Modern Catholic churches are ugly says Vatican Museum chief

VATICAN MUSEUM DIRECTOR Antonio Paolucci today criticised contemporary-style churches for lacking “form” and harked back to the Baroque era when he said that shrines embodied religious faith.  [The buildings should evoke a sense that it is a house of worship, not some ghastly grotesque building with irregular shapes!]

Award-winning architect Richard Meier’s Church of God the Merciful Father in Rome (pictured) “could just as well be a museum in Texas or an auditorium in Melbourne”, he wrote in the Vatican’s official Osservatore Romano daily.

Paolucci, who is also the head of cultural heritage for the Vatican, said what was lacking in these structures was the “church form”.

“The beautiful, functional, symbolically efficient building that can serve as a model still does not exist, or at least I have not found it,” he said.

Paolucci said that religious faith in Russia survived through 70 years of Communist atheism thanks to the many churches that were preserved.  [The beautiful Russian Orthodox churches survived the communist regime!  Now it is different!  The beautiful churches cannot survive the hysteria of priests, religious and bishops of the Catholic Church barking mad the so-called Spirit of Vatican II!]

The Vatican official said he spoke about the matter with Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno and the cardinal vicar of Rome Agostino Vallini this week at the presentation of a book illustrating 45 new churches built in the Italian capital since 2000.

Paolucci is not the first Vatican voice to criticise contemporary churches.

Vatican culture chief Gianfranco Ravasi has said many modern churches are “inhospitable” and even compared them to “pretentious and vulgar houses” that were as alienating as a concert hall.


***

I once talked to a priest who saw a new massive church built.  He belonged to a religious order.  I told him how beautiful the church was, trying to be polite and all, but in my opinion the church is massively ugly.

The elderly priest said "Brother!  This church is ugly!  It is too ugly to be called a Catholic Church! Too ugly to be called an auditorium!  And to beautiful to be called a gymnasium!  You know why?!  Most gyms don't have a resurrected Christ and marble stage!"

Taj Mahoney fever!!!!

This is the former cathedral of Los Angeles, Sta. Vibiana.

And this is the new cathedral, Our Lady of the Angels, aka Taj Mahoney

Which looks like a house of worship for you, huh?

Don't be fooled!

It is not just the exterior that is suspect!  Most eco-friendly and feminist nuns like to "design" their chapels and altars with lots of plants and jars.

NEW AGE ALERT!

If I find the photos I'll share them with you soon.

Here is one example!

Shared by a friend.  Our Lady of Grace in Caloocan City.  I heard that a nun, a member of the Oblates of Notre Dame "designed" this.

Is this another expression of Maria Makiling or what?!  See that jar lying on its side?  Made me laugh.  Hahahaha!!!

Guess where...

Great before and after shots.

How a renovation should REALLY look like.

See the trend?

From the super simplistic, modernist design to regaining the sense of the sacred.

More of this for our chapels, oratories and churches!

More solemn weddings, please?

From Hell's Bible, Pinoy style

***

In the words of His Eminence, drop all those ka-ek-ekan (roughly translated frivolities). [Eminence, so it must be a cardinal!  Let' see.]

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle [so it's not a cardinal.  Inquirer reporters are just a bunch of....]  on Saturday urged the faithful to avoid practices that embellish or depart from sacred Catholic rites, like having dogs as wedding ring bearers or wedding planners telling priests what to do and where to stand.  [These wedding coordinators are really either out of this world crazy or just plain arrogant.  I have had more than one brush with these folks.  They range from homosexual men to fat obnoxious women.  They act as if the church or the wedding is their own show.  NO!!!  If the priest is too narcissistic, then you have trouble.  Ha!]

Tagle noted that some Filipino Catholics had been treating the sacraments as if they were merely venues for “social gatherings or cultural traditions,” thus losing the deeper spiritual meaning of these events and rituals.  [Guess someone, a world-class liturgist has been sleeping on the job and spending more time writing books and conducting seminars.   Look at where his expertise has brought us!]

“This is one great challenge for us during this year of faith because our liturgy and sacraments, sad to say, sometimes are no longer considered as celebrations of faith,” Tagle said during the Manila Archdiocesan General Pastoral Assembly held at Paco Catholic School auditorium in Manila.  [No longer celebrations of faith?!?!  Quite ambiguous but I'll take it.  The guys at Megamall might think that since it is a celebration, it calls for dancing and tambourines, right SOBRE?]

Stand-up comedy
“Sometimes, the faith is the last thing we focus on in the sacraments. The sacraments sometimes become mere social events or just cultural traditions with the faith being the last thing we consider,” he added.  [Guess someone, a world-class liturgist has been sleeping on the job and spending more time writing books and conducting seminars.   Look at where his expertise has brought us!  I have my whole blog to spare so I can keep on repeating this line.]

But far from delivering a stern sermon, Tagle spiced up his message with bits of stand-up comedy, drawing laughter from the SRO crowd.

Church dress code
“Once, I received a letter from someone who was getting married and who was asking permission if they could have their dog as their ring bearer,” the prelate recalled. “The dog had been with them for a long time, but what had the dog got to do with our faith? What has become of marriage?"  [Guess the dog will join them in their honeymoon?]

Tagle said he once had to remind a bride about the dress code inside the church, but the bride retorted: “Why does the Church still interfere with that? You are not the one who’s going to pay for my gown.”  [If I were the priest, I would have scolded that arrogant b*&%$ and told her her proper place!  "I am the one officiating the Mass, so it's the Church's rules or you get the hell outta here!]

