Church news from Wollongong, Australia and around the world

DEDICATED TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM



Thursday 27 November 2008

RORATE CAELI

The text of this hymn is frequently used in the Mass and Divine Office during Advent. It is a plea of the Prophets, the Patriarchs, and the entire Church, all of whom long for the coming of the Messiah. As dew comes down from the sky and quenches the dry earth, only to evaporate back, so too will the Messiah come to sae his people and return to heaven. We recall our past offenses and sins and seek forgiveness as we await the birth of Christ for our redemption, a redemption that will bring the waters of life to desolate Jerusalem. —

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.

We have sinned, and we are become as one unclean, and we have all fallen as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast crushed us by the hand of our iniquity.

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.

See, O Lord, the affliction of thy people, and send him whom thou hast promised to send. Send forth the Lamb, the ruler of the earth, from the rock of the desert to the mount of the daughter of Sion, that he himself may take off the yoke of our captivity.

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.

Be comforted, be comforted, my people; thy salvation shall speedily come why wilt thou waste away in sadness? why bath sorrow seized thee? I will save thee; fear not: for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer.

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.


Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Ne irascaris Domine, ne ultra memineris iniquitatis: ecce civitas Sancti facta est deserta, Sion deserta facta est: Ierusalem desolata est: domus sanctificationis tuac et gloriae tuae, ubi laudaverunt te patres nostri.

Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Peccavimus, et facti sumus tamquam immundus nos, et cecidimus quasi folium universi; et iniquitates nostrae quasi ventus abstulerunt nos: abscondisti faciem tuam a nobis, et allisisti nos in manu iniquitatis nostrae.

Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Vide, Domini, afflictionem populi tui, et mitte quem missurus es, emitte Agnum dominatorem terrae, de Petra deserti montem filiae Sion: ut auferat ipse iugum captivatis nostrae.


Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Consolamini, consolamini, popule meus: cito veniet salus tua:. quare moerore consumeris, quia innovavit te dolor? Salvabo te, noli timere: ego enim sum Dominus Deus, tuus, Sanctus Israel, Redemptor tuus.

Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Wednesday 26 November 2008

Missa Cantata - Gwynneville 1st Sunday of Advent

A simple Missa Cantate (sung Mass) will be celebrated at 3.00pm in the Church of St Bridgitte, Gwynneville according to the 1962 Missale Romanum this comming Sunday 30th November 2008. Anyone who supports the Traditional Mass in the region is urged to attend.

Advent approaching!

Time to head out and get an Advent wreath, and perhaps some more decorations for your Christmas tree.

Shame we don't have Christmas Markets here, like the ones in Germany. The picture shown here is one of the stalls at the Medieval Christmas Market in Seigburg. No electicity it seems and apparently everyone wears period costume. Nothing "modern" is sold at the stalls - everything is handmade even the bread and pastries are cooked in medieval ovens which survive near the town square.

What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.~Pope Benedict XVI

Tuesday 25 November 2008

Germany - Trappists return to their traditional liturgy

In the beautiful region of Germany known as the Eifel, the Trappist Abbey of Mariawald has restored the Usus Antiquior (Extaordinary form) of the Roman rite.


This is a significant event especially for the life of the Church in Germany whose hierarchy have been resistent to the "Classical Latin Traditions" of the Church.

Monday 24 November 2008

Ordination to the Priesthood - In the "RITUS ANTIQUIOR"

Meanwhile in a neibouring diocese - which might as well be a gallaxy far far away, The Archbishop of Canberra-Goulbourn ordained two local lads from Canberra, according to the Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, to a capacity crowd.

Both Dominic Popplewell and Marko Rehak, members of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, received the order of priesthood in a magnificent ceremony in the Canberra Cathedral.

The recent renovations by Archbishop Colridge made the task of adapting the Church for the Ritus Antiquior that much easier.

As a celebrant he showed a rarely seen comand of the Latin language, not to mention the required chants.

The sermon was succint and to the point lasting not more than 7-10 minutes (had he been reading Archbishop Ranjiths exortation to clergy not to bore people with interminable homilies?).




The Music was abley conduted by Mr Gregory Tondys, Precentor and Director of Music at the Maternal Heart chapel at Lewisham - they sang the Missa Cunctipotens and chanted the proper for St Cecilia. The Motets were by the French romantic composer Cezar Franck, Ubi Caritas, and Ave Verum Corpus.

Frs Popplewell and Rehak then gave their first blessings in the grounds before the cathedral, before retireing to the reception which was held at the Diggers Club not far away.


