Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas Photos and Audio (homily) from Midnight Mass at Assumption Grotto

Elevation of the Precious Blood

Merry Christmas to all of you on this most blessed of days!

Below is a slideshow of photos taken at the Midnight Mass at Assumption Grotto for Christmas.  It was a Solemn High Mass (1962 Missal).  The celebrant and homilist was Fr. Aidan Logan, O.C.s.o.; deacon, Fr. John Bustamante, and subdeacon was Br. Esteban Ybarra

Fr. Perrone directed the Assumption Grotto Choir & Orchestra. The music program for this Christmas season includes Mozart's Mass in C Major.  See more here.  That link also includes information for two more opportunities to hear this Mozart Mass - on December 27, and January 3.

You will also find photos of the "Shepherd's Masses" done after the Midnight Mass by Fr. Perrone, Fr. Logan, and Fr. John.

Two Christmas Homilies (links to audio)


To hear Fr. Logan's homily for this Mass, and Fr. Perrone's Christmas homily, follow this post-link to GrottoCast. The best way to keep up with audio homilies, is to subscribe using the tool in the sidebar at GrottoCast.

Photos


Use the "Play" button to begin the slideshow. It may take a few seconds to begin. To see the slideshow in full screen, click here (n.b. there is an option to turn on captions at the top, along with speed).  To view the pictures individually at your own pace, visit the gallery (please link to this post rather than to the gallery, if you choose to share in social media or blogs).




Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

2015-2016 Christmas Season Orchestral Mass Schedule and More


Below is a snip of the flyer that was in the December 20th bulletin with full Mass and Confession schedule.

Also, if you are on Facebook, there are two events you can follow.  One is for the orchestral Masses during the Christmas season (there are 3), and the other for the 11:00 PM vigil Mass on December 31st for the Solemnity of the Mother of God.  A Pot-Luck, New Year's meal takes place afterwards in the gym.







Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Fr. Perrone's homily from the Second Sunday of Advent

This is a little late getting online, but now available.






Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Two homilies by Fr. Perrone - November 22, and November 29, 2015

My apologies for neglecting this site.  I've been spending most of my time in other areas of the web that get much more traffic, such as Facebook.  Social media has really made it so much easier to share with a single click.

If you don't see me blogging here, you can check Facebook, and simply click the "Follow" button (you may need to log into your account).  I have reduced the number of people I'm approving as "friends" because I've had issues with some who are opportunists look for ways to exploit that friendship (and who have no interest in the topics I do).  So, just hit the "follow" option once you get to my page.

No, it's not the end of blogging for me.  I just have needed to catch up on a number of things and with added work related to uploading homilies weekly, among other new tasks, something has to give now and then.

Here are two homilies by Fr. Perrone.   These were posted in the Assumption Grotto Church Facebook page, and at GrottoCast.com.








Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Fr. Perrone's homily for weekend of 40 Hours Devotion: Holy Eucharist - as rooted in Trinity and Incarnation



This past weekend Assumption Grotto had 40 Hours Devotion. Fr. Perrone spoke on the Holy Eucharist as it is rooted in the dogmas of the Trinity and Incarnation.  It was based on a talk he recently gave to the secular Carmelites who meet at Assumption Grotto during their retreat.

To hear the homily, visit the post covering the November 15, 2015 homily at GrottoCast.

Also, see this post for a backlog of audio that was recently uploaded.



Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

40 Hours Devotion this weekend at Assumption Grotto - Important Notes...



Below is the schedule for 40 Hours Devotion at Assumption Grotto.  It begins Friday following the 7:30 a.m. Mass, with a Eucharistic Procession.  The full schedule can be seen below.  40 Hours Devotion was once a big deal, in most parishes. I encountered it for the first time in my life at Assumption Grotto in 2005.  I continue to recommend the article by Fr. William Saunders, written in 2003, "Forty Hours with Jesus Christ".

Heat anticipated this weekend, but dress in layers...

If you were at Grotto in recent weeks, you may have noticed the chill in the parish church.  That's because there was a breakdown in the boiler that provides us with heat.  I asked Fr. Perrone if we would have heat this weekend, and he said the plan is to have it restored by Friday afternoon.  I know a number of people have been working hard on this.  But, "stuff happens" and, in the event things don't go according to plans, be sure to dress in layers and have something warm.  Mothers with altar boys will want to have pull-over sweaters handy on days they serve, in case the heat is not there.

For the rest of us, it's a good time to remember Colossians 1:24. That passage is the whole basis for the famous "offer it up" many of us heard growing up when having to bear with some kind of discomfort or pain.

