Liturgy

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My personal thoughts on the election of Pope Francis I and the current state of the Church

I can only hope that Msgr. Guido Marini, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations (Papal MC) can indeed stay where he is, as many uttered their concern whether he will still stay as papal MC given the apparent change in this new Pope.

As this is just the first day, I do not know much yet about the direction that our new Pope, Francis I, will bring us all, but I hope that he will not overemphasize inculturation and liberation for the sake of evangelisation, as what was once done under Archbishop Marini, the previous papal MC, but rather focus and renew the spirit of the liturgy as was done by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI when he was Pope, with the help of Monsignor Marini as the chief liturgical reformer.

There is a need to balance between tradition and innovation, and not to tilt too far to the other side. Already these past few years we had seen a great rebound in the number of seminarians joining the seminary, and also the growing accustomisation among many people all over the world of the use of Latin in the Mass, despite of course emphasis remaining on the vernacular language.

Already, many apparently made comments (as I do) on his choice of not wearing the mozzetta and the stole upon making his first appearance, despite the proper winter papal mozzetta had been prepared for the new Pope. These are little things, but I hope this won’t be a precedent, which if not carefully handled, may undo many of the great things and reforms of the reform of Vatican II that had been painstakingly done in the past few years, and have begun to bear fruit in the Church today.

Balance is important. Already we have seen in many cases after Vatican II, churches and groups going too far towards innovation and liberal thoughts that ended up losing their very Catholic identity. What we need is to preserve our tradition, and yet remain open for innovations that can help new evangelisation, and evangelisation must also be carried in the spirit of the preservation of Apostolic teachings and traditions, and not conform to what the world think, that is relativism.

Social media like twitter, Facebook, blogs, and many others are these great innovations that can help spread the teachings of the Church, and yet let us not be like many Catholics, particularly in the USA, which had been commented as being ‘market Catholics’ where they pick and choose what they want to believe in, as long as it suits them, and reject those that they feel don’t fit with them. No, to be a Catholic means accepting the whole teaching as a whole, and not taking just those parts that you like, and discard the rest.

I need to add that going into extremes into the other direction is also abhorred, as what was made obvious by the SSPX Society, which continued to linger in their ultra-conservatism, and refused to take in several important modifications made by Vatican II.

Just some examples : We no longer blame Jews for the death of Christ, and instead they are our elder brothers in faith, having been chosen and called by God first among all nations.

Then, although indeed I firmly believe in salvation only through the One Church of Christ, but I also believe in the Universal Call to Holiness (by Blessed Pope John Paul II), and there are righteous people outside the Church, who do God’s will, but lacking only the necessary faith in Christ, but that doesn’t mean that they are immediately condemned to hell for that. It is our task to bring the Good News and salvation to them, which can be done through new evangelisation, rooted firmly in tradition and prayer.

However, one wish that I want to make is that, I hope Pope Francis I can thoroughly reform the Roman Curia, to purge from it all ties to corruptions and evil, and to purify our Holy Church that it will once again be immaculate and pure as it should always be, as the One, and only Church God had established in this world, through Peter the Apostle.

And I am touched by his selection of name, Francis, which honoured both St. Francis of Assisi, whom I held in high regard, and St. Francis Xavier, the great missionary and co-founder of the Jesuits (with St. Ignatius Loyola) whom Pope Francis I is a member of. St. Francis Xavier is close to my heart as he is also the patron saint of my early education, and which helped me to learn about the faith, and eventually welcomed into the Church.

I am also deeply touched by his humility, especially when he asked that the people pray for him, and even bowed down to show his humility, which does remind me to another Pope, John Paul I, whose motto is Humilitas, but as history went, he did not have the time to accomplish much. Therefore I hope, the legacy of Pope John Paul I can be continued in Pope Francis I, who had the same quality and personality as Pope John Paul I.

However, humility and simplicity must not lead to the simplification of our faith, but rather let these be tools to further deepen our ties to our faith, and understand more about it.

I noted that Pope Francis I is deeply devoted to the Virgin Mary, whose name is part of his personal name, Jorge Maria Bergoglio. He will be another Marian Pope in the likelihood of Blessed Pope John Paul II. It is important for us to have a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary, as she is the best helper that we can have, in guiding our way towards the Lord, and ensuring that we do not go astray from our path.

May God bless our new Pope Francis I, and at this important juncture at the beginning of the new Pontificate, I hope that the Holy Spirit that has elected him to carry this task, will also guide him, that he will make correct choices that will continue the good works that began with Blessed Pope John Paul II, and was accelerated by Pope Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus.

