Breaking - NPR.org: Supreme Court Justice Souter To Retire

Legal correspondent Nina Totenberg is reporting that Mr. Justice David Souter is retiring at the end of the Supreme Court term. Read the full story.

Late Evening Roundup - St. Catherine of Siena (EF) - April, 30th, 2009

• The Alphonsianum >> We are Pilgrims on Earth
• The Anchoress >> Should I pray before an abortion clinic?
• The Recovering Choir Director >> A case study in copywriting emulation

Evening Roundup - St. Catherine of Siena (EF) - April, 30th, 2009

• American Papist >> Pew Center: Only 46% of Americans believe abortion should be legal
• In the Light of the Law >> Dunningham is worth reading on Legion debacle
• New Liturgical Movement >> Gregorian Chant Lessons for Beginners in St. Louis
• New Liturgical Movement >> Colloquium Packet (Prelim) is done (for now)
• The Anchoress >> St. Catherine's Sons & Daughters
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Pope Benedict on St. Germanus of Constantinople
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Three must-read posts from Scelata
• The Recovering Choir Director >> An English-language choral Offertory proper for Easter Sunday

Early Afternoon Roundup - St. Catherine of Siena (EF) - April, 30th, 2009

• American Papist >> Flash: Former Laetare Medalist Judge John T. Noonan to deliver address at Notre Dame’s Commencement in lieu of Mary Ann Glendon (now 55 Bishops... take note!)
• OSV Daily Take >> Corroding the character of a nation
• WDTPRS >> WDTPRS: St. Pius V, Pope
• WDTPRS >> The Holy Father’s intentions for May
• WDTPRS >> Ali Acga In Come Free

St. Catherine of Siena (EF) - April, 30th, 2009

• Breviarium Romanum >> Mary Ann Glendon: "Non sedi cum concílio vanitátis: * et cum iníqua geréntibus non introíbo."
• Kansas Catholic >> Eucharistic Procession at Conception Abbey (MO) 5/3/09
• FIRST THINGS: On the Square >> The Little Flower (R.R. Reno)
• Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> "What is to prevent my being baptized?"
• RORATE CÆLI >> The Scapegoat Ranjith to Colombo (Be of good cheer! Never underestimate His Holiness...)
• The Catholic Thing >> Practical Romance (Brad Miner; Chesterton alert!)
• New Liturgical Movement >> Cistercians Found Monastery in Norway Near Mediaeval Cistercian Ruins
• WDTPRS >> Mexico City: Procession against the epidemic
• Whispers in the Loggia >> Tornando a Colombo (an Anglophone prelate... I can think of several)

Late Roundup - St. Peter of Verona (EF) - April 29th, 2009

• Kansas Catholic >> A Time for Prayer for Kansas Catholics (Sebelius reference)
• Kansas Catholic >> 2009 Mother's Day Rosary at Planned Parenthood in Overland Park, KS
• RORATE CÆLI >> Sweet Christ on Earth
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> The questions young people ask
• The Alphonsianum >> The Thought of Eternity
• WDTPRS >> Deplorable “Catholic Democrats” deplore Amb. Glendon
• WDTPRS >> Message in a bottle (MUST READ!)

Late Afternoon Roundup - St. Peter of Verona (EF) - April 29th, 2009

• New Liturgical Movement >> Catholic Life at the University of Notre Dame
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Style wars, the competent musician, and truly market-driven worship
• WDTPRS >> Bp. Tobin speaks powerfully about unnatural marriage
• WDTPRS >> Priest forgives suspect in confessional stabbing
• Whispers in the Loggia >> "The Lord Has Not Abandoned You"
• Whispers in the Loggia >> Vatican Daily on First 100: Less Bang Then Whimper

Early Afternoon Roundup - St. Peter of Verona (EF) - April 29th, 2009

• American Papist >> CNS begins delivering 300k+ protest signatures to Notre Dame
• Breviarium Romanum >> Benedict at L'Aquila: "Deus noster refúgium, et virtus: * adjútor in tribulatiónibus, quæ invenérunt nos nimis."
• The Black Biretta >> First Holy Communion
• New Liturgical Movement >> Confessing the Messiah: The Church's Confession of Christ in Jewish-Christian Dialogue - Bishop Müller's Statement Pt. I
• Whispers in the Loggia >> He "Expressed His Sorrow": First Nations Meet the Pope
• Whispers in the Loggia >> At April's End, Double Doctors

