A very timely piece, inasmuch as Lent had just opened its doors yesterday for another 40 days of nourishing our impoverished souls (although the calendar for the Extraordinary Form had already started Lent preparations with Septuagesima Sunday three weeks ago). I acknowledge in myself that fasting has proved tedious for me, given my maladies which intensify with lesser food intake or none at all. Nevertheless this I see as truly worthwhile to share.

ON FASTING
St. John Chrysostom

The value of fasting consists not only in avoiding certain
foods, but in giving up of sinful practices. The person who
limits his fast only to abstaining from meat is the one who
especially lowers the value of it.

Do you fast? Prove it by doing good works. If you see
someone in need, take pity on them. If you see a friend being
honored, don’t get jealous of him. For a true fast, you cannot
fast only with your mouth. You must fast with your eye, your ear,
your feet, your hands, and all parts of your body.

You fast with your hands by keeping them pure from doing
greedy things. You fast with your feet by not going to see
forbidden shows or plays. You fast with your eyes by not
letting them look upon impure pictures. Because if this is
forbidden or unlawful, it mars your fast and threatens the safety
of your soul. But if you look at things which are lawful and
save you increase your fast, for what you see with your eye
influences your conduct. It would be very stupid to eliminate or
give up meat and other foods because of the fast but feed with
your eyes upon other things which are forbidden.

You don’t eat meat, you say. But you allow yourself to lis-
ten to lewd things. You must fast with your ears, too. Another
way of fasting with your ears is not to listen to those who speak
evil or untrue things about others. “Thou shalt not receive an
idle report. “This is especially true of rumors, gossip,
untruths which are spoken to harm another.

Besides fasting with your mouth by not eating certain foods,
your mouth should also fast from foul language or telling lies
about others. For what good is it if you don’t eat meat or
poultry, and yet you bite and devour your fellow man?

Article courtesy of the EWTN Library

[Edit: Related reading - APPETENTE SACRO (On the Spiritual Advantages of Fasting), Encyclical of Pope Clement XIII promulgated on Dec 20, 1759) ]

It has been difficult for me to contain so much emotion on the death of Msgr Moises Andrade, STL–one of our beloved spiritual advisers of our Tridentine Latin Mass group Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph and one of the most respected liturgists in the country. He suffered from severe stroke last week prior to saying Mass in the morning then succumbed to Death’s beckoning a handful of days later. In truth, I had been weeping ever since I received word that he has been billeted into a hospital with respirator and ventilator fixations all over him although I can say that I have never doubted whatever God’s will may be.

Requiescant in pace. Memories of his indefatigable efforts of preserving Catholic orthodoxy in the liturgy shall never be forgotten.

My heartfelt thanks to you Msgr. Andrade for everything. Thank you for being such an inspiration not only to me but for every Catholic.

(N.B: There had been a requiem mass in the extraordinary form at 8PM today. Announcements on the funeral date shall follow. Those who wish to drop by the wake may do so at Msgr Andrade’s parish, the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Valenzuela City.)

From an announcement disseminated by those in-charge of noon masses at the University of Asia and the Pacific as of February 16, 2009. I had the chance to receive this via a forwarded e-mail sent through one of the online groups I belong to:

Friday Noon Masses at UA&P to be Celebrated in Latin

Beginning February 20, the Friday noon Mass at the Stella Orientis Oratory will be celebrated in Latin. The Mass will continue to be the ordinary rite as approved by Vatican II, not the extraordinary rite or the so-called Tridentine Mass.

Celebrating the Friday noon Mass this way will preserve the use of Latin in the liturgy, as encouraged by Pope Benedict XVI. Using Latin in the Mass has never been stopped or prohibited. In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy ­ Sacrosanctum Concilium ­ the Second Vatican Council, while allowing the use of the vernacular, also affirmed that the “use of the Latin language (…) is to be preserved in the Latin rites.” (no. 36)

The said university’s personnel and students are entrusted with spiritual formation courtesy of the Opus Dei.

N.B. I was fortunate enough to be one of the recepients of this forwarded message courtesy of my very good friend Carlos Antonio Palad of Rorate Caeli. This is the official statement made by Leo Darroch, the president of Una Voce International (a worldwide organisation composed by those who advocate a wider celebration and appreciation for the EFLR according to the Missal of John XXIII) on the restrictions on the TLM as outlined in a recently published set of guidelines from the Archdiocese of Manila.

On reading the guidelines issued by the Archdiocese of Manila on the celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form it is clear that whoever drafted these guidelines has not read the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI. The guidelines, signed by Cardinal Gaudencio B. Rosales, Archbishop of Manila, are reproduced here:

ARCHDIOCESAN GUIDELINES ON THE CELEBRATION OF THE MASS ACCORDING TO THE RITE OF THE ROMAN MISSAL PUBLISHED IN 1962 (TRIDENTINE MASS)

In accordance with the norms laid down by the Apostolic Letter, issued motu proprio, of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, Summorum Pontificum, We hereby establish the following guidelines and conditions on the celebration of the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962 (Tridentine Mass) in the Archdiocese of Manila:

The regulation of the celebration of this extraordinary form of the Mass belongs to the Archbishop of Manila, through the Minister of the Ministry for Liturgical Affairs of the Archdiocese of Manila.

