The Machine is Whirring Again: Ordinary Synod XIV on the Family .... With Some Good News for my Archdiocese of Toronto!!!

Hello Everyone,

So once again, the internet is a-buzz with dark tidings and forecasts of Hellfire to begin with regard to the 2015 Ordinary Synod of the Family (or Officially, Ordinary Synod XIV). If you are curious as to documents from certain past Synods, please see the following website link from the Vatican here:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/index.htm

Now, as it turns out, the working document, called an Instrumentum Laboris, came out this past Tuesday. Currently, it is only available for public viewing on the Internet in Italian, which one can find here:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20150623_instrumentum-xiv-assembly_it.html

For a better examination in English, it would be best to wait until an English translation is produced. Still one can use basic Google or Bing translate with their computers to do a cursory examination of what our bishops will be using for their Synod this October. Unlike other contrasting bloggers who imply that modernist (read: Satanic) Rome is introducing decay into society (of which such sentiments, even mentally or typed, betray the mark of the Church as being "Holy"), this instrumentum is already chock full of good points being addressed in society. Alone it is calling out or saying:

• That a huge amount of people support the Catholic Church's teaching on Marriage and the Family
• That many different factors are attacking the family, including fear of youth to commit to relationships, feminism, and later covered in more depth in the document, reproductive technologies
• A big one in paragraph 13: That because of growing poverty and job insecurity and/or taxation it's better to NOT marry and to co-habitate in the minds of the people. I do well agree with this, and Ontario is too perfect an example right now, with many workplaces relying on part time/contract or temporary work to fill spots vs. expensive and/or unionized full time work which costs the employer in terms of health care benefits for the employee and pension payouts too. Oh, not to mention governments who think its fun to line the pockets of unionized workers and homosexual/liberal allies to secure votes at the expense of the taxpayer.  
• The elderly as a burden upon families already in a crunch! You know that what is implied is "let's euthanize the useless old codgers who do nothing but fart around all day!" However, we should be valuing these elders. Of bigger note, he acknowledges that the grandparents these days are passing on the faith and initiating my generation and below into Christianity, NOT THE PARENTS!!!! Shame on them!
• That Scripture shouldn't be just left for Mass, it should be read in the home too!!!
• That even since Vatican II has the promotion and dignity of marriage and the family been affirmed in Church Documents (e.g. Gaudium et Spes, 47-52)

Clearly, there's more that is covered here, but I'd need much more room to expand on things. Now, it seems that one accusation of this working document is that once again, Kasper's canard of the Church doing an option of "graduality" to admit the remarried couple back to communion is being pushed. NO, this is not what the document is pushing, even with this partially poor computer translation from Italian to English. This is focused on from "The integration of divorced and remarried ..." Under paragraph 120 to about 125.

Now look, as Catholics, we must give the best possible perspective on that which is associated from the Church, even if it is poorly translated or worded. It does NOT say here about re-admission to communion. Yes it talks about couples in co-habitating and civil marriages being guided towards marriage under some sort of penitential process, under the authority of the bishop. BUT, it goes back to John Paul II's process in his Apostolic Exhortation , Familiaris Consortio, 84. The steps are: awareness of failure (obviously remorse for your sin,) repentance, CHECK THE POSSIBLY NULLITY of MARRIAGE, THEN commitment  to spiritual communion and decision to live in continence.

NOWHERE, even in that process, IS readmission to SACRAMENTAL Communion. Spiritual communion, is NOT the same as the REAL COMMUNION. Spiritual is as simple as saying a prayer to want to be in union with Christ, but you cannot receive at that time because of  x, y, z, etc. Not to mention if your check of nullity does NOT check out, then of course, you WILL NOT be admitted to communion. Now, of course, unless the diocese sense some sort of poster with your face on it saying "Don't admit this person to communion" would any old priest know if you are purposely committing the mortal sin of sacrilege, and of course, priests and bishops WILL circumvent the teachings of the Church and Francis because of their selfish sin and betrayal of the Church. It isn't perfect, but it is NOT implying what others think it means.

Oh, let's also add to boot that it states even in the poor translation, that "there is no foundation to assimilate or establish similarities, even remote, between homosexual unions and the plan of Fod on marriage and family."

Now if I just got all that from a rough Bing translation of the Italian, it'll likely be the same or even better translated when the full English translation comes out. I might come back to that for a post, if I have the time, or not.

But my main point is this. Do NOT believe the naysayers on the Internet, including those self-elected or "obvious" RMTs, Latin Mass or Not, who are implying in this Synod, or at least in this document, that this is part of the beginning of the Hell Show against the Family, being introduced by the Church.

............................


Now, in good news, just last week, Pope Francis decided to announce the list of delegates for the Synod, which can be found here:
http://www.news.va/en/news/members-and-substitutes-for-the-14th-general-ordin

Well guess what .... MY OWN CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP, HIS EMINENCE THOMAS CARDINAL COLLINS, GOT SELECTED FOR CANADA FROM THE ENGLISH BISHOPS!!!!!!

This is just super awesome!!!! I am so thrilled that His Eminence was chosen for the delegation for this very topic. While others, even some in my archdiocese, balk at him and think he's aiding the Devil in their hearts and minds, and seems to be more focused on money with that Family of Faith campaign over the spiritual reigning in of heretics and violators of the faith  welfare of Toronto, I am but thrilled and happy for this appointment.

I know for a fact that His Eminence cares about the spiritual welfare of his archdiocese, especially the youth and young adults, and clearly is concerned for what awaits my, and the generations after me in their future for the family and/or marriage.

He ++Collins also, takes the faith seriously in this issue of the family, between being part of the Coalition of Life and the Family (COLF), appearing ANNUALLY in May at Canada's March for Life in Ottawa and being one of the keynote speakers to speak prior to marching, and even though he was not picked as a Synod 2014 delegate, he nonetheless spoke out about the divisive wedge issue of communion for the divorced that the deceiving and guilty of lying, Cardinal Kasper, forced upon the Synod.

You want to hear what he had to say at that time? Read this interview here, which even a few of the Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists picked up on. Might I also mention that Word on Fire programming is being used constantly in parishes at least in North America, especially their Catholicism series? So this is no backwoods company or right-wing interest group interviewing ++Collins.

Well what can I say, I'm rooting for ++Collins, and I'm glad that a sensible bishop who will properly interpret and implement the workings of the Synod of 2015 in his archdiocese, has been selected by the Holy Father himself to represent Canada for the English division. Oh, and he's MY cardinal archbishop! So I am even more proud of my local Church community and who's leading it.

Pax, Julian.

Sigh, that old Canard .... Altar Serving and Girls. My Thoughts on the Issue due to a Recent Article on Deacon's Bench

Hello Everyone,

It seems that an old canard, one that fires the salvos of insults between Traditional Catholics and "CINOs," priests and laity on both sides alike, in the name of ..... being liturgical sticklers or dissenting liberals, has resurfaced. What am I talking about? Altar girls. (cough, pardon me, female "altar servers", lest the politically correct "church police of the Church of Nice" come after me)

Initially, I came across such news because of this article below:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2015/01/in-praise-of-altar-girls/

Turns out the new Trad Hero since Benedict Emeritus XVI to come along, Cardinal Burke, idolized as being an anti-Francis who will restore tradition by the Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists, lamented in an interview about how the feminization of the Church has happened and weakened its importance in joe laity`s life, and altar girls had been implied (not directly a cause) as part of that. Don`t go around putting blame on things that are not directly quoted in +Burke`s interview. The mentioned part is here, though I've cut down the answer to the interviewer's question on the New Emangelization blog:

" Matthew:   Your Eminence, what has been the impact of this Catholic “man-crisis” on the Church?

Cardinal Burke:  The Church becomes very feminized. Women are wonderful, of course. They respond very naturally to the invitation to be active in the Church. Apart from the priest, the sanctuary has become full of women. The activities in the parish and even the liturgy have been influenced by women and have become so feminine in many places that men do not want to get involved ....

The rampant liturgical experimentation after Vatican II, much of which was not sanctioned by Vatican II, stripped the Rite of the Mass of much of its careful articulation of the Sacred Mysteries that had been developed over centuries .... 

The introduction of girl servers also led many boys to abandon altar service. Young boys don’t want to do things with girls. It’s just natural. The girls were also very good at altar service. So many boys drifted away over time. I want to emphasize that the practice of having exclusively boys as altar servers has nothing to do with inequality of women in the Church.

I think that this has contributed to a loss of priestly vocations. It requires a certain manly discipline to serve as an altar boy in service at the side of priest, and most priests have their first deep experiences of the liturgy as altar boys. If we are not training young men as altar boys, giving them an experience of serving God in the liturgy, we should not be surprised that vocations have fallen dramatically...."

