Faith rules: Inside the Clear Creek Monastery
by: MICHAEL OVERALL Tulsa World
3/23/2008 12:00 AM
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series about the Clear Creek Monastery. In Monday’s World, part two: “Keeping the faith.”
Some people say the world is slipping into a new Dark Age. Some might say the world has been in the Dark Ages for quite a while already.
In morality, in architecture, in craftsmanship and art and literature, the 21st century is a long way from the Renaissance, and many self-described “traditionalists” would suggest that it’s a long way down.
Less than a generation after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, a growing number of Catholics want to restore Latin as a regular part of worship. But for them, it’s not just about language. It’s about reversing the decline of civilization itself.
In their eyes, the loss of Latin represented a much wider crisis in the modern world — a rejection of tradition, a defiance of history, the severing of cultural roots and a loss of faith in general. In bringing back old-fashioned prayers, they hope to bring back old-fashioned values, too.
In this worldwide effort to “reform the reforms,” Tulsa has stepped to the forefront because of a place called Clear Creek.
For three days in February, the Tulsa World gained unprecedented access to the only contemplative Benedictine monastery in the United States. And it offered a glimpse of what life might be like in a world where . . .faith rules.
The bell ringer comes outside an hour before dawn.
No light escapes from the open door. No stars peek through the cloud cover. The remote landscape offers nothing but darkness for miles in every direction.
Wearing a long black robe with a hood pulled over his head, this solitary monk seems almost invisible, silhouetted like a shadow against the crypt’s bare concrete wall.
In the strict silence of the monastery — so quiet that the monks can lie awake and meditate to the sound of their own heartbeats — his footsteps seem subversively loud, crunching on the gravel path. A few steps from the door, he reaches out with both hands to pull on a rope that dangles down the side of the crypt.
The bell tears through the cold morning air, echoing for miles across the wooded hills that surround the north side of Fort Gibson Lake. Inside, the monks descend into the crypt in a long, solemn line, black robes brushing lightly across the concrete floor.
Heads bowed, hands clasped together, they can see their own breath in this chilly, underground chamber, lit only by a few dim bulbs and candles flickering from the altar.
“Gloria Patri,” the monks begin to sing, “et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto . . . .”
Outside, unseen by the monks, a pair of headlights appears on the crest of a distant hill. Then a second. Then a third.
Snaking along the dirt road and across a small, stone bridge, the outsiders pull into an unpaved parking lot, tires crunching on the gravel louder than any monk’s footsteps.
A couple climb out of the first SUV. Three kids and their mother emerge from a minivan. A second SUV unloads half a dozen passengers, men, women and children.
With the first subtle hint of dawn shading the sky, they all file through a side entrance to the crypt, the heavy door — its hinges squeaking — slamming shut behind them.
The Benedictines came to Oklahoma looking for solitude; to escape from the rest of the world, protected by muddy roads and low-water bridges and the sheer distance from any main highway.
Now the world is coming to the Monastery of Clear Creek.
‘Set a standard’
The iron comes out of the fire glowing red, sending sparks across the cluttered workshop as George Carpenter pounds it with a mallet.
Starting out as a thin strip, the metal twists and folds into the shape of a door hinge for one of the new monastery’s grand entrances.
In a more philosophical mood, Carpenter might reflect on the way religion shapes a man’s life, bending and twisting, folding and turning. A younger man, with a soul that is still red-hot and malleable, might question his faith.
Does he really believe in the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection? Or is it like believing in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny? Is he Catholic because he really embraces the church? Or just because his parents are Catholic?
“I was looking for some kind of spiritual connection,” Carpenter remembers now that he’s approaching middle age. “Something solid. Firm. Something permanent, that didn’t need reformed.”
Part of the first generation born after the Second Vatican Council, Carpenter grew up hearing Mass in English instead of Latin. Since the council in the 1960s, most Catholic services have been in a country’s common language.
Whether the changes sparked a crisis or simply coincided with it, that’s a matter of debate. But church attendance has dropped, seminaries face shortages of new priests and millions of Catholics openly dissent from church teachings.
Now a growing movement is trying to “reform the reforms,” bringing back Latin in hopes of bringing back faithfulness in general. The pope himself recently changed church rules to encourage a broader use of Latin in services.
For Carpenter, “the renewal,” as the movement calls itself, began several years ago when his father-in-law showed him a video of an old Latin service.
“I was drawn to it immediately,” he says, pausing for a moment to pound another red-hot piece of iron.
“It was mysterious. Beautiful. Timeless.”
Using an anvil and his own linebacker-size muscles, Carpenter bends the metal into an “S” shape, forming another part of the door hinge. Blacksmiths used the same techniques in the sixth century, when St. Benedict was alive.
“When the metal is hot,” Carpenter explains, “it’s not much different from shaping clay. As it cools, the shape becomes firm.”
Growing older, Carpenter left his doubts behind and took his family to a traditional Latin parish in Texas. But in shaping his children’s lives, faith had to compete with modern culture.
He worried about the endless pursuit of consumer goods and what he calls “the trivialization of promiscuity,” even in schools and on “family” television shows.
“We wanted to raise our kids in a truly Christian culture,” he says, “a place where the church is the backdrop for everyday life.”
Four years ago, they moved to a small farm just up the road from Clear Creek, where Carpenter works part time in the metal shop.
Others have come from the West Coast and the East, the Midwest and the Deep South. From all across the country, dozens of families have moved to this obscure corner of rural Oklahoma to live within reach of the monastery bell. Like the monks, they want to “be ye separate” from the world.
“The monks set a standard for us to look up to,” Carpenter says, throwing more coals on the fire. “We’re the foot soldiers of the church, so to speak, but they’re the special forces. They’re the Marines.”
In the fight to reclaim traditions, Clear Creek is the tip of the spear.
‘Our cultural home’
The daily Mass ends just after 11 a.m., with each monk pausing in front of the altar and falling to his knees, bowing with his forehead nearly touching the floor.
Two-by-two, they stand up and march out of the crypt in perfect rhythm, left-right-left. Hands clasped, heads bowed, they don’t whisper a word. They don’t even glance at the people in the pews.
Careful not to make the slightest noise, Carpenter and the other laymen wait patiently while the monks pass. The last one out the door hits a light switch, leaving everybody else in the dark.
They must remember — this Mass was not for them.
Catholics usually genuflect before leaving a sanctuary. But here, most people follow the monks’ example — bowing on both knees.
The younger girls struggle with the maneuver, awkward in skirts that reach to their ankles, lacy scarves slipping off their heads. But their mothers make it look effortless.
In the vestibule, laypeople go out the door on the right, to the parking lot. No matter how close they live, no matter how often they come here to worship, they’re still outsiders. The monks never asked anybody to come and now they have to leave.
It takes special permission to go through the door on the left, then up a flight of stairs to a loggia. An arched opening leads to the inner cloister itself, a courtyard that would be strictly off limits if the prior himself was not serving as a personal escort.
Eventually, as construction continues, the monastery buildings will form a giant square with this courtyard hidden in the middle. But for now, the church remains nothing but a crypt, a kind of basement foundation where the monks gather to pray.
Only one side of the square has been finished — a four-story residential hall big enough for 60 monks to occupy.
“It’s an ambitious undertaking,” admits Father Philip Anderson, the prior of Clear Creek and one of the original 13 monks who opened the monastery in 1999. “If I was doing it over again, I’m not sure we would be so ambitious.”
The fundraising and the construction can become a distraction from what the monks came here to do — to pray. And to pray, specifically, the old Latin liturgy.
“You can see that civilization is in a crisis,” Anderson says, his robe fluttering in the breeze as he walks in the courtyard.
“This crisis has, in some ways, infected even the church. There’s a lack of discipline, a lack of clear moral principles.”
Society keeps trying to reinvent itself — political revolutions, sexual revolutions, technological revolutions.
“But every attempt at a solution only makes the crisis grow deeper,” Anderson says, his voice staying meditatively calm. “We’ve had all kinds of solutions — except tradition. We’ve explored many different paths — except turning back, returning to our cultural home, returning to the ancient faith.”
At Clear Creek, the ancient traditions aren’t history. They’re here. Now. And the monks are determined to keep them for the future.
Keeping the faith (part II)
Editor’s note: Tulsa World Staff Writer Michael Overall was allowed unprecedented access behind the walls of the Clear Creek Monastery. Here is part two of a two-part series about the monastery.
by: MICHAEL OVERALL
Tulsa World
For monks, prayer is path to a brighter future
No one sits down. No one talks. Heads bowed, hands clasped together, the monks wait.
The prior stands just inside the door with a pitcher of water, an empty bowl and a clean white towel. In the sixth century, St. Benedict insisted that his followers wash a visitor’s feet before dinner, but traditions evolve — now the prior washes a visitor’s hands.
Guests eat in the middle of the room, separate from the monks, who surround two long, wooden tables against opposite walls.
“In nomine Patris,” they pray, as always, in Latin before finally sitting down, “et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. . . .”
The food comes with perfect etiquette, dishes served from the left, taken away from the right, and at a brisk pace.
Slurp quickly or the soup will disappear half finished to make room for fresh beets and coleslaw.
The monks resist earthly temptations — but when they eat, they flirt with extravagance.
Tonight, a hearty portion of salmon comes with a creamy tomato sauce, complemented by generous pours of cabmerlot wine.
The third course includes buttered noodles that look bland but taste decadent, with espresso for dessert.
When not needed, the servers stand at attention near the kitchen door, white aprons covering their black robes, ready to swoop down on the slightest crumb that might fall.
Benedictines don’t take a vow of silence. In fact, most Benedictines work at schools or hospitals, talking as much as anybody else.
Clear Creek is the only contemplative Benedictine monastery in the United States.
Nestled on the north end of Fort Gibson Lake near Hulbert, the monastery began operating in 1999.
Even here, a monk might clear his throat to ask for more wine, or whisper a couple of words if necessary. But living a contemplative life includes speaking as little as possible, lest you be distracted from always thinking about God.
Dinner would pass as quietly as the rest of the day if not for the cantor, sitting alone at a small table in the corner with a microphone and a book of saints.
