From Eternity Road - please read this post:

Ten Years After

"I've received a fair amount of email this past week, inquiring about whether I planned to write something on the tenth anniversary of Black Tuesday: September 11, 2001, when Islam openly declared war on the United States. Yes, I said Islam, not "terrorists," "extremists," or "fundamentalists." We have it on the authority of a head of state -- Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey -- that there is no "moderate Islam;" there is only Islam. Any number of imams, mullahs, ayatollahs and so forth have said the same -- and have proceeded to justify the atrocities of Black Tuesday as a response to the "humiliation" Muslims have endured at America's hands.

What humiliation? Daring to rise and progress out of the seventh century. Proclaiming a doctrine of individual rights beyond what their scriptures allow. Treating persons of all races, sexes, and faiths as possessing a perfect right to be as they are and believe as they do. Letting women read, drive, and go about in attractive clothing, unaccompanied by a male chaperone.

We "humiliate" Muslims and Islam by being Americans: believers in freedom, a secular state, and an objective rule of law and justice."

9/11 - we will NEVER forget

And muslims continue to act like muslims:

4 terror suspects arrested in Sweden

"The head of the Swedish Security Service, Anders Danielsson, warned last week that "Islamic terrorism is still the biggest threat against Sweden."
...

"Stockholm was hit by a suicide bombing in December. The attack on the capital, Sweden's first suicide bombing, wounded two people in a district full of Christmas shoppers."
...

After the Stockholm bombing, Swedish Security Police said the country had almost 200 Islamic extremists who advocate violence, but said there was no indication their number is growing."

...

Swedish authorities are investigating involvement in radicalism by Taimour Abdulwahab, the weekend's suicide bomber.

His emails before the bombings said that one reason for the attack was Sweden's tolerance of Lars Vilks' newspaper cartoon of the prophet Mohammed as a dog, authorities said. Abdulwahab, 28 -- who had lived in Iraq, Sweden and the English town of Luton -- also cited the presence of Swedish troops in Afghanistan.

That cartoon of Mohammed, published in 2007, was also cited in the new report as an example "of local events that may fuel radicalism globally."

This does not surprise me at all -

"A New Jersey mom still grieving the death of her beloved teenage daughter says she was ordered by callous bosses to quit discussing the child after co-workers complained -- and was even forced to yank the girl's ballet slippers and photos from her cubicle."
.....

"Two years earlier, Ingraham's daughter, Tatiana, 17, had died of leukemia, and shortly after, the devastated mom began decorating her desk with pictures of the child. She also kept on hand a pair of the girl's ballet slippers as a touching reminder. But Ingraham's co-workers whined that over the next two years, the married, inconsolable mom became an office pest with her tears and depressing attitude and that -- gasp -- it interfered with their work.

Ingraham's boss allegedly told her that he had received complaints about her conduct and her "uncomfortable" interaction with other workers.

One co-worker had even griped: "What else can we say [to her] that we have not said already?"

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/office_tear_jerks_ou0fsRmnOrxYB3HXNV9bDM#ixzz1XEDkH5Ko

Solemn High Mass

St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church

235 Glen Street

Glen Cove, N

On the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, September 12, 2011, at 7:30 pm, the Canonry of Saint Leopold will offer a Solemn High Mass to honor Our Lady and to commemorate the 328th anniversary of the victory of the Austrian Imperial forces over the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna on the slopes of the Kahlenberg.

The Kahlenberg (Bald Mountain) and its environs are the home to parishes and vineyards belonging to Stift Klosterneubur...g. During the Siege of Vienna in 1683, two Canons of Klosterneuburg played important roles: a Laybrother (Chorfrater) named Marzellin Ortner rallied the townsfolk to defend the Abbey and the town of Klosterneuburg; a priest, Dom Wilhelm Lebshaft, served as chaplain to the town’s militia. Keeping Klosterneuburg free aided in the Liberation of Vienna, which was made possible to a large extent thanks to the troops of the King of Poland, Jan III Sobieski, hailed by the Pope as the Savior of Christendom in Europe.

