One of the more tradition friendly and orthodox Bishops in the United States,Bishop Morlino of Madison Diocese, sadly died last night :-
Some of the comments on the Diocese of Morlino Facebook account state:-
"I
am saddened to hear about Archbishop's passing. We are in desperate
need of faithful pastors in these sad times. The holy Church has lost a
formidable defender. May he intercede for us at the Lord's throne where I
am sure he is. Requiescat in pace."
"So
very sad...praying for the soul of this great Shepherd, Bishop
Morlino...this is a great loss to the people of God...the good Bishop
was such a Holy Man of God..."
"....this Bishop is one of the true good Shepherds who boldly proclaims the truth of the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic faith...."
From Dr. Hunwicke:-
"I have often used, and commented about it
on this blog, Matthew Hazell's highly important Index Lectionum, which
reveals the way Holy Scripture was censored in the post-Conciliar 'reforms'. It
is a pleasure to commend his latest scholarly work, The Proper of Time in the
Post-Vatican II Liturgical Reforms (ISBN: 978-1-7307-9522-0). It deals
with how the euchology ... collects, secrets, postcommunions ... fared during
this same period. To be precise, this book homes in on one
particular moment of the 'reform' process, schema186 of September
1966 ... I will call it '1966'. This important and revealing document is
hitherto unpublished. What I find fascinating is the glimpse this gives us of a
particular moment in the development of the mindset of the 'reformers'. 1966 is much more conservative than what
eventually emerged as the Missal of S Paul VI. Simplifying a little, one could
liken 1966 to a garment which has become rather frayed over the years and needs
to be repaired. So the authors suggest how it can be repaired, smartened up,
and made good for use for another few hundred years. The Missal of S Paul, on the
other hand, seems in comparison more like the product of a decision that the
garment is totally unfit for use and needs to be dumped, so as to make way for
a completely new product. I offer just one insight into the mindset of the
'reformers': since we are near the start of Advent, let us consider their
treatment of the Sunday collects for Advent. Three of these had been addressed
to God the Son. The 'reformers' stated that it was now universally agreed that
Prayer should be addressed to God the Father through the Son, in the Holy
Spirit. What about the collects of Advent? This is what they say: "On account of their
antiquity and more venerable character, we have not changed them".
Read that again! "We
have not changed them"! See! They still have some sense of respect for
the prayers of the ancient formulae! They are not willing to bowdlerise without
explicit permission from above! But in S Paul VI, those Advent collects
disappear from the Sundays of Advent. They are removed to weekdays, where some
of them (but not all) are reformulated so that they are addressed to the
Father. My own view is that it is precisely the
unexpectedly direct appeal to the Lord Jesus Who is coming to judge ("Come
Lord ... do not delay ... stir up thy power ...") which gives these old
prayers their impassioned sense of direct urgency. Their loss, at the Sunday
synaxis, represented a real impoverishment of the spirituality placed before
God's people by their Liturgy. They woz robbed! [Incidentally, the same prejudice against prayers
addressed to the Son led the Anglican revisers of the Alternative Service
Book (1980) to reconstruct S Thomas's Corpus Christ collect; not
even S Paul VI had dared to do this!] A study of the documents recording the process
of the revision of the hymns of the Breviary would reveal exactly the same
process by which the Coetus concerned
only gradually liberated themselves from respect for Tradition. These studies
give the lie to the claim that 'the Council' had mandated the Pauline 'Reform'
as that catastrophe eventually emerged. The persons actually engaged on
that 'reform' in the mid-1960s were manifestly completely unaware that 'the
Council' had mandated anything so radical. This whole narrative reveals the
growth of an attitude of bland, insolent, mendacity. The Missal of S Paul VI is not what the Council
Fathers thought they were voting for. That is why even the most soundly
traditionalist Fathers, such as Archbishop Lefebvre, voted for Sacrosanctum Concilium. We cannot expect young and able scholars to produce
important work like this book unless we buy and study what they produce!"
The Papa Stronsay Calendar is the annual offering of the Transalpine Redemptorists which enables you to easily and fruitfully follow the Church's traditional liturgical cycle. Possibly the best Traditional Catholic wall calendar on the market, it gives you each day's feast, class and liturgical colour, the lunar calendar, traditional days of abstinence, traditional feasts which are not on the universal calendar, national public holidays for six English-speaking countries, major astronomical events, and so much more, including a whole array of beautiful images which truly make this calendar a feast for the eyes!
