiving my diploma afterwards from the College President, Rev. Fr. Anthony A. Morillo, OAR. Congratulations to my fellow Sebastinians Batch 2010!

INVITATION: 2010 Triduum in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

2010-03-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

INVITATION: Easter Triduum in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

2010-03-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

The Oratio Imperata for Rain

2010-03-01T00:14:00.000-08:00

God our loving Father, creator of our earth and of the universe, and all the wondrous elements of nature that sustain your living creatures, we humbly ask you to send us the rain that our country needs so badly at this time, to irrigate our fields, to stave off a power shortage, to provide water for our bodily health, and to refresh our parched lands. At you command the wind and the seas obey, raise your hand Almighty God to send us so that crisis may be averted. Merciful and generous God, open our eyes to the richness and beauty of your creation and instill in us a deep love for this earth and all that is in and around it. Teach us to be wise stewards of your creation so that we may always use them responsibly and protect them from abuse and exploitation. At this time of crisis, dear lord, move us to share more and to love more. Loving God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you entrusted the Filipino people to the special care of Mary our Mother, listen to the prayers that we bring up to her, our Blessed Mother, to intercede for us, for the protection of our land and our people, whom she loves. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. Saint Rose of Lima, pray for us. Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us.

The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite at Saint Augustine Major Seminary

2010-02-10T23:54:00.000-08:00

The seminarians of the the Saint Augustine Major Seminary has invited Rev. Fr. Joseph Skelton of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, Bohol to celebrate the Traditional Form of the Latin Mass., last Tuesday, February 9, 2010. The Saint Augustine Major Seminary or SASMA is a Catholic, formation seminary of the Vicariates of Calapan and San Jose, Occidental Mindoro located in Tagaytay City, Cavite, Philippines. The seminarians of SASMA attend to their academics at the Divine Word Seminary.

Fr. Skelton, who is on a private retreat at St. Scholastica's retreat house, saw it as a privilege to promote traditional Catholic liturgy and music to seminarians who have not experienced the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite. The Sung Mass of St. Cyril of Alexandria was observed and celebrated around 5PM, with Alain Nacor EDSSJ as Mass server and Dennis Raymond Maturan EDSSJ as organist and cantor. Both came all the way from Manila as requested by Fr. Skelton himself.

After the communal dinner Fr. Skelton and Mr. Maturan, a Master of Arts in Theology degree holder was invited to a one hour talk expounding on the forgotten traditonal culture and practices of the Catholic Church. Fr. Skelton shared his conversion story from protestantism to Catholicism due to films depicting Catholicism such as the Song of Bernadette and the Cardinal. His first encounter with Catholicism as a 12 year old boy is when he attended his first solemn Mass at a gothic cathedral in the USA with one of the American Cardinals as celebrant. The sounds and smell of the liturgy were instrumental to his conversion which were lacking in protestantism.

Later, Mr. Maturan gave a short backgrounder of the legitimate movement to revive the traditional Catholic liturgy and culture in the Philippines and for the future priests to rediscover their Church's rich traditions while remaining faithful to the Holy Magisterium and always be loyal and obedient to the Holy Father. The seminarians were truly grateful to Fr. Skelton and the EDSSJ team for giving them them opportunity for the first time to experience the extraordinary rite. They manifested their desire to of course learn the art of Gregorian Chanting and to promote orthodox Catholic liturgy, culture and music as future priests. After the talk, the rector of the seminary, Fr. Carlos Paglitawan, together with Fr. LJ, invited Fr. Skelton and the EDDSJ group, to celebrate the Traditional Mass again for the next batch of seminarians.

Vatican Denies Rumors of Coming Liturgical Reform

2010-02-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

VATICAN CITY, AUG. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican is denying rumors promulgated by some news organizations that announced forthcoming changes in the liturgy.

Father Ciro Benedettini, deputy director of the Vatican press office, clarified that "for the time being there are no institutional proposals for a modification of the liturgical books used at present," Vatican Radio reported.

In recent days some media sources incorrectly reported that the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments had presented proposals to Benedict XVI for a "reform of the liturgical reform" motivated by the Second Vatican Council.

Mass: The Old Way

2010-02-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

Mass, the ‘Old Way’

by Fr. Ranhilio Callangan Aquino
I started serving Mass when I was in the second grade, barely able to carry the ponderous Missal that the ‘sacristan’ was supposed to transfer from the Epistle—the left side—to the right, or Gospel side at some point in the celebration. Of course, at that time, it was the Tridentine Rite that priest and sacristans alike had to master. The Confiteor… I confess was, to a young altar server, gut-wrenching, especially when, as in my case, it was a cantankerous, elderly priest who was presiding. Frankly, I never memorized the prayer at that time, although I knew that at some time you had to swing towards the priest, and then beat your breast three times.

It was in 1969 when I entered the minor seminary, and that was a period of exciting confusion in the liturgy, for while the Novus Ordo Missae (the New Order of the Mass) was already in place, it was not yet so in the minds and hearts of many priests who did their best to comply with the letter of the law but were really quite attached to the Mass ‘as it had always been’. Each priest, it seemed to me, had his own rather ingenious way of bringing in the New Order while retaining as much of the Tridentine Liturgy as he could.

By the time I was in college seminary, the New Order of the Mass was no longer new. The vestments that, in the minor seminary, were so familiar because we handled them each day in preparation for Mass, became oddities of the past and soon hardly anyone had any recollection of the Latin prayers of the former rite.

Things came to a head of course, when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and his followers, who were later to be called the Society of St. Pius X, defied the orders of the Holy See, proceeded to celebrate the liturgy according to the Tridentine Rite, to ordain new priests, and then bishops without papal mandate. John Paul II was many things— holy and noble—but he was not one to stand by as his orders were defied and so hard times fell on Lefebvre and his companions. “Tridentine” became almost synonymous with “schismatic”. But it is necessary to set things aright. What made the Holy See wield its now sparingly-used rod of canonical sanctions was not that Lefebvre and company had used the Tridentine Rite; rather it was their rejection of the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council—and some of its doctrinal pronouncements—that set the alarm signals on in aedibus Vaticanis.

Last week, Undersecretary Oscar Palayab of the Department of Tourism brought the John Van de Steen Choir to Tuguegarao City. Before they arrived, I did not know that that is how they called themselves. I was pleasantly surprised to find out when I finally met the group that they were “Van de Steen” boys, the ninos tiples of the Manila Cathedral Choir who were trained by the later Fr. John van de Steen, CICM. I can lay claim to being a “Van de Steen” boy myself because while in college seminary, I did piano lessons and choir work with Fr. Van de Steen. Anyway, Undersecretary Palayab requested for a Tridentine Mass, and Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan consented. The task fell upon me, as chairman of the liturgical commission of the Archdiocese, to be Master of Ceremonies at a Rite that was now as strange to me as the Syrian, Coptic or Malabar rites. But I retrieved a Missal from its resting place in the archives of San Beda College, studied the rite—and struggle with the Latin instructions (as there was no English translation available)—and then train law students, who had been in the minor and college seminaries and had some passable degree of familiarity with Latin to get them by, as Mass servers. So as the choir sang the Misa de Angelis, with the back of the priest to the people, we went on, really inching our way, through the Tridentine Mass—in a Cathedral that was packed with people, many obviously nostalgic about the Mass of yesteryears.

Benedict XVI issued Summorum Pontificum, an apostolic letter on July 7, 2007. He decreed that it was now permissible to celebrate Mass according to the Rite set forth in the Missal of St. Pius V (at the time of the Council of Trent) and re-issued, after editing, by Blessed John XXIII. With generosity towards his predecessor, he pointed out that John Paul II had in fact allowed for this possibility in letter that the late Pope had written. The Pope’s motu proprio did not only give permission; in many ways it encouraged the celebration of the Mass according to this liturgy by recognizing it as the “extraordinary form” of the very same ‘law of prayer’ behind the present rite of the Mass. That is another way of saying that the public worship of God and the sanctification of his people can take different forms: the form as prescribed by the Second Vatican Council, and the form of the Mass “of the past”. The Pope’s Masses in Latin that one can watch over EWTN and other channels is not the Tridentine Liturgy. It is actually the Vatican II Rite in its original Latin.

My mother has always expressed a fondness for the Latin Mass in the Tridentine, or “extraordinary” form because it was the Mass as she had known it from childhood. The chants of the Misa de Angelis are familiar to her. While she understands some Latin words and phrases, particularly as they occur in law and legal literature, she by no means reads, much less writes or speaks it. But she likes it for Mass and, as with many others, she feels that it makes something ‘special’ of the Mass. Of course, my brother grumbles about the priest mumbling to himself in Latin without anybody understanding him.

Actually, every religion is marked by some form of disciplina arcana—the use of gestures, a language, habiliments—that set off the sacred from the profane, for religion can only thrive in that tension that makes the sacred and profane distinct, yet related to each other. And for that matter, even the legal profession as its own language and rites, strange to the uninitiated, but that nevertheless serve the purpose of instilling in all the majesty of the law and the solemnity of the administration of justice.

But preparing for that “re-birth” of the Tridentine Liturgy at our Cathedral left me with an appreciation for the Mass as it had been: the elegance of the Latin prayers, though formulated in lapidary style, is undeniable. The prayer Aufer a nobis..that the priest says while ascending the altar is moving. But this might be the opportune time to set aright a misconception. Actually, the Tridentine Liturgy does not take us closer to the ‘original’. What we have in the Missal of Pius V as re-issued by John XXIII is the Mass encrusted with all the embellishments of the centuries. Witness the repeated blessings, the multiplied bows, genuflections, signs of the cross, etc. and you will get just what I mean. In fact, the very intention of Vatican II’s liturgical reform was to strip the rites of later accretions, take them to the bare simplicity of their Roman origins and then allow for cultural adaptations. So it is that when the Holy See published the editiones typicae (the normative editions) of the Liturgical Books, this was the liturgy in its barest essentials—as close to the original as close can be – and open to adaptations as well as to different forms of inculturation. Having made that clarification and by now having gained some respectable degree of mastery of the Tridentine Rite, I would be happy to celebrate Mass according to its “extraordinary form” soon!
God is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth—and that will mean, according to the various forms that the spirit finds expression in the world and in the culture of men and women who worship. Benedict XVI’s generous concession is not a return to the past. It is a welcome signal that pluralism is not anathema to him and to the shepherding office of the Church!

Restore the Old Mass

2010-01-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

Restore the Old Mass

by Robert Moynihan
[This article originally appeared an an editorial in the May 4, 2004 issue of Inside the Vatican (www.InsideTheVatican.com). For subscription information, call 1-800-789-9494]

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song: and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy."

(Psalms 137: 1-6 (KJV))

On April 23, the Congregation for Divine Worship issued a 60 page instruction, Redemptionis Sacramentum, ("The Sacrament of Redemption"). It is the result of long and serious deliberations on how the Mass is being celebrated today in the Church, and sets forth a standard of solemnity to be followed everywhere. (Even in Rome, I would hope: a couple of weeks ago at the Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, I heard "Danny Boy" played during Communion).

No one can deny the desire on the part of the authors of this instruction to impart a sense of the sacred to the new Mass.

But after studying the catalogue of the "do's and don'ts" in the document, one senses a reluctance on Rome's part to get to the root causes of the problem: namely, the new Mass itself.

There have been books written on what's missing in the new Mass, by Cardinal Ratzinger among others, and the authors of this instruction are aware of these studies. But they do not pinpoint the real source of the 40-year secularization of the Mass. The problem is that the new Mass attracts and "enables" abuses because it was intentionally shaped to diminish the "transcendent" and emphasize the "profane" dimension.

The new Mass has turned out to be a rite too rapidly produced and too influenced by the rampant secularization of the 1960's. Patching it up is a vain effort.

At least in this one area it is possible for the Church to take decisive action.

The successor of Peter can even tomorrow issue a solemn decree more or less as follows "The cries of God's people are at last heard; the winter is over, the true springtime is come; the ancient, holy liturgy of the Roman rite, cherished by so many saints, will, with no further delay, be restored in all the churches of Christendom..."

Then the Pope would set forth the steps by which innovation, experiment, and individual artistry would come to an end and the ancient sacrificial offering of the Mass — in all dignity and solemnity — would be restored. Some would argue that such an action would be a grave mistake, that making such a liturgical change would both "impede ecumenical progress" and "further confuse the faithful."

I understand these arguments and feel their force.

But I am persuaded that the restoration of the old Mass, with its simple solemnity and rich symbolism, would not offend non-Catholics, as is feared, but attract them and attract them profoundly.

And I am persuaded that the restoration of the old Mass would not "confuse" the faithful, but would "galvanize' them, deepening their Christian faith, confirming them in the love of God and their neighbor. And this, in fact, is what the bishops at Vatican II most deeply desired.

I am convinced that the restoration of the old liturgy would be a consolation to many, who have attended the new Mass, not to "participate more fully" in the new liturgy, but, out of obedience to a Pope and hierarchy which has asked them to "give up" the Mass they love.

I am persuaded that the restoration of the old Mass would be a "festival day," a day of universal celebration and, as such, would mark the beginning of a great renewal in Church life."

Some will argue that such a restoration would be disrespectful toward Pope Paul VI, who promulgated the new Mass in 1969.

I disagree. Paul VI himself was hesitant about the new Mass, as he was about so many things. He approved it half-heartedly. It is said that after he attended a "trial run" of the new Mass, he said, "But where is the mystery? The mystery is gone!" He himself felt something was missing in the new Mass, but promulgated it anyway.

In April I had a conversation with Fr. Jean Marie Charles-Roux, 90, one of the priests who celebrated Mass for Mel Gibson in Rome during the filming of The Passion of the Christ. Charles-Roux was ordained in the 1950's. He knew Pius XII, John XXIII, and Paul VI personally, In 1971, after celebrating the new Mass for about 18 months, he asked Paul VI to receive him at Castel Gandolfo. Paul agreed. Charles-Roux said to Paul: "For 18 months I have celebrated the new Mass, but I cannot continue. I was ordained to celebrate the old Mass, and I want to return to it. Will you permit me to do so?" And Paul said: "Certainly, I never forbade celebration of the old Mass; I have only offered an alternative."

The alternative has become the norm, and the perennial liturgy of the Latin West is celebrated in only a few chapels here and there, almost furtively, as if in hiding, as if in a time of persecution.

