The LORD gives food to the hungry

"Do not be afraid.... For the LORD, the God of Israel, says,
'The jar of flour shall not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry ....'"

The LORD ... gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free....

The fatherless and the widow he sustains ....

Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many,
will appear a second time, not to take away sin
but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.

1 Kings 17:13-14

Psalm 146:7, 9

Hebrews 9:28

The Gospel, Saint Mark 12:42

I think someone took these readings from the Novus Ordo, or post-Vatican II missal, but I really like them and feel that they're an expression of what my Christianity is-or at least should be-about.

I really love the Traditional Latin Mass and now Sunday's my favorite day of the week.

But I feel that I'm a sinner who needs salvation. I knew this for a long time, but I'm taking this fact more seriously now that that I've been attending the Latin Mass and listening to Father's homilies and guidance in the confessional.

I feel that I'm more trusting to the Lord now and the focus on whatever's been going on in my life now-that the important thing is that I'm in a state of Grace-and that the Lord is truly looking after me. And I'm sure He really appreciates the widow dropping her last two cents in the collection basket-while He wishes that many of the more fortunate-such as a millionare who drops only a 20-dollar bill in the basket each Sunday-would be more generous.

Of course, I must be honest that my faith wanes sometimes, like it has recently. I used to say quite a bit that I had "the faith of an atheist", but I have not been feeling that way during the 9 months I've been attending the Latin Mass until recently when I had a setback. I haven't been feeling well lately and been feeling like I need a little more "tender loving care" from the other human beings in my life-not just from the Lord. But they don't always choose to give it. Maybe my faith is being tested right now.

Is a Return to the Latin Mass in the Cards?

A Return to the Latin Mass

Clashes with congregants may erupt as a growing number of young priests push for a revival of pre-Vatican II customs

By Eric Ferkenhoff

Posted 6/17/07

Nearly two generations of Catholics now have grown up in a post-Vatican II world, worshiping in a church that celebrates mass in their local languages and, at least to some extent, embraces modern customs as much as it once rejected them.

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So it seemed anathema when the Vatican confirmed recently that Pope Benedict XVI would relax restrictions on celebrating the 16th-century Tridentine Mass, citing "a new and renewed" interest in the ancient Latin liturgy, especially among younger Catholics.

Given the fierce fight that preceded Vatican II—the liturgical and doctrinal reforms of the mid-1960s that sought to make the church more accessible—a similar war would seem needed to overturn them. But a movement is building at seminaries nationwide to do just that: In addition to restoring the Latin mass, young priests are calling for greater devotion to the Virgin Mary, more frequent praying of the rosary, and priests turning away from the congregation as they once did. Perhaps most controversially, they also advocate a diminished role for women, who since Vatican II have been allowed to participate in the mass as lay altar servers and readers.

Such changes would seem to aggravate the church's growing attendance problems(in 2003, 40 percent of Roman Catholics said they had attended church in the past week, down from 74 percent in 1958) as well as enhance its air of exclusivity—the notion of Catholicism as the only true faith. Yet proponents of the movement argue that just the opposite holds: More people will attend mass if the traditions are richer and the doctrine stricter. The Latin mass, they say, would restore a sense of community they believe was diluted when the church allowed local culture to override tradition. In Chicago alone, mass is now said in some 50 languages.

"The traditional Latin mass simply excels at conveying the majesty and mystery of God," says Michael Dunnigan, a canon lawyer and chairman of the pro-Latin mass group, Una Voce America. Rejecting comparisons to fundamentalism, he denies that proponents are simply seeking more structure and discipline. "At the heart of the movement is a longing for beauty and an attitude of profound reverence," he says. Andrew Vogel, a seminarian from Rochester, Minn., notes that before Vatican II, mass attendance was at its highest and seminaries were full. "People just think we must have been doing something right," he says.

In today's Catholic churches, priests are free to celebrate a contemporary Latin mass, but they cannot celebrate the Latin mass as it was structured before 1962 without permission of their bishop. It is this restriction that the pope is considering lifting.

