Absolutely No Spin

Bingo: Romney the Next Kerry.

2012-01-02T16:09:00.002-05:00

Someone at the Washington Times apparently reads my blog. Well, probably not. But I claim to have thought of it first...

CURL: Is Romney the next John Kerry?

Please Iowa... Please New Hampshire...

Dear Iowa and Other States That Matter

2011-12-28T12:36:00.000-05:00

To my fellow republicans in states that matter: Please do not force me to vote for Mitt Romney. It will make me cringe if I have to pull the lever for that guy. He reminds me too much of John Kerry. He is very smooth and polished but I worry when it rains that his hair will form cracks and break apart. In order to get Obama out I will do the deed but please don't make me.

I would enjoy voting for Gingrich a great deal if it means getting to see him pown Obama in a debate. He is a convert to the faith as am I and frankly his past sins are not a concern to me.

Bachmann is the real deal, better than Romney, and I would be ok voting for her as well.. I don't think her "attacks" have been all that honest, however. She loves her talking points too much at times.

The only guy who at the end of the day would allow me to vote with a clear conscience, the guy who I know would always do the right thing (or at least try to) is Rick Santorum. Voting for him would actually make me feel good. I am convinced he is the best man in the field. He is a true Catholic gentleman and I believe he will govern according to his well formed conscience. I am not sure he can win because he might be too much of a boy scout. We can always hope.

I have heard some folks say that Romney is the only one who can win. Hogwash. I think he could lose big time because he is so incredibly uninspiring.

Merry Christmas and some humor!

2011-12-24T14:44:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas. I give you the stupidest thing I have ever read! My comments in red.

from toledoblade.comby Marilou Johanek

The pews of many Roman Catholic churches in the Toledo diocese and throughout the country will be filled to capacity tonight. Standing room only is customary for midnight Masses, frequently packed by infrequent churchgoers who maintain a once-a-year tradition. [It used to be customary for everyone, in the Middle Ages]

Even if months, years, or decades have elapsed since Catholics saw the inside of a church, the liturgy they grew up with is easy enough to pick up again. The familiar prayers and responses of the Mass are well ingrained -- or used to be. ["And with your spirit" is simply way to difficult.]

An eye-opener awaits occasional Catholics. If the prodigal sons and daughters had trouble relating to religion before, new changes in the Mass liturgy could have them reeling. [This is reeling stupid.]

The church hierarchy has ambiguously complicated communication of the text of the Mass. [ROFL! Its the exact opposite. This is my favorite sentence from the column.] Certain prayers and passages have been awkwardly translated to comply with the Vatican's wish for a more traditional and spiritual tone in the liturgy.

The result is language lunacy. [Unlike the author's remedial rhetoric.] Since the beginning of the Advent season, Mass-going Catholics have struggled to adapt to the translations with laminated copies of the changes. [Like they did in the 60s and 70s.]

We've been told they more accurately reflect the original Latin language and will help deepen faith in the English-speaking world. Forgive my cynicism. [and mine]

As a parishioner and lifelong beneficiary of a revamped Mass liturgy, I appreciate the value of simple, straightforward prayer.

In the 1960s, the Second Vatican Council made a progressive effort to reach ordinary Catholics with words that are understandable, moving, and meaningful. [Dry, boring, banal, and AMBIGUOUS. Different strokes for different folks!] After centuries of an antiquated Latin ceremony that isolated ordinary Catholics, the church recognized the need of the faithful to be fully integrated in the Mass. [What does "fully integrated" mean?]

Ornate, stilted, tortured text, often whispered by a priest with his back to the congregation, was mercifully changed to make sense to native English-speakers. Gone were poorly worded sentences, fractured phrases, and lofty, out-of-touch verbal and ritual niceties that appealed to no one but Vatican bureaucrats. [Wait, was it in Latin or Elizabethan English? Does she even know what she is talking about?]

Instead, pastoral instincts took over. Improving the prayer life of the congregation and broadening individual participation in weekly worship became important.

Ritual became real. Prayers became personal. The message mattered, not the archaic-sounding and confusing cadences of the old Latin Mass.

The point -- and it was a good one -- was to bring people and God closer. [The result: half empty churches and closures everywhere.] Some priests, who are uneasy about expressing their opinion for publication, strongly question whether the new Mass translations will lead to a deeper spirit of prayer in the pews.

Not only did they thoroughly learn the English translation of the Mass, after saying it exclusively for 30 or 40 years, [Subtraction is too hard! Advent 2011 - Advent 1969 = 42 Years] but they also learned how to make the prayers mean something to their parishes. Wordy dictates from traditional church sticklers -- without much if any input from the laity -- threaten to dismantle attempts to enhance relevance.

Read the rest here. Merry Christmas!

The War on Happy Holidays

2011-12-22T20:59:00.001-05:00

There is a lot of discontent among Christians and cultural traditionalists for the past decade or so regarding the use of "Happy Holidays" in place of "Merry Christmas". I have to admit that it just doesn't offend me to be wished Happy Holidays. Today I saw this on the Vortex...

I'm not sure a Happy Holidays sign on a parish sign requires national attention with a rant like that. If you listen to what Mr. Voris says the motivation was, it was because parish didn't want to offend other people. Not wanting to offend someone is actually a good motivation. They are trying to do good by their actions. It is not evidence of a liberal cabal taking over the churches one by one. Placing a Happy Holidays sign on a church is unfortunate and misguided, but it is probably just an example of misplaced compassion. Growing up (way back in the 80s!) I heard Happy Holidays all the time. It never seemed offensive to me. I always assumed the well wisher made perfect sense. After all, we do celebrate more than one holiday...Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. It wasn't until much later that I heard it was being used to avoid saying Christmas.

Even if it is being used to avoid saying Christmas, there is a good chance that most people who use the hated Happy Holidays are doing so out of fear. To them it seems to be the right thing to do because our culture holds being non-offensive as it's highest virtue. Everyone wants to fit it, and that is normal human behavior. Man is a naturally social being.

I am not saying that we should just bow to the anti-Christian forces that know what they are doing. There are folks out there that are actively pushing for "Happy Holidays" and the disintegration of Christian culture. Those are the people we should fight, not cashiers at Boscov's and Macy's or parish secretaries. If your parish has a Happy Holidays sign then take it up with the pastor. It is your parish, after all. But I don't think embarrassing other parishes by publishing their phone number on a vlog will accomplish much of anything except to create an enemy. I liken this to a parish visitor calling the rectory on a Monday morning complaining they saw too many Extraordinary Ministers at Sunday Mass. How far do you think that will go?

If someone says "Happy Holidays" to you when you are checking out at a store, what do you say? Do you sneer and loudly say, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Do you nicely smile and say, "You too!" Or perhaps you just nicely say "And have a Merry Christmas." I usually do the latter, given that I don't want to offend anyone. I suppose if you really want to educate the person you could respond "Oh, thank you, which ones?" then wait for the answer with a genuine (looking) smile on your face.

Benedictus Antiphons 4th Week of Advent

2011-12-20T00:06:00.002-05:00

Consider this a Catholic blogosphere straight -arm.

While nearly every other Catholic blogger out there is doing his annual duty by mentioning the O Antiphons (again) and perhaps adding (yet another) perspective on them, I will rebel by highlighting the Benedictus Antiphons for the 4th Week in Advent. So there. *

Sunday
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee, Blessed art thou among women, alleluia.

Monday
The Lord says: Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, alleluia.

Tuesday
Arise, Arise, put on strength, O arm of the Lord.

Wednesday
I will place salvation in Sion, and glory in Jerusalem, Alleluia

Thursday
Be comforted, by comforted, O my people, say the Lord, your God.

Friday
Lo, all things are accomplished which were said by the Angel of the Virgin Mary.

Saturday (December 24th)
The Savior of the world shall rise like the sun, and sill come down into the womb of the Virgin, as the shower of rain upon the grass, alleluia.

Sunday (Christmas Day)
Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will, alleluia, alleluia.

I hope the remaining days of Advent are good for all of you.
---
* I like the O Antiphons just fine. This post is just for fun.

Monastic Diurnal: Lancelot Andrewes -vs- St. Michaels Press

2011-11-21T23:13:00.005-05:00

A reader writes:

I have a question about the Monastic Diurnal: Contents aside, which of the two editions out there is better quality as far as durability is concerned? (One thing that concerns me, for example, about the LA Press edition is its location of the Psalter - similar to the Anglican Breviary). I have read mixed reviews of both books on that subject and was wondering what your experience with each of them has been in that area. Thanks!

It is tough to discuss the two editions without touching on some of the content. There are folks out there that will purchase based on quality alone but be disappointed later on. I want them to have a better idea of what they might be purchasing but I'll try to keep it short.

Here are the two diurnals again, with a pen in front (my Red Pen of Doom, used to grade papers, mwuhaha) to give you some perspective on the size. The Lancelot Andrewes Press edition is noticeably thinner and slightly taller. However the thinness of the Andrewes edition means that it can easily fit in your back pocket. I have done this several times. Just try not to sit down on it because the cover takes a bit to get its shape back... The cover is the same material as the Anglican Breviary. It feels like a hard but flexible shell, not imitation leather.

I got my copy on eBay, so I don't know how long it has been in use. Nevertheless you can see here that because the Andrewes edition uses a stiff-shell material its end papers want to pull away from the cover . When this happens it reveals that the stiffness is not a result of undercover boards but the material itself. This is easy enough to glue for a quick fix. Yes it is a lesser quality than leather, but it adds to the durability because it isn't so delicate. This is a tough material.

Here we see the print in the Andrewes edition. The text is good size and bold. Keep in mind that both of these editions are reprints of revisions of books going back to the first half of the 20th Century. So the text formats in both represent that time period. Take a look at the collects here and you will three present for St. Luke. There is a fourth on the next page. This is pretty common and is done to accommodate Anglicans and Catholics of different stripes. The introduction to the book gives a good indication of how to tell the difference.

The Andrewes editions gives you the prayers before and after the Divine Office, as well as the Ave. Pater. Credo. previously said before each hour.

Here is the St. Michael's Abbey Press Monastic Diurnal. I bought mine some time ago. In fact is it one of the first books I ever mentioned on this blog. The cover is a flexible Moroccan Leather previously used by Baronius Press back in the day to clothe their Missals and Bibles. It is really nice and getting better with age. Hands down, this cover is more elegant than the Andrewes edition. I tried to take a photo that would show you the quality, which I hope you can see. I hope they are still printing this book with the same material.

Here is the psalter. I like having the Latin and English. This is the Vulgate translation of the Psalms and a proprietary English. A benefit of this edition is that if you visit a traditional Benedictine monastery or convent then you can use this to participate. You can't do that with the Andrewes press, at least as a Catholic. [I stand happily corrected! Comment from Brian M: Dear Matt, you may wish to note that the All Saints Sisters of the Poor, a former Anglican sisterhood in Catonsville, MD, which recently converted en masse to the Church and was established as a priory of Diocesan right, uses the Andrewes Press edition of the Diurnal for their daily office.]

Here is the psalter, in the middle, where all breviary psalters should be placed.

Here is the Andrewes Press psalter placement. Up front. I find it a bit more confusing than the the St. Michael's edition. This photo also shows the shorter ribbons and the thinness of the cover material. I think the gilt edges are better on the Andrewes edition though.

The St. Michael's edition comes with cheater cards to help you find your way around the Office.

The Catholic St. Michael's edition has an updated table of moveable feasts until 2066.

I hope this helps. Quality wise I think this is a toss up. The Lancelot Andrewes edition is more of a workhorse. It is slightly more portable. Both versions have beautiful English. The Anglican one has the Coverdale Psalter. If it helps you to know which one I prefer, it is the Catholic St. Michael's Abbey edition because I appreciate having the Vulgate and English side by side.

Breviaries Again Printing from Baronius (not yet selling)

2011-10-20T11:51:00.003-04:00

I apologize for the hiatus here. My schedule at the school is doubled from last year and I am still struggling with finding the time balance for lots of things I need to do. At any rate, Baronius has yet again updated us on their Breviary printing. It looks like things are back on track. Remember, they originally said it would take a few months from the printing to ordering. So...January? We'll see!

Buy something from them today to help them out. I heartily recommend the Divine Intimacy. It is the best spiritual "direction" book I have ever used.

From Baronius:

----- Update 20th October 2011 -----

We are very aware that this project has been delayed significantly – even the printing is now well over schedule.

Our printer in the Philippines has been beset by a series of typhoons since we gave the instruction to start printing the Breviary. This year the weather has been particularly bad – there have been floods in the area around the plant, electrical shortages and the humidity has been very high for a much longer period than normal, causing technical problems and making it very difficult to print continuously.

The good news is that printing has now resumed, and we are now awaiting a revised completion date from our printer which we will post in the next few days. We understand that the wait for this title has been extremely frustrating. We also realise that we have not always been good at keeping customers updated, and we will try to post more regular updates. We hope we can assure you that we and the printer are doing our utmost to get the Breviaries completed as soon as possible.

--------------------------------

2011 Typhoon Season

2011-08-30T10:52:00.003-04:00

We just had a hurricane, but in the Pacific they call them typhoons. These buggers are the reason the Baronius Breviary is being delayed and so I went onto the Information Superhighway to find information about recent typhoon activity.

Given that they mention Typhoons, we can deduce that the books are being printed in Asia somewhere. It looks like Japan, Korea, China, and the Philippines have been hit this season along with some other smaller countries thrown in. India has only gotten tropical depressions.

The region where the printer is has been hit by two typhoons recently. I am thinking, given the path of the storm, that Typhoon Muifa was one of them.

Take a look at this:

Typhoon Muifa (international designation: 1109, JTWC designation: 11W, PAGASA Name: Kabayan) was a large, strong and persistent typhoon that effected multiple countries in the pacific, killing 22 and causing widespread damage worth US$480 million.

That's it? Only $480 Million? Can that be right? Even Gov. Christie said the damage in New Jersey was in the billions. Go look at the path of Muifa.

