Not a Pervert Priest, Deo gratias

Investigations having determined there is no substance to the allegations raised by Abp Hepworth of the T.A.C. against Monsignor Dempsey of the Archdiocese of Adelaide, I wish to make it plain that the latter has been cleared of all imputation of criminal acts.  I have corrected my earlier post about this sad story accordingly.

The only good to be drawn out of this mess is that, Deo gratias! no filthy crime was committed, according to the result of this investigation, and instead the memory of one man (troubled by other sufferings inflicted by perverts) proved inaccurate, the actions of another intemperate, and the trials of a third issued in a declaration of innocence.  I suppose that is something for which to be grateful.

Mass Began So Late

The celebrant of Monday Masses at Carmel spared us a dodgy homily this morning – as he was more than 20 minutes late to Mass.

At least I had my wish of managing to finish Lauds before Mass began!

Previous to his belated arrival, owing to some mix-up with his alarm clock, apparently, I had been wondering whether he would manage to use the new Mass translations without some grimacing: as matters transpired, he read Mass more or less alright, though he still hasn't learned the up-to-date wording of those two "Blessed are you" offertory prayers, nor the newer versions of the Orate fratres, Per ipsum and Ecce Agnus Dei.  In charity, given that he was rushed he may have said these from memory rather than waste time finding them in the new Missal before him.  Then again, my own parish priest, aged in his late seventies, has had no trouble getting used to the new translation...

Moreover, this fellow also has that most irritating and stupid habit of saying "May almighty God bless us" at the end of Mass, thus denying his own liturgical office.  He is a priest, for all his faults, and ought say the Mass the way it's laid down, as we laity – not to mention the Carmelite nuns – have a right to.

Yet another fellow Mass-goer confirmed after the service that she, too, finds his antics intolerable.

What was that prayer about "Who will free me from this troublesome priest?"  I entrust him to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose maternal intercession for errant priests is most potent.

Canine Prayer Request

Suzie the dog is having an operation to-morrow, to remove a parathyroid tumour.  As may be imagined, I am nervous about this; but to avoid the risk of the procedure would condemn her soon enough as it would continue to grow.

If readers would pray an Our Father that she live yet longer as a good and faithful pet, I would be very grateful.

SS Dominic and Francis, SS Roch and Hubert, pray for her.

Maria, quæ mortalium

The good nuns at Carmel sang this hymn as a recessional after Mass on Saturday, last day of the Christian year, the Mass having been a Votive of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.  What a good prayer it is! "When all other succour faileth, Our Lady's grace helpeth." (The Mirror of Our Lady.)

O Mary, you are swift to hear

Whoever calls on you in pray'r

And lovingly you answer all:

Keep us forever in your care.

Be near us if the fearful bonds

Of sin's allurements snare us here.

Break quickly the entangling chains

And free our hearts of guilt and fear.

Come to our aid if worldly dreams

Dazzle our sight, our wills betray,

Let not our minds, forgetting God,

From saving pathways turn away.

Come with your aid when troubles come,

Misfortunes threaten, dangers near, 

Bring peace to all our earthly days

Until eternal day is here.

To us your children ever be

A stronghold at that final hour

That with your aid we may attain

The joys of heaven, by your power.

To Father, Son and Spirit be

All glory, honour, praises given

Who clothed you with his wondrous grace

And crowned you Queen of earth and heaven.

Amen.

— Maria, quæ mortalium: translated by Sr Mary Paula OCD of Long Beach Carmel.

Hepworth's Return as a Layman - Only

Since the news is out, it is but honest to note that Abp Hepworth of the Traditional Anglican Communion, as he himself said he would accept some years back (I recall his statement that if so, he would enjoy spending his retirement doing some fishing), has had reiterated to him by the Holy See that he, as a former Catholic priest, cannot be received into any Ordinariate for "groups of Anglicans" as a clergyman, but only as a layman.  This was of course known from the publication of the Complementary Norms accompanying Anglicanorum cœtibus, but at the least wishful thinking on the part of unprejudiced observers and at the most some suggestion of special consideration for his case had given rise to the idea that he would be received back as a priest in good standing, even as head of an Ordinariate – which cannot happen now.

