What is the Mass? January 10, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, disaster, Ecumenism, episcopate, error, foolishness, General Catholic, Latin Mass, Liturgy, North Deanery, persecution, priests, scandals.comments closed
I agree with Michael Voris below, the vast majority of Catholics today have no idea what the Mass is. But I disagree a bit, in that the Mass is a SACRIFICE offered to God to render him adoration, thanksgiving, supplication, and contrition for our sins. It is the ONLY Sacrifice acceptable to God, because it re-presents the Sacrifice of Christ which occurred once on earth but is constantly ongoing before the Father in Heaven, as revealed in Hebrews and the Apocalypse of St. John (Revelations). So, yes, the Mass is about giving worship to God, but it’s critical to note the kind of worship that is being given, since the Novus Ordo as presently offered in the vast majority of cases so undermines belief in the Mass as Sacrifice (yes, I know Michael gets there eventually in the video below, but I would have stressed this difference from the very beginning, when it came to first defining what the Mass is).
A Sacrifice requires a priest, not a “presider.” A Sacrifice can be offered by the priest alone, and I must relate that since Vatican II there have been many efforts to elminate so-called “private” Masses offered by the priest alone (private only in the sense that it ignores the whole Host of Heavenly witnesses present at every Mass, from Angels to Saints), and there are still ongoing persecutions of young priests in this Diocese, “forbidden” by their crusty old ‘spirit of Vatican II’ pastor from offering private Masses on their day off. There used to always be altars for such purposes, either in rectories or side altars in Church crypts, for instance, but now such is frequently not allowed. In fact, I believe there is a policy in this Diocese against having altars in rectories for that purpose.
Again, why are protestant services different? Because Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Cranmer, et. al., despised the concept of Mass as Sacrifice since so much flowed with that (the need for Sacramental Confession, for one, which Luther could not stand since he could not remain chaste), and they did away with the idea of Sacrifice. The Sacrificial aspects of the traditional Mass, so overwhelmingly apparent in the Traditional Latin Mass, were radically expunged from the Novus Ordo in order to advance false 2oth century views of ecumenism. Which action has been amazingly successful in leading the vast majority of Catholics to believe that the Mass isn’t a sacrificial offering, but just a community get-together. But Sacrifice it is, instituted by Christ at the Last Supper, confirmed by the Apostles, and offered in the Church since its earliest, earliest days.
I agree with Michael, it is amazingly tiresome to hear from those who were around prior to Vatican II, and even those that weren’t, that the days before Vatican II were terrible, bad old days, when the priest “turned his back to the people.” Please. If that statement is said with sincerity and reflection, as opposed to just being the mindless repetition of pablum received elsewhere, it is indicative of a mind totally numb to the concept of Mass as Sacrifice. And, he is right, nowhere does Vatican II endorse Mass facing the people, or even hint at it. Even the products of documents related to the reform of the Mass after Vatican II don’t call for Mass facing the people – but given the other items emphasized in these documents, the dimunition of the sacrificial aspect of the Mass, and the embrace of so much pseudo-protestant theology in the liturgy, Mass facing the people became de rigeur almost overnight.
One final thought…..the priest is facing his back to God, as Michael concludes, only on the off chance there happens to be a tabernacle in a central place in the Sanctuary. In the San Antonio Archdiocese, good luck finding one.
On the radio tonight January 10, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in Admin, Basics, Dallas Diocese, fun, North Deanery.comments closed
Salve Regina Radio returns again this week tonight at 9pm CST. I will be talking about some issues regarding conversion, questions people may have, and why I now believe with all my being that full, visible, active membership and submission to the Church is required for salvation. Or, required in 99.99% of real world situations, not esoteric “implicit but unknown baptism by desire,” etc.
You can listen live here or anytime after the fact! Listen and call-in if you like! It’s not just a podcast! It can be as interactive as any radio show. You can also hop in the chat room at the same listen link above.
Sixth and final volume of Dr. Warren Carroll’s Christendom series available for pre-order January 10, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, fun, General Catholic, Glory, Interior Life, North Deanery, reading, Society, Tradition.comments closed
If you haven’t read them, I’d say that Dr. Warren Carroll’s 2000+ year history of the Church, the Christendom series, dating from the Old Testament fathers up to the present day in a soon to be released final volume, are some of the finest history of the Catholic Faith you can read from an orthodox Catholic perspective. I have read the first five volumes. Dr. Carroll’s health suddenly deteriorated in 2004, having completed four of the volumes. His wife used material he had gathered to make the 5th, the Revolution Against Christendom. This book was not as excellent as the preceding 4, but still quite good. Now, the 6th and apparently final volume is about to be released, and you can place pre-orders here (and it looks like pre-orders on Amazon may be a bit cheaper).
Originally, I think there was to be 7 volumes in Dr. Warren Carroll’s Christendom series, with the 19th century covered in a volume entitled The Restoration of Christendom taking place after the Fronch Revolution, and a final volume covering the period 1914- entitled The Apostasy Against Christendom. But after that aforementioned deterioration in health, we’re fortunate to get anything. I can’t wait.
