The Society of Saint Gregory the Great is a membership association of Catholic laity formed in 2008 to promote divine worship in accordance with the Supreme Magisterium of the Church. The Society has its own schola cantorum, and regularly sponsors presentations and workshops on the Sacred Liturgy, Gregorian chant, and sacred polyphony.
To all those interested in the extraordinary form of the
Roman Rite in the Diocese of Baker:
For the last year and a half our website and blog have not
reflected reality.
Since the previous bishop (Apostolic Administrator) restricted
our regular celebrant’s faculties to his monastery and then transferred all the
other priests capable of saying the EF Mass at least 120 miles away, the
Society of St. Gregory the Great has been in limbo. The current bishop has
continued the same policy, so we have had no relief.
However, we have underway petitions to ecclesiastical
authorities in Rome to intervene in order that we might once again sponsor at
least a monthly Mass in the EF at one of the local parishes near Bend.
Currently, the only parishes suitable for such celebrations are the historic
St. Francis Church in downtown Bend and the Church of Our Lady of the Snows in
Gilchrist, although a couple others might be made workable. We have been denied
permission at both venues.
We ask your prayers that we will soon be able to sponsor
such Masses again, as well as chant workshops, and workshops in the New
Translation with English chants for the Propers. These workshops, too, have been effectively
curtailed by the bishop’s actions.
We will keep you abreast of our ongoing efforts to restore
the Mass of the ancient rite to Central Oregon and the entire diocese, as well
as our efforts to improve the quality of the liturgy in this diocese, whether the
“old Mass” or the “new Mass”.
We welcome donations to our treasury in order that we might
explore every avenue to providing the EF Mass for those who desire it.
You can remit donations to:
SSGG
61149 S. Highway 97,
Box 169,
Bend, OR 97702.
All
contributions are tax deductible and you will receive a notice at the end of
the tax year for the amount you have contributed.
Here’s another way to fortify yourself with knowledge about the faith, and receive some encouragement and inspiration to share and defend that faith: Vericast Network and Vericast Podcast. I’ll let them introduce themselves; this is from the “About Us” page of their website:
Vericast is the hardest-hitting Catholic podcast on the ‘net. The backbone of the show is Truth (Veritas in Latin), and it’s mission is to inform and empower those who desire to ”Know the truth, Live the truth, and Be the truth”.
Vericast brings you the unadulterated Truth given to us by the Holy Catholic Church; the one authoritative interpreter of sacred scripture, and the boldest, clearest, most correct moral voice in the world.
Vericast is all about boldly, bravely, and proudly communicating the truth. That includes the hard truth, the inelegant, as well as the beautiful truth. It’s the full truth! The truth comes from God. We also come from God. And so the truth is as central to our existence as the air we breathe. But the truth is hard to find these days; marred and masked by a culture lost and confused in moral relativism, and ethical objectivity. The Church, being God’s beacon of truth on earth, stands in defiance of the lies and confusion that plague our culture. Vericast gives voice to the truths of Catholicism. Without compromise.
Shows are broadcast on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. You can find a list of recordings of past shows here; click on one to watch or listen.
There is also a list of instructional videos here. The first one on the list is about “anti-Catholic myths”. Take a look – this guy is good.
And just who is “this guy”? Actually, it’s a couple of guys, and they run the whole operation out of their own pockets; donations are always appreciated, of course!
The protagonists are Tim Haines and Wilson Orihuela. See the bio page of the website.
Tim Haines
Tim Haines, on his Google profile, says about himself:
"I served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and studied Philosophy (since High School if you consider personal reading). Studied Theology also, but more personal study than formal study. My professional background is in media development and production.”
Wilson Orihuela writes that:
"I love Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary with all my heart, soul and might. They are the very meaning of my existence and I'm loyal to Christ's Catholic Church till the death of me. St. Michael defend us in battle! God Bless you all."
Wilson Orihuela
There’s also a certain Cal Kane, an atheist who joins in for debate and such, I guess. I haven’t watched the show enough to be exposed to him. His Google profile says that his “work” is “Promoting positive atheism and working towards a world where theists and atheists can unite as one in a stand against the evil in this world”. Hmmm. Well, good luck with that last part. I mean, atheism is a source of evil in this world, so I’m not sure how it could be “united” with belief in God to overcome evil…
So…there you have it. An interesting couple of fellows working hard to defend the One True Faith! It’s nice to know Michael Voris has some company out there in the world of on-line radio/TV type of stuff.
The following was shared by blog reader Elizabeth.
I wanted to share a "mother moment" I had this morning, I truly believe, with our Blessed Mother.
