Mass in the Catacombs during the Persecutions
by VP
Posted on Thursday June 29, 2023 at 12:09PM in Tradition
1. The traditional Roman liturgy of the Mass was the liturgy of our Catholic ancestors. It was the form of the Mass with which most of the European nations (except some Eastern European countries and the Ambrosian and Mozarabic rites), all American nations, and most of the African, Asian, and Oceanian nations were evangelized.
2. “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too” (Pope Benedict XVI).
3. “The problem with the new Missal lies in its abandonment of an ever-continuous history, before and after St. Pius V, and in the creation of a thoroughly new book (albeit compiled of old material)” (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger).
4. The new Missal’s “publication was accompanied by a kind of prohibition of all that came before it, which is unheard-of in the history of ecclesiastical law and liturgy” (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger).
5. “I can say with certainty, based on my knowledge of the conciliar debates and my repeated reading of the speeches made by the Council Fathers, that this [i.e., the reform as it is now in the new Missal] does not correspond to the intentions of the Second Vatican Council” (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger).
6. The traditional Roman liturgy of the Mass was the liturgy of all the Latin-rite Saints whom we know at least during the entire last millenium; hence its age is millennial. Although commonly called the “Tridentine” Mass, the exact same form of the Mass was already in use several centuries before the Council of Trent, and that Council asked only to canonize that venerable and doctrinally sure form of the liturgy of the Roman Church.
7. The traditional Roman liturgy of the Mass has the closest affinity with the Eastern rites in bearing witness to the universal and uninterrupted liturgical law of the Church: “In the Roman Missal of Saint Pius V, as in several Eastern liturgies, there are very beautiful prayers through which the priest expresses the most profound sense of humility and reverence before the Sacred Mysteries: they reveal the very substance of the Liturgy” (Pope John Paul II).
8. The Pope and the bishops do not have, therefore, the authority to forbid or to limit such a venerable form of the Holy Mass, which was offered by the Saints for over a thousand years, in the same way as the Pope or the Bishops would not have the authority to forbid or significantly reform the venerable form of the Apostolic or Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, precisely because of their venerable, continuous, and millennium-old use.
9. Complying with the abusive prohibition of that venerable form of the Mass of the Saints, issued unfortunately by current churchmen in a time of unprecedented ecclesial crisis, would constitute a false obedience.
10. Noncompliance with the prohibitions of the traditional Mass does not make one, by that fact, schismatic, provided one continues to recognize the Pope and the bishops and continues to respect them, and pray for them.
11. In disobeying formally such an unheard-of prohibition of an inalienable patrimony of the Roman Church, one in fact obeys the Catholic Church of all ages and all the Popes who diligently celebrated and commanded the preservation of that venerable and canonized form of the Mass.
12. The current prohibition of the traditional rite of the Mass is a temporary phenomenon and will cease. The Roman Church is experiencing today a kind of liturgical exile, i.e., the traditional Latin Mass has been exiled from Rome; yet the exile will, for sure, one day come to an end.
13. Since the traditional Latin Mass has been in uninterrupted use for more than a millennium, sanctified by universal reception over time, by the Saints and by the Roman Pontiffs, it belongs to the inalienable patrimony of the Roman Church. Consequently, in the future the Roman Pontiffs will without doubt once again recognize and re-establish the use of that traditional liturgy of the Mass.
14. Future Popes will thank all priests and faithful who, in difficult times, notwithstanding all pressures and false accusations of disobedience, and in a spirit of sincere love for the Church and for the honor of the Holy See, maintained and transmitted the great liturgical treasure of the traditional Mass for future generations.
