Sunday, August 14, 2011

Procession and prayer of Reparation for a blasphemous art exhibit

Kudos to Fr. Jojo Zerrudo (Diocese of Cubao) and my friends at the Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph - Una Voce Philippines along with various Catholic groups, for spearheading a prayerful procession of reparation last August 14, 2011 for a blasphemous "art exhibit" that combined religious symbols with phallic objects that was displayed (now closed) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Before the procession started, the Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin Mass) was celebrated by Fr. Zerrudo. It was truly remarkable that it had a huge turnout (police estimated more than 500 people were there). The schola from the Parish of the Lord of Divine Mercy in Cubao, Quezon City (PLDM) led the singing of the various litanies while the faithful were walking with beautiful images of our Lord and Blessed Mother at the CCP grounds. One of the more prominent ones was the statue of Our Lady of La Naval which was sent by the Father Prior of the Santo Domingo Convent. Truly, it was a fitting way to honor the feast of Our Lady's Assumption!

Also remarkable was the media coverage of not just one, not two, but three (3!) TV networks (ABS-CBN, ABC-5, GMA-7) and some radio stations (including the Archdiocese of Manila's Radio Veritas). There's also a write-up of the reparation procession on the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines news site.

I would like to acknowledge Dennis Raymond Maturan, Founding Chairman and President of Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph - Una Voce Philippines, for sharing the photos below on facebook.









Fr. Zerrudo being interviewed by the media.










The video below is provided courtesy of GMA-News 7:


For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Photos and video of the 2011 Napa Pontifical Mass

On July 31, 2011, a Solemn Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form was celebrated by his Excellency, Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone (Bishop of Oakland, CA) at the Estate Cave of the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, CA. It was part of a 3-day conference titled "Catholics in the Next America" that was organized by the Napa Institute. The organizers had the blessing of the local ordinary, Bishop Robert Vasa (Diocese of Santa Rosa), where the resort is based. The Pontifical Mass at the faldstool was made possible with the assistance from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and the Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael's Abbey. The Schola came from St. Margaret Mary's Church in Oakland, CA.
Preparations before the Pontifical Mass
This part of the Estate Cave is actually a wine cellar that was converted to a chapel for the purpose of the Pontifical Mass (notice the wine drums!). Although the resort has it's own chapel (see pictures down below) it would really be too small to be used.






I served as the Bugia bearer for this Pontifical Mass

The schola practicing
















Canon William Avis (Rector of the Old St. Patrick Oratory in Kansas, MO) who served as MC1, with Bishop Cordileone.
The Bugia and Book bearers. The two surplices we used were originally made in the Philippines.
St. Margaret Mary's Schola Cantorum
A light moment with Bishop Cordileone during the breakfast buffet that followed.
Yours truly with Bishop Cordileone (the occasion was my very first time to serve at a Pontifical Mass in the EF!)

Mass Program

After the Pontifical Mass ended, I got a chance to walk around the beautiful resort:

The steps leading to the vineyard.

Felt like being in Tuscany, Italy than in Napa!
Entrace to the Estate Cave

Statue of Our Lady right at the center of the resort vineyard.
Awesome views!



I mentioned earlier that the Meritage Resort had it's own Chapel (Our Lady of the Grapes Chapel):





Notice the ad orientem altar.






Here's the sermon given by Bishop Cordileone. My apologies in advance for the poor audio (and some of the blurry video portions due to poor lighting).