A corporal work of mercy.

A corporal work of mercy.
Click on photo for this corporal work of mercy!

Tuesday 4 April 2017

Passiontide Hymn - Vexilla Regis

Would it be possible that you heard this yesterday at Mass or will over the next week to Good Friday?


1. Abroad the Regal Banners fly,
Now shines the Cross's mystery;
Upon it Life did death endure,
And yet by death did life procure.

2. Who, wounded with a direful spear,
Did, purposely to wash us clear
From stain of sin, pour out a flood
Of precious Water mixed with Blood.

3. That which the Prophet-King of old
Hath in mysterious verse foretold,
Is now accomplished, whilst we see
God ruling nations from a Tree.

4. O lovely and reflugent Tree,
Adorned with purpled majesty;
Culled from a worthy stock, to bear
Those Limbs which sanctified were.

5. Blest Tree, whose happy branches bore
The wealth that did the world restore;
The beam that did that Body weigh
Which raised up hell's expected prey.

6. Hail, Cross, of hopes the most sublime!
Now in this mournful Passion time,
Improve religious souls in grace,
The sins of criminals efface.

7. Blest Trinity, salvation's spring,
May every soul Thy praises sing;
To those Thou grantest conquest by
The holy Cross, rewards apply. Amen.

Canadian Doctors afraid to commit euthanasia?

Image result for zero mostel funny thing happened
Canadian doctor suddenly discovers he`s committing murder!


April 3, 2017 (BreakPoint) -- Last year, Canada enacted a Medical Aid in Dying law. The legislation allows physicians to help gravely ill patients end their lives. Advocates of these sorts of laws justify it by using words such as “compassion,” and “death with dignity”—and many Canadian doctors agreed, saying they’d be glad to participate in physician-assisted suicide.

But a funny thing happened on the way to Canada’s brave new world of state-sponsored killing. Dozens of physicians who signed up, including many who actually provided lethal medications to patients, now want their names removed from the list. According to Canada’s National Post, in Ontario, one of the few provinces that actually tracks this kind of data, 24 physicians have been removed permanently from a voluntary referral list of those willing to assist people who want to end their lives. Another 30 have put their names on temporary hold. Not even the Canadian Medical Association can say how many are having second thoughts—but their decisions are reverberating through the system.

Saturday 1 April 2017

Make no mistake, for the LORD, "will revenge the blood of his servants: And will render vengeance to their enemies."

What has been the price of the dismissal of the Old Testament in our current times? When one considers the modernist, "Liturgy of the Hours," can one find something such as this?

Only an April Fool would disregard such as this.

From Lauds of this morning.


