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

This just in:

Sophia is 6lbs 15oz 19 inches. More info soon. See pic to right in sidebar.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

 

WDTPRS congratulations to Dominc and Melanie. 

Tonight I am in election coverage bliss. 



I was watching the Fox News Channel coverage (whom I worked for during "Papal April") on the computer via my SlingBox (from the other room) and the live internet Fox News feed from their Strategy Room, which Carl Rove called the "Strategery Room".

Does it get better than this?



You could toggle back and forth between Brit Hume and Carl Rove.

Political commentary genius.

And lest you think I had my computer all tied up, I did have an alternative.

Earlier, I enjoyed Brit Hume’s comment that the graphic behind them looked like something from Battlestar Galactica!  And it did!  Obviously he is a fan.

Once upon a time, I used to be good at making sauces from scratch.  You know the stuff… Hollandaise… Poivre vert… etc.  ( I worked as a cook to pay for grad school.)

Since my last two trips to the UK, I have become aware of Bearnaise again.  As a matter of fact, the last two times I had lunch with His Hermeneuticalness, Timothy Cont. Fingan, and Mulier Fortis they had, I believe on both occasions, steak with … yes… Bearnaise sauce!

I determined I would reconquer my saucier side.

So, last Sunday I made a little steak (NY strip) with some asparagus and bearnaise for myself.

Then this last Sunday, Laetare, I wound up in the Twin Cities at the home of a friend and had, low and behold, steak with bearnaise!

Here are the steaks in a "before" shot…

The wine had to breathe…

What was it?

The steak in an "after" shot.

Laetare indeed.

 

You might recall that I posted a letter sent by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (PCED) to a questioner asking about the rights of seminarians to be trained in the use of the 1962 Missale Romanum as well as, presumably, the Rituale Romanum. 

I just received a copy of another letter from the same PCED to someone making inquiries.

The response of the PCED Secretary, Msgr. Camille Perl, repeats what we knew from the other letter, namely, that seminarians have the right to be trained to use the older form and that seminaries should provide that training.

Then there is a third response:

3. There is no plan to implement a generalized Latin test for seminarians and priests who wish to celebrate Mass according to the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, but it is expected that those who celebrate should have a sufficient mastery of Latin to be bale to read, pronounce correctly and understand the sacred texts which they must recite or sing.

We expect that these matters will soon be treated in an instruction on the application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

I like the use of the word "soon" in relation to the "instruction on the application" of Summorum Pontificum. 

So, here we get a little direction about the concept behind idoneus.  The PCED says there will not be a test for Latin.  However, that does not mean there can’t be tests.  (That would, of course, open up the whole "double standard" issue again.)  The PCED speaks of "sufficient mastery" of a)  reading, pronouncing, and c) understanding texts.  There is no indication of what "sufficient mastery" is, but it is a start.  I think "to read" and "pronounce correctly" are pretty much the same thing, unless "to read" and "understand" are the same.  Either way, the letter does indicate that whatever the priest reads aloud must be pronounced properly. 

However, I can usually tell when the person reading Latin actually grasps what he is reading aloud… or not.  For example, I know a pastor of a large parish known for its Masses in Latin who clearly can pronounce Latin words.  However, he sings texts in such a way that it is clear he really doesn’t hear what the texts mean while he sings them.  I grant that texts can be read in different ways, to stress now one thing, now another.  But, when a guy doesn’t have a clue, you can tell. 

And then there are those who use speed to give the impression of expertise. 

But I digress…

There is always going to be a connection between the sound and the meaning.

In any event, this letter of the PCED is another indication that we will soon have more direction.

Welcome to another installment of What Does the Prayer Really Sound Like? 

Today we will hear the prayers for the 1st Passion Sunday in the 1962 Missale Romanum.  I speak all the prayers and readings and also sing the Collect and Post Communion in the solemn tone.  I speak and sing the Preface of the Holy Cross in the solemn tone.  

http://www.wdtprs.com/prayercazt/080304_5lent_1stpassion.mp3

If priests who are learning to say the older form of Holy Mass can get these prayers in their ears, they will be able to pray them with more confidence. So, priests are my very first concern. 

However, these audio projects can be of great help to lay people who attend Holy Mass in the Traditional, or extraordinary form: by listening to them ahead of time, and becoming familiar with the sound of the before attending Mass, they will be more receptive to the content of the prayers and be aided in their full, conscious and active participation.

My pronunciation of Latin is going to betray something of my nationality, of course. Men who have as their mother tongue something other than English will sound a little different.  However, we are told that the standard for the pronunciation of Latin in church is the way it is spoken in Rome.  Since I have spent a lot of time in Rome, you can be pretty sure my accent will not be too far off the mark.

