Ubi Petrus

[G]ive, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
– Luke 6:38 (RSV)

And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’
— Matthew 25:20-21 (RSV)

We’re at the end of what can only be described as a highly intense week at work which should explain my lack of posting thus far, not that I’m proud of that fact. That the two above quotes sum up how the week has ended should suggest things have gone well, but it was extraordinarily stressful for quite a while. Suffice it to say I’m sure not everyone’s week would identify with the above quotes, and they are in my prayers.

To be only slightly less opaque, after all the stress of the week had concluded I was handed an opportunity I hadn’t even contemplated. Not an opportunity for a new project or a new job, but an opportunity to evangelize and catechize a co-worker. Since the other person brought up the subjects, such as women priests, the Inquisition and others, I thankfully didn’t have to worry about getting into trouble since, unlike Dom, I don’t work for the Diocese.

So in exchange for putting all my trust in God to get me through this difficult week in whatever way He found best, I was rewarded with an opportunity to do as He has called all of us to and even graced with the words with which to do so. When you open yourself to God’s workings, He does not give in dribs and drabs, He gives in heaps and mountains. Sometimes it’s like drinking from a fire hose of grace. [T]hou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows. — Psalms 23:5b (RSV)

Two updates on the state of the Extraordinary Form Mass in the Diocese of Manchester. First, commenter pazdziernik tells us the next EF Mass at St. Patrick’s in Nashua will be this coming Sunday at 2PM.

Second, over at Corpus et Sanguis, commenter Dianne-Marie tells us Fr. Kelly’s current schedule is for High Mass on the 2nd Sunday of each month at 4PM and Low Mass on the Fourth Sunday of each month at 2PM provided other parish-related issues do not intervene. This is certainly a most generous response. When you look at Fr. Kelly’s sacramental schedule, however, you’re not entirely surprised: he has regularly scheduled confessions seven days a week – weekdays before the 12:05 Mass, Saturday before the 4:00 Mass and before each Mass on Sunday. There are many parishes that could learn a lesson from that schedule.

If anyone has heard of any other Extraordinary Form Masses in NH other than those at St. Patrick’s in Nashua and Immaculate Conception in Portsmouth, please let me know in the combox. If there is enough support perhaps the Bishop will be encouraged to search out even more ways to accommodate this tradition. Maybe even a Mass in the Cathedral some day. Hope springs eternal.

When good and profitable things are happening in this Diocese, I think it’s only good to broadcast that fact. Three in particular have caught my eye as important happenings in the near future.

First, St. Pius X parish in Manchester will be honoring the 90th anniversary of our Blessed Mother’s apparitions at Fatima, Portugal on Monday, October 1 at 7 PM. There will be an outdoor procession (yes, a real procession!) and indoors there will be a special blessing with the Monstrance by Fr. Bob Gorski, the rosary, the Divine Mercy chaplet and Benediction as well as refreshments. One could, of course, say the former are refreshment in and of themselves! It is indeed good to see truly Catholic activities like Marian processions becoming more common in this Diocese.

Second, Fr. Marc Montminy (the twin brother of my pastor, former Director of Vocations for the Diocese and all-around tremendous priest) will be the next speaker for the Theology on Tap series. His lecture will be at Fratello’s Restaurant on Dow Street in Manchester with the title of “The Naked Truth: That they may be one“. I may be wrong, but it certainly sounds like a talk on the Theology of the Body which can only be a good thing in this day and age. And while you’re there, you can have some of the best Italian food in the city which is also, only a good thing! (I usually go for their Northender and have never walked out with a significant doggy bag, another good thing.)

Finally, the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture will begin its fall lecture series on “Foundations of Ancient Catholic Thought” on October 6th at Joseph House in Manchester. As far as I can tell, and Google says so too, this group does not as yet have a web site for linking, but I certainly will not complain one iota about a lecture series about the Church Fathers. The series will be presented by Cheryl Geary, one of the five founders of the Institute. I must find out more about this organization.

Good things are starting to happen in this Diocese. If it please God may this be only the beginning.

Given our RCIA classes have started, I thought I’d pull Handing on the Faith in an Age of Disbelief off the shelf and get started on it. It features four lectures given in Paris and Lyons France in 1983 at a conference on catechesis and reflections on the those lectures. The lectures were given by then-Cardinal Ratzinger, Godfried Cardinal Danneels, Franciszek Cardinal Macharski and Archbishop Dermot J. Ryan. We often like to think people in these positions are far removed from the problems down in the “trenches” but reading these reflections clearly show how seriously and indeed how personally they take the everyday issues of forming and increasing the faith of their flock.

