Monday thru Friday at www.DailyCatholic.org See why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!" e-mail: DailyCatholic@dailycatholic.org

If liberal liturgists followed the Vatican II directives strictly they'd find there's nothing new in the New Mass.

      In his column today, Pat Ludwa completes his two part series of answering those who persist in perpetrating the myth of the Mass as a banquet and celebration of the people. He points out, with the aid of some very good sources, how the liberals have watered down the true essence of the Sacrifice of the Mass and, in so doing, taken away the reverence and awe that should be reserved for this august and most exalted of prayers and devotion passed down to us by Jesus Christ. Find out the truth of the purpose for which the Novus Ordo was truly intended in part two of his column titled Mass Confusion. For more, click on VIEW FROM THE PEW

Mass Confusion part two

      A teacher of liturgy recently spoke about the "Mass Confusion" around the 'new' New Mass with gratifying clarity: "The Council was a Copernican revolution." There is taking place today a "revolution in our understanding of the Church" towards a "new Church." Now, the congregation is the subject of the worship service. And he added the deceptive and untrue statement that "The Council has not left to us the path of Tradition." (Ideology and Liturgy: Worship as the Cult of Community by Rev. Robert A. Skeris)

      This has led to what can only be described as 'Fad Masses'. If we read polls, we see a dramatic drop in attendance at Mass by 'faithful' Catholics. (One poll says that 90% of America perceives themselves as religious though only approx. 40% attend Sunday Mass.) So, in order to bring the people back, they run off after innovations to make the Mass more 'enjoyable', more 'pertinent'. (Though how the worship of God isn't pertinent is beyond me)

      Where once we sung hymns giving glory to God (even modern ones) we hear more hymn's giving glory to the community. "We are the chosen people, we are the church of God, united with each others…etc." I call them the 'How great We art' hymn's.

      Once, the Consecration was the center of the Mass, the Eucharist the 'life' blood of the Church. Now, according to polls, it's the 'Hand shake of peace' and/or the 'Great Amen'. The Eucharist, being the Real Presence of Christ, unites us to Him when we receive Him, and to each other as each of us receives It worthily. However, we can see by just watching the people go to receive Him, that this reverence is, if not gone, seriously lacking. Not only those who receive It without any outward sign of reverence, but the 'assembly line' way in which we receive it, lends itself to a lack of reverence. (the priest and/or eucharistic ministers can hardly watch someone consume the host, as they're supposed to, while they do so as they walk away and the next person moves up. Reminds me of an old 'I Love Lucy' episode!)

      Now we even have parishes which remove their kneelers since it's beneath them to kneel before their Lord God during the Consecration.

      In many parishes, the priest no longer has anything to do with the Liturgy, leaving that to a 'trained' Liturgist and/or a Liturgy Council. Hence, parishes run 'polls' to find new ways of innovation.

      When I hear someone remark, "I come to Mass here because Fr. Joe is so cool!" Or, "The Ba Hai church up the road recommended this Mass." Or, "Fr. Joe makes the Mass so alive, so joyful." If it takes Fr. Joe for you to find joy in the Mass, then you don't understand what the Mass is. "….the sacred liturgy is above all things the worship of the divine Majesty…." In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, a minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle; we sing a hymn to the Lord's glory with all the warriors of the heavenly army; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for some part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await the Saviour, Our Lord Jesus Christ, until He, our life, shall appear and we too will appear with Him in glory." (SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM)

      Fr. Robert A. Skeris points out six factors which has led to confusion and the 'remaking' of the New Mass.

1)" The spokesmen for permanent liturgical revolution never tire of inculcating their new gospel: that we should eschew the narrow and restrictive views of an earlier age and conceive the Mass not so much in terms of worship or sacrifice, as of God's action upon men, as though _ in opposition to all the great theologians and all the councils _ it were less a matter of adoring and glorifying the Most High God by means of an appropriate propitiatory sacrifice, and more a matter of human wellbeing and happiness."

