Search This Blog

Thursday, July 9, 2009

TLM '62 does St. John Fisher, St. Thomas More DIRT

Really. It's not on the "Universal calendar" of '62, so John and Tom don't get ZIP WORTH of recognition in the US. Oh, in England they do. But not here.

The pasta fazzoo eaters back in the Vatican then would have thought NOTHING of giving some grenouille eatin' peasant girl, or Sicilian guy who'd had a vision of St. Buonafangulo in his wheaties a whole day to themselves and put it on the Universal calendar. But the anglophone world? It took them around 400 years to get to even acknowledge St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More as Martyrs of the noblest sort -- but do they give them a place on the TLM Universal calendar? HELL NO.

Hey, if any of you spaghetti benders in the Vatican are reading this: CORRECT THIS. John and Tom mean a lot more to me than a "feria" day. These saints are especially important in the English speaking countries, and frankly, should be on the TLM universal calendar - given the go-along-to-get-along types which now infect civil governments everywhere.

The "Our Lady of Perpetual Help" votive Mass was said today. Frankly, I love her as 2nd mom, but John and Tom deserve their snaps and the church owed them better.

8 comments:

Joe said...

Now, isn't the unification of the calendars of the "extraordinary form" and the "ordinary form" one of the points for "mutual enrichment"? Then, of course, John and Tom would have their day - the same one - for celebrations in whichever form ....

I wonder if the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship will get on to this, now that the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei has been eaten up by the Sacred Congregation for Doctrine?

Patricius said...

Ss John Fisher and Thomas More are commemorated on 22nd June in the ordinary calendar - the day of St John Fisher's martyrdom. St Thomas More died on 6th July so it is puzzling as to why 9th July ever featured

gemoftheocean said...

Joe, I can see why the two calendars in a lot of places don't mesh. I can well remember when dubious Saints like Christopher were kicked off the calendar, but also remember that at the same how many others, including my birthday saint, St. Joseph of Cupertino, was kicked off too. Instead of a St. day it was made a "nothing" day.

I guess there were so many Saint days on the old calendar to make up for the fact that otherwise you'd have gotten the same old Sunday readings day after day. And it gave them some variety with the commems. etc.

But the newer [declared, anyway!] Saints got back stabbed. I'm not sure that in some ways the old/new readings could ever be successfully merged. There would be a lot of dislocations. And with the NO Mass you do get a lot more variety, which is good, *overall.* I think from Christmas, through to Pentecost, the variety of readings is pretty good for both types of Mass, but without all the EF Saints, the EF Mass would lose from then to advent.

Patricius: I think it was probably set on the 9th because that was the closest feria with no St. already on the calendar. In this instance the NO does better by them.

---
Overall I think the readings are pretty "even" -- but the NO "wins" after Pentecost.

I DO wish we'd restore some of those octaves.

---
I found the daily Mass readings in the EF form to be exceptionally rich and fulfilling. I think I had one of my best Lents ever.

Jackie Parkes MJ said...

Lost your e-mail Karen..did u come to the Blessed Ray independently of me or did one of my e-mails go atray?
rosary@blueyonder.co.uk

gemoftheocean said...

Oh, Hi Jackie, let me send you an email then you'll have it. Just joking about J. to the Blessed Ray, though I bet one couldn't do better for a spiritual advisor!

swissmiss said...

I agree about the need for a feast day for these great saints. I'm not even a lawyer, but I love St. Thomas More. I almost posted some of his letters to his daughter, Margaret, awhile back.

A very old and large parish around here just changed its name from St. Luke's to St. Thomas More. Which, as much as I like the saint, was sad to see since St. Luke's had been a landmark for a century. This all happened when two parishes merged and they had to pick a new name to appease all. I didn't know why they picked St. Thomas More as a name, but a Carmelite nun from out of town mentioned to me that it was probably because of the law school that is a few blocks away.

Many saints need a place on the calendar. Our family's patron, St. Philomena, used to have a few feast days, now she's got zip. And, why diss the OT saints?

gemoftheocean said...

Swiss: for once the NO did something right in giving these boys their due.

I've also noticed that about the OT saints. The western rites are like "Moses who? Elijah who?" (If memory serves the Sistine Chapel seems to be an exception)

But I have to say the Eastern Rite is refreshing in that it will even have them depicted in the churches as "St. Moses" "St. Elijah" etc. Very nice!

Joe of St. Thérèse said...

The NO Calender for many of the Saints are actually closer to their dates of Matyrdom, it just so happens with all of the Liturgical Madness, the beauty of the NO Calender is often lost because of the guilt by association tactics that many do with the NO.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...