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Pentecost Photo Request

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Send in your Pentecost liturgy photos for our latest photopost!

photopost@newliturgicalmovement.org


Pentecost Monday 2014

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Now the Apostles of Christ are clothed with might from above; for the Paraclete, being renewed in them, renews them with mystical newness of knowledge, which they sublimely proclaim in foreign tongues, and teach us to worship the eternal, simple, three-personed nature of God, the good maker of all things. Wherefore, enlightened by their teachings, let us worship the Father with the Son and the Spirit, entreating that our souls may be saved. (An idiomel from Vespers of Pentecost Sunday.)

One of the most interesting traditions of Byzantine iconography is the kind of Pentecost icon seen here. All four of the Evangelists are included among the Apostles, as is St Paul, even though Mark, Luke and Paul were not present at Pentecost. (They are the five shown holding books.) This demonstrates that the Holy Spirit continues His mission in the Church even after the day of Pentecost itself. The other Apostles are holding scrolls, representing their role as the Church’s teachers. The figure below, an aged king with a crown, represents the World, grown old in sin and idolatry, living in darkness. In the cloth in his hands are scrolls, which again represent the teaching of the Apostles, by which he will receive the preaching of the Gospel and the renewal of the Holy Spirit.
Νῦν περιβάλλονται κράτος οἱ Χριστοῦ ἀφ’ ὕψους Ἀπόστολοι· ἐγκαινίζει γὰρ αὐτοὺς ὁ Παράκλητος ἐν αὐτοῖς καινιζόμενος, μυστικῇ καινότητι γνώσεως, ἣν ταῖς ξέναις φωναῖς καὶ ὑψηγόροις κηρύττοντες, τὴν ἀΐδιον φύσιν τε καὶ ἁπλήν, τρισυπόστατον σέβειν τοῦ εὐεργέτου τῶν ὅλων Θεοῦ, ἡμᾶς ἐκδιδάσκουσι· διὸ φωτισθέντες τοῖς ἐκείνων διδάγμασι, Πατέρα προσκυνήσωμεν, σὺν Υἱῷ καὶ Πνεύματι, δυσωποῦντες σωθῆναι τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν.

Liturgical Theology of Pentecost

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A colleague shared with me the beautiful description of the traditional Roman Vigil for Pentecost that was posted by The Rad Trad here.  I was struck by the profundity of the ritual, and I delighted in the similarity between East and West’s observance of the ten days between Ascension and Pentecost.  Whereas Christians of the Byzantine Tradition stop singing the song which is characteristic of the Easter season, the traditional Latin observance is to snuff the Paschal Candle.  But in both cases, the traditions want to stress that this absence of the Risen Christ is different than the absence of Good Friday.  As St. Luke notes, after the Ascension, the Apostles “went back full of joy to Jerusalem, where they spent their time continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.”  These last ten days of waiting were joyful days, and so the darkness of the absent Paschal Candle, or the silence of the bells and the Paschal Troparion are filled with joyful expectation.  In the Byzantine Tradition, we still stand for those ten days; the kneeling does not return until its dramatic re-appearance for Pentecost Monday.  (Hopefully, I’ll be able to write on that at another time.  Pentecost is an octave, so maybe even for this year.)

While one could say many things about the comparisons and contrasts of the two traditions, I was struck by common element that both Traditions transmit: Pentecost is in some sense the culmination of the entire movement of salvation history.  The Paschal Candle is lit for the sake of lighting the Pentecostal tongues of fire, and so the Latin Church plunges the flame into heart of her Vigil, and sings the Holy Saturday Alleluia, to show, that, as the Rad Trad writes, “Pentecost makes the Resurrection permanent on earth, preserved in the Church unto ages of ages.”

What is evidenced by these dramatic gestures of the Latin Church, is verbalized within the Byzantine vesper service.  Following the lead of St. Athanasius who declared that the entire point of the Incarnation was to divinize man through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Church sings that Pentecost is the last and final day of the Feast of Pascha.  On the vespers for Sunday evening, we note that today, everything was totally accomplished, including the fulfillment of Christ’s Incarnation and Paschal Mystery. 

Like the Latin tradition, the Byzantine tradition traces the story of Pentecost through the Old Testament readings at the vigil, however, there are only three readings in contrast to the five Old Testament readings in the Latin Rite.  The first is from the Book of Numbers, so that, like the Latins, the Byzantines portray Moses as a type of Christ.  The focus for the Byzantines, however, is the Lord giving the seventy elders a portion of the spirit of Moses such that they are able to prophesy.  The reading ends with Moses prayer, “Would that all the People of Israel could prophesy!”  

