Una Voce San Bernardino

http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2009/05/even-if-there-were-not-single.html 

“Today, thanks to the Motu Proprio, this situation is changing notably. And it is doing so in large part because intention of the Pope has not only been to satisfy the followers of Monsignor Lefevbre, nor to confine himself to respond to the just wishes of the faithful who feel attached, for various reasons, to the liturgical heritage represented by the Roman rite, but also, and in a special way, to open the liturgical richness of the Church to all the faithful, thus making possible the discovery of the treasures of the liturgical patrimony of the Church to those who still do not know it. How many times is the attitude of those who disdain them not due to anything other than this ignorance! Therefore, considered from this last aspect, the Motu Proprio makes sense beyond the presence or absence of conflicts: even if there were not a single “traditionalist” whom to satisfy, this “discovery” would have been enough to justify the provisions of the Pope.

“How many priests have been called “backward” or “anticonciliar” because of the mere fact of celebrating in a solemn or pious manner or simply for fully obeying the rubrics! It is imperative to get out of this dialectic.”

~Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship.

“In Every Place There is Sacrifice”

By Fr. Lasance

“Did you ever think that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is being offered in some part of the world every hour of your life? When it is midnight in New York, Masses are beginning in the churches of Italy. There ancient altars, at which Saints have knelt, are lit up with tapers, and the Vicar of Christ and thousands of priests are lifting holy hands up to Heaven. A little later and the bells of a thousand towers of France begin to sprinkle the air with holy sounds; and in every city, town and hamlet, kneeling crowds adore the chastening hand of God and pray for sinners who despise His ordinances.

“Chivalric and religious Spain catches the echoes, and when it is one a.m. in New York, offers the great Sacrifice in countless splendid churches. And then Catholic Ireland, the “Island of Saints”, which had during many centuries suffered for the Faith, rallies anew around the altars it would never forsake. At two o’clock and after, the priests of the islands of the Atlantic- perhaps the Cape Verde – white-robed and stoled and wearing the great cross on their shoulders, bend before the tabernacle. An hour later a courageous missionary lifts up the chalice of salvation on the ice-bound coast of Greenland.

“At half-past four the sacred lamps twinkle through the fogs of Newfoundland; and at five, Nova Scotia’s industrious population begins the day attending Mass. And now all the Canadian churches and chapels grow radiant as the faithful people – the habitant of the country, the devout citizen, the consecrated nun, and the innocent – hasten to unite their prayers around the sanctuary where the priest is awaiting them. At six, how many souls are flocking to the churches of New York, eager to begin the day of labor with the holiest act of religion! Many young people, too, gather around the altar at a later hour, like the fresh flowers open with the morning, and offer their dewy fragrance to Heaven. An hour later the bells of Missouri and Louisiana are ringing; and at eight, Mexico, true to her faith, bends before her glittering altars. At nine the devout tribes of Oregon follow their beloved black gown to their gay chapels, and California awhile loosens its grasp on its gold to think of the treasure that rust doth not corrupt.

“And when the Angelus bell is ringing at noon in New York, the unbloody Sacrifice is being offered up in the islands of the Pacific, where there are generous souls laboring for our dear Lord. And so the bells are ringing on, on, over the waters, and one taper after another catches the light of faith, making glad all the isles of the sea. At two the zealous missionaries of Australia are murmuring with haste, eager for the coming of Our Lords: “Introibo ad altare Dei.” And all the spicy islands of the East catch the sweet sounds, one after another, till at four in the afternoon China proves there are many souls who are worthy of the name of celestial by their rapt devotion at the early rite. Then in Tibet there is many a modest chapel where the missionary distributes the Bread of Life to a crowd of hungry souls.

“At six the altars of Hindustan, where St. Francis Xavier ministered, are arrayed with their flowers and lamps and the sacred vessels, and unwearied priests are hastening to fortify their souls before him Who is their life and their strength. At nine in Siberia, where many a poor Catholic exile from Poland has no other solace from his woes but the foot of the altar and the Bread of Heaven. During the hours when New York is gay with parties and balls and theatrical amusements, the holiest of rites is going on in the Indian Ocean and among the sable tribes of Africa, whose souls are so dear to the Saviour Who once died for all. At eleven in Jerusalem, the Holy City over which Jesus wept, where He wrought so many miracles, where He suffered and offered Himself a sacrifice for the whole world.

