Devout Commemoration of the 3 hours agony of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ

Pope Pius VII, by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, dated 14 February 1815, granted the following indulgences to all the faithful who shall practise the devotion of the Three Hours' Agony, on Good Friday, beginning it after midday, and continuing it for the three hours following, up to that moment in which the memory of our divine Redeemer's death is annually recalled. 

This pious practice may be performed either in public or in private, alone or with others, under the direction of a priest or other sacred minister, or using any pious book that is approved, and meditating, according to each one's ability, on the great sufferings which our Saviour endured during those three hours, and on the seven words he uttered on the cross, or, instead of this, by reciting psalms, hymns or prayers:

• A plenary indulgence to all the faithful who, being truly penitent, after confession and communion, on Holy Thursday, or during Easter-week, shall devoutly pray, for some time, for the intention of his Holiness;
• An indulgence of 200 days to all who, on every Friday of the year, shall, with devotion, recall the memory of our Saviour's agony, and pray devoutly, for some time, in the manner aforesaid;
• A plenary indulgence, once a month, to be gained on the last Friday of every month by all those who, having meditated and prayed, as directed above, on the previous Fridays of the month, and, being truly penitent, after confession and communion, shall pray devoutly, for some time, for the intention of his Holiness.

(Source: Imprimatur 1903 AD, The New Raccolta Or Collection Of Prayers And Good Works, To Which The Sovereign Pontiffs Have Attached Holy Indulgences, pp. 168-169)

Abuses in the Novus Ordo Mass - sacrifice needed?

A member of Pro Tridentina (Malta) wanted to share a correspondence he had with Bro. John-Paul Ignatius Mary, OMSM several years ago. Although Brother Ignatius passed away 5 years ago (this Friday), we thought fitting to publish said correspondence to honour his memory. Obviously some information is now outdated.

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Dear Bro. Ignatius Mary, In Malta, in recent years, the Ordinary Rite of Mass is being abused in various ways, such as: priests behaving irreverently during Mass or cracking jokes, indecent attire (both males and females), no respect for Jesus in the Tabernacle, and awful music (a case in point is a parish that uses erotic music from the Eurovision Song Contest).

In the past, I've spoken to the Archbishop and other priests about this situation but the reaction was from lukewarm to outright derision.

I've stopped attending Mass since last year because it's so irreverent and I feel guilty if I attend as I would be an accomplice in all this. At least, that is how I feel.

What can I do to help in having reverent masses (whether Ordinary or eventually Extraordinary Rite if it will available). I feel at a loss and guilty.

Thank you for your patience.

Konrad (surname withheld for privacy)

Answer below

Dear Konrad,

No matter how irreverent the Mass may be said, there is no justification to stop going to Mass. You are risking your soul to hell by avoiding Mass like this.

You need to get to the Sacrament of Confession to confess your sin and return to the Mass this next weekend. There is no excuse.

These things do not invalidate the Mass. As long as the Mass is valid, Jesus is there. Why do you leave Jesus alone with the abusers?

You need to mortify your pride and instead accept the suffering of having to endure priests who abuse the liturgy and offer that suffering up to God for the conversion of those priests and for your Archbishop.

You are not an accomplice to the abuse for attending Mass. You are not the priest, you are not an altar server, you are a man sitting in the pew who has expressed his concern to the authorities. There is no complicity.

But, you disobey God to stop going to Mass over this and it is grave sin.

In terms of what to do about this situation, you need to offer up your suffering, pray, write a letter (not verbal communications) to the bishop, and if no response or inadequate response then you can write the Congregation on the Discipline of the Sacraments. In doing these things your responsibility is finished, There is nothing else you can do except to continue to offer up your suffering and to pray.

You do have a right under Canon Law to address these issues with them (Canon 212.2). In that regard Canon Law 214 says that you have a right to participate in the liturgy in accordance with legitimate norms.

When you write the bishop be business-like and factual. Detail the specific things that you believe are in violation of liturgical law and ask that these things be resolved.

If there is no resolution, if you wish, write (sending a copy of letters to and from the Bishop):

Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Cardinal, Prefect
Congregatio de Cultu Divino et Disciplina Sacramentorum
Palazzo delle Congregazioni
Piazza Pio XII, 10
00120 CITTÀ DEL VATICANO
(Vatican City)

• Bro. John-Paul Ignatius Mary

Brief biography: Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r)+ DALC, LTh, DD, CDCP. was born  in October 1955. He was a writer, poet, Deliverance Counselor, Nouthetic Counselor, Catholic Apologist, Theologian, Professor, and Spiritual Director. He held the posts of:

• Dean and Senior Professor, St. Michael Academy for Spiritual Warfare and Deliverance Counseling;
• Provost and Superior, Oblates and Missioners of St. Michael;
• Director, St. Padre Pio Center for Deliverance Counseling;
• Lord Knight of the Cross, Military Fraternity of the Legionnaires of St. Michael.

He lived a monastic life in a hermitage. Brother Ignatius Mary passed peacefully from this life to his eternal reward on 13 December 2019.

Quotes to reflect upon (21)

“A final consideration concerns those faithful who for various reasons choose to attend churches officiated by priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X. This Jubilee Year of Mercy excludes no one. From various quarters, several Brother Bishops have told me of their good faith and sacramental practice, combined however with an uneasy situation from the pastoral standpoint. I trust that in the near future solutions may be found to recover full communion with the priests and superiors of the Fraternity. In the meantime, motivated by the need to respond to the good of these faithful, through my own disposition, I establish that those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins."

Pope Francis' letter on the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Vatican City, 1 September 2015

St. Charles Borromeo on Confession

 

St. Charles Borromeo - one of the patron saints of Pro Tridentina (Malta) - taught the following to his penitents when they went to Confession: 

"Do you wish to know an easy way of exciting yourselves to true sorrow for your sins? Make three little visits: the first above, the second below, the third in the middle. Your visit up above will show you Paradise, which you have renounced for some empty pleasure, for some sinful thought, or word or act. The displeasure that will arise in your heart at the thought of this loss will be good attrition, or imperfect contrition, and in Confession will suffice to wash away your sins.

Your visit below will show you that frightful place in which you would be now if God had exercised His justice - that place where you would for ever suffer the torment of fire, far from your true home, which is Heaven. The sorrow arising from this consideration is also excellent, and sufficient in Confession.

Your third visit will show you Christ crucified and dying for you on Calvary amid pains and insults of every description. The knowledge that the Crucified One is Infinite Goodness Itself, your greatest Benefactor, Whom, instead of loving, you have insulted and crucified, will awaken in your heart sentiments of love and sorrow that will wipe away your sins even before you enter the confessional."