Everyday Clerics

“In a secularized and materialistic society, where the external signs of sacred and supernatural realities tend to disappear, it is particularly important that the community be able to recognize the priest, man of God and dispenser of his mysteries, by his attire as well, which is an unequivocal sign of his dedication and his identity as a public minister. The priest should be identifiable primarily through his conduct, but also by his manner of dressing, which makes visible to all the faithful, indeed and to all men, his identity and his belonging to God and the Church.

For this reason, the clergy should wear “suitable ecclesiastical dress, in accordance with the norms established by the Episcopal Conference and the legitimate local custom”. This means that the attire, when it is not the cassock, must be different from the manner in which the laity dress, and conform to the dignity and sacredness of his ministry. The style and colour should be established by the Episcopal Conference, always in agreement with the dispositions of the universal law.

Because of their incoherence with the spirit of this discipline, contrary practices cannot be considered legitimate customs; and should be removed by the competent authority. Outside of entirely exceptional cases, a cleric’s failure to use this proper ecclesiastical attire could manifest a weak sense of his identity as one consecrated to God.” (Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests, 66)

“Clerical attire reminds the priest to appropriate his identity interiorly and gives hope to the people exteriorly that “Christ” is still with them” – Fr. David Toups, Reclaiming Our Priestly Character

All Souls Day

Did your priest(s) wear black today for All Souls’?

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.

Memento Mori

The next two days, the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, we will be praying for all our readers and their deceased loved ones at Mass, Lauds, Vespers and Compline.

Stained Glass, Berne, Switzerland:

Medieval Rood Screens, Norfolk, England:

“Were not the LORD my help,
my soul would soon dwell in the silent grave.
When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, O LORD, sustains me.”–Ps. 94

Sedlec Ossuary

“But God will redeem my soul from the hand of hell, when he shall receive me. Be not thou afraid, when a man shall be made rich, and when the glory of his house shall be increased. For when he shall die he shall take nothing away; nor shall his glory descend with him. For in his lifetime his soul will be blessed: and he will praise thee when thou shalt do well to him. He shall go in to the generations of his fathers: and he shall never see light.”–Ps 48 (LXX)

Closer Look: Medieval and Renaissance Sarcophagi

Welcome Home!

To all of those in the Traditional Anglican Communion who will soon be joining us in full unity with the Church of Rome: welcome home!

A few images from TAC churches:

“As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth. “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am 7 they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

–Jn 17:21

Shrine of St. Joseph, St. Louis:

Feast of North American Martyrs

Between the years 1642 and 1649 eight members of the Society of Jesus were killed in North America, after fearful torture by members of the Huron and Iroquois tribes. These men had worked hard to bring the natives of that region to the true faith. Saint Isaac Jogues died October 18, 1647, and Saint John de Brebeuf on March 16, 1648.

The skull of St. John de Brebeuf:

“Father, you consecrated the first beginnings of the faith in North America by the preaching and martyrdom of Saints John and Isaac and their companions. By the help of their prayers may the Christian faith continue to grow throughout the world. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.”

Pontificium Institutum Musicae Sacrae

The Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music (Pontificium Institutum Musicae Sacrae) was founded by St. Pius X in 1910 under the name “School of Sacred Music.” The school was opened January 3, 1911 and was granted the power to confer academic degrees on July 10, 1914.

The Institute pursues the following aims: to teach the disciplines of liturgical music in terms of practical, theoretical and historical knowledge enhancement and dissemination of the traditional heritage of sacred music and encourage artistic expression meets today’s cultures, make, at the behest of the Church mother of Rome, a service to the local Churches throughout the world, in view of the training of church musicians and future teacher of sacred music.

The Institute fulfills its mandate through the teaching of curricula, the publication of scientific and musical works, and the performance of concerts and liturgical music with the intention to spread the repertoire of the past and present. The Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music also promotes the development of study centers on sacred music, both academic (universities, high schools) and pastoral (Diocesan Schools) along with the organization of conferences and postgraduate courses. (Information taken from the Vatican website)

St. Hedwig, Religious

Saint Hedwig was born in Bavaria around the year 1174. She married a prince of Silesia and they had seven children. She led a most devoted life, looking after the poor and the sick, and founding hospitals for them. when her husband died, she entered the monastery of Trebnitz and died there in 1243.