There are other references to the story of Moses in the Matins service.  The Katavasia at the end of Ode 1, following the verse that declares Pentecost as the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, sees Moses as a prefigurement of the Pentecostal revelation, singing, 
Enveloped by the Divine cloud, the man of unsure speech taught the Law written by God; wiping the dust from his eyes, he saw the One Who Is, and was initiated into the knowledge of the Spirit.
The Katavasia at the end of the eighth ode points to the burning bush and the three youth in the furnace as prefigurements of today’s feast.  The flames do not consume the Apostles, and those who were formerly of unsure speech become ambassadors to the world.

The second reading is from the prophet Ezekiel.  The dry-bones prophecy that the Latin Church employs for the Vigil of Pentecost is the final Old Testament reading for the Byzantine Tradition’s Easter Vigil.  For Pentecost Eve our reading is from the chapter just prior: 
And then I will pour cleansing streams over you, to purge you from every stain you bear, purge you from the taint of your idolatry. I will give you a new heart, and breathe a new spirit into you; I will take away from your breasts those hearts that are hard as stone, and give you human hearts instead. I will make my spirit penetrate you, so that you will follow in the path of my law, remember and carry out my decrees. 
 The resurrection of the dry bones, prophesied on Easter Vigil, is now linked to a new heart, cleansing water, and a penetrating spirit.  The Gospel proclaimed at Liturgy on Sunday stresses the fulfilment of this theme (Jn. 7:37-39):
 On the last and greatest day of the feast Jesus stood there and cried aloud, If any man is thirsty, let him come to me, and drink;  yes, if a man believes in me, as the scripture says, Fountains of living water shall flow from his bosom. He was speaking here of the Spirit, which was to be received by those who learned to believe in him; the Spirit which had not yet been given to men, because Jesus had not yet been raised to glory.
The resurrection of the body is realized through the purifying gift of the living water of the Spirit.  Pascha is achieved through Pentecost, the last and greatest day of the Feast.

The last Old Testament reading for the Vigil (depending on the tradition) is from the prophet Joel.  On the Wednesday of Cheesefare Week, the Church read the first Old Testament reading for her Lenten cycle, and so it is fitting that the prophet Joel also be the last reading for Paschal season.  Before the beginning of Great Lent, Joel had proclaimed (Joel 2:13-16): 
Mourn, priests, and lament; in mourners’ garb go about your work at the altar; ministers of God, to his presence betake you, and there, in sackcloth, keep vigil; your God’s house, that offering of bread and wine has none! Then proclaim a fast, assemble the folk together, ruler and commoner alike summon to the temple, and there for the Lord’s help cry lustily. Woe betide us this day! The day of the Lord is coming; his the dominion, his the doom. Here in our sight, here in the temple of our God, the festal cheer abolished, all the contentment, all the rejoicing!
But now, the day of the Lord has arrived, and prophet Joel proclaims that a new rain will come, and the Lord promises: 
I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and daughters will be prophets. Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men see visions; everywhere servants of mine, handmaids of mine, inspired to prophesy! I will shew wonders in heaven, and on earth blood, and fire, and whirling smoke.
Russian icon, circa 17th century.  In the most common Byzantine tradition, the center seat (the teacher's seat) is left empty to show Christ is the teacher even when not present on earth, and in his absence, the Spirit governs through the Apostles.  The Theotokos is placed in the central seat to highlight the Russian idea that it is the saint, in this case the most perfect saint, who makes Christ present in a visible way in His Church. Icons of the Ascension have Mary at center point to communicate the same point.
The Day of Lord has come.  With heaven shown the wonder of a man triumphantly ascending as King of the angels, and earth newly washed in the blood of the Lamb, the fire and whirling cloud of the Spirit has descended upon the earth.  The Law, the Prophets have been looking forward to this day.  And it is this day that completes the feast of feasts, not by surpassing it, but by extending it through time.  For this reason the Icon of Pentecost pictures Mark, Luke, and Paul sitting in the Cenacle. [See Gregory DePippo's post below for a great icon that communicates this idea.]  Today is not the merely a historical event, but the celebration of the reality of the resurrection made permanently present in the Church.  The Spirit that descended on the Eleven and made them prophesy is the same Spirit that descends on the later evangelists and Apostle to the Gentiles.  Today, the last and greatest day of the feast, is a day that gives placement to every Sunday hence.  For the rest of the year, all Sundays are Sundays after Pentecost, and it is by their link to Pentecost that these Sundays continue as little Easters.
Hence, today, for East and West, is the summation of the story.  And so the Priest prays at the conclusion of Sunday evening vespers:
May he who emptied himself and came forth from the bosom of God the Father, and descended from heaven upon the earth, and took upon himself our entire nature and rendered it divine, and after that ascended again into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father, who also sent down upon his holy disciples and apostles the divine and Holy Spirit who is equal in substance, in power, in glory, and in eternity, who enlightened the apostles by the Holy Spirit and through them the whole world, may the same Christ our true God, through the prayers of his most holy Mother; through the might of the precious and life-giving Cross; through the prayers of the holy, glorious, and praiseworthy apostles, heralds of the divinity and bearers of the Spirit; and through the prayers of all the saints have mercy on us.

