Latin Mass at Sacred Heart

Thanks to the heads-up from blog contributor "Anonymous", I attended a Latin Mass at Sacred Heart on a Saturday evening a few weeks ago.

Contrary to my expectations (and perhaps contrary to the hopes of those who scheduled it for 7:30 pm on a Saturday evening in October), there were about 100 people present. The Filipina ladies in mantillas that I have always seen at Latin Masses in New York City were present, kindly distributing booklets at the door to facilitate comprehension and participation. Yes, the majority of those present were senior citizens with a sprinkling of middle aged people, but there were also a surprising number of families with young children and some teenagers. In a clever move, the organizers posted signs requesting that worshippers confine themselves to the first 10 pews on either side of the aisle, thus avoiding the dispiriting sight of the usual Catholic seating arrangement (i.e. as far away from everyone else as possible). A holy silence prevailed as I entered the church, but the extraordinary atmosphere for this extraordinary Mass couldn't prevent the teenagers and some adults from doing that infuriating, bastardized form of pseudo-Catholic genuflection (slightly bend a knee and then swat away imaginary flies from in front of your face).

Father Jerome, the pastor, was the celebrant and did a wonderful job. He admitted, during his short sermon, that he had to teach himself the Latin, and so he apologized for any mispronunciations he might have made. That was a telling statement. Would a priest go to the trouble of teaching himself to say the Latin Mass just to appease a few cranks once or twice every 2 years? Or does Father Jerome believe in its spiritual value and does he plan to re-introduce the Old Mass into his parish on a more regular basis? If he can draw 100 people on a Saturday night, how many would attend at 10:30 on Sunday morning?

The Mass was beautiful and serene. The usual organist was on duty, but she played mostly Latin hymns rather than the awful, un-singable stuff she usually chooses. People sang. It was a great experience, which I hope will be repeated. The Filipina ladies were asking for names and email addresses afterwards, in order to organize supporters to agitate for more of the Latin Mass. I haven't heard from them yet, but time will tell. The Mass was a great success which I hope will be the sign of a resurgence of Tradition in our local churches.

Outdoor Masses

Interesting topic, at least to me: the pastor of St. Ann's church, Fr. Joy Mampilly, recently celebrated the Mass at South Beach, with a small part of the congregation in attendance. The occasion was to mark the 1 year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, during which 1 of the parish's members was killed. There was really no reason to hold the Mass on the beach, except to excite emotion among the participants. In fact, the Redemptoris Sacramentum states explicitly:

Chapter V
CERTAIN OTHER MATTERS CONCERNING THE EUCHARIST

1. The Place for the Celebration of Holy Mass
[108.] The celebration of the Eucharist is to be carried out in a sacred place, unless in a particular case necessity requires otherwise. In this case the celebration must be in a decent place. The diocesan Bishop shall be the judge for his diocese concerning this necessity, on a case-by-case basis.

There was no necessity to celebrate this Mass outdoors, such as the Pope does in the event of gigantic crowds, or as happens on the battlefield in wartime. This was done for mere dramatic effect and for sentimentality. And was permission given by the Cardinal? So what will be the result? Yet another blow against sacredness and sacramentality. Why have Mass in a church? Why even go to Mass? Let's worship God in His own great outdoors! Young women, already indoctrinated by wedding shows on basic cable to yearn for scenic outdoor weddings, will rightly ask why their priest cannot bless their marriage on the beach, or on a cruise ship, at the country club or on the top of Mount Moses, rather than in some stuffy church with all those grim statues and crucified Jesus. Will the pastor of St. Ann's church have a convincing answer?

