Bulletin 171

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT: Father Jeffery Fasching

September 29, 2013

Dedication of Saint Michael the Archangel

Epistle: Apoc. 1: 1-5
Gospel: Mt. 18: 1-10

Mon 30 Saint Jerome; Priest, Confessor & Doctor—No Latin Mass
Tue 1 Feria—No Latin Mass
Wed 2 Holy Guardian Angels
Thu 3 Requiem Mass + John Scaria
Fri 4 Sacred Heart of Jesus

The next pot-luck dinner will be Sunday, October 6th following the 2:30pm Latin Mass.
There will be no Latin Mass on Tuesday, October 1st.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a prayer! It must be offered with attention and devotion. The ritual is actually a collection of prayers. All who participate must be sure that they remain attentive in the sacrifice and the sacred mysteries that are occurring. This does not necessarily translate into being more physically active. Man is a creature of habit. It is possible to be physically active in something while the interior life is not at all connected with the activity. Therefore a ritual should be designed to maintain the attention of the faithful. Again, this does not mean it must be active and verbal. Rather the ritual should be one of profound beauty that will naturally draw the worshipper to its contemplation. It should not be chatty and activist in nature so as to cause distractions that make it difficult for someone to maintain focus on God. Motion by nature draws our attention; therefore activity can distract our focus. Our attention should not be drawn to motion, but to God. This is why a ritual should not be activist in nature.

The essential fruit of the Mass has its immediate and only source in the self-immolation of Christ, and is, therefore, independent of the contents of the formulas of the Mass Rite of the Church. The accidental fruit derived from the ritual of the Mass is something real and therefore must be taken seriously by those whose task it is to protect and administer the sacraments, namely the Magisterium.

In Christ,
Fr. Jeff Fasching

Bulletin 170

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT: Father Jeffery Fasching

September 22, 18th Sunday after Pentecost

Epistle: 1 Cor. 1: 4-8
Gospel: Mt. 9: 1-8

Mon 23 Saint Linus * Pope & Martyr—No Latin Mass
Tue 24 Requiem Mass + John Scaria
Wed 25 Feria
Thu 26 Feria
Fri 27 SS. Cosmas * Damian * Martyrs

The next pot-luck dinner will be Sunday, October 6th following the 2:30pm Latin Mass.

It is entirely possible for one form of ritual to be more efficacious than another form. At the present time, we have two forms of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—the Ordinary Form and the Extraordinary Form. When one form is offered with greater solemnity, it tends to be more efficacious that one that is offered with less solemnity. The solemnity gives greater glory to God. Since Jesus Christ is the King and Ruler of the universe, He deserves a greater ritual than any earthly king!

The ritual of the Holy Sacrifice is a combination of prayers and gestures. Prayer itself has governing principles that make it meritorious, and these principles can be applied to the ritual of the Mass. Saint Thomas observes that vocal prayer is done in order to render God His due and to move man’s mind and heart toward Him. Prayer is an act of the virtue of religion and we pray as God’s creatures because it is our duty.

The same principle can be applied to the ritual of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The ritual of the Mass ought to be ordered to God and not to man, except insofar as man is served in order to serve God. In other words, God is the end of the ritual, not man. This follows the order of charity in which we love God first and then our neighbor for the sake of God. The ritual should not have man as its finality, but God. If it has man as its finality, it goes contrary to charity, which has God as its end. It will also go contrary to justice since one will not render to God through the prayers of the ritual what it due to Him.

In Christ,

Father Jeff Fasching

Bulletin 169

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT: Father Jeffery Fasching

September 15th, 17th Sunday after Pentecost

Epistle: Eph. 4: 1-6
Gospel: Mt. 22: 34-46

Mon 16 SS. Cornelius * Pope & Cyprian * Martyrs—No Latin Mass
Tue 17 Requiem Mass + John Scaria
Wed 18 Ember Wednesday
Thu 19 Saint Januarius & Companions Martyrs
Fri 20 Ember Friday

The Blessed Virgin Mary infinitely surpasses the angels in grace, merits, and dignity, and in all other perfections! How is it then possible not to love Mary? The world without Mary’s prayers would long ago have ceased to be. The graces we receive from heaven come though her hands. If God had treated us as we deserved after all our sins, we would long ago have been burning in hell. How many countless souls has Mary saved from the fires of hell?! We must really thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for our salvation because she throws herself at the feet of Jesus Christ and asks Him to give sinners more time in order that they may amend their lives.

Mary points out to the Father all that her Son did and suffered for mankind in order to avert His wrath. She reminds her Son of everything that she suffered during her life for His sake. We can only imagine the affection of this holy mother. How can there be people who despise her? How can people ridicule those who are devoted to her?

In Christ,

Fr. Jeff Fasching

Bulletin 168

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT: Father Jeffery Fasching

September 8th, 16th Sunday after Pentecost

Epistle: Eph. 3: 13-21
Gospel: Lk. 14: 1-11

Mon 9 Feria—No Latin Mass
Tue 10 Requiem Mass + John Scaria
Wed 11 Feria
Thu 12 Most Holy Name of Mary
Fri 13 Feria

There will be NO LATIN MASS September 2nd through September 6th. Fr. Fasching will be on vacation.