“The sword cut deep into the martyr’s head,” he reads, describing the death of St. Boniface, a Benedictine missionary who brought Christianity to Germany in the eighth century. “And blood spurted forth.”
Every meal comes with a history lesson, and after a few days, a general theme emerges.
As Western civilization slid into the Dark Ages, monasteries became repositories of culture. Indeed, many scholars suggest that the Dark Ages weren’t dark at all, considering the art, literature and philosophy that flourished around the Benedictines, the Augustinians and the Carthusians.
The Renaissance would’ve been impossible without monks, and now some people see the need for another Renaissance.
In fashion, architecture, art and literature — and especially in public morals — hardly anything about 2008 looks like 1908, much less 1608.
And to the monks at Clear Creek, 2008 looks decidedly inferior.
Monasteries have saved civilization before, and monasteries might do it again.
‘JUST BEING FAITHFUL’
Silence has a way of amplifying noise. The drip of a faucet, the click of a light switch, the breeze tapping against the window. Everything draws attention to itself.
A guest will send footsteps echoing down the long corridors of the residential hall. But somehow, Father Mark Bachmann’s knocking on the door comes as a complete surprise.
“Being quiet,” he explains, “becomes a habit for us, like breathing.”
A guest’s private room measures less than 10 feet by 10, but the tall ceiling makes it seem reasonably spacious. A bed, not much bigger than an army cot, sits against the wall, with a small desk and chair beneath the window.
A separate room includes a sink and shower, but the toilets are down the hall. Each monk lives in a room, called a cell, just like this.
“Except for the sink and shower,” Bachmann says, taking a seat on the room’s footlocker. “We thought our guests might appreciate the privacy, but it’s a luxury we can do without.”
Ordinarily, Bachmann would study Scripture or read devotional texts during this free time between dinner and evening prayers. But the prior has given him permission to visit the guest area, divided from the monks’ quarters by a locked door at the end of the corridor.
Taking vows more than 24 years ago, he’s one of the older monks here. Several are recent college graduates, but the prior hesitates to let the younger ones talk to outsiders.
“It’s the way parents are always more protective of children the younger they are,” Bachmann says. “They need to mature in their vows, grow stronger in their discipline.”
Once or twice a year, family members can come to the monastery to ask for “parlor time” — maybe 30 or 45 minutes in a visiting room downstairs. The prior rarely grants permission for a monk to leave the monastery grounds, which stretch for a thousand acres across Cherokee County.
“The death of a parent, for example,” Bachmann says.
Then a monk might ask to go home for a couple of days.
“What if we get homesick?
Of course, that will happen occasionally,” he says.
“Then that is something we can offer up to God as a sacrifice.”
The separation is usually harder for the families — especially considering that many of the monks are converts, and just being Catholic seemed controversial enough.
“In time, most parents come to be proud of a son for taking vows,” Bachmann says. “They come to understand that we are just being faithful to what God has called us to do.”
The monks understand the high hopes that traditional Catholics are placing on them — that the use of Latin will spread from Clear Creek and reinvigorate the faith as a whole.
Already, Gregorian chant can be heard in more and more parishes across the Tulsa diocese, where ordinary church choirs have learned Gregorian chant from the monks.
And although most of the Sunday Mass is still in English at Tulsa’s Holy Family Cathedral, the congregation slips into Latin for some prayers.
“If it is God’s will for Latin to regain prominence in the church,” Bachmann says, “then it will happen.”
But that’s not what the monks are trying to do. They believe in the power of prayer to change the world — and that’s the only kind of prayer they are trying to make.
“We’ve heard the Lord calling us to this life of prayer,” Bachmann says. “Just as Peter and John and the other Apostles heard the Lord say, ‘Come, follow me.’ They were just being obedient. They didn’t set out to change the world.”
But change it they did.
‘INTO THE FUTURE’
Sunday morning, the monastery bell echoes across the countryside to announce that High Mass will begin in 10 minutes. But the parking lot already looks full.
Inside the crypt, the reverent silence gives way to a murmuring crowd. Babies cry.
Toddlers squirm. Teenagers pass secrets between themselves.
As the monks come down the aisle, sunlight streams through the windows above the altar and bright votive candles cast a warm glow across the pews.
On most Sundays, latecomers might have to stand in the back.
But the flu has been going around, leaving a few empty seats.
George Carpenter, the blacksmith, arrives with only one son, while his wife and six other children — plus one more on the way — have stayed home.
Around here, that’s not a particularly large family. Some parents count children into double digits.
“If you understand that a child is the greatest blessing that God can give you,” Carpenter says, “well, why would you do anything to keep God from blessing you?”
Last year, Carpenter took an informal census of the Clear Creek community — counting 35 families with a total of 145 people, including 96 children.
There have been several pregnancies since then.
Realistically, most of these children won’t stay in Clear Creek after they grow up.
They’ll go off to college, then find jobs and move to big cities. But their parents expect them to stay devoutly Catholic wherever they go.
“They’ll raise children of their own in the faith,” Carpenter says. “And those children will raise children, and those children. . . .”
After a couple of generations, 145 people can multiply into several hundreds, then a few thousand. In five or six generations, the descendants of Clear Creek might amount to a tribe of their own, taking conservative values and traditional morals with them.
“That’s the way the faith reaches into the future,” Carpenter says. “That’s how traditions survive.”
That’s how the world is changed.
Showing posts with label Extraordinary Form. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Extraordinary Form. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
"Inside Clear Creek Monastery"
"Tulsa World" has launched a website with articles and a slideshow about the Benedictine Monks at Clear Creek Monastery in Tulsa Oklahoma. The photographs are beautiful, the slideshow is excellent and the articles (posted below) are very good. Enjoy.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
"Boys step up to altar, en Mass"
There is most certainly a vocations connection here...By Laura Crimaldi Sunday, March 23, 2008 http://www.bostonherald.com/
Photo by Matt Stone
A new generation of young altar servers captivated by the solemn rituals of Latin Mass is mastering the traditional rite in growing numbers in the Boston archdiocese as the liturgy makes a comeback after a four-decade hiatus.
“It’s really reverent. That’s why I like it,” said altar server Brendan MacKenzie, 12, of Marshfield, as he readied for the Tenebrae, or “Spy Wednesday,” service at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes in Newton during Holy Week. “It brings you closer to God.”
Since April, the number of young boys trained to perform Latin Mass in the Boston area has more than doubled, from eight to 18 servers, said the Rev. Charles J. Higgins, pastor at Mary Immaculate, where the old-style Mass is celebrated every Sunday at noon.
There are an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 altar servers throughout the Boston Archdiocese, a spokesman said. Keeping with the tradition, only boys serve at Latin Mass.
Higgins, 46, who is self-taught in the Latin liturgy, said the increase in boys studying the traditional Mass has more to do with his repeated appeals for volunteers than last year’s “motu propio” from Pope Benedict XVI. The Vatican order reversed 43 years of near banishment of the worship service by allowing priests to perform the liturgy without the authorization of a local bishop.
The devoted altar boys agree with this interpretation of how the pool of servers took on a more youthful look after years of just adult men on the altar.
“As Father Higgins says, he wants an army of servers,” said Stephen Farynaz, 12, of Lunenberg, who has been serving at Latin Mass since he was 7 years old.
A minimum of nine servers is needed to perform the highly choreographed rite, which can be traced to the sixth century and is referred to as the Tridentine Mass. The training takes weeks and entails memorizing Latin responses and learning the ceremony’s many rubrics, such as how to walk, genuflect, hold your hands, stand and carry objects.
Frank Doyle Jr., 43, of West Roxbury, a veteran master of ceremonies who has been serving Latin Mass for 17 years, trains new servers in the nuances of the Mass while conveying that they need not be Thomas Aquinas to get the hang of it.
“When in doubt, genuflect. That’s an old MC’s joke,” said Doyle, who studied the work of English priest Adrian Fortescue to learn the Mass.
To teach some details, Doyle conjures up some fire-and-brimstone mnemonic devices. Take how to kiss the thurible, which contains incense.
“You kiss the top of the chain where there is a disc or you will be like the Prophet Isaiah and know what it’s like to have coal purify your lips,” Doyle said.
Angelus Davulis, 13, of Dorchester was first exposed to Latin Mass at age 7 when his uncle, the Rev. Dominic Gentile, performed a High Solemn Mass. Since the 1990s, the Boston archdiocese has offered Latin Mass at Holy Trinity Church in the South End. The Mass relocated to Mary Immaculate last year.
Davulis studies from a booklet titled “How To Serve Low Mass and Benediction” to learn the difficult Latin. He said he prefers serving at Latin Mass to serving at the Novus Ordo, or modern Mass, because he feels more involved.
“I just want to learn it now before it’s too late,” said Davulis.
MacKenzie’s older brother, Cameron, 14, said he resisted when his parents urged him to serve.
“I guess the first time when I served I realized I was serving God. I guess it just took me away,” he said.
Higgins said he is heartened by his new flock of servers and is training five priests to say Latin Mass.
“They have an openness to the religious practice, which is very refreshing,” said Higgins. “I see it as a hopeful sign that when they come of age, that whatever stage of life they choose, that they will be strong Christian men whether as priests or family men.”
Hat tip to Fr. Zuhlsdorf
Saturday, March 15, 2008
"Summorum Pontificum" in the Seminary
From ZENIT:Cardinal Rigali on Introducing Seminarians to the 1962 Missal
By Annamarie Adkins
PHILADELPHIA, MARCH 14, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Since Benedict XVI has said that the Mass celebrated according to the 1962 Roman Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII should be available to those who prefer it, seminarians should be taught to say it, says Cardinal Justin Rigali.
The Pope clarified in his apostolic letter "Summorum Pontificum" that there are two forms of the liturgy in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church: ordinary and extraordinary.
To learn what some bishops are doing to implement the document in seminaries, ZENIT spoke with Cardinal Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, about his plans to introduce seminarians at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary to the extraordinary form of the Mass.
Cardinal Rigali also suggested why priests already in active ministry should become familiar with the Missal of 1962.
Q: What practical steps are being taken to incorporate "Summorum Pontificum" into the life and curriculum of the seminary?
