Open Wide the Doors for Christ!

Wow, it sure seems like God is working on my humility lately...  So the last few days, now that I have finished my summer job, I have been working on getting ready for moving over to Bruté - you know, get the car full of gas, sort through the boxes of stuff (that I still haven't unpacked) from last semester, find notebooks for classes, etc.  Anyway, because I am not working this week, I have been able to attend noon Mass with the family over at St. Rose (most week-days I had been going to 6:30 AM Mass at St. Francis), and, as it happened, yesterday and today I was privileged to get to serve.  

Anyway, to cut a long story short, and to make this blog post less wordy, I was rather distracted during Mass.  Just before we left for church I had watched a video on YouTube about some of the profound symbolism found in the Mass.  This video was about the Extraordinary Form Mass (in particular), something that I want to write about ASAP, but that topic will have to wait for another time.  Suffice it to say, some of the points made in this video were running through my mind as Mass started and I ended up stumbling (vocally) while reciting the Confiteor.  As you can see below, the first and second halves of the prayer have very similar phrasing - the major difference being the tenses of the words.  (The confiteor in the Ordinary Form is similar, repeating "my brothers and sisters" at the beginning and the end.)  Thus, if you were to get "de-railed" and start saying the second half of the prayer before the first half - it's bad.  Anyway, that is exactly what I did this morning, and, for whatever reason, my brother ended up doing the exact same thing.  We said "omnes Sanctos" when we should have said "omnibus Sanctis", and thus, we both wanted to move onto the conclusion of the prayer when we hadn't finished the first half yet.  There was an awkward pause as we both worked out where we had gone wrong, and what we actually needed to say, before the prayer continued.  It's is actually kind of funny that it happened today.  Sometimes, when I am nervous before serving, for whatever reason, it crosses my mind that I could forget the responses (this is Latin after all and I'm not exactly a whiz at it), but today that possibility hadn't even entered my head.  I was just cruising through the prayers and, wham, totally screwed it up.  I guess God is letting me know that I am not the greatest server since St. John Berchmans (yeah, I guess I knew that, but still, I did think pretty highly of myself)...  Mea Culpa!

I am really hopeful to work on a post about the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (which some call the Traditional Latin Mass).  I am in kind of an unique position of going to both Forms of the Mass (hopefully that is the correct terminology), and I am sure that some people are intrigued, confused, or interested by that. - coming soon!

Well, as I have said before this summer has been absolutely flying by.  I guess I will have to have a post here later about the upcoming semester, but for now I'm just going to let you know what has happened today.  As always, there is something to be learned from everyday life.

This morning dad and I went for a run - well, dad went for a run, I went for something more resembling a crawl.  Dad chose this particular route the goes from our house and then hits the hills - and they never stop...  We (as always) blew through the first mile.  Dad has this nifty GPS running watch and at one point it said that we were hitting a 6:15 min/mile.  Anyway, that didn't last long.  I guess I figured that I was in OK shape - sure I hadn't ran that much this summer, but I wasn't out of shape by any means.  If I could run 13 miles on flat terrain back in May, certainly 5 of 6 miles on hilly terrain would be doable, right?  (wrong)  After a few hills I started slowing down and dad slowly pulled away.  On the last mile I was pretty worn out (even with the slow pace) and my feet hurt (because I just got a new pair of shoes), and my pride hurt (because dad was nowhere in sight), and so I stopped to fix my shoes.  That pause was just about to the top of the last big hill, so I was looking at somewhat more flat trek to get home (still a bit uphill, but getting easier), and I, for whatever reason, thought about martyrdom and how (being the humble person I am) I figured that I'd have the courage to be a martyr.  Then, as I should have expected, my next thought was like "could you even run all the way home?" - Of course, I didn't hear a booming voice from Heaven or anything, but I certainly knew that God was challenging me (in a tiny way).  With that in mind, I forced myself to run all the way home; yeah it hurt, but there was no way I was stopping (God has a sense of humor too, the lights all were green).  So I found two things out during the run, I'm not in as good of shape as I thought, and I'm also not as humble as I need to be.  I guess that I'll be working on both those deficiencies during this coming semester.

