My Wild prayer group idea

Last year I was inspired by Fr Columba to do somthing about the lack of knowledge of the faith among Catholic Students. Long story short, I was called a Fundamentalist lunatic by the Principle and it all thisled out. Then I changed it to a Rosary group in November, that too thisled out, I'm still waiting for the campus minister to get back to me. The problem with my school is although we do alot of fundrasing and donating, it doesn't amount up to much due to the lack of prayer and Catholic spirit at the school.

For the prayer group I even wrote up a booklet (please e-mail me if you wish a copy) of a few basic points about the faith and the goal of the group. Here is what I wrote about the Blessed Mother.

Our Lady

You now know about the crusader part of the group but you are probably wondering about the Our Lady part. Our Lady is a reference to Mary. When Jesus died on the cross he said to St John “Here is your mother." St John represents all of us, all the people in the world, Jesus gave us Mary to be like a mother to us. We all know that a mother grants all most anything asked of her by her children (us). This is why we pray to Jesus through Mary, because Jesus never says no to something Mary asks of him.

When we call Mary the Mother of God it does not mean she’s actual the “creator of God” but we mean that ancient Greek word “Theotokos” meaning God bearer meaning she carried God (Jesus) into the world. Therefore, she is the Mother of the Church

We also pray to her because she is the perfect example of how to pray. She shows us her perfect love, by how she adored Jesus when he was a little baby in her arms. When she appeared at Fatima, Jesus also appeared and told us to follow her example, her example of prayer.

It's the Eye of the Tiger

My co-blogger did a nice transation of a well know pop song and here it is:

The Eye of the Tiger

Iterum exsurgo in via
Penam persolvi, fortunae me commisi
Ad finem restiti nunc sum denuo in ordine
Solum homo et voluntas ejus superesse

Tam saepe nimis celeriter accidit
Studium tuum gloriae tradis
Ne relinqueris somnia praeteritorum
Debes contendere ut solum ea servares

Oculus tigris est, pars melior certaminis
Provocationem rivalis respondemus
Ultimus notus superstes praedam suam insiditur nocte
Atque omnes nos oculo tigris adspicit

Translated by Summa Theologica with the generous assistance of KC.

Completion date 8/1/07

Now It would be funny if this was used in latin as a hymn at mass, Hec most of the people would have no idea what it is about!

Unanderra

Last year, I took a trip down to my previous abode, the city of Wollongong. Back there I attended Mass at the Polish community, which is currently using the Parish Church at Unanderra. Let me tell you this church looks very nice, even after the post V II high altar basing. Above is a photo of the exterior of the church, to those of those architectural experts, would someone please tell me what style the church is built with.


As you can see the altar has just been moved forward, no jack hammer involved. We can still clearly see the high altar candles. We even still have a sedilla (Chairs for the Priest, Deacon and Sub deacon) facing the altar, which is a rare and appreciated feat. Although you can not see them in this photo the two side altars are still there.


Now the amazing thing about this parish is the parish priest. This photo above is a photo from the 50th anniversary of the Polish community in Wollongong. Now as my readers know the server on the left with the thurible is me, but next to me on my left is Father Mark O'Keefe. Now sit down, this may shock you. Oh that's right you are already sitting down, okay well he is the boat boy.............

Can you believe it the parish priest is serving as a lowly boat boy, Wow the humility! This Priest most Sunday is in his cassock, this really makes the Polish Chaplin and the provincial, whom was also there, look rather undressed.
This priest is a shining example of what should be the standard that, at least a priest wears his cassock on a Sunday.
Now here is the procession out assembling. One poor thing to note was that we had a great verity of fully dress celebrants, a vested acolyte, two poorly dressed servers, one server not even dress in sacred clothing, one cleric fill in and a priest in choir. A nice tribute to the LEX ORANDI, LEX CREDENDI.

Please note I am wearing a choir surplice, it's not meant for serving, but its wide sleeves. Finally, we are using the thurible on the way out, well just for show, this Polish community was probably never seen a thurible at the mass.

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Choir Dress

I Have mentioned in the previous post the term Choir Dress. Most would not know what the term is so I must explain.

Choir dress is the dress of a Priest or Religious that they wear for all liturgies. This excludes the main celebrant, con-celebrants and Deacons. They wear what is called Eucharistic Vestments.
The term choir dress comes from the fact that the dress is worn for the Divine office (which is sung). Priest and Religious recently have generally abandoned choir dress and dress in lay or Eucharistic Vestments for the liturgies of the church. This is a bad practice. It blurs the line between clergy and the people and that of the Mass and other Liturgies(which also seem to have disappeared).

Now to reinforce my definition I will show you a few photos of choir dress.

To the right is Fr Columba, he is in his choir dress. The Pauline Choir dress for professed is the Habit and a white mantle (the cape).

Here is Br Dominic and Br Martin, they are professed O.A.T.H.. They are in their choir copes. Their choir dress consists of a cassock and choir cope.

Here we can clearly notice the priest in Choir (choir means be present at mass and not assisting or celebrating). The Priest here that is in front of the 3 sacred ministers and wearing the biretta (the hat). This appears to be a diocesan. The choir dress of a diocesan priest is the cassock, surplice and biretta.

