From the New Liturgical Movement:

Tomorrow Pope Benedict will celebrate Pontifical Vespers as the first Vespers of the first Sunday of Advent, which also marks the beginning of the new liturgical year.

On this occasion, the Holy Father will begin to use a new pastoral staff. As Msgr. Guido Marini, the Papal Master of Ceremonies, tells tomorrow’s edition of the Osservatore Romano:

Similar in shape to the ferula of Pius IX so far in use this can be considered to all intents and purposes the pastoral staff of Benedict XVI.

Like the ferula of Bl. Pius IX in 1877, the new staff is donated to the Pontiff by the Circolo San Pietro, a Roman association founded in 1869 in support of the papacy. It is slightly smaller and lighter than the ferula of Bl. Pius IX.
On the front side of the new ferula is depicted in the centre the Lamb of God, and on the four points of the cross, the symbols of the four Evangelists. The arms of the cross are decorated in a net-like pattern which evokes the fisherman whose successor Pope Benedict is. On the backside there is in the centre the Chi-Rho, the monogram of Christ, and on the four points of the cross, four Fathers of Occident and Orient, Augustine and Ambrose, Athanasius and John Chrysostom, the same who also carry Bernini’s cathedra. On the top of the shaft is the coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI.

SOURCE: New Liturgical Movement

Vespers will be broadcast on EWTN on Saturday 28th November at 16.00 GMT

By Father Longenecker

http://gkupsidedown.blogspot.com/2009/11/why-modernist-christianity-will-die.html

1. Modernists deny supernaturalism and therefore they are not really religious. Now by ‘religion’ I mean a transacton with the supernatural. Religion (whether it is primitive people jumping around a campfire or a Solemn High Mass in a Catholic Cathedral) is about an interchange with the other world. It is about salvation of souls, redemption of sin, heaven, hell damnation, the afterlife, angels and demons and all that stuff.

Modernists don’t deal in all that. For them religion is a matter of fighting for equal rights, making the world a better place, being kind to everyone and ’spirituality’. It doesn’t take very long for people to realize that you don’t have to go to church for all that. So people stop going, and that eventually means the death of modernist Christianity. The first generation of modernist Christians will attend church regularly. The second will attend church sometimes. The third almost never. The fourth and fifth will not see any need for worship. They will conclude that if religion is no more than good works, then the religious ritual is redundant.

2. Modernism is essentially individualist and not communal. Each person makes up his own mind about matters. Therefore when it comes to religion the fissiparous nature of modernist religion will become more and more acute. Individuals with firm opinions will form ever smaller and more passionate groups with like minded people and the smaller the groups, the more they will eventually wither and die.

3. Modernism is also subjective and sentimentalist. It eschews doctrine and favors individual spirituality and sentimental responses to doctrines and moral issues. It is not long, therefore, before the individualist and sentimentalist inclinations drive a person from a church that is dogmatic and demanding. Modernists will prefer their own spirituality and emotional experiences to any sort of formal religious commitment. Thus the modern admission, “I’m interested in spritituality but not religion.” When this attitude prevails, modernist religion dies.

4. Modernism is historically revisionist. They re-write history according to their prejudices. In religious terms this means they are cut off from tradition. They are therefore cut off from the life-stream of real religion. As they cut themselves off from the tradition they will only have the latest religious gimmick, fad or adaptation to contemporary culture. Such an ephemeral attitude cannot provide for long term sustained religious longevity.

5. Modernists contracept and abort. They don’t have enough children to train up in their religion, and those children they do have are often taught that freedom of choice is a higher virtue than commitment or duty in religion. So they will lose the next generation to either real religion or paganism.

6. Modernism makes no great demands for its devotees to be religious. Ask any modernist, “Why should I come to Church?” What would he answer? “You don’t have to come to church. It’s there if you want it. If it does you good, and makes you feel better, we’re here to serve you.” Modernist Catholic priests wring their hands and wonder why no one comes to Mass anymore. It’s because for forty years they’ve been saying, “It’s not really a mortal sin to miss Mass. You should come because you love God, not because you fear him.” While this sentiment may be laudable, they shouldn’t therefore be surprised if no one comes to Mass.