Source: One Peter Five
Feast of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus - Thursday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart (1921)
by VP
Posted on Thursday June 22, 2023 at 01:06PM in Tradition
Allegory of the Holy Eucharist by Miguel Cabrera, 1750 pd
"Out of devotion to the Holy Eucharist and the Passion of Christ grew the devotion to the Sacred heart of Jesus with its feast and that of the S. Priesthood of Christ (Octave of Corpus Christi), and the more recent feast (1921) of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus on the Thursday following the third Sunday after Easter. (American Ecclesiastical Review V 68, 1923 page 470)
"This devotion does not substantially differ from the ordinary devotion to the Sacred Heart. It merely emphasizes the act of supreme love of the Heart in bestowing the gift of the Holy Eucharist upon us." The Raccolta
On 9 November 1921, Pope Benedict XV instituted the feast of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus to be celebrated on the Thursday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart with a Proper Mass and Office. The feast continues to be celebrated in some places. In instituting the feast, Pope Benedict XV wrote: "The chief reason of this feast is to commemorate the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the mystery of the Eucharist. By this means the Church wishes more and more to excite the faithful to approach this sacred mystery with confidence, and to inflame their hearts with that divine charity which consumed the Sacred Heart of Jesus when in His infinite love He instituted the Most Holy Eucharist, wherein the Divine Heart guards and loves them by living with them, as they live and abide in Him. For in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist He offers and gives Himself to us as victim, companion, nourishment, viaticum, and pledge of our future glory." The Raccolta
"122. It is likewise Our most fervent desire that all who profess themselves Christians and are seriously engaged in the effort to establish the kingdom of Christ on earth will consider the practice of devotion to the Heart of Jesus as the source and symbol of unity, salvation and peace. Let no one think, however, that by such a practice anything is taken from the other forms of piety with which Christian people, under the guidance of the Church, have honored the divine Redeemer. Quite the opposite. Fervent devotional practice towards the Heart of Jesus will beyond all doubt foster and advance devotion to the Holy Cross in particular, and love for the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. We can even assert - as the revelations made by Jesus Christ to St. Gertrude and to St. Margaret Mary clearly show - that no one really ever has a proper understanding of Christ crucified to whom the inner mysteries of His Heart have not been made known. Nor will it be easy to understand the strength of the love which moved Christ to give Himself to us as our spiritual food save by fostering in a special way the devotion to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, the purpose of which is - to use the words of Our predecessor of happy memory, Leo XIII - "to call to mind the act of supreme love whereby our Redeemer, pouring forth all the treasures of His Heart in order to remain with us till the end of time, instituted the adorable Sacrament of the Eucharist."(122) For "not the least part of the revelation of that Heart is the Eucharist, which He gave to us out of the great charity of His own Heart."(123). (Encyclical Haurietis Aquas Pope Pius XII May 15, 1956).
Proper Prayers for the Mass in the Extraordinary form for the Feast of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus
Prayer:
Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist, sweet companion in our exile, I adore Thee.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, I adore Thee.
Heart solitary, I adore Thee.
Heart humiliated, I adore Thee.
Heart abandoned, I adore Thee.
Heart forgotten, I adore Thee.
Heart despised, I adore Thee.
Heart outraged, I adore Thee.
Heart ignored by men, I adore Thee.
Heart, lover of our hearts, I adore Thee.
Heart desirous of being loved, I adore Thee.
Heart patient in waiting for us, I adore Thee.
Heart eager to hear us, I adore Thee.
Heart longing to be prayed to, I adore Thee.
Heart source of new graces, I adore Thee.
Heart wrapped in silence, desiring to speak to souls, I adore Thee.
Heart, the sweet refuge of the hidden life. I adore Thee.
Heart, teacher of the secrets of union with God, I adore Thee.
Heart of Him Who sleeps yet ever watches, I adore Thee.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, have pity on us,
Jesus, Victim, I desire to console Thee,
I unite myself to Thee, and sacrifice myself with Thee. I
I annihilate myself in Thy presence. I adore Thee.
I would forget myself to be mindful of Thee.
I would be forgotten and despised for love of Thee.
And be neither understood nor love, except by Thee.
I will silence myself to listen to Thee, I will abandon myself to lose myself in Thee.
Grant that I may thus appease Thy thirst, the thirst for my sanctification and salvation, and that being purified I am bestow on Thee a pure and true love. I would not longer weary Thy patience; take possession of me, I give myself to Thee.
I offer Thee all my actions, my intellect to be illuminated by Thee, my heart to be guided by Thee, my will to be made strong, my soul and body to be nourished, my misery to be lightened. Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, whose blood is the life of my soul, may it be no longer I that live but do thou alone live in me. Amen. Blessed Sacrament Book Fr. Francis Xavier Lasance. page 676
Resources:
- The Eucharistic Christ: Reflections and Considerations on the Blessed Sacrament By Fr Albert Tesnière (PDF) 1897
- The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Readings for the Month of June, by Fr. Albert Tesnière 1928
- A Neglected Gem in the Traditional Roman Missal: The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus by Peter Kwasniewski, PhD
Sunday for Priests
by VP
Posted on Sunday June 18, 2023 at 11:43AM in Tradition
O Holy Spirit, Creator, be propitious to the Catholic Church; and by Thy heavenly power make it strong and secure against the attacks of its enemies; and renew in charity and grace the spirit of Thy servants, whom Thou has anointed, that they may glorify Thee and the Father and His Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. amen.