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Monday, 11 March 2013 : 4th Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

Jesus shows today that faith in God is important, for God shows pity and mercy on all of His children, and those who believe in Him, He will save and protect. Those who put their trust in the Lord will not be disappointed. Jesus rewards the man’s faith with the healing of his son from certain death.

However, we must indeed be careful, for the Lord also warned us against believing only by entrusting in miracles and what we see. For such a faith is not a true faith, as we believe because we see great things that unravel in front of our eyes, and then we believe that this supernatural works must have been done by a divine being, that is Christ. This kind of faith is weak and is no true faith, for, as shown when Jesus was arrested and brought before the people after He was arrested.

The people who were there mocked Him and also called for His death. Why? Even though these were likely the same people that have listened to His preaching, His parables, and also witnessed His miracles and healings? That is because their faith is shallow, shallow and have not grown well, just like in the case of the parable of the sower, where the seed had been sown on a rocky and barren ground. The seed of faith found it difficult to grow in them, as their faith came mainly because of awe in the miraculous powers of Jesus.

When Jesus seemed to ‘falter’, which is by being arrested and accused by the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious body at the time, as being a heretic and blasphemer, these people lost their faith, and Satan took away their seeds of faith, just like those seeds that were eaten by the birds on an open road, a clear and easy opportunity for the evil one to come and take the faith away from them.

This is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, I would like to highlight to all of you, the very importance of nurturing our faith, of maintaining our faith, that not only that it will remain strong and unbroken, but even also bear fruit manyfold, like the seeds that fell on the rich soil, and produced much fruit. How to do so? By acts of love, justice, and compassion, that is by doing what God has commanded us to do, the commandments of love Christ had given us.

The commandments of love says that we have to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls, with all our beings, and therefore not just with our eyes and senses, which will then lead into a true faith in God. But this is not enough, as we also have to love our neighbours, our brethren as much as we love ourselves, and as much as we love God. These are the good works that the Church has encouraged us to do, to live and make our faith in God manifest, in our good works for the sake of the less fortunate, the suffering, and the poor around us.

Remember that the Lord said that all that we do for the sake of these around us, we also do it for the Lord. That is because, through our actions, He can see indeed all our living faith, that is not dead, not superficial, and not mere words, and not mere profession of faith. For faith and service are inseparable, and bound to each other tightly in our journey towards the Lord, as the two pillars of strength supporting us in salvation.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us strive, especially in the perfect chance in this Year of Faith, strive to learn more about our faith, about the teachings of the Church, and the traditions of the Apostles passed down through the Church to us. By understanding all these, we can strive to grow deeper in our faith, and even more so through a solemn and active participation in the liturgy of the Mass, as do not forget that the liturgy of the Mass, when done properly and solemnly, can only serve to strengthen our faith in God our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

As the Mass is the very representation of the Holy Sacrifice Christ had made on the cross in Calvary, and united with that Sacrifice, through which we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, transformed from the bread and wine that we offered, we receive Christ into ourselves, that He will live in us, and reside within us, to transform us from within, that our faith in Him will ever be stronger. This is why it is important for us to participate fully and actively in the Mass by seeking to understand more the liturgy and the Mass.

Then of course, after that, let us all strive to make concrete and visible our faith in God through our service to our fellow brethren around us. It will not be easy, but little by little, beginning within even our own homes, our own families, our own friends, we can slowly begin to propagate acts of love, and acts in accordance with God’s will, that will make us justified before God, that is through our living faith, proven by our good works, and not just empty and dead faith, shown only by words and not true dedication.

May God bless all of us today, and bless our Holy Church, and of course, bless the Cardinal-electors and send the Holy Spirit to them that our new Pope will soon be elected. Amen.

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12 reasons why Cardinal Angelo Scola may be the next Pope : My chosen Papabile

Cardinal Angelo Scola attends a mass in Duomo Cathedral in Milan

Cardinal Angelo Scola (12 reasons why I think he is the best of all the other Candidates, a frontrunner, and should be elected Pope) :

1. Strong in faith and theology : Yes, an intellectual disciple of Pope Benedict XVI, and is as strong as our Pope Emeritus on theology and his deep knowledge of the faith and the Church

2. Close and capable to work with youths : Yes, will be Pope for the youths indeed, and have been working closely with youths in many occasions, especially in his pastoral ministry in Venice and now Milan.

3. Twitter : Already had, and had actively tweeted in the past! Will be no problem to continue to @Pontifex!

4. Italian and other languages : Yes, and Bishop of Rome definitely must speak fluent Italian! Also fluent in several other languages, including English.