Before I entered the church at the nearby Novus Ordo parish, I came up with a compromise of sorts with my self-consciousness when wearing a veil at a NO church. All winter, I simply wore a hat at Mass. Now that it's not hat weather… uh oh.
So I put the veil over my head and tied it back under my hair, like a bandana. Silly, eh? I figured that this would be a way to ease into wearing it, while at the same time not being quite so noticeable to others. I know… like everyone in the church is looking at me, right? :) And besides, who cares if everyone looks at you! Further silliness!
So I knelt in my spot in front of the gorgeous statue of Our Lady, right up front in the handicapped row, and asked her to please help me to not be concerned about the looks I may get from others, or what other people may or may not think about it (including the army of VII priests there). I asked Her to please help me to don my veil at every Mass – just like I used to when I was able to attend the Traditional Mass, where every woman wears one. Please, please, please. Then I said a Hail Mary and the St. Michael prayer to settle myself in for the Mass, and sat back in the pew.
There was a tap on my shoulder.
I turned around to face a rather handsome, serious-faced man who leaned forward to whisper to me, "I haven't seen a woman wearing a veil in church in decades. I just wanted to tell you how beautiful it is to see you wearing a veil. Thank you for that."
I kid you not: that's what he said. And no one can tell me that that wasn't an answer to my heartfelt prayer! It brought a tear to my eyes, and I thanked Our Lady.
From
the lessons for the office of matins
for the Solemnity of the Ascension:
From
the Sermons of Pope St Leo the Great. 1st on the Lord’s Ascension.
After
the blessed and glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, wherein the
Divine Power raised up in three days the true Temple of God Which the iniquity
of the Jews had destroyed (John ii. 19),
God was pleased to ordain, by His Most Sacred Will, and in His Providence for
our instruction and the profit of our souls, a season of forty days which
season, dearly beloved brethren, doth end on this day. During that season the
bodily Presence of the Lord still lingered on earth, that the reality of the
fact of His having risen again from the dead might be armed with all needful
proofs.
The
death of Christ had troubled the hearts of many of His disciples their thoughts
were sad when they remembered His agony upon the Cross, His giving up of the
Ghost, and the laying in the grave of His lifeless Body, and a sort of
hesitation had begun to weigh on them. Hence the most blessed Apostles and all
the disciples, who had been fearful at the finishing on the Cross, and doubtful
of the trustworthiness of the rising again, were so strengthened by the clear
demonstration of the fact, that, when they saw the Lord going up into the
height of heaven, they sorrowed not, nay they were even filled with great joy. And,
in all verity, it was a great an unspeakable cause for joy to see the Manhood,
in the presence of that the multitude of believers, exalted above all creatures,
even heavenly, rising above the ranks of the angelic armies and speeding Its
glorious way where the most noble of the Archangels lie far behind, to rest no
lower than that place where high above all principality and power, It taketh
Its seat at the right hand of the Eternal Father, Sharer of His throne, and
Partaker of His glory, and still of the very man's nature which the Son hath
taken upon Him.
Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us also rejoice with
worthy joy, for the Ascension of Christ is exaltation for us, and whither the
glory of the Head of the Church is passed in, thither is the hope of the body
of the Church called on to follow. Let us rejoice with exceeding great joy, and
give God glad thanks. This day is not only the possession of Paradise made sure
unto us, but in the Person of our Head we are actually begun to enter into the
heavenly mansions above. Through the unspeakable goodness of Christ we have
gained more than ever we lost by the envy of the devil. We, whom our venomous
enemy thrust from our first happy home, we, being made of one body with the Son
of God, have by Him been given a place at the right hand of the Father with Whom
He liveth and reigneth, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without
end. Amen.
Yesterday’s
Vortex (May 6) provides us with some great quotes from our Holy Father. Here they are:
“You cannot find Jesus outside
the Church ... It is the Mother Church who gives us Jesus, who gives us the
identity that is not only a seal, it is a belonging..”
“But when we start to cut down
the Faith, to negotiate Faith, a little like selling it to the highest bidder,
we take the path of apostasy, of disloyalty to the Lord.”
“These Christians are not
united in the Church, they do not walk in God's presence, they don’t have the
security of the Holy Spirit, they do not make up the Church… to quote the words
of Jesus in Revelation, 'lukewarm Christians'. The indifference that is in the
Church ... They walk only in the presence of common sense common sense ... that
worldly prudence.”
“.. if we do not profess Jesus
Christ, things go wrong. We may become a charitable NGO, but not the Church,
the Bride of the Lord … When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the
worldliness of the devil, a demonic worldliness .. we may be bishops, priests,
cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord.”
