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Corpus Christi Procession Brings Busy Manhattan Streets to a Standstill: Sacra Liturgia 2015 Conference, New York City, Day Four (Thursday, June 4)

June 5, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Corpus Christi Procession Brings Busy Manhattan Streets to a Standstill: Sacra Liturgia 2015 Conference, New York City, Day Four (Thursday, June 4)

By James Monti — The fourth and final day of the Sacra Liturgia 2015 conference in New York City brought five more distinguished speakers to the podium and concluded with an awe-inspiring Extraordinary Form Corpus Christi Mass and outdoor procession that traversed eastern Manhattan. New York Police Department officers halted traffic on three avenues to make way for “the King of Glory”, heralded by clouds of incense and enshrined in a magnificent golden sunburst monstrance carried by His Excellency Bishop Joseph Perry, an auxiliary bishop of Chicago, underneath a canopy borne by four Knights of Malta. People on street corners and standing at the doorways of shops and apartments watched speechless, some taking pictures, as the procession passed, with a…Continue Reading

The Sacra Liturgia 2015 Conference, New York City – Day Two, Afternoon Session (Tuesday, June 2), and Day Three (Wednesday, June 3)

June 4, 2015 breaking Comments Off on The Sacra Liturgia 2015 Conference, New York City – Day Two, Afternoon Session (Tuesday, June 2), and Day Three (Wednesday, June 3)

By James Monti — The afternoon session on Day Two of the Sacra Liturgia 2015 conference in New York City brought to the podium the symposium’s co-organizer Dr. Jennifer Donelson, an associate professor of sacred music and choir director at Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York and managing editor of the journal Sacred Music. Describing her presentation as an “examination of conscience,” she outlined her premise that liturgical art, architecture and music must satisfy a threefold criterion of being not only well-intentioned but also theologically sound in its conception and truly good in its artistic technique. Noting how modern-day iconoclasm as manifested by the denuding of our churches “stunts our ability to draw souls to Christ”, she explained that…Continue Reading

The Sacra Liturgia 2015 Conference, New York City – Day Two, Morning Session (Tuesday, June 2)

June 3, 2015 breaking Comments Off on The Sacra Liturgia 2015 Conference, New York City – Day Two, Morning Session (Tuesday, June 2)

  By James Monti —   Raymond Cardinal Burke took a front row seat in the audience for the morning session of talks on Day Two of the Sacra Liturgia 2015 conference in New York City. The Tuesday proceedings began with a presentation by the accomplished author and liturgical scholar Father Thomas Kocik. Addressing the key concept of a “Reform of the Reform” in the sacred liturgy, Father Kocik outlined the diversity of opinions as to how such a reform should be carried out. He endorsed an approach that takes the 1962 Missale Romanum as its starting point. Noting that the liturgical reform should address not only the missal but the other liturgical books and rites as well, he pointed…Continue Reading

The Sacra Liturgia 2015 Conference, New York City – Day One (Monday, June 1)

June 2, 2015 breaking Comments Off on The Sacra Liturgia 2015 Conference, New York City – Day One (Monday, June 1)

            By James Monti — Described by one co-organizer, Dr. Jennifer Donelson, as a four-day ascent of Mount Tabor to be with the Lord and with one another, the Sacra Liturgia New York 2015 conference began on Monday afternoon (June 1) with introductory messages of hope and encouragement for the progress of the new liturgical movement initiated by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, bolstered by news that His Holiness Pope Francis has expressed his desire that his predecessor’s liturgical movement should by all means be continued. This first day was graced by the most distinguished presence of one of the greatest promoters of Pope Benedict’s liturgical vision for the Church, Raymond Cardinal Burke, likewise esteemed for his apostolic courage in upholding…Continue Reading

From rejection comes salvation – Mass at Santa Marta

June 2, 2015 breaking Comments Off on From rejection comes salvation – Mass at Santa Marta

2015-06-01 L’Osservatore Romano God always gives life to a “love story” with each one of us. And despite the seeming “failures”, both great and small, the “dream of love” wins in the end. At Mass at Santa Marta on Monday morning, 1 June, Francis reflected on this, our journey down a “difficult path”, with a God who saves by what is rejected. The day’s reading from the Gospel according to Mark (12:1-12) presented the the parable of the farmers and the master of the vineyard. According to the Pope, it “summarizes the history of salvation which Jesus delivers — as we heard — to the chief priests, the scribes, the elders: that is, to the leaders of the people of…Continue Reading

Pope: God’s love for his people is manifest in Jesus’ death on the Cross

June 1, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope: God’s love for his people is manifest in Jesus’ death on the Cross

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday said that after rejection and death comes the glory of resurrection. Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day during morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope said the stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone; the scandalous executioner’s block that appeared to put an end to the story of hope, marked the beginning of man’s salvation. And highlighting how the Scriptures speak to us today, the Pope said God builds upon weakness and waste; he said God’s love for mankind is manifested in the apparent “failure” of the Cross. Taking his cue from the Gospel reading which tells the story of the wicked tenants, Pope Francis pointed out that this…Continue Reading

Pope: the Holy Trinity exhorts us to live “one with the other”

May 31, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope: the Holy Trinity exhorts us to live “one with the other”

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says that Holy Trinity Sunday exhorts us to live “one with the other”, to “welcome the beauty of the Gospel message” and to learn to ask forgiveness. Speaking on Sunday morning during the Angelus to some 50,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope also spoke of the need of ecclesial communities to become ever more “family”. Marking the liturgical feast of Holy Trinity Sunday, the Pope reminded those present that it is celebrated in honor of the most fundamental of Christian beliefs, the mystery of the three Persons of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, — who are all equally God, and cannot be divided, the Pope said this solemnity renews in us “our own…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: Civilization’s Progress Is Measured by Its Ability to Protect Life

May 30, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: Civilization’s Progress Is Measured by Its Ability to Protect Life

“The degree of progress of a civilization is measured by its ability to protect life, especially in its most fragile stages.” These were the words of Pope Francis during an audience with the Science and Life Association, who are celebrating their 10th anniversary. The Holy Father began by thanking them for their service in promoting the protection of human life in a society marked by the negative logic of discarding.” “The love of Christ urges us to become servants of the small ones and the elderly, of every man and every woman, through which the primordial right to life is recognized and protected,” he said. The Pope encouraged the association to keep their gaze fixed on the sacredness of life…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: Evangelize with a language of merciful love

May 29, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: Evangelize with a language of merciful love

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday received members of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization at the end of their Plenary session. During the course of their Plenary session the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization has been discussing the relationship between evangelization and catechesis and it was on that theme that Pope Francis addressed members of the Council, including its President Archbishop Rino Fisichella. Speaking to them at the end of their session the Holy Father told them that the Church is called to evangelize at a time of great change. But he stressed in order to proclaim the Gospel, the language used needs to be renewed so it can be understood…Continue Reading

Pope: coherent Christians draw people to Christ

May 28, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope: coherent Christians draw people to Christ

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ homily this morning focused on the Gospel account of Bartimaeus, the blind man who cried out to Jesus to be healed, and whom the disciples called to be silent. The Gospel led the Holy Father to reflect on three different groups of Christians. First, there are Christians who are concerned only with their own relationship with Jesus, a “closed, selfish” relationship, who do not hear the cries of others: “This group of people, even today, do not hear the cry of so many people who need Jesus. A group of people who are indifferent: they do not hear, they think that life is their own little group; they are content; they are deaf to the clamour…Continue Reading