Tuesday, May 31, 2016

What can a southerner's tragic sense of life teach a northerner?


I still remember when a history professor at the University of Pittsburgh handed me a copy of Walker Percy's Love in the Ruins one summer. A novel. I hadn't read many novels to that point. A few here and there, but not many. I was a grad student in philosophy. What did I want with fiction? I remember it became my recreational reading for a few weeks that summer, and at first I wondered what hit me. I had never ever read anything quite like this. His antihero characters were somehow captivating, despite all their banalities and flaws. There was an unexpected transparency about them -- like the guy (in another Percy novel) who argued with his psychologist, whom he was seeing because of the guilt he felt over an affair, that guilt was unavoidable after all, because he was guilty.

Love in the Ruins unfolded in its bizarre southern setting with antihero Thomas More musing over how much simpler life in the north was. To use a loose analogy, the northern mind is a bit like war movies made before Vietnam: think of The Sands of Iwo Jima, The Longest Day, or even The Green Beret, right at the outset of the war. The southern mind is more like Platoon, or Apocalypse Now. To read this as a simple contrast between absolutism and relativism would be to miss my point, because the northern mind is perhaps even more relativistic than the southern. No, it has to do with the level of reflection, the complexity of life and its existential questions, what Miguel de Unamuno called the Tragic Sense of Life. The North, despite its fashionable postmodern conceits, is more at ease with the rationalist projects of the Enlightenment than the South. The South is an untamed Faulknerian 'force of nature' that will destroy you, abandon you to the shallow puddle of your autoerotic self-indulgences, or show you how painfully deep the proverbial rabbit hole goes. Percy shows us how deep, and he does this by first hooking the reader unawares (why do I think of Kierkegaard's Diary of a Sedeucer?) into confronting the deep corners of his individual soul and the collective American psyche that he has never dared or even imagined examining.

Amy Welborn, "Walker Percy at 100" (The Catholic World Report, May 27, 2016) -- a good introduction.

[Hat tip to JM]

Monday, May 30, 2016

The Third Secret of Fatima saga continues

Christopher A. Ferrara, "Dollingergate: That Curious Vatican Denial" (Fatima Network Perspectives, May 27, 2016). Excerpts:
... In response to the communiqué, 1P5’s reporter, a native German speaker, “telephoned Father Dollinger with the news of the Vatican statement, and at that time he again confirmed to her emphatically and clearly his previous remarks. In other words, he stood by his story.”

Given these facts, the anonymous communiqué leaks water from every part, to use an Italian saying. Consider:

First, there is no indication the Vatican contacted Fr. Dollinger to obtain a denial from him that he said the things the Press Office claims were falsely “attributed” to him. That omission speaks volumes: the Press Office made no such effort because it knows or at least suspects that Fr. Dollinger did indeed say what 1P5 reported and it did not wish to be confronted with his confirmation of the story, which the Press Office could not very well hide.

Second, the Vatican has gone very far out on a very thin limb when it declares flatly that Benedict claims “never to have spoken with Professor Dollinger about Fatima.” Really? Never? Not at any time? Not a single word ever passed between the former Cardinal Ratzinger and his close friend Fr. Dollinger on the subject of Fatima? That claim does not pass the smell test.

Third, the Press Office’s assertion that Benedict called Fr. Dollinger’s statements on the matter “pure inventions, absolutely untrue” necessarily involves the accusation that Fr. Dollinger is a bald-faced liar who concocted statements the former Cardinal Ratzinger never made, or that the reporter for 1P5 is a liar who concocted the statements. But, again, no effort was made to obtain a denial from Fr. Dollinger because, no doubt, a denial was not expected. Thus, the Press Office has published a libelous accusation against both Fr. Dollinger and the reporter who related his statements — statements the Press Office made no effort to confirm because it knows or suspects the statements were made.

Fourth, a lawyer could have drafted the Vatican’s carefully worded declaration that Benedict “confirms decisively that ‘the publication of the Third Secret of Fatima is complete.’” Of course the Vatican claims publication is “complete” because it has no intention of publishing anything else respecting the Secret. That is, the text — which must exist — wherein the Virgin explains the meaning of the vision published in 2000, which the Vatican ludicrously insisted that a corrupt Vatican bureaucrat, Cardinal Sodano, would “interpret” for us. The real issue is whether the Vatican has published the complete Secret, not whether the act of publication is complete so far as the Vatican is concerned. And, to this day, the Vatican has refused squarely to answer the crucial question: Is there a text written by Sister Lucia, whether or not it is deemed “authentic” by certain Vatican personages, in which she recounts the Virgin’s explanation of the vision published in 2000?

Fifth, and finally, the anonymous author of an unsigned communiqué expects us to believe that the cropped phrases he (or she) “attributes” to Benedict are unquestionably true and accurate, whereas the statements 1P5 “attributes” to Fr. Dollinger are pure lies and inventions — including Fr. Dollinger’s confirmation, days ago, that he made the statements! Really? I don’t think so.

Augustine of Hiphop

I kid you not:
I serve a king
who chose thorns over bling
that's why I can sing
"yo Death, where's thy sting?"

His gifts aint shoddy
true Blood, true Body

I aint no Arian
straight Trinitarian
three co-equal Persons
wit a love unvaryin

incarnate: what a scandal
He aint just an example
the Son be one wit us
wit the Father consubstantial
And much, much more ...

[Hat tip to A.B.]

Sunday, May 29, 2016

The Natural Laws of Sex


What 'social justice' is and isn't

Writing about social justice on his website, The Underground Thomist, J. Budziszewski says:
It is a trifle for the upper strata to promote sexual liberation; those who have money can shield themselves (to degree, and for a while) from at least some of the consequences of loose sexuality. The working classes do not have that luxury. In a country like this one, serial cohabitation and childbearing outside of marriage contribute more to poverty, dependency, and inequality than a million greedy capitalists do.

Do you to really want to raise up the poor? Then do as the English Methodists did in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: First live the Commandments. Then go among the people and preach them. Start with the ones about marriage and family.