The Solemn High Mass will be celebrated in the Extraordinary Form. The Prior, the Very Rev'd Dom Daniel Nash, will serve as priest, the Rev'd Fr. Matthew Kauth, as deacon, and the Very Rev'd Dom Elias Carr, as subdeacon. With appropriate ceremonies and fitting music, the liturgy should offer worthy worship to Holy Trinity.

Canons Regular of St. Augustine

Amy Bonaccorso interviews the 3 priests who now oversee St. Patrick and St. Rocco in Glen Cove.

Part One

Part Two

Incoming Missal!

The new Missal to be used at the beginning of Advent will be an improved translation for the most part. Although I prefer the current version in certain places, i.e. by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary and became man, the 'cut and paste' job done after the Council is in great need of revision. Fr. Z at WDTPRS has hit the nail on the head with his continuing column looking in depth at the prayers of the Mass in their original latin, the literal translation, the current translation and in the new translation. He has shown clearly all that was taken out and all that was dumbed down and how much we are missing in these prayers. Overall, this is a giant leap forward for the 'reform of the reform'. I often think Fr. Z's column should be published in parish bulletins because these prayers are very important but probably very overlooked parts of the Mass.

Chant Cafe has a post: "Five Changes to Expect with the new missal"

11 New Deacons for the Diocese of Rockville Centre

Dissent and the Catholic press

The above column by The Long Island Catholic editor Rick Hinshaw is excellent and reminds me how much I have enjoyed the Diocesan paper over the past year or so. The paper is no longer the milquetoast paper it once was but instead has slowly become more outwardly Catholic and orthodox, even proudly so. Here is a snip from the column:

"TLIC has always made room for letters expressing a wide array of opinions — on social and public policy issues, as well as on internal Church matters and worship — as long as they are not in direct conflict with the fundamental teachings of the Church.

There, it is true that we must make a distinction — because, as a diocesan newspaper, we are, first and foremost, a teaching instrument of the Church. Obviously, we cannot force — and would not want to force — anyone to believe what the Church teaches. But we do have a responsibility to offer our readers — whether they ultimately accept or reject what the Church teaches — a clear understanding of what it is they are accepting or rejecting. "

Potential Hepatitis A Exposure at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Massapequa Park

"Today , the Nassau County Department of Health has notified the Diocese of Rockville Centre that those who received Holy Communion on December 25, 2010 during the 10:30 AM and Noon Masses at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, 855 Carmen Avenue, Massapequa Park were potentially exposed to the hepatitis A virus."

Priest's death stuns church community

Fr. Samuel Aririatu, RIP

Most Holy Trinity - St. Mary Church, Brooklyn, NY

On Sunday afternoon I drove to Brooklyn to take the tour of Most Holy Trinity run by Urban Oyster. This parish was my family's parish from at least 1880 to around 1930. It was where my grandfather was baptized and where he married my grandmother. The parish merged with a nearby parish St. Marys some years ago. I was happy to see two things:

1. The parish is still an active parish serving Catholics in the area and not just a relic of 'time gone by'.
   
2. The parish Church was renovated but not ruined with many original parts of the Church refurbished rather than tossed away.
   

I recommend this tour highly - tour guides Cindy and Fr. Timothy do an excellent job giving the background of the parish and its importance in the community. MHT was a German national parish and Williamsburg was a heavily German area. The tour explored the whole Church, from the beautiful sanctuary to the bell tower (scary) to the crypt below. Cindy and Fr. Dore also went into some of the Christmas customs and the history behind some of the statues in the Church. The tour ended in the cozy rathskellar in the rectory. I hope to take the Brewed in Brooklyn tour that delves into the history of the German brewers in the neighborhood. (My family sold liquor wholesale so they did business with the local brewers). Below are some pictures from MHT - click to enlarge.

The facade - I did not even get the giant towers in so check out the extensive parish website for photos of them. The tops are covered in copper which was coated with brown material to match the rest of the towers. This was due to the towers literally falling apart.



The sanctuary with high altar - the top of the table altar is just visible.



