ORBIS CATHOLICVS

Orbis Catholicus Secundus

2011-02-24T02:05:00.000-08:00

www.orbiscatholicussecundus.blogspot.com

Second Annual European Pro-Life March

2011-02-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

Last year was a big success.

Be there this year to pray and show your support.

Pray, fast and do penance for an end to abortion.

www.marchforlife.be

UPDATE: Ubis est Orbis Catholicus?

2010-10-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

Here is the now current domain:

http://www.orbiscatholicussecundus.blogspot.com/.

Tuam Sindonem Veneramur, Domine, et Tuam Recolimus Passionem

2010-04-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Shroud of Turin.

FYI: New URL for this blog...

2009-09-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

Address change.

Link here: http://www.orbiscatholicus.org/.

Find the photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/home?source=bloggerpromo&pli=1&gsessionid=9mn5Oo9ULfslK_MktPBntA.

Restauravit et ornavit a.D. 2009.

Why I support the return of the sedia gestatoria...

2009-09-10T02:33:00.000-07:00

AP photo from the Internet.

Paul's final reason sure makes sense to me:

"He [Pope Paul] wanted to abolish the special chair which carried him on four [um, actually it was more than four] mens' shoulders, but no solution was found to allow the pilgrims to see the Pope easily."

-Paul VI by Archbishop Pasquale Macchi, p. 65.

Rumours are rumours and it will be interesting to see what happens.

Announcing: SECVNDVS...

2009-09-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

New blog, same stuff.

Secundus natus est, venite...

Link here and hope everybody likes it: http://www.orbiscatholicus.org/.

And many thanks to Mr. S. Tribe (founder and editor of the NLM) for helping me out with the new design and other features!

Catholic Church architecture: still possible...

2009-09-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

See here: http://beatusest.blogspot.com/.

There are just a few legends left who can still design and build a Catholic church that actually has the ethos of a Catholic church. Imagine that?

If you are a pastor or a member of a diocesan or parish building/renovation committee, then you need to contact one of these professionals and get things rolling on the right from the start:

Duncan: http://www.stroik.com/
Thomas: http://www.thomasgordonsmitharchitects.com/
Matthew: http://holywhapping.blogspot.com/
Erik: http://beatusest.blogspot.com/

You will find yourself in good hands with these legends - the finest English-speaking Catholic church architects of today and that's just the way it is.

Vrbs Capvt Orbis: the eagle has landed...

2009-09-01T04:56:00.000-07:00

Friends:

Many thanks!

For the Lord Jesus was with His apostles as He had promised (Cf. Mt. 28:20) and sent to them as Paraclete the Spirit Who would lead them into the fullness of truth (cf. Jn. 16:13)...

With the continued pervading tone of change in the Church today this blog has always sought to introduce youth to their Catholic inheritance and to encourage some to study in Roma Beata. Catholics must be taught how to be Catholic. They must connect with Rome.

Many thanks to everybody for the advice and I ask to first hear Holy Mass and after I will make a quick decision and let everybody know asap.

Union of prayers,

JPSonnen
Datum Romae
AD MMIX

PS 70 yrs ago today was the outbreak of WWII. Pray and do penance.

FINIS: and that's all she wrote...

2009-08-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Brethren:

This blog, sadly, is just now at the end of its course.

There is simply no more storage room.

1013 MB (99%) of 1024 MB has been eaten up.

Hope everybody liked it.

But just remember: what was done was done for you.

Let us pray,

JPSonnen
Paulopoli de Minnesota
AD MMIX

American church architecture: 1920s splendor...

2009-08-28T21:02:00.000-07:00

This Byzantine-Romanesque is magnificent and wonderful to see in America!

Church of St. Andrew, located in St. Paul, Minnesota.

My mother was baptized in this church after the war ended by Fr. John Buchanan (1910-1998). Fr. Buchanan died at the age of 87 but when he was in Europe during the war as an Army chaplain he did not expect to survive, as he later shared. He was, as he once told me, at D-Day where he first raised his hand across the waters to absolve the Catholic Allied soldiers and then the German Catholic soldiers. He was also in the middle of the fight at the Battle of the Bulge and received the Silver Star for heroism. He was a priest who loved the priesthood.

The Church Architect in North America: E.L. Masqueray and those who now carry the torch...

2009-08-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

Gauge the scope of beauty seen in this temple built overlooking the upper banks of the mighty Mississippi River and be inspired.

In contrast, as everybody knows we live in an age of milquetoast church architecture.

Indifferent co-religionists are a dime a dozen. And so are dryrot church building and renovation committees who know nothing or too little of Catholic spiritual and artistic influences which they never understood (born of the ages past in large part from the mystical climate of a Catholic continent).

In recent years a remnant has worked aggressively for a restoration and an integral part of this effort has been the modern legacy of the Notre Dame School of Architecture. These guys know their stuff and have played a big part in ending the "tyranny" of modern church architecture as we know it.

Winning the age for Christianity implies a deep commitment to the best church architecture.

Defining the new role today we have a new crop of legends such as Duncan Stroik (http://www.stroik.com/) and Matthew Alderman (http://holywhapping.blogspot.com/) and Erik Bootsma ( http://beatusest.blogspot.com/) who are Catholic architects (men of art who believe and design and build).

It's an easy collaboration: you just need pious and generous laity, talented architects who believe and a dynamic bishop or pastor with the guts. The vitality of Western civilization has already taught us what and how to build.