St. Peter of Verona (EF) - April 29th, 2009

• In the Light of the Law >> Beyond parody: a priest wearing a Nazi arm-band
• OSV Daily Take >> Jesuit USF: We ARE a Catholic university
• The Catholic Thing >> Give Me That Old-Time Toleration (Hadley Arkes)
• New Liturgical Movement >> EF Pontifical Mass in the Czech Republic
• New Liturgical Movement >> Sung Extraordinary Workshop, day two
• New Liturgical Movement >> Gregorian Vesperal for Easter Season Available
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Participatio actuosa and the next generation of church musicians
• WDTPRS >> Little Sisters of the Poor, Newcastle - TLM

The Daily Item: Second Carmelite community to move into Elysburg monastery

A friend sent this article to me. The Daily Item in Sunbury, PA is reporting that a second community of Discalced Carmelite nuns will be established in the monastery of Elysburg. The Order has been invited by Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Harrisburg, PA.

HARRISBURG -- Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg announced Friday that a second community of Discalced Carmelite nuns will be established in the diocese in the monastery in Elysburg. The new community will be founded from the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph of Valparaiso, Neb. They come to the Diocese of Harrisburg because of a constant increase of vocations to their monastery that has caused crowding.

Their community is currently at 33. The maximum number of nuns in a Carmelite monastery is about 21.

The Valparaiso, Nebraska Carmelites join the Danville Carmelites and the Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary in Lancaster as the third contemplative community of nuns in the 15 counties of the Diocese of Harrisburg. Bishop Rhoades said, “I feel incredibly blessed that we will now have three contemplative communities of nuns in our diocese. We welcome the Carmelite nuns from Nebraska whose lives of prayer and asceticism in the cloister remind all of us of our call to holiness.

“To these Sisters, I extend my deep gratitude for their coming to our diocese and for their prayers for all of us. Their presence and prayers are a gift to us from the Lord! May God the Father bless these, His daughters, consecrated for the glory of His Name,” the bishop said.

Mother Teresa of Jesus, Prioress of the Valparaiso, Nebraska Carmelite community expressed these thoughts, “We are very excited and grateful to make a foundation in the Diocese of Harrisburg.

“True to our Carmelite vocation our main work is our prayer life. We are praying for Bishop Rhoades, the clergy and all the faithful of the Diocese of Harrisburg, and we will do even more so upon our arrival.”

Read the full story here.

Evening Roundup - St. Paul of the Cross (EF) - Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

• New Liturgical Movement >> A Next Step Toward Solemnity
• New Liturgical Movement >> The Blog of World Library Publications
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: no Asperges or Vidi aquam
• WDTPRS >> SPAIN: Pro-lifers assaulted while collecting signatures against abortion
• WDTPRS >> war (Bp. Finn's description)

Late Afternoon Roundup - St. Paul of the Cross (EF) - Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

• American Papist >> Swine Flu means no precious blood in the Diocese of Austin
• American Papist >> Cardinal Rigali: "The truth is the opposite" in response to Doug Kmiec column in CNS
• RORATE CÆLI >> Cancelling Masses to stop an epidemic?
• The Alphonsianum >> Precious is the Death of the Saints

Afternoon Roundup - St. Paul of the Cross (EF) - Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

• Breviarium Romanum >> Swine flu in Mexico: "amove a me plagas tuas...Exáudi oratiónem meam, Dómine"
• Chronicles >> What is History? Part 28 (Clyde N. Wilson)
• OSV Daily Take >> Getting back to Catholic basics
• New Liturgical Movement >> The Divine Praises, in English, Sung
• New Liturgical Movement >> Confessing the Messiah: The Church's Confession of Christ in Jewish-Christian Dialogue - Introduction Pt. II
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: I was supposed to love the TLM, but I hated it!
• WDTPRS >> Prayer request for Card. Cañizares
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: when to turn to the people when saying Mass “ad orientem”
• WDTPRS >> Mattone su mattone in Roma!

St. Paul of the Cross (EF) - Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

• www.Chiesa.com (Sandro Magister) >> What the Bible Never Said
• Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> "give us this bread always."
• Preacher and Big Daddy >> Gaffer and Other Wonderful News
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> Film clip: priestly ordination ("The Cardinal," 1963)
• The Catholic Thing >> Confusion Confounded (Robert Royal on Mary Ann Glendon)
• New Liturgical Movement >> Confessing the Messiah: The Church's Confession of Christ in Jewish-Christian Dialogue - Introduction Pt. I
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Five more Responsorial Psalms to Gregorian chant melodies
• Transalpine Redemptorists at home >> The Alphonsianum (a new blog)
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: a proper genuflection
• WDTPRS >> WDTPRS congratulates Amb. Glendon
• Whispers in the Loggia >> "Comfort My People"

CDC - Influenza (Flu) | Swine Influenza (Flu) Updates

Here is a link to the CDC with information for you and your family from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Swine Influenza. You will also find the widget in the right menu just above my profile. Updates are frequent.

