First Public Mass in the Diocese of Regensberg

Edit: Why not have it on Sunday?

Diocese of Regensburg is a great sign of the importance of public services: Dean Jeschner in Eschenbach celebrates the first public Mass shortly after midnight!

Regensburg (kath.net/pm)  Already on the night of Monday, May 4th, at 0.05 a.m. Dean Thomas Jeschner will celebrate the first approved Mass with in the parish church of St. Laurentius Eschenbach. This had not been possible since Sunday, March 15th. For seven weeks, services were no longer celebrated with the physical presence of the public and believers. From the moment that this is possible again, it will be carried out immediately.

Dean Jeschner said that the anticipation and joy in the run-up to Mass could be felt enormously, especially among the faithful. "We go into the darkness, in which we felt like we had been sent for weeks, and celebrate our public Mass right here, in the brightly lit church." 

The preparations for Mass meet the requirements of the diocese. In particular the dispensing of the Blessed Sacrament is of great importance here, said Dean Jeschner. The organ will be played, singing should be a bit quieter than in earlier times. The believers present will wear masks anyway. What is Pastor Jeschner most looking forward to? "The meeting with the faithful together in the Mass." The question was asked increasingly, Jeschner explains: "When are we going to celebrate Mass again?" The Dean gladly stated that this wish can now be fulfilled again. 

Background information about the diocese:

Church fellowship is unthinkable without the celebration of the Eucharist. It is precisely Communion that is the foundation of the community in the first place. Church father Augustine summed it up in the words, which at first glance seem somewhat paradoxical: “Receive what you are!” By taking in the body of Christ in everyone in communion, everyone shares in the one body of Christ. 

Last but not least, this is why it is important that services are openly accessible again. Of course, the opening of services is only possible under strict conditions and rules, so that the protection of people continues to be guaranteed. The protection concept of the diocese of Regensburg regulates a lot, but beyond that each parish has to specify the regulations for its own parish area and carry out the measures.

You also have to be a bit creative! - Preparations in the parishes

Father Marek, pastor in the parish of Bogenberg, is concerned about the requirement to limit the number of visitors. How should it be possible to simply reject someone? He says. For the services, there will be a folder at the door to control the number of visitors. However, he hopes that ultimately no one will have to be turned away. Over the past few weeks, he has seen that people's longing for the Sacrifice of the Mass is great. The door had to be locked while he was celebrating Mass, otherwise people would have come in and attended the service. In the parish of Bogenberg, the mass has been broadcast on the Internet since Palm Sunday - this was met with an overwhelming response. Around 500 Easter believers tuned in via the Internet.

Pilgrimage church on the Bogenberg 

In the parish of Herz-Jesu in Selb in the district of Wunsiedel, the churches have already been measured and yellow marking points have been attached. Barriers have been avoided to keep the atmosphere inviting. There is no need for a concept to regulate the number of visitors in Selb. This is a diaspora area - from a Catholic perspective - and worshipers would not exceed the specified maximum numbers. In summer, other visitors could stand on the church square and follow the service through the open church door. Pastor Johann Klier says: “You also have to be a bit creative. It is important that the faithful can come again to the service. ”The first public mass of the parish of Sacred Heart in Selb will take place on May 10th.

The parish of St. Augustine in Viechtach is also well prepared for the reopening of services. Hygiene items such as stands for disinfectants, gloves and masks are already foreseen. Pastor Dr. Werner Konrad has drawn up a draft for specific rules of conduct. The places in the churches are measured. In St. Augustine, too, there will initially be no registration system for the services: "We will try it first," said Pastor Konrad, because due to the special situation, he does not expect so many visitors to the service at first. From a musical point of view, the services are to be increasingly instrumental and with solo singing. 

Photo: (c) Diocese of Regensburg

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

The Devil Knows What We Need: The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass -- Do the Bishops Know?

Demons are compelled in certain moments of the Exoricism to tell the truth.

