Tuesday, January 20, 2015

THIS SUNDAY: A REPORT

The above is a picture of a lay person giving a testimony during the time reserved for the homily last February.
She was personally invited to the pulpit by Archbishop Apuron whose homily was little more than another ad for the Neocatechumenal Way. 
Cathedral. Jan 18, 2015. 7:30AM Mass. 
Fr. Tom McGrath was the main celebrant. He was joined by Msgr. Quitugua, the VG. NCW testimonies were given at the end of Mass and before the final blessing. (Apparently this was also the case at the Saturday, 6:30pm Mass. Fr. Tom celebrant, Msgr. David concelebrant.)

The report only says that Fr. Tom was "joined" by Msgr. Quitugua. If Msgr. Quitugua was on the altar during Mass then we must assume that he was concelebrating with Fr. Tom. We must first ask why was Msgr. Quitugua concelebrating with Fr. Tom? We know why. Msgr. Quitugua was there to make sure that the Neo-ad would get in. He had to be sure that Fr. Tom would not forget, or horrors, actually obey the authority of the church and let the neos do their ad AFTER Mass. Well as we know, we can't have good priests like Fr. Tom actually just obeying Rome all on their own. So Msgr. David, the Vicar General, the priest whose office to which the laws of the church are uniquely entrusted, had to be there to make sure the laws of the church relative to announcements at Mass were BROKEN since no one would probably stick around after Mass for the neo-plug. 

There is more to note about this. Apparently Msgr. Q was a bit queazy about any appearance of a serious violation of liturgical nomrs in the presence of Fr. Tom, so the neo-ad was moved to the end of Mass rather than at the homily where the archbishop himself permits it. And there is also the question of Msgr. David's concelebration. Concelebrations are not to be done willy-nilly. They have special meaning and are reserved for special events. Par. 199 of the GIRM notes:
199. Concelebration, which appropriately expresses the unity of the priesthood, of the Sacrifice, and also of the whole People of God, is prescribed by the rite itself for the Ordination of a Bishop and of priests, at the blessing of an abbot, and at the Chrism Mass. Unless the good of the Christian faithful requires or suggests otherwise, concelebration is also recommended at The Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper; The Mass during Councils, meetings of Bishops, and synods; The conventual Mass and the principal Mass in churches and oratories; Masses at any kind of meeting of priests, either secular or religious. 
The are certain exceptions such as when a visiting priest is present who then should be invited to concelebrate, or for other particular occasions, weddings, funerals, anniversaries, etc., but obviously, none of these conditions were present, so unless Fr. Tom himself had requested assistance, there was no cause for concelebration, so it is quite possible that the VG himself transgressed liturgical norms twice: once in inserting himself into an uncalled for concelebration of the Mass, and 2) permitting the neo-ad during Mass. (As already noted, Redemptionis Sacramentum 74 does not permit announcements or testimonies by lay persons during the Mass except for SERIOUS reason.)

Cathedral. Jan. 18, 2015. 9:30AM Mass. 
Msgr. David the VG was the celebrant. Deacon Gus Cepeda was invited to do the neo-ad during the time reserved for the homily. 

This was an interesting twist and shows that Msgr. David the VG knows the liturgical norms he is breaking, he just didn't want to get caught doing it on TV since the 9:30 Mass is broadcast on KUAM and normally live-streamed over the net and could easily be recorded. Since a deacon can give the homily, apparently Msgr. David the VG felt he could have a deacon give the neo-ad during the time reserved for the homily and get away with it. However, there is then the issue of two homilies and two homilists at the same Mass. There is also the issue of any sort of neo-ad, regardless of the fact that it was delivered by a deacon, violating the norms for homilies as found in: 
Can. 767 §1. Among the forms of preaching, the homily, which is part of the liturgy itself and is reserved to a priest or deacon, is preeminent; in the homily the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian life are to be explained from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year.
Hair-splitting neos will try to argue that the invitation to "come and see" (i.e. attend their catechesis) was a theme of the Gospel for that day, but then we run into a big problem. The Catholics in the church at that moment had already responded to the invitation to "come and see". They had come to see their Lord and Savior in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and to be fed by Him in his full Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. There is NOTHING greater to "come and see" than what those Catholics were already there for. And yet our so-called religious leaders persistently interrupt this highest and greatest act of worship to tell us that the real Jesus cannot fully be found in the Holy Sacrifice they are at the moment attending? That they have to funnel themselves out to some dance and bang deal run by a scary little man with a guitar and his own theology? What a shame. What a shame. 