I do not say this is all you should do, but if you won’t even do so much as this, then the rest of your social justice talk is hypocritical. You may as well admit that it is all about you.
R.R. Reno chimes in on the same theme in his "While We're At It" department of the June/July issue of First Things, where he writes:
The mention of social justice reminds me again of the wise observation Michael Novak made during a talk about his new book, Social Justice Isn't What You Think It Is, coauthored with Paul Adams. Justice is a virtue, not a state of affairs, and therefore social justice is a habit of pursuing justice in ways that are "social." It's a commitment to involve others in political engagement and problem-solving. A leader committed to social justice does with rather than doing for.

Fr. Perrone on Corpus Christi, Memorial Day, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the canonization of Stanislaus Papcaynski, and the summer weekday Mass schedule at Assumption Grotto

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" (Assumption Grotto News, May 29, 2016):
Many things to relate to you today.

Today's feast day of Corpus Christi directs our minds to become more mindful of the great Reality of the Lord's sacred Body and Blood made present to us through the gift of the priesthood. Recently I spoke to the congregation about being more vigilant in their manner of reception of Holy Communion. Today's Eucharistic theme is an offshoot of this, centered more on the adoration of our Eucharistic Lord. While many communicate, too few adore the Lord in the Holy Sacrament. This makes me wonder whether the paucity of adorers is due to inadvertence, neglect, indifference, or rather to want of true faith in the Real Presence. No matter the reason, we, recipients of this heavenly Treasure, ought to reverently adore the Lord Almighty concealed in the Sacred Host.

Today's Mass and chants, its procession with multiple benedictions (following the noon Mass) will attempt to bring greater awareness of what we have in this Sacrament and what other christian believers have not. Our Ushers will offer food and beverage, for those who wish them, after the conclusion of today's noon Mass and procession.

Monday is Memorial Day. Remembering is becoming a rarity in this face-paced age when important things, on that account, are held in ever diminished regard. We are simply too busy about doing whatever is before us to pause and be mindful of the sacrifices of others which have made our relative well-being in this land possible. Specifically, we should take this time to ponder the worth of our great nation which motivated valorous deeds even unto the loss of life in defense of her. Catholics, nearly alone among Christians, will do much more than honor the dead on Memorial Day. They will pray for the eternal reward of the faithful departed. They do this by offering Holy Mass, gaining indulgences for them, making other prayers and doing deeds in supplication to God for the mitigation of the suffering of purgatory. Our two Masses this Monday (no evening Mass!) will be 7:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., the latter will include prayers in our cemetery and complimentary doughnuts and coffee offered in the lounge afterward.

Friday this week will be the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a feast we have not paid sufficient attention to in recent years. This year we hope you will make a special effort to join us for the evening Mass which will be done with due solemnity. An ice cream social will follow. These are indeed poor efforts on our part to express gratitude to our Lord for having opened the love and mercy of His Sacred Heart to us, and the grant of special graces of a more intimate kind for those particularly devoted to Him through the revelation of His Sacred Heart.

Next Sunday, June 5, there will be yet one more special observance in the 9:30 Mass wherein we will celebrate, along with the whole Order of Marians, the canonization of its founder Sanislaus Papcaynski. The canonization ceremony itself will take place in Rome. Here we will give thanks to God for the inspiration He gave for the founding of a religious order which may in God's good time enjoy a new planting in our parish. On this day we will rejoice with Brother Esteban and his companions. Those attending the 9:30 Mass will also be invited to the gym afterward for a dinner hosted by him and his supporters for which a free-will offering may be made.

I conclude with a notice from May 31 until August ` there will not be weekday evening Masses. I regret this in view of the spiritual good of the people who cannot attend Mass in the morning. The reality, however, is that with only two parish priests and their summertime schedules away from the parish, and with the restriction of Canon Law which does not permit a priest to say more than one weekday Mass unless there is a real necessity (a funeral, for example), there cannot be both an evening and a morning weekday Masses here during this period of June and July. I can offer a note of consolation in that Brother Esteban has agreed to distribute Holy Communion each evening in these months at 7:00 p.m., preceded by the readings from the scripture of the Mass of the day. This is, needless to say, a great benefit. Although it is not the offering of the sacrifice of the Mass it is a sharing in its inestimable fruit.

Fr. Perrone

Tridentine Community News - Confirmations in Jackson with Bishop Boyea; Dave Wagner to Plat at Old St. Mary's Tridentine Mass; Mass of Ages Magazine now available online; 52 Signs of the Cross in the EF vs. 9 in the OF; TLMs schedule


"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"

Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (May 29, 2016):
May 29, 2016 – External Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Confirmations in Jackson with Bishop Boyea


Talk about a team player: When the Jackson, Michigan Latin Mass Community could not find a celebrant for June 5, Diocese of Lansing Bishop Boyea offered to take the Mass that day, on only two weeks’ notice... remarkable for a busy bishop. Note also that this marks His Excellency’s third Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form in under two months.

Jackson Tridentine Mass organizer Bill Price also took the opportunity to ask the bishop to provide another Sacrament for his community during his visit. And so what was once rarer than a four leaf clover has become increasingly commonplace: Confirmations in the Extraordinary Form.

Bishop Boyea will celebrate Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form and Confirmations next Sunday, June 5 at 12:15 PM at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in Jackson. Altar servers from Windsor’s St. Benedict Tridentine Community have been invited to assist.

Dave Wagner to Play at Old St. Mary’s Tridentine Mass

For decades Dr. Dave Wagner has been a familiar voice on local airwaves. Dave has served as program director and host at classical music radio stations, first at WQRS-FM and now at 90.9 FM WRCJ. Through the miracles of technology, Dave also served as program director and host at Los Angeles’ classical KMZT-FM until that station changed formats in 2007. Less well-known is the fact that Dave has also taught organ at Madonna University and has served as organist at a number of local Catholic parishes.

This Friday, June 3, Dave will join Wassim Sarweh and the choir of Windsor’s St. Benedict Tridentine Community to play the organ prelude and postlude for the 7:00 PM First Friday Tridentine Mass at Old St. Mary’s Church. Before Mass, at around 6:45 PM, he will play the Prelude in E Flat Major from Part III of the Clavierübung by Bach, BWV 532. The postlude will be the Fugue from the end of the Clavierübung, known as the St. Anne Fugue.

The choir will sing the Missa in Honórem Sancti Joséphi by Flor Peeters, a particularly jubilant Mass setting.

Mass of Ages Magazine Now Available On-Line

The second of the two leading magazines about the Traditional Latin Mass has become available on-line at no charge. The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales’ quarterly Mass of Ages magazine can now be read on-line at: https://issuu.com/latinmasssociety or on the associated Android or iOS Issuu apps.