Evening Roundup - St. Peter Canisius - April 27th, 2009 (Post 2,000)

• American Papist >> Cardinal George reveails details of conversation with Obama
• Creative Minority Report >> So Who's Awarded the Medal Now
• Standing on My Head >> Capuchin Competition (humor alert!)
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> St. Fidelis Church, Kansas
• The Way of the Fathers >> Signs in Syria
• The Way of the Fathers >> Tunnel Vision

Media Alert: What is the Laetare Medal and who were the previous recipients?

Afternoon Roundup - St. Peter Canisius - April 27th, 2009

• American Papist >> Report: What Fr. Jenkins is telling top donors and ND officers
• American Papist >> Breaking: White House responds to Glendon Refusal
• New Liturgical Movement >> Archbishop Burke Celebrates Pontifical Mass in the Usus Antiquior in Lourdes
• New Liturgical Movement >> Potentialities of the Rood Screen Today
• Whispers in the Loggia >> Moving "Laetare"

Early Afternoon Roundup - St. Peter Canisius - April 27th, 2009

• American Papist >> Flash: Fr. Jenkins defiantly announces he will transfer Laetare Medal
• Breviarium Romanum >> Mexico City: "Laudans invocábo Dóminum...Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis" (Please pray for Mexico! She was just struck with an earthquake of magnitude 5.8!)
• Domine da mihi hanc aquam >> Glendon declines N.D. award
• WDTPRS >> Springfield, IL: TLM comeback

Noon (EDT) - St. Peter Canisius - April 27th, 2009

• American Papist >> Update: Expert commentary on Glendon's noble refusal
• Catholic Culture-Catholic World News >> Glendon declines commencement honor from Notre Dame
• In the Light of the Law >> Mary Ann Glendon brings good out of evil
• OSV Daily Take >> ND controversy: Mary Ann Glendon declines Laetare Award
• New Liturgical Movement >> Central Coast Gregorian Workshop, California

Breaking News: Mary Ann Glendon

Both Whispers in the Loggia and American Papist carried this story after it appeared to be broken by First Things as I posted above. If the First Things server is down, you can check the content of the letter at the two blogs. I've posted them in order by the "time stamp" on their post.

First Things >> Declining Notre Dame: A Letter from Mary Ann Glendon

This is jaw-dropping. I just saw this.

It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.

St. Peter Canisius - April 27th, 2009

• Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> "Do not work for food that perishes"
• New Liturgical Movement >> Mundelein workshop for priests and seminarians
• Standing on My Head >> Who Divorces Whom?
• The Catholic Thing >> Lingua Franca (Ralph McInerny; Professor McInerny prescribes Latin!)
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Hymns vs. propers at Mass--questions for reflection
• The Way of the Fathers >> Three Rivers Studium
• Whispers in the Loggia >> Coming Soon: Blessed Newman
• Whispers in the Loggia >> The Family That Tweets Together...

22:30 (EDT) - 2nd Sunday after Easter - Missa 'Misericordia Domini' - April 26th, 2009

• RORATE CÆLI >> Secularist Parisians try to snuff out SSPX Pilgrimage Mass
• The Catacombs >> A Very Helpful Book (check out this beautiful blog by Gretchen that centers on the Traditional Latin Mass!)
  
• The Catacombs >> Rite or wrong?

Visitors ask..."things"...No. 2

1- Someone was searching for "Canons of St. John Cantius (F.S.S.P.)". That is akin to searching for Boston Red Sox (St. Louis Cards). I'm afraid it is an apples and oranges comparison.

The Canons Regular of St. John Cantius can be found here. The F.S.S.P. is a separate Fraternity and the North American home can be found here. Note that both hyperlinks are listed in the Favorite Website and Blogrolls in the Right Menu. That is why my friend landed here. I have both groups listed.

2- Traditional Latin Calendar. This is a good question. I have seen several beautiful calendars (hard copy) that are now available for the year. I intend to buy one next year and will tell you all which one I choose. For now, there is no better place to look than here which is the online calendar used at the Seminary of the F.S.S.P. I am using it daily and it is listed in the "header" (blue field above) under Trad. Calendar - F.S.S.P.