2) "we must recall that today, when the infinitely holy and adorable majesty of God has receded so far into the background, and gradually faded away in favor of a "nice," friendly God, it has little by little become fashionable to deny that the essence of the Sacrifice of the Cross is satisfactio vicaria, vicarious satisfaction.

What sort of a God would that be, they ask, who demands such a bloody sacrifice? And in this context the propitiatory character of the Sacrifice of the Mass naturally fades away, too. . . ."

3)" we should note the transformation of what was formerly called the "consecration" of the Mass into the "words of institution" or the "institution narrative," of which one now simply says, "It . . . proclaims in the form of a prayer the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus." How often has each one of us observed the "institution narrative" mechanically rattled off without a pause or a break, while the celebrant (the "presider"?) candidly gazed at the assembly!"

4)" it has become generally accepted _ at least by the members of the Liturgy Club _ "that it is no longer the priest alone, but rather the assembled congregation as a whole which is subject and executant of the liturgical action." (And as a matter of fact this statement actually represents a "Copernican revolution." For in spite of the assurances that "all the faithful participate in Christ's priesthood," it is simply no longer true that the ordained priest, as such, clearly and unmistakeably acts in persona Christi Who functions as the real High Priest. Hence it is no accident that in such a context one finds curious statements such as this: "All things considered, one must indeed say that the concept of `priest' is not particularly suitable . . . for describing the specific function of office- holders in the Church." (Th. Schneider, professor of dogmatic theology at Mainz, cited in Richter-Schilson)"

5) "the transformation of the priest into a "presider," a term which is used with an almost exclusive pointedness in the new liturgical books. It is not only the new word which is significant. Here we find a palpable instance of demythologisation in the manner in which the doctrine of the indelible character which the candidate receives in the sacrament of Holy Orders." (Is it any wonder? 'Anyone' can be a presider, even a woman. Hence, the ultimate goal of groups like the Women's Ordination Committee isn't the ordination of women, but the end of the priesthood and the beginning of 'community-ordained facilitators')

6) "it is not difficult to discern the demythologisation lying in the confusion which mistakes that noble simplicity the last Council desired for the liturgy, for the straightforward transparency to which I have already referred. This pellucidity (clear, translucent) has become one of the standard demands of the liturgical tinkers: as if it were quite appropriate, instead of completely grotesque, to call for the same insipid clearness which we rightly expect in everyday events _ but at the sublime event of Holy Mass, in which the mysterium tremendum of the Incarnation repeats itself, in the correctly understood sense of that expression. If there is anything which has driven people out of the churches in such large numbers in the wake of the last Council, then it is this presumptuous insistence upon banal intelligibility, this cheapening of the Sacred which reduces it to the level of the normal and the everyday, thus effectively profaning it." (Ideology and Liturgy: Worship as the Cult of Community)

      So, when you go to Mass, what do you go for? What do you go to see? To be entertained? To be given a group hug? Or to join with others in the worship of God?

      If the Mass is the worship OF the community, then there is no need to attend if one doesn't 'feel up to it'. Just as one need not attend a social function. "The faithful have a right to a true Liturgy, which means the Liturgy desired and laid down by the Church, which has in fact indicated where adaptations may be made as called for by pastoral requirements in different places or by different groups of people. Undue experimentation, changes and creativity bewilder the faithful. The use of unauthorized texts means a loss of the necessary connection between the lex orandi and the lex credendi. The Second Vatican Council's admonition in this regard must be remembered: "No person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove or change anything in the Liturgy on his own authority." And Paul VI of venerable memory stated that: "Anyone who takes advantage of the reform to indulge in arbitrary experiments is wasting energy and offending the ecclesial sense." (INAESTIMABILE DONUM Instruction Concerning Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Approved and Confirmed by Pope John Paul II)

      Hopefully these two installments have helped clarify somewhat the muddled mess we have found ourselves in with the Novus Ordo which was never intended to be an innovative experiment but rather a continuation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the vernacular with greater participation by the faithful.

