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My son receiving his First Holy Communion on Pentecost. At Old St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Oratory in Kansas City Missouri.
Photo reblogged from A Catholic Rose with 29 notes
Fr John Rizzo FSSP: “Three months after my ordination (in the SSPX), I said a Mass in north London, a tough neighbourhood. During the Offertory I heard the door creak open. At the end of Mass, a man holding a gun walked up. He laid the gun down and said, ‘Father, I haven’t been to Mass for years. Tonight I was going to the park, sit on a bench and end it all; but I saw the lights of the church as I walked past and entered to seek shelter. The (Latin) Mass was so beautiful, I decided to live.’”
One of the first times I prayed at a Traditional Latin Mass was celebrated by Fr. Rizzo. Say a quick prayer for him today
Source: signum-crucis
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Remember, Christian soul, that thou hast this day a duty: God to Glorify, Eternity to Prepare for, Jesus to Imitate, The Angels and Saints to invoke; Your Soul to Save, Your Body to Mortify, Sins to Expiate, Virtues to Acquire, Hell to avoid, Heaven to Gain, Time to Profit by, Your neighbors to Edify, The World to Despise, Devils to Combat, Passions to Subdue, Death Perhaps to Encounter, and Judgment to Undergo.
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I love serving at Mass
Ever since I was a kid - I loved serving at Mass.
I would wake up early in the summer to go to Daily mass as I knew they didn’t have a server.
I served for the KC Anglican Use Community and I loved it.
At the time I also got involved with the Kansas City Young Adults and would Serve for their weekly Mass which was also a blessing.
And now I will be assisting the Latin Mass Community and I will be serving my first Missa Cantata on May 13.
I am super excited but I could use some prayers as well.
I’ll keep ya posted and I’m sure I’ll have some pix to post as well..
Church hopes music will bring peace to violent area of KC - KCTV 5 →
I learned to serve the Anglican use Mass under Fr. Ernie at St. Therese - Please say a prayer for them and the area they serve.
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Holy Thursday: Stripping of the Altars / Altar of repose
On Holy Thursday the celebrant, having removed the ciborium from the high altar, goes to the sacristy. He there lays aside the white vestments and puts on a violet stole, and, accompanied by the deacon, also vested in violet stole, and the subdeacon, returns to the high altar. Whilst the antiphon “Diviserunt sibi” and the psalm “Deus, Deus meus” are being recited, the celebrant and his assistants ascend to the predella and strip the altar of the altar-cloths, vases of flowers, antipendium, and other ornaments, so that nothing remains but the cross and the candlesticks with the candles extinguished. In the same manner all the other altars in the church are denuded. If there be many altars in the church, another priest, vested in surplice and violet stole, may strip them whilst the celebrant is stripping the high altar.
The Christian altar represents Christ, and the stripping of the altar reminds us how He was stripped of his garments when He fell into the hands of the Jews and was exposed naked to their insults. It is for this reason that the psalm “Deus, Deus meus” is recited, wherein the Messias speaks of the Roman soldiers dividing His garments among them. This ceremony signifies the suspension of the Holy Sacrifice.
It was formerly the custom in some churches on this day to wash the altars with a bunch of hyssop dipped in wine and water, to render them in some manner worthy of the Lamb without stain who is immolated on them, and to recall to the minds of the faithful with how great purity they should assist at the Holy Sacrifice and receive Holy Communion. St. Isidore of Seville (De Eccles. Off, I, xxviii) and St. Eligius of Noyon (Homil. VIII, De Coena Domini) say that this ceremony was intended as an homage offered to Our Lord, in return for the humility wherewith He deigned to wash the feet of His disciples.
source
The altar where the Sacred Host, consecrated in the Mass on Holy Thursday, is reserved until the Mass of the Presanctified on the following day. It is prescribed that the altar of repose be in the church and other than the one where Mass is celebrated. In the Mass on Holy Thursday two hosts are consecrated; after the consumption of the first, the second Host is placed in a chalice, which is covered with a pall and inverted paten; over the whole is placed a white veil, tied with a ribbon. This remains on the corporal in the centre of the altar till the end of Mass, when it is carried in solemn procession to the altar of repose, there to remain in the tabernacle or in an urn placed in a prominent position above the altar.
Individual churches vie with one another in rendering these altars of repose with their respective chapels ornate in the extreme, with rich hangings, beautiful flowers, and numerous lights. Catholic piety has made Holy Thursday a day of exceptional devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and the repository is the centre of the love and aspirations of the faithful.
Mention of the altar of repose and the procession thereto is not found before the close of the fifteenth century. The reservation of the Consecrated Species in the Mass of Holy Thursday, spoken of in earlier liturgical works, was for the distribution of Holy Communion, not for the service on the following day.
John 5:39-40
May be my current favorite Bible verse. Going over the readings for Thursday 3/22 (Our Wedding anniversary by the way…) in the Ordinary Form and it really hit me.
And the fact that that is leading in, right to John 6 - Perfect…..
