Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.
Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Mass of obligation for this Trinity Sunday?
Tell us about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass.
Any local changes or (hopefully good) news?
A taste of what I offered at 1 Peter 5 this week:
[…]
There was a time when this Sunday after Pentecost was, in the Roman arrangement, liturgically rather empty, because the night from Ember Saturday and the morning had been spent in vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica. In 1334, however, John XXII, the second and longest reigning of the Avignon Popes, extended the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity to the universal Church. John XXII was a complicated figure. He centralized power in his own person, which helped provoke William of Ockham to write against limitless papal claims, and he also preached an erroneous opinion about the beatific vision, which he retracted before death. He also canonized St. Thomas Aquinas and may have composed the Anima Christi: “Soul of Christ, sanctify me, Body of Christ, save me, Blood of Christ, inebriate me.” Sort-of-Good Pope John XXII was not all bad.
[…]
NO.
1. Gospel included John 3:16 so a good quote from St. Hilary of Poitiers’ commentary thereon to the effect that for our redemption to mean anything at all, it had to involve sacrifice on the part of the Godhead rather than sacrifice of a created being, no matter how lofty.
2. Epistle included St. Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians: “mend your ways”. The same Greek word for “mend” is that used in the Gospel when James and John are mending their nets. If someone were only to mend one strand of the net, he’s accomplished nothing. All the strands must be mended for the net to be functional. Similarly mending our ways can’t be done in a solitary manner.
3. A brief history of thePax Christi from the VO and a contrast with what is common today led to an admonition to be more dignified at this moment. He also noted that the moment it occurs in the NO is not reasonable. it should be returned to taking place after the particle is dropped into the chalice, since the only times the Lord said “peace be with you” were after the resurrection.
Choir was quite short-handed today so we dropped one of the two motets, but did chant Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory, Communion and all of the ordinary including Credo.
At my NO Mass, pretty ordinary fare, except:
* Father reminded us that baptism is invalid if not done in all three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) You don’t hear that often enough.
* Father also reminded us that a mystery is not an excuse to shrug and ignore what we can not fully comprehend. Mysteries deserve contemplation.
In the heart of Silicon Valley, Canon posed the question: what’s the first thing you do in the morning, think on God, or check your smart phone? He pointed out that it (that God is a Trinity of Persons) is a sublime mystery worthy of contemplation, especially since God exists outside of time: before Adam and Eve had the chance to mess things up, there was God, already perfect and unchanging. He went on to ask, “Which do we trust more: God or the information the world provides?”
It was the final Mass for the pastor before retirement, so it was very well attended. He’s a good father, and we will miss him. One thing he pointed out in his homily was that the church calendar reminds us of the Trinity: Advent to Lent is about the Father. Lent to Pentecost is about the Son. Pentecost to Advent is about the Holy Spirit.