Ave Regina

I received a nice call yesterday - there’s a Missa Solemnis on the schedule this Sunday in a parish about two hours from where I live, and they want me to serve. I did, thankfully, have the possibility to go, so I’m on my way now, as we’re going to train with the Altar servers today. I have to be there at 11 AM, so I had to get up at 6 AM to reach the train. Early for a Saturday, but for a nice reason :-) It will be the first Missa Solemnis I’ve served in, so I’m really looking forward to it. A visiting priest from the FSSP will be the Celebrant, the parish priest will be the Deacon, and a seminarian will act as a straw Subdeacon. I think this is the first Missa Solemnis being celebrated in this country since the reforms (including illicit Masses) so it’s really a big event. I’ll post a report afterwards :-)

I still haven’t got to looking at the “new Little Office of The Blessed Virgin Mary which I wrote about in the last post, but I’ll start reciting it as soon as I can and comment on it when I feel I have got a thorough enough impression. Other than that, I’m still enjoying my summer break, but I’m starting to look forward to go back to college. I’m going to take introductory Greek, Dogmatics and a Philosophy subject. Especially Greek is going to be challenging, but as my hypersomnia has lessened I probably will having an easier time studying as I won’t be that prone to falling asleep at the library :-) So all in all I think this will be a good year at college compared to the last couple of years.

I’m being picked up at the train station any moment now, but I’ll post a report on the Mass tomorrow as soon as I have time for it. TTYL :-)

Summer is going on, and it is as usual packed with projects for my part. Last week, I was a leader at a Catholic youth camp, which was wonderful (though exhausting) as usual, and next week I’m having a LAN party for altar servers with one of the priests of my parish. This week I’ve been doing almost nothing except relaxing and playing World of Warcraft. I’ve also got my hands on an iPhone 3G, which exceeds expectations - I’m writing this in an application which connects directly to my blog so I can write articles on the fly without having to use a web browser. Perfect for traveling blogs and so on, as you can post pictures taken with the phone directly without having to bring a laptop or go to an Internet cafe. Typing on the device is somewhat difficult at first, but it corrects most typos automatically, so you get used to it pretty fast.

As to serious business, I’ve just bought the 1988 edition of The Little Office of The Blessed Virgin Mary, which is structured like the post-reform Divine Office, and I will review it as soon as possible. At a first glance it looks great (if you prefer the new form of the Breviary), the book itself looks good and is for the most part practically structured, and for those of you who prefer it, there is a different Office for every day of the week. I’ll get back to it after I’ve recited it for a while.

That’s it for now, hope you’re having a great summer :-)

I’ve had to take a break from blogging the last few months, but I’m finally back. I’ve had some problems with hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness), and the doctors haven’t been able to find a solution until a little while ago, but things are going better and I hope things will normalize soon, preferably before my next school term begins. Please pray for me, I’m feeling better than I have done in a long while, but I’ll need the help of God, our blessed Mother and all the saints to get back to normal.

As I had to take a break from school work, I’ve spent the last few months working on liturgy, which is my main field of interest academically, and also the place I - and hopefully all of us - first and foremost encounter our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As you may know, I’m traditionally inclined, though I’m not a traditionalist - I rejoice in having the priviledge of serving at the Altar in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite (which is celebrated in a worthy and reverent way in my parish), but I also rejoice in the fact that I’m also going to serve in the Extraordinary Form of the same Rite very soon, probably this week. The Gregorian Rite (as Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos now terms it) will probably not be celebrated on a regular basis in my parish yet, as this is for a special occation, but I’m still happy to see Summorum Pontificum making an impact in my parish, and I hope to see this truly extraordinary form of the Roman Rite returning on a more regular basis in time.

I’ve also been following the Holy Father’s activities through other blogs (WDTPRS is my favorite, I recommend setting it as your browser’s homepage immediately if you haven’t done so already), and I’m thrilled to see what he’s doing through his way of celebrating Mass and other Liturgies. Only a few years ago, you’d be suspected of schism or worse if you received Communion kneeling and on the tongue (though many priests would appreciate you doing so, even if they didn’t dare admit it). Just a few weeks ago, on Corpus Christi, we saw people receiving Communion in that way - from the Pope! And this was not a one-time event, he’s been doing that in every Mass he’s celebrated publicly since then. I also love to see the old Altar arrangements coming back (even though Mass is still celebrated versus populum - but hey, you have to start somewhere), how the Pope vests, how old customs, like Cardinal Deacons, are coming back, and so on - the list is long. Through his own practice, he tells the Church not only how Mass should be celebrated, but how the Ordinary Form really can be celebrated in continuity with Tradition, and this is going to have ripple effects in the Church. Through his action, and through his gift of Summorum Pontificum, I think we’ll see a shift of mind in the Church within the next few years, a shift which in many places is sorely needed.

I’ve also had the joy of seeing my sister being united in Holy Matrimony with a wonderful man who truly loves her, the wedding was not Catholic as they are Protestants (I’m a convert), but it was still a beautiful wedding and I truly rejoiced with them as they (as baptized Christians nonetheless) were joined in the Sacrament of Matrimony. They’re actually going on their honeymoon tomorrow :-) Please pray for their marriage and their future children.

Yesterday I had the profound priviledge of serving in a priestly Ordination, the ordinands were two friends of mine and I was really glad to be there. Our Bishop always offers Mass in a truly reverent and solemn way, and the church was packed with attendants. Receiving the newly ordained priests’ First Blessings was a deeply moving moment. May our Mother keep leading them - and us - towards her Son in and through their ministry.

To the more “profane”; iPhone was finally released in my country! The subscription plans are obscurely expensive, but I’ve cancelled my cable TV subscription (I only watch DVD’s anyways) and downgraded my broadband connection (the cheaper alternative is now at the same speed the more expensive one was at only two years ago…), and that should pretty much make up for the difference between my current cell phone plan and the new one. My Windows Smartphone has quit cooperating altogether, so it’s time for a change. I’ve heard the iPhone 3G will have some nice addons for blogging, which I’m looking forward to test.

I’m also progressing in World of Warcraft, of which I must be the most casual player ever, having been thrown out of two casual (!) guilds because I don’t play enough. I quit playing altogether for a couple of months (got bored), but after a break it became fun again, and though I’m progressing slowly, I’ll be getting to level 70 in a little while. I’m in a nice and friendly guild again, but no doubt they’ll kick me sometime for not progressing quickly enough (they’re becoming scarily obsessed about raiding and that’s not a good sign), at that time I may set up a one man guild just for the looks.

Well, that’s it for now, I’ll try posting more often from now on. It seems like this blog is turning in to a more personal-style blog than I planned, but then a purely theological blog would be boring, I think. Please check back for updates, and best wishes from me in the meantime :-)