tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post6436859670164412801..comments2024-03-28T20:30:10.681-04:00Comments on southern orders: EVERY MASS IS EVEN GREATER THAN THE MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCE OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS. ARE YOU WIDE AWAKE OR SOUND ASLEEP?Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-9495925463495058592010-03-14T19:08:49.953-04:002010-03-14T19:08:49.953-04:00Want to come to Queens, NY Father, we could sure u...Want to come to Queens, NY Father, we could sure use you !! Great pictures, that is how it should always be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-73397422752145666182010-02-28T14:50:02.453-05:002010-02-28T14:50:02.453-05:00"How does this (a) glorify God or (b)communic..."How does this (a) glorify God or (b)communicate the saving mysteries of Jesus to the people of God?"<br /><br />In the exact same way that incense, candles, the eleveation of the Host, genuflection, and a host of other rituals Glorify God. By our attention to detail in ritual, and by re-enacting these rites as generation upon generation have done before us in the worship of the Church, we acknowledge that we stand before God..."Coram Deo," rather than apart from or over against Him. "Coram Deo" means that we stand before Him as His children...obedient to Him and accountable to Him. The rituals are God's and the Holy Church's gifts to us; they are both our permission and command to come before Him in humility. The structure of gestures and rituals within which we worship are that humility. By coming before Him as a people in the tradition and ritual of the Church, as well as in the tradition of the Children of Israel, we do indeed glorify Him. And, glorifying Him is, indeed,to communicate the saving Mysteries of Jesus Christ to the people of God.<br />It is easy, from the perspective of Pride, to denigrate or scorn rituals or traditions that may seem to us archaic. The fact is that we are commanded by both Holy Scripture and the Church to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. The rituals and traditions are a part of that Spirit and Truth...the Magisteriun of the Church says so and, dear Pater, that should be good enough for you, me, and everyone else. These things do not exist as a challenge to our intellect, nor do they exist as a condition for our confronting the worship of the Church in some Protestant type dialectic. They are, once again, gifts...to be accepted "Coram Deo." <br /><br />Fr. MacDonald, I apologize for being so wordy.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-14042366073091682812010-02-28T11:55:08.790-05:002010-02-28T11:55:08.790-05:00Pater, while we are on the subject...when I studie...Pater, while we are on the subject...when I studied Old Testament under a renowned Protestant scholar at Vanderbilt School of Religion, I once asked him, in a smug response to his statement that every book of the OT has something to teach, "O.k., what on earth do we learn from Leviticus?" He took off his glasses, leaned over the podium, stared me right in the eye, and said, "My dear boy, we learn that God appreciates rubrics!"<br />Perhaps the same may be said for rituals which may, to us, seem superfluous. And, you may want to check your Old Testament for a review of the consequences visited upon some of those who celebrated these niceties with less than appropriate humility.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-78152643000788687122010-02-28T11:19:19.775-05:002010-02-28T11:19:19.775-05:00Pater Ignotus, I am beginning to feel pity for the...Pater Ignotus, I am beginning to feel pity for the poor parishioners you serve. Your sophomoric attitude and captious<br />comments do become tiring after a while. Perhaps you would be happier as a Presbyterian...they, too, have a manifest contempt for the rituals of the Church. Plus, you could then consort with women (unless that is another Church tradition you already disdain), thus providing you with an outlet for your frustration. Gene WilliamsGenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-3246853214142087602010-02-28T10:52:50.912-05:002010-02-28T10:52:50.912-05:00I'll leave it to other Pater, to explain the s...I'll leave it to other Pater, to explain the significance of this ritual action. However, the same can be asked of almost any other ritual action, like wearing a hidden stole, vestments, following rubrics, etc. My genuflections are terribly labored now and don't give the same visual glory these once did, so sad!Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-86627588233904975352010-02-28T09:49:38.884-05:002010-02-28T09:49:38.884-05:00Tell me about the "lifting of the chasuble he...Tell me about the "lifting of the chasuble hem"? <br />How does this (a) glorify God or<br />(2) communicate the saving mysteries of Jesus the the People of God?Pater Ignotusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-10174185343453402542010-02-27T09:49:33.309-05:002010-02-27T09:49:33.309-05:00At Mass, does this sacramental image come to your ...At Mass, does this sacramental image come to your mind?<br /><br />The image under this queston says it all..truly a picture is worth a thousand words...slam dunk!<br /><br />The Baltimore Catechism's Imagery, not bad really! How many today realize this?<br /><br />This is another slam dunk image..we ALL NEED this...where was this when I was growing up???<br /><br />These might be great for a weekly bulletin or newsletter so as to reach your parishioners who can't/don't follow your blog.<br /><br />Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-10902910385451414322010-02-27T08:36:01.097-05:002010-02-27T08:36:01.097-05:00A very affecting post Father, with moving utility....A very affecting post Father, with moving utility. It moves one with a message to wake up! Are we awakening to more complacency? Are we awakening to more humanly adaptive measures used to arouse and sustain our faith? <br /> <br />Truly, the priest is a sign, real and evident, for us to behold. Worthily, at every mass his unity with the Word is exposed and revealed for our sake to mediate with the Father and bring us to Him. I believe Father Aiden Nichols echo’s your words, “At the Transfiguration, for one brief moment the body of Jesus and even his clothes became the picture of his soul - his soul as united personally to divine being, to the Word, and, through the Word, to the Father.” The priest truly, is transfigured from within in the same manner during Mass. <br /><br />As such this living sign, made available to us by Holy Orders, renders and articulates the environment wherein the Bridegroom collects us His bride. Hard thought that, for a man. Quite often, we (as men) are asked during Lent to recollect or _see_ the diverse characterizations or relationships we have featured ourselves in with the Lord. For example; Savior, Brother, Friend, or Priest. It has been consistently answered back to me (by men) when asked, “Have you ever seen yourself in relationship with the lord as a bride?” with the quick response “no”. Yet, for me I have found this to be the most glorious way to relate to him not only in the discipline practiced to acquire that characterization, but also in the fulfillment of that role. It is a characterization that has a utility in unity, for me, it facilitates my surrender and accomplishes my being overwhelmed by the Lord. In this, during meditation, I _sense_ bits and pieces of His blinding glory.<br /><br />In our Lenten rigors I am reminded again of Fr. Nichols’ words, “the last word in the struggle of the Christian life does not in fact lie with struggle. The last word does not belong to coping with temptation. On the contrary, the last word lies with seeing the glory of God.” In tomorrow’s Liturgy of the Mass I am exposed to this in a church architected with beauty preserved by the people and Pastor. I participate in the public prayer of the Church accented and celebrated with beautiful form and language held firm and delivered by our Pastor. I am awake; not only from somnambulance, not only from complacency, not only from adaptation, but I awaken from my mundane life to the real, concrete existence of divinity and the promise of glory that awaits us.-Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01586480579220554662noreply@blogger.com