Latin Mass
Thursday, September 15th, 2011
Yesterday Bishop Bernard Fellay of the Society of St. Pius X met with Cardinal William Levada at the offices of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and was presented with a “doctrinal preamble” for the Society’s consideration and, hopefully, eventual assent. After the meeting the CDF released a communiqué regarding the meeting. Here is the most pertinent paragraph:
Given the concerns and requests presented by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X regarding the integrity of the Catholic faith considering the hermeneutic of rupture of the Second Vatican Council in respect of Tradition – hermeneutic mentioned by Pope Benedict XVI in his Address to the Roman Curia of December 22, 2005 -, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith takes as a fundamental basis for a full reconciliation with the Apostolic See the acceptance of the Doctrinal Preamble which was delivered in the course of the meeting of September 14, 2011. This preamble enunciates some of the doctrinal principles and criteria of interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary for ensuring fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church and to the sentire cum Ecclesia, while leaving open to legitimate discussion the study and theological explanation of particular expressions and formulations present in the texts of the Second Vatican Council and of the Magisterium that followed it.
Notice the reference to Pope Benedict’s Address to the Roman Curia of December 25, 2005 (specifically its rejection of the “hermeneutic of rupture”), as well as the last sentence. That is the money quote. It annunciates several things:
- The doctrinal principles and criteria of interpretation of Catholic doctrine,
- That these are necessary for ensuring fidelity to the Magistierium and the sentire cum Ecclesia (to think with the Church),
- Openness to legitimate discussion of the study and theological explanation of particular expressions and formulations present in the texts of Vatican II and the post-conciliar Magisterium.
Thus, the description of the preamble is completely consistent with the 2005 address in which Pope Benedict said the following:
. . . with the Second Vatican Council the time came when broad new thinking was required.
Its content was certainly only roughly traced in the conciliar texts, but this determined its essential direction, so that the dialogue between reason and faith, particularly important today, found its bearings on the basis of the Second Vatican Council.
This dialogue must now be developed with great openmindedness but also with that clear discernment that the world rightly expects of us in this very moment. Thus, today we can look with gratitude at the Second Vatican Council: if we interpret and implement it guided by a right hermeneutic, it can be and can become increasingly powerful for the ever necessary renewal of the Church.
Notice here, as well, that this openness to “discussion” and “dialogue” does not seem to imply an invitation to debate the legitimacy of the Council or its documents. Certainly, it does not suggest that the Church is making a concession on the question of rupture. Pope Benedict is sticking to his guns on the matter of the hermeneutic of continuity and reform.
Bishop Fellay’s post-meeting interview, in fact, confirms this:
Today, for the sake of objectivity, I must acknowledge that in the doctrinal preamble there is no clear-cut distinction between the inviolable dogmatic sphere and the pastoral sphere that is subject to discussion. The only thing that I can say, because it is part of the press release, is that this preamble contains “certain doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation of Catholic doctrine, which are necessary to ensure faithfulness to the Church’s Magisterium and to “sentire cum Ecclesia” [thinking with the Church]. At the same time, it leaves open to legitimate discussion the examination and theological explanation of individual expressions and formulations contained in the documents of Vatican Council II and of the later Magisterium.” There you have it; no more and no less (emphasis from the SSPX website).
Clearly Pope Benedict is emphasizing continuity and nowhere does he or the CDF make the proper interpretation of the Council dependent on the discernment between infallible doctrine and pastoral directives. Clearly there is a distinction, but one could hardly expect the pastoral thrust of the Council to be rejected by the very Magisterium that has defended it. Obviously, this is the hope of many, but, of course, this is the crux of the problem.
Here is one interesting comment from Fr. Z’s blogposton the subject:
I think, if this all works out, the SSPX will be an influence on the rest of the Church. There are many in the Institute of Christ the King and Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (et al!) who personally reject all of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, but have been afraid to say so. This would open up a huge door, essentially allowing a “pro-choice” position on Vatican II without fear of suspension.
One can only wonder if the comment reflects the reality of the situation within traditionalist organizations that officially profess to accept Vatican II. In any case, “pro-choice” is an interesting choice of words. This tendency to hope for some loophole for Conciliar rejection goes way beyond what has been so far revealed about the “doctrinal preamble.” No surprise there.