Moving on:  Mass today was beautiful.  As you may know, I frequently attend the Extraordinary Mass at St. Rose.  Fr. Fromageot, who recently moved in as our assistant priest, was (so I have been told) previously the schola director at the FSSP's seminary in Denton NE.  Either way, he has a wonderful voice and knows how to use it.  Fr. Devillers said Mass at 11:00 AM this morning, so Fr. Fromageot was able to assist the choir.  It was incredible the amount that the choir improved with a little coaching before Mass and Fr. Fromageot's extra voice pulling them all together.  Kudos to all of them!  Father is having a "chant workshop" on Wednesday that I may squeeze in before heading back to Bruté on Thursday.  Should be interesting (and challenging). 

This afternoon the family (and I) went out to Siloam Springs, a state park 30-40 minutes from Quincy.  We had a delicious picnic, threw a Frisbee around for a while, did a short hike, cracked some incredibly bad (but very funny to us) puns, and overall had a wonderful afternoon.  What can I say, I love being home with the family, but at the same time I look forward to being back at seminary.  Really can't beat life right now - I have a blast when I am at home, and I have a blast when I am in seminary.  God has blessed me so much!

I hope all your Sunday's were fantastic - mine was!  If you would though, say a quick prayer for an intention of mine.  Thanks!

Well, here is another weekly recap for you (actually, it will focus mostly on today since that is what I remember best).  This week has been pretty good; below is a quick rundown of what went on in my life (I hope it's not incredibly boring).:

School: I finished several of the essays due next week done (or at least in a state where I could turn them in if I needed to).  I have a few bits of homework left, two different class presentations left, neither of which should be terribly hard, and the Shakespeare paper (yes, I keep pushing it off).  All that will definitively be done by next Friday (whether I want it to or not), so that is the point when I will start studying for most of my finals.  I have 2 on Monday (Theology and Shakespeare), 1 on Tuesday (Sociology), 1 on Wednesday (Asian Philosophies), and two take-homes (Ethics and Music in Catholic worship).  Most are comprehensive, so they will be long and worth quite a bit.  Ah, well, it won't be that bad...

Music: This week I just about forgot that I was cantor on Tuesday (and I'm the guy in charge of the schedule...).  About 5 till Mass, when I typically make sure that whoever is scheduled is there and getting prepared, it hit me that it was my day.  Thankfully, there are plenty of easy Easter hymns, so I just picked one out quickly and went with it.  Actually, most daily Masses are pretty easy unless there is a feast or something, just an entrance hymn and the psalm before the Gospel.  Since this Thursday was St. Mark's feast day, the schola sang for Mass (which was over at Marian because it was Thursday).  It turned out wonderful, no big mistakes and some great songs (and here is my post with videos of them).

Athletics:  This week I played soccer twice (Tuesday and today), for the first times this year; both times were a blast!  Soccer is so much fun primarily because I am pretty good at it.  I don't mean to brag, but while I am pretty fast, my height isn't anything to write home about.  This means that it's harder to play basketball period and it's harder to get open or block in football or frisbee.  In soccer, on the other hand, height doesn't matter as much.  Most of the time the ball is on the ground, and speed is (for me at least) the biggest part of the game - outrunning or maneuvering other people.  Tuesday was rainy and in the 50s, so it wasn't ideal, but we still had fun.  Today, though, was glorious.  It was at least 60 and sunny, and I was playing great - several long shots that actually went in, several good moves, it was a blast!  Running is petering off for the run coming up next Saturday.  This means the runs are shorter, but unfortunately, this means that we go at a faster pace (so they take less time, but aren't necessarily easier).  I ran 3 miles in a bit under 21 minutes right before playing soccer.  It was a pretty fast pace, and I still had something left for soccer - great, fun afternoon!