Archbishop John Ireland led Minnesota Catholics for 33 years. As a young student he had spent eight years of seminary training in France (Meximieux and Montbel) and this is when he became full of admiration for the splendor of Medieval and Renaissance Christendom.

Enraptured with European church architecture he once said: "They were truly monuments of faith and piety, and more eloquently than the most eloquent pages of written history they tell us that in older times the children of the Church were giants in devotion to religion."

In the top photo is the Cathedral of Saint Paul located on Cathedral Hill overlooking Saint Paul, Minnesota. The architect was Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, a man who was able to translate into stone the full significance of the meaning of a great Christian temple.

With his pencil he drew religion's meaning, religion's history, religion's purposes.

Masqueray yielded a score of commissions for the Church in the Northwest and his fine works stand today. His pencilling finger understood Catholic Europe and this helps us to see the value of having a requisite for all serious students of design - they ought to study in Europe.

Masqueray was born in Dieppe, France in 1861 and was raised in Rouen and in 1873 the family moved to Paris. In 1879 when he was 17 he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, the oldest and most prestigious fine arts schools in the world. He then went on to live in Italy for two years and during that time he was able to further develop his understanding of historically minded, highly intellectual architecture. In the 1880s he moved to NYC. In 1905 he moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota where he is today buried at Calvary Cemetery.

The criteria for proper design used by Masqueray were the same as those used by the French philosophical eclectics earlier in his century to test the validity of an idea: truth, beauty and goodness. The latter two, according to the Beaux-Arts tradition, were achieved by following that classical style so familiar and acceptable to the public, the first demanded not only that a design take into account the vagaries of location and climate, but also, and more importantly, that the exterior of a building clearly relfect the purpose for which it was constructed. Finally, once having achieved its desired state, a design was to never be altered. The aura of timelessness and catholicity remain. He knew his stuff. May he pray for us and for the continued restoration in Catholic church architecture.

Fr. Paul Marx, OSB: founder of Human Life International...

2009-08-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

This is 89-year-old Fr. Paul Marx who was ordained priest in this same chapel in 1947 at the Benedictine Abbey of St. John's in Collegeville, Minnesota. With great joy Fr. Marx spoke of the day of his ordination.

Fr. Marx is the founder of Human Life International (HLI) and the "international" pro-life movement. Faithful for Life is the name of his 1990s autobiography.

As a pioneer in the pro-life and pro-family movement Fr. Marx made the teaching of NFP to young couples a cornerstone of his ministry. Fr. Marx, who had traveled the world and studied the menace of abortion always said that "Abortion starts with contraception."

Fr. Marx is an American saint and it was a great honor to have lunch with him at the Abbey and look forward to seeing him again tomorrow!

Link here: http://www.hli.org/.

Catholic culture: the Latin letter...

2009-08-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

This is our way. Our tradition. Our Catholic language. We are proud.

The American Saint: Mother Angelica Live...

2009-08-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has proven to be a time of saints:

St. Mother M. Angelica (consecrated virgin in 1947).
St. Fulton J. Sheen (ordained priest in 1919).
St. Paul B. Marx (ordained priest in 1947).

Support her empire of global Catholic TV: http://www.ewtn.com/.

And if you can, read Mother Angelica by Raymond Arroyo, published by Doubleday in 2005.

Quote of the day:

"I'm so tired of you, liberal Church in America."

-Mother Angelica on live TV
World Youth Day, August 14, 1993.

Catholic culture: papal portrait in your home...

2009-08-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

Teach your kids team spirit for the Church: and to show it proudly in the face of the world.

Fr. Bandas: the professor of theology...

2009-08-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Rt. Rev. Msgr. Rudolph G. Bandas, S.T.D. et M., Ph.D. Agg.

Consultor of the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities

Member of the Pontifical Roman Academy

1896 - 1969

Born in Silver Lake, Minnesota, died in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Ordained priest in 1921. Elevated to the rank of Domestic Prelate with title of Right Reverend Monsignor by Pope Pius the XII on January 15, 1955.

O God, grant that Your servant Rudolph, whom You raised to priestly dignity in the priesthood of the apostles, may now be admitted into their company forever. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

He had been a college professor, seminary rector, pastor and author of many fine books on education. Books which were translated into many languages. Buy one!

St. Peter's Basilica: back in the good old days...

2009-08-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

The splendor of the old papal rites of the Cappella Papale.

Too much of this was done away with. Too much too quickly. Now it's time to bring some of it back.

First Minnesota native named archbishop...

2009-08-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

Born in St. Paul this is James J. Byrne, Auxiliary to the Archbishop of St. Paul, consecrated in 1947 at the age of 38.

What the old altar cards atop the altar of Pius X looked like...

2009-08-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

Altar containing the incorrupt body of Pope St. Pius X located in the Vatican Basilica.

These cards are still somewhere in the sacristy treasury of St. Peter's.

It will take the Italians to approach the canons and sacristy staff and to get these back.

Edward Kennedy: RIP...

2009-08-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

Pray for the conversion of the Kennedy family.

All Christians are to be pro-life.

May their mother Rose continue to pray for them.

May the splendor of Catholic morals enthrall them to conversion through the grace of the Holy Ghost.

Teddy passed away today at the age of 77.

In your charity pray for the repose of his soul.

