A Treasure To Be Shared

https://thineownservice.com The Faces of Anglicanae Traditiones Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. - 2 Thessalonians 2:15 Liturgical commissions have something of a mixed reputation in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Thanks be to God, the commission that discerned the formation of the Missal for use by Ordinariate Catholics did a superb job, publishing errata aside. Given the results, one might characterize the Anglicanae Traditiones Commission members' work as inspired. Certainly, Divine Worship: the Missal, the missal of the Personal Ordinariates established by Pope Benedict XVI's apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus , is a work of art, bringing together streams of the Anglican Patrimony into harmony and communion with the Catholic Church in a way that is true to the traditions of the apostles (cf 2 Thess. 2:15) and the vision of the Council, especially that vision found in Sacr...

For Thomas, God is not the supreme being ( ens summum in his Latin), but rather ipsum esse subsistens , which means “the sheer act of to be itself.” In a word, God is not one more instance of the genus “being,” one thing, however exalted, among others; instead, he is the self-explaining source of existence as such, that great font of being in and through which all finite things subsist and act. Therefore, God does not compete for space, so to speak, on the same ontological grid as creatures; a zero-sum game does not obtain in regard to God’s activity and creaturely activity—the more we ascribe to one, the less we have to ascribe to the other. - Bishop Robert Barron If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace, how beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within itself, how many joys and delights! No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him, if he would come to know the scales on which they are weighed when ...

CNS photo/Carlo Allegri, Reuters For those familiar with this blog, punning is routine, a lighthearted way to spread a tactic that robs weaponized language of its power and influence. The devil (and his minions) can't stand to be laughed at. Saints, on the other hand, are able to laugh at their clumsiness and learn from it. May it please the saints that this latest case of punographic mirth be an opportunity for others, starting with yours truly, to examine the conscience and grow in holiness. May it please God, His angels and His saints, that the following rain of cheesy puns water  not  the weeds of schadenfreude. https://atreasuretobeshared.blogspot.com/2021/07/name-calling-again.html https://atreasuretobeshared.blogspot.com/2021/07/more-name-calling.html https://atreasuretobeshared.blogspot.com/2021/05/name-calling.html Like many a politician who thinks himself invulnerable, and as impeccable as the Blessed Virgin, and imagines a certain a day of judgement (foreshadowing t...

One of the factors that motivated this convert-blogger to migrate toward the Ordinariate was the heroism of former-Anglicans whose courage at leaving behind the relative comfort of their Anglican parishes to launch out into the deep and to "swim the Tiber" recalls the acts of the disciples, and saints down through history, who left everything to follow Christ. The courage of those souls was an effective counterweight to my own tepidity. In their stories, I identified with the alienation from family and friends experienced at reception into the Church. In my case, in my twenties, some thirty-five years ago. Thankfully, in answer to prayer, my family became reconciled to my becoming Catholic in the years following my confirmation. If people need a refuge from the ubiquitous confusion and a forum in which they can worship God and work out their salvation in trembling and fear (Philippians 2:12), that is, with awe and deference to the commandments of Christ (John 14:15-31), the O...

The dogma of the Holy Trinity challenges our narrow conceptions and elevates us. One God in Three Persons? That's a bit of a stumper. Unlike evil which is readily consumable and like all things cheap demands little from us, the Trinity requires a heftier investment of heart and mind. All true relationships require the best investment from us. God desires our consent and willingness to shed the obstacles (sin) to His life so that we may share in His life. The devil needs our consent to work his agenda in our life. With God, our consent opens out into His life of grace and freedom. Allied to the devil, our consent dissolves into addiction and slavery to sin and death. Game of Souls The devil is a scam artist. The marketing scheme employed by the devil is a clever one. For the devil, the game for souls is all about convincing humans that a meaningful life is all about the acquisition of power of one kind or another. Who doesn't want power?! Having power is intoxicating. Power ens...

the Prayers of Preparation (Prayers at the Foot) the English language at its best the Mass of the Five Wounds beautiful vestments, including black vestments silence and opportunities to rest in the Lord communion on the tongue while kneeling intentional participation the Last Gospel Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday as two distinct days the 'tides', e.g., Epiphanytide, Eastertide, Trinitytide, etc.

  reverence in the presence of the Lord unity in the truth excellent preaching of orthodox doctrine English plainchant and Anglican homophonic chant beautiful prayers ( click here for examples ) the Mass lived in post-Mass fellowship ad orientem worship copious amounts of incense, and bells the Holy Gospel proclaimed in the nave of the church stellar hymns

Just when we thought things couldn't get any more complicated concerning Mass during Covidtide, Pope Francis dropped a bombshell that has many in the tradosphere gasping for air. It's been twelve days since Pope Francis issued his awkwardly titled motu proprio Traditionis Custodes . Breathe, breathe... take a long slow breath. If greater unity is Pope Francis' desired outcome, that ain't likely gonna happen. If blog articles on the more radical sites are any indication, a lot of people are blazing mad and hardly disposed to complying with a letter that attempts to unify people through callous policies, even if issuing such an order is entirely with the prerogative and appropriate to the authority of the Roman Pontiff. SSPX here they come! One can almost see the wagons being hitched to the SSPX by Latin Mass enthusiasts. Pope Francis has been fairly sweet to the SSPX-ers. So,... if (when?) people migrate toward the Society, a group in imperfect communion with the Holy Se...

Roman ruins with a prophet, by Giovanni Pannini, 1751. Thus it is that no cruelty whatsoever passes by without impact. Thus it is that we always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap. - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956 “(G)rievance culture” — the kind of culture we have today — is deadly. There’s always another oppressor to expose and accuse. Grievance feels good in an ugly sort of way. And it’s addictive. It presumes the wickedness of anyone who disagrees. It kills reasoned discourse. After all, who wants to waste time listening to stupid or evil people — especially if, by definition, they’re stupid or evil because their views conflict with our own? This explains why our nation’s political life is now so toxic. It’s senseless for our leaders to blather on about the “common good” when, by their words and actions, they make a genuine common good impossible. - Francis X. Maier Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for ot...

Coronation of Mary by Diego Velázquez | Master of Portillo, Mass of Saint Gregory the Great Benedict XVI USA Today | Spectator World | Church News Ireland I. He who would valiant be ’Gainst all disaster, Let him in constancy Follow the Master. There’s no discouragement Shall make him once relent His first avowed intent To be a pilgrim. - J. Bunyan, 1628–1688 Monks Gate , EH 402 Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians 4:1-6 Trinity VIII Brethren: I, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. King James Version I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk w...