As always, I’ll pull out a snip that caught me. In his long, in-depth and as usual pointed lecture, then-Cardinal Ratzinger came to a discussion of the issue of the role of the Church as an institution and its necessity in the economy of salvation.

It seems to me that the average Christian consciousness today is almost universally determined by a somewhat coarsened form of congregationalist thinking: according to this consciousness there is, first, Christianity as such, and then – because human things require institutions – we must find for ourselves an organization in which it can continue. Thus the Church is regarded as an institution that, while necessary, given the conditions of human existence, is nevertheless organized by men alone and that is ultimately something external as compared to the contents and hence must not interfere in those contents as well. There is no need for a lengthy proof that, with such presuppositions, the contents of the Christian message itself will end up evaporating more and more and become thoroughly arbitrary. But given such a state of consciousness, which is fostered by widespread and plausible habits of thinking and living, it is very difficult to demonstrate the manifest character of ecclesiastical tradition, without which that tradition cannot be lived out. That, therefore, is what we should be concerned about above all else; then the concept of pluralism, too, will automatically fall into its proper place again.

Very often the difference between God allowing for the Church to exist and God intending and wanting for the Church to exist is lost. There is, in the economy of salvation, nothing left to chance, nothing truly extraneous or devoid of importance. As much as God intended from all eternity to provide for man’s salvation, He also intended to provide the Church. It is something we as catechists in particular need to help those who study under us come to understand. The Church did not just come to be by chance, it was willed by God from all eternity; it is not merely a human construct meant to parlay power from person to person, it is a necessary element, given to us by the God who is love to help ensure our salvation.

As just a quick hit before life gets any busier today, the Extraordinary Form Mass at St. Patrick’s yesterday made the newspapers before it even happened. I only hope they are good enough to cover how well it went after the fact, and how well attended it was. The Nashua Telegraph coverage is here, and the (Manchester) Union Leader coverage is here.

If you read the comments in the Union Leader piece, you will see how little people still understand what is going on, from little details like whether Bishop McCormack “allowed” the Mass to whether it is a sign of a “regression” or “progression” in the Church. One person even took the opportunity to take a whack at the Bishop and call for his resignation (again). Funny, but I didn’t think doing what the Pope calls for was a firing offense. Silly me. Thankfully they left their politics and, apparently, themselves at home and allowed several hundred of us to worship God in the form of the ages. It is now up to the rest of us to take up the Great Commission and respond to the call of ite missa est with the only answer appropriate: Deo gratias!

The family and I just got back from attending the Extraordinary Form Mass at St. Patrick’s Church in Nashua, NH. The church is every bit as beautiful as I remember, although somewhat different from the pews than from the sanctuary – previously my only time there was as a server for a Mass including our three Bishops (then Bp. O’Neil, Bp. Christian and Ret. Bp. Gendron). Interesting that such high points should come at a church I have never called home.

Fr. Kelly came out shortly before Mass began to offer a brief editorial and point everyone to the kneel/sit/stand guide, the Propers and the Latin-English Sunday Missals they had provided. He admitted readily that when they set out on this endeavor they did not know whether there would be three people showing up or thirty or three hundred. By my estimation the surpassed even the latter. Father mentioned his great joy at being able to finally pray the Mass he had served at so many times as a youth, a sentiment shared in their own ways by many from the nodding heads I saw.

Before discussing the Mass itself, let me first remind you, gentle reader, once again that I have never seen a Extraordinary Form / Tridentine / Traditional Latin Mass. Even the Mass on EWTN this past Friday still sits on my DVR waiting for me. With that, let me say first that what struck me was the silence. I knew going in that there was much more silence in an Extraordinary Form Mass than in the Ordinary Form, but I was utterly unprepared for how much silence there was. In that silence I frequently found myself looking for clues from the priest’s hands, a bow or the occasional word I could hear him speak. This is a regular occurrence for someone new to the EF, so I didn’t find my stumbling too distressing. If you know me, that’s a moment of grace in and of itself.