- See more at: http://www.newemangelization.com/uncategorized/cardinal-raymond-leo-burke-on-the-catholic-man-crisis-and-what-to-do-about-it/#sthash.cQz2QKm9.dpuf

Ever since then, bloggers on both sides of the pond have been firing off evaluations of the matter. It was just merely another online blogging exercise, until a ``Star`` shot across the sky over ``the Sea.`` In the United States of America, A pastor named Fr. Illo of a parish in San Francisco, California called ``Star of the Sea`` (referring to a title given to Mary), decided to restrict the (now) ``Ministry`` (I disagree on calling it such) of altar serving to boys only, harkening back to a time pre-Vatican II/of the Latin Mass. I implore you to read the parish's official policy as to why the clergy decided on this decision, with the full knowledge and support of the diocesan bishop. 

Once this story got covered, needless to say bad press attacked from all angles, the priest and his decision, and (in truth a few) liberal/dissenting people and some (read: one) disappointed female server(s) complained. Basically Fr. Illo was a bad, bad, evil, misogynist priest who is not with the (FALSE) "Spirit of Vatican II." He's the meanest, strictest priest evuh!!! However, on a positive note, good faithful Catholics have decided to come to the aid of the parish by creating a "kickstarter" type of internet/electronic donation campaign. The site is here: http://www.gofundme.com/kvc80g. Guess
what, they've reached their $50K goal within 2.5 weeks. Guess people really do NOT feel offended to support something so traditional as this noble practice in the Church's liturgical tradition.

In my neck of the pond here in Toronto, via correspondence from Scotland, journalist and author of Seraphic Singles, Dorothy Cummings McLean, commented on this matter in this week's Catholic Register. You may see the editorial article here.

Now, this is about altar serving, and as a young male who is friendly to Traditional Catholicism, including the Latin Mass, and whose blog made this from day 1 his primary focus, you may be wondering (or expecting) my opinion in this, including siding with one side or another.

Personal Background
Before I give my take, it would help to reflect on my personal experiences in altar serving. Contrary to dreamers, I did NOT start as a Latin Mass trad doing Latin Masses in my crib. I was born in the 80's in Toronto, and during my youth, generally, the Latin Mass had been phased out in the Archdiocese of Toronto for the Novus Ordo. Also, the pivotal "Agatha Christie" indult to offer the Latin Mass, did NOT happen to exist until 1988, when Ecclesia Dei was formed in Rome in response to the SSPX violating the will of the Church by illegal consecration of bishops, and beginning their likely eternal separation from the busom of Rome, though not fully complete to this day.

Once the indult did exist, however. only the Oratorians of St. Phillip Neri offered it as one Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Church. I do not know how well attended it was, but I can say that until Summorum Pontificum happened in 2007, there wasn't a real uptick in the Archdiocese of Toronto until that, or knowledge it existed. One can also credit the Traditional Catholics using the Internet for its wider awareness. I personally did NOT attend my first Latin Mass till May 2011. So bottom line: The all-male serving environment was not even on my radar, nor generally anywhere in the Archdiocese of Toronto in my youth.

Thus, I altar served in the Novus Ordo at various points of my life, in co-ed programs. I started Novus Ordo serving in grade 6 until I went to university in September 2002, and have resumed it on and off to this day (e.g. adult funeral serving at one parish, fill in with another community of my fiancee's on a request basis ...). My EF serving started in October 2011 with my first Mass being as a torchbearer, assisting a Solemn Mass that was organized by St. Patrick's Gregorian choir, at the downtown parish of St. Patrick's Toronto (Redemptorist. St. Alphonsus Liguori is AWESOME!!!).

In terms of my program experience, I can say that they were, at most, functionally based. Basically, all servers of all sexes were trained what to do, and how to do it. Sadly, we were never taught about the significance of serving, what the Mass was about, and what each item's symbolic and theological significance was. Most of my serving has us wear those ugly white albs, however at my parish that I moved to mid-way in high school, we DID have the red cassock and surplice, worn by both sexes (which the current pastor or the one before sought to give to another parish or throw away, replacing it with unisex white albs. If anyone there reads this, I detest that decision!). Now, whenever I serve, I try to wear my personal black surplice and cassock, though sometimes I must wear the alb, more to not disturb things by being one person in alb, one in cassock.

In terms of sexual tension caused by females present, NONE of that existed in any of my programs. We served cause we wanted to, or our friends did, and we wore whatever was provided. I was not in any way, intimidated by female servers. Many a time, families of siblings served together, boys and girls. However, I will say that these programs DESERVED, and SHOULD have some element of mentioning why one serves, what the items stand for symbolically, and that it traditionally was a way for young men to first discern the call of priesthood (and still is!). This would include altar serving's history, such as the traditional Minor Orders.

In fact, before my fiancee came into the picture, I did ponder the priesthood, at least as a possibility, should my life continue the way it would have been (single,) and I wasn't advancing in my career, not to mention personal circumstances in my life leading me to think this was "God's Plan". Well praying to the Holy Family might have changed that. You gotta be ready for whatever they throw at you when it comes to Christ's intended vocation for you!


My Take on the Matter
So, after going through all this, and revealing my personal experience, these are my final thoughts on the matter, ones you ALL should consider:

1) ALTAR SERVING, SINGLE-SEX PROGRAMS, & VOCATIONS - Altar serving, still, is one of the primary means whereby young men can become closely involved with the daily life of the Catholic priesthood and cause a young man to be "up close" to his priests, and our Lord in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, considering it as a lifelong vocation. That is not to say that young women do not ponder service to the Lord via the Mass if they choose to altar serve. When there are all male programs, the programs grow and retain many more numbers of young boys/men, and the likelihood of vocations DOES increase significantly, and seems to be a trend, especially among those of the EF parishes and dioceses. Here's examples I obtained from Fr. Z's blog, as before recent discussion, he touched the subject with a couple of posts, one proving with a USCCB poll that most of the ordinandi has considered priesthood thanks to altar serving, and another post with a small sampling, of actual before-after programming in certain USA parishes. The chart from the 2nd posting, is posted here to illustrate the boys-only point.

Source: http://on-this-rock.blogspot.ca/2013/09/statistics-concerning-male-altar-servers.html 

Think about it at its basest level. If altar serving is the biggest factor to increase the number of young men considering vocations to the priesthood, the more boys you have in altar serving, the bigger the pot to draw vocations from. MORE ALTAR BOYS, MORE VOCATIONS. Get it?

2) Ability to serve between the sexes and co-ed programs - I will not deny that altar girls/women do their job well. I've seen the ladies more capable of looking reverent and focused on the altar when they serve, even better than the males. Maybe it's just a maturity thing, but they can do it as well, and even exceed males at times (unless those men are disciplined and trained equally as the ladies!). I can personally say this, having observed my fiancee do this, and the servers she trains in terms of their carrying out of actions on the altar. She trains them all well! Regardless, it seems that when there are the co-ed programs, the ability of young men to want to focus and succeed drops, whether due to serving being a girly thing NOT to inspire to, or they feel inadequate and unable to compete with the more "superior" sex in the co-ed environment. A co-ed serving program CAN pose additional challenges to our shortened attention-span young men with their ``fandangled Iphony thingees``, along with younger age preference for male peer groups, and older males in puberty with their attraction to the opposite sex.

3) Content of Programs - Further, the programs may not give sufficient training, and/or explanation of what the role entails, as well as theology and historical meaning behind what the servers do or use, while on the altar. I have been through two parish serving programs in my youth and both failed to teach what the Mass was truly about and what we do as servers and what it means to be an altar server. I am sure many of you can agree that most of your parish programs currently, or in your life, also fail in this regard, and are more of a functional based program that teaches you hows and whats, not why`s and significance. Were this to change for even co-ed, Novus Ordo programs, this could affect markedly how men and women view altar serving.

3.1. Caveat - HOWEVER, Just because a parish has a co-ed program in the Novus Ordo, DOES NOT mean that 0% vocations are possible. Further, it also does not mean a modern day, Novus Ordo serving program cannot teach the proper meaning of what altar serving is about, what is behind what servers say or do, install discipline and reverence for Christ, and/or inspire vocations to the priesthood. If done right, it CAN do all that. Check out this example by a guest poster at The Deacon`s Bench blog. It takes a lot of work, but it IS possible to overcome the hurdles NOT faced by all-boys, Latin Mass altar serving.

