Ecce mater tua

Stabat Mater dolorosa...

Salvator mundi, salva nos!

And Jesus crying out with a loud voice, said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And saying this, he gave up the ghost.

Mandatum novum

Nos autem gloriari oportet in cruce Domini Nostri Jesu Christi: in quo est salus, vita et resurrectio nostra per quem salvati et liberati sumus.

Hosanna, filio David

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Hosanna in excelsis.

Send Kat to Rome!

I know a cute little Catholic who needs our help!

We are strong and supportive community of Catholic bloggers and Rome has taken notice. This is wonderful opportunity for us all. Katrina R. Fernadez of The Crescat has been invited to be amongst the 150 bloggers at the Vatican BlogMeeting. She'll be staying the next day for the "Other" blognic too.

Let's help get Kat to Rome.

Click here to her blog and the Paypal button.

Congratulations Kat!

Enjoy your time with the two ladies from Toronto. (Can't wait to see what you and Seraphic do to Hilary's hair.)

Happy Birthday Papa Ratzinger

Ad multos annos!

A very happy birthday today to our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and may the LORD keep you strong and healthy for many, many, many, many, many, many more years.

Ecclesiastical Karaoke

From Joseph Cullen, Director of the London Symphony Chorus comes this little gem:

"The misuse of one booming voice behind a microphone, an ecclesiastical karaoke, seems to have killed off unified congregational singing.”

Yeah, that and carpet!

God and Dog

Because it's Saturday...

Roxy

God and Dog

To Rome with Vox

Special thanks to Father Finegan for the translation!

You know, I really don't like to fly and I don't have a passport, but as my friend Dennis in the bucolic countryside north of Hogtown said to me on Facebook, I could have a really great seat mate and the possibility is just too hard to resist, so...application sent (not that I have any serious expectation of it being accepted...)

Oh, pay attention to the quote below from Paolo Rodari; sort of explains a few things...



The Pontifical Council for Social Communications gives the official information in Italian. Here is my own unoffical translation:

Information on the meeting in the Vatican for Bloggers
St Pius X Auditorium, 2 May 2011

A meeting of bloggers will take place on the afternoon of 2 May. The event, organized by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Communications, aims to enable a dialogue between bloggers and representatives of the Church, to share the experiences of those working in this field and to better understand the needs of that community. The meeting will also present some of the initiatives that the Church is putting in place in the world of new media, whether in Rome or at the local level.

In the two planned sessions, various speakers will present some key points to open a discussion open to all the participants. In the first, five bloggers, representing the different language areas, will address specific issues of general importance. In the second, there will be accounts from people involved in the communication strategies of the Church, who will present their experiences of working with new media, as well as initiatives for an effective meeting between the Church and the world of bloggers.

Participants will include Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Archbishop Claudio Celli, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and Father Federico Lombardi, Director of the Press Office of the Holy See and of Vatican Radio. An important aspect of the meeting will be that of offering the opportunity for new contacts, informal exchanges among participants, and to open new avenues of interaction.

L’incontro si svolge il giorno dopo la Beatificazione di Giovanni Paolo II, per questo si prevede la presenza a Roma di numerosi bloggers. L’invito è aperto a tutti, ma, per partecipare, bisogna inviare un email a blogmeet@pccs.it con un link al proprio blog. Dato che lo spazio è limitato a 150 posti, e c’è il desiderio di avere una rappresentanza di tutta la blogosfera, i pass e i dettagli per l’evento saranno assegnati secondo criteri linguistici e geografici, la tipologia del blog (istituzionale, privato, multiautore o personale), le tematiche e la tempestività dell’iscrizione.

The meeting will be held the day after the beatification of John Paul II: the presence of numerous bloggers in Rome is expected for this event. The invitation is open to all, but to participate, please send an email to blogmeet@pccs.it with a link to your blog. Given that space is limited to 150 seats, and it is desires to have a representation of the entire blogosphere, passes and details for the event will be assigned according to geographic and linguistic criteria, the type of blog (institutional, private, multi-author or personal), the basic themes, and the timeliness of registration.

A simultaneous translation service will be provided in the following languages: Italian, Spanish, French, Polish and English.

The venue is the St Pius X Auditorium, Via della Conciliazione, No 5 (entrance on the Via dell’Ospedale.)

H/T Paolo Rodari who introduces his article with these observations:

For some time, bloggers on religious matters have been an important voice on the web. Their blogs are read in the Vatican. They influence opinions. I would say more: they influence decisions on the upper floors.

Welcome to the fight, we knew you never really left it!

