Texas legislature passes law permitting Nativty scenes in schools May 24, 2013
Posted by tantamergo in awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Liturgical Year, North Deanery, persecution, Sacraments, secularism, Society, Tradition, Virtue.add a comment
This can sort of be viewed as a good thing, although I can remember a time when local schools didn’t have to depend upon state government to “allow” them to recognize a holiday celebrated by virtually all students and their families. We have fallen so very far:
By margins of 145-2 in the state house and 29-0 in the state senate, Texas has passed legislation permitting public schools to display “a menorah or a Christmas image such as a nativity scene or Christmas tree, if the display includes a scene or symbol of more than one religion; or one religion and at least one secular scene or symbol.”
“A display relating to a traditional winter celebration may not include a message that encourages adherence to a particular religious belief,” the legislation stated.
In addition, the law provides that “a school district may educate students about the history of traditional winter celebrations, and allow students and district staff to offer traditional greetings regarding the celebrations, including: (1)’Merry Christmas’; (2)’Happy Hanukkah’; and (3) ‘happy holidays.’”
We actually had Christmas parties at school when I was a kid! I think that pooped out in middle school. I don’t know if that was because of some lawsuit, or what. It did seem displays of Christianity became more verboten as my time in school wore on, and that by senior high school, it was pretty much ignored.
Well, it’s a sign, but I’m certain lawsuits are already being filed.
For those who had questions regarding the Regina Caeli/Angelus changeover May 23, 2013
Posted by tantamergo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Interior Life, Latin Mass, Liturgical Year, North Deanery, Our Lady, sadness, Tradition, Virtue.add a comment
I posted on Monday about some upcoming events in the life of the Church. One of those was a reminder to change over from praying the Regina Caeli for the Angelus on the Saturday before Trinity Sunday. The Regina Caeli stops after the noon prayer. Some wondered why that was, because most sources today say that you should switch back to the Angelus the day before Pentecost, one week earlier. Well, I have the answer.
The traditional practice is still to pray the Regina Caeli until the day before Trinity Sunday. That is because the Octave of Pentecost still exists in the traditional calendar, and an octave treats the entire 8 days as a continuation of the Holy Day, in this case, Pentecost. But the changes to the calendar made for the Novus Ordo after Vatican II eliminated the Octave of Pentecost. So, there are not an extra 7 days of praying the Regina Caeli in the new calendar. But it remains in the old.
Fr. Z loves to tell the apocraphyl story of Pope Paul VI ostensibly crying when he went to go put on his white vestments for WhitMonday, only to find out that it no longer existed and he was to wear green. I’ve always found that story highly doubtful, since Paul VI very carefully reviewed and participated in the formation of both the new Mass and the new calendar. But it seems to make sure Fr. Z feel better.
Anyways, in sum, the traditional practice is to continue the Regina Caeli until Saturday noon before Trinity Sunday – this Sunday – while the Nervous Urdu practice is to switch back to the Angelus the day before Pentecost. Either is valid, at this point in time.
Some important reminders on upcoming liturgical events May 20, 2013
Posted by tantamergo in awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Holy suffering, Liturgical Year, North Deanery, sanctity, Tradition, Virtue.8 comments
We are in a glorious part of the Liturgical calendar that marks the ending of Paschaltime with a slew of great feasts and other aspects of Church life. Of course we just had Pentecost yesterday, and coming this Sunday is Trinity Sunday. The following Thursday is the great Feast of Corpus Christi, with the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary the following day, May 31. Then, June 7 is the Feast of the Sacred Heart, which winds up this veritable explosion of Grace-filled days our Lord has seen fit to give our Holy Mother Church.
The point of all the above, is to remind you to go to Mass on those Feast Days! Don’t wait for Sunday!
Another important reminder, this week is the Summer Ember Week. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday are days of fast and partial abstinence. That means you can have one meal with meat and at most two smaller snacks w/o meat that do not equal another meal. Friday of course is total abstinence. I finally made a reminder for Ember Week early enough to hopefully be useful!