Pot-luck dinner after the 2:30pm Mass this Sunday, September 8th in the school cafeteria.

This Sunday we commemorate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary is as truly the Mother of God as any woman is mother of the child she bears, for she performed for her Son the same biological function and maternal role that any mother performs who conceives, gives birth, and nurtures a child from her own flesh and blood!

The only difference is that Mary conceived virginally by the power of the Holy Ghost, and the offspring that she conceived and bore is the eternal Son of God, who united Himself to our humanity in her womb. The child born of her is truly human, truly like us in all things but sin; He is also truly divine, the eternal Son of God incarnate. He is one person, an eternal divine person, subsisting in two natures, human and divine. Mary is mother of this divine person according to His human nature.

It was fitting that Mary be conceived without sin because she was destined to be the worthy, beloved Mother of the holy God. In preserving Mary from all sin, God prepared a holy tabernacle in which His Son was to dwell, a holy body from which He was to take His humanity, a holy Mother whom he could love with the fullness of His divine/human love.

In Christ,
Fr. Jeff Fasching

Bulletin 167

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT: Father Jeffery Fasching

September 1st, 15th Sunday after Pentecost

Epistle: Gal. 5: 25, 26; 6: 1-10-- Gospel: Lk. 7: 11-16

There will be NO LATIN MASS September 2nd through September 6th. Fr. Fasching will be on vacation.

Although young infants will often sleep or rest quietly during the time of Mass, there are times when they must be taken out of the church so as to not be disruptive to the priest and the rest of the congregation. The Holy Sacrifice is a time of prayer. Some parents seem to find difficult to remove their children from the church when they find it hard to control them. We must remember that the saints assure us that distracted efforts to pray are always richly rewarded. Parents may always ask other adults without children to pray for them during the time of Mass. Pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary for patience and ask the Holy Family for help.

Fr. Jeff Fasching

Bulletin 166

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT: Father Jeffery Fasching

August 25th, 14th Sunday after Pentecost

Epistle: Gal. 5: 16-24; Gospel: Mt. 6: 24-33

Mass Schedule August 26th through August 30th

Mon 26 Feria--No Latin Mass

Tue 27 Saint Joseph Calasance, Confessor

Wed 28 Saint Augustine; Bishop, Confessor & Doctor

Thu 29 Beheading of Saint John Baptist

Fri 30 Requiem Mass M.S. John

Our next pot-luck dinner will be held on Sunday, September 8th immediately following the 2:30pm Mass in the school cafeteria. All are invited to attend.

There will be NO LATIN MASS September 2nd through September 6th. Fr. Fasching will be on vacation.

Children are so precious to Our Lord Jesus Christ! “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not” says Our Lord. Jesus Christ desires that young children attend Mass and make visits to the Blessed Sacrament. However, when making visits to church or attending Mass a parent must teach their young children discipline and set clear expectations as to how they are to conduct themselves.

For example, if a child misbehaves and is sent to the back of the church this should not be a reward for misbehavior. You must let him know that being removed from the church means further discipline, not the chance to play and run free. A child must know your expectations to remain quiet while in church and must be shown consistency in your discipline. A child will need reminding about the necessity of being quiet in church. Eventually he will need to understand that it is also important to be able to sit still in church. This training should take place before the child is able to walk.

Children respond to the expectations of adults when they are presented clearly and consistently. Scripture warns parents: “and a child left to himself will become headstrong.” A child’s behavior reflects his parent’s own parental skills.

Fr. Jeff Fasching

Bulletin 165

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT: Father Jeffery Fasching

August 18th, 13th Sunday after Pentecost

Epistle: Gal. 3: 16-22; Gospel: Lk. 17: 11-19

Mass Schedule August 19th through August 23rd

Mon 19 Saint John Eudes, Confessor—No Latin Mass

Tue 20 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot & Doctor

Wed 21 Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, Widow

Thu 22 Immaculate Heart of Mary

Fri 23 Saint Philip Benizi, Confessor

Our next pot-luck dinner will be held on Sunday, September 8th immediately following the 2:30pm Mass in the school cafeteria. All are invited to attend.

Human nature is such that to please one’s friends, a man will try to imitate them. Nature inclines men to do what they see others do. Scripture says: “They were mingled among heathens, and learned their works.” The prophet Isaiah exhorts us to “touch no unclean thing.” Saint Augustine writes of himself, that when he associated with bad companions, who boasted of their wickedness, he felt himself impelled to sin without shame.

This is why it is absolutely necessary to avoid like the plague all familiarity with the wicked. Saint Paul says that it is impossible never to meet them, but it is in our power to abstain from familiar intercourse with them. You must fly from scandalous friends, who, by their bad examples and words, poison your soul. If you do not, and by their bad example you become contaminated and lost, God will show no compassion because scripture clearly warns us to not associate with them.

Saint Paul says: “Know you not, that a little leaven corrupts the whole lump?” (I Cor.: 6) These are the false prophets that Jesus Christ Himself warns us to avoid. Scandalous language corrupts the morals of those who hear it. Saint Paul says: “Evil communications corrupt good manners.” (I Cor.15:33)

Fr. Jeff Fasching