Quickpost: Credit to Tina in Ashburn at Fr. Z. for explaining the SSPX and Sunday Obligation in Layman's Terms

Speaking of the SSPX and Richard Williamson .....

Fr. Z has picked up on this and now people are commenting on the post. One posting in particular here:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/10/sspx-formally-expelled-bp-williamson/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wdtprs%2FDhFa+%28Fr.+Z%27s+Blog+-+What+Does+The+Prayer+Really+Say%3F%29

comes from a Tina in Ashburn. And wow! It's probably the clearest, layman's explanation of the whole "I go to SSPX chapels and Churches because there is a DIRE EMERGENCY in the Church" situation. Here it is:

"as an aside: “one may fulfill their Sunday obligation in one of their chapels”

This understanding must be taken in context of the whole law. In emergency situations, yes, we can fulfill Holy Day obligations, and receive certain Sacraments, at the point of death for instance. For instance, if I’m in Russia and have no other access to Mass, I can receive Communion from an Orthodox.
Unfortunately, repeating this behavior, attendance, belonging to the group, day in and day out, does not constitute an emergency. Continually behaving this way creates the schismatic mindset – that is the danger. [Yes I recognize that many are in a terrible location where the worst of Church practices must be endured, but in this case 'emergency' becomes a subjective definition as an excuse to go elsewhere - I do sympathize!! And egad, why don't liberal abuses get more attention and clarification? ]

By taking this ‘emergency’ as an excuse for adhering to the SSPX, how is this behavior not unlike the liberals who insist on lay distribution of Holy Communion because, it seems, every day is an ‘emergency’ and thus allowed. There are many examples of stretching these allowances and creating a rule from an exception."

Wow. You go T.I.A. Awesome. And just as a warning, I'm monitoring replies. See my blog rules back in August 2011. 

YCRCM. 

Catechesis: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Hello Everyone,

I couldn't let another feast day go by without giving you a little edu-ma-cation. Without further-ado, Catechesis on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I highly advise you to read this before you go to Mass, unless other factors prevent you otherwize:

When? Usually the 2^nd Week of Advent, December the 8^th annually in both the NO and the EF calendars.

Whom? Mary Blessed Mother of Jesus, St. Anne (Mary’s Mother who birthed her), and St. Joachim, Mary's father.

What?

Here's what the Catechism of the Church says on the matter.

The Immaculate Conception

490 To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.”¹³² The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as “full of grace”.¹³³ In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace.

491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God,¹³⁴ was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.¹³⁵

492 The “splendour of an entirely unique holiness” by which Mary is “enriched from the first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Christ: she is “redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son”.¹³⁶ The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and chose her “in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love”.¹³⁷

493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God “the All-Holy” (Panagia), and celebrate her as “free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature”.¹³⁸ By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.
“Let it be done to me according to your word. . .”

494 At the announcement that she would give birth to “the Son of the Most High” without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience of faith, certain that “with God nothing will be impossible”: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word.”¹³⁹ Thus, giving her consent to God’s word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God’s grace:¹⁴⁰

As St. Irenaeus says, “Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.”¹⁴¹ Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert. . .: “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.”¹⁴² Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary “the Mother of the living” and frequently claim: “Death through Eve, life through Mary.”¹⁴³ (1)

That's a lot eh? Maybe a shorter, better explanation will be more suitable for you. Here's the introduction taken from the variable prayers and passages that fit the Extraordinary Form mass of that day in the 1962 Roman Missal for the Laity:

“ I will put enmities between thee and the woman.” In these words the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was announced to the first parents. It was to be the reversal of the friendship with the serpent contracted by Eve, when she listened to his voice and fell under his power. The second Eve was never to be under the power of the devil; the enmity between them was to admit of no possible exception. This involved the grace of being conceived immaculate. Mary’s Immaculate Conception was the foundation of all her graces. The absence of any stain or spot of sin distinguished her from all the rest of mankind. It distinguished her from holiest of the Saints, since they, one and all, were sinners. Her perfect sinlessness was the source of all her glory and all her majesty; it was this which opened the door to the unlimited graces that she received from God; it was this that qualified her for her divine maternity and raised her to her throne as Queen of heaven. “O Queen, conceive without original sin, pray for us, who have recourse to thee.” “(2)

Key Points And Notes on the Matter

Key Points
1. THIS IS ONE OF THE TWO OCCASIONS IN THE CHURCH’s HISTORY THAT THE CHURCH HAS USED ITS INFALLIBILITY EX CATHEDRA IN A MATTER OF DOGMA!!!!!
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9ineff.htm – Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX on Dec 8, 1854.

The only other instance of ex cathedra use of the power of infallibility is for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, this ex Cathedra announcement means a binding consequence amongst Roman Catholics: This is dogma pronounced publically and therefore MUST BE OBEYED by all practicing Catholics. To publically dissent from this means you are NOT Catholic and can get you excommunicated via apostasy (giving up the Christian Faith) though it could possibly be heresy (beliefs contrary to dogma of the faith, though usually clergy or high level people get this title), that is if you want to go about things rashly and proclaim denial to everyone and anyone you meet. Sure there are Catholics who don’t believe this and you probably know them, but hopefully they keep this to themselves and don’t try to encourage others to dis-believe. But if clergy do not believe this, you have every right as a Catholic by canon law to report this up the chain of command.