I once heard that when Cardinal Pacelli came to the USA in 1936 little four-year-old Teddy climbed up on his lap to say hello when the Cardinal paid a visit to the Kennedy family at their Bronxville, NY home and that Teddy received his First Holy Communion by the hands of the newly elected Pius XII when he went to the Vatican for the coronation of the new Pope in 1939. After the coronation he and the family were received into a private audience with the Pope. Ted was later married by Cardinal Spellman in 1958.

Summorum Pontificum: spiritual fruits continue...

2009-08-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

A very fine priest Fr. B. Pedersen celebrates Holy Mass in the Gregorian rite at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale, a suburb of Minneapolis. Founded in 1911 the current church was built in 1958 and the current sanctuary arrangement as seen here is the result of a recent and very positive renovation. Earlier this year the option of this rite was added to the Mass schedule and so many countless have said how much this means to them. This is the proof: success. Moms, dads and families with kids. Many thanks from us locals to such a fine, holy, wise and generous pastor!

http://www.sacredheartrobbinsdale.org/

What an ideal chalice looks like...

2009-08-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Thank you Fr. Bryan for buying (= saving) this precious antique!

Church of St. Agnes: home of the Orchestral Mass...

2009-08-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

For about forty years the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale (founded in 1956) has performed an Orchestral Mass in this famed Baroque church (during the 10 o'clock Solemn High Mass, sung in Latin).

This is the Church of Saint Agnes located in Saint Paul, Minnesota (where many of us received our formation, through a special gift of Providence). The parish was founded in 1887 to serve German-speaking Catholic immigrants. The present church is of Indiana limestone and was completed in 1912 and seats 1,500.

The familiar oxidized-green "onion tower" rises 205 feet above the ground and is a much-loved city landmark, visible for miles (I look for it every time I land at the local international airport!).

It was always an honor to see and meet so many illustrious clergy and other personages who came to town to pay a visit to the Monsignor. So many good times and wonderful conversations. This was our formation and this is how the Lord works.

Monsignor Richard J. Schuler, PhD: the one who made me...

2009-08-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

He lives through us, his sons.

The priest is a father to many. This was a preeminent priest. He had many spiritual sons.

If you're lucky you'll have a good priest-mentor in your youth. I had mine, a wise and trusted counselor. He made me the Christian man I am today. How? Grace, yes. But it was also his love. He loved me.

He was forever young. Diligent in prayer. Lover of the Roman rite. Church musician par excellence. Priest of God in toto. A German-American. He loved Viennese church music. He gave us the great treasury of sacred music which the Church has always fostered.

Such sterling qualities of leadership he had. It is my earnest wish that by maintaining high Catholic ideals in my daily life I may demonstrate appropriate gratitude to this wise and generous "Shepherd of Souls."

Father Schuler, pray for us.

And we offer a prayer for the repose of your holy soul, too.

While visiting his gravesite I can still hear Schubert, Mozart, Woss, Bruckner, Palestrina, Benevoli, Joseph Haydn and Michael Haydn, Schroeder, Tittel...(and sometimes even Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries!).

Catholic culture: the family plot and stone...

2009-08-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

Wish there was a religious symbol carved on the family stone, but anyways, grandpa's "pa" had this one made and the family members are buried around it.

Keep A.D. on the cornerstones...

2009-08-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

In todays world this takes an effort.

In tribute to the famous Fr. Z...

2009-08-23T18:06:00.001-07:00

Today yours truly saw the famous Fr. Z, and I guess it was a bit like an apparition!

This morning while kneeling in an old Irish parish in the city called for the Apostle of the Gentiles there was suddenly a tap on my arm and when I looked up it was the smiling Fr. Z (see and link here: http://wdtprs.com/blog/)!

Fr. Z has bequeathed so much to the Catholic of today through his magnificent labors on the Internet and his Catholic blog has proven to be a priceless ornament of our Holy Religion - an engine of apostolic zeal for the glory of Christ's kingdom. In this age of disaster he guides as a faithful and steady guide in teaching people something very important: the way it is and the way it is meant to be.

The City of St. Paul has been rightly styled the "Gateway of the West" and this is not only because J.J. Hill built the railway from St. Paul which opened and developed the long stretches of territory between the Middle West and the Pacific Slope, but also because, from its foundation, this city communicated to the Far West an indomitable spirit of enterprise and progress and instilled into its dwellers a habit of original thought. God bless all inhabitants of this noble city, named after the Apostle to the Gentiles!

And as for the sister village to St. Paul, first named for St. Anthony and now part of the City of Minneapolis, it had its origin in a settlement near the falls on the mighty Mississippi River discovered by a French missioner, Fr. Hennepin in 1680. Yes, it was in 1680 when the Recollect Franciscan, Fr. Louis Hennepin, at the suggestion of the Catholic explorer, La Salle, risked his life in order to find the source of the Mississippi River; but especially to carry the light of the Gospel to the fierce tribe of Indians known as the Sioux, known to other tribes emphatically as "the enemy." The influx of settlers came, the Irish and German. They remain and we are their progeny, begotten of their prayers and sacrifices for the salvation of the world.

Our Lord has pledged so much grace and hope in this modern era and the Holy Ghost is at work. Thanks be to God for faithful warriors!

The good old days: when bishops knew how to bishop...

2009-08-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

Archbishop James J. Byrne, S.T.D. (1908-1996).

My parents knew him when they were kids and they both, along with everybody else, said he was "stern."

He was the first Minnesota native to be archbishop.

And he was the first ever auxiliary bishop to the Archbishop of St. Paul.

And he was consecrated bishop when he was only 38 years old.

Episcopal motto: Ad Jesum Per Mariam.

