Traditional Latin Mass in Maryland

The National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes is one of the oldest American replicas of the revered French shrine, dating to about two decades after the apparitions at Lourdes (1874), although the site had already been in use for more than seventy years as a place of prayer and devotion. The Grotto was proclaimed a Public Oratory on December 8, 1965 by His Eminence Lawrence Cardinal Shehan, Archbishop of Baltimore. A place of pastoral beauty and spiritual inspiration, the Grotto draws hundreds of thousands of religious pilgrims and tourists annually. CLICK to enlarge...

You probably have heard the story on the news by now: an orthodox Archbishop has publicly questioned a Division I basketball coach at a Roman Catholic University within his Archdiocese about the coach's pro-abortion comments while the coach protests all the while to be "Catholic." What are to we make of this as the talking heads on ESPN and other outlets tell the good Archbishop to "mind his own business?" Fortunately, a superb canonist , Edward N. Peters, writes a blog on Canon Law called, In Light of the Law, and he has weighed in on the case : I'm not making this up. Jesuit-run St. Louis University's basketball coach Rick Majerus (yes, a basketball coach) is telling St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke (yes, the canonist archbishop ), to mind his own business regarding Majerus ' outspoken support for (get ready for it) abortion and experimentation on embryonic humans ! If it weren't that expressing support for such deeply offensive conduct i

Shawn Tribe of the New Liturgical Movement reminds everyone that the Annual Sacred Music Colloquium of MusicaSacra.com is filling up quickly . The event this year is listed as: “Seven Days of Musical Heaven” June 16-22, 2008 (Monday noon through Sunday morning) Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois Sponsored by the Church Music Association of America The website lists all of these as part of the event: Extensive training in Gregorian chant and the Renaissance choral tradition under a world-class faculty; You can choose between three chant fundamentals classes, four advanced chant classes, and three large polyphonic choirs; Choral experience with large choir singing sacred music of the masters such as Palestrina, Isaac, Victoria, Byrd, Tallis, Josquin, and many others; Daily liturgies with careful attention to officially prescribed musical settings; Residency in new, apartment-style dormitories or optional hotels; Breakfast, lunch, and dinner from a varied menu ; Training in vocal pro

Jeff Culbreath of the Stony Creek Digest posts a story on the TLM at Ave Maria University in Naples, FL . It was reported that the TLM would return to Ave Maria under Fr. Fessio. Now Bishop Dewane of Venice, FL has released this statement of further clarification: “Due to the demand for the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, both from Catholics residents in Ave Maria Town as well as from students, faculty, and staff at Ave Maria University, and in accordance with ‘Summorum Pontificum’, it is fitting that a Sunday Mass be celebrated on campus in the Extraordinary Form. In keeping with the same manifest desire, it would seem opportune that the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite be celebrated on a daily basis at the University, and at a convenient time. Further, it is noted that, in accordance with ‘Summorum Pontificum’, unscheduled Masses can also be celebrated by priests on campus , in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.” As Jeff said in commenting o

FSSP transform a modernistic free-standing altar into a very beautiful High Altar. The church that this took place in is in France and is now operated by the Fraternity of St. Peter. The complete time for this "Altar-ation" was just about 15 minutes! The music is Jeanne Barbey's "Te Deum."

The Signal, News from Santa Clarita Valley, California, carries a story by Tammy Marashlian on how two priests restored a treasured recording of a High Mass : When Father Dominic Radecki, priest of Queen of Angels Church in Newhall, and his twin brother, Father Francisco Radecki, priest of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wayne, Michigan, realized that their original live recording of a traditional Latin Mass was deteriorating, they knew something had to be done. “Because it was so beautiful, we wanted to preserve it,” Francisco Radecki said. “It would have been lost.” Fortunately for them, the two happen to have an extensive background in sound engineering, something they picked up through school programs when they were young. Already having most of the necessary equipment, the two set to work examining, editing and re-recording the six miles of reels. The result of their efforts is the compact disc “High Mass Recorded Live,” which they believe embodies the meaning of Latin Mass and puts