Paintings of the Saints and Popes, John XXIII and John Paul II by Clemens Fuchs

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Here are paintings of the recently canonized saints by Clemens Fuchs, who is an Austrian artist trained in the academic method. He was studying at the Charles H Cecil when I was there about 10 years ago and later taught there (along with another artist who has been featured on this site and some may remember, Matt Collins). You can read more about Clemens at his website http://www.clemensmariafuchs.com/. The church, incidentally is St Charles Church ( that's St Charles Borromeo), a splendid baroque church in Vienna.






FSSP First Mass at the Serra Chapel in California

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The website of the Brothers of the Little Oratory in San Diego has some beautiful photographs of the first Solemn High Mass of Fr. Robert Dow, F.S.S.P., celebrated this past Sunday, the feast of Pentecost. The Mass was sung at the Serra Chapel of the Mission San Juan Capistrano, in southern California. (This is the the only building in the chain of Spanish missions in California in which it can be conclusively proven that Bl. Junipero Serra actually said Mass.) The Brothers of the Little Oratory provided Gregorian chant propers for the Mass, and the ordinary was a genuine 18th century Mass by Juan Bautista Sancho in an edition by Craig Russell, played on original instruments by professional members of the early music community. First blessings were offered in the courtyard next to the ruins of the stone church, which was destroyed by a massive earthquake in the early 19th century. NLM offers congratulations to Fr. Dow and to the F.S.S.P., ad multos annos! (Photos by Mr. Ron Clemente, one of the Brothers.)



The reredos, estimated to be over four hundred years old, was originally imported form Barcelona in 1806 for Los Angeles Cathedral, but was never used. Donated to the mission by Archbishop Cantwell, it was installed sometime between 1922 and 1924. It is made of over three hundred and ninety-five individual pieces of cherry wood, and gilt with gold. Although it has been re-layered through the years, most of its original gilding remains intact.
 


Pentecost Tuesday 2014

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Accipite jucunditatem gloriae vestrae, alleluia: gratias agentes Deo, alleluia: qui vos ad caelestia regna vocavit, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Ps. 77 Attendite, popule meus, legem meam: inclinate aurem vestram in verba oris mei. Gloria Patri. Accipite.

The beginning of the votive Office of the Holy Spirit, from the book of Hours known as the Black Hours, made in Bruge, Belgium, ca. 1475, now in the Morgan Library in New York. (click for larger image)
Receive the delight of your glory, alleluia, giving thanks to God, alleluia, Who hath called ye to the heavenly kingdoms, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Psalm Attend, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. Glory be. Receive. (The Introit for the Mass of Tuesday in the Octave of Pentecost)

This introit is one of the very few pieces of the traditional Gregorian repertoire taken from an apocryphal book, that which in the Vulgate is called the Fourth Book of Esdras. The verses from which it is taken, chapter 2, 36-37, read in full: “Fugite umbram saeculi hujus, accipite jucunditatem gloriae vestrae. Ego testor palam salvatorem meum. Commendatum Domini accipite, et jucundamini, gratias agentes ei qui vos ad caelestia regna vocavit. - Flee ye the shadow of this age, receive the delight of your glory. I bear witness openly to my savior; receive him as one commended to ye by the Lord, and delight, giving thanks to him who has called ye to the heavenly kingdoms.” (The verses which immediately precede these are noted in post-Tridentine Missals as the source of the Introit Requiem aeternam, but the citation is much broader.) The Italian composer Giuseppe Tricarico (1623-97) composed the following version for vocal ensemble.