Pax Christi, Pat

---

Sacrifice is simple if we are properly conditioned and our soul is in shape

      Today we continue our Lenten segment on the Church today, specifically with Sacrifice, a necessary spiritual and physical exercise we cannot live without! By its nature sacrifice dictates there will be a heavy attrition rate which Jesus knew only too well (cf. Matthew 7: 14) Our Lord has said that we need to be supple, enthusiastic and innocent as little children in order to inherit His kingdom. Sacrifice is the spiritual "nautilus" we must use to keep ourselves in shape to offset the sin-fattening temptations of the world. For the ninety-seventh installment of this on-going megaseries, click on WHERE IS HOLY MOTHER CHURCH HEADING AS WE NEAR THE MILLENNIUM?.

      Our entire life on earth is a journey home to God the Father. God, the Creator of all the universe, sent His Only-begotten Son to earth to show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life, which we must take upon ourselves if we are to be heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus taught His Apostles that before they could begin their own mission to spread the Gospel, they, too, had to fast and pray in order to e full of the Life of God. The life of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the beginning to the end of mortal life was a total sacrifice. So also for His Blessed Mother. Jesus gave His life for us, that we might be saved. Are we, then, to do less if we are to imitate Jesus?

      Sacrifice is not so much giving up something like chocolate, television, etc. Oh, it is for the child who is learning and being conditioned to accept greater sacrifices. That's part of our conditioning and inheritance as Jesus says in Mark 18:17, "Amen I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter into it." So we need to become like a little child in heart and soul but also take responsibility for our own actions as Saint Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:11, "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away the things of a child." We need to put away the "little sacrifices" we offered meticulously as a child, and move up to the level He expects of us as responsible children of God for the real root of sacrifice must begin in our heart and soul. Yes, it is a total willingness to die to self, to literally, by God's grace, cross out the "I" and put on Christ. Isn't that what the Cross of Our Dear Lord is? Isn't it "I" crossed out, the ego denied, the spirit uplifted into celestial realms?

      Sacrifice is our interior disposition of heart and soul to become holy and pleasing to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit - the Most Blessed Trinity. That is why Our Lady says consistently, "Pray from the Heart." Because if we don't have our heart and soul into it, we're just going through the motions and when the time comes to really sacrifice, we'll most probably fall miserably because we're not conditioned to die to self physically, mentally, and spiritually.

      Therefore, as we experience this Lenten season, first let us all concentrate through a thorough examination of conscience on how open we are to God, how much do we really want to be t transformed through a total conversion of heart by the grace of the Holy Spirit? Just how much are we willing to give back to God who has given All to us?

      After this examination of conscience, a good, holy Confession should follow, which disposes the soul to follow Jesus and ask Him: "What do you want me to do, Lord?" "Speak, Lord, for thy servant is listening" (1 Kings 3:9). In the silence of our being, Jesus will fill us with that supernatural knowledge of what He wishes of each one of us at that moment. Where and how do each one of us make sacrifice for Him? In what spirit of sacrifice to we commence our journey home to God? We know now that it's a life-long process, not just something we "have to do" during a mere 40 days of Lent. Now, when we prepare properly, we understand in our soul that "sacrifice" which incorporates prayer and penance is absolutely necessary every single day of our lives.

      The true spirit of sacrifice is to desire with our whole being to subdue the human ego, passions, desires, intellect, and senses. Only then can we permit the Holy Spirit to bring alive the intellect of the soul, which then predominates and keeps under control all the human weaknesses of which we are subject to due to Original Sin.

      Over and over in Holy Scripture, in the messages of Our Lord and His Blessed Mother to messengers and visionaries throughout the ages, the repeated phrase from Heaven is: "Pray, Pray, Pray!" Prayer is the link to God which keeps us focused, helps us to willingly submit to God's Perfect Will, to dismiss our will as nothing.

Our Lady clues us in

      Today we present the Meditation of Our Lady on Lesson 2 of FAREWELL TO THE HOLY WOMEN AND THE MOTHER, where Mary explains the significance of this lesson to all her children as we continue to bring you these inspiring Meditative Lessons of Jesus' Passion and Death contained in the Sorrowful Mysteries. Click on "IT IS CONSUMMATED!"