Of course, this whole issue is a great stumbling block and source of ongoing pain and confusion on a number of levels: on the one hand, given his marriages, the regularization of his marital situation according to Canon Law would only further complicate the restoration of his faculties as a priest; and given his leaving the Church, albeit because of his sufferings now well-known, Catholics, whether priests or laymen, may well have found any exception made for him somewhat hard to understand, to be frank; yet, given his awful subjection to sexual abuse as a seminarian and young priest, the investigation of which is still continuing, this news of a block to his return to active ministry as a Catholic priest must seem very cruel; further, given his strong advocacy for the reunion of the T.A.C. with Rome, it must seem very hard that, if not like Moses he may still enter the Promised Land, he can only do so not as leader but as a layman; worst, it appears that the Australian bishops have prematurely made this news public, which if true is an injustice on the face of it, though I read the news had leaked from another source (let him bear his fault) and so official release of the details was but a formality in any case.

It is a most unpleasant business all round.  Whatever his faults, Hepworth has given great impetus to the great and good work of the reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See, and for that he deserves thanks and sympathy in his troubles.  Please pray for him.  Pray too that all this does not dissuade souls from taking the path of Unity.

New Speaker is TAC Priest

Not without some controversy, a new Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia has just been elected – and he, Peter Slipper, or rather The Hon Fr Peter Slipper MP, is not only Speaker, but also Chancellor of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia, part of the Traditional Anglican Communion, and (since 2008) a priest thereof.  (Consult an interview with him from a few years back wherein he declares his fulsome support for Anglicanorum cœtibus.)

No doubt, when the projected Australian Ordinariate is set up, he will have to reconsider his political career  if he desire to be accepted for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church, given what the Code of Canon Law has to say about the incompatibility of those two callings...

Pray Against Bushfires

Bushfires are burning in Western Australia and elsewhere, and around Margaret River many homes have been consumed in the blaze; the new Missal provides, for use in Australia, a Collect "in times of bushfires" (alongside prayers in time of drought, floods and cyclones):

Hear our prayers, O God, for the efforts 

to quench the fires that rage in our land; 

and, sustaining our spirits, 

keep us graciously from all harm 

and give success to the work of our hands. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

one God, for ever and ever.

Australia Day: New Mass Texts

Having had a chance to examine the Australian edition of the new Missal, I note that the prayers for Australia Day, the 26th of January, have been changed, and in particular the proper Preface.  Herewith, a short comparison of the old and the new orations – the latter from the new Missal itself, the former from a hand-missal published in 1998:

1. Collect

Previous:

Father ever generous, enlighten us with new vision to see your shaping hand at work in all the gifts to our country with which your providence frames our lives.  

2011:

Grant, we pray, O Lord our God, that as the Cross shines in our southern skies, so may Christ bring light to our nation, to its peoples old and new, and by saving grace, transform our lives.  Through our Lord...

It may be seen that the old prayer is almost Deist, addressed to the Father indeed, but with an emphasis on Providence sounding rather eighteenth century, whereas the new prayer is splendidly Christocentric, alluding to the all the varied peoples who dwell in Australia, and asking that the one Saviour grace and transform all.

2. Prayer over the Offerings

Previous:

God of all power, accept the gifts we offer with ourselves to become the pure bread of Christ and the new wine of the kingdom.

2011:

As we come before you with the fruits of the earth, tended by our hands, O Lord, we pray that these offerings may bring a blessing on our land and peace to all who dwell here.  Through Christ our Lord.

Unfortunately, while Jesuit hands (or those of their wage slaves) tended the vines at Sevenhill in South Australia from which our altar wine comes, so far as I know the hosts used in parishes throughout this Great South Land are imported from a factory in the U.S. before being sold on by the good monks at Tarrawarra Abbey, so it is not exactly true that we present unto the Divine Majesty the fruits of the earth tended by "our", that is, Australian, hands; the wheat is North American.