Meet J.J. Byrne.

Born in St. Paul on July 28, 1908 he was the son of Mrs. Mary Byrne of 1379 N. Pascal St., St. Paul. He had five brothers and three sisters (his brother Tom was mayor of St. Paul from 1966-1970). He attended St. Columba Primary School, Cretin High School, Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary from 1924 to 1927, and the St. Paul Seminary from 1927 through 1933. He was ordained to the priesthood June 3, 1933. After studies abroad, Father Byrne received his S.T.D. degree from the University of Louvain in Beligum in 1937. His first church assignment was as curate of the Church of St. Peter in Mendota in 1937. From 1937 until 1945 he was professor of philosophy and theology at the College of St. Thomas, a part-time professor of theology at the College of St. Catherine from 1941-1947, and professor of theology at St. Paul Seminary 1945-1947. During the period 1941 through 1945 he also served as Academic Dean of the College of St. Thomas. On July 2, 1947, Father Byrne was consecrated titular Bishop of Etenna and Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul. He was the first every auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul. He became pastor of the Church of the Nativity in St. Paul on February 6, 1948, and he served in that capacity until his appointment as Bishop of Boise, Idaho, June 16, 1956. In 1962 he was appointed Archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa, where he was installed on May 8. He succeeded Archbishop Leo Binz who was installed as Archbishop of St. Paul. As Archbishop he attended the Vatican Council between 1962-1965. He retired in August 1983 and died on Friday, August 2, 1996 at the age of 88. He is buried in the crypt of the Cathedral in Dubuque, Iowa.

Archbishop Byrne passed away in a nursing home, Stonehill Care Center in Dubuque where he had been from 1993 until his death in 1996. A pity our clergy, let alone a bishop, often end up like this. We have to take better care of our priests and religious and do our best to keep them out of dreaded nursing homes.

What the portable altars at the Lateran looked like...

2009-08-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

Notice the two portable altars?

One in front of the throne where the ordinations were held and one in front of the confessio, both where daily Masses were held.

And notice, too, the curtains pulled in the baldacchino?

Such reverence that only the popes could celebrate Holy Mass atop the main altar.

Let Catholic youth know these, our traditions.

Altar of the chair: what the old altar cards looked like...

2009-08-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

Nice to see the old altar frontal and altar cards.

Pray and do penance with the intention that the Archpriest and canons will opt to have a new altar consecrated in this very spot of the exact dimensions.

A nice episcopal portrait...

2009-08-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

A fine portrait.

Bishop of Sioux Falls and later Archbishop of Saint Paul, William O. Brady, D.D., S.T.D.

Summer of '09: blogging in the sunshine...

2009-08-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

Dear friends:

What is done is done here for you.

Hope you enjoy!

Let us pray,

JPSonnen

Pope John Paul II: the lace rochet...

2009-08-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Pope John Paul II in October, 1978.

The family shrine in the corner...

2009-08-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

Homes in Catholic Bavaria still sometimes have a big cross in the corner of the common room.

As a boy I can still remember when my grandfather instructed me that every statue of Our Lady has a title. This one in the photo is that of Our Lady of Grace. And the Our Lady of Grace statue is the one used for Legion of Mary meetings, too.

It's nice to have a corner shrine in the Catholic nest - the statue is a blessed object. And instruct the kids put fresh flowers from the garden in front of it each Sunday morning during the summer months.

The lace cotta and alb...

2009-08-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Very 1930s and very nice.

Maybe Swiss lace. Imported. Only the best for the holy of holies.

Father Clarence Steiner in 1944...

2009-08-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

Monsignor Clarence J. Steiner (aka "Mike")

1918-1998

My parents were with him when he passed away in the hospital.

He is the priest who baptized me on Palm Sunday, 1979.

Pray for the repose of his holy soul.

His great joy was to hear confessions, for hours.

A good and holy priest.

He was my first confessor.

Every Saturday I made my confession and he would say: "It was the grace of God which brought you here."

The Trial of Jesus: a fine summer read...

2009-08-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

The Trial of Jesus
The Jewish and Roman proceedings against Jesus Christ described and assessed from the oldest accounts by Josef Blinzler
The Newman Press
Westminster, Maryland
1959

According to this book Christ died on April 7, 30 A.D.

A thank you for donations: your generosity keeps this blogger in Rome...

2009-08-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

In a time of world recession...

Yesterday in the mail arrived a parcel...with relics of Pius XII Pont. Max.!

Many thanks to the generous priest from Sugar Land who sent these wonderful treasures.

And many thanks to the very generous priest from Spokane for his continual generosity which keeps me afloat in Rome.

And many thanks to the very generous priest from Dublin for his continual generosity which keeps me afloat in Rome.

And many thanks to the very generous priest from London for his generosity.

And many thanks to all of the clergy and layfolk who have given to support my being in Rome.

The best I can do is pray for your blessed souls at each and every holy shrine I find myself in.

And special thanks, too, to the NC family who supports us in our studies and to all others.

Thanks, guys!

And to anybody else who would like to give to keep this blog in operation from Rome, a hearty thank you before I return!

JPSonnen
406 St. Peter St.
St. Paul, MN 55102

Let us pray!

Quote of the day from one guy who was there who survived to share today...

2009-08-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

Question: "Was the [liturgical] reform not done by people who were conscious of what they were doing and well educated in the teachings of the Roman Church?"