“But what you are wearing should speak of your faith. The symbols that you use should speak of your faith,” Tagle explained to his audience.  [Well, the inculturated liturgy that came out of the boondocks of Bukidnon speak of our culture and not our Faith!  As far as I can see, the inculturation that we have been thought for the past 30 plus years has led into the trivialization of our liturgy and thus our Faith.  Lex orandi, lex credendi people!]

He also noted that it had become a trend in weddings for church doors to be closed before the bride walks down the aisle. [It started with videographers and wedding coordinators wanting a more dramatic shot!]

“The groom and the escorts had entered but when the bride is about to go in, the doors are closed. There are many weddings like that today. Why close the door? You’ll spend the rest of your married life closing doors,” Tagle said in jest.

“That is no longer faith. That’s a gimmick. Paborloloy, ka-ek-ekan na lang yan (Nothing but embellishments and frivolities). Imagine, closing the door on your bride? Hay naku!” he added.

Best punch line
But Tagle reserved his best punch line for the most modern feature of marital rites: the wedding planner.
“There was this wedding I attended that was already 45 minutes late,” Tagle recalled. “I approached the groom and asked: ‘Why haven’t you started. Is the bride already here?’ Yes. ‘Are the godparents already here?’ Yes. ‘So why haven’t you started?’”

Finally, the wedding planner told him the reason for the delay: The butterflies had not yet arrived. “What butterflies?!” Tagle recalled asking the planner. [I think the wedding planner was properly inculturated.  No, really.  I meant the sarcasm.  HA!]

The answer he got was simple: “Because as the bride walks down the aisle, we will let fly those butterflies.”  “What had those butterflies got to do with our faith? The union is just starting, and you already have all these flying away and separations. Do you know their meaning?” he then said.  [I am pretty sure the wedding planner is in it for the money.  After the wedding would he/she care if the couple are still in marital bliss?]

Who’s the boss?
This prompted the wedding planner to remind him who was really running the show. “ ‘I am the coordinator. You will start when I say so,’” Tagle recalled the planner as telling him pointblank.  [As I said, these are a bunch of @$$*&^$.  No, really.  I have had more than an occasion against these people.  They can be snotty and rude.  They would not even care if the church will be used after the wedding.  Usually, there will be a second wedding coming after theirs or an anticipated Mass especially since most weddings are held every Saturday.]

“So, I stood up and said ‘I am the official witness of the Church here and I am now starting this wedding.’ But the choir wasn’t ready so I started (singing) ‘Tan-tan-tanan. Tan-tan-tanan,’” he added in jest, mimicking the opening notes of the Richard Wagner wedding staple.

“March! Run!” he said. “Probably when the (couple) watch the video of their wedding, they’ll again see what I did.”

Tagle also recalled seeing funerals where the supposedly grieving family installed too many lights. “(It looked like) a Christmas party instead because there were so many Christmas lights.”

***

As I have always blogged, who has contributed into the trivialization of the liturgy, of the sacraments, of how we should worship God?

There was nothing wrong before the 1960s until some boys' club got back from Rome and started saying things are this and that which are actually not!

We have so many seminars and trainings in liturgy classes held in Makati yet what has it brought us?  A priest is even bullied by a wedding planner who we don't know if he/she is Catholic or not in the first place!

We have liturgists in Bukidnon, a PDDM sister who acts as if she is the Bishopress of Inculturation, liturgies that are printed on a weekly basis that are complete violations of liturgical laws (Ex.  The greeting of the priest after the Sign of the Cross.  The Missal only says a few.  The ones we hear every Sunday Mass is not part of it.  It is an altrenative.  But the liturgists want the alternative because it is THEIR WORK.  But I digress.]

We have no one else to blame but the very people who should have worked to keep our liturgy sublime and holy.  People who brandish their degrees and books published but who could not even do anything substantive to address the liturgical abuse in our country.

But hey, what am I complaining.  They are the ones who encourage it.  Duh!

Don't get me wrong.

I am not against happy and memorable weddings.  I love attending them.

But if you overstep what is proper, especially inside a Catholic church, you know what's coming.

Remember, in the past, the CBCP or was it Cardinal Sin who outlawed Catholic weddings not held inside a Catholic church, chapel or oratory, thus banning garden and beach weddings.

Guess someone, a world-class liturgist has been sleeping on the job and spending more time writing books and conducting seminars.   Look at where his expertise has brought us!

Cardinal gives reasons for choice of new archbishops

I wanted to knock my head on a wall for this one...

From Chiesa.

***

ROME, December 1, 2011 – Rounding the turn of his first year as prefect of the congregation for bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet (in the photo) has surveyed the course in an interview with Gianni Cardinale for "Avvenire," the newspaper owned by the Italian episcopal conference.

In the interview, he revealed among other things that it often happens, "more than I could have expected," that the candidate chosen to be made a bishop does not accept the appointment.

He indicated the reasons for such refusals in the growing difficulty of fulfilling the role, in a society in which the bishops are under public attack, "in part as a result of the scandals and charges concerning sexual abuse."

As for career ambitions – the cardinal cautioned – if a priest or a bishop aspires and maneuvers to be promoted to a prominent diocese, "it is better for him to stay where he is."  [Well, one appointee has this trait, yet he still got appointed!]

And he concluded the interview by sketching the profile of the bishop the Church needs most today. A bishop who is at the same time a theologian and an apologist, a public defender of the faith:  [TAKE NOTE OF THIS ONE FOLKS!!!  Because it will not fit one of the appointees as far as I know.]

