On the Mass Going Forward

 

…each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church
not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs,
but also as to the usages universally received from apostolic and unbroken tradition. 
These are to be observed not only so that errors may be avoided,
but also that the faith may be handed on in its integrity,
since the Church’s rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds
to her rule of faith (lex credendi).
—General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd ed., 2002, 397

 

IT might seem odd that I am writing about the unfolding crisis over the Latin Mass. The reason is that I have never attended a regular Tridentine liturgy in my life.[1]I did attend a Tridentine rite wedding, but the priest didn’t seem to know what he was doing and the whole liturgy was scattered and odd. But that’s exactly why I am a neutral observer with hopefully something helpful to add to the conversation…Continue reading

Footnotes

Footnotes
1 I did attend a Tridentine rite wedding, but the priest didn’t seem to know what he was doing and the whole liturgy was scattered and odd.

The Greatest Lie

 

THIS morning after prayer, I felt moved to re-read a crucial meditation I wrote some seven years ago called Hell UnleashedI was tempted to simply resend that article to you today, as there is so much in it that was prophetic and critical for what has now unfolded over the past year and a half. How true those words have become! 

However, I will just summarize some key points and then move on to a new “now word” that came to me during prayer today… Continue reading

Straight Talk

YES, it is coming, but for many Christians it is already here: the Passion of the Church. As the priest raised the Holy Eucharist this morning during Mass here in Nova Scotia where I just arrived to give a men’s retreat, his words took on new meaning: This is My Body which will be given up for you.

We are His Body. United to Him mystically, we too were “given up” that Holy Thursday to share in the sufferings of Our Lord, and thus, to share also in His Resurrection. “Only through suffering can one enter Heaven,” said the priest in his sermon. Indeed, this was Christ’s teaching and thus remains the constant teaching of the Church.

‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. (John 15:20)

Another retired priest is living out this Passion just up the coast line from here in the next province…

 

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