4) WHAT MUST BE SAID, ABOUT INSISTENCE ON NO GIRLS ALLOWED ON THE ALTAR FOR YOU RADICALS MISREPRESENTING TRADITIONALISTS (RMTs), YOUR LEADERS, & YOUR ADHERENTS, AND TO DEFEND THE WHOLE OF THE LATIN MASS, AND GOOD CATHOLIC TRADITIONALISTS ... For all you EF preferring Traditionalists, especially you Trads Behaving Badly, it is a pitiful and spiritually sick act of sin to say girls should be banned from serving the altar, or to denigrate those females who serve the altar in the Novus Ordo by calling them names such as cross-dressers. I am not making that last statement up! A local blogger did that two seasons of Advent ago. In fact, that post is still in his blog's archives as of the making of this post. I will NOT reveal that bloggers site, unless they want to detract my character on their own blog. If done, I will not be afraid to reveal that blog to demonstrate to readers I am not lying. Should the post be taken down to cover one's "donkey", I will post screen caps should an insult still be used against me. Don`t hide your sins from the public. Cover-up is worse, on top of the original crime. Act civil, and I will keep a modicum of respect by not stating the blog name.

Further, when you RMTs rant and rave against female altar servers in the Novus Ordo, and even participation in the life of the Church and obtaining higher Catholic education, all you do is uphold the evil stereotypes of Traditionalists that liberals and mis-educated laity call us, and give those haters of the Latin Mass and Catholic Tradition more power. It will only embolden them to attack Catholic Tradition further. That means the Latin Mass, by the way, which also means an excuse to BAN IT! There are ways that are not covered by the Church's legislation, though I won't speculate here at S.U.D. These examples were told to be by a fellow U of T Newmanite when I assisted at a Latin Mass at Newman Center in October 2013. That misguided, but angry RMT, did that, and it sickens me I found out much after the fact. I would have dealt with that curmudgeon swiftly and with just anger.

Now, If you like to see the Latin Mass disappear again, save schismatic and/or societies NOT in communion wit the Church, keep committing calumnies against altar girls verbally and on the Internet. By the way, if I ever catch you doing that in person when I assist in the Latin Mass, I will call you out on your sin, and I don't care what your age or position is, whether you are old, young, your parents are present, a female, a male, a priest of the Lord, Jesus Christ, or one not in communion with the Church. I will do it while in civic clothes, or in my surplice and cassock. This is one thing I will not hold back from doing, because I am tired of you RMTs screwing this up in our Archdiocese and giving good Trads a bad reputation with your sinful works. It doesn't attract people to the Latin Mass! It's NOT your personal Mass, it's everyone's, a necessity for the New Evangelization, and ALL Catholics (and non-Catholics) are welcome too. Act with proper decorum and respect that is expected of Traditional and/or Latin Mass Catholics! If you still can't hold it back, go whine with your friends over cigars and alcoholic beverages in your homes/pubs, or your gatherings wherever with your lady friends, but do NOT DO IT IN PUBLIC IN THE CHURCH!

5) Reversing the Novus Ordo Co-Ed Serving Option? Not Likely, and Too Disruptive to do at the Moment - The 90's altar girl indult got passed and abused. It is not able to be shoved back into "Pandora's Box," and there are enough Latin Masses and some dioceses/parishes doing male-only serving to satisfy the "liturical" OCD people (No offense intended to those with diagnosed mental disorders of compulsion. I mean it expressively for those unhappy, pickle-faced people.) Even without the Latin Mass, some parishes and dioceses are reverting back to all-male serving. No Pope would be stupid to enforce it to return again, and lose most of the Catholic populace in developed countries, unless major evidence and reason presented itself and it was the Lord's ABSOLUTE will at the time. In other words, we are talking an extreme hypothetical scenario, and the answer, Virginia is, NO, there will not be a reversal of that indult.

Angry at me? Want to make calumnies on your blog or yell at me in person? Well I can't stop you from digging yourself a bigger spiritual grave for your soul, but you go do that and watch onlookers and/or readers glance at you in disgust for your outburst. As for your liturgical needs, you have 2 choices: 1) Offer it up to Christ and be happy you even can partake in the Mass while our Christian brethen worldwide are being denied their rights and martyred in bloodshed for being Christian, particularly in the Middle East, OR 2) Keep your opinions to yourself and stay in the EF or other rites in the Church where they only have male altar servers (e.g. Byzantine, Anglican Ordinate ...).

6) My final point of encouragement for female altar servers - Finally, in the Novus Ordo, females are more than welcome to altar serve for Christ! The indult got abused, but that doesn't mean it's a wasted opportunity! GO! Serve! Do it if you prayerfully feel called to do it! And consider a vocation to the Church as a habited religious.

Conclusion
Now, that's my two dollars on this issue. It's a lot, but that's my take on it as an EF altar server, who's not trying to be an exclusively EF person, but also has served in Novus Ordo programs, and since has understood serving more as well as the Mass.

I might serve the EF and like the order and visuals and what I hear and see and do, and desire you explore this with me too. Still, I am not a oaf or a pickle-faced pepper, trad behaving badly to want a prohibition on girls altar serving. I cannot say the same for the hearts and minds of some of my Trad brethen out there in the world and in my Archdiocese.

I know that most of the Catholic populace is OF and why girl altar servers were allowed. I also know, the Church has a human element to it that cannot be ignored, and here, the Church, through John Paul II, acted in a humane manner. You gotta consider everything, weaknesses, strengths, and what is best overall right NOW, this day, in the Church on a topic like this. While we cannot control the individual decisions of bishops in (Arch)dioceses, and the Church's laws allow them to decide on parishes or diocese-wide serving policies, banning altar girls on a mass scale, at this point in time with history in the books for the Latin Rite, is unacceptable. Furthermore, has it been a major damage point to render liturgies invalid and illicit, where by the sacrament of the Eucharist is NOT conferred with the bread and wine? NO! Not following the General instruction of the Roman Missal and the Ordo for the Mass does that. In the grand scheme of things, fighting over all-boys or co-ed will NOT help with the Church and the Proclamation of the Good News.

To all Latin Mass servers, from ages 8 to 108: Novus Ordo, Extraordinary Form/Latin Mass, or other rite in the Church, Servimus Unum Deum .... We Serve the One Lord.   

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.

P.S. Combox moderation is on & this post is RED FLAG status. One wrong move or violation of my blog rules, even those that are "warnings," equals public banning and no publishing of your comments. Same goes for harassing emails in my inbox of any level. It's a free country still to lambaste me on your blog, so I cannot stop you from that, though be prepared for a reply on here should your post warrant it.

P.P.S. BTW .... While I made serving guides for the Latin Mass here on Servimus, girls and ladies, serving program trainers and priests, you can happily learn from my tools guides and apply that to your programs. If you want to use my material specifically in a formal/written document, you must: a) make an initial request in writing to my e-mail. b) We will communicate further to discuss details as to what and how you want to use my material. If this is to my satisfaction then, c) Once you receive formal written confirmation from me, and possibly agree to certain conditions, you will then have full permission to use my material from S.U.D. d) In addition, if you want more material developed than what is here, I would be interested in paid, compensatory, commissioned work to help you out. that would have to be done on my own time, aside from my part-time job.

Finally Some True Catholic & Professional Journalism on Mary Wagner

Hello Everyone,

For those of you viewing traditional Catholic blogs (read: including those from Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists, my replacement term for TBBs, as one of them is using TBB as a badge of honour. BTW, RMT is my term, and it's a badge of disgrace,) there's been smattering of posts about pro-life advocate Mary Wagner. She got arrested in the Advent season for protesting inside an abortion clinic in Toronto.

I haven't been covering this because, in this blogger's opinion, the coverage has been mainly one-sided from LifeSiteNews, but more so, two bloggers who are RMTs and quite close allies with each other, and not from true journalists (including Catholic ones,) or bloggers who speak with authority, true respect, and thought on matters with the Mind of the Church in Toronto and/or Ontario (e.g. Fr. Raymond de Souza.) The coverage has become incessant in quantity, not of critical thinking, and bears a sensationalist "make un-harmonious noise" quality, vs. inspiring towards action. Also, this blog is more of a liturgical blog. However, I will address the RMT elements in the coverage of this issue.

The coverage of Mary's arrest until the article at the bottom of this post, gave more credence to the Holy Father's words last year in the America journal about micro-focusing on Abortion and other such causes. I will be a Glad Trad and give Francis the benefit of the doubt in what he said. He wasn't insulting those who do such work. He is not stupid about this moral evil and Traditional Catholic causes (unlike the sentiments of the Radicals and the RMTs,) and likely gets that a lot of Catholic youth are pro-life. He was likely tacking abortion in this interview from the perspective of making something else a sacred cow or going to extremes for something, over the whole totality of practicing the Catholic Faith. In fact, he has spoken out harshly against it, even accusing Europe of being a `grandmother` of sorts, likely thinking of contraception and abortion in mind with that `grandmother` speech. One can even think along the lines of extreme ``Martha-ism`` like his speech to clergy this past Advent.