Never published in Wollongong




Apostolic Letter
In the form "motu proprio"
Benedict XVI
"Summorum Pontificum"





Up to our own times, it has been the constant concern of Supreme Pontiffs to ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy ritual to the Divine Majesty, "to the praise and glory of His name," and "to the benefit of all His Holy Church."

Since time immemorial it has been necessary -- as it is also for the future -- to maintain the principle according to which "each particular Church must concur with the universal Church, not only as regards the doctrine of the faith and the sacramental signs, but also as regards the usages universally accepted by uninterrupted apostolic Tradition, which must be observed not only to avoid errors but also to transmit the integrity of the faith, because the Church's law of prayer corresponds to her law of faith."[1]

Among the Pontiffs who showed that requisite concern, particularly outstanding is the name of St. Gregory the Great, who made every effort to ensure that the new peoples of Europe received both the Catholic faith and the treasures of worship and culture that had been accumulated by the Romans in preceding centuries. He commanded that the form of the sacred liturgy as celebrated in Rome (concerning both the Sacrifice of Mass and the Divine Office) be conserved. He took great concern to ensure the dissemination of monks and nuns who, following the Rule of St. Benedict, together with the announcement of the Gospel, illustrated with their lives the wise provision of their rule that "nothing should be placed before the work of God." In this way the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman use, enriched not only the faith and piety but also the culture of many peoples. It is known, in fact, that the Latin liturgy of the Church in its various forms, in each century of the Christian era, has been a spur to the spiritual life of many saints, has reinforced many peoples in the virtue of religion and fecundated their piety.

Many other Roman pontiffs, in the course of the centuries, showed particular solicitude in ensuring that the sacred liturgy accomplished this task more effectively. Outstanding among them is St. Pius V who, sustained by great pastoral zeal and following the exhortations of the Council of Trent, renewed the entire liturgy of the Church, oversaw the publication of liturgical books amended and "renewed in accordance with the norms of the fathers," and provided them for the use of the Latin Church.

One of the liturgical books of the Roman rite is the Roman Missal, which developed in the city of Rome and, with the passing of the centuries, little by little took forms very similar to that it has had in recent times.

"It was towards this same goal that succeeding Roman Pontiffs directed their energies during the subsequent centuries in order to ensure that the rites and liturgical books were brought up to date and when necessary clarified. From the beginning of this century they undertook a more general reform."[2] Thus our predecessors Clement VIII, Urban VIII, St. Pius X,[3] Benedict XV, Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII all played a part.

In more recent times, the Second Vatican Council expressed a desire that the respectful reverence due to divine worship should be renewed and adapted to the needs of our time. Moved by this desire our predecessor, the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, approved, in 1970, reformed and partly renewed liturgical books for the Latin Church. These, translated into the various languages of the world, were willingly accepted by bishops, priests and faithful. John Paul II amended the third typical edition of the Roman Missal. Thus Roman Pontiffs have operated to ensure that "this kind of liturgical edifice ... should again appear resplendent for its dignity and harmony."[4]

But in some regions, no small numbers of faithful adhered and continue to adhere with great love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms. These had so deeply marked their culture and their spirit that in 1984 the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, moved by a concern for the pastoral care of these faithful, with the special indult "Quattuor Abhinc Anno," issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted permission to use the Roman Missal published by Blessed John XXIII in the year 1962. Later, in the year 1988, John Paul II with the apostolic letter given as "motu proprio, "Ecclesia Dei," exhorted bishops to make generous use of this power in favor of all the faithful who so desired.

Following the insistent prayers of these faithful, long deliberated upon by our predecessor John Paul II, and after having listened to the views of the cardinal fathers of the consistory of 22 March 2006, having reflected deeply upon all aspects of the question, invoked the Holy Spirit and trusting in the help of God, with these apostolic letters we establish the following:

Art 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the "Lex orandi" (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Blessed John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same "Lex orandi," and must be given due honor for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church's "Lex orandi" will in no any way lead to a division in the Church's "Lex credendi" (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.

It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents "Quattuor Abhinc Annis" and "Ecclesia Dei," are substituted as follows:

Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his ordinary.

Art. 3. Communities of institutes of consecrated life and of societies of apostolic life, of either pontifical or diocesan right, wishing to celebrate Mass in accordance with the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated in 1962, for conventual or "community" celebration in their oratories, may do so. If an individual community or an entire institute or society wishes to undertake such celebrations often, habitually or permanently, the decision must be taken by the superiors major, in accordance with the law and following their own specific decrees and statues.

Art. 4. Celebrations of Mass as mentioned above in art. 2 may -- observing all the norms of law -- also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted.

Art. 5. §1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonizes with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with Canon 392, avoiding discord and favoring the unity of the whole Church.