Whereas the Catholic Register's editorial states that Development & Peace is "guilty of either appalling poor judgment or blatant incompetence;" and

Whereas the same Catholic Register in the same editorial commentary states "Two years ago his (Mexican priest Father Luis Arriaga) organization was cited in an investigation by LifeSiteNews.com as one of five D&P Mexican partners with ties to pro-abortion groups;" and

Whereas the same editorial asks "How D&P, his own staff, fellow bishops and the priest himself, Fr. Luis Arriaga, (could) put the Archbishop in such an awkward position" and

Whereas LifeSiteNews initially broke the story about D&P funding pro-abortion groups in the third world with your money from ShareLife or ShareLent; and

Whereas certain persons who shall remain nameless here out of deference to their position have referred to LifeSiteNews as "extremist" for their position in this regard; and

Whereas LifeSiteNews' investigative reporting and evidence in this regard has been upheld by the Archbishop of Ottawa, His Grace, Terence Prendergast, S.J. and the wise action of Bishop Mulhall of Pembroke and Archbishop Collins of Toronto; and

Whereas the Catholic Register in Toronto has reported on this truth as first reported in LifeSiteNews;

Now therefore, let it be known that as surely as 1 + 1 = 2, the obvious explanation is that the Catholic Register has become extremist (except for JBM of course!)

Not in the same way as Vox Cantoris mind you.

But nearly.

Blow-Back Blogging

Courtesy of the combox at Seraphic in Scotland which should be on your daily list, comes this salient commentary on the issues this week in Canada regarding Catholics' blogs:

The blogosphere/internet is a Revolution comparable to Gutenberg. But I would emphasize that it is not technology per se that is wholly responsible for all the blow-back now occurring. The internet is just a more efficient and quicker means of communication over more expansive distances. Between words printed on paper and words posted on a blog is only a difference in degree, not kind. So the question that the cleric under scrutiny in your post (including the bishops, theologians, Catholic MSM etc.) that constitute the "professional Catholic" class in Canada have to ask themselves is this: Why is there even blow-back at all? That is the question.

If there were no apostate bishops, if there were no Baum's composing Marxist-inspired tracts, if RCIA directors had been properly catechizing, if school kids were not politicized by baby-booming "Catholic" teachers enraptured by whatever trendy cause, if homilies were not exclusively devoted to "God is love", if nuns weren't worshiping the rain forests, if power hungry parish tyrants would understand that they are not consecrated priests ... if these (and more) had not occurred over the last 4 to 5 decades, I will confidently say that there would not have been any blow-back from the Catholic blogosphere in the modern day. Support and a defense thereof from the secular world would have been the mainstays. If there was a sufficient degree of faithfulness to the Magisterium in the first place, there would be no need to revolt.

When for decades you have a very select group of "professional Catholics" running the show, leftist and skewed to heterodoxy in approach and viewpoint, when for years letters to the editor are ignored, when time after time you have qualified and knowledgeable people (academics, writers, etc., not just the "plebeian" types you mention) continually shut out from the newspapers, journals, publishers and other educational/apologetic programs because they are too "orthodox" or "judgmental" or "uncharitable"... and then when the blogosphere emerges, you at last have an outlet slay the dragon.

The current situation of the "professional Catholic" class in Canada can be analogized with Hugh Hefner as he exists today: a fossilizing, self-absorbed, smelly old man wandering around a mansion in a gaudy smoking jacket, stupid enough to think that the chicks are still attracted to him.

The comment comes from TH2 and hits the nail on the head, especially the point about Hugh Hefner.

Poking the Protests out of the Printing Press

Poking the Protests out of the Printing Press

Anonymous

Lyons—The printing press is not all that it’s cracked up to be, and sometimes the truth can slip through those cracks.

That’s the message Father Bonaventure Aveugle, OFM, CEO of Superior Sheepskins, passed on about the wild frontier of print when he gave a talk to 65 priests from the diocese of Paris. Father Aveugle was visiting the diocese of Lyons from Paris to give a number of talks. His clergy lecture was on March 22, 1491.

Father Aveugle focussed on new challenges to the Church in the areas of books, newspapers and pamphlets. “These are really important areas, so much so that a big part of the last meetings I was heavily involved in myself, the last two rounds, has been spent on this,” he said. “The printing press is an international phenomenon.”

There are serious ethical questions that must be addressed by the Church and by individuals, he continued, making sure to distance the concept “Church” from the concept of “individuals”, e.g. ordinary parish priests and laypeople. These include issues of the dissemination of information the laity ought not to know, and “frank criticism of shepherds by sheep.”

“The printing press is not only a source of problems, it is a source of great benefits to the human race when used properly,” he said. “The benefits can be fully realized if only the right people have access to it.”

He said the three main issues are: the destruction of the privilege of the very few to control information, the challenge of mass literacy, and the lack of accountability which permits laypeople to comment on Church life without getting punished for it.

He discussed the importance of assessing content found in the print media, and not believing any of it. Father Aveugle used the example of a priest he knows who takes homilies from books and preaches them at Mass without reading them first.

“There are some things that are being proclaimed from the pulpits that are questionable,” he said. “Discernment is required in what you take from print books. It’s no substitute for texts carefully written on sheepskin.”

