ANNOUNCEMENT: Solemn Latin Mass for Feast of Christ the King on October 29, 2017 3PM in the Archdiocese of Toronto!!!

Hello everyone,

Once again, on the 11th anniversary of their formation, the St Patrick’s Gregorian Choir will be organizing their offering of the Extraordinary Form (EF) of the Roman Rite aka the TLM, Tridentine Mass, 1962 Missal ...) on the Feast of Christ the King, according to the Liturgical Calendar of the EF.

The details pertaining to the Mass, as well as the poster advertising this event are as follows:

Where: St Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, Toronto (North York,) Ontario, in the Archdiocese of Toronto.
Address: 75 Churchill Ave, Toronto, ON.
When: Sunday October 29, 2017
Time of Mass: 3pm E.S.T.

Let it also be said that this will be a SOLEMN high Mass in the EF with three clergy present. I also will be serving our Lord on the altar in some capacity, with exception of the position of Master of Ceremonies, which will be done by our usual MC/instructor of serving, Paul.

The Choir has organized the roles for the clergy, but is always open to new young boys and men of any age, having done, at least, their first Communion, who would like to altar serve in the Latin Mass. If interested, please contact the choirmaster, Surinder Mundra @ 416 731 4485, who will arrange for you to be part of the Mass and placed in contact with the Master of Ceremonies.

Please spread word and use your email or social media to inform your family and friends of this glorious liturgy of the Ages.

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.

MAJOR ULTIMATE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!! SOLEMN LATIN MASS WITH HIS EMINENCE THOMAS CARDINAL COLLINS!!!! SUN OCT 30, 2016 AT ST MICHAEL'S CATHEDRAL, 2PM, TORONTO, ONTARIO!!!

Source: http://www.catholicregister.org/features/archives/older-features/cathedral-reborn/item/23171-st-michael-s-redux-a-cathedral-fit-for-the-21st-century/. Photo taken by Michael Swan of The Catholic Register. 

[UPDATE 27/9/16: I have been informed by the organizers, St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir, that the Mass time is now changed to 2pm.]

Hello everyone.

I come bearing great news for the Archdiocese of Toronto, news of the most paramount, historical and liturgical importance.

We are blessed to have His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, as our spiritual shepherd and archbishop for the Archdiocese of Toronto. Pastorally, he frequently participates in events around the diocese, especially those involving the future of our Catholic Church in numerous youth and young adult events/ministries. Further, our Eminence has been a tried and true defender of "T"radition including Church doctrine and moral issues. His Eminence, once again, will be demonstrating to his flock, his formidable leadership and reverence for Christ, in regards to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

I am pleased to announce the upcoming Solemn High Mass in Thanksgiving and Celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of the founding of St. Patrick’s Gregorian Choir, Toronto, in 2006, on the Feast of Christ the King (EF), by Surinder S. Mundra, Music Director and organist.  In the past 10 years Surinder has organized several such Masses throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto and outside the Archdiocese of Toronto, in churches such as St Peter's, downtown, St Paul's Basilica, and St Patrick's Toronto, to name a few.

This Solemn High Mass on the Feast of Christ The King, according to the liturgical calendar for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, will be in the presence of His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Metropolitan Toronto, at the newly renovated, St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto (65 Bond Street), On Sunday, October 30th. 2016 at 2:00 pm.

This Mass, is highly significant! Never before in the history of the Archdiocese of Toronto since Vatican II, has there been a Latin Mass, even a Low Mass, in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, offered at the Cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop of Toronto.

Assistance will be provided by the seminarians of our Archdiocese, studying at St Augustine's Seminary, for numerous serving roles. The master of ceremonies, has asked me to be a part of this Solemn High Mass as I have been involved with St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir's organized Masses since October 2011.  At this time there is no need for additional altar serving assistance, unless a request is made by the organizers for more help. If such a request is needed, I will be happy to broadcast such here on S.U.D.

At this, their 10th Anniversary Solemn High Mass, St. Patrick’s Gregorian Choir will provide beautiful and sacred liturgical music under the direction of  their choir master, Surinder S. Mundra

If you are interested in helping to defray the printing costs for Mass Booklets, and any other necessary expenses, you may contact the choirmaster of St. Patrick`s, Surinder Mundra, at 416 731 4485, who is organizing this Solemn High Mass and compiling material for, and overseeing, the printing of the booklets and other liturgical requirements.

Finally, let it be noted that this liturgical event stands for more than just a big "showing" of the Latin Mass. The fact that the presence of His Eminence at this Solemn High Mass in his cathedral seat, will be a pivotal part of this liturgy. Also, that he asked for the organizers, St Patrick's Gregorian Choir and its director, to reach out to the seminarians, and others of particular note for this special occasion, speaks great volumes.

In this holy offering of the Latin Mass, his extension of participation to the seminarians, and choice of participants involved in other avenues of the Mass (including myself,) His Eminence has sent a direct and clear message in the Church and to the world: 

What is happening here, in this upcoming Solemn Latin Mass at St. Michael's Cathedral, is vital to the liturgical and spiritual leadership of the Church. The Latin Mass/EF itself is a vital part of not only our Church's past history, but also in today's culture of the Church. Further, it is a part of the future of the Church as well, for both clergy and laity, as is being shown in the inclusion of the seminarians (and myself.) Regardless of whether the seminarians do both forms of the Roman Rite or not after their ordination, this Mass is an example to them, the Archdiocese of Toronto, and to the whole Church that the Holy Mass should be sacred and reverent, and strike at the heart and soul of every human being, uplifting them to greater things in this world and especially, the next in the afterlife. 