Manual of prayers to the Holy Ghost by Very Rev. Fr. Felix of Jesus 1941
Summer Ember Saturday: The Heart of Jesus sending us the Gift of Fear
by VP
Posted on Saturday June 03, 2023 at 01:00AM in Tradition
Meditation for Ember Saturday:
"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God: whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Eph. iv. 30.)
1st
Point.-Love is the fruit of knowledge, and fear is the golden shield
which protects love. Consider what a holy, beautiful, precious gift is
fear. There can be no deep love without fear. True love must always be
based upon reverence, and reverence is but another word for fear. It is
said of Jesus, in His adorable Humanity, that "He was heard for His
reverence." (Heb. v. 7.) The souls who love most deeply, generally are
most full of fear; but it is the fear of intense reverence, not
the fear of slavish dread, for that fear is "cast out by perfect
charity." He that feareth with the fear of a servant, is not "perfected
in charity" (1 John, iv. 18); but he who fears with the reverence of a
child, has attained its highest consummation. Oh, let us pray for this
golden gift, and give no rest, by our urgent importunity, until we have
obtained it!
2nd Point. This fear manifests itself, when most
perfect, in an interior dread of "grieving the Holy Spirit of God." It
is the fruit of burning love; and in souls who are far advanced in
charity, its manifestations are surpassingly beautiful. They speak in
their hearts all day long to Jesus, and Jesus speaks to them; not always
with evident sensible consolation, but with a distinctness often
accompanied with extreme dryness and darkness, which may perhaps be sent
as a balance to this unspeakable favor. They scarcely commit an
imperfection, ere it is distinctly pointed out to them; and the love
that burns so strongly within them, excites their fear, and they suffer,
as only such souls can suffer, from intense fear, lest they should
grieve their Beloved. To such souls there is no fear like the fear of
grieving the object. of their love; yet, because of their familiarity
with Him, they are often supposed to fear less than those who love less.
3rd
Point. This gift also manifests itself in another form, in souls who
are not so much led by personal love to Jesus. In them it is simply fear or
awe of God and of His judgments; and such souls walk very blamelessly
before Him, but rather from the love of fear, than from the fear of
love. Let us pray to-day, as the octave of gifts closes upon us-let us
pray above all things for holy fear: God will impart the gift to each
soul in the way best suited to promote its perfection. The Spirit is our
"seal unto the day of redemption." Oh, let us beware how we break or
cast from us that blessed seal! Let us begin a new life of prayer to the
Third Person of the ever-blessed Trinity; let us try to convince
ourselves firmly of the importance of His office, and of the immense
importance of invoking His help daily as our Teacher and our Comforter.
Source: Meditations for Advent and Easter, p 280
Hymns, readings and prayers for this Whit Embertide:
Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Come, Thou Holy Spiritus, come)
Veni, Creator Spiritus, (Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest)
Readings:
Ember Saturday:
Leviticus, 23. 9-11, 15-17, 21
Saint Paul to the Romans, 5. 1-5
Prayers:
An excellent prayer for this purpose is the Litany of the Saints, in which so many bishops, priests, and levites are invoked; or the Rosary may be appropriately said, grouping those for whom we pray into five
classes, corresponding to the five decades.
Prayers for Ember Days:
Listen, Almighty God, we beseech Thee, to the prayers which Thy universal Church offers to Thee at this time, beseeching Thy blessing on those who are about to be admitted to Thy Holy Service of the Altar, in particular on Deacon Nicolas Rapkoch. Give Thy grace to all who are called to any office and administration amongst Thy clergy, and so replenish them with the truth of Thy doctrine, and indue them with innocence of life, that they may faithfully serve Thee, to the glory of Thy great name and the benefit of Thy Holy Church. Amen
O
God, of Whose mercies there is no number, and of Whose goodness the
treasure is infinite, we humbly thank Thee for the gifts thou hast
bestowed upon us. Continue Thy mercy to us, and give us also so much of
Thy temporal blessings as Thou knowest to be for our good.