Cardinal Rigali: First there will be a lecture offered on the "motu proprio" that elucidates the theology underlying the 1962 missal so that the seminarians are afforded a clear understanding of the "motu proprio" and the Holy Father's pastoral concern for the faithful who have a deep love for the Tridentine liturgy.
Since nearly all of the seminarians at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary have grown up attending Mass according to the "Novus Ordo" -- Missal of Paul VI -- it is important to offer an exposition of the Mass according to the 1962 missal -- Missal of Blessed John XXIII.
Further, seminary course work in theology, liturgy and Church history will cover and expound upon the Holy Father's initiative. It will be helpful for them to see the continuity between the two expressions, but will also afford the opportunity to address the changes that took place in the liturgy following the Second Vatican Council.
Sometime in the spring semester, after the lecture, Holy Mass according to the extraordinary form will be celebrated once for the entire St. Charles Borromeo Seminary community. This will demonstrate to the seminarians the liturgically correct manner in which the extraordinary form of the Mass is to be celebrated.
Q: What about "Summorum Pontificum" has led you to support the incorporation of that document into the life of St. Charles Borromeo seminary? Are you foreseeing a greater demand for the traditional form of the Mass in the future?
Cardinal Rigali: The Holy Father has indicated that the Mass according to the extraordinary form as well as celebration of the sacraments should be available to the faithful when there is a genuine pastoral need.
Many of our clergy have never celebrated Mass or administered the sacraments according to the 1962 missal and the other liturgical texts. In order to provide for the pastoral needs, should they arise, the current seminarians should have the opportunity to be properly educated as to the rituals involved and the theology that underlies these forms.
At present I do not foresee a great demand for celebrations according to the extraordinary form of the Mass. In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia the requests we have received are very few. Most Catholics today find spiritual satisfaction in the Mass as celebrated using the Missal of Paul VI, and this remains the ordinary form of the celebration.
This being said, we are blessed to have two parishes in different areas of the archdiocese that celebrate Mass in the extraordinary form, who had already for some time been offering Mass with the Tridentine Missal by grant of the necessary indult. I am grateful that these parishes provide for the spiritual and pastoral needs of those faithful who prefer the extraordinary form.
Q: Some analysts of "Summorum Pontificum" have said that it is primarily directed at priests, and is a gift to them. What is your view?
Cardinal Rigali: The "motu proprio" is issued by the Holy Father for all Catholics.
With regard to priests, any statement from the Holy Father on the liturgy or any change in the liturgical forms or formula afford the priests an opportunity for thought and reflection on the mysteries they celebrate in the liturgy.
Many priests find in these opportunities a renewed sense of awe and appreciation for the liturgy and an opportunity for recommitment to celebrate these liturgies in a more reflective, reverent and respectful manner.
In this sense, "Summorum Pontificum" is a gift to all priests, because it encourages them, through the sacred liturgy, to draw all people into a deeper communion of holiness with the Lord.
Q: Seminaries are in the business of formation, particularly liturgical formation. What formative effect do you believe learning and celebrating the extraordinary form of the Mass will have upon seminarians?
Cardinal Rigali: Studying about and learning the Mass according to the 1962 Missal will afford the seminarians an opportunity to experience the continuity between the older and newer forms.
So much of our faith is based on continuity and tradition, handing on of the faith from one generation to the next. Sometimes the rituals change and develop but at the core they remain the same.
Benedict XVI stated in his letter to the bishops that accompanied the "motu proprio," "There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be of all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches that have developed in the Church's faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place."
The liturgical training St. Charles Borromeo seminarians receive forms them in reverence and holiness, which in turn will serve the faithful to whom they will minister once they are ordained.
Q: Will saying Mass according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII affect the way a priest says the "Novus Ordo" Mass?
Cardinal Rigali: Any priest who is unfamiliar with the extraordinary form, or who has not celebrated the liturgy according to this form for some time, will probably, and quite naturally, reflect on the manner in which he celebrates Mass according to the "Novus Ordo."
Such a reflection is positive because it cannot help but lead to a more reverent and worthy celebration of the liturgy.
Q: What can priests do to incorporate "Summorum Pontificum" into their own priestly ministry?
Cardinal Rigali: St. Charles Borromeo Seminary is offering a course for priests who wish to be educated and trained in the proper celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII to ensure competence in the Latin language and the rubrics of the extraordinary form.
Prior to engaging a "practicum" experience, the theology behind the liturgy and the "motu proprio" will be studied. I have encouraged any priest who may wish to learn to celebrate this liturgy to seek such educational opportunities so that the liturgy may be celebrated in a prayerful and reverent manner.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
FSSP Diaconate Ordinations
If you are interested in seeing some beautiful and extensive ordination photos, go HERE and scroll down to see a slideshow of the recent Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter Diaconate ordinations. It was great to see Fr. Ferguson, FSSP in the pictures (subdeacon). Fr. Ferguson assisted at the Cathedral in Raleigh for the Solemn High Mass this past January.
Hat tip to New Liturgical Movement
Another PCED response about seminarians and, this time, Latin requirements
A post from Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog:"You might recall that I posted a letter sent by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (PCED) to a questioner asking about the rights of seminarians to be trained in the use of the 1962 Missale Romanum as well as, presumably, the Rituale Romanum.
I just received a copy of another letter from the same PCED to someone making inquiries.
The response of the PCED Secretary, Msgr. Camille Perl, repeats what we knew from the other letter, namely, that seminarians have the right to be trained to use the older form and that seminaries should provide that training.
Then there is a third response:
3. There is no plan to implement a generalized Latin test for seminarians and priests who wish to celebrate Mass according to the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, but it is expected that those who celebrate should have a sufficient mastery of Latin to be bale to read, pronounce correctly and understand the sacred texts which they must recite or sing.
We expect that these matters will soon be treated in an instruction on the application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.
I like the use of the word "soon" in relation to the "instruction on the application" of Summorum Pontificum.
So, here we get a little direction about the concept behind idoneus. The PCED says there will not be a test for Latin. However, that does not mean there can’t be tests. (That would, of course, open up the whole "double standard" issue again.) The PCED speaks of "sufficient mastery" of a) reading, pronouncing, and c) understanding texts. There is no indication of what "sufficient mastery" is, but it is a start. I think "to read" and "pronounce correctly" are pretty much the same thing, unless "to read" and "understand" are the same. Either way, the letter does indicate that whatever the priest reads aloud must be pronounced properly.
However, I can usually tell when the person reading Latin actually grasps what he is reading aloud… or not. For example, I know a pastor of a large parish known for its Masses in Latin who clearly can pronounce Latin words. However, he sings texts in such a way that it is clear he really doesn’t hear what the texts mean while he sings them. I grant that texts can be read in different ways, to stress now one thing, now another. But, when a guy doesn’t have a clue, you can tell. And then there are those who use speed to give the impression of expertise. But I digress…
There is always going to be a connection between the sound and the meaning.
In any event, this letter of the PCED is another indication that we will soon have more direction."
Friday, February 22, 2008
Permanent Deacons and the Extraordinary Form of the Mass
Fr. Zuhlsdorf and Shawn Tribe have both posted about an inquiry that was sent to the PCED (Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei) in regards to the use of Permanent Deacons in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Below are their posts respectively:PCED clarifies service of deacons in the TLM
CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULUM — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 8:09 am
Since Summorum Pontificum went into effect, questions about the older, pre-Conciliar form of Mass have, as was inevitable, begun to surface.
The Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" (PCED) is, at this time, the clearing house for these questions, since the Commission has competence in all things concerning the older liturgy.
I received via e-mail a copy of a letter someone received from the PCED. A question was raised about the service of deacons for the older forms of liturgy.
Every once in a while questions pop upo about deacons ordained with the newer books and the older form of Mass, and also about the service of permanent deacons. For example, some people question if men ordained as deacons with the newer book De ordinatione, that is, who are not ordained with the older form of the Pontificale Romanum as deacons or subdeacons, can function as sacred ministers in the older Mass. In a nutshell: not ordained with old book – can’t be sacred minister.
I contend that a deacon is a deacon is a deacon. Men who were ordained with older books are no more deacons than men ordained with the newer books.
Similarly, some people think that permanent deacons are somehow a lesser sort of deacon and therefore cannot function as a sacred minister in the older form of Mass. I respond again: a deacon is a deacons is a deacon.
Now we let us see the business part of text of the response sent by the PCED forwarded to me with my emphases.
The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, just as the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei, presupposes that any deacons, transitional or permanent, may function as deacons in the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal, provided, of course, that they are familiar with the rites and can function with sufficient ease. The local Ordinary can not impede a deacon in good standing from functioning as a deacon in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite provided that the deacon is qualified.
With prayerful wishes I remain
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Rev. Msgr. Camille Perl
First, this letter clarifies that the ability of the deacon to serve does not depend on which book was used to ordain him. Thus, men ordained with the newer book can serve as sacred ministers with the older form.
Second, it makes no difference if a man is a permanent deacon or a transitional deacon. A "transitional" deacon usually identifies a man promoted to the holy order of the diaconate as a stage before his being ordained a priest. So, these are usually seminarians in the last stages of their formation. The point here is that a permanent deacons and transitional deacons are equally deacons. This may seem like a point to simple to need clarification, but it does come up.
Third, note the statement that the "local Ordinary" (usually the local bishop) can’t "impede" a deacon in good standing from functioning as a deacon in the extraordinary form. This would have an impact on seminarian transitional deacons. The idea is this: if a deacon is in good standing, he can function as a deacon in his rite. Men ordained for the Roman Rite can function in their Roman Rite. The Roman Rite has two forms.
Bishops cannot tell their seminarian deacons who are in good standing that they can serve in the ordinary form but can’t serve in the extraordinary form. If you can serve in one, you can serve in the other, provided you know what to do.
What I find interesting about this is that during the rite of ordination of a deacon, the ordaining bishop explicitly asks someone speaking on behalf of those responsible for the formation of the deacons whether or not he knows they are worthy of ordination. That worthiness would refer not only to their reputations and moral life, but also their concrete training.