Evening Roundup - 2nd Sunday after Easter - Missa 'Misericordia Domini' - April 26th, 2009

• American Papist >> Today: Notre Dame Eucharistic Procession
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> James MacMillan lambast The Tablet, defends bloggers
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> "I came to extirpate heresy"
• New Liturgical Movement >> The Proper Place of Propers
• New Liturgical Movement >> Good Shepherd Sunday
• Transalpine Redemptorists at home >> Mother of Good, Counsel pray for us!
• WDTPRS >> A great image

2nd Sunday after Easter - Missa 'Misericordia Domini' - April 26th, 2009

• American Papist >> Prayers: Swine flu empties Mexico City's churches
• Preacher and Big Daddy >> Easter Season Exegesis, Part I
• Propers for Missa Misericordia Domini >> Traditional Latin Rite Missal Project
• Traditional Latin Mass Propers in English >> Second Sunday after Easter
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: Communion in time of epidemic
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: Can I attend an SSPX ordination
• WDTPRS >> His Hermeneuticalness reviews a review

Visitors ask..."things"...

Visitors ask some interesting things. I can only imagine what ends up in Google within search strings.

• "Fr. Bill Billrose" - Father Bellrose is a priest of the Fathers of Mercy and writes the blog "Seminarians for Life." It is posted here fairly often...
• "How do you pronounce Maryland?" - This arises from those overseas quite often. I wish I could say "Mary's Land"--the original pronunciation. Instead, this covers it a bit more in detail.
  
• "Abbreviation for Maryland" - This was assigned by the US Postal Service, I believe. Well, MA was grabbed by Massachusetts; MB doesn't match a state; MC is the name of a famous pop singer of some time ago; so, the USPS gave us MD. They gave ME to Maine, etc. & etc.
  

Keep them coming...

Afternoon Roundup - St. Mark the Evangelist - April 25th, 2009

• Breviarium Romanum >> Dominica II Post Pascha: "Ego sum Pastor bonus"
• Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> Third Sunday of Easter: Know Jesus in the 'Breaking of the Bread'
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> Liturgy Debate Beginning
• New Liturgical Movement >> The Architecture and Liturgical Arrangements of St. Mary Magdalen, Brighton, England
• WDTPRS >> Feast of St. Mark: procession and litany
• WDTPRS >> Fr. Bugnini’s defense of Mass antiphons against vernacular hymns
• WDTPRS >> Archbishop Dolan hits the ground running in NYC

St. Mark the Evangelist - April 25th, 2009

• Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> "Be sober and vigilant."
• New Liturgical Movement >> Superior of FSSPX Announces New Rosary Crusade, Speaks of Doctrinal Questions
• New Liturgical Movement >> Scenes of Monastic Life at Abbaye Notre Dame de l'Annonciation
• New Liturgical Movement >> Cardinal Newman Poised for Beatification
• RORATE CÆLI >> The new SSPX Rosary Crusade
• Shouts in the Piazza >> Feast of Saint Mark
• WDTPRS >> A miracle approved for Ven. J.H. Newman?

CNA: Plan B decision treats pregnancy as disease, U.S. bishops' official says

CNA reported today that the F.D.A. has now made the "Plan B" contraceptive available to 17 year-old women without a prescription. Deirdre McQuade, Assistant Director for Policy and Communications at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, criticized the action:

“Levonorgestrel is a powerful drug, taken in two doses over a 12-hour period. It is 40 times more potent than comparable progestin-only birth control pills (Ovrette) for which a prescription is required.

“Wider access to Plan B could endanger the lives of newly-conceived children, and will put minors at risk for unnecessary side effects, undermine parental rights, and contribute to higher STD rates,” warned McQuade.

“Pregnancy is not a disease and fertility is not a pathological condition, so Plan B has no authentic therapeutic purpose, and can actually cause harm to women and their newly-conceived children,” she said.

McQuade commented that though the FDA describes “Plan B” as a contraceptive drug, the manufacturer admits that it may also prevent an embryo from implanting in the womb.

“Since it takes several days for the growing embryo to reach the uterine lining and implant in the mother’s womb, the child in his or her second week of life could die as a direct result of Plan B. This is properly understood as an early abortion.”

Without a doctor’s supervision, she said, many teens will be unaware of this possible abortifacient action and the other risks posed by the drug, especially when it is used repeatedly.