Print materials, he said, are becoming a major topic of discussion amongst scribes as well as at the Vatican. He said they were useful for disseminating news and such doctrines as ordinary folk can handle.

A relatively tiny number of people read his own newspaper every week, he noted. “We use it as a teaching tool,” he noted. “Thousands of priests rip off our stuff to write their homilies, and that’s fine with us.”

However, since anyone—not just Superior Sheepskins—can set up a printing press, readers must be wary.

“I have rules for my scribes,” said Father Aveugle. “We don’t say anything that defames anybody except LifePrintNews, other newspapers, pamphleteers, other sheepskin suppliers and other utilizers of the printing press.”

Father Aveugle said that a study of Catholic print materials involving Catholics and heretics looking at Catholic print materials found they were filled with “filth, hate, conjecture, and innuendo.” The printers try to look official by including woodcuts of their favourite popes and saints.

Many of these printers say nasty, negative things, he said, citing rival LifePrintNews as a notorious sinner.

“I don’t care how many people at LifePrintNews are Catholics or how many of their readers are Catholics or how much they write about Catholics,” he said. “It’s not a Catholic blog. It has no authority, unlike me. It is causing division in the English Church, not just in France.”

He cited how upset unnamed English bishops are by LifePrintNews. One English Cardinal assumed LifePrintNews had its own glittering fortress in Paris. “I said, non, non, monsieur. They operate out of someone’s parent’s root cellar in Rouen. And may I say how much I have admired you all these years?”

LifePrintNews and other print materials are dangerous when clerics and laypeople read them more than they hear the Scriptures or Vatican documents proclaimed. He said people were citing print materials more often than those teachings selectively chosen by Superior Sheepskins for dissemination.

Some print materials have muddied the waters of Catholic dialogue in past years, said Father Aveugle. “The anti-Borgia pamphlets, the anti-infanticide pamphlets which are, indeed, anti-infanticide but too critical of those prelates who aren’t as concerned as they are about infanticide, the pamphlets criticizing me criticizing the pamphleteers—ooh, it makes me crazy.”

He added that powerful and influential heretics read these materials, which give skewed vision of what the Church—by which he meant the authoritative, clerical bit—is about.

"If we judged our identity on certain printed materials, Christians and Catholics would be known as the people who stand against everything and against everyone," he said. "If anything we should be known as the people who are for something."

There was a startled silence as his audience wondered what he meant by Christians AND Catholics.

Despite these issues with printing, Father Aveugle said mass publishing has its place. He said it has linked the Church between continents much more closely, but we also need to be wary of how mass literacy can erode and cheapen personal relationships.

"Writing letters makes some kinds of communication easier, because it is not tied to geography, or governed by social norms, therefore writers can communicate whatever and whenever they want," he said. "While many of us can get back in touch with our friends via letters, there is a danger that print interactions can hurt our real-life friendships."

Writing, Father Aveugle explained, can encourage a "new form of narcissism." He said people reveal in their letters—especially those Christmas ones that go out to the entire Chrismas list—the most intimate details about themselves to the world and "we can't take it back."

He said print is an important tool for evangelization, but it also reinforces a belief that every mundane detail of our lives is worth publicizing.

"People are not just living in the moment, but they are publicizing the moment. This may lead to the spread of novels, poetry and heaven knows what else."

Father Aveugle said these new forms of communication can hurt the "art and language of friendship."

Though these technologies are supposed to better connect us, he said, there is an increase in reports of loneliness and distance between people. Instead of talking and visiting all the time, they read and write in isolation.

Father Aveugle talked about a woman he had met after Mass who said she received 20 letters a day from her granddaughter in the fields. She invited her to see her, because they lived in the same town, but the granddaughter doesn’t make the time.

"With letters, you don't see people. You see letters," he said. “A, B, C….”

"Without friends, human beings, to connect with, what are we doing?" he asked. “Writing? Our faith is about the Good Shepherd, and the sheep should know to trust his shepherds and the doctrine and news we see fit to give them, like the fine quality information carefully selected by Superior Sheepskins.”

As much as Vox would like to credit for this wonderful satire, alas, I cannot. It was our old friend Anonymous whom I abundantly thank for permitting me the honour of its publication. Oh, in case you missed the motivation.

Salt + Light C.E.O. slags LifeSiteNews

Once again, the head of Salt + Light, Your Catholic Channel of Hope has found it necessary to harshly criticise the good people, Catholic and non-Catholic at LifeSiteNews. This time in the B.C. Catholic:

"...American bishops are upset about the division it has caused in the Church. "One of the American cardinals asked me where the headquarters was and I said, `It's somebody's basement in the Ottawa Valley.' He thought it was a tower in downtown Toronto, so it's extremely deceiving."

"...a study of Catholic blogs involving non-Catholics and non-Christians looking at Catholic blogs found they were filled with "filth, hate, conjecture, and innuendo." He added some blogs attempt to claim they are official, using the Vatican crest or a picture of the Pope."

