Priestly Ordinations in Wigratzbad

by Gregor Kollmorgen

On Saturday morning, H.E. Most Rev. Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Karganda, Kazakhstan, and author of the book "Dominus est", ordained new priests for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in the shrine church of Wigratzbad, Germany, where the Fraternity has its European seminary. Here are some images from the ceremony (Henri de Villiers of the Schola Sainte Cécile):














Those who understand German may watch the bishop delivering the excellent sermon on the centrality of the offering of the most holy sacrifice of the Mass in the life of the priest here.

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

The Voice of... Pope Clement XIII

On 17th September, 1759, Pope Clement XIII issued his Encyclical Cum Primum on the discipline of and against worldliness among the Clergy.

"It is true that from the very beginning of the Church right up to our own times, there was nothing more plainly or more attentively legislated either by the decrees of the councils or by the constitutions of the popes who preceded Us. Nothing seemed to be stressed more frequently or more eagerly by the holy fathers and the pastors of the churches than that the ministers of the church, both clergy and monks, abstain from the desire for temporal wealth and that they should remove themselves from worldly concerns. Not only spiritual censures but also very serious temporal punishments were decreed for those who presumed to infringe or violate the canonical rules in this matter. Having carefully considered everything, We think that there is nothing left for Us to do, Venerable Brothers, other than to exhort you to cling to the intention of Our predecessors and the spirit of the church in all things. We exhort you to be zealous in obtaining the observance due these holy laws by all churchmen-both those subject to your ordinary jurisdiction as well as those subject to your delegated jurisdiction-according to the example of the sacred canons and the decrees of the Holy See and the synodical statutes of each diocese."

Cum Primum, No. 3

FSSP Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

by Gregor Kollmorgen

In April, roughly a month before Pope Benedict, the seminarians of the European seminary of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter at Wigratzbad, Germany, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They now have published some images. Here is a selection:

Mass in the Holy Sepulchre:


In the Catholic chapel of the Nailing of the Cross on Golgotha:


In the Austrian Hospice of Jerusalem:


On Mount Carmel:


In the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter in Tabgha where Jesus appeared the third time after his resurrection (John 21:1-24) and said to St. Peter "Feed my sheep!":


In Qumran:


They also were received by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem:

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

The Voice of... Pope Benedict XIV

During these first months of the Holy Year for Priests, let us listen to the voice of the Popes on the Priesthood. On 3rd December, 1740, Pope Benedict XIV published his Encyclical Ubi Primum on the Priesthood.

"...Above all, see to it that the clergy excel in character and in zeal for divine worship and that ecclesiastical discipline is kept in good condition or restored where it has suffered. The example of dedicated clerics is the best inspiration for the faithful. Therefore, direct the keenness of your mind so that those men are chosen for the clergy from whom it can reasonably be expected that their lives will command respect from all who walk in the law of the Lord and who go from virtue to virtue. Their work will bring spiritual benefit to your churches. It is better to have a few ministers who are upright and effective, than many who labor in vain to build up the Church..."

Ubi Primum, No. 1.

The Dominican Sisters of the Holy Ghost

One of the powerhouses of traditional Catholic culture in France for several decades and one of the first feminine Latin Mass congregations in union with the Holy See, the Domincan Sisters 'of Pontcalec' have, at long last, launched an internet site.

The Dominican Sisters of the Holy Ghost is a Congregation of Pontifical Right within the Dominican Order.

In imitation of St. Catherine of Siena, and following an ancient form of Dominican Religious life that had disappeared from France since the Revolution, the Sisters are simply consecrated Dominican Virgins.

The Community Office is celebrated in Latin according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

As the Constitutions of the Congregation state: "Since the institute belongs to the Order of St. Dominic, where we seek holiness in the contemplation and the transmission of divine truth, the sisters must apply according to their ability to diligent studies in order to penetrate only the truth and teach only the truth."

In the spirit of those Constitutions, the Sisters run six schools in France: Notre Dame de Joie (Pontcalec, Brittany), St. Thomas (Pontcalec, Brittany), St. Catherine (Nantes, Brittany), St. Pius X (St. Cloud, near Parish), St. Dominic (La Baffe, Lorraine), and St. Joseph (Draiguignan, Cote d'Azur).

The Sisters can be contacted by writing to:

Rev. Mère Marie-Geneviève,
Prieuresse,
Couvent Notre-Dame-de-Joie,
56240 Berne,
FRANCE.

Or by telephone to: +33 2 97 36 62 03

Vocation retreat with Juventutem Ecclesiastical Assistant Fr de Malleray, FSSP

Is God calling ME?
Come and discern:
Vocation Retreat (2 nights)
4-6 August 2009

Preached by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP, Ecclesiastical Assistant Juventutem
www.juventutem.org & fssp.org.uk
Starts: Tuesday 4th August 2009 at 1pm –
Ends: Thursday 6th August at 3pm

Theme: "Ask the master of the harvest to send out labourers for his harvest." (Mt 9:38)
Retreat for celibate lay men, age 16-40 (English-speakers living in or outside the UK)
Vocations video: www.fssp.org/objet/flashpretreEN.htm

Cost: no set price (donations welcome).