If a man is going to be ordained for the Roman Rite, should not knowledge of the older form of the Rite be included in the formation of men to be ordained deacons, transitional or permanent? If someone responsible for the training of deacons is going to answer that question about the worthiness of the men presented to the bishop for ordination, should he not know they were prepared for the celebration of the Roman Rite?
and this from Shawn Tribe on New Liturgical Movement:
One of our readers writes in with regard to a query they sent to the Ecclesia Dei Commission about permanent deacons fulfilling liturgical functions in the usus antiquior. This is a question we have seen come up from time to time on the NLM.Here is the response Msgr. Camille Perl apparently gave to this question:
The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, just as the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei, presupposes that any deacons, transitional or permanent, may function as deacons in the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal, provided, of course, that they are familiar with the rites and can function with sufficient ease.
Monday, January 7, 2008
The Adventure - returning by another way
The post below was written by Fr. Tighe, a Priest of the Diocese of Raleigh, for his Eucharistic Adoration blog. He will join 14 other Priests of the Diocese tomorrow in training to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. My prayers are with them all.
I was always amazed at my parent's ability to be open for adventure. As I look back on them and the sacrifices they made for us, their children, I am amazed at the joy they kept in the midst of change. Their whole life was an adventure. In the Gospel reading at Epiphany, we learn that the Magi "having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, departed for their country by another way". Saint John of the Cross, 15th Century Mystic, Priest and Doctor of the Church says that to "go to the place that you are not, you must go by the way in which you know not". As I contemplate the mystery of God's call in my life it is abundantly clear that we must, as Catholics, always have our sandals on, our staff in our hand and be ready like a people in flight. The task is not always one of physical movement, like moving from Cary, Bolivia, Clinton, Rocky Mount or Wake Forest, no, it is one that demands the movement of the heart. God gives us the opportunity for daily conversion when we enter into prayer. It is there in prayer with him, that we learn how to move by way of the heart. It is in prayer that we actually receive new hearts that allow us to love courageously. From the Prophet Ezekiel we learn of what God desires to give us: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh".
The Magi returned to their country by another way which indicates that the destination had not changed but their route had indeed changed. As I head out tomorrow to learn Latin, I know that the destination remains the same but I go by a way in which I know not. St. Thomas expressed the same sentiments to Jesus. "Lord how can we know the way?". Jesus replied, "I am the way, the truth and the life". Like my parents, I too love an adventure. What an adventure it is to follow Christ.
I was always amazed at my parent's ability to be open for adventure. As I look back on them and the sacrifices they made for us, their children, I am amazed at the joy they kept in the midst of change. Their whole life was an adventure. In the Gospel reading at Epiphany, we learn that the Magi "having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, departed for their country by another way". Saint John of the Cross, 15th Century Mystic, Priest and Doctor of the Church says that to "go to the place that you are not, you must go by the way in which you know not". As I contemplate the mystery of God's call in my life it is abundantly clear that we must, as Catholics, always have our sandals on, our staff in our hand and be ready like a people in flight. The task is not always one of physical movement, like moving from Cary, Bolivia, Clinton, Rocky Mount or Wake Forest, no, it is one that demands the movement of the heart. God gives us the opportunity for daily conversion when we enter into prayer. It is there in prayer with him, that we learn how to move by way of the heart. It is in prayer that we actually receive new hearts that allow us to love courageously. From the Prophet Ezekiel we learn of what God desires to give us: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh".
The Magi returned to their country by another way which indicates that the destination had not changed but their route had indeed changed. As I head out tomorrow to learn Latin, I know that the destination remains the same but I go by a way in which I know not. St. Thomas expressed the same sentiments to Jesus. "Lord how can we know the way?". Jesus replied, "I am the way, the truth and the life". Like my parents, I too love an adventure. What an adventure it is to follow Christ.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Carmelite Monks in Wyoming #3
Below is an article from the Billings Gazette about the Carmelite Monks is Wyoming
Clark monks release chant CD
By RUFFIN PREVOST
Gazette Wyoming Bureau
CLARK - In winter, the vast, scenic countryside around the tiny foothills community of Clark is serene and quiet. The frigid air and lingering snow cover seem to compress any sound before it is swept away on the Wyoming wind.
On a morning walk down one particular gravel road, one might hear the screech of a distant hawk, or perhaps the crunching sound of deer cautiously stepping through frozen brush.
A trip to the far end of the road might reward early risers with a surreal auditory delight: the medieval melody of Gregorian chant, borne on the wind from behind a high wooden fence.
For the past two years, the Carmelite monks of Clark have risen at 4 a.m. to begin each day in prayer, often performing the centuries-old chants in worship.
And now they've recorded a CD to share their chants with others in hopes of raising funds for a host of ambitious projects. "The Mystical Chants of Carmel" features 14 traditional prayers and hymns in Latin.
"We wanted to make a CD where people could listen to it and meditate or pray," said Father Daniel Mary. "Chant has that very peaceful, soothing quality."
Father Daniel - who was born Daniel Schneider, but like all monks in his order, has adopted Mary as his surname to honor the Blessed Virgin - smiles broadly as he discusses the transcendent power of chant.
"Some of the chants, like 'Audi Filia,' you can tell the soul that created it was totally inspired, totally immersed in God and prayer," he said.
Ancient music
Codified in the ninth century by St. Gregory, Gregorian chant was adopted from Jewish temples and developed over the centuries into a cornerstone of Roman Catholic Mass, Father Daniel said.
Father Daniel and the other six monks in his monastery spend up to eight hours a day in prayer, with much of that time devoted to chanting.
"Our prayer life is quite active," said Father Daniel. "All day long, you have times you come together in the chapel as part of that process.
"The chant CD is mostly the prayers we do from the Mass. All of our prayer in liturgy and Mass is chanted in Latin," he said.
Father Daniel, a native of Clark, founded the monastery two years ago with Michael Wright, who is now Brother Michael Mary.
They had been living in a Minnesota monastery that was more hermetic and isolated, and wanted to establish an order in Wyoming rooted in the Carmelite tradition of an agrarian lifestyle.
The Clark monastery opened in October 2003, in a ceremony at which the bishop of the Archdiocese of Wyoming symbolically closed it off from the world of profane cares outside.
"When Bishop Ricken shut the gates, at that moment, there was this extraordinary peace and sense of God's presence," Father Daniel said. "And that's the way it remains - very much a peaceful environment."
Brother Michael said he felt freedom, rather than isolation. He said his life before he was cloistered was filled with worldly distractions.
"Then, all of a sudden, the doors were closed," he said, "and I had this freedom of my soul to just waste myself in prayer, with nothing holding me back."
Father Daniel acknowledges that the monks' presence in Clark has raised a few eyebrows.
"We're an exotic species here," he jokes, saying people often observe through binoculars as the monks hike to a cross at the top of a hill behind the monastery.
"We sometimes wear a hunting jacket to let them know we're human," he said.
Word of the Wyoming monks spread, and their numbers have grown from two to seven. One young member learned of the Clark monastery through Google, an Internet search engine.
"He just loves it here," Father Daniel said of 20-year-old Brother Simon, who hails from New York. "To him it's like a foretaste of Heaven.
"And for all the other brothers, it's the same thing," he said. "It's amazing how God calls them. It seems deeply rooted in their soul to give their life to God with prayer. That's why they come."
The monks accept prayer requests from nearby St. Barbara's Catholic Church in Powell, and from other sources across rural northwest Wyoming.
Some leave phone messages asking for prayers, while others - sometimes two or three people a day - trek to the remote monastery and ring a bell outside the walls to summon a monk.
"People realize monks are there to pray for the world," Father Daniel said. "We want to intercede before God, to be channels of grace for the world."
No distractions
The monks enter the monastery on a six-year journey culminating in a vow of lifelong commitment to the order, pledging poverty, chastity and obedience to the church.
The telephone is used mainly to accept calls requesting prayers. Radio, TV and Internet are forbidden as unwelcome distractions. Outsiders are not allowed within the confines of the cloister.
Monks typically leave the monastery only for special reasons, like a medical emergency or the death of a relative.
Next to the monastery fence is a tiny cottage, which visitors enter through an outside door while the monks enter from within the monastery. Father Daniel jokingly calls it "the neutral zone."
Food and other necessities are brought by outside "runners," much as it has been done for centuries.
Applicants to the monastery, who come from all backgrounds and walks of life, are carefully screened by Father Daniel, who must be sure they are well-suited to the monastic discipline before accepting them into the order.
He said he has heard from more than 100 serious, qualified applicants, and expects to add another seven or eight new members over the next year.
The converted summer home that serves as their monastery can host a maximum of 15 men, making plans for expansion a top priority and a chief reason for the CD fundraiser.
"We can't turn anybody down," Father Daniel said. "If they're meant for us, we have to take them in. That's why we're already thinking about where we're going to found the next monastery."
Big plans
Father Daniel said the monks have reached an agreement with a benefactor to acquire 110 acres near Heart Mountain. Their hopes for the land now rest on raising money for its purchase, which he says they're working to accomplish, and finding well water on it, a goal whose success will depend on God.
Father Daniel hopes to build a monastery there with room for 30 monks, along with a church big enough for 500 worshipers and a hermitage, where visitors can sample for a few days or weeks the cloistered life of the monks.
Beyond that, he and Brother Michael have discussed plans to establish a monastery in Montana, somewhere between Billings and the Wyoming state line, which is just a few miles north of Clark.
As Father Daniel pages through a coffee table book of photographs of European cathedrals - talking of his plans for a gothic church in rural Wyoming - he displays a quiet, steady confidence born from a life of singular purpose and unquestioned commitment.
"It might be five years down the road, but we're going to do it," he said. "We have some people that could really finance this whole thing already behind us. They want to see us do our part, but we have no doubt it's going to happen."
For now, Father Daniel and the Carmelite monks of Clark are focused on a few simple agrarian goals, such as acquiring livestock and perhaps some chickens.
While the monks don't eat meat, tending to the animals and gardening - along with other work like making their own sandals or woodworking - are a large part of the discipline of monastic life.
Manual labor is one of the four pillars of a monk's daily routine, Father Daniel said, along with recreation, scripture study and prayer.
