The Sheepcat

Solemn High Mass for Candlemas

On Tuesday, St Brigid's in the east end of Toronto saw its first Solemn High Mass in probably 45 years or more. Fr Venette of the FSSP was the celebrant, and two transitional deacons from St Augustine's Seminary filled the roles of deacon and subdeacon.

All told, the celebrant and his assistants and we singers in the choir loft together with the people in the pews numbered more than a hundred. Not a bad turnout for a first-time event on a snowy night.

The occasion was Candlemas: in the 1962 Missal, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and in the Ordinary Form, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

When some of our family members attended a United Church service on Christmas Eve, the people processed around the church with lit candles. Our relatives hadn't heard of such a thing being done; surely this ultimately came from the Catholic tradition of a Candlemas procession.

Tuesday being the twentieth anniversary of my father's death, I found the Tract particularly poignant:

NUNC dimittis servum tuum, Domine * Secundum verbum tuum in pace: Quia viderunt oculi mei * salutare tuum Quod parasti * ante faciem omnium populorum: Lumen ad revelationem gentium, * Et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.

[NOW dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, * in peace, according to Thy word: For mine own eyes hath seen * Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared * in the sight of all the peoples, A light to reveal Thee to the nations * and the glory of Thy people Israel.]

For more pictures, see the FSSP Toronto Facebook group.

Give Thanks

Today I went with many friends to pick apples, and we then went back to one family's home to feast on roast turkey and pumpkin pie.

Other people went hungry.

Today we went to Mass, my host and his wife and I. We heard a good homily about how necessary the Eucharist is to being fully alive. We received the Eucharist.

Some people have never heard the gospel at all. Some Christians have never heard about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Some Catholics are risking persecution and death every time they attend Mass.

Today I spoke with my mother, hundreds of miles away, and told her I loved her. The words didn't come out perfectly smoothly, because it's been too long since I last said them, but say them I did.

Some people are cut off from their families by external circumstance or a by legacies of conflict and resentment.

Today my friends and I took contrary positions on the Canadian election tomorrow and the one coming up in the States, before we settled down to more harmonious.

Other people cannot mention politics without wondering who will report them to the secret police.

Today I rested, and tomorrow I will return to my various contracts.

I also spoke with a friend who lost her job a few days ago.

Today I am alive. I have my sight and hearing. A church sign along the country road read, "Can't think of anything to be thankful for? Check your pulse."

An acquaintance died suddenly on Saturday.

It is so easy to complain, and I fall into this so often myself. The Internet has given us limitless access to discouraging and alarming stories upon which we can focus if we so choose.

It is easy too to turn thanksgiving into backhanded complaint, automatically sliding, for example, from gratitude for the freedoms we do enjoy to griping-for-griping's-sake about how our freedoms are under attack. Which they indeed are, but that's not the point. (I'll bet a few readers' minds went straight from "Other people cannot mention politics without wondering who will report them to the secret police" to "Yeah, and how much longer before that happens to us?")

One really can't fix a culture of complaint by complaining about it. One can only give thanks for the trials God has, in his great providential wisdom, allowed us to face with the help of his all-sufficient grace.

St Paul writes in his first letter to the Thessalonians, "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (5:16-18). To the Philippians he writes, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance" (4:4-5)

The other day I visited my friend Grace, who is Baptist, in the nursing home where she's lived for several years. A few months ago she broke her knee, but she smiled so cheerfully as she recounted the saga of her injury and her recovery, incomplete as it is so far, because she trusts so deeply in God's providence. I told the kids in my Confirmation class on Sunday that many Christians are handicapped by not having access to the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, and yet what inspiring lives ones such as Grace lead!

What do we do with the gifts God has given us? I know I've outright squandered more than a few ... and piddled away some others in spells of lukewarmness. Well, thanks be to God that I can receive absolution for my sins of omission.

Can Anything Good Come From Australia?

Aside from the formidable Cardinal Pell, the Catholic Church in Australia has a rather squishy reputation, but that may be on the mend. Archbishop Coleridge of Canberra and Goulburn has laid down most excellent liturgical instructions, here viewable in pdf. Some highlights, from which you will see that there is little new, but if only all these instructions were universally observed, it would make for much more fitting and prayerful worship.

It is not just a question of having good music, but of having good music which serves prayer and which, in that sense, is not an adornment of the liturgy but integral to it.... Some of the texts used are also decidedly feeble and even at times questionable theologically.

Liturgical movement – whether done before or during the liturgy – needs to serve prayer; it needs to lead people more deeply into the mystery of God. If it does that, it can have a place in the liturgy, but if it does not then it would be better left to a concert.