Muifa is a cool name by the way. Our next hurricane/storm will be called "Jose". The typhoon season is supposed to last until November. Perhaps the breviary will be done in time for Christmas?

Another Baronius Update [Updated!]

2011-08-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

An update here, on my birthday, from Baronius Press. A small consolation I suppose.

----- Update 30th August 2011 -----

At the moment, our printer is still encountering problems with printing. He has experienced two typhoons recently, and the amount of water around the factory and the humidity in the air is making it very difficult to produce the books. Therefore, we are expecting the Breviary to be delayed until this is solved.

We only want to be able to take pre-orders once we know that the Breviaries are on the ship, so that we can give an accurate date of delivery (assuming the ship doesn't sink!). As soon as we have positive news, we will post additional information on our website. In the meantime, we thank you for bearing with us, and we will do our best to keep you informed.

--------------------------------

I check their site regularly, but today is the first time I saw this...

----- Update 20th July 2011 -----

For the last few weeks, our printer has not been able to carry on production of the Breviary due to exceptional weather circumstances. At the moment, we do not have an exact schedule, but we anticipate to receive an update in the next week or so. As soon as we have new schedule confirmed it will be post it here.

We have taken the decision that the Roman Breviary will be sold exclusively to individual customers by Baronius Press and not sold via any other retailers or vendors.

http://www.baroniuspress.com/forthcoming_titles.php?wid=12

I imagine there are quite a few upset retailers now, who have been waiting to carry "the big one" for several years and having to put up with customers constantly asking if they have heard anything. Nevertheless if we want Baronius to be around for many more years we need to understand they have to protect their profits.

Best Pocket Bible Ever: Confraternity NT

2011-07-27T05:13:00.001-04:00

The Confraternity Bible is my favorite translation and has been for some time. It is traditional, accessible, and comes with limited faithful commentary. The pocket New Testament and I spend a lot of time together and this is my second copy. The first lasted several tough years of abuse and would still be used today if the washing machine didn't win out in the end.

The pocket New Testament is published by Scepter Publishers, the publishing arm of Opus Dei. It measures roughly 3x5" and fits perfectly in your back pocket. The cover is blue vinyl and has one black ribbon. This thing is tough as nails, will stand nearly any abuse you give it, and only costs around $10.

The page layout is single column with bold print. The font is small but because it has a heavy weight it reads well. It contains a daily reading plan that will take you through the New Testament twice in a year. This is a long way from being chained to the Bishop's desk and should satisfy those who wish we had more weekday readings for Mass in the traditional rite. (Yes I am kidding!) Additionally it comes with all of the standard Confraternity book introductions, excerpts from Divinu Affantu Spiritu by Pope Pius XII, and a preface. It even has a map of Palestine in the time of Christ.

The binding is sewn which adds to the durability. One of the best things about this is that even after continually sitting on it, the book never seems to lose its shape. Its still not bent. My first copy lost its shape after being dunked a sink full of water. But it was still usable and recovered nicely.

Purchase it here from Scepter Publishers for $9.95

Review: Mundelein Psalter

2011-07-25T05:13:00.002-04:00

I love this book. Here is the Mundelein Psalter, published by Hilenbrand Books, a pointed edition of Morning, Evening, and Night Prayer for the modern Liturgy of the Hours. I don't normally pray the modern Office but if I had the opportunity to sing it with this book I might consider doing so. It is extremely easy to use. I suspect a group of lay folk with minimal musical experience (or a family?) would be singing the office within minutes after cracking this open. When the Office is sung rather than merely read or spoken its character can be fully realized. What we do in the office is not just a duty but divine worship.

Because it is meant to be used in choir and not for personal use, the book is large. The psalm tones used are the "Meinrad Tones" written by Samuel Weber, OSB. They make the Grail Psalter not just tolerable but somewhat beautiful.

The layout is amazing. The text, font, and spacing choices are perfect.

You sing the antiphon using the psalm tone below, which I assume the cantor would do . Then everyone else can get the tone in their head to use for the entire psalm. The ease of use of the Mundelein Psalter and its simplicity in form is brilliant and highlights the proper function of the antiphons.

The book contains a hymnal of actual music and texts for the Liturgy of the Hours. These aren't the ecumenical hymns found in the Catholic Book Publishing 1975 edition. They are the real deal. The Te Lucis Ante for Compline uses the modern Latin edition but the side by side English is the old version. I found that interesting.

Having the hymns and their translations alone makes the book worth owning. Whatever hymns not included can be found in the Liber Hymnarius and using this book is recommended by the Mudelein Psalter.

I imagine the tones could get old quick, but it is far better than singing recto tono.

A table of the tones for responsories, intercessions, and collects.

Sewn binding. It could use another ribbon, frankly.

This book is awesome and should be owned by anyone who loves the Divine Office. I promise you will spend time with it just singing through the Psalms.

Prayers

2011-07-24T22:32:00.001-04:00

If you could say a prayer for three intentions it would be appreciated:

1) for a fellow teacher, Jim, where I teach, who is suffering from a serious blood infection and is in intensive care.

2) for my parish which is suffering from a particular and somewhat unknown scandal.

3)for a man from the parish who died, James, after suffering from stage 4 cancer for the past several weeks. Also for his family.

Thank you!

You know you want one!

2011-07-23T22:11:00.003-04:00

Download from iTunes

Since this is my blog I can shamelessly promote all I want to! :-)

Retro-Review: Prayer of Christians Interim Breviary

2011-07-23T13:17:00.007-04:00

"Prayer of Christians" was the quickly created response to the Pope Paul VI's revision to the Divine Office by "National Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commission". It represents the spirit of the age of changing things quickly but not really knowing where everything was going. Because of that, this edition of the Divine Office has some very traditional elements mixed in with some wacky novelties. Just a couple of points and then we'll just look at the pictures.

-The Psalter is not infamous Grail version, but the same as the 1964 Roman Breviary which I reviewed (rebound) here. It is a translation of the Pius XII Psalter.

-The hymns part of each hour is called the "song". The Office of Readings begins with a sentence from scripture. I suspect this was done for ecumenical reasons.

-Finding the prayers for Sunday is difficult. To my eyes, I cannot see a way to tell which week in the Psalter you should be using, as you can in the 1975 Liturgy of the Hours by look at the Sunday you just celebrated.

-Some of the prayers and Collects are laughable. They are worse than the current (now defunct) ICEL versions.

-The antiphons aren't the same as the ones in the current version.

-The Scripture lessons in morning and evening prayer are different, or sometimes longer than the current edition.

-It is expected that Morning Prayer is the first prayer of the day, not the Office of Readings. "O Lord Open my Lips..." and Psalm 95 are placed at Morning Prayer.

Those are just some of the changes that came in this edition. I don't think this was, although I could be wrong, an obligatory version of the office. This was printed before the Latin Liturgia Horarum was complete, and so I believe most clerics were still praying the 1962 edition in some cut down and modified way. Once this came out many probably switched over to this right away though.

Here is a photo of the layout. It looks shabbily done. All black text.

The 1975 version text layout is a vast improvement in every way. Here is a comparison.

Artwork is what you would expect.

Here is a comparison of both editions. They are the same size. Prayer of Christians lacks the ugly "Chi Rho" symbol used in the 1975 Liturgy of the Hours. The cover has more texture, and the color is more mute than the newer one. It also doesn't seem nearly as cheap. However if you compare sometime like this to Breviaries that came out just ten years early you will notice immediately that they were cheaper. The first edition of the Liturgy of the Hours was worse in some ways. The modern printings are slightly better. I think that is representative of how they treated Liturgy in general at the time. It was to be for the common people and so they made it cheap. Cheap cheap cheap. Gratefully we are correcting that nowadays.

The binding. Sewn.

The canticles and other common cards are "ecumenical" translations and are promoted as such in the preface. Just look at the end of the Our Father.

Quote of the Day.

2011-07-15T14:58:00.002-04:00

I don't do a "quote of the day". But if I did, it would be this one. I saw this on Fr. Z's blog.

All this despite the fact that Archbishop Annibale Bugnini’s “euchological pluralism and rubrical flexibility” (his prodigality with forms of prayer and his leniency with liturgical rules), advocated over a supposedly rigid “fixism,” displaced the traditional collects from the Mass, promoted a radically simplified ceremonial that tires the eye and deadens the imagination, and introduced a three-year lectionary that contains too much spread out over too long a period to shape a pious memory effectively.

I am tired of hearing how wonderful the three year/two year cycle is when people defend the Novus Ordo. If you like the Novus Ordo better than the Traditional Mass, then fine. But I have never understood the position that more Scripture readings at Mass is better. Folks in the pews know less than they ever did, despite it being handed to them in greater spoonfulls.

Amazing 1957 Breviarium Romanum Find

2011-07-15T12:43:00.004-04:00

Remember my post "They don't make em like they used to: Breviary Edition" ?

Well here is the real deal. Last week I was looking around my parish's book table, which is being prepared to be added to our library, and I found this:

...an immaculate, near mint condition of the 1958 edition that I own. (Actually, this one is a little higher end) It is as amazing as I would have expected. The art gilt pages are amazing, the pages are flawless, the ribbons perfect. It came complete with cards.

This set was probably never used. Certainly two out of the four weren't.

Notice how the ribbons are still stuck to the inside? Its almost like I unboxed them for the first time.

This is a close up of real art-gilt pages. (Red-under-gold) It is a true stamp of fine publishing. Sadly, this is a rarity nowadays...unless you are a high end protestant Bible publisher. The waviness you see here is because the pages haven't been flipped through yet. They are stuck together from the gilding.

The leather is nice and soft to the touch. The only flaw I could see is a little scuffing on the gilt edges.

I sold these on eBay in less that 5 hours for $275.00 to raise money for my parish. Not bad!

Ecce Quam Bonum Album Release

2011-07-05T13:12:00.000-04:00

UPDATE:

The album is now available on iTunes here.

We are also available on Amazon.com MP3 download site.

Ecce Quam Bonum is also listed on all the other sites as well, like Napster.

Please consider supporting our school with your purchase.

The school's CD, Ecce Quam Bonum, is in production. However it has begun to appear on the web already. All proceeds go to the school, so please support us if you are able! You will get some nice music out of the deal, I promise. :-)

If you don't want to buy from DigStation.com, look for it soon on AmazonMP3, iTunes, and CDBaby shortly. It should also appear on Napster and wherever else digital music is sold.

Our stock of CDs should arrive by Friday. At that point I'll probably have a link for you to purchase an actual disc copy.

http://www.digstation.com/AlbumDetails.aspx?albumID=ALB000077535

Answering Common Objections to Praying the Divine Office

2011-06-23T12:16:00.004-04:00

Choir Stalls at St. Vincent Archabbey, where the monks pray the Office.

Long time readers of this blog know of my devotion to the Divine Office. I know many of you out there are saying it too in whatever form suits you best. Now, how many of you out there couldn't name 5 other people you know personally who are also saying it?

Besides those in the priesthood, I know about three people who say it faithfully every day.

There are any number of objections to its recitation - ignorance being one of them. If you are ignorant of the Office it isn't your fault. The Prayer of the Church isn't promoted as it should be. Here are some common objections and my answers to them.

1. I would love to pray the Divine Office, but I just don't have time.

A) Morning Prayer/Lauds in the traditional form takes 10 minutes. The Novus Ordo version takes about 7 minutes. Evening Prayer in either form takes no longer than 7 minutes. It can take a little longer while you are getting used to the rubrics. But once you have them down it takes little effort. Fitting in one of the little hours, or Daytime Prayer, is easy. If you take a break at work, simply use 4 of those minutes to say the Office. We make time for things that are important to us. The Prayer of the Church is important.

2. Isn't that the thing priests do? (sometimes followed by a scowl)

A) Yes, hopefully, it is. The fact is, the Divine Office is not promoted much by our priests. I suppose this is because many of them view it as a burden rather than a privilege to pray the Office. I once heard a priest's breviary referred to as "his wife." But laity praying the Office has a long history in the Church. In medieval times it is said that laity could recite the entire Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary from memory - and not just say it but sing it.

Especially since Vatican II there has been a greater emphasis on the laity to pray with the Church in the Divine Office. We can debate whether or not the new version is good or not, but we are blessed to have several older versions (1962, Monastic,etc) to choose from. The breviary is not just something "the priests' do".

3. I have 30 children, I can't possibly say the office.

A) What a blessing! You live in a monastery full of little monks and nuns. Start with Compline/Night Prayer before putting everyone to bed. It will connect your children to the Church in yet another way. As they get older you can pray Vespers/Evening Prayer immediately after dinner. The Office is a great catechetical tool. It contains scripture, saints, doctrine, tradition, and the Church year. It is the perfect way to keep your family connected to the Church throughout the week, especially if you can't make it to daily Mass with your family.

4. I would like to learn, but it is complicated.

A) No, it really isn't. It just seems that way. Start slowly if you need to. Trying to say Matins in the Benedictine version is not a good place to start. Compline is, in whatever form you choose. When you are ready to move on, you can find numerous guides to help you. There are also a ton of forums out there on the internet that are filled with people who know how to do it right. If you need help, just ask.

5. Why can't I just pray the Rosary? I say "Our Lady's Psalter" every day!

A) The Rosary is a wonderful prayer. I say it every day too, both the "regular version" and the Franciscan Crown. But the Rosary is not the Divine Office. They are different. Our Lady's Psalter is a substitute for the Office. Keep in mind that the Psalms are the prayers that God wants us to pray. He wrote them for us to say back to him.

I think there is a prevailing attitude that the Rosary is somehow more important than the Divine Office. It isn't. Our Lady would have heard the Psalms being chanted all the time in the temple or synagogue. The psalter, or the Psalms of David, are far more ancient than the Rosary. We even see evidence in the New Testament of this practice, when we hear of Peter and John going up to the temple for the Hour of None.

We shouldn't pit the Rosary and the Office against each other. It isn't an either/or but a both/and situation. Say them both with fealty and devotion.