"...American bishops are upset about the division it has caused in the Church. "One of the American cardinals asked me where the headquarters was and I said, `It's somebody's basement in the Ottawa Valley.' He thought it was a tower in downtown Toronto, so it's extremely deceiving."

"Some blogs have coarsened Catholic dialogue in the past years: the anti-Obama Catholic blogs; the so-called pro-life blogs, that may be advocating pro-life, but they are decimating persons and reputations..."

You're a grown-up Catholic.

Read it all yourself.

You decide. d

CCCB distorts comment by Archbishop Prendergast

Here is the Archbishop's statement. Here's the story on Socon. Here's the salient point in the combox.

According to this CCCB spin memo, Archbishop Prendergast has cancelled the speaker’s engagements based on allegations and the fear of “prayer protests”. That is a gross misrepresentation of what the Archbishop stated in his letter on Fr. Arriaga.

According to the statement he published (on the archdiocese website), the Archbishop was not at all manipulated by allegations and the fear of public opinion (prayer protests). Rather, he followed a very evangelical course of action in dealing with this controversy (see Matthew 18:15-17).

From the Archbishop’s statement :

“The Archbishop met with Father Luis Arriaga, director of the Miguel Pro Centre for Human Rights (PRODH) on his arrival in Ottawa and discussed with him, and with representatives of Development and Peace, the Centre’s support of groups espousing abortion.”

He met directly with Fr. Arriaga, asked questions and then concluded that he could not endorse this speaker’s engagements in his archdiocese. That’s not basing a decision on allegations and the fear of protests.

That may be the modus operandi of the career cath’lics at the CCCB, but that is not how a true Shepherd of the Church behaves. Thank you Archbishop, for being a good shepherd.

You're a grown-up Catholic.

Read it for yourself.

You decide.

Update: Hat-tip to Mike: Does D & P not get it? Written by Fr. Raymond J. de Souza Tuesday, 05 April 2011

Roman Missal Recognitio: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

Finally, weeks after the news here on Vox Cantoris, and a day after it was published on Vox with a hat-tip here, three weeks after it was in the church bulletins in the Diocese of Hamilton and two week after the Archdiocese of Toronto announced the beginning of a training session, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has finally announced the recognitio of the new Roman Missal for Canada.

Thank you CCCB for your excellent communication!

For superior information please click the picture below:

Thank you Archbishop Prendergast and LifeSiteNews!

Grateful prayers of thanks and acknowledgement and blessing to Archbishop Terence Prendergast, S.J. of Ottawa for his statement and banning of a priest of Mexico from speaking engagements in the name of the Church promoted from Development & Peace where funds were directed to abortion.

Notwithstanding the unjust, vitriolic accusations by some who consistently blame LifeSiteNews "for stirring up 'division, destruction, hatred, vitriol, judgment and violence' " LifeSiteNews once again has scored another victory for justice and truth and the unborn by exposing the rot at Development and Peace and those in the Church in Canada and the CCCB who continue to whitewash the funding of your collection money to groups in Mexico and other countries who fund the murder of children in the wombs of their mothers.

This is the power of the Internet, the new media and bloggers. As I've stated previously in the last two weeks, they don't like it and they continue still to issue personal attacks by email unbecoming of their state. (I am sure that this will provoke another). The truth will be told and they will convict themselves by their actions and public comments.

Canadian Implementation of new Roman Missal

As reported earlier and in a continuing series here on Vox Cantoris, the new Roman Missal in Canada is finally approved for use after a long wait.

Here for your consumption is this with my comment:

Your Eminences, Your Excellencies,

Our Conference has now received recognitio for all sections of the English translation of the revised Roman Missal for use in Canada. (This was granted at the end of February and the CCCB's own website indicates that they would only "approve" the GIRM for use once a French version was complete. Rome thinks otherwise!) The Executive Committee, in consultation with the Permanent Council, has selected the first Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011, as the date for the official implementation of the English translation of the Missal. (Our sources indicate that Rome told the CCCB that Advent I was the date, they did not select it and were given no opportunity to delay it any further) The official decree for this date has not yet been published, because our Conference is still involved in discussions with the Congregation for Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments about the exact wording of one of the requested adaptations for Canada. (What adaptation? Is this the desire to canonize three different kneeling postures including only at the Consecration which goes against the GIRM for the United States and Great Britain. Canada needs MORE kneeling, not less! Again, the Canadian Proper of Saints cannot be that compicated and since it is part of the Missal and "all sections" have been approved, it must be something else. Note that there is one change and that is that the people are to stand at the beginning of the Orate Fratres--Pray Brethren-or Pray Brothers and Sisters)

These discussions with the Congregation will not in any way slow down the preparation of the English translation of the revised Missal. Both the National Liturgy Office and the CCCB Publications Department are busy preparing the new book and their work is proceeding on schedule.