So let us read the sign of the times and restore the liturgy of the ages, the liturgy of Gregory the Great and St. Augustine of England, of Boniface and Bernard, of Francis and Clare, of Aquinas and Bonaventure, of Ignatius and Bellarmine, of Newman and Chesterton, and our own parents and grandparents.

Let us preserve from oblivion the beautiful and holy liturgy which we inherited from our forefathers, that our posterity may thank us for having the courage to do what is fitting and just in an age of iron and lead.

***

Robert Moynihan is the editor of Inside the Vatican magazine

Filipino Nuncio to Haiti Gives First Hand Account of Earthquake

2010-01-27T16:44:00.000-08:00

First-hand Account of Destruction Jan 13, '10 10:05 PM

Jan 14, '10 8:06 AM
for everyone

Port au Prince, Haiti, Jan 13, 2010 / 01:21 pm (CNA).- Speaking with the Vatican's Fides news agency, the Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, described the devastation in the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince. He reported on what he had observed of the situation of religious and government officials in the area and described widespread destruction.

Archbishop Auza stated his observations of the situation in the capital to Fides, saying, "Port-au-Prince is totally devastated. The cathedral, the archbishop's office, all of the big churches, all of the seminaries have been reduced to rubble."

The nuncio said that the resident priest at that cathedral had informed him of the likely death of Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot as he was buried under rubble along with hundreds of priests and seminarians. Other news reports confirmed that the archbishop did pass away in the earthquake.

Auza reported that many government buildings had been razed. All of the Ministry buildings but one were on the ground, as were the Presidential Palace and the schools.

"Parliament with the Senators, the schools with the children, the supermarkets were reduced to nothing," the nuncio stated.
The nuncio had made his way across the city to see the Haitian President and "express his condolences and solidarity" and found that, because they had been outdoors, he and his family had been saved although their home had crumbled.

People who live in front of the collapsed U.N. headquarters had reported to Auza that the head of that mission, Hedi Annabi, was trapped inside with hundreds of others.

The nuncio said that he had returned to his residence later in the morning to find "Priests and Sisters in the street, no longer with homes. The Rector of the seminary saved himself, as did the Dean of studies, but the seminarians are under the rubble. You hear yells everywhere from underneath the rubble."

"The CIFOR (according to Fides, an institute of study for religious men and women) collapsed with students inside that were participating in a conference. The office of the nuncio resisted (the earthquake), there was no one injured, but all of us are in shock!" he said.

"So many things were broken, including the tabernacle, but we are more fortunate than others. Many relatives of the personnel are dead, their houses destroyed. Everyone is asking for help. We will have a problem with water and food before long. We cannot go inside and stay there for very long because the ground continues to shake, so we're camping out in the yard."

ERECTION OF A PERSONAL TRIDENTINE PARISH IN THE DIOCESE OF CUBAO

2010-01-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

ERECTION OF A PERSONAL TRIDENTINE PARISH IN THE DIOCESE OF CUBAO

Jan 26, '10 12:52 AM
for everyone

The Bishop of the Diocese of Cubao, his excellency Bishop Honesto F.Ongtioco, D.D., has permitted the erection of a personal parish for those who are attached to the Extra Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite. The church building will be dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and will under the auspices of Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo and the Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph to consolidate efforts aong various groups advocating the return of the form of Mass popularly known as the Tridentine Mass. The parish will also be available for other Sacraments to be administered according to the liturgical books of 1962 or prior to 1970. It will also be a venue of training for priests who would like to learn the ancient usage of the Roman Rite and others who would like to learn the rubrics of serving at the traditional rites, including schola and choir training. The Diocese is now looking for a venue for the said personal parish and funds are solicited in order to commence such as august aposolate. Funds may be channeled through Fr. Michell Joe B. Zerrudo, Parish of Our Lord of Divine Mercy, Diocese of Cubao, Maamo cor. Madasalin Sts., Sikatuna, Quezon City, Philippines or may call his parish at 029213337. We therefore appeal to traditional Catholic communities to help us in such endeavor.

Dennis Raymond P. Maturan
Founding Chairman
Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph

5,500 Participants Attend the National Congress of the Catholic Clergy 2

2010-01-26T00:41:00.000-08:00

The 2nd National Congress of the Clergy opened today at the World Trade Center (WTC) with over 5,200 priests in attendance, 400 of whom are walk-ins. Martial music from a brass band lent a festive air to the event, greeting the participants at the entrance of WTC which was decorated with multicolored banners.

Veneration of the relics of the patron saint of priests, St. John Mary Vianney—his stole and his breviary—preceded the Eucharistic celebration presided by His Excellency, Most Rev. Edward Joseph Adams, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines.
The congratulatory message from the Vatican, signed by the Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertoni, was read by Chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on the Clergy Florentino Lavarias, Bishop of Iba. The message exhorted the priest-participants to “embrace more fervently the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience” which have been set as the “surest road to the desired goal of Christian perfection” on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney.

ERECTION OF A PERSONAL TRIDENTINE PARISH IN THE DIOCESE OF CUBAO

2010-01-25T21:37:00.000-08:00

The Bishop of the Diocese of Cubao, his excellency Bishop Honesto F.Ongtioco, D.D., has permitted the erection of a personal parish for those who are attached to the Extra Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite. The church building will be dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and will under the auspices of Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo and the Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph to consolidate efforts aong various groups advocating the return of the form of Mass popularly known as the Tridentine Mass. The parish will also be available for other Sacraments to be administered according to the liturgical books of 1962 or prior to 1970. It will also be a venue of training for priests who would like to learn the ancient usage of the Roman Rite and others who would like to learn the rubrics of serving at the traditional rites, including schola and choir training. The Diocese is now looking for a venue for the said personal parish and funds are solicited in order to commence such as august aposolate. Funds may be channeled through Fr. Michell Joe B. Zerrudo, Parish of Our Lord of Divine Mercy, Diocese of Cubao, Maamo cor. Madasalins Sts., Sikatuna, Quezon City, Philippines or may call his parish at 029213337. We therefore appeal to traditonal Catholic communities to help us in such endeavor.

Dennis Raymond P. Maturan
Founding Chairman
Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph

Tridentine Mass at Jaleville Paranaque

2010-01-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

Starting the 31st of January 2010, Septuagesima Sunday, the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite shall be offered in the Jaleville Chapel {please see attached location map} at 10 o'clock in the morning on the following dates:
Last Sunday of each month {January to December 2010}

23rd of May 2010 {Solemnity of Pentecost}

13th of June 2010 {External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart}

15th of August 2010 {Solemnity of the Assumption}

3rd of October 2010 {External Solmenity of the Most Holy Rosary}

So far, these are the fixed dates for the celebration of the Extraordinary Form. Other dates may be added to this list, specially during the solemn seasons of Lent {with Passiontide} and Advent.
For further information, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned at +639162290128.
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
Miguel Ramirez y Madarang
In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas

JALEVILLE SUBDIVISION LOCATION MAP
• Jaleville Subdivision is on the same avenue {Quirino Avenue} as ST. PAUL’s COLLEGE of PARAÑAQUE, ST. ANDREW’s SCHOOL, ANDREW’s CATHEDRAL, and BAMBOO ORGAN CHURCH.

• Coming from the NORTH, it’s on the RIGHT. Coming from the SOUTH, it’s on the LEFT

• The subdivision has TWO BIG BLACK GATES with a big stone marker in the middle with the words “JALEVILLE” vertically placed on it.

Philippine Feast of the Holy Child

2010-01-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

Sto. Niño Feast
By Josephine Darang

MANILA, Philippines - The Filipinos’ love and devotion to the Christ Child is phenomenal. This will again be manifested yesterday, january 17,2010, when churches in every town and city hold Masses and processions.
In Cebu City, people will hear Mass at the Pilgrim Center across the Basilica de Sto. Niño while others will light candles in the church or touch the image.
Cebuanos and guests will then dance the “Sinulog” to the beat of drums and shouts of “Pit Señor! Viva Sto. Niño!” Going to Cebu for the fiesta is a panata for devotees wishing to thank Him for answered prayers.
Historical accounts say before Ferdinand Magellan arrived in Cebu in 1521, Sinulog was danced by the natives in honor of wooden idols and anitos. Magellan introduced Christianity, giving the Sto. Niño as a baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Cebu’s Rajah Humabon and who became Queen Juana.
During the 44 years between the coming of Magellan and Legazpi, natives danced the Sinulog but this time as a sign of reverence to the Sto. Niño, who is now enshrined in the San Agustin Church. The church later became the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.
Procession
The Congregacion del Santissimo Nombre del Niño Jesus will hold its 31st grand procession of at least 400 Sto. Niño images on Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. The procession will begin at the Philtrade Center on Roxas Boulevard and end at the Quirino Grandstand.
The procession highlights the Fiesta del Sto. Niño 2008 that opened Jan. 21 with an exhibit and Holy Mass at the PNB Financial Center. Exhibit hours are 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Novena Masses are at 7 p.m.

Mounting the exhibit are fiesta chair Deo Pamilar; Ricky Miranda, president; Jing Chua, chair; Ben Farrales, founding chair; and members of the board.

Sto. Nino de Pandacan

2010-01-17T20:57:00.001-08:00

Sto. Nino de Pandacan
Originally uploaded by dennisraymondm0

The venerated image of the Child Jesus in Pandacan, Manila, Philippines.

HISTORY OF THE STO. NIÑO DE PANDACAN

In ca 1600, several children were playing beside a carabao den in the middle of the pandan plantation close to a small lake (lubluban). While they were playing, they discovered a beautiful image of a child beside the lubluban. They were delighted to find a doll which resembled their features. With much excitement, they informed their parents and the town elders about the said doll. Without any time to waste, the elders went to the site and saw the image. They discovered that the beautiful image that the children found wasn't a doll but the Sto. Niño, the patron of Pandacan.

The townsfolk informed the Franciscan friars that resided at the Sampaloc Parish because those friars were the ones assigned in handling the pastoral care of Pandacan then. The image was brought by the locals to the Sampaloc church to be taken care of and for people to venerate. One day, the image mysteriously disappeared from the Sampaloc church. Strangely enough, the Sto Niño was later found back at the lubluban and was brought back to the Sampaloc church. This happened several times. The Sto. Niño kept on disappearing, but was always found at the lubluban later on.

The Franciscans finally realized that the Sto. Niño wanted to remain beside the lubluban in Pandacan. So, they decided to build the image a small "Visita" (chapel) on the exact site where He was found. They also developed the lubluban into a well to make it usable for the people who lived there.

Still, the mystery of Sto Niño de Pandacan never ceased. After the parish was formally established in 1712, there were several miracles attributed to the image. One of the first miracles was the story of Doña. Josefa Andrade who was cured from her paralysis after taking a bath at the well. Since then, more and more miracles happened through the intercession of the image and the water coming from the well.

Sto. Nino de Cebu

2010-01-17T20:55:00.001-08:00

Sto. Nino de Cebu
Originally uploaded by dennisraymondm0

My own version of the image of the Holy Child Jesus of Cebu, intrumental in the evangelization of the Philippines.

History
The discovery of the Philippines is linked to Spain's glorious chain of conquests. On September 20, 1519, a fleet of five galleons commanded by Portuguese Navigator Ferdinand Magellan at the service of the king and queen of Spain set sailed from San Lucar de Barrameda to search for the Spice Islands. They did not find the spice island, instead they landed in Limasawa, a small island south of Leyte in the central part of the Philippines. Magellan took possession of the islands and named it after King Philip of Spain.

Magellan's expedition headed for Cebu and found the island very hospitable. He made Cebu the base of his exploration, Christianization and conquests. King Humabon and Queen Juana of Cebu gave him a warm reception and embraced Christianity as well. As gratitude to his hospitality, Magellan agreed to fight with king Humabon who was at war with the neigboring tribe, Mactan. Unfortunately, Magellan was killed in the battle. His men returned to Spain, and that same expedition has set the record to be the first to circumnavigate the earth.

Spain sent another expedition to the Far East Region. An Augustinian priest, named Andres Urdaneta, a world-known cosmographer who lived inside the monastic walls of the Augustinian monastery in Mexico was summoned to lead the expedition. On November 21, a memorable expedition left Mexico for the Philippines and arrived in Cebu on April 27, 1565.
DISCOVERY OF THE IMAGE OF THE SANTO NINO
Because of Cebuanos suspicion that their return is bringing retribution to Magellan's death, another battle broke out. But heavy artilleries and huge cannons forced the natives to flee to the mountain leaving behind their villages burnt to the ground. As Spanish soldiers inspected the burnt village, one soldier found an image of the Child Jesus under the pile of ashes unscathed inside the wooden box.

As earlier authenticated entry in the Journal of Pigafetta, clerk in the Magellan expedition, explains the origin of Santo Nino: "On the day Queen Juana was baptized by Father Pedro Valderama, chaplain of that expedition, Pigaffeta himself presented her with the Image." The same Image now lies in the Basilica del Santo Nino and become a favorite destination for millions of pilgrims each year. For four and half centuries now, the Image of Santo Nino continues to make wonders in the lives of many Filipinos. On the third Sunday of each year, in Cebu, millions flock to the streets for a colorful festivity, honoring and placing the Island and the entire Philippines under His Patronage.

During the last World War, a bomb fell inside the Church but the Image was recovered unscathed. It was one of the numerous miracles and powers attributed to the Holy Image.

In 1965 the historic Santo Nino Church was renovated for the observance of the Fourth Centenary of the Christianization of the Philippines held in Cebu City. It was during the centennial celebration that the Sacred Congregation of Rites elevated the Santo Nino Church to the rank of Basilica Minore with all the rights and privileges accruing to such title.

Sto. Nino de Tondo

2010-01-17T09:06:00.001-08:00

sto nino of tondo
Originally uploaded by olofgoodwill II

The venerated image of the Holy Child Jesus at His altar in Tondo, Manila, Philippines.

History of Sto. Niño de Tondo Parish Church

By: Ms. Rose Marie Mendoza

The Convent in Tondo, one of the first structures built by the Spaniards in Luzon, was accepted by the Provincial Chapter on May 3, 1572, with Lubao, Betis and Calumpit as its visitas. Its first parish priest was named Fr. Alonzo Alvarado, OSA, with Fr. Pedro Holgado, OSA as his assistant. In 1575, its jurisdiction extended to Naga (Navotas), Misic (the small island Maysilo), and Bulacan and became its visitas. In 1578, its friar, Fr. Geronimo Marin, helped arrange peaceful dialogues and acted as intermediary between Lacandola and Maestro de Ocampo Juan de Salcedo in Navotas.
The Tondo convent housed the Franciscans when their monastery got burned in 1583. It served as a Studium Grammaticae in 1587 because the San Agustin monastery was being rebuilt following a fire. By 1591, the convent of Tondo had two priests to minister to the 6,000 souls in the towns of Navotas and Tambobong (Malabon).