In addition, with regards to the Holy Mass of either form of the Roman Rite, laity and clergy, especially those in positions of leadership surrounding the sacred liturgy, from altar server to celebrant, must show in action: The Joy of the Gospel; fraternal charity for their fellow Catholics and non-Catholics; an absence of hypocrisy, jealousy, elitism, rubrical obsession-ism, and contempt for others; and MUST bring the New Evangelization to our brothers and sisters in Christ, and to those who have never concretely experienced that Gospel, as a result of the Mass. 

In summary, participating himself in this Mass, holding it in the Cathedral he presides over, as our spiritual shepherd for Toronto, and in the carefully planned organization of this Mass including all its participants, His Eminence has clearly made those statements above and is carrying out the wishes of the Church and its Holy Fathers. In doing so, THIS IS THE TRUE FACE OF TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM!

I end this announcement by asking of you, everyone ... Catholics of all stripes and devotion ... those musically inclined, ... non-Christian and curious onlookers ... I encourage you to come and see what is to be one of the most historical events ever in our modern Church history in this Archdiocese of Toronto, under one of the most prominent leaders of our Church, his Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins. Besides the specticality of such an event, it will be such a sacred, holy, reverent and powerful experience for all of our senses. It will truly leave you breathless, and for those of you of the Catholic faith, it will inspire you to embrace the Love and Mercy of the Lord, from this Jubilee of Mercy onward.

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin, sole author of Servimus, and veteran server for higher level Masses in the Extraordinary Form since October 2011.

Announcement: Latin Mass in King City with Celebrant Fr. Steven Szakaczki Sat June 11 7pm

Hello Everyone,

I have an important announcement to make about an upcoming, extraordinary, public offering of a Latin Mass at another parish. This parish has only held the Latin Mass on one occasion since 1964. This announcement especially concerns those residents of the York Region in the Greater Toronto Area, or the municipalities/cities of: Vaughan, Woodbridge, Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket, Markham, and Brampton. 

A close contact of mine who attends Latin Masses in the Archdiocese of Toronto, sent me something of great interest on Facebook. It turns out that the Mary Lake Shrine of the Augustinian Fathers, which happens to be one of the 9 parishes in the Archdiocese of Toronto with Doors of Mercy for Pope Francis' Extraordinary Jubilee, is allowing the Archdiocese's Latin Mass Chaplain, Fr. Steven Szakaczki, to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite at Mary Lake next month. The advertisement on the Augustinian's site is attached above.

The Augustinian Fathers
The Augustinian fathers, if you have guessed, are devoted to the life and teachings of St. Augustine. Yes, he is that St. Augustine of Hippo, of 5th Century AD, who wrote the Confessions, and has an excellent movie called Restless Heart about his life. It is entirely appropriate that the Augustinians are doing the Year of Mercy, for of those early saints in the Church, St. Augustine was certainly an exemplar of the kind of soul who needed Christ's healing and mercy. After studying rhetoric to become what was then a "lawyer" in Carthage, he lived an amoral life full of hedonism of every kind, before his conversion and ordination.

As for these Augustinians, I can personally vouch for them in a couple of regards. While the Mary Lake parish is of mostly modern design, let that not deter you, reader and/or Catholic Traditionalist, from approaching this shrine and grounds. The first major vouching point is their approach to the Sacrament of Mercy and confession. They are similar to the Redemptorists I am fond of here on S.U.D., as the Augustinians go above the regular Diocesan priests in their offerings of confession. As you see here, they offer ample time for confession daily, up to Saturday (though I WISH they would offer confession before Masses on the Sat vigil and Sunday, like the Redemptorists.)

In addition, they will accept special arrangements if they are notified, or see a special need for that sacrament. Once, with a number of my fellow young adults in the Faith, we came in the evening and a few wanted confession. Thankfully the brother that was around accepted our request, and gave a good number of our party the sacrament. In addition, one of the more older brothers actually is fond of Tradition and appreciates the Latin Mass, and that night we sought confession, he even absolved me in Latin!!!

Mass at the Shrine

How Blessed and fortunate that there will finally be another Latin Mass in York Region of the Greater Toronto Area after so many years! To the best of my knowledge, save the one other occasion at Mary Lake, a Latin Mass has NEVER been celebrated since pre-Vatican II in the parishes of York Region in the Archdiocese of Toronto (unless there's a municipality or city that has, and I've missed it. Please inform me if so.)

It is a blessing that the Augustinian Fathers are allowing Fr. Steven to celebrate the EF liturgy. Fr. Steven has been a great grace and blessing to this diocese in promoting the Latin Mass in this Archdiocese. On numerous occasions, he has given his time to being one of the clergy members for the Masses that I assist at, organized by St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir over the years, and I have also altar served the Latin Mass with him outside of the SPGC Masses, such as here in 2012 for Christmas, and for occasional regular EF offerings at his home parish, St. Lawrence the Martyr in Scarborough.

Let it also be known that this Mass is being done independently of any Latin Mass Society/group currently at work in the Archdiocese, including those I assist. This is truthfully a Latin Mass, being held at an archdiocesan parish with their blessing!