6. The Liturgy of the Hours (or whatever version) is so expensive!

A) You can get any version of the Office for free online. If you have a smartphone or other portable device, there is a version for you. Its free! You can also purchase shorter breviaries that are inexpensive such as the small "Shorter Christian Prayer" or Monastic Diurnal.

Free versions of the Office online:
Divinum Officium (Traditional - in any meaning of the term.)
Universalis (Novus Ordo)

In the iTunes AppStore just do a search for an app. iBreviary Pro Terra Sancta will even let you say the Liturgia Horarum in Latin. Breviarium Meum is a new app for the 1962 Breviary put out by the Franciscans of the Immaculate based on Divinum Officium (website above).

New hand Missals available in September

2011-06-21T14:14:00.004-04:00

I saw this on the Catholic Company today. You can pre-order a revised novus ordo hand missal and it will come in September. The price is $74.95. The website won't let me show you a picture here because it is copyrighted. Its ridiculous. Here is the link: Daily Roman Missal, Third Edition

In other news - I heard from someone *who definitely knows* that any new English edition of the Liturgy of the Hours is a long way off. In other words, don't hold your breath. If you want a more traditional Divine Office hopefully Baronius will come through for us shortly. There is also the African edition too.

Veni Creator from Stift Heiligenkreutz

2011-06-21T11:16:00.004-04:00

Here are the monks of Stift Heiligenkreutz Abbey chanting the Veni Creator Spiritus on Pentecost during Vespers. This is from the modern form of the Divine Office - the Liturgia Horarum. Its nice to see monks doing their thing. I have often thought of getting a group of layfolk together to sing parts of the Office.

h/t NLM

Cool Photo of St. Vincent Abbey

2011-06-20T16:19:00.003-04:00

On the way back from Pittsburgh I stopped in at St. Vincent's Archabbey in Latrobe, PA and snapped this photo on the way out. I should have more pictures up soon of the basilica itself.

How Colloquium Sounded

2011-06-20T12:47:00.003-04:00

Quite a few recordings are up of the Colloquium. Its not CD quality. But it will give you an idea of the things we do, which are nothing short of amazing.

http://music.dierschow.com/2011Colloquium/

Review: Bad Bibles Edition

2011-06-06T21:25:00.005-04:00

I have been meaning to do this for some time, but am just getting around to it now that the school year is over and I have a nifty new keyboard for my iPad. I can type anywhere and it makes things very easy.

I need to show you the rot so you can avoid the stench. Here are two really bad Bibles that you need to avoid. Gladly, they aren't all the easiest to come by.

Bad Bible #1: The Rainbow Catholic Study Bible
If it were just the Good News Translation I probably wouldn't mention it. The GNT is one that I used as a Presbyterian growing up in Sunday School and Youth Group but even then we all knew it was sort of lame. But this one is really lame. Every verse in it is color coded, by topic, except for the "Catholic" books. They left those alone. The color coding makes this Bible completely unusable. One gentleman in my Bible study uses this and sits next to me in class. I don't know how he does it. It is the stupidest gimmick out there.

It also comes with a CD (Windows 3.1 Compatible!) with a whole bunch of heresy on it.

Bad Bible #2: Catholic Community Bible
This is the most insidious and evil edition I have ever come across in my life. I bought it off Amazon a few months ago because I was intrigued with what I saw from its website. I read some of the PDFs available for download and the notes looked a whole lot more faithful than our NAB. The translation itself didn't see half bad at all either.

Boy was I wrong. If you think the NAB notes are bad, you haven't seen these. On nearly every page appears some sort of anti-Catholic screed. There are some really really good notes too but that doesn't help the cause of this Bible.

Here is an example from the Letter of James.

James 5:13 - 16
Are any among you sick? They should pray. Are any of you happy? They should sing songs to God. If anyone is sick, let him call on the elders of the Church, They shall pray for him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. They prayer said in faith will save the sick person; the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Not horrible. Here is the note on this passage.

We know, through James' words, that the Church continued - and must continue today - Christ's ministry to the sick. Salvation includes both physical and spiritual health. [? I wonder if this was written by a liberation theologian.] The Gospel shows us that the latter is the most important and God always grants it. [He does?], although he does not always restore physical health.

In the Gospel, Jesus lays his hands on the sick and when he sends his missionaries, he asks them to lay their hands on the sick or to anoint them with oil (Mk 6:13 and 16:18). The laying on of hands is like communicating to another person the power which will heal him, in the name of Christ and with his authority. As to oil, it was used in those days as a remedy. The two signs - anointing and laying of hands - accompany prayer.

The elders are those in charge of Christian communities. They were lay people [FAIL] but had been charged with the direction of the community, the celebration of baptism, presiding at the eucharist. [this is downright evil. it goes on...]

When the Church speaks of the sacrament of the sick, it refers only to the anointing with oil done by someone who has officially received the power for this sacrament (up to now, only priests can administer this sacrament) [?!?] This in no way excludes leaders of Christian communities from praying, from anointing, and laying hands on the sick...[etc...you get the point]

The CCB is the main English Bible translation for Phillipines. Avoid this piece of garbage.

First Anglican Use Experience

2011-06-02T14:36:00.003-04:00

Yesterday evening I attended my first Anglican Use liturgy for the Vigil of the Ascension with some friends who just moved back into the area. My first reaction was that this liturgy is absolutely recognizable as being within the Roman liturgical tradition. There were a few differences of course. For instance the readings were read (I have come to hate the word 'proclaimed') facing the congregation and the Gospel was read by the priest in the middle of the nave. They used the "Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again" thing that was inserted in our English Novus Ordo Masses.

One thing I liked was that instead of a Responsorial Psalm in place of the Gradual, they sang an entire Psalm. (Huzzah for Coverdale!) The choir did the singing but the congregation was allowed to sing along. Having a Responsorial Psalm in some way makes the congregation sing their part, rather than allowing them to participate as the Anglican Use liturgy does. The Novus Ordo forces them to. You may participate -vs- You will participate. At least this was my impression of that part of the liturgy.

The people were friendly and there seems to be a good zeal for evangelism at the parish. This was a good experience and I look forward to returning.

St. Joan Video

2011-06-02T14:24:00.002-04:00

I received this in my email from TAN. The video mentions a few St. Joan movies. "The Passion of John of Arc" silent film is one of my all time favorites. The George Bernard Shaw one I've heard is not very good.

St. Joan has of late become one of my favorite saints. Enjoy this video!

Hymns for May 24th

2011-05-24T09:42:00.003-04:00

My work computer is down at the moment. Something is wrong with the power. So here is something I saw this morning that was interesting.

From the Monastic Diurnal, which I used this morning for Lauds, comes this translation of the Marian hymn Te Redemptoris to Our Lady Help of Christians:

Mother of our Lord and Savior,

First in beauty as in power,

Glory of the Christian nations,

Ready help in trouble's hour.

Though the gates of hell against us,

With profoundest fury rage;

Though the ancient foe assault us,

And his fiercest battle wage;

Naught can hurt the pure in spirit,

Who upon thine aid rely;

At thy hand secure of gaining

Strength and mercy from on high.

Safe beneath thy mighty shelter,

Though a thousand hosts combine,

All must fall or flee before us,

Scattered by an arm divine.

Firm as once on holy Sion,

David's tower reared its height;

With a glorious rampart girded,

And with glistening armor bright.

So th'Amlighty's Virgin Mother

Stands in strength for everymore;

From Satanic hosts defending

All who her defense implore.

Through the long unending ages,

Blessed Trinity, to Thee!

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

Praise and perfect glory be.

Amen.

The Vespers hymn is greater still...the imagery is incredible. This is the translation of Saepe dum Christi:

Oftimes, when hemm'd around by hostile arms,

The Christian people lay all sore dismayed,

Faith's eye hath traced the Virgin gliding down,

To lend her loving aid.

So speak the monuments of olden time,

And shrines that bright with votive spoils appear;

So speak the festivals in her sweet praise,

Returning year by year.

Now for new mercies a new song ascends,

While with our Lady's ensigns all unfurled,

Rome in procession long high triumph holds,

And with great Rome the world.

Oh, happy day! on which Saint Peter's throne

Receives the faith's great Ruler back again;

Returning from his banishment, in peace

O'er Christendom to reign.

Ye youths and maidens,

priests and people all!

Pour out your grateful hearts on this glad day,

Striving with all your strength, to Heaven's high Queen

Her well-earned praise to pay.

Virgin of virgins, Jesus' Mother blest!

Add yet another mercy to the past;

And help our Pastor all his flock to lead

Safe into heaven at last.

To Thee, great Trinity,

be endless praise,

Blessing, and majesty, and glory due;

To Thee may we our hearts and voices raise;

Al the long ages through.

Amen.

Where are the new Hand Missals?

2011-05-10T22:24:00.002-04:00

You would think, wouldn't you, that given the fact that most dioceses around the English speaking world are preparing the flock for the new Novus Ordo translation that we would have hand missals by now on the market.

But we don't! No missals for you!

Look at this quote I found on the Catholic Truth Society's website (UK):

People's Missals - Daily and Sunday Missals. The Bishops' conference has yet to invite publishers to produce people's Missals, but CTS does intend to bid for the right to publish these, and will look to produce a Daily Missal and a Sunday Missal, to be available from Advent 2011.

Someone needs to get on this in the USA....asap. Priests/parishes can already order their new altar edition, but there is no better way to educate the people than by putting it in their hands.

Hello again!

2011-05-09T12:15:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter!

I don’t believe in blog-fading. Especially since it is always possible to just log back in and type something. So no worries – I am not going anywhere. But nonetheless this blog has been dormant for much of the past couple months. The reason, and I know this is pretty cliché, is that I have been swamped. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any busier, they do. I noticed some time ago that I work 7 days a week between my regular business, the school, and Church. (Church for me is work as well as religion.) It has been a great time though, being so busy. At the end of the (usually long) day it feels like I’ve actually accomplished something. There are days now where I go from 8am until 1am. I have also begun teaching private music lessons which has been a lot of fun.

One bit of news is that my schola at the school is releasing a CD and I should have a link where you can purchase it online by next week or that following. The cost will be modest, and all proceeds go to support the school. Our CD will include the entire Requiem Mass, some selected Gregorian Chants, and several Polyphonic pieces all performed by my students. The final product should be really nice.

Stay tuned!

Four Years!

2011-04-07T15:45:00.002-04:00

I just realized that today is the fourth anniversary of my Confirmation. Deo Gratias!

Baronius Breviary - Deo Gratias!

2011-04-06T23:19:00.006-04:00

Finally! Baronius has posted their pre-order of the new Breviary. The set will cost about $350. They have also posted some new inside scans on their site.

Today was the one day I didn't check the site. But thank you Fr. Ramil for the heads up!

http://www.baroniuspress.com/forthcoming_titles.php?wid=12

And a word from Baronius on their website, with my comments/responses and highlights. For some reason, the text won't turn red tonight. My comments are in italics.

We wish to thank all those who have supported the completion of this project with their prayers and by purchasing our existing titles. [No problem!] This was the most ambitious project Baronius has attempted to date and in our attempts to give it the attention and time such an important publication deserved it ended up taking significantly longer than we originally planned.
As we have previously explained to many customers, work on the Breviary has been delayed by a series of difficulties, including being let down by some contributors [!] working on elements of the project and various technical issues. We ourselves have been frustrated by these problems which have held up progress with the Breviary.
The process of submitting the work for a concordat cum originali took the best part of a year. We anticipated that it would be a long process, however, we knew that it was absolutely essential to take this step as it means that the Church grants its approbation for the Latin text to be used liturgically in its services. [I am glad they did this the right way, even if it added to the time it took.]
The editor also introduced some additional rounds of proof reading and checking to try and eliminate as many errors as possible. These also delayed publication by at least six months, but again we thought it was the best course to follow.
Several customers had suggested that we should have concentrated on the Breviary rather than publishing various other titles. Baronius Press is only a small independent company and the Classics and the other titles have provided the income we needed to be able to continue the work on the Breviary. [I am looking forward to the new Knox Bible as well. It is important to support small Catholic publishers. Have you seen their Divine Intimacy? It is fantastic.]
Furthermore, at the end of last year we took the step of changing printers. We thought that this move was important for a number of reasons, not least because of the continual delays we had experienced with producing books with the previous printer. This move has also caused a delay of a couple of months in the Breviary's production, as we needed to reprint titles we were running out of stock of before we could schedule in the Breviary for printing. Those were finished a few weeks ago and the Breviary now has the full attention of our new printer. The estimated time for the Breviary to be produced and delivered to our warehouse is 3-4 months. We estimate that we will be able to start shipping copies to customers around the beginning of August 2011. Please bear in mind that this is a provisional date and we hope and pray that it is accurate.
A provisional price of $350/ £230 has been set for this title. [A little higher than anticipated. But consider that a new Latin Liturgia Horarum will set you back almost $900.] We are aware there has been some criticism on various Catholic on-line discussions that we should have been able to announce the price before now. [If they had announced the price, they would have been criticized if they had to change it.] We have had an idea how much it would be for quite some time, but as Baronius is juggling several currencies, we did not want to say it will be such-and-such-a-price, and then find that due to an unforeseen fluctuation of exchange rates, we are forced to change it. We trust customers will understand our prudence in this matter.
The reason we are being as candid as we can be about these matters is that we know many benefactors have been extremely disappointed that the Breviary has not appeared sooner. Please be assured we too share your frustrations with the difficulties that have beset the project. [See everyone, they were listening! I imagine reading criticism and not being able to do or say anything about it to change the process was very difficult.] However, we hope that you understand some of the problems we have faced and forgive us [forgiven] for the very long time it has taken to get this far. We believe that this is a very important project and are ourselves extremely keen to see the Breviary delivered as soon as possible to those wishing to use it. We hope that when delivered, you will agree that it has been worth the wait, and wherever in the world you may be, we hope that this will be a useful tool that can be used for many years, to the greater glory of God.

iTunes + Truth and Life Audio Bible = BAD

2011-02-22T17:30:00.004-05:00

So I went ahead and bought the Truth and Life Audio Bible. Perhaps sometime I'll do a full review. Its really not bad at all and I plan on using it in the car and to read along with for personal meditation.

