Ordo for the Extraordinary Form

by Gregor Kollmorgen

NLM friend Daniele Di Sorco of the Rinascimento Sacro blog has written in to let us know that he has composed a 2009 Liturgical Directory for the usus antiquior. The Liturgical Directory or Ordo recitandi is a calendar for the year, in which there are printed against each day concise directions concerning the Office and Mass to be said on that day. This directory follows the traditional model in every respect, including being written entirely in Latin. It is composed according to the calendar of the Universal Church, and seems to be, from what I have seen, quite excellent. In its 60 page introduction it contains a wealth of information regarding, among other things, tables for the moveable feasts and days and their proclamation in the Mass of the Epiphany, concise schemes of the different kinds of offices and where their parts are taken from, the different kinds of votive Masses and Masses for the dead, useful decisions by the SCR (e.g. about when the Leonine prayers can be omitted).

Here are some sample pages to give you an idea (click to enlarge):





The Directory can be bought at Lulu.com, either for download (€ 4.99, i.e. about $ 7.20) or as a book (€ 14.99, i.e. about $ 21.60).

(reproduced from The New Liturgical Movement)

more on Clear Creek Benedictines

A previous post highlighted Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek, a Benedictine monastery in the diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

It included a high-quality, 15 minute documentary made for Oklahoma State University in 2003. The following video provides an update to that:-

Immaculate Conception in Rome

by Shawn Tribe

The following comes in from the ICRSS in Rome:

On December 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest organized a candlelight Marian procession through the very heart of Rome for the closing of the Lourdes Jubilee year. Lead by Canon Joseph Luzuy, the procession began at the Church of Jesus and Mary (Chiesa Gesu e Maria), which serves as the church of the Institute’s apostolate in Rome. A very large crowd of more than a 1000 faithful then filed down the Via del Corso, an avenue which serves as a main artery to the center of the city, to Chiesa Santa Maria in Aquiro (Piazza Capranica), where the plenary indulgence for the Lourdes Jubilee was made available to the faithful (Chiesa Giubulare). It was here in this church that the image of Our Lady of Lourdes was publicly offered for the veneration of the faithful for the first time in Italy.

(reproduced, with permission, from The New Liturgical Movemement)

The Story of a Seminary...

The following is a translation of the account in French of the foundation of the House of Formation of the Institute of the Good Shepherd in Rome that is to be found on their website:

"From the foundation of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, Father Philippe Laguérie, Superior General of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, wanted to give a specific training of our seminarians: they follow their studies of philosophy in our 'first cycle' Seminary, to receive, in silence and prayer, a solid education and a knowledge of the Aristotelian and Thomist school. The 'second cycle', that of theology, takes place in Rome at the Pontifical Universities, in conjunction with many courses given by members of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, in order to seal our scholastic specificity and to give them a better understanding of the contemporary issues and the intellectual challenges that lie ahead of them.

There are various reasons for studies in Rome:

- It is important that these future priests, proud of their beliefs and their commitment, in line with the statutes of the Institute complete, their training in Rome, close to the See of Peter. Indeed, studying in Rome is always a source of many graces and forever mark the priests who have had this opportunity, giving them a depth of vision, at once Catholic and universal.

- Since the Institute of the Good Shepherd wishes to train priests who can work at the heart of the parishes but also address the serious intellectual and cultural crisis today, it is fundamental that they can study at the Pontifical faculties and obtain university degrees.

- By receiving this training, both of the University (3 hours per day) and our theology courses (3 hours per day), they will have the privilege to understand all the issues and challenges of the major problems of today.

Based on these motivations, the Abbé Laguérie sent to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, on 26 March 2008, a letter introducing the Roman project. Less than 10 days later, the personal secretary of the Supreme Pontiff, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, advised, by telephone, that the attention of the Pope had been given to the letter of Abbé Laguérie and his keen interest in the project, and his personal support for it. A week later, our community in Rome was received by His Eminence Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos who, in the presence of all the officials of his Commission: "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."

Thus, with his close collaboration, and that of the Secretary General of the Vatican and the Vicariate of Rome, a new home was found to receive the 2008-2009 academic year, our new theologians.

But this house, desired and supported by the Holy Father, is very costly: we need you to meet this challenge with great energy. This is a bold project with the promise that your future priests receive training outside the common and that traditional vocations will be still more numerous in Rome and much better known. The price of rent reaches 2,500 euros per month, excluding various expenses, caretaking, fresh water, electricity, heating. This brings the annual budget to 50,000 euros. This is a colossal sum and the subject of great concern. We are very confident because, with faith firmly fixed, we follow the advice of the Divine Master, who commanded us not to worry about those things that concern the pagans ... But the other great reality is that we greatly need your help, both through your prayer and through your material support. Your help is the future of this promising enterprise!