Pontifical Divine Liturgy for Pentecost in Bratislava

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The website of Slovakia’s state-owned radio and television company has a beautifully made video of the Pontifical Divine Liturgy celebrated by Bishop Peter Rusnák on Pentecost Sunday at the Greek-Catholic Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, seat of the Eparchy of Bratislava. (click here for link; video not embeddable.) I had the good fortune to spend most of Holy Week at this church one year; it is small, but boasts an amazing choir and a devout congregation who sing well and enthusiastically. Bratislava, (also known as Pressburg in German and Pozsony in Hungarian) is the capital of Slovakia, and traditionally a Latin-Rite city. (The city’s Franciscan church featured in one of our NLM quizzes.) The Cathedral of the Exaltation was originally built as a cemetery chapel for the large Hungarian minority in the city; it has only been a Greek-Catholic church since 1972, and a cathedral only since the establishment of the Eparchy of Bratislava in 2008. It is wonderful to see what a vibrant community has been established in so short a time, especially given the years of Communist persecution.
The façade of the Greek-Catholic Cathedral
The iconostasis 
Lining up for Confessions on Spy Wednesday, 2010, at the Franciscan Church. I saw Confession lines spilling out of several churches in Bratislava that day.

Ember Wednesday of Pentecost 2014

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In those days, Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: Ye men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you, and with your ears receive my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day: But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass, in the last days, (saith the Lord,) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And upon my servants indeed, and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and manifest day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. (Acts 2, 14-21, the first Epistle of the Mass of Ember Wednesday in the Octave of Pentecost.)
The Preaching of St Peter at Pentecost, by Masolino da Panicale, 1426-27, in the Brancacci Chapel of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence.
In diebus illis: Stans Petrus cum undecim, levavit vocem suam, et locutus est eis: Viri Judæi, et qui habitatis Jerusalem universi, hoc vobis notum sit, et auribus percipite verba mea. Non enim, sicut vos æstimatis, hi ebrii sunt, cum sit hora diei tertia: sed hoc est quod dictum est per prophetam Joël: Et erit in novissimis diebus, dicit Dominus, effundam de Spiritu meo super omnem carnem: et prophetabunt filii vestri et filiæ vestræ, et juvenes vestri visiones videbunt, et seniores vestri somnia somniabunt. Et quidem super servos meos, et super ancillas meas, in diebus illis effundam de Spiritu meo, et prophetabunt: et dabo prodigia in cælo sursum, et signa in terra deorsum, sanguinem, et ignem, et vaporem fumi: sol convertetur in tenebras, et luna in sanguinem, antequam veniat dies Domini magnus et manifestus. Et erit: omnis quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini, salvus erit.

A Weekend on Sacred Art and the New Evangelization

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St-MichaelI am very excited to announce a brand new residential weekend program: Dr. Caroline Farey, from England, will be presenting,  Sacred Art and the New Evangelization, in Kansas City, Kansas. I will be assisting and teaching the course with her. We will focus on what one can learn from art and Catholic culture of the past to shape the present and contribute to the New Evangelization. Running from July 11 – 13, it is extremely good value at just $250 (includes room and board). It will take place at the Savior Pastoral Center run by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
An internationally recognized authority on Catholic culture and sacred art, Dr. Farey is an extraordinary speaker and teacher and is an adviser to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization in Rome. This program will be of interest to anyone – artists and non-artists alike – who have an appreciation of the wonders of the beautiful Catholic culture of the past and is not to be missed.
This program takes place immediately before the five day Icon Painting Class and is designed with the idea that many people will wish to attend both. The content of Sacred Art and the New Evangelization supports and illuminates the practical lessons learnt in the Icon Painting Class. Both will be permeated by the opportunity to participate in and learn chanted liturgy and prayer.
For more information and to register for both events go to the following website:  http://www.archkck.org/evangelization/sacred-art-and-new-evangelization
For specific questions not answered in the Residential Information Packet or on the Registration Form, please contact Kimberly Rode at ecat2@archkck.org

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An Old Parisian Sequence for Thursday in the Octave of Pentecost

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While in the use of Rome, the prose Veni, Sancte Spiritus is sung on the day of Pentecost and at all the Masses within the octave, the old use of Paris celebrates each day of the octave with a different sequence.

