Te Deum

It is a pious custom for Holy Mother Church to sing the hymn Te Deum at the conclusion of the calendar year. A hymn of thanksgiving, praise, and petition to God, it has been and continues to be used throughout the Church for several occasions, liturgically-based or otherwise. Although its origin is disputed, its earliest composition is believed to be in the late 4th century AD.

We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord. 
All the earth doth worship Thee, the Father everlasting. 
To Thee all Angels cry aloud: the Heavens and all the powers therein. 
To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Sabaoth; 
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy Glory. 
The glorious company of the Apostles praise Thee. 
The godly fellowship of the Prophets praise Thee. 
The noble army of Martyrs praise Thee. 
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge Thee; 
The Father of an infinite Majesty; 
Thine honourable, true, and only Son; 
Also the Holy Ghost: the Comforter. 

Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ. 
Thou art the everlasting  Son of the Father. 
When Thou tookest upon Thee to deliver man: Thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb. 
When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, Thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. 
Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father. 
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge. 
We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood. 
Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in glory everlasting. 

O Lord, save Thy people: and bless Thine heritage. 
Govern them and lift them up for ever. 
Day by day we magnify Thee; and we worship Thy Name, ever world without end. 
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin. 
O Lord, have mercy upon us. 
O Lord, let Thy mercy lighten upon us: as our trust is in Thee. 
O Lord, in Thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.

On this last day of the calendar year, let us thank God for the good - and bad - times this year has given us, for they were all opportunities to further our relationship with Him. 

Sung Latin Mass for the Feast of St. Thomas Becket in Toronto

This Saturday, for the feast of the Martyr, St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, there will be a Sung Latin Mass at St. Mary's church in the west end of Toronto, located on Davenport Road. 

Mass will start at 9 a.m., and there will be parking on the immediate side streets surrounding the lovely church. 

Once again, this Mass has been organized by the Toronto Traditional Mass Society, which also provide the excellent music. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. 

Let your family, friends, and fellow Catholics know about this Mass. Perhaps you may even know someone who is searching for the Truth, who may wish to come? 

Happy and Blessed Christmas, and see you Saturday at Mass!

Photos from Toronto's Sung Latin Mass for the Feast of St. Stephen

The Sanctuary of St. Mary's

Dear readers, here are a few photographs of the beautiful Missa Cantata that was offered by Fr. Kazimierz Brzozowski of St. Mary's (Polish) Catholic church, this morning, in the west end of Toronto. The Mass was organized by the Toronto Traditional Mass Society-Una Voce Toronto (who also provided the lovely music). 

Please continue your support of the Toronto Traditional Mass Society-Una Voce Toronto. There will be another Mass on the Feast of St. Thomas Becket, at 9.a.m. at St. Mary's. Further information to come. 

The High Altar before Mass

The Gospel

The Sermon

The Offertory

The Canon of the Mass

The Absolution before Holy Communion

ECCE AGNUS DEI

The Final Blessing

The Last Gospel

[All photos are copyright Toronto Catholic Witness 2018. You are free to use them, but you must credit this blog]

SUNG LATIN MASS for THE FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN in TORONTO

Tomorrow, on the Feast of the Protomartyr, St. Stephen, there will be a Sung Latin Mass at St. Mary's church in the west end of Toronto. 

Mass will start at 9 a.m., and there will be parking on the immediate side streets surrounding the lovely church. 

Once again, this Mass has been organized by the Toronto Traditional Mass Society, which also provide the excellent music. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. 

Let your family, friends, and fellow Catholics know about this Mass. Perhaps you may even know someone who is searching for the Truth, who may wish to come? 

Happy and Blessed Christmas, and see you tomorrow at Mass!

A Blessed Christmas to all Readers in 2018

Dear friends, on this Eve of Christmas, may you and your loved ones, be blessed by the Baby Jesus who came in poverty and obscurity to save us. 

May He, who lay in a Manger, find a welcoming, resting place in our hearts. 

Toronto area Catholics! ~ Sung Latin Mass for Ember Saturday in Advent

This Saturday, December 22 at 9:00 am., there will be a sung Mass according to the Missal of 1962. The Mass will be for the Ember Saturday in Advent with its multiple prophetic Lessons and Graduals and the Canticle of the Three Children. 

We thank again Fr. Kazimierz Brzozowski of St. Mary's Polish Catholic church, and the Toronto Traditional Mass Society for organizing the Mass, and providing the music. 

Do "Novus Ordo" Catholics even have souls?

"The problem with a number of traditional Catholics; they almost don't believe that Novus Ordo people have souls"

Bishop Richard Williamson  

A few years ago, Bishop Richard Williamson rhetorically asked that very question of so-called "traditionalists". The temptation to phariseeism and gnosticism takes many forms; where an elitism exists, there usually is a form of gnosticism. The Devil never rests, and he knows that he can easily drag into Hell those who may have the "Faith", but lack charity. Pride, the cardinal vice, drives this horrible spiritual disease.