"Born in 1599, in Herefordshire into a prominent local Catholic
family. He had four brothers priests. Kemble was ordained a priest at
Douai College, on 23 February 1625. He returned to England on 4 June
1625 as a missioner in Monmouthshire and Herefordshire. Little is known
of his work for the next fifty three years, but his later treatment
shows the esteem and affection he was held in locally. Arrested during
the Titus Oates Plot confusion at his brother's home, Pembridge Castle,
near Welsh Newton. He was warned about the impending arrest but declined
to leave his flock, saying, "According to the course of nature, I have
but a few years to live. It will be an advantage to suffer for my
religion and, therefore, I will not abscond." He was arrested by a
Captain John Scudamore of Kentchurch. It is a comment on the tangled
loyalties of the age that Scudamore's own wife and children were
parishioners of Father Kemble.
Father Kemble, now 80, was taken on the arduous journey to London to
be interviewed about the plot. He was found to have had no connection
with it, but was found guilty of the treasonous crime of being a priest.
He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. He was returned to
Hereford for the sentence to be carried out. Before he was led out for
his execution Father Kemble insisted on saying his prayers and finishing
his drink. The assembled party joined the elderly priest in a smoke
and a drink. To this day the sayings, "Kemble pipe", and "Kemble cup",
meaning a parting pipe or cup, are used in Herefordshire. Addressing the
assembled crowd before his death, the old priest said: "The failure of
the authorities in London to connect me to the plot makes it evident
that I die only for profession the Roman Catholic religion, which was
the religion that first made this Kingdom Christian."
He was allowed to die on the gallows before the butchery was carried
out on his body. Thus he was spared the agonies suffered by so many of
the Catholic martyrs. One of the martyr's hands is preserved at St.
Francis Xavier, Hereford. His body rests in the (Church of England)
churchyard of St Mary's, Welsh Newton, and local Roman Catholics make an
annual pilgrimage to his grave. Miracles were soon attributed to the
saintly priest. Scudamore's daughter was cured of throat cancer, while
Scudamore's wife recovered her hearing whilst praying at the Kemble's
grave."
Please
note that the Cheltenham YCA group is not always meeting in the Old
Priory. For forthcoming events please look a:- http://cheltenhamcatholicadults.blogspot.com/.
Archbishop Viganò’s message to U.S. Bishops, dated November 13.
"Dear Brother Bishops in the US,
I am writing to remind you of the sacred mandate you were given on the day of your episcopal ordination: to lead the flock to Christ. Meditate on Proverbs 9:10: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!Do not behave like frightened sheep, but as courageous shepherds. Do not be afraid of standing up and doing the right thing for the victims, for the faithful and for your own salvation. The Lord will render to every one of us according to our actions and omissions.
I am fasting and praying for you.
Arch. Carlo Maria Viganò Your former Apostolic Nuncio
An Unlikely Helper
The extraordinary story begins on the night of July 18, 1830, when a
mysterious child awakens Sister Catherine Laboure. The child leads her
to the convent's chapel. There, Sister Catherine sees the Virgin Mary,
sitting in a chair. She kneels beside Mary, and rests her hands in the
Virgin's lap. The two speak for several hours. During the conversation,
Mary promises she will return and give the young nun "a mission." The
child leads Catherine back to her bed. Catherine hears the clock strike 2
a.m., July 19.
A little more than four months later, Sister Catherine learns what Mary
wants.
During her evening meditation on Nov. 27, 1830, Catherine has a vision
of Mary standing in a position similar to the depiction on the medal.
Later, the vision changes to include the inscription found on the front
side of the medal.
Mary speaks to Catherine, saying, "Have a medal struck upon this model.
Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it
around their neck."
Iconic Attraction
It was as Mary said. The medal's effects were immediate.
The first medals were made in 1832 and distributed throughout Paris.
According to the Association of the Miraculous Medal, the blessings that
Mary promised "began to shower down" on wearers of the medal. The
devotion spread rapidly. In 1836, a Church investigation declared the
apparitions to be genuine.
Since Mary asked Catherine to have the medal struck, devotion to the
Miraculous Medal has spread the world over, the image having achieved
iconic stature.
But what does the medal mean? In answering that, one discovers why it
works.
The Front Side
• Mary stands on a globe, crushing a serpent beneath her feet.
Describing the original vision, Catherine said the Blessed Mother
appeared radiant as a sunrise, "in all her perfect beauty."
