Feast of The Chair of Saint Peter February 22nd

It was celebrated on both Novus Ordo & Tridentine Latin Mass Calendars. So I went to Mass last evening on the Tridentine Calendar to Holy Innocents on W37th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, the 6PM Mass.
It was The Gospel According to St Matthew:
Jesus gathered His Apostles and asked of Them “Who Do People Say I Am?”
Simon tells Jesus that Jesus is The Christ, The Messiah, The Son Of God, to which Jesus tells Simon that Only The Father In Heaven could have revealed this to Simon. “Thou Art Peter(Kephas, Cephas)& upon This Rock, I Will Build My Church & The Gates of Hell shall NOT Prevail Upon It.”
Jesus gave Peter “The Keys of The Kingdom.”
“Whatever You Declare Loosed on Earth shall be Loosed in Heaven. Whatever You Declare Bound on Earth, shall be Bound in Heaven.”

St. Peter is the 1st Pope. The Church is a Divine Z Institution. Thus It Is The Catholic Church.

Deo Gratias!
Laus Tibi Christe!

M

The Byzantine Rite Catholic Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom Causes Me To Think

The Byzantine Rite Catholic Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom is one which drives my Intellectual Sense as well as my Spiritual Sense.
OK, since I do come from the Latin(Roman)Rite, I do go to both forms of The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass. The Extraordinary Form Tridentine Latin Mass of The 1962 Roman Missal is what I 1st fully participated in, as a child. There would be that same Mass form in 1965, with some use of vernacular, while the Mass was offered Ad orientum, that is, facing East, in prayerful anticipation of the Return of Christ. The Offertory and Consecration continued to be offered in Latin. The Last Gospel, which is the Story of The Incarnation, which was read in Latin, was eliminated. It was in this 1965 update, when the Prayers of The Faithful, prayed after the Nicene Creed, were introduced. The Prayers of The Faithful are chanted antiphons with a response of “Lord Hear Us”(Deus Exaudinos), or “Lord Have Mercy”(Kyrie Elaison). 
It took an Ancient Catholic Liturgy to explain the Prayers of The Faithful, as well as the Communion Reception under BOTH Species, as well as the Gesture of Standing to receive Holy Communion.
But to those of the Ordinary Form of The Mass, in the Byzantine Rite Catholic Divine Liturgies of St John Chrysostom and St Basil Martyr, the Priest offers the Mass Ad Orientum, just like the Tridentine Latin Mass of The 1962 Roman Missal.
One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church truly breathes with both Eastern and Western Lungs & it took a journey Eastward to re discover the Ordinary Form of The Mass. It is a Fascinating Journey.

I pray that this clears up many years of misconceptions. The Catholic Elements are present, just that they have an Eastern Orientation.

Pax Domine Sit Semper Vobiscum!

M, Eh!

The Doxology At The End of The Lord’s Prayer, Is From The Byzantine Rite

I know it sounds unusual, but the Doxology At The End of The Our Father, which reads “For the Kingdom, The Power & The Glory are Yours, Now & Forever”, is from the New Testament Codex used by St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of The Catholic Church.
By the way, St. John Chrysostom was fighting the Heresy of Arius, called the Arian Heresy, where Arius, a Priest, taught that Jesus Christ had no Divine Nature.
So to my Brethren of The Traditional Tridentine Latin Mass of The Missale Romanum of 1962 Groups in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, the Doxology at the end of the Our Father is Catholic and not Anglican and Lutheran. It may be Byzantine Rite Catholic, but not Protestant. It is said at the end of The Our Father during the Byzantine Rite Catholic Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. The Priest usually prays that aloud in the Divine Liturgy, while we pray it in the Latin(Roman)Rite Ordinary Form of The Mass. This is not an Heretical Form, just a form from the Byzantine Rite. You can breathe easier now.
But I say this, not with Sarcasm but with Love. The Ordinary Form of The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass has taken a few hits. But it is legitimate. Much of the Liturgy has an ancient form from The Byzantine Rite. Whenever we pray the Nicene Creed, the Prayer of The Faithful which follows, is derived from the Byzantine Rite Catholic Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. They are the Antiphons prayed, with the response of “Lord Hear Our Prayer”, or “Lord Have Mercy.” In the Byzantine Rite Catholic Divine Liturgy, the response is “Lord Have Mercy.”
The Queue for Holy Communion is Byzantine Rite Catholic as well. Receiving Holy Communion in one’s hand, actually started with Arius The Heretic. This practice was resumed by Martin Luther, as he denied that the Mass was a sacrifice, and denied the Sacrificial Nature of The Catholic Priesthood.

