I have received word of the passing of Deacon Thomas Roszkowski of the Archdiocese of Washington.
Here is a link to his bio and funeral information.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let Your perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.
Amen.
The liturgical abuse at St. Teresa continues. Usually, you find one or two but this is the fourth and so we now have liturgical dance taking place during Mass.
The Vatican’s Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship stated in 1994:
Among some peoples, singing is instinctively accompanied by hand-clapping, rhythmic swaying, and dance movements on the part of the participants. Such forms of external expression can have a place in the liturgical actions of these peoples on condition that they are always the expression of true communal prayer of adoration, praise, offering and supplication, and not simply a performance. (Instruction on Inculturation and the Roman Liturgy, 42; italics added)
However, what took place at St. Teresa's on March 10th was a performance. here are some screen shots...and if you watch the video, it takes place at the one hour and fifty-one minute mark.
A few years ago, my pastor informed us that there were to be no blessings given at Communion. This was a mandate from, I believe the USCCB but I know that if I am wrong, I will be correct.
At St. Teresa, it seems that at Communion anyone can give a blessing anyone wanting. Case in point: Sr. Dr. Oralisa Martin was invited up by Msgr. East during Communion to bless anyone who wanted a blessing.
You can see it in the video at about 1:39:30 mark. However, here are some screen captures from the video.
BTW, this sort of blessing took place on March 17th and March 24th, which you can see in the videos posted on YouTube.
In my parish, and probably almost all of the parishes in the Archdiocese, I have been told that the only ones who can give a sermon/homily is an ordained Catholic priest and/or deacon. No lay person. No religious. No one else. I know in my parish, this is strictly enforced.
If you want one of the parish ministries to get up and say a couple of words about themselves, well, that is done after Communion at the time of the parish announcements. No ands, ifs, or buts.
Well it seems that at St. Teresa, someone other than a priest or deacon can give the homily/sermon. And, this has also been done on March 17th. You can see it on their YouTube Channel. Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC0-ZcAj2_k
So, who is this person? Her name is Sr. Dr. Oralisa Martin and runs Oracle Religious Assn in DC, which was established in 1993 according to their website.
Sr. Dr. Martin, based on my reading of her bio, is a religious but I have no idea which order she was a associated with but it was located in LA.
It says that she has moved to "private" vows. You can read all private vows here. So, is she using
the term "Sr." in the religious order sense, or is she using it in the
generic sense, as when the priest says "Sisters and Brothers"? Msgr. East calls her "sister," but again, is she still a member of an order or has she renounced her vows. I am very unclear about it.
In addition, it should be noted that Msgr. East serves as the chaplain of Oracle Religious Association's evangelization and catechetical ministries.
More tomorrow.
A reader has informed me that there has been liturgical abuse happening at one (and there are probably others) DC parish: St. Teresa of Avila.
St. Teresa of Avila is located at 1401 V St., SE Washington, DC. The pastor is Msgr. East.
Looking at the website, it looks like most other parishes. There are Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, there are various ministries to help those in need of food, the men's group, etc. But there is also Liturgical Dance, which always raises my eyebrows.
Looking at their bulletin for March 17th, they have lots of activities - either direct, jointly or simply advertising what others are doing. Some lean to the more "progressive" side.
St. Teresa takes the Gospel and instead of reading it, as it should be, acts it out -- as if it was a play you might see in an elementary school.
Also, the Gospel is read by a lay person and not a priest or deacon, given the fact that there are both on the altar.
Unless, the person doing the Gospel is a deacon, which then shows a disregard for the norms of how a deacon should be clothed on the altar.
Here are some screenshots from their YouTube video:
But, the best is yet to come on liturgical abuse...
And to see the full video, please go here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC0-ZcAj2_k
The Gospel starts about 24 minutes in.
Well, as you can see, they are not quite halfway to the goal of 12 million.
As a reminder, here is what took place on a couple of previous appeals:
The financial goal for the 2021 Annual Appeal was $11.9 million. The amount raised was $10.3 million from just over 20,000.
The 2020 Annual Appeal brought in $10.4 million from over 33,000 donors.
