Traditional Latin Mass in Maryland

Carl Olson of Ignatius Insight Scoop has a nice synopsis of the ongoing story of Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver and the controversy over a proposed bill that would attack religious identity in social services. Here is just a portion of the story: Archbishop Charles Chaput called House Bill 1080 an "attack on religious identity" in his weekly column appearing in last week's Denver Catholic Register. He subsequently answered questions about the bill in an e-mail exchange with the Rocky Mountain News: Q: The most straightforward interpretation of your column suggests that you will shut down Catholic Charities if this bill - or any bill - passes which restricts your ability to hire or fire based on Catholic religious standards. Is that a correct reading of what you will do? Chaput: No. Catholic Charities will continue its core mission to the poor with or without public funds. If the government wants to carry the burden it currently asks religious-affiliated group

Fr. John Trigilio (who often appears on EWTN) has a wonderful blog called " The Black Biretta ." He has a new post on dissent in the Church . Here is an excerpt: ...One hundred and nine years ago, on January 22, 1899, Pope Leo XIII issued his encyclical Testem benevolentiae nostrae which condemned the heresy of Americanism . This pernicious theological error proposed that there are no absolute moral principles or immutable doctrines. It held that truth was relative and that the personal conscience is the sole and supreme arbiter of ethical behavior. Americanism denied the necessity of cultivating a well formed conscience, tested and guided by the Natural Moral Law and the Divine Positive Law of God Himself. Coach Majerus should get his money back from the Jesuits at Marquette who taught him. They did not teach him the truth. Morality is not subjective but objective. Imagine if a basketball player tells the coach he disagrees with him and will follow his conscience instead.

Marcel LeJeune of the Catholic Ministry at Texas A and M has a neat little FAQ posted about Lent . This was linked from Ignatius Insight Scoop and I thought it too neat to pass up: LENT FAQ What is Lent? Lent is a time when the Catholic Church collectively enters into preparation for the celebration of Easter. Lent originally developed as a forty-day retreat, preparing converts to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. Lent is a season of conversion. Conversion is the process of turning away from sin and turning to God. Lent starts with Ash Wednesday (this excludes Sundays, which are not part of the 40 days) and ends on Holy Thursday, the first day of the Triduum, the three holy days before Easter. So why aren't Sundays part of Lent? This is because Sundays are always a day of celebration of Christ's passion and Resurrection, so we celebrate on these days. Does this mean I can "cheat" on Sundays? Since Sundays are not part of the penitential season, you do not

Fr. Z. reports on a breaking event which he learned by email : Dear Friends, I have great news for all of you: the University today approved the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Liturgy for the campus. Their statement is as follows: The Traditional Latin Mass In response to those students who have demonstrated their commitment to the extraordinary form of the Latin rite Mass, Franciscan University will celebrate its first Traditional Latin Mass i n Christ the King Chapel on Sunday, March 30. Those interested in being trained as altar servers or assisting in other ways should contact Rob Palladino, director of Chapel Ministries (Ext. 6506). The time of the Mass will be announced at a later date, once Chapel Ministries has determined the length of time needed to temporarily transform the Chapel into the proper environment for the Traditional Latin Mass and how that impacts the rest of our Sunday Mass schedule. As we take the next step in this unfolding process, the Franciscan Fri

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.

Insight Scoop has a fascinating take on the showdown between basketball coach, Rick Majerus, the Jesuits and the Archbishop of Saint Louis, Archbishop Burke centering on Saint Louis University. Here is just a snip taken from the American Spectator and posted on Insight Scoop : George Neumayr, editor of Catholic World Report , writes this in a special report (Jan. 28, 2008) for American Spectator : In 2003, Jesuit St. Louis University (SLU) received an $8 million tax abatement to start building a sports arena. This annoyed the Masonic Temple Association, whose property abuts SLU. Arguing that a religious school should not receive government monies, the Association filed a federal lawsuit to block the abatement. The case was ultimately dismissed, but not before exposing the utter shamelessness of Jesuit officials at the schools. To fend off the suit, they told a Missouri appellate court that SLU is "independent of the Catholic Chu

Shawn Tribe of The New Liturgical Movement found this gem and posted a link to the website . The site offers Latin Dictionaries, books on Liturgical Latin and other gems. The menu to the right has links to learning Latin, the Vulgate, and other resources of interest. Please visit this site. One can even subscribe to a Latin Nerd Warriors Newsletter . How can you turn down THAT invitation! See one below!

Gerald Augustinus of "The Cafeteria is Closed" reports that the TLM has returned to Huntsville, AL : Una Voce Northern Alabama has more photos and information . The church was packed with some 400 people, many of them young parents with their children. Upcoming: SUNDAY, FEB. 3 LOW MASS 2 PM Blessed Sacrament, BIRMINGHAM, AL SUNDAY, FEB. 10 LOW MASS 3 PM St. Mary of the Visitation, HUNTSVILLE, AL SUNDAY, FEB. 17 LOW MASS 2 PM Blessed Sacrament, BIRMINGHAM, AL SUNDAY, FEB. 24 LOW MASS 3 PM St. Mary of the Visitation, HUNTSVILLE, AL AUTHORIZED BY BISHOP BAKER Schola forming in March (for more information contact organistAL@aol.com On a sad, sad note , he reports on a "Pop Circus Mass" from France. Click this link only if you dare... The photos are quite upsetting.

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

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. Z. informs us that today is Sexagesima Sunday , the "sixtieth" day before Easter (in a broad and not absolutely numerical sense). In the traditional Roman calendar this Sunday is called Sexagesima, Latin for the “Sixtieth” day before Easter. This number is more symbolic than arithmetical. Last week was the first of these pre-Lenten Sundays, Septuagesima or “Seventieth. The pre-Lenten Sundays prepare us for the discipline of Lent, which once was far stricter. Purple is worn rather than the green of the season after Epiphany and there is a Tract instead of an Alleluia. The prayers and readings for the pre-Lenten Sundays were compiled by St. Gregory the Great (+604). In the Novus Ordo of Paul VI there is no more pre-Lent, which was a real loss. COLLECT : Deus, qui conspicis, quia ex nulla nostra actione confidimus: concede propitius; ut, contra adversa omnia, Doctoris gentium protectione muniamur. I don’t think this prayer in any form survived to live in the Novus O

Zenit reprints the address of Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo at Loyola College in Baltimore, entitled "The Sanctity of Human Life from Conception to Natural Death" given on November, 15th. The presentation was part of the Loyola Alive Seamless Garment Series . ...As Catholics we believe in the dignity of human life. In the book of Genesis we hear how the Creator has created the human being in his image and likeness, male and female, he created them (Genesis 1:26ff.). God blessed the first couple and gave them a command to be fruitful and multiply. They are given the power to share in God's creation through their sexual intimacy. Life is a gift freely bestowed by the Creator, a good that is to be received. Of all creatures that God has created, only human beings share in his image and likeness and are given the ability to know, receive and return the love of God. The dignity of human life is determined by God and thus is always to be protected. The Catechism of the Cathol