There were similar reports of what happened at Tamuning, Barrigada, and Yigo. All we can do is hold this up for Rome to see (and if you go to the Visitor Log in the Flag Counter you will see that they see). 

However, you who were violated at the Mass you attended have a responsibility for the good of the church (and for your children and your children's children) to write a letter to the pastor of the parish expressing your concerns, disgust, however you want to word it, in detail. Don't use email. Send a hard copy letter and cc the archbishop and the nuncio. Make copies of both the letter and the addressed envelopes. For the nuncio, you can send a scanned copy via email.

Here are the addresses (you'll need to find the one for your parish):

Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron
196 Cuesta San Ramon Ste B, 
Hagåtña, GU 96910-4334

Archbishop Martin Krebs
Apostolic Nunciature
P.O.Box 14044, 112 Queen's Drive,
Wellington, New Zealand
nuntius@ihug.co.nz

Copied below is the relevant norm from Redemptionis Sacramentum which was violated on Sunday at several Masses:
[74.] If the need arises for the gathered faithful to be given instruction or testimony by a layperson in a Church concerning the Christian life, it is altogether preferable that this be done outside Mass. Nevertheless, for serious reasons it is permissible that this type of instruction or testimony be given after the Priest has proclaimed the Prayer after Communion. This should not become a regular practice, however. Furthermore, these instructions and testimony should not be of such a nature that they could be confused with the homily,[156] nor is it permissible to dispense with the homily on their account.




30 comments:

  1. Another communist giving testimony.

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  2. Let's face it men/women giving testimony mostly off center in their personal spiritual life.

    Educated mature wholistic men/women who have meaning,satisfaction, happy, whole lives, simply have no need to act like NCW delusional individual.

    Noticed cult membership only 800. Small number to the catholic population.


    Majority of Catholics now joining together need to become stronger in methodology to prevent the cult from causing further damage. Great damage has already been done but if damage control is implemented today, future damage can be prevented. To allow this to continue is a danger to the church, to the Island, and to our culture.

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    1. You are so right about the Neo cult causing damage here. As much as they want us to believe that they are really concerned about our salvation through Jesus Christ, their motives are becoming more and more clear with each passing day thanks to greater awareness, education, and actions taken by many concerned Catholics. Not only are we making a stand but we are pressing on to make sure the NCW cult here is stopped dead on its track.

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  3. I heard this woman speak last year. Completely off her rocker. AAA pays her a salary to perform this crap. Wake up Guam !

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  4. The place to confess your sins is in the confessional. Please please spare us!! Archbishop, Monsignor David and others please do not market your product. I go to Mass to worship my God, and I do not want it as a source of anger and disgust. Garbage!!!! Catholics speak up, Let us all put a stop to this nonsense.

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  5. At the 1130 mass it was Msgr Q. Presiding with Jucutan concelebratng. Jucutan proclaimed the gospel, Q started the homily then invited up Luis Camacho who did his testimonial. I noticed several people walk out then return afterwards....

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  6. Exactly right! Everyone needs to express their concerns to The Archbishop, Nuncio, Congregation of Divine Worship, ETC. In Yigo we heard exactly what they think of us who are in the parish. A certain Mr. Perez stated that before the neo, he had an infantile faith, and the neo helped him to achieve nirvana, errr I mean adult faith. Funny how It's always the neo and not Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
    And if the purpose of the neo is to help the unchurched, why do they keep coming to our masses? I believe it reveals the true mindset of the neo machine, which is that we, whose ancestors rebuilt the parish churches literally with bare hands after the war. We,who believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and attend a legitimate Roman Catholic Liturgy, have no faith.
    Pardon the analogy, but they are like leaches, trying to suck the life out of the parishes, not unlike edumacations juice sucking, continually using parish resources but not contributing to the life of the parish in any way. It is really starting to irk me that they also go around the village claiming to represent the parish. Fr. Jonathan do you know they are doing this?