In prayer, the monks will continue to chant, he said, because chant "has a power to it that is out of this world, and it draws souls into transcendence."
Details
The monks' CD can be ordered online at www.carmelitemonks.org/chant.html. CDs can also be ordered by sending $15 plus $3.95 shipping and handling to Carmelite Monastery, P.O. Box 2747, Cody, WY 82414
By RUFFIN PREVOST
Gazette Wyoming Bureau
CLARK - In winter, the vast, scenic countryside around the tiny foothills community of Clark is serene and quiet. The frigid air and lingering snow cover seem to compress any sound before it is swept away on the Wyoming wind.
On a morning walk down one particular gravel road, one might hear the screech of a distant hawk, or perhaps the crunching sound of deer cautiously stepping through frozen brush.
A trip to the far end of the road might reward early risers with a surreal auditory delight: the medieval melody of Gregorian chant, borne on the wind from behind a high wooden fence.
For the past two years, the Carmelite monks of Clark have risen at 4 a.m. to begin each day in prayer, often performing the centuries-old chants in worship.
And now they've recorded a CD to share their chants with others in hopes of raising funds for a host of ambitious projects. "The Mystical Chants of Carmel" features 14 traditional prayers and hymns in Latin.
"We wanted to make a CD where people could listen to it and meditate or pray," said Father Daniel Mary. "Chant has that very peaceful, soothing quality."
Father Daniel - who was born Daniel Schneider, but like all monks in his order, has adopted Mary as his surname to honor the Blessed Virgin - smiles broadly as he discusses the transcendent power of chant.
"Some of the chants, like 'Audi Filia,' you can tell the soul that created it was totally inspired, totally immersed in God and prayer," he said.
Ancient music
Codified in the ninth century by St. Gregory, Gregorian chant was adopted from Jewish temples and developed over the centuries into a cornerstone of Roman Catholic Mass, Father Daniel said.
Father Daniel and the other six monks in his monastery spend up to eight hours a day in prayer, with much of that time devoted to chanting.
"Our prayer life is quite active," said Father Daniel. "All day long, you have times you come together in the chapel as part of that process.
"The chant CD is mostly the prayers we do from the Mass. All of our prayer in liturgy and Mass is chanted in Latin," he said.
Father Daniel, a native of Clark, founded the monastery two years ago with Michael Wright, who is now Brother Michael Mary.
They had been living in a Minnesota monastery that was more hermetic and isolated, and wanted to establish an order in Wyoming rooted in the Carmelite tradition of an agrarian lifestyle.
The Clark monastery opened in October 2003, in a ceremony at which the bishop of the Archdiocese of Wyoming symbolically closed it off from the world of profane cares outside.
"When Bishop Ricken shut the gates, at that moment, there was this extraordinary peace and sense of God's presence," Father Daniel said. "And that's the way it remains - very much a peaceful environment."
Brother Michael said he felt freedom, rather than isolation. He said his life before he was cloistered was filled with worldly distractions.
"Then, all of a sudden, the doors were closed," he said, "and I had this freedom of my soul to just waste myself in prayer, with nothing holding me back."
Father Daniel acknowledges that the monks' presence in Clark has raised a few eyebrows.
"We're an exotic species here," he jokes, saying people often observe through binoculars as the monks hike to a cross at the top of a hill behind the monastery.
"We sometimes wear a hunting jacket to let them know we're human," he said.
Word of the Wyoming monks spread, and their numbers have grown from two to seven. One young member learned of the Clark monastery through Google, an Internet search engine.
"He just loves it here," Father Daniel said of 20-year-old Brother Simon, who hails from New York. "To him it's like a foretaste of Heaven.
"And for all the other brothers, it's the same thing," he said. "It's amazing how God calls them. It seems deeply rooted in their soul to give their life to God with prayer. That's why they come."
The monks accept prayer requests from nearby St. Barbara's Catholic Church in Powell, and from other sources across rural northwest Wyoming.
Some leave phone messages asking for prayers, while others - sometimes two or three people a day - trek to the remote monastery and ring a bell outside the walls to summon a monk.
"People realize monks are there to pray for the world," Father Daniel said. "We want to intercede before God, to be channels of grace for the world."
No distractions
The monks enter the monastery on a six-year journey culminating in a vow of lifelong commitment to the order, pledging poverty, chastity and obedience to the church.
The telephone is used mainly to accept calls requesting prayers. Radio, TV and Internet are forbidden as unwelcome distractions. Outsiders are not allowed within the confines of the cloister.
Monks typically leave the monastery only for special reasons, like a medical emergency or the death of a relative.
Next to the monastery fence is a tiny cottage, which visitors enter through an outside door while the monks enter from within the monastery. Father Daniel jokingly calls it "the neutral zone."
Food and other necessities are brought by outside "runners," much as it has been done for centuries.
Applicants to the monastery, who come from all backgrounds and walks of life, are carefully screened by Father Daniel, who must be sure they are well-suited to the monastic discipline before accepting them into the order.
He said he has heard from more than 100 serious, qualified applicants, and expects to add another seven or eight new members over the next year.
The converted summer home that serves as their monastery can host a maximum of 15 men, making plans for expansion a top priority and a chief reason for the CD fundraiser.
"We can't turn anybody down," Father Daniel said. "If they're meant for us, we have to take them in. That's why we're already thinking about where we're going to found the next monastery."
Big plans
Father Daniel said the monks have reached an agreement with a benefactor to acquire 110 acres near Heart Mountain. Their hopes for the land now rest on raising money for its purchase, which he says they're working to accomplish, and finding well water on it, a goal whose success will depend on God.
Father Daniel hopes to build a monastery there with room for 30 monks, along with a church big enough for 500 worshipers and a hermitage, where visitors can sample for a few days or weeks the cloistered life of the monks.
Beyond that, he and Brother Michael have discussed plans to establish a monastery in Montana, somewhere between Billings and the Wyoming state line, which is just a few miles north of Clark.
As Father Daniel pages through a coffee table book of photographs of European cathedrals - talking of his plans for a gothic church in rural Wyoming - he displays a quiet, steady confidence born from a life of singular purpose and unquestioned commitment.
"It might be five years down the road, but we're going to do it," he said. "We have some people that could really finance this whole thing already behind us. They want to see us do our part, but we have no doubt it's going to happen."
For now, Father Daniel and the Carmelite monks of Clark are focused on a few simple agrarian goals, such as acquiring livestock and perhaps some chickens.
While the monks don't eat meat, tending to the animals and gardening - along with other work like making their own sandals or woodworking - are a large part of the discipline of monastic life.
Manual labor is one of the four pillars of a monk's daily routine, Father Daniel said, along with recreation, scripture study and prayer.
In prayer, the monks will continue to chant, he said, because chant "has a power to it that is out of this world, and it draws souls into transcendence."
Details
The monks' CD can be ordered online at www.carmelitemonks.org/chant.html. CDs can also be ordered by sending $15 plus $3.95 shipping and handling to Carmelite Monastery, P.O. Box 2747, Cody, WY 82414
Carmelite Monks in Wyoming #2 VIDEO LINK
Salt Lake Tribune slideshow, with beautiful pictures, about the Carmelite Monks in Wyoming.
Carmelite Monks in Wyoming #1
The post below was written by Deal Hudson on September 25, 2007 and orginally posted on his personal blog.
The Last Carmelite Monks in America
By Deal W. Hudson
The last eight Carmelite monks in America, perhaps even the world, live in a four-bedroom rectory in the mountains of northwest Wyoming.
With 35 candidates in various stages of discernment, they hope to move 70 miles away to a 492-acre property near Carter Mountain once owned by "Buffalo Bill" Cody as his hunting preserve.
"Buffalo Bill's house is dilapidated, but the newer lodge on the property was meant to be a monastery," said Rev. Daniel Mary of Jesus Crucified, the 40-year-old prior of the community.
"We are sleeping in all kinds of places all over the property -- one is sleeping in the library, one in the office -- we are going to have to be moving no matter what."
Father Daniel founded the community on October 15, 2003, when Bishop David Ricken of Cheyenne sealed their enclosure. For Father Daniel, it was a homecoming: His father, rancher Jerry Schneider, runs the Mt. Carmel Youth Ranch four miles up the road. The youth ranch, like the monastery, is starting to gain a national reputation. Parents who want help with troubled youngsters send them to Schneider.
Father Daniel exudes the same kind of can-do enthusiasm that animates his father, who is one of the most unforgettable characters you will ever meet -- a massive, soft-spoken cowboy with a deep devotion to the Mother of God. It's obvious to me where the son's determination comes from.
He left his life as a Carmelite hermit in Minnesota because they were losing their vocations. "Young men simply could not adjust to a solitary life; they needed a community -- that's why I asked for permission from the prior to start a monastic community."
Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of Minneapolis gave Father Daniel permission to contact Bishop Ricken in Wyoming, who had let it be known that he was looking for Carmelites to live in his diocese. Archbishop Flynn said to me, "This is meant to be, this is of God." After the meeting with Flynn, Father Daniel called Bishop Ricken, who immediately invited him to Wyoming.
"I think we are the only community of Carmelite Monks in the world that live a cloistered life." The eight brothers live in a "constitutional enclosure," which they can leave only for medical reasons, not even for a death in the family.
They do, however, foster relationships with their families, who can stay at the guesthouse. The only contact the brothers have with people outside the community are the special visitors they invite to stay in the "speak room."
Though they don't meet with very many people outside the community, they do sell them coffee. On their Web site there is a tab for "Mystic Monk Coffee." Click the tab and you will find for sale an array of coffee beans "roasted solely by real monks who are passionate about coffee."
You will also be offered the doubled-handled "Mystic Monk Mug." Father Daniel explained, "It is a longstanding tradition that Carmelites drink coffee using both hands in thanksgiving for the fruits of the harvest."
Why coffee?, I asked him. "Out here in Wyoming there's not much you can do. I have a brother, Michael Mary, who worked in coffee shops all his life and really has a lot of knowledge about coffee, so we just went for the gusto and tried it." They started selling coffee in June of this year, and sales are already brisk. "It was just meant to be, I guess," says Father Daniel.