Here’s
the Vortex, with the script below.
The script: When
the Holy Father was elected – can you believe it was almost two months ago
already – MSNBC loud mouth commentator and fake Catholic Chris Matthews said
the following in part:
"Let me start tonight with
the election of the new Pope. It brings with it a great hope, and not just for
Catholics. It promises a progressive church and economic justice. Francis 1 is
a Jesuit from Argentina. He is known for throwing off trappings and perks of
power, living in a small apt, taking a bus to work. The new Pope has said
things about capitalism and its failure to deliver economic justice that could
drive the right wing nuts crazy.”
Pause
here now for loud laughter.
Yep,
that’s exactly what progressive liberal non-thinkers always want to do: portray
reality in an unrealistic way. This was part of the hijacking process that the
Matthews-type media tried to do immediately with the new Pope.
And
totally off topic for a moment .. has anyone seen Chris Matthews taking the bus
and living in a rinky-dink apartment and giving back all those expensive suits
paid for by his network .. I mean if he thinks that’s so great, why doesn’t he
do it? Just askin’.
But
back to the point, Pope Francis is continuing to disappoint the liberal spin
machine. Just recently he made a most decidedly Catholic claim:
“You cannot find Jesus outside
the Church ... It is the Mother Church who gives us Jesus, who gives us the
identity that is not only a seal, it is a belonging..”
What a
divisive thing to say. My oh my! There goes yet another pope, being Catholic
and all that. See, the liberal media has no idea what to do with a comment
like, other than ignore. The media however should take their cue from liberal
Catholics who could spin that so furiously, it would look like a Tasmanian
devil by the time they were done with it.
But at
the end of the day, the Pope means exactly what he says. The Catholic Church is
the means for finding Jesus Christ and incorporating us into Him. That doesn’t
sound very 1960’s era ecumenical, and it certainly doesn’t fit the sputum poured
forth by the American Patriotic Church and its agenda to be the Church of Nice.
But it
is what it is. A decidedly – not to mention refreshingly – NON-vague insistence
on what the Catholic Church is. But those aren’t the only comments, homilies
and remarks the Holy Father has made that are Catholic. In challenging
Catholics to be more stalwart and rigid, yes rigid in their faith he said:
“But when we start to cut down
the Faith, to negotiate Faith, a little like selling it to the highest bidder,
we take the path of apostasy, of disloyalty to the Lord.”
Did you
hear that seminary formation teams. BAM!
About
lukewarm Catholics he said:
“These Christians are not
united in the Church, they do not walk in God's presence, they don’t have the
security of the Holy Spirit, they do not make up the Church… to quote the words
of Jesus in Revelation, 'lukewarm Christians'. The indifference that is in the Church
... They walk only in the presence of common sense common sense ... that worldly
prudence.”
BAM!
And at
his first Mass, he said point blank to the cardinals who has just elected him
the day before:
“.. if we do not profess Jesus
Christ, things go wrong. We may become a charitable NGO, but not the Church,
the Bride of the Lord … When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the
worldliness of the devil, a demonic worldliness .. we may be bishops, priests,
cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord.”
Wait
for it… BAM!
See…how
do liberals talk about this? What can they say? Sure, they can hang on every word
that the Pope says about poverty while ignoring these things, but they paint an
incomplete – WILDLY incomplete – picture of him and his message. But hey, that
never stopped the media liberals before.
So our
modernist friends are caught in a trap of their own devising… the phrase hoist
by their petard comes to mind.
Liberals
in the Church – like for example Fr. Thomas Rosica, who heads up Salt and
Light
TV from Canada – was all aglow with the election of Francis, saying that things
in the Vatican changed instantly with his election… over night.
He
would of course like to join with his secular counterparts like Chris Matthews
in painting a picture of vast difference between Benedict and Francis , because
of the sneaky implication that beyond style, something of substance will change
as well: a little extra dash of ecumenism here , a little shared Holy Communion
there.
Well, do
people like Fr. Rosica and Chris Matthews REALLY think that all that much has
changed now? Pope Francis talk like a pope – like the successor to St. Peter.
You can easily imagine Peter saying there is no finding Jesus outside the
Church – that it is impossible.
And
when Pope Francis echoes those sentiments and states them plainly…well, what
are poor liberals to do, other than ignore those comments and really really
hope he comes out soon and says something about poverty.
