Reminder ! Tridentine Latin Mass at Holy Spirit Church

Just a reminder of the Tridentine Latin Mass this Saturday morning at 8 a.m. (groan) at Holy Spirit Church, corner of Hatch and Plank Roads. It will be a Missa Cantata. The celebrant will be Father Gerard McMahon.

Sage Observation From Cardinal Siri

"If the Church were not Divine, this council (Vatican II) would have buried her."

-Cardinal Giuseppe Siri

_______________________

On a side note, someone recently criticized me/us for "attacking the pope." For future reference, citing papal documents is not anti-papal. When someone says, "Pope Benedict said in _____, that _______ is not permitted," that someone is not saying any of the following:

• The pope is wrong.
• The pope is not a valid pope.
• The pope should resign.
• The pope should be ousted.
• The pope should be re-educated.
• The pope is out-of-line.
• The pope is inappropriate.
• The pope is too out-dated.
• The pope is absolutely insane.

If anyone says that, then that's what we consider to be "sede vacantist," that is, Catholic who believe that the See of Rome has no validly elected leader, i.e. "pope." We are not of this persuasion here at Cleansing Fire. Anyone who suggests anything to the contrary should be considered illiterate. I think the photo below shows that our late pontiff John Paul II agrees with my statement.


Pope John Paul II, defender of the faith, pray for us.

Epic Fail, Catholic Style

Doing my weekly "perusal session" last night, I found what may very well be called "a Catholic Epic Fail." For those of you who may not be familiar with the term "epic fail," it is like this: someone does or says something incredibly moronic, but doesn't realize that what he/she has said/done is moronic.

What was this "epic fail?"

"St. Francis
47th Annual
Chicken BBQ
July 12th
11 am. until sold out
Adults $7.00 ~ Children $5.00
Chicken Halves $4.00
Tickets available at the door."

St. Francis Annual Chicken BBQ? Something tells me the patron of animals and animal lovers would not want his name associated with such an activity.

To see the full ad in the bulletin, just click here and go to page 4.

Funny remark Bishop Casey made once

St. John the Evangelist in Greece was the first church in the DoR built after the Second Vatican Council. Auxiliary Bishop Lawrence B. Casey was called upon to bless this new-fangled looking church. He is reported to have said, after having looked around the church, ". . . do I bless it or launch it. . .?

A diocesan history snippet

In 1851, Bishop Timon of Buffalo appointed, as pastor of St. Peter's Church (it later became Saints Peter and Paul's when it moved to West Main Street), Father Francis Xavier Krautbauer, who later became bishop of Green Bay, Wisconsin. He was Bishop from 1875 to 1885.

St. Stanislaus Defended

Well, I listened to the pleas for a "counter" video to the DoR's CMA video.

Behold:

Video of St. Michael's on Clinton Avenue North

I thought many of you would enjoy seeing the inside of St. Michael's Church, arguably the architecturally best church in the diocese. The church is now a repository for the Brombaugh Organ, until the organ's final home in California, is ready for it. If you ever get a chance, stop in St. Michael's and look around but also pray especially for vocations.

Now in it's third home, John Brombaugh's Opus 9, built for Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Toledo, OH, will wait patiently until it's new owners can bring it to California. In the meantime it will enjoy the cavernous acoustics of this beautiful church, kept alive by the sheer will of it's dwindling congregation. The old organ is a Steere from the early 1900s, electrified by Tellers in the 1950s (originally tubular pneumatic!), and now wheezing along and kept alive by a few dedicated volunteers in the church.

St. Boniface at the center of Swillburg

The New Saint Boniface on Gregory Street

The German Catholics of the southeastern part of city wanted a church that was closer than St. Joseph's on Franklin Street. So, the German families and the Redemptorist priests from St. Joseph's sought the approval of Bishop Timon of Buffalo (Rochester was not yet a diocese. That happened in 1868) to build St. Boniface .

The site on Gregory Street (then it was called Grand Street) was purchased for $1,000. The original three-story brick building housed the rectory and school on the first floor and the church on the second floor. The cornerstone was laid by Bishop Timon on June 17, 1860 and the dedication was June 8, 1861, also by Bishop Timon.

Boundaries of the German parishes were fixed

On October 10, 1864, Bishop Timon fixed the boundaries of the 4 then existing German parishes: St. Joseph, SS Peter and Paul, St. Boniface and Holy Family. St. Boniface was bounded on the east and north by Monroe Avenue and Howell Street and on the west by the Genesee River. In July of 1865, the pastor Father John F. Payer, an Austrian, engaged the School Sisters of Notre Dame as teachers. The original church was only 40 feet by 60 feet and to accommodate the increasing population, the church was enlarged by another 40 feet. This new addition was blessed by Rochester's first bishop, Bernard McQuaid in 1870.