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    1. Fr. Jonathan inheireted these problems long before he even showed up in Yigo. I've been a parishoner of OLOL since birth. The Neo arrived to Yigo in the late 90s and has stayed on since. Cut the guy some slack, he just inheireted these problems.

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  7. So tomorrow Queen DIANA will be posting a blog....She heard them say We're Home! Come and listen to what we have to say and spin it!

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  8. It looks like the Guam Neo community needs new members to help finance their "mission". They can only squeeze so much out of the existing members so they have to aggressively recruit from the congregation. I also think that the Sunday collection, donations for special intentions are down drastically because parishioners who are not part of the NCW are being smart about donating their money. This is one way they are expressing their disgust with AAA and his Neo movement. The NCW cannot continue their operations here when it is no longer profitable for them. It has always been about money for Kiko and the top Neo leaders but they want others to believe it's about God. Remember, Jesus Christ ministered to the sick and poor did not demand money from people. He did not pass around a sack or bag like what the Neos do in their weekly celebration of Kiko's mass.

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    1. The cathedral is definitely feeling the pinch financially. The temperature in the Blessed Sacrament chapel is much hotter and the aircon hardly turns on-probably they're doing this to save money.

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  9. Blatant disregard for Liturgical norms defined by the church. Apuron & David usurping the authority of the church, and by their actions make themselves the authority. All this on account of their beloved NCW, Pius and Kiko.

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  10. Is this person's witness more important than the homily which summarizes the living word of God that the priest or bishop should be nourishing the people of God with? AAA & David, we come to listen to the word of God which has the ability to save many people, not the testimony of someone saved by the NCW, especially since their main focus is Pius and Kiko..

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  11. I'm unsure how the cited article in the GIRM suggests that concelebration shouldn't be the norm when there are multiple priests present. Perhaps a little more elaboration on the comment: "Concelebrations are not to be done willy-nilly". In fact, the overall sentiment of Sacrosanctum Concilium, from which the GIRM is derived, was one oriented away from the so-called "private masses" (I know this pertains to the congregation [or lack thereof], but it was duly unheard of to have two priests celebrating one mass prior to the council). All things considered, Msgr. Quitugua is the pastor of the Cathedral parish, and therefore, has a "canonical right" to be present and responsible for all liturgies at the parish. Obviously, I'm not in agreement with the lay testimonies during Holy Mass, but we should be careful about the way we approach particulars, and in this case, the worthiness of concelebration when there are multiple priests present.

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    1. It is interesting that you claim Msgr. Quitugua to be the “pastor”, when in fact his not being the “pastor” was the reason AAA felt he could quickly dismiss Msgr. James without regard to canonical prescripts for the removal of pastors. Pastors have certain right, rectors do not. If Msgr. David is now suddenly the pastor then Msgr. James must be restored to his position of “pastor” - since he was removed without regard to said prescripts.

      Both the GIRM and Canon Law permit concelebration when there are multiple priests present - especially since they are not simply permitted to sit with the congregation (as AAA himself did not long ago - sitting with his community) - however, there were not “multiple priests present”. Msgr. David was there NOT to be “present and responsible” for the liturgy, but to be present and responsible to be sure that the Neo’s had their time. This was obvious to all, and another example of the abuse both of respect for certain law and the people. In fact, given the ulterior motive for his presence at the Mass, perhaps even the Mass itself was abused. But that would comport with the Neo MO, for which everything is their plaything and the GIRM is only “a book of suggestions”. Those are their words - and in fact, Msgr. David was the one credited (by the Dianas) for such an interpretation.

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    2. Thanks for the clarification! I'm not all that caught up on the current issues surrounding the clergy at the cathedral but certainly your blog is the place to begin. Blessings!

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    3. I regularly attend the 7:30 mass at Cathedral and only when Father Tom was off island receiving medical treatment has Monsignor David elebrated mass with the parishioner. Is our "pastor" only interested in his parishioners only when the neos are there....He does not normally concelebrate mass....only when it is a neo event.....

