Archive for the ‘Church Restoration 2008’ Category
October 1st: Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face
Wednesday, October 1st, 2014
September 29th: Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel & Raphael, Archangels
Monday, September 29th, 2014
Original Prayer to St. Michael
O Glorious Prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and in the terrible warfare that we are waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come to the aid of man, whom Almighty God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of Satan.
Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. That cruel, ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.
These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where the See of Holy Peter and the Chair of Truth has been set up as the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be.
Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly find mercy in the sight of the Lord; and vanquishing the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.
V. Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.
R. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered the root of David.
V. Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
R. As we have hoped in Thee.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
Let us pray.
O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as supplicants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin Immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious St. Michael the Archangel, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all the other unclean spirits who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of souls. Amen.
Archbishop Gullickson’s most recent blog entry on Ad Orientem Worship
Sunday, April 14th, 2013
RIGHT IS RIGHT – AD ORIENTEM
From Archbishop Thomas E. Gullickson’s blog, Deo Volente Ex Animo (http://deovolenteexanimo.blogspot.com): reprinted with the Archbishop’s permission
THANK YOU, YOUR EXCELLENCY!
Archbishop Gullickson is Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, and a native of Sioux Falls, SD
Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2013
At the end of Holy Mass this morning, I experienced a powerful sense of gratitude because of two things: that I find myself living here in Ukraine and that I could arrange my chapel for celebrating the Eucharist ad Orientem. Some might rather suspect a case of spring fever aggravated by the fact that there is bright sunlight now at Mass time in the morning again after a very long and dark winter. But I give you no hearing and no choice; I will simply insist that my elation can only be explained by accepting my two reasons.
When it comes to established Churches and their houses of worship, Ukraine is by and large Byzantine and hence oriented. Even if walking about town here in Kyiv my inner compass tries to convince me I am walking north, I can be confident that if a church building is Byzantine, whether Catholic or Orthodox, then the apse of that building is to the east. Everyone at Divine Liturgy, Catholic or Orthodox, prays facing east. Even though our house isn’t exactly oriented and the chapel conforms to the house plan, my liturgical east is not far from due east as the bird flies. In my chapel we pray the Eucharistic Prayer facing together the Dawn from on High, Who came to save us and will come again on the clouds of heaven, to judge the living and the dead. He will come from the east.
Maybe you have to live in Ukraine to get excited positively about such. That’s why I guess I say for ad Orientem and for my greater context in a Byzantine world, Deo gratias! Maybe this particular elation simply comes from “having my bearings”. If that is the case, then I wish it to you all: that you might find your bearings and find yourself inserted in something greater than just the cosmic flow which it is, greater than turning to Mecca or Jerusalem. Turning to the East, Who is our Risen Lord! Alleluia!
I guess I could feel this year’s disjuncture over a disparity of 5 weeks in our date for Easter, but at least for this morning common orientation in worship has the upper hand.
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About Archbishop Gullickson:
Archbishop Thomas E. Gullickson was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on the Vigil of the Assumption of Our Lady, August 14, 1950 and ordained to the priesthood on June 27, 1976. He was ordained to the Episcopate at St. Joseph Cathedral in his hometown of Sioux Falls on November 11, 2004, the Feast of St. Martin of Tours. He is titular Archbishop of Bomarzo.
He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1st May 1985 and has been appointed successively to the Diplomatic Missions in Rwanda, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Jerusalem, Israel and Germany.
He has a degree in Canon Law and he speaks English, Italian, French and German.
His first posting as Apostolic Nuncio was to Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Republic of Suriname, twelve independent States in the region.
His first posting as Apostolic Delegate was to the Antilles Episcopal Conference region, comprising the English, French, with the exception of Haiti, and Dutch territories in the Caribbean, a total of twenty-two with their own governments. There are eighteen Dioceses and two Missio sui iuris, ecclesiastical entities, in the Antilles. Archbishop Gullickson is the fifth Apostolic Nuncio in this region.
On 21 May 2011, the Holy Father named him Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine.
Will the New English Translations be Enough?
Saturday, June 11th, 2011
Father Daniel Mark Kirby, O.S.B., writing on the reform of the reform while in Italy. Please see this excellent article (link provided below) on his enlightening weblog, Vultus Christi: Fr. Kirby should be one of your daily reads!
http://vultus.stblogs.org/2011/06/will-the-new-english-translati.html
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Mass Facing the People: The Single Greatest Obstacle to the Reform:
Here in Italy it is evident that churches were designed and constructed with an eye to the absolute centrality of the altar with priest and people facing together in the same direction. The placement, within perfectly proportioned sanctuaries, of secondary altars to allow for Mass facing the people has utterly destroyed the harmony, order, and spaciousness that the Sacred Liturgy, by its very nature, requires.