The New Church

The year 1885 was devoted to making plans for the new church. The plans were submitted to architect William Schnickel of New York. On April 12, 1886, a Solemn High Mass was celebrated to beg God's blessing on the erection of the new church. On June 6, Bishop McQuaid laid the cornerstone, amid much ceremony both secular and religious. The Gregory Street church was a fine example of Gothic architecture with a tower of 195 feet and was erected at a cost of $70,000.

Solemn Dedication and Blessing

Saint Boniface had a richly carved wooden altar that was installed in 1894. The sculptor was Anthony Halstrich, formerly of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany. Herr Halstrich had established the "Anthony Halstrich Christian Art Studio" in Rochester in 1893. The interior, without the vestibule, was 130 feet long by 63 feet wide. The main altar towered to 27 feet in height from the base to the tip of the altar and a breadth of 16 feet. New Stations of the Cross by Frank Pedevilla were erected in February of 1901.

The Great Fire

On November 6, 1957, a group of Catholic priests anxiously awaited the arrival of Francis Cardinal Spellman, due in Rochester to help observe the 25th anniversary of the consecration of the Most Rev. James E. Kearney, bishop of Rochester.

As the cardinal got off his plane, he asked, "Did you know there's a church on fire in the city? It's a red brick one near the river." The fire, apparently started from sparks from a charcoal fire pot being used by workmen as they installed flashings around the chimney at the left rear of the church.

The Blessed Sacrament Rescued

The Rev. George A. Cocuzzi, vice chancellor of the diocese, was the only priest in the rectory at the time. With the aid of two altar boys, he rescued the Blessed Sacrament and other religious articles from the church.

Church Razed

On Easter Monday, April 7, 1958, the Atlas Wrecking Company began to bring down the church. The demolition was completed on June 5, 1958, the feast of St. Boniface.

The New Saint Boniface

Ground was broken for the new church on April 5, 1959 and the work started immediately. The altars, Stations of the Cross and statues, came from Daprato Studios, the pews from the Rochester Novelty Company and the new organ from the Teller Organ Company of Erie, PA. Stained glass windows were ordered from Pike Glass Studios.

The church was completed and opened on March 6th, 1960. The altars were consecrated by the Most Rev. Lawrence B. Casey, Rochester's auxiliary bishop on March 29, 1960. The parish celebrated 100 years of history with the solemn dedication of the new church by Bishop James E. Kearney.

Aerial view of St. Boniface

Whither Goest Thou?

I think it's about time for another Cleansing Fire reflection.

So often in our lives we are confronted with adversity, whether in society, private life, academic pursuits or the hierarchy in the cubicles. These numerous crosses which rise up can throw us far off course, occasionally driving a wedge of derision (and division, as well) between us and the Church, between us and salvation. Why do some falter while some become saints? Is there a true difference between them and us?

No, indeed there is not. Each person, even those whom we occasionally chastise here, is called to sanctity and sainthood in the universal Church. This is our true Christian vocation, to be saints and defenders of the faith. But, alas, we often fail at this when these crosses of life arise. This is the true problem, for without the cross life would be entirely free and burden-less. Indeed, if the literal cross of Calvary had not arisen, there would be no true core of Christianity. The theology and depth thereof would be lacking. The crosses which we encounter may not be the cross which Our Lord experienced, but we can learn from Him to thrive in the face of such an issue.

When a cross presents itself, we must ask ourselves, "where do we go?" Do we skirt the cross, taking an alternate route and postponing our own dolorous passion? Do we run head-long towards the cross, ready to embrace suffering for the sake of our souls (and Our Lord)? We must do this latter. Embrace the cross. Though the splinters of the cross cause us to bleed, though the nails cause us to be drained of our spiritual life-blood, we must kiss the cross. For after the passion and death of Our Lord on the Cross, what happened? The Resurrection. Yes, we must endure suffering for His sake, facing mockery, condemnation and hate. However, through this we reach a more perfect level of spiritual awareness, learning to offer up our sufferings as little penances and acts of reparation.

So, I pose the question to all of us: "Whither Goest Thou?" Do we embrace the cross or do we hide from it? I should think, reading the emails some of you send and the comments many of you post, we are generally taking the path of pain. And for that I am most glad. For after pain, only relief can come.