Ant. The Lord will judge
Canticle of Moses [4]
(Canticle of Moses * Deut 32:1-65)
32:1 Hear, O ye heavens, the things I speak, * let the earth give ear to the words of my mouth.
32:2 Let my doctrine gather as the rain, * let my speech distill as the dew,
32:3 As a shower upon the herb, and as drops upon the grass. * Because I will invoke the name of the Lord:
32:4 Give ye magnificence to our God. * The works of God are perfect, and all his ways are judgments:
32:5 God is faithful and without any iniquity, he is just and right. * They have sinned against him, and are none of his children in their filth:
32:6 They are a wicked and perverse generation. * Is this the return thou makest to the Lord, O foolish and senseless people?
32:7 Is not he thy father, * that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee?
32:8 Remember the days of old, * think upon every generation:
32:9 Ask thy father, and he will declare to thee: * thy elders and they will tell thee.
32:10 When the Most High divided the nations: * when he separated the sons of Adam,
32:11 He appointed the bounds of people * according to the number of the children of Israel.
32:12 But the Lord’s portion is his people: * Jacob the lot of his inheritance.
32:13 He found him in a desert land, * in a place of horror, and of vast wilderness:
32:14 He led him about, and taught him: * and he kept him as the apple of his eye.
32:15 As the eagle enticing her young to fly, * and hovering over them,
32:16 He spread his wings, and hath taken him * and carried him on his shoulders.
32:17 The Lord alone was his leader: * and there was no strange god with him.
32:18 He set him upon high land: * that he might eat the fruits of the fields,
32:19 That he might suck honey out of the rock, * and oil out of the hardest stone,
32:20 Butter of the herd, and milk of the sheep * with the fat of lambs, and of the rams of the breed of Basan:
32:21 And goats with the marrow of wheat, * and might drink the purest blood of the grape.
32:22 The beloved grew fat, and kicked: * he grew fat, and thick and gross,
32:23 He forsook God who made him, * and departed from God his saviour.
32:24 They provoked him by strange gods, * and stirred him up to anger, with their abominations.
32:25 They sacrificed to devils and not to God: * to gods whom they knew not:
32:26 That were newly come up, * whom their fathers worshipped not.
32:27 Thou hast forsaken the God that beget * and hast forgotten the Lord that created thee.
32:28 The Lord saw, and was moved to wrath: * because his own sons and daughters provoked him.
32:29 And he said: I will hide my face from them, * and will consider what their last end shall be:
32:30 For it is a perverse generation, * and unfaithful children.
32:31 They have provoked me with that which was no god, * and have angered me with their vanities:
32:32 And I will provoke them with that which is no people, * and will vex them with a foolish nation.
32:33 A fire is kindled in my wrath, * and shall burn even to the lowest hell:
32:34 And shall devour the earth with her increase, * and shall burn the foundations of the mountains.
32:35 I will heap evils upon them, * and will spend my arrows among them.
32:36 They shall be consumed with famine, * and birds shall devour them with a most bitter bite:
32:37 I will send the teeth of beasts upon them, * with the fury of creatures that trail upon the ground, and of serpents.
32:38 Without, the sword shall lay them waste, and terror within, * both the young man and the virgin, the sucking child with the man in years.
32:39 I said: Where are they? * I will make the memory of them to cease from among men.
32:40 But for the wrath of the enemies * I have deferred it: lest perhaps their enemies might be proud,
32:41 And should say: Our mighty hand, and not the Lord, * hath done all these things.
32:42 They are a nation without counsel, and without wisdom * O that they would be wise and would understand, and would provide for their last end.
32:43 How should one pursue after a thousand, * and two chase ten thousand?
32:44 Was it not, because their God had sold them, * and the Lord had shut them up?
32:45 For our God is not as their gods: * our enemies themselves are judges.
32:46 Their vines are of the vineyard of Sodom, * and of the suburbs of Gomorrha:
32:47 Their grapes are grapes of gall, * and their clusters most bitter.
32:48 Their wine is the gall of dragons, * and the venom of asps, which is incurable.
32:49 Are not these things stored up with me, * and sealed up in my treasures?
32:50 Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time, * that their foot may slide:
32:51 The day of destruction is at hand, * and the time makes haste to come.
32:52 The Lord will judge his people, * and will have mercy on his servants:
32:53 He shall see that their hand is weakened, * and that they who were shut up have also failed, and they that remained are consumed.
32:54 And he shall say: Where are their gods, * in whom they trusted?
32:55 Of whose victims they ate the fat, * and drank the wine of their drink offerings:
32:56 Let them arise and help you, * and protect you in your distress.
32:57 See ye that I alone am, * and there is no other God besides me:
32:58 I will kill and I will make to live: I will strike, and I will heal, * and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
32:59 I will lift up my hand to heaven, * and I will say: I live for ever.
32:60 If I shall whet my sword as the lightning, * and my hand take hold on judgment:
32:61 I will render vengeance to my enemies, * and repay them that hate me.
32:62 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, * and my sword shall devour flesh,
32:63 Of the blood of the slain * and of the captivity, of the bare head of the enemies.
32:64 Praise his people, ye nations, * for he will revenge the blood of his servants:
32:65 And will render vengeance to their enemies, * and he will be merciful to the land of his people.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. The Lord will judge * his servants, and will have mercy on the people of his land.