In addition to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form/according to the 1962 Missal, there will be refreshments served after, so please if you do come, be a social and joyous Glad Trad! Stay for the tea and sweets!

I hope you will be in attendance at this Shrine of Mercy, partake in the Indulgence for the Doors of Mercy, and be enamoured with the sacredness and beauty of the Latin Mass, celebrated by Fr. Szakaczki. Hopefully, my close and friend and I will be in attendance, and I might meet some of you.

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.

Highlight: Important words from Catholic Evangelist Paul Sullivan from Yesterday

Hello Everyone,

I'd like to highlight Paul Sullivan's latest posting on his website, https://evango.net/. Paul is highly respected in his home Archdiocese of Toronto and heads his own speaking/evangelization apostolate. He is frequently called upon to speak at our local Catholic conferences held twice annually by Serviam Ministries (formerly Catholic Chapter House).

This latest post is particularly interesting as it taps into the same vein as C.S. Lewis' famous book, the Screwtape Letters. In the post, Patrick has hit it right on the head with regard to how the Devil uses prayer and worship, especially for those of you who stress liturgy (e.g. the Latin Mass) to actually do his bidding, and even lead to spiritual sloth. Let's read Patrick's latest post in full, shall we, with some of my highlighting?:

Taken from https://evango.net/2015/06/a-demons-letter-on-prayer/:

A Demon’s Letter On Prayer

June 2, 2015/in Articles, Vignettes /by psullivan

What follows is from the Tapeworm Letters, a series of spiritual advice from one demon to another on how to corrupt, well…

…you.

In this letter, Tapeworm advises another demon on how to keep you from praying.

Enjoy!

in Christ,
patrick

I have received your complaints and I must say that I am more disappointed than usual. If you are serious that you think your target’s new found interest in communicating with the enemy can derail our position, than you are more of a novice at this than I had originally estimated. Look, it is all quite easy to deal with.

Begin to suggest to that miserable worm that to talk to the enemy at all takes precision. Whisper into his ear that unless he prays at the right time and with the right posture and with the right words and with the right intentions and with the right focus; and of course all within the right location then he should not bother to pray at all. And while this is quite a ridiculous suggestion I admit, you will be surprised (because you are such an amateur no doubt) that your target gives up long before he has begun.

And if by some strange act of persistence he opens his mouth still, it is not at all difficult to get him to cut off communication in order to begin again. And why is that? Because if you haven’t noticed, human beings have many flaws. One of those flaws is that they like to believe that they are or can be perfect.

In fact, our intelligence division has let us know that this silliness in them has even been encouraged by the enemy in one of his oldest communications with them. Something about ‘be perfect as…’ well who cares, you get the point.

So if he actually says something so grotesque as ‘hail…anything’, in a most gentle voice remind him that he really has to mean it for it all to ‘count.’ And when the fool begins again, soothe him with that same hideous voice of yours and let him know that his mind was most definitely drifting away to some far off place and not here ‘in the moment’ where he must be for prayer to be anything.

Don’t you see; or are you as much a fool as he is? Through such suggestions he will come to view communication with the enemy as more like a handwritten letter than that terribly primitive telephone. Instead of just picking up the line to call the enemy and speaking as little or as much as he must, as quickly or as slowly as he needs, we force these daft creatures to focus on whether or not they crossed their ‘t’s properly!

Our campaign on this particular point has been so successful that with very few exceptions, almost all of the enemy’s followers do not communicate with him at all. Can you even understand how big this is? We have cut them off from the very thing they need to win the war. Without praying they cannot see the bigger picture; they cannot receive consolation; they cannot focus.

And you know what happens when you stop communicating with someone don’t you? Of course you don’t; amateur that you are. Our targets stop believing that there is anyone there to pick up the phone anyway. This is so painful I love it! Follow the logic if you can. They don’t call the enemy so they come to believe that he isn’t there to answer. Oh, how I detest their small minds. Remember this: the less they pray, the less they believe.

So I hope you got all of that. If he starts to pray, point out the imperfections and then over time let his pathetic reasoning over take him.

This really is too simple. So get it right.

in all disgust,

tapeworm

Pax, Julian.

Success! Report for Christ the King 2014 Mass with St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir

Hello Everyone,

Summorum Pontificum is continuing onward, regardless of those within and outside the Church, who dare to see that Her Tradition, and `t`raditions, are discarded. The Devil roams about like a bloodthirsty lion, wishing to sow dischord, deadly sins such as acecia, and many other sins in this unstable time, even among those in the Church who are practicing Catholics or even Latin Mass Traditionalists. Many of us who are wired to our computers and smart phones, got to see this infighting (particularly on ``C``atholic blogs) during the recent 2014 Extraordinary Synod of Marriage and the Family.

Did I forget to add that the Devil REALLY, HATES, the Latin Mass for its order and truth. and will use whatever or whomever he can to stop it, if the Latin Mass cannot be abused to his will in any manner? However, he, nor any machination of his, can stand up to the Mighty King that is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, whose ultimate sacrifice redeemed us all and defeated him on the Cross.

Yesterday, October 26, 2014, was another example that our Lord and Sovereign King, Jesus Christ, prevailed once again, through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form, with the assistance of the St. Patrick`s Gregorian Choir.