It’s
funny that because of his name, Benedict the 16th was nicknamed B-16…like the bomber;
because when you listen to the bombs exploding everywhere these days in the
Below you will find Fr. Eric Andersen's homily for
today's feast of St. Athanasius. I am pleased to say also that a Mass is
being said (by a different priest) for the intentions of Archbishop Alexander
Sample of Portland on the feast of this wonderful saint! God bless Archbishop
Sample, and may St. Athanasius help the new archbishop to have the strength and
courage he will need to confront the problems of the Archdiocese of Portland!
A homily by Fr. Eric M. Andersen, Sacred Heart in Gervais,
OR
May 2nd, 2013
St. Athanasius,
bishop and doctor
There is a tradition
that St. Athanasius “first attracted the notice of Patriarch Alexander as he
was playing at baptism on the seashore with other small boys. After watching
young Athanasius perform the rite, the prelate called the boys to him and by
questioning satisfied himself that the baptisms were valid. He then undertook
to have these boys trained for the priesthood” (Vann, ed., Lives of Saints, p. 49). Athanasius was born around 297 in
Alexandria, Egypt. Alexandria was an academic center, not only because the
great Library of Alexandria was there, but also because it was a center of
Platonic thought and Theology. St. Jerome tells us that St. Mark the Evangelist
had founded the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Famous among its students
were Origen, St. Clement of Alexandria and Dionysius the Areopagite.
From this
intellectual climate, Athanasius was formed theologically by the patriarch of
Alexandria for whom he worked as a secretary. Because Alexandria was so
intellectual, there were theologians who were very free thinking and not so
concerned with orthodoxy. It was about the year 323 that Arius, “a priest of
the church of Baucalis, began to teach that Jesus, through more than man, was
not eternal God, that he was created in time by the Eternal Father, and could
therefore be described only figuratively as the Son of God” (50). The patriarch
and the other bishops condemned the writings of Arius and deposed him along
with 11 priests and deacons of Alexandria. When the patriarch died, Athanasius,
not yet 30 years old, succeeded him.
Meanwhile, Arius
retired to Caesaria and befriended the bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia among other
bishops. His heretical propositions were set to music and publicized by popular
tunes which sailors would sing as they travelled here and there. In 330, the
now Arian bishop Eusebius had persuaded the Emperor Constantine to write
Athanasius requesting that he readmit Arius to communion. Athanasius refused.
Eusebius countered by pitting the people against Athanasius and trumping up
false charges. Athanasius was called into court, but he defended himself and
returned to his see. But not for long. The Emperor was won over by the
opposition and banished Athanasius into exile. In 337, Constantine died just
after baptism by bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia. He divided the empire into three
parts for his three sons. Let the intrigue begin!
His son
Constantine II lifted the banishment and allowed Athanasius to return to his
flock. Two years later, Constantine II died in battle. Eusebius, meanwhile, had
won over the Emperor Constantius. A church council was called at Antioch,
Athanasius was banished again and an Arian bishop was installed as patriarch of
Alexandria. This time Athanasius went to Rome to consult with the pope. His
case and his name were cleared, but he had to wait to return until after the
death of the Arian bishop. He was gone for 8 years and returned triumphant. All
was at relative peace under the Emperor Constans for three or four years when
suddenly Constans was murdered in 350.
In the resulting
chaos, his own people protected him as he lived in hiding for 6 years and
composed his greatest works in writing. Constantius died in 361 and Julian the
pagan Emperor allowed Athanasius to return, but only for a few months. He
determined to reestablish cultic worship to the gods of Rome and he banished
Athanasius as a “disturber of the peace and an enemy of the gods” (54). Julian
was slain; his successor Jovian lifted the banishment; a year later, his
successor Valens banished Athanasius again for four months then lifted it for
political reasons.
Athanasius had
spent 17 years in exile for defending orthodoxy; for defending the divinity of
Jesus Christ. He returned to live out the last few years of his life in peace.
He died on May 2nd, 373. His body now rests in Venice. May we have the
fortitude and perseverance to defend the true faith without counting the cost.
It's a day late, but here is Fr. Eric Andersen's homily for the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.
Fr. Eric
M. Andersen
Sacred Heart-St. Louis in Gervais
May 1st, 2013
St. Joseph the Worker
“When the American Federation of Labor decided to set May 1st, 1886, as the
target date for winning the eight-hour day, which it had been demanding for
years, the only thing in favor of the first of May was that it was moving day,
the usual date when leases and other economic agreements ran out. …The
employers opposed the demand, and so a strike was called for that day. At a
demonstration in Chicago a bomb was thrown – by whom was never known. The
police fired into the crowd, killing and wounding several of the demonstrators.