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Posted in Fr. Angelo Geiger, Latin Mass, Pope Benedict, Religious Liberty | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, December 28th, 2010
On Sunday, December 26th, His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke offered a Pontifical Solemn High Mass at the Seminary of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in Rome. The Mass was offered in honor of Fr. Stefano Maria Manelli, being his patronal feast day, and in thanksgiving for the elevation of His Eminence to the Cardinalate. The Mass was sung by the combined choirs of the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Immaculate from various convents of the F.I. in Italy, and was conducted by Sr. Maria Cecilia Manelli and Fr. Giovanni Maria Manelli – resulting in an outstanding example of the magnificence the Mass is meant to have. The Friars and Sisters also had the honor of hosting His Excellency Bishop Gino Reali of the local diocese of Porto-Santa Rufino, Rome.
In his homily, Cardinal Burke focused on the need for beauty and splendor in the sacred liturgy, echoing what His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI wrote in the letter accompanying his Moto Proprio “Summorum Pontificum:” “It is not appropriate to speak of these two versions of the Roman Missal as if they were ‘two Rites’. Rather, it is a matter of a twofold use of one and the same rite.” And “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place…”
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Posted in Fi News, Latin Mass, Liturgy | 8 Comments »
Friday, December 24th, 2010
Ave Maria Meditations
Your eyes at the midnight Mass will gaze upon the elevated Host and your lips will utter, “My Lord and my God.” A few minutes more and the little Infant will have come to you. His Immaculate Mother did not hold him more truly in her arms that first Christmas midnight than you will have him, heart to heart. Then all the love of that Infant Redeemer will be poured out upon you. It is a thirst of the heart of every creature that desires to be loved, and the love which can alone satisfy that craving is the Divine Love.
Let your heart delight in the love your God has for you, personally, individually. No soul ever in ardent fervor desires to unite herself to our Lord in Holy Communion, as our Lord desires to unite himself to her. So Holy Communion is a delight to your Infant Savior, because he loves you, oh, how immeasurably! He tells you in his heart to heart interview that he has become a little Infant so that you may love him with a human love without fear. He wants you to confide in him, approach to him with a conviction that his Great Majesty is annihilated that you may no longer see in him but a little Child, with a body and soul just as you have.
And the mystery of love is this: that he unites his Body to your body and your soul to his Soul, so that yours may be a member of his very own. This Christmas Holy Communion will unite you to our Lord, it is my prayer, more intimately than ever before in all your lives so that even the smallest of your actions may by this union be animated with divine Life – and all for the honor of the Father and the salvation of souls. May you participate in his life of charity, and may a divine light illumine you to see the depths and heights of the charity of a God made Man to redeem that which was lost. You participate in the spirit and the immense charity of Christ so as to be born this Christmas to a new life of charity – for “he that abides in charity, abides in God.”
St. Katherine Drexel
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Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Anna Arco visits the thriving Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate in Cornwall who follow an arduous daily routine of work and prayer
“THEY HOPE TO DRAW OTHERS CLOSER TO HIM.”
 A Sister is called to her duties (Photo: Wayne Perry)
Lanherne monastery has always reflected the movements of the wider Church. Celtic monks first established the monastery near Newquay, Cornwall, in the sixth century. Later, the house became the property of the recusant Arundells of Wardour. They continued to have Mass celebrated there during and after the Reformation. In 1794, a group of Carmelite nuns from Antwerp escaping the French Revolution established a Carmel. Today, the brown habits of the Carmel have given way to the distinctive blue and grey habits of the contemplative Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate.
In 2001 the Carmelites found that their community had become too elderly and small to carry on keeping the building and its extensive gardens. But they were reluctant to leave a place so redolent with the prayers of the ages empty. So they approached the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate about taking up where they were leaving off. Several months after the meeting the new community was established.
Members of a new institute founded after the Second Vatican Council in Italy, the Franciscans of the Immaculate have a fourth vow alongside poverty, chastity and obedience. This is the Marian vow of total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Sisters see themselves as the Virgin Mary’s property. The Marian devotion of both St Francis and St Maximilian Kolbe shaped the vision of the founders of the institute. Unusually for Franciscan Sisters, they follow the Rule of the First Order rather than the customary rule of the Third Order Regulars.