House of Formation in Rome

The website of the Institute of the Good Shepherd House of Formation in Rome has recently been updated. It is in French but here is an unofficial translation of part of a recent update:

"If I go back on the events of this past November, I focus specifically on the catechetical responsibility which was entrusted to our seminarians and my appointment as vicar of the parish on the territory of which we reside . We would like first to thank the Parish Priest of the parish, Monsignor Sancha, and the Vicariate of Rome. This gives us great confidence that they thus honour us."

The pause between University Classes is always appreciated!

"This also shows how our specificities and the commitment of our Institute do not prevent a frank and full cooperation with parishes. There is great hope in recent years, and we must show that we can indeed work together for the greater service of souls and the Church. A reception was given for us and the fact that we are honoured with a number of tasks within the parish territory is not merely a cordial facade or a matter of convenience, but a mission with which we have entrusted."

L'Abbé de Cazenove with some of his students

"Is not it a heavy responsibility that one of our seminarians teaches thirty young people catechism every evening? For my part, there are countless confessions entrusted to me, lectures to give my new colleagues of the parish, tours of visitation to the sick, etc.. It is deeply significant to see how the Parish Priest sincerely respects our constitution and our statutes. The Roman House of the Institute of the Good Shepherd was originally intended to be the House of Formation for our seminarians studying for our second cycle of studies. Gradually, many fields of apostolate are opening to us, thus allowing these young future priests to be trained in the practice of their future apostolate at your service."

Immaculate Conception at Gricigliano

by Shawn Tribe

The ICRSS seminary near Florence has up a number of pictures from their festal celebrations for the Immaculate Conception.

Here are a few, including some nice views of seminary life on feast days as well.

Catholic culture and liturgical life is made up both of the splendour of the liturgy itself, which is primary, and secondarily from other celebrations which surround these days. (cf. my piece on this, Re-learning the Keeping of Feast Days and Festivals).

Seeing full celebrations such as these are a very great thing indeed. They help to create powerful associations and memories (particularly beneficial for children, but even for adults) and also help the liturgy of the Church to further penetrate into our lives. Be it a seminary or be it a parish or home, we should strive to attain these things to the levels we can for feast days that are of particular importance to us as a family, as a parish, or so on. In many cases this will no doubt mean beginning these customs anew.

(reposted from The New Liturgical Movement)

news from Scandinavia

There is a new Finnish website devoted to the activities and visits of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in Finland. There is also a homepage for the Saint Gregory Society, which will continue to be the general point of reference for traditional liturgy in Finland.

The independent blog Summorum also continues to provide news of various items of Catholic interest in Finland.

The Finnish Catholics also ask our prayer for a good new Bishop for Finland - let us pray for a Bishop who is an enthusiastic teacher of the faith and is willing to support and encourage the traditional liturgy in Finland.

From the Summorum blog, here is a clip of Pilvi Listo playing part of Francois Couperin's Messe Pour les Paroisses at the Agricola Church in Helsinki:



Meanwhile, for 3.5 years, the Institute of Christ the King has been visiting Sweden, with the blessing of the Bishop of Stockholm, H.E. Anders Arborelius, OCD. Msgr Schmitz, Vicar General of the Institute, has met with His Lordship twice. Most of the time, it is Father Marcus Künkel who comes for Mass. There have already been weddings and baptisms in the "usus antiquior". In Rome, one the the Swedish diocesan seminarians helps serving the Institute´s mass on Sundays and feasts.

Beside these visits, there are now, thanks to "Summorum pontificum", three diocesan priests and two Religious (a Franciscan and a young Dominican) who regularly celebrate holy Mass in the classical rite. Mass in the traditional rite is presently being celebrated regularly in Stockholm, Göteborg (Gothenburg), Jonsered and Lund.

One may visit the website of the Association to the Memory of Cardinal Dante, where a certain amount of information and Mass schedules are given also in English and French. The Association is working torwards a renaissance of the Gregorian liturgy and Gregorian chant in Sweden.

The Association also keeps a blog, available here.

IBP Seminary Pilgrimage to Lisieux

The Basilica at Lisieux

On Friday, 5th December, the Seminary of the Institute of the Good Shepherd made a pilgrimage to the Basilica at Lisieux, built over the tomb of St. Therese of Lisieux, 'the Little Flower' who became a Doctor of the Church because of her writings on 'the little Way'.

