Online Edition: June – July 2009
Vol. XV, No. 4
Table of Contents
Icon of the Priesthood – Msgr. Anthony LaFemina
Pentecost
Veni, Creator Spiritus
Mentes tuorum visita,
Imple superna gratia,
Quae tu creasti, pectora.
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator, come
From thy bright celestial throne!
Come take possession of our souls,
And make them all thine own!
News and Views – Emended Missale Romanum Issued | Year for Priests Begins June 19, Anniversary of the “Curé of Ars” | Pope Visits Holy Land | USCCB June Meeting
The New Missal – Historic Moment in Liturgical Renewal — by Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli
Pope Benedict Addresses the Pontifical Biblical Commission – Inspiration and Truth of Scripture — Pope Benedict XVI addressed the members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission on April 23, 2009 at the end of their plenary assembly. Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, which meets annually after Easter.
The True Development and Reform of the Liturgy — by Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith — The archbishop’s foreword to True Development of the Liturgy: Cardinal Ferdinado Antonelli and the Liturgical Reform from 1948 to 1970, by Monsignor Nicola Giampietro, to be published in English by Roman Catholic Books in the autumn of 2009.
Dubium of the Priest Celebrant Receiving Communion after the Faithful — In the November-December 2008 issue of Notitiæ (vol. 45, pg. 609), the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published their response to a dubium on the possibility of the priest celebrant receiving Holy Communion at Mass after or at the same time as the lay faithful.
Music through the Ages – What history can teach us about sacred music today – Book Review of Catholic Music through the Ages: Balancing the Needs of a Worshipping Chruch (by Edward Schaefer, Chicago: Hillenbrand Books, 2008) — by Susan Benofy
Readers Forum – How to Write to Church Officials | Approved Lectionaries | Mass at Home | Communion Questions | Church Returned? | The New Missal Translation | Recommend a Bible for Young Catholics? | Communion and Swine Flu
What Do We Mean When We Say "In Persona Christi"? – At Mass we are full of the Lord, not full of ourselves — by James V. Schall, SJ
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June 19, 2009 – June 19, 2010 – Year for Priests
Prayer for Priests
Most gracious Heavenly Father,
We thank you for our faithful priests and bishops, whose spiritual fatherhood and example of fidelity, self-sacrifice, and devotion is so vital to the faith of your people.
May our spiritual fathers be guided by the examples of Saints Peter and Paul, all the Apostles and their saintly successors. Give them valiant faith in the face of confusion and conflict, hope in time of trouble and sorrow, and steadfast love for you, for their families, and for all your people throughout the world.
May the light of your Truth shine through their lives and their good works.
Assist all spiritual fathers, that through your Grace they may steadily grow in holiness and in knowledge and understanding of your Truth.
May they generously impart this knowledge to those who rely on them.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen +
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The priest is not the man of his own personal initiatives; he is the minister of the Gospel in the name of the Church. His apostolic activity takes its origin from the Church and returns to the Church.
Dear new ordinands, may you never lack the prayerful support of the community. Paul and Barnabus “had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled” (Acts 14:26). Today, dear friends, you too are “commended to the grace of the Lord” for the mission you must carry out in the Church: to be stewards of Christ the Priest and Shepherd among His People. The community in Rome is praying for you. May the holy Apostles Peter and Paul intercede for you. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Salus Populi Romani, Mother of Priests, intercede for you.
Supported and encouraged by the communion of deep prayer, set out! Put out into the deep with courage, your sails filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit. In this way you will rejoice for all that the Lord achieves through you (cf. Acts 14:27) and will experience even in the midst of trials and difficulties the greatness and joy of your mission.
— Pope John Paul II
from Homily for Priestly Ordinations, May 13, 2001
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