THERE WILL BE A SOLEMN MASS FOR THE FEAST OF ST. BARTHOLEMEW, APOSTLE AND MARTYR, TOMORROW, FRIDAY, AUGUST 24TH, AT 6 PM AT THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS IN MANHATTAN.

The Cardinal Prefect (in pecctore) of the Secretly Clandestine Sacred Congregation of Indulgent Indulgences is always scouring texts ancient and modern, high and low, in order to delightfully discover eminently enjoyable epicurean excursions in this vale of tears for the Christian Faithful to exercise their belief in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

St. Bartholomew is the patron saint of beekeepers and honey-makers, and for this reason it was traditional in England for the honey crop to be gathered on August 24. Since the main ingredient in mead—an ancient alcoholic drink that is still made in some parts of England today—is honey, the Blessing of the Mead is also observed on St. Bartholomew’s Day. In St. Mount’s Bay, Cornwall, a special ceremony is held by the Almoner of the Worshipful Company of Mead Makers (One thinks he may have just found a new side job). It begins with a church service, and then the participants move to the Mead Hall, where the Almoner, who is also the vicar of the parish, blesses the mead that has been fermenting for two years and pours it into a special cup. The mead can then be moved to a storage vat. In the past, mead was traditionally drunk from a bowl, known as a mazer, made from birds-eye maple with a silver rim.

And, of course, after impishly imbibing the lively libations invite some Huguenots over!

(Okay, I know it’s not a very ecumenical thing to say! Pooh!)
Mr. Screwtape

On Wednesday,  August 22, the following churches in Connecticut will offer the Traditional Mass in honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

St. Mary Church, Norwalk,  Missa Cantata, 7 pm.

St. Gabriel Church, Stamford, Solemn Mass, 7:30 pm. Canon Aaron Huberfeld of the Institute of Christ the King,  Guest Homilist.  Refreshments to follow in Parish Meeting Room.

In New York:

Church of the Holy Innocents, Manhattan, Solemn Mass, 6 pm.

In the photo is the Virgen de la Immaculada in the Convent of St. Anthony of Padua in Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico.  This image, to which are attributed many miracles, was crowned by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1993.

The following parishes will offer Mass in the Extraordinary Form for the Feast of the Assumption on Wednesday, August 15. If any of our readers know of another Mass in the area, please let us know.

Connecticut

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, Solemn Mass at 5:30 p.m.
Music will include the Missa de Beata Maria of David Hughes and motets by Palestrina and Tye.

St. Stanislaus, New Haven, low Mass at 5:30 p.m.(?)

New York

Church of the Holy Innocents, Manhattan, low Mass at 8:30 a.m. AND Solemn Mass at 6:00 p.m.
Music for the latter will include the Messe royale du premier ton of Henri Dumont and Gregorian and Parisian chant.

Immaculate Conception, Sleepy Hollow, low Mass at 5:00 p.m.

New Jersey

St. Anthony of Padua, Jersey City, Solemn Mass at 7:00 p.m.
Music will include the Missa Brevis of Palestrina with guest soloist Paula Scalera.

(For the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua)

The Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, East Harlem, will be having a Traditional Missa Cantata at 10am on “Giglio Sunday”, August 12th. The Giglio is a multi-storied tower carrying a band and statue of St. Anthony of Padua that is “danced” by around 120 men through the streets of East Harlem. There will also be a traditional feast in the street with food and amusements. St. Anthony’s relics will be venerated after Mass and the dance of the Giglio begins at 1pm.

A video of the giglio at Our Lady of Mount Carmel can be found HERE.

The Church of St. Gabriel in Stamford, CT will offer a Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, August 22, at 7:30 pm. The pastor, Father La Pastina, has told us that he has scheduled an extraordinary form Mass at St. Gabriel each month for the next year on a different feast day each month. The list will be forthcoming.

Holy Hindering Hardware! No, this e-pistle is not being ghost written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr. in order to provide Burt Ward with an excited exclamation to shout to Adam West while in a corner laughing maniacally is Cesar Romero. The first day of August was at one time the feast known as Saint Peter’s Chains. One really wishes this feast had been kept because the Protestants would actually appreciate it since there is an honorable mention of the chains that bound Peter in the twelfth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Although, in all fairness to well intentioned but frivolous ecumenical gestures, the chains being celebrated are those which bound the Prince of the Apostles in the city of Rome in the year 68 and not the ones imposed by the impious Herod. In the Fifth Century the pious princess Eudoxia built a beautiful basilica to honorably house the precious penal implements. In order to substitute a solemnity in honor of the first Bishop of Rome and Vicar of Christ for a patently pagan festivity flattering, I meant to say, honoring, the Emperor Augustus at the beginning of the month (thanks to a perversely pliant Senate) formerly known as Sextilis the church was dedicated on the first of August.

So this day should be one of joy as the children of Mother Church shepherded by the Holy Father meditate upon the blessed fact hat no matter what subtle benignly appearing malevolent machinations utilized the gates of hell shall never prevail.

