Traditional Latin Mass in Maryland

Shawn Tribe of the New Liturgical Movement carries part of a fascinating interview from Petrus . The interview is with Chilean Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estévez, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 1998 to 2002. Here are two small snippets: Eminence, some inside of the Church continue to oppose the Motu Proprio 'Summorum Pontificum'… "Unfortunately it is true, but it is also necessary to remember that the Mass according to the rite of St. Pius V has never been abolished and though it is currently considered 'extraordinary', it has the same right to citizenship in the Church and the same dignity as the 'Novus Ordo' of Paul VI. It should be remembered that the bishops who were opposed to Motu Proprio of Benedict XVI are perfectly free to express their opinions civilly, but, ultimately, are required to be obedient and respect for the Pope, who is the only universal pastor of the Holy Roman Church...&q

Father John has an interesting story on the Archdiocese for the Military Services and their situation in implementing Summorum Pontificum . It is a story worth examining considering the huge number of Military personnel in the VA-MD-DC area.

Great news linked to the blog Summorum Pontificum ! Laus Deo! Go Irish!

Dr. Phil Blosser has posted an interesting analysis of Summorum Pontificum by Michael P. Foley on his blog, " Pertinacious Papist ." The piece he posts consists of excerpts from a much longer article from his blog, Scripture and Tradition . The article is well worth reading! Note too that I have added Pertinacious Papist to my Blogroll!

Gregor Killmorgen of the New Liturgical Movement has a great story about the Rev. Dr. Guido Rodheudt and his experiences in introducing the TLM at St. Gertrude-Herzogenrath Parish in the diocese of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen), Germany . It is a must read . Note also the Network of Parish Priests of which Fr. Rodheudt is a member.

Patrick Archbold at Summorum Pontificum found a great news story . The National Catholic Register has a story by Valerie Schmalz entitled, "Ite, Missa Est . Interest in ‘Extraordinary Form’ of the Mass Growing on Campus." Here is just a bit: [...] “The Mass is the Mass, but the traditional Latin Mass seems more sacred,” said Leah Turner, a junior at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. “It seems to capture the tradition of the Church more.” Notre Dame, Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif., Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., and St. Vincent College are among the colleges that began to offer the Mass of Blessed John XXIII shortly after the Summorum Pontificum’s effective date of Sep. 14. Ave Maria University in Naples, Fla., plans to offer it soon and Franciscan University of Steubenville will offer its first such Mass on March 30. Summorum Pontificum, which the Pope issued on his own initiative or motu proprio, said that the Mass according to the Missal of

Patrick Archbold of Summorum Pontificum expands a great deal on Fr. Z's post below on the letter from the PCED to a seminarian. His entry too is a must read . Patrick also provides a link to Damian Thompson of Telegraph.co.UK which is marvelous. The title of his article? What else? Revolution in the seminaries .

File this in the "just in case you missed it" file. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf of WDTPRS does the commentary; Bishop Burbidge of Raleigh, NC does the text or letter. I'll let you read the results here . It is quite interesting....

Fr. Z. has written a review of the hand missal from Baronius Press on his blog . I have to confess that I use the newest version called the "Summorum Pontificum" edition (the entire document is reprinted in the Missal). The missal has an imprimatur and forward by Bishop Bruskewitz of the Diocese of Lincoln, NE and is referred to by the F.S.S.P. as "their" missal. It is a beautiful book and I will allow Fr. Z. to explain why he likes it so. Please see the review for further features of this text . Note that Angelus Press also has a beautiful missal which may be the chief competition to this one.

Fr. Zuhlsdorf received a copy of a letter sent to priests in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C . The letter was sent in PDF format but he reproduces one segment on his blog: In the near future, Archbishop Wuerl will appoint a Coordinator of the Extraordinary Form to serve as chaiman of the special committee. Because the archbishop has the responsibility to foster a common discipline in the celebration of the sacrament within the archdiocese (C. 392), his permission must be received prior to making any permanent commitments by a parish for the public celebration of the Extraordinary Form on a regular basis. This also is in accord with Article 5 of Summorum Pontificum which state that public or regularly scheduled Masses be offered under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favoring the unity of the whole Church. To request this permission pastors first must seek the review and counsel of the Coordinator of the Extraordinary Form, who will

Fr. Rob Johansen , in response to an interesting post by Amy Wellborn , writes a very thoughtful commentary on issues relating to the TLM on his blog, Thrown Back . Fr. speaks about a photo of a priest celebrating Mass " ad orientem ," in which Amy asked for respondents to comment. He writes, in part: Amy asked people for their reactions to the photo, and the reactions were themselves thought-provoking and revealing. What they seem to reveal is something I have noticed before in many of the negative reactions to Pope Benedict's Motu Proprio and to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, otherwise known as the " Tridentine " rite. What is apparent to me is that many of the objections are ideological rather than theological or spiritual. Here are a list of some of the words and phrases used in the negative reactions to the photo, or other objections and complaints about Summorum Pontificum and/or the Extraordinary Form that have appeared in the media since la

A hat tip to Rorate Caeli which posted a link to this story from Zenit regarding the Society of St. Pius X . Cardinal Assesses Impact of "Summorum Pontificum" By Mary Shovlain ROME, JAN. 13, 2008 ( Zenit.org ).- Six months after Benedict XVI issued an apostolic letter on the extended use of the 1962 missal, the Vatican says it is seeing fruits of reconciliation with Catholics who objected to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. "Summorum Pontificum," allows for more availability of the Latin-language Mass, a rite the document dubs the "extraordinary form." The letter, issued "motu proprio" (on his own initiative), brought attention to the situation of schismatic groups such as the Society of St. Pius X, that refuse to celebrate the "Novus Ordo" Mass established by Vatican II. Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos told ZENIT that after the June 7 document, one group has already asked to return to full communion with the Church

The Curt Jester blog has an "exclusive preview" of the document coming down from the Ecclesia Dei Commission. This is a "must see." The National Review has a nice article on the "resurrection of the aesthetics of the Mass by Pope Benedict XVI" by Michael Knox Beran . The Hawaii Catholic Herald reports that Bishop Silva, his Vicar General and several priests are learning to read the TLM . Good reading!

The Summorum Pontificum blog has a link to a fascinating article posted on the blog Catholic Church Conservation . A portion of the post is cited here: A prerequisite for the request for the old Mass is the existence of a "fixed group of believers." The German Bishops are attempting to use this point against the Motu proprio 'Summorum Pontificum'. The latest edition of the German theological journal 'Una Voce Correspondence' has published an article with the title "A Canonical Note on " Summorum Pontificum "and its practical implementation". The author is the Right Revd. Father Wolfgang Rothe, Canon Lawyer and former Subregens of the Seminary of St. Pölten. The paper deals with the question of how big a group of believers must be to request the old Mass, or whether such a group needs to be of a particular size. Father Rothe also raises the problem, as to what is to be understood by the phrase "enduring existance" of this grou

Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae, ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte; et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria. The publication of the Motu Proprio , Summorum Pontificum , by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, has opened the Traditional Latin Mass to the faithful more widely. As the " usus antiquior ," the "extraordinary form" can be said by all priests privately at their discretion and publicly in those locations where a group wishes to participate in this form of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The greater availability of the TLM has been amazing as even the lay press has amply documented. The Mass was celebrated this weekend as part of the Triduum of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in New York . A Req