Mass at Holy Rosary:  This afternoon, after running, playing soccer, and doing Evening Prayer + Benediction, I went to Holy Rosary Parish (In Indy) to attend their Extraordinary Form Mass.  Unfortunately, I have been rather bad at getting over there - there always seems to be something going on (or I just forget).  Anyway, today I went over there for Mass with two other guys (1 of whom goes almost every week, and the other, who had never been to the Extraordinary Form).  Mass was great (as expected), and I think that Adam will be trying it again (I told him that it takes a few times before you pick up on how everything goes).  Every time I go to this church I am struck by how beautiful it is.  Just gorgeous!  The coolest part of Holy Rosary is the sliding altar.  You may notice that there is no free-standing altar, as would typically be used for an Ordinary-Form Mass in which the priest faces the people.  The Extraordinary-Form is always done with the priest facing the same direction as the congregation (ad orientem), but almost all Ordinary-Form Masses are done with the priest facing the people (ad populorum ? - that's a guess).  Anyway, at Holy Rosary the altar against the wall (in the pictures) slides out, away from the wall, for the Ordinary Form Masses.  Unfortunately, it wasn't transformed while we were there, so I can't show it, but when I saw it last time, it was such a "wow" moment.   Ingenuity at its best!

Happy Easter everyone!  I didn't manage to get anything up here during the Triduum, so this will be the first post about these last few days.  I hope you all had a wonderful Holy Week, Triduum, Easter, and now Easter Week - I sure have/am.

Holy Thursday:

I already posted on the Chrism Mass, which for the diocese of Springfield, IL, was celebrated on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, I don't remember anything special happening (though I was tired) on Wednesday, and the first half of Thursday was also pretty normal (went for a run, packed the car in record time, went to sociology class, finished a paper and uploaded it for theology, went to ethics class...).  I left directly after that class (thankfully Music class was canceled , filled up with gas, and cruised the 5 hours home non-stop.  Yep, it was pretty long, but I had some good Cd's to listen to, and the weather was spectacular (sunny and 50 degrees).  Anyway, the drive went by fast enough and I got to Quincy just in time (2-3 minutes before) the 6 PM Mass of the Lord's Supper at St. Rose.

St. Rose, in case you don't know, is a chaplaincy of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, and has Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (the Traditional Latin Mass).  A deacon came over from their  (the FSSP's) seminary near Lincoln Nebraska, to help with the different liturgies of the Triduum, and, thus, the Mass on Holy Thursday was a solemn high Mass (with Sub-Deacon, Deacon, and Priest).  It turned out beautifully, with the chanted Gospel, the washing of the feet (while the choir chanted antiphons most of which were from John 13 - "Love one another, as I have loved you..." [diligatis invicem, sicut dilexi vos])  Mass concluded with the procession carrying the Eucharist to the altar of repose and the stripping of the altars.  We (the family) went back home after Mass, ate some dinner, and then came back to "watch with [Jesus] one hour" (Matthew 26:40).

I guess, technically, we were there for more like 3 hours (we went over sometime during 9 o'clock), but I was pretty tired (5 hours of driving does that to you), and so the "watch and pray" (Matthew 26:41) was sometimes a little lacking.  At least I'm not the first person to fall asleep on Holy Thursday...  I think that I finished reading the Gospel of John (I started the New Testament at the beginning of the year and have been working on it a little bit each day), read several pages of Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth Part 1 (which is pretty deep, and thus, not good reading when you are tired), and, of course, said the Rosary and some other prayers.

More later...

For now: Luke 22:39-46:

And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.  And when he came to the place, he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.  Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." And there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him.  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping fro sorrow, and he said to them, "Why are you sleeping?  Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."  

Really great image of Christ's Agony in the Garden