§2 Celebration in accordance with the Missal of Blessed John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held.




§3 For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, i.e., pilgrimages.

§4 Priests who use the Missal of Blessed John XXIII must be qualified to do so and not juridically impeded.

§5 In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the rector of the church to grant the above permission.

Art. 6. In Masses celebrated in the presence of the people in accordance with the Missal of Blessed John XXIII, the readings may be given in the vernacular, using editions recognized by the Apostolic See.

Art. 7. If a group of lay faithful, as mentioned in art. 5 §1, has not obtained satisfaction to their requests from the pastor, they should inform the diocesan bishop. The bishop is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes. If he cannot arrange for such celebration to take place, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.

Art. 8. A bishop who, desirous of satisfying such requests, but who for various reasons is unable to do so, may refer the problem to the Commission Ecclesia Dei to obtain counsel and assistance.

Art. 9. §1 The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the sacraments of baptism, marriage, penance, and the anointing of the sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it.

§ 2 Ordinaries are given the right to celebrate the sacrament of confirmation using the earlier Roman Pontifical, if the good of souls would seem to require it.


§ 2 Clerics ordained "in sacris constitutis" may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962.

Art. 10. The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with Canon 518 for celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a chaplain, while observing all the norms of law.




Art. 11. The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, erected by John Paul II in 1988[5], continues to exercise its function. Said commission will have the form, duties and norms that the Roman Pontiff wishes to assign it.


Art. 12. This commission, apart from the powers it enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of these dispositions.We order that everything We have established with these apostolic letters issued as "motu proprio" be considered as "established and decreed," and to be observed from Sept. 14 of this year, feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, whatever there may be to the contrary.




From Rome, at St. Peter's, July 7, 2007, third year of Our Pontificate.



[1] General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd ed., 2002, No. 397.[2] John Paul II, apostolic letter "Vicesimus Quintus Annus," Dec. 4, 1988, 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.
[3] Ibid.
[4] St. Pius X, apostolic letter issued "motu propio data," "Abhinc Duos Annos," Oct. 23, 1913: AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cf John Paul II, apostolic letter "Vicesimus Quintus Annus," No. 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.[5] Cf John Paul II, apostolic letter issued "motu proprio data," "Ecclesia Dei," July 2, 1988, 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498.

Wednesday 19 November 2008

All Souls Day


November the 2nd, saw the commemoration of the faithful departed celebrated at Gwynnville in the ritus antiquior followed by the absolutions with catafalque.


An excellent choir under the direction of Stephen Smith redered the chants beautifully. The motets where both by Palestrina - O Bone Jesu at the Offertory and Sicut Cervus at the Communion. After the Absolution the choir sang "If ye love me" by Thomas Tallis.

Sunday 9 November 2008

Augustus Welby Pugin

Whilst Wollongong itself is does not have many note worthy churches, the diocese does contain some churches which are of enourmous historical significance for the whole country.

Chief amongst these are the so called "Pugin Churches". Churches designed by Augustus Welby Pugin in the Gothic Revival style.

St Francis Xavier Church, Berrima depicted here, is famously one of the "Pugin Churches"

The Church is always worth a visit, although sadly is usually locked. If you contact the Parish Priest at Mossvale you may be able access.


St Francis Xavier's is of stste significance for its association with John Bede Polding OSB (1794-1877), the pioneering Catholic bishop in Australia and, from 1842, Archbishop of Sydney and founder of the Australian Catholic hierarchy. The Pugin design for the Berrima church was supplied by Archbishop Polding, one of a set of designs that he had obtained from Pugin in late 1842, and it reflects his maturing views on the nature and purpose of church architecture. It is also of star significance for its association with Pugin who was a key figure in the establishment of the Gothic Revival style for church buildings throughout the British Empire.

The altar and sanctuary furnishings are not original, but they are rescued from various other churches in the area.

There are a number other historic churches on the outer fringes of the Diocese many of which will appear on this blog in the comming months

Hidden Treasures

Mosaic in the porch of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Unanderra.

The M stands for Maria, the crown represents the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin, the twelve stars refer to the Immaculate Conception and the pale blue upturned crescent moon refers to the defeat of the Turks at the battle of Lepanto.

Saturday 8 November 2008

Bishop of Wollongong on Summorum Pontificum

In his "Pastoral Reflection" on pope Benedict's apostolic letter motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum" of 14 September 2007, Bishop Peter Ingham said "I do not see that the Pope is intending his legislation to attract new recruits to what he now calls the "extraordinary" form of the Mass".

