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

From Space Weather:

FIRST METEORS OF 2009:  The annual Quadrantid meteor shower peaks on Jan. 3rd when Earth enters a stream of debris from shattered comet 2003 EH1. The timing of the encounter favors observers in western North America and across the Pacific Ocean who could see dozens to hundreds of meteors during the dark hours before sunrise this Saturday morning. Visit http://spaceweather.com for a sky map and more information.

SOMETHING NEW: For the new year, Spaceweather.com is pleased to announce a new service: Space Weather Radio, broadcasting live "sounds from space" around the clock.  Today you can listen to the Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas.  When a meteor passes over the facility—ping!—there is an audible echo. (Activity should be high during the Quadrantid meteor shower this weekend.)  In the near future we’ll be adding broadcasts of solar radio bursts and VLF signals from the ionosphere. The streams are punctuated by Daily Space Weather Updates from Dr. Tony Phillips.  Click here to begin listening:  http://SpaceweatherRadio.com

From a reader:

Some readers may be interested in the news that Cardinal Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris, will celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Rite at the Parish Church of St Eugène—Ste Cécile, Paris, on Sunday, 4th January 2009 (the feast of Ste Geneviève, patroness of the city). The occasion will be a farewell to Mgr Batut, the curé and friend of the TLM, who is to be ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Lyon.

A reader alerted me to the comments of Msgr. Joseph Schaedel, of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, to his parishioners at Holy Rosary Church. 

Among other things, Msgr. Schaedel discusses the Sign of Peace.

Here is an excerpt from his Christmas bulletin.

They merit the WDTPRS touch, with my emphases and comments.

...

Some people have asked me about the Sign of Peace. They note that in most cases we omit the line, “Let us offer each other the Sign of Peace … ” during Masses in the Ordinary Form. Dozens of people have thanked for me this. One person inquired as to why. No one complained. And, the fact is that everyone is always free to “offer the Sign of Peace” to their neighbor. [I haven’t met many people who really like the Sign of Peace.  Many really don’t like and most just tolerate it.]

Here is the “why” part: Like many things in the celebration of Mass in the Ordinary Form, the Sign of Peace is optional. Several things are optional in “the English Mass.”  Other optional things are the ringing of the bells by the altar servers, the use of the paten at Holy Communion,  girls serving as altar servers, the priest facing the congregation, extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, even using a language other than Latin.  [Excellent!]

All of these things — and even more — are optional. They always have been. Yet, as we all know, some of these things have been pushed down our throats as if they had been the dying wishes of Christ written down by an apostolic liturgy committee on Calvary. [LOL!] Not so! And our current Holy Father, Benedict XVI, is finally helping us sort these things out.

From the beginning of the renewal of the Sacred Liturgy, some people have simply never liked the Sign of Peace — or at least the Sign of Peace where it was placed during Mass. It’s a grand thought: making peace with our neighbors before we approach the altar for Holy Communion. Yet, too often it turns into a free-for-all disturbing the solemnity of the moments just before receiving Holy Communion. Some people resemble politicians in heat prior to Election Day.

A few people object to the Sign of Peace for health reasons.  They watch their fellow worshippers cough or blow noses into their hands during Mass; then offer the same hands to shake at the Sign of Peace. In some places, where a flu or virus epidemic has been rampant diocesan officials have asked priests to eliminate the Sign of Peace for obvious reasons until health officials gave the green light.

Personally, I don’t have strong feelings one way or the other. [I do.  GET RID OF IT.] When I learned how to offer Mass in the seminary, we were taught to offer the Sign of Peace. No big deal. However, over the years, I began to see how it could get out of hand. I also began to omit it at daily Masses when the crowd was sparse and spread all over. If they were so interested in offering a sign of peace or friendship to another, I reasoned that they should have been willing to sit within twenty feet of one another.

At the moment, the whole concept of the Sign of Peace and if or where it should be situated during the Mass is under study at the Vatican. They will likely make a revision.  So, I thought: Heck, if the pope is not sure where and when it should be part of the Mass, who am I to worry about it?

If the priest-celebrant does not say, “Let us offer each other the Sign of Peace,” feel free to offer that sign of peace to those around you if you wish. No one says you cannot. If this causes you undue anxiety, sleepless nights, or a loss of Faith, I know a couple good therapists.

I feel sorry for those reading this pastor’s letter who expected a theological treatise on the true meaning of Christmas and the Incarnation.  No, it’s just the usual ramblings of the old monsignor at the Italian Parish.  Please excuse his attempts at being witty.  And, yes, he does have a serious thought from time to time.

Be sure to look at the bulletin also for his comments on the restoration of their church.  One of this comments about a woman who didn’t like their restoration:

I did meet someone last weekend who does not like the restoration. I forget what all she was griping about; but this person had nothing good to say about our church restoration. I quickly showed her one part of the church that has been beautifully restored in hopes that she would like it: the door.

I love this guy!

Give us, O Lord, more priests like this.
 

From a reader:

This morning at Spring Bank Abbey, [Sparta, WI] the Conventual Mass for the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God was celebrated ad orientem, which will now be the normative manner for saying Mass at the abbey. (The Mass was solemn Latin in the ordinary form using the Cistercian Graduale.)

There are still many kinks and questions to address pertaining to the rank of feasts, the customs of the ordinary form v. surviving Cistercian usages, the size of our community, and the layout of our oratory. The draft customary will certainly see much fleshing-out and many amendments over the coming months, but Fr. Prior thought that today was the appropriate day to begin to face God together, it being the first of the year and a solemnity of Mary.

I thought that you and your readers might be interested.

I’ve attached a photo and there are more here.

This is, IMO, the sort of thing which will help to save the world.