7. The modernist himself does not really understand why anyone should be religious. He started out as a religious man believing in sin, redemption and the supernaturalist story. He became modernist gradually and all the time continued his religious practice, but he has never stopped to ask why such a thing should be necessary. If he is honest and asks himself the question he will soon stop the practice of his religion too. Unless, of course, he is a clergyman. If he is a religious professional he would have to get another job, so it is easier to keep the show on the road.

8. Modernists allow for moral degeneracy and that saps the strength out of real religion. Devotees of  all supernaturalist religions demand moral purity, self discipline and restraint. Real religion requires self discipline. The modernist sees religion not as self denial but self fulfillment. Hedonists will soon realize that religion–even in its watered down modernist form–is not worth the trouble.

9. Modernists aren’t actually much fun. In my experience they’re a joyless lot, always on some sort of serious, smug and self righteous campaign, not infrequently with a whiff of the conspiracy theorist about them. That can’t last.

10. Modernists are dull. They’ve so little imagination and are so literal about everything. They do not rejoice over the seeming absurdity of religion. In fact, they are frightfully respectable. They always go with the crowd, especially if that crowd pretends to be ‘radical’ or ’subversive’ in a ‘chattering classes’ kind of way. That attitude is the kiss of death to real religion.

HOLY HOUR FOR PRIESTS

In honor of the “Year for Priests” recently inaugurated by Pope Benedict XVI, EWTN will air a special Holy Hour on the First Friday of each month. The Holy Hour presided over by the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word.

4th December, 05.00

HOMAGE TO THE IMMACULATE

On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father will preside over the traditional homage to Mary Immaculate in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna.

8th December, 15.00      Encore: 22.00

MASS IN REMEMBRANCE OF FULTON SHEEN

From St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, Holy Mass in remembrance of the 30th anniversary of the death of the Servant of God, Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

9th December, 22.30
CATHEDRALS ACROSS AMERICA
Solemn Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe (From San Antonio)

From San Fernando Cathedral, Holy Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrated by the Most Reverend Jose H. Gomez, Archbishop of San Antonio.

12th December, 17.00

LIFE IS WORTH LIVING
Ep.109 Sawdust Brains

Archbishop Sheen explains the effect of Christmas on the world.

27th December, 17.00                         31st December, 10.00

DEVOTION TO CHRIST
Ep.DTC09807 Devotion to the Christ Child

Father Benedict Groeschel explores the history and meaning of devotion to the Christ Child.

23rd December, 00.30         27th December, 22.30

CHRISTMAS WITH THE NUNS

Join the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration from Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama for special Christmas music and devotions.

23rd December, 04.00         26th December, 22.00

SOLEMN MASS  OF CHRISTMAS EVE WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI

Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord:  Mass with the Holy Father from St. Peter’s Basilica.

24th December, 21.00                  Encores: 25th December, 13.00, 18.00

CHORAL MEDITATIONS ON THE NATIVITY

Live from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC, USA. Musical Composition for the Birth of Our Lord

25th December, 03.00

URBI ET ORBI: MESSAGE AND BLESSING

From St. Peter’s Square.  Join the Holy Father for his inspiring Christmas Day message to the world on the celebration of Christ’s birth.

25th December, 11.00             Encores: 25th December, 17.00.  26th December, 04.00

VESPERS OF THANKSGIVING

The Holy Father will preside at the first vespers of thanksgiving at the year’s end in St. Peter’s Basilica.

31st December, 17.00

ALL TIMES ARE DUBLIN GMT

www.ewtn.com

EWTN is financed solely by donations from viewers, how about a small (or large) financial Christmas present that will keep this wonderful Apostolate on air…

From an E-mail received today:

The next Masses in the diocese of Limerick will be on the 6th and 20th of December and on the 3rd,6th and 17th of January respectively. As is usual the celebrant will be Father Wulfran Lebocq of the Institute of Christ the King.
All Masses will be celebrated at St. Patricks Church, Dublin Rd, Limerick City at 11.15am.