Friday 31 March 2017

The venom of asps is under their lips.

Ps. 139. Eripe me, Domine. A prayer to be delivered from the wicked.

[1] Unto the end, a psalm for David. [2] Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man. [3] Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles. [4] They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips. [5] Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me. Who have proposed to supplant my steps.

[6] The proud have hidden a net for me. And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumblingblock by the wayside. [7] I said to the Lord: Thou art my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication. [8] O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: thou hast overshadowed my head in the day of battle. [9] Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not thou forsake me, lest they should triumph. [10] The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.

[11] Burning coals shall fall upon them; thou wilt cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand. [12] A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction. [13] I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor. [14] But as for the just, they shall give glory to thy name: and the upright shall dwell with thy countenance.

Thursday 30 March 2017

Mary's Advocates to assist those in "no-fault" divorce

Friends,

From a reader of this blog and advocate for the family. Let us support one another in these most difficult times.
...

Hi David,

You might have friends who would appreciate the resources developed by Mary’s Advocates, and I ask you to forward this message. Furthermore, would you please share this on your Vox Cantoris blog?

As you may recall, with the non-profit organization Mary’s Advocates, I work to reduce unilateral no-fault divorce and support those who are unjustly abandoned. In unilateral no-fault divorce, those who control the split of everything, view marriage obligations in a way that is diametrically opposed to the Christian and Catholic understanding. In no-fault divorce, no distinction is made between the party who reneges on the marriage promises, and the party who is counting on those promises to be upheld.

The USCCB, National Catholic Register, and LifeSiteNews have publicized our work. I presented a paper in Rome at a symposium with welcome letter by Cardinal Raymond Burke. Relevant Radio and Ave Maria Radio have had me as a guest on their shows.  Recently, I was on ETWN radio with Jerry Usher (listen HERE).

Resource:  Wedding and Renewal of Vows

Mary’s Advocates developed a “True Marriage Proclamation Set.” Please forward this to anyone celebrating a wedding or anniversary, or give a set as a gift.  With a “True Marriage Proclamation Set,” a man and woman sign their wedding promises as a keepsake, and designate a 3rd-party arbitrator to manage any marital issues in accordance with the Catholic Code of Canon Law, or the Bible.  They never want unilateral no-fault divorce in their future. For those who know couples, we have a 4”x 5” card that can be passed along (see card HERE).

The “True Marriage Proclamation Set” was reviewed by Fr. Rocky Hoffman, who has a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome. He’s also the Executive Director of Relevant Radio and he says, “All pastors recognize the need for better preparation for the sacrament of Marriage.  The ‘True marriage Proclamation Set’ can be a powerful tool to help spouses deeply consider what they are doing in the presence of God.”

Resource:  Upholding Marriage in Crisis

For Catholics who did nothing gravely wrong justifying separation of spouses (who are about to be involuntarily separated, or already divorced), Mary’s Advocates shows them how to ask the Church to implement the canon law on separation of spouses. The canons aim toward outcomes that are in accordance with Divine Law, natural law, and true justice (See Resources >  Defending Marriage).   We publicize the Catholic Canon Law and excerpts from the U.S. Constitution that can be implemented to reduce the injustice of unilateral no-fault divorce. This could ultimately inspire a spouse to reconcile, because an abandoner would be held accountable.

The secular world tells a separated spouse, or a divorce Defendant, that his marriage has failed or ended.  Mary’s Advocates’ support network is for those who reject this secular view, but, instead, hope to be reconciled and know a marriage only ends when either party dies.

Sincerely Yours in Christ,

Bai

P.S. In my review of the book, Torn Asunder: Children, the Myth of the Good Divorce, and the Recovery of Origins, I highlight the harm caused to children by divorce. This information could lead someone wanting a divorce to change his or her mind.