“Much to the surprise of the morning-after pill’s early advocates, five years of research in Europe and the U.S. shows that increased access to emergency contraception has failed to reduce rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion,” McQuade noted.

She said the drug’s distribution has led to “greater sexual risk-taking” among adolescents, which leads to a higher rate of sexually-transmitted disease.

“In the unlikely event a teenager will bother to read the Plan B package insert all the way to the end, she will find sound advice: ‘Of course, not having sex is the most effective way to prevent pregnancy and stay free of STDs,’” McQuade said.

Read the full story here.

Evening Roundup - St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen - April 24th, 2009

• American Papist >> Text: CUA President's Homily at the 2009 Cardinal's Dinner
• Chronicles Magazine.org >> What is History? Part 29 (Clyde N. Wilson)
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> New Bible from Baronius (I have been awaiting the release of this!)
• The Recovering Choir Director >> “In aeternum cantabo”

Late Afternoon Roundup - St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen - April 24th, 2009

• New Liturgical Movement >> Usus Antiquior on EWTN (LIVE MISSA CANTATA FOR GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY, April 26th, 8 AM EDT)
• New Liturgical Movement >> Fr. Kirby Weighs in: Hymns vs. Propers
• New Liturgical Movement >> >The Parish Book of Chant Moves Forward (now available on Amazon and other outlets!)
• New Liturgical Movement >> Learn the extraordinary form through singing
• WDTPRS >> A lesson in how groups work to politicize the Notre Shame controversy
• WDTPRS >> How to light the really tall candles

Afternoon Roundup - St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen - April 24th, 2009

• In the Light of the Law >> Three thoughts occasioned by Fr. Mullady's Q&A column
• The Recovering Choir Director >> SMTV Vol. II, No. 4.4 - Regina Caeli, organ improvisation
• WDTPRS >> 19 June: NYC - Pontifical TLM
• WDTPRS >> QUAERUNTUR: some questions about Mass
• WDTPRS >> VIS: NOTE CONCERNING PUBLICATION OF DOCUMENTS ON PIUS XII
• Whispers in the Loggia >> The Lisbon Papacy

The Mass in Slow Motion - Msgr. Charles Pope, Archdiocese of Washington Blog

A kind soul sent me a link to the blog of the Archdiocese of Washington on which Msgr. Charles Pope has begun a series called, "The Mass in Slow Motion." The series has just begun and is focused on the Ordinary Form. It is written very well and filled with great information.

Here are the first two installments:

The Procession and Entrance Song

The Altar is Reverenced

Please bookmark this blogsite and continue to follow the beautiful series!

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen or Anniversary of the Coronation of the Supreme Pontiff, Benedict XVI - April 24th, 2009

• Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> "you may even find yourselves fighting against God."
• New Liturgical Movement >> Can Hymns Licitly Replace Propers
• New Liturgical Movement >> Results on the Poll on the Language of the Readings in the Usus Antiquior
• RORATE CÆLI >> Pope addresses PBC on the Divine Inspiration and Truth of Scripture
• Standing on My Head >> Poem for Easter
• The Catholic Thing >> UNICEF Promotes Abortion in Latin America (Austin Ruse)
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Singing the Mass versus singing at Mass - the last word?

Evening Roundup - St. George or Feria in Paschaltide (EF) - April 23rd, 2009

• New Liturgical Movement >> The Ceremonies of St-Eugène, Paris
• OSV Daily Take >> Faculty union: Jesuit University of San Francisco "not a Catholic school"
• Standing on My Head >> Resurrection or Reincarnation?
• WDTPRS >> How to receive Communion on the tongue (or “Don’t bite the priest!”)
• Whispers in the Loggia >> Into the Earth (Archbp. Dolan and Ground Zero)

16:00 (EDT) Roundup - St. George or Feria in Paschaltide (EF) - April 23rd, 2009

• American Papist >> Listed: Arch/Dioceses on Twitter
• OSV Daily Take >> New encyclical due June 29?
• Preacher and Big Daddy >> Rocking the Wrong Red
• WDTPRS >> Kicking it up a notch: our Catholic identity - Fr. Z rants
• WDTPRS >> 23 April Proclamation: Talk Like Shakespeare Day ("Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York...")