Answer: "I beg your pardon, but the reform was done by arid people, arid, arid, I repeat it. And I knew them. As for the doctrine, Cardinal Ferdinando Antonelli himself, once said, I remember it well: 'How come that we make liturgists who know nothing about theology?' "

-Exerpt from a 2009 interview of MONSIGNOR DOMENICO BARTOLUCCI, Maestro Perpetuo of the Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina who was born in 1917 and who in 1956 was appointed to this post by Pius XII.

Nothing like an eyewitness account.

The Roman-style mitre...

2009-08-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

The Roman mitre as seen in 1941 on Archbishop John Gregory Murray.

Planned Parenthood International: the menace of abortion...

2009-08-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

Catechization in history: the persecuted Church...

2009-08-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

Teach your kids about the persecuted Church.

See and link here.

Sovietisation entailed tremendous hardship for the Catholics of Ukraine.

"The Latin Archbishop of Lvov, a Pole, was brutally expelled and the episcopal See of the little Armenian community was destroyed, but the Ukrainian hierarchy, presided over by the venerable Metropolitan Andrew Szeptyckyj, was not interfered with. In this the Soviets were not showing any deference to religion as such, but were merely respecting the sentiment of the majority of the population who were of Ukrainian origin."

-The Red Book of the Persecuted Church by Albert Galter, 1957.

Ecclesiam Suam: search for info...

2009-08-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Anybody have any leads in regard to the ecclesiology of Paul VI - any books on this?

Working on a project.

Tanks!

When prelates know how to pose for a portrait...

2009-08-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

A shine and glow of leadership in his peaceful gaze.

A normal looking pectoral cross.

The ferriolone cape worn for nonliturgical occasions.

Archiep John Gregory Murray, you still inspire us.

What the cappa magna looks like...

2009-08-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Dennis Cardinal Dougherty looking fabulous for the 1941 National Eucharistic Congress held in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, U.S.A.

Our song (in English) for the Pope!

2009-08-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

From the St. Gregory Hymnal and Catholic Choir Book, 1920.

Once in August of 1993 my grandfather who was a church organist played this hymn for me after Communion with my dad as soloist to bid me off for the August 11 - 15 World Youth Day in Denever, Colorado. I sat in the front pew with my mother and they made music in the choir loft of the Church of the Assumption. Then at Mile High Stadium at 5:30 p.m. on August 12, 1993 the Pole arrived and that one moment changed my life forever.

Long Live the Pope!

Papa Sit Rex Romae! (best book title ever)...

2009-08-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

Haec est summa solutio quaestionis socialis praesentis.

The Latin Mass Magazine: journal of Catholic culture...

2009-08-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

The Latin Mass mission statement:

Make known the treasures of Catholicism within the context of a Western culture that is in the process of rejecting the Faith responsible for its greatness.

Offer an antidote to the universal phenomenon of an accelerating secularism that is hostile to the One True Church and the salvific charge given to It by Our Lord.

Disseminate through a variety of disciplines the fullness of Catholic culture and fight against the corrupting influence of the compartmentalization of knowledge.

See here: http://www.latinmassmagazine.com/.

The church yard: what volunteer dads can make...

2009-08-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

Where to send your kids to college...

2009-08-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

Want your kids to get a Catholic education?

To stay Catholic?

Take your pick:

Option A.

Option B.

Finis.

The American nun: the Father calls the best...

2009-08-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

See here.

Summer reading: leisure time...

2009-08-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

Great True Spy Stories
39 True Accounts from Greek Antiquity
to the Cold War
Edited by Allen Dulles
Castle
1968

Made in Italy (Prodotto in Italia): the religious statue...

2009-08-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

Imported from Italy of Cararra marble this statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was blessed and dedicated on the feast of the Sacred Heart in 1923. All of these years this statue, by the grace of God, has survived. In my youth I used to pass this staute often and offer a prayer. See what beauty the Church has produced for the edification of Her faithful!

http://www.stkate.edu/

"This book saved my priesthood."

2009-08-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

Dignity And Duties Of The Priest (aka Selva) by St. Alphonsus de Liguori is one of the most significant books which has ever been printed in the history of the world. Yes, it is a must.

The Redemptorist Fathers in Brooklyn, St. Louis and Toronto used to print this volume back in the day along with the other works of St. Alphonsus, in English.

This volume is a collection of material for ecclesiastical retreats, rule of life and spiritual rules and is volume XII of the complete ascetical works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, Doctor of the Church and Bishop of Saint Agatha and Founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

Enjoy!

The rectory (priest house)...

2009-08-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

Everybody grows up in the shade of a rectory and this was mine; in my youth I walked by it every day. This one was built in the 1920s. Still makes me proud seeing it as an adult knowing of all the holy men who have lived here and of all the souls who rang the doorbell and received solace/peace of heart.

San Pio XII, prega per noi...

2009-08-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Santo Subito (Sainthood Now)!

Summer in America: the American auto...

2009-08-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

Simply gorgeous. 1936 Chevrolet. $16,000.

Nasha Kasha: the latest from Catholic Ukraine...

2009-08-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

Pidhirtsi update on Ruskij Sion: http://www.ruskij-sion.blogspot.com/.

Nativitas Christi: first new church with an altar facing the people...

2009-08-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

During the brick-and-mortar era in the New World Catholic leadership had the vision (and grace) to construct the combination church-school.

This is the parish church where I grew up, the Church of the Nativity of Our Lord, with attached school and convent. You can see its Gothic with severely simple lines - with an exterior of seven kinds/colors of granite. The cornerstone was laid in 1938.