Bai Macfarlane
Mary’s Advocates
330-690-8942


To those who seek after me

To those that seek after my soul, who mock and detract me, who slander me. To those who seek to undermine my life and my family and to those who seek to discredit me towards those around me and to all who wish me ill and my destruction, I offer to you this from today's Matins:

From the Third Reading by St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.
Even so is it written: Their throat is an open sepulchre, (Ps. v. ii,) whereout breathe their pestilential words. Lo! Christ maketh thee free from that grave! If only thou wilt hear the word of God, thou shalt yet arise from that sepulchre! Yea, though thy sin be exceeding weighty, so that the tears of thine own sorrow cannot wash it away, let thy Mother the Church weep for thee, that longing Mother who weepeth for every one of her children as though he were the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Believe me, her spiritual anguish is keen like the anguish of nature, when she seeth her children dead in sin, and carried out to be buried for ever. 

From Matins this morning and the Psalmist after whom this writer was named: 

Salvum me fac, Deus. Ps. 68 
[1] Unto the end, for them that shall be changed; for David. [2] SAVE me, O God: for the waters are come in even unto my soul. [3] I stick fast in the mire of the deep: and there is no sure standing. I am come into the depth of the sea: and a tempest hath overwhelmed me. [4] I have laboured with crying; my jaws are become hoarse: my eyes have failed, whilst I hope in my God. [5] They are multiplied above the hairs of my head, who hate me without cause. My enemies are grown strong who have wrongfully persecuted me: then did I pay that which I took not away. 
[6] O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my offences are not hidden from thee: [7] Let not them be ashamed for me, who look for thee, O Lord, the Lord of hosts. Let them not be confounded on my account, who seek thee, O God of Israel. [8] Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. [9] I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to the sons of my mother. [10] For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. 
[11] And I covered my soul in fasting: and it was made a reproach to me. [12] And I made haircloth my garment: and I became a byword to them. [13] They that sat in the gate spoke against me: and they that drank wine made me their song. [14] But as for me, my prayer is to thee, O Lord; for the time of thy good pleasure, O God. In the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. [15] Draw me out of the mire, that I may not stick fast: deliver me from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. 
[16] Let not the tempest of water drown me, nor the deep swallow me up: and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. [17] Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind; look upon me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. [18] And turn not away thy face from thy servant: for I am in trouble, hear me speedily. [19] Attend to my soul, and deliver it: save me because of my enemies. [20] Thou knowest my reproach, and my confusion, and my shame. 
[21] In thy sight are all they that afflict me; my heart hath expected reproach and misery. And I looked for one that would grieve together with me, but there was none: and for one that would comfort me, and I found none. [22] And they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. [23] Let their table become as a snare before them, and a recompense, and a stumblingblock. [24] Let their eyes be darkened that they see not; and their back bend thou down always. [25] Pour out thy indignation upon them: and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. 
[26] Let their habitation be made desolate: and let there be none to dwell in their tabernacles. [27] Because they have persecuted him whom thou hast smitten; and they have added to the grief of my wounds. [28] Add thou iniquity upon their iniquity: and let them not come into thy justice. [29] Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; and with the just let them not be written. [30] But I am poor and sorrowful: thy salvation, O God, hath set me up. 
[31] I will praise the name of God with a canticle: and I will magnify him with praise. [32] And it shall please God better than a young calf, that bringeth forth horns and hoofs. [33] Let the poor see and rejoice: seek ye God, and your soul shall live. [34] For the Lord hath heard the poor: and hath not despised his prisoners. [35] Let the heavens and the earth praise him; the sea, and every thing that creepeth therein. 
[36] For God will save Sion, and the cities of Juda shall be built up. And they shall dwell there, and acquire it by inheritance. [37] And the seed of his servants shall possess it; and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

Wednesday 29 March 2017

What Moe says

John-Henry Westen is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of LifeSiteNews. He and Steve Jalsevac have done tremendous work on behalf of all of us in the matters of life, family and culture. Recently, John-Henry spoke at the Bringing America Back to Life conference in Ohio. John's bio begins with "He and his wife Dianne and their eight children live in the Ottawa Valley."

I had a chuckle after reading that, as LifeSiteNews was once mocked and dismissed for being run out of some basement in the Ottawa Valley.

