Rite of reparation held outside CCP

In reparation for the rabbit's ears he placed on Christ the King

The crowd was estimated at 500

In reparation for the wooden penis he stuck on the Crucified's face

Because they profaned your image, we come in reparation.

By the grace of our Lord and our Lady, we were able to push through with the hastily planned procession of reparation around the CCP complex on Sunday, August 14, 2011. The art works of Mideo Cruz which attached a wooden penis on the face of the Crucified Christ, rabbits ears to the head of an image of Christ the King, ink over the eyes of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and condoms on crosses were truly sacrilegious even though the artist justifies it as the free expression of hios view about idolatry in the Church. Due to pressure from the former first lady Imelda Marcos, the founding chairman of the CCP, the CCP board closed to exhibit one week earlier than its sheduled end on the feast of the Assumption of our Lady, 15 August 2011. But even though it was abruptly closed, the exhibit nevertheless dishonored the Lord and so we needed to offer atonement to the Lord.

A private Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite was offered at the secluded portion of the CITEM parking lot 2 hours before the official programme which was scheduled for 4:00 pm. The Mass was attended by our regular Latin Mass goers. Most of the participants of the procession arrived towards the end of the Mass. After the Mass, the procession moved towards and around the CCP building. Images of our Lord, our Lady, and saints were mounted on carrozas, pick-up trucks, carried on shoulders or held by hands. The Father Pior of Sto. Domingo Convent sent the image of the Virgin of the Rosary of La Naval to join the procession. Contingents came from Cavite, Taguig, Rizal, Pasay, Quezon City, Bulacan and other places. Police estimates were at 500 people. The procession concluded with the Rosary and prayers of reparation.

Rite of reparation held outside CCP

An Invitation to Reparation

All are invited to join the PROCESSION OF REPARATION at the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex on Sunday, August 14, 2011, the Vigil of the Assumption. We shall all assemble at the CITEM parking lot of the PNB (along Roxas Boulevard). We shall pass through Roxas Blvd., turn left to Vicente Sotto Avenue, turn right to Magdalena Jalandoni Avenue, turn right to Pedro Bukakeng Avenue, turn right to the CCP facade where we shall end with prayers of reparation and disperse afterwards.

This is not a political rally but purely a religious event. There will be no speeches, just prayers of reparation for the sacrilege of the art exhibit put up in the CCP premises which dishonored the images of our Lord. We request the faithful to bring with you your sacred images or icons. Santeros who have processional images in their care are enjoined to come. You may mount processional images on their carozzas or on pick up trucks. It will be like the triumph of Orthodoxy at the end of the 7th ecumenical council!

Let us all make reparation because our Lord is very much offended! Please spread the news!

Act of Reparation

Crucifixion by Joey Velasco

The Cultural Center of the Philippines closed the sacrilegious exhibit referred to in the former post. Now, we need to make reparation for the dishonor to which our Lord and his Blessed Mother were subjected!

An Act of Reparation

O Jesus, my Savior and Redeemer, Son of the living God. behold we kneel before Thee and offer Thee our reparation; we would make amends for all the blasphemies uttered against Thy holy Name, for all the injuries done to Thee in the Blessed Sacrament, for all the irreverence shown towards Thine immaculate Virgin Mother, for all the calumnies and slanders spoken against Thy spouse, the holy Catholic and Roman Church. O Jesus, who hast said: "If you ask the Father anything in My Name, He will give it to you", we pray and beseech Thee for all the brethren who are in danger of sin; shield them from every temptation to fall away from the true faith; save those who are even now standing on the brink of the abyss; t0 all of them give light and knowledge of the truth, courage and strength for the conflict with evil, perseverance in faith and active charity! For this do we pray, most merciful Jesus, in Thy Name, unto God the Father, with whom Thou livest and reignest in the unity of the Holy Ghost world without end. Amen.

The Raccolta, 100.

Only the devil can think of this!

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

The board of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) on Monday agreed to withdraw an art exhibit that combines religious symbols with phallic objects and which has provoked a heated debate about freedom of expression in the country.

This was disclosed by Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, widow of strongman Ferdinand Marcos and founder of the CCP 40 years ago, in the plenary of the House of Representatives.

The former first lady spoke after hearing the privilege speech of Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing, who condemned the exhibit as sacrilegious and called for the resignation of the CCP board led by its chair, Raul Sunico.

Critics vandalized the art installation last week by removing a wooden penis from a poster depicting Jesus Christ.

Another sculpture showed a penis hanging from a wooden cross while another portrayed Christ as Mickey Mouse.

Mideo Cruz, who crafted the pieces, said the phallic objects were symbols of power.

Marcos said she examined the exhibit of images and figurines of saints and Jesus Christ titled “Kulo” by a group of 30 artists from the University of Sto. Tomas.