As well, the English Sector National Liturgy Office is preparing to start the launching of the catechetical material it has already prepared. The resource Celebrate and Song, which contains the parts of the Mass spoken by the people, as well as three newly composed Mass settings and the ICEL chants, is now finished and will be available for distribution during the first half of April. This resource also contains the texts of Eucharistic Prayers I-IV and 40 hymns (Propers, where are the Propers?) not currently found in the Catholic Book of Worship III. (The ICEL chants are exceptionally well done; I have not yet seen the three new settings.)

Starting the first week of April, the National Liturgy Office will begin posting texts and power-point slides to be used for workshops at the local level – including workshops dealing with the theology of Eucharist, (I really wish they would stop referring to the liturgy as "Eucharist" instead of the Mass or Holy Sacrifice of the Mass) the process of translation and revision, and the history of the Eucharist.

We had not been able to proceed with the production of the DVDs with Salt and Light TV until the matter of Canadian adaptations was resolved (so the questions are resolved and it is now only wording? What are the questions that were resolved? Why is it not revealed?) and recognitio received. We can now proceed with the DVDs. National Liturgy Office Director Father Bill Burke and CCCB Publications Director Dr. Glenn Byer have met with Salt and Light CEO Father Thomas Rosica, C.S.B. The scripts to be used are completed. Salt and Light will do filming in May and June and then, after editing and production, the two DVDs will be ready for distribution by the end of August. (The United States has been preparing for over a year already) The first will be a two-hour presentation on the theological emphases of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. The second will be an hour-long presentation with a teaching DVD on the structure of the Mass and the meaning of each part of the Mass. The National Liturgy Office will provide a packet of material including suggested workshop formats and questions for discussion at the parish level.

Finally, early in September, we will have CDs ready with a cantor singing a dozen or so of the new prefaces to assist priests who do not read music but would like to sing the prefaces. (This is good, any priest wishing private lessons may contact me at voxcantoris (at) rogers (dot) com for the Prefaces, Gospel, Exultet, Proclamation of the Moveable Feasts on Epiphany, etc.).

If you have any questions or concerns about the implementation of the English translation of the revised Missal for use in Canada, or about the catechetical materials being planned for its implementation, please do not hesitate to call me.

With every good and prayerful wish on our Lenten journey, I remain,
Sincerely yours in Christ Our Lord,

(Rev. Msgr.) Patrick Powers, P.H.
General Secretary

Better late than never.

It remains to be seen what "adaption" is approved for Canada and if this is simply the Canadian Proper of Saints or if it is the desire of the CCCB to see various kneeling postures implemented. To refresh you on this matter see here.

Let us hope that the CCCB and those responsible at Salt + Light for the training materials and will include some liturgical discipline in their instruction. There is some justified cynicism that the new translation won't stop some priests from changing the words once again.

[22.3.] Therefore no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority. Sacrosanctam Concilium

[52.]...I (Pope John Paul II) consider it my duty, therefore to appeal urgently that the liturgical norms for the celebration of the Eucharist be observed with great fidelity. These norms are a concrete expression of the authentically ecclesial nature of the Eucharist; this is their deepest meaning. Liturgy is never anyone's private property, be it of the celebrant or of the community in which the mysteries are celebrated. Ecclesia de Eucharistia

[59.] The reprobated practice by which Priests, Deacons or the faithful here and there alter or vary at will the texts of the Sacred Liturgy that they are charged to pronounce, must cease. For in doing thus, they render the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy unstable, and not infrequently distort the authentic meaning of the Liturgy. Redemptionis Sacramentum

There are questions worth asking by all John and Mary Catholics; not just by this "untrained liturgist."

Pay no attention...

Well, I've been told off. By whom you ask? Tom Rosica.

I am not a "bishop" and I do not have any "theological formation." My "keyboard and monitor do not make me a liturgist!" I am a "victim" and my "vision of the Church will not help (me) to grow." I need to "get the chip off (my) shoulder." I'm told that I "follow the crowd." I am asked a rhetorical question and given a psychological diagnosis because "what is really eating away at (me) regarding the liturgy(?)" obviously "says much about (me)." Further, I am accused of "hiding behind the rubrics of the liturgy" and have been lumped in with the "Father Corapis, Euteneuers, and the Voris' " of the world (all of whom I expect are lesser sinners than this wretched sinner). The saddest slur is the "sure" accusation that I "would have difficulty with her (Our Lady's) response to the angel, and her Son’s response to the sinners with whom he kept company."

Not bad for a week's insult, keep them coming, I need the humility especially when it comes from someone in a collar.

Nowhere on what some consider to be this now "less than innocent blog" will you find me professing to be a theologian or a liturgist. I'm just a regular Catholic guy. I've never professed to be anything more than that. These accusations and insults are such typical, liberal elitist tactics. Not once, in this ranting series of emails, was there ever a debate. No argument, no debate; only petty little schoolyard insults and ad hominem attacks in so typical a manner as experienced by other hard-working and faithful Catholics who speak out on the conditions in the Church and culture.