I must say, I actually prefer the former prayer!  That said, the latter prayer does have a more sacrificial orientation, given that it prays "that these offerings may bring a blessing".

3. Preface

Previous:

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks.

Out of your infinite glory you have given us the power through your Spirit for our hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in our hearts through faith. [Cf. Eph. iii, 16f.]

Through him you have blessed our land.  The fierce flood of your grace sweeps away all barriers, and soaks deep into our being, so that the desert blooms with the life that lies in wait.

You will give us the strength to grasp the breadth and the length and the height and the depth of the utter fulness of your love which surpasses all knowledge. [Cf. Eph. iii, 18f]

With all the hosts of heaven, we give you glory from generation to generation in our song of praise:

2011:

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, and to praise, bless and glorify your name through Christ our Lord.

For from ancient times you made this land a home for many peoples, and became their rock of strength; when they were hungry, you gave them food, and when thirsty, water even in the desert. To all, your providence has proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ, your Son, sent by you to be the Saviour of all the world, who has brought peace by his sacrifice on the Cross.

And so, we lift our voices to you this day and with the people you have made your own, from every race and tongue, every place and time, we join in the song of the Angels in heaven, as in exultant praise we acclaim:

The somewhat embarrassingly "Aussie" faux-bush-poet tenor of part of the old Preface, sounding like a clumsy rehash of "I love a sunburnt country" with its reference to deserts blooming after flooding rains, has mercifully been replaced with more appropriately Scriptural allusions, while the rest of the old Preface, being but a nice but not immediately relevant quotation from Ephesians iii, 16-19, has been cut out, in favour of another robust reference to Christ our Sacrifice and Saviour, Whose Holy Gospel has been preached even here, at the very end of the earth.

4. Prayer after Communion

Previous:

All-provident God, through these sacraments of your love grant us always to live in this land united in purpose and freed in the Spirit until the final feast at heaven's table.

2011:

May our partaking of this sacrificial meal, O Lord, grant us strength to walk together in the ways of justice, and behold one day the new heavens and new earth you prepare for us in Christ your Son. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Both prayers, to be fair, are quite decent; both have a good eschatological focus.  Having had far too much social justice guff rammed down my throat as a lad, I get instantly offput when I see any reference to justice in prayers, but I try not to react too much.

Overall, the new prayers are an improvement.

First Profession of Sr Anna Maria of the Passion, OCD

I was privileged to have some time off work to-day in order to attend the First Profession of Sister Anna Maria of the Passion at Carmel.  I was delighted with the incense used, as, by a happy trick of the light, the sanctuary was filled with a bright shining cloud thereof, almost too thick to see the clergy – which instantly reminded me of the glory of the Lord filling the Temple of old.  Sister took her vows, and then the priests proceeded to offer up the Sacrifice, uniting hers to His.  (A certain reader residing up north would have recognized his re-wording of the Rangueil Offertory by André Gouzes, OP, that most elevating chant.)

Because of commitments back at work, I had to leave at the "Our Father", but united myself to the remainder of the liturgy as I drove away.

God grant her perseverance, and every grace!

Compline and Benediction for Christian Unity

To-night, our parish Compline and Benediction was graced by the attendance of Bp Robarts of the TAC, together with his wife and one of his parishioners.  My parish priest had very kindly invited him to attend, in the cause of promoting Christian Unity and more particularly the success in Australia of Anglicanorum cœtibus.

After Compline (sung in Gregorian chant), Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament followed, while we sang Ave verum, and Gaudeamus omnes in honour of St Cecilia, patroness of music, whose feast it is this day.  Bp Robarts then led us all in prayer before Our Lord truly present in the Eucharist, concluding very feelingly with the Prayer for Christian Unity.  Benediction was given by our priest with the usual Tantum ergo &c., then the Sacrament was reposed in the tabernacle while we chanted Jesu Redemptor omnium.  Our worship concluded with that most ecumenical hymn "Let all mortal flesh keep silence" – translated by an Anglican from an Eastern liturgy, set to a French tune.

