What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

Today I did some touring and seeing of sights. This morning it was off to Valley Forge, bright and early. I enjoyed especially the statue of Gen. von Steuben, the Prussian, overlooking the grounds where the first organized Army was trained and drilled.

There is a lovely Episcopalian chapel on the grounds, well worth visiting. The glass in the chapel depictes the life of George Washington, inter alia. Here is a detail from the glass of the General in prayer.

Then we zoomed down to Philadelphia to the historic city center and visited many places including Independence Hall.

And finally, we had to have a bit to eat. And since I very much enjoy speaking ENGLISH in the USA, we went to Geno’s for a proper Philly Steak.

It was a perfect day, with sunshine and low humidity.

I have compressed the mp3 file for the sermon for the High Mass in the Cathedral of Camden for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The file was originally pretty high quality and therefore huge, but I compressed it a bit. It is still about 15MB.

For those of you who care to hear the entire sermon, here it is.

For those of you who care to hear the very end of the Hail Holy Queen at the end Mass, here it is.

Yesterday in the Cathedral of Camden (NJ) a Solemn High Mass using the 1962 Missale Romanum was celebrated for the feast of the Assumption. The cathedral was full and many clergy were present in proper choir dress. The sacred ministers were from Mater Ecclesiae, a canonically established mission of the diocese which functions as a parish having use exclusively of the older liturgical books. Fr. Robert Pasley is the rector of Mater Ecclesiae and was celebrant of the Mass. The altar boys were both in great quantity and quality, serving with reserve, attention and precision. You could tell they truly enjoyed doing what they were doing.

The music was in Gregorian chant and the ordinary of the Mass was an instrumental/choral setting by Antonio Caldara (+1736). There were motets and other pieces by Palestrina, Corelli, and the world premier of an Ave Maria by Harold Boatrite. The later was at the offertory and was very fine. Your’s truly was the homilist for the Mass. I made a connection between the Magnificat (the Gospel for the Mass) and the proper understanding of "active participation". At the end, a fine setting of Hail Holy Queen for the choir, orchestra and congregation raised the roof, I am sure, several inches off its mooring.

I had the great pleasure of meeting many readers of my weekly columns in The Wanderer as well as a few participants and readers of this blog project. It was a wonderful occasion and I extend both my gratitude and congratulations to all involved.

Yesterday, by the way, was also the Feast of St. Alypius, who was the life long friend of St. Augustine of Hippo, who became the bishop of Augustine’s home town. Here is his entry in the Martyrologium Romanum:

5. Commemoratio sancti Alypii, episcopi Thagastensis in Numidia, qui sancti Augustini olim discipulus, postea in conversione socius, in munere pastorali collega et in certaminibus adversus haereticos commilito strenuus ac demum in caelesti gloria consors fuit. ... The commemoration of Saint Alypius, bishop of Thagaste in Numidia, who having once been the student of Saint Augustine, later was his companion in conversion, his colleague in pastoral care and a fellow soldier, strenuous in their battles against heretics, and later his fellow participant in heavenly glory.