Don Villa reveals his experience with Satan in a video that has been viewed 300,000 times on Youtube alone. At a time when people are turning their backs on the Church because they no longer believe in the Devil at first and no longer believe in God in the next step, Don Villa recalls the reality of the supernatural in a sermon.

Don Villa was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Milan in 1970. Since 2012, he has been one of the twelve exorcists appointed by the Archdiocese. Cardinal Angelo Scola, who was first Patriarch of Venice, was appointed Archbishop of Milan by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 (he was made emeritus by Pope Francis at the age of 75 in 2017). Right at the beginning of his term in Milan, he doubled the number of exorcists.

Until his vocation, Don Villa was the pastor of a small Lombard town of 20,000 inhabitants. There he still looks after the two parishes and at the same time acts as an exorcist in the spiritual struggle against the devil.

"It is a spiritual struggle against the devil. It's not for the faint-hearted.'

Demand for exorcisms is growing sharply. In Italy alone, they have tripled in the past decade. The Devil's instruments are "vulgarity, threat and violence". At certain moments of exorcism, however, the Devil is compelled to tell the truth. In these moments he had to reveal the "catechism" of God. This is hardly surprising, because this was already the case in the encounter between the Devil and Jesus, the first exorcist.

"Exorcism was an essential part of His public ministry: Jesus' encounters with demons, the temptation by the devil, His power to cast out demons and resist the Devil are reported in the Gospels."

Demons are sometimes the only witnesses who publicly acknowledge the Messiah in Jesus because they are forced to reveal the truth. At the beginning of the Gospel of Mark, in a synagogue, an unclean spirit who is in a man shouts at Jesus with the words:

"What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to ruin us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God" (Mk 1:24).

Jesus commanded him to leave the man;

"The unclean spirit dragged the man back and forth, and left him with a loud cry" (Mk 1:26)

The demons were afraid of Jesus, according to Don Villa, because they knew that He had power.

Exorcism changes the lives of the possessed or the resettled, but Don Villa describes how the revelations of demons have also changed his own life. In exorcism, a direct confrontation of the demon with the exorcist often happens. He tries to attack and expose the priest in his human weakness.

Thus a demon testified:

"You (priests) are in a hurry when you celebrate Mass. You lift up the piece of bread and immediately go down again because you are in a hurry, because you have more important things to do."

These are harrowing words, says Don Villa, which are a reminder to him as to every priest. The Devil has revealed things that make it impossible for him to celebrate the Mass "as before".

So many books have been written about the liturgy, the exorcist says, and yet there is still a problem. Pope Benedict XVI also addressed it in his recent book "From the Depth of the Heart" when he said that the daily celebration of the Eucharist presupposes a permanent service to God, and that the center of this ministry and thus of priestly life is the Eucharist. According to the Devil, this privileged sacramental relationship between the priesthood and Holy Mass is increasingly underestimated.

It is not an exaggeration, says Don Villa, to say that "the Mass is no longer appreciated".

"We all think that by going to Mass, we give something to God. But it is the sacrifice of Christ, who erases our sins.

When we receive Communion, we receive the body of Christ, who, before the gastric juices decompose, is in us for 8-10 minutes. Do you understand what that means? At this time we are Jesus Tabernacles ... And yet we forget to say thanks to Him before and after the Mass. In the past, people worshipped during this time, including the priests. Today you make a commotion and on to community."

The devil also attacks the priests from another flank:

"You do not understand that Mary, His Mother, and the angels, when you celebrate Mass, are gathered around the altar."

This is how it is, confirms Don Villa, but how rarely are we aware that "at every Mass the whole heaven gathers around the altar".

Don Villa also sees this as the reason why many young people, even if they come from Catholic families and were involved in the parish, do not go to Mass at some point on the grounds that "it doesn't give me anything any more". If the Mass is celebrated with the due reverence, "our thirst will be quenched."