But when I first went to buy it I figured I would use iTunes because that is where I buy all my audio. So I wanted to give you a word of caution. Under no circumstance should anyone buy this audio Bible on iTunes. Buy the CDs. Why?

22 Hours + 3 Audio Tracks = Unusable.

Thats right, the iTunes download of the full audio Bible is 3 tracks of run-together books and chapters. It is a $31 nightmare of unusable audio.

I complained to Apple and they returned the $31 to my account which was in the form of a gift card. I'm happy with that.

Since then I purchased Truth and Life from Amazon and it came on 18 CDs. This is much better. I'll take the pain of importing each one over the agony of trying to navigate 7 hour single tracks with my thumb and forefinger on my iPhone any day.

Pricing and ordering this week?

2011-02-20T20:17:00.000-05:00

This came across a forum I belong to where people come to discuss the traditional breviary.

"I have spoken with the woman from Baronius several times in the past few months and she said they may have the information about the price and ordering sometime this week."

Sent second hand but perhaps a glimmer of hope? Pray for good Catholic publishers.

TLM adherents ... Don't fret. Act!

2011-02-16T20:03:00.004-05:00

I have seen some chatter today regarding the upcoming instruction from the Holy See on Summorum Pontificum. Some are saying that the new document will hurt the freedom of the Tradtional Latin Mass.

Let's be honest. The TLM has enjoyed some more freedom over the past 3 years but in many places that has been squashed by those who are opposed to it. May God have mercy on them. Seriously.

Some of us, but not me, who are traddies will be already upset at the mere mention that the freedoms (which in some places are just on paper) may be quelled. They will write on forums with newfound anger and righteous indignation without having seen even a sentence from the new document.

Surely we should pray. Pray and fast, as Fr. Z has suggested. But keep in mind that there are practical things you can do right now in your diocese to protect and grow the Latin Mass. Even if the document is favorable to us these suggestions will help grow the community.

The TLM will never be truly "free" unless the following things happen:

The groups of adherents (world wide) are so large that they cannot be ignored. There is a reason nobody will touch the charismatic movement. Evangelize.
TLM communities actively participate in the life of their diocese, to the extent they feel they can.
TLM adherents gain employment in their chanceries. Apply.
TLM communities do their best to break down barriers, socially, with Novus Ordo parishes. (when possible, avoiding scandal)
TLM groups donate enough money to their dioceses that it would be missed if taken away.

...just some suggestions. This week my parish Knights of Columbus is having an event for people in the diocese to come and learn more about the traditional Latin Mass. We've got almost 100 people coming now and its quite thrilling. Say a prayer for us!

Guest Review: Kenyan Liturgy of the Hours

2011-02-11T17:08:00.008-05:00

Fr. Ramil E. Fajardo has sent in photos and a review of the (until now) mysterious Pauline Publications African Liturgy of the Hours. I am very grateful for his excellent contribution!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Matt,

I thought you might want to see a set of the 2009 Liturgy of the Hours issued by the bishops of Kenya, using the 2008 translation of the Grail Psalter from Conception Abbey.

It’s a good start – given the changes that are still to come regarding ICEL translations of the texts which are due to be addressed at some point now that the missal is approaching completion. At best, this set is a tiny foreshadowing or glimpse of what a future US Liturgy of the Hours might look like.

As you can see, it was authorized with the permission of Cardinal Llovera Prefect, and Arbp. Ranjith Secretary.

Some interesting things:

1) new translation of the Confiteor

2) addition of the 3 cycle Sunday antiphons for the Benedictus and Magnificat

3) removal of the Psalm-prayers

4) no artwork at all (and this is good since the only art was ‘bad’ art in the US Liturgy of the Hours/Christian Prayer) and

5) "Glory be to the Father” at the end of each Psalm, instead of "Glory to the Father"

The cover is a firm plastic, with end sheets in a cream-colored firm card-stock. This is very similar to the first editions of the Liturgy of the Hours and Christian Prayer published by Catholic Book Publishing Company during the 1970s. It is also similar to many books you would find in Rome (in fact, the set was produced in Italy). The books have square-edged pages as opposed to rounded corners.

The actual pages are rather thin and translucent, closer (it seems) just a tad bit to ‘tissue’ as opposed to ‘bible or missal paper’. The paper seems rather delicate and I wonder how it will hold up to finger oils and page-turning.

A drawback of this set is that each book has only three very soft woven ribbons and which seem to be fraying rather easily already. You can purchase the set for only $100 in Kenya, though it may get pricey when you include shipping to the USA. I bought mine on eBay.

See it here: http://www.paulinesafrica.org/liturgy_hours.html

Thought you’d like to see it!

Sincerely,

Fr. Ramil E. Fajardo

PHOTOS:

----------------------------------------------------

Matt's afterthought: If I were looking for a new edition of the Liturgy of the Hours, I would buy this one and use it until the new ICEL translation comes out...since that will probably be a while. The ribbon issue can be solved easily with a trip to your local Catholic book store to buy LOTH Ribbon inserts (and a pair of scissors). Also, for clerics, I am not sure what Canon Law says about using editions approved by other bishops' conferences. Could American priests use this instead of the US version?

Liturgia Horarum by MTF - Online Preview

2011-02-07T13:04:00.002-05:00

A few months ago I sent an email to Midwest Theological Forum inquiring about their edition of the Liturgia Horarum. I know I'm not a big time blogger but a response would have been nice.

The other day I came across someone on eBay selling one of these editions and they showed the inside layout. So I thought I'd check them out again on MTF's website.

There is now a preview of the content inside that I didn't see before. The layout inside looks like they took the traditional two column route. I believe the Psalter is single column. It seems that they did a nice job. The only criticism from this distance is that the book is a bit larger than almost every other breviary out there. (8.25 x 5.25)

But without actually seeing one, its difficult to tell.

Here is the preview page. The leather set costs $900.

Un-Christianizing Baptisms

2011-01-18T17:34:00.002-05:00

I saw this on the "Acts of the Apostasy" blog. This is tantamount to apostasy. How any practicing Christian can remain in communion with the C of E is beyond me if this actually goes through.

From the Daily Mail:

Church of England baptism services may be re-written to remove some references to Christianity.

The plan for a new ‘baptism lite’ service designed to make christenings more interesting to non-churchgoers will be considered next month by the Church’s parliament, the General Synod.

Supporters say the baptism service should be ‘expressed in culturally appropriate and accessible language’ that is readily understood by ‘non-theologically versed Britons’.

But traditionalist clergy said the idea amounted to ‘dumbing down’.

Read the rest here...

TAN Reprints the Textual Concordance of Holy Scripture

2011-01-10T14:28:00.005-05:00

I see that TAN has reprinted, in a hardbound edition, the fantastic Textual Concordance of Holy Scripture. It uses the Douay-Rheims Bible but in all honesty you can use it along with any version you are used to.

It isn't a regular concordance, its actually a topical index. If you are a student of scripture, a priest, a youth leader, teacher, or parent this book is worth the $45.

Plug: WDTPRS Review of '62 Missals

2011-01-06T19:58:00.002-05:00

Here is a review done by Fr. Z (like he needs the plug!) which I could never do. Nor would I have any business doing it since these books are not usable by me other than perhaps something to look nice on my shelf.

REVIEW: New Editions of 1962 Altar Missals

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/01/review-new-editions-of-1962-altar-missals/

I have reviewed some PCP Books here before:

Blessed Be God (Original)

Blessed Be God (Deluxe)

Diurnale Romanum

And check out Maximus' review over at ChurchLatin.com

Epiphany Blessings!

2011-01-06T07:14:00.003-05:00

Good morning and happy Epiphany to everyone. I was blessed today in that I woke up an hour before my alarm and was able to say lauds very early while the sun was just beginning to rise. There was one star in the sky (from my vantage point) as I looked out my window and the first antiphon was made even more appropriate:

Ante luciferum genitus, et ante saecula, Dominus Salvator noster, hodie mundo apparuit.

I took the day off from work and am now getting ready for Mass. This is a rare occasion for me these days!

New TAN Books Website

2011-01-04T13:54:00.003-05:00

TAN has upgraded their website to a beautiful new look. You can still get to the old website however, just in case!

Also, my diocese has done the same.

JPII Miracle Approved, Funny Translation

2011-01-04T11:06:00.003-05:00

This morning I was checking out Andrea Tornielli's blog for news and Google provided me with a funny translation. Apparently, the end times are upon us!

The Newspaper Today's public news of the approval by the Medical Committee of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the miracle attributed to the intercession of John Paul II, the healing of a French nun suffering from Parkinson's disease.

The dossier on the miracle (positio super miro), as well as from medical specialists, is also already been examined and approved by theologians before the end of 2010. The dossier describes the healing has come in recent days the cardinals and bishops are called to the Last Judgement [!] before the dossier is presented to Benedict XVI.

The plenary meeting of the cardinals is expected by the middle of this month. If they, as expected, approve the positive impact on the miracle, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Pope can go to ask the promulgation of the decree recognizing the miracle. As you recall, December 19, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI has already approved the heroic virtues of Pope John Paul II. At that point, the beatification of Pope John Paul II will be only a matter of time. It 's still possible for this to happen before next summer, and that it be prepared for October.

ROFL.

Ecce, Anglicanorum Coetibus

2010-12-31T21:09:00.001-05:00

Te Deum Laudamus…yes, its actually happening. We are about to witness some fruits of not only the gift of the Holy Father to those Anglicans praying for full communion, but also a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray that we can achieve perfect unity some day! Happy new year!

From h/t The Anglo-Catholic ( http://www.theanglocatholic.com/2010/12/its-actually-happening/ )

The blogging world is reporting the reception into full Catholic communion of five (or six) Anglican bishops and their wives, along with three nuns from Walsingham, to take place at Westminster Cathedral on the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God (January 1).

Here is one of his links.

http://caritasveritas.blogspot.com/2010/12/reception-of-five-anglican-bishops.html

The Sun Sets on 2010

2010-12-31T15:08:00.001-05:00

The sun is setting on 2010. Who knows what next year will bring? Only God. Keep that in mind.

Registered for Colloquium XXI

2010-12-29T11:10:00.002-05:00

Well I just dropped what I consider to be a ton of money in order to register for the Sacred Music Colloquium. (and I only paid roughly half the cost!) But it is certainly justified. There simply is no other place, no other way, to gain the experience of being surrounded by this many fellow musicians dedicated to true sacred music that to attend this event. You not only learn from the instructors but also from the attendees. The presenter talks are fantastic and so are the ensembles.

I am extremely happy that it is once again in Pittsburgh because it allows me to drive there rather than fly. Flying would probably add a considerable amount to the cost.

I just hope they keep the air conditioning on in the Church of the Epiphany this year. Unless they are going to bring professional recording equipment I'd rather not suffer through the heat.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T00:47:00.001-05:00

h/t Chant Cafe.

Our choir sings this at Christmas as well. Though we are much smaller. :-)

Vigil Penance

2010-12-24T13:59:00.001-05:00

Today even though it is Christmas Eve is still a day of penance because it is Friday. So what did I give up? Not meat because it would be impossible. I gave up coffee today.

I hope all of you have a great Vigil!

Sent from my iPhone

Baronius Christmas Update

2010-12-23T21:41:00.001-05:00

Baronius has updated the waiting Catholic world just in time for Christmas.

From their website:

We are pleased to announce that theConcordat cum Originali and Imprimaturhave now been granted.

We are now awaiting confirmation from our printer as to how long it will take to print and deliver the final copies. Further details about the cost, publication date and how to order will be posted on our website early in the new year.

This is excellent news, and we wish to thank all those who have supported the completion of this project with their prayers.

(www.baroniuspress.com)

Introduction to the Extraordinary Form Seminar

2010-12-22T15:45:00.002-05:00

For Immediate Release…

December 22, 2010

KOC Offers Seminar on Traditional Latin Mass

Introduction to the “Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite”

The Knights of Columbus Council 14829 in Scranton is offering a one day informational seminar Saturday, February 19, 2011 featuring an introduction to the extraordinary form of the Mass, according to the 1962 Roman Missal. The seminar will be held at St. Michael the Archangel Church, 1703 Jackson Street, Scranton, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

The presentation will begin with an explanation and overview of the traditional Latin Mass by Father Justin Nolan, FSSP, of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, followed by a question and answer period. A “sung” Mass, or Missa Cantata, will follow at 11:30. After lunch, Father Nolan will provide two additional presentations for a more in depth understanding of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

The seminar’s objective is to provide an educational, interactive, friendly and prayerful experience to inquirers of the traditional Latin Mass through talks on history, theology, and spirituality. The day includes participation in a Missa Cantata with Gregorian Chant and other forms of sacred music.

The seminar is free, including lunch, and open to the public.

Interest in the traditional Latin Mass has grown in recent years, especially since July 2007 when Pope Benedict XVI issued the Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, permitting priests to freely celebrate the older liturgy.

One of the Pope’s objectives in issuing the Motu Proprio was to clarify that the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo Missae, or new Mass, are part of the “same rite.” Like his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI has made unity a major goal of his pontificate. The Church, he said, must make “every effort” to achieve unity, adding: “Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.”

For more information, please email knights14829@gmail.com or call the rectory at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church at 570-961-1205.

You can also visit www.saintmichaelsrcc.org

Advent Musings

2010-12-21T16:12:00.003-05:00

This Advent has been extremely busy for me. But I am forcing myself to blog today. Between the school activities, parish ongoings, Knights of Columbus events, regular work, shopping, extra Masses (two Rorate Masses on the same day btw), there has hardly been time to breath. But Advent remains my favorite time of the year. The whole atmosphere is filled with joy and expectation. But like the world 2000 years ago, all that fades once the Lord actually gets here. Because the world will ultimately be unsatisfied with their gifts, which have become the Jesus of the present culture anyway.