On the same day that these putrid, judgmental, and scandalous emails to this Catholic layman arrived a different tone was put forth on the writer's own blog. Some have been fortunate enough and privileged enough to have the opportunity to have invested years in these studies in places like Rome or even Jerusalem. That is wonderful and good, but they think, therefore, that only they have a right to comment, the right to an opinion; the rest of us have no rights. Yet, these are some of the same theologians and liturgists who have torn down the faith and set in place the destruction of the Catholic culture and faith. I don't need to prove that last sentence, just look around you; you know it to be true. They want diversity, only when it suits them. They want dialogue but only when it is what they wish to dialogue about. They have run amok in the Church and the jig is up and they know it.

God gave me and He gave you a brain. Through the ingenuity of man, He gave us the Internet and the ability to be educated and aware of the truth in ways we were never able to do just a few short years ago. Do you think that our parents and grandparents would have stood by and allowed them to tear down the Church and Her liturgy nearly a half-century ago if they knew the truth? These so-called "professional liturgists" and "theologians" were liars. They lied about what the Council said and our parents, in their intelligent ignorance, God bless them, believed it. It is this same clericalism and elitism that perpetuated the crisis of sexual and physical abuse and the cover-up by certain bishops. Then when it happens to a high profile cleric they like, they wax on about how hard it is to understand because he was known to be so "kind" and to be even such a "gentle pastor" and that they were particularly "sensitive" to the needs of victims. Of course, when it is one they don't like (as to the allegations against the two above) it is a different story; no sympathy there, right?

It seems to me that these elitists who are losing their power and influence are at heart, fascists!

They are the all-knowing and all-powerful Oz in clerical collars. They simply can't stand it when we think for ourselves. They profess to know what is best for "John and Mary Catholic," as they like to refer to us as simple folk, and they profess to want us to be educated. When we question what they say or what they do they challenge our right to do so because we are not "theologically formed" and we are not "professional liturgists." They only want us to speak out if it supports their worldview. They publicly profess to detest clericalism yet they are the greatest of clericalists. They insult an honest and genuine open hand of understanding and an offer to reason over food and wine. They refuse to take up the debate but instead, issue little snippets of cruel sarcasm and insult and psychological analysis for which they are unqualified and which is unbecoming of their state in life.

Some will say, that these words are too harsh, not loving, not charitable, not in a manner of what Jesus would say or do or expect. Well, the Jesus of Nazareth whom I know was not a wimp and he was not a liar. He made a whip out of cords and beat those who would defile the Temple and he overturned their tables. He called the Pharisees "hypocrites" and referred to them as a "brood of vipers." He came not to bring "peace but a sword" and to set one against another. He expects each of us to love His Church to stand up for Her and to speak out to defend Her, even from those within. The lukewarm He will "vomit" out of His mouth. Perhaps it was the 600 plus John and Mary Catholics in Kitchener last Saturday; maybe that is what has them so riled up. They have seen the future and it is not a future based on their failed praxis.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
.

First Anglican Divine Worship in Toronto!

History being made...

Tomorrow evening, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the LORD, will be the first time in the Archdiocese of Toronto and all of Canada that the Holy Mass will be celebrated according to the Anglican Use Missal. The Mass, not only authorized, but requested by Archbishop Thomas Collins will be celebrated at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Mississauga as part of the Anglicanorum Coetibus in Canada Conference being held t his weekend. Archbishop Collins is Delegate of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for Anglicanorum Coetibus in Canada. Father Christopher Phillips, Pastor, Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church in San Antonio, Texas is the Celebrant. He is the founding pastor of the first Anglican Use parish, erected in 1983 under the terms of the Pastoral Provision. Together with Archbishop Collins and Father Phillips, the other Keynote Speaker is Father Aidan Nichols, O.P. Father Nichols has the honorary status of Affiliated Lecturer in the University of Cambridge. He has also taught at the Pontifical University of St Thomas, Rome; St Mary’s College, Oscott; and Blackfriars Hall, Oxford. He has published some thirty books, and over seventy articles.

The Anglican Use Missal is the approved Missal by the Holy See for those Anglicans entering the Church under the Pastoral Provision of Pope John Paul II. The Pastoral Provision was initiated for married Episcopalian clergy to become ordained as Catholic priests who with their parishes chose to come into union with the one true Church. The provision has been only for the United States and was never applied to Canada. This provision is specific and those church communities under the Traditional Anglican Communion are not part of it. Though, clearly a new strucuture for all Anglicans is being established under Anglicanorum Coetibus.