The first thing the bishops at that time always did was to build a rectory, then a school and then a church, in that order.

The Lord of History had me born into this parish where I received Baptism, first Confession, first Holy Communion and Confirmation.

This is also said to be the first parish in the nation built with an altar "facing the congregation," in the downstairs crypt chapel.

Here's a quote from the original church dedication booklet:

"Members of Nativity Parish should feel proud that they have the first (in these second thousand years) altar facing the people in the United States. They should also be grateful to their Most Reverend Archbishop, who has granted them permission to have their altar so, and to have the recited Mass. Without doubt, there is no better way to show gratitude than by actually assisting at Mass more perfectly."

The basement chapel has since been renovated more than once and nothing original remains. My pastor, Monsignor R.J. Schuler was for fourteen years a curate at this parish and often spoke of his time there as choir director and celebrant of Masses in the lower chapel. At the same time my father was there as an altar server and the pastor from 1948-1956 was Bishop J.J. Byrne, a future Council Father, as later Archbishop of Dubuque.

The Path to Rome by Hilaire Belloc: "...amore Antiqui ritus, alto sub numine Romae"

2009-08-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

It's difficult for many moderns to even understand or know what "Catholic culture" is.

Read this book and then you will understand exactly what it is.

If I had to write a book of my own adventures in Europe, I would just reproduce this book; it hits the nail on the head.

Ignatius Press reprinted this volume in 2003, but of course it's always fun to get an older edition, too.

This is the story of a young university-age guy who was born in a little village by the name of Toul in a French valley. Raised in England he went back to visit the place of his birth and in the village chapel he offered a prayer and then had the idea and made a vow to walk to Rome by foot, as pilgrims did in the Middle Ages. He went as the crow flies in a straight line from his map (and in the end he did have to take a train twice for just several miles before Milan and then before Siena as he had run out of money).

With the linen clothes on his back, boots, a hat, a cotton jacket and a sack with maps, a watch, sketch-book, a flute, pipes, a card-case, two pencils, a bottle of wine, a cup, a scrap of newspaper, a needle and thread and with no passport, he left on this wonderful journey and such an adventure that befel him! Read a book like this and see why truth is better than fiction and why it is so important to keep Europe Catholic - our Christian continent.

Pray for this cute little baby (yours truly)!

2009-08-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

The best book (in English) on St. Peter's Basilica...

2009-08-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people ask what is the absolute best book on the Vatican Basilica and this is the answer:

Saint Peter's
The Story of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome
James Lees-Milne
Little, Brown and Company
Boston
1967
Imprimatur 1966

336 pages, glossy black and white and colour plates, a very Catholic book, complete, just the best.

It can sometimes be found in used book stores.

Universitas Catholica Americae: Washingtonii, D.C.

2009-08-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

The motto of the Catholic University of America: DEVS LVX MEA.

Read Rome books: know your patrimony...

2009-08-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

The Catholic cornerstone: with A.D. ...

2009-08-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

Pastors, when you commission a cornerstone remember to always have carved A.D. or Anno Domini before the year.

Holy Russia: one-sixth of the world...

2009-08-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

Remember Russian Catholics, the Pope does.

Pray for their conversion, lift them up.

See here: www.vladmission.org.

Loome Theological Booksellers: just the best of the best...

2009-08-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

All hail Loome Books!

These photos, taken today, illustrate the absolute coolest place on the planet earth to shop for old church books, and it's located in an old (Swedish Covenant) church! Loome Books is the largest secondhand dealer of theological books on the continent and they are just the best.

See and link here: http://www.loomebooks.com/

See and link here: http://www.loomebooks.blogspot.com/

As a kid sometime in the eighties my mother brought me to this shop and from that moment on I was hooked, just like everybody else.

And this place is a must visit if you have any interest in old Catholic books.

It's located on a hill overlooking the wonderful little river town of Stillwater, located on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River, about a forty-five minute drive from the gateway Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

It's a place where you even sometimes see cardinali (cardinals) and vescovi (bishops) now and then...and the owners are great!

Catholic culture: the Latin letter...

2009-08-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

This is how it's done: nice letterhead, nice handwriting, nice seal, nice rich paper... and niiiice Latin!

What papal vestments look like...

2009-08-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

Associated Press photo from 1963.

The last of the pharaoh popes...and would be nice to see popes vested in splendor like this again.

We are now far enough away from the sixties where we can now make a return to some of this without riots in the streets and that's a news flash for some.

The best of Chesterton: wit and wisdom...

2009-08-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

Every blog ought to have a Chesterton quote of the day...

"[Catholicism] is the only thing that talks as if it were the truth; as if it were a real messenger refusing to tamper with a real message."

- G. K. Chesterton

Danke, cara!

All the news that's fit to print...

2009-08-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/us/11nun.html?_r=4&src=twt&twt=nytimes

Danke, Raph!

Solemnity of the Assumption in the New World: on the St. Croix (Holy Cross) River...

2009-08-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Who says the good old days are over?

Today was a blast and gosh are we ever proud of these fine altar servers!

Just this afternoon with lots of kids and families in the resort town of Bayport (on the St. Croix River) we had a lovely procession through the neighborhood in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and afterwards there was a stellar bbq and games with prizes for kids. Everybody of all ages had a great time and this is how it's done, folks!

The parish there is the Church of St. Charles Borromeo and the pastor there is one guy who gets it right - Fr. Randal Kasel.