Oddo hits back

So, the tone of this spat over Mount Manresa is starting to turn ugly and anti-clerical. Yes, the Rev. Hallinan's article in the Advance was rude and disingenuous, but Councilman Oddo, a man known for his temper, didn't have to respond with base insults. In a tweet, the Councilman called the priest arrogant, indifferent and disrespectful and accused him of "hiding behind his collar" because he hadn't returned the Councilman's phone call. Now, I agree that the Order and Father Hallinan are coming across as arrogant, indifferent and disrespectful, but 1. it's going too far to publicly describe them as such after a single phone call is not returned, and 2. I wouldn't say that anyone is hiding behind their collar. That accusation implies that Councilman Oddo would physically assault Father Hallinan if he weren't a priest. Oddo goes on to say ""It's curious why he's so invested in this sale", implying that Father Hallinan is going to benefit financially from the sale of Mount Manresa! While I think the Jesuits' actions regarding Mount Manresa can be criticized, Jim Oddo is starting to use language that sounds like Henry VIII when his annulment application was rejected. Is there more to Jim Oddo's anti-clericalism than just the Mount Manresa issue? Did some priest reprove Oddo for his immoral living arrangements?

Put up or shut up

A very public kerfuffle has arisen between Councilman Jim Oddo and a Jesuit priest over the issue of Mount Manresa. After repeated public criticism by Oddo and other politicians, the Jesuit order finally hit back in the form of a very strongly worded -even rude- opinion article in the Advance.

In it, the Rev. Mark Hallinan, S.J., the pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel/ Saint Benedicta church in West Brighton, justified the actions of the Order. In response to Oddo's criticism that the Jesuits weren't being "generous", Rev. Hallinan writes that the Order has been generous for 100 years by maintaining a large and beautiful property from which neighbors freely benefited. (Two points: 1. he seems to be acknowledging that by selling the property now, the property value of neighboring homes would be harmed, and 2. it's a bit much to claim that the Order was being generous by maintaining the property for 100 years. That was the whole purpose for which you were given donations in the first place: to purchase and maintain the land and the property for the use of the people donating the money and for the use of the Church as a whole. That's like saying that if a man pays me to paint his fence, I should be regarded as "generous" for beautifying the landscape. I'm starting to understand the meaning of the word "jesuitical".)

The Rev. continues to emphasize the Order's "generosity" by listing the various social services they performed, such as letting AA meet there and providing temporary housing to 9/11 workers and Sandy victims. I find it interesting that the accomplishments for which he is most proud have nothing to do with the retreat house's mission (i.e. Catholic renewal and evangelization) but are secular in nature, a distortion of values which lies at the heart of Mount Manresa's demise. He goes on to say that the Jesuits only decided to sell the property after a "careful and lengthy discernment process", an assertion which is pure bunk, as the spokesmen for Mount Manresa were lying about the property's future and raising funds up to the moment the sale was announced. Rev. Hallinan concludes by telling Oddo and his alllies to raise $15 million dollars and to "PUT UP OR SHUT UP", an inappropriate and vile thing for a priest to say, let alone write in a public newspaper.

Does Rev. Hallinan speak for the order? Does he speak for the Order in such a vulgar and non-Christian manner? Or is he yet another priest who shouldn't be allowed near a microphone or a word processing program?

Catholic concubinage

Just an observation: the Republican and Democratic candidates running for Staten Island Borough President are both "Catholic" and are both shacking up with concubines. To those who think I'm being "mean" by calling these women "concubines", I would direct their attention to the actual definition of the word:

 con•cu•bine [kong-kyuh-bahyn, kon-]
noun

1. a woman who cohabits with a man to whom she is not legally married, especially one regarded as socially or sexually subservient; mistress.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English  (< Anglo-French ) < Latin concubīna,  equivalent to concub-  (variant stem of concumbere  to lie together; see con-, incumbent) + -īna  feminine suffix

Jim Oddo, the 47 year old Republican, is a product of Catholic education from elementary school to college (St. Dorothy's, Farrell and Fordham). It doesn't appear to have had any effect. He is currently shacking up with Kim Petersen, a city attorney and a long-time girlfriend who is described as a "fiancee", a term which is- I suppose- a polite but meaningless euphemism that modern society awards to concubines after a sufficient time has passed with a single man. Oddo, a conservative by reputation, attended the gay wedding of City Council speaker Christine Quinn, making his disdain for marriage quite public. Not surprising; if anyone could sympathize with the arguments of gay marriage advocates, it would be him. After all, he's a practitioner of the philosophy summed up by the motto: "If you love/lust someone enough, exchange bodily fluids with them!" If you really believe that, then there is no room in your mind or soul for Sacramental marriage.