The proponents of the old Latin mass are said to number no more than 2 percent of Catholics, and polls show that the majority of Catholics embrace the reforms of Vatican II. But the Latin movement may be strong enough to carve a divide. Thomas Reese, a fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University predicts "a clash of cultures between clergy and the more liberal congregations as more of these conservative priests graduate and make their presence known."

He predicts that other old practices will be restored as the Vatican tries to impose the conservative values of Benedict on a more liberal world. "This is so much more about politics than it is about Latin and liturgy," Reese says.

According to published reports, the pope was, among other things, trying to bridge a divide with the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, even though that group has expressed concern about reversing the gains of Vatican II.

The Latin movement also has its detractors outside the faith. Jewish leaders take offense with older rites' references to Jews as faithless, and they worry that a revival of the old traditions could foster anti-Semitism.

But such arguments seemed far from the minds of the 20-odd worshipers who gathered last Friday for the Latin mass at Chicago's St. John Cantius Church. "You put the old rite and the new side by side, and there really is no comparison," says Simon Varnas, 35. "The old rite is far superior. It is more conducive to prayer, recollection, and personal dedication."

This story appears in the June 25, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.

I'm a Latin Mass "Junkie"

I didn't think I'd like the Traditional Latin Mass that much-but I love it!!!

In fact, I even told the priest who says our Traditional Mass that it reminds me of the first definition I've ever heard of crack-a cocaine that you get hooked on instantly. I practically got hooked on the Traditional Latin Mass instantly and don't want to go back to the English Masses-especially on Sundays when Father is there to say Mass early Sunday morning.

In addition to regular Sunday Masses-which this "night owl" drags herself out of bed early to attend-I've been to a couple other Masses said by this same priest. One was on Ash Wednesday-not a holy day of obligation-and the other on Ascension Thursday itself-not "Ascension Sunday." Kind of reminds me of the moniker given to the vigil Masses we have in English-the "cheaters' Mass."

In our diocese we're no longer required to attend Ascension Mass on a Thursday; the obligation got moved to the closest Sunday-the one before Pentecost. But our Bishop doesn't like the idea of moving it to Sunday and neither do I. When Father announced that we'd be having a Mass for Ascension Thursday-not just "Ascension Sunday"-I was very happy. He said that "a lot of us Traditionalists" don't like this move from Thursday to Sunday. (So the Bishop and I aren't the only 2 people in this diocese who don't like this change-far from it!) Father said that if you don't like this idea either of moving Ascension to Sunday you don't have a right to complain about it if you don't go.

I saw quite a few of the people at the Thursday Mass that I see on Sundays. I was very happy to see them show up for this Mass. I think our Bishop would be very happy to see our large turnout at this Mass. And this was one more "excuse"-or opportunity-to attend a Traditional Latin Mass.

Hopefully we'll have a Traditional Latin Mass priest in our area 7 days a week sometime in the near future. But for now I'm grateful for one who comes up once a week to care for our local Latin Mass community and runs back to the other one to say Mass for them too.

I've been running a "small business" of making macrame necklaces out of embroidery floss but I haven't been selling a lot of them lately. I decided to get my own table at the parish "garage sale" and attempt to sell them as well as some old missals and a Bible I bought together in a big box on eBay. I didn't make much, but I think I made more on the missals than the necklaces at the sale. And I made at least $23 by selling them after Latin Mass. Now I get on eBay quite a bit to find more boxes full of old missals to sell them.

In fact I did win another box of old Catholic missals and similar books-but I paid almost twice as much for this shipment for half the number of books. When I talked to our choir director, I found that someone (probably one of her daughters) wanted a missal by Fr. F.X. Lasance who wrote a book I'm reading now called "A Catholic Girls' Guide."

I did find a copy of the Fr. Lasance missal on eBay and bought it for $9.99 with no charge for shipping. I just got it this past week and plan on taking it to Mass to show the choir director and the young lady who wants one. If she doesn't want it, I'll just wait for someone else who does. I love getting these old books and making them available to those who want them.

I told Father that the thing I like the most about the Traditional Mass is the big cross on his back as he faces the big altar. I've been saying it reminds me of Who the Boss really is-and it's not the celebrant. And it's also a reminder of what the "Boss" did for us-died for our sins on the cross. I've even read that the cross on the back of the outer vestment-also called a chasuble-symbolizes Jesus carrying the cross on his shoulders for us.