This form of Mass is to be celebrated only at the Christ the King Chapel of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Manila once a month, but not on Sundays and Solemnities.

The presider at this form of celebration should be a priest duly appointed by the Archbishop of Manila.

To ensure the solemnity and orderliness of the celebration of this form of Mass, the participation of other ministers (i.e., lectors, Master of Ceremonies, servers, choir, etc.) in the liturgy is to be determined and regulated by the Ministry for Liturgical Affairs of the Archdiocese of Manila.

The celebration of the extraordinary form of the Mass in this Chapel is open to any individual or group in the Archdiocese of Manila who may have the desire to participate in such celebrations.

Further requests from individuals or groups from the parishes of or who belong to the Archdiocese of Manila to celebrate this form of Mass is to be directed to join the monthly celebration at the Manila Cathedral.

It is highly encouraged that a missal / booklet of the rite in Latin and English be prepared to help the faithful follow the celebration. It is like wise encouraged that those who will participate in this Mass undergo a catechetical orientation before the celebration.

The Archbishop of Manila has jurisdiction over this celebration and, therefore, can decide to limit or discontinue this monthly celebration anytime he judges that this is not consonance with the whole pastoral direction of the Local Church.

Given in Manila, this 8th day of December 2008.

+GAUDENCIO B. CARDINAL ROSALES

Archbishop of Manila

COMMENT:
There is so much in error with these guidelines that even though they mention the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, it is clear that the person who drafted the guidelines cannot possibly have read the Motu Proprio. The writer seems unaware that the previous rigidly-controlled state that existed under the indults of 1988 (Ecclesia Dei adflicta) and 1984 (Quattuor abhinc annos) ended abruptly at midnight on 13th September 2007. Under these indults, people and priests had to obtain permission from their local Ordinary before any celebrations of Mass using the Missal of 1962 could take place. Under Summorum Pontificum, which took effect from midnight on 13th September (i.e. from 14th September 2007), the permission to celebrate Mass according to the Missal of 1962 has been granted by the Supreme Legislator, the Pope, to “each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular,” to “use the Roman Missal published by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962,…and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations……..the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his Ordinary.” [Summ. Pont. Art 2]. The fact that one does not need the permission of the local ordinary to celebrate or attend Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form, does not, in itself, derogate from the right of bishops to regulate liturgical matters in their sees. No doubt the Supreme Pontiff took that right into account when he assumed that no Catholic bishop would dissent from the superseding right of the Successor of Peter to regulate the liturgy for the universal Church.

Therefore, not only has any priest of the Latin rite the freedom to celebrate Mass on any day of the year (excluding the Easter Triduum but NOT excluding Sundays), but the Motu Proprio removes a need to obtain permission from anyone – either from the Holy See or his local bishop [Summ. Pont. Art.2].

To comment specifically on the detail of the guidelines:
1. Despite what is said in the opening statement these guidelines are NOT in accordance with the norms laid down by the Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI.

2. In Summorum Pontificum, the Supreme Pontiff dispensed local ordinaries from “regulating” the celebration according to the Extraordinary Form when, in his Letter to Bishops accompanying the Motu Proprio, His Holiness states “The present norms are also meant to free Bishops from constantly having to evaluate anew how they are to respond to various situations.”

3 “The presider at this form of celebration should be a priest duly appointed by the Archbishop….” [Guidelines, para.4] There is no ‘presider’ at a Mass in the Extraordinary Form, this is a term introduced with the new rite of Mass. In the Extraordinary Form of Mass there is a ‘celebrant’ who offers up the sacred mysteries acting in persona Christi.

4. Concerning paragraph 5 of the Guidelines – it is the duty of all Sacred Pastors to ensure the solemnity and orderliness of the celebration of ALL forms of liturgy in their diocese so it needs to be explained why the Extraordinary Form requires special attention? As the Extraordinary Form and the Ordinary Form are “two uses of the same rite” [Summ. Pont. Art. 1], is the participation of other ministers (i.e., lectors, Master of Ceremonies, servers, choir, etc.) in the Ordinary Form also to be determined and regulated by the Ministry for Liturgical Affairs of the Archdiocese of Manila?

5. It is commendable that a missal / booklet of the rite in Latin and English be prepared to help the faithful follow the celebration but why should those who wish to participate in this Mass have to undergo a catechetical orientation before the celebration? Will this requirement for a catechetical orientation apply equally to those attending the Ordinary Form?

6. The local Ordinary has jurisdiction over this celebration in the sense that he must ensure that ALL liturgy under his jurisdiction is celebrated in conformity with the laws of the Church. Whatever is decided in relation with the Extraordinary Form of Mass must be decided “in full harmony, however, with all that has been laid down by the new norms of the Motu Proprio” [Letter to Bishops]. It is an abuse of authority, and in disobedience to the law expressed by the Supreme Pontiff, our Holy Father, to interfere in the right granted by the Successor of Peter to any priest in good standing to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of Mass. The Pope, the Supreme Legislator, has issued a DECREE, for the benefit of all priests and faithful of the Roman Rite in the Universal Church and no local bishop can interfere with this law and impose his own conditions in an act of public disobedience to the Vicar of Christ.