Imperfect created beauty makes visible the perfect uncreated beauty of God which is revealed supremely in Christ crucified and risen. Therefore, the buildings in which we worship should be beautiful, which is not to say highly elaborate or impossibly expensive. The great churches of the Franciscan tradition, for instance, have about them a striking simplicity, but they are also strikingly beautiful.

People coming to Mass have a right to a celebration of the liturgy according to the norms set down by the Church; anything else can be unsettling and distracting. Without changing anything, we are to bring as much prayer, intelligence, imagination and sensitivity as we can to the act of worship. Creativity concerns the quality of our participation, not an adaptation of the ritual in an attempt to improve it or to make it more relevant.

The greeting of the people by the celebrant should be the liturgical greeting “The Lord be with you” without change or addition. [It's a prayer, whereas "The Lord is with you" is a proposition.]

The Sign of Peace can be a problem in its current position, especially when it involves a lot of noise and movement. It was never intended to disrupt the sense of silence and prayer appropriate to this sacred moment of the liturgy as the assembly prepares for Communion. Noise and movement therefore should be kept to a minimum.

The Blessing is a priestly act in which the celebrant, who has presented the people’s prayer to God, now offers to the people the blessing of God. These two gestures contain an entire theology of mediation which is basic to the Catholic understanding of the sacramental priesthood. Therefore, the Church asks that the celebrant say, “May almighty God bless you…” rather than “May almighty God bless us…”. The point may seem trivial, but its theological implications are not. [emphasis in original]

Every Knee Shall Bend South

The Kloska Family Blog shows pictures from an awesome Eucharistic Procession on the campus of Notre Dame.

Link thanks to the Curt Jester, via Diogenes.

Survey Design 101

American Papist tried to take the poll of American Catholics that Beliefnet is running in anticipation of the Pope's visit. Question 5 asks:

What role should women play in the Church? (Select all that apply)

• Priests
• Deaconesses

When I tried to select neither option, I was greeted with this message: "*This question requires an answer."

Charity demands that we not assume a deliberate attempt to manipulate the results, but for the question to be posed this way exposes a shameful ignorance of Catholic sacramental theology.

Welcome Home

One of the great pleasures of the Easter season is to read stories about people from all walks of life who, by the grace of God, have been led to the bosom of Holy Mother Church and received into full communion at the Easter Vigil.

Nathan Kennedy, a student who had enrolled in a liberal Catholic college precisely because it wasn't very religious.

The fullness of truth does not come without its costs. Our faith is not something that should work to make us comfortable where we are, rather, it is something that that should make us bitterly uncomfortable where we are whenever we are not fully in God's presence. There is no salvation without the cross.

Allen Hunt, a former Methodist minister.

“Finally, I have always struggled with the idea I call ‘doctrine by democracy.’ I simply struggle with the concept that we Protestants vote on certain things to decide what is true.”

Ten inmates who received the sacraments from Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk.

Fellow inmate Bernard Perfetto said what drew him to Catholicism was "the message of love, forgiveness and hope -- three things that are in short supply in prison."

A friend of Mark Shea's with a good first confession story.

So I pray, "Mary, Mother of my God, help me to make a good confession.", and immediately as I start praying, in my mind's eye, she's there leaning over the back of the chair in front of me; she's got one hand on either of my shoulders and she's leaning in, like a mom telling her child something important, and she's praying for me. I can't hear what she's saying, but IT'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT because the Mother of my God is Praying for me and it's gonna be just fine!

SF author John C. Wright, who turned to Christianity a few years ago, has made a few choice remarks upon getting his formal religious affiliation aligned with the essentially Catholic worldview that readers of his blog have noticed.

I just hope the omnidroid created by Richard Dawkins in his secret volcano-base on Skull Island does not find me before I can swallow the Secret Power Bread that is the source of my strength! I carry a pellet of that bread in a secret compartment in my crucifix-shaped switchblade-throwing-star.

I just hope they don't ask me to pray, repent and confess my sins, live purely, or tithe to charity or anything. I would hate to join a demanding religion. Whew. Glad I dodged that bullet!

And

Third question: why are my favorite authors, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Gene Wolfe, Mike Flynn, G.K. Chesterton, all members of this monstrous Syriac cult known as Christianity? I do like my freethinker authors just fine, but Bob Heinlein, Ayn Rand, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke seem to have trouble with realism in characterization, both with their invented people, and with their invented societies.

Tripp, the husband of Barbara (Mommy Life) Curtis.

After much study and even more prayer, I know that my home is rooted in the Catholic tradition. I found that most of my concerns were from being misinformed and the more I investigated the more I realized that the Church fathers were right.