Well, with 60,000,000 readers; all I have to say, is, that's one heck of a basement operation!

The Toronto Star has closed its massive robotic printing plant. Newspapers around the world are doing the same and slimming down and going bankrupt. The media has changed. You don't need to read the manufactured stories and fake news that the elites want to shove down your throats.

The truth is out there, you just have to click for it and use your mind to discern.

It causes some to seethe with anger, jealousy and rage.

Just as this blog has done as the readers still keep on coming and we approach 3,600,000. Small in comparison to LifeSiteNews and OnePeterFive, to be sure, but not an embarassing or insignificant number considering it is run from a leather lazy boy in the family room.

Quod scripsi, scripsi.

Now back to those who rage and seethe; do you want to confound them even more?

Give to LifeSiteNews.

And listen to this talk by John-Henry.



Image result for finger in the eye three stooges

Tuesday 28 March 2017

Where are the Franciscan men such as John of Capistrano?

Let us pray.
O God, Who by Thy blessed servant John didst cause Thy faithful people, through the power of the most Holy Name of Jesus, to prevail against the enemies of His Cross, grant unto us, we beseech Thee, the help of the prayers of the same Thy servant that we may prevail against our ghostly enemies, and may be made worthy to receive from Thee a crown of righteousness. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
Amen.
Let us take a look at the Reading from Matins for today in the true Roman Rite.

What would those who lead the Church think today about this politically incorrect warrior of Jesus Christ?


Image result for st john of capistrano
Painting of St. John of Capistrano commissioned by Blessed Junipero Serra


This John was born at Capistrano, in the Abruzzi. He was educated at Perugia, and became so expert in letters, both sacred and profane, that on account of his eminent knowledge of law, Ladislaus, King of Naples, set him over several cities. He was seeking in righteousness to bring the affairs of these places out of trouble into peace, when he himself was kidnapped and put in chains. From this captivity he marvellously escaped, and then professed himself a Friar Minor under the rule of Francis of Assisi. Here he went forward in the study of divinity, and had as a teacher the holy Bernardine of Sienna, of whom he was one of the most marked followers, especially in spreading abroad the honour paid to the Most Holy Name of Jesus, and to the Mother of God. The bishopric of Aquila was offered to him, but he refused it. He was chiefly known by the hardship of his self-denial, and by the writings which he published in large numbers for the reform of manners.
He devoted himself without ceasing to the preaching of the Word of God, in the which work he travelled throughout nearly all Italy, and by the power of eloquence and of miracles not a few, he recalled souls almost countless into the path of salvation. Martin V. appointed him Inquisitor to stamp out the sect of the Fraticelli. Nicolas V. appointed him Inquisitor General in Italy against Judaism and Mohammadanism, and he brought many such misbelievers to believe in Christ. He did much good work in the affairs of the Eastern Church, and at the Council of Florence, wherein he shone like a sun, he brought back the Armenians to the Catholic church. The same Pope Nicolas V., at the request of the Emperor Frederick III., sent him into Germany as Nuncio of the Apostolic See, in order that he might bring back the heretics to the Catholic faith and the minds of the princes to peace and agreement. He did a wonderful work for God's glory during the six years that he laboured in Germany and other countries, and by his teaching of the truth and the striking evidence of his miracles brought back to the bosom of the Church almost countless numbers of Hussites, Adamites, Taborites, and Jews.
It was mainly at the entreaty of John that Calistus III. proclaimed a Crusade, and John hastened about through Pannonia and other provinces, where by his words and his letters he so roused the minds of princes to that holy war, that in a short while seventy thousand Christian soldiers were enrolled. It was mainly through his advice and by his power that victory was gained at Belgrade, when one hundred and twenty thousand Turks were either slain or put to flight. The news of this victory reached Rome upon the sixth day of August, and Pope Calistus thereupon consecrated that day for ever to the solemn commemoration of the transfiguration of the Lord Christ. As John lay sick unto death at Illak, many princes came to see him, and he exhorted them to protect religion. He gave up his soul in holiness to God, (upon the 23rd day of October,) in the year of salvation 1456. God confirmed his glory by many miracles after his death, and when these had been duly proved Alexander VIII. enrolled his name with those of the saints in the year 1690, and two hundred years after his canonization Leo XIII. extended his Office and Mass to the whole Church.