Thank you, Fr. Randal for your holiness and outstanding leadership and immense generosity! And many thanks to everybody for a wonderful day of Catholic spirituality and fellowship!

The episcopal portrait: back when they knew how to do it...

2009-08-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

Bishop of Sioux Falls in South Dakota he later was later named Archbishop of Saint Paul in Minnesota and died in Rome in 1961. Pray for the repose of his holy soul.

The beauty of the garden statue (each a blessed object)...

2009-08-16T18:15:00.000-07:00

Get one, have your pastor bless it and place it in the front yard...

Papi in posa: papal portraiture...

2009-08-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Of course there is an art to posing for a portrait, even as a pope.

The Pope extends his right arm in benediction, showing his ring which is full of symbolism.

Would be nice to see the BXVI pose in this manner - three fingers raised in apostolic benediction!

This photo is from Foto Felici and has never before been published; I got it just after the Sede Vacante MMV.

Papal vestments: what the fanon looks like...

2009-08-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

You can see the silken mantle around the shoulders - striped in read and gold. This is the fanon worn by the pope when he celebrates Solemn Pontifical Mass. This particular fanon is kept by cloistered nuns in the sacristy of the Basilica of St. Cecilia in Rome (let's say a prayer BXVI will make a visit there and then wear it, too!).

What a "precious miter" looks like...

2009-08-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

Renaissance miter: simply glorious.

A pity we don't see them much anymore.

Right off the head of Aaron the high priest and his successors in that office (Ex. 29:6-9; 39:26, 30; Lev. 8:13).

And its always nice to see the two fanons on the back with the embroidered episcopal coat-of-arms.

Favorite image of the Servant of God Pius XII...

2009-08-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Standing atop his portable throne he extends his arms to impart his blessing to the masses.

The Eucharistic Congress...

2009-08-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

The Ninth National Eucharistic Congress was held in St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1941. As a kid I heard stories from different people who were there. They said that during the outdoor Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament there was suddenly a torrential downpour and that everybody stayed kneeling where they stood. The many thousands of participants each wore this nice armband as a mark of their participation and a pledge of their pride of membership in the Catholic Church.

Archbishop John Ireland and "Americanism"...

2009-08-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

If you've studied American church history, then you have heard of John Ireland. This is his tomb at Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul, Minn.

The "Vexillum Legionis" of the Legio Mariae...

2009-08-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Looking for a spirituality? Join the Legion of Mary!

This is the Vexillum Legionis (the Standard of the Legion).

"Per te, O Maria, resurrectionis nostrae tesseram certissimam tenemus."

-St. Ephraem

Legionary membership comes through affiliation to the Legion through one of its approved Councils. Join a Council of the Legion of Mary today and let us pray!

Catholic Sicily: our wonderful new young clergy...

2009-08-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

Photos from the Internet.

Feast of St. Joseph in August, 2009.

City of Saint Paul: where Fulton Sheen began his daily holy hour...

2009-08-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Fulton Sheen was ordained priest in 1919 and during WWI this is where he studied for the priesthood at Saint Paul's Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

It was in this seminary chapel, the Chapel of Saint Mary, that Sheen began his daily holy hour in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament - a vow which he kept throughout his life until his death in 1979.

"Had you no strength, then, to watch with Me even for an hour?"

Matthew 26:40

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_J._Sheen

"And I will make you fishers of men."

2009-08-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

Detail of the apse mural by artist Bancel La Farge.

Saint Mary's Chapel, Saint Paul Seminary.
Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Eunice Kennedy: RIP...

2009-08-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

Pray for the conversion of the Kennedy family.

All Christians are to be pro-life.

May their mother Rose continue to pray for them.

May the splendor of Catholic morals enthrall them to conversion through the grace of the Holy Ghost.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_eunice_kennedy_shriver;_ylt=Aima4I6hABtP0FBUpYcV0B5saMYA

Te lucis ante terminum...

The school crest in Latin...

2009-08-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

Saint Paul Academy in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

These guys got it right - in the 1920s!

Sigillum Academiae Sanct Paulensis.

"The most distinguished skyline on the North American continent."

2009-08-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

The venerable City of Saint Paul in the State of Minnesota.

May this noble city, named after the Apostle to the Gentiles, blossom into the biggest centre of Catholic life and learning in the Union.

Thanks to an extremely powerful camera zoom this photo shows us the Minnesota State Capitol with the Cathedral of Saint Paul along the city skyline.

Our hope is that the City's University of Saint Thomas will in the future be the Centrum Nationale Culturae Catholicae.

Cass Gilbert, an internationally famous architect, contended that "if the dome of the Cathedral of Saint Paul and that of the new State Capitol were part of the skyline of a city in Europe, they would be world famous."

The sacristy: the name of the bishop posted...

2009-08-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

In every sacristy there ought to be the name of the local ordinary posted to inform visiting priests for mention in the Roman Canon.

Instead of "Harry" would be nice to have the name in Latin, too (i.e. Henrico).

The answer: we need to go back to this hymnal...

2009-08-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

Reprint it and purchase it and use it and it will mean a return to very special spirituality.

Catholic culture: the garden statue...

2009-08-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

A blessed object in the yard.

Der Wanderer: subscribe today...

2009-08-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

These are the good guys.

Subscribe here.

Catholic culture: the family stone...

2009-08-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

The Catholic graveyard is sacred, blessed ground.

It's nice to have a family stone, too.