In the following address, Bishop Williamson admonishes the lay faithful to humility, to charity, and to love of fellow Catholics.

Just the other day, I received the following in the combox.  It seems to typify the hatred, the rage, the phariseeism of far too many: 

Anonymous said... 

yeah - no wonder 50s catholicism is so repulsive to you - no sex, drugs, 'n rock'n roll. Really what spirit would lead men to call themselves after insects or inanimate objects like "doors"? Are these bands of angels? Or are these bands of demons and their doors nothing but another entryway into hell? 

Physician heal thyself!

No, I will not presume to dare to sit on the Judgement Seat of Jesus Christ on the state of Jim Morrison's soul, and refer to him as a "demon" (or that of any other man). Did not our Blessed Mother keep encouraging us to pray for sinners? Well, this seems to have been forgotten. Please offer a prayer that Jim repented and is now in Purgatory. 

But this rage is not just against broken souls who did not have the incredible blessing of having Catholic parents. It even extends to the spewing of hatred towards "novus ordo" bishops, such as the recently deceased, saintly, Bishop Robert Morlino. Bishop Morlino, was much maligned, but those who follow Jesus Christ, usually are. May the holy Bishop be in Heaven by this Christmas. Please pray for his noble and holy soul. 

Vox Cantoris, reports on various, self-appointed (lay of course - just where do they get their "authority"?) Catholics all lashing out at each other, each eager to expose the next heretic. 

This is what we have come to: those who are not part of a given Pharisaical sect, are thrown out as mere rubbish. What is completely forgotten is that Jesus Christ came for sinners. 

Please pray for these deluded souls. And please offer up a prayer for the souls in Purgatory and for sinners (myself included). Finally, please pray for the Pope. It is only when we are confirmed in the Faith, that we will have healing.  Until then, we need to get to Mass, to pray, and to avoid any of these spiritual poisons that the devil is spreading to destroy, confuse and lead souls to Hell. 

Rorate Mass ~ the beauty of an early morning Mass by candlelight in Toronto

Early, this morning, about 60 Catholics assisted at a Sung Rorate Mass according to the Missal of 1962. 

The church, in darkness, was lit only by the numerous candles beautifully placed on the Altar, in the Sanctuary and throughout the church. 

Catholics thank Fr. Kazimierz Bzorzowski of St. Marys Polish Catholic church, for offering the Mass, and the Toronto Traditional Mass Society for organizing the Mass, as well as providing the music. God bless all. 

The Sanctuary, after Mass.

Attention Toronto Catholics ~ RORATE LATIN MASS on December 15th !

Tomorrow, on Saturday, December 15, the Votive Mass of Our Lady In Advent, also known as the Rorate Mass from the first word of the Introit will be offered at 7:00 a.m., at St. Mary's Polish Catholic church (1996 Davenport Road) in the west end of Toronto. 

Tradition is that the Mass begins in the early morning hours before dawn and ends as the sun breaks, from darkness into light.

This Mass is being organized by the excellent Toronto Traditional Mass Society. Please keep them in your prayers. 

Catholic "Counter Revolutionaries" ~ a Musical Tribute!

Music soothes the savage soul; it can even soothe the soul of the "counter revolutionary", who really is an evolutionary, liberal protestant at heart. No Pope (except when it suits them), no Mass (unless it is the Mass they like), no Church (unless it is the "church" of their liking). 

What musical tribute is fitting? I originally thought of The Beatles' "Revolution". However, I have settled on a more subtle tribute by The Doors, "Touch Me". 

One might ask the counter-revolutionary: "what was that promise that you made"?

"Can't you see, that I am not afraid"!!

Friends, why this particular tribute? Simply because returning to the 50s, will take us straight back to the 60s. 

Perhaps, after viewing this video, our dear counter-revolutionaries may be more inclined to Birtwhistle's, Panic? 

RORATE MASS for ADVENT ~ Attention Toronto area Catholics!

This Saturday, December 15, the Votive Mass of Our Lady In Advent, also known as the Rorate Mass from the first word of the Introit will be offered at 7:00 a.m., at St. Mary's Polish Catholic church (1996 Davenport Road) in the west end of Toronto. Tradition is that the Mass begins in the early morning hours before dawn and ends as the sun breaks, from darkness into light.

This Mass is being organized by the Toronto Traditional Mass Society. Please keep them in your prayers. 

Fifties Catholicism is a Dangerous Seduction for so-called "Traditionalists"

There are those who wish to return to some form of fifties Catholicism, thinking that a return to the mere externals of worship prevalent at that time will bring a revitalization. Not a chance. It did not work back then, and it will not work today. The culture has changed; and it is always changing. We can no more go back to 1955, then Catholics during the Council of Trent could return to the Church of Aquinas. 