On Monday a woman I know announced, seemingly out of the blue, that she'd just been received into the Catholic Church. She is anxious about how some Protestant friends will react but already is loving the "communion of saints" and feels as if she's come home.

I recalled to her the Chestertonian image of the Church as a great cavern whose immensity one doesn't truly understand until one has stepped inside. It's infinite, in fact, because it is the mystical Body of Christ. And something actually happens when we receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Easter Vigil powerfully reminds us that the Sacraments are a gift.

Why the Robes?

Fr Dwight explains the symbolism simply and effectively. If you take robes for granted, check it out.

Confessional Advice from Fr Philip

Fr Philip Neri, OP, offers advice from the confessional and Ten Commandments for a Good Lenten Confession, along with much other good Lenten material.

Link via the Curt Jester.

Liturgy, United Church Style

On the fourth Sunday of Advent and on Christmas Eve, I went with my mother to the services at the United Church she belongs to. I found them pretty thin gruel.

The minister explained that the liturgy was different each time "because we're different each time we come to worship." No, no, no, no. It's true that we as worshippers change and grow over time, but that's entirely the wrong focus, which ought to be upon God, not us. We as Catholics can use the same ritual over and over again because the mysteries of our faith are inexhaustible in their depth and richness. No matter how many times we come back to them, they're still compelling. We don't need to dress up the Incarnation with gimmicks. What on earth could we possibly dream up to make it more interesting or relevant than it already is?

Now, one of the things I like least about hanging around with fellow Catholics of a pretty traditionalist bent is the continual grumbling I hear from a few of them--bless 'em--about bad liturgy, so I promise you I won't keep going on about this. But, my goodness, it's hard to top the banality of what I heard that day. Herewith, I present an excerpt from the Call to Worship:

One:	Shshshshsh...
Choir:	Shshshshsh...
ALL:	Shshshshsh...
One:	The people
Choir:	The people
ALL:	The people
One:	The people who walked in darkness
Choir:	darkness
ALL:	darkness
One:	darkness
Choir:	darkness
ALL:	darkness
One:	The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light
Choir:	light
ALL:	light
One:	light
Choir:	light
ALL:	light
One:	Those who lived in a land of deep darkness--on them light has shined. You have increased their joy!
ALL:	Wow!
One:	You have given them gladness!
ALL:	Wow!

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. It reeks of someone trying way too hard to be creative.

Then to top it off, the sermon Story to Ponder was actually a direct repeat of an illustrative story the minister used several years ago, "If I could only become a bird." Sorry, but that's one place where I do appreciate variety.

Contrast that with the Mass. It sounds kind of cold-blooded to put it this way, but the Mass is remarkably ... efficient. You come in, listen to some prayers, listen to Scripture, and then you witness the Eucharistic miracle. Hopefully you get to receive the Body of Christ. And then you're ready to go out newly strengthened into the world. Good liturgy leaves little room for wouldn't-that-be-nifty contraptions that haven't been thoroughly road-tested. Nay, battle-tested.

Take your pick: a foretaste of eternity in the company of God and all his angels and all his saints, or a foretaste of an eternity in the company of Barney & Friends.

Serving at the Traditional Latin Mass

In the spring I began serving two days a week at the Mass at Holy Family Parish. Since the Traditional Latin Mass started in September, I've been helping to set up for Mass and getting trained to serve.

Tomorrow I'm scheduled to serve at the traditional Mass for the first time. I'm nervous--probably not in a bad way, but nervous nonetheless. Please pray for me.

* * *

Update (21 November): I was very, very nervous and fumbled a few of the rubrics, but it went okay. Better than okay, actually: it was the Mass, which is an awesome event no matter what the server does.

I heard that someone I know who has also been serving at the Traditional Latin Mass wanted to know if anything he got wrong could invalidate the Mass, and he was relieved to be told no. Validity is the priest's responsibility, and we servers are there just to help. Whew!

Next time will be easier, I'm sure. And the time after that, and so on. That's the beauty of a set liturgy, that over time it becomes familiar to the point where we no longer need to concentrate consciously on what is supposed to happen next, and the ritual wafts us to a higher place. This transcendence suggests to me a reading of Ephesians 3 that hadn't occurred to me before. Imagine St Paul praying "that you, being rooted and grounded in love [that is, in the Eucharist!], may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled will all the fullness of God" (3:17b-19). Amazing, eh?

It's also good, it was suggested to me, that the complexity of the Traditional Latin Mass reminds us servers we really can't manage it own our own; with the simpler rubrics of the Novus Ordo, it's perhaps easier to fall into a sense of self-sufficiency instead of remembering that everything good we accomplish is achieved through God's grace.

It's been a blessed day. Thank you for your prayers.