The Democrat Louis Liedy, a 66 year old divorcé, went to public schools, but was baptized by Monsignor Joseph Farrell (the high school's namesake) and attended St. Peter's church with his family as a youth. He is currently shacking up with a Linda Schrader (and her son!) on Ward Hill. No mention of the wife he put away in the 90s.

There's a lot that can be said about this: the utter impermeability of the souls of these men- and the generations they represent- to any influence of Catholic sexual morality and teaching about marriage, despite their ostensible marination in Catholic schools and Catholic culture; the horrible catechesis they no doubt received; the disgusting fact that concubinage is so socially acceptable nowadays that it is flaunted even by aspiring politicians; the fact that these corrupt Peter Pans are seemingly unable to commit to a woman; but personally, my take on this situation is that I won't be voting for either of these moral reprobates, neither of whom deserve to be elected dog catcher. I will not choose to be represented by such men as these. Bugs Bunny will be getting at least one write-in vote for Borough President this year.

The Coming Persecution...

In a scene straight out of the Spanish Civil War, a Staten Island convent full of nuns was set on fire and one Sister is currently in the hospital after jumping from a window to escape. The convent chapel was heavily damaged, as well as a hallway. A different convent building for the same order was the target of $15,000 in damage back in August. In that earlier incident, teenagers from a local, Jewish-run group home for juvenile delinquents were discovered to be the culprits. Who it was that perpetrated this more recent crime is yet to be discovered.

 

In my experience, when a statue is vandalized, a deranged Protestant iconoclast is usually behind it. When a church experiences senseless property damage, such as when Holy Family's large parish sign was laboriously removed and dumped in someone's yard recently, you will usually find that your run-of-the-mill lowlifes are

behind it, and you'll inevitably discover that some and perhaps all of the culprits are nominally Catholic. These kinds of attacks are nothing new. I remember having to remove swastikas and obscene stickers from my church's doors when I was a teenager. But to have someone set fire to a building full of nuns and then specifically target the altar area of the chapel leads me to wonder if the militant popular atheism and anti-clericalism of the past decade is bearing fruit and we are seeing a new era of martyrdom where the faithful will be squeezed between the official legal persecution by the Democratic 1-party regime and the physical persecution by the rage-filled and ideologized mob. Martrys of the Spanish Civil War, pray for us.

The spiritual ancestors of modern anti-Catholics express themselves.

UPDATE: 3 young men have been arrested for the crime, at least two of whom attended Catholic grade schools and high schools. 

Contrasts

American Catholic bishops are pledging to "pull out all the stops" in support of Obama's "immigration reform", i.e. amnesty, open borders and the end of the United States as we know it. How odd it is to see these constitutionally weak, timid and lazy men suddenly turn into lions when it comes to pushing amnesty. It's amazing how the approval of the liberal media acts like a magic potion upon our bishops, infusing them with the courage and energy they lack when it comes to defending the Faith, evangelizing, standing up for marriage, or disciplining heretical priests and apostate politicians. Contrast this with how they responded to gay marriage. I didn't hear anything from the pulpit about that issue or hear anything about a nationwide push to fight for marriage in the legislatures. Recall how Cardinal Dolan, the leader of our local and national Church, limited his activism on the gay marriage issue to writing a blog post and phoning in to an Albany radio show when it was already too late. Contrasts, contrasts.