If you would like to pass on any news which may be of interest to our readers E-mail us:

semperfidelis45@yahoo.ie

The following are extracts from a homily by Archbishop Martin for the Feast of St Lawrence O’Toole in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin.

“The history of the Church shows us that reform in the Church comes from a different source.  It begins with conversion and a turning back to Gospel message interpreted as Jesus interpreted that message and as it has been interpreted in the tradition of the Church.”

“Reform and renewal in the Church comes in a very special way from reform of the Shepherds.  It is they who must lead the way through the witness of their own lives.  Today, when one talks about reforms in society one of the first words to emerge is transparent.  In reform of the Church the primary transparency must be the transparency of the message of Jesus Christ.  That message must be transparent in the lives of the Shepherds of the Church.”

…

“Change requires renewal and conversion on the part of all.  Change in the Church is never just about new structures.  It is too glib to think that change in the Church will come about primarily through debate in a secular environment about Church discipline.  This is all the more so in the light of the fact that more and more today the terms of the debate – especially concerning marriage and conjugal morality – have different meanings in society and in the Church.”

I know, I know I put a video up earlier promoting the CD, but having actually listened to part of it now I am having regrets. From what I’ve heard it’s truly awful, the only redeeming aspect of it being that proceeds will be donated to the musical education of children, hopefully better music than ‘Music from the Vatican’.

Damien writes: “The result, we are told, “transcends musical, religious and cultural boundaries”. Actually, what it transcends is every consideration of good taste”. Is this really what Pope Benedict signed up to?

With all the advances in recent years in Sacred Music from the Vatican, this really smacks of adding a high profile name to flog a tired album. It’s just unfortunate they had to pick on the Pope!

“How did the producers manage to acquire and mix tapes of the Pope saying prayers in various languages and briefly singing in Latin? It seems like the most terrible indignity to visit on the Successor of Peter, to say nothing of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in whose praise these ancient texts were written.”

They say it’s the first CD from Pope Benedict but it seems so out of character. We have a wonderful Pope who is a cultured lover of classical music. It’s miles away from the beautiful musical traditions of the Church, Gregorian Chant and Polyphony…it just has the feeling of being wrong.

“So there you have it: Gregorian chant meets Hollywood meets the Standard Tandoori, with the enthusiastic participation of the Roman authorities. The Catholic Church may have abolished the Inquisition, but it still knows the meaning of torture.”

It is disappointing that they could not have drawn more on the wealth of the treasury of Sacred Music in the tradition of the Catholic Church, such as CD would have stood the test of time much better.Time will tell I suppose…

On Life on the Rock, EWTN, Fr. Robert Fromageot, who teaches at Our Lady of Guadalupe, speaks about Gregorian chant. It is a very interesting interview, beginning at 17:00. He speaks about “learned perceptivity” and how the values and understanding we bring to chant influences our comprehension of its meaning.

Fr. patiently explains such terms as “introit” and “Asperges” – and he is wise to do so, but it is notable that he does so with the knowledge that most all of the Catholic viewers do not know these terms.

The seminary’s rendition of the Da Pacem introit played here is very interesting and compelling.

SOURCE: New Liturgical Movement

Mass commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Dedication of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Bishops of the United States will celebrate Mass commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Dedication of the National Shrine.  Archbishop Wuerl will be the principal celebrant.  Bishop Bransfield will be the homilist.

19th November 22.00 GMT

Papal meeting with Artists

Pope Benedict XVI will meet with artists in the Sistine Chapel.

21st November, 10.00 GMT

Vespers for the Start of Advent

From St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Vespers for the start of the Season of Advent.

28th November, 16.00 GMT

Make Pope Benedict XVI Number 1 this Christmas!!!