Mass of Ages joins Regina Magazine in offering some of the most inspiring content about the Traditional Latin Mass and the world of Sacred Tradition that surrounds it. Regina Magazine is also available at no charge on Issuu’s apps or on-line at: https://issuu.com/champion13

52 Signs of the Cross in the EF; 9 in the OF

Does it seem to you as though there are far more Signs of the Cross made by the priest in the Extraordinary Form versus the Ordinary Form? Let’s count them:

Extraordinary Form High Mass: 1) Opening; 2) Adjutórium; 3) Indulgéntiam; 4) Blessing of incense at the altar; 5) Beginning of Introit; 6) End of Glória; 7) Blessing of incense before the Gospel; 8,9,10) Beginning of Gospel; 11) End of Credo; 12) With paten at end of Súscipe, Sancte Pater; 13) Deus, qui humánæ; 14) With chalice at end of Offérimus, 15) Veni, Sanctificátor; 16) Blessing of incense at Offertory; 17) Benedíctus in Sanctus; 18,19,20) Hæc dona, hæc múnera, hæc sancta sacrifícia; 21,22,23) Benedíctam, adscríptam, ratam; 24,25) Ut nobis Corpus, et Sanguis; 26) Benedíxit, fregit; 27) Benedíxit, dedítque discípulis suis; 28,29,30,31) Hóstiam puram, hóstiam sanctam, hóstiam immaculátem, Panem sanctum vitæ ætérnæ, et Cálicem salútis perpétuæ; 32,33) Corpus et Sánguinem sumpsérimus; 34) Omni benedictióne; 35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42) Minor elevation; 43,44,45) Pax Dómini; 46) With the Host before priest’s Communion; 47) With the chalice before priest’s Communion; 48) Once for each person receiving Holy Communion; 49) Final blessing; 50,51,52) Beginning of Last Gospel

Ordinary Form with Eucharistic Prayer other than I: 1) Blessing of incense before Mass; 2) Opening; 3) Blessing of incense before the Gospel; 4,5,6) Beginning of Gospel; 7) Blessing of incense at Offertory; 8) So that they may become for us the Body and Blood; 9) Final blessing These symbols take but a tiny amount of time to perform, but what do they say about our Catholic faith?

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
  • Mon. 05/30 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Felix I, Pope & Martyr)
  • Tue. 05/31 7:00 PM: High Mass at Holy Name of Mary (Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
  • Fri. 06/03 7:00 PM: High Mass at Old St. Mary’s, Detroit (Sacred Heart of Jesus)
    - Celebrant: Fr. Joe Tuskiewicz
    - Reception after Mass in the Parish Hall
  • Fri. 06/03 7:00 PM: High Mass at St. Josaphat (Sacred Heart of Jesus)
  • Sat. 06/04 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (St. Francis Caracciolo, Confessor)
  • Sun. 06/05: No Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart
[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for May 29, 2016. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Tridentine Masses coming this week to metro Detroit and east Michigan



Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
    Sunday


  • Sun. 05/29 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
  • Sun. 05/29 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
  • Sun. 05/29 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit** (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
  • New!! Sun. 05/29 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Joseph's Church, Detroit (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class) Procession with parish-wide picnic following Mass
  • Sun. 05/29 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
  • Sun. 05/29 12:00 Noon: Orchestral High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class) Corpus Christi procession and picnic following Mass
  • Sun. 05/29 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
  • Sun. 05/29 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)


  • Monday

  • Mon. 05/30 7:30 and 9:00 AM: High or Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Felix I - 4th class, or St. Joan of Arc - 4th class)
  • Mon. 05/30 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria - 4th class, or St. Felix I - 4th class, or St. Joan of Arc - 4th class)
  • Mon. 05/30 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Felix I - 4th class, or St. Joan of Arc - 4th class)
  • Mon. 05/30 7:00 PM: Distribution of Holy Communion with lectionary readings of the day Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Felix I - 4th class, or St. Joan of Arc - 4th class)
  • New!! Mon. 05/30 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Joseph's Church, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Felix I - 4th class, or St. Joan of Arc - 4th class)

    Tuesday

  • Tue. 05/31 7:00 AM High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary - 2nd class)
  • Tue. 05/31 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary - 2nd class)
  • Tue. 05/31 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada (Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary - 2nd class)
  • Tue. 05/31 7:00 PM: Distribution of Holy Communion with lectionary readings of the day Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary - 2nd class)

    Wednesday

  • Wed. 06/01 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Angela Merici - 3rd class)
  • Wed. 06/01 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Angela Merici - 3rd class)
  • Wed. 06/01 7:00 PM: Distribution of Holy Communion with lectionary readings of the day at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Angela Merici - 3rd class)

    Thursday

  • Thu. 06/02 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or Sts. Marcellinus, Peter, & Erasmus - 4th class, or Jesus Christ the High Priest - 3rd class)
  • Thu. 06/02 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria - 4th class, or Sts. Marcellinus, Peter, & Erasmus - 4th class, or Jesus Christ the High Priest - 3rd class)
  • Thu. 06/02 7:00 PM: Distribution of Holy Communion with lectionary readings of the day at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or Sts. Marcellinus, Peter, & Erasmus - 4th class, or Jesus Christ the High Priest - 3rd class)

    Friday

  • Fri. 06/03 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Sacred Heart of Jesus - 1st class) [First Friday]
  • Fri. 06/03 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Sacred Heart of Jesus - 1st class) [First Friday]
  • Fri. 06/03 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (Sacred Heart of Jesus - 1st class) [First Friday]
  • Fri. 06/03 7:00 PM: Distribution of Holy Communion with lectionary readings of the day at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Sacred Heart of Jesus - 1st class) [First Friday]
  • New!! Fri. 06/03 7:00 PM: High Mass at St. Joseph's Church, Detroit (Sacred Heart of Jesus - 1st class) [First Friday]
  • Fri. 06/03 7:00 PM: High Mass at Old Saint Mary's, Greektown, Detroit (Easter Friday - 1st class) [First Friday] Celebrant: Fr. Joe Tuskiewicz; reception following