She said she went to the CCP in the morning after receiving a letter from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines expressing shock at the exhibit and seeking her intercession in stopping it.

“It was a shameful exhibit, especially so since it was placed in the Cultural Center of the Philippines. We built that to be the sanctuary of the Filipino soul and a monument to the Filipino spirit,” Marcos said.

She said the flag at the CCP symbolized “KKK”—katotohanan, kabutihan and kagandahan—or “the true, the good and the beautiful.”

“After seeing the exhibit I was really shocked because it was not only ugly, it was not true, it was not at all beautiful because there were statues and pictures of saints and Christ with horns and with his penis up and it was really a desecration of a spiritual symbol for Catholics,” Marcos said.

“In fact, even (former) President Marcos had (been depicted with) several penises. But this is the CCP, the sanctuary of the Filipino spirit and a monument of the Filipino soul. This is not at all right. This is ugly and, above all, a desecration of a sacred symbol,” she said.

Marcos said she immediately called Sunico and asked him to take down the exhibit and also spoke with other board members on the phone to ask them to close the exhibit.

“I think I was able to convince the CCP board. The majority of them had decided that they will withdraw and take out the exhibit. It should never happen again,” Marcos said.

In his speech, Bagatsing said he also went to the CPP on Monday but was not able to see the exhibit as it was closed on Monday.

He said the organizations that bestowed awards on Cruz should reconsider and withdraw the awards.

“Where in the world can you see the images of Jesus Christ with a penis? This is sacrilegious. It’s a very obscene exhibit. I don’t think they can call this art. There is a difference between art and insanity,” Bagatsing said.

“Only a sick mind can do this. Only a devil can think of that,” he said later.

Bagatsing filed a resolution that called on the CCP board to resign for allowing “the distasteful and sacrilegious” exhibit.


CCP shuts down controversial exhibit on Imelda Marcos’s prodding

Pastoral Lessons from St. John Vianney

During the Year for Priests, the Church honored St. John Mary Vianney on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his entrance to heaven. Having meditated on his life, I learned important lessons from him which, to my opinion, should once again be considered in present pastoral practice.

1. St. John Vianney's pastoral program consisted in: offering the Mass, hearing confessions, and teaching catechism. In our times when complicated pastoral programs seem to be fashionable - with the elaborate processes of planning and evaluations, the simplicity of St. John's pastoral program brings us to the essentials of pastoral ministry. In pastoral visits, the bishop is bound to be impressed with so many programs that would prove the pastoral capability of the parish priest. However, seldom does the bishop ask about how the parish priest offers the Mass, or how often does he hear confessions in a week, or if he himself teaches catechism. Blessed John Paul II wrote in Nove Millenio Ineunte: "all pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness." (NMI, 30.)The primary objective of the curate is the care of souls. The objective of all pastoral programs is the holiness of the flock.

2. St. John Vianney's ministry in Ars teaches us the value of stability. He took care of one parish until the day of his death. I do not know where the bishops got the idea of changing the priests' assignments every so number of years. They say it is an exercise in detachment and so maybe it really is. But this destroys the essence of the pastorate. "I know my sheep and mine know me," said our Lord. The Lord knows each of us because he can read human hearts. But other pastors like ourselves can't read hearts. It takes time to know the flock...and by the time it happens, the term is almost over. Changing fathers every X number of years destroys the family. Maybe this works for bank managers who get transferred from one branch to another. But parish priests are not managers...they are pastors. I think the mind of the Church is reflected by the fact that bishops are not subject to a term of a determined number of years. We don't change popes after x number of years! We wait for them to die or to resign! There is value in stability because if it were not so, why would Benedictine monks regard this as a fourth vow? I do not question the transfer of priests when needed. But I question the necessity of transferring them after a set number of years.I learned from the late Cardinal Sin the valuable lesson on stability. He used to say: "You do not replace what is not broken."

3. The change in the parish of Ars was tremendous. From a spiritually indifferent community, with three taverns that provided constant entertainment, Ars became a holy parish. From afar, pilgrims came to assist at the Cure's Mass and to make their confessions to him. But more impressive than this is that the Cure became a saint because of this. His fastings and long nights in prayer transformed both the Cure himself and his parish. Although he always thought that the priesthood benefited others and not himself, it sanctified him. It made him a saint. What we need today are holy priests like St. John Vianney. Satan once appeared to him and said that if only there were 3 priests like John Vianney, his kingdom would immediately crumble!

Prayer for Priests

Prayer by the Laity to Obtain the Sanctification of Priests

O Jesus, eternal High Priest, Good Shepherd, Font of Life, who by a special favor of Thy most tender Heart hast given to us our priests in order to accomplish in us those holy ideals with which Thy grace inspires our hearts, let Thy mercy, we beseech Thee, come to the aid of our priests.