The Missal is beautiful. Also known as the Book of Divine Worship, the Anglican Use Missal is based on the Book of Common Prayer, itself a protestant version of the Mass in England at the time of the break under Henry VIII and based upon what would have been the Sarum Rite, its protestantism stripped away and parts of it brought into conformity with the Missa Normative (Novus Ordo liturgy) specifically the Offertory and the Mystery of Faith. Fortunately, they will be able to correct the 1970 ICEL language in these parts. The final Missal or Missals to be used by the Anglican Ordinariates are not yet known.

St. Joseph's Parish in Mississauga hosted a chant conference recently with Father Samuel Weber, Director of the Institute of Sacred Music for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in the United States.

George Wass, Requiescat in pace

George Wass is dead.

UPDATE: An autopsy has been performed and the cause of death has been declared "blunt force trauma." George was murdered!

He died today (March 21, 2011) no doubt succumbing from the stress of his injuries as a result of a brutal beating last Friday morning whilst he was having a cigarette on the porch of the home in which he lived with others suffering from various developmental or mental health problems.

George was one of the regular characters in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood and friends, he was a regular at The Oratory Church of the Holy Family. He was loved by all and held in great affection; him and Karen. How many days I would arrive before Saturday morning Mass and George and Karen would be seated beside the garden catching the early morning sun. George would come into Church and stay for a moment, wave and smile to everyone. He loved the children from the "T" family and the boys always showed him kindness and respect so ingrained in them by their parents. George would go to movies with the Brother from The Oratory and Father D.U. will no doubt take this particularly hard; people would hand him their change; he always had boots and coats and people around the Oratory cared about him and loved him.

George was 62 and lived a hard life suffering from developmental disability probably more than mental illness and he had the capacity of a young boy. I did not know much about George but he was a lovable character and he often cried.

His dad passed away about two years ago and he wept quite a bit after that.

He was like a little boy at times; maybe 8 or 10 and he was alone except for Karen, his best friend whom he was rarely without. He cried wanting his father after he passed away. The Toronto Star today says that he called the cook at the home his "mother" because he wanted someone to be his new mother after she died.

George would cry at times and was afraid saying "he's going to beat me up!"

Somebody did.

Somebody murdered him.

The hospital released him; should he not have been kept for observation?

O LORD, Father of heaven and earth, have mercy on the soul of George Wass and welcome him into the bright palace washed in the blood of Christ; may he enjoy forever the peace and love of you O heavenly Father so denied him in this world. May the soul of our friend George Wass and those of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace, Amen.

And may the LORD have mercy on his murderer!

New Roman Missal: Musical Training in Toronto

As first reported here on Vox Cantoris, the corrected translation of the 2000 Roman Missal will be implemented in Canada on the First Sunday of Advent, 2011. After a long delay the Congregation of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments acting in the name of the Holy Father granted the recognitio to the Canadian Proper which includes the Saints days and Mass texts not in the universal Missal and only celebrated in Canada. The General Instruction on the Roman Missal (GIRM) has not yet been made available, to confirm whether Rome has canonised the disparity of kneeling posture in Canada as sought by Canada's bishops.

Kneeling in Canada ranges from non-existent (other than for physical limitations) to only at the Consecration and a longer version from the end of the Sanctus (Holy) to the end of the Memorial Acclamation to the more traditional and "laudable practice" used throughout most of Ontario where kneeling continues to the end of the Doxology and Great Amen and again after the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). This "laudable practice" is what has been approved for the United States and Great Britain.

As a senior Consultor to the Congregation was told after the breaking of the CCCB grey book posture request on Vox Cantoris, "Canada needs more kneeling, not less!" It was just over two weeks after the information on this blog as to the continued delay and the possible reasons for it was made available on this blog, that the recognitio was granted.

The Archdiocese of Toronto has established a Roman Missal page and this is good news. Announced there, is a training program for Church Musicians (can we please eliminate the phrase, "music ministers") on Saturday, May 28 from 9:00 - 3:30 at a yet to be determined location. The agenda will include the three Mass Settings commissioned by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to be published in the Catholic Book of Worship Supplement as well as the Chant settings in the Missal itself. I've not yet had an opportunity to review the commissioned works but the Chant settings published by ICEL are very good and the chant is well adapted to English.

For superior information and catechetical materials please visit the web site of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops which was established over a year ago. You can also find resources here from the Bishops of England and Wales where the Roman Missal will be implemented in September.

The latest update from the Canadian bishops continues to be from September 2010.

Alberta Catholic Bishops boycott March for Life!

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From: Vox Cantoris
Sent: March 17, 2011 6:29 PM
To: 'archdiocese@caedm.ca'; 'bishop.henry@calgarydiocese.ca'; 'gpettipas@serbernet.com'; 'diospaul@mcsnet.ca'
Subject: The Golden Tongue

Dear Your Graces and Your Excellencies,

It is with great shock that I have read on LifeSiteNews and the blog of Archbishop Smith that none of you will be participating in the Alberta March for Life because the organisers cannot guarantee that some participants might hold signs having graphic images of babies murdered through abortion.