But the Church will continue to celebrate Christmas for weeks after the 25th. In fact, I have two very Catholic Christmas parties after the feast-day itself.

There is an opposite side, btw, to the post-Christmas Scrooge ("get this tree out on the curb, its the 26th already!"). I'm talking about the Advent Grinch. The Advent Grinch is usually the traditionalist who sneers at anyone who puts up a tree before Christmas Eve. It could also be an ultra liberal rocks-in-the-holy-water-font pantsuit nun. I have met folks like this. Yes Advent is penitential, but I am against Advent moping. It could be that the Advent mopers are the same people who are bitter that all the pagans stop celebrating Christmas the day after.

I say, put up the tree. Keep it up through Epiphanytide. The world could use a little more happiness and it certainly could use a good witness to Our Lord. No long faces before or after Christmas! We should celebrate the fact that the world is waiting for its savior, even though to many that is merely materialism. The spark is still there, its just misdirected.

If you keep the "traditional" Catholic Advent, where there are no Christmas carols or decorations up before the feast, then more power to you. But please allow some wiggle room for the weaker of us. My parish has trees up and two nativity sets. The school also had a tree up and took the boys caroling several times. So, this isn't all traddies.

Likewise to all my non-Catholic friends, be prepared to watch me celebrate Christmas until February.

Oh, and go read Lord of the World already. Have a Merry Christmas if I don't get another chance to blog beforehand!

Advent Reading: Lord of the World

2010-12-13T16:42:00.005-05:00

I just finished the Lord of the World. Wow, what an incredible book. I was glued to the Kindle clicking through the pages at break-neck speed and soaking up all the dystopia goodness I could. If you want some Advent reading this is it.

Msgr. Benson did an excellent job predicting the future and course the world would take in the hundred years after he wrote. Its kind of frightening in a way all of the things that have come true (or are slowly coming true). Euthanasia is not quite as culturally acceptable as he predicted but it might be getting there.

It was just an enjoyable a read for me as The Man Who Was Thursday which quickly became a personal favorite. At some point I'll get to Come Rack! Come Rope! but not until after the Holidays. In the meantime I am in the middle of Death Panels.

Lord of the World from Baronius Press

Lord of the World Kindle Edition

The General Approves

2010-11-24T21:06:00.001-05:00

The turkey in it's brine while my cat General Tso looks on approvingly.

New Stuff

2010-11-24T18:18:00.003-05:00

Today was a day for new "stuff".

UPS brought me a new version of Mac OS X that I have needed for a long time. It came with a new iLife and iWork. It has allowed me to upgrade iTunes (which is the whole reason I bought it) so I could upgrade to iOS 4.2.1. My iPhone is now equipped with a "find" feature, since I also signed up for MobileMe and connected my iCal to it.

UPS also brought me a vacuum siphon coffee pot and it is incredible. I've already made two pots today and am thinking of making a third... A fellow shola member introduced me to it and showed me the coffee roasting ropes. I plan on purchasing a home roaster soon. Any suggestions?

The new Mac OS X disc was a little bumpy during the install and the rest of the day was not without irritations. I actually had to reboot the Mac and restart the installation. Now iLife '11 says it will take 2 hours and 31 minutes to complete the install. What the heck?

To Brine or Not to Brine?

2010-11-23T11:54:00.004-05:00

I have taken to brining my turkey the past couple of years. The flavor is excellent but it is a royal pain to do. The "turkey bag" does a decent job though and it is much easier...

Should I brine or not? Anyone else have any experiences with making it easier?

I put up a poll on the right. It ends tomorrow since I have to make the call quickly.

Update:

The Turkey shall be brined! Salt, Brown Sugar, AllSpice Berries, Black Peppercorns, Candied Ginger, Vegetable and Turkey Stock are be my ingredients!

It makes the house smell awesome btw.

Review: Seven Lies About Catholic History

2010-11-22T13:52:00.004-05:00

Diane Moczar has done us a good service by writing this book, Seven Lies About Catholic History. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Dr. Moczar takes us through just seven out of the millions (probably) of lies perennially told about the Church. She begins by first examining some reasons for the lies. Then she devotes a chapter to each of the ones selected. A overview (in a great biting tone btw) is provided for each one. Then she debunks the lie and goes about teaching us how to debunk it. This book is a good way to give the uninformed Catholic an easy way to answer some of the most vicious lies about Church history. Even for the student of history this book could serve as a refresher (or as a first step toward reality).

The lies covered between the covers are:

1. The Dark Ages

2. The Catholic Church, Enemy of Progress

3. A Crusade against the Truth

4. The Sinister Inquisition

5. Science on Trial: the Catholic Church vs. Galileo

6. A Church Corrupted to the Core

7. A Black and Expedient Legend.

There was one point in the book that I mildly disagreed with Dr. Moczar about. She seemed to defend the Church's relaxation of its usury laws, which I believe hasn't worked out for us so well. Our entire modern financial system is based on immoral usury and we have now seen the results. However I am not in the money-finance-CNBC business at all, so perhaps I'm wrong. Certainly the history is fuzzy to me.

The chapter I enjoyed the most was "A Black and Expedient Legend". The Black Legend is a bunch of (reformation period protestant) nonsense history that calumnied Catholic Spain during the 1500-1600s. It basically says that Catholic explorers and conquerors brutally treated, enslaved, and tortured wonderful native and noble savages while looking for gold in the New World. I learned a lot from that chapter I didn't know, such as the fact that captured Spaniards were sacrificed to the Aztec Gods and also that Cortes refused to eat the meat (because it might have been human!) when eating dinner with Montezuma.

This book was a lot of fun to read and so I recommend it! At about $12 it makes a good stocking stuffer. You can also get it for your Kindle or other eReader.

Here is the link.

Pius XII Psalter - Draw Your Own Conclusions

2010-11-22T13:36:00.008-05:00

I found this again on the internet and I think it is well worth looking at here. The changes that occurred after Vatican II required preparation. Regardless of the reality, there were Modernists who actively were trying to break with the past. They wanted things to change in the Church. Now take a look at this advertisement from 1943. It is for the new Pius XII Psalter. I am not saying Pius XII was a modernist. But like our current Holy Father, everything the Pope does is subject to being used for someone or other's own pet project.

I have highlighted the important text. Pretty interesting. We now of course know the "fate" this new psalter. It was abandoned pretty quick as these things go. The neo-Vulgate is more aligned with St. Jerome's version which most traditional priests use.

From Pius XII Ad

Universalis for Kindle

2010-11-15T11:32:00.004-05:00

I bought a Kindle a couple weeks back. Its a great device. Today I downloaded the Universalis software for my PC after I read that you could put the Divine Office (modern) onto your Kindle. I was wondering how they were going to take care of the navigation...

Universalis did a fantastic job. I'm sure the modern Liturgy of the Hours isn't everyone's cup of tea here. Nevertheless I believe this download is well worth the price you'll pay. You can even download the Universalis software and use it for a month free. The transfer to the *.mobi format is built in to the program. After that all you need to do is drag and drop the file onto your Kindle from your PC or Mac.

For those who want the traditional Divine Office (as I would) there is unfortunately no on-Kindle option that I know of right now except PDF copies which are tedious to navigate. The only other thing you could do is use the experimental browser to view the mobile Divinum Officium site (which I have done, and it works well too) but you'll need an internet connection for that. I went cheap and bought the Wi-Fi only version. So, having the Office on-Kindle in .mobi is best for me.

Locus Iste

2010-11-09T09:56:00.004-05:00

In honor of todays Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran I provide a link to the Sacred Music Colloquium XX attendees singing "Locus Iste" by Bruckner. Locus Iste is the gradual text for today.

Locus iste a Deo factus est,

inaestimabile sacramentum;
irreprehensibilis est.

This place was made by God,
a priceless sacrament;
beyond reproach.

Sacred Music Colloquium XX - Locus Iste (all attendees)

Breviary Progress

2010-11-04T08:11:00.001-04:00

We really do appreciate them updating us.

From the Baronius Press website:

The excellent news is that the final corrections from the Censor have been received a few days ago. We anticipate that the implementation of the corrections and the finalising of the Breviary will take a couple of weeks.
After this, we will formally apply for the Concordat cum originali to be granted – the necessary approval that liturgical texts require in order to be used and also to ensure that the text is accurate. As soon as the permission is granted, the printing will commence.
We are very grateful for all the prayers and support we have received in order to complete this huge undertaking.

Well, we won.

2010-11-03T11:00:00.002-04:00

Well we won, I guess. I now have a pro-life congressman, a pro-life governor, and a new pro-life senator.

I predict shortly after the new congress gets sworn in their poll numbers will drop because a lot of Americans are just angry at congress. They'll have to figure out a way to keep them above water.

Hungry Souls from TAN Books

2010-11-01T22:11:00.002-04:00

November is the month in which we remember the dead and pray for them. This book, Hungry Souls, is put out by TAN. Here is their promo video.

Happy All Souls Day!

Nose bleed seats!

2010-10-30T10:22:00.000-04:00

At the Fr. Corapi conference...

Music Update

2010-10-28T22:35:00.004-04:00

I have entered an extremely busy couple of days.

Tomorrow I have a classes and a sung Requiem Mass. I have schola rehearsal in the evening. Then Saturday I will be gone all day to the Fr. Corapi event in New Jersey. Sunday I have two sung Masses for Christ the King, a procession afterwards, and then a schola rehearsal for All Saints the day after. On Monday I have two solemn high Masses for All Saints. Tuesday I have a sung Requiem Mass for All Souls with a procession afterwards (singing throughout) and then another Solemn High Mass Requiem in the evening at my parish which my students are also coming to sing at - so we have to transport them there.

That is 7 High Masses and 2 Processions in in 5 days!

And tonight I am blogging late because I had to update some SSL certificates on our server. My life is a bit hectic at the moment.

Very busy. Very rewarding. Come Wednesday I will be exhausted.

Baronius With Two New Titles...for the Soul!

2010-10-25T14:05:00.005-04:00

No, the one we're all waiting for isn't one of them. But they have produced two nice looking classics. Take a look!

Review: Death of a Liturgist

2010-10-19T12:14:00.005-04:00

When I originally saw this coming out from St. Benedict Press I was excited to read it. It had been a while since I had the time or motivation to read a fiction book but this one seemed right up my alley. For the most part, it was. At the parish where I play Saturday Vigil Mass we went from Gregorian Chant and greater solemnity to ... um ... not Gregorian Chant or (nearly any) solemnity in a matter of 5 minutes after the priest transfers, when I was told "never" with regards to the chant.

The story begins by us learning that St. Rita's parish will also be undergoing a pastor change. The long standing shepherd and his young assistant priest have for many years fostered a beautiful community with chant and more traditional forms of worship. When the new priest arrives he is inundated by people and duties. And so he hires someone, a liturgist, to handle some things for him. And the story really takes off from there. Eventually, as the title suggests, the liturgist ends up dead and the author, Lorraine Murray, leads us through the story with a full cast of interesting characters to suspect.

The character of the liturgist is obviously the antagonist of the book. He is the embodiment of evil. Chip is suave, charming, a tyrannic liberal, womanizing, and annoying to anyone who refuses to fall under his spell. He represents evil in a subtle and disturbing form: the kind which appears nice on the outside but is corrupt and mischievous on the inside.

The changes Chip Cambio make in the parish are things that have unfortunately happened in many places. But he doesn't just touch on liturgy - Chip goes after a whole lot more at St. Rita's. He tries to corrupt the women in the parish. What is it they say, that if you corrupt the women of a society the men will follow? (Just like Adam and Eve.) Chip goes after them in a big way and here I need to stop and say a little about issues of modesty.

I really liked the premise of the book. The story is timely and fast paced. But there were a few things I didn't like too. For instance Ms. Murray, being a woman, obviously writes from a female perspective. All of the men are physically described. Sometimes the women are described as well, in their upper parts. There is touching, cuddling, hand kissing (as a come-on), and woman-thoughts all over through the book. The words "erogenous zone" appear together in a sentence...which may upset some readers. Sometimes I would be reading along just fine and all of a sudden the realization would hit me that "I am inside a woman's head." So men reading this book, just a warning, you might feel a little odd at times. To the women, its not a romance novel but there is a good deal of romantic stuff between the covers. For-warned is for-armed as they say.

And just to finish up - I had solved the crime well before the end by piecing together the clues in the story. Ms. Murray actually did provide quite a few misleading paths during the book. It just so happens that I picked the right ones. But upon reaching the end that didn't bug me. I was actually pleased with myself for getting it so early.

Busy Busy...

2010-10-11T13:44:00.005-04:00

I just realized that I have no days off during the week. Sunday I have two Masses, Monday-Wednesday I do my regular routine of work. Tuesday is also Bible study night. Thursday and Friday I now teach, have Mass with the schola, and rehearse with my other schola. Saturdays are taken up two weeks out of the month by the Knights of Columbus and the M.I.M. which I am working my way to joining. Also, Saturday evenings I play a vigil Mass.

And so I am trying to get these books I received recently from St. Benedict Press finished. I have already finished Death of a Liturgist and am now on my way to completing Seven Lies About Catholic History, which I am enjoying a great deal.

I plan on writing my review of Death of a Liturgist as soon as I get some time. For the most part I liked it, but there are some things about it that I didn't. If you are on the fence about purchasing it don't base your decision on that one sentence btw! Give me a chance to do the write up.

Remembering the Importance of the Divine Office

2010-10-11T12:46:00.003-04:00

I found this in the book “The Divine Office” by Rev. E.J. Quigley (1920)

"At Matins bound;
at Prime reviled;
Condemned to death at Tierce;
Nailed to the Cross at Sext;
at None His blessed Side they pierce.
They take him down at Vesper-tide;
In grave at Compline lay,
Who thenceforth bids His Church observe
The sevenfold hours alway."

And the Latin, which I don't think has quite the same ring to it...

"Matutina ligat
Christum qui crimina purgat,
Prima replet sputis.
Causam dat Tertia mortis.
Sexta cruci nectit.
Latus ejus Non bipertit.
Vespera deponit.
Tumulo completa reponit.
Haec sum septenis
propter quae psallimus horas."