After our foretaste of the joys of full communion in Eucharistic worship, we had a little agape - wine, savouries, cake...

It was a very blessed occasion in every respect.  Forward the Australian Ordinariate!

Aspirations for the Year of Faith

Recently, the Pope decreed that a Year of Faith be held, to begin on the 11th of October 2012, and to end on the last Sunday before Advent 2013.  This is excellent and most necessary: for "the just man liveth by faith" (Rom. i, 17).  Christ commands us "Have ye faith in God" (St Mark xi, 22) – and He bids us have a salutary fear lest we lose hold of our Most Holy Faith, by posing to each of us the question, "When the Son of Man cometh, thinkest thou that He will find faith on earth?" (St Luke xviii, 8)

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb. xi, 1) Divine and supernatural faith is an intellectual virtue infused into our souls at baptism, enabling us to believe in truths beyond the unaided mind of man, such as the Triune nature of God.  As we read in the Epistle to the Hebrews a little further on, "without faith it is impossible to please God" and indeed "he that cometh to God must believe that He exists, and is a Rewarder to them that seek Him" (xi, 6).  For this reason, the truths necessary to salvation are summarized as belief in God (frequently extended to include belief in God as Trinity and in the Incarnation of the Second Person thereof, not to mention His Resurrection) and as belief in a future state wherein God will reward the good and punish the bad; as the Apostles' Creed puts it, Credo in Deum... venturus est judicare ("I believe in God... He shall come to judge...").  Faith in these two points may be declared in aspirations taken from Holy Writ:

Credo Filium Dei esse Jesum Christum. (Acts viii, 37b)

(I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.)

Credo videre bona Domini in terra viventium. (Ps 26, 13)

(I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.)

Of course, the latter point – belief in God as the Rewarder of each according to his just deserts – implies acceptance of moral responsibility for one's actions: as the Beloved Disciple teaches, "this is His commandment: that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ; and that we love each other, as He has commanded us." (I John iii, 23)  To believe in Christ is to acknowledge Him as the Incarnate Son of God, implying adhesion to Trinitarian belief; to love as He commanded is to keep the Commandments, the Ten summed up in the Two and the New.

But, without neglecting the greatest of the theological virtues, the focus of the Year of Faith is upon faith, faith believing in hope, working through love.  The temptation of a doubting disbelieving age, a proud Pelagian age, is to discard faith and speak only of a sentimentalized love far removed from supernatural charity; this is to be roundly opposed, as Our Lord Himself reminded us, as quoted above, lest being without faith we be lost forever.  Whatever people may wish to believe, we are not told by Truth, "Love will save you" but "He who believes and is baptized, the same shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be condemned" (St Mark xvi, 16).

The Sacred Liturgy places before us each year (EF: 13th Sunday after Pentecost; OF: 30th Sunday per annum) this prayer for all three theological virtues, and the grace to obey the commandments and so obtain what God promises:

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, da nobis fidei, spei et caritatis augmentum, et ut mereamur assequi quod promittis, fac nos amare quod præcipis. Per...

Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise. Through...

It is a precious thing to make an Act of Faith, a declaration of one's belief, in whatsoever words answer to its object and content, as Benedict XIV long ago encouraged all the faithful to do, that they strengthen their grasp of and persevere in the Faith once delivered to the Saints.  I learnt, and still repeat, the short Act "O my God, I believe in Thee, and in all that Thy Holy Church teacheth, for Thou hast said it, and Thy word is true." — for God, being all-perfect, can neither deceive nor be deceived; and He has disseminated knowledge of His saving truth through all the world.  Longer, more explicit declarations of one's faith in the Trinity and in Christ our Redeemer become more and more Creed-like; while, after Communion, the Adoro te devote is a most appropriate Act of Faith, as consideration of its words will demonstrate.