"Today, especially in the context of our secularized societies, we need bishops who are the first evangelizers, and not mere administrators of dioceses. [One is an evangelizer indeed, but only on TV.  He loves the limelight.  But NEVER an administrator.  He is a disaster.] Who are capable of proclaiming the Gospel. Who are not only theologically faithful to the magisterium [The same guy is NOT faithful.] and the pope, but are also capable of expounding and, if need be, of defending the faith publicly."  [The "appointee" attacks it by making it look like a theological discourse therefore "protected" by the so-called "academic freedom".]

[Chiesa lists the names of key appointments...but I'll get to the meaty part.]

........

The sixth appointment, on October 13: that of Luis Antonio Tagle as archbishop of Manila.

Tagle received his doctorate in theology in the United States, at the Catholic University of America, with a thesis on episcopal collegiality, [Vatican II aggiornamento HOOHA!] under the guidance of Professor Joseph Komonchak. With him, he collaborated on the drafting of the history of Vatican Council II most widely read in the world, promoted by the "school of Bologna" founded by Fr. Giuseppe Dossetti: a history with a particular slant, which sees Vatican II as a rupture and new beginning with respect to the previous experience of the Church.  [This book sums up the whole theological leaning of Tagle.  Believe me, it is.]

In this history, Tagle wrote among other things the chapter dedicated to the "black week" of November 1964: "black" for the progressives, hostile above all to the "Nota explicativa prævia" that Paul VI added at that point to the beginning of the dogmatic constitution "Lumen Gentium," in order to clear up its ambiguities.

When the volume with this chapter of his saw the light of day, in 1999, Tagle had been for two years a member of the international theological commission that flanked the Vatican congregation for the doctrine of the faith, at the time headed by Ratzinger.

In 2001, Tagle became bishop of Imus, where he distinguished himself by his nearness to the poor and his simple and charitable way of life. [Just that.  Nothing about his REAL job description as bishop of the diocese.]

At the episcopal conference of the Philippines, he is president of the commission for the doctrine of the faith.

As www.chiesa revealed in an article last November 14, in the biography of Tagle delivered [meaning Tagle personally wrote this and sent this to the Vatican.] to the cardinals and bishops of the Vatican congregation responsible for evaluating the candidates for archbishop of Manila, his collaboration with the "school of Bologna" was completely omitted. [Conveniently omitted.] To the disappointment of some who learned of it only after the appointment was made.

Manila is a cardinal see. And there are some who have even added Tagle to the list of the "papabili." [God help us...]


***

But....No.

I'd rather take aspirin.

If what Cardinal Oullet says is true, then why....

Never mind the aspirin.

GULP Exam: Guess the liturgical color

Courtesy of the liturgical and theological shenanigan school called Euntes Mission Center in Zamboanga City.

I am banging my head thinking the liturgical color for this one.

And is that a Hindu or Buddhist pose?

Really banging my head.

I am coming to Cebu!

MANILA, Oct. 26, 2011—The Queen City of the South plays host to the next big gathering of luminaries, workers and newcomers in the pro-life movement as the National “Philippines for Life” Congress 2011 happens on Nov. 16-18 at the Summit Circle Hotel, Cebu City.

Organized by Human Life International (HLI) Pilipinas, the conference gathers pro-life leaders from the government, the Church and the private sector to impart their knowledge and insight on varied topics. Among the speakers are Senate Majority Leader Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Davao Representative Karlo Nograles, former senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad, former Manila mayor Jose “Lito” Atienza, Jr., economics expert Dr. Roberto de Vera of the University of Asia and the Pacific, businessman and The Philippine Star columnist Valeriano “Bobit” Avila, HLI Asia and Oceania Director Dr. Ligaya Acosta, Antipolo Bishop Gabriel V. Reyes DD, Bacolod Bishop Vicente M. Navarra, DD, and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (CBCP-ECFL) Executive Secretary Fr. Melvin Castro.

Mass will be celebrated daily during the three-day conference, with Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma DD, Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, and Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios M. Pueblos DD presiding.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia will likewise grace the conference.

“Every year, there are always new topics to be discussed and a new set of speakers who will deliver their important pieces. These are among the reasons why our participants coming from different parts of the country are always enticed to come to hear, listen and meet with the speakers, especially if there are new insights and new challenges in the pro-life crusade,” said Rene Josef Bullecer, M.D., HLI Pilipinas director, who has been organizing pro-life conferences, symposia, rallies and other such activities for the past 15 years.

“This is the best venue for the exchange of ideas where any ordinary delegate can ask the experts directly,” he said.

“Also all our regular delegates who are mostly lay leaders in the many archdioceses and dioceses all over the country use this event to meet their other counterpart workers, receive more challenges and as a way for much-needed rest and recreation before returning to their respective areas of concern,” Bullecer added.

This year’s HLI-sponsored conference – titled “Surrender is not an Option, Compromise is not the Solution” – also serves as a show of force for pro-life and pro-family organizations and to let others know that they are “very much alive, moving, growing and gaining ground…especially now that we are in the middle of the battle against the anti-life bills in [the legislature],” Bullecer enthused.

The fee for the National “Philippines for Life” Congress is P1,400 per participant (excluding hotel accommodations), but those who wish to avail of a discounted fee may do so by registering before November 1. The early registration fee of P1,100 may be deposited to the following: Metrobank Account # 3083308078818, Account Name: Rene Josef Bullecer.

For more information, please send an email to renejosef@yahoo.com (CBCP for Life)

***

Don't try to ask me to meet you.  I'll remain incognito for obvious reasons.  :)

I'll definitely visit the Señor!

Viva!

Unusual and unprecedented

MANILA, October 13, 2011— Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Imus Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle, a known theologian, [ugh] as the new archbishop of Manila.

At 54, Tagle will succeed Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales who served the influential post for eight years.  [he is as young as Cardinal Sin!  Cardinal Sin was 53.  Well, prepare for 20 years!  Brrr!]