Crucifix, Candles, and Flowers:
Here in Italy — and also in France — the traditional symmetrical arrangement of the candles and crucifix has all but disappeared in favor of a curious asymmetrical disposition that nearly always includes a bouquet of flowers placed at one end of the altar, one, two, or three candles at the opposite end, and a crucifix somewhere in the sanctuary that may or may not be construed as having an inherent relationship with the altar.
The Priest Magnified:
Apart from these considerations, the most deleterious effect continues to be the magnification of the priest and of his personality. The theological direction of all liturgical prayer — ad Patrem, per Filium, in Spiritu — is obscured, while the priest, even in spite of himself, appears to be, at every moment, addressing the faithful or engaging personally with them.
It’s All About Me:
Certain priests and bishops, marked by a streak of narcissism, abuse their position in front of and over the congregation to soak up the attention and energy of the faithful, attention and energy that, by right, belong to God alone during the Sacred Liturgy.
Placed in front of and over the congregation, priests and bishops all too easily give in to an arrogant liturgical clericalism, subjecting the faithful to their own additions amendments, comments, and embolisms. The faithful, being a captive audience, are subjected to the personality of the priest, which can and often does obscure the purity of the liturgical actions and texts that constitute the Roman Rite.
One Altar at Salem for 18 months!
One Altar at Salem for 18 months!
In churches possessing an ad orientem altar integral to the architectural genius of the original design of the apse or of the sanctuary, secondary versus populum altars should be removed, and the sanctuaries should be restored to the original order, harmony, and spaciousness that characterized them. (empahsis addred).
In churches possessing only a versus populum altar, that altar should be so arranged as to place the crucifix, with the corpus facing the priest, in a central position with three candles at either side, following the Roman practice.
THANK YOU, FR. DANIEL MARK KIRBY! May God bless you and your community for your dedication to prayer for priests, and your dedication to the reform of the sacred liturgy.
Auxilium Christianorum, ora pro nobis
Sunday, October 10th, 2010
The shrine to our Patroness, Maria Auxilium Christianorum, has been completed with the addition of two antigue wall candlebra from Germany! These two candles will be lit on all feasts of Our Lady, and during Mass on First Saturday mornings. The photograph was taken on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, October 7, 2010.
Video of bell tower and steeple
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009Very interesting video taken by 10th grade parishioner John Streff, with the help of his younger brothers Mark and Andrew. John and his brothers enjoy ringing the church bell before High Mass and during the Elevation of the Sacred Host and the Precious Blood.
Click here for the video: Tour of the Bell Tower
Father Weixelberger, the second Pastor of St. Mary’s, Salem, purchased the first church bell, which was christened “Maria” on May 5, 1891 by the Very Reverend A. L. Ricklin from Sioux Falls, under delegation of Bishop Marty. Realizing that the first church was too small for the growing parish, Father Weixelberger began making plans for the new church. Unfortunately, he died in early November, 1896.
The consecrated bell in our tower was the victim of “graffitti” in the 1960’s – the artwork of students from St. Mary’s High School (which closed in 1970) who used to climb the tower to smoke (I am told!). Anyone interested in cleaning the bell? If so, contact the Pastor at rpmartinus@gmail.com.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church Bell Tower and Steeple Pictures
Friday, August 7th, 2009-
- looking down ladder going up to bell
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- looking up ladder going into steeple
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- approximate thickness of bell
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- the toller
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- chip out of the bell from use of the toller
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- the bell, “Maria”
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- !! A DEAD BAT !!
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- stairs behind the organ
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- one of four speakers for the electronic bells
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- in the bell tower, vent-like windows
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- John going down through hole in steeple floor
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- another view of steeple interior
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- John coming down through the hole
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- looking down through a hole at the ladder that goes up to the steeple
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- looking up the ladder
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- ladder on side of steeple interior
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- floor of steeple
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- Upward view of steeple interior
taken by parishioner John Streff on Aug. 7, 2009
Original Church Bell
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009This photo was taken by parishioner John Streff. The bell in the picture is the original bell of the church. The bell is still rung before Mass, at the Consecration, and after Mass.
- original church bell
Holy Thursday Altar of Repose
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009-
- Altar of Repose 1
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- Altar of Repose 2
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- High Altar after being stripped
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- Altar of Repose 3
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- View of High Altar from the side aisle
Some Lenten photographs of our parish church
Sunday, March 8th, 2009-
- High Altar for Lent
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- Saint Mary’s Sanctuary Lent 2009
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- Pulpit hanging for Lent made by Mary S.
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- Pieta
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- Relic of the True Cross exposed for veneration at the Epistle side altar
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- Another photo of the Relic of the True Cross
