Category: Uncategorized

I went to St. Timothy’s for Mass at noon today and bought a book they are selling on the history of the Diocese of Arlington. It would make a good coffee table book. It’s big and slick and has lots of color. It cost $20. It used to be $40 – I guess it wasn’t a best-seller even among our bretheren here. It contains a ton of pictures from just about every parish in the diocese and much, much more! I hope it tells why the architecture of churches built in the last few decades has been decidely un-churchy. There are some great pictures of the Chalet de Ski Alexandra was talking about a while back. Perhaps I’ll have some time later tonight or later in the week – blogging has been hard with the new job. I’m no longer a failed writer so I can’t write like one!

and the man who ordained them. This from the fifth day of the Divine Mercy Novena, the text was releaved in a private relevation to St. Faustina. According to her, this is what Jesus told her:

Today bring to Me the souls of heretics and schismatics, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During my bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart; that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church, My wounds heal, and in this way they alleviate My Passion.

Schismatics don’t ever see themselves as such. If they say “Rome says we’re heretics” they wrap themselves in it as though it were a cloak of righteousness or a badge of honor. Christ meant us to be united in one body, His body. What would happen if they really knew what this does to Jesus?

One of my sister’s friends is dying of cancer. She was diagnosed more than 18 months ago and is near death right now. She’s in her early 30’s and has been married for only two years. Please pray for her. She is not a Christian. I have been praying the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy for her in the hope that God will show her His boundless mercy at the hour of her death. Your prayers are appreciated. Her name is Julie Vantree.
If you don’t know anything about the Divine Mercy devotion and the private revelations of St. Faustina start reading here.

Here comes the feedback – good point about abuse.
Latin is proven to work against liturgical abusers. Any priest who is smart enough to learn Latin well enough to say a Tridentine or Novus Ordo Mass know better than mess with the rubrics.
Furthermore, the Latin liturgy is seldom abused by music directors because most do not come there at all. It is like holy water for the devil. You say “Oremus” and the ones of the Haugen_Dazs ilk just disappear. Puff! They are gone! That is why I like Latin liturgies.
The Latin Mass combines tradition and the sacred, two values that are not sufficiently appreciated by many who claim to be Catholics but are really not.

Hello, friends. Steve has been posting alot about Latin Mass and I wanted to frame a discussion.
Latin Masses are popping up all over the place and there’s a sizable chunk of Catholics who think that’s great. There’s another sizable chunk of folks who think that’s very bad. And there’s a large chunk of people who don’t care what language the Mass is celebrated in as long as the priest doesn’t ask for money.
I have mixed feelings about the re-emergence of entire liturgies in Latin, but wanted to open the floor to discussion. Truth be known, I have mixed feelings about the entire liturgy in English, but it has more to do with the character of the liturgy than with the language. Let’s discuss, shall we? E-mail me and I’ll post comments here. This should be fun.
Here’s my first tidbit for the discussion: I see many people attracted to Latin Mass because by its nature it can’t have the clap-trap and cacophony associated with many litugies in the US. You can’t have 7 guitars piped through the sound system at a Latin Mass. No one is going to be banging a tambourine for half the Mass. There’s actually some still, quiet times for mediation instead of 30 minute homilities on mediation. And you won’t find a priest rewording the Eucharistic prayer for “pastoral” reasons during a Latin Mass.
And I think those are valid problems with the liturgy today. But I don’t think Mass in Latin is the uber-solution to the problem.
Feel free to drop da bombs here.