If you want more depth to understanding that spiritually crippling mentality, I recommend the work of Benedictine Tertiary oblate, Mrs. Elizabeth Scalia, the "Anchoress" online. She`s even wrote a book about it called ``Strange Gods.`` for sale on her site.

However, with regards to the coverage of Mary's case, perhaps the Pope's words do apply here in those bloggers` cases. Christ seems to be shoved aside here for the sake of being inordinately angry at her imprisonment, bearing anti-law enforcement sentiments, and even using Mary's situation for the sake of launching another RMT assault at the 'corrupt, post-Vatican II Church and its bishops,`including out Eminence of Toronto, Thomas Cardinal Collins.

Not to mention, one of the two bloggers` coverage has gone far from the limits of being journalistic or highlighting the injustice of Mary Wagner, with the reigniting of personal feuds with a liberal, heretical priest by mentioning him by name, and local Catholic journalist/media personality Michael Coren, who has stated in his latest Cathoilc Register article of how Mary`s supporters are attacking him personally. These two bloggers are part of that cabal. At least the true supporters of Mary, the Polish people in the motherland of Poland, are going about things properly and showing support that one can clearly define as Catholic, and not laced with vitriol. Such personal vendettas are detracting from the importance of the main issue.

On the issue of bishops, even a commentator in one of the main blogger's postings has stated the following, which rings true for this current scenario (albeit seems to have been used for Toronto pro-life's past in the 60's-80's):

"Working WITH bishops always works better than denouncing them in print." [Or in this case, online text on your blogs.]

The anger inherent in the coverage of the issues combined with the quantity of posts and its clear, bias .... is quite above what is necessary to cover this situation. Further, the accusations launched by these two bloggers, again one more than the other, is quite exaggerated with an obvious bias.

So, reader, you or one of my major detractors/slanderers will likely say something with the mentality of, `Well I am not being silent! I will scream it to the hills until she is free! You are a Spawn of Satan Julian!`` If you want to do that, fine, go do it on your blogs, but do realize it actually might not be helping her cause. That won`t make even the more ``devout`` Catholic want to contribute to the pro-life cause, and also is embarrassing Traditional Catholics, as if we are these crazy pro-life zealots who scream obscenities in print and verbally (vulgar, and non-vulgar) like those pro-death counterparts. If anything it damages the Traditional Catholic movement as well as the abortion movement too, out of pure sensationalism.

However, do not assume I am implying some sort of spiritual defect in Mary Wagner's soul and mind. I am not. If she chooses freely with her own free will and her Catholic Faith to march into abortion clinics, that`s her free will to do that and let Christ be her judge upon death if it was not in accordance to His teachings. If her supporters and other pro-lifers admire her so much to do the same in solidarity and copy her actions straight in to jail, then I will not condemn that if it is their free will.

Personally, I wouldn't go so far as to do what Mary Wagner did, walking into an abortion clinic knowing of the laws and that it will end up in arrest. Such action should be a LAST resort, when all other civil and diplomatic means have been executed. Civil disobedience, even though there is a portion in our Catechism, is NOT the first strategy to employ against a moral situation or offence. Has one ever heard of prudence and temperance, of which prudence is the highest of the Cardinal virtues governing temperance, fortitude, and justice?

I must also state there are numerous other organizations and even religious orders that are doing pro-life work in the Church that are tackling the problem head on. Examples are Campaign Life Coalition (with its youth wing), the Aid to Women organization in Toronto, National Campus Life Network (NCLN), and the holy Sisters of Life. I even have acquaintances that are active officers in these organizations and have had the pleasure to have traveled to Ottawa for the March for Life with the Sisters alongside my companions at Newman Centre @ U of T.

To me, these organizations/groups are better local options or means to take part in the battle against abortion. If I wanted to be gung ho as a Catholic, I'd join with one of my colleagues and devote myself with as much fervor as they do. Oh, there are also areas NEAR the abortion clinics you can pray and speak to patients and hand out literature to, you know. Just ask some of those organizations how to do it. To me, these organizations and the March for Life, are making a greater impact and presence on the Pro-Life Movement, flush with young vibrant people, than these kinds of efforts. In fact, if you glance at the blogosphere, the naked truth is that every year, the amount of people at March for Life Ottawa increases!!!

So, allow me to end this little episode in Blogger-land by showing you what an example of high quality, proper Catholic journalism with the mind and heart of the Church on the issue is. Deborah Gyapong of the Catholic Register and other journalistic publications in Canada, has reported on Mary Wagner's imprisonment and done proper research and evaluation, including interviewing an eye-witness the day of her imprisonment. Her work has finally been released by a notable (read: balanced to conservative) catholic, mainstream media source called the "B.C. Catholic."

THE ARTICLE MAY BE FOUND HERE:  http://bccatholic.ca/component/content/article/1-latest-news/4646-mary-wagners-opposition-to-abortion-lands-her-in-prison-again.

It has been finally picked up by a major Catholic media source in Canada. One could say that the blogosphere's major gripes of "It's not getting press!" has been addressed. I would only hope that the coverage at this point forward becomes less of a griping and pushy nature, and more of modest updates on the situation. I, here as S.U.D., will not be covering such an issue in future. Abortion isn't one of my major focuses of this blog, though something of my friends who are involved in pro-life work might cross over (e.g. from Campaign Life Coalition) and I will happily promote my Glad Trad friends' work or efforts if need be on here.

Finally, I reiterate: It is a major embarrassment and shame that these bloggers, who are self-appointed leaders in the Latin Mass circles in the Archdiocese of Toronto and surrounding it, even actual leaders with positions in the Latin Mass, have once again chosen to waste their positions of "authority," time, and energy, into turning something true and valiant, into something personal and feeding some sort of beast, a beast that isn`t Catholic. By feeding these beasts, I am in disbelief that these people are representing "Traditional Catholicism." News flash, they are not, and do not, represent what Traditional Catholicism is truly about, and even young Catholic adults in the movement do not want to identify with this behaviour, not just myself. Then again, the expression is ``the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.`` Something good is easily turned into something evil when twisted with prideful vice.  I think Michael Cored in his article above for CR says it well:

``Could there be something personal, even needy, about all this? 

Michael may not be right on everything in the Catholic Faith, but in this case, his arguments are actually being bolstered due to the bloggers` behaviour online. He`s asking the strong questions and even nailing some things on the head. The quote above, is one of his proper questions he is asking, and is right-on in doing so. His question, is a great summation of my sentiments and commentary, in one sentence.

Now, that`s my twoonie in all this, and that`s all I`ve got to spend. I've got better ways to use my time as one involved (but never sickened in obsession) in participation in Traditional Catholicism, such as making posts on ... oh! Altar serving and the Latin Mass! There's still that Low Mass for one server and Acolyte post calling my name ....

Pax Tibi Christi. Julian Barkin.

P.S. Comments are off. I expect some blow back on the blog-o-sphere of the detracting and slanderous kind from my enemies. I await and expect your cannon fire. Don`t try anything with my e-mail either or my allies and friends.

It is time for a Good Old Glad Trad Laugh, Courtesy of Michael Coren

Hello Everyone,

Once again it is a new year. For certain vile bloggers on the Catholic Blog-o-sphere, it's back to normal business post holidays. Now, I could rant and rave and get angry, but instead, how about some good morrow and cheer, courtesy of that "heretic" Michael Coren!

I found this on one of my strolls down Internet Lane, and couldn't resist! It gave me many episodes of Lol! (for those of you living in 1962, in 2015, that means, "laughing out loud")

Nice to show your true colours Coren! We knew you were a flaming-pink liberal! 

Ha Ha Ha! Hope you Glad Trads enjoyed that one. Keep on smiling!

Pax, Julian. 

Deep, Spiritual Food for Thought, Thanks to Abbey Roads Blog

Hello Everyone,

Just wow on this one, courtesy of the Abbey Roads blog of Terry Nelson, and further credit to pre-Vatican II French Theologian Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange. O.P. (Dominican):

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Problems in the blogosphere some spiritual persons miss ...

Big mistake...

THE TENDENCY TO DERISION

Among the causes of tepidity in retarded souls, the tendency to derision should be particularly noted. St. Thomas speaks of the derider when he discusses the vices opposed to justice: insult, detraction, murmuring against the reputation of our neighbor. He points out that to deride or to ridicule someone, is to show that we do not esteem him; and derision, says the saint, may become a mortal sin if it affects persons or things that deserve high esteem. It is a grievous sin to ridicule the things of God, or our parents, or superiors, or good persons who lead a virtuous life. Derision may even become very grievous by reason of its consequences, for it may turn weak souls forever away from the practice of good. Job replied to his friends: "He that is mocked by his friends as I, shall call upon God; and He will hear him. For the simplicity of the just man is laughed to scorn."  But it is also said of deriders: "He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them."  The terrible irony of heaven will chastise that of earth. 