These pictures are indeed horrific. They are offensive and they are deeply disturbing. Indeed, the torture and execution through crucifixion of Our LORD and Saviour was also horrific, offensive and deeply disturbing. Perhaps this is the reason that in many of our churches there is no longer a crucified Christ on the cross but a resurrected One for we seem afraid to face the truth of what our sins did to Him then and what abortion does now. I am not for one moment suggesting that any of you are not in favour of life; but I cannot accept that you would refuse to participate in this for this or any other reason. Frankly, I find it horrific, offensive and deeply disturbing that you would take such a position. I also find it one of cowardice and I fear that you are bowing down to political correctness that you will pay for in more ways than you now know.

Please ponder for a moment the Golden Tongue—St. John Chrysostom’s quote; “The road to Hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks, and the skulls of bishops are the lamp posts that light the path”

I urge you to reverse this mistaken decision.

In Christ

Ireland, Ireland; Return unto the LORD thy God!

A priest friend now working in the Vatican likes to say, "There are three kinds of people in the world; those who are Irish, those who wish they were Irish and those who have no ambition."

For those with and without ambition:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

(you will want to turn the player off on the left to listen)

Recognitio for Roman Missal in Canada Confirmed!

At the end of February, representatives of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops were in Rome to meet with various Vatican dicasteries including officials at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

It is confirmed that the Recognitio for Canada has been granted and that the Congregation is "insisting" that the Missal be implemented on Advent I.

The actual formal decrees will take place and the announcement through the regular channels is to be made shortly.

I have opined here, based on irrefutable sources, that the delay has been due to the CCCB desire to have Rome canonise their disparate kneeling postures across Canada and to force many of the rest ofus off of our knees.

It remains to be seen if Rome has agreed to this request in the GIRM; we will know soon enough.

It is normal that each national bishops conference would submit adaptations. Some Saints may only be on a national calendar and the liturgies for these days would need their own Proper, separate and distinct from each other. This was common as well in the usus antiquior Missal as any perusal in the back will usually contain a supplement for the United States, Canada, Great Britain and even specfic dioceses. The delay, however, seems to indicate that the Canada's bishops have asked for something more controversial or else, logic would indicate that the approval would have come last year, around the same time as the recognitio for Great Britain and the United States.

I could be wrong, but my opinion is that the CCCB got the smack-down on this and that the definitive English language General Instruction on the Roman Missal is the one approved for the United States and that the priests and bishops who have eliminated or reduced the traditional form of kneeling are in for a surprise.

The other fact; notwithstanding their own posturing, the CCCB will not be able to delay the GIRM or Missal in English while awaiting for its Quebecois equivalent.

(For more on this topic, click on the Roman Missal medallion to the left.)

Shahbaz Bhatti, Requiescat in pace

Shabaz Bhatti was a federal Minister of Minorities in the Government of Pakistan. He was murdered by Islamo-fascists who would have that failed state descend into the depravity of Taliban Afghanistan. Below is his writing.

May he rest in peace.

I was offered high positions in government and I was asked to give up my battle, but I always refused, even at the risk of my life. My answer was always the same: "No, I want to serve Jesus as a common man."

This devotion makes me happy. I do not look for popularity, I do not want positions of power. I just want a place at the feet of Jesus. I want my life, my character, my actions to speak for me and to say that I am following Jesus Christ. This desire is so strong in me that I consider myself privileged if - in my effort and my struggle to help the needy, the poor, the persecuted Christians of Pakistan - Jesus would accept the sacrifice of my life. I want to live for Christ and for Him I wish to die. I feel no fear in this country.

Many times, the extremists tried to kill me and imprison me, I have been threatened, persecuted and my family has been terrorized. The extremists, a few years ago, even asked my parents, my mother and my father, to dissuade me from continuing my mission to help Christians and those in need, otherwise I would be lost. But my father always encouraged me. I say that, as long as I live, until my last breath, I will continue to serve Jesus and this poor, suffering, mankind, Christians, the needy, and the poor.

I want to tell you that I find much inspiration in the Holy Bible and the life of Jesus Christ. The more I read the New and the Old Testament, Bible verses, and the word of the Lord, the stronger are my strength and my will. When I reflect on the fact that Jesus Christ sacrificed everything, that God sent His own Son for our redemption and our salvation, I wonder how I can follow the way of Calvary. Our Lord said, "Come with me, take up your cross and follow me." The words I love most of the Bible state: "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I was naked and you clothed me, ill and you visited me, in prison and you came to me." So when I see the poor and needy, I think that, under their appearance, Jesus is the one to meet me.

So I always try to be helpful, along with my colleagues, to give assistance to the needy, the hungry, the thirsty.

[Shahbaz Bhatti, Cristiani in Pakistan. Nelle prove la speranza (Christians in Pakistan: hope in tribulation), Marcianum Press, Venice, 2008 (p. 39-43)]

Reprinted from Regina Caeli and OASIS