Archbishop-elect Tagle’s appointment was officially announced in Rome on October 13 at 12:00 noon (6:00 pm, Manila time).

The information was officially received by the Media Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Thursday in a communiqué from the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila.

“I write to inform you that the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has appointed His Excellency Most Reverend Luis Antonio Tagle, until now Bishop of Imus, as Archbishop of Manila,” said Monsignor Gabor Pinter, Charge D’ Affaires.

Rosales, who just turned 79 years old last August 16, earlier said that the Vatican has already accepted his resignation early this year and was just waiting for his successor to be named.

The cardinal submitted his resignation in 2007 when he turned 75, the mandatory retirement age for prelates, but the pontiff extended his term indefinitely.

Born in Manila on June 21, 1957, Tagle took his Philosophy and Theology at the Ateneo De Manila University’s San Jose Major Seminary.

He was ordained to the priesthood on February 27, 1982, at the age of 25.

From 1985 to 1992, he was sent for further studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. where he earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology.

Since 1997, Tagle is a member of the International Theological Commission of the Vatican. [where he met Cardinal Ratzinger.] In 1998, he was an expert at the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Asia that took place in Rome.

On December 12, 2001, he was ordained Bishop of Imus. Since then, his activities have been as numerous as in the past. He travels throughout the country in answer to many invitations as a speaker. [not as bishop of his diocese?]

At the Synod of Bishops held in Rome in 2005, he was elected member of the post-synodal Council and assistant to Cardinal Angelo Scola, general reporter of this Synod.

Tagle is currently the chairman of the Commission on Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).  [Which did not even come out with a statement against Miriam Santiago's self-deprecating statements about the Church's moral teachings against contraception.]

No date yet has been set for the installation of the new Manila archbishop. (CBCPNews) [Hopefully he does not accept.  Ha!]

***

I am literally rolling over the place where I am now when I received the very sad news, by lots of email and by lots text of Bishop Tagle getting appointed as the new archbishop of Manila.

It is unusual and unprecedented since in the past only sitting archbishops get appointed to the See of Manila.  Tagle is NOT an archbishop.

Second, Tagle is a liberal.  He is a very great politician when it comes to international theological settings.  His views about the Eucharist and the Mass are LUTHERAN. Ask his students at LST.

Third, he spends much of his time outside of his diocese, teaching, giving retreats, taping TV shows. He is the Bishop of the Diocese of Imus, most of the time in absentia.  I even heard stories of the faithful of the Cathedral get so irritated with how his dad runs the show in the Cathedral, they called him Father Cardinal.

Well, I guess Chupungco and his minions still have the political clout.  I can give you my day's salary as a bet that the wishes of Cardinal Rosales was acceded to by the Pope.

If there is one decision by the Holy Father I don't like, this is it.  Number one!  Guess the rumor mill in the Vatican is that the Holy Father wants to keep his loyal subjects close to him is TRUE.

But I submit in obedience.

Let us see what he'll do.  Tagle I mean.

More TV shows?

Ha!

Bishop Tagle permitted the TLM in his Diocese in obedience to the Pope, unlike Cardinal Rosales.

Will we see the Traditional Mass make a comeback in the Manila Cathedral?

Wait and see...

Beautiful Churches are signs of God's presence on earth

A beautiful follow-up to what I just posted.

***

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, JULY 17, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that beautiful cathedrals and abbeys are "striking signs" of God's presence on earth, and he is inviting the faithful to share the ideal of those who built them.  [The beauty we see in our churches reflects an iota of the beauty we are to expect in Heaven.]

The Pope made this invitation today when he addressed French-speaking pilgrims who had gathered at the summer papal residence to pray the midday Angelus.

The Holy Father referred to the time of vacation as a moment "for cultural and spiritual enrichment."

"Through the innumerable places and monuments that you visit, you can discover the beauty of that universal patrimony that refers us to our roots," he suggested.  [The Holy Father alludes to our past which modernists and liturgical revolutionaries so deride.  They would want you to think that after Vatican 2, we reset everything to how it was back in the days after the Pentecost.  Yeah, right.  Ask them to wear togas all day long.]

The Pope made this invitation: "Be attentive in allowing yourselves to be swept up by the beautiful ideal that inspired the builders of cathedrals and abbeys, when they built these striking signs of the presence of God on our earth. May that ideal become yours and may the Holy Spirit, who sees the depth of hearts, inspire you to pray in these places, rendering thanks and interceding for humanity of the third millennium!"

***

This one here in the Philippines is beautiful

San Agustin Church, Intramuros

That is why a lot of people go here.  It attracts tourists, weddings and idiots...

trying hard to make us believe that he is not a sodomite.

And then compare it with this one.

Makes you look for King Tut, huh?

As what I have said before, they will always give the rubbish reason about the simplicity of Christ's life as the reason for the design.

Do we follow this reasoning when we design our churches?  Was it triumphalism behind the great churches and abbeys of Europe or was it an expression of their gratitude to the Lord as a love offering and as a reflection of that heavenly beauty we hope to see someday?

This will be definitely off line but here is what I found out based on experience.

Liturgists who insist on "simplicity" in the liturgy and who shun the traditional and the majestic in liturgical art are oftentimes the ones who live luxurious lifestyles.

Take it from someone who lived with these liturgists.

First hand experience folks!

A useless Primer, IMHO.

From RCAM.