Sunday 26 March 2017

Atonement in San Antonio - why would a Catholic there go anywhere else?


In Toronto, you can find the Ordinariate at St. Thomas More parish at St. Vincent de Paul Church on Roncesvalles, Divine Worship is Sunday at 12:30.

Saturday 25 March 2017

Hymns of the Annunciation

Image result for annunciation

The Office of the Annunciation

From Matins.

The God whom earth, and sea, and sky
Adore, and laud, and magnify,
Who o'er their threefold fabric reigns,
The Virgin's spotless womb contains.

The God, whose will by moon and sun
And all things in due course is done,
Is borne upon a maiden's breast,
By fullest heavenly grace possest,

How blest that mother, in whose shrine
The great artificer divine,
Whose hand contains the earth and sky,
Vouchsafed, as in his ark, to lie.

Blest, in the message Gabriel brought;
Blest, by the work the Spirit wrought;
From whom the great desire of earth
Took human flesh and human birth.

All honour, laud, and glory be,
O Jesu, Virgin-born to thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.

Amen.


From Lauds.

O glorious lady! throned on high
Above the star-illumined sky;
Thereto ordained, thy bosom lent
To thy creator nourishment

Through thy sweet offspring we receive
The bliss once lost through hapless Eve;
And heaven to mortals open lies
Now thou art portal of the skies.

Thou art the door of heaven's high King,
Light's gateway fair and glistering;
Life through a virgin is restored;
Ye ransomed nations, praise the Lord!

All honour, laud, and glory be,
O Jesu, Virgin-born, to thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.

Amen.


From Vespers.



Ave, star of ocean,
Child divine who barest,
Mother, ever-virgin,
Heaven's portal fairest.

Taking that sweet Ave
Erst by Gabriel spoken,
Eva's name reversed,
Be of peace the token.

Break the sinners' fetters,
Light to blind restoring,
All our ills dispelling,
Every boon imploring.

Show thyself a mother
In thy supplication;
He will hear who chose thee
At his incarnation.

Maid all maids excelling,
Passing meek and lowly,
Win for sinners pardon,
Make us chaste and holy.

As we onward journey
Aid our weak endeavour,
Till we gaze on Jesus
And rejoice forever.

Father, Son, and Spirit,
Three in One confessing,
Give we equal glory
Equal praise and blessing.
Amen.


Friday 24 March 2017

The Angel Gabriel

Today is March 24. it is the Eve of the Annunciation of the Lord. There is no Mass for the Vigil of the Annunciation. We are in Lent and in the proper Rite of the Mass in the Latin Church, all Lenten days have their own liturgy. This is supplanted only by First Class Feasts, in which case there is still a Commemoration, a second Collect. Secret (Offertory Prayer or "Prayer over the Gifts"" and a Postcommunion.

Before the modernist liturgical butchers got together to destroy our religious patriomony and liturgical clock, this was the feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel. Now, Gabriel and Raphael, who also had his own day, are combined with Michael in the modernist rite on September 29.

Do you see the pattern?

We had St. Joseph, today is the Angel Gabriel and tomorrow, the Incarnation of the Lord is given to our sweet Mary at her Annunciation?


It all makes so much sense, it is all so Catholic.

Will you fight with all that is in you to bring it back?

A little bit of Christmas, in March. ...



 Chapter Hymn Verse {from the Proper of Saints}
Dan 9:21-22
Behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation; and he informed me, and talked with me, and said: O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
R. Thanks be to God.

Hymn
O Christ, Redeemer of mankind,
Thy servants here protect and spare,
Who hearest with a loving mind
The Blessed Virgin's holy prayer.