      My Little Ones, while this has been a longer description of a moment preceding my Divine Son’s Holy, Sacred Passion, I ask you to meditate upon the holy women who, in faith, hope and love, come to Jesus to bid Him good-bye in His earthly mission and to seek from Him strength to remain faithful in their continued earthly exile. Each one sought blessings, and these they were given. Each came to Him, aware of their past failings, yet believing in Him Who is Life.

      All came to Him in humility, for they recognized Him as their God and Savior. They sought only to remain humble, faithful servants.

      Only in eternity will it be revealed how, in the hours before His Passion, my Divine Son received such strength from these holy souls to allow Him, the Man, to suffer as no man has ever suffered, that the Father’s Will might be accomplished.

      Only in eternity shall you know to what heights their faith led them, and how from such faith their courage blossomed against the tide of evil which was already gathering in the hearts of all in Jerusalem.

      In these, the end times, my Little Ones, you must imitate these holy souls who recognized their own poverty and came at once to the source of all riches - my Divine Son.

      In these last days you, also, must gaze upon Him, your Lord and Savior, and seek only the Divine Will. There can be no place in your heart to doubt. Doubt leads to fear. Fear is the road to despair. My Little Ones, meditate upon this scene which I have shown interiorly to my Littlest One. Let this room become for you the very Tabernacle where my Divine Son is present, and awaits you as He awaited Mary, Martha, His aunt, and His own Blessed Mother.

      Do not listen to those who scorn, rebuff, persecute and seek your ruin. They speak the language of the evil one. Rather, sit humbly before my Divine Son and cleanse your heart by tears of holy repentance. In this way, my little children, He takes you into His sacred wounds and hides you there, unseen by the world. There He brings to perfection the Divine Will in you. There you will find all that is necessary to be an apostle of the end times, the faithful remnant unafraid of all that is yet to come.

      For you will see only Him, and in Him and through Him your own earthly crucifixion will be united to His Infinite Merits, and you shall be the instruments through which countless souls shall be saved.

      And as we did this evening in the room at Lazarus’ house, so I ask you to go each day before the Tabernacle and at Holy Mass. With eyes lifted heavenward and heart raised to God, pray from your heart the "Our Father." Then shall you swiftly understand much of the sublime mysteries of my Son’s Passion. Then shall hope abound in you, for that which is to come upon the world after my Immaculate Heart triumphs - the Age of the Divine Will, the Reign of the Sacred heart.

      Pray, my Little Ones. Pray as you have never before prayed, for the hour has come to the world and God’s justice shall strike. Pray, and seek unity with my Son’s Passion. There you will not be afraid, but know sublime peace!

NEXT INSTALLMENT: Part One of Lesson 3: WITH THE APOSTLES ON THE EVE OF PASSOVER

Daily Dose of curious contents of the Church:

Portiuncula Indulgence

      Yesterday was the 591st anniversary of Saint Francis of Assisi receiving his vocation to begin the Franciscans at the Portiuncula. We revealed the meaning of this, but there is another aspect of the Portiuncula which we didn't touch on; that is the Portiuncula Indulgence also called the "Pardon of Assisi." It commemorates the indulgence obtained by Francis on the occasion of the official approval of his Rule from Pope Honorius III. The Holy Father approved the plenary Portiuncula Indulgence for all pilgrims who would go and pray for the souls in Purgatory and recite an Our Father, the Apostles Creed, and another prayer such as the Hail Mary for the intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff. The stipulation was that they had to kneel in the small stone chapel known as Portiuncula inside the cavernous Saint Mary of the Angels Basilica at the base of the hill below Assisi. There they would receive a Plenary Indulgence if performed between midday of August 1 through August 2. Needless to say, countless pilgrims swarm into Assisi during this day and a half period to merit the indulgence. Partly because of that, the Church has since extended this indulgence to those who pray in other Franciscan churches and parish churches. The indulgence is good once each day with the conditions being that the penitent must be in the state of grace after having made a good Confession and receive Holy Communion within a day and a half of visiting the eligible church or chapel. On the first of May in 1939 Pope Pius XII extended the privilege to any pastor, with his bishop's permission and approval, to apply to the Sacred Penitentiary to allow the Portiuncula Indulgence in their parish. Many have responded where today there are countless churches and chapels where one can receive this plenary indulgence. (sources: Assisi Art and History in the Centuries, Edizioni Plurigraf; Catholic Almanac, Our Sunday Visitor, Publisher; Catholic Encyclopedia, Thomas Nelson Publishers).

