Wishing our Holy Father, His Holiness Pope Francis, a most blessed tenth anniversary of his election to the Papacy, as the Successor of St. Peter, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church!
Ad multos annos, Your Holiness!
His Eminence Cardinal William Goh Seng Chye, Archbishop of Singapore, was ordained on the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, ten years ago on 22 February 2013.
The principal consecrator was the then Apostolic Nuncio to Singapore, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, with two co-consecrators, the then Archbishop of Singapore, Archbishop Nicholas Chia (now Archbishop Emeritus), and the then Metropolitan Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Archbishop Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam (now Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus).
Wishing His Eminence Cardinal Goh a most blessed Episcopal Ordination anniversary and may God bless him in his mission and leadership as the shepherd of the Lord’s flock in Singapore, and in his works as a Prince of the Church, a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church!
Ad multos annos, Your Eminence!
Source: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2022/03/23/0202/00434.html
(Available in multiple languages, including original Italian, in English and 34 other languages)
O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbour’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!
Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.
We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.
That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!
Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.
Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.
Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.
Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.
Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.
Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.
Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.
Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.
Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.
O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.
Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26). In this way he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.
Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine.
Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.
Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am sure that many of you are left with questions and even disappointments after listening to the publication of the new Motu Proprio ‘Traditionis Custodes’ (Custodians of Tradition) by His Holiness Pope Francis on 16 July 2021 regarding the rules and regulations on the celebration of the Holy Mass in the Roman Rite using the 1962 Missal, also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or Usus Antiquior.
There are undoubtedly many different responses from all segments of the Church, from utter dismay and anger by those who felt betrayed and oppressed by the new stricter regulations, to those who are rejoicing and exuberant because they had long opposed and were vocal critics of the ancient Mass and tradition. Unfortunately, the nature of these responses is exactly why the release of this Motu Proprio is an opportunity for the entire Church to reflect carefully on what our faith and our authentic liturgical expression is all about.
First of all, Traditionis Custodes does not equate the banning or attempt to make the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite illegal, unlike what quite a few individuals and groups had been saying. Unsurprisingly, these are the same groups and individuals that had been the very reason why Traditionis Custodes had been promulgated and published in the first place. These are the clear minority among those who treasure faith and tradition, and yet, are the most vocal and radical in their viewpoints, which unfortunately led to the broad characterisation and prejudice against the entire communities of the faithful favourable to the Extraordinary Form and tradition as a whole.
On the other extreme, we also have those who will not stop at anything to ‘change’ the Church and its teachings, a relativistic attitude to conform to worldly preferences and desires, to change the Church teachings and ways to suit the comforts and conveniences of men. These are also usually the same ones who are most jubilant and happy at the imposition of strict regulations as stipulated in the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes. In any case, these people who represent extreme attitudes are incompatible with the Universal Church, and were the ones that caused divisions within our Church and the communities of the faithful.
As such, we have to first of all appreciate that the ultimate goal of Popes since the efforts of Pope St. John Paul II in liberalising the use of the Extraordinary Form through the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei in 1988 and Pope Benedict XVI with Summorum Pontificum in 2007, is to bring together all the faithful in one expression of faith through the liturgy, encompassing both the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council while appreciating the riches of the tradition of the ancient liturgy, from which the Ordinary Form ultimately also stemmed from.
What the Popes intended is for all the faithful communities to benefit mutually from the best of each liturgies, the theology and the rich symbolism of the ancient Extraordinary Form, its adherence to the rubrics and emphasis on the Sacrificial nature of the Holy Mass, while also appreciating the beauty and outreach of the vernacular and the more widespread use of the Scriptures and its contents in the Ordinary Form, which remained faithful in all to the true essence of the Mass, that is the celebration of the Lord’s one and only Sacrifice at Calvary.
Unfortunately, there were those who continued to be stubborn and refused to acknowledge, respect or accept the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Although indeed there were abuses and grave errors in how some interpreted the Council and how they took the liturgy to the extent of liturgical abuse, but it can’t be denied that the actions of those who refused to accept the decisions, documents and developments of the Second Vatican Council have led to division within the united Church, the Body of Christ, with some even insisting on more extreme ideologies, rejecting even the Pope and other teachings of the Church.
That is why as we continue moving on forward as one united Body of Christ, the Church, we must make sure that the provisions of the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes are adhered to and followed. We have to trust in the Lord and the Holy Spirit, that the bishops to whom the authority had been entrusted in the management of the celebration of the Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form, will exercise prudence and sound judgment, charity and generosity in extending the permission to celebrate to all those who have been deemed suitable to celebrate with reverence, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, for the benefit of all the faithful.
We also pray that the Lord will continue to bring us to true unity, that we will no longer be divided by our ideologies, and especially not by our liturgical preferences. The Holy Mass is after all, the same, valid and worthy, regardless whether it is done in the Ordinary Form or in the Extraordinary Form. What is important is the need for us to be reverent in our celebration of the Holy Mass, to be inclusive in our worship and to put God first and foremost in all things, especially in our worship above all else. That is why we should neither discriminate or be prejudiced against either the Ordinary or Extraordinary Form, or to be lacking in proper reverence and respect of the Lord, as some of the worst liturgical abuses had done in the past decades.