The book doesn’t seem to say who wrote this. I think it is very possible that the Divine Office is not more widely promoted because those bound to say it view it as a burden rather than a blessing to pray, even in its simpler forms.

The music kids listen to these days...and yesterdays...

2010-10-04T10:04:00.011-04:00

As readers know, I have started teaching Gregorian Chant and Sacred Music to high schoolers. It is not without hiccups and crosses, but so far I have been enjoying it a great deal. The students are ,for the most part, a lot of fun to work with.

The other day I was giving an impromptu piano lesson to a kid and he was relating to me how much he liked "praise and worship" music. It seemed odd at first because this is a traditionalist school. I asked him how he liked the chant we did in class and at Mass and he said he loved it and was trying to get a group together at home during his praise and worship sessions to sing it.

And it was then that I realized something I pretty much already knew - that many young people are not prejudiced one way or the other. When I was thirteen or so years old I went with my Presbyterian youth-group to Creation '92 which is a big Christian rock concert in a field that lasts for several days. I remember there were Catholics there and one of the announcers said to them "we love our Catholic brothers and sisters too!" They whooped and hollered. The music that weekend was emotionally charged and blaring. All the big names of the day were there: Amy Grant, Newsboys, etc... Then they asked everyone (20,000 people) who would like to be baptized again. Those who wanted to be baptized were to go over to a pond with a ministry team. Then a few minutes later they said there were too many to baptize. So they put the flood lights on the crowd and asked those who felt moved to stand and accept Jesus into their hearts. Feeling moved by the Spirit I stood up along with another girl in the youth group (there were people standing all over the place, it was huge.) And that was my moment of giving my life to Christ.

Nowadays I would wince at their view of baptism, and perhaps I would look with suspicion on the highly emotionally charged atmosphere. But as a 13 year old that is what I needed, and God brought good out of it.

Eventually I left that kind of music behind, I matured, fell in love with classical music, and found my way into the Catholic Church (much later). But if that music brings someone closer to God in a real way, how can I flat out discourage it? Certainly it isn't for Mass - but as devotional music it could be used as long as it doesn't lead one to error.

Which is what I told my student. I warned him about the anti-Catholic overtones in some of that music which he agreed were there - and it seemed like he knew how to find them.

So the next time you hear a Catholic youth singing or talking about the latest Christian rock band, hand them a Chant CD. I bet they will love it. Young people aren't prejudiced that way.

Review: A Year With the Church Fathers

2010-09-24T16:28:00.005-04:00

You've probably seen some advertisements for this book around the internet and in print. St. Benedict Press and Mike Aquilina have done a great job with this daily devotional.

I was just telling someone yesterday that I don't have much "need" for modern yet-to-be-approved private revelations because I haven't learned all I can from approved sources. The Church Fathers are one of those and this book is a great introduction to them.

Let's first of all judge it by the cover, which we are told never to do. We have here a very beautiful rendition of the highly flexible, soft, leather-feel, DuoTone/Ultrasoft material. It is comfortable to hold and the two-tone cover is a nice touch. If this were a Bible I would prefer a solid color.

The picture below shows its flexibility.

I don't know if this was intentional or not but the book has a near-semi-yapp cover on it. There is certainly a generous over hang. Intentional or not, it will help keep the guilt edges from getting marked up.

Below: Back cover.

The embossing on the cover is great as usual with S.B. Press. When I saw this book it reminded me of all those protestant devotionals you see when you walk into a book store. "God's Promises", "My Utmost..." "Purpose Driven Life" (etc) and now we have a decent looking Catholic one with some real meat to it.

Below: One thing I would change about the book construction is the thick pages. It seems they were going for completely opaque, and to do that you use thicker paper. But here it causes the book to be somewhat stiff. This will work itself out when you use it I suspect. Just go easy on it for a while.

I'm not a fan of glossy pages. I would also change this. But the page layout is good for a daily devotional. That's good advice on the page isn't it? And from St. John Chrysostom - the golden mouth!

You can see above there is a topic for the day, a short explanation, an excerpt from a Church Father, a short meditation, and a closing prayer. This may be a good way to begin the practice of mental prayer for ordinary Catholics. Not having read the whole thing yet, I can't vouch for all of the text but Mr. Aquilina is a well known and trusted apologist. I have his book "The Mass of the Early Christians" and enjoyed it.

You can purchase the book here.

New Books Arrival from St. Benedict Press

2010-09-20T14:56:00.003-04:00

The great people at St. Benedict Press have sent me some new books to review. I received today A Year with the Church Fathers, Death of a Liturgist, Death Panels (a lot of death in the mail today, huh?), and Seven Lies About Catholic History.

The Year With the Church Fathers is beautiful btw. I'm going to look it over completely tonight and hopefully show it off tomorrow.

Malware Warning

2010-09-16T16:00:00.002-04:00

It appears some browsers have been warning that this blog may contain Malware. They seem to have spotted a problem with the blogroll I used. So I removed it for now. I was unaware you could put malware in a blogroll but I guess it can be done.

Hopefully the warning should go away in a bit.

Church Latin Blog

2010-09-16T15:54:00.002-04:00

FYI - Blog friend Maximus Scriptorus, of ChurchLatin.com, now has a blog. Here's the link: http://churchlatin.blogspot.com/

Review: Divine Intimacy by Baronius Press

2010-09-14T13:13:00.004-04:00

This book was actually published a couple years ago. In fact I bought it almost a year ago but am just getting to showing it off to you now. I have very little to say about it except that I love it. Baronius did a nice job with it.

I do not have a spiritual director and so I tend to use this book for sound advice with spiritual questions when I can't get to a priest-confessor. Its awesome. The book leads you through daily meditations and prayers and is attached to the older Roman calendar. Novus Ordo attendees can use it too but they will need to make sure they count Sundays after Pentecost rather than "Ordinary Time" Sundays. Let me just show you some pictures and share a few brief comments.

It is attractive looking.

But I don't care for the leather used here. It is flexible...like a plastic milk jug.

After a year of use moderate use and even some car rides, the gilding has held up. The ribbons have survived.

The typesetting and page layout is fantastic. It has wide margins which help frame the page well for meditating or note taking. This book is meant to be a daily companion, so writing in it might be expected.

The binding is holding up just fine. It lays flat easily and comfortably.

Swirly end papers. A Baronius Press staple.

If you do not pray the Divine Office for whatever reason, this book may be a good substitute. There are two meditations per day so one could have a morning and an evening meditation. It costs $54.95 and is worth it. You will believe me after the first use. Take a look on Baronius Press' website.

Douay-Rheims Sympathy Edition

2010-09-14T12:40:00.003-04:00

A reader emailed me asking me a question about a particular Douay-Rheims edition. When I went to the site he sent I found this after looking around a bit:

The Douay-Rheims Sympathy Edition. I have never heard of this publication before. There is no publishing information on the site, so I also have no idea who exactly is publishing it. I'll send them an email. Here is the byline for the book:

When a friend or loved one is bereaved, there are many ways to express support - but none more powerful than with the Catholic Sympathy Bible, a beautiful memorial Bible that will serve as a rock of comfort for years to come. The Catholic Sympathy Bible features the stately Douay Rheims text, attractively bound and presented, with an 8 page record section for families to memorialize the deceased. For truly lasting comfort, present a Catholic Sympathy Bible with a Mass card or condolence card when a friend or loved one is bereaved.

Features include:
Special 8 page section at front of Bible for memorializing the deceased
Gold sprayed pages [???]
Padded Hardcover with gold stamping [There aren't too many padded hardcovers these days.]
Measures 5.5" x 8"

I can't endorse it because I have never seen it. Does anyone have this Bible?

Video of a New Priest

2010-09-06T19:18:00.000-04:00

I met this new priest at the Sacred Music Colloquium in June. He's a good example of a newly ordained man on fire for the Christ, the Church, and her liturgy.

Fr. Z Reviews Surprise Baronius Prayer Book

2010-09-03T21:55:00.001-04:00

Baronius has released a new prayer book of Card. Newman's which they sent to Fr.Zto review. I'm usually pretty up to date on forthcoming titles so this is a surprise. It looks pretty nice! Go take a look.

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/09/review-new-old-book-of-prayers-and-meditation-of-card-newman/

Birthday Surprises

2010-09-01T16:15:00.003-04:00

Monday was my 31st Birthday. I don't feel a year older but the calendar says I am. So be it.

My folks were very generous with the Amazon list this year. They surprised me with the expensive set of the Cantena Aurea from Baronius Press. They are really beautiful books and I'm thrilled to have this commentary set on my shelf now. They also got me the Faith of the Early Fathers Set by Jurgens. Deo Gratias!

Office Hours

2010-08-24T21:54:00.004-04:00

Laszlo Kiss's famous and fantastic website "Divinum Officium" has an incredibly interesting chart on it. He wrote a script apparently that read through each version of the Divine Office (but not the Liturgy of the Hours) and timed the results. As the rubrics were simplified it appears the time really wasn't shortened all that much.

http://divinumofficium.com/www/horas/Help/times.html

Paul VI and the New Office

2010-08-23T14:59:00.007-04:00

Last week, I was reading something online which led me to read something else which led me to read the apostolic constitution, Laudis Canticum, from Pope Paul VI. Laudis Canticum is the document promulgating the post-conciliar edition of the Divine Office. You should read it. A side note, I have oftentimes thought of Pope Paul VI as a sad character. Some people think he was horrible. But when I think of the man, I am just saddened.

One thing we always hear is this: "Vatican II never did away with Latin! Just read the documents and you'll see!"

Ok that is technically true. But there is also a lie we tell ourselves when from our love for traditional liturgy and language we try and convince ourselves that the council fathers had no idea what was coming next. Enter Laudis Canticum.

There is some beautiful language elsewhere in the document regarding the Office, but here our focus is the final paragraph:

We hereby decree that this new book for the Liturgy of the Hours may be put into use as soon as it is published. Meanwhile, the conferences of bishops are to see to the preparation of editions of this liturgical work in the vernacular and, after approval, that is, confirmation, of these editions by the Apostolic See, are to fix the date when the vernacular editions may or must be used,[! in usum recipi possint vel debeant] either in whole or in part. Beginning on the effective date for use of these versions in vernacular celebrations, only the revised form of the Liturgy of the Hours is to be followed, even by those who continue to use Latin. [and the Old Not Abrogated: ] For those however who, because of advanced age or for special reasons, [Conscientious objection?] experience serious difficulties in observing this new Order, it is lawful to continue to use the former Roman Breviary, in whole or in part, with the consent of their Ordinary, but only when reciting the Office alone.

Maybe I am misreading this, but it appears the pope gave the conferences of bishops the power to mandate the vernacular use of the Divine Office in their countries. He may even have expected it. Notice the follwing language, "for those who continue to use Latin." He knew exactly that Latin was all but being put out of use, but he didn't abolish the practice. He also allowed some to continue praying the traditional office but not in public.

I think a lot of what was done after the Council was done in good faith. But it was done with bad manners, poor execution, and naive optimism for the future. The men of the time were looking at the world around them and thought they had to update everything in the Church. They looked at the traditions and said "Oh yes, we appreciate that, but we want this. Voila, it is renewed." Perhaps I am being uncharitable. I know I am being simplistic.

The new Liturgy of the Hours isn't all bad. Yes some psalms were picked apart, removed or mangled, historic hymns and antiphons were all but obliterated, the vast amount of options have left it nearly formless, but there is some good here. The patristic readings during the Office of Readings (Matins now renamed...) are great. On Saturday I used the LOTH because I wanted to celebrate Pius X. Ironically his reading for the day was from Divino Afflatu, which was his letter promulgating a new Divine Office. He letter, as does Paul VI's, has some beautiful parts to it. He was not so nice to the edition previous to his however....

From Pius X, Divino afflatu:

Therefore, by the authority of these letters, we first of all abolish the order of the psaltery as it is at present in the Roman breviary, and we absolutely forbid the use of it after the 1st day of January of the year 1913. From that day in all the churches of secular and regular clergy, in the monasteries, orders, congregations and institutes of religious, by all and several who by office or custom recite the canonical hours according to the Roman breviary issued by St. Pius V and revised by Clement VIII, Urban VIII and Leo XIII, we order the religious observance of the new arrangement of the psaltery in the form in which we have approved it and decreed its publication by the Vatican printing press. At the same time we proclaim the penalties prescribed in law against all who fail in their office of reciting the canonical hours everyday; all such are to know that they will not be satisfying this grave duty unless they use this our disposition of the psaltery.

Paul VI did not do that when he promulgated the new Liturgy of the Hours. Pope Pius X meant business. For the new LOTH, we find this in the reading from Pius X, from Divino Afflatu, in the Sanctoral Cycle:

It is beyond question that the psalms composed under divine inspiration, which are collected in the sacred books, have from the beginning of the Church not only contributed wonderfully to foster the piety of the faithful offering the sacrifice of praise always to God, that is to say, the fruit of lips confessing to his name (Heb 13:15), but have also had a conspicuous part, from custom introduced under the old law, in the sacred liturgy itself and in the divine office. Hence, as Basil says, that natural voice of the Church (Homil. In Ps. I, no. 2,) and the psalmody called by our predecessor Urban VIII (in Divinam psalmodiam) the daughter of her hymnody which is constantly sung before the throne of God and the Lamb, [Think about that next time you pray the Office] and which, according to Athanasius, teaches the men whose chief care is the divine worship the manner in which God is to be praised and the words in which they are fitly to confess him (Epist. Ad Marcellinum in interpret. Psalmor no. 10). [I love this next quote:] Augustine beautifully says on the subject: “That God may be praised well by man, God himself has praised himself; and since he has been pleased to praise himself man has found the way to praise him (In Psalm. Cxliv. No. 1).