And must I say that the fruition of this Mass was indeed, extraordinary, occurring against all odds. Allow me to explain how our Holy Sovereign gave His mercy and his royal blessing today, by giving a little snippet as to what made this possible. The Latin Masses take much skill and effort to do, with undo pressure, and don't just appear out of thin air. While others might not like these sort of details to be revealed on the Internet, perhaps you readers, by seeing this, will see what it takes, and that it is many hands, much time, even money, and prayer, that allows these beautiful and Holy liturgies to exist in our current Church today.

Despite the loss of our initial site and celebrant due to circumstances beyond the control of SPGC, and of no fault to the choir, we were forced to scout both a neutral, "Glad Trad" priest, and an alternative parish to hold the Latin Mass. With a request from the choirmaster, I assisted alongside my fellow altar servers, with a number of phone calls, in not only finding a parish to hold the Mass, but the chaplain of my Knights of Columbus council (of which I was recently ``knighted`` in the first degree Oct 6th,) agreed to do our Latin Mass.

Numerous questions came up as the process went on ... is there a Missal available? (Thankfully, the priest has his own 1962,), will there be an Asperges? (Yes, and thus, did the parish have the aspergillum + aspensorum, which they did)? What is the parish stocked with? Are we doing the Leonine prayers at the end (YES!), can you assist the priest for transportation? ... and so forth. Thankfully the choir has amassed a number of items such as the altar candles, an altar stand, etc. However such items to buy outright, are not cheap, e.g. new altar candlesticks from say, DiCarlo, would be anywhere from lowest, close to $400-500 EACH, to much higher, the fancier the set you want. Antiquated ones can cost much more if you do not want to try your luck on internet bidding. So between candles, fasteners for them, altar settings, vestment sets ... you cost to hold these Extraordinary Form liturgies will be heavy, though the items would be permanent to keep in the long run.

After many calls and questions answered, a Friday night altar practice, quickly rearranged choir practice repertoires now that the Mass was happening, and even a transportation issue for our good Holy priest of Christ .... The 2014 Mass of Christ the King was back on at the Catholic Church of St. Pius X, in the Archdiocese of Toronto at 330pm this fine day that has past.

Yes, aside from our collective efforts, one could say that the Lord was willing to allow us in His Holy Graces and Mercy, to have this Mass. Even when it looked liked the Devil had thrown many roadblocks and stresses on top of our work and social lives (and in my case, marital preparations), we pulled off a beautiful, solemn, and reverent Sung Latin Low Mass, with three *servers, and the majestic and heavenly tones of the St. Patrick`s Gregorian Choir.

What points, could be gleamed from today's Mass, particularly, the homily? One of the attendees who frequents the St. Patrick's Latin Masses had this to say:
- Fr. Burns talked about being a Canadian citizen, but that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God by virtue of our Baptism. 
- Having celebrated the Novus Ordo the prior week (and likely, most people present there had gone to the Novus Ordo the prior weekend,) he also related today's Gospel readings with last week's Gospel readings..."render unto Caesar what is Caesars and render unto God what is Gods." [ed. note: I personally see here a little hidden nugget of the forms mutually enriching each other, as Pope Benedict wished when releasing Summorum Pontificum]
- Fr. Burns said that the Kingdom or Reign of God does not really work like a modern democracy where citizens vote to choose their elected officials. Since monarchs inherit their power and authority from their bloodline/parents and not by vote, Jesus Christ as King gets his power and authority from God, his Father. 
- He also discussed the topic of inheritance within the context of the Kingdom of God.

If there was any point to me where our Holy King had triumphed (and we were a part of this victory,) and the success and truth of this Holy Low Mass was evident, it was when our Holy priest dismissed us at the ite missa est. The power, strength, beauty, and tone of his voice was that of a perfect reflection of our King, regal and royal. For all priests of valid and licit ordination are alter Christi, ``other Christs.``How fitting then, nourished by the Eucharist consecrated in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, was our Priest, like Christ, our King, giving us soldiers of the Church Militant our orders to go out into the depths and peripheries of the world to proclaim the Gospel. No sooner had our Alter Christi given us this dismissal, than the sacred tones of the SPGC choir resonated in reply with Deo Gratias in a symphony of similar reverence, beauty, and thankfulness.

If there is anyone to thank in all this though, first and foremost is Our Lord Jesus Christ, High Priest and Sovereign King, whose eternal dominion we acknowledge and pray on in the EF, and will be done in the OF in a month`s time.

Secondly, we thank both the pastor of St. Pius X, Fr. Min-Kyu Park, who graciously and in a short time frame, allowed us to use the church for the Holy Mass, and our celebrant, Fr. Leo Burns, C.S.B. Fr. Burns is a Basilian priest who was ordained in the EF in 1964, just before the storm of the liturgical, philisophical, and theological changes that changed much of the Church`s operations in today`s world.

Without these two holy priests, we would have had no Mass today. Christ was here through his ``others.`` It is priests like these, older and younger, who will help carry out the New Evangelization and the ``reform of the reform`` that Benedict XVI hoped to achieve.

As per usual, I have a few photos to share with you of our event. The first are, as normal with my reports, pictures of our altar fully set up for the Mass (taken prior to, NOT DURING, the Mass). The last two are of our basic translational document we provided for the Mass, containing the liturgy`s propers and the major readings in Latin and English, and even some music in chant notation for the Allelulia.