Here is how Paris used to arrange the sequences during the octave of Pentecost:
  1. Pentecost Sunday: Fulgens præclara Paraclyti Sancti
    a subdivision of an old French prose for Easter, prior to the year 1000.
  2. Pentecost Monday: Sancti Spiritus adsit nobis gratia
    by Notker the Stammerer (c. 840 † 912). 
  3. Pentecost Tuesday: Lux jucunda, Lux insignis
    by Adam of St. Victor († 1146).
  4. Pentecost Wednesday: Simplex in essentia
    by Adam of St. Victor.
  5. Pentecost Thursday: Qui procedis ab utroque
    by Adam of St. Victor.
  6. Pentecost Friday: Alma chorus Domini
    an anonymous French composition, prior to 1000.
  7. Pentecost Saturday Pentecost: Veni, Sancte Spiritus
    by Stephen Langton (c. 1150 † 1228).
It is notable that three of these compositions are the work of the famous hymnographer Adam, who, before ending his days in the abbey of Saint-Victor, at the foot of the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, was the precentor of the cathedral of Paris from 1107 until roughly 1134. The proses Adam composed for Paris crossed the border of the diocese, and his work quickly spread throughout Europe. Adam’s sequences have a wide vocal range, typical of the school of chant of the cathedral of Paris, a fact which suggests the high vocal art standards which then reigned in our French capital.

Many other proses were subsequently built on the rhythms and songs of Adam; especially well know is the Lauda Sion for Corpus Christi, modeled by St. Thomas Aquinas on the Laudes Crucis by Adam of St. Victor.

Today I would like to present the text and the chant of the Parisian sequence for Thursday in the Octave of Pentecost: Qui procedis ab utroque, by Adam of St. Victor.

The liturgical texts dedicated to the Holy Spirit have become relatively rare in the Latin Church. It may be interesting to renew our acquaintance with this medieval hymnographic corpus of such high quality, as this magnificent repertoire is so rich, both spiritually and musically. Here is how dom Gueranger introduces this prose in his Liturgical Year:
This great liturgical poet of the western Church has surpassed himself in what he has written on the Holy Ghost; and more than once, during the octave, we will select from his rich store. But the hymn we give to-day is not merely a composition of poetic worth; it is a sublime and fervent prayer to the Paraclete, whom Jesus has promised to send us, and whom we are now expecting. Let us make these sentiments of the devout poet of the twelfth century our own; let us imitate him in his longings for the holy Spirit, who is coming that He may renew the face of the earth, and dwell within us.
Here is the chant of this prose, Qui procedis ab utroque, from the excellent Proper of Paris published in 1923-1925:
  Qui procedis ab utroque-1Qui procedis ab utroque-2Qui procedis ab utroque-3Qui procedis ab utroque-4Qui procedis ab utroque-5 

Here is a metrical translation by Digby S. Wrangham:

Comforter, from both together,
From the Son and from the Father,
Who proceedest equally!
Eloquent our utterance render;
With Thy splendour
Bright engender
In our hearts true warmth for Thee.

Love of Father, Son, together;
Equal of them both; with either
One: the same in every part!
All Thou fillest, all Thou lovest,
Stars Thou rulest, heaven Thou movest,
Though immovable Thou art.

Light the dearest!
Light the clearest!
Off Thou scarest,
As Thou nearest,
From the heart its gloomy night:
All the pure Thou purifiest,
Thou it is that sin destroyest,
And its mildew's baleful blight.

Knowledge of the truth Thou spreadest;
On the way of peace Thou leadest,
And the path of righteousness.
From Thee thrusting
Hearts unruly,
Thou all trusting
Hearts and holy
Dost with gifts of wisdom bless.

When Thou teachest,
Nought obscure is!
Where Thou reachest,
Nought impure is;
And, if present Thou wilt be,
Hearts in Thee then blithely glory,
And the conscience joys before Thee,
Gladdened, purified by Thee.

Elements their mystic dower,
Sacraments their saving power,
But through Thee alone possess:
What can harm us Thou repellest,
Thou exposest and Thou quellest,
Adversaries' wickedness.

Where Thou lightest,
Hearts are brightest;
Gloom-enshrouded
Clouds that brooded
There, before Thee disappear;
Fire all-holy!
Hearts Thou truly
Never burnest,
But thence yearnest,
When Thou comest, cares to clear.

Thou the heart, experience needing,
Languor pleading,
Little heeding,
Dost instruct and rouse to right;
Speeches framing, tongues endowing,
And bestowing
Love all-glowing,
Hearts Thou mak'st in good delight.

Sustentation
In dejection!
Consolation
In affliction!
Only refuge of the poor!
Give us scorn for things terrestrial,
And to care for things celestial
Lead our longings more and more!

Comfort wholly,
Founder solely,
Inmate truly,
Lover throughly,
Of those hearts that bow to Thee!
Concord, where is discord, raising,
Ills thence chasing,
Guilt effacing,
Bring us true security!