The convent of Tondo suffered from “lack of comfort” due to its dependence on donations from the provincial treasury. Unlike others, it did not have any estates from which to draw income. On the other hand, it was the only house available near Manila for visiting priests. The state of the convent “was very much abused and in dire need,” thus, on December 12, 1597, the council fathers warmed visitors not to stay long at the convent. Furthermore, the visitors were ordered, under severe penalties, to refrain from staying in the house for more than twelve hours. Visitors arriving at dinnertime had to leave the next day before lunchtime.

Despite its poor economic status, the house received aspirants to the Augustinian Order as early as 1597, and in 1599, its jurisdiction extended to the visitas of Navotas, Tambobong (Malabon) and Caloocan. However, three days after the council meeting of that year, the father provincial relieved Tondo from paying its yearly collection because “its alms are few and the visitas are many, and most importantly, because we don’t have a house yet and need to build one since there is only one room.” The prior was allowed to buy a garden for vegetables near the convent, which would help pay the 200 pesos due to the Manila fund.
It is believed that the construction of the first stone monastery started in 1611 under the term of Fr. Alonzo Guerrero then parish priest. In 1620, the house of Tondo was relieved from its ten percent contribution to Manila due “to the needed repair works of the convent and the church.” The same resolution was approved the following year because the prior had to provide assistance to the father provincial who was then residing in Tondo.

The convent was mortgaged by Fr. Antonio de Ocampo in 1625 for 800 pesos for the improvement of the house facilities, like the dining room and the staircase. The construction of the church and the convent were believed to have been completed in three years.

In 1641, the church was damaged during the upheaval of the Sangleys and the prior had the church repaired and water cisterns were installed. The church was damaged again during the earthquake of 1645. After the new repairs, the Church and the convent looked very strong and magnificent, all made of masonry and of beautiful architecture. Unfortunately, both buildings were ordered to be pulled down in 1661 by Governor Sabiniano Manrique de Lara who was fearful that the Chinese pirate Koseng (Koxinga) who was coming from the island of Hermosa (Formosa, Taiwan) might fortify himself inside the building. In the same year, the convent suffered so much during the war of Sangleys that it was no longer self-sufficient. The reconstruction of the buildings started that year using the income from various community properties. The house was relieved of all taxes in 1692 to help rebuild the church and the convent. A curious not is that according to an anonymous document dated 1695, that well of the convent of Tondo had produced some minor marvels.

The building were believed to have been completed by 1695, the end of the term of the dynamic Fr. Duque, or at least not later than 1741, because in that year the council fathers resolved that since of the Provincial funds have been spent in the reconstruction of the church and the convent (of Tondo), it is proper and fair that the house pays back to Manila from its own properties. However, should the Tondo House need it in the future, the rent would be returned. In the meantime, everyone agreed on the need for the priests to have little comfort.

The convent was enlarged in 1728 and a budget of two thousand pesos was drawn from the funds of the province in 1731. Fr. Fernando Sanchez reminded the fathers in 1732 of the high cost of the project and that only with the help of the province can it be carried out. The façade and the two towers that were about to fall were built in 1734. This was done during the term of the Province Fr. Diego Bergano. To somehow help in the financing of the project, each banca crossing the estuary that opened at the convent property was charged a quarter of a peso.
The building were damaged again by the earthquake of 1740 and repaired the next year. It was declared a regular house in 1759 and given the administration of the visitas of Maysilo as it had been determined in the meeting of 1754.

The church was heavily damaged by the earthquake of June 3, 1863 and was rebuilt for the third time by Fr. Manuel Diez Gonzalez. The restoration was completed by Fr. Casimiro Herrero minister of Tondo from 1874 to 1880. He must have followed the plans of architect Luciano Oliver designed in 1873. Steel framing was used for the media naranja dome and iron sheets for the roofing, the first time these materials were used in the country. According to Castaneda, Condrado Gregorio took over the construction from Oliver and indicated his intention to use aramadura de hierro. The iron has to be importedfrom England. This was the first edifice to include in its plans the use of iron sheets and was favorably acted upon by the Junta Consultativa and the Inspeccion General de Obras Pulbicas.
The Cemetery was constructed by Fr. Mariano Gil during his priorship from 1889 to 1898. Architect Gregorio N. Santos designed the fence. The walls were made of stone from Guadalupe and Meycauayan. The Project cost 2,150 pesos. The organ costing 12,000 pesos was ordered from the renowned Amezua Organeros of Barcelona, Spain. It was installed in 1983 and had one main keyboard with 56 keys and a peladier with 19 keys and four combinations. The main molave door was bought by Fr. Pablo Alvarez for 140 pesos in 1898.
During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, church services were held in the house of Primo Arambulo family at Santiago de Vera Street when the Japanese engineering corps was based in the church. During the last day of the Japanese occupation the church served as sanctuary to thousands of refugees who poured into its compound from the North Harbor area which was razed by the retreating Japanese.

The present church has one main central nave and two aisle linked by solid columns. It measures 65 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 17 meters high. The Ionic pilasters and massive buttresses supporting the discordant domes of the bell towers are reminiscent of the Neo-Classical style, typical for its scanty ornamentation. Blind arched openings contrast with rectangular voids and triangular canopies. Twin towers flank the façade. The triangular pediment is characterized by straight lines and a rose window.

Rome Hosts Lefebvrists

2010-01-17T05:56:00.001-08:00

SSPX Bishop Bernard Fellay

Last October 26 -- for some -- Rome will openedtheological talks on the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) with representatives of the Society of St. Pius X, followers of the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
By Robert Moynihan, reporting from Rome
"Nam oportet et haereses esse, ut et qui probati sunt, manifesti fiant in vobis." ("For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.") —1 Corinthians 11:19

Doctrinal Talks Begun

The first official theological discussions ever between Vatican officials and representatives of the Society of St. Pius X began on Monday, October 26.
The talks were private and closed to the press.

The reason? So that they can be "extremely honest and frank," I have been told.
The Society of St. Pius X became famous in January this year, when the excommunications of its four bishops, all consecrated without papal permission in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and immediately excommunicated, were lifted by Pope Benedict XVI.
The "Vatican side" will include Archbishop Guido Pozzo, the new secretary of the Ecclesia Dei Pontifical Commission; Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF); Dominican Father Charles Morerod, secretary of the International Theological Commission and consultor with the CDF; Archbishop Fernando Ocariz, Vicar General of Opus Dei and consultor with the CDF; and Jesuit Father Karl Josef Becker, also a CDF consultor.
The meeting will take place at the Palace of the Holy Office, which is where the CDF is housed. That is the building just to the left of Bernini's colonnade which prior to the Second Vatican Council was known as "The Holy Office of the Inquisition. "
“The conversations will focus on open doctrinal questions and will remain confidential. A statement will be released at the conclusion of the meeting,” Father Federico Lombardi said when the meetings were announced.
After Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of the four Lefebvrist bishops, the Vatican issued a statement on February 4, 2009, outlining a series of conditions that the Lefebvrists must meet including “full recognition of the Second Vatican Council” and of the magisteriums of all the Popes since Pius XII.
On March 10, Pope Benedict XVI published a letter to the bishops of world in which he explained the reasons for lifting the excommunication, noting that “until the doctrinal questions are clarified, the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its ministers – even though they have been freed of the ecclesiastical penalty – do not legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church.”

Despite this warning, the Lefebvrist bishops ordained a group of priests at the end of June, which prompted a statement from the Holy See’s Press Office reiterating what the Pope said in his letter to the world's bishops.
"I would be very surprised if that happened," one Vatican official said to me this past week. "More likely is a more drawn out discussion, with meetings scheduled every so often for an extended period of time. But anything could happen. It will be up to the participants to decide how to proceed."

How does the Vatican side view the upcoming dialogue? Is one possible outcome the wider use of the "old Mass," which the Society of St. Pius X celebrates exclusively? Could these talks lead to a much wider use of the "old Mass" throughout the Church?

The answer isn't completely clear, but it seems that Rome, under Pope Benedict, is, in fact, profoundly supportive of the old liturgy. This seems evident from in the short but interesting interview below.

The website Messainlatino. it recently published this interview with Msgr Pozzo (the translation is by Gregor Kollmorgen, of The New Liturgical Movement):
Monsignor, a widespread restrictive interpretation of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum argues that the papal provision is primarily if not exclusively, directed towards those groups and institutes that were already attached to the traditional form, and is not, by contrast, intended in any way to promote the extraordinary form. But Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos said in London in June 2008 that the Pope would actually like to have the "Gregorian Rite" in all parishes. What is your opinion?

Msgr Guido Pozzo: The Motu Proprio is addressed to all the Catholic faithful who desire the extraordinary form of the Roman liturgy, not just to those who, prior to its promulgation, were attached to the ancient form of the Roman rite. Certainly it does intend to accommodate these latter and to heal old wounds, but the purpose of the document is also to allow the spreading of the extraordinary form, for the benefit of those who do not know it yet (being too young to have had it experienced) , or of those who rediscover with joy the Mass of their youth. The ever-increasing spread of this liturgical treasure, the Church's patrimony, can bring many benefits, spiritual and vocational, also through the mutual enrichment between the two forms of the Roman rite.

The Pope's letter accompanying the motu proprio refers to a term of three years, after which reports of the bishops will be collected to assess the situation. That may mean, as some argue, that the liberalization of the old Missal stipulated by the motu proprio is to be understood ad experimentum, or at least that at the end of this evaluation there may be restrictions regarding the the extraordinary form, such as for instance the return to a regime similar to that of the indults of 1984 or 1988?

Msgr Pozzo: The three-year term simply refers to a balance of the first three years of application. If there turn out to be serious difficulties, appropriate remedies will be found, always keeping in mind the essential purpose of the motu proprio.

From many places, obstacles opposed to the implementation of the motu proprio have been reported. We, too, have experienced them... What should an adequate group of lay people who find themselves in such situations of difficulty do to obtain a weekly Mass in the extraordinary form? And in what way can the Commission Ecclesia Dei intervene?

Msgr Pozzo: The answer is already written in the motu proprio: ask the parish piest and possibly look for a priest ready [to say the old Mass]. Should this prove impossible, it is necessary to turn to your bishop, who is called to seek an appropriate solution. If even this way no satisfaction of the request is obtained, write to the Commission Ecclesia Dei, which, however, deals with the bishops, who are naturally our interlocutors: they are asked for an assessment of the situation, to see what the actual difficulties are and how to find a remedy.

Changing the subject, have you seen the results of the Doxa survey commissioned by Paix liturgique and us?

Msgr Pozzo: Yes, I was given a preview a few days ago. These figures are truly remarkable and encouraging, especially that absolute majority of practicing Catholics who, at least according to the poll, regard the coexistence of the two forms of the Mass in the parishes as perfectly normal. I understand that a copy of the survey has also reached the Holy Father.

Thanks again Monsignor, and keep up the good work.

What does the Society of St. Pius X expect from these talks?

In his most recent "Letter to Friends and Benefactors, " the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), Bishop Bernard Fellay, speaks about the upcoming doctrinal talks with the Holy See. Here is the text of the letter, which I publish without further comment, except to bold-face the passage most relevant to the upcoming talks:

SUPERIOR GENERAL’S LETTER TO FRIENDS AND BENEFACTORS #75

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

The enthusiastic response to the Rosary Crusade we encounter throughout the world fills us with consolation and prompts us to take up this theme once again with you. If we are petitioning Heaven with this multitude of Aves, it is because the hour is indeed grave. We are sure of Our Lady’s victory because she herself foretold it, but the events that have been unfolding for nearly a century—since this triumph was announced at Fatima—oblige us to suppose that all kinds of other woes could yet befall mankind before this victory.

Yet the rules given at Fatima by the Mother of God were quite simple: if the world does not convert, it will be punished: “There will be a second war, more terrible than the first.” The world did not convert. And God’s answer was not long in coming. Since the Second World War, the world still has not converted. And if people think Russia has converted, they will have to explain to us in what it has converted, and to whom— economic liberalism?

Almost one hundred years later, we observe that the world has surely not become better; quite the contrary. The war of the unbelievers rages harder than ever, but it has taken an unexpected turn: the demolition of the Church is being carried out especially by subversion, by infiltrating the Church. Our holy Mother the Church is in the process of being transformed into a pile of spiritual ruins while the exterior façade remains more or less intact, thus deceiving the multitude about its real condition. And it has to be admitted that this subversion acquired an unexpected increase of efficacy on the occasion of the Second Vatican Council. It doesn’t take an advanced degree in theology to figure this out; today it is an historical fact.

What part of the responsibility should be attributed to the Council itself? This is a difficult question, but it is clear that this Council was not without effect, and its consequences have been well and truly disastrous. Because of it, the Church fell in step with the world. “We, too, in fact, we more than any others, honor mankind,” said Paul VI at the Council’s conclusion. And the man-centered orientation of Vatican II was harped on by John Paul II. But this orientation is indeed odd for the Church of God, supernatural in its essence, having received from Our Lord Jesus Christ not only its constitution and means, but first and foremost its end, which is nothing else than the continuation of His own redemptive and salvific mission: “Go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.” (Mk. 16:15-16).

And now, here is the tragedy: the divine mission of the Church has been replaced by a purely human one. It is a great mystery that leaves one astounded. Salvation now comes second, to say the least.

Few men—very few men, unfortunately—understand that the terrible crisis of the Church since the Second Vatican Council is a chastisement more terrible than any other, for this time the catastrophe is spiritual: what is wounded, what is noiselessly killed in the midst of an indifference worse than death, are souls. The loss of grace in a soul is the most terrible harm that can happen to it because it makes no noise, it is not felt. And the voice of the watchmen has fallen silent. The call to conversion, to penance, to the flight from sin, temptations and the world has given way, if not to indulgence, then at least to sympathy with the world. There is a real will to make peace with the modern world.

The mission of salvation has given way to a new sort of humanitarian mission; it is a matter of helping men of every condition and religion to live well together on earth.