The altar set up for Low Mass

Inside our Mini-booklet

Front and Back page of our mini-booklet

To end this report, it is only fitting that I post the post-communion translated in English from my 1962 Baronius Press missal, for after we were fed his Holy Eucharist:

``We have received the food of immortality and beg, Lord, that we who are proud to fight under the banner of Christ our King,may reign with Him for ever in His realm above.``

I, Julian of Servimus Unum Deum, alongside my serving allies, and with the St. Patrick`s Gregorian choir, will continue to fight under his banner. Christ wants the salvation of all souls under his kingship and to join him in Heaven. We will continue our King`s mission, to do our best to help in His cause, through the provision of the Holy Sacrifice in the Mass in the Extraordinary Form in the Archdiocese of Toronto.  

PAX TIBI CHRISTI, JULIAN BARKIN, ON THIS THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING 2014. 

*  I have done this before, at St. Lawrence the Martyr for either a Requiem Mass or Christmas 2012. While excessive amounts of servers are not appropriate, I do not know of any rubric or outdated liturgical law that says 3 servers at a Low Mass is unacceptable, or violates the licitness or validity of the Holy Mass. Do your research before you contest this fact and have a Fr. Z speckled-filled nutty and the combox filter is on with my blog rules intact.

[minor edits made 27/10/2014].

Highlight: Pope Francis Speaks to Altar Servers in Germany!

Hello Everyone.

I was browsing my Facebook news feed and came across a posting from one of my Catholic groups: Our Lady's Knights of the Altar. This group is a modern re-working/return of a classic program that was used by many parishes pre-Vatican II (and sadly sacked post Vatican II in the wake of the Novus Ordo), and within the last 2 years the group has existed, they already have 8 Chapters! Please see their program at http://www.knightsofourlady.com/home/lightbox.html if you are thinking about a formal structure for your Novus Ordo or Extraordinary Form altar serving. It even has a special rank built in for those who can do the EF, above the normal serving of the OF!

Today, they linked to this article from the National Catholic Register (affiliated with EWTN and receives articles from Catholic Answers affiliated apologists and authors), where the Pope spoke to ~50K altar servers in Germany. One may see the video of his speech at Radio Vaticana's website:
http://www.radiovaticana.va/player/index_fb.asp?language=it&tic=VA_LHQNGP3U . There is also the summary report here on News.Va, the Vatican`s News reporting website. As for the full context of the speech, it`s too soon for the English translation, but one will find it here eventually:
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/august/index.html .

Since News.VA has a more detailed summary, I`ll post some of its juicier tidbits here and let my commentary be in Marian blue (or close to it) ink.:

“Through this concrete man by the name of Jesus, we can understand what God really meant. He wants to free human beings, so that they might always feel protected as children of a good father.” 

That's right, through JESUS, not just through God/Allah, etc. Not to mention he is un-heretical by acknowledging Jesus' human nature here as well, vs. the heresies of early Church history. Syncretism or lukewarmness here? I think not! 

But, the Pope said, to realize this plan, God needs a human person, “a woman, a mother, who brings the Son into the world. She is the Virgin Mary, whom we honor in this evening's celebration. Mary was totally free. In her freedom she said ‘yes.’ She always did good. So she served God and human beings. Let us imitate her example, if we want to know what God expects of us as His children.”

So, doctrinally, we have here acknowledgement of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her "fiat" as it were, as well as indirectly, though not initially, her freedom from Original Sin, as well as that she had a human free will. Might I remind you, that her freedom from sin IS the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, pronounced Ex Cathedra in 1854 by Pope Pius IX, in Ineffiablis Deus?

Here, in the example of Mary, is some of how the Pope is trying to provide for a model for altar servers. That in Mary's fiat, she said, Yes, "servo" to God in His desire to have her be the Theotokos, the Christ-bearer. Likewise, we servers, should too, say yes, to serving, whenever we can to our Lord, barring utter necessary duties. What a great example for Pope Francis to give us altar servers to emulate in our practice.  

.... He said the world “needs people who will testify to others that God loves us, that He is our Father.” Young people have a special role to play in this mission, the Pope said: “You are called to speak of Jesus to your contemporaries, not only those within your parishes or associations, but especially to those outside....”

Here, responding to the call of the New Evangelization, I love what the Pope is saying here. First, I love that he is acknowledging the role that young people, even youth altar serving, can play a role in the New Evangelization. It is tying in with our Baptismal role that we have as members of the Body of Christ, that we all play a role in bringing about the Gospel to our world, and the salvation of souls. It's not just for the priests, or the choirmasters, or the teachers. No, we young people, too, without credentials, or Holy Orders, can be apostles for Christ! 

Further, he wants us to take what we do as servers, and our Faith, outside of the Church! Now, I am going to go on a bit of a stretch here, but I hope would hope it would agree with what the Holy Father has said and preached. In my journeys as an altar server, one thing I have sadly witnessed, is that people tend to simply remain inward with our faith, and huddle in our little traditionalist/Novus Ordo, etc. communities, all the while giving into the temptation to be ... "querulous and disillusioned pessimists, "sourpusses." (85, Evangelii Gaudium). This would include both generally, and in the serving parts somewhat, things such as only remaining with the "ultra-trad" communities and not all trad communities, keeping a firmly rigid traditionalist (or liberal) view on things, and going about as a Catholic without a joy of the Gospel, or not being involved in both forms of the Roman Rite. This would also include comments that are anywhere from passive-aggressive, to possibly disparaging against Vatican II, the Novus Ordo, Ecumenism, etc. It is almost like rebellion against Holy Mother Church and makes you wonder why should one bother being a Catholic when it is so "damaged?:  

