THE CHRONICLES OF AVE MARIA©: Mass of The Dead

November 2, 2009

The Roman Catholic World

by MARIELENA MONTESINO de STUART

(A shorter version of this article appeared in The Wanderer’s November 12th, 2009 edition).

Solemn High Requiem Mass

A Solemn High Requiem Mass was celebrated today in the Quasi-Parish of Ave Maria Oratory.  This is the first time that a Solemn High Requiem Mass is celebrated in the 25-year history of the Diocese of Venice.   Even more remarkable is the fact that it was celebrated in Ave Maria– where less than two years ago the Ave Maria University administration was issuing its own liturgical directives and celebrating “healing Charismatic masses”– while resisting Summorum Pontificum.  (Read The Chronicles of Ave Maria© ). 

THE WANDERER - November 12, 2009 Edition - "The Chronicles of Ave Maria: Mass of the Dead" by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

Many faithful Roman Catholics are unaware that ”Healing Masses” are a defiance of  the Instruction of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which has clearly stated that it intends to put an end to this unlawful abuse, as quoted below, from Instruction on Prayers for Healing:

Art. 2 – Prayers for healing are considered to be liturgical if they are part of the liturgical books approved by the Church’s competent authority; otherwise, they are non-liturgical.

Art. 3 – § 1. Liturgical prayers for healing are celebrated according to the rite prescribed in the Ordo benedictionis infirmorum of the Rituale Romanum (28) and with the proper sacred vestments indicated therein.

Art. 5 – § 1. Non-liturgical prayers for healing are distinct from liturgical celebrations, as gatherings for prayer or for reading of the word of God; these also fall under the vigilance of the local Ordinary in accordance with can. 839 § 2.

§ 2. Confusion between such free non-liturgical prayer meetings and liturgical celebrations properly so-called is to be carefully avoided.

§ 3. Anything resembling hysteria, artificiality, theatricality or sensationalism, above all on the part of those who are in charge of such gatherings, must not take place. 

Read the full text containing the above instructions HERE. 

His Excellency, Bishop Frank J. Dewane, assumed  liturgical responsibility of the Ave Maria Oratory on March 31, 2008.  No “Healing Masses” have ever been celebrated under Bishop Dewane’s liturgical guidance of the Ave Maria Oratory.  The administrator that Bishop Dewane assigned to the Ave Maria Oratory, Father Robert Tatman, had to undergo rigorous training with the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, in order that the Extraordinary Form of the mass could be celebrated for the faithful in Ave Maria.   Bishop Dewane’s respect for the Extraordinary Form of the mass is also manifested through the efforts he made in establishing Christ The King Catholic Church in Sarasota– a church where only the Extraordinary Form is celebrated.

Solemn High Requiem Mass

Today’s Solemn High Requiem Mass was reverently celebrated by Father Tatman.   The Deacon was Father Brian T. Austin, FSSP, and the Subdeacon was Father James Fryar, FSSP.   The liturgical music of Maurice Durufle, Heinrich Biber and Cristobal Morales was performed by Ave Maria University Organist, Professor Lynn Kraehling, AMU Chamber Choir and  the Ave Maria University Chorus, with Dr. Timothy McDonnell as conductor, and Rebecca Ostermann as assistant conductor.  Andrew Steele, baritone, sang the Offertory Antiphon Domine Iesu Christe.   Mary Remaniak, mezzo-soprano, and Elizabeth Bartell, cellist, performed the Communion Motet II Pie Iesu.   

The AMU Department of Music provided the liturgical music for this mass, as an independent initiative in support of the Quasi-Parish of Ave Maria Oratory, and in support of Bishop Dewane’s efforts in promoting Summorum Pontificum. 

In the meantime, the Ave Maria University administration remains uninvolved and detached from the Extraordinary Form — choosing instead to continue its emphasis and interest in Praise & Worship music.  This is evident in the newly acquired– and widely distributed green Canticle of the Franciscan University in Steubenville, which recently made its appearance, with multiple copies placed on each pew of the Ave Maria Oratory.  This Canticle contains hymns  like– “It is Good”, with such catchy lyrics as  lai-la lai-la -lai...  la-la-la-la- la- la… Elohim Baruch Hashem!

Question:  Did the university administration obtain permission from the Bishop, before distributing the Canticle inside the church?

Parting thoughts: 

Ave Maria is a study in contrasts.  A very elegant fundraiser at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples  is being advertised to benefit Ave Maria School of Law– but Tom Monaghan, who is well-known for insisting on dress codes, will not be happy with what is going on almost 30 miles away–  back in the swamp. 

Unfortunately, a resident in the town of Ave Maria who has become a bit of a celebrity– and one of Monaghan’s most fervent and outspoken supporters,  decided on a more relaxed approach, by showing up at today’s  Solemn Mass of the Dead wearing shorts– perhaps expecting a ”Healing Mass.” 

(Click HERE for article about proper dress when entering church).

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Read related articles HERE

Read  The Chronicles of Ave Maria©

Marielena Montesino de Stuart

Marielena Montesino de Stuart is an observer of the Roman Catholic world.  She expresses her views as a journalist for The Wanderer and for

www.TheRomanCatholicWorld.com .  You may write to her at ContactTRCW@aol.com

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TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION:  Healing Masses are Unlawful According to Church Doctrine, Healing Masses in Ave Maria, Healing Charismatic Masses, Ave Maria University Administration, Tom Monaghan, Solemn High Requiem Mass, The Chronicles of Ave Maria, Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, Christ The King Catholic Church in Sarasota.