It's about what you give

40 Hours Devotion, or any kind of Adoration, isn't about what you get out of it; it's what you give, to God, and to others for whom you pray.  Consider this passage:

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Mt 8:20)
When you sit in Adoration, you give Our Lord your heart as a cushion for his head.  While he needs no consolation, this time given to him, for his sake, is endearing to him the way a mother or father's heart is  warmed when a child snuggles quietly by their side.

This kind of prayer is not without graces.  In fact, it's when you give without looking for something in return - even consolations or good feelings in prayer - that your prayer is so much more efficacious.  Those good feelings come by the grace of God and sometimes he withdraws those to see if we come for ourselves and what we get, or if we come to give when prayer seems so dry.

So, yes, it's a busy weekend - for most people.  There is work to do, games to watch, the comfort of a warm home on a cold, fall day.  But, can you find one hour on one or more of these three days to give him?  It runs until 8:30 PM Friday and Saturday, and opens very early.  There are many opportunities throughout the day.  Can your schedule on Sunday handle a change to fit in the closing ceremony and procession?

Some Masses will be at side altars, like Saturday morning.  Usually, these are at the Sacred Heart altar.  You'll know by observing which altar is prepared, and where the candles are lit before Mass.  



Recently, the backlog of audio homilies was cleared.  See the post at GrottoCast to see which homilies have been uploaded.



Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Backlog of audio homilies uploaded to GrottoCast; 40 Hours Devotion next weekend

Yesterday, I caught up with the backlog of Fr. Perrone's audio homilies and all have been uploaded through yesterday's homily from the 9:30 a.m. Mass.  See the post at GrottoCast.


40 Hours Devotion

Also, take note that next Sunday, the Mass using the 1962 Missal moves to Noon for that day only, because of the closing of 40 Hours Devotion.  The 9:30 a.m. Mass will be in the new form, in Latin.  The choir will also be singing at the Noon Mass instead of the 9:30.  Fr. Perrone has gone to great lengths to promote this old Eucharistic gem that is called, 40 Hours Devotion.  Fr. William Saunders wrote a beautiful article on it in the Arlington Catholic Herald in 2003.  You can see one excerpt from that in the flyer below, which also contains the schedule.  Try to come.  Bring the family, or come in shifts.  There is no sign-up.  It has been dependent on people trickling in throughout morning, day, and evening.  Click the image to enlarge.





Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Photos: Solemn High Requiem Mass for All Souls


The catafalque, representing the faithful departed, is seen in the foreground
during the prayers at the foot of the altar.


At 7:30 a.m. today, a Solemn High Requiem Mass was celebrated for All Souls, while a visiting priest celebrated at the Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Priests may celebrate three Masses today, which each of the priests will have done today.  There is still a 7:00 p.m. Mass tonight.

Propers used for the three Masses can be found here.

A few photos follow with many more in the gallery link.  I would appreciate a link to this post even though the full set of pictures are in a gallery at my Smugmug account.  This has information that goes with the photos.

First, here are one of three photos in the gallery of the Mass at the Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  That young altar boy toughed out three consecutive Masses there.  
















I have found many subtle things in Masses using the 1962 Missal that heighten my sense of worship. Early on, my eyes were drawn to this moment when the celebrant consumes the Body of Christ, with the deacon and subdeacon off to the corners, bowing profoundly.  The gesture speaks to the holiness of consuming Our Lord in the Eucharist, as we observe.


After the Mass, are the Prayers of Absolution at the catafalque.




Holy water…



Incense…







After Prayers of Absolution, a brief exit



Then, after altar boys make further preparations, Father Perrone celebrates his next two Masses. It was explained to people that they could receive Holy Communion at two of the Masses.





These altar boys worked three consecutive Masses, as well.  




The full gallery of photos for All Souls is in this Smugmug gallery.

I recommend reading a brief post by Peter Kwasniewski at the New Liturgical Movement blog: Romano Guardini on Evening, Death, and Eternal Life. 


Side note: The GrottoCast audio homilies are several weeks behind.  I will get to those soon.  Watch for updates. 



Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Archdiocese of Detroit notifies priests about fake Latin Mass Society site in US run by Anthony Perlas {UPDATED]




UPDATE - November 2:
The Archdiocese of Detroit has released a public news release on Anthony Perlas

I've learned that an internal advisory has gone out to priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit about the activities of Anthony Perlas in the metro Detroit area, and his fake "Latin Mass Society" (not to be confused with the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales). I'm also hearing word is traveling among priests now in this area by phone and other means to make sure everyone is aware of the situation.  His social media postings show that he has also been quite active in Ann Arbor, Jackson, Lansing and some other communities that would fall within the Lansing Diocese.  He was previously in LA for a brief period and resided in North Carolina.