Grant that
the fruits of the earth may, by Thy holy favor, increase and multiply.
Defend them from all drought, frosts or tempests, or whatever else may
be hurtful to them. It is from Thy hand only that we look for succor,
and to Thee we have recourse in all our necessities. Amen.
Source: St. John's Manual 1856, Archbishop of New York John J. Hugues
Summer Ember Friday: The Heart of Jesus Sending us the gift of Piety
by VP
Posted on Friday June 02, 2023 at 01:00AM in Tradition
Meditation for Friday in Whitsun Week:
"Be ye therefore followers of God, as most dear children and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweetness." (Eph. v. 1, 2.)
1st Point. The gift of piety is the very soul of devotion. It is an intense filial love of God which leads us to "walk in love, as most dear children.” Oh, blessed gift! Oh, precious gift! Gift which the world cannot know or understand! Gift which is bestowed in the richest abundance on the most saintly souls! "Be ye therefore followers of God, as most dear children." Oh, how the heart of the great apostle burned with love as he wrote these words! "Be ye therefore." Wherefore? Because, as he tells us in the preceding words, "God hath forgiven you in Christ." This is the reason why we are to be followers of God, as most dear children. We are very dear indeed to God, for our purchase has cost Him the life and the blood of His only Son. We slew Him, it is true; but for all that God has forgiven us in Christ, and He only seeks now, in return for all His love, that we should be "followers of God, as most dear children."
2nd Point. Consider how loving children follow their parents. They follow them, by imitating their example. A loving child is firmly persuaded that no one is so good or so wise as his own parents, and considers their conduct as the highest model which he can follow. If they have faults, he does not see them, for love blinds him. He follows them, by keeping close to them. A loving child prefers the society of his parents to that of others. He follows them, clings to them, and weeps when he is separated from them. Are we thus following our Father, as "most dear children"? Children may be deceived by their love, and follow bad and imperfect example; but we never can be deceived when we follow our Father. A child may injure his prospects in life by too great attachment to his parents; but the closer we keep to our Father, the more we shall advance our best interests.
3rd Point. The gift of piety will also enable us to "walk in love." How much is implied in these words: To "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us." How did He walk in love? The apostle tells us : it was by " delivering Himself for us as an oblation and a sacrifice to God." Are we willing to walk thus in love, to sacrifice ourselves for our Beloved, even as He sacrificed Himself for us? To sacrifice ourselves in every detail of our daily life for the brethren, for those with whom we associate, because they are Christ's representatives to us; this is, indeed, to "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us." O sweet Spirit, come! Spirit of adoption, Spirit of love, come, and enkindle in our hearts Thy heavenly fire-come and fill us with this blessed gift of piety, that we may indeed "be followers of God, as most dear children "!
Aspiration. "My Beloved to me, and I to Him." (Cant. ii. 16.)
Source: Meditations for Advent and Easter, 1866 p 278
Hymns, readings and prayers for this Whit Embertide:
Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Come, Thou Holy Spiritus, come)
Veni, Creator Spiritus, (Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest)
Readings for Ember Friday:
Prayers:
An excellent prayer for this purpose is the Litany of the Saints, in which so many bishops, priests, and levites are invoked; or the Rosary may be appropriately said, grouping those for whom we pray into five
classes, corresponding to the five decades.
Prayers for Ember Days:
Listen, Almighty God, we beseech Thee, to the prayers which Thy universal Church offers to Thee at this time, beseeching Thy blessing on those who are about to be admitted to Thy Holy Service of the Altar, in particular on Deacon Nicolas Rapkoch. Give Thy grace to all who are called to any office and administration amongst Thy clergy, and so replenish them with the truth of Thy doctrine, and indue them with innocence of life, that they may faithfully serve Thee, to the glory of Thy great name and the benefit of Thy Holy Church. Amen
O
God, of Whose mercies there is no number, and of Whose goodness the
treasure is infinite, we humbly thank Thee for the gifts thou hast
bestowed upon us. Continue Thy mercy to us, and give us also so much of
Thy temporal blessings as Thou knowest to be for our good.
Grant that
the fruits of the earth may, by Thy holy favor, increase and multiply.
Defend them from all drought, frosts or tempests, or whatever else may
be hurtful to them. It is from Thy hand only that we look for succor,
and to Thee we have recourse in all our necessities. Amen.
Source: St. John's Manual 1856, Archbishop of New York John J. Hugues