It is a question of radical evangelization at the moment in time, and moving this into the future. It is a question of doctrine, and living that doctrine, not time travel. Do you wish to know the name of a priest who was a real missionary, a real fighter, a real counter-culturalist? St. Maximilian Kolbe. Yet it was this radically militant priest, who was able, in that hellhole of Auschwitz, to achieve the impossible: ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est... and thus save the souls of the doomed men. Radical Catholicism has that divine ability to spread true love where hatred exists! Yet this same man would no doubt be suspended from the priesthood if he were alive today. Doubt it? Read his writings! Study his life!

An even greater danger is that this neo-fifties Catholicism is a delusional re-creation of a pseudo-fifties. What some wish to reconstruct is actually even worse than what existed in the fifties, for it is a caricature. One certainly can understand why some seek the all elusive (so they think) doctrinal solidity of the 1950s, but a review of the facts does not support this. Catholics who have carefully read Bishop Sheen's "Three to be Married" (written in 1949), are aware that the late archbishop lamented the explosion of infidelity! So much for the 1950s being something to hold up as an example. All the rot that exploded after the Council was there. In fact, the 1950s themselves, did not appear out of nowhere. The 50s were a product of 500 years of protestantism and 200 years of liberalism. 

It is not even a question of the "Mass" (namely, the Tridentine Mass). It is a question of doctrine, of Truth. Of living the doctrine, living the Mass. Let us remember: the innovators all said the Latin Mass, the abusers in the 40s and 50s, all said the Latin Mass. The Catholics who all came out in favour of the Pill, and started to use it: all went to the Latin Mass. But society was organized against the Mass, and they breathed the poison in because they wanted the luxury and easiness of modern life. 

If we really want to be counter revolutionary, we are going to have to start a revolution in our spiritual lives. That means, firstly to seek humility and live with charity. That means ridding our religious lives of political overtones, of "party" politics (e.g. "I am for Paul, I am for Appollos..."), of affectations becoming fetishes. It means an end to backbiting, scandal mongering, name calling... 

As St. John of the Cross warned: "Bridle your tongue and your thoughts very much, direct your affection habitually toward God, and your spirit will be divinely enkindled"

Sung Traditional Latin Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Tomorrow, on December 8th, at 9 a.m., there will be a Missa Cantata according to the Roman Missal of 1962, to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at St. Mary's Polish Catholic church (1996 Davenport Road) in the west end of Toronto. 

It is the first of three Latin Masses organized by The Toronto Traditional Mass Society.

All three Masses will be at St. Mary's Polish Catholic Church. Please visit the TTMS website and keep her organizers and volunteers in your prayers. 

Bishop Robert Morlino's loving heart for those who hate Christ

St. Paul confronted the forces of darkness in the ancient world. Without knowledge of the True God, man turns to debauchery. St. Paul wrote of  godlessness as the root cause of sexual perversion; be it in Rome or Thessalonica. In the modern world, the explosion of sexual immorality has the exact same cause. In a word, modern man, is godless. Thus, he turns to the demonic. 

Pope Leo XIII once write that those who had the Truth and threw it away have succumbed to a form of spiritual madness. That t hey were even worse than the pagans of old. Only a madman would throw the Truth away. We have gone mad. 

Witness presents to viewers, Bishop Robert Morlino lovingly praying for even the worst haters of Our Lord. Perhaps one, two of these poor, sad people were converted  after seeing the Bishop's Witness? 

Please pray for the repose of the holy, noble soul of Bishop Morlino. We have reason to believe he may well be in Paradise. Those prayers will not go to waste. God knows how best to dispose of our prayers. 

Let us pray for the conversion of those deluded, maddened souls. Bishop Morlino could expect from a Catholic nothing less. 

Bishop Robert Morlino: a holy, compassionate and prudent Pastor of Souls

Dear friends, tomorrow is the Funeral Mass of His Excellency, Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wisconsin. 

The bishop fought the good fight, he ran the race. Now, let us pray his sins are cleansed, and that he enters the House of the Father before Christmas. 

Please continue to pray for the repose of the noble, holy, kind, manly, and gentle soul of Bishop Morlino. You will notice friends, that the bishop was discerning; a man of prudence and compassion. He knew that turning a ship around was a long and arduous task; that if, done too recklessly, will lead to shipwreck. Bishop Morlino, was a good captain of the ship of souls that he was asked to guide through the storm. 

Please also pray for lost souls. Souls who hate the Church, Christ and His teachings. 

Bishop Morlino publicly prayed for such people, calling down the peace of Christ upon them. Let us heed the saintly bishop's call to love, even our enemies, just as Christ did. 

"Peace be with you, and I mean all of you" Bishop Robert Morlino.