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    4. I also attend the 7:30 masses at Cathedral and it's true. Monsignor David seems to make an appearance only for neo events. Fr. Mike whats-his-name presided once and we got nothing from it. At one point I had to look up -- after being lost in his rambling -- because he stopped speaking. It turns out he got lost in his thought pattern and couldn't think of the next line! It was pretty bad...shameful actually! God bless Fr. Tom. He's the last -- only hope -- of any real spirituality for attendants at CB. Biba Pale Tomas!

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    5. Anon at 10:31 AM, Presbyter Mike Jucutan still struggles with his homilies and we can see that even while saying mass he gets lost from time to time. Heaven help us!

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    6. Did anyone else notice at 7:30 mass at CB that Fr. Tom didn't even start with the Sign of the Cross? He must have been so flustered that the VG was accompanying him that he went directly into the Penitential Rite. Notwithstanding, he is more adherent to the GRIM than even the AAA and every single one of his loonie minions!

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  12. The message is very clear -- there is no respect for our Catholic beliefs. Instead of announcing their invitation to joy to non-believers in the streets, they enter our sacred places of worship to deliver a message that we are not authentic followers of Christ.

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  13. Kenneth San AgustínJanuary 20, 2015 at 9:57 PM

    All this crap during a mass for the Catholic Daughters of America. What another sham! Shame on you VG and to you deacon cepeda. If you all want to play your damn games then by all means go with the deacon to his "ball park" and play there. I personally know quite a few of the Catholic Daughters members and they explicitly mentioned that the extra additive at the end of the homily was such a waste of time and so not, what they came to mass for. Please get your Neocatemanic crap out of our Masses. Unless of course this is how you tricksters are claiming to be a part of the parish masses. Poor taste....

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    1. Catholic Daughters of America, just dry bones like the the rest of us non neos.

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  14. another neo-nazi or shall i better describe as a loose cannon, overly animated (the filipinos call it 'OA' - over acting) and near ranting babble of some other worldly neurotic psychiatric patient.
    there! that's it! they've all been touched in the brain by a bonehead wand.

    so you mean to tell me, even if i make an effort to attend specific masses such as Father Tom for his kindness and soothing presence i take the chance of these neo-monsters taking over to do their 'as seen on TV' endorsements?

    what we need is a really big remote control to change the channel on these toxic neo moonies.

    today at the grocery, one of them approached me with the glazed over eyes of an addict professing i was 'missing out.' DELUSIONAL!!

    i've been missing out since Archbishop Flores passed away. Archie could never fill his shoes.
    i have real hope that Monsignor James, who is a REAL church, a real THEOLOGIAN and a real leader who is beloved and respected as Archbishop Flores was will step into that role.

    in the meantime, we lock arms with each other - one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church. not a church of convenient excuses and pathological fabrications.

    where's that remote?

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  15. I agree that they are entering our places of worship and telling us we are not authentic Catholics.
    It's like another religion altogether. Maybe we should just invite the Baptist to testify on how we can be saved. After 50+ years of attending mass, I now being told that I wasted my time.

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    1. One of the things that really irks me is the thought that many of those who are professing Kiko's way have caused pain and suffering, in some form or other, to family and friends now regard themselves as better Catholics. Let's use the example of a cheating spouse who divorced her faithful husband to be with her lover. She put her children through so much hardship that as adults they continue to struggle with life. The adulterous woman thinks she's closer to God (because she's a Neo) than couples who remain true to their marital vows and do their best to care and provide for their family. SMH

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  16. i did not hear their 'testimonies' bnut the way it is being narrated here, the one's who went to share their testimonies are in the REDITIO stage of their walk. That is normally the time they go out in public and make a testimony to 'inflesh' the Creed (Tradito- a stage in which they receive the creed from the Church) and they give it back embodied in their lives. The Sunday service is the place for testimony. i hope this helps. ( I know, i have been there myself).

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    1. Couldn't they just testify amongst themselves? I mean, I'm sure they'd find a more appreciating audience.

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    2. Isaias, is this a true statement about what the catechist would say?

      "We are the angels of the Lord!", "Jesus Christ is coming with us!", "Seize this opportunity now because it may never come again!"

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    3. Anon at 12:24AM, you'd be surprised even shocked to hear what comes out of the mouth of some of the catechists. They can say things like " Don't think you're going to heaven because your uncle is a priest." Right Corrine?

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