    Saturday

  • Sat. 06/04 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Francis Caracciolo - 3rd class, or Immaculate Heart of Mary - 3rd class) [First Saturday]
  • Sat. 06/04 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Francis Caracciolo - 3rd class, or Immaculate Heart of Mary - 3rd class) [First Saturday]
  • Sat. 06/04 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Francis Caracciolo - 3rd class, or Immaculate Heart of Mary - 3rd class) [First Saturday]
  • Sat. 06/04 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi, South Lyon, MI
  • (St. Francis Caracciolo - 3rd class, or Immaculate Heart of Mary - 3rd class) [First Saturday]
  • Sat. 05/21 6:00 PM Tridentine Mass at SS. Cyril & Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, Sterling Heights (Pentecost Saturday (St. Francis Caracciolo - 3rd class, or Immaculate Heart of Mary - 3rd class) [First Saturday]

    Sunday

  • Sun. 06/05 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, or External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart - 2nd class)
  • Sun. 06/05 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, or External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart - 2nd class)
  • Sun. 06/05 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, or External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart - 2nd class)
  • Sun. 06/05 9:30 AM: Distribution of Holy Communion with lectionary readings of the day at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, or External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart - 2nd class)
  • Sun. 06/05 8:00 AM
  • : High Mass at St. Joseph's Church, Detroit (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
  • Sun. 06/05 9:45 AM: No Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, or External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart - 2nd class)
  • Sun. 06/05 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, or External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart - 2nd class) Eucharistic procession following Mass
  • Sun. 06/05 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, or External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart - 2nd class)

  • * NB: The SSPX chapels among those Mass sites listed above are posted here because the Holy Father has announced that "those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins." These chapels are not listed among the approved parishes and worship sites on archdiocesan websites. Also please note that St. Joseph's SSPX Chapel in Richmond has moved to Ray Township, at 57575 Romeo Plank Rd., Ray Twp., MI 48096.

    St. Joseph Church, Detroit, has resumed Masses following renovations. Masses include Sunday High Masses (at 8:00 AM until September), Monday Low Masses (7:00 PM), and periodic Friday Masses (at 7:00 PM).


    Thursday, May 26, 2016

    Surprise! Surprise!

    Damian Thompson, "Pope used Argentinian 'ghostwriter' for controversial document on the family, claims Vatican expert" (The Spectator, May 25, 2016):
    The leading Vatican commentator Sandro Magister – a conservative Catholic detested by the Pope’s entourage – this morning published an article that will severely embarrass Francis as he tries to clear up confusion over the Church’s teaching on Communion for the divorced and remarried.

    Magister, stripped of his Vatican accreditation last year after leaking a draft of the Pope’s encyclical on the environment, claims that Francis employed a ‘ghostwriter’ for key sections of Amoris Laetitia, his 200-page official response to last year’s Synod on the Family.

    Magister provides chapter and verse – that is, side-by-side comparisons of Amoris Laetitia, published in April, and the writings of the Pope’s friend Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.

    Here is a link to Magister’s post, which deserves to be read in full.

    While guilt narrative & white slavery denial

    Jim Goad, "White Slavery Denial" (Taki's Magazine, May 16, 2016):
    The currently approved conceptual framework for American race relations dictates that whites—all of them, simply by dint of being white—are oppressors. Any deviation from this rigid script, no matter how deeply rooted in fact, must be immediately annihilated like a blood-engorged tick.

    We are taught that black academic and financial underperformance—as well as black over-performance in crime—are the direct result of slavery’s horrid legacy. There are to be no other possible explanations. To note the hugely embarrassing fact that American blacks live far longer and under vastly superior economic conditions in America than they do in any majority-black nation on Earth may be factual, but it is RACIST because it undermines the ironclad Guilt Narrative that must never be questioned.

    Here are some facts that The Script demands you ignore:
    1. Even at the peak of American slavery, only a tiny percentage of American whites—about 1.5%—owned slaves.

    2. Leading up to the Civil War, a vastly higher quotient of whites had worked as indentured servants and convict laborers than had ever owned slaves. Most historians, regardless of their political orientation, agree that anywhere from half to two-thirds of whites who came to the American colonies arrived in bondage. The fact that the vast majority of whites existed in a state closer to slavery than to slave ownership is something resolutely ignored in the modern retelling of history.

    3. Documents from the era show that so-called white “indentured servants” were often referred to as “slaves” rather than “servants.”

    4. These “servants” did not always enter into voluntary contracts. There is overwhelming evidence that many of them were kidnapped by organized criminal rings and sent to work on American plantations. It is possible that as many, if not more, whites than blacks were brought involuntarily to the colonies.

    5. The middle-passage death rates for these “servants” were comparable to that of blacks on slave ships from Africa to the New World.

    6. Indentured servants were whipped and beaten, sometimes to death. When they escaped, ads were placed for their capture.

    7. They lived under conditions so brutal that an estimated half of them died before their seven-year term of indenture expired.
    Read more >> ... including the author's well-documented response to know-nothing attempts to 'rebut' these facts.

    [Hat tip to L.S.]

    "How monks and monasteries saved civilization and killed usury"

    Jones E. Alexis, "How monks and monasteries saved civilization and killed usury" (Veterans Today, February 12, 2014) -- a few excerpted passages:
    In the first century, Christ cast the moneylenders out of the Temple, but they gradually arose again during the thirteenth century, which created economic panic among the peasants.

    For example, the French town of Villefrance wrote to King Philip IV in the thirteenth century, saying that moneylenders “are absolutely and utterly destroying the town and district.”[1]

    The moneylenders throughout the Middle Ages were involved in exploiting the peasants, and thus were hated. Even philo-Semitic historians such as James Parkes admitted that this was the case, where interest rates ranged between 22 and 173 percent.

    Similar exorbitant interest rates were widespread throughout medieval England and France. The people behind all of this of course were Jewish moneylenders.[2] During that period, the word “Judaize” took a radical meaning.

    Historian W. C. Jordan declared that it meant “to act like an outsider, to regard others not as brothers but under a different set of rules that permitted forms of exploitation that were forbidden to the circle of brothers and friends.”[3]

    ... the monasteries were dedicated for people who would follow the principle of not only self-denial, celibacy, and obedience, but would also abstain from worldly attractions such as wealth.

