Funny idea

Just last night I was watching an americanised Japanese anime and thought the opening has a very nice song. That got me thinking, if we replace a few words, maybe it can express the idea of the Reform of the Reform, which I fully support and I recommend to those people unfamilar to the term to read the New Liturgical Movment Blog, which is avaible throught the links on this blog. So here is the song:

We look to the past
As we head for the future
To reclaim the Liturgy

With Faith in God
And trust in the Church

We Live by the lessons we have learnt
As we work for one solution
Organic Development

Now use you imagination and come up with a tune.
Also to those willing to find the song transformed
please do and I'll be sure to mention your effort on the
Blog

Dominican Sisters of Mary on the Today Show

Now this would be better then an army of Altar Girls.

Is This the End for Poland

I Almost fainted when I saw this: http://breviarium.blogspot.com/2007/03/nowe-stroje-dla-ministrantek.html
I appears some Diocese in Poland has introduced Altar Girls. This certainly will destroy
most vocations to the Priesthood that come from Altar Boys in Poland.

Altar Girls? Bad? I'm afarid so, Serveral Popes have condemed it

Pope St Gelasius:

We have heard with sorrow of the great contempt [mépris] with which the sacred mysteries have been treated. It has reached the point where women have been encouraged to serve at the altar, and to carry out roles that are not suited to their sex, having been assigned exclusively to those of masculine gender.

Cited in Michel Sinoir, La Question de L'Admission des Femmes au Service de L'Autel, Paris, Pierre Téqui, 1994, p. 28


Benedict XIV, encyclical letter Allatae Sunt:

Pope Gelasius in his ninth letter (chap. 26) to the bishops of Lucania condemned the evil practice which had been introduced of women serving the priest at the celebration of Mass. Since this abuse had spread to the Greeks, Innocent IV strictly forbade it in his letter to the bishop of Tusculum: "Women should not dare to serve at the altar; they should be altogether refused this ministry." We too have forbidden this practice in the same words in Our oft-repeated constitution Etsi Pastoralis, sect. 6, no. 21.


But hasn't the Pope allowed Altar Girls? Well sadly Yes, but just like commuion in the hand , it is
an idult and not the norm! Meaning if there are boys that could do it, then no Altar Girls.

Now what can we do about it? Isn't Poland too far away for us to do anything? Well yes it is, but remember that our prayers have no limit. So my dear reader we need to pray for an end to Altar Girls in Poland and in the world. Pray, Fast and do penance, before it is too late.

Prayer Rope

The above image is that of an Eastern rite prayer rope. It is used similarly to the western roasry. It is similar to the rosary due to it's repition of prayer. The ways it differs are that you say Domine Iesu Christe, Fili Dei, miserere mei, peccatoris or Lord Jesus son of God have mercy on me a sinner on all it's beads. The large beads count as noraml beads and simply allow you quick count how many time you have said this prayer.

The tassel is use to wipe of the tears of those useing it due the prayers penitential nature, also the penitenital nature of the prayer natural call for the rope to be black.This rope is about 50 beads long, but there many diffrent lengths of the rope, I have even heard of some being 500 beads long.

Eastern Monks constantly pray this rope, causing it to form a sub concious act thus responding to St Paul's exortaion to "Pray without ceasing" Thessalonians 5:17.

Now about me, after being shown a prayer rope by my ukrainian freind and a bit of reading about it, I simply fell in love with it. So getting to the point, does anyone know the best way to obtain one on a budget?

Adore 2007

As some of you know(because i posted about it) in 2006 there was a youth eucharistic congress up here in brisbane called adore 2006 and it was run by the Aliance of the Holy Family Internation an awsome orthodox organistaion.

The awsome thing is that it is on again, this time in Perth!!. I whole heartedly encourge all who can go it to GO! I myself shall travel to Perth for it, so be sure to expect picutre. The below e-mail I recived should give everyone the neccesary details.