Vivat Christus Rex!

Mr. Screwtape

The two curators of the Exhibit in Bamberg with one the works on display. (Photo: BR/ Bayrisches Fernsehen)

No sooner had we reviewed Aude de Kerros’s work chronicling the invasion of the churches of France by the obscene art of modernity than a perfect illustration of the phenomenon comes to us from Germany. Bamberg is one of the few cities within the limits of present day Germany not destroyed by allied bombing in World War II. Now the crown jewel of Bamberg is the Romanesque cathedral, towering over the old center of town. Like Chartres, it was completed all in one relatively short, intense effort of construction. It is filled with the greatest masterpieces of medieval sculpture – from the Bamberger Reiter of the 13th century to the great works of Tilman Riemenschneider and Veit Stoss of the German Renaissance.

Into this precious sacred space, light-filled and harmonious, is intruded an exhibit of “art” intended to “dialogue” with the earlier masterpieces. The title of the exhibit is “comparisons” or “contrasts.” 1) The directors of the exhibit proclaim: “The cathedral itself is the exhibition space!” The process is exactly as de Kerros describes it. “Artists” connected with trendy galleries and enjoying state support, are thrust upon an ancient church by the German Conciliar clergy, eager to demonstrate their alignment with the state bureaucracy and the media. Archbishop Schick of Bamberg proclaims: “may the engagement with contemporary art challenge man to reflect on what God gives …” As De Kerros writes, the art of such an exhibit does not stand alone but is intended to challenge the surrounding space and the feelings of the “spectator.” Thus, what has survived the bombs of World War II is symbolically destroyed by the exhibit – as facilitated by the Conciliar clerical bureaucracy. For make no mistake about it, the presence of these works in our churches flows directly from the Conciliar mandate for “updating.” These exhibits both serve to distance the Church from the art of the past – and the theology, philosophy and culture gave rise to it – while reaffirming the Conciliar alliance of Church, civil society and state. Of which trinity the Church is infinitely the weakest…

You can form your own impression of the exhibit by the following examples. You can also deepen your knowledge of the participating artists though further research on the net. Artists such as Volker März, whose other “provocative” achievements in papier-mâché sculpture include a gorilla swinging a man…

“Hortus Conclusus” by Miron Schmückle: a blasphemous reference to the Virgin Mary? 2)(Photo: BR/ Bayrisches Fernsehen)

“5 Falling Angels” by Volker März – surrounding the incomparable Annunciation and Visitation sculptures of the early 13th century. (photo: BR/ Bayrisches Fersehen)

“Falling Angel” by Volker März (photo: BR/ Bayrisches Fernsehen)

“Light 1 – Man Woman (or Husband Wife) by Volker März. (photo: BR/Bayrisches Fernsehen)

1) Marion Krüger-Hundrup, “Bamberg: Moderne Kunst im Dom” Bayrisches Fersnsehen 7/16/2012 (link HERE)

2) (In each of the images of the series of photographs of Hortus Conclusus) “… a usually exotic flower is shown in front of a naked androgynous body.” in ” Miron Schmückle” Holger Priess Gallery

Thanks to Fides et Forma

(A guest editorial by the inimitable Mr. Screwtape)

The Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert. After they got their tent all set up, both men fell sound asleep. Some hours later, Tonto wakes the Lone Ranger and says, “Kemo Sabe, look towards sky, what you see?”

The Lone Ranger replies, “I see millions of stars.”

“What that tell you?” asked Tonto.

The Lone Ranger ponders for a minute then says:

“Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.

Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo.

Chronologically, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning.

Theologically, the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant.

Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.

What’s it tell you, Tonto?”

“Someone stole tent.”

Impeccably illustrated above we have Ignatian discernment in practical application. Beyond utility in the wilderness of apostolic activity, the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola have been styled by several Sovereign Pontiffs as “the eighth Sacrament”. Whether in its fully potent original thirty day program or its modern abbreviated weekender edition the Exercises have provided an invaluable and incalculable service to the children of Mother Church in the awesome responsibility of discerning the inscrutable designs of Divine Providence. Therefore all pious esteemed recipients of these annoyingly alliterative entertainingly educational e-pistles are eminently exhorted to make an annual retreat (separate and distinct from vacation time, mind you) in order to maintain the necessary vigor in the unending spiritual combat in this vale of tears.

And you’ll even know when you were hoodwinked!

Mr. Screwtape

We congratulate Salvatore J.  Cordileone, previously Bishop of Oakland, on his appointment as Archbishop of San Francisco. To say it will be a difficult assignment is the understatement of the ages: one need only read the stunned reaction of certain progressive bloggers. We here at the Society of St Hugh of Cluny have fond memories of Archbishop Cordileone. In 2007 the founding members of the Society helped to arrange a Solemn Pontifical Mass with then Bishop Cordileone as celebrant at St. Mary’s, Stamford CT.

Our best wishes and prayers for Archbishop Cordileone in his new apostolate!

 

Some photographs of the Solemn Pontifical Mass in early 2007.