  I deliver them at a slower pace than I would ordinarily during Mass.  But hopefully the pace will help you hear the words a little more clearly.

If this was useful to you, let your priest friends know this resource is available.  And kindly make a little donation using the donation button on the left side bar of the blog or or by clicking here.  This is a labor of love, but those donations really help.  And don’t forget to check out the PODCAzTs!

Pray for me, listen carefully, and practice practice practice.

A while back I posted a PODCAzT concerning the widespread grave problem of distribution of Holy Communion in the hand.

I got an interesting e-mail from a sometime poster here on WDTPRS, Brian Mershon, who had comments for me.

Here is the e-mail with my emphases and comments.

Dear Fr. Z,

If there is one innovation that is applied to the TLM that will surely send traditionalists outside their parish boundaries, it is the reception of communion in the hand at the TLM.

Our parish in SC, which now has 700 or so attend when Fr. offers it at 11 a.m. Mass, there are many who kneel at the makeshift altar rails (front pews) but continue to receive communion in the hand.

I know there is a letter from Cardinal Hoyos to Michael Davies saying this cannot be prohibited (I can’t find it on the web currently for some reason), but this certainly needs to be addressed by the PCED. Father (now Msgr.) initially gave communion on the tongue to those who put their hands out, but now in his catechesis from the pulpit, he has repeatedly emphasized the traditional practice of receiving communion kneeling, but mentions NOTHING WHATSOEVER about the traditional practice of receiving communion on the tongue.  [I find that a little puzzling.  It strikes me that these issues go … ehem… hand in hand.  I also believe it is within a priests right to preach concerning how he prefers to see people receiving Communion.]

And this goes on and on. I am probably the most "extreme" of all the traditionalists who attend Mass there, but I have heard from several friends who are absolutely scandalized by the practice. This is one of those "rubber meets the road" issues that will drive people exclusively to the SSPX chapels, and frankly, the FSSP and ICR also.  [I wonder if that isn’t and exaggeration.  I am reminded of the story told by the son-in-law of St. Thomas More about upholding the law.  This story was part of the great movie A Man For All Seasons, but it is really part of Roper’s biography of St. Thomas.]

I know a priest cannot refuse to give communion in the hand even at the TLM, [Right.] but he certainly can catechize his faithful on why reception on the tongue is the more traditional and reverent practice.  [Right again!  I think priests can and should.  We are in perfect lock step on this.]

I don’t mind you making this a post if you see fit, but expect a couple hundred comments if you do. [We’ll see!] This needs to be addressed by the PCED and NOT by accommodating communion in the hand.  [I agree.  This must be addressed also by the PCED.  And I know this will be read there.]

Sincerely,

Brian C. Mershon

Here is the little exchange between St. Thomas and his son-in-law: 

William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
William Roper: Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!
Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ‘round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down, and you’re just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!

People who are "scandalized" when a priest doesn’t talk about Communion in the hand at TLMs or that people avail themselves of their rights, should remember that law also defends their own rights to have the TLM, and to kneel, and to receive on the tongue.

Thus, I agree with what Brian wrote.  People have the right, yes, but I think that priests should, though sound catechesis and their own example of handling the Blessed Sacrament with supreme care, shift people away from Communion in the hand in both the Novus Ordo and the "Tridentine" form of Mass.

I invite you also to listen to that PODCAzT on Communion in the hand. 

His Eminence Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, President of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, will confer the Priestly ordinations of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter the 30th of May in the year of Our Lord 2008 in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ.  The ordinations will commence Friday morning on the Feast of the Sacred Heart at 10:00.  If you have any questions or need directions, please contact Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary (402) 797-7700.

 

Please keep the ordinandi in your prayers as they ascend to the altar of Our Lord.

Rev. Mr. Jared  McCambridge, FSSP

Rev. Mr. Dennis Gordon, FSSP

Rev. Mr.  Justin Nolan, FSSP

Rev. Mr. Jonathan Romanoski, FSSP

 

Since the changing of the Marini’s took place, Mons. Guido and His Holiness have been rattling the keys of those old long-locked storage rooms.

Thanks to Shouts in the Piazza I can show you a photo of Pope Benedict at an audience wearing a stole with the coat-of-arms of Bl. Pope Pius IX.

 

 

WDTPRSers… the voting is now open for the 2008 Catholic Blog Awards.

Would you in your kindness give WDTPRS some consideration?

 

WDTPRS is in most of the categories, toward the bottom of the all the lists, with the title "What does the prayer really say". 