Many faces of Anthony Perlas
Anthony Raphael Perlas, who also refers to himself as Anthony "Tridentine," is a photographer who has an interest in photography of models, with an emphasis on young adult women and girls wearing chapel veils, holding rosaries, and other things that are are identified as Catholic.  He mingles among communities who have a love for traditional expressions of Catholicism, having even been trained as an  altar server by the Fraternal Society of Saint Peter (FSSP) in California during a brief period there (see disavowal statement below by Fr. James Fryar, FSSP below).  He moved to Detroit at the end of March and is still residing in the area as of this writing.

He had served at some Masses in southeast Michigan, but from what I have heard, that has not happened in recent weeks.  It is my understanding the local Juventutem chapter asked him not to return to any of their events back in September.  Whether he may be serving at some parish in southeast Michigan, is unknown.

Perlas is operating a pseudo "catholic" photography service that involves a mix of semi-pro/pro models, and unsuspecting young adult Catholic woman and girls wearing chapel veils, or posing with items usually associated with Catholicism.  On Facebook he refers to it as a "Modeling Agency - Catholic Church." He's not promoting Catholicism nor the Traditional Latin Mass, but himself and his interest, or fetish, in veiled women.  He speaks of modesty while engaging in production of porn with those who do nude modeling. Among the models he uses, some are associated with Maxim and Model Mayhem - both known for sexualized photography and/or pornography.  He himself uploaded female soft porn to one of his social media accounts, made public on October 10th, and followed up with portraits of fully clothed females wearing chapel veils in suggestive poses.  The woman who is the "face" of Anthony's phony "Latin Mass Society" he names as Laura Bella Parry - a woman who says in an interview with South East Actors online:


"I do visit LA time to time to visit my fellow actors who made the leap and it is very tempting. I’m actually going out there this weekend to the Playboy Mansion Halloween party, which is always such a blast." (Can't find a date on that interview, but it was likely 2014 because it matches her Tweets at that time)

"Crown Maidens" and "Seal of Seratopia"


He refers to his female subjects - both the semi-pro/pro and unsuspecting Catholic women and girls as "crown maidens", "maidens" and likens them to the various choirs of angels.  He has created what he calls the "Seal of Seratopia".  He has several variations of these seals, adding Nazi swastikas in recent days.  His most recent writings quote Hitler and defend him as a "great man".  He has bleached his hair and has photos of a dagger, which I understand is a replica of one used by the SS.  Variations of this logo have been used on everything from the pornography pictures to portraits of young children, and of course, his veiled young adult women and girls. The one on the right was cropped from one of the pornography photos.





Perlas has an oath that goes with this seal, which states, in part:


From Facebook screen shot taken Oct 31, 2015

There is a blog attached to his main website for Latin Mass Society and in a post entitled, "How to counter 'The Revolution' (Part III)", dated August 5, 2015 which lists "20 Commandments". Particularly disturbing is #13 and #20:


Screen capture, October 31, 2015


Anthony has collection of social media, and a website under the banner of "Latin Mass Society" (again, not to be confused with the fine society of the same name, in England and Wales).  He also uses the name "Seroptics" for some of his accounts.  Other names that may be used in social media include the Tridentine name. And still others, arfperlas.  Please check to see if you are following his Latin Mass Society Facebook page.  There were over 5500 people following it before word began to spread last week of his exploits.  There are now under 4900 as of this writing.  However, with Facebook algorithms, it's possible that you began following it early in the  year, but no longer see posts. Check the pages you "Like" and consider unfollowing his Latin Mass Society page and his Latin Rosary Online page.

Why post on this?  Is it detraction?


We should never divulge the immoral doings of another outside of those who have authority to deal with the matter. The exception is when there is a danger to others.  Church authorities are just now coming to learn about it because people are contacting them about his visible online exploits.

I know a family duped in to using him for portraits of their 14 year old daughter, and under false pretenses where they believed the photographs would be used to promote the Latin Mass.  He allegedly told them he was involved with a particular network on a documentary which was promoting the Latin Mass.  On Facebook, he posted a selfie of himself with this girl pointing out she was home schooled her whole life.  Two days later, she was featured in one of his online "postcards" with strange quotes attributed to her.  This showed up in multiple social media accounts.  Her mother was alerted by numerous people seeing it.  She called and told him to take it down or she was coming after him with everything she had - an approach I suggest other people take with their own, or their child's photo exploited by him.

People have reached out to him going back to his time in California, and prior - priests and lay people.  They are met with being blocked in social media, and hung up on if they call him.  He has to want the help and if he is going to reject that help and continue with these activities, then he is no longer the primary concern - potential victims of his exploits are.  That takes making people aware of what he is doing, what he looks like, and where he is operating.

I am very concerned for Anthony, but my first concern is for those who would get involved with him thinking he is a devout Catholic with a love for traditional expressions of the faith, especially minors.