Be ever present, Angel high,
Whose name God's might doth signify;
To all the weak new strength impart,
And solace to the sad of heart.

May those glad hosts which see Thy Face,
The spirits of the heavenly home,
Away from us all evils chase,
Both past, and present, and to come.

Then purge away all unbelief,
From every land where Christians dwell,
That unto Thee, our Victor Chief,
Our thanks and praises we may tell.

The Father Unbegot we laud,
We praise the sole-begotten Son,
And Holy Spirit, with them God,
Now, and while endless ages run.
Amen.

V. An Angel stood at the Altar of the Temple.
R. Having a golden censer in his hand.

Prayer {from the Proper of Saints}
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto thee.
Let us pray.
O God, Who didst choose the Archangel Gabriel from among all Thine other Angels, and send him to herald the mystery of Thine Incarnation, mercifully grant that we who keep his feast upon earth may feel his protection in heaven.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
R. Amen

O God, our Lord, having received the sacrament of Your Body and Blood, we ask of Your mercy that, as Your incarnation was made known to us by the message of Gabriel, so by his help we may reap the benefits of that same incarnation.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
R. Amen

Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell.

Ps 30.  In te, Domine, speravi. A prayer of a just man under affliction.

[1] Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstasy. [2] In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice. [3] Bow down thy ear to me: make haste to deliver me. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me. [4] For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name' s sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish me. [5] Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for thou art my protector.

[6] Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth. [7] Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord: [8] I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. For thou hast regarded my humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses. [9] And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a spacious place. [10] Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly:

[11] For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs. My strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed. [12] I am become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance. They that saw me without fled from me. [13] I am forgotten as one dead from the heart. I am become as a vessel that is destroyed. [14] For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about. While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life. [15] But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord: I said: Thou art my God.

[16] My lots are in thy hands. Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me. [17] Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy. [18] Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee. Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell. [19] Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse. [20] O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! Which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men.

[21] Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the disturbance of men. Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues. [22] Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shewn his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city. [23] But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before thy eyes. Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to thee. [24] O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly. [25] Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Thursday 23 March 2017

Don't believe it

Not for a minute.

Don't believe it for one minute.

It is not what a man says, it is what he does.

Remember that.


Know what I mean?


Wednesday 22 March 2017

Rubrical reminders from Una Voce Toronto - because we're "rigid"

unavocetoronto@gmail.com


Let us review some terms and basic rubrics for the Traditional Latin Mass, also known in modernist circles, as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. There is charity in truth and there is peace and unity in truth. There is no charity in silence and appeasement. It is incumbent upon those who work in the sacred liturgy to humble themselves to what the Church expects.

The commentary below is written with "referential authority." That is to say, the authority comes not from this writer but from the documents from the which the information is gleaned and condensed. The referred documents are Tra le sollecitudini, Mediator Dei, Da Musica Sacra et Sacra Liturgia and Rubricarum. The notorious Musica Sacra of 1967 is prohibited in accord with Summorum Pontificum and Universae Ecclesiae.

Read Mass or Missa Lecta
Commonly referred to as “Low” Mass, this form of Mass is more properly referred to as a “Read Mass.” This comes from its Latin name, Missa Lecta. The Mass, in history, would have always been Solemn (see below), but as parishes and villages developed away from monasteries and cathedrals; and as mendicant Orders such as Dominicans and Franciscans, journeyed to preach, priests would desire to offer the Holy Sacrifice for themselves and the souls they found on their journeys. The Missa Lecta was developed for this purpose. It is a quiet and contemplative Mass with one server only, though two can be “tolerated.” The Mass is entirely in Latin, though, in accord with the legitimate Law as prescribed by Pope Benedict XVI, in Universae Ecclesiae the Lesson(s), Epistle and Gospel may be said in the vernacular from an approved translation (at the time of 1962) from the Altar without first being read in Latin. There is normally no music permitted.

