On site Prep for Adore

Finally When I arrive, I had come with all the liturgical equipment. Br Superior's first obedience was to set up the chapel. My immediate superior was my good friend Br Martin. After about an hour, a lot of shifting and a panic session, we go the job done. We thought that this was great, fitting for the mass. Even this would make me happy at my school masses, but no we have to use a stupid table, not even covered with an altar cloth.After I had retired that night, I woke the next day to find that Br superior (also a liturgist) rearranged Br Martins and my fruit. I can admit that I was beaten by one more versed in ingenuity and sanctuary beautification then I. This new set up, I wonderful. I felt a spiritual high when I served here.
Having to help out with the liturgy, gave me a few unexpected joys. This is the fattest thurible i have ever seen! It's great, the extra space, allows for more coal, incense and smoke! It is a bit to small and lack the center ring, but apart from that It's awesome. I would love to have one like this!
Here is Br Superior. I really love having a superior, it makes life so much easier. They give you the will of God and you just go do it. I would love to apologies publicly for being a bit stubborn and domineering when it came to the liturgy, but the brother bore my vices with great patience.
Here is what the brother I called the Vicar General. You can guess that he was second in charge and helped me out a lot with clarifications. Everyone Please pray for Br Gabriel.

Last but not least is Br Simon. He is the most resourceful and holy musician I have seen.
Please Pray for him my faithful readers, hopefully he will be a priest one day. We joked the he is so short the deacon will need to pick him up so he can incense the altar!.

Have patience, photos from the actual adore will come soon.

Quick Update

I just got back from staying with the OATH brothers (again). I met a person that I first met in Perth, his name was Peter (to the left). He had an unruly look, beard (didn't look tame like a monastic beard) and fuzzy hair. When I was leaving Perth, he decided to enter the OATH. When I stayed with the brothers, I saw him again. WOW the grace of God has transformed him. He was bald, no facial hair, well dressed and in a cassock! After spending a few days with him now , I see how God can mold people into what is most useful for his mission.

Now a he told me that he had found my website some time ago, praise God!. When he went to the adore he met me, once he returned home his mother said to him " I found this website, made by a boy from Brisbane, You would like it" He replied ," O, I met the guy at the adore"
We really did hit it off, we discussed the Carthusians a lot and declared people to be athemas!
This showed me, how small the world is! So everyone please pray for Br Peter from Perth.

P.S. He says he is well fed and has not eaten pasta for a while!

Preparation for Adore

Sorry about no posting all my photos close to the adore , but I've been swamped with School, Masses and helping out the O.A.T.H. So finally here are a few photos from the week I spent with the Brothers in Perth, preparing for the adore.Here is the nice room I was greeted to after my 5hr flight from Melbourne. As you can see it is quite a nice room and also you see I have made myself at home.
Once I rose from my slumber, I found to my great surprise a well set up mobile chapel. It is mobile due it being easily constructed and moved. If only my school masses had a "sacred space" this good and conductive to prayer.

Here is the fruit of my labor. 6 altar candle stands and a processional cross. My role in the preparation for adore involved being kept outside polishing brass all day. It love to see my brass shine!After my brief 4 day stay at a vacant convent, we had to vacate and move to the site of the Adore. When helping to pack, I looked out over the balcony and saw the Indian ocean. It hit me , I was standing on the other side of Australia!

It was a great few days. More posts on the adore will be coming soon , I promise.

Victimae Paschali Laudes

Victimae Paschali To the Paschal victim
laudes immolent Christiani. may Christians offer songs of praise.

Agnus redemit oves: The Lamb has redeemed the sheep;
Christus innocens Patri The innocent Christ
reconciliavit peccatores. has reconciled sinners to the Father.

Mors et vita duello Death and life have clashed
conflixere mirando: in a miraculous duel:
dux vitae mortuus, The Leader of Life is dead,
regnat vivus. yet reigns alive.