    Celibacy was important because “those who did not marry did not need money to support their families, nor did they need the autonomy necessary to use that money wisely as heads of households.” As E. Michael Jones points out,
    The monasteries became wealthy in the mundane sense by ignoring wealth. The individual monks renounced money, but their labors produced enormous wealth for the monasteries. The wealth grew over generations because the monks did not have children or the expenses they require.

    More importantly, their lands were not constantly divided as children inherited the land from their father....[8]
    By the time Charlemagne was crowned in 800, usury was already forbidden in the monasteries and Charlemagne reinforced that teaching. Charlemagne was a powerful force for spreading literacy and he even instructed those in the monasteries:

    “Take care to make no difference between the sons of serfs and of freemen, so that they might come and sit on the same benches to study grammar, music, and arithmetic.”[67]

    ... [Few scholars] take into consideration the fact that kings and queens appointed their own “bishops” and “monks,” many of whom were sinful people that ended up following the course of this world, something that was radically different than the ways early monks saw the monasteries.

    There is ample evidence which shows that lending money at interest was even practiced among some bishops in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries,[76] but in every case these people were appointees who had been seeking an earthly kingdom.

    Durant declared, “As wealth mounts, religion declines,”[77] a statement which seems to reflect what the early church stood for ....

    Businessmen of course were the first to shout for joy when the teachings of the church with respect to usury declined....

    Yet seldom are these practices placed in comparison to those monks who actually repudiated the practice of usury and even indulgences.

    The only person able to do such differentiation (to my knowledge) is Edward Gibbon. Gibbon blamed the Church for the fall of the Roman Empire, calling those monks “unfaithful stewards” who were involved in “rapacious usury.”

    But Gibbon also suggested that this was not a widespread phenomenon. Pagans were in awe of the Church’s charity in taking care of the poor and needy; this “materially conduced to the progress of Christianity.”[78]

    A final point we should emphasize here is that during the Middle Ages and beyond, the Church established the most highly regarded institutions in the world.

    Oxford and Cambridge, along with other universities in places such as Toulouse, Orleans, Naples, Salamanca, Seville, Lisbon, Grenoble, Padua, Rome, Perugia, Pisa, Modena, Florence, Prague, Cracow, Vienna, Heidelberg, Cologne, Ofen, Erfurt, Leipzig, and Rostock were founded solely for the glory of God and the benefit of His creatures.
    [Hat tip to L.S.]

    Wednesday, May 25, 2016

    Dr. Anna Silvas on Amoris Laetitia

    Fr. John Hunwicke, "Reading" (Fr. Hunwicke's Mutual Enrichment, May 24, 2016), writes:
    There is an immensely scholarly discussion of Amoris laetitia by the immensely scholarly Dr Anna Silvas, a Romanian Catholic, Classicist, Semiticist, Patristic scholar, on the website of Fr Glen Tattersall's Extraordinary Form parish in Melbourne, newmanparish. Perhaps some able person could kindly supply a link to it. I think I would dissent only from the second sentence of her second paragraph. (There are a few typos.)
    I do rather wonder whether the 'Traditionalist' communities have been as clear in their reactions to Amoris laetitia as they should have been. "Tradition" does not simply mean an aesthetic preference for the (not entirely satisfactory) liturgical books of 1962. We need someone to resurrect the the term integriste, and its meaning! Where are the "Ecclesia Dei communities"? And what about those prelates who supply "eye candy" pickies on some traddy liturgical blogs? Are they not Successors of the Apostles and sharers in the Universal munus docendi? Do they have to be so scared? Who's afraid of the ...
    Fr Glen is to be congratulated. I don't think he's afraid.

    [emphasis added and website linked]


    Some Concerns about Amoris Laetitia
    Dr. Anna Silvas    

    Introduction

         In this talk I would like to outline some of the more pressing concerns I have with Amoris Laetitia. These reflections are organised into three sections. Part One will outline General Concerns about AL; Part Two will focus on the now-infamous Chapter Eight; and Part Three will suggest some of the implications of AL for priests and Catholicism.

         I am aware that Amoris Laetitia, as an apostolic exhortation, does not come under any rubric of infallibility. Still it is a document of the Papal Ordinary Magisterium, and thus it makes the idea of critiquing it, especially doctrinally, mighty difficult. It seems to me unprecedented situation. I wish there were a great saint, like St Paul, or St Athanasius or St Bernard or St Catherine of Siena who could have the courage and the spiritual credentials, i.e. prophecy of the truest kind, to speak the truth to the successor of Peter and recall him to a better frame of mind. At this hour, hierarchical authority in the Church seems to have entered a strange paralysis. Perhaps this is the hour for prophets—but true prophets. Where are the saints, of nooi (intellects) long purified by contact with the living God in prayer and ascesis, gifted with the anointed word, capable of such a task. Where are these people?

    Fr. John Hunwicke: "nasty and dirty" footnote 329

    Fr. John Hunwicke, "Nasty and Dirty" (Fr. Hunwicke's Mutual Enrichment, May 17, 2016):
    Many people very much more holy and learned than I am have spoken of the great riches and beauties which are to be found in Amoris laetitia. Since, we are told, portions of it were added at the request of the CDF, I see no reason why this should not be true. But I think footnote 329 is thoroughly Nasty and Dirty. It is dealing with the idea that "remarried" divorcees might live together as brother and sister. But, in the course of doing this, it quotes Gaudium et Spes. Since the Conciliar Document is referring ad locum to the spacing of families by married couples, this misrepresents the Council. It is always Nasty and Dirty to tell lies, particularly when it is a case of radically misrepresenting the teaching of an ecclesiastical organ ... an Ecumenical Council ... to which Christian people might feel they owed a duty of respect.

    And, finally, this footnote appears to accept by implication the proposition that the Grace of God is not able to give Christian people the strength to live in accordance with His will. That is Nasty and Dirty. The Church has always taught that Chastity is within the reach of those who live in God's grace. Millions of Christians have found this to be true. 
    Read more >>
    [Hat tip to L.S.]

    Tuesday, May 24, 2016

    Is it possible even to know what sort of Mass Vatican II wanted?