5. Interreligious dialogue : Yes, and knowledgeable about Islam in particular, and have been active in reaching out to Christian minorities in the Middle East and the Muslim world.

6. Tradition : Strong in liturgy and tradition, a tradition-based Pope just like Pope Benedict XVI, we need a strong anchor of faith! A close and personal understanding of the liturgy through its beauty can only serve to strengthen the faith of the faithful and the Church.

angelo-scola
7. Charisma : Yes, strong charisma and outreach, and also has a global persona and able to connect with youths and other sections of the society.

8. Poverty and charity of the Church : Being born into low-middle income family, made him to have a close connection and personal connection to the poor and the less fortunate in the Church and the world.

9. Age : At 71, is at the prime age for Pope. Not too old (Pope Benedict XVI was elected at 78 and yet managed to lead an almost 8 year Pontificate), and therefore he will be expected to lead for 15-20 years, and relatively healthy, which is what the Cardinals seek. Not too young, and very experienced.

10. Experience (Curia) : Significant term as the Rector Magnificus of Pontifical University, and then as the President of the Pontifical Institute of John Paul II for Studies of Marriage and Family.

11. Experience (Pastoral) : Experience as Bishop of Grosetto, and long experience as the Patriarch of Venice, and also a great job as the Archbishop of Milan. Hence, being accorded the extremely rare honour of having headed to of Italy’s and the world’s most influential dioceses.

12. Bioethics and Family : Knowledgeable and had published books in bioethics (and also many other topics, totalling more than 120 volumes in total), and very supportive of marriage and family, and definitely strong in the matter, being the former President in the Pontifical Institute on the Family (see number 10). It is necessary to have a strong leader in the issue at the time when the institution of marriage and the family is under constant and increasingly serious attacks.

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On the Altar Crucifix, the Liturgy, and our Faith

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/details/ns_lit_doc_20091117_crocifisso_en.html

On the matter of the altar crucifix, which has bugged me for months now, can liturgists be empowered so that they can indeed persuade the priests, in coordination with the bishop of course, to put such a beautiful, reasonable, and meaningful arrangement? 

As altar crucifix is for the priest to use, and is no barrier to the faithful as many would have countered, and we should indeed glory in the cross of Christ, and not be ashamed at having it. The other, usually larger altar crucifix is for the rest of the congregations to see. Naturally, as in many post-Vatican II arrangements, these crucifixes are placed such that the priests can no longer see them.

It is crucial that everyone, and including the priests, focus their attention to the Lord, represented in the altar crucifix, as the interior alignment/orientation and condition of the priests are important in their celebration of the Mass, that their attention is not to themselves, and not to other things, but towards the Lord. 

http://www.hprweb.com/2012/01/cross-altar-and-the-right-way-of-praying/

In the old days, this is no problem since everyone is facing the Lord, but in our modern arrangement, there is no better solution than that of the “Benedictine” arrangement, by our beloved Pope Benedict XVI himself, that an additional altar crucifix should be used on the altar if the priests cannot see the large crucifix behind the altar intended for the congregation. 

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/details/ns_lit_doc_20110126_crocifisso_en.html

That this is the new “Ad orientem” (literally means facing east, as traditionally, Christians pray facing east, towards Jerusalem), which is indeed, facing towards God, in Jesus, for the people, and the priests (celebrant and concelebrants alike).

Similarly with the traditional 6 candles arrangement (7 for bishops), bowing at the Name of Jesus Christ, at the Incarnation moment of the Creed, and many others. There are meanings to all of these, and these are not just ornaments, but articles and things that can help deepen the faith of all who participate in the Mass, if the priests explain them clearly, and together, through the liturgy, our faith can only be ever stronger.

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Tuesday, 12 February 2013 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Christ reminds us today that what justifies us is not the externals, or rather I would say, not just the externals, but even more important is the internal. If our soul is not clean, and we do not keep ourselves pure in heart and filled with the love of God, we will not be able to justify ourselves before God, even if we do all the rites correctly and follow all the traditions. Christ today is not about abolishing all traditions and rites, as arguably many who misunderstood and misinterpreted these words of the Lord as the abhorrence against all sorts of tradition, including the Apostolic Tradition of our own Holy Roman Catholic Church, would believe, and therefore would even attack the Church Christ has established, just because we keep the Tradition and follow closely the teachings passed down to us from the Apostles.

What Christ meant was that, we should not and indeed must not follow traditions blindly. Tradition is good, and indeed it is necessary, but to follow the tradition just because for the sake of following it or just because it is there is ultimately empty. What Christ wants is that we understand the Traditions, and follow the Tradition with the correct heart and alignment of our being towards God through these traditions. For these Traditions, unlike those of the extreme Laws made by the Jewish leaders at that time, should serve to make one closer to God, by the correct orientation of our hearts towards Him, through greater understanding of our faith, through the Tradition!