Will they be able to reach their goal?
Will the pool from which they receive donations drop or increase?
Only time will tell, but once again, I have refused to donate.
It has been a while since I took a look at what Deacon Mark Asselin of St. Elizabeth's parish has been up to.
You may remember that he was the Deacon who supported Planned Parenthood on X (formerly Twitter) and then took it down.
Well, after looking through the last few weeks of posting on X, I noticed that he watched Joe "devout catholic" Biden's State of the Union Speech. A huge waste of time, but it is his time.
He commented on a few parts, congratulating him on a few points but conspicuously absent was any criticism of Biden's all out support of abortion.
I wonder why?
Maybe I should contact him and just in case you wish to do so, here is his email: masselin@stelizabethchurchmd.org. BTW, if you do contact him, please -- no curse words, no death threats, etc. Just ask him why?
Last week, The Daily Signal reported that Rachel Carbonneau was invited to a Lifespan Development course at Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C. Carbonneau, who was an English lecturer at the school in the mid 2000s, is the founder of Family Ways, an LGBT-affirming doula company.
Among the topics Carbonneau discussed were her past experiences helping “transgender men.”
“I have some men who have given birth; it’s amazing, we call it seahorse birth. It’s lovely, especially when it’s a water birth,” Carbonneau said in a recording reportedly obtained by The Daily Signal.
To read about CUA's reaction and the rest of the story, please go to LIFESITE News.
Did you know that the Annual Catholic Services Appeal (formerly the Cardinal's Appeal), is now accepting cryptocurrency. Yep, here is what they posted on their website...
This year, the "Cardinal's Appeal" is no more.
Yep, it has a new name: Annual Catholic Services Appeal.
Now, one of the interesting things to note was that last week they had posted both the amount currently donated and the number of families/individuals who had donated. This week, it is gone.
I would urge you not to give. If you wish to give, give directly to your parish or an order serving the parish.
We have a "woke" Cardinal and the only way that he will get the message -- if he ever does -- is to withhold funding.
A 23-year-old upstate New York native who moved to Washington, DC to volunteer for an organization that helps high school students was shot and killed during an attempted robbery in the nation’s capital last week, police and loved ones said.
Recent college graduate Ryan Realbuto was fatally shot Thursday around 10 p.m. when an armed suspect demanded money as he and two friends walked home from a youth gathering at a church, according to family.
The victim hailed from the village of Pittsford, a Rochester suburb, and was a 2023 graduate of St. Bonaventure University. He had been in DC for six months and was working with the Capuchin Franciscan Volunteer Corps.
He volunteered at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, based in Maryland, where he helped at-risk students in a work-study program, his family said.
To read the full story, go to THE NY POST
Rome Newsroom, Jan 20, 2024 / 08:33 am
Bishop Mario Dorsonville of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in southeastern Louisiana, whose ecclesial career spanned nearly four decades, died unexpectedly on Friday evening after serving as bishop of the diocese for less than a year. He was 63.
In a statement on Facebook, the vicar general of the diocese, Father Simon Peter Engurait, wrote that the bishop died on Friday evening at 6:50 p.m. CST “after he gave in to complications arising from recent health problems.”
To read more, go to CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY.
Note: He was part of the Archdiocese of Washington for a number of years, which is why this story is posted.
May he rest in peace.
You can have a listen to Fr. Michael Briese, of the Archdiocese of Washington, reflecting on the bishops of Washington, his work with the poor, his faith and how we take back the Church.
This includes not only the responsibility to uphold the dignity of human life from conception until natural death, but also rights of conscience – particularly for parents – when it comes to refusing vaccines produced or tainted by human cells lines derived from direct abortions.
Shamefully, ADW does not afford this freedom of conscience to families within its jurisdiction. For two decades, families requesting exemptions for morally objectionable vaccines – or any others – have been consistently denied admittance to archdiocesan Catholic schools. This McCarrick-era policy has been perpetuated by ADW with disturbing fidelity.
But the archdiocese is in conflict with its own Catholic identity in more ways than one.
To continue, go to LIFESITE NEWS.