Mass in the Crypt of the Basilica

Surely, St. Therese, as well as being Patroness of the Missions is a heavenly Patroness of Vocations. Throughout her short life she strived to discern and to live a vocation. When her elder sisters Pauline, Marie and Leonie left the devout home of the Martin family to become enclosed nuns, Therese felt compelled to follow, even to the extent of approaching Pope Leo XIII, while on a pilgrimage to Rome, to beg him to allow her to enter Carmel before the canonical age. Her zeal was admirable but her docility to authority was exemplary: "Well, my child, do what the superiors decide" was the Pope's reply and it was not until a year later that she was received as a postulant.

Gospel of the Mass

In proposing her 'Little Way', St. Therese proposes to us the eternal truth that sanctity is the vocation of every Catholic. She wrote: "Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love."

Seminarian Pilgrims and Schola

St. Therese made her religious profession on 8th September, 1890, at the age of 17. That is, upon the same day, the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, precisely 116 years before the foundation of the Institute of the Good Shepherd.

The Relics of Bl. Louis and Bl. Zelie Martin
In the Crypt of the Basilica at Lisieux

The Beatification, on 19th October last, of both of her parents, Blessed Louis and Blessed Zelie Martin is a sign, also, of the call to sanctification in the married state and to sanctification within the Catholic family founded upon Marriage.

The tomb of St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese died on 30th September, 1897 at the age of 24 years. She had written: “Until the end of the world, I will spend my heaven doing good upon the earth" and "I will let fall from Heaven... a shower of Roses". Let those Roses be faithful and persevering vocations!

Images taken from the website of the Seminary of Saint Vincent de Paul, IBP: http://www.seminairesaintvincent.fr/

Catholic bloggers wanted

a message from John Mallon

John Mallon is trying to assemble an email list of Blogs in the English speaking world, especially in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. He is currently working as Contributing Editor for Inside the Vatican magazine, doing media relations for Human Life International, and assisting at the Envoy Institute in a promotional capacity. He has two degrees in theology and frequently has items of interest to Catholic Bloggers worldwide. With 25 years of experience in the Catholic Press, he has found that major secular outlets are often closed to these messages. If you have or know of Blogs that would be interested in receiving press releases and other pertinent materials for your Blogs, he would very much appreciate getting a mailing list of these blogs for this purpose. This is not spam. Anyone not wishing to receive these materials will be removed from the list immediately upon request. Catholic Blogs are absolutely critical for spreading credible information on the Church. This mailing list could serve as a News Agency supplying news and other information to Catholic Blogs.

It is absolutely maddening trying to harvest emails off of Blogs, where people won't post their emails. He is only interested in people who want to receive these messages, not bothering anyone.

For more on John Mallon please visit his website at: johnmallon.net

Please let me know if you can help.

Thanks & God bless you,

John Mallon
johnmallon at mac.com

German Trappists Return to Usus Antiquior

by Gregor Kollmorgen

From the website of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei comes a very important announcement (NLM translation):

The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei has, on November 21st, 2008, communicated to the Most Reverend Abbot Fr Josef Vollberg O.C.S.O. of the Abbey of Mariawald in Germany (diocese of Aachen) the privilege conceded by the Holy Father of a complete return to the Liturgy and the Observance in use in the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) until 1963/64.

Fr Abbot Josef Vollberg himself had in fact presented to the Holy Father a plea to be allowed to return to the Liturgy and the Observance according to the "usus" of Monte Cistello (Rome 1964), approved by the Holy See.

This is quite momentous. As far as I am aware, this is the first such instance of a monastic community returning wholesale to the usus antiquior. Not only is this significant in and of itself - after all, they have 14 monks, almost as many as, for instance, the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (the former Transalpine Redemptorists) , but also in terms of a possible inspiration for other monastic communities/orders to take this step, which is, it bears reminding, expressly foreseen in the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (Art. 3). Lastly, it is excellent that they revive their own rite, which is, if I'm not mistaken, essentially the Cistercian Rite.

To the left you can see the abbey church of Mariawald, to the right Abbot Vollberg with the Holy Father in June this year. The Abbey of Mariawald is the only Trappist monastery in Germany.

(reproduced from The New Liturgical Movement)

[See Rorate Cæli for another report from kreuz.net.]