Let us all look deep into our faith and the traditions that our forefathers had upheld, and together with the Pope, our bishops and priests, and as one Universal Church, be more united to the Lord through prayer, and resolve to commit ourselves to better and ever more perfect unity through Him, that we may benefit from the riches of both Forms of our most noble Roman Rite, and grow ever stronger in our faith, with each and every passing moment. Let us all grow ever stronger in charity and compassion towards others, and develop a most loving and inclusive community of the faithful, united in the Lord, in purpose and mission, in our love and reverence to the Lord.
Peter C.M. David Kang
康銘琮
Singapore
18 July 2021
His Holiness, Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Bishop of Rome is now currently visiting Thailand as part of his trip to Asia. This visit to Thailand celebrates the 350th Anniversary since the establishment of the Church in Thailand (1669 – present) with the foundation of the Mission of Siam led by the missionaries of the MEP (Missions Étrangères de Paris) / Paris Foreign Missions Society.
The Catholic Church in Thailand has collaborated to produce this wonderful song in Thai (with official English translation and version for the refrain), titled ‘Let Love be the Bridge’ as one of the two main theme songs for this Apostolic Visit, the second time the Pope visits Thailand after Pope St. John Paul II’s visit in 1984.
This is truly a wonderful song dedicated to harmony between peoples, and a reminder to all of us as Christians that our first and foremost calling is to love and to share our love unconditionally with others, our fellow brothers and sisters of all backgrounds, origins and religions. Through our love, everyone will then know that we belong to Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and it is how we become genuine witnesses for Him in this world.
Shown above is the rough transliteration (and English translation for the first two verses of the song). As Thai is not my native language and I am not proficient in it, my sincerest apologies should there be mistakes in either the transliteration or translation.
1937 days since its beginning in January 2013, my blog has reached its 10,000th post milestone as of this Sunday morning!
Thanks to all the viewers and visitors who have graced this blog with your time and presence over the past five and a half years. May God continue to guide me and strengthen my resolve to write and post, for the greater glory of His Name!
Deo gratias!
Brief statistics (16 January 2013 – 6 May 2018)
Total Posts: 10,000
Total Views: 956,218
Total Visitors: 504,523
(Originally posted on 2 May 2014)
The Athanasian Creed by St. Athanasius of Alexandria, the courageous and zealous defender of the faith against the heretics who refused to see the truth in Christ, that He is fully divine and man, united in one person of Jesus Christ, who as the Son is equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit as the Most Holy Trinity, One God but Three Divine Persons.
Text of the Athanasian Creed:
Quicumque vult salvus esse, ante omnia opus est, ut teneat catholicam fidem: Quam nisi quisque integram inviolatamque servaverit, absque dubio in aeternum peribit.
Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
Fides autem catholica haec est: ut unum Deum in Trinitate, et Trinitatem in unitate veneremur. Neque confundentes personas, neque substantiam separantes.
And the Catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence.
Alia est enim persona Patris alia Filii, alia Spiritus Sancti: Sed Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti una est divinitas, aequalis gloria, coeterna maiestas. Qualis Pater, talis Filius, talis et Spiritus Sanctus.
For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is; such is the Son; and such is the Holy Ghost.
Increatus Pater, increatus Filius, increatus et Spiritus Sanctus. Immensus Pater, immensus Filius, immensus et Spiritus Sanctus. Aeternus Pater, aeternus Filius, aeternus et Spiritus Sanctus.
The Father uncreated; the Son uncreated; and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father unlimited; the Son unlimited; and the Holy Ghost unlimited. The Father eternal; the Son eternal; and the Holy Ghost eternal.
Et tamen non tres aeterni, sed unus aeternus. Sicut non tres increati, nec tres immensi, sed unus increatus, et unus immensus.
And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites, but one uncreated; and one infinite.
Similiter omnipotens Pater, omnipotens Filius, omnipotens et Spiritus Sanctus. Et tamen non tres omnipotentes, sed unus omnipotens.
So likewise the Father is Almighty; the Son Almighty; and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties; but one Almighty.
Ita Deus Pater, Deus Filius, Deus et Spiritus Sanctus. Et tamen non tres dii, sed unus est Deus. Ita Dominus Pater, Dominus Filius, Dominus et Spiritus Sanctus. Et tamen non tres Domini, sed unus est Dominus.
So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods; but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord; the Son Lord; and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords; but one Lord.
Quia, sicut singillatim unamquamque personam Deum ac Dominum confiteri christiana veritate compellimur: Ita tres Deos aut tres Dominos dicere catholica religione prohibemur.
For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity; to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord; So are we forbidden by the catholic religion; to say, There are three Gods, or three Lords.
Pater a nullo est factus: nec creatus, nec genitus. Filius a Patre solo est: non factus, nec creatus, sed genitus. Spiritus Sanctus a Patre et Filio: non factus, nec creatus, nec genitus, sed procedens.