Afternoon Roundup - St. George or Feria in Paschaltide (EF) - April 23rd, 2009

• New Liturgical Movement >> Alcuin Reid Reviews Fr. John Baldovin's Critique
• The Anchoress >> Jesus on the Seashore
• Catholic Review Online >> Air Force hopes scholarship draws more service chaplains
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> St. George's Day

St. George or Feria in Paschaltide (EF) - April 23rd, 2009

• American Papist >> Report: 6 dioceses vacant, 11 overdue for replacement in U.S.
• American Papist >> Bishop Conlon restores Friday abstinence from meat in Diocese of Steubenville (What a stupendous idea! Many traditionalists still abstain!)
• www.Chiesa.com (Sandro Magister) >> Anselm of Aosta: a "formidable thinker" among the modern prophets of nothing
• Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> "We must obey God rather than men."
• OSV Daily Take >> A personal look at the Catholic school crisis
• The Black Biretta >> Happy Feast Day to Our British Brethren Across the Atlantic
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Gloria XI, in segmented MP3 files
• WDTPRS >> Notre Dame to hold Eucharistic procession this Sunday
• WDTPRS >> Help c-fam.org
• Whispers in the Loggia >> Today in the Southwest: Sitting Wall

Tom Dillon vs. the Relativists | Dr. Paul Kengor | April 22, 2009

Carl Olson posted a portion of this to the Ignatius Insight Scoop blog. It is a very fine tribute by Dr. Kengor, and I pray that many have a chance to read it. The employment of the Socratic method in a "great books environment" suggests that Thomas Aquinas College is something very special.

Speaking of which, I remember one particular anecdote that Dillon shared with me, which illustrates the sorry state of American higher education--and the uniqueness of Dillon and his college. Dillon had been at a recent meeting of university presidents. A matter of morality came up. One of the presidents, naturally assuming they were all secular relativists--excellent odds--casually chimed in: "There are no absolutes."

It was sophistry as old as Pilate, "What is truth?" and, more ancient still, as naked as the Garden of Eden, "Ye Shall Be as Gods." The first of sins that precipitated the fall: pride.

Dillon's students and faculty dispatch these things in their education, whereas the inhabitants of the universe of the other presidents flee these truths like a vampire bolting from a cross. As they converse with Truth, neither Dillon nor his school suffer post-modern platitudes. Their pope, Benedict XVI, decries the global scourge that is the "Dictatorship of Relativism." Nowhere is the specter as pervasive as in the American classroom.

And so, amid the nods and chuckles of the other university presidents, Dillon, no shrinking violet, refused to tolerate this affront to faith and reason. He quickly protested: "Are you absolutely certain about that?"

"Quid est veritas?" A question we heard only recently on Good Friday...

Evening Roundup - SS. Soter and Caius (EF) - April 22nd, 2009

• FIRST THINGS: On the Square >> Of Icons and PomoCons (The Editors)
• The Black Biretta >> Extraordinary Form in Commonwealth Capital City
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> Sacred art and chant for primary schools
• New Liturgical Movement >> Chants of the Church, Modern Notation
• New Liturgical Movement >> Some Considerations of the Lateran Mass of Cardinal Cañizares
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Searchable Gregorian chant database
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: Justify ad orientem worship in light of GIRM 299
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: choosing not to go to Sunday Mass if it is not a TLM

Saint Bernadette, Silver Spring, MD - Usus Antiquior, Ascension Thursday, May 21st

I just received an email announcing a TLM (Usus Antiquior) to be celebrated on Ascension Thursday at Saint Bernadette Catholic Church in Silver Spring, MD:

Msgr. Smith will say the TLM on Ascension Thursday, 21 May, 7:30 PM; Victoria's "Missa Ascendens Christus" sung by Chantry

Please mark your calendars!

Late Afternoon Roundup - SS. Soter and Caius (EF) - April 22nd, 2009

• American Papist >> Breaking: Bishop D'Arcy says Jenkins "simply wrong" about Obama invitation defense
• American Papist >> Commentary: What Bishop D'Arcy's Statement Means
• Breviarium Romanum >> "Ástitit regína a dextris tuis in vestítu deauráto: * circúmdata varietáte."
• RORATE CÆLI >> "Christ did not die for the sins of the people..."
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Sacred music must reflect the sanctity of the words
• WDTPRS >> Davenport, IA - 13 June - Extraordinary Form workshop for laity
• WDTPRS >> Consecration of Mexico to the Holy Spirit
• WDTPRS >> Clear correction from Bp. John D’Arcy (where Notre Shame is)
• WDTPRS >> The accelerating exclusion of God from the public square (see Maryland below)

"Maryland 1776, Preamble We, the people of the state of Maryland, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty…"