The derider is himself a retarded soul, holding others back and becoming, often without being aware of it, the instrument of the spirit of evil. His cast of soul, which is the direct opposite of evangelical simplicity, is the one most opposed to supernatural contemplation. The derider, who wishes "to play the rogue," ridicules the just man who tends truly to perfection; he emphasizes the latter's defects and depreciates his good qualities. Why is this? Because he feels that he himself has little virtue, and he is unwilling to admit his inferiority. Then, out of spite, he lessens the real and fundamental value of his neighbor and the necessity of virtue itself. He may greatly harm weak souls which he intimidates, and, while working his own ruin, he may labor at their perdition. - Three Ages of the Interior Life; Part II, Ch 37 

A big fat hat tip to you, Terry Nelson. Man I did not know you can get into some deep spiritual muck with all this. This is clearly one for all of us blogging online. 

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.  

More Info on that Sung Low Mass Stuff

Hello Everyone,

When I did my report for St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir's recent Christ the King Low Mass with proper liturgical music within the Liturgy, I had mentioned the amount of servers used in our Mass. I had put a note in about a certain phrase here, knowing that some Pharisees would have the equivalent of a liturgical brain hemmorhage at the sight of this:

*  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.

This note was intentional, because, there are sick and sour people, a sizable minority (NOT the majority) who are part of the Roman Rite attending these Latin Masses, worldwide, including in my Archdiocese. This sizable minority, having obsessive-compulsive tendencies about the liturgical rules and regulations of the Latin Mass and their Faith and general, get angry and go about complaining and slandering people when something isn't done exactly as it is on page CXXIII of ' the Latin Mass Ultimate Rubrical Guide for All Time by Fr. Fancy Pants Lace-Lover in 1955. This is not a real book, but I hope you got a chuckle out of it, and my point.

On a positive note, this tends less to be those of my generation (Gen Y-ers and Millenials) and younger. The youth do not bear these grudges as much, or not at all.

While yes, some Pharisees did have a liturgical brain hemorrhage on that, the main factor of the hemorrhage was NOT necessarily having 3 servers at a Low Mass. The main cause was that the SPGC Mass was a "Sung Low Mass".

Last week, a blogger who is a self-appointed (read, non-official in terms of Church/Archdiocesan authority and/or NOT a part of the Magisterium,) leader of a Latin Mass community in the Archdiocese of Toronto, decided to chime up on the question of whether a Low Mass can be "sung." In loathing on his personal blog he claims in his years of experience, there is NO existence of a sung low Mass, and chose on the blog of his Latin Mass community to "educate" (read: gloat about to) wayward readers and members of his society, a more detailed explanation using part of what was a post not archived anywhere (read: publicly viewable under the blog archives with the date of December 1, 2013). Not to mention an insult was directed to myself and my serving allies about "educating" us on things dealing with the EF. Thanks, O exalted one. (and no, I am NOT referring to YOU as a Christ figure in a positive manner.)

However, in communication with other trusted allies in the Latin Mass circles I run with over this turn of events, one of them yielded to me an interesting piece of electronically-recorded literature in the form of a pdf. file. Upon searching where this came from, I found out this is actually a part of an old issue of a journal that was once kept by the Church Music Association of America. One may view their site, as well as archived issues of their journals here:
http://musicasacra.com/journal/caecilia/.

I think that the Chant Cafe forums online AND Fr. Zuhlsdorf have mentioned this association. Regardless, when it comes to liturgical music, this site is no promoter of John Michael Talbot and other Praise and Worship artists! This is a good, balanced, orthodox musicians' association who strives to promote liturgical music in TRUE accordance with Vatican II, while respecting that of our liturgical tradition in the Roman Rite.

The PDF file is a Question and Answer section of an issue of the "Caecilia" from September 1937, which is WAY before any changes in the 20th century for the Latin Mass. One may read the article here: http://media.musicasacra.com/publications/caecilia/1937_09_caecilia.pdf
on pages 363-364. The page was headed by a "Very Reverend Gregory Hugle, O.S.B" (The Order of St. Benedict). I invite you to read it in full for yourself, but I will summarize the notes of the article in point form:

• At a Low Mass, parts mentioned in Latin CAN BE SUNG, though the Gloria intonation should be sung by the choir. 
• In the Latin Mass/EF, the parts in Latin (e.g. prayers, Priest parts, not necessarily the hymns/chants in the traditional "4 part sandwich" areas) are NOT to be sung in the vernacular. 
• Any parts of the Propers (e.g. Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory, Communion) CAN be sung in Latin 
• In General, at the Low Mass in the EF, 
• The people or Choir CAN sing (w/the Bishop's permission) prayers (general hymns of adoration, Faith, Love, etc.) or hymns composed in the vernacular in honor of the Saint or Mystery celebrated on that day. 
• Hymns that are in the Latin (e.g. the Te Deum, Tantum Ergo) are NOT to be sung in the vernacular
• A solemn entrance procession can be done during the Introit, by means of Vatican Graduale provision, With that procession, one CAN sing the antiphonal part of the Introit (part with repeats), after the Psalm verse, after the Gloria Patri, and after the Sicut erat. 
• For sacred hymns (not "pilgrim songs'), multiple stanzas can be sung to completion of the hymn, with a basis in reasoning being docrtinal, that a hymn sets forth the Catholic doctrine, appeals to the human heart and colcludes with appropriate petitions. It's a prayer that should be sung in it's entirety.  

So needless to say, just one person's viewpoint, particularly without consultation of any other documents outside of major rubric books, nor that of any current priest with sound knowledge of the liturgy (of which, we are just beginning to rediscover its rules, its practice, and even back then, appears to have guideline rules with acceptable, legal deviations or allowance for local customs, from the written text on the page,) fully answers the questions posed. Taking such an attitude in writing and in person, makes assumptions of the answer when it possibly, might only be partial, or wrong. 

People can have false notions of how things should (not absolutely HAVE TO) be done regarding the Extraordinary Form liturgy. If anything, reading this article has taught me that contrary to one blogger's take on the liturgical question, the Low Mass DOES NOT have to be "quiet." 

Might I also add it a shame that some laity, leaders, organizers, etc. who take part in the EF have a rigid understanding or preference of the EF liturgy, including what should happen at each level of the Mass. Such an attitude detracts from the mystical experience of the Mass of All Time, and does not enhance the spiritual richness of such an experience. If anything, such attitudes betray the Mind of the Church, leads one to a cold perspective of their own religion (and projects it to others in contact with them), and might be just the tip of the iceberg, a slippery slope that leads to further hardening of their "hearts," maybe even further damaging things to their soul. This of course, is if attitudes also cross over to their doctrinal/theological stance on items in the Church. 

As my final note, while this posting mainly pertains to the choir aspects of the EF liturgy, this can also stretch in a similar approach as it can relate to serving the Latin Mass. Not everything is "set in stone" on the page as it were, that each server does only X, Y, and Z at each Mass level, and cannot deviate from the rubrics, lest it be a spiritual crime to our Lord. 

In the end, will Jesus judge us at the time our deaths in an unfavourable light, because some rubric on a page wasn`t followed to exact proportions? Or because one extra server was added to a Latin Low Mass, or the server had to so something outside their role in necessity or to assist another server (e.g. the MC?) Does this make the Mass INVALID and thus Christ is not Consecrated in the Sacred Species??? I am sure you can answer these questions, fair readers. Hope this was a bit of food for thought for you. 

Pax, Julian. 

Some Aesop's Fables for Whited Sepulchres

Some Aesop's Fables from a friend of mine. Pax, Julian.

The Eagle, the Jackdaw and the Shepherd
An eagle, dropping suddenly from a high rock, carried off a lamb. A jackdaw saw this, was smitten by a sense of rivalry and determined to do the same. So, with a great deal of noise, he pounced upon a ram. But his claws merely got caught in the thick ringlets of the lamb’s fleece, and no matter how frantically he flapped his wings, he was unable to get free and take flight.

Finally, the shepherd bestirred himself, hurried up to the jackdaw and got hold of him.  He clipped the end of his wings and, when evening fell, he carried him back for his children. The children wanted to know what sort of bird this was.

So the shepherd replied, “As far as I can see, it’s a jackdaw, but it would like to think it’s an eagle!”