**Sorry to "go preachy" on you all. It's been a while since I've had the time or energy to present a reflection such as this. It's vastly easier to make sardonic YouTube videos and laugh rather than to reflect. This said, I have some videos in the works. You can expect them soon.**

Minor Seminary

These videos are especially for those younger men in the DoR who may be considering the seminary.

Saint John Vianney is the largest College seminary in the United States. Come and see how the Holy Spirit in transforming the men of today into the fathers of tomorrow.



I will pray for any man (young or older) considering a vocation.

Use this video for DoR CMA

This is a perfectly fine video that the DoR could have used, with some slight editing, to get (read, bilk) hard-earned money out of its parishioners. The video has the same message as the Clark DoR video...."send in the money and be happy."

I agree the video is a little dated, but we could edit that and save tons of money and have more money to keep our cathedral afloat, and have more scholarship money to send heretics to St. Barnyards on French Road to further erode our diocese.

What They Have to Say . . .

Ever since the enormous amount of anger/frustration shown at the diocesan YouTube channel for it's less-than-traditional promo video, people have been asking what people outside of our little bubble of Catholicity have to say. Well, here are your answers. Of course, these people have asked for anonymity, so I can't divulge their identities.

• "It's so bad it's pathetic. I would be crying, but I'm laughing at the stupidity and blindness of those who made this video."
• "This isn't a promotional video for the CMA. It's the death rattle of a dying race of heterodox 'reformers'"
• "This is absolutely disgusting. Is the bishop purposely trying to alienate the various members of his flock? If so, he's doing a great job. He's not getting a single penny from me."
• "Thank God we only have about two and a half more years with this kind of stuff. When will the bishop realize that he and his cronies are stuck in the 1970's? I mean, really, folk/rock music in St. Stan's? Get real."

All I can say is that these people are "relevant."



By the way, the Cleansing Fire Choir, "Schola Ignem," now has 10 members. Thank you to all!

Rochester Diocesan History - WE HAVE A WINNER

Name the 12th Catholic church built in the City of Rochester?

Answers to Bible search below

There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends...One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo, Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "The books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight." Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found. God Bless.

Annunciation on Norton Street

The picture above was one of the architectural sketches of what Annunciation COULD have looked like. Below is what they chose. The ?church? below is not currently used as a Catholic Church. The Annunciation parishioners went back to the first church that was built across the street. It's a wooden church, quite similar to the old St. Helen's on Hinchey Road in Gates.

A DoR priest --can anybody identify him?

Can you name the former diocesan priest that is now with the Fathers of Mercy in Kentucky? He is in the top row, third from the left?

A Tridentine Mass in the early 80s

Pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres 2009

The Association Notre-Dame de Chrétienté organizes every year at Pentecost a pilgrimage from Notre-Dame de Paris to Notre-Dame de Chartres (France): three days to live and build the Christianity of the third millennium.

Covering within three days a distance of approximately 65 miles, the pilgrims walk in chapters. The pilgrimage has about 160 chapters each comprising around fifty pilgrims from all over France and even abroad (USA, Great Britain, Poland, Canada, Spain, etc. ...). Each year, approximately 8,000 to 10,000 pilgrims, walk to the Marian shrine of Chartres, expressing the condition of Christian life which is to be a long pilgrimage and a long walk to paradise...

My fondest wish is that some Rochester kids could go on this pilgrimage. Most of the kids are in their teens and twenties. Do liberals even have pilgrimages? It's sad if they don't. If you want to read a good, informative book, read "Liberalism is a Sin".

Attention Cleansing Fire Choir!

The list of songs to be sung is completed, and my fraternal relation has happily agreed to assist us in our music making and recording.

So, at this point I ask any additional people wishing to sing to email me via the link at the right of the post. As of now, there are about four of us, plus previously mentioned fraternal relation. It would be an immense blessing if even just one more person stepped forth to "glorify God through our music."

I will be emailing all choir volunteers the list of songs we will be recording. Hopefully, before the end of next week, I will be able to send you the actual musical notation for the songs.

Tridentine Latin Mass at Holy Spirit Church

Next Saturday, September 12, there will be a sung Tridentine Latin Mass at Holy Spirit Church at 8 a.m. (yes, 8 a.m.!). Mass will be celebrated by Father Gerard McMahon. Holy Spirit is at 1355 Hatch Road in Webster, at the corner of Plank Road. Any questions, leave them in the combox and I will answer them.
Oremus pro invicem.