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

I received word from a close friend, the great Roman, Fabrizio Azzola, who also helps staff the COL Forum, that his latest child, wisely named "John", has been baptized, the first child to be so brought into the firm embrace of Holy ROMAN Church at the new traditional parish Ss. Tirnità dei Pelegrini.

I am therefore, on this beautiful feast, at the end of a glorious day, out on the deck with Penjing who is enjoying with me a fine glass of Johnny Walker Black Label, in honor of the new Christian of course, and a good cigar, sent me by the same praiseworthy Fabrizio.  Pengjing and I are having a fine Macanudo Diplomat, slightely torpedo shaped, a good double maduro.

Pengjing tends to smoke very deliberately.

The birds are chirruiping enthusiastically.  The Chickadee Contingent is vociferous.  As am able to quite accurately whistle chicakdeese, they are continuously thrppp thrpping up to the deck to find out what is going on.

However, there is a massive storm coming, I am telephonically informed by a dear friend.  Wind and lots of hated hail.  I am sure we will all be dead by morning.   It has been a  good ride.  

Bye all!

In any event, here is Fabrizio’s great news.  This is his own English:

JMJ

Please join me in thanking Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother for the wonderful Baptism of our fourth child. Our Lady is celebrated both in the old and new liturgical calendar with many important feasts and commemorations and devotions on this day. We know she was there.

With the names of John Paul, Expeditus, Pius, Mary our son was baptized today in the wonderful Church of the Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini in Rome, a typical church of the Counterreformation (Most Holy Trinity of Pilgrims, go figure, I actually looked for my ban-button in the sacristy! :P ). Why was that so special? I mean, beside the immense grace of Baptism which Our Lord came to institute to reopen the gates of Heaven at the cost of his sorrowful Passion and Death? Because as usual, God loves to exceed our expectations with superabundant graces and consolations:

Our son was the very first child to be baptized in the "personal parish" entrusted to FSSP in Rome by the will of the Holy Father following Summorum Pontificum. His name will be forever the first in the parish records, and if by the mercy of God I am saved, I will enjoy watching historians form Heaven as they discuss the history of the "reform of the reform" when it will have displayed all its effects. We are now the first family to belong to the parish that will have the important task of renewing the continuity of traditional parish life and liturgy in the very heart of Christianity! The celebrant was the Reverend Father Joseph Kramer FSSP, the pastor, who seemed just as happy as we were. God bless the FSSP.

But our greatest consolation came for the relatives and friends we had invited. While only some of them were familiar with the traditional liturgy, all wanted to thank us personally for the wonderful discovery they had made, even those who’d come afraid of having to attend something weird and boring. One friend, not a traditionalist liturgy-wise, had the best comment of all: "I had no idea an old ritual could speak to the mind and the heart so powerfully, that’s something the people can feel as their own! So simple and yet so solemn!". I was (almost) in tears. Of course I had given some brief explanations before and prepared a booklet with the Ordo Baptismi Parvulorum, but all were struck by the visible meaning of the actions perfomed and many (other consolation) told me that it was evident that those were not just "symbols", but effective actions actually doing what was being said, especially the struggle with the devil and the repetition of acts performed by Jesus Christ in the Gospel to heal the suffering and free the possessed.

The fact that all felt edified, even those who don’t normally practice our faith was of enormous importance to us, second only to the fact that our baby is now incorporated to Christ and in a way that places him in the history of the post-conciliar madness and recovery.

Then there was the light and frugal Italian reception. All noticed that the children outnumbered the adults (our friends tend to ignore Malthusian prejudices). We drank, we sang, we laughed, smoked cigars, talked babies, sports, politics and history, all prayed for the Holy Father. Since the good fight never stops, we invited also a couple of friends who are responsible for a charity that helps families with terminally ill newborns and did some fundraising. It was a wonderfulday of May, in the old calendar, the feast of Mary’s Queenship. It was all so sweet, so Catholic. We are so blessed.

Someone took pictures, I hope they are good enough to post.

Praise God and pray for Pope Benedict!

I got this by e-mail.  If you have some German, check out this blog!

Dear Fr. Zuhlsdorf,

just wanted to tell you, I liked your "Pope Benedict is changing the conversation" so much, I translated and republished [here].

Keep on your good work!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Michael Charlier

Everything is up to date in Kansas City.

They’ve gone just about as far as they can…. with building their beautiful new altars for Old St. Patrick’s Church in downtown KC.

This is the church which H.E. Most Reverend Robert Finn has designated for the use of the 1962 Missale Romanum.

Let’s have a look:

Posted May 24, 2008 THE MAIN AND SIDE ALTARS ARE COMPLETE! THEY ARE STUNNING! We have much to thank Msgr. Bradley Offutt for, during his three years of directing the OSP building committee and all his wonderful advice. And for giving us the advantage of his vast experience in renovation and building. But, more than anything, we have to thank Monsignor for his choice of altars for the Oratory. At great expense of his time, he traveled to Boston on our behalf and toured many of the closed and closing churches of that archdiocese. Of all the available Catholic church furnishings available to us there, he chose the one shown below ­ now fully installed at Old St. Patrick. It is magnificent. The photos don’t do it justice. For the first time, it is now completely apparent that our small parish will have one of the most beautiful churches in the diocese. Since the scaffolding is still standing at the sides of the church, it is not possible to get decent pictures of the side altars. But, they are beautiful with majestic marble statues of the Blessed Mother on the left and the Sacred Heart on the right. The niches to either side of the altar will contain statues of St. Patrick and St. Bridget. They are being refinished at this time. Below is a side view of the main altar which clearly shows some of the splendid detail. This picture is from the back side of the main altar and show some of the beautiful detail including the little cherubs on the four corners of the central feature of the altar. It also shows some the beautiful metallic mosaic work on the altar in greater detail. This is a view of the main altar slab. As you can see, the tabernacle door is missing. It is being refinished. Also missing is the altar stone. This stone will be placed and sealed in the altar during the consecration ceremonies scheduled for October 25, 2008. Everyone is looking forward to that great date. To view previous photos, click here…<