“When midnight sounds again in New York, the silver bells are tinkling again in every chancel in Rome. And so it goes on; the divine Host is constantly rising like the sun in its course around the earth. Thus are fulfilled the words of the prophet Malachias [1:11]: ‘From the rising of the sun even to the going down thereof, My name is great among the Gentiles; and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to My name a clean oblation: for My name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts.’”

A Glorious Transformation

The Traditional Latin Mass had been relegated to a nursing home chapel that seats about 45 people. There were usually two Masses on Sunday, except when, on occasion, one was canceled due to the lack of priests willing or able to say both Masses. That meant usually between 60 and 90 people came to the Sunday Masses over the past eight years.

Then, on the Second Sunday of Lent (Feb. 17), Fr. Francis McHugh, pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, invited us to have an inaugural Mass at his parish near Fort Sam Houston. What a miracle, considering no pastor had before even hinted at being sympathetic to the Traditional Latin Mass!

Here’s where it gets phenomenal and almost unbelievable in a religious climate that can only be described as hostile to the Traditional Latin Mass. He agreed to move an existing 12:15 PM Novus Ordo Mass to the 5:30 PM time slot. He allowed the Traditional Latin Mass to be moved to 12 noon to better suit the priest saying the Mass. He allowed a communion rail to be constructed. He allowed the high altar to be reconstructed and enlarged. Finally, he asked that the Traditional Latin Mass be said on First Fridays as well, so that the schoolchildren could be exposed to it!

The inaugural 12 noon High Mass attracted nearly 600 people to a church that seats 650. The collection was nearly double what the  12:15 PM Novus Ordo Mass had previously averaged. The Traditional Latin Mass, over ensuing weeks, has averaged around 400 people every Sunday, and the collection continues to exceed the previous 12:15 PM Novus Ordo Mass average.

St. Pius X now has a Wednesday 7 AM Traditional Mass attended by about 40 people, and a Saturday 8 AM Mass attended by about 80 people. The inaugural 8 AM First Friday Mass of March 7 (Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, patron of Catholic schools, according to the traditional calendar) had about 300 students and about 300 family members and parishioners present.

The Most Rev. Jose Gomez, our Archbishop, and Fr. Francis McHugh deserve a huge deal of credit for withstanding the barrage of criticism they have received for allowing the Traditional Latin Mass into the mainstream of Catholic life here in San Antonio.

The Rev. Fr. Donald Kloster
Hospital Chaplain, Archdiocese of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas

Excerpt from: Called to be Holy - Archbishop Timothy Dolan (OSV, 2005)

The years immediately following the council were climactic times: a lot of good, creative, vibrant, promising movement in the Church, all prompted by the genuine call for reform by the council; but also, unfortunately, a lot of doubt, error, hurt, confusion, and downright silliness. At the height of all this, Bishop Gottwald, a very effective but very plain country pastor who became an auxiliary bishop out of sheer obedience, was thrust into leadership.

One of his many crises was the state of the seminary. One-fourth of the priest faculty left the priesthood, the student body was decimated by departures, and the theology being taught was anything but of the Church. The priests who remained on the faculty announced they wanted to join an ecumenical theolo-gate, since, according to their interpretation of the council, it was useless to teach Catholic theology - since such a thing probably no longer existed.

They demanded the presence of the apostolic administrator at what was really a “campus demonstration” in the early spring of 1968, where they came to present him with their list of demands in front of the obligatory TV cameras.

Into this lion’s den walked Bishop George Gottwald, shy, nervous, wishing he was still an unknown pastor in the Ozark hills of southern Missouri. The leader of the faculty and students informed the bishop that Kenrick Seminary might as well close, since the whole enterprise of priestly formation and Catholic theology was up for grabs. In response, the bishop offered the comment that, even with the legitimate questioning and probing of the council, there were still clear, consistent truths that had to be taught any future priest.