But, there is a Latin Tradition of Kneeling for Holy Communion and Churches with Pews and kneelers. The Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island & Bronx have that arrangement. It is said that Eastern Orthodox Churches don’t have that arrangement.  But, in the Byzantine Rite Catholic Practice, one approaches Holy Communion “With Fear of The Lord.”
The Byzantine Rite Catholic Practice of Standing, is a reminder of The Awesome Tribunal of The Day of Judgement before The Lord. This is their Customary Practice.  The Roman Practice of Kneeling at Holy Communion is keeping in the Practice of kneeling before The Lord in Prayerful Awe and Wonder.
In both cases the Priest is an “Alter Christus”, feeding His Sheep with the Body and Blood of Christ.
In Byzantine Rite Catholic Practice, the Faithful receive both the Body and Blood of Christ under BOTH Species. This is done by Intinction & one receives via Holy Communion Spoon by tipping one’s head back and the Priest or Deacon will serve the Communion by dropping the Consecrated Elements in one’s open mouth. Note that leavened bread is what is consecrated. This is Byzantine Rite Catholic Practice. There is a prayer the Priest offers while one receives Communion. A similar prayer is also offered by the Priest or Deacon in Latin during the Tridentine Latin Mass of The 1962 Roman Missal.
Only within the last 40 Years have those of the Latin(Roman)Rite been able to receive both Body and Blood of Christ at Holy Communion. Unlike the Byzantine Rite Catholics, we approach two Holy Communion Stations to receive both Consecrated Elements. Unleavened Bread is consecrated in the Latin(Roman)Rite.

Whereas the Latin(Roman)Rite Extraordinary Form of The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass is distinctly Latin in practice, the Ordinary Form of The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass has practises which come from other traditions both Catholic and Protestant. Much of The Catholic Practice is Byzantine. Much is still Latin Rite Catholic, but there are Protestant Practices, such as Old and New Testament Readings before the Gospel. Holy Communion in one’s hand is Protestant in Practice & also Arian. The Music in the Ordinary Form Mass, is too directed to Self.  It belongs in a part of the Latin(Roman)Rite Mass, called “Left Out.”

I wonder just how many from the Latin Rite even know about what this is all about. One could probably count that on One Hand.

Deum De Deo, Lumen De Lumine!

M, Eh!

On The 1st Sunday After Easter, How The Catholic Church Will Do It

OK, on Sunday, April 27th, this is how One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church will handle this Sunday.
In the Latin/Roman Rite, there are two Liturgical Calendars, one for the Ordinary Form of The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass & The Other is for the Extraordinary Form of The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass. In the Ordinary Form, this is called the Second Sunday of Easter, and also known as Divine Mercy Sunday, which was established by Blessed Pope John Paul II The Great, during the 1990s. In the Extraordinary Form Tridentine Calendar, this is called the 1st Sunday After Easter.

Now, since I do worship Biritually, in that I also attend a Byzantine Rite Catholic Church called the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the 1st Sunday After Easter is called the Sunday of St. Thomas Apostle, the Sunday after Easter Week, called Bright Week in the Byzantine Rite. In all cases, this is the Season of celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

On Sunday, April 27th, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church will be canonizing Two Saints. They are very well known to All Christians, especially in the Catholic Church.
Blessed Pope John Paul II The Great and Blessed Pope John XXIII are being Canonized as Saints in Rome at St. Peter’s Basilica.  Pope John XXIII(Angelo Roncalli) began Vatican Ecumenical Council II in 1962. He was Pope from 1958 until 1963.
Pope John Paul II was elected in October, 1978 & died in April, 2005.

And Now, Papal Saints are being Canonized on Sunday, April 27th, 2014.

One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, in all Her Diversity as The Bride of Christ, is Truly One.

Gloria In Excelsis Deo!

M