Here are some photos from our June 7th Mass at St. Albertus.
There will be more Masses done according to the Extraordinary Form at St. Albertus in the future. We will update you as time goes on.
June 28, 2009 | Categories: General | Leave A Comment »
The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
(from the earlier mentioned book)
The feast of the Sacred Heart is the feast of the love of Jesus towards men. The intention of Our Lord in instituting this feast was to move our cold hearts to love Him. In order to more easily obtain this end, He offers us for the object of our devotion His Divine Heart that Heart which gave the most evident proof of love for us.
This day should therefore be consecrated in a special manner to the adoration of this most Sacred Heart, bearing in mind the intention which is the object of this devotion, namely, to make some return for the love which Jesus bears to us, by giving Him all the affection of our heart, and by making every reparation and satisfaction in our power, for the ingratitude of mankind towards a God so infinitely worthy of all love, and who, notwithstanding, is loved by so few of His creatures.
In the morning, therefore, offer your heart and your whole being as a holocaust to the Heart of Jesus, and renew this offering often during the day, which ought to be entirely consecrated, in silence and recollection, to the love of your Saviour. Strive to perform all your actions in the spirit which should animate this feast.
Let your visits to the Blessed Sacrament be frequent, and remain in conversation with Jesus as long as your health and the duties of your state of life permit you. Prepare your heart with diligent care to receive Jesus worthily in holy communion, and offer your communion to God the Father in satisfaction for the unworthy communions of so many Christians, testifying at the same time your gratitude and love to Jesus.
If during your spiritual exercises of this day you should feel cold and insensible, beware of shortening your devotions for this reason. For were you to do so, you would be in danger of letting this day, so rich in blessings, pass by without drawing any advantage from it. Go, then, courageously to work, and do everything in the same manner as you would do were you full of interior joy and consolation.
June 19, 2009 | Categories: Devotional | Leave A Comment »
Statue of the Sacred Heart at St. Josaphat
This Friday is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As we prepare to celebrate this feast, we will be posting a few things about devotion to the Sacred Heart.
Some of our posts will be taken from the book, The Sacred Heart : anecdotes and examples to assist in promoting the devotion to the Sacred Heart
Promises of the Sacred Heart as given to
St. Margaret Mary
1. I will give the grace necessary for their state.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will comfort them in all their trials and afflictions.
4. I will be their secure refuge in life and death.
5. I will bestow abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find My Heart an ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall advance rapidly towards perfection.
9. I will bless every dwelling in which an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give priests a peculiar faculty in converting the most hard ened souls.
11. The persons who spread this de votion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
12. I will grant the grace of final perseverance to those who communi cate on the first Friday of nine consecutive months.
June: The Month of the Sacred Heart (Excerpts taken from the above mentioned book)
Although we are in the middle of June, it is not too late to observe some of these practices for the remainder of the month and to apply them next year for the whole month of June.
Interior Practices of Devotion
1. At the beginning of this month examine yourself, and see what is your predominant passion, or the fault which you most frequently commit, and the best means of over coming it. Having discovered this fault, make a firm purpose to use the means to overcome it, commending your resolution with a childlike confidence to the Sacred Heart. Choose some short ejaculatory prayer which you will repeat often each day during the month, in order to remind you of your resolution, and to implore the grace of God to help you to fulfill it.
2. Each morning offer all the actions of the day to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and renew the resolution you took at the beginning of the month, humbly praying for grace to keep it during the day.
3. Take for your subject of meditation the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for which end the consideration of its many virtues and attributes is recommended.
Exterior Practices of Devotion
1. In a convenient situation place a picture or statue, suitably adorned, of the Sacred Heart; for Our Lord has promised to bless the houses in which a representation of His Heart is set up for honor.
2. Recite every day a special prayer in honor of the Sacred Heart. Be particular to repeat often during the day some ejaculation.
3. Endeavor to assist at holy Mass every day, and if you possibly can, make a visit every evening to your divine Saviour in the sacrament of His love.
4. Endeavor with prudence and discretion to lead and encourage others to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus.This may often be done by the distribution of books, pictures, prayers, medals, etc.
June 16, 2009 | Categories: Devotional | Leave A Comment »
This Sunday, following the regular 9:30 AM Tridentine Mass, there will be a Eucharistic procession for the External Solemnity of Corpus Christi.
For those who are interested, at Assumption Church in Windsor, there will be an outdoor Eucharistic procession (weather permitting) following the 2:00 PM Tridentine Mass.
June 13, 2009 | Categories: Devotional, Sunday Mass | Leave A Comment »
A few weeks ago on May 24, we had a Baptism according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
The following are some photos of the Baptism held on that day. Commentary is taken from the August 5, 2007 Tridentine Community News Column.