Thou, Who once by visitation
Didst inform, and consolation
To Thy scared disciples give!
Deign Thou now to come unto us:
If it please Thee, comfort show us,
And all nations that believe!

One excelling
Greatness sharing,
One as well in
Power appearing,
But one God three Persons are.
Coming forth from two together,
Thou co-equal art with either,
No disparity is there.

Such as is the Father Thou art;
Since so great and such Thou now art,
By Thy servants unto Thee,
With the Sire, and Son, in heaven
Our Redeemer, praise be given,
As is due, most reverently! Amen.

Some medieval Parisian manuscripts of this sequence may be seen in the French version of this post.

Please Pray for Two Priests of the FSSP: One Killed, One Injured (Updated)

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We are deeply saddened to report that a priest of the Fraternity of St. Peter, Fr. Kenneth Walker, age 28, has been killed during a robbery at the Mater Misericordiae Mission in Phoenix, Arizona. The robbery took place Wednesday night about 9 p.m. (Mountain Standard time). His confrere Fr. Joseph Terra, 56, was seriously injured; I have been informed that his condition is currently listed as critical but stable. The local news report can be read here. Of your charity, please pray for the eternal repose of Fr. Walker, for Fr Terra’s recovery, for their families and for their parishioners. (This post will be updated as more information becomes available.)

Update: The North American District of the F.S.S.P. has issued the following statement.
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter mourns the death of Rev. Kenneth Walker, FSSP, who was murdered on June 11, 2014 at the Rectory of Mater Misericordiae Parish in Phoenix, Arizona, where he served as assistant priest. He was dearly loved by the faithful he served and his confreres in the Fraternity.

Fr. Joseph Terra was also injured in the assault; he is hospitalized and in critical but stable condition. We ask for your prayers for the health of Fr. Terra.

We ask for your prayers for the repose of the soul of Fr. Walker and that God might grant great consolation to his family and his parishioners in this terrible tragedy. Fr. Walker was ordained a priest in 2012, and was 28 years old.

Oremus: O God, Who didst give to thy servant, Kenneth, by his sacerdotal office, a share in the priesthood of the Apostles, grant, we implore, that he may also be one of their company forever in Heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Requiem Aeternam dona ei, Domine.
Et lux perpetua luceat ei.
Requiescat in pace.

Update: Prayer intentions, letters and gifts of condolence, and memorials for Fr. Walker’s family may be sent to the following address:
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Walker
c/o St. John Vianney Chapel
14611B Waterman Crossing Road
Maple Hill, KS 66507

It has been reported that Fr. Terra was able to give Fr. Walker Extreme Unction and the Apostolic Pardon.

Update: The Cathedral of Ss. Simon and Jude in Phoenix will hold a special Holy Hour from 7-8 p.m. (MST) to pray for the repose of Fr. Walker and the recovery of Fr. Terra. (Link to address on googlemaps)

Ascension & Rogation Days Photopost

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Blessings in Jesus Christ! Here, we have photos from both Ascension Thursday as well as several from processions and Masses during the Rogation Days. 

Solemn Mass (EF) - Queen of All Saints Parish, in Fennimore, Wisconsin




Rogation procession - No location given




Rogation Mass (EF) - St. Mary's in Pine Bluff, Wisconsin
I was blessed to be in attendance and sing at this Mass! My first Rogation Mass was very edifying.




Rogation Procession (EF) - Maleizen, Belgium




Rogation Procession - St. John the Evangelist, Montreal

Pentecost Photopost

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We have many photos from pentecost this past week! It is always a joy to see God's beauty manifest through the sacred liturgy in all these photograhs. It always brings great joy to me.

Parish Confirmations - Westminster Cathedral (OF) - London





Solemn Mass in the presence of a bishop (EF) - St. Lawrence the Martyr Church, Toronto






Solemn Mass (EF) - St. Norbert Parish - Roxbury, WI






Mass (EF) - Queen of Peace Church - Patton, PA

Solemn Mass (EF) - Serra Chapel - San Juan Capistrano



Solemn Mass (EF)  - Holy Comforter - Washington DC: 
Msgr Charles Pope as celebrant



Pentecost Confirmations (EF) with Bishop Dennis Sullivan (Camden)  Mater Ecclesiae, Berlin



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Sung Mass (EF) - Christ The King Parish - Kansas City, MO

Mass (OF) - Mount Saint Peter Church - New Kensington, PA

Solemn Mass (EF) - Incarnation Catholic Church - Tampa, FL


Sung Mass (EF) St. Joseph Catholic Church - Detroit, Michigan



A Tribute to Fr. Kenneth Walker, F.S.S.P.

