Sunday Reading / Reflecting

First class of Leader of Prayer is complete...exciting, informative & edifying!

We covered:
History of LoP along with the Revised Norms for Leader of Prayer for the Diocese of LaCrosse
From Bishop Paul to Bishop Burke and continued with His Excellency, Bishop Callahan! 
Elements of Ritual
Sacred Signs, Symbols & Gestures (What we see, do & how we move...It matters!)
Eucharist as the Celebration of the Paschal Mystery
Common & Ordained Priesthood (Similar but different...Priest, Prophet, King)
Liturgy of the Hours (one of my favorite topics)
Devotions (Theology & Particular Devotions)

The Diocese of La Crosse has an excellent model for learning and transforming people into prayer leaders within their local parishes that really enhances their Catholic Faith and allows them and those they may serve to better glorify God, and (hopefully) bring salvation to others!

It has been a good day of reflecting and reading:

HERE is a post from Fr. Z~ At the very end Fr. Z makes a GREAT plea to all Bishops...
"If I were a Bishop..."
There are some REALLY good bishops out there...let's hope some take him up on his offer/suggestion! 
Let's hope Fr. Z sent this out to some Bishops!!!
If they are good Bishops, they will not take offense to suggestions of help (not judgement or "telling them what to do"), if they are not, then nothing suggested will make a difference anyway...


Good read (& reflection) from Peter Kwasniewski at 1P5
Should Traditional Catholics "Move Past" the Liturgy Debates?

Lots to think, reflect and discern here...

PK's take on serving two masters is interesting...
Novus Ordo & TLM are really not two masters(IMO)...they are (currently) both Rites of the One Holy Catholic & Apostolic Church...thus they serve the same master...Jesus Christ!!!
We are really not serving two masters, we are (or should be) Glorifying God with each...

I do like the statement that N. had..."the Novus Ordo in strict conformity to the rubrics and in the spirit of Tradition."
This is what I have seen/experienced in the NO's I have been fortunate enough to be a part of...It is/can be beautiful and glorifying.

All that said...there is no denying that since the institution of the NO has taken place, there has been a dying of sorts, or hemorrhaging of the body of the Church. We are in trouble from the outside and from within...

This quote:
"...when tradition turns into mere custom, it can quickly lose its standing when challenged."

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From that Article...You may find this brief article, "The Law of Liturgical Entropy" very thought provoking...

...and then that led to this article, "Does Tradition preserve us, or we the Tradition?"

Matthew 16:18

Matthew 16:18
And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition)

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition)

Office of Readings ~ June 22 ~ John Fischer & Thomas More (2nd Reading)
From a letter written in prison to his daughter, Margaret, by St. Thomas More
Final paragraph from the letter (emphasis mine):
"And therefore, my own good daughter, do not let your mind be troubled over anything that should happen to me in this world. Nothing can come but what God wills. And I am very sure that whatever that be, however bad it may seem, it shall indeed be for the best."


I have reflected a lot on these two things lately...with all the goings on in the church, our country and even locally. It is truly important to know that in the end...God prevails.

Now, that being said, we cannot "stick our head in the sand" and just say, well, God willed that to happen, we should still be taking action and going about our day in the way and vocation God has put us in. But when we find things getting frustrating, anxiety creeping in, things not going our way, it is important to realize that God is in control and WE are not. For that is, many times, the frustrating or anxiety ridden part of what we have...the fact that things are not going the way WE expect them to, or the way WE planned...
Well... "His ways are not our ways" (ref Isaiah 55:8-9)
Remain strong in faith...fortis in fide!

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For those that would like to think that the Pope is NOT the Pope...this is commonly called sedevacantism (dangerous territory, I might add).
I would think that this really comes from a place of pride...again...dangerous territory!
Article HERE

This is worth another read as well...
What is Truth?

Good Stuff...

HERE is the pdf of the Document! This is good stuff!!!
Below are some comments/articles about it!

LifeSite ~ Cdl Burke, Bp Schneider issue ‘declaration of truths’ to correct rampant ‘doctrinal confusion’ in Church

Rorate Caeli  For the Record: Declaration of the truths relating to some of the most common errors in the life of the Church of our time.

OnePeterFive ~ Newly Released "Declaration of Truths" Reads like a Neo-Syllabus of Errors