It was just meant to be. That phrase was used a number of times by Father Daniel when I interviewed him. He told me that Buffalo Bill died a Catholic, receiving last rites on his deathbed, and so the new monastery and retreat center "is meant to be."
By Christmas, Father Daniel and his fellow monks hope to be celebrating the Tridentine Latin Mass and singing Gregorian chant in the shadow of Carter Mountain.
I will stay in touch with Father Daniel and his "last Carmelite monks" and will let you know if the move to Buffalo Bill's property "was meant to be."
* * *
Father Daniel asked me to request your prayers and your support. To send a donation, or some books for their monastery library, write to:
Carmelite Monastery
P.O. Box 2747
Cody, WY 82414-2747
The last eight Carmelite monks in America, perhaps even the world, live in a four-bedroom rectory in the mountains of northwest Wyoming.
With 35 candidates in various stages of discernment, they hope to move 70 miles away to a 492-acre property near Carter Mountain once owned by "Buffalo Bill" Cody as his hunting preserve.
"Buffalo Bill's house is dilapidated, but the newer lodge on the property was meant to be a monastery," said Rev. Daniel Mary of Jesus Crucified, the 40-year-old prior of the community.
"We are sleeping in all kinds of places all over the property -- one is sleeping in the library, one in the office -- we are going to have to be moving no matter what."
Father Daniel founded the community on October 15, 2003, when Bishop David Ricken of Cheyenne sealed their enclosure. For Father Daniel, it was a homecoming: His father, rancher Jerry Schneider, runs the Mt. Carmel Youth Ranch four miles up the road. The youth ranch, like the monastery, is starting to gain a national reputation. Parents who want help with troubled youngsters send them to Schneider.
Father Daniel exudes the same kind of can-do enthusiasm that animates his father, who is one of the most unforgettable characters you will ever meet -- a massive, soft-spoken cowboy with a deep devotion to the Mother of God. It's obvious to me where the son's determination comes from.
He left his life as a Carmelite hermit in Minnesota because they were losing their vocations. "Young men simply could not adjust to a solitary life; they needed a community -- that's why I asked for permission from the prior to start a monastic community."
Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of Minneapolis gave Father Daniel permission to contact Bishop Ricken in Wyoming, who had let it be known that he was looking for Carmelites to live in his diocese. Archbishop Flynn said to me, "This is meant to be, this is of God." After the meeting with Flynn, Father Daniel called Bishop Ricken, who immediately invited him to Wyoming.
"I think we are the only community of Carmelite Monks in the world that live a cloistered life." The eight brothers live in a "constitutional enclosure," which they can leave only for medical reasons, not even for a death in the family.
They do, however, foster relationships with their families, who can stay at the guesthouse. The only contact the brothers have with people outside the community are the special visitors they invite to stay in the "speak room."
Though they don't meet with very many people outside the community, they do sell them coffee. On their Web site there is a tab for "Mystic Monk Coffee." Click the tab and you will find for sale an array of coffee beans "roasted solely by real monks who are passionate about coffee."
You will also be offered the doubled-handled "Mystic Monk Mug." Father Daniel explained, "It is a longstanding tradition that Carmelites drink coffee using both hands in thanksgiving for the fruits of the harvest."
Why coffee?, I asked him. "Out here in Wyoming there's not much you can do. I have a brother, Michael Mary, who worked in coffee shops all his life and really has a lot of knowledge about coffee, so we just went for the gusto and tried it." They started selling coffee in June of this year, and sales are already brisk. "It was just meant to be, I guess," says Father Daniel.
It was just meant to be. That phrase was used a number of times by Father Daniel when I interviewed him. He told me that Buffalo Bill died a Catholic, receiving last rites on his deathbed, and so the new monastery and retreat center "is meant to be."
By Christmas, Father Daniel and his fellow monks hope to be celebrating the Tridentine Latin Mass and singing Gregorian chant in the shadow of Carter Mountain.
I will stay in touch with Father Daniel and his "last Carmelite monks" and will let you know if the move to Buffalo Bill's property "was meant to be."
* * *
Father Daniel asked me to request your prayers and your support. To send a donation, or some books for their monastery library, write to:
Carmelite Monastery
P.O. Box 2747
Cody, WY 82414-2747
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
A Tonsure at the Vatican? Do I Believe My Eyes?
More evidence of young traditional vocations - this time at the Vatican with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI...
This post below is from Fr. Finigan's blog "The Hermeneutic of Continuity" , which draws attention to the vimp and his tonsure in the photo below.
"Serving the Pope"
The gentleman is Brother Alban of the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem, based in St Louis, Missouri. They are regular visitors to traditional events in Europe and I have met them a few times now, as well as being able to listen to a lecture given by their founder Dom Daniel Oppenheimer. Brother Alban assisted me in the group I was teaching at the Merton Conference in the summer, arranged by the Latin Mass Society to offer training to priests wishing to learn how to celebrate the Classical Roman Rite.
Seeing Brother Alban holding that crucifix brought back memories of about 25 years ago when, as a student in Rome, I assisted in the same capacity at Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II. It is a very special thing in itself to assist as a server at a Papal Mass but you also get to meet the Holy Father personally:
Do remember the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem in your prayers. They are very generous in remembering others
This post below is from Fr. Finigan's blog "The Hermeneutic of Continuity" , which draws attention to the vimp and his tonsure in the photo below.
"Serving the Pope"The gentleman is Brother Alban of the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem, based in St Louis, Missouri. They are regular visitors to traditional events in Europe and I have met them a few times now, as well as being able to listen to a lecture given by their founder Dom Daniel Oppenheimer. Brother Alban assisted me in the group I was teaching at the Merton Conference in the summer, arranged by the Latin Mass Society to offer training to priests wishing to learn how to celebrate the Classical Roman Rite.
Seeing Brother Alban holding that crucifix brought back memories of about 25 years ago when, as a student in Rome, I assisted in the same capacity at Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II. It is a very special thing in itself to assist as a server at a Papal Mass but you also get to meet the Holy Father personally:
Do remember the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem in your prayers. They are very generous in remembering others
Great News From St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (Hint: Extraordinary Form)
Great news from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia (where the majority of seminarians for the Diocese of Raleigh are in formation) - they will have a Mass in the Extraordinary Form next semester, an elective class on the Sacraments and the Mass in the Extraordinary Form, and the Liturgy and Eucharist classes will be modified to include the Extraordinary Form! Deo Gratias!
I don't know if the Mass will be celebrated in St. Martins, but if it is, this is what the Chapel looks like...
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Latin Makes a Comeback
Article from the Washington Post [comments by Fr. Zuhlsdorf from WDTPRS] Emphases mine - as I've said repeatedly, younger people ARE attracted to the Traditional Latin Mass, and more priestly vocations will come from those have become increasingly devoted to the reverence and beauty of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.
Latin Makes a Comeback
Young Catholics Are Leading a Resurgence of the Traditional Mass
By Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 24, 2007; B09
Parts of it are 1,500 years old, it’s difficult to understand, and it’s even more challenging to watch. And it’s catching on among young Catholics. [What does this opening remark say to you WDTPRSer in light of the entry I posted about the Novus Ordo as "easier" than the older Mass?]
It’s the traditional Latin Mass, [More journalists are beginning to make distinctions. Could they be reading?] a formal worship service that is making a comeback after more than 40 years of moldering in the Vatican basement.
In September, Pope Benedict XVI relaxed restrictions [called a "derestiction"] on celebrating Latin Mass, frequently called the Tridentine Mass, citing "a new and renewed" interest in the ancient Latin liturgy, especially among younger Catholics.
Spoken or sung entirely in sometimes inaudible Latin [How do you sing inaudibly?] by priests who face the altar instead of the congregation, [Thanks for avoiding the cliche!] it is a radical departure for most Catholics, who grew up attending a more informal Mass celebrated in their native tongue.
"It’s the opposite of the cacophony that comes with the [modern] Mass," said Ken Wolfe, 34, a federal government worker who goes to up to four Latin Masses a week in the Washington area. "There’s no guitars and handshaking and breaks in the Mass where people talk to each other. It’s a very serious liturgy." [Didn’t Archbp. Ranjith recently talk about a return to "seriousness"?]
And it is a hit with younger priests and their parishioners. [YES!]
Attendance at the Sunday noon Mass at St. John the Beloved in McLean has doubled to 400 people since it began celebrating in Latin. Most of the worshipers are under 40, said the Rev. Franklyn McAfee. [Famous as a frequent commentor of WDTPRS!]
Younger parishioners "are more reflective," McAfee said. "They want something uplifting when they go to church. They don’t want something they can get outside." [Yes… and encounter with something that is not ordinary.]
For some, the popularity of the service represents the gap between older Catholics, who grew up in the more liberal, post-Vatican II era, and their younger counterparts, who say they feel like they missed out on the tradition that was jettisoned in the move to modernize.
Although Chris Paulitz’s parents never questioned the switch to the "new" Mass, Paulitz and his wife, Diane, only attend Latin Masses.
After each such service, "you feel like you’ve learned something and you’ve grown a bit," said Chris, 32, in an interview after a recent Mass at St. Rita’s Church in Alexandria. [I return to the premises of the entry I posted about the Novus Ordo as "easier" than the older Mass! Nota bene "grown".]
Priests, musicians and laypeople are snapping up how-to videos and books, signing up for workshops and viewing online tutorials with step-by-step instructions on the elaborately choreographed liturgy. For example, the rubrics dictate that a priest must hold together the thumb and index finger of each hand for much of the Canon of the Mass, the central part of the liturgy that culminates with the consecration of bread and wine.
"I knew there would be some interest, but I didn’t know how quickly it would spread and how really deep the interest was," said the Rev. Scott Haynes, a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago who started a Web site in August offering instructions in celebrating the Mass.
So far, the Web site, http://www.sanctamissa.org/EN/index.html, has received 1 million hits, [Lagging behind but doing well! o{];¬) ] Haynes said, adding that he receives several hundred e-mails a day from fans of the service. "I was surprised by how many people have latched on to this," he said.