• Rays shoot out from Mary's hands, which she told Catherine, "...
symbolize the graces I shed upon those who ask for them."
• Words from the vision form an oval frame around Mary: "O Mary,
conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."
Seen as a matrix, the elements of the front design encapsulate major
Marian tenets:
Quality of Our Lady As Illustrated by the Medal
• Mother Her open arms, the "recourse" we have in her
• Immaculate The words, "conceived without sin"
• Assumed into Heaven She stands on the globe
• Mediatrix Rays from her hands symbolizing "graces"
• Two hearts are depicted underneath the "M," the left lapped with a
crown of thorns, the right skewed by a sword. From each, a flame
emanates from the top. Again, employing a grid analysis, we can see how
the reverse-side design contains great symbolism reflecting major tenets
of the Catholic faith.
Design Element and its Catholic Meaning
• The large letter "M" — Mary as Mother, Mediatrix.
• Cross and bar — Jesus' cross of Redemption.
• 12 stars — 12 Apostles, who formed the first Church.
• Left Heart — The Sacred Heart, who died for our sins.
• Right Heart — The Immaculate Heart, who intercedes for us.
• Flames — The burning love Jesus and Mary have for us.
The Association of the Miraculous Medal, in Perryville, Mo., notes that
there is no superstition or magic connected with the Miraculous Medal,
nor is it "a good luck charm." Rather, it is "a testimony to faith and
the power of trusting prayer. Its greatest miracles are those of
patience, forgiveness, repentance, and faith." ( Association of the Miraculous Medal, 1811 W. St. Joseph St., Perryville, MO, 63775).
Apparently it has been reported that Bishop schneider told not to travel. From Fr. Z:-
Everyone knows that the plural of anecdote is “data”.
Something seems to be up.
First, Italian Vaticanista Marco Tosatti says that Francis, through the US Nuncio, is telling bishops not to invite Card. Burke to their dioceses, and if they can’t prevent his presence, not to attend the event. HERE
Another story was circulating that the Holy See had forbidden the great Bp. Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary in Astana, to travel. It seems, however, that they have only told him not to be outside of his diocese – except for necessary meetings of conferences, etc. – for more than the designated 30 days (can. 395 §2). HERE
The last thing they want is the circulation of certain ideas.
George Orwell wrote that some pigs are more equal than others.
It would be interesting to start a Bishop Watch effort. I wonder how many days bishops such as Card. Maradiaga or Cupich are outside their dioceses.
This is our monthly reminder to please enroll Souls of the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society. We now have 89 saying monthly and weekly traditional Latin Masses for the Souls.
Priests: The
Souls still need more of you saying Mass for them! Please email me to
offer your services. There's nothing special involved -- all you need to
do is offer a weekly or monthly TLM with the intention: "For the Souls
enrolled in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society."
How to enroll souls:please email me at athanasiuscatholic@yahoo.com and submit as follows:"Name, State, Country."If
you want to enroll entire families, simply write in the email: "The
Jones family, Ohio, USA". Individual names are preferred. Be greedy --
send in as many as you wish and forward this posting to friends as well.
Please
consider forwarding this Society to your family and friends, announcing
from the pulpit during Holy Mass or listing in your church bulletin. We
need to spread the word and relieve more suffering souls.
Please pray for the enrolled Souls and the 89 holy priests saying Traditional Masses for the Society:
"For all the souls enrolled in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society:
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon
them. May their souls and the souls of all the Faithful departed rest
in peace. Amen."
Then ...
Almighty and ever living God,
we ask Thy blessing upon the priests
who offer Masses for the Purgatorial Society.
Give them a greater awareness of the grace
that Thou dost pour out through the Sacraments,
and by their devout celebration of the Sacred Mysteries,
increase in them a love for Thee.
Give strength to Thy priests, O Shepherd of the flock;
when they are in doubt, give them the assurance of faith,
and in Thy goodness confirm them as heralds of Thy Truth
to all who seek to follow in Thy path.
We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal Priest,
Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity with the Holy Ghost,
The regular first Wednesday Latin Mass at St. Gregory's Church, Cheltenham, will take place on 7th Nov at 7pm in the Old Priory Hall.
Please note, that sadly there has been a message that this Mass will be cancelled unless more people attend. Attendance has dropped since the Mass was moved to the Church Hall (there are no kneelers etc.); before this, attendance was c.20-40,which is very healthy for a weekday.
Hopefully the Mass will be back in the main Church in December (unless it has already been discontinued by then).