Catholic Family Vignettes

Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (July 16th)
Catholic Encyclopedia

This feast was instituted by the Carmelites between 1376 and 1386 under the title "Commemoratio B. Marif Virg. duplex" to celebrate the victory of their order over its enemies on obtaining the approbation of its name and constitution from Honorius III on 30 Jan., 1226 (see Colvenerius, "Kal. Mar.", 30 Jan. "Summa Aurea", III, 737). The feast was assigned to 16 July, because on that date in 1251, according to Carmelite traditions, the scapular was given by the Blessed Virgin to St. Simon Stock; it was first approved by Sixtus V in 1587. After Cardinal Bellarmine had examined the Carmelite traditions in 1609, it was declared the patronal feast of the order, and is now celebrated in the Carmelite calendar as a major double of the first class with a vigil and a privileged octave (like the octave of Epiphany, admitting only a double of the first class) under the title "Commemoratio solemnis B.V.M. de Monte Carmelo".

By a privilege given by Clement X in 1672, some Carmelite monasteries keep the feast on the Sunday after 16 July, or on some other Sunday in July. In the seventeenth century the feast was adopted by several dioceses in the south of Italy, although its celebration, outside of Carmelite churches, was prohibited in 1628 by a decree contra abusus. On 21 Nov., 1674, however, it was first granted by Clement X to Spain and its colonies, in 1675 to Austria, in 1679 to Portugal and its colonies, and in 1725 to the Papal States of the Church, on 24 Sept., 1726, it was extended to the entire Latin Church by Benedict XIII. The lessons contain the legend of the scapular; the promise of the Sabbatine privilege was inserted into the lessons by Paul V about 1614. The Greeks of southern Italy and the Catholic Chaldeans have adopted this feast of the "Vestment of the Blessed Virgin Mary". The object of the feast is the special predilection of Mary for those who profess themselves her servants by wearing her scapular (see CARMELITES).


Author: Frederick G. Holweck

Transcribed by Paul T. Crowley

From the Catholic Encyclopedia
Copyright © 1913 Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Read more!

Pope: Other denominations not true churches

Jews object to Latin rite's prayer for their conversion


Vatican: Non-Catholics 'wounded' by not recognizing pope

Pope's comments irrelevant to non-Catholics

Theo-con Pope tries to force all of us back to the Middle Ages

Spin, spin, spin...the inexhaustible fount of negative news being "spun" by the media is dizzying. Martyrdom for the faithful seems imminent!

All humor aside, it has not been my intention to delve too heavily into church politics, nor to give too much attention to those issues which fan the fires of controversy. I am, however, a bit concerned by the sheer volume of negative news and commentary regarding this extremely exciting, yet challenging time in Church history.

It seems as if our Holy Father has drawn a line in the sand, and we, the faithful, are being asked to step over in faith. The speculation regarding each individual diocese's response to the SP is all-consuming for members of the media, who wish to stir the muddy waters of discontent. Very little press is given to those who welcome or even hint at obedience to the directives of the Holy Father.

I have rejoiced and perhaps even gloated a bit, in the past few days over the recent documents from Rome that seemingly affirm a shift in the "tide." My email inbox has been overflowing with links to documents, headlines and commentary from a myriad of sources. There will never be enough time in the day to sufficiently peruse them all, and I simply lack the wisdom to expound upon them, leaving that job to the trained theologian or commentator.

And so I leave you with this: Charity, patience and temperance. Much will be said and done in the days to come. These documents are not an end unto themselves, but a beginning. I remain thankful to God for His great Wisdom and feel privileged to be alive during such interesting times! Read more!

Say "hello" to the Holy Family Gregorian Chant Schola for Boys! Mr. Michael Connaughton, parishioner and FSSP seminarian, is heading this effort and will be devoting his brief summer break to the instruction of these dedicated youths.

What an incredible opportunity for these young men to discover the beauty of chant. Sacrosanctum Concilium, emphasized that the “combination of sacred music and words forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy.” Our Holy Father reiterated this, during a trip to Regensburg, by stating that "music and song are more than an embellishment of worship; they are themselves part of the liturgical action"

May God bless the efforts of these young men and all those striving to enhance the beauty of the liturgy by embracing "sacred music." Read more!