On the blog of the intrepid Andrea Tornielli there is a fascinating bit about Servant of God Pope Pius XII.  Here it is in my translation.

Today in Il Giornale there is published an unpublished manuscript note which has emerged from the papers of the Pacelli family.  It is written out in pencil, resusing a sheet of paper which the Pope had begun with a typewriter with the words "Maria… Maria".  It describes with the dry style of a notary the four times Pius XII saw the so called "miracle of the sun" while walking in the Vatican gardens.  The globe of the sun rotated and it was possible to look at it in a fixed way.  The same event occured on 13 October 1917 at Fatima, at the end of the Marian apparitions to the three little shepherds.  Pope Pacelli witnessed the identical phenomenon the day before the event, the vigil and the day of the proclamation of the Assumption of Mary into heaven (celebrated on 1 November 1950) and at last during the Octave of the same ceremony on 8 November.

 

And…

n. 54 del 2008-03-04 pagina 1

Pio XII e Fatima «Ho rivisto il miracolo»
di Andrea Tornielli

«Ho visto» il miracolo del sole, «questa è la pura verità». Nel 1950, poco prima di proclamare il dogma dell’Assunta, Pio XII mentre passeggiava nei giardini vaticani assistette più volte allo stesso fenomeno verificatosi nel 1917 al termine delle apparizioni di Fatima e lo considerò una conferma celeste di quanto stava per compiere. Una circostanza fino ad oggi nota solo grazie alla testimonianza indiretta del cardinale Federico Tedeschini che ne parlò durante un’omelia. Ora dall’Archivio privato Pacelli, conservato dalla famiglia del Pontefice, riemerge un documento eccezionale e inedito su quella visione: un appunto manoscritto dello stesso Pio XII, vergato a matita sul retro di un foglio nell’ultimo periodo della sua vita, nel quale in prima persona il Papa racconta ciò che gli è accaduto. L’appunto sarà esposto il prossimo novembre nella mostra vaticana dedicata a Papa Pacelli nel cinquantesimo della morte. Il resoconto è asciutto, quasi notarile, senza alcun cedimento al sensazionalismo.
«Era il 30 ottobre 1950», antivigilia del giorno della solenne definizione dell’assunzione, spiega Pio XII. Il Papa stava dunque per proclamare dogma di fede l’assunzione corporea in cielo della Madonna al momento della morte, e lo faceva dopo aver consultato l’episcopato mondiale, unanimemente concorde: soltanto sei risposte su 1.181 manifestavano qualche riserva. Verso le quattro di quel pomeriggio faceva «la consueta passeggiata nei giardini vaticani, leggendo e studiando». Pacelli ricorda che, mentre saliva dal piazzale della Madonna di Lourdes «verso la sommità della collina, nel viale di destra che costeggia il muraglione di cinta», sollevò gli occhi dai fogli. «Fui colpito da un fenomeno, mai fino allora da me veduto. Il sole, che era ancora abbastanza alto, appariva come un globo opaco giallognolo, circondato tutto intorno da un cerchio luminoso», che però non impediva in alcun modo di fissare lo sguardo «senza riceverne la minima molestia. Una leggerissima nuvoletta trovavasi davanti». «Il globo opaco – continua Pio XII nell’appunto inedito – si muoveva all’esterno leggermente, sia girando, sia spostandosi da sinistra a destra e viceversa. Ma nell’interno del globo si vedevano con tutta chiarezza e senza interruzione fortissimi movimenti». Il Papa attesta di aver assistito allo stesso fenomeno il giorno seguente, 31 ottobre, e il 1° novembre, giorno della definizione del dogma dell’Assunta, quindi di nuovo l’8 novembre. Poi non più». Ricorda pure di aver cercato «varie volte» negli altri giorni, alla stessa ora e in condizioni atmosferiche simili, «di guardare il sole per vedere se appariva il medesimo fenomeno, ma invano; non potei fissare nemmeno per un istante, rimaneva subito la vista abbagliata».
Nei giorni seguenti Pio XII riferisce il fatto «a pochi intimi e a un piccolo gruppo di Cardinali (forse quattro o cinque), fra i quali era il Cardinal Tedeschini». Quest’ultimo, nell’ottobre dell’anno seguente, 1951, si deve recare a Fatima per chiudere le celebrazioni dell’Anno Santo. Prima di partire viene ricevuto in udienza e chiede al Papa di poter citare la visione nell’omelia. «Gli risposi: “Lascia stare, non è il caso”. Ma egli insistette – continua Pio XII nel manoscritto – sostenendo l’opportunità di tale annuncio, ed io allora gli spiegai alcuni particolari dell’avvenimento». «Questa è, in brevi e semplici termini – conclude Papa Pacelli – la pura verità». «Pio XII era persuasissimo della realtà del fenomeno straordinario, cui aveva assistito ben quattro volte», ha dichiarato suor Pascalina Lehnert, la religiosa governante dell’appartamento papale.
Il cosiddetto «miracolo del sole» si era già verificato il 13 ottobre 1917 a Fatima, al termine delle apparizioni ai tre pastorelli. Così lo raccontò nella sua cronaca M. Avelino di Almeida, giornalista laico e non credente, inviato del quotidiano O Seculo e testimone oculare: «E si assiste allora ad uno spettacolo unico ed incredibile allo stesso tempo per chi non ne è stato testimone… Si vede l’immensa folla voltarsi verso il sole sgombro di nuvole, in pieno giorno. Il sole ricorda un disco d’argento sbiadito ed è possibile guardarlo in faccia senza subire il minimo disagio. Non scotta, non acceca. Si direbbe un’eclisse». Pio XII era molto legato a Fatima: la prima apparizione ai tre pastorelli era infatti avvenuta il 13 maggio 1917, lo stesso giorno in cui Pacelli veniva consacrato arcivescovo nella cappella Sistina. È attestato che Pio XII e l’unica sopravvissuta dei tre veggenti, suor Lucia Dos Santos, rimarranno sempre in contatto, e il Pontefice, nell’ultimo anno della sua vita, conserverà il testo del Terzo segreto di Fatima nel suo appartamento. «Varie volte – ha dichiarato la marchesa Olga Nicolis di Robilant Alves Pereira de Melo testimoniando al processo di beatificazione di Pacelli, «trasmisi messaggi del Santo Padre per Suor Lucia e di questa per lui, ma siccome promisi di mai rivelare nulla a chicchessia, non mi sento autorizzata a farlo adesso».
Andrea Tornielli