The Jews has a total of 613 laws that was crafted from the laws given by God to Moses in the Mountain of the Lord, Mount Horeb. These laws govern many things in the Jewish community, from etiquette, marriage, and even to simple matters like the washing of hands and eating utensils as mentioned in today’s Gospel passage. However, strict adherence to these laws, including that of the Sabbath often mentioned, has made man actually subservient to these laws, being no more than just slaves to the Tradition these elders created from the laws of God given to Moses.

These laws, while they were good, they were there because of the rebellious nature of the people of Israel against God at that time. Remember that while Moses was up on the mountain, the people of Israel revolted and forced Aaron to build for them a golden calf for them to worship as their god. This and many other instances of disobedience has caused the Lord to be tough against the people of Israel, all out of His love for them, desiring their salvation, and did not wish them to falter again and fall into hell due to them worshipping pagan gods instead of the One, True God.

However, Christ had come, not to abolish all the laws and Tradition, but rather to perfect them. He was there to make the understanding of these Tradition and laws much clearer to us. For in Christ, the greatest thing is love, and nothing is greater than love, either one’s love for God, or one’s love for his or her brethren. It is in the love of God that we have to base our Tradition, and He was set to make all the rules and Laws truly pure again, that is to have these laws solely for the purpose of glorifying God and to make all of us closer to God, and not instead make us slaves to these laws and be suppressed by them.

For God, who had created the world, the entire universe, had created mankind, in His image, to be the greatest and the most beloved of all His creations. To us, He has given authority over all creation, and over the world. These laws are there, because as administrators of this world, we must be responsible administrators, and use the resources given to us wisely. Otherwise, being weak as we are, we would readily succumb to greed and wanting for more and more. Ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin at the Garden of Eden, mankind had been subject to the sin of greed and avarice, to desire more and more from what is given to them by God, even to the extent of causing suffering and death to their fellow men. This is what the Lord does not want from us, as He wants us to rule over creation, but rule responsibly and wisely.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, we who have received the Good News of the Lord, and who through the Apostolic Tradition and teachings passed down to us from the Apostles through our bishops and priests, should strive to follow and understand the Sacred Tradition and the faith that we have, utilising both in our race and journey towards the Lord. For faith without nurturing will not grow, and through the beauty of the Tradition, manifested in the Liturgy of the Church, we can grow deeper in faith, if we open ourselves to understanding more on the Liturgy and the Tradition we have.

This is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important for us to appreciate the Liturgy, to seek to fully understand every rites and parts of our Liturgy in the Mass and other celebrations, and to fully participate through our greater understanding, that whenever we attend the Mass, as frequently as we can do so, we will grow ever greater in our faith and love of the Lord, so much that not only that we are brought closer to the Lord who created us, and who loves us so much to send His Son, Jesus Christ to explain to us about the Traditions, and to shed more light to us so that we can understand our faith in Him better through these Sacred Traditions and rites; but also to be good and responsible stewards of this world and its resources, as given by God to be our right, but also to be our responsibility to take care of.

Let us therefore pray that all of us will be able to grow deeper in our understanding of the Liturgy of the Church, and through it the Sacred Tradition and teachings given to us through the Apostles, and finally to grow ever deeper in our love and passion for the Lord. May God always bless all of us, all the days of our life. Amen!

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Monsignor Guido Marini, the great Master of Apostolic Ceremonies / Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations (Papal MC)

This is something really interesting to share with all of you. Well, don’t care about the title of the video. Most importantly, it is about the dedication that Monsignor Guido Marini has on his duties as the Master of Apostolic Ceremonies or the more commonly known as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations (or even the more concise term, Papal MC).

It’s still a long way to go for me, but I am really interested in perhaps one day, to be one of his successors, as the Master of Apostolic Ceremonies for whoever is the Pope then. Liturgy is truly beautiful! Through the liturgy, grow in faith and love, and become holy and worthy in God’s eyes.

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Recommended site for Papal celebration videos (Pope Benedict XVI) at http://benedictxvi.tv/

http://benedictxvi.tv/

I would like to introduce this site above, which is a very good site with many full-length videos of the Papal celebrations such as Masses, Vespers, and Papal Apostolic Journeys overseas and within Italy. Very recommended for all Catholics, especially those interested in the liturgy. 

Sadly, it seems that recently, the website is updated very rarely, but there are still tons of videos dating from a few years ago available for download and viewing.