Closer view of the high altar (where my grandparents wedding Mass was offered!)




The pulpit -
More pictures will be posted later. For more information on this great Church, check out the Tour of the Church page on the MHT website, which has to be one of the best parish websites I have seen.

More pictures from Most Holy Trinity -

This one shows the Sanctuary from the triforium level (a cool hallway that goes around the upper part of the Church just underneath the high stained glass windows.



You can see the triforium level in this shot, it is where the spotlights are:



No Church is complete without gory statues - these are of St. Lucy (with eyes on a plate) and St. Rocco and they came from St. Mary's.



This is Fr. Dore in the Rathskellar, notice the beer steins and barrels in the wall above the fireplace -

Holiday Tour of Most Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn

Urban Oysters is offering a Holiday Tour of this historic Church with the profits going to Trinity Human Service Center. I have my ticket already and can't wait to see the beautiful high altar and the authentic German rathskeller in the Rectory. This Church was a big part of my family's history a century ago and I am very happy that it is still a very active parish. The parish's excellent website includes a long history section with this description from a priest who visited Most Holy Trinity in 1843:

"The forenoon and afternoon service as here established by the custom and piety of the people, I must confess, is most edifying, The High Mass is a choral mass, all in Latin, sung in quartet by beautiful and youthful voices, lasting fully an hour. People here seem to be accustomed to long sermons; one can hardly be long enough. [ed. LOL] Vespers are sung beautifully in Roman Choral Chant by the whole congregation, who also sing the Ora Pro Nobis when the Litany is chanted. Benediction is given only once according to French custom, the people singing the responses in Latin, For this purpose they have special Vesper booklets with a German translation. Chanting is quite a favorite service with the people and adds not a little to the attraction and edification of the service.

Actuosa Participatio

One of the most discussed liturgical principles is that of Actuosa Participatio - translated commonly as 'Active Participation' but which is more accurately translated as 'Actual Participation'. Vatican II called for actual participation at Mass but so did Popes and writers decades before the Council. I will never forget my shock at seeing the very first words of my father's 1943 Missal written in bold letters: Pray The Mass. I also noticed that I had to pray a lot harder at the traditional latin Mass than I did at the normal parish Mass. There are still some who wrongly believe Catholics at the traditional latin Mass are somehow not actually participating because there is more silence at this Mass. The fact is people actually participate when they listen attentively, pray the prayers and say the responses at Mass, whichever form of Mass they are attending. Michael P. Foley wrote about "Getting Active Participation Right" at InsideCatholic and ends with this insight:

"The bottom line, then, is that we should stop counting articulated syllables and ritual gesticulations and instead acknowledge that a true and actual participation in the august mysteries of the Eucharistic cult, regardless of the form of the rite, has more to do with a soul in devotion than a body in motion."

Seattle's new bishop: No room for clerical error

The above link is to one of the most arrogant, small minded, ignorant articles regarding a Bishop I have read in awhile. I guess I should be thankful it is regarding a Diocese on the other end of the country. Here is a snip:

"He'll need to adapt to our way of doing business here: Everybody gets consulted about everything. Barriers get bypassed. St. James Cathedral has hosted burial services for an Episcopalian congresswoman (Jennifer Dunn) and a gay state senator (Cal Anderson)."

...

"But as many of us came here from someplace else, traditions were left behind. In his current posting as Bishop of Joliet, Bishop Sartain comes from one of the places we've left behind. "

The Long Island Catholic confirms that The Canons Regular of St. Augustine will staff both St. Patrick's and St. Rocco's in Glen Cove. The 3 priests coming to the Diocese from Austria are American and the new pastor of St. Patrick's is a fellow Chaminade graduate.

"GLEN COVE — The Canons Regular of St. Augustine, a religious order of priests from Austria, will soon establish its first American house with three priests who will staff the parishes of St. Patrick’s and St. Rocco’s here starting next June.

Although the Canons are from Klosterneuburg, near Vienna, the priests who will live here are all Americans, two of them originally from the Rockville Centre Diocese."