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NOTICE TO READERS: 

Marielena Montesino de Stuart and  www.TheRomanCatholicWorld.com do not disparage anyone’s motives at Ave Maria, Ave Maria University, including the administrators, Ave Maria entities, Ave Maria Town, and Barron Collier Co.  Nothing contained in The Chronicles of Ave Maria© or Divine Comedy©, or anywhere on this blog/website questions the commitment of all involved to what they genuinely see as the best interests of Ave Maria, Ave Maria University, Ave Maria entities, Ave Maria Town and Barron Collier Co.  Marielena Montesino de Stuart and www.TheRomanCatholicWorld.com concede this.

INCENSE AND WHISPERED PRAYERS: Solemn Pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica

Sunday – October 18, 2009

The Roman Catholic World

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

 

 St. Peter must be smiling today– and so are millions of Roman Catholics who are fervent followers of the Latin mass.

Within the walls of the Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament, the whispered prayers of the old rite blended with the sublime and reverend sound of sacred music– as Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura,  celebrated a Solemn Pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica this morning.   The vestments worn today were from the Vatican treasury.

Many low old rite masses have been celebrated over the years in various chapels inside St. Peter’s Basilica, particularly since Summorum Pontificum; however, a Solemn Pontifical Mass had not been celebrated in St. Peter’s in 40 years.

After the mass, Benedict XVI prayed the Angelus from his window– as the crowd gathered in the piazza.

Here is a video of this historic mass, courtesy of Jan Bentz:

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Marielena Montesino de Stuart

 

You may read about  Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s observations and opinions through: RenewAmerica, USAToday, The Dallas Morning News, U.S. Politics Today (an EIN Service for Political Professionals-*) Poynter Online, Spero News, Daily Estimate, The New Liturgical Movement-Poland, The Naples Daily News, Les Femmes-The Truth, Culture War Notes,  ProLife Blogs,  The Wanderer, etc.

For comments or questions regarding this article you may write to her at ContactTRCW@aol.com

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THE LATIN MASS

May 1st, 2009

The Roman Catholic World

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

This article also appeared on page 4 of the  May 14, 2009 issue of The Wanderer (www.TheWandererPress.com) under the title  Introibo ad altare Dei

 

 

 

 

 

 Introibo ad altare Dei.
     Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.

I will go unto the altar of God.
     To God, Who giveth joy to my youth.

These sacred, solemn and sublime words said at the foot of the altar during the Latin Mass, profoundly express our longing to be united with Our Lord, in the purest and most joyful of ways.   They convey with poetic eloquence our rich liturgical and intellectual heritage as Roman Catholics.

If poetry sets the spirit free to express our deepest emotions, then the Latin Mass sets the stage for the deepest liturgical experience.   The Latin Mass, undoubtedly, is the most Eucharist-centered Mass, leading us to the highest level of divine worship, through gestures, vestments, chants, whispered prayers, incense– a true feast for our senses.

When we pray in Latin, we stand in passionate commitment to our past.  Latin, as a dead language, cannot be changed; therefore, it acts as a soldier protecting the content of the Mass, from potential misinterpretations and linguistic deviations that can result from the use of the vernacular. These misinterpretations and linguistic deviations have been at times the cause of dissension among Catholics, as more and more external and cultural influences infiltrate the Mass through the vernacular, pulling our attention away from the Divine Victim on the altar of the Cross. Yet, when we enter into the Sacrifice of the Mass, in Latin, we leave behind the profane entanglements of the outside world.

It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm of the new generation of priests in their warm embrace of the Latin Mass, as well as those who have enthusiastically returned to it.  It is also inspiring to know that the priests celebrating the Latin Mass can do so anywhere in the world, bringing us together in one common language as an international community.   Pope Benedict XVI wrote in the introduction of his Apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum: “… the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman use, enriched not only the faith and piety but also the culture of many peoples. It is known, in fact, that the Latin liturgy of the Church in its various forms, in each century of the Christian era, has been a spur to the spiritual life of many saints, has reinforced many people in the virtue of religion and fecundated their piety. “

This beautiful liturgical tradition has also reopened the doors to many reverent practices, among which is the use of the veil.  This immemorial custom is not just a sign of respect whenever women enter the House of Our Lord, but very much an imitation of Mary, the Mother of God.  Have you ever seen an image of Our Heavenly Mother without her head covered?   As women, how could we not long to follow the example of the beautiful young virgin, hidden in the solitude of Nazareth, whose greatness came from her Immaculate Conception and her total submission and reverence to the Will of God?   We honor God when we show reverence and follow Our Heavenly Mother in her ways.   

The Latin liturgy opens the mystical secret within our hearts that we are unable to understand and express in everyday words.  It helps us enter into a deeper form of adoration, through rituals, words, sounds and scents that elevate our human experience to a level where we can truly see the Real Presence.   It is as if we joined an eternal prayer, in the same language that came from the lips of those who for 2,000 years have slept in the silence of the Catacombs.

The Latin Mass is the past, the present and the future of the Roman Catholic Church.

PLEASE WATCH THE FOLLOWING VIDEO ABOUT THE LATIN MASS: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid21721088001?bctid=21729354001

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Marielena Montesino de Stuart

For comments or questions regarding this article you may write to MARIELENA MONTESINO de STUART at ContactTRCW@aol.com

 

 

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Topics:  Latin Mass, Extraordinary Form, Summorum Pontificum, Reverence, The Wanderer

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