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Thursday, April 29th, 2010
First Solemn Pontifical Mass by a ruling Filipino bishop in his diocese since 1970
On April 27, 2010, feast of St. Peter Canisius, His Excellency Antonio Tobias, Bishop of Novaliches, offered Solemn Pontifical Mass in the convent chapel of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate in his diocese. He was assisted by priests and brothers belonging to the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.
This Mass is only the second Solemn Pontifical Mass to be celebrated by a Filipino bishop since September 14, 2007 (the first one had been offered by Bishop Camilo Gregorio of the Prelature of Batanes on September 14, 2008 — see this for a report on that Mass), and the first to be offered by a Filipino Ordinary in his own diocese since 1970.
Bishop Tobias had offered Solemn Pontifical Mass for the 2003 international colloquium of the Centre International d’Etudes Liturgiques in France, and a “Low Mass with Solemnity” last year, also in the convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate.
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Friday, March 26th, 2010
Paix Liturgique, in its newest Italian newsletter, has an interview with Fr Alessandro M. Apollonio, rector of the theological seminary of the Franciscans of the Immaculate (FFI), which brings splendid news from this young order which now has more than 700 members. Here is a translation of the part concerning the liturgy:
The vocation of a seminary is to give priests to Holy Church. This year eight of your friars will be ordained in Florence, on the Feast of the Annunciation, 25 March. Last year, the ceremony took place at Tarquinia and, for the first time in the history of your institute, the sacrament of orders had been conferred on five of your friars according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Monsignor Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, officiated. This year Cardinal Rodé, another prelate of the Curia, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, will be the celebrant. Again, the Pontifical Mass will be accordiing to the older form: can we conclude that the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite now becomes the ordinary manner of your ordinations to the priesthood?
Yes, as long as the Pope allows it, in the sense of being the preferred form, not the exclusive.
for the rest of the story please see: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2010/03/extraordinary-form-conquers-more-and.html
Also see http://orbiscatholicus.blogspot.com/search?q=franciscans+of+the+immaculate
for more photos on the ordinations.
And for a very short video see http://romancatholicvocations.blogspot.com/2009/03/franciscans-of-immaculate-ordinations.html
(some of the pictures and video are from last year)
Ave Maria!
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Posted in FI Houses, Franciscan Things, From the Web, Latin Mass, Liturgy, News, Priesthood, Special Event, Spiritual Life, Vocations | 2 Comments »
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Announcements
Rinascimento Sacro has announced that, at 10:00 A.M. on March 25, 2010, H.E. Franc Cardinal Rode will offer Solemn Pontifical Mass and ordain 8 new priests for the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, in the Chiesa di Ognissanti in Florence.
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More information will be forthcoming, stay tuned!
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A blessed Solemnity to one and all! Ave Maria!
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Posted in Announcement, Franciscan Things, From the Web, Latin Mass, Liturgy, News, Priesthood, Special Event, Vocations | Comments Off
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Fi News #67 – Fr. Gabriel Pellettieri visits Perth ( 08min) >>> Play |
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For the Franciscans of the Immaculate in Perth, Western Australia, the beginning of Lent was not so penitential this year, as they were blessed to have the visit of Fr. Gabriel M. Pellettieri, our Cofounder. He arrived in Perth after a visit to the Philippines and, after staying a week in Perth visiting the friars and sisters, he returned to Italy.
Ave Maria!
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Posted in FI Houses, Fi News, Latin Mass, Mission Down Under, Missions, News, Podcasts, Special Event | Comments Off
Friday, February 19th, 2010
Immaculate Music #29 – A Beautiful Sung Version of the Creed ( 10min) >>> Play |
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Ave Maria!
On January 6th, 2010, the Franciscan Friars in Italy had the privilege of celebrating the Traditional Mass with Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, President Emeritus of Ecclesia Dei. We hope you enjoy viewing some of the scenes from the Mass and listening to the Creed which was sung during the Mass and directed by Alessandro Pucci and Andrea Ferranti. The name of the chorus (in Italian) is the “Schola Cantorum ‘Santa Cecilia’ di Corridonia e Coro di Cloumurano”.