Beginning September 14, 2007, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, will allow any priest to conduct the Sacraments of the Roman Rite in the Extraordinary (Tridentine) Form as well as in the Ordinary (Novus Ordo) Form. Even before that date, St. Josaphat Church has received permission from the Archdiocese of Detroit to celebrate the sacraments in the Old Form. This includes Baptism, Penance, Marriage, and Funerals. It is therefore appropriate that we describe the Extraordinary Form of the Sacraments, so that you may know what to expect.
We will start with Baptism, a sacrament that is celebrated rather differently from parish to parish these days. In the Classic Form, there is no variation.
As with the New Usage, the essential form of the sacrament is the minister saying, “I baptize thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” In cases of necessity, the Church permits any person, lay as well as clergy, male or female, Catholic or non, to administer Baptism, as Baptism is necessary for salvation. Use of Latin is not required. The only requirement is that the person have the intent to baptize, pour water on the baptized, and say the above words.
Of course, the vast majority of the time, Baptism is a planned event, celebrated by a priest or deacon. Unlike the New Form, the Old Form presupposes the use of salt, which is blessed as part of the ceremony.
158 pages of the 1961 Rituále Románum are devoted to variations of the Baptismal ceremony, with forms for one child, multiple children, one adult, and multiple adults, as celebrated by a priest or deacon. Alternate forms are published for each of these situations when a bishop is the minister of the sacrament. Each form is strictly defined; there are no options for the minister to read from Scripture, deliver a homily, or for those in attendance to sing a hymn. Because of the set form, it is best for all participants to receive a handout delineating the sacrament and all of the responses to be made. We will make such a handout available when the time comes for our first Classic Form Baptism.
In the typical form of Baptism of one child, the ceremony opens with the minister asking the child (with the godparents responding as proxy), “What do you ask of the Church of God?” The priest then says a short prayer of exorcism and marks the forehead of the child with the Sign of the Cross.
Putting his hands on the child’s head, the celebrant prays that the Eternal Father will “free him (her) from the snares of Satan which until now have held him (her).” He then recites a prayer of exorcism and blessing of salt, which he then imposes in the child’s mouth, saying “Receive the salt, which is a symbol of wisdom.”
He then says a prayer of exorcism over the child: “I adjure thee, unclean spirit, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost to depart and remain far away from this servant of God… And so, accursed spirit, give heed to the sentence passed upon thee. Give honor to the living and true God, give honor to Jesus Christ His Son, and to the Holy Ghost… And this sign of the Holy Cross, which we put upon his (her) forehead, do thou, foul spirit, never dare to violate.” The celebrant next prays that the child may be cleansed and given “true knowledge, so that he (she) may be made worthy of the grace of your baptism and may maintain firm hope, sound judgment, and a grasp of holy doctrine.” 
All present then recite the Apostles’ Creed and Pater Noster. Yet again, the celebrant exorcizes the child: “I adjure you, each and every unclean spirit, in the name of God the Father almighty, in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord and our Judge, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be gone from this image of God N., whom our Lord in His goodness has called to be His holy temple that he (she) himself (herself) may become a temple of the living God, and the Holy Ghost may dwell in him (her).” He touches the child’s ears and nostrils with his thumb, moistened with saliva, as he asks the godparents the first few Baptismal Promises in the name of the child. He then anoints the child on the breast with the Oil of Catechumens, changes from a purple stole into a white stole, and continues asking the Baptismal Promises.
He then says the words of Baptism as he pours the baptismal water over the child three times in the form of a cross. He anoints the child with sacred Chrism on the head in the form of the cross. He wraps a white linen cloth around the child’s head as a symbol of the child’s sinless condition. Last, he gives the godparents a candle as he prays for the child to “Receive this burning light, and keep the grace of your baptism throughout a blameless life.”
The Adult form of Baptism is lengthier, beginning with the recitation of Psalms 8, 28, and 41, a Kyrie, Pater Noster, and other preparatory prayers. Numerous signs of the cross are made on the candidate, who is addressed directly in the questioning. The sponsors are not addressed as the godparents are during a child baptism. Additional prayers and exorcisms follow, more than in the child’s ceremony.
By now you have undoubtedly figured out that the key difference between the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms of Baptism are the numerous prayers of exorcism. The New Form contains only one exorcism. This added emphasis on purifying the soul about to be baptized is perhaps more needed than ever in our modern age.
June 13, 2009 | Categories: Sacraments | Leave A Comment »
1.) We will be posting some photos of a recent Baptism done according to the Extraordinary Form.
2.) There will be a special Tridentine Mass at St. Albertus this Sunday, June 7 at 12 Noon. The celebrant will be Fr. Mark Borkowski. To learn more about this historic church visit: www.stalbertus.org
June 5, 2009 | Categories: General | Leave A Comment »