Dic nobis Maria, Tell us, Mary,
Quid vidisti in via? what did you see on the way?
Sepulcrum Christi viventis, I saw the tomb of the living Christ,
et gloriam vidi resurgentis, and the glory of His rising,

Angelicos testes, The angelic witnesses,
sudarium et vestes. the shroud and His clothes.
Surrexit Christus spes mea: Christ, my hope, has risen:
praecedet suos in Galilaeam. He will go before his own into Galilee.

[Credendum est magis soli [More trust should be placed
Mariae veraci In truthful Mary
Quam Judaeorum Than in the deceitful
Turbae fallaci.] Crowd of Jews.]

Scimus Christum surrexisse We know that Christ has truly risen
a mortuis vere: from the dead.
Tu nobis, victor Rex miserere O Conqueror and King, have mercy on us.
Amen. Alleluia. Amen. Alleluia.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday, The first time in 4 years the full tridentine mass has been celebrated in the archdiocese of Brisbane. The church of St Luke's was the church that was graced with the most perfect thing this side of heaven and the celebrant Fr Jordan SJ.

Mr Chris Warnholtz, lead the procession in as thurifer. He is my generous benefactor in all things liturgical , so please pray for him, my faithful readers.
The Prayers at the foot of the Altar. I don't particularly like this enclosed surplice stlye to dalmatic and tunicle, I prefer the silted wing type.
The Altar is incensed. The deacon and sub-deacon flank the priest for it, although it is tradition to hold the edge of the chasuble for the priest while he is incensing, it is quite point less to do it if it is a roman chasuble, any other type you do need to hold it due to it covering a decent portion of his arms. Also at a missa cantata or any Paul the 6th mass with insence, it is a good custom for the MC and/or Deacon to flank the priest while he circles the altar and holding his chasuble for his arms to move with more ease.The Priest prays the collects. It sure is a wonderful sight to see the sacred hierarchy of the church visible at the high mass. As Monsignor Watch (the founder of the institute of Christ the King) once said "You will be changed after your first solemn high mass, due to witnessing the sacred hierarchy of Heaven, visible at the altar"

The Sacred Ministers sit for the tract. It is a highly commendable practice for the MC to stand by the priest side while he is sitting. Mr David Kerr, the MC in the photo gave this beautiful example " You have to be at the priest side, just in case he needs a mars bar , you can go out and get one for him". Also I highly recommend the practice of draping the chasuble or vestment over the back of the chair, so as to avoid the priest sitting on his chasuble!

The Gospel is solemnly proclaimed by Fr Rizzo FSSP acting as Deacon. The Sub-deacon holds the book of the Gospels (This time the Missal) and is Flanked by the two acolytes with candles. I find this method more dignified then just standing at an ambo. I keep thinking of a way to translate this practice in to the Mass of Paul the 6th, I am thinking of having either another deacon or a crucifer in alb, amice and cincture (I might push for a tunicle as well) to hold the book of the Gospels.Above is Fr Jordan SJ, preaching another of his holy homilies.

And the Word became FLESH!
The hierarchy forms again moving from the center to the epistle side, the Acolytes had the cruets to the sub-deacon who passes the wine to the deacon and he then moves to the priest, so that the priest may bless the water. The Deacon prepares and passes the elements to the priest.

The preface is chanted and the hierarchy resumes it's position in the center.Here the sacred cannon is recited.

Behold the Lamb of God!

The procession out. The tridentine solemn high mass is the fullest mass you can get, it is only abbreviation of the Solemn ponfitical mass at the throne. All other forms of masses are abbreviations of the mass. Serving the Mass is a wonderful and spiritually uplifting experience.
Also the Easter Sunday mass mass has the greatest sequence every written Victimae Pashali Laudes. I'll be sure to post a youtube video of the sequence as soon as I can.

Exsultet

The Exsultet just as I promise. Fr Prior chanted it in this exact tone, I think he's been hanging around with a few Dominicans far too often.

Easter Saturday

For the easter vigil I journeyed down to Marian Valley.
Here the Prior, lights the paschal candle from the blessed fire.
The Light of the paschal candle, symbolizing Christ the light that darkness could not over come.
The Light of Christ, Thanks be to God
I will post a video of an exultet being sung, due to not being able to record Fr Prior's masterful chanting of it.