***


A Catechetical Primer on the New English Translation of the Roman Missal has been published by the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy (ECL) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). The Primer, written by Fr. Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB, [uhm...] director of the Paul VI Institute of Liturgy, will be launched [done deal!] on June 24, 2011 at 5 p.m. at the San Carlos Seminary in Makati City.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines voted for the adoption of the new English translation of the Roman Missal for the Philippines during its plenary assembly in January 2010. The new English translation will be used starting December 2, 2012. [My sources at CBCP could not give me a straight answer for the loooonnnggg delay, other than this "primer"*belch*.] The Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship granted the recognitio requested by the ECL, which will issue a decree in July to announce the implementation of the new English translation.

Fr. Chupungco’s Catechetical Primer will be a very useful tool and resource during the period of catechesis that shall be observed prior to the implementation, to prepare the clergy and the laity for the major changes in translation. Regarded as the “Dean of Filipino liturgists,” Fr. Chupungco is considered eminently qualified to write the Primer. [Uhm.  How could it be if the one writing it blatantly criticized the translation in public?]

Dr. Josefina Manabat, dean of the Graduate School of Liturgy of San Beda College says, “Proficient knowledge of both the source language (Latin) and the target language (English) combined with solid liturgical scholarship and adeptness in the scientific method of translation--this is the formula that produced the Catechetical Primer.” [Uhm, no. The translation used those what the dean said.  You don't need those gibberish to produce a primer.  It is almost as if the dean was saying that you cannot do liturgy if you do not have "liturgical scholarship and adeptness."  So if you do nto have a degree in liturgy, maybe from San Beda, you have no business doing liturgy.  Was that the same thing they accuse experts on liturgy on the Traditional Rite?  That the traditional liturgy is so complex that it has to be simplified for the people?  And now they have so called liturgical scholarship!  Isn't this part of what the pope calls "professional churchmen"?  Or something.]

The local publication of the new English translation of the Roman Missal will make it available to local parishes at a more economical price. The locally published new English translation will incorporate local celebrations such as the Misa de Aguinaldo or Simbang Gabi, the feast of the Sto. Niño, [How liturgical inculturation must be done.  Not what the Misa ng Sambayanang Pilipino wants!] and the proper of saints. This will be available in June 2012.

The Catechetical Primer on the New English Translation of the Roman Missal will be sold at a discount during the launching and at the regular price of P100 after. ##

***

Can't wait to get my FREE copy.

Yup.  I won't spend my hard earned money for this.

BREAKING!!! New Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines

Il Papa ha nominato Nunzio Apostolico nelle Filippine S.E. Mons. Giuseppe Pinto, Arcivescovo titolare di Anglona, finora Nunzio Apostolico in Cile.

***

In English, the Holy Father has appointed His Excellency, Mons. Giueseppe Pinto, Titulat Arcchbishop of Anglona and former Apostolic Nuncio to Chile as the new Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines.

Welcome and Mabuhay!!!

First Mass in the Philippines commemorated

 A more accurate representation of the Mass compared to the Botong Francisco version

A special report from CBCPNews

***

MAASIN, Southern Leyte, April 10, 2011--THE Diocese of Maasin last March 31 marked the 490th anniversary of the First Mass in the Philippines with a Eucharistic celebration that launched the Diocese’s Decade of Renewed Evangelization Program. [Was the first Mass in the Philippines, held on an Easter Sunday, celebrated 490 years ago, held using the same ritual that was used in 1521?  NOT!]  Presiding at the Eucharistic celebration held in an open field overlooking the Shrine of the First Holy Mass was Most. Rev. Jose Palma, DD, Archbishop of Cebu. [One of my fave bishops.] Concelebrating were diocesan priests led by Maasin Bishop Precioso Cantillas, SDB, DD.

Referred to as the diocese’s “decade preparation” for the forthcoming 500th anniversary of the First Mass in 2021, the ten-year countdown has for its theme “Renewed Evangelization”, concurring with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP) proclamation of the current decade as the Decade of Renewed Evangelization. [Still bit skeptical on how this will be done.  But anywho...we do need that just as what the Holy Father did in Rome by creating a new Roman Dicastery.   But...will the new evangelization target heretics, schismatics, pagans, cafeteria Catholics, obnoxious-attention hungry-overweight-homosexual...you get the point.]

“We intend to spend the coming ten years with more dedication to the mission of evangelization and to a more intense life of Communion in faith, hope and love for God and one another,[hmmm...something that came out of the pages of MST and SVT and Ecclesia of Women in Asia...Ha!] ” Bishop Cantillas said of the diocese’s program, adding that during his audience with the Pope at the ad limina visit last Feb. 14, the Holy Father Benedict XVI gave his blessing to the Program. The upcoming golden anniversary of the Diocese of Maasin in 2018, Bishop Cantillas said, “is another reason to strongly resolve to renew our life of faith.”

Hundreds of Eucharistic Lay Ministers [sic!  Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion!  Lay people will NEVER..EVER be ministers of the Eucharist!  Not even a deacon!  Only an ordained priest is!  You'll be surprised who wrote this report.  We'll keep that later.] from all the parishes of the diocese renewed their vows, [EMHCs have VOWS!  Wow!  I did not know that EMHCs now are covered by Canon Law and are now subject to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life!  Wait...do they have a habit?  And where are their signed vows?  Do they have an abbot, superior or something like that?]  witnessed by the faithful many of whom came in droves by boat from the mainland. Limasawa’s high school students staged a reenactment of the first Mass on the island, [with back turned to the people?  Oh my goodness!  That has to be stopped!  Very disrespectful!  You do not turn your back to your guests?  You talk to them FROM ACROSS THE TABLE?  Right, Jeff?] reliving history in color and dance [In the reenacted Mass or in the inculturated Mass?  Ha!] as the rest of the island’s citizenry watched in the shade of the trees on the fringes of the field.