The Father is made of none; neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created; but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten; but proceeding.
Unus ergo Pater, non tres Patres: unus Filius, non tres Filii: unus Spiritus Sanctus, non tres Spiritus Sancti. Et in hac Trinitate nihil prius aut posterius, nihil maius aut minus: Sed totae tres personae coaeternae sibi sunt et coaequales.
So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before, or after another; none is greater, or less than another. But the whole three Persons are coeternal, and coequal.
Ita, ut per omnia, sicut iam supra dictum est, et unitas in Trinitate, et Trinitas in unitate veneranda sit. Qui vult ergo salvus esse, ita de Trinitate sentiat.
So that in all things, as aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.
Sed necessarium est ad aeternam salutem, ut incarnationem quoque Domini nostri Iesu Christi fideliter credat. Est ergo fides recta ut credamus et confiteamur, quia Dominus noster Iesus Christus, Dei Filius, Deus pariter et homo est.
Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation; that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess; that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man.
Deus est ex substantia Patris ante saecula genitus: et homo est ex substantia matris in saeculo natus. Perfectus Deus, perfectus homo: ex anima rationali et humana carne subsistens. Aequalis Patri secundum divinitatem: minor Patre secundum humanitatem.
God, of the Essence of the Father; begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the Essence of his Mother, born in the world. Perfect God; and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father as touching his Manhood.
Qui licet Deus sit et homo, non duo tamen, sed unus est Christus. Unus autem non conversione divinitatis in carnem, sed assumptione humanitatis in Deum. Unus omnino, non confusione substantiae, sed unitate personae.
Who although he is God and Man; yet he is not two, but one Christ. One; not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh; but by assumption of the Manhood by God. One altogether; not by confusion of Essence; but by unity of Person.
Nam sicut anima rationalis et caro unus est homo: ita Deus et homo unus est Christus. Qui passus est pro salute nostra: descendit ad inferos: tertia die resurrexit a mortuis.
For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man; so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell; rose again the third day from the dead.
Ascendit ad in caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis. Inde venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos. Ad cujus adventum omnes homines resurgere habent cum corporibus suis; Et reddituri sunt de factis propriis rationem. Et qui bona egerunt, ibunt in vitam aeternam: qui vero mala, in ignem aeternum.
He ascended into heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of the God the Father Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies; And shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.
Haec est fides catholica, quam nisi quisque fideliter firmiterque crediderit, salvus esse non poterit.
This is the Catholic faith; which except a man believe truly and firmly, he cannot be saved.
Cardinal Karl Lehmann, Cardinal Priest of San Leone I and Bishop Emeritus of Mainz has returned to the Lord on Sunday, 11 March 2018 at the age 0f 81.
Cardinal Lehmann was the Bishop of Mainz from 1983 to 2016, and was also the Vice President of the German Episcopal Conference from 1985 to 1987 and the longtime President of the same Episcopal Conference from 1987 to 2008. He was also the Vice President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conference from 1993 to 2001. He was made a Prince of the Church as the Cardinal Priest of San Leone I in the Consistory of 21 February 2001 by Pope St. John Paul II, the Vicar of Christ.
We pray for the soul of Cardinal Karl Lehmann, that God will welcome him into the eternal glory of heaven. And we also thank God for having given us this great servant of God and His Church through his many works and dedications for the sake of the people of God. May God give him eternal rest. Amen.
As of today, with the passing of Cardinal Karl Lehmann, the College of Cardinals stood at 215 members, consisting of 117 Cardinal-electors and 98 Cardinal non-electors.
Cardinal Paolo Romeo, Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria Odigitria dei Siciliani, Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Palermo has turned 80 on Tuesday, 20 February 2018. Therefore, in accordance to the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, he can no longer vote in a future Papal Conclave.
Cardinal Paolo Romeo has served the Church for many years in the diplomatic service, as the Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti from 1983 to 1990, and then as Apostolic Nuncio to Colombia (199o to 1999), Canada (1999 to 2001) and Italy and San Marino (2001 to 2006).
Cardinal Paolo Romeo was appointed as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Palermo (Italy), a position he held from 2006 to 2015. He was made a Prince of the Church, as the Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria Odigitria dei Siciliani at the Consistory of 20 November 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI, the Vicar of Christ.
We pray for Cardinal Paolo Romeo, that even in his retirement years, he may continue to inspire the faithful and the Church, and keep strongly the teachings of the Church. May he have a good health and be blessed all the days of his life. Ad multos annos!
Currently, there are 118 Cardinal-electors in the College of Cardinals, which means that there are 2 vacancies for Cardinal-electors available at the moment. The next Cardinal to age out will be Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, President of Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (Italy) on 6 March 2018.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Ephesians 2 : 19-22
Now, you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house, whose foundations are the Apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In Him, the whole structure is joined together, and rises, to be a holy Temple, in the Lord.
In Him, you, too, are being built, to become the spiritual Sanctuary of God.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 