Now, does sticking to the EF alone make you a sourpuss? No. However, when done in part and parcel with a certain "fortress" mentality and just staying put without spreading the Faith, we altar servers are not spreading the Joy of the Gospel. We might be serving on the altar, or praying our Latin, but our actions become reduced to clockwork-like mechanics on display, vs. inspiring our fellow laity to more reverence. Our dispositions and words become ``grey`` and uninviting to those who are seeking spiritual nourishment or considering EF serving. I particularly think about the contradictions I've seen in my few years between servers with a ``joy`` in serving, vs. others who have an all ``holy`` mentality. The joyful ones, were those who showed when they served on, and acted outside of the altar, a positive influence in what they do and a happiness about serving the Lord, one that, were I not so Traditionally minded, would make me want to come back to the EF if I was lukewarm or just ``trying it out.`` Even our youngest servers, can express this joy, as I witnessed at the Sacred Heart 2014 Mass I served with St. Patrick`s Gregorian Choir. 

To me, Pope Francis is saying (as he has repeatedly,) we have to stop being closed minded upon ourselves, only remaining in our little elitist communities whereby anyone who is "not Trad" or "not-uber Catholic" (that is not blatantly trying to dissent from the Church willfully), is not worth speaking to, and we need to start being more happy about our Faith and the joys it offers, all the while NOT giving into the errors of our more radical brethren. Further, let's not just be an example to our fellow Trad Catholics, how about our non-EF Catholics too, and even our Non-Catholic friends too as servers! Let our Joy and our service be our basis for our Evangelization! He`s doing a Missionary calling for us! Time to take our serving (and our Glad Trad or Happy Ordo) minds and hearts outside the Sacristy, and into our lives!

Finally, to me, or what I want to focus on, he said about commitments in a young person`s life:

`` ... he understood the difficulties many young people experience in balancing their commitment to serving at church with various other activities “necessary for human and cultural growth.” ... among the many demands in one’s daily routine, the Pope said, one of our priorities must be remembering our Creator, Who gives us life, Who loves us, and Who accompanies us on our journey.

He realizes that young people`s attentions are constantly being competed for, whether by their own interests, teachers who think piling homework on kids is the best way for them to learn, or eager parents who want their children`s lives to be fully ``enriched,`` be it to have what they did not, to not be bored, or to prepare junior to become the world`s next Bill Gates or Sidney Crosby. These interests do compete and clash with ``Holy`` activities, as these primarily happen 1) usually on school weeknights in the case of practices (e.g. choirs), or 2) on weeeknds whereby most sports activities and practices often tail into music classes, or occur in the mornings contradicting Holy Mass, even on Saturday evenings. In otherwords, as I`ve hinted at in my introductory serving posts, you gotta make this your #1 activity! Christ! God! Best thing since sliced bread over your other activities! While I wish Pope Francis would have been more gutsy and told the youth that should conflict occur to toss those things aside for Christ as the ``Pearl of Great Price``, Making God #1 isn't too bad. 

So there. What a good find! H/T to Our Lady's Knights of the Altar. Pax, Julian. 

An Interesting Reveal ... Last Words Spoken to the 2013 Conclave Before Entering into the Voting Process

Hello Everyone.

I found this through my Blogger Feed .... It's numerous translated excerpts of the last words spoken to the Conclave 2013 attendants, from the Latin Text in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis (The Church's Official Bulletin of recordings of major decrees, proceedings, etc.). I am reproducing it in full from Sandro Magister's Chiesa Espresso site from here: http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1350575?eng=y

The content that was translated within is very important. My emphasis in bold and my comments are in the square brackets. Pax, Julian.

Groundbreaking: The Last Warning to the Pope's Electors

The official bulletin of the Holy See has lifted the secrecy from the meditation dictated to the cardinals at the beginning of the last conclave, with the doors already closed. Here are the essential passages

by Sandro Magister




ROME, August 13, 2013 – The Holy See has an official bulletin entitled “Acta Apostolicae Sedis." It is written in Latin, while the documents reproduced there are in the original languages. Its issues can be read on the Vatican website beginning with that of 1909:

> Acta Apostolicae Sedis

Since 2003 it has been issued in monthly booklets with the pages numbered starting in January. The latest booklet taken to press is also the first of Francis's pontificate:

> Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 5 aprilis - 3 Maii 2013

It contains among other things the proceedings of the conclave that on March 13, 2013 elected pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio. With one innovation with respect to what was already known.

The innovation - previously covered by secrecy - is the complete text of the meditation dictated to the grand electors on March 12, behind closed doors, immediately before the start of the voting.

The cardinal charged with the meditation was the Maltese Prosper Grech, an Augustinian, 87 years old and therefore without the right to vote. After his meditation, in fact, he left the Sistine Chapel.

The complete text of the meditation is on pages 352-357 of the cited issue of the "Acta Apostolicae Sedis."

Ten passages from this are reproduced below. Corresponding to as many points concerning “that which Christ wants from his Church,” in the judgment of Cardinal Grech.

Rereading them today spontaneously brings up an exercise: to identify on which of these points Pope Francis has exerted himself more, at the beginning of his pontificate, and on which less, and how.