There is no doubt that everything connected in the message of the Blessed Virgin of Fatima, what is referred to as the Secret of Fatima, has not yet come to an end. Certainly, what we are living is per force part and parcel of the events that will end one day, eventually, with the triumph of Mary. What will happen? How will we recognize it? In any case, it will at least entail the conversion of Russia according to the very words of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In 1917 at Rome, the foes of God were celebrating the 200th anniversary of Freemasonry and the 400th anniversary of Protestantism with parades of special violence against the Holy See. The demonstrators boisterously proclaimed the reign of Satan over the Vatican and the Sovereign Pontiff. Maximilian Kolbe, still a seminarian, witnessed these painful events and said:

This mortal hatred of the Church, of Christ, and of His Vicar on earth is not just an outburst of misguided individuals, but rather a systematic action that proceeds from the principle of Freemasonry: the destruction of all religion, but especially the Catholic religion. [Pisma Ojca Maksymiliana Marii Kolbego franciszkanina, Niepokalanow, maszynopsis, 1970; English tr. from The Immaculata Our Ideal, by Fr. Karl Stehlin (Warsaw, 2005), p. 39]….

Is it possible that our enemies should deploy so much activity so as to attain superiority while we stay idle, or at best apply ourselves to prayer without getting to work? Might we not have more powerful arms—the protection of Heaven and of the Immaculate Virgin? The Immaculata, victorious and triumphant over all heresies, will not yield to the advancing enemy if she finds faithful servants obedient to her command: she will bring off new victories even greater than can be imagined. We have to put ourselves like docile instruments into her hands, employing all lawful means, getting the word out everywhere by the diffusion of the Marian press and the Miraculous Medal, and enhancing our action by prayer and good example. [Testimony of Fr. Pignalberi reported during the process of canonization] .

He founded the Militia of the Immaculata just a few days after the October 13th apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, when the great miracle of the sun took place. It was in fact on October 16, with six fellow seminarians, that he consecrated himself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the purpose of leading the whole world to God by the Immaculata.

One cannot but be struck by the affinity between the message of Fatima and the response of the Polish Franciscan while reading his act of consecration:

O Immaculata, Queen of heaven and earth, Refuge of sinners, our most loving Mother, to whom God deigned to entrust the entire order of mercy, behold I, N., an unworthy sinner, cast myself at Thy feet and humbly ask Thee to deign to accept me completely and utterly as Thy property and possession; and do with me as it pleases Thee: all the faculties of my soul and body, my entire life, my death and my eternity. Dispose of me as Thou willst, so that what has been said of Thee might be fulfilled: ‘She will crush the head of the serpent,’ and also, ‘Thou alone hast vanquished all heresies throughout the world.’ Make of me an instrument in Thy immaculate and merciful hands, which serves Thee, in order to increase reverence for Thee as much as possible in so many fallen-away and lukewarm souls. Thus the benevolent reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus will spread more and more. For whatever place Thou enters, Thou shalt implore upon it the grace of conversion an d sanctification, for all graces come to us from the Sacred Heart of Jesus only through Thy hands. [Scritti di Massimiliano Kolbe, new ed. (Rome: ENMI, 1997), Vol. I; Eng. version, The Immaculata Our Ideal]

Very dear faithful, it is in this same spirit that we launched the Rosary Crusade. But prayer is only a part of it: let us not forget the other two very important elements, penance and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. By mortification, we wish to make reparation for the insults given to Mary, and in union with her sorrowful Heart we wish to associate ourselves as closely as possible to the sacrifice of the Cross of our Lord, because by it our salvation is effected. Thus we are at the heart of the message of Fatima: “God wishes to introduce devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” Perhaps not enough emphasis is given to this aspect, which seems to us even more important than the consecration of Russia and which is the second condition indicated by Mary to the pope for her triumph: consecrate Russia and promote devotion to her Immaculate Heart.

In this month of October we are going to enter into a new phase in our relations with the Vatican, that of the doctrinal discussions. What is at stake is very important, and we recommend them to your prayers. Undoubtedly that also is a part of our Crusade, and obviously this intention is included in the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary we all desire. That also completely outstrips all our own powers, and it would be folly pure and simple to undertake such an enterprise were it not sustained by the power of the supernatural means such as prayer and penance.

We do not want to conclude this letter without also thanking you for your generosity, which enables our work to develop throughout the world. There is one thing, though, that slows us down: the harvest is abundant, but workers for the harvest are lacking. Our Lord has already said it and has shown the remedy: pray for vocations! How we should like to come to the aid of all the faithful who only have the Mass once a month, or only on Sundays, unable to benefit from normal pastoral care… Yet the good Lord has gratified us this year with 27 new priests, and we expect an even slightly larger number next year. But even that is not enough, so great is the demand worldwide.

You are deeply thanked for all your efforts. May God reward you with the abundant graces and blessings we implore on you all, your families, your children. May Our Lady of the Rosary, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, protect you.

On the Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, October 11, 2009.

+ Bernard Fellay

Superior General

LITURGY. The motu proprio Summorum pontificum

2010-01-17T05:43:00.001-08:00

Paul VI celebrating the Solemn Ambrosian Rite

LITURGY. The motu proprio Summorum pontificum
Nova et vetera
Benedict XVI has signed and published the document that liberalizes the use of the Roman Missal edited by Pope John XXIII in 1962. An interview with Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, president of the Pontifical Commission «Ecclesia Dei»: «The first wrong evaluation is to say that it is a return to the past. That isn’t so»
Interview with Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos by Gianni Cardinale

The motu proprio Summorum pontificum by Benedict XVI that in practice liberalizes the use of the Roman Missal of 1962 was finally published on 7 July. The motu proprio, that will come into force on 14 September, establishes that the Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI in 1970 is the ordinary expression of the lex orandi of the Catholic Church of Latin rite. The Missal promulgated by Saint Pius V and re-edited by Blessed John XXIII must, therefore, be considered as extraordinary form. In no way, therefore, is a division in the «law of the faith» created since it is a matter of «two uses of the single Roman rite». It is hence lawful to celebrate mass according to the typical edition of the Roman Missal of 1962. To this purpose, the motu proprio of Benedict XVI indicates new rules that replace those established by the previous documents, Quattuor abhinc annos of 1984 and Ecclesia Dei of 1988, in which the indulgence was granted whereby the so-called Tridentine mass could be celebrated, but only with the consent of the local bishop. From 14 September onwards instead no priest or rector can impede the celebration of the mass of Saint Pius V in his church, on condition that the faithful who ask for it also have a priest willing to do so, provided he be suitable and not legally impeded. Not only that. The motu proprio also lays down that the parish priest may grant the license to use the older ceremony in the administration of the Sacraments: of Baptism, Confession, Matrimony and the Anointing of the Sick. Ordinaries (bishops and religious superiors) are also granted the faculty of celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The document is accompanied by a Letter, addressed to the bishops of the world, in which among other things Benedict XVI makes clear that «there is no contradiction between the one and the other edition of the Missale Romanum». And gives the reminder that in the «history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no break», stressing that what was sacred for previous generations «cannot suddenly be altogether forbidden or even harmful».

30Days asks the Colombian Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, president since 2000 of the Pontifical Commission «Ecclesia Dei» (as well as Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1996 to 2006), to illustrate the more important points in the motu proprio Summorum pontificum.

Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos
Your Eminence, what is the significance of this motu proprio that liberalizes the use of the so-called Missal of Saint Pius V?

DARÍO CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: When, after Vatican Council II, there were changes in the liturgy, substantial groups of laity and also of churchmen felt uneasy because they were strongly attached to the liturgy in force for centuries. I am thinking of the priests who for fifty years had celebrated the so-call mass of Saint Pius V and who suddenly found themselves having to celebrate another, I am thinking of the faithful for generations accustomed to the old rite, I am also thinking of children like the altar boys who suddenly found themselves lost in serving mass with the Novus ordo. So there was uneasiness at various levels. For some it was also of a theological nature, people who retained that the old rite expressed the sense of the sacrifice better than the one brought in. Others, not least for cultural reasons, were nostalgic for the Gregorian and the great polyphonies that were a treasure of the Latin Church. To aggravate everything there was the fact that those who felt the uneasiness blamed the changes on the Council, when in reality the Council itself had neither asked nor foreseen the details of the changes. The Mass that the Council Fathers celebrated was the Mass of Saint Pius V. The Council had not asked for the creation of a new rite, but a greater use of the vernacular and greater participation by the congregation.

Agreed, that was the air one breathed forty years ago. But today the generation that showed that unease no longer exists. Not just that: clergy and people have grown accustomed to the Novus ordo, and in the great majority of the cases are very comfortable…

Cardinal Ratzinger celebrating Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: Exactly, in the great majority, even if many amongst them don’t know what went missing with the abandonment of the old rite. But not everybody has grown used to the new rite. Curiously even in the new generations, both of clerics and laity, interest and respect for the earlier rite seems to be blooming. And they are priests and ordinary faithful who sometimes have nothing to do with the so-called Lefebvrians. These are facts about the Church, to which pastors cannot remain deaf. That is why Benedict XVI, who is a great theologian with a deep liturgical sensibility, has decided to promulgate the motu proprio.

But wasn’t there an indulgence already?

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: Yes, there was an indulgence already, but already John Paul II had understood that the indulgence had not been sufficient. Not least because some priests and bishops were reluctant to apply it. But above all because the faithful who wanted to celebrate with the old rite must not be considered second-class. They are faithful whose right must be recognized to attend a mass that has nourished the Christian people for centuries, that nourished the sensibility of saints like Filippo Neri, Don Bosco, Saint Teresa of Lisieux, Blessed John XXIII and the servant of God John Paul II himself who, as said, understood the problem of the indulgence and hence already had in mind to extend the use of the 1962 Missal. I must say that in the meetings with cardinals and with the heads of ministries, in which this provision was discussed, resistance was really minimal. Pope Benedict XVI, who followed the process from the beginning, has taken this important step already conceived by his great predecessor. It is a Petrine provision emanated out of love for a great liturgical treasure, which is the mass of Saint Pius V, and also out of a pastor’s love for a considerable group of faithful.

But there has been resistance also from spokesmen of the episcopate…

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: Resistance that according to me derives from two mistakes. The first wrong evaluation is to say that it is a return to the past. That is not so. Also because nothing is taken away from the Novus ordo, which remains the ordinary way of celebrating the single Roman rite; while those who want it are granted the freedom to celebrate the mass of Saint Pius V as extraordinary form.

That is the first mistake of those who oppose the motu proprio, and the second?

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: That it’s a matter of decreasing episcopal power. But that is not so. The Pope has not changed the Code of Canon Law. The bishop is the moderator of the liturgy in his own diocese. But the Apostolic See is entitled to shape the sacred liturgy of the universal Church. And a bishop must act in harmony with the Apostolic See and must guarantee the rights of every believer, including that of being able to attend the mass of Saint Pius V, as extraordinary form of the rite.
Yet it has been claimed that with this motu proprio Ratzinger «is mocking the Council» and «giving a slap in the face» to his predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II…

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: Benedict XVI is following the Council, that did not abolish the mass of Saint Pius V nor asked for it to be done. And he is following the Council that urged that the voice and the legitimate desires of the laity be listened to. Those who claim these things should see the thousands of letters that have come to Rome asking for the freedom of being able to attend the mass to which they feel so attached. And he is not going against his predecessors who are widely quoted both in the motu proprio and in the letter written by the Pope that accompanies its publication. Pope Montini immediately granted the possibility of celebrating the mass of Saint Pius V in some cases. John Paul II, as I have already said, meant to prepare a motu proprio similar to that now published.

Isn’t there also some apprehension that a small minority of believers may impose the mass of Saint Pius V on the parish?

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: Those who say that obviously haven’t read the motu proprio. It’s clear that no parish priest will be obliged to celebrate the mass of Saint Pius V. Only that if a group of the faithful, having a priest disposed to say it, asks to celebrate this mass, the parish priest or the rector of the church can’t oppose it. Obviously, if there are difficulties, it will be up to the bishop to act in such a way that everything takes place with respect and I would say commonsense in harmony with the universal Pastor.

But is there not the danger that with the introduction of two forms, the ordinary and the extraordinary, within the Latin rite there may be liturgical confusion in parishes and in dioceses?

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: If things are done in line with simple commonsense there’s no danger. And for that matter there are already dioceses in which masses are celebrated in several rites, since there are communities of Latin, Ukrainian Greek-Catholic or Ruthenian, Maronite, Melchite, Syro-Catholic, Chaldean faithful, etc… I’m thinking for example of some dioceses in the United States, like Pittsburgh, which take this legitimate liturgical variety as a treasure, not as a tragedy. Then there are also individual parishes that host rites different from the Latin, also of Orthodox or Prechalcedonian communities, without it causing scandal. So I don’t see any danger of confusion. On condition, I repeat, that everything takes place with order and mutual respect.

There are also those who believe that this motu proprio inflicts harm on the single rite that the Council Fathers wanted…

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: If it is clear that the Roman rite remains single, albeit it can be celebrated in two forms, let me remind you that in the Latin Church there has never been one single rite for everybody. Today for example there are all the rites of the Eastern Churches in communion with Rome. And also in the Latin rite there are other rites apart from Roman one, such as the Ambrosian or the Mozarabic. The mass of Saint Pius V itself, when it was approved, did not annul all the earlier rites, but only those that could not boast at least two centuries of existence…

And the mass of Saint Pius V was never abolished by the Novus ordo?

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: Vatican Council II did not do so, and afterwards there has never been any positive action that established so. Thus formally the mass of Saint Pius V has never been abolished. It is odd however that those who vaunt themselves as authentic interpreters of Vatican II give an interpretation of it, in the liturgical sphere, so restrictive and so little respectful of the freedom of faithful, making that Council seem even more coercive than the Council of Trent.

The motu proprio doesn’t establish a minimum number of faithful necessary for requesting permission to celebrate the mass of Saint Pius V. Yet in the past it was rumoured that a minimum of thirty believers was being considered…

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: This is the glaring demonstration of how much disinformation has been set about on this motu proprio by people who have not read the drafts or who, in interested fashion, wanted to influence its drafting. I followed the whole process that led to the final draft and as I remember no minimum limit of faithful, neither thirty, nor twenty, nor a hundred ever appeared in any draft.

Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos

Why was it decided to give a preview of the text of the motu proprio, on 27 June, to some churchmen?

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: The Pope could not summon all the bishops of the world, and so he convoked some prelates, particularly interested in the question for a variety of reasons, representatives from all the continents. He presented the text to them allowing the possibility of making observations. All those partaking had the chance to speak.

Were there changes to the text of the motu proprio as it had been prepared in the light of that meeting?

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: Small changes in wording were asked for and so introduced, no more.