All of Dr. Carroll’s histories are worth reading – I also strongly recommend The Last Crusade on the Spanish Civil War. I think the only one I haven’t read yet is Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness, mostly because most of the information in that book is covered in other books of Carroll’s. I hope this Volume VI of the Christendom series is more than outtakes from The Last Crusade and Red Banners, White Mantle. I’ll let you know!
H/T reader MFG
Womynpriests don’t need them a Pope….. January 10, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in Abortion, contraception, disaster, error, foolishness, General Catholic, horror, sadness, scandals, silliness.comments closed
……nor a St. Paul, nor any other agent of the “patriarchy” to “stand in their way” of finally getting the car keys from dad being ordained. As Larry D says, if this wasn’t real, it would actually be a great send up of womynpriests. I say its even money some female Catholic high school teacher with an enormous amount of hubris and an inability to accept Scripture or Tradition has sadly corrupted the minds of a number of young women. Folks, I wouldn’t send my kids to a Catholic high school for all the tea in China.
So, which of you made it all the way through? It appears that after about the first 1/3, the lyrics just repeat interminably. Apparently, creativity is not a strong suit with the womynpriests crowd.
This gets back to that post I did yesterday – people who knowingly reject what the Church believes INSISTING they are still “faithful” members of that Church with all the rights and privileges thereof, especially continued receipt of Sacraments which either have no effect, or actively condemn and damn them further due to their rejection of Dogma.
There is no limit to where pride can take you. But we can all fall. Maybe not on this issue, but perhaps on something else. Our pride can get in our way of submitting to the wisdom of Holy Mother Church. Once you start down that path of rejecting what Christ has revealed through His Church, it gets harder and harder to turn around. Before you know it, playing dress up seems far more important than being excommunicated.
There but for the Grace of God…..
I may have given a bad recommendation January 10, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in Art and Architecture, Basics, disaster, error, foolishness, General Catholic, Liturgy, priests, sadness, scandals, silliness.comments closed
Several months ago, after a trip to the Hill Country, I gave a recommendation for a parish in Bandera, TX – St. Stanislaus. It wasn’t a full-hearted recommendation, but given the locale (San Antonio Archdiocese), and given how bad the Liturgy is in the vast majority of parishes there, I thought it was a pretty good place.
But like a restaurant that can occasionally be good but is most often not, that may be the case with St. Stanislaus parish. When I went there before, the priest and a layman distributed the Blessed Sacrament under one kind only, the music was traditional with some chant, and there was the Benedictine altar arrangement. The priest also wore a Roman chasuble. Prior to the formal conclusion of Mass, however, there was an awards ceremony for graduating high school seniors that involved much applause and was a huge distraction.
Well, I’m afraid what appeared to be a deviation at that particular Mass (the applause) may actually be more representative of the norm. For, when I assisted at Mass on the great Feast of the Epiphany, the music was lousy (I am the Bread of Life, one more folk standard I can’t recall because I did all I could to tune it out), there was an altar girl (albeit in cassock), and the priest did not distribute the Blessed Sacrament at all. EMHCs abounded. Blech. Since the priest didn’t distribute, I didn’t receive, because I refuse to support the abusive use of EMHCs, even though I know it’s still the Body and Blood of our Lord. And it hurts not to receive. But I can’t do it. The “Benedictine” altar arrangement remained, and the priest wore some kind of modified Roman chasuble.
It was a big letdown. But, I have to say, it’s still better than almost every other parish in the San Antonio Archdiocese, save for Our Lady of the Atonement and the TLM at St. Pius X parish on Sundays. I wouldn’t go out of my way seeking it out, though. Not after this past Sunday.
Adding a few trappings from the traditional Mass like vestments and a chant on rare occasions does not fundamentally alter the nature of the Mass. Yes, it’s better than not doing so, but I don’t think attempting to solemnize the Novus Ordo by adopting some practices from the TLM is going to result in souls having a much richer experience of the Mass, and I don’t think it’s going to do anything to improve the collapse in belief in the Mass as Sacrifice or the Real Presence that has occured over the past 50 years.
There was another Mass over the weekend down there, a wedding Mass at St. Louis in Castroville. I’ve blogged about St. Louis, as well.
What can I say? It was a full-up San Antonio Novus Ordo, with the choir area intruding into the Sanctuary and a table alter placed a good 25 feet in front of the traditional altar they did not, thank God, rip out during the wreckovation of the 70s.
It’s still a pretty church, but it’s much less so than it used to be. One particular aspect that just grates me to death and I think beats down to the point of exhaustion everyone who has to take part in it, is the “Heil Hitler” blessing.
This one was particularly egregious, as the prayer went on and on and on……..the old priest was tired and couldn’t see and was just really struggling with this prayer over a period of about 3 or 4 minutes. The pained expressions on people’s faces, the desultory half-raising of arms – does anyone enjoy doing this?! I suspect just about everyone is embarrassed by the silliness of this exercise. Is this “full, active participation?” If it is, it appears that phrase means very little. I shouldn’t have to point out how much this “involvement” apes American evangelical protestantism. I find it profoundly silly, and I think most everyone else finds it very uncomfortable, at the least.
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