Le Barroux Member of Benedictine Confederation

by Gregor Kollmorgen

From September 18th to 27th, 2008, the Congress of Benedictine Abbots took place in Rome. In addition to reelecting Dom Notker Wolf as Abbot Primate of the Benedictins for another four year term, the Confoederatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti, the Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict, admitted to its memembership the Abbey of Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux (it also is listed now on the Confederation's website here). The abbey, which is attached to (a slightly modified form of) the usus antiquior, continues to depend from the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. As the source for this news, the website of the French Bishops' Conference, puts it:

This integration manifests that this community pursues its way of belonging to the normal structures of the Church and of fraternal collaboration with the monasteries of the Benedictine family.

This is very welcome news as it is a sign that the Older Use is becoming a normal part of the life of the Church as it rightfully should be.

(reposted from The New Liturgical Movement)

First Mass of a Priest of the Institute of the Good Shepherd

A First solemn Mass was celebrated by newly ordained M. l'Abbé Stefano Carusi, IBP, in the Cathedral of Camerino, 18 October 2008, in the presence of His Excellency, Archbishop Francesco Giovanni Brugnaro, Archbishop of Camerino-San Severino Marche, who encouraged the young Priest during his homily.

The Entrance into the Cathedral

The city of Camarino was given to the De Varano family in the 13th Century. The University was founded in 1336. The last of the De Varano were killed under Cesare Borgia in 1502 and by 1545, the city had come within the Papal States. The Archdiocese, elevated to Metropolitan status in 1797 and united with San Severino in 1986, has a splendid number of Sanctuaries honouring Our Lady. Camerino was the cradle of the Capuchin Order.

The Ministers enter the Cathedral

The present Cathedral of Camarino was built in the early 19th Century to replace the Cathedral that had fallen into ruins in 1799, while revolutionary armies swept across Italy. It contains a 13th Century wooden crucifix and a 15th century image of Our Lady of Mercy, as well as the 'Arch of St. Ansovinus', who was bishop of Camerino in the 9th Century.

The Gloria of the Mass

The Episcopal Vicar of Camerino, Msgr. Blanchi, and members of the venerable chapter of the cathedral were also present in choir for the Mass.

The Assistant Priest was Don Francesco Gregori, pastor of the Cathedral; Deacon of the Mass was Don Matteo, IBP; Sub-deacon of the Mass was Don Ugo, IBP; Master of Ceremonies was Giorgio Lenzi, seminarian of the IBP; thurifer was Edward Van der Berg, of the London Oratory.

The Offertory of the Mass

The "Cappella del Duomo" beautifully interpreted the Missa Pontificalis of Perosi, before a crowd of faithful, many members of the Confraternities of the city, and members of the Sovereign Order of Malta.

Knights of Malta

This young Priest was ordained for the Institut du Bon Pasteur, the Institute of the Good Shepherd, which was erected as a Society of Apostolic Live of Pontifical Right on the beautiful feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, 8th September, 2006. In its Statutes, as approved by the Holy See, the Traditional Latin or Gregorian Liturgy is given to the Institute as its proper Rite, not merely an indulgence or exception.

The Ministers after Mass

The Institute has grown in only two years from the five founders to twenty members and about thirty seminarians. The Church of St. Eloi in Bordeaux is the Mother House of the Institute and it has Churches also at the Centre Saint-Paul in Paris, just north of the Louvre, at the Chapel of 'Bon-Jesus' at Marsailles, and two abandoned Parish Churches at Courtalaine and Ramboise, as well as foundations in Chilie, Colombia and Poland.

A Member of the one of the Confraternities of Camarino

Receives the Priest's 'First Blessing'

The Institute maintains two houses of formation, it's Seminary of Saint Vincent de Paul at Courtalain to the South West of Paris, outside Chartres, in a property formerly belonging to the Marquis de Gontaut Biron, and a House of Studies in Rome, close to the Vatican.

Ministers and Acolytes with the Archbishop after Mass

Interestingly, the Marquises de Gontaut Biron are related, through the Princesse de Marnay who married Charles de Gontaut-Biron, Marquis de Gontaut Biron et de Saint-Blancard, in 1837, to Cesare Borgia. However, of greater note is the lineal descent of the House of Gontaut from Geoffroi, Seigneur de Biron in the 12th Century.

The title of Duc du Biron, created in 1598 for Charles de Gontaut, both Marshal and Admiral of France, became extinct by the execution of Armand-Louis de Gontaut who, having participated in the Revolution and commanded an army against the heros of the Vendée, fell victim to the reign of terror. The arms of the House are a simple quartering of red and gold.

The Seminary of Saint Vincent de Paul can be contacted at:

Séminaire Saint Vincent de Paul,
18, place Alexandre Rillié,
28290 Courtalain,
FRANCE.
http://www.seminairesaintvincent.fr/