From Lumen Gentleman:

Summorum Pontificum Contact Database

Search for contacts in your area

The motu proprio has been released! The next step is to start putting the Catholic faithful who want to assist at the extraordinary form of the Holy Mass in touch with Catholic priests who want to say the extraordinary form of the Holy Mass.

An online form is available to facilitate the search of the faithful seeking access to the Traditional or Extraordinary Form of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. A database "search" feature will also provide contact information for specific parishes.

A tip of the hat (once again) to Rorate Caeli for this quote from Thomas Woods:

"For several decades, not only the Catholic left but also the 'orthodox' Catholic right condemned supporters of the 1962 Missal as disobedient, wicked, schismatic – you name it – because they believed that what was beautiful and venerable yesterday could not cease to be beautiful and venerable today. They likewise found it hard to believe that they were considered a little bit crazy, perhaps even in need of counseling, because they longed for the traditional Mass, the very thing they had been taught their whole lives to venerate."

The entire text of Mr. Woods article may be obtained here. Read more!

The blackberries are nearly ripe! Prickly bushes loaded with sweet, juicy blackberries are clustered along the perimeter of the wooded grove behind our home. Yesterday evening, Maximilian informed us that there were "hundweds and hundweds" of ripe blackberries. Armed with an assortment of containers, we made the trek...and returned with approximately 1 cup of blackberries. Sigh...my children have extremely fertile imaginations!

The good news: there are "hundweds and hundweds" that are in the process of ripening. Surrounded, I might add, by a rather frightening amount of poison ivy. Needless to say, Zachary will not be picking blackberries (he is horribly sensitive to the dreaded weed!) One more week...then all we must do is "out pick" the birds and avoid the thorns, snakes and poison ivy. Maybe I'll check out that nice blackberry farm in London... Read more!

This evening a dear friend shared with us an incredible DVD "Fishers of Men" a Grassroots Production video distributed by the USCCB to increase vocations to the priesthood. Simply put, it is phenomenal...a powerful and encouraging glimpse into the lives of the "real men" of the priesthood. I am including a small portion, perhaps one of the most riveting scenes in the video. The entire video may be ordered by clicking the link above.



Every Sunday the faithful at my parish kneel to pray an "Our Father", a "Hail Mary" and a "Glory be..." for a two fold intention: that there may be an increase in vocations and for the priest who will one day, God willing, administer the Last Rites.

This video not only provides encouragement towards the discernment of a vocation, but should be required viewing for every Catholic as a reminder of the heroic and sacrificial nature of the priesthood. God bless and increase the numbers of our holy priests! Read more!

Well...if you're a five year old girl you are only limited by the scope of your imagination and generosity! This morning, Charlotte brought a shiny new quarter to Mass. I'm not sure what her intentions were, for the quarter was a source of constant distraction. She dropped it, loudly I might add, upon the wooden pew no less than three times. I had to take it away from her and placing it upon the pew, I promptly forgot about it.

As Father made the morning announcements, he mentioned his great desire to attend a large auction of traditional Catholic art. Since many of the items were very expensive and of museum quality, Father announced that he would willingly accept donations after Mass.

The Mass was so wonderful, so reverent and so packed! What a large and lovely crowd we had this morning. As Mass ended, Charlotte began to frantically search for her quarter. Having found it, she proceeded down the aisle and asked if she could go see Father. I lagged behind a bit, talking with friends, but finally caught up with her outside where she was patiently awaiting her turn to talk to Father.

Still distracted by my own conversations, I notice that Charlotte is a bit frustrated as she is talking to Father. She has shown him her quarter, and mumbling a few words, thrusts it at him. Father says "Is that your quarter? Are you going to buy candy?" Charlotte shakes her head no and mutters something, once again, under her breath. Father says "Are you going to save it?" With considerable frustration at Father's apparent lack of understanding and once again thrusting the quarter towards him, she says "I want you to keep it and buy some art!" With a sweet smile, Father lovingly accepts Charlottes's generous contribution.

I'm quite sure that her joy was unequaled at that moment as she contemplated the work of great beauty that Father will obtain with her help. Read more!