What prospects may this motu proprio open with the Lefebvrians?

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: The followers of Monsignor Lefebvre have always asked for the possibility for any priest to celebrate the mass of Saint Pius V. Now that faculty is officially and formally recognized. On the other hand the Pope repeats that the mass that we all officiate each day, that of the Novus ordo, remains the ordinary mode of celebrating the single Roman rite. And hence neither the value, nor even less the validity of the Novus ordo can be denied. That must be clear.

Will the motu proprio increase the responsibility of the «Ecclesia Dei»?

CASTRILLÓN HOYOS: This Commission was founded to gather in the laity and the churchmen who abandoned the Lefebvrian movement after the unlawful episcopal consecrations. And in fact it has then also striven for dialogue with the Fraternity of Saint Pius X itself in the prospect of full communion. Today the motu proprio is addressed to all those believers attached to the mass of Saint Pius V, and not only to those of let us say Lefebvrian origin. And this obviously presupposes very much more ample work for us.

Pope's Filipino Representative (Nuncio) to Haiti gives First-hand Account of Destruction Jan 13, '10 10:05 PM

2010-01-14T05:06:00.000-08:00

Erap longtime adviser UP dean De Guzman, 79 - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

2010-01-11T04:53:00.000-08:00

Link The late Raul de Guzman is my Mom's (Sylvia Policarpio Maturan) 1st cousin, please remember him in your prayers.

Second Aim of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum: The Reform of the Reform

2010-01-08T11:27:00.001-08:00

Second Aim of the Motu Proprio: The Reform of the Reform
Paix Liturgique Newsletter

Contents of our letter 2 - 8 January 2010

The increasing availability of Msgr Nicola Bux’s book The Reform of Benedict XVI [1] is an opportunity for us to depart somewhat from our usual focus on the application of the motu proprio “Summorum Pontificum” and to take stock of the “reform of the reform” that the Holy Pontiff has initiated in liturgy. It is also the occasion to consider what sort of relationship will slowly emerge between the two forms of the Roman liturgy.

The first aim of the motu proprio “Summorum Pontificum” is clear: to make it possible for the traditional Mass to be celebrated in every parish where it is requested. The MP will only truly be applied when we shall see the ten o’clock Sunday Mass celebrated in the ordinary form and the eleven o’clock Mass in the extraordinary form, or the reverse, in the cathedrals of Dublin or Detroit, as well as in the cathedrals of Boise or Aberdeen. In a word: as far as the MP’s application is concerned, we are still on the starting line.

A – The “Reform of the Reform” Project

The second aim of the MP, though implicit, is nonetheless obvious because of all that Cardinal Ratzinger has said on the subject in the past and because of the wish expressed in the 2007 text: a “mutual enrichment” of the two forms, which from that point coexist officially. Enrichment: everybody knows that the more obviously “rich” form is that which benefits from an uninterrupted, ten-centuries long tradition (or even seventeen-centuries long for its essential part, the canon), and whose doctrinal and ritual value is at least similar to that of the other great Catholic liturgies. In his book, Nicola Bux writes: “Comparative studies demonstrate that the Roman liturgy in its preconciliar form was far closer to the Oriental liturgy than is the current liturgy.” This is so much the case that no one can seriously contemplate denying that the form that needs to be enriched/transformed first and foremost is the liturgy that was hastily contrived forty years ago. Indeed, as Nicola Bux points out, “[one] has to admit that the Mass of Paul VI is far from containing all that is found in the missal of Saint Pius V.”

It has thus become customary to call “reform of the reform” this project of enrichment/transformation of Paul VI’s reform with a view to making it more traditional in content and form. Although it would be an exaggeration to say that the reform of the reform is only on the order of a pious wish, one must nevertheless fully understand that it is only—somewhat like the extraordinary form—at its beginnings.

Two preliminary observations about this future process come to mind:

1. The reform of the reform, as the expression indicates, concerns only the reform of Paul VI. It in no way involves an alleged “parallel” transformation of the traditional form of the rite. There is no comparison between the two forms in their relation to tradition or in their ritual structure. Fiddling with the traditional rite would truly sink it and everyone would come away a loser: the reform of the reform would see its backbone collapse. In any event, Cardinal Ratzinger has already clearly and prudently rejected the idea. [2]

2. Add to this that the reform of the reform does not seek to implement a series of reforms through laws and decrees with a view to establishing a third missal halfway between the Tridentine missal and the new one (not to mention that the latter is much more of an indefinite, diverse and open-ended collection than a “missal” in the traditional sense). Cardinal Ratzinger in the past, Pope Benedict XVI today, is averse to implementing a process of authoritarian and continual reforms akin—though in reverse—to what was done under the reform of Paul VI. The point is rather to undertake a gradual narrowing of the gap, the missal of Paul VI becoming progressively closer to the traditional missal. The new liturgy’s characteristic of being malleable at will allows this to occur effortlessly: its non-normative character paradoxically permits it to be infused with the traditional norm it lacks. One may legitimately wonder whether, at the end of the process, it will preserve any interest besides that of serving as a steppingstone to the traditional liturgy...

B – The book by Nicola Bux

The import of this book’s publication is due first of all to its author’s stature. Msgr Nicola Bux, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology at the Ecumenical-Patristic Institute of Theology of Bari in Italy, is a consultor for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, consultor too for the Bureau of Liturgical Celebrations for the Supreme Pontiff, advisor to the journal Communio, author of many books (notably Il Signore dei Misteri. Eucaristia e relativismo—The Lord of Mysteries: Eucharist and Relativism [Siena: Cantagalli, 2005]) and of many articles (e.g. “À soixante ans de l’encyclique Mediator Dei de Pie XII, débattre sereinement sur la liturgie”—“Sixty Years After Pius XII’s Encyclical Mediator Dei. On the Liturgy: A Debate Without Prejudice,” Osservatore Romano, 18 November 2007). And he is one of the most influential partisans of the reform of Paul VI’s reform.

Others deserve to be named in his company, such as Fr. Alcuin Reid (The Organic Development of the Liturgy [Saint Michael’s Abbey Press, 2004]), Fr. U. Michael Lang (Turning Towards the Lord. Orientation in Liturgical Prayer [Ignatius Press, 2004]), Msgr Nicola Giampietro (who published the memoirs of Cardinal Antonelli, Apoc 2004), Bishop Athanasius Schneider (Dominus est. It Is the Lord [Newman House Press, 2009]), Fr. Aidan Nichols (Looking At the Liturgy : a Critical View Of Its Contemporary Form [Ignatius Press, 1996]), and Dom Mauro Gagliardi (Liturgia, Fonte di Vita [Fede&Cultura, 2009]), not to mention the initiatives promoted by Father Manelli and the Franciscans of the Immaculate and, of course, the daily action of such important prelates as Archbishop Ranjith, Archbishop Burke, Cardinal Cañizares, et al.

Msgr Bux’s book also benefits from three forewords: one by the famous Italian journalist Vittorio Messori (author of the Ratzinger Report, an interview with then Cardinal Ratzinger) for the Italian edition; one by Marc Aillet, bishop of Bayonne, for the French edition; another by the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship himself, Cardinal Cañizares, for the Spanish edition.

For Nicola Bux, the crisis that wounded the Roman liturgy is due to its no longer being centered upon God and his adoration, but on people and the community. “At the beginning is adoration, and therefore that is where God is (...) The Church stems from adoration, from the mission of glorifying God,” Joseph Ratzinger had written on this subject. The crisis in liturgy begins the moment it ceases to be an adoration, when it is reduced to the celebration of a specific community in which priests and bishops, instead of being ministers, that is, servants, become “leaders”. This is why today “people are requesting more and more respect to ensure a private space of silence, with a view to an intimate faith participation in the sacred mysteries.”

The order of the day, then, is once again to teach a clergy wounded in its ritual praxis and consciousness that liturgy is sacred and divine, that it comes down from above as does the liturgy of the heavenly Jerusalem in the Apocalypse. “In this connection, there ought to be efforts made to find out why, despite appearances, the vernacular is at the end of the day unsuccessful in making the liturgy understandable.” The priest needs to be taught once again how to carry out the holy mysteries in persona Christi, in the Church, as its minister, and not as the coordinator of an assembly that is closed in on itself, which is what he has become.

C – The Reform Of the Reform Project:
Leading By Example Rather Than By Legislative Texts

Despite the seriousness of the conclusion reached by Msgr Bux in particular and by the “Pope’s men” in general—a conclusion that is in keeping with the Holy Father’s thinking in the matter—none of them wants laws and decrees designed to overturn everything in an authoritarian manner, as did those of the Bugnini era. Even though the Church today is quite ill, liturgically speaking, they prefer to act with the sweet medicine of example: the Supreme Pontiff’s example in the first place, then that of those bishops who will be willing to show the example as he does.

And so Benedict XVI multiplies corrective nudges that seem only to affect trifling matters, to be sure; after all, the liturgy is made up only of a collection of details: the very dignified manner of pontifical celebrations; the beauty of the liturgical vestments from St. Peter’s sacristy, which the pontifical master of ceremonies, Msgr Guido Marini, is using once more; the placement of large candlesticks on the altar, which diminish the theatrical effect of facing the people; above all, the distribution of Communion on the tongue, kneeling.

It is up to the bishops to follow suit in their liturgical celebrations. It is a matter of public knowledge that Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, Archbishop of Bologna, one of Italy’s theologically solid bishops, has recently decided in an April 27, 2009 ruling that “in view of the frequency with which irreverent attitudes are reported in the act of receiving the Eucharist,” he was deciding “that from this day forward, in the metropolitan church of San Pietro, in the basilica of San Petronio and in the shrine of the BVM of San Luca in Bologna, the faithful are to receive the Consecrated Bread only from the hands of a minister directly onto the tongue.”

For their part both Bishop Schneider and Dom Mauro Gagliardi [3] ask for a strong reminder that the “normal” way is that of Communion in the mouth, and that Communion in the hand is only a “tolerated” way, even though it has remained the most widespread way for a good long time. Such an encouragement is very important for the rebirth of faith in the real presence. Respect for the divine and for the holy is expressed through signs of reverence, again according to Msgr Bux.

Yet, other points too are constantly brought up by the partisans of the reform of the reform; to wit:
—1. Encouragement to reduce the number of concelebrants, and even of concelebrations: “When it [concelebration] becomes to frequent, the mediating function of each priest as such is obscured.”
—2. Slow reduction of the manifold optional parts of the Mass (particularly the Eucharistic prayers, some of which present doctrinal problems).
—3. Reintroduction of elements of the extraordinary form that encourage the sense of the sacred and of adoration, such as genuflections, kisses on the altar, the very ancient signs of the cross in the Canon: “The sacred is also expressed in signs of the cross and genuflections” (N. Bux).
—4. And much else besides: a reminder that the kiss of peace is a sacred action and not a manifestation of middle-class civility; the massive reintroduction of the liturgical language that is Latin, etc.

Lastly, and above all, one mustn’t overlook the encouragement given to the priest to celebrate facing the Lord, at least during the offertory and the Eucharistic prayer. “The most visible indicator of the liturgical reform,” says Msgr Bux, “was the change in the priest’s position with respect to the people.” In light of these words, one can legitimately reckon the beginning of the reform of the reform from the time when the Pope and the bishops will commonly celebrate towards the Lord.

D – The Spearhead of the Reform of the Reform Project

In his book, Nicola Bux notes that the key of the new liturgy as it left the offices of Bugnini—the author of the liturgical reform—is adaptation to the world. This is the point on which Bux’s thinking, in unison with that of the reform of the reform partisans, is at its most radical: the essence of Catholic liturgy is to be “as a permanent critique that the Church addresses to the world, while the world continually seeks to convince her to belong to it.” Therefore one must bear in mind that revolution is not reform: “the reform cannot be understood as a reconstruction attempt according to the tastes of a specific time.”

That is why Msgr Bux quotes at length, and comments on, the “Ottaviani Intervention” published soon after the Council by Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci. “They deplored,” he recalls in approval of the two Italian cardinals, “the absence of the normal finality of the Mass, that is to say, propitiatory sacrifice.” Indeed it would take a blind man not to notice that the new rite of the Mass has a de facto effect of immanentizing the Christian message: the doctrine of propitiatory sacrifice, the adoration of the Real Presence of Christ, the specificity of the hierarchical priesthood and generally the sacred character of the Eucharistic celebration are expressed in a far less tangible way than in the traditional rite. That is why attempts to reintroduce the prayers that best express its sacrificial value (see, e.g., the book amounting to a manifesto along these lines by Fr. Paul Tirot, OSB: Histoire des prières d’offertoire dans la liturgie romaine du VIIe au XVIe siècle—History of the Offertory Prayers in the Roman Liturgy From the Seventh to the Sixteenth Century [Edizione Liturgiche, 1985]) into the new Missal are on the rise today.

If, therefore, there is a point on which one can expect legislation to promote the reform of the reform project, it is certainly this: the possibility of introducing the traditional Roman Offertory prayers into the ordinary celebration.

In sum, if this plan were truly to take shape, the inverse situation to what happened between 1965 and 1969 might eventually develop: to that time of brutal transformation when everything changed in a ‘progressive’ direction might correspond a period of slow evolution during which everything would change in a resacralizing direction.

Such an implementation of the reform of the reform would thus be truly reformative, in the traditional (and quite demanding!) sense of the term ‘reform’. It would proceed by ‘contamination’, to use a term familiar to historians of the liturgy when they mean to speak of one liturgy’s influence over another. In this case, it would be that of the traditional liturgy on the new.

In fact, one might even claim that the extraordinary form is perhaps the only chance to save the ordinary form in the long term, precisely by enabling it to become less and less ordinary. It might then become a step by which to reach the extraordinary liturgy. In any event, it would in no way compete with the extraordinary form, but would rather provide it with a far more favorable environment for its dissemination and its affirmation as the official form of reference.

[1] Until an English version is published, Msgr Bux’s book is available in its original version from its Italian publisher, Piemme.

[2] During the 2001 liturgical days of Fontgombault, Cardinal Ratzinger had stated that there was no question, doubtless for a long time, of touching the Tridentine missal, essentially because its presence and life today could serve as a goad to an evolution of the new missal. This “line” is today clearly that of the Congregation for Divine Worship and of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, which hold that the introduction of the new lectionary into the traditional rite is impossible, for example. The only adjustment of the traditional rite that can be envisioned, according to the Roman liturgists, might be the introduction of a few new prefaces.