New Liturgical Movement blog reports:


"The Provost of the famous Augustinian Canonry of Klosterneuburg, Abbot General of the Austrian Congregation of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine and Abbot Primate of the Confederation of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine, Rt. Rev. Bernhard Backovsky announced this Monday, Feast of St. Leopold, founder of Klosterneuburg, the happy news that the Augustinian Canons of Klosterneuburg are going to make a foundation in the United States of America. Three of the canons are going to take up residence in the diocese of Rockville Centre (NY) next summer and to be in charge of two parishes. "

I do not see any notice of this on the DRVC website but this note from the pastor at St. Patrick Church in Glen Cove talks about the Canons. St. Patrick is the oldest Church in the Diocese of Rockville Centre and happens to be the Church where my Irish ancestors were married in 1867.

The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches: Restoration of Full Communion? A Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Exchange of Views

Friday evening, November 5,2010 @ 7:30 PM

Nassau Community College Center for Catholic Studies

Lecture by Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton, Ph.D.

Responses: Christopher Poulios, Ph.D. & Rev. Robert George Stephanopoulos, Ph.D.

Catholic Bloggers Aim to Purge Dissenters


This NY Times article headline made me laugh, but overall it is not a bad article. My comments are in red:

"Pressure is on to change the Roman Catholic Church in America, but it's not coming from the usual liberal suspects. A new breed of theological conservatives has taken to blogs and YouTube to say the church isn't Catholic enough."

The NY Times is really up to date, this paragraph could have been written 4 or 5 years ago.

"John Allen, Vatican analyst for the National Catholic Reporter, has dubbed this trend "Taliban Catholicism." But he says it's not a strictly conservative phenomenon — liberals can fit the mindset, too, Allen says. Some left-leaning Catholics are outraged by any exercise of church authority."

Allen as usual is a fair liberal - this is a good point that many liberals fail to admit.

"The work of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is another frequent target."

Is should be - there have been some things within the USCCB that were rightly criticized.

"The rise in lay conservative fervor comes at a time when the need for activism would seem less urgent. The U.S. hierarchy has seen a wave of retirements in recent years that has swept out leading liberals. The men taking their place are generally more traditional and willing to take a harder line against disobedient Catholics, from politicians to parishioners. "

This is true and a good thing. It also makes me wonder why some are still so negative - things ARE better today than just 5 years ago!

"Critics of the bloggers contend the activists are motivated mostly by politics, not theology. The blogs feature nearly as many attacks on President Barack Obama as church leaders. "

Another good point and one that I have made before. The President may not be another Reagan, but he also is not dumb, nor a terrorist, nor another Hitler/Lenin/Castro as I have read on Catholic blogs. I like Mark Shea's commentary on politics that best - he criticizes all groups when needed. He points out when people put their conservative or liberal ideology above Christian principles.


"Many of the conservatives most active online had spent years raising the alarm about dissent on their own in their local dioceses without much effect. Now, they feel they are finally being heard online. "

Another good point that is often left out of the criticism of Catholic blogs. Blogs were and are a platform where faithful Catholics can be heard, which was and is often not the case in parishes and dioceses. Then again, we need to be careful not to become 'sour faced saints', simply criticizing everything around us like the two old men in the balcony on the Muppet Show.

Speaking of Catholic blogs - the Catholic Blog Directory I created has been maintained by Andrea since I was engaged to be married. It has been around 5 years now and the directory has grown to over 2,200 Catholic blogs. I am glad Andrea has done such a great job and that the directory includes all types of Catholic blogs.

Mildred Jefferson, 84, Anti-Abortion Activist, Is Dead

"Dr. Mildred Jefferson, a prominent, outspoken opponent of abortion and the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School, died Friday at her home in Cambridge, Mass. She was 84. "

..."In a 2003 profile in The American Feminist, an anti-abortion magazine, Dr. Jefferson said, “I am at once a physician, a citizen and a woman, and I am not willing to stand aside and allow this concept of expendable human lives to turn this great land of ours into just another exclusive reservation where only the perfect, the privileged and the planned have the right to live.”