Even now war looms on the horizon which will embroil every nation.

     That shocking statement by the BLessed Mother to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart in late September 1993 is truer today in 1999 when we see the caldron that could boil over in Kosovo and the mideast. Our Lady warns in Message #410 that events are unfolding that will pave the way for the antichrist and the signs are evident, manifested in what is happening today throughout the world and America from the White House on down. All that Mary has foretold is coming to pass and the only way to combat the advance of satan is through her Rosary and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. She prefaces this same theme in Message #409 urging her little ones to keep the faith, not give up and willingly take up the cross for that is the only means of survival in the times ahead. For Messages #409 and #410 in late September 1993, click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

Messages Four Hundred-nine and Four-Hundred-ten

      Beloved Hidden Flower, I bless you. I desire all my children to know that through my many apparitions and my words through my messengers, I come always to offer all the Peace of my Divine Son.

      Yet my Immaculate Heart remains sorrowful for so few understand that to possess His Peace one must put aside the world and take up their cross, as willingly and obediently as my Divine Son did.

      Little children, it is God's Divine Will to bring His True Peace to all men. Yet I solemnly tell you that all mankind, every nation stands upon the brink of the abyss because their hearts are closed, the eyes of their souls do not see. Dear children, I need your prayers for all who, as yet, refuse my Divine Son and do not know His Divine Mercy. Little ones, open your eyes. The events shaping your world, your own government and society are all revealed to you in Sacred Scripture as signs of the end times. These events which appear to man's finite mind as solutions, providing all men the necessities to preserve bodily life are all the scheme of the evil one to bring about the reign of the antichrist.

      Dear children, how God loves you and calls you. Be not afraid, but put aside the world.

      This Year of Tears shall not come to an end before many events take place which shall pave the way for the antichrist to reign.

      Do not lose heart. Be of great faith, for faith shall be severely tested. I solemnly tell you many are the shepherds whose faith has weakened, withered as a dry leaf. But I extend to you the Holy Rosary to lead you back to full bloom. Be of great zeal and go to Mass daily if you can. Receive the Sacrament of Penance no less than twice a month and give all reverence to my Divine Son truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

      Woe to those who deny my Divine Son! Woe to those who through pride heed not the call of God. They shall feel His awesome Justice.

      Look at the signs and grow closer to my Son. I will guide you. I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!

      Beloved Hidden Flower, I am beside you, for I form you in my Immaculate Heart. Say to all of my little ones: Thank you for your prayers, which I give to my Divine Son that Mercy may yet pour out upon the earth. I beseech each of you - be even more humble, little and obedient to the Divine Will.

      Now is the moment when the evil one masks all his evil deeds beneath the cloak of universal peace through the physical well-being of each person's material wants.

      O! Be not deceived. This is the false peace. Even now war looms on the horizon which will embroil every nation. Pray much. Speak little. Trust God above all else and seek to love as He Loves. Then shall the Holy Spirit possess you and guide you that you may persevere.

      The Year of Tears continues. I weep as does my Divine Son. Pick up your Rosaries, convert your hearts and dry the Divine Tears of Jesus Christ, God and Savior.

      I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!

Click here to go to SECTION TWO or click here to return to the graphics front page of this issue.

February 25, 1999 volume 10, no. 39   DAILY CATHOLIC