The way forward for any priest or member of the faithful is clear. In accordance with article 7 of the Motu Proprio they must contact immediately the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei for clarification and send a copy of the guidelines that obstruct the provisions of Summorum Pontificum. They should write to:

H.E. Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos,

President, Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei,

Palazzo della Congr. per la Dottrina della Fide,

Piazza del Sant Ufficio,

00193 Rome,

ITALY.

Fax: +39 06 69 88 34 12. Email: eccdei@ecclsdei.va.

Leo Darroch, Executive President – International Federation Una Voce.

11th February 2009.

A late post on the above matter as I should put it, inasmuch as many of local and international Catholic blogs have already featured another classic in the liturgical aspect of the Philippine Catholic Church. With all the world ever more shedding their qualms against accommodating celebrations of the usus antiquior in their parishes, I do not know as to why the Philippine hierarchy has been staunchly blocking any positive response towards the much celebrated Pope’s paternal solicitudes to the Missal of Bl. John XXIII. We pray that the good Cardinal may eventually realise that winds of change are now sweeping through the Church; and in the name of unity and orthodoxy, acquiesce to a more widespread clamour that the two forms of the Roman Rite may coexist side-by-side towards a more reverent and Christ-centred celebration of the Eucharist.

I now bring you the famous guidelines recently promulgated on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception:

ARCHDIOCESAN GUIDELINES
ON THE CELEBRATION OF THE MASS
ACCORDING TO THE RITE OF THE ROMAN MISSAL
PUBLISHED IN 1962 (TRIDENTINE MASS)

In accordance with the norms laid down by the Apostolic Letter, issued motu propio, of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, Summorum Pontificum, We hereby establish the following guidelines and conditions on the celebration of the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962 (Tridentine Mass) in the Archdiocese of Manila:

1. The regulation of the celebration of this extraordinary form of the Mass belongs to the Archbishop of Manila, through the Minister of the Ministry for Liturgical Affairs of the Archdiocese of Manila.

2. This form of Mass is to be celebrated only at the Christ the King Chapel of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Manila once a month, but not on Sundays and Solemnities.

3. The presider at this form of celebration should be a priest duly appointed by the Archbishop of Manila.

4. To ensure the solemnity and orderliness of the celebration of this form of Mass, the participation of other ministers (i.e., lectors, Master of Ceremonies, servers, choir, etc.) in the liturgy is to be determined and regulated by the Ministry for Liturgical Affairs of the Archdiocese of Manila.

5. The celebration of the extraordinary form of the Mass in this Chapel is open to any individual or group in the Archdiocese of Manila who may have the desire to participate in such celebrations. Further requests from individuals or groups from the parishes of or who belong to the Archdiocese of Manila to celebrate this form of Mass is to be directed to join the monthly celebration at the Manila Cathedral.

6. It is highly encouraged that a missal / booklet of the rite in Latin and English be prepared to help the faithful follow the celebration. It is like wise encouraged that those who will participate in this Mass undergo a catechetical orientation before the celebration.

7. The Archbishop of Manila has jurisdiction over this celebration and, therefore, can decide to limit or discontinue this monthly celebration anytime he judges that this is not consonance with the whole pastoral direction of the Local Church.

Given in Manila, this 8th day of December 2008.

+GAUDENCIO B. CARDINAL ROSALES
Archbishop of Manila

Father Zuhlsdorf of “What Does the Prayer Really Say?” had something in mind, all of which he perfectly rendered in his signature black+red font colour. He shut off the combox on such a post of his though–for prudence’s sake.

The regular TLM held every Sunday at the Sts. Jerome Emiliani & Susana Parish in Ayala Alabang Village will be temporarily moved to the San Beda Alabang Chapel on Sunday, February 08, 2008, to give way to the regular preparations for the Feast of St Jerome in the parish. The mass will still be celebrated in its usual 9AM schedule, with Fr. Grato Germanetto, CRS as celebrant.

San Beda College Alabang is located inside Alabang Hills Village, Alabang, Muntinlupa City. The current Abbot of the said Alabang Benedictine community is Dom Clement Ma. Roque, OSB who replaced Fr. Anscar Chupungco, OSB in 2008.

For those who are nevertheless curious, here are pictures of both the interior of the chapel and the high school building’s facade:

Photo credit

Many things are happening in the Church right now, what of many liberals criticising the Pope for the now-emancipated-from-excommunication Bishop Williamson’s remarks on the Jews, all-too negative impressions on Il Papa’s paternal moves on the SSPX (well, it’s high time the West be unified, along with the other parties’ cooperation), a case now unfolding regarding a pre-eminent congregation’s status, etc. Not to mention that the world is currently bludgeoned by anti-life policies instigated by no less than the policy-making bodies of the present US administration. May God continue to be merciful on us and save us!

Let us pray for the Pope, and the Church as a whole.

Santa Maria Purissima, ora pronobis.