It is worth reading the whole thing. I especially like this quote, not included but directly following the LOTH reading in the actual text of Pius X:

With good reason was provision made long ago, by decrees of the Roman Pontiffs, by canons of the councils, and by monastic laws, that members of both branches of the clergy should chant or recite the entire psaltery every week. [It was an ancient practice. This was done away with in the new Divine Office.] And this same law, handed down from antiquity, our predecessors St. Pius V, Clement VIII and Urban VIII religiously observed in revising the Roman breviary. Even at present the psaltery should be recited in its entirety within the week were it not that owing to the changed condition of things such recitation is frequently hindered.

They certainly weren't going to include that part in the Liturgy of the Hours. God be praised, Pope Benedict XVI has allowed almost universal use of Pope John XXIII's rubrics of Pius X's Psalter. Of course that is another can of worms.

I am not saying by the way, that if you use the new Liturgy of the Hours to sanctify your day you are doing anything bad. I am merely interested here in the recent history and development of the Divine Office which is a central part of my spiritual life. Hopefully I'll get to some more writing on this subject soon.

Latin Liturgia Horarum by MTF

2010-08-20T15:35:00.002-04:00

Ramil, in the comments a few weeks back, informed me that Midwest Theological Forum has an edition out of the Liturgia Horarum. I have contacted them and am still waiting to hear back. Their contact web form however may be just an internet black hole.

The set of 6 books costs $900 for genuine leather covers. $450 for the hardcover edition. The hardcover looks like it might come in the fruity colored covers just like Catholic Book Publishing Company's english version. But since the online catalog only shows volume one there is no way to tell.

At any rate, kudos to MTF for promoting the Latin version of the current Divine Office.

Review: Deluxe Blessed Be God

2010-08-20T13:16:00.000-04:00

Preserving Christian Publications, the same people who among other things have brought us the wonderful reprint of the 1962 Diurnale Romanum, have now reprinted "American's Favorite Prayer Book" - Blessed Be God. I have reviewed the contents here before, (going back and reading my previous post - I think I was a bit too tough on it...) and so we will focus on the externals of it this time. However there are a few updates we will cover.

First, the cover is now, mercifully, a soft bonded leather. The main problem with the hardcover reprint is that is was quite thick and sometimes unpleasant to use. I tried several times, by taking it to Mass on Sunday, to use as my regular prayer book but found that since I had to bring my Liber Usualis with me it just wasn't worth it. The Mass readings are missing the propers so it wasn't worth me taking to daily Mass along with my daily Missal. It was too large, and so basically it never got used.

Now however this soft bonded leather edition, which comes in a much smaller form factor at 4x6 and just under 1 inch thick, can easily be slipped into my back pocket. It is flexible which makes it comfortable in the hands. However you do have to work with it a bit to loosen up the binding. Sometimes small books like this are a bit stiff for a while.

The binding is glued and sewn so it should last. It comes with one ribbon which is black.

The liturgical tables have been updated to apply to the modern reader. The year goes to 2041. St. Joseph has now been inserted, via asterisk, into the canon - whereas in the previous reprint he was absent. The indulgences have not been updated throughout the book. Some of them may have "expired" and all are listed by the amount of days, rather than partial or plenary. So keep that in mind as you use it.

Perhaps it is the fact that this edition is just more pleasant to use, but the text appears more clearly on the page. There are a few smudges and I noticed one missing letter on a page, although I can't remember where it was now.

I would like to see Preserving Christian Publications consider binding more of their books, specifically their Diurnale Romanum, with this type of cover. Their hardcover is nice but this would be nicer.

Blessed Be God has been given new life by PCP and I highly recommend it to any and every Catholic out there.

On the Importance of the Divine Office

2010-08-18T22:41:00.002-04:00

The following quote was recently posted on a forum I belong to and it struck me as quite profound. Devotion to the Office is not well promoted, or rather it is not very much promoted, and that is a shame.

In my diocese I know of precisely zero parishes with regular Vespers services and I know of zero lay groups devoted to its recitation.

"After the sacrifice of the Mass, the Church possesses no treasure so great as the Divine Office." "It is God's Church, the Spouse of Christ, who has done me the honour of choosing me for this great work - me, in preference to a hundred others. She puts into my hand her holy book of heavenly language, and asked me to read it words before God, to unity with the angels and saints in honouring God."

St. Alphonsus Liguori

Upcoming Reviews

2010-08-17T15:40:00.004-04:00

I have a few reviews coming down the pike. I have to just put my mind to it and get them finished.

- The Original and True Rheims New Testament (1582)
- Blessed Be God (PCP Books)
- Scripture 101 (Ligouri)

The last one is a challenge for me because it is so...unorthodox...and I need to really think about what I will write.

The Original and True Rheims NT is incredibly fascinating. Its like a time warp. The layout, when put into a modern font as this one is, reminds me a great deal of the New Jerusalem Bible's format. We've all heard the criticism of it, that the latinisms made it almost unreadable. Hogwash. This Bible has not been reprinted by a large publishing house -some say- due to the more advanced scholarship we have today. However having looked it over now I believe the commentary is the real reason. And that is the reason you should read this version, and it is also the reason why some people should not read it. When I do my review you'll see why. Then you will be informed to make a good purchasing decision.

Protestants have kept printing their King James Versions, Tyndales, Genevas, Great Bibles, Matthew's Bible...but why have Catholics not reprinted the original Douay-Rheims? hrm...stay tuned!

Review: Nova et Vetera 1962 Breviary

2010-08-06T12:37:00.004-04:00

You can click on any image in this post to make it larger.

Thanks to the generous lending of Maximus Scriptorus over at ChurchLatin.com I was finally able to get my hands on one of these to show you. When this edition of the 1962 Breviary first came out I always thought the cost of acquiring such a set would prohibit me from sharing them with you.

Of course, I have seen them before. These breviaries are used by many members of the FSSP and so I've had the chance to hold one and look inside briefly. In that past, I have heard complaints about them and indeed I've seen the results of what they look like after 2 years of steady use. It is not pretty. But they could have been dropped, stepped on, who knows really.

At any rate I can compare these now to the Econe Breviary. One thing right off the bat that I'll say is this: This set makes a better case for the $300 price tag. I'm not saying they are perfect, as we'll get to, but they do certainly have a more expensive feel to them.

The leather is calfskin and I believe it is what we would call an "ironed" calfskin which makes it very thin. In fact it is too thin. The cover, however beautiful, makes the book seem "delicate". The Econe breviary, for whatever else may be wrong with it, is a warhorse by comparison.

Yet the calfskin is still nice overall for a cover. It feels better in your hands even if it gives you the impression the book could fall apart (though it won't). Not all calfskin is like this by the way.

Many older breviaries typically had their cover glued or at least attached in some way to their spines. This one doesn't. Nor for that matter does the Econe. That style keeps the binding tight indefinitely. The thinness of the leather here creates an odd lump in your hands when reading. I've tried to give an example here in the following photos:

(The following photo looks horrible, but I assure you I am being extremely gentle with the book! No worries Maximus!)

The actual binding is very decent. It is of course sewn. The breviary contains six ribbons whereas the Econe has 4. Having used both now I can say 4 are necessary, but 6 is convenient.

Which brings me to another topic. The N&V Breviary comes with a massive amount of cards. I only ever use the Matins and Benedictus/Magnificat cards. But some people may have a different preference. Again, this is a convenience and it is nice to have options in this regard. It also came with a Hymni Antiqui card, which contain the old office hymns still found in the Benedictine Monastic office. We won't go into that subject at the moment, but I really like this feature.

Let's talk ribbons. These are soft, dark colored ribbons. I greatly prefer these to the Econe which are much brighter. These have a serious quality that others do not. However I would prefer them to have been stronger. These will fray very easily. My parish priest has them tied in knots on his set so they stay in tact. Once they are frayed, which for some could be a matter of months, you will either have to pay to get the whole thing rebound, re-ribboned, or cut them and go to your local Catholic book shop and try to squeeze in (or mangle) one of those Catholic Book Publishing Company sets down the spine.

The end papers are perfect. I like them a bit rough like this because it helps keep the cards, which are slippery and laminated, inside the book. Sure, leather would have been nice too, but you have to use this thing, right?

The text inside could not be more clear. They've done a nice job on the fonts and the presentation of the text. The set up is double column the whole way through. Some find that irritating, others appreciate that. You decide. For my part, I've found that sometimes it can be difficult to tell where you are in the book when you first open it because it takes a more careful look to tell the difference between the sections. In the Econe the Psalms are single column so it is simpler. This is a matter of preference and the major experiential difference between the two editions.

I would have preferred if Nova et Vetera indented the first line of each verse in the Psalms as some breviaries have done. It makes it easier to find your place should you get distracted.

The fonts in this edition are superior to the Econe in my opinion.

In the front you have card stock pages for the ordinary parts of the offices.

Maximus also sent his covers along. The first is the one sold and produced by Nova et Vetera themselves. Its very nice.

You have to put the cards in after the book, just so you know. Its difficult the other way around.

This one he made himself and it makes great way to store your non-used volume.

And this one, by the way, works well too. It is the Volume I leather cover from Catholic Book Publishing company. It fits nicely but test it first before you just shove your extra thin calfskin breviary covers into it.

Conclusion
Given the fact that this version carries an imprimatur and the overall quality is superior I would recommend this edition over the Econe breviary. However the Econe is definitely sturdier construction. There isn't a whole lot else more to say, its really just that simple.

Two Colloquium Videos

2010-07-31T13:49:00.000-04:00

Sacred Music Colloquium XX from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

CMAA Colloquium XX 2010 from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

Disgruntlement at the Post Office

2010-07-29T11:11:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I sent a package to two good friends who moved away. I went to the post office and this was waiting to greet me:

I don't like the President either, but not knowing this group at all I was a little standoffish. I spoke with them briefly after I left. They wanted money which I don't give unless I've checked out the group.

When I got into the post office all I had was my package and the outgoing address on a piece of paper. I got to the counter and said "I need to ship this media mail, its books." They always ask "what is it?" so I beat them to it.

"We don't provide labels. Do you have a label?" the lady said.

I've been to the post office many times and thought I'd seen them slap labels on before. So maybe this is new?

"No, I don't have a label, " I said.

"We sell labels over there," as she pointed to the rack against the doorway. I guess this government run agency which is payed for with our tax dollars and is owned by an entity that can print money (and does to our detriment) needs more of mine to keep going.

Seeing that I was not agreeable to buy one of their labels she said "Or you can tape the paper with the address to the package and just use that."

"Ok I'll do that, do you have any tape?" I said.

"You can use this scotch tape," (which was next to her on the counter) "and maybe it'll work. But we don't provide tape - we sell it, " she pointed to the rack again. I looked at her with disbelief. We had passed from an understandable inconvenience to ridiculous. The irony of the anti-Obama protesters was not lost on me because right around that time an angry woman came into the post office and began banging on the post master door. It took two sets of bangs for the postal lady to respond.

"The post master isn't in," she said.

"Well I want to speak with him!" the middle aged woman barked.

"He's not in." The lady at the counter was strangely very calm about this. It was like working for the government had removed her to a state of serene apathy.

"Who's in charge here then?!"

"Nobody, its just me here. Sorry."

I have a feeling she was angry with the protesters right outside the post office, but I could be wrong. She was really irritated. But hey, its a free country. Liberals are all about getting rid of free speech.

At any rate, the counter lady had just made the poor girl in front of me buy a roll of tape who, seeing my similar plight, kindly offered it to me. I taped it right in front of the counter lady so she could watch me use the free tape and my free makeshift label.

And so, Peter and Audrey, when you get your package in the mail you will now know the story behind it.

Thoughts on Some Anglican Patrimony

2010-07-26T13:49:00.005-04:00

I have been reading a lot of blogs lately by Anglicans who are discerning entry into visible union with the Catholic Church. It is really interesting to watch this play out online. There is excitement, hope, sadness, anxiety, distrust, anger, compassion, joy, and of full range of human emotions one would expect. There is thoughtfulness and frank intellectual discussion going on too.

Because of my reading about all of this I have taken some interest in this thing they are calling "Anglican Patrimony". And indeed there is a lot to be cherished in many of their traditions. On the American side of Anglicanism there is an love for the Prayer Book that will be greatly appreciated by those of us who are attached to the Divine Office in whatever form it is said. This is the place where my interest in their patrimony has settled. The Anglican office, when sung, has a great and unique quality to it. The English harmonies, along with the language used in the Coverdale psalter, are enough to soften even the coldest heart to be moved to prayer.

The reason I'm putting this post up is because one of the things I've read from some Anglicans and some Catholic traditionalists online is that some trads are not so open to Anglicans coming in without renouncing everything about Anglicanism. Even though I consider myself a traditionalist, I think it is important to realize that position is not the one the Holy Father has taken. He is a merciful and kind father and has asked the Anglicans to bring with them the good things they can.

In my experience as a convert I was never, ever, asked to leave behind or renounce anything good about my protestant past. Nor will they be. Nor will anyone ever be. This should be a great comfort to those discerning.

Ut unum sint!

New Book Arrival

2010-07-23T14:43:00.003-04:00

The new edition of Blessed Be God arrived today. But the review will have to wait for a couple of reasons. One is that I will be coordinating my review with Maximus Scriptorus, figuring that we can provide different perspectives for readers that will compliment each other. The second is that my copy came with what I believe is a defect and I want to be able to show you a good copy. So I have emailed the publisher and we'll see how we can get it taken care of. My first impressions are that it is perfectly sized, the print is well done (better than the previous printing), and that they used a very nice bonded leather for the cover. But we'll get to all that in due time.

Baronius Press Breviary Update!!

2010-07-16T21:18:00.001-04:00

From the Baronius Press website:

Many of you have been eagerly awaiting the release of the Roman Breviary which has been plagued with delays and we are very grateful for all the emails and prayers of support that we have received.

We received good news from the Censor a few days ago - the Breviary has now been checked thoroughly. The task of checking every word on three and half thousand pages is no small one especially as this work was performed very diligently.