To mark a somber anniversary, that of the decision of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court, it is appropriate to recall the remarks made by Mother Teresa at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994 . (“Mother Teresa Goes to Washington.” National Prayer Breakfast , Washington, D.C; February 5, 1994). The words are as poignant today as they were then and will be always... On the last day, Jesus will say to those on His right hand, “Come, enter the Kingdom. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was sick and you visited me.” Then Jesus will turn to those on His left hand and say, “Depart from me because I was hungry and you did not feed me, I was thirsty and you did not give me to drink, I was sick and you did not visit me.” These will ask Him, “When did we see You hungry, or thirsty or sick and did not come to Your help?” And Jesus will answer them, “Whatever you neglected to do unto one of these least of these, you neglected to do unto M

Dr. Jeff Mirus comments on an article in Commonweal on clerical morale written by a priest from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Fr. Paul Stanosz . Mirus' article appears on the site, Catholic Culture . The essay responding to Fr. Stanosz' observations hits hard and raises deep issues. For example, Mirus says this: What are we to make of an article which, in the process of concluding that there is nothing to be done, displays such an animus against precisely those spiritual solutions which have ever been at the heart of a vibrant Catholicism? What does it all mean? That’s the question which makes the article so fascinating, the question to which it is critical to understand the answer. For what it all means is that the Milwaukee mindset is so far gone in its sins that the only way open is despair. The so-called spirit of Vatican II which has wielded such a terrible power for the past forty years was nothing more than a euphoric baptism of secular utopianism. After such a lon

Before entering "superstar" status in the religious blogosphere, Fr. Zuhlsdorf wrote (and still does) a wonderful column for The Wanderer called "What Does the Prayer Really Say?" As he says today in his Sunday blog post : Some of you who are more recent readers of this blog may not know that for years I have written a column in The Wanderer about liturgical translations. I have compared the original Latin texts of prayers with the official ICEL versions and picked them both apart. The column has had great success, and has wound up being rather influential, I am happy to say. More importantly it has helped many people understand that our prayers for Mass have a profound content, nay rather, a divine content: the true content of our prayers in Mass is the divine Person, Jesus the High Priest, the Head of the Church lifting prayers to the Father. For the first seven years of the WDTPRS column I looked at the prayers of Mass with the Novus Ordo. This year I a

Father Martin Fox of "Bonfire of the Vanities" has posted an interesting article called "Ad Orientem ." Fr. Fox suggests that the intent of the Holy Father in using the ad orientem posture in his Mass at the Sistine Chapel was to bring this subject into the fore. Here is a snippet: Now, you will most often hear this posture referred to as, "the priest with his back to the people." Well, that's accurate to some degree but unhelpful. How often do we refer to us having our backs to each other? Even in "churches in the round," a good number of people sit with their backs to people behind them; yet no one seems to think this is somehow a slight from one to the other; and the reason is because we are concerned with what we're turned toward --i.e., toward the Lord. So why is it that we all understand the need for everyone in church to be turned toward the Lord...except for the one leading our worship, offering the Sacrifice for us, in our nam

Shawn Tribe of the New Liturgical Movement posts a story from the Catholic Herald by Dr. Alcuin Reid on the Papal Mass at the Sistine Chapel. Here is a portion of this essay: "What matters is looking together at the Lord." These words, written eight years ago by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, explain a subtle but decisive liturgical reform being enacted through the personal example of Pope Benedict XVI. The latest and perhaps most striking step in this reform took place on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord when, as has become customary, the Pope celebrated Mass in the Sistine Chapel and baptised newborn infants. As papal ceremonial goes, this is not usually a grand liturgical occasion: the Mass is in the vernacular and is largely said, not sung. Yet it was precisely there – in perhaps as close to a parish setting as papal ceremonies often get – that the Holy Father chose to make a significant liturgical adjustment. Instead of celebrating the liturgy of the Eucharist at a te

Once again, Fr. Z. has found a gem! The Chabanel Psalm Project is a complete collection of Psalm responses set for organ for use at Mass . As the site states: The Chabanel Psalms (generally speaking) are modal and based on Gregorian chant. They were harmonized using a very eloquent system of Gregorian modal harmony. However, many of them need not be accompanied by the organ. Then, too, many of the responses (and, actually, even the verses themselves) can be sung in harmony, but this is only recommended for groups that read music very well. The Psalms are presented as PDF files that are free for download . Please visit the site and browse. There is much to discover! And, don't forget to inform your Pastor about this resource!