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By now I am sure all of our readers have heard of the tragic death of Fr. Kenneth Walker, who was killed during a break-in at the FSSP church in Phoenix, Arizona. A friend of his from Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, Mr. Jonathan Arrington, has written this beautiful tribute to Fr. Walker, which he has agreed to share with us. Please continue to pray for his eternal repose, for the swift and complete recovery of his confrere Fr. Joseph Terra, who was badly injured in the attack, and for their families and parishioners.
I met Fr. Walker, then “Kenny”, when I visited Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in 2009. I was with him at the seminary for two years and spent a fair amount of time praying, playing, and studying beside him. What always struck me about Kenny was his joy and innocence: a joy that was anything but superficial, and an innocence which was simply yet “rational”. Fr. Walker was devoted to Our Lord, he spent his greatest energy in meditation and liturgical prayer, but he also found time to exude a genuine Christian happiness in all things. A few examples that come to mind: he played whatever sport everyone else was playing that day, in order to spent time in recreation with his brethren; he studied for tests in all subjects, as it was his state in life (at the seminary) to do; on group walks he would mostly listen, however he always had a pure and simultaneously hilarious joke to add to the conversation.

What was Father Walker’s defining mark? In my opinion, and from my recollections of an all too brief two years spent in his company, it was his concentration on each and every one of the virtues in the Christian life. There was nothing superfluous in his speech, not a single crude remark - about anyone (it wasn’t his place at the time to condemn or publicly rebuke anyone else), and it seemed that he perfectly lived the evangelical call to holiness by being “in the world but not of the world”. He was present, yet he was absent so as to be with Christ.

Anytime I was around Kenny, I came away from the conversation or soccer game or theological/philosophical “disputatio” a better person. Without saying a word Fr. Walker would always call to mind - by his demeanor, and his choice of words (and silence) - our final end. It is cathartic for me to write about Fr. Kenneth Walker because it is a “meditatio mortis” in all senses of that word. As a Catholic, I shall both pray for the repose of his soul - memory eternal - and I shall ask his intercession for us so that we may live in the same Christ-like manner in which he spent his short life on earth. Requiescas in pace, amice dulcissime. Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη. ВІЧНАЯ ПАМЯТЬ!


Reminder - First Mass in Philadelphia and Ordination and First Masses in Virginia

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     After the tragic shootings in Arizona, we are reminded to pray for and support our priests even more. Please remember to show your support for the Traditional Latin Mass, the FSSP, and their newly ordained priests this weekend. Fr Joseph Heffernan, FSSP, a parishioner of Mater Ecclesiae, Berlin, NJ, will celebrate his First Solemn Mass in the Delaware Valley at 2:00PM, this Sunday, June 15, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia.
     If you are in the Virginia area, don't forget that the Rev. Mr. Daniel Heeenan, FSSP and the Rev. Mr. Zachary Akers, FSSP, will be ordained at St John the Apostle Church, Leesburg, VA (101 Oakcrest Manor Drive NE) at 9:00AM, Saturday, June 14. Father Heenan will celebrate his first Mass on Sunday, June 15, at 9:30AM at the Chapel of Christ the King, Christendom College, Front Royal, VA, and Father Akers will celebrate his first Mass at 12:30PM at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, also in Front Royal, VA.
     We need priests. We need holy priests. We need many more priests. Pray for and support your priests and seminarians. Ask the Lord of the harvest to bless your family with a priestly vocation. May God bless and protect all our newly ordained Fathers!
    One last thing, a heartfelt thanks is offered to Archbishop Chaput for his kindness and generosity and to Father Dennis Gill, the Director of the Office of Worship and soon to be rector of the Cathedral,  for his guidance, help and support.

Matthew Alderman on Radio Maria Today at 11 AM Eastern

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In a little under an hour I will be appearing on Fr. Jason Kulczynski's program on Radio Maria (listen live here) discussing sacred art and architecture, iconographic symbolism, and my own devotion to Saint Philomena. Fr. Kulczynski is the national head of the American branch of that saint's Universal Archconfraternity, and recently commissioned a new line art illustration of the saint (above) from me for display and print sales. You can read more about the image here. I have been somewhat silent on The New Liturgical Movement of late, but I hope later today to post some examples of the art, illustration and design that I have been busily working on over the past year. In the mean time, you can find more on my revamped website and Tumblr.