"If God is not served sincerely and reverently, and the holy sacrifice of mass is devalued, we will lose the majesty of God."

"Ironically, at a time when the Church seems to be in permanent confusion, the devil knows what we need: Holy Mass," Patricia Gooding-Williams said in her article on Don Ambrogio Villa for La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana (NBQ).

Text: Giuseppe
Nardi Picture:
Youtube (Screenshot) Video: Cooperatores Veritatis

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Argentine War Hero: Do Penance and Go to Mass

Commander Carbello and Aviation Student

The conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom irrupted in 1982 on April 2nd.  It's been 10 years since a British task force arrived to retake those remote islands.   The most significant opponents this task force faced was the Argentinian Air Force whose attacks cost them dearly and may have made their efforts untenable at last.

One Air Commander Pablo Carballo, former A-4B pilot (Argentinian Air Force) who flew the mission which destroyed HMS Coventry [Thanks to reader for correction]  with Commander Carlos Rinke on May 4th in 1982, was one of those threats.

This accomplishment, whatever one's national sympathies are, is a tribute to the professionalism and dedication of Argentine aviators and ground crew.  It is especially a tribute to  those who flew those dangerous missions in the face of death.  Yet what is most impressive about the man who dealt the British task force a terrible blow, Commander Carballo, who is something of a war hero in Argentina, is his dedication to the Catholic Faith.

What does he say to the young men who look up to him?

Man, you want to truly honour me? Go to a church, look for a priest, confess your sins, and attend Mass

Holy Father Saying Mass Ad Orientem: Video

Edit: was over at the Accion Liturgica blog thanking them and I was attracted for some reason to a site in their blogroll.  It was Hoc Signo where I picked up this beautiful footage of the Holy Father saying a High Mass in the Sistine Chapel ad orientem [facing God in the tabernacle to the east]. He is celebrating the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which is in the New Calendar, last Sunday.  This is something that we never imagined even in our most beautiful dreams of the Holy Father offering Mass with such gravitas and piety.

The choir is magnificent.

The visual quality improves significantly, so be patient or fast forward.

The Old Mass -- And Many Chicaneries: SSPX Numbers in Germany

Three years after 'Summuorum Pontificum' the German traditionalists are still outdistanced by the Society of Saint Pius X which is by far the best.

[kreuz.net] In Germany there are 133 locations, at which the Old Mass is celebrated. The website 'paixliturgique.at' reported on the numbers, which have been published by the organization 'Pro Missa Tridentina'.

58 locations are only celebrated during the week -- without Sundays. That is 43 percent of all the official listed possibilities for participating in the Old Liturgy.

On a further 26 locations celebrate -- therefore 19.5 Percent - have the Old Mass from time to time on one Sunday or not regularly on every Sunday.

A further 19 Mass locations -- 14 Percent -- have merely a Sunday Mas sin the Old Rite. These will be celebrated on times that are not appropriate for families.

Such times are after 9 O'Clock in the mornings or in the afternoons.

The number of the locations, where the Mass is celebrated every Sunday, weekly and on family-friendly times are limited to thirty of the total 133 Mass locations. That is around 22.5%.

The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X has fifty Mass locations.

On 43 Mass locations, there are regular Sunday and workday Masses.

In the past the German Bishops were happy with the expectant excitement of the believers are expected, in order to impede permission to the Old Mass.

Actually, the experience after 'Summorum Pontificum' has shown that this has been a bogeyman.

For this reason 'paixliturgique.at' has tried to encourage Senior Bishops, to finally implement 'Summorum Pontificum'.

The Organization recalled a survey of the Institute 'Harris Interactive' from February 2010, whereupon it indicated a great potential for the Faithful, who are interested in the Old Liturgy:

"44 Percent of regular church-goers of the Ordinary Form were in fact willing to visit the traditional Mass at least once in the Month."

© Bild: birmingham_lms_rep, CC