An appeal for Assistance: Support the Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph

(NOTE: THIS APPEAL IS SUSPENDED AS OF OCTOBER 28, 2011. AN UPDATE WILL BE POSTED ON OCTOBER 31, 2011)

AN APPEAL FOR ASSISTANCE from my friends at the Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph, currently based at the Parish of the Lord of Divine Mercy (PLDM) in Quezon City, Philippines (where the above photo was taken), with the support of the President of the International Federation Una Voce, Mr. Leo Darroch.

In 2010, Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph (EDSSJ) became part of Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce (FIUV) the first to be founded and the most internationally prominent group of Roman Catholic laity who are strongly attached to, and promote, the Usus Antiquior of the Roman Rite, also known as "Tridentine Mass", "Traditional Latin Mass" or "Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite", within the canonical norms of the Roman Catholic Church. This made the EDSSJ the first-ever Filipino society to become part of this highly-esteemed organization, which enjoys high-level contacts with the Roman Curia and is known for its fidelity to the Holy See.

This year, for the first time in history, a delegation from the Philippines will go to Rome to attend the General Assembly of FIUV, which will be held on November 5 to 6 in Rome. The opening Mass will be offered in a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica by His Eminence, Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos (President Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy) and those attending the General Assembly will also have the opportunity to meet His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke on November 5. In addition, it is the intention of the Philippine delegation to meet not just the other delegations from the member-associations of Una Voce, but also members of the Traditional Catholic community in Rome. These contacts are absolutely necessary given the difficult climate that continues to exist in parts of the Philippines regarding the Traditional Latin Mass.

However, to make this a reality, we still need to raise (as of the evening of October 26, 2011) some $ 2,800 (two thousand eight hundred US dollars) to finance the airfare (which will take up the lion's share of the costs), lodging, transportation and food of our delegation. The delegation will stay in Rome for 5-6 days to cover the conference on the 5th and 6th of November as well as meetings with Traditional Catholics in the days to follow.

We appeal to your generosity, dear readers, even as time runs short. Those wishing to donate may donate either via paypal (see the Una Voce Philippines blog), or by donating to the following bank accounts:

FOR THOSE IN THE PHILIPPINES

Account name: Carlos Antonio P. Palad

Bank name: Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Acropolis-Libis branch

Account number: 4339-0502-74

Kindly email caloyraj AT yahoo DOT com to inform Mr. Palad of the deposit.

FOR THOSE IN THE UNITED STATES

Account name: Richard Friend

Bank name: Wells Fargo, N.A., California

Account number: 3903416646

Routing number for wire transfer: 121000248

Routing number for direct deposits: 121042882

Please indicate that payment/deposit is for Una Voce - Philippines

As soon as the minimum amount reached is needed, we will inform our readers.

At this point in time, all gifts given to Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph (EDSSJ) will have to be free-will gifts, without tax deductibility. However, donors and their families will be remembered in the Masses and prayers of the EDSSJ, and we are confident that the Lord, Who will not be outdone in generosity, will bestow his blessings upon those who will donate for this necessary action.

Welcome again your Excellency! Farewell Canon Moreau! Welcome Canon Fragelli!

This Sunday (September 18, 2011), St. Margaret Mary's will have the honor of welcoming once again, His Excellency Bishop Salvatore Cordileone (Diocese of Oakland) as he makes his 2nd canonical visitation to our parish (his first visit took place in 2009, see above photo). His Excellency will celebrate a Pontifical Solemn Mass at the Throne (Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite) at 12:30pm. Very timely since just yesterday, September 14, the Catholic Church not only celebrated the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, but also marked the 4th Year anniversary of the implementation of Pope Benedict's "Summorum Pontificum".

At the same time, we bid farewell to Canon Jean Marie Moreau, who for the past three years, has been the Episcopal Delegate for the Rite of 1962 in the Diocese of Oakland. Canon Moreau's new assignment will be at the St. Anthony's Oratory in New Jersey. We welcome our new Institute priest, Canon Henry Fragelli! Canon Fragellie comes to us from St. Mary's Oratory in Wausau, Wisconsin. After the Pontifical Solemn Mass, a special reception will take place at the churchyard of St. Margaret Mary's.

Canon Moreau & Canon Fragelli

during the Knights of Columbus farewell & welcome dinner

held last Sept. 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

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).