[3] Interview granted to zenit.org on December 21, 2009.

Rome Circa 1962

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Rome as it looked like in 1962.

Ntra. Sra. de Guadalupe de Cebu

2010-01-08T04:16:00.001-08:00

Guadalupe de Cebu
Originally uploaded by †✞✞✞ Maghimaya Ka Maria✞✞✞ † !PIT

The original image of the Patroness of Cebu, Philippines, Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu.

The Pre-Vatican II Roman Rite in Detail

2010-01-07T02:01:00.001-08:00

The Art Works of Manila's Roman Catholic Cathedral-Basilica

2010-01-07T01:07:00.000-08:00

Church treasures neglected nowadays especially its side altars! Manila's ecclesiastical jewel! Let us preserve and restore it!

Pre-war Manila During the XXXIII International Eucharistic Congress

2010-01-06T23:57:00.000-08:00

Catholic Church in Hong Kong Circa 1958

2010-01-06T23:40:00.001-08:00

1965: The Quadricentennial Year of Catholicism in the Philippines: The Roman Rite in Transition

2010-01-06T23:09:00.000-08:00

Who says the Latin Tridentine was never celebrated Ad Popolo? Were there concelebrations prior to 1969? Was the full-gothic chasuble unpopular in the 1960's? Was the offertory procession practiced only in the Pauline Rite? Look at these 1965 Photos shot in Cebu. Key people were Pope Paul VI, Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, First Lady Evangeline Macapagal (look alike ni GMA!, Papal Legate Ildebrando Cardinal Antoniutti, Cardinal Rufino Santos, Archbishop Julio Rosales, Archbishop Fulton Sheen and Fr. Patrick Peyton!

1965: The Quadricentennial Year of Catholicism in the Philippines: The Canonical Coronation of the Sto. Nino de Cebu

2010-01-06T22:52:00.000-08:00

Dominican Rite Altar Cards

2010-01-06T22:45:00.000-08:00

Traditional Latin Rite Chasubles

2010-01-06T22:32:00.000-08:00

Russian Orthodox Christmas January 7

2010-01-05T22:14:00.000-08:00

Russian Christmas
Thirteen days after Western Christmas, on January 7th, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates its Christmas, in accordance with the old Julian calendar. It's a day of both solemn ritual and joyous celebration
After the 1917 Revolution, Christmas was banned throughout Russia, along with other religious celebrations. It wasn't until 75 years later, in 1992, that the holiday was openly observed. Today, it's once again celebrated in grand fashion, with the faithful participating in an all-night Mass in incense-filled Cathedrals amidst the company of the painted icons of Saints.
Christmas is one of the most joyous traditions for the celebration of Eve comes from the Russian tradition. On the Eve of Christmas, it is traditional for all family members to gather to share a special meal. The various foods and customs surrounding this meal differed in Holy Russia from village to village and from family to family, but certain aspects remained the same.
An old Russian tradition, whose roots are in the Orthodox faith, is the Christmas Eve fast and meal. The fast, typically, lasts until after the evening worship service or until the first star appears. The dinner that follows is very much a celebration, although, meat is not permitted. Kutya (kutia), a type of porridge, is the primary dish. It is very symbolic with its ingredients being various grains for hope and honey and poppy seed for happiness and peace.
Once the first star has appeared in the sky, the festivities begin. Although all of the food served is strictly Lenten, it is served in an unusually festive and anticipatory manner and style. The Russians call this meal: "The Holy Supper." The family gathers around the table to honor the coming Christ Child. A white table-cloth, symbolic of Christ's swaddling clothes, covers the Table. Hay is brought forth as a reminder of the poverty of the Cave where Jesus was born. A tall white candle is place in the center of the Table, symbolic of Christ "the Light of the World." A large round loaf of Lenten bread, "pagach," symbolic of Christ the Bread of Life, is placed next to the Candle.
The meal begins with the Lord's Prayer, led by the father of the family. A prayer of thanksgiving for all the blessings of the past year is said and then prayers for the good things in the coming year are offered. The head of the family greets those present with the traditional Christmas greeting: "Christ is Born!" The family members respond: "Glorify Him!" The Mother of the family blesses each person present with honey in the form of a cross on each forehead, saying: "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, may you have sweetness and many good things in life and in the new year." Following this, everyone partakes of the bread, dipping it first in honey and then in chopped garlic. Honey is symbolic of the sweetness of life, and garlic of the bitterness. The "Holy Supper" is then eaten (see below for details). After dinner, no dishes are washed and the Christmas presents are opened. Then the family goes to Church, coming home between 2 and 3 am. On the Feast of the Nativity, neighbors and family members visit each other, going from house to house , eating, drinking and singing Christmas Carols all the day long.

Why January 7?
In ancient times, many, mostly unreliable methods had been used to calculate the dates according to either the lunar or solar cycles. By Roman times, the calendar had become three months out with the seasons, so in 46 BC, Julius Caesar commissioned the astronomer, Sosigenes to devise a more reliable method. This, we know as the Julian Calendar and was used widely for 1500 years. The month of his birth, Caesar had named Quintilis, but the Roman Senate later re-named it Julius (July) in his honour. In those days, February had 30 days every 4 years.
However, this calendar was still 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the solar year, so that by the year 1580, the calendar had accumulated 10 days off again. In 1582, therefore, Pope Gregory XIII corrected the difference between the sun and calendar by ordering 10 days dropped from October, the month with the least Roman Catholic Feast days. His calendar, we know as the Gregorian Calendar, which is used in almost all of the world today. Pope Gregory made further changes to keep the calendar in line, which on average is only 26.3 seconds longer than the solar year. The Gregorian Calendar is so accurate that it will take until the year 4316 to gain a whole day on the sun.
That year, 1582, October 5th became October 15th and was immediately adopted in most Roman Catholic nations of Europe. Various German states kept the Julian Calendar until 1700. Britain and the American Colonies didn't change until 1752, but Russia and Turkey did not adopt the Gregorian Calendar until the early 1900's.
So, January 7th by the Georgian Calendar would have been December 25th by the old Julian Calendar and is therefore why it is still Christmas Day for the Russian Orthodox Church. Many Russians will have celebrated along with the rest of us and will then celebrate again on the Orthodox date.

Wishing Orthodox Christians a Merry Christmas Today Jan.6

2010-01-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

The Philippines has a local Orthodox Community so we greet them a Merry Christmas today! Here is an article regarding the Orthodox and Eastern Rite Christmas by JENNIFER ABEL
Staff writer

NEW BRITAIN — The Christmas season isn’t over yet, at least not for everybody — if you’re a member of an Orthodox church, Dec. 25 was just another cold winter day, and Christmas doesn’t roll around until today.

The Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection marked the occasion by celebrating an Epiphany Eve Candlelight Liturgy last night. The tradition goes back over 1,700 years.

The Rev. Fr. Kapriel Mouradjian, pastor of the Church of the Holy Resurrection, said, “Around 325 A.D., in Jerusalem, early Christians had pre-festal liturgies — festal meaning ‘before a feast’ — and there was a candlelight liturgy. In Latin the word is ‘lucernarium.’” The practice spread to Constantinople about 550 A.D. under the Emperor Justinian.”

Easter and Christmas, in other words in the Orthodox calendar inspire two celebrations: one the day of, and a candlelight liturgy the night before.
The only real difference between an Orthodox Christmas celebration and Western Christian Christmas celebration is the date it’s observed.

“All Christian churches used to have Christmas Jan. 6,” said Mouradjian. “But there was a pagan [Roman] festival called Saturnalia, after Saturn, which was celebrated Dec. 25. The Church of Rome decided to do something about that, and changed the date [of Christmas] to Dec. 25 ... the Orthodox churches, Coptic churches, and I think Syrian churches kept the original date.”

Jan. 6 is also an important date in the Puerto Rican tradition; it’s not Christmas but it is “Three Kings Day,” the day the three kings (or “three wise men”) are said to have visited and given gifts to the infant Jesus.

Karythia Estrella, a supervisor for the Opportunities Industrialization Center’s after-school program at Pulaski Middle School, said that in Puerto Rico, children traditionally did not receive gifts on Christmas morning but waited until Three Kings Day, when Jesus got his gifts too.

“In Puerto Rico the whole month of December is a celebration, but we get the gifts on Jan. 6, not Dec. 25,” she said. “The tradition is, the night before you get your box ready — about the size of a shoebox — and put grass in it and put it under your bed. That’s your gift to the kings. When you wake up in the morning, your gift is in the box.”

The Boys and Girls Club of New Britain will not be holding a formal Three Kings Day celebration, but program director Jason Gibson said, “We’ll be passing out goody bags to our members — a small toy, and some candy.”

Next Sunday, the first Sunday after the Orthodox Christmas, the Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection will celebrate the birth and baptism of Jesus with an Epiphany Liturgy and a Service of the Blessing of the Waters, to mark Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River.

External Celebation of the Feast of the Epiphany Observed at PLDM

2010-01-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

The traditional Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord is celebrated every January 6, However, many countries have moved it to the first Sunday after January 1. Last January 3, the PLDM Latin Mass community observed the external celebration of the Epiphany and again will observe the propers on January 6 with the blessing of chalks and Epiphany Water.

PLDM New Year's Eve Vigil and Missa Cantata

2010-01-05T18:22:00.000-08:00

For the 1st time at the Parish of Our Lord of Divine Mercy, Sikatuna in Q.C., Fr. Jojo Zerrudo initiated a Eucharistic Vigil in preparation for the New Year using the Adoracion Nocturna Rituals. After the Holy Rosary, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed on a beautiful monstrance, 10pm of December 31, 2009 until 12am of January 1, 2010. At exactly 12am, male adorers present prostrated infront of the Eucharistic Lord accompanied by 12 ringing of bells. Missa Cantata in the Tridentine Rite followed which lasted until 1pm, followed by a simple agape of coffee and bread sponsored by the Aoracion Nocturna Filipina.

Christmas Mass 2009 at the Parish of Our Lord of Divine Mercy

2010-01-05T18:20:00.000-08:00

Chirstmas Sung Mass with Incense According to the Extraordinary form of the Latin Rite was celebrated at 2pm by Fr. Jojo Zerrudo, Parish Priest.

The Epiphany Revealed!

2010-01-05T18:15:00.000-08:00

Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio

This commentary on the Feast of the Epiphany uncovers the meaning of the term epiphany and explains why the Magi -- Caspar, Balthasar, Melchior, the three kings of Orient -- are found, complete with crowns and camels, in every nativity scene.

Caspar, Balthasar, Melchior. These “three kings of Orient are” found, complete with crowns and camels, in every nativity scene.

Yet if you look closely at the gospel account of the Magi (Mat 2:1-12), you won’t find these names. Actually there is no mention of how many Magi there were or that they were kings riding camel-back.

This is a testimony to something some Bible Christians would like to deny: that all who read a text of Scripture do so in the light of some tradition, through some lens. If it is the right lens, it magnifies the text and allows us to get at its true meaning. If it is the wrong lens, we get a distorted image.

It just so happens that the lens the Catholic tradition uses to read the story flows from Scripture itself–to be precise, it flows from the connection between holy words written hundreds of years apart. But despite the many years and different human authors, the texts were inspired by the same Divine Author, the Holy Spirit. In chapter 60 of Isaiah (Is 60:1-6), it is predicted that at a time of darkness, the glory of the Lord will shine over Jerusalem . The heavenly light will be a beacon to the pagan nations and even to their kings. Here we find mention of camels whose job it will be to bring the wealth of these nations, including frankincense and gold, to the city of the Lord. Psalm 72 agrees that far off kings will bring gifts to the Son of David.

The tradition of the Church has always seen the story of the Magi as a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy and Psalm 72. Hence the crowns and camels.

But hold on. Isaiah 60 mentions only two of the gifts mentioned by Matthew: gold, fit for a king, and frankincense, for the worship of God. So what about the myrrh–where does that come from and what does it mean?

Myrrh, an aromatic resin, was used in preparing the dead for burial. Gold reveals that the babe in the manger is actually a king; frankincense tells us that is he God incarnate; myrrh tells us that he has come to die. That someone would redeem God’s people through suffering and death was foretold by Isaiah a few chapters earlier (Is 53). This was the really hard thing for those living in Jesus’ time to comprehend–that the same person who fulfilled all those prophecies about a glorious new king also fulfilled the prophecies about a suffering servant.

All three gifts of the Magi are necessary to convey the true revelation, the true epiphany of who this child is and what he is destined to do. That’s why for hundred’s of years we’ve sung of three kings, not two or four.

OK, so where did the names of the three come from?

The ancient feast of the Epiphany actually celebrates three events, tied together by the meaning of the word epiphany as “appearance” or “manifestation.” Jesus suddenly appears as who He really is–messiah and God–to the Magi, at Cana when he works his first miracle, and when he is baptized in the Jordan . In the early Church, Epiphany was therefore second only to Easter vigil as the time to celebrate the sacrament of baptism. Blessed water from those baptisms were used to bless the dwellings of the faithful, and it became customary to write over the doorposts of blessed homes “C+B+M” meaning “Christ blesses this house (Christus bendicat mansionem).” Since the three kings were also remembered at the same time, someone decided to give them names, and to use CBM as their initials–Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior. The names stuck.

But the fact that Matthew gives them no names is telling. They may be kings, but in this story they are merely supporting actors. They follow the true Star, the King of Kings. Only His name is important. Epiphany is not about the Magi–it’s all about Jesus.

Feast of the Epiphany

2010-01-05T00:49:00.000-08:00

Feast of the Epiphany as shared by Jay Balza

(See the page on Twelfth Night first
for the basics of the meaning of this Feast)

As described on the page on Twelfthnight, this Feast -- also known as the . "Theophany" or "Three Kings Day" -- recalls Christ revealing Himself as Divine in three different ways: to the Magi, at His Baptism, and with His miracle at the wedding feast at Cana.

For families who practice traditions involving "the Magi" or "La Befana" leaving gifts for children, the day begins with the wee ones discovering what was left for them while they slept on Twelfth Night.

At today's Mass, there will be a blessing of gold, frankincense, myrrh, Epiphany Water, and, after Communion, a blessing of chalk. Bring small special items of gold to have with you during the Mass, and they will be blessed if they are exposed as you sit in your pew with them (wedding rings, rosaries, an heirloom piece of gold jewelry, for example).