Of course, to recite and to pray with attention, devotion and care the words of one of the very Creeds themselves is to make such an Act indeed: at Mass, we sing or say Credo in unum Deum, praying the Nicene (well, strictly speaking the Nicæno-Constantinopolitan) or "Mass" Creed, and would that we confidently know the words and meaning thereof in Latin and English at the least; in one's devotions, and in older forms of the Office, the Apostles' Creed, Credo in Deum, the ancient Baptismal Creed of the Roman Church, is customarily used, and again, to meditate on and turn over its words in the heart is to make a good act of faith.  On Trinity Sunday at Prime, and more often according to one's piety, the Athanasian Creed, Quicumque vult, is right and proper to be prayed.  And the Tridentine Profession of Faith, or Paul VI's Credo of the People of God, are more extensive declarations of belief worthy of meditation.

Especially when undergoing trials and temptations, to keep hold on the anchor of faith is vital, just as St Thérèse of Lisieux endured a terrible temptation toward atheism and self-murder during her descent through illness toward death.  As a wise Dominican said, if we lose our faith, so to speak, the last thing we should do is stop saying our prayers and going to Mass – that is when we most need to lay hold of things divine, to cry mercy, acknowledging our utter destitution, when all seems black.

But to end with some suitable aspirations for the coming Year of Faith, and indeed for all our lives as we, please God, "walk by faith and not by sight", one can raise heart and mind to the Lord, crying out:

Credo, Domine! (St John ix, 38a)

(I believe, Lord!)

[Domine,] Adauge nobis fidem! (St Luke xvii, 5b)

([Lord,] increase our faith!)

Credo, Domine; adjuva incredulitatem meam. (St Mark ix, 23b)

(Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.)

Credo Domine, sed credam firmius. (Pope Clement XI)

(I believe, Lord, but may I believe more firmly.)

O Lord, preserve to us the Faith.

The Dominican Offertory

A quick Mass is a good Mass – by which I mean, not a rushed Roman Low Mass, old or new, but that noble form of the pluriform Roman Rite, the Dominican Low Mass.  (I have only attended a Dominican High Mass once, back in the nineties, so I can't really comment on it too knowledgeably.  It is certainly more ceremonially complex than the Roman High Mass.)

One of the best features of the Dominican Mass is that the prayers at the foot of the altar, the offertory prayers, and the communion prayers are all shorter and less complicated than the Roman.  However, I will focus on the excellently arranged offertory prayers for the moment, and comment only on the Low Mass.

(To see the minutiæ of the rubrics, please refer to the handy online tutorial provided by the Dominican Province of St Joseph; as for the translations of the texts below, I took them from my copy of The Saint Dominic Missal, published 1959.)

Of course, the Dominican Offertory begins and ends as in all forms of the traditional Roman Rite: firstly Dominus vobiscum and Oremus, followed by the Offertory antiphon; lastly, the Secret.  It is the wisely devised set of prayers emplaced between these age-old parts of the Mass that testify to the genius of the Dominican Order, whose rite was fixed and stabilized in the 13th century.

Most surprisingly, the chalice in the Dominican Mass is already prepared before the Offertory!  This was in fact a common mediæval practice, surviving alone in the Dominican form of the Liturgy.  At a Low Mass, it is mixed at the very start; at a High Mass, during the Epistle.  In either case, the minister presenting the water says Benedicite (Bless), and the celebrant does so, saying In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti (In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost), to which the minister responds Amen.  There is no long prayer equivalent to the Roman Per hujus vini et aquæ mysterium.

Therefore, having prepared the chalice previously, the Dominican priest, standing at the altar, having read the Offertory antiphon, next says in a low voice, Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quæ retribuit mihi? (What shall I render to the Lord for all that He has rendered to me?)  If it were High Mass, the deacon would then say Immola Deo sacrificium laudis et redde Altissimo vota tua. (Immolate to God the sacrifice of praise, and render to the Most High your vows.)

In both cases, these selected psalm texts succinctly express the reason the priest stands at the altar – to render the perfect sacrifice of praise to God for all His blessings poured out upon him and all creation.  The Holy Eucharist is after all the perfect sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Taking up the chalice, already containing wine mixed with water, with the host resting on the paten atop it, the priest then answers his own question by saying Calicem salutaris accipiam et nomen Domini invocabo. (I will take the chalice of salvation and will call upon the name of the Lord.)  Only by taking up the chalice and invoking the Lord's name can the priest proceed to return a perfect sacrifice of thanks to God.