Now to top this post off, we have a bishop in choir dress. Here is Archbishop Phillip Wilson the Archbishop of Adelaide. He is also the president of the episcopal conference of Australia. He is receiving the first blessing of a FSSP priest that he ordained. Now he is wearing the proper choir dress of a bishop, that consisting of a purple cassock, a band cincture, a rochet, a mozzetta and a purple biretta. Many bishop would do well to follow his example.

Moral Positivism

This is an update of my post below on "moderate" Murphy.

I'm currently working through a (very interesting) six hundred and fifty page ethics tome by Fr Austin Fagothey (who was professor of philosophy at Santa Clara University) entitled "Right and Reason."

In here he speaks about moral positivism (not to be confused with the positivism of Auguste Comte). Moral positivism comes in three forms. One that says that morality comes from the dictate of the State, another from custom and the third from the will of God. All of them are wrong but it is the first that is of interest here.

The idea that something is right or wrong only because the state commands or forbids it comes from two men: Thomas Hobbes and a Frenchman by the name of Rousseau. According to Hobbes (in an excerpt quoted by Fagothey), before the existence of states there was no morality -nothing intrinsically good or bad.

Of course, the State has the authority to make laws concerning things that are otherwise morally indifferent (such as that you have to stop at a certain place because there is a stop sign there). Such a thing's moral goodness or badness then becomes extrinsic.

As someone was telling me recently, in his day Hobbes was in danger of being put to death on the charge of atheism (something he was able to wiggle his way out of). Yet, fifty years later many bishops had unknowingly adopted many of his ideas.

I think we can say that three hundred years later Cardinal Murphy has imbibed this particular idea of Hobbes'. Taken to it's logical conclusion it brings horrifying results.

The reason I extrapolate on this is it is not uncommon to find people unthinkingly adopt this outlook without realizing what it entails. "How can that be wrong? It's legal isn't it?"

Funny

Now look it's Funny and Weird.
I don't support this kind of priestly behavior (He is after all an eccentric), But he does make a good point, about the internet philosophy. Just to make clear , HE is an ANGLICAN NOT CATHOLIC.

Our Lady of Lourdes

Today Marian Valley celebrated the apparitions at Lourdes. We had a solemn mass and Solemn Procession to the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. In the above photo you can Clearly see Fr Prior participating in the procession as all Religious Brothers, Monks and Clergy should. That is in Choir dress (the Pauline monks have a mantle in choir) and in the actual procession, not sitting in a corner somewhere or socializing with a select few of the laity or trying to pass an alb and stole off as choir dress.

Here we are at the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. Marian Valley has Multiple mini Shrine deitcated to various Saints and Apparitions.

A real sorce of inspiration was to see all the sick, no matter that aliments, to walk in the procession. It really shows how strong there faith is.

We finished the day, with an individual benediction. The servers had a fun time sliding with Father, as he gave benediction.

*** Please note, the underline is not intended***

Ave Regina Caelorum

After my stay in Melbourne I took quite a liking to this Chant. Having heard the brothers chant this about 6 times I simply fell in love with it's form. Having returned to Brisbane, I have not found a recording of it on the net, nor have I been able to chant it. If anyone knows where I can get a recording of it, please comment.

Umbracullum

I'm sure it's a long time since anyone has seen one of these up here in Brisbane.
To those of you who can not recognize it or have never seen it before, it is an Umbracullum. A processional canopy in the form of an umbrella. It is used in minor processions of the blessed sacrament.
This particular one was donated to Marian Valley by the Brisbane chapter of the Alliance of the Holy Family International. It was meant for use at the adore, but something prevented it's use, now it will serve Marian Valley, much to the joy of Fr Prior.

Form of the Body

This is will be the last installment on form.

The last main question to consider is what is the form of a human body?

The answer is the rational soul. The rational soul is what makes a human body a human body just as treeness is what makes a tree a tree.

In fact this is the dogmatic teaching the Church which defined the rational soul to be the form of the body in the Council of Vienne.

Ever so Moderate Murphy

Over in the Old Dart there is a battle right now between the Catholic Church and the British government. The British government under Tony Blair wants to force Catholic adoption agencies to adopt out children to sodomites. The Church, on the other hand, wants an exemption from the law to allow them to peacefully operate without having to be complicit in this disgusting child abuse. The whole episode has resulted in pleading letters from the bishops to the government to allow the free exercise of conscience in this matter.

But there is another disturbing element to this story.

And that's the disturbingly weak quality of the arguments being put forward by Cardinal Cormac Murphy and his non-opposition to the law in general (so long as Catholics have an 'out').

Take this story from Catholic World News (my emphasis):

"Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor said that he was still hopeful that Catholic agencies would be able to continue their adoption services, despite the conflict between the new policy and Church teachings. He did not directly oppose the Equality Act, saying: 'The government has a right to legislate and homosexual couples are also able to adopt in other agencies but we want to hold onto this principle.' "

Yes, the government has the "right to legislate" but it does not have the right to legislate laws that are directly opposed to the natural moral law. Any law that is contrary to the natural moral law is immoral and illicit in itself. To quote from John Paul II's encyclical on the Gospel of Life:

"In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to 'take part in a propaganda campaign in favour of such a law, or vote for it.' "

You can read more here including the ridiculous remarks of Ruth "the practicing Catholic" Kelly.

http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=48945