Hope to see my faithful Australian readers there!

Ave Maria!

The OATH brothers would like to thank you for your prayers for the intentions of the ADORE 2007 congress in Perth.

The finalized details for the congress are:

ADORE 2007 - Perth
Date: 12 - 15 April, 2007
Cost: $99
Venue: Advent Park
345 Kalamunda Rd, Maida Vale, WA 6057

For those AHFI members helping facilitate the congress and arriving early, there is a nearby convent which will allow free accommodation from the 16-18th April.
Please notify the OATH brothers if there are some who wish to be accommodated here.
Thankyou & God Bless

One in their Hearts,

- Br. Dominic Ma. Savio

Polish AltarBoys and Lectors, Jasna Gora 2005

In the Year of Our Lord 2005 I traveled to Poland for the Polish Altar boys and lectors pilgrimage to Jasna Gora. Now that is a lot of Altar boys(no girls ha ha) and a lot of them are instituted lectors (see the ministry does exist).

Here is a close up of just as few. Now you may say there are Girls in the photo, well are Polish families just suppose to travel cross country and leave the girls at home? Now most of the servers (including me) were wearing our mass vestments, it was truly a sight to behold to see so many servers in all there different vestments.

Now you probably gathered that it was an open air mass (how on earth could you fit so many servers in a church?!), Natural they had to have an important celebrant, well they had 2 bishops and about 100 priests!. There was even a Scout guard protecting an image of Our Lady of Jasna Gora!.

You can see the army of con-celebrants file down for communion. Now they are all not wearing chasubles because even a great monastery such as Jasna Gora does not have that many chasubles! Also in the photo you can see a priest has found a creative sway to avoid the heat, a hanky, I'd personal get a biretta or an amice hood.

Now where was I in all this? Well I was right there.

Just yesterday I celebrated my 15th Birthday, I happy look back on my past 8 years of serving God at his Holy Altar. To serve at the Altar of God is the greatest honor and privilege you can give a boy.

Introibo ad altare Dei.

R: Ad deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.

P: Judica me Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta: ab homine iniquo et doloso erue me.

R: Quia tu es Deus fortitudo mea: quare me repulisti, et quare tristis incedo, dum affligit me inimicus?

P: Emitte lucem tuam, et veritatem tuam: ipsa me deduxerunt, et adduxerunt in montem sanctum tuum, et in tabernacula tua.

R: Et introibo ad altare Dei: ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.

P: Confitebor tibi in cithara Deus, Deus meus: quare tristis es anima mea, et quare conturbas me?

R: Spera in Deo, quoniam adhuc confitebor illi: salutare vultus mei, et Deus meus.

P: Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritu Sancto.

R: Sicut erat in principio et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

P: Introibo ad altare Dei.

R: Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.

P: Adjutorium nostrum + in nomine Domini.

R: Qui fecit coelum et terram.

My Favorite psalm, the psalm all servers should know off by heart.

Just this Morning Mary's little child commented on my blog, I remember meeting her at the Melbourne MHCC retreat, just comes to show how small the internet really is. Here blog is worth a look http://www.xanga.com/Marys_little_child?nextdate=2%2f13%2f2007+3%3a10%3a24.347&direction=p


Now reading her blog really stirred my Polish patriotism (Yes to those who don't know I am Polish), so here are a few of my favorite Polish pictures.
Here is King Jan Sobieski the 3rd, he was king of Poland and he beat back the Turks at Vienna. Sure he's no saint, but he drove the Turkish hordes back from Europe thus saving the whole of Christian Europe.

What men did he use to beat the turks our of Europe? The Polish winged Hussars, the archangels of the steppes.

The king did all this after assisting at holy mass and consecrating himself, the whole army and the whole country to Our Lady of Jasna Gora. I can proudly say, you can not call your self a Polish Altar boy unless you have served in the chapel where Our Lady's portrait hangs, Our Lady the Queen of Poland.