The program following the Mass honored the coming of Christianity to Limasawa’s shores and “the country’s acceptance of a life of faith” [Ugh!] and provided an opportunity for Church and government officials alike to reiterate their united pro-life stand against the RH Bill. [GREAT!  GREAT!  GREAT!] Bishop Cantillas recalled the fervor of the 7,000 people who in an early-March rally had braved a tsunami alert and the rains to proclaim their opposition to the bill.  [Now that is what I am talking about?]

Southern Leyte Congressman Roger Mercado [pray for this legislator folks?] animatedly spoke against the RH Bill for the other government officials present—Gov. Damian Mercado, Vice-Gov. Miguel Maamo, Limasawa Mayor Melchor Petracorta, other Mayors of the province, and other provincial and municipal officials. He also disclosed to the audience that he has pushed House Bill 4065 in the Lower House in Congress which seeks to declare March 31 every year as national non-working holiday.  [Hey Señor Carlos!  Go there!  And rip out their posters!  You love traveling, right?]

This bill, he added, is to highlight the significance of the coming of Christianity to the Philippines and in Asia.

Abp. Palma lauded the congenial collaboration among the clergy, government officials, military and civilians as demonstrated by the enthusiastic yet orderly celebration of the momentous event. With renewed evangelization as the thrust of the diocese’s decade preparation for the 500th jubilee of the First Mass, Abp. Palma said, “the faithful can expect meaningful changes.”  [Brick by brick?  hehehe]

The historic first Mass in the Philippines (and in Asia) was held on March 31, 1521, on the island of Limasawa. At present, 35 percent of the island’s 6,000 population are Catholics; the rest are divided into 11 protestant sects. Those who participated in the Eucharistic celebration last March 31 gained plenary indulgence granted to the Diocese. (Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS)  [Secular Discalded Carmelite. Yup!  Does not know what an EMHC is.  Guess the good sister does not have a Competency in Liturgy, right, Jeffrey?  Oh, I mean MA?  Maybe the Fisher guy has. Ha!]

GULP Alert: EF Mass or something kinda...

You know...

I got this email from regular TPC reader, Jared about an "EF Mass". Here is his letter and the photos he submitted, with my usual dose of emphasis and comments.

I would like the inform you that during the parochial celebration of the conclusion of the Archdiocese of Lipa's centennial celebration [Created as a diocese in April 1910 by St. Pius X] the Parish of the Immaculate Conception in Bauan, Batangas celebrated the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. A photo of it is attached to this. [I almost clicked the photos to see them, but wait!  I had to read the rest of Jared's email.]

I am not actually sure if it was a real Mass in the Extraordinary Form since it was unusual for me to see the priests wearing the white cassock and not using the biretta during the celebration. [We can let this pass actually.] I was also confused when I saw that during the entrance procession the priests who are not celebrants were there together with Lay Ministers/Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. [Together?  What do you mean by that?] If I am not mistaken con-celebration is not allowed, [Yup!] same is true with the use of EMHCs because only the priests give communion. [YUP! YUP!  YUP!] I also saw a picture of a priest who assisted in the distribution of communion but he wasn't in the sanctuary; I assume he was walking around distributing communion just like in the Novus Ordo. Please do note that the said Church is an old one thus it has the communion rail which was in use sometime in the past though the Mass was in the Novus Ordo.  [Was the communion rail even used during the Mass?]

***

So after reading Jared's email, I decided to look at the picture to see for myself what really went on.

Wow!  That's a bunch of nuns.  Women in mantilla

Hmmm... Roman chasuble....Priests wearing overlay stoles.

SRO church!

 

This is a nice touch!  The priest used the old pulpit to preach his sermon!

 Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

Spot more of the not...

Other than the last one.  There is still more.

Keep your eyes open.

I have to stop this post.

My eyes are bleeding after that last photo!

Thanks Jared!

For the email and the photos...not the eye irritant.  :)

The reform of the reform reaches Davao!

Davao, one of the best places in the Philippines that I love to go to!

Here is the BEFORE photo of the sanctuary of the Davao Metropolitan Cathedral.

And now look at this...

Yup, folks.  I too was dumbfounded when I saw this.  And I am pretty sure the liberal Caucasian missionaries in Davao would be wincing in pain at seeing a retablo rising again.

Here is the archbishop, Most. Rev. Fernando Capalla, seated on his throne.

And here is a view of the retablo and the cathedra.  The archbishop is kneeling for the Litany of the Saints.  This is for the ordination of six deacons of the archdiocese.  Take note!  He is wearing the pallium!  Take note!  I guess you can recall why I point this out because I had been blogging about an archbishop who ordains his clergy without wearing the pallium.  No folks, it does not effect the sacrament.  I am just wondering why he is not wearing it when he is performing a function as a metropolitan. Well, anyways...

Thanks to the Latin Mass Society of Davao for the photos.

Yup, the Latin Mass has regained a new following in Davao.  And guess where it will be held..

St. Francis Xavier Pre-College Seminary

Ulas, Davao City

Saturday, April 9 · 5:00pm - 6:30pm

LATIN MASS...

IN THE SEMINARY...

No seriously guys.  This is no April Fool's joke...

And you don't need the Instruction on Summorum Pontificum to have this!

Is Manila following?

Guess we need an ad limina every year, eh?

JOKING!

GOD BLESS ARCHBISHOP FERNANDO CAPALLA AND AUXILIARY BISHOP GEORGE RIMANDO AND THE CLERGY OF DAVAO!!!

I hope the Latin Mass Society of Davao regularly updates us with their schedule. AND EVEN SHARE THE IMPRESSION OF THE PRIESTS AND SEMINARIANS WHO EITHER OFFERED OR ASSISTED IN THE MASS!