Dad sometimes brought us kids to pray at the family plot on All Souls Day and on other summer or autumn days. It was the best thing. Kids understand death. Let them walk among the dead and pray there, too.

A tremendous thrill: hear the voices of the popes...

2009-08-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

My first trip to Rome in 1998 I got this little tape and it's the best little souvenir in the world. To hear the old popes preach, pray and bless is just glorious.

And when you hear them you can understand why average lay Italians loved John more than Pius or Paul - John XXIII would shout into the microphone in his kindly peasant way and the people loved it - and he made the kids roar with laughter, too.

Mary and the Moslems by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen...

2009-08-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

XAVERIAN MISSIONS
of the Xaverian Missionary Fathers
Vol. 1, No. 2
May, 1952

There are 374 million Moslems in the world. These followers of Mohammed believe in God, but they do not believe in Christ as the Son of God. To them, Our Lord was only a prophet announcing Mohammed, as we believe Isaiah was only a prophet announcing Our Lord. For a Moslem to become a Christian is to him like a Christian becoming a Jew. For that reason, conversion of the Moslems is very slow and extremely difficult.

We have a theory about their conversion, and that is that the Revelations of Our Lady at Fatima portends the conversion of the Moslems. Here is the evidence.

1) The Moslems have a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother. As the Koran, which is the Bible of the Moslems, puts it: " O, Mary, Thou hast been chosen and purified and elected above all women of the world." They believe both in her Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Birth. She is the real Lady SAYYIDH of Paradise. Iranian women love to have a statue of her in their homes.

2) Mohammed had a daughter, Fatima, whom he intensely loved. After her death, Mohammed wrote these lines to her: "You will be the most blessed lady SAYYIDH of all women in Paradise, after Mary."

I believe the Blessed Virgin chose to be known as Our Lady of Fatima as a pledge and sign of hope to the Moslem people, and as an assurance that they, who show her so much respect, will one day accept her Divine Son. This explains why she chose the town of Fatima.

Supporting evidence for this view is the historical fact that the Moslems occupied Portugal for centuries. When they were finally driven out, the last chief in the locality where the appearance of Our Lady took place had a beautiful daughter by the name of Fatima.

A Catholic boy fell in love with her, and she not only stayed behind when the Moslems left, but embraced the Faith and became a Catholic.

Her young husband changed the name of the town where he married this last Moslem lady in Portugal, to Fatima. Thus, the very place where Our Lady of Fatima appeared in 1917 has an historical connection with Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed.

A final evidence of the relation of Fatima to the Moslems is the enthusiastic reception which the Moslems, in Africa and India and elsewhere, gave to the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Moslems attended church services in honor of Our Lady of Fatima; they allowed religious processions and even prayers before mosques. In Mozambique, the Moslems (who had been unconvertible) began to be Christian as soon as the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected.

Missionaries in the future will more and more see that their apostolate among the Moslems will be successful in the measure that they give them Our Lady of Fatima.

Mary is the advent of Christ. She brings Christ to people before Christ is born, as she brought the unborn Christ to Elizabeth.

May our missionaries in the Moslem countries more and more see that if they can increase the Moslem devotion to Mary, then she will bring them to her Divine Son. We cannot bring them to Christ, but she can. Through Mary to Jesus...this is the key that can open Moslems' eyes to the fullness of the revelation of God in whom they already believe.

What the Church has given us: so much beauty...

2009-08-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

How to make a processional banner...

2009-08-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

See how easy it is?

Catholic families, make it work and donate it to the parish!

Modesty in church: teach them from the youngest age...

2009-08-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken in the port of Rome, Civitavecchia.

Kids at home have not been taught modesty and so now it is common to see some signs such as this on church doors in Italy which instruct kids of all ages.

The American street: to teach and impart...

2009-08-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

What's sad is that kids don't even know what this word means anymore.

Why Christians vote pro-life in America...

2009-08-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

With 1973s Roe v. Wade 9 UNELECTED men and women have played God with innocent life on the Supreme Court - WITHOUT TRIAL they have condemned to PAINFUL DEATHS more than 48 million babies for the crime of being "unwanted" or "inconvenient."

This is why Catholics vote pro-life under the penalty of grave sin in this country.

As an election promise the Obamination made it clear that he would appoint pro-abortion justices to the Supreme Court. In the first summer of his presidency he made good on this promise and the blood is not just on his hands, but also on the citizens who elected him into office. It was the same with Slick Willy, too.

What can Catholics do? Prayer and penance and the pro-life vote for this spiritual battle.

And we must work to use the Constitution to make abortion illegal instead of amending it. The unborn are "persons" as defined by the 14th amendment to the Constitution, entitled to legal protection. The Supreme Court never declared abortion itself to be a constitutional right.

What does the 14th amendment say? "...nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law." And furthermore, "Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."

If Congress can just declare unborn babies "persons" under the law, the constitutional case for abortion will collapse.

When the Supreme Court handed down its now infamous Roe v. Wade decision, it did so based on a new, previously undefined "right to privacy" which it "discovered" in so-called "emanations" of "penumbrae" of the constitution. The Supreme Court said: "We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins...the judiciary at this point in the development of man's knowledge is not in a position to speculate as to the answer." Then the High Court made a key admission: "If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case [i.e., "Roe" who sought an abortion], of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life is then guaranteed specifically by the [14th] Amendment."

Now we are 36 years into it and that's a long time. Nazi killing lasted 12 years. Let's make an effort to bring this menace to an end. Vote pro-life.