Certainly this is a view that must be on his Lordships wish list, sadly however for him the Holy Father not once mentions such a position and indeed how could he, when his own dicastaries are busy recognising new institutes of religious life devoted to the usus antiquior, full of young vocations, at a rate of knotts.

Gradually seminaries everywhere are beginning to teach their candiates for the deaconate and priesthood how to celebrate the "more ancient use" crossing this bridge will potentionally change the face of liturgy in the ordinary form throughout the world.

The Diocese of Wollongong is ill prepared for the onset of this new liturgical revolution, apart from the Mass of St Pius V at Gwynneville, no other mass in the diocese according the rite of Paul VI is celebrated in Latin. The "reform of the reform" seems to have been unheard of or at least ignored.

The official music of the Catholic Church is heard nowhere in the diocese, despite the request of the "Extraordinary Synod of Bishops" 2007, that it be esteemed and employed.

Major diocesan liturgies are usually not conducted in church buildings, and are theatrical extravaganzas without a hint of Latin or gregorian chant, inappropriate forms of expression such as dancing have become a common feature.

Thursday 6 November 2008

USUS ANTIQUIOR

Every 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday of the month sees the usus antiquior or tridentine mass celebrated at the Church of St Brigid, Gwynneville.

For those not familiar with this liturgy it is the traditional latin mass which had been the norm in catholic churches until the new rite (novus ordo) replaced it in 1970. It is celebrated entirely in latin and the priest leads the people in prayer facing "liturgical east".

The Mass has been celebrated there for the last 2 years, by Fr John Stork, sanctioned by Bishop Peter Ingham of Wollongong. This was largely in response to the Motu Proprio - Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI - who placed the ancient rite on equal footing with the newer form.

Clearly however the Popes message has not been well understood in the diocese, since the current provision of a mass every second Sunday means that those who wish to attend the older rite exclusively must leave the diocese every other week.

Wollongonensis understands that the Bishop of Wollongong doesn't really understand why the Pope has allowed the celebration of the older rite - he was quoted as having said to another Bishop during WYD 08 that it would have been better to let it (the old rite) die out, despite his seemingly supportive message in a letter to the clergy of the diocese late last year.

Clearly more confusion is to follow since the Summorum Pontificum seems to point at the much muted liturgical reform of the new rite, not to mention the compulsory training of all seminarians in the older form. Perhaps that motu proprio deserves re-reading?

Hidden Treasures of Wollongong

You might wonder where in Wollongong you could see this beautiful crucifix (or rood scene)!

Unfortunately it is not open to the general public but it is a catholic oratory in the Wollongong diocese. More on this in the next post. In the meantime 10 points if you can guess where it is.

THE WOLLONGONG DIOCESE



From Wikipeadia

On 15 November 1951, Pope Pius XII announced that a new Diocese would be created from the Archdioceses of Sydney and Canberra & Goulburn. To be named Wollongong, the Diocese was officially established on 11 February 1952. Bishop Thomas McCabe was transferred from Port Pirie to become its first bishop and the historic Church of St Francis Xavier's, Wollongong, became the Cathedral. At the time of establishment, there was a Catholic population of approximately 22,000 in 18 parishes.

Whilst the Wollongong Diocese is relatively young, the churches of Campbelltown (1835), Appin (1837), Wollongong (1838), Picton (1847), Kiama (1852), Camden (1859), Shellharbour (1861), Nowra (1863), The Oaks (1865), Albion Park (1867), Bulli (1886), Berrima (1889) and Milton-Ulladulla (1890) enable us to trace our Catholic legacy back to the early times of European settlement and to the era of Archbishop John Bede Polding, Australia's first bishop.

Initially, the Diocese was composed of parishes in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern Highland regions. In 1954 it was expanded to include Camden and Campbelltown and in 1975 the parishes of Batemans Bay, Moruya and Narooma reverted to the Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn. The boundaries of the Diocese have since remained the same. The most recently established parish is Rosemeadow (1994), which happens to incorporate the Church of Appin, the oldest continuously used Catholic Church on the Australian mainland.

Wollongong Diocese is the eighth largest diocese in Australia in terms of Catholic population (out of 33 total) and the largest non-Capital city diocese. The Diocese now ministers to 195,000 Catholics in 31 parishes, with 15 migrant chaplaincies. There are 43 Catholic schools, various youth ministries and a range of aged care, disability and welfare services together with special faith movements celebrating the good news of Jesus Christ in our local area.

Bishops of Wollongong

Thomas Absolem McCabe (1951-1974)
William Edward Murray (1975-1996) - presently Bishop Emeritus
Philip Edward Wilson (1996-2000) - presently Archbishop of Adelaide
Peter William Ingham (2001- )