Traditional Latin Mass in Maryland

A Priest Life >> On Church norms regarding sexual abuse: "It is absolutely clear that these norms did not seek, and have not favoured, any kind of cover-up " The Curt Jester >> Laetare Sunday (Vestmints... awesome!) The Curt Jester >> HuffPo defense of Pope Benedict XVI The Way of the Fathers >> Grave Matter (Good'un, Mike !) Vultus Christi >> And what are you singing today ? Vultus Christi >> I come blind to the radiance of eternal light WDTPRS >> To those who desire to accommodate WDTPRS >> Interview with the CDF's "prosecutor" of priests who commit "graviora delicta " WDTPRS >> WDTPRS - 4th Sunday of Lent - Prayer over the people (2002MR) Whispers in the Loggia >> On Mercy Whispers in the Loggia >> Che Gioia: For 2010 Laetare, Poetry Trumps Politics

ADW Blog >> Awesome or Awful? Studying the “Christ in Majesty” Mosaic at the National Basilica Ars orandi >> Collect of the Day: Thursday in the Third Week of Lent A Trail of Flowers >> Kinder AUL Action >> Yoest Announces New, All-Out Push to Defeat Pro-Abortion Health Care (here it is...now or never...) Bill Petro >> History of Daylight Saving Time – Why do we Spring forward ? Catholic Spiritual Direction >> What if I just don’t like to pray at all ? Chiesa.expressonline.it (Sandro Magister) >> Cardinal Biffi Really Doesn't Like That Book Creative Minority Report >> Women Are Dying...But It's For a Good Cause Meeting Christ in the Liturgy >> Thursday, Lent Wk 3: "Listen to my voice " New Liturgical Movement >> The Consecration of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary Chapel - An Account of the Ceremonies (Part 2) New Liturgical Movement >> The Treasure of the Shroud RORATE CÆLI >> You Report...

The New Liturgical Movement >> Preface to the New Edition of the Roman Breviary The New Liturgical Movement >> What English Propers Should We Sing? WDTPRS >> An election prayer (Fr. John Hardon, S.J.) WDTPRS >> Wilmington: Bp. Malooly corrects Sen. Biden in the newspaper WDTPRS >> A "transitional" ad orientem proposal www. Chiesa.com >> In the "Opera Omnia" of Ratzinger the Theologian, the Overture Is All about the Liturgy (Sandro Magister)

www.Chiesa: Focus >> At Lambeth, Cardinal Kasper Calls for Another Newman (Sandro Magister) RORATE CAELI >> A Historian Observes the Catholic Moment. One year of Summorum Pontificum and the SSPX (Professor Luc Perrin) The Recovering Choir Director >> Juventutem photos - final list (Aristotle returns to posting!) St. Peter Canisius Apostolate >> Friday: a Day of Penance (this is also discussed at length by Jimmy Akin for further reading) Standing on My Head >> Kolbe and Therese (two of my favorite saints!)

Sandro Magister's weekly post is on the Vatican Library . While the actual library is closed for extensive renovations, the material accessible via the internet now is amazing. The new website provides news on the status of the restoration work. But above all, it gives access to the catalogs of the works kept in the library. The main new development is that in addition to the catalog for printed works, there is now also a catalog for manuscripts. For now, it contains a limited amount of information. But it has already been supplemented – for the manuscripts accompanied by complete descriptions – with a selection of images freely available for view. Read more here .

Chiesa.com >> The Old Form of the Neocatechumenal Mass Is Illicit (Sandro Magister) RORATE CAELI >> Tornielli: SSPX-Rome Agreement near Summorum Pontificum >> Return of the SSPX? The New Liturgical Movement >> Tornielli: Agreement between Holy See and Lefebvrians - the Countdown [UPDATE] (Gregor Kollmorgen)

Sandro Magister has a fascinating post in Chiesa.com about the necropolis uncovered beneath the floor of St. Peter's Basilica . When the emperor Constantine built the basilica, in the fourth century, he wanted the apse to be set right above the tomb of the apostle. And to bring the nave up to the same level, he had covered with earth all of the tombs that, after Peter's, sloped gently down toward the Tiber river. In the 16th century, a larger basilica, the current one, was built in place of Constantine's, and at a higher level. In any case, for sixteen centuries no one excavated beneath the floor of the basilica. It was Pius XII, in 1939, who began the archaeological exploration. And in a few years the digging uncovered not only the tomb of Peter, beneath the main altar of the basilica, but also 22 other tombs lined up along the ancient road, for a stretch of about 70 meters, about 10 meters beneath the central nave of the church. In 1998, the Vatican authorities ordered ...