Afternoon Roundup - SS. Soter and Caius (EF) - April 22nd, 2009

• Acton Institute Power Blog >> Notre Dame, Georgetown and President Obama (Fr. Robert Sirico)
• American Papist >> Update: Why Fr. Jenkins is in DC (Thomas has been on this story since yesterday)
• American Papist >> National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, May 7/8th (Archbishop Raymond Burke as keynote speaker)
• Whispers in the Loggia >> Greed at the Root

Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, Ann Arbor, MI

A few days back, I did a post on the "Nashville Dominicans." I just received my quarterly newsletter from the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist and they have a beautiful new website! Please take the time to look over this site. The thing that is so beautiful about both of these Religious Orders is the utter joy in the faces of the young women who have consecrated themselves to God!

The Dominican Sisters of Mary are holding a Vocations Retreat for young women in May. I have begun to post these type of things to the Events Calendar shown in the header in the month of May. Note that the May Retreat has a link back to the Sisters' own website.

Please let me know if you have events that you wish to post!

One more thing, Una Voce America has updated its website and it is beautiful as well. I have it linked in the Blogroll and Favorites Menu to the Right.

Update 4/23/2009: I received a very kind email from the Dominicans Sisters of Mary thanking me for my post. Sister asked if I would place a link to their website in the Blogroll and Favorites Menu to the Right? I have done so. Sister is hoping to see more young women attend their Vocation Retreats from our region. I hope some women from this area respond to her request!

SS. Soter and Caius (EF) - April 22nd, 2009

• Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> "tell the people everything about this life"
• Seminarians for Life >>Cardinal Rouco warns that 'crime of abortion casts shadow over history'
• Standing on My Head >> The Resurrection and Theological Sleight of Hand
• The Catholic Thing >> Intransigent Historical Claims (William Saunders)
• New Liturgical Movement >> Significant Nominations for the Congregation for Divine Worship
• WDTPRS >> Lateran - Cañizares - TLM - Brick By Brick
• Whispers in the Loggia >> In B16's Vatican, Doctrine Is the Best Medicine

Evening Roundup - Feast of Saint Anselm - April 21st, 2009

• New Liturgical Movement >> Cardinal Cañizares Pontificates in the Usus Antiquior at the Lateran
• New Liturgical Movement >> Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of CDW, Celebrates Solemn Pontifical Usus Antiquior Mass in Lateran Today
• New Liturgical Movement >> Usus Antiquior in Cobh Cathedral
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> Latin and English Altar Cards
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> Beautiful Devotional Cards
• WDTPRS >> NatRev: Fr. Sirico on Pres. Obama at Georgetown
• WDTPRS >> St. Anselm - 900 years

Ignatius Insight Scoop: Ron Howard, Angry & Demeaning?

Carl Olson pens a factual analysis of the upcoming movie, "Angels & Demons," the follow-up (actually the prequel) to the book-made-movie by Dan Brown, "The Da Vinci Code." In short, it is anti-Catholic; William Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has pointed that out already. Olson, however, reveals the errors aplenty.

Will it change any minds about seeing this movie? I don't know. As the saying goes, "De gustibus non est disputandum."

Late Afternoon Roundup - Feast of Saint Anselm - April 21st, 2009

• Catholic Review Online >> Archbishop to host health care symposium (Paul McMullen; first annual event is scheduled for May 9th)
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: going to another diocese for traditional Confirmation
• WDTPRS >> St. Coleman’s, Cobh, Ireland: Easter Monday TLM

Afternoon Roundup - Feast of Saint Anselm - April 21st, 2009

• In the Light of the Law >> A canonical look at Saint Louis' new archbishop
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Divine Mercy chant settings - unsolicited compliment and report
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: Choosing Communion on the tongue or hand?
• WDTPRS >> Sarasota, FL: new church dedicated for the traditional Roman Rite
• WDTPRS >> Vice. Pres. Biden to receive award at Georgetown University
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: acts of piety during Consecration/Elevation
• WDTPRS >> A CALL TO PRIESTS who implemented ad orientem worship

Feast of Saint Anselm - April 21st, 2009

• American Papist >> Complete Coverage: St. Louis gets its next Archbishop (Archbishop Robert J. Carlson)
• Catholic-Hierarchy News >> Moynihan retired, Cunningham named Syracuse Bishop
• www.Chiesa.com (Sandro Magister) >> The City of Florence Has a Special Defender: Its Bishop
• Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> 'You must be born from above.'
• The Catholic Thing >> "Us vs. Them" Populism (George Marlin)
• WDTPRS >> Archbishop Carlson of St. Louis
• Whispers in the Loggia >> All Eyes on Carlson

NLM: Seminarians of Mount St. Mary's Seminary

Shawn Tribe posts another story on the Solemn High Mass from Harrisburg, PA and the seminarians of Mount Saint Mary's Seminary Schola. One of the comments contains photos linked on Flickr.

