A Treasure To Be Shared

Anti-Catholicism in the 'Era of Tolerance' Knights of Columbus spokesperson Kathleen Blomquist (...) spoke of a long history in America of discriminating against Catholics (...). “Our country’s sad history of anti-Catholic bigotry contributed to the founding of the Knights of Columbus, and we are proud of the many Catholics who overcame this hurdle to contribute so greatly to our country,” she told the Catholic News Agency. And now anti-Catholic bigotry is coming back in the guise of progressivism.— Rod Dreher, American Conservative A New York Post article exposes two Democratic Party members' imposition of a religious test on a prospective candidate for the US District Court for Nebraska. The NYP article identifies the serious reoccurring problem with progressivism and its adherents: the violent scapegoating of those they consider a threat to their partisan definition of tolerance. Blinded by 'their own truth', which is or should be an obviou...

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/heart-speaks-to-heart-the-most-essential-reality-of-true-religion Dr. Peter Kwasniewski writes: When John Henry Newman chose for his Cardinal’s motto Cor ad cor loquitur ,“heart speaks to heart,” he was capturing in a phrase the most essential reality and medium of true religion: it is, before all else, a personal relationship in which everything is at stake. It is a total gift of oneself to the Lover of mankind. It is a question of friendship, not of doctrinal propositions, moral rules, liturgical customs, and so on. The one who loves accepts everything else – all of the propositions, rules, customs – without complaint, indeed with an infectious joy, because they are the expressions, tokens, and reminders of the one we love. We cannot dismiss or disdain these things without offending the beloved. The crisis of theology today, and, more broadly, the crisis in the Church, is due at root to the prevailing absence of the spirit o...

Giotto MEDITATION FOR CHRISTMAS TIME with Saint Thomas Aquinas http://www.dominicansavrille.us/meditation-for-christmas-time-with-saint-thomas-aquinas/ The Circumstances of Christ’s Birth 1. Christ willed to be born at Bethlehem because of two reasons: First, because “He was made … of the seed of David according to the flesh, to whom also a special promise was made concerning Christ.” (Rom. I, 3.) Hence, He willed to be born at Bethlehem, where David was born, in order that by the very birthplace, the promise made to David might be fulfilled. The Evangelist points this out by saying, “Because He was of the house and of the family of David.” Secondly, because as Gregory says, “Bethlehem is interpreted ‘the house of bread’.” It is Christ Himself, Who said, “I am the living Bread which came down from heaven” (Jn 41, 51). As David was born in Bethlehem, so also did He select Jerusalem to set up His throne and to build there the Temple of God, so that, Je...

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Appendix 9, Divine Worship: the Missal (p. 1069) The Proclamation of The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ The announcement of the Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ from the Roman Martyrology draws upon Sacred Scripture to declare in a formal way the birth of Christ. It begins with creation and relates the birth of the Lord to the major events and personages of sacred and secular history. The particular events contained in the announcement help pastorally to situate the birth of Jesus in the context of salvation history.  This text may be chanted or recited, most appropriately on 24th December, at Evening Prayer. It may also be chanted or recited before the beginning of Christmas Mass during the Night. It may not replace any part of the Mass. The Deacon, Priest, or cantor sings or says: T he Twenty-fifth Day of December, when ages beyond number had run their course from the creation of the world, when God in the beginning created...

Madonna of The Book by Sandro Botticelli The proper Masses for December 17–24 have also been incorporated into the Missal, which allowed for a wider use of the Great Antiphons as the Alleluia verses for December 17–23, with the antiphon O Virgo Virginum serving as the Alleluia verse for the morning Mass on December 24. — A Missal for the Ordinariates: The Work of the Anglicanae Traditiones Interdicasterial Commission (by then Monsignor Steven J. Lopes). The O Antiphons are set as Alleluia verses in the new Saint Peter Gradual , available from the following source: http://newmanhousecatholicbooks.org/books/the-saint-peter-gradual.html Also — check out the series of articles at the excellent blog of Fr. Lee Kenyon: www.ordinariatesouthmanchester.com/blog Divine Worship: The Missal December 17 -  O Sapientia O Wisdom, which camest out of the mouth of the most High, and reachest from one end to another, mightily, and sweetly ordering all thing...

Bishop Lopes celebrating Divine Worship: Elevation of the Host, the Body of Christ. In this former diocesan Catholic blogger's experience—shared and suffered—there is frequently an unwillingness (dare one say a hard-heartedness?) among too many diocesan Catholics to invest in their own identity, an identity measured by faithfulness to Jesus Christ and His Church, the degree to which one keeps Jesus' commandments. Shared . I confess that I was once biased against our more conservative brethren in ways that are difficult to justify for a Catholic, a Christian who should by definition be well-schooled in history and in the art of appreciating the timeless and timely movements of the Holy Spirit. Suffered . Having awakened to my arrogance by acknowledging my debt to history as a trained musician, my "second" conversion to the Faith meant defending the legacy we have inherited. The facts also speak for themselves: the renewal sought by the Second Vatican Council w...

Her Royal Highness Gloria of Thurn und Taxis www.thurnundtaxis.de/en/ If readers can look past the mostly flakey and inflammatory writing of the New York Times journalist who wrote The Saturday Profile: The ‘It’ ’80s Party Girl Is Now a Defender of the Catholic Faith , a story about Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, readers might just perceive something that the author of the report has mostly overlooked—a story of redemption. Jason Horowitz's article frequently injects wild speculation and sensational buzz lines into what could have been an inspiring message for those who, having once embraced or still living a tentative lifestyle of the rich and famous, are searching for meaning in an age of tabloid secularism and giddy fads. Using the tactics of a gossipy teenager, the NYT writer attempts to paint Her Royal Highness Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, Cardinal Burke and others as enemies of Pope Francis. Secular writers often miss the fact that Catholics aren't requir...

Shaping up nicely is a new Kyriale for the Ordinariate. The Very Reverend Fr. Carl Reid, who edited the recently published St. Peter Gradual , in consultation with Msgr. Peter Wilkinson, a Consultor to the Anglicanae Traditiones Commission, is editing a companion work entitled The St. Peter Kyriale (Music For The Mass) that presents the Ordinary chants of the Mass ( Kyrie, Gloria , Credo , Sanctus-Benedictus , Agnus Dei ) and other essential melodies (e.g., Asperges Me ,  Vidi Aquam , Alme Pater , Advent Prose and Lenten Prose, Preface Dialogue, Pater Noster, Salve Regina, etc. ). See below, a few tidbits. Like the Saint Peter Gradual , the new Kyriale will be an excellent addition to the Ordinariate liturgical repertoire, preserving and celebrating the Anglican Patrimony in communion with the Catholic Church. Stay tuned for additional updates and a release date. Click on Image to Enlarge Note: version 2.0 has just been received. Further updates fort...