 

It is of critical importance for the whole Church that we have a good English translation of the 2002 Missale Romanum.

In the February Origins, the official publication of the USCCB, there is news from the Bishops Committee on Divine Worship.  There is a projected time table for the completion of various stages relating to the new translation of the 2002 Missale Romanum.

Frankly, I find the time table to be overly deliberate.  This is too important a matter to be fooling around with for so long.

Here is some accompanying text with my emphases and comments:

Translation Timetable of the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia

In November 2007, the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) presented the “Green Book” translation of the Appendices of the Roman Missal, which represents the final section of the draft translation of
the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia, to the Bishops of the member conferences. At that time, ICEL shared its plan to complete its work in the process of translation by sending the remaining “Gray Books” to the Bishops by the end of 2008. With those dates in mind, the Secretariat of Divine Worship [probably of the USCCB’s BCDW and not the CDWDS in Rome] proposed a tentative schedule for the U.S. Bishops’ approval of the translation of the Roman Missal. The Committee on Divine Worship discussed and approved this tentative timeline at its meeting on January 30, 2008. The proposed dates for votes by the USCCB are subject to the approval of the Administrative Committee, which makes the final decisions about the agenda for the plenary meetings of the Bishops. Once the Committee on Divine Worship decides to propose a particular text for canonical vote by the bishops, it must adhere to Conference deadlines for the submission of material to the Administrative Committee. The shaded areas are all tentative and are subject to change based on ICEL’s completion of material as well as the workload of both the Committee on Divine Worship and the full body of Bishops.

Once each section of the Missal has been approved by two-thirds of the Latin Rite members of the USCCB in a canonical vote, it must be submitted to the Holy See for confirmation by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. To date, only the Order of Mass I has been submitted; we still await its confirmation.

I know that the CDWDS is reviewing the work.  When I was in Rome in February, I was told at the Congregation what was going on.   The word "consubstantial" came up alot.

By "coincidence" the newsletter mentions this too.

One should not be surprised, therefore, to find as a final translation “And with your spirit.” Nor would it be surprising to find after the words “what I have failed to do” of the Confiteor, an insertion: “Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.”

With reference to the profession of faith, LA no. 65 states:

By means of the Creed (Symbolum) or Profession of Faith, the whole gathered People of God respond to the word of God proclaimed in the Sacred Scriptures and expounded in the homily, recalling and confessing the great mysteries of the faith by means of a formula approved for liturgical use. The Creed is to be translated according to the precise wording that the tradition of the Latin Church has bestowed upon it, including the use of the first person singular by which is clearly made manifest that “the confession of faith is handed down in the Creed, as it were, as coming from the person of the whole Church, united by means of Faith.” In addition, the expression carnis resurrectionem is to be translated literally wherever the Apostles’ Creed is prescribed or may be used in the Liturgy.