You search the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf.But you do not want to come to me to have life.
John 5:39-40
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Heavenly Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth, and Creator of
all life, we thank You for all the blessings that You have bestowed
upon us and upon this great Nation of ours and upon this great
State of Kansas. We also thank you for those Representatives that
You have given us that truly acknowledge Your absolute rights
over all men and women.We call upon you now, in this urgent time of need for our
country, to guide us to the true freedom for which our nation was
founded for: That is the freedom to do good, with all the rights of
life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. We know that we cannot be
truly happy unless we do the good You created us for by
exercising our freedom well and responsibly.We ask you for the grace to bring us back to the principles that
have made this state and this nation great. We ask you to
strengthen our understanding of traditional marriage; one man and
one woman, we ask you to bring us back to virtuous morals in
society, morals that kept us from killing a child in the womb
through abortion. We ask you to defend us now in the fight for
true religious freedom and freedom of conscience, that seems to
be threatened now in the public sphere. We know that a truly
formed conscience is what keeps order in the person and in
society. We reiterate the words of St. Thomas More, who was
once a Statesman and the Chancellor of England, who said. “when
men forsake their own conscience for the sake of public duties,
they lead their nation down a short road to chaos.”He acknowledged his responsibility before all the men and
women that he came to serve and his responsibility before God,
who He knew would be his judge in all his decisions.Therefore, we ask You for the grace for all those who serve
You in public office to defend life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness, and to uphold the natural law and the rights of God.
We ask you to keep us one nation under God, and not one
Nation without God.We thank you for these men and women here whom we know
you have blessed by giving them this awesome responsibility. We
ask You for the necessary graces for them and bring many
blessings upon them. We ask all this through Jesus Christ, Our
Lord, Who lives and reigns with You forever and ever. Amen.
(Pictured above praying the Holy Gospel at Mass.)
All photos taken from my personal collection - hosted on Flickr
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Fourth Sunday in Lent
It has been an interesting lent, I have stuck to my resolution to not use my smartphone and have been using the MotoRazr Circa 2006 - and this has already proven to be quite the mortification.Back to confession yesterday morning - went to a parish at random and had to wait in line for about an hour - was worth the wait…
Ended up at a Novus Ordo near IKEA today and just wanted to share some observations that we noticed - more and more I am reminded about how good we had it at a N.O. back in KC:
And After ALL of this…. I am not angry - I’m not sure why. Am I getting numb to the liturgical abuses - maybe.
Perhaps I was just granted the grace to meet Jesus and the Eucharist today, and none of the external stuff that usually distracts me and bothers me at Novus ordo were going to affect me.
My wife and 4 beautiful kids all went to Mass together and that is what really mattered - I hope it continues for as long as possible.
I leave you with this photo I took in the back of the church after Mass - Jesus crucified as Priest:
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After a Haircut, Confession and Mass (in the Extraordinary Form) - I feel like a brand new Man….
I’m ready to take on this lent and resist temptation - lets pray this fervor never subsides….
First Sunday of Lent
I apologize that it has been so long since I’ve posted - I have had a somewhat of a spiritual dry time, but I hope to turn that all around today with a good confession and Mass in the Extraordinary form.
I have given up my smartphone for lent and this is proving to be a bit more challenging than originally thought. Not having email pushed to you is nice but its strange remembering to “check” it. No directions, no games, no apps, no distractions to get out of a conversation with someone you don’t want to talk to. I hope the lord knows I love him.
I wanted to share with you some bits and pieces that I can recall from my dream last night / this morning:
In this dream my wife and I were in a consignment shop, browsing around, as I was walking around an elderly lady was approaching the payment counter to pay for her vacuum repair / or to get a new used one, I can’t recall which. When she found out the total was $157 she was holding back the tears. Staring to sob she was telling them she couldn’t pay that kind of money. In my dream I remember starting to sob with her and it came to me that it was lent and that paying for her vacuum repair would be a form of alms-giving. After I paid for it she sobbed even more but tears of joy.
She was such a cute little old lady - I hope I am presented with a similar - perhaps not exact - opportunity to help someone in need.
Lastly I would like to reach out to you to pray for my uncle who could use some extra prayer for him and his children right about now.
All photos taken from my personal collection - hosted on Flickr - Click the Photo for the set / larger version
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Is it wrong to be excited to give up something for lent?
Sorry for the lack of posts lately, things have been busy, focusing on other “Real Life” issues - darn those things….
Anyway - I think I know what I am going to be giving up for Lent - my Smartphone….
I have been somewhat of a cell phone addict since about the age of 16 - always wanting something latest and greatest, and I am always found punching away at that lovely Motorola Photon 4G.
I have found on ebay an old phone - one with no camera, no GPS, no internet, and it may or may not have text messaging capabilities.
Here in lies the crux of my question…..
This phone was once my favorite phone… it was once THE phone to have.
So in me there is a bit of excitement and nostalgia going back to it….
Is it wrong to be so excited to give something up for lent?
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