“Hah!” snickered the faculty spokesman. “I dare you to tell me what we can possibly teach our students now that has not changed, that will not change, that can be stated with any amount of conviction at all! I dare you to tell me!”

The bishop’s mouth went dry, he recalls, as all eyes were on him, as the microphones clicked on and cameras whirled for a sound bite, as they waited for him to take the dare! And what did he answer?

“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.”

The Apostles’ Creed! A fundamental formula of faith expressed by the Church from near the beginning. This, my friends, was a man of ‘faith: In the midst of doubt, ridicule, snickering, and confusion, he dared to state that there are certain truths that can always be counted upon because they come from God and not from us!

New head of the Congregation of Divine Worship, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares LIovera, is interviewed:

Full Article

“As priest I taught Liturgy and Catechesis. As bishop, first in Avila, then in Granada and then in Toledo, one of my main concerns was that in the dioceses that the Lord had entrusted to me the Liturgy of the Eucharist should be celebrated everywhere with sobriety and beauty, and always in compliance with the rules of Church. The mass in fact is truly the source and summit of Christian life – as we were reminded by Vatican Council II – and therefore cannot be celebrated in unworthy fashion.”

“I think that a deepening and renewal of the liturgy was necessary. But in my own experience it was not a perfectly successful operation. The first part of the Sacrosanctum Concilium Constitution did not enter the hearts of the Christian people. There was a change in the forms, a reform, but not a true renewal as required by the Sacrosanctum Concilium. At times change was for the mere sake of changing from a past perceived as negative and outdated. Sometimes the reform was regarded as a break and not as an organic development of Tradition. Out of that came all the problems raised by the traditionalists attached to the rite of 1962.”

“More than anything else I would say that it was a reform that was applied and above all was experienced as an absolute change, as if a chasm has to be created between the pre- and post-Vatican II, in a context in which “pre-Council” was used as an insult.”

“The Council has been a blessing for the Church. I have always lived it not as a break with tradition but as a confirmation of the Tradition, updated so it can be offered to the people of today. I don’t believe I’ve changed in that.”

“I am not a man of the opposition a priori who likes to wage “war.” I always seek to meet and engage in dialogue. That does not prevent me, I repeat, from saying openly what my Christian conscience and my duty as pastor of the Church oblige me to say.”

“For the good of man and of the whole of society. We don’t want to impose anything. We want to be free to propose. We love freedom. Without freedom a society has no future. The danger today is that this freedom may be annulled.”

“Freedom is not possible without truth and without reason. The danger today is that of wanting to separate freedom from truth.”

“Even if it has upset some people it was an extraordinary gesture of ecclesial good sense. Whereby a rite that has spiritually nurtured the Latin Church for more than four centuries was recognized as fully valid. I think that this motu proprio is a grace that will fortify the faith of traditionalist groups that are already organically present in the Church and that it will help the return of so-called Lefebvrians… It will also be a help to everyone.”

“I have not had any contact with the so-called “Lefebvrian” world. As for the withdrawal of the excommunication my thinking is simple. It was an act of gratuitous mercy by the Holy Father to aid their full inclusion in the Catholic Church. It’s obvious that this can only happen after they recognize the whole Magisterium of the Church, including that expressed by Vatican Council II and recent popes. But we must recognize that unity is inseparable from the cross.”

“As is known the current discipline of the universal Church normally requires that communion be distributed in the mouth of the faithful. Then there is an indulgence that allows, at the request of the bishops, communion to be distributed onto the palm of the hand. This is worth remembering. The Pope, then, to give greater prominence to the due reverence with which we should approach the Body of Christ, decided that the faithful who take communion from his hands do so on their knees. It seemed to me a beautiful and uplifting initiative from the Bishop of Rome. The current rules do not require anyone to do the same. But nor do they prohibit it.”

“Life is really beautiful because it is a gift from God.”