God bless you!

***

PS:  Which of the two church art lifts your hearts and minds to God?  Hmmm?

Papal Nuncio to the Philippines reassigned to Greece

This was confirmed by CBCP News.com

No news yet as who will be the new nuncio to the Philippines.

Archbishop Adams was assigned to the Philippines on September 3, 2007 and officially ended on feb. 22, 2011.

I heard from reliable sources that the archbishop is not friendly to the Traditional Movement.

Oh well.

We thank and pray the Lord for sending us Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams.

May the Lord bless him on his new assignment.

Godspeed!

GULP ALERT: Benedictine Altar Arrangement at Church of the Gesu

No. I am not talking about the Church of the Gesu in Rome.  That's the mother church of the Jesuit order.  I am talking about the starship enterprise, err..., that new church in the campus of the Ateneo de Manila University.

Look at this picture below

That is the revered and imminent Jesuit liturgist, Fr. Tim Ofrasio, assisting the Papal Nuncio Archbishop Edward Adams, as Masters of Ceremonies at an ordination ceremony at the Church of Gesu

You can see that the altar was prepared by Fr. Ofrasio using the Benedictine Altar Arrangement.  Notice the seventh candle.

Here is a shot of the sanctuary.

Thanks to a friend and a fellow GULP for sharing the photos.

So, to the members of God's Undercover Liturgical Police...

Say it with me now!

HUZZAH TO FR. TIM OFRASIO!

And if I may add.  One of the few Jesuits I admire.  I hope by now you know why I that word is in bold and italicized.

A nice video for theologians of St. Vincent, MST, etc.

And this is what Michael Voris referred to as the speech of Bishop Athanasius Schneider. Remember that he was the bishop who wrote the beautiful book, Dominus Est, which basically trumped any illogical and antiquarian reasoning to justify the sacrilegious Communion in the Hand [shudder].  I have a copy of that book thanks to my dear friend and brother Knight, Jay Balza of Veritatem Facientes in Caritate who gave it as a gift, the last time we saw each other.

Bishop Schneider says:

There is the need for a new Syllabus, this time directed not so much against the errors coming from outside of the Church, but against the errors circulated within the Church by supporters of the thesis of discontinuity and rupture, with its doctrinal, liturgical, and pastoral application.


Such a Syllabus should consist of two parts: the part that points out the errors, and the positive part with proposals for clarification, completion, and doctrinal clarification.

To read the entire speech of the great bishop, click here.

There is a Pinoy liturgical expert somewhere in the mountains who will surely be grumpy when this Syllabus ever comes out!

And I am sure that most theologians in a school somewhere in Katipunan, in Aurora Boulevard and Tandang Sora and in Zamboanga City would be ranting like hell about this.  Why?  These thelogians are so proud of themselves, they act as if they are the popes of their own church!  Omniscient and arrogant dissenters!

Bishop Schneider is an inspiration of this blog and the GULP!

And the bastardation of the Mass continues!

Here are more pictures of a Vincentian priest making a mockery of the Catholic Mass with his own interpretation of liturgical inculturation and his own liturgical magisterium!

Thanks to the Golden Monstrance for the tip!

"Children's Mass" or should I say Children's Mess.  Well, it is actually the mess of this priest.

This does not look like a Mass.  More of an excursion and a picnic.  Now where is the roast pig aka lechon?

Now this is plain stupid and outright disrespectful.  Let's have a fun nature walk...Ooo!  What a nice looking rock!  Let's have Mass.  Anyways, Christ is the "stone rejected by the builders, that has become the cornerstone!"

Here is the background of this priest who loves to clown around with the Mass.   This came from the website of that "Catholic" theology school of dissent.

***


Daniel Franklin Pilario is a member of the Congregation of Mission (CM) Provincial Council Philippines. He is currently the Dean of the Saint Vincent School of Theology and a member of the Board of Trustees in Adamson-Ozanam Educational Foundation. He is a founding member and former president of DAKATEO (Catholic Theological Society of the Philippines). He is also a Formation Team member of the De Paul House in Quezon City and a guest minister in Parokya ng Ina ng Lupang Pangako [in Payatas, Quezon City]. Aside from teaching at St. Vincent School of Theology, he also teaches as a guest professor at the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos (Cebu City), St. Louis University (Baguio), Euntes (Zamboanga) and other places. [Huh?!  Would you see this in a professors CV?  Imagine all the places....living life in peace YooHoo..oooo!!!]  He is also a professorial lecturer at the Department of Sociology in the University of the Philippines Diliman. [Ain't that a sunny place for Marxism.] For several years, he has been involved in several conferences where he presented his papers and lectures locally and internationally. [Wow!  With a mind like that, you think he is not capable of doing anything stupid!] He has been a co-convenor and animating team member of the Asia-Pacific Vincentian Studies Institute (Adamson University) (2004 - ) and a convenor in the South Manila Consortium (Theology and Religious Educators’ Group) from 2005-2006. When in Europe, he has been granted scholarships; one for his graduate course in theology granted by Missionswissenschaftliches Missio, e.V. of Aachen, Germany and the other by the Research Council (Onderzoeksraad) in K.U. Leuven, Belgium. He has published in different theological- philosophical journals like JahrbuchfürkontextuelleTheologien, Questions Liturgiques, Bijdragen, Asian Christian Review and Chakana. His doctoral dissertation which became an award-winning book Back to the Rough Grounds of Praxis (2005) is now being used as a reference book for students of philosophy. [Oh...wow...he...is...intelligent...really...wow...belch!]Much of his research studies cover fundamental theology, inculturation, theological anthropology and sociology, methods of theological research and political-social theory.  [My boss once said that you get your brains all screwed up if you get a doctorate.  I do not subscribe to this but seeing what this "priest" does, I have to say YES.]