Note that the use of the Regina Caeli, that great, beautiful prayer, ends on Saturday with the noon prayer. After that, it is back to the Angelus. I will miss you, Regina Caeli! You are one of my favorite prayers/chants!
You need to start your Corpus Christi Novena tomorrow. There is text for a commonly used Novena here and below.
I thank You, Jesus, my Divine Redeemer, for coming upon the earth for our sake, and for instituting the adorable Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist in order to remain with us until the end of the world. I thank You for hiding beneath the Eucharistic species Your infinite majesty and beauty, which Your Angels delight to behold, so that I might have courage to approach the throne of Your Mercy. I thank You, most loving Jesus, for having made Your- self my food, and for uniting me to Yourself with so much love in this wonderful Sacrament that I may live in You. I thank You, my Jesus, for giving Yourself to me in this Blessed Sacrament, and so enriching it with the treasures of Your love that You have no greater gift to give me. I thank You not only for becoming my food but also for offering Yourself as a continual sacrifice to Your Eternal Father for my salvation. I thank You, Divine Priest, for offering Yourself as a Sacrifice daily upon our altars in adoration and homage to the Most Blessed Trinity, and for making amends for our poor and miserable adorations. I thank You for renewing in this daily Sacrifice the actual Sacrifice of the Cross offered on Calvary, in which You satisfy Divine justice for us poor sinners. I thank You, dear Jesus, for having become the priceless Victim to merit for me the fullness of heavenly favors. Awaken in me such confidence in You that their fullness may descend ever more fruitfully upon my soul. I thank You for offering Yourself in thanksgiving to God for all His benefits, spiritual and temporal, which He has bestowed upon me. In union with Your offering of Yourself to Your Father in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, I ask for this special favor: (Mention your request). If it be Your holy Will, grant my request. Through You I also hope to receive the grace of perseverance in Your love and faithful service, a holy death, and a happy eternity with You in Heaven. Amen.
O Lord, You have given us this Sacred Banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of His Passion is renewed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us. You have given them bread from Heaven. Having all sweetness within. Let us pray. God our Father, for Your glory and our salvation You appointed Jesus Christ eternal High Priest. May the people He gained for You by His Blood come to share in the power of His Cross and Resurrection by celebrating His Memorial in this Eucharist, for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever. Amen.
O Jesus, since You have left us a remembrance of Your Passion beneath the veils of this Sacrament, grant us, we pray, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Your Body and Blood that we may always enjoy the fruits of Your Redemption, for You live and reign forever. Amen.
Latin Mass tonight May 20, 2013
Posted by tantamergo in Admin, Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Interior Life, Latin Mass, North Deanery.1 comment so far
There is Novus Ordo Latin Mass tonight at St. Mark in Plano at 7pm. This is the last Mass for some time. I think the Mass is on hiatus for 3 weeks, to be re-tooled. When it comes back for the new fall season, however, watch out! It’s going to be as wild and upredictable as a cross between I Dream of Genie and Bewitched, if you can imagine that!
Mind-blowing, indeed!
Seriously, the Mass will be on break for a few weeks after tonight, Monday, May 20.