Grant them, O Jesus, lively faith in their works, unshakable hope in their trials and fervent charity in their intentions. May Thy word, radiant with eternal Wisdom, become through continual meditation, the never-failing nourishment of their interior life; may the examples of Thy life and Passion be renewed in their conduct and sufferings for our instruction and as a light and consolation in our sorrows.

Grant, O Lord, that our priests, free from all earthly attachments and solicitous for Thy glory alone, may persevere to their last breath in the fulfilment of duty and in purity of conscience. And when in death they deliver into your hands a task well done may they have in Thee, Lord Jesus, their Master on earth, the eternal reward of the crown of justice in the glory of the Saints. Amen.

Pope Pius XII

Pray for Holy Priests on the First Thursday of August, 2011, which is also the Feast of St. John Mary Vianney!

The Self-enclosed Society

In "The Spirit of the Liturgy" then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI) warned us against being a "self-enclosed society" as expressed by a form of worship wherein clergy and laity faced each other. Fr. Ray Blake's Blog has an entry about the Church becoming a self-enclosed society as reflected in the crisis in the Church in Ireland. The only way out of the crisis is by "breaking the magic circle". I don't know how to create the link with his blog and so I hope he will forgive me for reblogging his article:


It is pretty obvious that the Vatican II experiment has failed! The Council that sought to make the Church truly missionary ended up by making it self serving and introspective. Not the Councils intention but in Europe at least it is the result.
Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Austria once the most faithful of Catholic countries have become deserts. George Wiegel, worth reading, looks at Ireland and suggests that even if the number of dioceses are significantly reduced, it is most probably impossible for Ireland to find good native bishops amongst the homegrown sons of Eirin.

The problem is the Magic Circle syndrome, like selecting like, faithful servants of national Churches appointing their faithful servants. It is indeed a circle, symbolised by the post-Concilliar stance at the liturgy, bishops, priests and people looking at one another celebrating, as if it is worth celebrating, their own community. It is self celebrating, self serving. It lacks the faculty of self criticism and self evaluation. Ultimately it lacks direction and vision and is incapable of redirecting itself. It is by its very nature conservative and illiberal and therefore intolerant of criticism. Like any self perpetuating group it easily becomes totalitarian and ultimately unjust.
This we have seen in Ireland, and elsewhere.

Breaking the Circle seems to be a priority, in Ireland it needs to happen now, as Wiegel says.

Some of the Irish clergy, as much in panic or desperation as anything else are suggesting electing bishops by clergy and laity. The problem with that is the most popular candidate is unlikely to be the best. Mandates given can be taken back. Although election by popular acclamation is an ancient model, it only worked when clergy and laity held the faith, or when the Bishop was expected to be a political figure. In Ireland that will merely perpetuate the problem and eventually lead to a schismatic national church, even more self serving than what exists at the moment.

Wiegel suggests sending in foreign Bishops. In the past the lineage of the Catholic Archbishops of Canterbury was peppered by Greeks and Italians, it was not unusual, perhaps it was easier in a Church with a single language. In Ireland it might be a temporary solution. The Pope's solution for Ireland, set out in his letter was first of all a year of penance, a visitation, then a mission be held for all bishops, priests and religious.

It is well worth thinking of this as a solution for other Churches:
Penance reminds us that the solution for our problems lies in Christ and perhaps it is a way of breaking down the sese of we are okay, the problen lies elsewhere.
Visitation is a way of reconnoitering and evaluating the present Church structures, it presumably is about looking for future bishops.
Mission is a way of changing minds and hearts and underscoring the Catholicity of bishops, priests and religious.

The problem with our present structures is that they are essentially feudal, a Bishop is Lord in his own domain, in reality against him there is no appeal, except to a Roman dicastery which is understaffed, often not very efficient and generally dependant on the Bishop's good will. The Bishop's Conference structure was supposed to be a counter to this feudalism but is actually part of the problem.

Perhaps there needs to be a permanent Visitation of dioceses, a group of proven senior foreign bishops, who have an ongoing interest in the local Church, getting to know the local Church, and therefore offer advice on future bishops, being able to offer critical and supportive advice to the bishop, being able act as a court of appeal if necessary, ensuring proper procedures are followed and being able to offer some gentle fraternal correction to the clergy.
There is a need for accountability.

Again a regular Mission to the bishops, clergy and religious also seems a good idea, actually to break through a self approving theology, that often goes for "ongoing formation". Now, we are perhaps in a situation where such a Mission might actually pass on the Catholic faith, rather than some destructive alternative form.
There is a need for an outside voice.

It is about time that we break the magic circle...I think returning to the worship ad orientem will be a good start. It is time to restore liturgy to its original intent as worship of God. We should break the mutual admiration club meeting that we call the new liturgy!