Portions of the Tridentine Mass date back to the sixth century, but it was standardized at the Council of Trent in 1570—hence the name Tridentine. It was largely supplanted by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, which modernized the Mass liturgy and translated it into modern languages.
The modern Mass, or Novus Ordo, can be said in Latin, [Again I return to the premises of the entry I posted.] but it is a radically different service from the Tridentine Mass. Until September, when the pope issued his Motu Proprio allowing greater freedom in celebrating the Tridentine Mass, priests who wanted to celebrate it needed special permission from their bishop, and it was celebrated at only a few churches in the Washington area.
In the Diocese of Arlington, where the bishop and priests are considered more conservative than in Washington, the number of churches where the service is celebrated has increased from two to seven since the Motu Proprio. The Arlington diocese, which stretches from Northern Virginia south to Lancaster and west to the Shenandoah, has sent six priests to a training center in Nebraska, at the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter seminary, for an intensive seminar. [Excellent!]
In the Archdiocese of Washington, no more churches have added the Mass. Monsignor Charles Pope, who celebrates the Mass at St. Mary’s in Chinatown, thinks that it’s because of the number of parishioners demanding the Tridentine Mass is small. But those who want it "are very interested and very passionate about it," he said.
Priests who know the ritual are training other priests, and the diocese plans to offer training next year, said archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs.
But the service is not without controversy. Jewish groups have protested a Good Friday [How tiresome this all is.] prayer in the Mass that refers to the "blindness" of the Jews and calls for their conversion. Vatican officials have suggested that the prayer could be removed but have not done so.
For those who have fallen in love with the Mass, though, it is a part of what marks Catholics as unique among Christians. [YES! As I have been saying, Pope Benedict’s vision aims at reinvigorating Catholic identity!]
"Before Vatican II, there were a lot of things that marked Catholics as Catholic: the Tridentine Mass in Latin, fish on Fridays, those kinds of things," said Monsignor Kevin Irwin, dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at Catholic University. "And I think that 40 years after the [Second Vatican] Council, there is a revival of questions asking what is Catholic identity, and for some, this is an external manifestation of saying, ‘We’re Catholic.’ " [This guy gets it.]
At St. Rita’s Church, more than 150 worshipers listened and watched in silence as four black-and-gold-robed priests, accompanied by a half-dozen servers and a five-person choir, spoke and sang the hour-long liturgy. There was no homily, no English and no lay participation. [I protest! There certainly was lay participation! Every one of those people were participating, I’ll bet, though "active receptivity" to what the true ACTOR, the High Priest Jesus Christ, was doing in the words and gestures of the liturgy. Then those who were properly disposed, participated in the supreme manner of active participation by going forward actively to receive Holy Comunion.] In a throwback to the past, [Or a preview of the future.] some women wore lace head coverings.
In a crystalline tenor, the celebrant, the Rev. Paul D. Scalia, recited the Lord’s Prayer :
Pater noster, qui es in caelis: sanctificetur nomen tuum . . .
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name . . .
Scalia, St. Rita’s parochial vicar, added the Mass within days of the pope lifting the restrictions.
Scalia, 36, said he loves "the beauty of it, the silence . . . the antiquity. . . . It has a much more a contemplative feel to it. . . . This is the Mass that so many saints were raised on and themselves offered and prayed."
Latin Makes a Comeback
Young Catholics Are Leading a Resurgence of the Traditional Mass
By Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 24, 2007; B09
Parts of it are 1,500 years old, it’s difficult to understand, and it’s even more challenging to watch. And it’s catching on among young Catholics. [What does this opening remark say to you WDTPRSer in light of the entry I posted about the Novus Ordo as "easier" than the older Mass?]
It’s the traditional Latin Mass, [More journalists are beginning to make distinctions. Could they be reading?] a formal worship service that is making a comeback after more than 40 years of moldering in the Vatican basement.
In September, Pope Benedict XVI relaxed restrictions [called a "derestiction"] on celebrating Latin Mass, frequently called the Tridentine Mass, citing "a new and renewed" interest in the ancient Latin liturgy, especially among younger Catholics.
Spoken or sung entirely in sometimes inaudible Latin [How do you sing inaudibly?] by priests who face the altar instead of the congregation, [Thanks for avoiding the cliche!] it is a radical departure for most Catholics, who grew up attending a more informal Mass celebrated in their native tongue.
"It’s the opposite of the cacophony that comes with the [modern] Mass," said Ken Wolfe, 34, a federal government worker who goes to up to four Latin Masses a week in the Washington area. "There’s no guitars and handshaking and breaks in the Mass where people talk to each other. It’s a very serious liturgy." [Didn’t Archbp. Ranjith recently talk about a return to "seriousness"?]
And it is a hit with younger priests and their parishioners. [YES!]
Attendance at the Sunday noon Mass at St. John the Beloved in McLean has doubled to 400 people since it began celebrating in Latin. Most of the worshipers are under 40, said the Rev. Franklyn McAfee. [Famous as a frequent commentor of WDTPRS!]
Younger parishioners "are more reflective," McAfee said. "They want something uplifting when they go to church. They don’t want something they can get outside." [Yes… and encounter with something that is not ordinary.]
For some, the popularity of the service represents the gap between older Catholics, who grew up in the more liberal, post-Vatican II era, and their younger counterparts, who say they feel like they missed out on the tradition that was jettisoned in the move to modernize.
Although Chris Paulitz’s parents never questioned the switch to the "new" Mass, Paulitz and his wife, Diane, only attend Latin Masses.
After each such service, "you feel like you’ve learned something and you’ve grown a bit," said Chris, 32, in an interview after a recent Mass at St. Rita’s Church in Alexandria. [I return to the premises of the entry I posted about the Novus Ordo as "easier" than the older Mass! Nota bene "grown".]
Priests, musicians and laypeople are snapping up how-to videos and books, signing up for workshops and viewing online tutorials with step-by-step instructions on the elaborately choreographed liturgy. For example, the rubrics dictate that a priest must hold together the thumb and index finger of each hand for much of the Canon of the Mass, the central part of the liturgy that culminates with the consecration of bread and wine.
"I knew there would be some interest, but I didn’t know how quickly it would spread and how really deep the interest was," said the Rev. Scott Haynes, a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago who started a Web site in August offering instructions in celebrating the Mass.
So far, the Web site, http://www.sanctamissa.org/EN/index.html, has received 1 million hits, [Lagging behind but doing well! o{];¬) ] Haynes said, adding that he receives several hundred e-mails a day from fans of the service. "I was surprised by how many people have latched on to this," he said.
Portions of the Tridentine Mass date back to the sixth century, but it was standardized at the Council of Trent in 1570—hence the name Tridentine. It was largely supplanted by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, which modernized the Mass liturgy and translated it into modern languages.
The modern Mass, or Novus Ordo, can be said in Latin, [Again I return to the premises of the entry I posted.] but it is a radically different service from the Tridentine Mass. Until September, when the pope issued his Motu Proprio allowing greater freedom in celebrating the Tridentine Mass, priests who wanted to celebrate it needed special permission from their bishop, and it was celebrated at only a few churches in the Washington area.
In the Diocese of Arlington, where the bishop and priests are considered more conservative than in Washington, the number of churches where the service is celebrated has increased from two to seven since the Motu Proprio. The Arlington diocese, which stretches from Northern Virginia south to Lancaster and west to the Shenandoah, has sent six priests to a training center in Nebraska, at the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter seminary, for an intensive seminar. [Excellent!]
In the Archdiocese of Washington, no more churches have added the Mass. Monsignor Charles Pope, who celebrates the Mass at St. Mary’s in Chinatown, thinks that it’s because of the number of parishioners demanding the Tridentine Mass is small. But those who want it "are very interested and very passionate about it," he said.
Priests who know the ritual are training other priests, and the diocese plans to offer training next year, said archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs.
But the service is not without controversy. Jewish groups have protested a Good Friday [How tiresome this all is.] prayer in the Mass that refers to the "blindness" of the Jews and calls for their conversion. Vatican officials have suggested that the prayer could be removed but have not done so.
For those who have fallen in love with the Mass, though, it is a part of what marks Catholics as unique among Christians. [YES! As I have been saying, Pope Benedict’s vision aims at reinvigorating Catholic identity!]
"Before Vatican II, there were a lot of things that marked Catholics as Catholic: the Tridentine Mass in Latin, fish on Fridays, those kinds of things," said Monsignor Kevin Irwin, dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at Catholic University. "And I think that 40 years after the [Second Vatican] Council, there is a revival of questions asking what is Catholic identity, and for some, this is an external manifestation of saying, ‘We’re Catholic.’ " [This guy gets it.]
At St. Rita’s Church, more than 150 worshipers listened and watched in silence as four black-and-gold-robed priests, accompanied by a half-dozen servers and a five-person choir, spoke and sang the hour-long liturgy. There was no homily, no English and no lay participation. [I protest! There certainly was lay participation! Every one of those people were participating, I’ll bet, though "active receptivity" to what the true ACTOR, the High Priest Jesus Christ, was doing in the words and gestures of the liturgy. Then those who were properly disposed, participated in the supreme manner of active participation by going forward actively to receive Holy Comunion.] In a throwback to the past, [Or a preview of the future.] some women wore lace head coverings.
In a crystalline tenor, the celebrant, the Rev. Paul D. Scalia, recited the Lord’s Prayer :
Pater noster, qui es in caelis: sanctificetur nomen tuum . . .
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name . . .
Scalia, St. Rita’s parochial vicar, added the Mass within days of the pope lifting the restrictions.
Scalia, 36, said he loves "the beauty of it, the silence . . . the antiquity. . . . It has a much more a contemplative feel to it. . . . This is the Mass that so many saints were raised on and themselves offered and prayed."
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Ecclesia Dei to Ask Seminaries to Teach Traditional Mass
From Rorate Caeli:Important: Ecclesia Dei to ask seminaries to teach Traditional Mass
According to Italian news agency Adnkronos, the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" will soon publish an order addressed to seminaries "in which it is required that the celebration of the Latin Mass be taught to future priests":
"According to what has been learned from authoritative sources, the dicastery presided by Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos (among the main supporters of the return of the Mass according to the pre-Conciliar rite) would be considering a circular addressed to seminarians which, in practice, is aimed directly to those bishops who [are] 'disobbeying' the Pope's motu proprio (...)."
