Orbis Catholicus Secundus: May 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Catholic Quebec

Always a treat to walk or drive through the old Catholic towns and villages of Quebec.

You see lots of old Catholic buildings. Today, like a shell. One church steeple I followed turned out to now be a nursing home.

Quebec was the crown jewel of North American Catholicism. Small wonder Satan launched his sixties attack here.

The Church will always pay for Her sin. In gold. Jansenism always came back to bite us.

Honestly, the only solution to saving what's left in this land, in my opinion, is the Tridentine Rite. When all else fails, bring out the big guns.

Catholic Culture: Coat-of-Arms for School

This is how it's done, seen in Catholic Quebec.

A pity so many Catholic schools have done away with their arms.

Or new schools that get it wrong.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Ottawa Parliament Cornerstone: Finis Coronat Opus

What is Wrong with This Picture?

Whither the Roman Rite?

This was the entrance hymn at a Mass yours truly just attended.

If you are looking to attract men and boys to church, this is not the solution.

Lions eat meat. So feed them meat.

Teach the Faith with Modern Technologies

Catholic CDs work. Try this at your parish. Seen in Ottawa.

www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org

Arab Christians Persecuted by Arab Muslims

Syria was the cradle of Christianity. Then came the sword of Islam. Here Syrians protest for peace at the Ottawa Parliament. Liberty for persecuted Christians!

Nice Idea for a Cornerstone

Ottawa.

Canadian Church Architecture

Ottawa.

Ottawa Tulip Festival

Every May - over 1,000,000 tulips here, there and everywhere!

Rome Quotes

"If the faith is in imminent peril, prelates ought to be accused by their subjects, even in public."

-St. Thomas Aquinas

Monday, May 28, 2012

What is Wrong with This Picture?

As a kid I was often an altar boy - I watched as clergy sat in the rectory Sunday mornings sipping coffee, while laymen did this.

Anybody out there? Can somebody please stop this nunsense?

Stop the liturgical revolution of the Latin Rite. The Council was already 50 years ago. We have an obligation to protect the Sacred Species, the rites, and the faithful.

No wonder our kids don't believe in the true presence anymore.

As a side note, twice this month I have watched as the host has fallen to the ground while being distributed during Holy Mass. Gee, I guess that's why Redemptionis Sacramentum instructs us that Communion plates are to still be used.

Basta tutto questo scandalo.

Lay Evangelizers

Leadership is a gift from above. So is grace. And wisdom. TV and Internet evangelization is so important today.

Crosier

One word: classic.

Ottawa.

Historic Processional Cross of Hallowed Cathedral of Ottawa

Treasures that witnessed the magnificent Marian Congress of Ottawa in 1948.

Ottawa Parliament Facade: St. George Slaying Satan

Rather wickedly awesome, eh?

Gorgeous Canadian Church Architecture

Finally, an artist capable of Renaissance art.

One does not often see this quality in a North American clerestory.

Hats off to Panzaroni and Son of New York who painted this in parts in New York, and transported it to Gananoque, Canada, in the 1920s.

An imaginary council of great defenders of the dogmas of the Church, supervised by a heavenly senate of saints and prophets, presided over by the Blessed Trinity. All lines of vision converge on the Blessed Sacrament. Around the central axis, deployed in a double layer of semicircles, the whole Church militant and triumphant gathers in contemplation.

The original was done by Raphael in the Vatican in 1509, and measures 16 feet in height and 26 feet 7 inches in width.

The purpose of the council is the justification of a central mystery of Catholic belief, the Sacrament of Transubstantiation. It is entitled, "The Disputation of the Eucharist." Disputation here does not imply a controversial argument, but a fact which is illustrated here.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Gorgeous Canadian Church Architecture

Newly restored!

Church of St. John the Evangelist, Gananoque, Canada.

Overlooking the Gananoque River, this lovely Romanesque edifice was constructed in 1889. Copied from a church in Ireland, this magnificent temple was constructed for the sum of $48,000.

The altar came later. How did this fine carra marble, ornamented with Venetian mosaic and Sienna marble arrive?

In 1921, 52 crates containing some 30 tons of material and sections of the new marble altar arrived on railway cars.

Arriving, too, were the Italian artists and artisans from the Deprato Statuary Company (associated with the Pontifical Institute of Christian Art, Pietrasanta, Italy). Finishing their studio work, they installed this beauty, seen here today.

May pilgrims 500 years from now see and admire this same craftsmanship in this same church and be further inspired to worship the Lord and fall down on their knees in adoration of His majesty. Laus Deo!

Where to Stay at the 1,000 Islands

The Godfrey House Inn, constructed in 1894. Gorgeous Art Nouveau located in Gananoque, Ontario. The period breakfast was a special treat. Truly the best. A bit like staying in a smaller version of the Boldt Castle. Thanks, Sue!

Bicentennial of War of 1812

The old battle sites are still here, along the 1,000 Islands on the St. Lawrence River. Today it is the longest unprotected border in the world. "War, never again war!"