Sandro Magister in Chiesa.com summarizes the issues of pro-abortion politicians openly receiving Communion in the U.S. in his latest article . A capsule of this story appeared in Ignatius Insight today which links to the full story here. The note to the American Bishops in June, 2004 by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger , Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is included in Magister's story.

Sandro Magister of Chiesa.com has an excellent post on the "Catholic Biblical Federation...survey in thirteen countries on "The reading of the Scriptures. " The results are quite interesting to say the least. The survey is in preparation for the Synod of Bishops in October.

WWW.Chiesa Online published two stories relating to the Baptism of Magdi Cristiano Allam by Sandro Magister. The first is here and the second, published today, is here .

The issue of the change to the petitions within the Extraordinary Rite made by Pope Benedict XVI in the Passion Service of Good Friday has now abated a bit. Sandro Magister of Chiesa.com reports on some interesting developments as reported today . Some leading representatives of the Jewish world had protested vociferously against the new formulation ordered by Benedict XVI for the prayer for the Jews in the liturgy of Good Friday according to the ancient rite. An authoritative response has now come to these protests, in a note published in the latest edition of "La Civiltà Cattolica," the magazine of the Rome Jesuits printed after line-by-line scrutiny by the Vatican secretariat of state. Moreover, in recent days important personalities of the Catholic Church and the Jewish world have spoken out in defense of the new formulation: from one side, archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the pontifical council of culture, and from the other, rabbi Jacob Neusner (in the ...

Sandro Magister has been posting in Chiesa.com the "running discussion" over the inclusion of "abstract art" in the new Italian Lectionary . The first post was a discussion by two experts, one "pro" and the other "contra. " The second post is a contribution from Archbishop Giuseppe Betori, Secretary of the CEI who defends including the abstract art in a letter. I am far from an expert on art. I will allow you to click on either or both posts, to see examples and to decide for yourselves. I only report...you decide!

Sandro Magister in Chiesa.com r eports on the meeting "behind closed doors" with heads of Religious Orders on February 18t h. The article documents the situation with respect to the Jesuits and Dominicans that has been reported widely, but also documents some startling rebirths : As for the blossoming of "new experiences of consecrated life" faithful to doctrine and rich in spirituality in vocations, here also Benedict XVI did not cite any specific cases. But there are many of these. Some, although not very well known, are astonishing. One of these, for example, is the Institute of the Incarnate Word. Founded by Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela in 1984 in Argentina, in the city of San Rafael in the province of Mendoza, after just a quarter century it counts today, in its men's branch, 302 priests, 21 deacons, 195 seminarians studying philosophy and theology, 51 novices, and 95 students in the minor seminary. Its generalate house and its center of formation are in...

Sandro Magister writes a marvelous article in www.chiesa on the changes in the Roman Curia and how those are assisting Pope Benedict XVI. Here are just a few snippets from this excellent review. First: 1. In "L'Osservatore Romano" on January 5, cardinal Cláudio Hummes, prefect of the congregation for the clergy, announced that he had sent to bishops, pastors, religious superiors, and seminary rectors all over the world a letter to ask that in every diocese "cenacles" of perpetual Eucharistic adoration be established, with the aim of "sanctifying" priests through prayer. Among the motivations for the initiative, Hummes explicitly referred to the sexual "sins" committed on the part of a "minimal" but still significant part of the clergy: "We ask all to do Eucharistic adoration in order to make reparation before God for the grave injury that has been done, and to recover the dignity of the victims. Yes, we wanted to think of ...