Source: http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/townsend/250.htm

The Vain Crow

A crow, as vain and conceited as only a crow can be, picked up the feathers that some peacocks had shed and stuck them among his own. Then he scoffed at his old companions and joined a flock of beautiful peacocks. After introducing himself with great self-confidence, the crow was immediately recognized for the pretender he was, and the peacocks stripped him of the borrowed plumes. Moreover, they battered him with their beaks and sent him about his business.

The unlucky crow, sorely punished and deeply regretful, rejoined his former companions and wanted to mix with them again as if nothing had happened.  But they recalled the airs he had assumed and drove him from their flock.

At the same time, one of the crows whom he had recently snubbed gave him a short lecture: “Had you been satisfied with your own feathers, you would have escaped the punishment of your betters and also the contempt of your equals.”

Source: http://mindflight.me/aesops-fables-the-vain-crow-2/ 

Puffed up with Pride and Slanderous Over Wee Little Nuts ....

RED FLAG POST! READ MY BLOG RULES! DO NOT ABUSE COMMENTS OR EMAIL, EVEN SLIGHTLY. ONE ABUSE AND I CLOSE THEM, AND PUBLICALLY BAN YOU.

 

Yep .... The Radical Catholic Reactionaries are at it again, ruining the Latin Mass as usual and kicking out and insulting the impure ones ....

Hello Everyone,

It has come to my attention that a certain aficionado, who should know better in their position as a leader in the Latin Mass, and as a member of a popular Catholic charitable organization I am also a member of, has decided once again to be passive-aggressive and insult the good work of myself and others who hold the Latin Mass in the Archdiocese of Toronto.

While I won`t give a name here, this person, and their allies, should know who they are, though anyone else reading can feel free to investigate this for their own. Personally, this time, I will not stand for it. Should that person want to make themselves known, go ahead.

First, thanks to this individual for ``educating`` those who care about the Latin Mass (ummmm .... the majority of everyday Catholics do not go to the EF and go to the Novus Ordo ....) and get involved in it anywhere in this Archdiocese. However this self-made liturgist`s ``lesson`` is not merely educational, but a slanderous, smack in the face to myself and those who organize, serve the Holy Mass in the Latin Rite in this Archdiocese. Where has he attacked myself and my allies who serve the TLM?

1) The blogger has stated that the rubrics for the EF are narrower, and that it is a solemn duty to stick to them. What is implied here is the first slanderous attack. Because we did not stick to the rubrics to a "T", the priest, the servers, and the choir, are assumed to have caused what would be equivalent to a mockery of Christ and perhaps, going to far as to imply (not literally write) us of causing a mortal sin in the statement. I find it quite odd that when there are Christian brethen getting slaughtered by a religion the blogger considers of Satan, that he would equate the addition of one more server outside of the rubrics to be equivalent to a spiritual crime. There are bigger "demons" attacking the Church to slay here, and no I do not mean the Muslims.

Was Christ still validly and licitly present in that Mass, and consecrated into the Body and Blood of Christ? YES! Was a sacrilege against Christ committed in having the 3rd server? NO! Does anyone else care but the picked-faced people that Pope Francis refers to? Not at all. There are clearly greater moral and vicious matters at hand in our Catholic world to get "righteously" angry about vs. something as petty as this. Thanks for reinforcing the stereotype of the "Angry trad" who cares only for specific things and showing the world what Latin Mass people are about. Converts to the Latin Mass after the posting on a Latin Mass society's blog maintained by the blogger ... (drum roll please) ... 0! 

2) The very fact that this wonderful post had to appear on the Latin Mass organization`s blog, shows again a lack of servant leadership and direction, rather instead it is one of the cruelty and harshness of the Pharisees` of Jesus time. In other words, the lack of practice of the example and mission of our Lord, Jesus Christ. By smearing such disgust with what we do, you are airing ``dirty laundry`` publicly on the web and embarrassing your organization.

For those of you who are part of the society, are you not ashamed at the "leadership" of your executive and its presidency? Are you not embarrassed at how the stereotypes of people who are Traditional Catholics/Latin Mass goers keeps being repeated here? Will you stand by idly and say nothing while those who represent your spiritual interests throw it away on actions NOT of Christ's doing? Perhaps before the end of this year, you should seriously pray and ponder over the questions I have asked. Is there something you can do to make things more charitable and profitable for the sake of the Latin Mass in general, and in the Archdiocese of Toronto?

Regardless, this is uncouth behaviour, not fitting of Catholic gentlemen or ladies, of any age, especially those who attend and assist in the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite. A Catholic of good moral fiber and practicing virtue, would have restrained from such practice by applying the virtues of Prudence and Temperance. Might I also add that this does NOT look good on that Latin Mass society, and will only serve as negative public relations? What priest or parish in their right mind wants to hire a Latin Mass choir who loves to insult their own kind on a daily basis?

This was clearly NOT an issue of grave morality or offense to Holy Mother Church, nor an attack of Satanic nature to wound Christ, nor something that would cause the loss of faith in those who are part of the Church Militant. If it was absolutely necessary to discuss this issue, it could have be taken up privately, with those who organize the Latin Masses in our Archdiocese including the priests involved (and perhaps even our wonderful ++Collins too, who`s quite enjoyable to socialize with,) perhaps over a round of beers and cigars and fine food. And lest such leaders refuse to consult with you do to past offenses, how hard would it be to just leave it alone, and simply continue with one`s own way? We are just small bit players in the Grand Divine scheme of things, with me just being a mere 31 year old altar server with a blog that gets few hits and readers. Why worry?

When one smears dirty laundry like this publically, all someone has done is give more fuel to the fire for those elements of the Church, even those who are pro-Latin Mass, to have (misguided or purposely abusive) credence, to banish the Latin Mass under the Franciscan pontificate. Archdiocese offices do get word about such our activities online, you know, even direct emails from the lay faithful. And (arch)bishops and Cardinals DO read them.  

3) To throw these rubics in the face of us, is not only insulting to us, but also is slanderous against the Holy alter christi, who celebrate the EF Masses. You are directly insulting the EF priests!!!

A good friend of mine in our circles, informed me that in the past when the FSSP had sent Fr. Venette to the archdiocese of Toronto to do the FSSP mission, he DID use more than two servers for what was a sung Mass in the EF. They were NOT always at the level of the traditional "Missa Cantata." The chastising individual WAS around at the time of that priest's tenure here and even attended Fr. Venette's Masses. If this is a violation of the rubrics, why then, did they NOT (to my knowledge) approach Fr. Venette and "educate" him on the rubrics of the EF, something an FSSP priest should have been thoroughly educated and trained in? Was it maybe because that individual was not in a position of self-important power, and wasn't at the level he is now in terms of involvement in the Latin Mass? Could it be that the person's allies view us as competition and a threat? hmmmm ....

Furthermore, when the Latin Masses, particularly at special feast days are held at St. Lawrence the Martyr without requested assistance (that is, they do not ask any of the lay choirs for help, including serving help directly) they have done a quasi-sung Mass, or a Low Mass with sung chant, with more than two servers. We did this only with a cantor for Christmas Day Mass in 2012. Please see here as a reminder of my report. Perhaps this legalistic individual would be so inclined as to "politely" address Fr. Steven Szakaczki, (ho has assisted with ALL Latin Mass groups in our archdiocese) or even, pay him a personal visit to "educate" him that to have more than two servers for a Low Mass with sung music is a violation of his solemn duty to administer Mass as a Priest of Jesus Christ. This is what the individual is implying without realizing.

4) This shaming post includes additional information dated December 1, 2013, yet the posting cannot be found on the blogger`s society website, nor the blogger`s personal blog, in archives. This shows they took down the post at some point. This is not the first occasion of covering one`s detracting and/or slanderous evidence on both blogs.

Considering that in the Novus Ordo (that other wonderful form which isn't your cup of tea), the Feast of Christ the King was celebrated, and in Year A it's Matthew 25, the parable about the sheep and the goats, wouldn't it be more fitting as a role model of our faith, to balance your faith with works (cf. James 2), and tend to Christ's brothers and sisters, including fellow Latin Mass Catholics, instead of wasting your breath on tongue-in-cheek insults?

And finally, if the blogger has no authority, nor their society as it were, to be the authority on the Latin Mass, then, what right do you even have to post something like that in the first place when your intention was to slander and detract those who do not serve your self-standards of the Latin Mass or what is ``proper?" Have you ever heard the expression, perhaps that one's mother would teach them, "If you can't say anything nice, it is better not to say anything at all." If you have no authority on liturgical or faith matters, unlike the Magisterium of the Church, how can we regard anything you say as "authoritative" to begin with? Why should one listen then to what is said?

To the readers, at this point, I ask you,  do you think that, publically on the web or in person, it is appropriate to speak to an individual or group of individuals in such a manner, particularly priests, about such minutia in the scope of things? Hopefully you see my point.