Evening Roundup - Monday of the Second Week of Easter - April 20th, 2009

• Acton Power Blog >> Happy Patriots’ Day
• American Papist >> Legion of Christ to expand into U.S. Catholic higher education?
• OSV Daily Take >> Shaw: A case for preserving marriages
• RORATE CÆLI >> Cardinal Zen and the Traditional Rite
• The Recovering Choir Director >> "Save money. Save the liturgy. Save the world"
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: Taking a RCIA group to a TLM - advice
• WDTPRS >> Harrisburg, PA: Solemn Mass Video (Mount Saint Mary's Seminary Schola sang and seminarians assisted!)
• WDTPRS >> First Holy Communion

Visitors ask...Religious Communities

From time to time, I still receive searches for specific Religious Communities located within the area. The Archdiocesan website under the heading "Clergy & Religious Life" has links to Communities of Religious Men and Communities of Religious Women. Some are found within the Archdiocese at specific locations as you can see.

Afternoon Roundup - Monday of the Second Week of Easter - April 20th, 2009

• American Papist >> Vatican demands UK newspaper issue "immediate and unambiguous" retraction
• Telegraph.co.uk (Damian Thompson) >> Vatican tells Times to retract 'completely untrue' story about Pope's gift to Charles and Camilla
• Ignatius Insight Scoop >> A New Front in the Church’s Civil War (Carl Olson previews an editorial by George Neumayr)
• The Recovering Choir Director >> Gray-area physical reproduction of copyrighted ritual texts and attendant royalty issues
• WDTPRS >> Card. Cañizares (CDWDS): the “great campaign of liturgical formation”
• WDTPRS >> POLL: The Catholic Press - printed publications
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: real wax candles or oil inserts in fake candles
• WDTPRS >> Bp. Finn: “We are at war”
• WDTPRS >> “I feel like I’ve been deceiving myself about what it means to be a ‘traditional Catholic’.”
• WDTPRS >> SHHHHHSSSSers

Monday of the Second Week of Easter - April 20th, 2009

• American Papist >> Update: Embryonic Stem Cell Research
• Breviarium Romanum >> "Et praecinxisti me virtute ad bellum"
• Dignare Me, Laudare Te Virgo Sacrata >> Solemn High Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Virginia
• In the Light of the Law >> Are "family annihilators" owed a Church funeral?
• Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> "Amen, amen I say to you, unless one is born from above"
• The Black Biretta >> We Will Be Keeping An Eye On You
• Preacher and Big Daddy >> Shakespeare Compendium
• The Catholic Thing >> Church and Sect (Robert Royal)
  
• New Liturgical Movement >> Cardinal Cañizares on Communion Received Kneeling
• Whispers in the Loggia >> Four Years Ago Today (posted yesterday)

Visitors ask...English translation for "oculi"

These kinds of questions appear often. The best solution is a good Latin/English dictionary but those would be rare in most homes. So, let's try online.

First, we go to the RIGHT MENU containing Blogroll and Favorites and find Latin Dictionary by Babylon.

We type in the word "oculi" (strangely similar to "ocular" isn't it which refers to "eye") and click DEFINE. This is what results:

Webster's Unabridged, 1913:

Oculi

(pl. )
of Oculus

So, oculi means "eyes."

Since the phrase came from the 'Missa Oculi Mei', and since the Introit begins, "Oculi mei (this is plural) semper ad Dominum," the meaning of the phrase is "My eyes are ever towards the Lord..."

Evening Roundup - Low Sunday or Divine Mercy Sunday - April 19th, 2009

• Catholic Church Conservation >> Former Queen of Peace church to become mosque, youth center
• Standing on My Head >> The Bitter Pill
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> The Ceremonies of the Freemasonic Rites Described (re-published by Baronius)
  
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity >> Bishop O'Donoghue with the Holy Father
• New Liturgical Movement >> NLM Interview with the Editors of the Usus Antiquior Journal
• New Liturgical Movement >> What To Do About Tethered Texts
• WDTPRS >> QUAERITUR: Abstinence on Easter Friday