The Censor has requested that to be absolutely sure that the text is error free, it should undergo one final proofreading, which we are assured will be much quicker than the first checking process. We ask your continued prayers for this process, which is a requirement for liturgical books and also ensures that the text is accurate.

When the Censor has satisfied himself that the text conforms to the Editio Typica, he will recommend that theConcordat cum originali be granted, and the Breviary will be ready to be sent to the printer. We understand that for many of you it has been a long and frustrating wait since we first announced that we would be undertaking this project several years ago. At the time, we never anticipated how much work was needed to bring this important text back into print. Now, with light at the end of the tunnel, we are confidently able to say that the wait is nearly over. Please pray for the Censor, and check back in a few weeks, when we expect to be making a further announcement.

It is based on the popular three-volume Collegeville Breviary in Latin & English, originally published in 1963.
Follows the text and rubrics promulgated by Blessed Pope John XXIII – the form of the traditional Breviary approved in Pope Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum.
St Jerome's traditional Gallican psalter from the Vulgate is given in the text of all the hours.
Scriptural texts in English follow the Confraternity translation (a 1940s revision of Challoner's Douai-Rheims Bible), which have been thoroughly revised to conform to the Vulgate text.
Extracts from the Rituale Romanum(including the most commonly used litanies) given in an appendix.
Contains Penitential Psalms and the Office for the Dead.
Prayer card to include common prayers in Latin and English.
A copy of Learning the Breviary will be included.

Incredible Pre-Pius X Totum

2010-07-16T11:59:00.004-04:00

A week or two ago, Maximus Scriptorus, of the wonderful ChurchLatin.com asked if I would like to temporarily trade a couple of breviaries for review purposes. I sent him the Econe Breviary and the Horologion and look at one of the tomes he sent me...

An 1879 Totum.

From 1879 Totum

This book is an absolute treasure. He tells me that he purchased it for practically pennies. What we have here is an near flawless, relatively untouched, incredible edition of the Pre-Pius X Breviarium Romanum. It has a hard cover, art-gilt page edges, and all the works.

First lets look at the tank-proof box it came in. Its of a very solid wooden construction and has a fuzzy cloth liner on the inside. It could be velvet but I'm not a fabrics expert.

From 1879 Totum

Let's open the book. Here you can see the gold outline on the inside cover. This feature, absent from almost all books these days is an aesthetic bonus to any bible or prayerbook. Publishers should begin to use it again ... now.

From 1879 Totum

The end "papers" are cloth. The quality job here is kind of absurd. This should be in a museum or at least in a safety deposit box.

From 1879 Totum

Below you can see me opening the book. It looks like I'm abusing it but in fact I am being extremely gentle. The pages are stiff. Stiff as in unused, untouched, brand new. To give you an idea of how brand new this is I'll tell you that yesterday I was flipping pages and came to the feast for today and found that the pages were still stuck together at the gilding. The pages hadn't been turned yet. Keep in mind this book's year is 1879.

From 1879 Totum

The ribbons have not faired nearly as well. Let's take a look at that art gilt edging which give off a ruby effect.

From 1879 Totum

The photo below really shows what I am talking about. Will they ever create books of this quality again? Will that stupid Kindle thing end up overflowing trash bins so that we can recover the lost art of true quality book manufacturing? The books we have today can be nice, but this doesn't compare. Today's editions are a product of our age and not the fault of the publishers. If for instance someone were to product this particular breviary today it would probably cost $500 easy. Not many people want to pay that. Honestly, it could even go for a $1000.

From 1879 Totum

Ok now let's move to the text. First notice how the formatting immediately centers your focus to the words on the page. The gold outline, the wide margins, the fonts, the drop caps, it all just works. You might think the margins are bit too wide. I suspect they used the same printing for smaller volumes rather make new ones for this edition, but when they printed the totum they used larger paper.

From 1879 Totum

I love looking at old books' table of movable feasts. It shows how long they expected the book to last, or at least how long it would stay in use. If they only knew...this one goes to 1898.

From 1879 Totum

This was probably the only time the book was used. I can't read it but it looks like French.

From 1879 Totum

This is in reality a brand new book. The preservation is unbelievable. It is a time warp and an absolute treasure. I am extremely grateful to Maximus Scriptorus for his generous lending of this priceless volume.

Rebound: Modern Notation Liber Usualis

2010-07-15T14:14:00.005-04:00

Folks who've been around the blog for a while will remember my Liber Usualis rebind. It was and remains a fantastic job done by McSpadden Bookbindery. I have had several books rebound by them since but this one crushes them all. The work they did on this Liber, which was in absolute tatters, is outstanding. It was literally falling apart and the cover was half off. By that I mean only the front and spine remained. Pages were loose etc.

A month or so ago a fellow schola member gave me this Liber to have rebound (for another, former schola member who retired).

Unlike mine, this one is not smooth grained. The calfskin has some texture to it. (You can click on the pictures to make them larger.) For time's sake today I am not going to be able to give you the tour of the whole book like I normally would. But I think you can get the idea just from the pictures.

Enjoy!

From Modern Liber

Pagan Blessing at Casino

2010-07-13T16:10:00.006-04:00

St. Isaac Jogues, pray for us.

I heard on the radio (WILK) that the local casino was starting its table games today. The state just gave permission to do so. Among the festivities was an "indian blessing" (pagan consecration?) of the new tables for the casino.

That should tell you everything you need to know about the activities that will go on there. The state will use the taxes from the casino, which has blessed pagan gambling tables, to make money for various programs.

This would never happen, but could you imagine if a Catholic priest came to bless the tables that would be used to support state sponsored programs?

Consider, should you go, upon what you place your chips. You are putting your money down on a consecrated pagan table...almost like an offering...and playing a game of chance, with the hope of winning money.

Just some things to think about.

Bump in the Road

2010-07-09T14:09:00.004-04:00

The good priests who allowed me to incorporate Gregorian Chant and other forms of sacred music at my Saturday evening Novus Ordo parish have been transferred. I will be praying for them and their success in saving souls at their new parish. They are good men who are open to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and who are willing to allow him to operate. The care they gave to the people was genuine and very appreciated by all.

It appears the work done however over the past three years to help the cause of souls in this way through the promotion of truly sacred music may be hitting a bump in the road at that location. The new pastor seems unfamiliar with and somewhat uncomfortable with chant propers and Latin - the love of it by the parishioners notwithstanding.

But everyone will be getting used to each other over the next few months so there is not reason to despair. I hope we can work something out and will be praying to our good God that hearts will be opened and a way forward can be found.

So in your charity please pray for "Matt's Novus Ordo Parish" and in general for the cause of truly Sacred Music in our parishes.

ANS Book Fund Update

2010-07-05T18:04:00.006-04:00

I'd like to publicly thank everyone who has donated to the ANS book review fund so far. We are now 33% of the way to the goal! I am now more confident than ever that we'll make it.

New Blessed Be God Edition

2010-07-03T23:51:00.004-04:00

PCP Books is now accepting pre-orders for its new edition of Blessed Be God. It looks like a nice edition. Blessed Be God is one of the best prayerbooks for Catholics out there. I reviewed their earlier reprint in a previous post.

I expect to put in a pre-order for this one and show it to you.

My Spoils

2010-06-28T21:05:00.001-04:00

A reader at Colloquium asked about my upcoming reviews. A few days for me to recover are needed but I thought I'd share my book spoils from the week...

Used:
Ronald Knox New Testament

Is there Salvation Outside the Church? (TAN)

Externals of the Catholic Church

Catholic Encyclopedia Dictionary

Medieval Handbooks of Penance

New:
Scripture 101

The Technique of Gregorian Chironomy

Gregorian Chant According to the Solesmes Method

St. Anthony's Chapel (tour book)

Back from Colloquium

2010-06-28T19:08:00.004-04:00

Well I'm finally home after the Sacred Music Colloquium. It was an incredibly tremendous experience and I am very glad to have been able to participate.

I always expect but am still always equally surprised at the natural fraternity shared by musicians. There is something different about our species that breaks down barriers instantly no matter the situation. From the first day the rooms were buzzing with conversation amongst people who had never met. It reminded me of a story that happened to me when I was in college...

One day I was in some history class in "Main Hall" and two non-music students sitting in front of me talking before it started.

"Have you ever been in the music building? I have a class in there and its unbelievable. They are always talking to each other and everyone is perpetually happy!" said one.

The other girl responded, "I know, what the heck are they so happy about? No other building is like that."

I interrupted them saying "Its because we're musicians. Its just the way we are."

Then class started. It struck me that they were right, the people in the other majors almost never spoke in the hallways...they were almost always gloomy, with a sort of blank look on their faces...at least in public. They were studying while we were playing.

The people at Colloquium come from all over the place and from all different kinds of backgrounds. But the instant bond was apparent amongst the 20 somethings and the Upper-Somethings. To add to the music, almost all of us had the Church in common...and we all wanted to talk about it, and talk about it, and talk about it.

The music itself was incredible and I was impressed a the level of musicianship of my fellow attendees. Even the less experienced came with an indefatigable enthusiasm that made up for their other deficiencies.

I hope I get to go next year. It was such a busy schedule that I never took the camera out of my bag. There are a phone pictures but that it. More later perhaps.

Colloquium First Full Day

2010-06-22T22:58:00.000-04:00

Well I just finished my first full day here at the Sacred Music
Colloquium in Pittsburgh. This is a fantastic event and the people,
being musicians, are all extremely friendly. The quality of the
music, liturgy, materials, conductors, staff, and location are
outstanding.

My favorite aspect so far is that we are spending a good bit of time
on singing the office. In fact I am in the polyphonic choir which
will sing the Solemn Vespers on Friday evening.

We had an incredible talk tonight on the traditional Latin Mass. I've
also met a lot of people with whom I've had unexpected mutual friends
and acquaintances with. A lot of people...

I hope the rest of the week goes just as well!

Old and New Breviary Comparison

2010-06-19T14:04:00.004-04:00

Recently I ordered two copies of the Breviarium Romanum. The price difference was quite significant, one being an old used copy. Showing them together gives a good comparison between what book publishing used to be like compared with what we have today...

A quick disclaimer. The new breviary I have here is the "Econe Breviary" published by the SSPX. It does not fulfill Canon Law's requirement for publishing. Neither did my Diurnale, Anglican Breviary, or apparently the new Mother Angelica prayer book...or some other books that have appeared here. I've recently discovered this. We're going to look at these solely for quality.

Top: Desclee and Socii (1961) Below: Econe Breviary (2008)

Left: Econe at 7x5in. Its an odd shape for a breviary. Right: Desclee at 6x4in. Smaller than most.

The edging. The top one is 49 years old and used. Think about that for a second.

A closer look. The new edition's edging will flake off like fairy dust if touches water. The top one has lost all that it will. Notice the dent on the Econe. It came like that...grr....

The edging on the Econe Breviary.

Let's move to the insides. Here the Econe Breviary will fair quite a bit better. The layout is identical to the Diurnale Romanum published from PCP Books. However it is retypeset and they did a great job making it readable and pleasant on the pages. The Desclee and Socii Breviary is double column and very similar, save for the font choice, to the recent Nova et Vetera Breviary.

Desclee and Socii page layout. The font adds a nice touch to the book, which is small and designed with convenience in mind. Without engravings the fancy font is welcome.

Psalter in the Desclee.

The Desclee has one of those nifty secret compartment flaps in the back for storing your cards.

Page layout in the Econe. The font choice and size make it extremely easy on the eyes. I have to say this is really the best feature of the book. Also, the ribbon color choice is interesting. All of the colors are rather muted and I appreciate that they aren't flashy.

Econe Psalter. It is very nice. I've seen in some breviaries where people have written notes in them. May they did that word translations or if something struck them in a passage as important. There's plenty of room for that here.

Supplemental Propers for the SSPX... they appear to come from older office books. Would using these fulfill ones office obligation?

The ghosting (NOT bleed through) is significant but not terrible.

Econe binding. Pretty solid as far as I can tell.

The cover is rather a disappointment. I think its bonded but I'm not sure. Anyone know? It feels hardy.

The Desclee leather cover. In its day this must have been magnificent.

I bought the SSPX Econe Breviary because I saw my priest's Nova et Vetera edition. After only 2 or 3 years of use it looked like it had been through a war. These things are expensive and they need to last. Will the Econe? I have no idea, but I doubt the edging will. The binding...I think so. If you are looking to buy a new Breviarium you should consider every aspect. If you are obligated to pray the office you should inquire as to whether or not it will fulfill your obligation if you use a non-canonical book. (We could even discuss whether or not we are participating in some sort of sin by even purchasing it...but I digress...)

Here we are only looking at quality. Suffice to say even our nicest books today are shadows of their much older and distinguished cousins. I suppose there are many reasons, mostly financial, for this.

I'll be praying for you.

2010-06-18T16:05:00.003-04:00

The Jehovah's Witnesses called today. Here is the conversation:

"Hi I'm (so and so) with the Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall, are you a Bible reader?" the caller said with a very chipper church lady voice.

"Yes, absolutely." I replied.

"Oh well I'm calling to invite you to [this big event at some massive place] where we are going to discuss God's love for us all," she said.

"I'm sorry but I won't be able to come, I'm Catholic."

"Oh well so was I!" she said with a great deal of excitement.

"I don't doubt that," I sighed, "Catholics do a poor job of catechizing these days. But you know I'm going to be praying for you because Jehovah's Witnesses are really just teaching a reincarnated version of an old heresy. You should look up the Arian heresy from the 4th century...."

I could tell at that point, given the know it all giggle she gave, that she wasn't interested in hearing what I had to say. I ended the conversation by simply saying "I'll be praying for you. God bless you now and have a good day."

A new good work.

2010-06-17T15:22:00.005-04:00

God works in great ways. I seems I have picked up a new part time job teaching Gregorian Chant and Sacred Polyphony at a local Catholic high school. We still need to get the paperwork and contract in order. A lot of it I already have done from the parish (background checks, etc.).

I'm very excited to begin this fall doing something I really love, which is sacred music. Please say a prayer for my success and guidance moving forward.