.... or have revolted at the sharp, nasty point of his. 



I think that the best way to end this is with the Words of the Holy Father himself, from earlier this month on November the 10th. In his daily fervorino, he talks about scandal in the faith, along with commitment to the Catholic faith and obligation to go to Mass. The final paragraph of the summary on Radio Vaticana, is quite telling about the spiritually sick situation that has been unleashed on the web this past evening, the 23rd of November, 2014. Perhaps, this individual, should listen to our Holy Father, particularly in this direct English translation of his Homily`s end:

"Without faith you cannot live without scandal and always forgiving. Only the light of faith, the faith that we have received: the faith of a merciful Father, a Son who gave His life for us, a Spirit that is within us and helps us grow, faith in the Church, faith in the people of God, baptized and holy. And this is a gift, faith is a gift. No one with books, going to conferences, can have faith. Faith is a gift of God that comes to you and this why the Apostles asked Jesus, 'Increase our faith!' ".

All readers, please pray for these people, who take on the false mantle of Pharicism in their ``leadership```, that they may realize that their behaviour wounds their brother and sister in Christ, and will only serve to aid the Devil in his bloodthirsty quest to dissolve the Church on Earth, via the loss of individuals to mortal sins and obstinacy in sin. They drive away not the money lenders from the temple but the observant and faithful.

May God grant us even more, an increase in our Faith, and that we might, particularly with this upcoming liturgical season of Advent, EF (and OF), forgive our brethren for what they do in their quest for the practice of the One True Faith, and as Christ desired, hope that someday, we may all be united as one.

Pax Tibi Christ, Julian.

Highlight: Commentator "Grumpy Beggar" on Fr. Z's Post for Burke's "Demotion" or Transfer to Malta

Hello Everyone.

I ask that in light of some of the other calamities abound in our Church, read my posts the recent SSPX bans in two dioceses in parts one and two, with my take on it (which is in essence, against Radical Traditionalism, and not necessarily in favour of the bishops' motivations themselves.)

No sooner does one crisis hit the fan for the Radical Traditionalists, than they get all in a tizzy over a new (yet not unknown) problem. It's official: Pontifical Latin Mass-saying (in full cappa magna and gloves) Cardinal Burke, is not holding any more key positions in the Curia and will be the Patron of the Order of the Knights of Malta. See here for Fr. Z's posting on the matter. Some other bishop is replacing him as the prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, though we do not know his track record. Fr Z at that link gives his most charitable assessment of the transfer as he can ... which doesn't say much.

What do I gotta say about it? The writing was on the wall, and it was just awaiting an official notice. Generally speaking to the Radical Catholic Reactionaries: yeah, one of your precious "Trad Heroes" (My Term! Get my permission before using it!), got booted due to 'big bad mean ol' liberal Francis' papacy'. Wah Wah Wah. Go cry me a river and stop creating lies about His Holiness.

Now, does it affect me at the ground level in the Archdiocese of Toronto with regard to carrying out the Latin Mass, or my spiritual salvation? No. Worldwide, it might give weaker-minded bishops a non-official "permission" as it will to hate on Trads and the Latin Mass more. I know that His Eminence, Cardinal Collins is not that kind of bishop! On the contrary, he's respectful to the Latin Mass, as long as the foolish Trads Behaving Badly and the laity don't screw things up!

More importantly, what we need is to have a proper perspective, thinking with the mind of the Church and in a spirit of benefit of the doubt. We need to keep hope alive! So allow me to share some excellent commentary from the comment box of the Fr. Z post above from a "Grumpy Beggar" who shows us how to take ++Burke's re-arrangement in stride:

Grumpy Beggar says:
8 November 2014 at 12:11 pm

C’mon guys , Father Z just did requiems.

” The language is at best confused, and I’m afraid that some of the Synod Fathers may not have reflected sufficiently on the implications of that, or maybe because the language is confused, didn’t understand completely what was being said.”

Would it help, even if we could find out the origin and particularly the identity of every single person who had a hand in formulating the actual text of the documents/reports – all of them : initial, interim and final ? Or, would we then just have an object that we could hate ?

“The language is at best confused,” indeed. And I would personally need to do an enormous amount of mental gymnastics before I could ever begin to believe that the wording – or at least critical parts of it, had not been engineered with the intention of rendering such results ; namely, confusion.

If , in fact , as Cardinal Burke suggests, ” some of the Synod Fathers may not have reflected sufficiently on the implications of that, or maybe because the language is confused. . . “ then who better to “un-confuse” them than a straight-shooter who clearly sees where the confusion lies (double entendre) ? Especially , a straight shooter who has just been unleashed.

Fr Z said:
“. . . now that Card. Burke is no longer the Prefect of a Dicastery, he is far freer to act and to speak than he was before.”

So, perhaps he is being positioned at this time so that in speaking more freely he may wake up the general comatose Catholic public, and more importantly some of those sleepy-head brothers of his . . . What a revolutionary idea: Re-evangelizing (some of) the Curia. Just think . . . Cardinal Burke just might be able to jump both Cardinal Kasper and his mentor-Hans Kung at their own game.

And we need to take solace – be reminded that Cardinal Pell , Cardinal Ouellette , and some others are also true sons of the Holy Catholic Church who don’t get fooled by any amount or style of sophistry.

It’s still premature IMO to hit the panic button . Didn’t our Lord say there would be “ravenous wolves” coming into the flock. And St. Peter forewarned us quite matter-of-factly in his second Letter :

” There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who ransomed them . . . ” [2 Peter 2:1]

. . . Anybody audaciously dim enough to believe that what Cardinal Burke has been doing recently is tantamount to denying the Master who ransomed him . . . ? Of course not – he’s defending the truth with clarity. That in itself , doesn’t really reflect so well on anyone who is condemning him , or who would wish to stifle him. Perhaps there is some plausibility in proposing that the Bishop of Rome feels he would have less use for Cardinal Burke in his plans ? Whatever the case, it’s evident to us that our Blessed Lord also has His plan(s) ; and didn’t He say, “My ways are not your ways” ? (I know, I know . . . some of us are thinking, “Well then maybe God could send that same sentiment to Pope Francis in the form of a registered letter.”)

It happened.

So , don’t worry – be grumpy ! And most of all, we mustn’t stop praying !

Think about it . . . look at all the umm, wonderful (oww – it hurt my fingers to type that word) things Cardinal Kasper has accomplished recently – and he’s officially retired . . . I think a good Cardinal – unleashed and armed with the truth might easily be able to dwarf those accomplishments with a few more of his own.

Let’s watch and see. . . Remember what happened when they put St. Peter in prison ? Remember what happened leading up to the event of his release ? .

“Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf.”
[Acts 12:5]

We need to see this as our call to prayer (persevering prayer) once the lament is over.

Doesn't sound so grumpy, no? I'd say this is a good perspective to listen to, unlike the sour sack diatribes of the angry Radical Catholic Reactionaries, a.k.a. Trads Behaving Badly. 

Pax, Julian. 

REPOST: Commentary on the Proclamations Against Banning of Laity from SSPX Worship Centers on the Internet Part 2: My Two Cents

The following is a repost due to text formatting problems between my e-mail and Blogger in creating posts.

My take on these matters

After all this, here is my take on the issue, based on my status within the Latin Mass in the archdiocese of Toronto, as well as a young adult male.

As to the canonical arguments, I say that the analysis and literal defense using canon law is logical. The consultation was proper and done correctly.

Practically speaking however, in respectful disagreement to these organizations, and any other allies of mine (or even, enemies,) I do not support the criticism outright. On the ACTION alone, not the motivations of the bishops accused, I am actually in favour of the bans of the faithful from the SSPX chapels for various reasons:

1) The message to the lay faithful that rebellion against OHCA Church is unacceptable for any reason: 
Plain and simple, the SSPX and their lay faithful are in NON-HOLY disobedience to Holy Mother Church, despite the use of a valid liturgy and following every "t"radiation with the EF liturgy and adhering to older catechisms such as Baltimore.

Such disobedience to Rome and disparaging of the Post-Vatican II popes is prideful disobedience a la Satan, "a non-Serviam," as it were. Most lay Catholics do not know of the spiritual dangers and possibility of schism that awaits them upon participating in their Pseudo-catholic life. It is essentially, Protestant (in what they do,) to quote a Latin mass priest one diocese over from us. If you are curious who, it is Fr. Paul Nicholson, though I do not support him because of associations with Radical Catholic Reactionaries (e.g. Michael Voris), despite the good and holy work he does as a priest. (Sorry, no links. search for him yourself.)