Read Mass with Music
Music is not permitted in a Read Mass except in specific circumstances and certain specific rubrics. In fact, a more proper word than permitted would be tolerated, in its classic sense. One may have an organ prelude or postlude and organ music at the Offertory or during Communion in those times of the year where organ music is not prohibited and no solo organ music is permitted in the Mass during Advent, except on Gaudete Sunday or in the season of Lent on Laetare Sunday. No solo organ music is permitted at anytime at a Requiem Mass. Organ music may be used at a Requiem Mass only to support the singing and only if absolutely necessary to even do that. Music or hymn singing may be used at a Read Mass in the following manner. A hymn may be sung as a processional and the recessional and these may be in the vernacular. A Latin hymn may be sung at the Offertory and the Communion but it may not be the text of the Proper of the Mass which must be read by the priest aloud and heard by the faithful in attendance. A hymn may be sung in the vernacular at the Offertory and Communion provided it is connected with the liturgical action. For example, the Offertory hymn could be, “See Us Lord, About Your Altar,” or, “Lord, Accept the Gifts We Offer.” At Communion, the hymn, if in the vernacular, must be a hymn to the Blessed Sacrament or be a hymn of Thanksgiving.  The Gloria and Credo cannot be sung at any Read Mass.  A Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei may be sung if they are short, for example, Mass XVI or Mass XVIII, never Mass IX or VIII the Missa de Angelis. These are two long and delay the priest. All singing must conclude so that the action of the Priest is not delayed and the audible texts are not covered by music. The Priest does not sing the Collect or Postcommunion nor any other oration, nor does he chant in any way the salutations, nor do the people respond in chant. These are only said.

Sung Mass—or Missa Canata or Solemn Mass—Missa Solemnis
All Propers must be sung, there are no exceptions. The Epistle and Gospel must be sung, there are no exceptions. All salutations and response are sung, there are no exceptions. If the priest cannot sing the melismatic tones of the Lesson, Epistle or Gospel, then he can chant them recto tono, on the same note. If the Schola cannot manage to sing the Proper chants with the melisma, then it is permissible to sing them in psalm tone, or recto tono. They can also be sung in Polyphony when considered appropriate. At the Offertory and Communion, Latin motets or hymns can also be sung, but only after the Proper Antiphon.
Requiem Mass
The musical rubrics apply to a Requiem Mass as to the degree above.

Holy Mother Church has determined the above rubrics in order to ensure the proper dignity of the Mass. When we work within the Laws of the Church, there is peace and understanding and serene contemplation of the holy actions taking place before us.

When we deviate from these for pastoral or other reasons or through pressure, we create confusion and disunity and distress and these are not from the Holy Spirit; we insert our own desires into the liturgy, where it does not belong. None of us are masters of the Liturgy of God, we are rather, its servants. We must do our work in truth and humility, we must submit to the mind of the Church and we must reject any inculturation and pastoral provision that deviates from the truth.

At no time is a guitar permitted during a Traditional Latin Mass. It's been done!

There is no evidence that Fr. Franz Gruber, S.J. ever permitted Stille Nacht on guitar at a Midnight Mass due to a broken organ. This is “fake news.”

At no time is it permitted to sing anything in the vernacular in a Sung or Solemn Mass. Processional and recessional hymns take place outside of Mass. Mass begins with the Introit and ends with the Ite.  Any reference to what occurred between the great wars in Europe in Germany, Belgium or Holland should be understood in the context of dissent and diabolical disorientation that lead to the complete upheaval of the holy liturgy.

Lest one doubt the above, be assured that every educated Catholic in proper Church music and liturgy according to its venerable tradition is aware of these rubrics and knows where to find the sources. If they are not, then they are unqualified to do the work and they need to become educated. Let those who labour for the love of true worship of the LORD in the timeless liturgy understand the need to maintain consistency, peace and serenity in the work before us. This peace and serenity can only be achieved if we work within that which we are given. By humbling ourselves to the timelessness, we will achieve peace in our work. It is when deviations occur that we bring disunity and cognitive dissonance to the holy work before us.


Una Voce Toronto