When Mass is over, you will take some of the blessed chalk, frankincense, myrrh, and Epiphany Water home with you, so it's good to bring a container to transport Holy Water and one to put some grains of incense and a piece of chalk into. (Note: if you can, take and keep 5 pieces of blessed incense for your Paschal Candle this Easter),

When you get home, sprinkle some Epiphany water (otherwise and afterwards used as regular Holy Water) in the rooms of your house to protect it and bring blessings. This Holy Water recalls the waters of the Jordan, and is a visible reminder of Christ's Divinity, of Jesus's revealing Himself as God at His Baptism, when were heard the words from the Father: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." This rite of blessing the home -- led by a priest, if possible, or the father of the house if no priest is available -- goes like this:

Upon entering the house:

Priest/Father:
Peace be to this house.
All:
And to all who dwell herein.
Priest:
From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial.
During the Magnificat, the room is sprinkled with holy water and incensed.

All:
My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For He hath regarded the humility of His handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is His Name. And His Mercy is from generation unto generations upon them that fear Him. He hath shewed might in His arm, He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel, His servant, being mindful of His mercy. As He spoke to our Fathers, Abraham and His seed forever.
After this is completed:

All:
From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial.
Priest:
Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead and lead us not into temptation,
All:
But deliver us from evil.
Priest:
All they from Saba shall come
All:
Bringing gold and frankincense.
Priest:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
All:
And let my cry come unto Thee.
Priest:
Let us pray. O God, who by the guidance of a star didst on this day manifest Thine only-begotten Son to the Gentiles, mercifully grant that we who know Thee by faith may also attain the vision of Thy glorious majesty. Through Christ our Lord.
All:
Amen.
Priest:
Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee-- Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary.
All:
And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light and kings in the splendor of thy rising, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee.
Priest:
Let us pray. Bless, O Lord God almighty, this home, that in it there may be health, purity, the strength of victory, humility, goodness and mercy, the fulfillment of Thy law, the thanksgiving to God the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. And may this blessing remain upon this home and upon all who dwell herein. Through Christ our Lord.
All:
Amen.
After the prayers of the blessing are recited, walk through the house and bless each room by sprinkling with Epiphany water and incensing it.

Take the blessed chalk and first write the initials of the three Wise Men, connected with Crosses, over the inside of your front door (on the lintel, if possible). Then write the year, breaking up the numbers and the year so that they fall on both sides of the initials. It should look like this, for ex.:
20 C+M+B 05

with the "20 "being the millennium and century, the "C" standing for the first Wise Man, Caspar, the "M" standing for Melchior, the "B" standing for Balthasar, and the "05" standing for the decade and year. It is also popularly believed that the Kings' initials also stand for "Christus mansionem benedicat" ("Christ bless this house").

Note that some write the first Wise Man's name as "Gaspar," "Kasper," or "Jaspar," so the initials would be "G+M+B" or "K+M+B" or "J+M+B." In any case, these initials over our doorway serve to remind us of Who the Magi saw and how they saw Him. They remind us to adore Him as they did. The chalk markings remain over the door 'til Pentecost.

It is a popular custom among some people that all who enter or re-enter their home for the first time after the blessing should step with their right foot across the threshold so as to start things off "on the right foot."

It is customary in some religious orders to choose a new patron Saint today for the coming year. Families can do this, too, choosing a new Saint by designating someone (e.g., father or mother, etc.) to select the new Patron, by determing by lots who will select the new patron, by having family members write down their choices and choosing at random, by allowing the person to choose who presents the best argument for a particular Patron, etc. It would be very beneficial if the person who chooses teaches the rest of the family about that particular Patron, perhaps looking up the Saint in Butler's works, finding art work depicting the Saint, etc., and sharing it.

Candlelight Missa "Ad Orientem" Under the Stars

2010-01-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

More photos of Fr. Rommel Rubia's (OAR) Mass on the Feast of the Holy Family, December 27, 2009, held at the Chua's residence rooftop, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. Mass was offred as thanksgiving by the members of the Hermandad de la Sagrada Pasion.

Reform of the Reform Activities in Manila

2010-01-04T23:42:00.000-08:00

by Carlos Antonio Palad

On December 19, 2009, the Defensores Fidei Foundation held its annual Mass (always held in December) in the Chapel of the Holy Family, Greenhills, San Juan. This is located within the Archdiocese of Manila. Defensores Fidei is a Filipino Catholic society that focuses on Catholic apologetics.

Since 2007, the annual Mass of this Foundation has always been a Latin Novus Ordo (everything in Latin except for the readings and a few prayers), celebrated ad orientem, with communion received kneeling and on the tongue and with Propers being used.

The Mass was offered by Fr. Abraham Arganiosa CRS, who also offers a sung Traditional Latin Mass one Sunday a month in the Diocese of Sorsogon, where his apostolate is located.

Prague's Infant Jesus Statue Wears Benedict XVI's Crown While Cebu's Infant Jesus Wears Paul VI's

2010-01-03T23:07:00.000-08:00

The statuette of the Infant Jesus in Cebu, the Philippines, has the honor and privileged to have been the first Infant Jesus image to be gifted by a Pope with a golden crown before the more renowned image in Prague by the late Pope Paul VI in commemoration of the 4oo years of Christianity in the Philippines in 1965. The statuette was instrumental in converting early Filipinos to Catholic Christianity and the statuette was even featured in a Vatican postage stamp. However, in November 2009, the statuette of Prague Infant Jesus whom people from all over the world implore for aid will as from yesterday wear the gilded crown that Pope Benedict XVI donated to it during his September visit to the Czech Republic, according to Carmelite Prior Petr Sleich. The royal crown that Benedict XVI donated to the Infant Jesus is decorated with eight shells that symbolise St Augustine.
The crown was placed above the statuette in the baroque Church of Our Lady Victorious already when the Pope came to pray before it, but afterwards it was taken to a Prague goldsmith who fitted it with catches and added a velvet underlay.

The royal crown that Benedict XVI donated to Infant Jesus is decorated with eight shells, the symbol of St Augustine. An inscription with the date on which the Pope donated his gift is beneath the crown cross. The crown is also decorated with genuine pearls and garnets. The crown is made of silver, gilded and polished up manually with agate.
The Infant Jesus statuette has about 100 clothes, coming from various countries, for instance, China, Ecuador, Italy, the Philippines, Poland, the United States and Vietnam.
Infant Jesus has been venerated by thousands of Catholics who pray to him and bring him gifts in belief of his miraculous healing power.
The Holy Infant of Prague is a 47-centimetre-high wax statuette (including the base) with a wooden core, originally made by a monk in Spain.
In the late 16th century, it was brought to the Czech Lands by a Spanish noblewoman, Maria Manrique de Lara, as her wedding present when she married a Bohemian nobleman.
The statuette passed further into the hands of their daughter, Polyxena. In 1628, she donated it to the Church of Our Lady Victorious, belonging to the order of the bare-footed Carmelites.
The Manrique de Lara family from the Canary Islands donated brocade clothes to the Infant Jesus in 1996.
Some clothes, including a velvet dress with a gold embroidery from Austro-Hungarian Empress Maria Theresa from 1743, are on display in the church museum.
Most of the clothes are, however, in a depository or in a baroque wardrobe in the church.
Source: 2009 Czech News Agency (ČTK).

Tridentine Christmas Day Mass 2009

2010-01-03T22:10:00.000-08:00

Fr. Jojo Zerrudo celebrated Christmas Day Mass 2009 at PLDM in honor of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ! Puer Natus Est!

Gaudete Sunday Mass 2009 in the Tridentine Rite

2010-01-03T21:50:00.000-08:00

Missa Cantata was celebrated by Fr. Jojo Zerrudo at PLDM during Gaudete Sunday, 3rd Sunday before Christmas Day!

Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite in Honor of the Imaculate Conception

2010-01-03T21:44:00.000-08:00

Fr. Jojo Zerrudo, Parish Priest, Parish of Our Lord of Divine Mercy at Sikatuna, Q.C., spearheaded the celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with a Missa Cantata with Incense last Dec. 8, 2009.

Grand Marian Procession 2009

2010-01-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

The grand Grand Marian Procession of 2009 held in honor of Philippine Patroness the Immaculate Concpetion, was held at the Intramuros grounds December 5, in anticipation of the December 8 feast. Spearheaded by the Cofradia de la Inmaculada Concepcion, Mass was held before the procession at the Manila Cathedral with the Archbishop of Manila, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, as celebrant. Members of the Hermnadad de la Sgrada Pasiona and EDDSJ weer invited as Mass servers and as acolytes for the procession wearing the traditional tunicles as influenced by Spanish processions held in Seville. Various venerated Marian images processed in their beautiful carrozas.

Tridentine "Rorate Caeli" Mass Celebrated at Jaleville

2010-01-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

Tridentine Mass known as "Rorate Caeli" in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary during Advent was celebrated at the Chapel of Jaleville Subdivision in Paranaque as requested by the members of the community. The 7:30pm candlelight Mass in honor of the Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph Patroness - Ntra. Sra. de la Esperanza La Macarena (Our Lady of Hope of Macarena,Feastday Dec. 18), coincided with the 22nd Foundation Anniversary of the EDSSJ. EDSSJ members again were invited as Mass servers and as Choir. Celebrant is Fr. Jojo Zerrudo, spiritual adviser of EDSSJ.

Missa "Ad Orientem" by a Somascan Priest

2010-01-03T21:05:00.001-08:00

December 19, 2009, Ember Saturday Mass was celebrated by Fr. Abe Arganiosa, CRS at the Holy Family Chapel at the Greenhills Shopping Center using the Vatican II Liturgy "Ad Orientem" with the trappings of the traditional Mass as thanksgiving as requested by the Defensores Fidei Group. Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph (EDSSJ) members were invited as Mass servers and as Choir.

Missa "Ad Orientem" by an Augustinian Recollect Priest

2010-01-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

Last December 27, 2009, Feast of the Holy Family in the Vatican II Calendar, the Hermandad de la Sagrada Pasion members held their Christmas get-together in Intamuros, the 400 year old Spanish city of Manila. Mass of thanksgiving was celebrated by priest member Fr. Rommel Rubia, O.A.R. using the Vatican II liturgy Ad Orientem with the trappings of the Pre-Vatican II rites.

DIRECTORY OF TLM'S UNDER DIOCESAN AUSPICES IN THE PHILIPPINES AS OF DECEMBER 15, 2009

2010-01-03T20:37:00.001-08:00

DIRECTORY OF TLM'S UNDER DIOCESAN AUSPICES IN THE PHILIPPINES AS OF DECEMBER 15, 2009
Prepared by: Carlos Antonio Palad
Member, Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph-Philippines

(Note: private Masses that are completely closed to the public are not listed)

Every-Sunday Masses are marked in red

LUZON

Greater Manila Area (Ecclesiastical Province of Manila )

Archdiocese of Manila (see also Military Diocese)

Marian Library and Information Center
1170 R. Hidalgo Street
Quiapo, Manila
Tel. Nos: 632+704-9712
632+309-3575
Archdiocese of Manila
Low Mass on First Fridays at 11 A.M.
Msgr. Melencio De Vera
(Call ahead to verify schedule)

Info [+]

NOTE: This chapel is very small, well hidden from public view and is accessible only through a private passageway. First-time visitors are advised to call the Center to verify the Mass schedule and to ask for directions. This chapel is almost in the shadow of the San Sebastian Basilica, a towering 19th century Gothic steel church in the heart of old Manila.

The small congregation here goes to the Parish of the Lord of Divine Mercy for Sunday Mass. This is not the same as the group that used to have an every-Sunday TLM in the Archdiocese of Manila in the years prior to Summorum Pontificum.

The Sunday TLM that was established (by yet another group of Catholic faithful) in July 2008 in the St. John Bosco Parish in the city of Makati was discontinued after a few Sundays due to the priest going to Europe for studies. Although the congregation tried to get their TLM back and was able to get another priest to agree to offer Mass, the "Manila Guidelines" on the TLM soon put an end to their plans.

Diocese of Cubao

1. Parish of the Lord of Divine Mercy
Madasalin cor. Maamo St. , Sikatuna Village , Quezon City (northern Metro Manila)
Mass on Sundays (Missa Cantata): 2:00 P.M.
Daily Mass from Monday - Saturday (Low Mass): 8:30 A.M.
Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo

Info [+]

(The Traditionalist community in this parish is the currently the largest Trad congregation in the Philippines under diocesan auspices, with Sunday Mass having about 150 congregants. It is also the oldest, tracing its roots to as far back as 1986.)

2. St. Joseph Chapel
Loyola School of Theology
Ateneo De Manila Campus, Loyola Heights , Quezon City
Private Low Mass from Monday to Friday, at 5:30 or 6:00 A.M.
Fr. Timoteo Ofrasio S.J
The chapel is located within the Jesuit residence. Please call beforehand at 02-4266101 if you wish to attend.

3. Christ the King Parish
Greenmeadows Avenue , White Plains , Quezon City
Saturdays, 8:30 A.M.
Msgr. Cesar Salomon

4. Reyna ng Hardin (Queen of the Garden) Grotto
217 Scout Chuatoco St. cor. Scout Tobias
Roxas District, Quezon City
One weekday Low Mass per month
Those wishing to attend may contact Chito Licuanan at 09178327165.

Diocese of Novaliches
House of the Immaculate "Our Lady of the Seven Joys"
Ave Maria Road , Maligaya Park Subdivision, Lagro, Quezon City
TLM about five times a week (no fixed schedule)
Fr. John Anthony Maria Napulis FFI

Info [+]

This Mass is the “private” community Mass of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate. Call ahead at 418-9504 if you wish to attend.
Fr. John Anthony Maria Napulis FFI

Diocese of Paranaque
1. Jaleville Chapel
Dolphin St. , Jaleville Subdivision
Quirino Avenue, San Dionisio, Paranaque City
One Sunday per month

Info [+]

Low Mass one Sunday per month (normally at the last Sunday of the month) at 9:00 AM beginning November 29, 2009. Call or text Miguel Madarang at 09162290128 for confirmation of details.
(The priest who will offer this Mass has asked for anonymity and has requested that no photographs be taken lest his superiors find out what he is doing and punish him for saying the TLM.)

2. Divine Mercy Perpetual Adoration Chapel
House of the Immaculate “Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament” (a convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, affiliated to the FFI)
19 Cebu St . , Alabang Hills Village , 1771 Muntinlupa City
4th Saturday, no fixed hour. Call 02-850-9293 to confirm schedule and attendance. This chapel is located within a private subdivision.
Fr. John Anthony Maria Napulis FFI
Info [+]

(The every-Sunday TLM of the Diocese of Paranaque in St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Susanna Parish Church in Alabang Town Center , Muntinlupa City , was arbitrarily suppressed after exactly one year of existence. At the time of its suppression the congregation numbered some 250-300 people every Sunday.)