As Mass went on and I continued to find myself lost and then found in my Missal time and again, at one point I realized there was enough that I was gleaning from what I was witnessing even without knowing the words. Talk about a moment of calm. All of the sudden, keeping up with the priest in my Missal or not keeping up became less important and remembering to pray took precedence. When I knew what the priest was praying, I joined in his prayers and when I found myself out-of-sync I did whatever I could to pray in union with him. It was a form of actuosa participatio that was entirely … other. I have long known that proper participation must start internally but to find such a deep participatio that was almost completely internal was, frankly, somewhat of a shock.

Father mentioned tentative plans to have Extraordinary Form Masses every other week, possibly the second and fourth Sundays of every month. As so many who first discovered the Church in this Ancient Rite have said, there is something entirely other present here, something which I must come to see again. If someone else was there and wants to nitpick at whether Father got everything right, that can be for them – for me, my cup overflows and I shall heap upon them who brought forth such a gift only praise. Deo gratias!

Fr. Z has been good enough to post the homily he gave at the Sept. 14 Extraordinary Form Mass in Blackfen (better known to most of us as the home of The Hermeneutic of Continuity’s Fr. Tim Finigan). It is a good summary of exactly why so many have so long considered the Extraordinary Form so important for the good of the future of the Church. One would have expected nothing less from Fr. Z. If one were to summarize it in one sentence, something to say to someone who does not understand the draw of the Exraordinary Form, it would have to be in this:

The soul grows in faith, hope and charity only in contact with a reality so far beyond itself, so transcendent, that it cannot be grasped or controlled.

That, in short is what has been so long sought after. We can only hope that the Spirit use this opportunity to restore that needed transcendence to all celebrations of Holy Mass, and soon.

From CNA:

Madrid, Sep 11, 2007 / 10:39 am (CNA).- The mother of the first baby in Europe to undergo fetal surgery hopes the successful outcome of her story will lead to fewer abortions and allow other children diagnosed with malformations the chance to live.

Maria Jose (her last name has not been revealed) gave birth a few days ago to her daughter, who underwent surgery in the womb to correct spinal bifida, a deformation that can cause paralysis, neurological damage, mental difficulties and other problems.

The girl is named Maria and was born by caesarean at 33 weeks. On July 31, when she was in her 27th week, she underwent prenatal surgery by Spanish doctors at a hospital in Seville, with guidance from Brazilian and American specialists.

The girl’s mother knows her case is “very important” for families with similar problems and could help other children to have a chance to live. “May parents never chose to abort,” she said, noting that her husband never considered making such a choice.

Doctors say little Maria is in “very good” condition and showing no signs of paralysis.

Her case was the first of its kind in Europe. Guillermo Antinolo, director of the genetics and reproduction unit and head of gynecology and obstetrics, praised the “courage and bravery” of the 36 year-old woman, who with her daughter, “is in great shape.”

I only wish this story were getting more coverage than it is. We don’t, after all, perform surgery on lumps of tissue, we perform surgery on people. I echo her words – “may parents never chose to abort”. If only one person reads this and changes their mind about abortion, it will be a far greater saving act than we can possibly comprehend.

Archaeologists have unearthed an underground drainage tunnel that they claim was used by the Jews to escape the Romans in 70 AD. Pottery and coins from that time period appear to confirm the when it was used. It is always most intriguing to see things from such ancient times – it helps reconnect us to the fact that these were real people, living real lives and not just some static facts in a history book. The full article is at BBC News.

As I sat down to my bowl of oatmeal (yes, oatmeal – it’s chilly here) this morning I started into the very common Blessing Before Meals. You know: “Bless us O Lord and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.” We’ve all repeated that probably a million times, maybe less for those of us still new to the Church, and it certainly has the capacity to turn into an automatic response with no involvement of the conscious mind as does anything we do routinely.

Some of us are blessed enough that our prayers never become purely rote, while some slide into an unfeeling disinterested exercise in repetition. A lot of us are probably stuck somewhere in the middle. This morning, for whatever reason, God apparently decided to prick me with a little reminder. As I repeated the words, “from Thy bounty,” it struck me squarely that we are also saying “and also only from Thy bounty” – that truly without God’s beneficent gifts not only would this bowl of oatmeal not be sitting there to provide me sustenance, but I myself would not be sitting there about to consume it. If someone ever tries to tell you God doesn’t have a sense of humor, just remember “oatmeal as a catechetical tool”. You can’t make that kind of stuff up.