Here is Father praying the collects, the reading of Holy Saturday are very beautiful and tell of the prophecies about Christ.
Due to us not having anyone to be baptized or received into the faith (it is a monastery after all) we unfortunately had to skip the litany of the Saints, one of my favorites. Also I spent a good 10 minutes searching for a good aspergil branch for Father. Father wanted a nice big branch to get everyone with a wave of Holy water.
The summit of the Easter vigil is the elevation at the elevations, Christ who has been slain rises.
The easter vigil, the most important event in the church went smoothly due to the dedication and hard work of The Monks, The servers, The choir and all the Marian Valley Volunteers.

Good Friday

O God, by the passion of Christ, our Lord, you have destroyed the hereditary death of the ancient sin, to which humankind had succumbed; grant that we may be made like to him and, just as by necessity we have borne the image of an earthly nature, so by sanctification we may also bear the image of heavenly grace. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen

The Good Friday Liturgy begins with the sacred minister prostrating and the servers kneeling.
The sacred ministers then move to the sedlia for the lessons and the prayers.
The minister change into black vestments for the solemn collects.
My favorite being

For the unity of the Church

Let us pray also for heretics and schismatics:
that our Lord and God may be pleased to deliver
them from all their errors, and to recall them to
our holy Mother the Catholic and Apostolic church

Let us pray. Let us Kneel. Arise

Almighty and everlasting God, You save all
and will that no one should perish; look on the
souls that are led astray by the deceit of the
Devil, that having set aside all heretical evil, the
hearts of those who err may repent and return
to the unity of your truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ who live and
reigns with you and the holy spirit for ever and ever.

Fr John Rizzo FSSP came and assisted us with the trindium, here he is acting as Deacon and giving a strong sermon on the holy cross.

Ecce lignum Crucis
Behold the wood of the Cross

After the veneration of the cross, the minister changed into purple vestments for the communion rite. I sure was awesome to see the 3 sacred minister, compared with the usual one that we see. Norm is to leave the liturgy on Good Friday in silence, but it's pretty hard to stop people talking these days!

Trip to Perth

I'd like to take this post to inform my loyal readers that I will be extremely Busy Tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday with the trindiuum. If I get the chance I will post the photos on my blog.
Also I will be away from Easter Sunday to about the 17th of this month at the ADORE 2007 in Perth, but fear not after I return there will be more photos.

Palm Sunday

Today I just got back from MCing at Marian Valley and let me tell you it was awesome! It was the close mass I've seen that resembled what was once called a Missa cantata.
He is the procession from the sanctuary down to the outside chapel where the palms happen to be. We moved with a procession consisting of a thirifer ,two acolytes , the MC hold Father's cope open and finally Father in a cope and wearing a biretta!
Here the Gospel is proclaimed old style, with the MC holding the Gospel as the sub deacon would at the Tridentine High mass, the two acolytes flanking the MC , the thurifer to the left of the Priest and the priest proclaiming the Gospel.Finally Father got around to blessing the Palms, Father also tested out his new monastic amice.
Here is Brother Luke leading the procession back into the church. Right behind Brother are the twins with my new upgraded acolyte candles.
Here Father is processing in, exercising his singing voice and having his MC hold his cope open.
At this point the passion is being read. I'd like to bring attention to the monastic practice of having the acolyte candles at the entrance to the sanctuary, One is in front of the credence table and the second is front of the ambo.During the singing of the preface the thurifer and the two acolytes with torches are in front of the altar, while the MC is at the priests side at the missal.
After the ablutions the MC re-veils the chalice and carries it off to the credence table. I would have loved it if the Roman rite still retained the practice of using a humeral veil to carry the chalice in what would now the the equivalent of a "solemn high mass".

Here is a shot of the MC instructing the acolytes in the formation for the procession out. If you haven't noticed by now, I was the MC and I quite enjoyed my fancy lace surplice due to the privilege that the MC has of wearing a lace surplice.
Finally here is the procession out forming. I was an awe inspiring day and it was a great delight to both the congregation, the Priest and the MC.