_________



"The action you are about to carry out within this Sistine Chapel..."

by Prosper Grech


[…] I have no intention of making the identikit of the new pope, and much less of presenting a plan of action for the future pontiff. This very delicate task belongs to the Holy Spirit, who in recent decades has gifted us with a series of excellent holy pontiffs. My intention is that of drawing from Scripture some reflections to help us understand what Christ wants from his Church. […]

GOSPEL WITHOUT COMPROMISE

After his resurrection Jesus sent the apostles into the whole world to make disciples of all peoples and baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Mt 29:19). The Church does this by presenting the Gospel without compromise, without diluting the word. […]
[Editor's note. The BRIDE OF CHRIST as THE CHURCH does this, Your Eminence, but numerous members of the clergy and the educated laity and their educators either offer a watered down version, or NOT the Gospel ....] When one descends to compromises with the Gospel one empties it of its “dynamis,” as if one were to remove the explosive from a hand grenade. [YESSSS!!!!!!! Exactly!!!! and you wonder why the majority of the laity aren't moved by the "Gospel" presented to them. It's not the one you are talking about above.] Nor must one give in to temptation thinking that, since Vatican Council II is believed [the key word here] to have leveled out salvation for those who are outside of the Church as well, the need for baptism has been relativized. Today is added the abuse of many indifferent Catholics who neglect or refuse to baptize their children [as well as another malady he mentions, only bringing their kids for sacraments like baptism and NEVER setting foot in the Church again until marriage, if at all].

THE SCANDAL OF THE CROSS

The proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is made concrete in the proclamation of “Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). […] It is precisely this scandal of the cross that humbles the “hybris" of the human mind and elevates it to accept a wisdom that comes from above. In this case as well, to relativize the person of Christ by placing him alongside other “saviors” means emptying Christianity itself of its substance. It is precisely the preaching of the absurdity of the cross that in less than three hundred years reduced to the minimum the religions of the Roman empire and opened the minds of men to a new view of hope and resurrection. It is for the same hope that the modern world is thirsting, suffering from an existential depression.

CHURCH OF MARTYRS

Christ crucified is intimately connected to the Church crucified. It is the Church of the martyrs, from those of the first centuries to the many faithful who, in certain countries, are exposing themselves to death simply by going to Sunday Mass. […] Jesus predicts: “if they have persecuted me, they will persecute you" (Jn 15:20). Therefore, persecution is a "quid constitutivum" of the Church, […] it is a cross that it must embrace. But persecution is not always physical, there is also the persecution of falsehood: “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake" (Mt 5:11). You have recently experienced this through some media outlets that do not love the Church. [here, as will be said below, the Cardinal is referring to the sex scandals that recently came up AGAIN in the Church. While it is truly a minority of ALL priests in the Church who have committed these heinous actions, the mainstream anti-Catholic media loves to pounce on it like wolves to game meat.] When the accusations are false one must not pay attention to them, even if they cause immense pain.

WHEN THE ACCUSATIONS TELL THE TRUTH

It is another thing when what is said about us is the truth, as has happened in many of the accusations of pedophilia. Then we must humble ourselves before God and men, and seek to uproot the evil at all costs, as did, to his great regret, Benedict XVI. And only in this way can we regain credibility before the world and give an example of sincerity. Today many people do not arrive at believing in Christ because his face is obscured or hidden behind an institution that lacks transparency. [One can now see a likely factor that influenced the decision of who to vote for amongst the Cardinals to be Pope. Basically, to restore the tarnished public image of the Catholic Church and Catholicism.] But if recently we have wept over many unpleasant events that have befallen clergy and laity, even in the pontifical household, we must consider that these evils, as great as they may be, if compared with certain evils in the history of the Church are nothing but a cold. [I disagree with his eminence. Sexual scandal at the hands of these men are NOT common colds, they are "vile diseases" of grave sin, mental, and physical illness.] And just as these have been overcome with God's help, so also the present crisis will be overcome. Even a cold needs to be taken care of well to keep it from turning into pneumonia.

SMOKE OF SATAN IN THE CHURCH

The evil spirit of the world, the “mysterium iniquitatis" (2 Thes 2:7), constantly strives to infiltrate the Church. [unfortunately, this cardinal could have and should have said it has to a degree, with that evil spirit taking the form of secuarlism/relativism/selfish and prideful ideaologies and wanton desires of the flesh. This tense implies it is TRYING to penetrate its walls. Things in the world seem to show it has gone farther than that at a societal and cultural level. Spiritually, the Church as Bride of Christ will NEVER fall to Satan. See Matthew 16:18] Moreover, let us not forget the warning of the prophets of ancient Israel not to seek alliances with Babylon or with Egypt, but to follow a pure policy "ex fide" trusting solely in God (cf. Is 30:1; 31:1-3; Hos 12:2) and in his covenant. Courage! Christ relieves our minds when he exclaims: "Have trust, I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33). […]