It is interesting to note how Quid retribuam and Calicem salutaris are the words on the priest's lips at the very start of the offertory, whereas in the traditional Roman Mass they are said directly before the celebrant drinks Christ's Blood from the chalice.

The friar celebrant continues to elevate the chalice with the paten atop, elevating the bread and watered wine contained therein, as he offers up the sacrifice to the Holy Trinity, using a short formula, shorter than the Roman, which very curiously is identical to that used in the diocese of Hereford in the Middle Ages:

Suscipe, sancta Trinitas, hanc oblationem, quam tibi offero in memoriam passionis Domini nostri Jesu Christi: et præsta, ut in conspectu tuo tibi placens ascendat, et meam et omnium fidelium salutem operetur æternam.

(Receive, O holy Trinity, this offering, which I present to You in memory of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ: and grant, that it may ascend to You worthily in Your sight, and may bring about my eternal salvation and that of all the faithful.)

Therefore, there is no separate oblation of each element, as in the Roman Rite with its prayers Suscipe sancte Pater and Offerimus tibi Domine; and the particular Dominican recension of the Suscipe sancta Trinitas – of which dozens of variants existed in mediæval times – focusses admirably, as might be expected from so scholastic an Order, on the Mass as making present the saving Passion of Christ, that the salvation of priest and all believers be wrought by this application of the power of His Sacrifice.

As is expected, next the priest goes to the epistle side of the altar and washes his fingers, praying the usual Lavabo, but only two verses (originally, only one), rather than the whole remainder of the psalm, as in the Roman Mass:

Lavabo inter innocentes manus meas, et circumdabo altare tuum Domine: ut audiam vocem laudis, et enarrem universa mirabilia tua. Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuæ, et locum habitationis gloriæ tuæ. 

(I will wash my hands among the innocent, and will compass Your altar, O Lord: that I may hear the voice of Your praise, and tell of all Your wondrous works. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells.)

Returning to the middle, he bows down and prays the In spiritu humilitatis, which, however, has a slightly divergent text from that of the general Roman Rite:

In spiritu humilitatis, et in animo contrito, suscipiamur, Domine, a te: et sic fiat sacrificium nostrum, ut a te suscipiatur hodie, et placeat tibi, Domine Deus.

(In a humble spirit, and with a contrite heart, may we be received by You, O Lord: and may our sacrifice be so [performed], that it be received by You this day, and be pleasing to You, O Lord God.)

Several other religious orders having their own proper rite of Mass were forced by Roman pressure to reword this text, but the Dominicans never did. Unlike the Roman practice, this prayer is not followed by the Veni sanctificator.

The Dominican priest then turns to the faithful present and says Orate, fratres, ut meum ac vestrum pariter in conspectu Domini sit acceptum sacrificium.  (Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be pleasing in the sight of the Lord.)  There is no response to this – the brethren pray in their hearts in response, no doubt.

The only part of the Dominican offertory rite that seems an unnecessary duplication is that interposed between the Orate fratres and the Secret, albeit a common mediæval addition: the priest, after he has turned back to the altar, prays quietly Domine, exaudi orationem meam: et clamor meus ad te veniat. Oremus. (O Lord, hear my prayer: and let my cry come to You. Let us pray.)  This corresponds to the usual practice when Dominus vobiscum is not used in the Office, which suggests its origin was the transfer of such from Office to Mass; and this helps justify this apparently curious Dominican usage.

In sum, the Dominican Mass – and in particular, the offertory thereof – is to my mind plus simple et plus uni than the Roman.  Unlike Dom Claude de Vert, that early eighteenth century liturgist to whom I owe that phrase, my liturgy of predilection is not the Carthusian, but the Dominican.

If only I lived somewhat closer to a tradition-minded Blackfriar!  It's been weeks since I was at Fr Mannes' Low Mass...