The translation of the Ordo Missæ approved by the Latin Church members of the USCCB, at its June 15, 2006 plenary meeting, has the opening words “I believe.” In addition, at three points in the Creed, the Bishops recommended that the action of the gathered assembly be clarified by the restatement of these opening words:

· “And in one Lord Jesus Christ” becomes “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ”;
· “And in the Holy Spirit” becomes “I believe in the Holy Spirit”; and
· “And one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church” becomes “I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic
Church.”

The bishops also addressed the translation of consubstanialem. Since 1970, this important theological term has been rendered in the United States of America as “one in being.” The bishops voted to retain this translation, instead of adopting the ICEL rendering of “consubstantial.” [That was one of the last shots from when Bp. Trautman was head of the Committee.  This isn’t going to fly in Rome.] Finally, the rendering of “He suffered death and was buried” was changed to “He suffered, died, and was buried.” With reference to the expression carnis resurrectionem, the Bishops approved the translation “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead.”

It is to be kept in mind, however, that all of these texts have been submitted to Rome for recognitio. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments will also have to take into consideration the translations that have been submitted by other Conferences of Bishops.  Number 87 of LA indicates, “It is recommended that there be a single translation of the liturgical books for each vernacular language.”

Francis Card. George, Archbishop of Chicago, has set a letter to priests and seminarians of that Archdiocese concerning a TLM training conference to be held at St. John Cantius parish.

For information click here.

I was sent only an image, not a transcription.  (Folks, if you are asking for help or sending information, transcriptions really make a difference.)

Here are the highlights.

• Card. George thanks the people at St. John Cantius for offered services.
• He states that to serve the needs of those who want the TLM, "ample and ongoing catechesis in this form of the Mass must be available."
• The only way to provide that catechesis is if priests are prepared to give it.
• Thus, he has asked the Canons at St. John Cantinus to help prepare priests and seminarians.
• At the end he expresses good wishes and prayers for the St. John workshops.

If you recall, lately the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei respsonded to a dubium about whether seminarians had the right to be trained for the TLM.  The Commission that seminarians do have that right and that seminaries have the obligation to provide for the training.

UPDATE: 4 March 08 – 15:48 GMT

The good guys as Sancta Missa sent me a transcription:

Dear Priests and Seminarians:

I am happy to greet you as you gather at the Cardinal Stritch Retreat House in Mundelein to participate in the Training Conference in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass that is being offered by the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius. I am grateful to you for taking the time from your busy schedules to attend this workshop, and to the priests and brothers of the Society of St. John Cantius whose love for and familiarity with this form of the Mass makes this program possible here in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

In the letter he wrote to the Bishops prior to the promulgation of the motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum," Pope Benedict XVI stated that "what earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too." Charged with proclaiming Christ’s universal call to holiness, the Church wishes to foster a love for the sacred whenever her people gather to worship God as he wants to be worshiped. In order to better serve Catholics who wish to worship according to the Forma extraordinaria, ample and ongoing catechesis in the form of the Mass must be available. This can only be achieved if, first of all, priests and seminarians are prepared to serve this need. I have therefore asked the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, whose charism is the "Restoration of the Sacred," to assist the Archdiocese by providing training fro priests and seminarians in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite according to the liturgical books of 1962, and by offering catechesis to the faithful in this form of the sacred liturgy. The celebration of the Roman Rite according to the Extraordinary Form is a rich treasury of grace for the Church, and it is of great importance to form our clergy and seminarians in the proper celebration of this venerable rite so that they might serve the pastoral needs of the Church today.

You will be in my prayers throughout this workshop as you spend time in the prayer, study and practice that are necessary to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Mass with reverence and beauty. I entrust this sacred work to the protection of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, who exhorts us, in perfect Christian trust and love, to "do whatever he tells you."

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Francis Cardinal George, OMI

Archbishop of Chicago

For information click here.

Folks in the Miami area should know that Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be celebrated at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in South Miami on Saturday March 15, 2008 at 8:00 a.m.  

St. Thomas the Apostle Church
7377 SW 64th Street
Miami, FL 33143
(305) 665-5600

You have all read the entry about the CDF on the form for valid baptism.

Now you can get your local priest, Fr. "Just-Call-Me-Bob", the simple guide.

Hmmmm… notice anything familiar about that …. where have I seen….

Biretta tip to the future Archbishop of Westminster as well as to Fr. Boyle.

As a matter of fact…. why not thrill your pastor with wonderful pair of books!

Get Baptism for Dummies together with…