***

Let us then turn to what Holy Mother Church in the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:


1122 Christ sent his apostles so that "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations."⁴¹ "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."⁴² The mission to baptize, and so the sacramental mission, is implied in the mission to evangelize, because the sacrament is prepared for by the word of God and by the faith which is assent to this word:

The People of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the living God. . . . The preaching of the Word is required for the sacramental ministry itself, since the sacraments are sacraments of faith, drawing their origin and nourishment from the Word.⁴³

1123 "The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ and, finally, to give worship to God. Because they are signs they also instruct. They not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it. That is why they are called 'sacraments of faith.'"⁴⁴
 
1124 The Church's faith precedes the faith of the believer who is invited to adhere to it. When the Church celebrates the sacraments, she confesses the faith received from the apostles - whence the ancient saying: lex orandi, lex credendi (or: legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi, according to Prosper of Aquitaine [5th cent.]).⁴⁵ The law of prayer is the law of faith: the Church believes as she prays. Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living Tradition.⁴⁶
 
1125 For this reason no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the community. Even the supreme authority in the Church may not change the liturgy arbitrarily, but only in the obedience of faith and with religious respect for the mystery of the liturgy.

1126 Likewise, since the sacraments express and develop the communion of faith in the Church, the lex orandi is one of the essential criteria of the dialogue that seeks to restore the unity of Christians.⁴⁷

With his type of inculturated Mass, the one being championed by Fr. A at Malaybalay looks more "decent".

For this we know, by his word and deed that this priest is the POPE of his own church!

Arrogant and disobedient!

You are a shame to the Church, Fr. Pilario!

SHAME ON YOU!!!

Brick by brick in Calbayog

As I have posted before, faithfulness to liturgical norms is a dream still to be seen as a reality in the Archdiocese of Manila as long as we have an archbishop who just follows everything that Frs. A and G tell him to do.

We will never see this altar arrangement in the Cathedral of Manila

That is Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Joseph Adams, incensing the altar of the Calbayog Cathedral on the occasion of the diocese's centenary.

Note the Benedictine arrangement.  Please note that the altar cross is on the side of the altar and NOT on the altar.  While some traditionalist might sneer at this, let us be thankful that the candle arrangement is in tune with the wishes of our Holy Father.

Unlike those of Frs. A and G where candles are on the floor near the altar and NOT on the altar simply because they reason out that you do not put candles on the altar.  Just that.  No other reasoning whatsoever.

I think it is more of ideology rather than faithfulness to liturgical tradition that these men put these things out.

Whom do we follow?  The Pope or these two liturgists who claim they know more than the pope?

Communion in the Mouth allowed again in Manila

from the Archdiocese of Manila's website, rcam.org

***

MINISTRY FOR LITURGICAL AFFAIRS

121 Arzobispo St., Intramuros, Manila 

CIRCULAR NO. 2009 – 27
23 July 2009 

TO: ALL PARISH PRIESTS, SHRINE RECTORS, CHAPLAINS, PARISH WORSHIP COORDINATORS, PARISH COORDINATORS OF EXTRA-ORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION, LECTORS AND COMMENTATORS, GREETERS AND COLLECTORS, MUSIC AND CHOIR, ALTAR SERVERS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MANILA

RE: ALLOWING COMMUNION BY THE MOUTH  

Greetings of Christ’s Peace!

In June our Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales instructed that Holy Communion be given only in the hand in view of the increasing number of cases of infection with the Influenza AH1N1 Virus in our country, particularly in Metro Manila. [the issuance of which I found totally absurd and to say the least, over reacting!]

While there remain cases of the disease and its total containment has not been reached, the Department of Health has said that the disease is of a mild form and that proper precautions lessen its spread. Cardinal Rosales has now instructed that Holy Communion by the mouth be allowed, which means that the Communicants may now receive Holy Communion either by mouth or by hand. [even without the spread of the virus, Canon law prohibits a Catholic from receiving in the tongue which is still the traditional, time-honored and preferred manner of receiving Holy Communion.]

At the same time, the Cardinal advises Priests and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to continue to practice proper hygiene and wash their hands thoroughly before and after the Mass. [which must be done even without the directive from the archbishop or the news about the disease.] He likewise exhorts the faithful to observe all the practices recommended by the health authorities to prevent the acquisition and spread of the disease. 

Let us continue to pray that a way to combat the disease be discovered and that all those who are afflicted be restored to health soon. 

Thank you. 

REV. FR. GENARO O. DIWA 
Director
Ministry for Liturgical Affairs

***

I had this unfortunate experience of a priest distributing communion, distributing the Hosts as if they were poker chips.  No exaggeration!  I stuck my tongue out and his hand was handing out the Host to me at my waist level.  He even forced the Host into my folded hands!  He was insistent that I receive only on the Hand and not on the mouth.

A(H1N1) or not, there are priests and EMHC who insist that Communion in the Hand be the norm.  Why because of this purported text from St. Cyril that instructs faithful how to receive Communion in the Hand.  I will dwell on this in a later post and how the liberals played on this text to suit their "creativities" and capriciousness.

Mass at war ravaged Manila

The continuation from my post "Even in War, the Holy Sacrifice is offered".  The same priest, same soldiers.  I am happy that I am able to attend and serve at the same Mass these brave men of freedom celebrated at the liberation of our beloved country.  The same Mass celebrated by countless number of saints and beati.  The Traditional Latin Mass aka Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.