It is not entirely clear from the report if the order will be an exclusive document or if it will be part of the general document of clarification of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum which will be published shortly (according to several news agencies and sources).
Monday, November 12, 2007
*** VIDEO*** Abbaye Notre Dame de Fontgombault
Sunday, November 11, 2007
***VIDEO*** Our Lady of the Annunciation Monastery of Clear Creek
Frustratingly I can not get this video to embed AND play, so here is a link to a very well done mini-documentary about the beautiful foundation at Clear Creek.
http://www.thejesustv.com/view/234/benedictine-monks-in-oklahoma-new-foundation/
I'm really not a fan of this "JesusTV" image, but if it works I guess I have to live with it.
http://www.thejesustv.com/view/234/benedictine-monks-in-oklahoma-new-foundation/
I'm really not a fan of this "JesusTV" image, but if it works I guess I have to live with it.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Young Vocations and The Extraordinary Form of the Mass
A chapel full of students at the University of Notre Dame attend the first Mass in the Extraordinary Form post Summorum Pontificum. As you can see, the Chapel was full. Deo Gratias!-----
Having been a high school teacher prior to my change of occupation, it was becoming evident to me that the students who were more serious about their faith, their prayer life, and their catechetical and intellectual development, were increasingly drawn to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), or the Extraordinary Form as it is now known.
These were brilliant Catholic students and their interest in the TLM was not to go back to a time "long before they were born", but in most cases it was a reaction against the abuses and lack of reverence they saw at Masses. What the previous generations saw as "updating" the Mass, or making it more "relevant", was to these kids (the diehard Catholics of the future) actually making the Mass banal to the point of frustration. The things that older generations thought were hip and new - these kids simply think is ridiculous to the point of comedy (more along the lines of a tragedy). In the TLM they saw order, beauty, and reverence - and they were drawn to it. Whatever problems existed with the Mass before Vatican II, young people today are, in most cases, simply not aware of them. What they see today at a TLM are very devoted people , reverently attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
And from these students are coming, and will increasingly come, the vocations of the future. People can fight it or try to ignore it, but they are coming - and they will be coming in ever larger numbers.
A presenter at the National Vocations Directors Conference labeled some of these kids as rigid, and their rigidity as a potential obstacle to vocations. I couldn't disagree more. Their "rigidity" is born out of a frustration with laxity, lukewarmness, and abusive liturgical innovations. In them is a profound love of our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Mother Mary, and the Saints. Their reverence for the Blessed Sacrament is tangible. These are not weak foundations for a vocation to be built on.
Rather than see these as obstacles, I can only see them as building blocks for holy vocations. Much preferred to the numerous "faithful" Catholic students who are involved in under age drinking, premarital sex, contraception, pornography, support gay marriage, and are openly pro-abortion. I see these as far larger obstacles to vocations than I do virtuous students that are adamantly opposed to rock bands playing at Mass.
Read the article below. Read the quotes from the young people attending the TLM, like this one: The Tridentine Mass "detaches me from the world and lifts my mind, heart and soul to heavenly things," said Michael Malain, 21, of Houston.
Those are not the words of a "reactionary traditionalist". Those are words that should not be seen as obstacles to a vocation. I assure you they aren't, and we will be hearing more of the same in the years to come. Those Diocese that embrace these young people and form them in a positive way will see a marked increase in vocations. Those that don't, well, they will probably continue to see a "vocations crisis".
Mass Appeal to Latin Tradition
From the Washington Times:
October 28, 2007
By Kristi Moore
Roman Catholic churches nationwide are rushing to accommodate a surge in demand for the traditional Latin Mass, which is drawing a surprising new crowd: young people.
Since July, when a decree from Pope Benedict XVI lifted decades-old restrictions on celebrating the Tridentine Mass, seven churches in the Washington metropolitan area have added the liturgy to their weekly Sunday schedules.
"I love the Latin Mass," said Audrey Kunkel, 20, of Cincinnati. "It's amazing to think that I"m attending the same Mass that has formed saints throughout the centuries."
In contrast to the New Order Mass, which has been in use since the Second Vatican Council in 1969 and is typically celebrated in vernacular languages such as English, the Tridentine Mass is "contemplative, mysterious, sacred, transcendent, and [younger people are] drawn to it," said the Rev. Franklyn McAfee, pastor of St. John the Beloved in McLean. "Gregorian chant is the opposite of rap, and I believe this is a refreshing change for them."
Susan Gibbs, the director of communications from the Archdiocese of Washington, said the attraction demonstrated by the young adults is "very interesting."
Besides the liturgy"s rich historical content and spiritual significance, the younger generations show an interest in the old becoming new again, said Louis Tofari of the Society of St. Pius X, an order of clergy that opposed the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
"People who never grew up with the traditional Mass are finding it on their own and falling in love with it."
The Tridentine Mass helps people in their 20s and 30s who have grown up in a culture that lacks stability and orthodoxy see something larger than themselves: the glory of God, said Geoffrey Coleman of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter"s Our Lady of Guadalupe seminary in Denton, Neb.
The Tridentine Mass "detaches me from the world and lifts my mind, heart and soul to heavenly things," said Michael Malain, 21, of Houston.
Kirk Rich, 21, of Oberlin, Ohio, remembers the first time he attended a Tridentine Mass and recalls thinking that a new religion had been invented.
"That"s certainly what it seems like when comparing the two forms of the Mass," Mr. Rich said.
The biggest difference between the two forms is that the Tridentine Mass is always celebrated in Latin, except for the homily. The priest also leads the parishioners facing east, the traditional direction of prayer. The New Order Mass can be celebrated in Latin, but usually is not. There are also differences in some of the prayers, hymns and vestments.
As a result, the overall feel of the Tridentine Mass is more solemn and serious.
"The coffee social is after the traditional Latin Mass, not in the middle of it," said Kenneth Wolfe, 34, of Alexandria. "No one can say, with a straight face, that the post-Vatican II liturgy and sacraments are more beautiful than the ones used for hundreds and hundreds of years."
Like the churchgoers now demanding the celebration of the Tridentine Mass, the priests learning the rite are usually younger as well.
The Society of St. Pius X trains priests in the liturgy of the Tridentine Mass and has received as many as 25 requests a week for instruction since July.
"The phone was ringing nonstop, and I was getting e-mail after e-mail,' Mr. Tofari said. "The response was absolutely incredible; most of the people who call are below the age of 30."
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter has collaborated with Una Voce America to host workshops for clergy in Denton, Neb. Una Voce America, which promotes the celebration of the Tridentine Mass, usually teaches the rite to 12 students a session. But in September, it increased that number to 22 to meet the increased demand for training.
Many priests think the changes approved by the pope will do more than bring young people into the church. They think the celebration of the Tridentine Mass will increase the faith of many followers.
The Rev. Paul Scalia, 37, has been celebrating the Tridentine Mass at St. Rita Church in Alexandria. He said the increase in young attendance is evidence that the Mass is something living and life-giving.
"The beauty is tremendous, as it draws us to God, who is beauty Himself," Father Scalia said.
Yes, Fr. Scalia, is the son of Supreme Court Justice Scalia.
SARCASM WARNING:
What could these young people possibly be drawn to in this centuries old form of the Mass:
After only 40 years of Masses like this:
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
More Pictures from September 14th
These are some of the other pictures I was able to take during the Mass last Friday night. Enjoy.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
The Reverence and Beauty of Order and Discipline
I was speaking with a couple of Priest friends on Friday, September 14th, before the Mass in the Extraordinary Form, about the questions that will almost certainly come from some Catholics (and non-Catholics) about the need for all the formality, order, and discipline of the Priests in celebrating the Mass in the Forma Extraordinaria, and it reminded me of the soldiers that guard the Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers in Arlington, VA. It reminded me of them because even as a child I remember it being a profound experience watching those soldiers march with such precision. I marvelled at their dedication and discipline. I remember the silence. I thougt it was fascinating that everything they did had a purpose, down to the number of steps they took. I especially thought it was amazing that they had been there every minute of every day since the first tomb was laid, and will continue on "forever".But isn't it silly that they do it? Isn't it unecessary? Why do they have to walk like that, and move like that? Couldn't they just casually walk back and forth? Better yet, couldn't they just sit in a chair? Why the need for all that formality.
What I also remember was people standing there for a long time in silence - in reverence. I remember barely hearing their quite footsteps. It was beautiful.
When I hear the soldier in the video below I can't help but think about the Priests celebrating the Mass in the Extraordinary Form (the Tridentine Mass). When asked "Do you ever ask yourself why are we doing all this?", he answered "not really, we're going to give them the best that we have, and that's what we're doing". How much more should we give the best that we have for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?
Changing of the guard video...
What happens when some dope tries to walk out past the rails - guard yells "it is requested that all visitors remain behind the chains and rails" (hmmmm)...
Sentinel's Creed...
Friday, September 7, 2007
His Excellency Bishop Burbidge of the Diocese of Raleigh on Summorum Pontificum
His Excellency Bishop Michael F. Burbidge in choir at Sacred Heart Church in Dunn, NC.Fr. Parkerson, Pastor of Sacred Heart Church is the celebrant.
Fr. Zuhlsdorf over at What Does the Prayer Really Say has posted Bishop Burbidge's statement on the implemenation of Summorum Pontificum along with his (Fr. Z's) emphasis and comments. In short it says that His Excellency's statement on the implementation of Summorum Ponitficul is one of the best to date. Have I mentioned how blessed we are to have Bishop Burbidge in the Diocese of Raleigh?
Fr. Zuhlsdorf over at What Does the Prayer Really Say has posted Bishop Burbidge's statement on the implemenation of Summorum Pontificum along with his (Fr. Z's) emphasis and comments. In short it says that His Excellency's statement on the implementation of Summorum Ponitficul is one of the best to date. Have I mentioned how blessed we are to have Bishop Burbidge in the Diocese of Raleigh?
Read the original document here.
Go to Fr. Zuhlsdorf's post with emphasis and comments here.
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