Schedule: Silent retreat (inside the premises); meals with table reading on the theme of the retreat or music; includes a one-hour conference in the morning and in the afternoon; coffee-break; walks around the house in beautiful countryside of Devon; possibility of private meeting with the Retreat Master and of confession. Eucharistic Adoration.
Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite each of the three days:

• Tues. 3pm : St Dominic, Founder of the Order of Preachers;
• Wed. 11am: Dedication of St Mary of the Snows;
• Thurs. 11am : Transfiguration of OLJC.

Location: in Axminster, Devon (between Exeter and Yeovil).
By car: near A35, south of M5.
By rail: Axminster station: trains from London Paddington, London Waterloo, etc. A lift from and to the railway station can be arranged, also from the London area.

Booking and contact: Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP, 179 Elgar Rd, Reading RG2 0DH, Berks – Tel.: 0118 987 5819 – E-mail: fij_malleray at fssp.org
Website: www.fssp.org.uk

To make a donation to help others – especially students – attend the retreat: please use contact above (£ cheques made payable to "FSSP England" – please mention "Retreat Sponsoring". Thank you very much). FSSP England is a registered charity no 1129964.

Solemn High Mass in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

from Dignare Me Laudare Te, Virgo Sacrata

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) concluded their annual pilgrimage of reparation with a Solemn High Mass in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC on 6 June 2009. Father James Buckley offered the shorter form of the Pentecost Ember Saturday Mass according to the 1962 Missal, and was assisted by clerics and seminarians of the Fraternity, along with a Gregorian chant schola of local Catholics, mainly from St. Mary Mother of God parish in DC.


The Confiteor of the deacon, subdeacon, and servers.


Father Buckley is incensed as the Kyrie is chanted.


The deacon chants the Gospel.


The burning of incense during the Offertory.


The elevation of the chalice containing the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.


Ite Missa est.

~~*~~

In separate news, Fr George Byers (photo: right), the priest responsible for the usus antiquior Masses at Lourdes, will sadly be leaving shortly. He is to be replaced by Fr Benoît Paul-Joseph FSSP (photo: left) who lives at Tarbes and will travel in to celebrate the Sunday morning Mass in the Immaculate Conception Basilica.

Rev. William Doyle, S.J., M.C.

The Year of Vocations has ended and the Holy Year for Priests is about to begin. In the brief interim, let us pause to remember Fr. William Doyle, of the Society of Jesus, awarded the Military Cross for his work as a Chaplain in the trenches of World War I.

Fr. Doyle is worth remembering not only for his own saintly, 'though some would say imprudent, example, nor for his heroic zeal for souls most especially during the greatest soul harvest that the world had, until then, seen, but also for the depth and richness of his spiritual writings.

In particular, we wish to remember his work entitled: Vocations. This work, while not about traditional vocations in the modern sense, in that it relates not to the traditionalist ghetto but to the soul in relation to Eternity, and, to be fair, it is equally applicable to vocations within the Church but outside of the ghetto. However, for the soul in discernment, it is a spiritual treasure to be consumed and made one's own.

At the same time, Fr. Doyle's Prayer for Priests is surely not only a powerful call upon the Treasury of Heaven for God's Ministers but equally an edifying and enlightening text worthy of much and deep meditation upon the nature of the Catholic Priesthood.

The vita by Professor Alfred O'Rahilly is a spiritual classic. In summary, Professor O'Rahilly writes: "William Joseph Gabriel Doyle was born in Dalkey, a suburb of Dublin, in Ireland on March 3, 1873. He was the youngest of seven children, four boys and three girls, out of which two boys became Jesuits, another died a few days before his priestly ordination and one of the three girls became a Sister of Mercy: four vocations out of seven children."

"He entered the Jesuit Novitiate at the age of 18 after reading St. Alphonsus’ book “Instructions and Consideration on the Religious State”. Soon after his ordination in 1907, his superiors appointed him on the mission staff for five years. From 1908 to 1925, he gave no less than 152 missions and retreats. His fame as preacher, confessor and spiritual director spread wide and far, and he had a special gift to hunt out the most hardened and neglected sinners and to bring them back with him to the church for confession."

"In the midst of such an active apostolate, he maintained a fervent spiritual life of union with his Eucharistic Lord, offering himself as a victim for the salvation of souls with the Divine Victim.
He was finally appointed during World War I chaplain of the 16th Irish Division at the front in November 1915 and having fulfilled his priestly duties in an outstanding fashion for almost two years, he was killed in the Battle of Ypres on August 16, 1917, having run “all day hither and thither over the battlefield like an angel of mercy.” This good shepherd truly gave his life for his sheep."

Chartres 2009

The Paris-Chartres Pilgrimage is a three-day walk from Notre-Dame de Paris to Notre-Dame de Chartres, approximately 75 miles. Pilgrims are organized into groups of 20-65 people, that are referred to as "chapters". The "walk" is through the streets of Paris, and then into the countryside. It can be muddy, rocky, and demanding-and the rewards of such a penitential exercise are eternal. Good sturdy shoes are a must. Each chapter is accompanied by at least one chaplain, who hears confession and gives spiritual direction to each pilgrim who avails himself of the priest's presence en route. This pilgrimage originated in the 12th century.

The official photos are available on the website of Notre-Dame de Chrétienté:

Further links:

• New Liturgical Movement
• The Hermeneutic of Continuity
• Saint Mary Magdalen
• YouTube: Chartres 2009 video
  

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".