Let an analogy make more sense of what I am saying here: If I knew that there was a lake with sharks in the middle, and if I put myself in a boat on that lake, knowing the current will eventually drift me to that middle, to do so would be personally irresponsible of my life. If I was watching someone get into a boat on that same lake, knowing it would drift to the center of that lake where the sharks are, but that person did NOT know of the sharks, and there is no lifeguard already, it would be my responsibility to ensure the safety of that person and warn him, "Hey don't get in that boat! there's sharks in that lake and the currents are too strong and will draw you to where they are!" To not do so or to absolutely not care about that person would cost him his life, and I would sin by omission of not letting that person know of the sharks.

The same goes for one's spiritual salvation, and our true ``life,`` the soul. Why, for our bishops to slack off and NOT stop laypeople from drifting into those shark infested waters is gravely irresponsible and a millstone around the weakly catechized laity.

Banning the SSPX attendance to me is a valid action on its own, in that it will prevent laity from being suckered into spiritual death, foolishly hypnotized by the physical trappings of a "c" atholic life, while sinking further and further into schismatic actions, after being brainwashed by the leaders of the SSPX, and other like-minded drones of the Society who have ``drank the kool-aid`` as it were.

2) Because there are ever more increasing options for Latin Masses worldwide, making the argument that they provide what the Church is lacking, null. 
Alright, now before you turn your plowshares into implements of violence to be aimed at me, I get that not every diocese in the world has a Latin Mass, or bishops that at least look the other way when a Latin Mass is put on. However, offerings are gradually increasing of all levels of the Mass, even pontifical. Look around the traditionalist sites on the Internet, especially with this month's solemnities of All Saints/All Souls. While there needs to be an increase of more offerings in good geographical distance to the faithful, especially daily at accessible times (e.g. the evening), you CANNOT say under the Franciscan pontificate that he is killing the Latin Mass.

If that were so, he would have issued a motu proprio that would reverse Summorum Pontificum, or stacked the PCED with Liberals if he was so inclined. So while pre-Summorum Pontificum, the SSPX were the ones selling the "product" before, (the Mass of course is NOT a consumer product! But I am using a cruel business analogy to convey my idea,) the SSPX now have little to no credence to their "emergency situation" of the Catholic Faith in the liturgy anymore.

You might be inclined to argue, "well, there isn't a diocesan Latin Mass near me save a 2 hour drive. SSPX is 20 min away from me, so your a jerk Julian!" Well Trad Behaving Badly,when it comes to that argument, sorry to be blunt, but YOU ARE WRONG. You are to fulfill your obligation, whenever, wherever you can, at a Catholic Church in communion with Rome, in a valid and licit liturgical rite. If it is the choice between Fr. Liberal weenie's, fluffy bunny, Novus Ordo, a Methodist Church, and a SSPX chapel, you suffer through the banal liturgy of Fr. Liberal's Church  and offer it up to Christ. As long as major violations aren't made, and the basic conditions are met, it's a liturgy to fulfill your obligation. Also, St. Louis Jesuit tunes and a priest with "showman" like qualities in his character and preaching, are NOT valid and licit reasons to attend the SSPX liturgies.

Only in the most extreme scenario, such as this would it be acceptable to attend the SSPX for Sunday obligation: A vacation for a work-related conference in Las Vegas, and you are stuck at the cheap desert strip motel, you can't travel by car and are forced to use public transit. The next, nearest, Catholic church is 1.5 hours away by car, and it's either: the United Church, the Evangelical mega-Church, or the SSPX church. Then fine, you can go to the SSPX chapel ONLY to fulfill your obligation, NOT to consume its Eucharist (unless you are truthfully ignorant of their full situation) and participate in the livelihood of the Society. Do you get it? Extreme scenario here! This is NOT the norm for many of the Catholic faithful worldwide!!!

3) This shows that the Radical Traditionalist way, is an extreme barrier to the success of the Church's mission to evangelize, and that we must be Glad Trads in order to further the spread of the Latin Mass: 
How can I put this? Most prelates are anywhere from OK to gung ho about it. They cannot outright ban it, and realize that to do so would show outrage and reveal their true colours, resulting in a bureaucratic and public relations nightmare for the Church in the age of the Internet at the hands of the conservatives and Radical Traditionalist Catholics. However, even among more "neutral" to pro-Latin Mass clergy and bishops, one can generally agree and/or infer from even Internet coverage, they want nothing to do with the radical traditionalists who take every chance to be "chicken littles" spouting calumnies, detractions, and slanderous things in person and on-line. This includes the clergy and those in the episcopacy in the Archdiocese of Toronto, all the way up to the Vatican itself
under Pope Francis.

If there is one recurring theme in Pope Francis' homilies or fervorinos from the daily Masses it is that being a religious Pharisee is unacceptable in the Church and stifles the proclamation of the Good News. Further, I can personally attest to this, these radical traditionalists and attendees of hardened hearts, do NOTHING GOOD for promoting the Latin Mass, and only drive these prelates further to stifle it in any way possible. They might appear pious at face value, but their actions in person and their writings only garner negative attention, and paint a broad brushstroke over Traditional Catholics and Latin Mass goers as vile people.

The truth is far from it! However these self-appointed "high priests" of the movement don't care what happens to other Latin Mass goers! They continue to disparage even good Traditionalists and clergy, all for some self-imposed militant agenda. Was it not in the 2nd Letter to James that St. Paul quoted, "Faith without works is dead?" and elsewhere in the Bible, that "by their fruits you shall know them?"

So to me, should the bishops` motivations be deceitful, they should be chastized and penalized for abusing their magisterial authority in the church to cause further division. If not they have done a great service in in protecting the lay faithful. At least, it tells the general uneducated populace that "Hey! These guys are spiritual bad news! They aren't the good Trads! Stay away from them and go seek out the right Trads who are carrying the Good News of the Lord to fruition." Let us pray it`s not the former for their motivations.

If this is with good intention, then this is exactly what I want to see in my Church of mercy! I want to see prelates and laity telling these fake/hypocriticial/slanderous/pharisical, etc. Trads that your actions are contrary to the Gospel and that the Latin Mass is NOT a political football to be lobbied at both true, and perceived/false heretics, as a nuclear bomb! 

Further, as a young person, I HATE, I repeat, I HATE bullying, harassment, and disparaging attitudes and comments, from those who are, or think, they are superior to us. My generation will NOT tolerate such garbage and are not afraid to vocalize our displeasure. Some of those disgusting comments are, for example, to women, that they should not wear pants, or that they are taking away jobs in the Church from men. Online, constant accusations of heresy, sinfulness of other people up to the Holy Father, shows us that you are disgusted to be in the Church, and then why should we give you any respect or authority in return, when you lack any ability to be humble and in servitude to others?

For those of weak faith, they WILL NEVER COME OVER when you show such false example of the Catholic Faith. For those of us involved in the Latin Mass or of strong faith, I will protect my good and noble young brethen,and purposely NOT send them to your Latin Masses, or communities I know poisoned by Radical Catholic Reactionaries or sourpuss parishioners!

If you are like that with the Latin Mass, we will never come. New converts to the Latin Mass .... 0!  Good noble Catholics or the unconverted remaining where they are .... millions and counting.

Therefore, the way and the example we need to give is inherent in these actions. We must avoid acting like the disobedient SSPX and their supporters who consider them "good friends." Crediting the SSPX with keeping the Latin Mass alive, and knowing they are Catholics on paper, (though are considered Christian brethen like other non-canonical or non-communion Christians) is as much credit we should give them until the Vatican says other-wise. But go no further unlike the poor example of their R.C.R. ``friends.``

Rather ... we should act Gladly! Joyfully! In union in mind, body, and soul with the Magisterium and the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, Roman Catholic Church! If that means not supporting Radical Traditionalist blogs, Latin Mass organizations with noted and/or known, spiritually dark influences, and going and supporting Glad Trad ones, so be it!It is better that these actions are done, than to stick one's head in the sand with the radicals, or not support the Latin Mass at all.

Conclusion

And thus ends my lengthy but needed opinion on these bans. I do like the ultimate inner message that these bans send to the average lay faithful, in protection of their souls. However, should it be true that the bishops did it in spite and not solely to protect the faithful, then they have committed errors of judgement in their part, and abused their authority, without checking the existing Church laws.

Still, I support the deeper message behind it, that it once again signals where we as a Church MUST take, and deal with, the Latin Mass, in order for it to be a fruitful part of the New Evangelization, and not a divider that splits the temple in two, wielded not by those whom are thinking with the mind of the Church. It all depends on how we approach it, and that we do not allow the sins of the Devil to take over us and corrupt the beautiful treasure, "re-furbished" to us by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Keep on being Glad Trads everyone and fighting in the right ways for the Latin Mass!

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.

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