DISCLAIMER: If someone does not believe in the immaculate conception, do keep in mind that a number of Catholics today are poorly educated by the developed world's current cathechesis programs, youth ministries, RCIA programs etc. Most parishes outside of RCIA for converts do not focus on any form of Catholic faith education past Confirmation age. If any education is granted it is usually through a separate/Catholic publically (a.k.a. secular government) funded system which can interdict its authority into what is taught, and rarely will a high schooler get a decent chance at Catholic education via private Catholic school. Do be wary of this and try to get to the bottom of the persons disbelief first before tightening your grip alright? 

 2.       IN CANADA, This is unfortunately not a holy day of obligation. However, as always the Catechism says …

The Sunday Eucharist

2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life. “Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church.”¹¹⁰

“Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension of Christ, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christi, the feast of Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, the feast of Saint Joseph, the feast of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of All Saints.”¹¹¹ (3)

3.     I would consider this the most important point to tell people today: Many people think that this day refers to Jesus being conceived without original sin. THIS IS WRONG. This day refers to Mary being conceived into the world without original sin so as to be an appropriate vessel to birth our God as the Word Made Flesh, as Jesus.

So, as a final note, I encourage everyone to attend Mass today if they can do it. While in many countries it is not a day of obligation (thanks to their Bishop's Conferences) do go to a Mass today. It will be that more spiritually rewarding to the Lord as you are going on your own free will and not cause an authority dictated you to go. EF parishes everywhere (and lay associations that set up EFs) will always have some mass on a feast day. As for Novus Ordos, some will likely have an evening Mass after work to go to. Worst case scenario, try to get to the morning mass, especially if its before work (if you can make it, and usually weekday NO's are shorter than Sunday. That or priests tend not to "pull out all the stops" as it were on the weekdays").

YCRCM.

Sources

SCRPITURAL READINGS
Extraordinary Form
Proverbs 8:22-35 and Matthew 5:1-12

Novus Ordo

Genesis 3:9-15,20, Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12; Luke 1:26-38

Other Sources for your Interest:
Holweck, Frederick. "Immaculate Conception." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 9 Dec. 2010 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm>.

Catholic Answers. “Immaculate Conception and Assumption.” Online. Available:

<http://www.catholic.com/library/Immaculate_Conception_and_Assum.asp>. 9 Dec 2010.

Works Cited according to the MLA Sytle Manual, 5th Ed.:
(1) "The Immaculate Conception." The Catechism of the Catholic Church. LIBERIA EDITRICE VATICANA, 1994, for the English translation in Canada. 1994.

(2) "December 8, The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary." The Daily Missal and Liturgical Missal with Vespers For Sundays and Feasts From the Editio Typica of the Roman Missal and Breviary, 1962 With Supplements Containing The Additional Masses for Englang and Wales, Scotland, United States and Australasia. Summorum Pontificum Edition. 2009.

(3) "The Sunday Eucharist." The Catechism of the Catholic Church. LIBERIA EDITRICE VATICANA, 1994, for the English translation in Canada. 1994.

Feast Day: St Michael the Archangel (and other Archangels)



Picture from Una Voce Orange County California Handout/Bulletin Insert for guests to the EF, Michaelmas

Hello Everyone.

Yeah we all know Christmas and Easter are big days in the Church, but did you know that there are many other "Big days" in the Church? There's many more feast days. That's right, Feasts. And they pop up annually in the Church Calendar, be it Novus Ordo or Extraordinary Form/TLM. So, what are these feast days?

According to the Revised and Updated Catholic Encyclopedia, edited by Broderick, feast days in the Church calendar are: "... the sequence of festivals to commemorate a teaching or event or religious improtance, or saints' days .... Feasts are celebrated within the limits of a natural day ..." (1)

So, on this day, September 29th, the Church commemorates a Saint's feast day, an event of religious importance, and indirectly teaching of an event. Today is the feast of the Archangels Sts. Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. These are the only angels that are named in the Bible (that is known to us by name). St. Michael is principally who is celebrated today, though all 3 are implied. So what's up with these three big head honchos cause they aren't just angels. Their bigger.

What is an angel? Again I turn to the Catholic Encyclopedia (2):

"... angels are spiritual beings, created by God, and superior in nature to man. They are immortal beings whose role is to minister to God and to do thw will of God in obedience. They are bodiless, spiritual intelligences who have their knowledge, not as man who acquires knowledge through his senses, but by intuition. Thus they do not arrive at conclusions following upon principles by a process of reason but immediately know the principles as truth ...."

Also, there are 9 "choirs" of angels in descending order: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Archangels, and Angels (2). Now, that's a nice nutshell definiton for you, but what about the three I mentioned? Let's save the popular one, St. Michael, for last, and let's get Gabriel and Raphael out of the way.