    The Traditional Mass on the Chartres Pilgrimage Not so off-putting to young people as Pope Paul VI imagined.
    Photo by John Aaron

    Joseph Shaw, "What sort of Mass did 'Vatican II' want?" (Rorate Caeli, May 24, 2016):
    Liturgical conservatives and progressives argue endlessly about this. Their argument will never be resolved, both because Sacrosanctum Concilium was and the subsequent magisterium has been self-contradictory, but also because neither side in the debate is willing to be honest about the historical facts. I am sorry to be harsh, but having read the output of both sides of the debate over a number of years, it is time it was said.
    First, Sacrosantum Conciliumhow is it self-contradictory? It makes few concrete suggestions, but it does make some. It calls for wider use of the vernacular (63); the removal of 'useless repetition' (34), and a more 'lavish' presentation of the Scriptures in the readings, arranged 'prescribed number of years' (51). It leaves further details to local initiative and an official commission. On the other hand, it says (23): 
    There must be no innovations unless the good of the Church genuinely and certainly requires them; and care must be taken that any new forms adopted should in some way grow organically from forms already existing. 
    It is perfectly obvious that the this double condition is not satisfied by the concrete suggestions the document itself makes. There is no precedent in the liturgical tradition of the Church, in any Rite, for a multi-year lectionary, and to suggest that such a thing could grow 'organically' out of a single-year lectionary is obviously absurd. There is no precedent for a mixing of Latin and the vernacular in the liturgy, or for the liturgy to be translated into dozens of vernaculars for different countries. The principle militating against 'useless repetition' is entirely foreign to the Church's liturgical tradition. And none of these changes could possibly, in advance, be said to be required 'genuinely and certainly' by the good of the Church. 
    From this fundamental self-contradiction, you can draw any conclusion you like. Perhaps the 'general principle' of section 23 should control our interpretation of the specific examples of reforms; perhaps it is the other other way around. The fact is, there is no coherent programme of reform inSacrosanctum Concilium. Let's not engage in make-believe. It is a compromise document with provisions pointing in different directions.It was, however, interpreted by those appointed to interpret it, and the Novus Ordo Missae was signed off by Pope Paul VI. So what liturgical style are we guided towards by the official documents, documents of the 'living magisterium' as the conservatives like to call them, which accompanied and followed the promulgation of the new missal?Well, these documents too are mutually contradictory. The architect of the reforms, Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, made a great deal of the provision of Sacrosanctum Conciium 34: 
    The rites should be distinguished by a noble simplicity; they should be short, clear, and unencumbered by useless repetitions; they should be within the people's powers of comprehension, and normally should not require much explanation. 
    This is his justification for rewriting practically every Latin prayer in the Missal, and then authorising its translation into kindergarten English: projects which were, of course, officially approved and given authoritative promulgation by the Church's Supreme Legislator, the Pope. Where does the 2011 'new translation' come from? It comes from a much later document, the 2001 Instruction Liturgiam authenticam which states (27): 
    If indeed, in the liturgical texts, words or expressions are sometimes employed which differ somewhat from usual and everyday speech, it is often enough by virtue of this very fact that the texts become truly memorable and capable of expressing heavenly realities

    The fact has to be faced: in proposing a 'hieratic', 'sacred' liturgical register, it introduces a liturgical principle for the guidance of translators which simply is not to be found inSacrosanctum Concilium or in the numerous documents of the 1970s and 1980s, documents like the toe-curling Directory for Masses with Children in 1973. There had been a massive conservative push-back in the 1990s and Liturgicam authenticam was the result. So patent was the contradiction between the two eras that Liturgicam authenticaum actually abrogated a whole raft of official guidance from before 1994:

    8. The norms set forth in this Instruction are to be substituted for all norms previously published on the matter,

    We need to face the fact: the magisterium's own interpretation of Sacrosanctum Concilium is a moving target. It was quite different in the 1970s than it was by the mid 1990s. Who knows where it will be in ten years?

    Monday, May 23, 2016

    Fr. Perrone on grave implications of defecting from the true Church

    Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, May 22, 2016):
    Another one bites the dust

    What triggers the quotation of this well-worn, if abused, cliché indicating defeat? It's the knowledge that one more relative of mine has ceased to practice the Catholic faith and is now attending a non-Catholic "church." I didn't do a calculation to get an exact number of these family defectors, of those who have abandoned the faith, but it's a higher number than I'd like to admit. My reason for telling you this dark family secret is to give you that scant consolation of commiseration. These relatives of mine, only a few years ago, had been Catholics. Technically speaking, they are still Catholics: "once a Catholic, always a Catholic." However, these relatives do not regard themselves as being Catholics any longer, and this is a literal shame for me and a shame on them.

    There's no greater misfortune that can befall man in this life than to be out of the true Church. It's a dogma of faith that there is no salvation outside the Church. Since there is only one Church, the one Christ founded, this amounts to saying that there's no salvation outside the Catholic Church. A dogma means a necessary teaching, one that's demanded by the very nature of the Christian faith. While interpretations of this dogma are various (and I do not intend to delve into them there), my purpose in reviewing it is to indicate how grievous a sin it is to abandon the true Church for any other.

    I don't know of any family where all the relatives have kept the Catholic faith. The widespread defection is symptomatic of this age of unbelief, but it's also the result of the gross negligence of irresponsible priests, catechists and parents for failing to teach the faith, for misleading and deceiving their charges about the real meaning of the Church's teachings, or else for trivializing the liturgy by their impiety. When people are left ignorant by vacuous religious instruction or scandalized by silly, irreverent liturgies, they may at some point come to a religious consciousness and ask themselves, Can this be the true Christian religion? Upon discovering the bible and sincere Christians of some sect or other, they may easily be swayed to league up with them and depart from the Church. In such cases, culpability for leaving the Catholic Church may be mitigated, or even be entirely non-existent due to the fault of others. God knows. But one should not err on that account in believing that though they have left the true Church, that at least they now love the Lord and are better off than had they remained non-practicing Catholics. Objectively speaking, to leave the true Church is a grave evil. Subjectively one may not be accountable for this, depending on circumstances, depending on circumstances, but this does not refute the substantive evil of defection from the faith. For the faithful, it is truly a suffering to learn that someone has converted to a sect. (I speak nothing here about apostates -- those who have left Christianity for a pagan religion or a cult: this is an even worse evil.)

    Today is Trinity Sunday. The dogma of the Blessed Trinity is a truth revealed to us by the Church, not by the bible alone, which does not clearly specify this dogma. And so, the dogma of the Trinity is an example of the necessity of the Catholic Church to explicate and impose its divinely revealed teachings upon, us, without which we would be doctrinally sunk, unsure about anything supernatural were we made to rely solely upon the many and diverse interpretations of the bible.

