Are the Servi Jesu et Mariae traditionalists?

This question has been put more than once. It must be admitted that many 'traditionalists' don't consider the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus and Mary, the Servi Jesu et Mariae, to be a traditionalist Congregation. Since they celebrate the Sacraments using the régime of 1969 as well as that of 1962, there is some room for doubt whether they fall into the pidgeon-hole of traditionalism.

The effect of Summorum Pontificum upon the question is also debatable. Is traditionalism now a broader sub-set of the Church since the Holy Father has called for a mutual enrichment between the Missals:

"For that matter, the two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching: new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal. The "Ecclesia Dei" Commission, in contact with various bodies devoted to the usus antiquior, will study the practical possibilities in this regard. The celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage. The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal." - Benedict XVI, Letter to Bishops accompanying Summorum Pontificum

On the other hand, since the Liturgical Regime of 1962 is firmly placed within the mainstream of the Church, can exclusivist and exclusionary traditionalism continue?

At any rate, the appearance of the guitar in this video from gloria.tv will hardly conciliate the traditionalist sensibility on the question, especially if 'fiddleback' vestments start to be called 'guitarfronts' instead:

However, what can be said of the Servi Jesu et Mariae, and it is no small boast, is that their purpose is the restoration of traditional religious life in the Ignatian mold, doing so by means of the Traditional Liturgy. The founder and first Superior General, Father Hönisch, entered the German Province of the Society of Jesus in 1952. In 1976, while still a member of the Society, he founded the KPE, the Catholic Scouts of Europe, to counter what was happening to Catholic youth ministry at the time. His solidly Catholic teaching and youth work brought him into conflict with his superiors, which led to his expulsion from the Society of Jesus and his incardination into the Diocese of Augsburg.

While a Priest of the Diocese of Augsburg, he was approached by several members of the KPE who asked him to found a Society that might permit them to persue their vocation that had been formed through the KPE. Fr. Hönisch was said to be extremely reluctant to establish an entirely new Society and attempted to encourage them to join existing Congregations. Eventually, he bowed to the zeal of his spiritual children and, in 1988, established the Servi Jesu et Mariae, along the lines that he had learned while a member of the Society of Jesus. His wish, it has been reported, was that, once the situation in the Church and the Society had settled, that the the Servi Jesu et Mariae could be absorbed into the restored Society, an admirable and generous spirit of gratitude to the Society of his formation and ordination.

Are the Servi Jesu et Mariae traditionalists? Does it matter? Is there salvation outside the strict lines of traditionalism? The answer is probably best found in the souls of those who find there vocation among those who set out to be Servants of Jesus and Mary.

Institute of the Good Shepherd Ordinations in Rome

by Shawn Tribe

On the 23rd of May, the Institute of the Good Shepherd had ordinations to the subdiaconate for three of their members. These were held in Rome at the church of Santa Lucia in Selci. Msgr. Ennio Appignanesi, Archbishop emeritus of Potenza celebrated the Solemn Pontifical Mass in which the ordinations occurred.

A full photo album is available upon their Roman site, but here is a sampling.

(reproduced from The New Liturgical Movement)

Catholic Rome (Vocations)

That talented photographer, tour guide and theology student John Paul Sonnen has produced this nice video of Catholic Rome; pictures of clergy and religious:-

"To know history is to be Catholic".

Priestly Ordinations, next Saturday

On Saturday, May 30, at 10.00am, the His Excellency Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, will ordain the following men to the Priesthood at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ, Lincoln NE:

• Rev. Mr. Brian Austin, F.S.S.P.
• Rev. Mr. Matthew Goddard, F.S.S.P.
• Rev. Mr. Michael Stinson, F.S.S.P.

Please keep these men in your prayers as they ascend to the altar of Our Lord.

(H/T to Una Voce Carmel)

The IBP in Ireland

Fr. Yannick Vella, I.B.P., the Professor of Moral and Positive Theology of the Institute of the Good Shepherd's Seminary in Courtalain, France, visited Ireland a couple of months ago. It is understood to be the first visit of the member of the Institute to Ireland.

Founded on 8th September, 2006, by a decree of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, the Institute has grown rapidly from 5 founding members to more than 30 Priests and a similar number of Seminarians in only 3 years. The Institute has apostolates in several countries.

As well as its Seminary of St. Vincent de Paul in Courtalain, the Institute also has a House of Higher Studies in Rome. The Roman House of Studies is reported to have been described by Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos thus: "This project is one of the greatest of which I know! It extends beyond the interests of Institute of the Good Shepherd, as it is of immense value to all communities, but also for the whole Church."

Just over a week ago, on 28th February, four Seminarians of the Institute received Minor Orders in the Church of San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome at the hands of Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

The Institute has also established a community of sisters known as the Little Sisters of the Good Shepherd based in Arrou, the next village to Courtalain.

Men's retreat, July

by Fr Tim Finigan

The monks of Saint Joseph de Clairval Abbey in Flavigny will be giving a a five-day (silent) retreat for men this July, following the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius.

The retreat will be from 26-31 July this year at Cold Ash, Berkshire in the United Kingdom. The monks of Clairval have a preference for Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.

Here is a link to register an interest and get in contact to find out more details.

(reposted, with permission, from The Hermeneutic of Continuity)

Plenary Indulgence for the Year of Priests

According to a decree made public today and signed by Cardinal James Francis Stafford and Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, O.F.M. Conv., respectively penitentiary major and regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Benedict XVI will grant priests and faithful Plenary Indulgence for the occasion of the Year for Priests, which is due to run from 19 June 2009 to 19 June 2010 and has been called in honour of St. Jean Marie Vianney.

The period will begin with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus [June 19th], "a day of priestly sanctification", says the text, when the Pope will celebrate Vespers before the relics of the saint, brought to Rome for the occasion by the bishop of the French diocese of Belley-Ars. The Year will end in St. Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from all over the world "who will renew their faithfulness to Christ and their bonds of fraternity".

The means to obtain the Plenary Indulgence are as follows:

(a) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and ... offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.

(b) All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mould them to His Heart, are granted Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.

The elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain Plenary Indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles".

Partial Indulgence is offered to all faithful each time they pray five Our Father, Ave Maria and Gloria Patri, or any other duly approved prayer "in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life".

(image: Béthune's Christ the Priest, from Vultus Christi)