LURKING SCHISMS

No less easy for the future pontiff will be the task of keeping unity in the Catholic Church itself. Between ultratraditionalist extremists and ultraprogressive extremists, between priests who rebel against obedience and those who do not recognize the signs of the times, there will always be the danger of minor schisms that not only damage the Church but also go against the will of God: unity at all costs. [While other Traditionalist blogs are upset with this statement, I agree here with the Cardinal. Both sides have fallen off the "narrow path", though the ultratraditionalist sides have shown their ugly heads more prominently, thanks to the combination of Summorum Pontificum and the Internet blogosphere. Further, the SSPX were featured again in the last few years due to the talks with Benedict, that failed at their hands when they did not sign the doctrinal preamble. They chose division and a rejection of Holy Mother Church.] But unity does not mean uniformity. It is evident that this does not close the doors to the intra-ecclesial discussion present in the whole history of the Church. All are free to express their thoughts on the task of the Church, but they should be proposals in line with that "depositum fidei" which the pontiff together with all of the bishops has the task of guarding. […] [in other words, criticize validly and in Catholic fraternal charity what is problematic, but if you don't like what you see, don't go all "Luther/Henry VIII/Lefebvre, etc." and start you own "church" away from Holy Mother Church. That's what gets you not in communion with Her. You gotta stick to the major stuff]

SEXUAL FREEDOM AND PROGRESS

Unfortunately today theology suffers from the feeble thought that dominates the philosophical environment, and we need a good philosophical foundation in order to be able to develop dogma with a valid hermeneutic that speaks a language intelligible to the contemporary world. [I have to disagree here. This sounds like liberal garbage, using high level words to say something. NO. We do not need a hermeneutic with an intelligible language for the world. The world, while created good by God, is not of Christ and if anything is contrary to the Church should one give into it. If anything, we need a clearer faith, one that does not appeal to novelties or the modern world. We need a clear, traditional, loving (Caritas) message that unites both faith and works, one that is obedient to Christ and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. We don't need some philosophical gobbledegook from some theologian or left/right wing priest.] It often happens, however, that the proposals of many faithful for the progress of the Church are based on the level of freedom that is granted in the area of sexuality. Certainly laws and traditions that are purely ecclesiastical can be changed, but not every change means progress, it must be discerned whether such changes act to increase the holiness of the Church or to obscure it. […]

THAT LITTLE REMNANT WHICH DOES NOT BEND THE KNEE TO BAAL

In the West, at least in Europe, Christianity itself is in crisis. […] There reigns an ignorance and disregard not only of Catholic doctrine, but even of the ABC's of Christianity. The urgency is thus felt of a new evangelization that begins from pure kerygma and plain proclamation to nonbelievers, followed by a continual catechesis nourished by prayer. [Yes!!! We must proclaim the Gospel's basic message to people, and even get the most faithful Catholics to know WHAT the kerygma is, to further solidify the faith, have a personal encounter with Christ, say YES to him, and THEN when all that happens to have those solid people evangelize to others.] But the Lord is never defeated by human negligence and it seems that, while they are closing the doors to him in Europe, he is opening them elsewhere, especially in Asia. And even in the West God will not fail to keep for himself a remnant of Israel that does not bend the knee before Baal, a remnant that we find mainly in the many lay movements endowed with different charisms [I hope this is not a blatant love for Charismatic Catholicism. Certain parts are ok, probably along the lines of George Weigel's Evangelical Catholicism book] that are making a strong contribution to the new evangelization. […] Care must be taken, however, that particular movements should not believe that the Church is exhausted in them. [This is both for lay movements, orders, etc. and the "trads" alike!] In short, God cannot be defeated by our indifference. The Church is his, the gates of hell can wound its heel but can never suffocate it. […] [MATT 16:18!]

THE FAITH OF THE SIMPLE

There is another factor of hope in the Church that we must not overlook, the “sensus fidelium.” Augustine calls it "the inner teacher" in each believer. […] This creates in the depths of the heart that criterion of discernment of true and false, it makes us distinguish instinctively that which is "secundum Deum" [meaning second in importance to God] from that which comes from the world and from the evil one (1 Jn 4:1-6). […] The coals of devout faith are kept alive by millions of simple faithful who are far from being called theologians but who in the intimacy of their prayers, reflections, and devotions can give profound advice to their pastors. It is these who "will destroy the wisdom of the wise and nullify the intelligence of the intelligent" (1 Cor 1:19). This means that when the world, with all of its knowledge and intelligence, abandons the logos of human reason, the Logos of God shines in simple hearts, which form the marrow from which the backbone of the Church is nourished. […]

UNDER THE HAND OF CHRIST THE JUDGE

While professing that the Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church, we do not always take him into consideration in our plans for the Church. He transcends all sociological analysis and historical prediction. He surpasses the scandals, the internal politics, the ambition, and the social problems, which in their complexity obscure the face of Christ that must shine even through dense clouds. Let's listen to Augustine: "The apostles saw Christ and believed in the Church that they did not see; we see the Church and must believe in Christ whom we do not see. By holding fast to what we see, we will arrive at seeing the one whom now we do not see" (Sermo 328, 3). […] In 1961 John XXIII received in audience in this Sistine Chapel the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. He indicated the dominant figure of Christ the judge in the fresco of Michelangelo, and told them that Christ will also judge the actions of the individual nations in history. You find yourselves in this same Chapel, beneath the figure of that Christ with his hand raised not to crush but to illuminate your voting, that it may be "secundum Spiritum," not "secundum carnem." […] [he means that it is influenced by the Holy spirit, and not by subjective or material motives]. It is in this way that the elected will be not yours, but essentially His. […] [++Collins, our Archbishop and Cardinal, often remarks on this very fact when he went for the Conclave. The judgement part of our lives for our eternity based on our actions is what he often emphasizes of this painting.]

__________


English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.