I used to think I was a "liberal" Catholic, but may be a Traditionalist myself; I try to adhere to the truth-not just some heresy that I wish were true.

I took a quiz on Beliefnet.com called "What Kind of Catholic Are You?" My score on that was 87% which made me either a "Rosary Catholic" or a "Traditional Catholic." I told Father how I did on this test and he said, "Congratulations!"

I do recall my late fiance, a very devout Catholic, say, "I have never heard a heresy come out of your lips." But the girlfriend he had before me believed in them he said.

In another 12 hours I will be at another Latin Mass. I hope you have a blessed Sunday!

Ad Jesum per Mariam! (To Jesus through Mary!) JMJ

Collects of the Day

In the Traditional Latin Mass we have short prayers called "collects" that are said during the Mass. You can find them in your missal for the particular Sunday or weekday the Mass is for. I was considering posting them here, but another Traditional Catholic blog I visit quite a bit quit posting these and provided the following link for those who want to read the collects. http://arsorandi.blogspot.com/

Introduction/Welcome

I've been learning a lot about the traditional Mass and about the church-especially the people who attend the traditional (or Tridentine) Mass.

I've been trying to improve my spiritual life-after all neither the world nor I are getting younger. I wanted and still want to be in a state of grace when I leave the earth. In fact I want to become a great saint and be in a state of grace all the time.

I was praying for some kind of help in becoming that holy person I'd like to be. It hasn't been that easy being that kind of person. And it still isn't.

Meanwhile I started getting a newsletter from a community of Roman Catholic priests who celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass (or the Tridentine Mass.) I don't know how I got on their list, but I'm glad I did.

They had some really good articles written by really good Catholics. And their seminary has been attracting vocations like crazy. And the Church can use as many good priests as it can get. Now this community of priests, the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter or FSSP, is trying to raise money for their seminary, Our Lady of Guadelupe, so they can accommodate more seminarians.

I was quite impressed. Other communities and the diocesan priesthood as far as I know are still suffering a lack of vocations. For example, the Holy Cross Fathers (CSC) which serve at several of our parishes in South Bend, Indiana, claimed to be burying more priests than they ordain.

And the Tridentine Masses are more popular among young people who weren't around before Vatican II then they are among older people who have been raised on this Mass. Because of all these things, I've been wanting to go to one of these Masses celebrated by the FSSP.

I found out our Bishop gave them the go-ahead to have the FSSP say Masses in our diocese. The one in our area was originally at a church that was on the west end of town and I was almost downtown. I found out that the church I've been going to had Latin Masses. I've been wanting to go to at least one, but the Mass starts at 7:45 am and I'm not a morning person. And the people who have been picking me up chose to go to the English Masses-especially the 10:30 one. So when they told me they were going out of town one weekend I decided to attend the Latin Mass.

I went to a nearby ATM, withdrew some money, set my alarm, went to bed early, got up early, and took a cab to church. It was a beautiful Mass. I could tell by the priest having his back turned to us during the Mass that it was the Traditional form. I found out that this was the same group of people who had the Latin Mass at the other parish. I got hooked on this traditional form instantly and took a cab again in a couple weeks to the Mass.

After that I went to every Sunday Mass they had as well as an Ash Wednesday and Ascension Thursday Mass done by the same priest.

When this priest returned one of my calls last week I toldhim what I liked the most about the Mass-the cross on his vestment when he's facing in the same direction as the other people present. What a great reminder of Who's really in charge-and it's Jesus Himself-not the priest. Of course I like a lot of other things about the Mass beside the cross on the priest's back.

I sat in on a Confirmation class he taught this year and learned a lot of things I didn't learn from my previous religious instruction.

Now I want to read as much as I can on the Tridentine Mass as well as those who either celebrate the Mass or attend it. I'll be happy to have daily Tridentine Masses in my area when we have a priest up here full time-not just one who drives from one part of the diocese to another so we can have a Latin Mass.

It's getting late now and I'm getting tired. God bless you.

-paula