Military Diocese (within the physical boundaries of the Archdiocese of Manila )

Crypt Chapel (Chapelle des Roses)
Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus
Villamor Air Base, Pasay City
Every Sunday, Missa Cantata, 9:30 A.M
Msgr. Cesar Salomon and, on occasion, Fr. John Anthony Maria Napulis FFI
Info [+]

(Although the shrine is under the Military Diocese, the shrine is located within the territory of the Archdiocese of Manila. This Mass is the ‘successor’ to the every-Sunday TLM of the Diocese of Paranaque, established on June 29, 2008 and suppressed on June 28, 2009.)

Diocese of San Pablo
1. St. John the Baptist Parish Church
Calamba, Laguna Province (south of Metro Manila)
Low Mass on three weekdays, no fixed schedule
Fr. John Paul Villanueva

Cordillera Region (Ecclesiastical Province of Nueva Segovia )

Diocese of Baguio
1. Chapel-Shrine of Our Lady of Atonement
(Located within the compound of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Atonement)
Every Sunday at 7:30 A.M and 3:30 A.M.
Fr. Andres Cosalan Jr.
(Fr. Cosalan is the Vicar General of the Diocese but does not use the title and privileges of a Monsignor)

2. Convent Chapel
Sta. Catalina Convent of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena
2 Marcos Highway , Baguio City
Every 1st Saturday, 6:30 AM

Bicol Region (Ecclesiastical Province of Nueva Caceres )

Diocese of Sorsogon

St. Jerome Aemiliani Chapel
Aemilianum College, Inc. (ACI)
Sorsogon City , Sorsogon Province
2nd Sunday: 9:00 AM
Fr. Abraham Arganiosa, CRS

Info [+]

(This used to be every-Sunday)

VISAYAS ISLANDS

Ecclesiastical Province of Jaro

Archdiocese of Jaro

Chapel of St. Joseph Regional Seminary
Jaro City , Province of Iloilo
Missa Cantata on Sunday, First Friday and First Saturday: 4:00 PM
Msgr. Sozonte Cataluna
Info [+]

(There have been credible reports that this Mass is a "hybrid Mass")

Ecclesiastical Province of Cebu

Archdiocese of Cebu
1. Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno
(Monastery of the Society of the Angel of Peace),
Cansojong, Talisay City
Holy Mass on Sundays: 3:00 PM
Msgr. Cristobal Garcia

2. Order of Discalced Augustinians
Tabor Hill Talamban 6000, Cebu City
Monastery Chapel
Holy Mass on Sundays (Missa Cantata): 10:30 AM
Rev. Fr. Luigi Kerschbamer, OAD

3. Church of Mary Coredemptrix
San Jose, Talamban, Cebu
Low Mass on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 6:30 A.M.
Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate

Diocese of Tagbilaran

1. St. Vincent Ferrer Parish
Calape, Bohol
Private Low Mass on many weekdays, no fixed schedule

2. One weekday TLM a month in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel in La Paz , Cortes, Bohol
Info [+]

(There used to be a TLM every day, including Sundays, in the Assumption of Our Lady Church in Dauis, Bohol .)

Diocese of Bacolod

1. Chapel of the Sacred Heart
La Consolacion College – Bacolod
Bacolod City , 6100 Negros Occidental
Sunday Mass: 9:00 A.M.

2. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Chapel
Victorias City , 6119 Negros Occidental
Sunday Mass: 4:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 4:30 PM
Daily Mass: 4:30 AM
Fr. Ebenezer Samonte

Info [+]

(This chapel is located on private property but is recognized by the diocese. Victorias City is a small town in the northernmost part of Negros Occidental province.)

MINDANAO

Diocese of Malaybalay

Marian House "Our Lady of the Rosary" House of Contemplation
Sitio Gaboc, Lingi-on, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon
Sundays at 3:00 P.M.
Daily at 6:30 A.M.
Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate
Info [+]

(The Sunday TLM in the Archdiocese of Davao recently "folded up" due to the lack of attendees. The Archbishop was also extremely hostile.)

Other Matters:

More Info on TLM Celebrations in the Philippines [−]

Prior to Summorum Pontificum, five Philippine dioceses either had verbal permission for the TLM from the bishop, or a written indult: the Archdiocese of Jaro, and the dioceses of Cubao, Bacolod , Imus and Tagbilaran (in Tagbilaran, though, the “permission” was only for private Masses). Jaro, Cubao and Bacolod each had one regularly-scheduled and publicly-available every-Sunday TLM. The “indult Mass” in Imus was initially held in a parish church but ended up being held in private homes, while the priest who was given the indult in Tagbilaran was not allowed to offer the TLM for a congregation. In addition, there was a sizeable congregation originally from Imus that attended a “forbidden” TLM in the Archdiocese of Manila which was celebrated by a Korean priest who, nevertheless, remained a priest in good standing. This particular TLM ended when the Korean priest went back to his homeland for good, while the Imus TLM eventually fizzled out and has now ceased. There were also “independent” groups in the Dioceses of Antipolo (in Marikina ), San Pablo in Laguna, and the Archdioceses of Cagayan De Oro and Davao . Private Masses were reported in the Archdioceses of Manila (in Makati ) and Cebu and the Dioceses of San Pablo and San Jose in Nueva Ecija.

After Summorum Pontificum, seven dioceses gained at least one every-Sunday TLM’s accessible to the public between September 2007 and June 2008: the Archdioceses of Manila (in the city of Makati ), Cebu and Davao , and the dioceses of Sorsogon, Tagbilaran, Malolos and Paranaque . All these have since then lost their every-Sunday TLM’s with the exception of Cebu . The Diocese of Baguio gained two every-Sunday Traditional Latin Masses in April of 2009, both celebrated in a small Chapel-Shrine within the grounds (but not part of) the Cathedral. The Diocese of Malaybalay, Bukidnon recently gained an every-Sunday TLM thanks to the FFI. Private Masses continue to be reported in the Dioceses of San Pablo and of San Jose in Nueva Ecija.

All in all, on the eve of Summorum Pontificum, the Philippines had three locations in as many dioceses (down from 4 in as many dioceses in c. 2004) where a regular every-Sunday TLM under diocesan auspices and available to the public was available. By June 2008 this had climbed up to 11 (or 12) locations in 10 dioceses and archdioceses. Most of these Masses were listed on Rorate Caeli. As of November 15, 2009 the count has gone down to 9 locations in 7 dioceses. (A list of the TLM's under diocesan auspices in the Philippines as of the year 2000 can be found here.)

The situation in the Archdiocese of Jaro has deteriorated compared to the pre-2007 situation. Prior to 2007 the Jaro community was the largest Traditionalist group in the Philippines in full communion with Rome , and had its Sunday Mass in the Jaro Cathedral as well as some weekday Masses in various chapels in and around the Archdiocese. Today, the congregation is down to about 50 people, and the Traditional Latin Mass is now said in one place: in the chapel of the regional seminary, which is quite far away from most of the people who used to attend the TLM in the Cathedral of Jaro.

The situation in the Dioceses of Cubao, Bacolod and Tagbilaran has improved, though, as a perusal of the current directory of TLM’s in comparison with previous lists can easily demonstrate. Cubao is the refuge of the TLM in the Ecclesiastical Province of Manila, while Bacolod – along with the Archdiocese of Cebu – are the leading providers of the TLM in the Philippines . The Traditionalist community in Bacolod owes its existence to the benevolence of its former bishop, Camilo Gregorio (now Prelate of Batanes), who is reputed to have verbally declared that any priest can offer the TLM in his diocese without need for an indult, and whose support for the TLM has never wavered to the present day. There was no indult in Cebu prior to Summorum Pontificum but the Archbishop of Cebu, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, has been very supportive of its implementation in contrast to his fellow Cardinal, Gaudencio Rosales of Manila .

The TLM in the Diocese of Paranaque – at the Parish of St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Susanna in Alabang – was attracting about 250-300 congregants every Sunday (making it the largest TLM congregation in the Philippines) when it was suppressed on the eve of its first anniversary on June 28, 2009. Some members of the congregation then found liturgical refuge in the TLM’s in Cubao and the Military Ordinariate. Others either went once more to the Novus Ordo in the parish (as they used to do) or began going (or returned) to the Masses in the SSPX priory church in Cubao.

There are no reports about the state of the tiny “independent” groups in the Dioceses of Antipolo and of San Pablo that were known to have existed prior to Summorum Pontificum. The small, interconnected groups in the Archdioceses of Davao and Cagayan De Oro continue to lead a secretive existence and are resistant to attempts to communicate with them. The group in Manila that used to have its own “forbidden” every-Sunday TLM prior to Summorum Pontificum, has largely been absorbed into the TLM communities of the Diocese of Cubao and the Military Ordinariate.

The TLM in the Diocese of Malolos was buried along with its celebrant, the late Msgr. Moises Andrade – the sad story of how the TLM in his diocese was abruptly suppressed upon his premature and unexpected death, and how he himself was denied a Traditional Requiem Mass, was recounted on Rorate Caeli.

The short-lived TLM in Manila (in the city of Makati ), which had a sizeable congregation, stopped in August 2008 after the priest who was offering it went to Europe for studies.

The schedule of the TLM in Tagbilaran has now been reduced to some weekdays, and not on Sundays.

The TLM in Davao folded up due to the small attendance; the every-Sunday TLM in Sorsogon was reduced to once a month due to the difficulties that most of the congregation had in going to Mass there on a weekly basis.

However, while the number of every-Sunday TLM’s have been reduced, the number of weekday TLM’s (often on a variable schedule) has increased. The Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate – whose Philippine contingent is the second largest, after the Italian – are also gradually shifting to the Traditional Latin Mass, although this has not occurred in the Philippines with the same speed and publicity as in Italy.

Pontifical Masses since September 2007 [−]

On September 11, 2007, the Archbishop of Jaro, Angel Lagdameo offered a Pontifical Low Mass in the Convent Chapel of the Carmel of Lipa, in thanksgiving for the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. Since January 2008, Bishop Camilo Gregorio (now the Prelate of Batanes) has publicly offered Pontifical Mass (either Low or Cantata, and one Solemn Pontifical Mass on Sept. 14, 2008) on seven occasions, four of these in the Parish of the Lord of Divine Mercy in the Diocese of Cubao. The now-retired Bishop Angel Hobayan has publicly offered Low Mass thrice and the retired Bishop of Ipil, Federico Escaler SJ once.

Non-Catholic TLM’s [−]

In addition to the TLM’s under diocesan auspices and the SSPX, some non-Catholic groups also pretend to offer the TLM. There have been reports of pseudo-Orthodox groups (none of which have anything approaching valid Orders) offering the Traditional Latin Mass. The controversial “Lay Monastic Community of Caryana” led by suspended priest Fr. Odon de Castro also has Latin Novus Ordo and Traditional Latin Masses: its schola is reputed to be the best in the Philippines . However, this community engages in suspect cult-like practices (such as entire families living as monastics, and children being accepted as monks), and Fr. de Castro has been credibly accused of teaching extreme heresies (e.g. the Son is the Intellect and the Holy Spirit is the Free Will of the Father, great sanctity is the minimum that is necessary for salvation, the Catholic Church has lost the faith, etc) and superstitions (e.g. to pray at midnight is a “shortcut to grace”).

The Philippines has a history of “churches” that preach Unitarianism and other extreme forms of heterodoxy while continuing to use the traditional ceremonies and trappings of Catholicism (e.g. early Aglipayanism, and the “Rizalista” movement) so the existence of this group is not out of the ordinary.

Some Filipino groups that preach the divinity of Mary (a heretical belief that is alive and well in the Philippines ) also promote the Traditional Latin Mass. The sedevacantist movement in the island of Cebu – the only organized sedevacantist group in the Philippines – publicly promotes belief in the Divinity of Mary.

It is necessary for the legitimate, truly Catholic Traditional Latin Mass movement in the Philippines to more actively and fiercely denounce these heretical movements.

Fr. Joseph Skelton Celebrates the First Tridentine Missa Cantata at Tagbilaran Cathedral In Bohol After Vatican II

2010-01-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

Fr. Joseph Skelton sent these few photos from this morning's Mass (Dec.29, 2009). He was so thrilled that this was the first time the Cathedral has had this Mass since after the Council. There were about 400 people there.

New Conditions for Mortal Sin???

2009-12-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

I was able to complete the 9 Simbang Gabi Masses at the Violago Chapel in Q.C. for the year 2009 and always been interested in the different insights various SVD priests would give in their homilies since the Violago chapel is within the spiritual care of the Shrine of the Divine Word. In one of the Masses, Fr.TM SVD was celebrant and I was the commentator. In his homili he started to encourgae people to receive Holy Communion and the only barrier to receiving is when one commits a mortal sin in which confession should be done first. Nothing wrong until he said that people seldom commit mortal sins since the 3 condition given by him are the following 1) Full Knowledge, 2) Full Consent and 3)HATRED OF GOD! I remember in basic catechism that the 3rd condition is Grave of Grievous Offense. Thus he further said that even if one committed pre-marital sex, one should not be hindered in receiving Holy Communion since he just need to do an act of contrition required for venial sins. He suggested that PMS is not mortal since it was done not in hatred of God. I almost walked out of the Mass since he just promoted PMS and encouraged people to do so! Later I consulted another elderly SVD priest friend on mine and he concluded that it was heresy. It is like saying that a murderer can never be guilty of mortal sin since he killed someone he hates but not God. I know that the mere fact that committing a sin with full knowledge and full consent is already an act of defiance against God thus could be equated with hating Him since it goes against His will especially with grave consquences. The eldetly priest told me that he will report the incident to their provincial since he has mislead a lot of the faithful. God save us from priests who do not know their basic Catholic Faith!

Divina Pastora Coronada de San Fernando (Cadiz)

2009-12-22T17:15:00.001-08:00

Divina Pastora Coronada de San Fernando (Cadiz)
Originally uploaded by oscarpuigdevall

La Divina Pastora is also the Patroness of my mom's hometown in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Divina Pastora de Santa Marina,Sevilla. Festividad de la Inmaculada.

2009-12-22T17:06:00.001-08:00

Divina Pastora de Santa Marina,Sevilla. Festividad de la Inmaculada.
Originally uploaded by oscarpuigdevall