The labor leaders charged with instigating the demonstrations were tried in an
atmosphere of hatred and hysteria; seven were sentenced to death and four
executed. In memory of these martyrs of the labor movement, the first of May
was adopted internationally as a day given over to demonstrating for shorter
working hours. Only five years later did the International Labor Congress in
Brussels declare it a “festival day” for the first time” (Josef Pieper, In Tune with the World, 73).
The “posters and banners carried in the processions” proclaimed: “This is the
day the people made; it is hallowed throughout the world”; “Socialism, thy
kingdom come!”; “Our Pentecost, when the power of the Holy Spirit of Socialism
rushes through the world, making converts” (Pieper, 75).
What started as an American Labor dispute became a Socialist festival and then
when the Bolshevists took over the celebration, it was no longer a
“demonstration against the existing order. The existing order (became)
identical with the dictatorship of the…totalitarian labor state” (75). The
Catholic philosopher Josef Pieper points out that “The first of May becomes, to
put it briefly, a day that differs from all other workdays and rest days of the
year in that it is celebrated by – additional, voluntary, unpaid work! In lieu
of the demand for a shorter workday, which in the past had been the
justification and the meaning of the day, the workers are asked to accept the
very opposite, ‘the idea of a prolongation of work.’” The Bolshevist Leon
Trotsky is quoted from an official document of 1920: “This holiday is one of
general work.” From the same document Maxim Gorky wrote: “It is a wonderful
idea to make the spring festival of the workers a holiday of voluntary work”
(cf. Pieper 76). Lenin’s government decreed that it was a “‘crime not to
understand’ the purpose of giving that particular form to the holiday” (cf.
76).
By 1922, “May first became more and more exclusively a day on which the Soviet
Union displayed its military strength in gigantic parades. …The very same was
true of the gigantic May Day celebrations of the Nazi regime” (77). “Several
days prior to May first, the state propaganda machine would publish the
following instructions: ‘Decorate your houses and the streets of the cities and
villages with fresh greenery and with the colors of the Reich! …No train and no
streetcar is to ride through Germany that is not decorated with flowers and
greenery!” (78). In 1934 May 1st was renamed “National Holiday of the German
People” and was “the prime occasion for striking displays of weapons of
destruction, which the regime was already accumulating in preparation for total
war" (Pieper, 79).
In 1937, Pope Pius XI issued an encyclical Divini
Redemptoris on atheistic communism, writing: “We place the vast campaign of
the Church against world Communism under the standard of Saint Joseph, her
mighty Protector. He belongs to the working class…and in a life of faithful performance
of everyday duties, he left an example for all those who must gain their bread
by the toil of their hands” (cf. §§ 44, 45).
At that time, the Catholic Church celebrated the feast of Sts. Philip and
James, apostles, on May 1st. There was a moveable Solemnity of St. Joseph,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church celebrated
on the Wednesday of the third week after Easter. In 1955, Pope Pius XII
rearranged the liturgical calendar and moved this feast of St. Joseph to a set
date: May 1st, in honor of St. Joseph the Worker. It is odd, therefore, that
the Catholic Worker movement appears to lean more towards protest and activism
than towards the sanctification of work and the imitation of St. Joseph the
worker. The Dominican Fr. Marie Dominique Philippe reminds us, our Lord said,
“Do not labor for the food which perishes [for the pagan does as much] but for
the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you”
(Jn 6:27). Fr. Philippe writes that St. Joseph “did not work in order to become
a specialist, or to win a prize, or again for human glory. He worked for the
sole reason that God asked him to; he worked in order to fulfill His will.
Obedience to God, and the fact of being predominantly concerned with doing His
will, gives gentleness to our work. We do not waste time, and we work without
stress or fuss” (The Mystery of Joseph,
50). He relates St. Joseph’s work to the contemplative life: “Our desire for
contemplation gives us an interior freedom which allows us to work in truth and
with determination, thereby making a total gift of all our strength, and
offering our work to God as a holocaust of love” (52).
Fr. Philippe continues: “When work is accomplished in simply the human, natural
perspective, we have a specific goal in mind, which remains on the human plane,
and we become attached to our work. In religious life we discover that it takes
a long time for work, and for our way of working, to become purified. It is not
something that is done in a day, nor even a year; it takes a lifetime, because
it is the whole reality of our human person that is involved in work –
including our sensibility, our emotions…, our imagination, our intelligence and
our will to apply ourselves to what we do” (52).
Now we see a great difference between the work of a communist and the work of a
saint. Today, May 1st, is a day that belongs to the Lord. It is not a day that
the people have made. It is not a day to celebrate the achievements of man or
his military strength. Neither is it a day for protest and dissent and
demonstrations. It is a day to consecrate our work, and to do it well for the
glory of God. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in
it.