Friar Terrance sends ‘Ave Maria!’s and prayers to all.
Ave Maria!
 Audio (MP3)
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Posted in Devotional, Friar Terrence, Immaculate Music, Latin Mass, Liturgy, Missions, Podcasts | 1 Comment »
Saturday, February 6th, 2010
“The Church does not celebrate any of Christ’s mysteries without offering the Eucharistic Sacrifice.”
Bl. Columba Marmion OSB
SOME OF THE GRACES AND FRUITS TO BE DERIVED FROM DEVOUT ATTENDANCE AT HOLY MASS:
1. For your salvation, God the Father sends His beloved Son down from Heaven.
2. For your salvation, the Holy Spirit changes bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Christ.
3. For your sake, the Son of God comes down from Heaven and conceals Himself under the form of the sacred Host.
4. He even abases Himself to such an extent as to be present in the minutest particle of the sacred Host.
5. For your salvation, He renews the saving mystery of the Incarnation.
6. For your salvation, He is born anew into the world in a mystic manner whenever Holy Mass is celebrated.
7. For your salvation, He performs upon the altar the same acts of worship that He performed when on earth. (more…)
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Thursday, January 14th, 2010
FI News #57 – Five Franciscans of the Immaculate ordained in Extraordinary Form by Archbisop Burke. ( 09min) >>> Play |
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Ave Maria!
“I’m a Catholic priest. I would like to take his place because he has a wife and children.” These are St. Maximilian’s last known words before he was marched off to die in place of a stranger. St. Maximilian is a perfect example of one fulfilling his call to the priesthood, in imitation of the High Priest, Jesus Christ Crucified.
Ave Maria!
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Posted in Fi News, Latin Mass, Liturgy, Priesthood | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
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Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Ave Maria!
Our Contemplative Sisters in Lanherne, England are featured in an article by Father Joseph M Taylor on New Liturgical Movement complete with a long article and beautiful pictures, a few of which are included below. It focuses on the Sisters use of the complete 1962 Office and Missal. It also mentions the Sisters’ need for donations.
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Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
As a grand finale to the symposium on the Motu Proprio a Traditional Mass was celebrated last Sunday by Archbishop Raymond Burke at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. The Mass was the first celebrated at St. Peters according to the pre-Vatican II rubrics in over forty years and had an overflow crowd for the congregation. The three day symposium was held October 16-18 entitled The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum by Benedict XVI: A Great Gift for the Whole Church, organized by Fr. Vincenzo Nuara, O.P. founder of Giovani e Tradizione (Youth and Tradition) hundreds of clergy and religious attended and the speakers were leaders in the various groups associated with Traditional Mass, including our founder Fr. Stefano Manelli. Below are several pictures: From New Liturgical Movement and Rinascimento Sacro from their list of official images.
Entrance Procession. Fra Anthony from America (with a beard) is visible a little right from the center.
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Abp Raymond Burke makes his entrance:
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Our Sisters and Friars Provided the Gregorian Chant. In the front row in the choir are two Americans: Fra Ephraim and Fra Pio Maximilian as well as Fra Bernard from South Africa who spent his Postulancy and Novitiate in the US:
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Posted in Fi News, Latin Mass, Liturgy, Pope Benedict | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
In this Year of the Priest it is a special pleasure to consider the Patron Saint of ALL Priests, St. John Vianney. He had been the Patron of Parish Priests but our Holy Father has extended that patronage to all Priests.
Ave Maria Meditations
St. John Mary Vianney was born in France in 1786. His childhood coincided with the terrible French revolution. He was devout even as a boy and quietly taught other children their prayers. He would be ordained a priest in 1815 but struggled mightily through seminary and was a poor student. He had a very difficult time with Latin. There was even talk among his superiors if he should be ordained or, if ordained, be allowed to hear confessions. They decided to ordain him but gave him one of the least desirable of assignments: to the little town of Ars. The young priest was told that the faith was all but lost there and so he would have little to do. “Then I have everything to do!”, he exclaimed.
Upon arriving in Ars the conditions were as foretold but this good priest knew that the holiness of the people would first need a holy priest and so he took upon himself not only his own seeking of personal holiness but also severe penances for his flock. He fasted continually and only slept a few hours a night, spending most of his time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
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