Gabriel
Gabriel means "Man of God/God has shown Himself Mighty." This angel announced to Daniel the prophecy of the 70 weeks in Daniel 9:21-27 and also appeared to Zechariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptist (Luke 1:11). Finally, he announced to Mary she'd bear Christ who'd be conceived by the Holy Spirit and well, save the world (Luke 1:26) This is the famous angel who is named in the Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, the Annunciation. (3)

Raphael
Means "God has healed." Appears in the Book of Tobit as a guide to Tobiah. Raphael also bings the demon Asasel in the desert of Egypt in the book ot Tobit, helps Tobiah find a wife and recover his debt, and heals Tobit from blindness. He also reveals his identity directly in the book of Tobit. (3)

Michael (the Big Shatoonah, and my personal favourite Angel)
Clearly you have heard of this angel. Really? No? Well those named Michael have a mane meaning "Who is Like God" which is translated in Latin as "Quis et Deus". You may have seen that expression on some coats of arms or symbols dedicated to Michael. I could tell the story of Michael in a Nutshell, but I found a good summary via the ArchBishop of Ottawa, Ontario, Cannada, +Prendergast's blog: http://archbishopterry.blogspot.com/2011/09/archangels-michael-gabriel-raphael.html. The summary was taken from The Catholic Herald Newspaper in the UK at: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/spirituallife/saintoftheweek/2011/09/22/the-saint-who-threw-satan-out-of-heaven/ . Here it is in full text:

"The Archangel Michael is honoured as the leader of the heavenly host which threw Satan and his fellow rebels out of heaven.
Today, the Catechism of the Catholic Church stoutly maintains the existence of angels as “true of faith”: “The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of tradition.”
Angels, the Catechism elucidates, “are servants and messengers of God. Because they ‘always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven’ (Mt 18:10) they are ‘the mighty ones who do his word’ (Ps 103:20).
“The whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of the angels. From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.”
This is a development of Jewish tradition. In the Old Testament there are copious references to angels, although Michael’s status is not precisely clear. In the Book of Daniel, written c 550 BC, he is “the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people”.
Jesus Christ speaks (Mt 26:53) of having “more than 12 legions of angels” potentially at his side. And although the term “archangel” does not appear in the Bible, the reference in Revelation (12:7) to “Michael and his angels” suggests his supremacy.
In Hebrew the name Michael actually means “Who is like unto God?” The implication, which the rebellious angels learned to their cost, is that no one possibly could be like God.
In Catholic tradition, Michael serves four distinct roles. Just as he had defeated Satan in celestial combat, so he provides aid in the spiritual struggle fought in every human soul.
“With me,” the worldly Bishop Blougram explains in Browning’s poem:

faith means perpetual unbelief
Kept quiet like the snake ’neath Michael’s foot
Who stands calm just because he feels it writhe.

Secondly, Michael is present at every deathbed, offering the hope of redemption.
Thirdly, he weighs the merits of the soul after death.
Fourthly, he stands forth as the guarantor of Christ’s promise to the Church that it will endure to the end of time.
The cult of Michael developed in Byzantine Christianity, though stories of his apparition on Monte Gargano (southern Italy) in the late fifth century helped to spread his fame in western Europe.
Around 495 a vision of the archangel in Cornwall apparently led to the naming of St Michael’s Mount. By the end of the Middle Ages nearly 700 churches in England (many of them on high ground) bore Michael’s name. His feast was even retained in the ultra-Protestant Prayer Book of 1549.
Since 1969 the Catholic Church has combined his feast day with those of Gabriel, Raphael “and all angels”. Michael, though, is still in control of the army." (4)

So that's what this feast day is all about in the Catholic Church. For those interested in the Scriptural Readings for today's masses, here they are for both forms:

Extraordiary Form/Tridentine Latin Mass (1962): Apocalypse (a.k.a. Revelation) 1:1-5 And Matthew 18:1-10

Novus Ordo (1962): Revelation 12:7-12a, Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 and John 1:47:51

Also, as to more about the fall of the traitor angels and the Devil (a.k.a. Satan, Lucifer, prior to the fall) with regard to St. Michael, check out the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 391 to 395. I am referring you for now, but as always, I could do a catechesis session in future on the fall of the traitor angels, the spiritual war,etc. in future.

Sources (cited according to MLA Style Maual, 5th Ed.)
(1) Broderick, Robert C., Thomas, Ed."Feasts of the Church" Revised and Updated Catholic Encyclopedia. 1987.
(2) Broderick, Robert C., Thomas, Ed."Angel" Revised and Updated Catholic Encyclopedia. 1987.
(3) "Sept. 29. Saints Michael, Gabriel, Raphael" Lives of the Saints For Every Day of the Year. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1977. 396-398.
(4) "The Saint Who Threw Satan Out of Heaven." The Catholic Herald. 29 Sept 2011. <http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/spirituallife/saintoftheweek/2011/09/22/the-saint-who-threw-satan-out-of-heaven/>