The USCCB has issued a newsletter regarding the "Apostolic Letter on Use of the Preconciliar Liturgical Forms." In general, a charitable and equitable document addressing many questions that both religious and faithful have regarding the application of the Summorum Pontificum. The comparison chart is quite interesting...judge for yourself. I was particularly edified to see this very specific reference: only clerics or "altar boys" perform liturgical ministry. Note the word "boys", not "servers". Seems a specific instruction, should there be any question.

September 14, 2007 - The Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross, is the effective date. A triumph, indeed!
Read more!

To quote my dear priest, Fr. Kevin Lutz, "the indult is no more!" We have entered into the realm of the "extraordinary"...and what a delightful place it is.
Yesterday evening, in joyful anticipation of the long awaited motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum", our dear friend, Mr. Thomas Ryan, commissioned the above confectionery from a local Graeter's Ice Cream store. Apparently the individual responsible for "personalizing" the cake was unfamiliar with the term "Motu Proprio", so Mr. Ryan, with his devilish wit, informed her that it was the name of a foreign exchange student...

This morning's Mass was attended by a wonderful group of traditional Catholics, all of whom could barely contain their excitement and many bearing in hand, copies of the long awaited documents. Now we wait with great joy and humility for the full implementation of the "Summorum Pontificum" and what this great document will mean for the people of Christ's Church--the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

God bless you, dear Holy Father! A joy filled day of celebration to you all, dear friends! Read more!

So...last night my teenage daughter goes to the grocery store to rent a video, taking her wallet (full of cash) with her. On her way back to the car, unknown to her, she drops her wallet but doesn't even realize it's missing until around 1:00 a.m. GASP!!
She retraces her steps and comes to the sad conclusion that she must have dropped it in the parking lot or left it in the store.

She doesn't even bother to call the store until the morning; she is so sure that it has been picked up, cash taken, perhaps her identification stolen, as well. She calls the store and, lo! an honest soul found the wallet in the parking lot and returned it to the store. Nothing missing. The wallet has been returned to her and she is quite touched by the honesty required to return such a large sum of cash.

Columbus, Ohio. A dark parking lot. An honest soul. One happy, hardworking teenage girl! Read more!

From Rorate Caeli:

Holy See Press Office
NOTICE TO JOURNALISTS: Publication of the Motu Proprio "SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM"

Journalists are informed that tomorrow, Saturday, July 7, 2007, the Apostolic Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI "given Motu Proprio" SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, will be made public.

The Document will be accompanied by an explanatory Letter of the Holy Father.

(Both texts will be available to journalists from 9.00 [Rome], under embargo until 12 [noon] of the same day.)

Waiting with joyful expectation... Read more!

Lately the sky has been so...
and amazingly...
Have you ever seen anything this...
I long for the cool, summer evenings. Dusk is upon us and the sky provides an unparallelled show of color. The moon, constellations and many planets slowly began to dot the sky as the light fades.

"For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow'r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise."

--taken from For the Beauty of the Earth

Goodnight and God bless! Read more!

Terrible storm on the 4th...the computer is, unfortunately, dead. Trying a recovery and using Meredith's PC. Will begin regular posting once the main PC is operational. Blessings to all! And here is the rest of it. Read more!

Nothing political, just this: God Bless America!



Enjoy the 4th...I'm taking the day off! Read more!

Overheard today at the thrift store:

(Older lady 60ish stocking a bookshelf): "May I help you sir?"

(Much older gentleman in his 80's, dapper and quite spry): "Have you, perchance, seen any hardcover books on the collected works of Rudyard Kipling?"

Lady: "Should I be familiar with him, sir?"

Gentleman: "Indeed, yes! I am a great fan of his poetry in particular..."(he proceeds with a lengthy and quite beautiful recitation of a piece I was unfamiliar with...may have been "Apologies", but I'm not sure)

Unknown to him, he had an audience: a couple of ladies looking at teapots and coffee makers and me.

He shared his knowledge of Kipling and the period of history in which he wrote. It was a fascinating and unexpected treat!

By the way...thrift stores are such a great place to find incredible books, collectible and otherwise. I have located no less than two Latin Missals and a variety of beautiful Catholic literature and devotional materials. Check them out! Read more!