Upcoming Liturgies at Mount Calvary, Baltimore

A Few Recent Projects from My Studio

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I hope our readers will permit me to talk a little bit about what has kept me busy of late, but the last six months have been quite exciting. Late last year, I was commissioned to undertake a new Christmas card design commemorating the tenth anniversary of FAITH Catholic Publishing, depicting their patron, Our Lady as the Immaculate Conception, surrounded by the coats of arms of the dioceses they serve. The card came in the form of a triptych and represented a very enjoyable challenge for me, especially as I departed from my usual black and white medium for full color.


I have undertaken a variety of priestly and official heraldic and insignia commissions, including new coats of arms for the San Francisco Latin Mass Society, a Catholic sorority in the Midwest, an academic institution associated with Penn, and several priests and private individuals. I also undertook a re-design of the arms of the arms of the diocese of Charlotte, and my drawings were used to inscribe it on a large paver in front of the renovated cathedral entrance. Late last year, I also was commissioned to redesign the seal of the Pontifical College Josephinum, a particular honor.


I also had the opportunity to illustrate a bookplate intended to accompany the newly-published Hymnarium O.P., naturally on a Dominican theme.


This only scratches the surface, but you will find numerous examples of other recentdesign, art and heraldry projects at my website. I look forward to sharing more soon.

Ember Friday of the Octave of Pentecost 2014

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At that time: it came to pass on a certain day, as Jesus sat teaching, that there were also Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, that were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was to heal them. And behold, men brought in a bed a man, who had the palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went up upon the roof, and let him down through the tiles with his bed into the midst before Jesus. Whose faith when he saw, he said: Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and Pharisees began to think, saying: Who is this who speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? And when Jesus knew their thoughts, answering, he said to them: What is it you think in your hearts? Which is easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say to thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house. And immediately rising up before them, he took up the bed on which he lay; and he went away to his own house, glorifying God. And all were astonished; and they glorified God. And they were filled with fear, saying: We have seen wonderful things today. (Luke 5, 17-26, the Gospel of the Mass of Ember Friday in the Octave of Pentecost)

The Healing of the Paralytic, from the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, 6th century.
In illo tempore: Factum est in una dierum, et ipse sedebat docens. Et erant pharisæi sedentes, et legis doctores, qui venerant ex omni castello Galilææ, et Judææ, et Jerusalem: et virtus Domini erat ad sanandum eos. Et ecce viri portantes in lecto hominem, qui erat paralyticus: et quærebant eum inferre, et ponere ante eum. Et non invenientes qua parte illum inferrent præ turba, ascenderunt supra tectum, et per tegulas summiserunt eum cum lecto in medium ante Jesum. Quorum fidem ut vidit, dixit: Homo, remittuntur tibi peccata tua. Et cœperunt cogitare scribæ et pharisæi, dicentes: Quis est hic, qui loquitur blasphemias? quis potest dimittere peccata, nisi solus Deus? Ut cognovit autem Jesus cogitationes eorum, respondens, dixit ad illos: Quid cogitatis in cordibus vestris? Quid est facilius dicere: Dimittuntur tibi peccata: an dicere: Surge, et ambula? Ut autem sciatis quia Filius hominis habet potestatem in terra dimittendi peccata, (ait paralytico) tibi dico, surge, tolle lectum tuum, et vade in domum tuam. Et confestim consurgens coram illis, tulit lectum in quo jacebat: et abiit in domum suam, magnificans Deum. Et stupor apprehendit omnes, et magnificabant Deum. Et repleti sunt timore, dicentes: Quia vidimus mirabilia hodie.

Pentecost Photopost

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We have many photos from pentecost this past week! It is always a joy to see God's beauty manifest through the sacred liturgy in all these photograhs. It always brings great joy to me.

Parish Confirmations - Westminster Cathedral (OF) - London





Solemn Mass in the presence of a bishop (EF) - St. Lawrence the Martyr Church, Toronto






Solemn Mass (EF) - St. Norbert Parish - Roxbury, WI






Mass (EF) - Queen of Peace Church - Patton, PA

Solemn Mass (EF) - Serra Chapel - San Juan Capistrano



Solemn Mass (EF)  - Holy Comforter - Washington DC: 
Msgr Charles Pope as celebrant



Pentecost Confirmations (EF) with Bishop Dennis Sullivan (Camden)  Mater Ecclesiae, Berlin



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Sung Mass (EF) - Christ The King Parish - Kansas City, MO

Mass (OF) - Mount Saint Peter Church - New Kensington, PA

Solemn Mass (EF) - Incarnation Catholic Church - Tampa, FL


Sung Mass (EF) St. Joseph Catholic Church - Detroit, Michigan



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