Public Statement of Father James Fryar, FSSP


Last week, a statement by Father James Fryar, FSSP, in California, hit the public web.  Fr. Fryar appears in some of the videos of online latin rosaries made earlier this year in web chats organized by Anthony.

Click to enlarge

Also, just the other day, Steve Skojec at One Peter Five, went public with his experience with Anthony in an online function.    And, Father Z has also disavowed him.  Perlas has all kinds of things suggesting he has the support of various organizations and people on his websites and social media. Someone may have pointed to some of his finer photographs, and some organizations may have accepted him for what he appeared, at least briefly.  In most cases, you see no sustained relationship with these things he claims support him and his work.  Some concerned Catholics have set up a "Latin Mass Society Hoax" page.

Make no mistake, when one encounters Anthony Perlas in person out of the blue at a parish function, or a young adult event for Catholics, or following Mass, outside an Adoration chapel, he comes across as a charming, devout Catholic who is enthusiastic about the faith and the Latin Mass.  It doesn't take five minutes in perusing his website and Facebook page to see all sorts of red flags.  This may not have been the case just a few months ago when the photos were more benign.  In many cases, people may work with him and never check him out online.  He likes to take selfies with people he meets. Don't do it.

I think Fr. Fryar makes an important point in his statement - don't make assumptions about the women and girls in the photos since we really don't know which ones are fully cooperating (from immodest and immoral modeling angencies) and those who think are looking for a simple portrait shoot, or under the guise of promoting the faith or Latin Mass.

Pray for Anthony Perlas


Anthony Perlas is using things Catholics hold sacred for evil ends.  He clings to his own warped interpretation of Scripture and of Catholic teachings, such as Saint John Paul II's theology, popularly referred to as "theology of the body".  Under his pornography pictures, he cites the late pontiff's teachings to justify uploading photos of female genitalia while also stating he's not objectifying women.

We are all sinners.  Most of us have struggled with one teaching or another at times in our lives.  We can probably all recall things in our past lives that were wrong, unclear, and misguided.

I know one thing for certain: Anthony Perlas is a child of God.  No one should be referring to him as, "a demon," even if some of his exploits appear diabolically influenced.  No human is an angel - not a good angel or a bad angel.  There appear to be great complexities in his life - things a number of priests and men of good will have tried to reach out and help him with.  Some of them are still waiting and hoping for him to take that step to talk to them, to get the help he needs, to make a full and authentic conversion. But it has to start with the closure of all websites and social media used to advance sexualized or pornographic content.  This is true also of his accounts at places like Model Mayhem.  He cannot possibly be taken seriously about Catholic conversion as long as he belongs to sites like that or keeps content online that is suggestive or pornographic.  In fact, he would do well to take his photographic skills, which can be quite good, in another direction, away from these things which would be an occasion of sin for him.

If you have seen his writings, photography, videos, and connections, you'll understand the importance of heeding the suggestion of Jesus:


“This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” (Mk 9:29)

It's easy to love those whom we like; it takes acting on graces to love those whom we don't like, or who commit such overt offenses against God.  If you love Anthony, you will offer penances and prayers for him, and have faith that with God, nothing is impossible.

So, let others know who might be vulnerable if he shows up at some parish, to not use his services, or to follow him in social media. But keep him in your prayers.

(This post has been updated for clarity)



Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Photos from October 2015 Helper's of God's Precious Infants of Michigan prayer vigil with Archbishop Vigneron

A baby's University of Michigan sports outfit hangs on a poll adjacent to the abortion mill
as people pray under the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a Crucifix

This past Saturday, Archbishop Vigneron led the Helpers of God's Precious Infants of Michigan in their fall prayer vigil.  There were so many events going on Saturday here in metro Detroit for Catholics, I was pleasantly surprised with the turn out.  I can't be certain but would estimate approximately 150-200 people were out there praying all decades of the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

It began with Mass at St. Joan of Arc in St. Clair Shores.  I had recorded the homily on my iPhone to capture some excerpts, but it was too difficult to hear from the echo.







Then, a long procession worked it's way from St. Veronica's in Eastpointe down to famed 8 Mile Road, where they crossed over to the island dividing east and westbound traffic.  It was a prayer vigil, not a protest, so there were just Rosaries - lots of them.  It was a beautiful day, and even though these pictures were taken between 8:45 and 10:00 a.m., it was oddly dark as if it was around dawn. The position of the sun is different this year, and I found it difficult to get proper light.





 











To see all of the photos, please follow the link to the my Smugmug Gallery for the October 10, 2015 Helpers prayer vigil.





Visit GrottoCast.com for audio homilies from Assumption Grotto and more.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.