    Let us cherish the true, orthodox, Catholic faith in all its fullness. Let us pray never to be unfaithful to it, trembling upon recollection of our Lord's words, "When the Son of Man comes again, will He find faith left on earth?" We, unhappy witnesses of the disintegration of the Catholic faith and of a massive defection from the Church in our time, need to pray steadily for the return of lapsed Catholics and to show them the good example of our patience and love which may, in the end, prove most convincing of all proofs of the truth of our holy faith.

    Next Sunday is Corpus Christi Sunday. After the noon orchestral Mass there will be a procession (outdoors, as possible) with the Holy Sacrament and adoration of the One whom we love and revere as true God and true Man. Following the Procession, food at a nominal cost will be made available by our trusty ushers.

    Fr. Perrone

    Sunday, May 22, 2016

    Tridentine Community News - Oratory of St. Philip Neri Planned in Detroit; the rise of the Oratorians; the Curiosity of Ferias after Trinity Sunday; TLM schedule this week


    "I will go in unto the Altar of God
    To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"

    Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (May 22, 2016):
    May 22, 2016 – Trinity Sunday

    Oratory of St. Philip Neri Planned in Detroit

    We are delighted to report one of the most ambitious clerical undertakings to take place in decades in the Archdiocese of Detroit: A group of priests is in the early stages of organizing a local Oratory of St. Philip Neri [the religious order of which Cardinal Newman was a member]. Regular readers of this column know that the Oratorians are known globally for excellence in liturgy, preaching, and music, with a dual focus on the Extraordinary Form and reverent celebrations of the Ordinary Form, often ad oriéntem.

    Fr. Ryan Adams is one of the priests behind this initiative. Currently an Associate Pastor at the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, Fr. Adams is a young priest – ordained in 2014 – who has already made his mark as a Tridentine Mass celebrant in our region.

    The priests are endeavoring to achieve the first stage – that of an “Oratory in Formation” – over the next year. A home base of operations at an appropriate church will have to be negotiated, which will require the approval of both the host parish and the Archdiocese. A trial period of several years will then ensue, as the fledgling enterprise strives to become spiritually fruitful and financially self-sustaining. Not all Oratories in Formation are successful in making it to a more permanent arrangement.

    Fr. Ryan asks for our prayers as this exciting venture gets off the ground.

    The Rise of the Oratorians

    Quite timely in light of the above development, England’s Catholic Herald newspaper issued a podcast on May 12 entitled, “What is Behind the Unstoppable Rise of the Oratorians?”. Recently England saw the establishment of its sixth house of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, in Bournemouth. It joins existing Oratories in Birmingham, London, Oxford, Manchester, and York, the first three of which have stellar reputations for liturgical life. While each Oratory is related to the other outposts of the Congregation of the Oratory, there is no hierarchical relationship to a regional base as there is at, for example, Dominican parishes. Each Oratory operates fairly autonomously. Many, but not all, Oratories put emphasis on the Sacred Liturgy, offering beautifully executed Holy Masses in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms.

    Why are priests attracted to become Oratorians? One reason is because that particular clerical arrangement offers some of the best aspects of both diocesan priesthood and community life as is often found in a religious order. Priests do not take vows of poverty as they would in an order. Rather, they are diocesan priests living in community. They do, however, make a promise of stability, which means they typically remain at a given Oratory for their entire priestly lives. Occasionally priests will transfer from one Oratory to another, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

    In the podcast, the interviewer asked Latin Mass Society of England and Wales Chairman Dr. Joseph Shaw why the Oratorians are enjoying such growth in the U.K. and other countries. He responded with a keen observation: Priests are attracted by a sense of permanence to their work. Sadly, it is all too common that a pastor who works diligently to bring beautiful liturgy, supplies, and vestments to a parish, and establishes a sacred music program, sees his work either partially or completely eliminated within a short period of time by a subsequent pastor. Priests at an Oratory of St. Philip Neri, however, are usually stationed at a particular church for their entire priesthood. As a result, once a particular philosophy of operation for a given Oratory is established, it is most likely to continue for the long term. The same priests will be there for the long haul to ensure the philosophy is maintained. We certainly have seen that with the London and Birmingham Oratories, in existence for many decades, and also with the Toronto Oratory, founded in the 1970s.

    The full podcast is available at: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2016/05/12/podcast-whats-is-behind-the-unstoppable-rise-of-the-oratorians/

    The Curiosity of Ferias After Trinity Sunday

    This week we experience an interesting oddity of the liturgical year. The Church assigned the Feast of Trinity Sunday one week after Pentecost Sunday. Prior to the establishment of this Feast, that particular Sunday was known as the First Sunday After Pentecost, a Sunday with its own Mass Propers like any other Sunday. When [weekday] Fourth Class Ferias appear in the calendar, the celebrant is free to choose almost any Mass he desires, for example a Votive Mass, a Requiem Mass, or the Mass of any Saint. The default Mass for a Feria, however, is the Mass of the preceding Sunday.

    What is unique about this week is that the Church specifies that weekday Ferias are not to repeat the Mass of Trinity Sunday, but rather to default to the now-superseded Mass of the First Sunday After Pentecost. Yes, that’s right, a Mass which is never actually celebrated on a Sunday. The Mass Propers remain in the Missal, strictly to be used on weekday Ferias.

    Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
    • Mon. 05/23 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (Feria) [Mass of the First Sunday After Pentecost]
    • Tue. 05/24 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary (Feria) [Mass of the First Sunday After Pentecost]
    • Thu. 05/26 7:00 PM: High Mass at St. Josaphat (Corpus Christi)
    • Thu. 05/26 8:30 PM: High Mass at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, Detroit (Corpus Christi) – Holy Door opens at 8:00 PM. Procession with the Blessed Sacrament follows Mass. Celebrant: Fr. David Bechill. Juventútem Michigan gathering after Mass.
    • Sat. 05/25 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop & Confessor)
    [Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for May 22, 2016. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]


    Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
      Sunday

    • Sun. 05/22 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Trinity Sunday - 1st class)
    • Sun. 05/22 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Trinity Sunday - 1st class)
    • Sun. 05/22 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit** (Trinity Sunday - 1st class)
    • Sun. 05/22 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Trinity Sunday - 1st class)
    • Sun. 05/22 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (Trinity Sunday - 1st class)
    • Sun. 05/22 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (Trinity Sunday - 1st class)
    • Sun. 05/22 3:00 PM: Low Mass (call ahead for Confession times, 989-892-5936) at Infant of Prague, Bay City [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Trinity Sunday - 1st class)
    • Sun. 05/22 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (Trinity Sunday - 1st class)


    • Monday

    • Mon. 05/23 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - Mass of 1st Sunday after Pentecost - 4th class)
    • Mon. 05/23 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria - Mass of 1st Sunday after Pentecost - 4th class)
    • Mon. 05/23 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit** (Feria - Mass of 1st Sunday after Pentecost - 4th class)
    • Mon. 05/23 7:00 PM: High Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - Mass of 1st Sunday after Pentecost - 4th class)

      Tuesday

    • Tue. 05/24 7:00 AM High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class)
    • Tue. 05/24 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria - 4th class)
    • Tue. 05/24 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada (Feria - 4th class)
    • Tue. 05/24 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class)

      Wednesday

    • Wed. 05/25 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Gregory VII - 3rd class)
    • Wed. 05/25 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Gregory VII - 3rd class)
    • Wed. 05/25 7:00 PM: High Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Gregory VII - 3rd class)

      Thursday

    • Thu. 05/26 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Corpus Christi - 1st class)
    • Thu. 05/26 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Corpus Christi - 1st class)
    • Thu. 05/26 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Corpus Christi - 1st class)
    • Mon. 05/26 7:00 PM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit** (Corpus Christi - 1st class)
    • Thu. 05/26 8:30 PM: High Mass at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, Detroit (Corpus Christi - 1st class) – Holy Door opens at 8:00 PM. Procession with the Blessed Sacrament follows Mass. Celebrant: Fr. David Bechill. Juventútem Michigan gathering after Mass.

      Friday

    • Fri. 05/27 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Bede the Venerable - 3rd class)
    • Fri. 05/27 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Bede the Venerable - 3rd class)
    • Fri. 05/27 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit** (St. Bede the Venerable - 3rd class)
    • Fri. 05/27 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Bede the Venerable - 3rd class)

    • Saturday

    • Sat. 05/28 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Augustine of Canterbury - 3rd class)
    • Sat. 05/28 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Augustine of Canterbury - 3rd class)
    • Sat. 05/28 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Augustine of Canterbury - 3rd class)
    • Sat. 05/28 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi, South Lyon, MI (St. Augustine of Canterbury - 3rd class)
    • Sat. 05/21 6:00 PM Tridentine Mass at SS. Cyril & Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, Sterling Heights (Pentecost Saturday (St. Augustine of Canterbury - 3rd class)

      Sunday

    • Sun. 05/29 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
    • Sun. 05/29 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
    • Sun. 05/29 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit** (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
    • Sun. 05/29 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
    • Sun. 05/29 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
    • Sun. 05/29 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)
    • Sun. 05/29 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class, (USA) External Solemnity of Corpus Christi - 2nd class)

    * NB: The SSPX chapels among those Mass sites listed above are posted here because the Holy Father has announced that "those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins." These chapels are not listed among the approved parishes and worship sites on archdiocesan websites. Also please note that St. Joseph's SSPX Chapel in Richmond has moved to Ray Township, at 57575 Romeo Plank Rd., Ray Twp., MI 48096.

    **NB: [Update: All St. Joseph's Church Masses have been re-located to St. Josaphat, Detroit, until further notice, due to structural renovations.]


    A Krehbiel classic: the Bible and the Catholic apologist

    A tune-up for Catholic apologetics

    By  Greg Krehbiel (Crowhill Weblog, July 1, 2004)

    Back in 1992 I had a near miss with the Catholic Church. I almost converted. For the next seven years or so I couldn't shake the habit of falling into online discussions, arguments, dialog and, let's face it, fights, with other Christians. This nasty habit is usually called apologetics.

    My almost-Catholic-yet-vigorously-and-reluctantly-Protestant status was like a bull's eye painted on my email address.  Apologists of every stripe tried to do their best and some to bring me into the church and some to pull me away from the precipice. I learned what it's like to be apologetic prey. Generally speaking, I didn't mind. I like a good fight. But the experience has given me a taste of the ugly side of apologetics. From almost eight years of struggling to be an almost Catholic, I developed a unique perspective on both the Protestant and Catholic versions of this nasty business.

    But before I share my reflections on apologetics, let me clarify one thing. I am a Catholic and I believe everything the Catholic Church teaches. That doesn't mean I accept every garden-variety argument used to support those teachings, and I hope you can keep that distinction in mind as I criticize some common apologetic arguments.

    One more thing. Yes, I know the Protestants make their mistakes too. When I was a Protestant, I picked on them. But let's get the log out of our eye before we take the splinter out of our brother's.

    The Church is Infallible and So Am I

    The Church is the community of those people who have been called out of the world and filled with the Holy Spirit. It is the Body of Christ in the world, and certain things are true of the church because of its participation in the life of Christ. For example, it cannot fail, and it will come to know all truth. (Jn 16:13) One manifestation of this is the infallibility of the church's Magisterium in certain cases.

    Of course the doctrine of infallibility is a big subject of dispute between Catholics and Protestants. But there's another side to it, which could be illustrated by a fight on the playground.

    "Well my daddy's an engineer, and he says ...," by which Junior wants you to hear "I know what an engineer knows, and I say …."

    The Church's decrees on doctrine and morals are infallible, but how do you know you understand and apply them properly? Furthermore, sometimes the church holds to a doctrine without necessarily endorsing how we should prove or demonstrate it. Even if you understand the church's position, the argument you use to convince others may be faulty. There is such a thing as a bad argument to support the right conclusion.

    The Catholic apologist has to guard against believing that his methods are right because his conclusions are right. A more healthy approach would say, "This is the Catholic faith as I understand it, and this is why I find that position reasonable. But please go to the church's official documents and check it out for yourself."
    BAD HABIT: Assuming that you are right because the church is right.
    REMEDY: Listen to your critics. Yes, even to non-Catholics. You may not know as much as you think you know.
    Proper Conclusions Don't Fix Bad Arguments