Prayers for local tornado victims May 16, 2013
Posted by tantamergo in Admin, Dallas Diocese, disaster, horror, North Deanery, sadness, Society.comments closed
It was a wild and wooly night in North Texas. We drove home from Mass under a torrential downpour, with tornado warnings all around. The really severe weather was down to the south and west of DFW, from west of Granbury to east and south of Cleburne. I pray for the repose of the souls of the deceased, and all those who had their lives turned upside down last night:
Granbury tornado:
Mile-wide tornado near Cleburne:
We drive through part of the area the tornadoes struck all the time. The path through Johnson County followed near US67 for quite a while. It is most fortuitous that the huge tornado was in mostly rural areas. Otherwise, the damage could have been of biblical proportions. Thank God for that.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Homeschooling Conference June 28-29 May 14, 2013
Posted by tantamergo in awesomeness, Basics, catachesis, Dallas Diocese, Domestic Church, family, fun, General Catholic, North Deanery, Society, Virtue.comments closed
The annual Immaculate Heart of Mary homeschooling conference for North Texas will be held June 28-29 at the Arlington Convention Center. The main website for the conference is here. Speakers include:
- Fr. Shenan Boquet, head of Human Life International
- Dr. Michael Foley, traditional Catholic and Baylor professor, whose articles are published in many traditional publications like Latin Mass Magazine
- Mr. Andrew Pudewa, who is the director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing
- Mrs. Virginia Seuffert, a long term homeschooling mom
Admission is free. All details in the flyer here.
Latin Mass tonight at St. Mark May 13, 2013
Posted by tantamergo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Latin Mass, North Deanery.comments closed
7pm at St. Mark in Plano.
It’s Ascension Thursday May 9, 2013
Posted by tantamergo in Admin, awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Interior Life, Latin Mass, Liturgical Year, North Deanery, sanctity, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
And it’s been a very messed up day. I fried my smart phone last night. I think it may be fixed, but I lost the morning getting it taken care of. That’s why I didn’t have the early morning reminder post about Mass today I wanted to do. So, here it is. I am also running around with my head spinning, as I just got my rear handed to me by my priest/spiritual director over a matter in which I have been gravely in error. I was very disappointed to still find so much error running around in my head. And yes, it’s on a subject I’ve blogged on, but it’s not what I would call anything core to the Faith, just revealing of very distorted thinking. Certainly the inheritance of my protestant upbringing and latent paganism. More on that, possibly, later. Not today. I’m still processing.
Anyway, it’s Ascension Thursday, get thee to Mass. There are still Masses available in the Diocese, even though it is now mid-afternoon.
Pray for the Holy Father! May 6, 2013
Posted by tantamergo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, episcopate, General Catholic, Grace, Interior Life, North Deanery, Papa, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
We should always pray for our leaders in the Church, our shepherds, and especially for our chief pastor, the Holy Father Pope Francis. I do pray for our pope, bishops, and priests every day, almost without exception. But it is being widely reported, that Pope Francis implored the crowd at Mass last week for a very specific prayer intention – three Ave’s, and he used that word, Ave’s, for the Pope’s intentions. In case you hadn’t seen that request, I wanted to make sure I took at least some small action to further the Holy Father’s request.
Too often, I think present-day Catholics have the mentality that the Church exists to do things for them. Provide Mass, provide community, provide social services, provide schools, etc, but not so often do we hear people talk about what they owe the Church. And that is a very great deal. In addition to the 6 precepts of the Faith, the absolute bedrock bare minimum a professed Catholic must do, we must do so very much more over and above that for all those who serve the Church for us! Religious, priests, bishops, the Pope, and yes laity, too, who all serve the Church in varying capacities, all need our prayers for their sanctification and the performance of their apostolates in accord with God’s Will. In an increasingly self-centered society, we sometimes need reminders that the Church does exist for us, yes, but we also exist for the Church! And our Holy Father with the bishops in union with him, is the very personification, if you will, of the Church!
None of this is to say that the Holy Father is beyond criticism or exists on some exalted, beyond human plane. In fact, it is the fact that he is fallible in almost every circumstance and is a man just like us, that he needs our prayers all the more.
Latin Mass tonight at St. Mark May 6, 2013
Posted by tantamergo in Admin, Dallas Diocese, Latin Mass, North Deanery, silliness.comments closed
Same bat-time, same bat-channel. There may be a change to the Mass in a few weeks with the use of EP1, the closest to the Roman Canon, so pray for that, if you feel so moved. I have been.
St. Mark in Plano at 7pm
Stolen from the always funny LarryD.
