Photo of the Week: San Michele Arcangelo in Pomarico

Grazie mille Andrew Giordano for sharing your wonderful photo
of the Feast of San Michele Arcangelo in Pomarico, Basilicata

Celebrating Michaelmas at Our Lady of Peace Church in Gowanus, Brooklyn

Evviva San Michele!
Photos by New York Scugnizzo

Sunday morning, Members of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George joined a score of parishioners at Our Lady of Peace Church (522 Carroll St.) in Gowanus, Brooklyn for the Missa Cantata in honor of the Feast of the Archangel Michael. Mass was sung by celebrant and homilist Fr. Christofer M. Cullen, who was dutifully assisted by several servers and church choir.

The sanctuary

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Stained glass depiction of Christ
appearing to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Our Lady of the Rosary appears to
St. Dominic de Guzman and St. Catherine of Siena

Sant'Antonio da Padova

The Holy Souls of Purgatory

A Most Regrettable Sunday

Reject the practice of
Communion in the hand

Having woken up late last Sunday, I didn’t have enough time to make the long trek to the Traditional Latin Mass (Tridentine Mass) at either Our Lady of Peace Church (522 Carroll St.) in Brooklyn or Holy Innocents Church (128 W 37th St.) in Manhattan. So I ended up going to a local Novus Ordo (New Order) service instead and immediately regretted my impropriety.

The irreverence of the average parishioner was scandalous. If the awful din of chattering people rustling through bags, banal music, girl altar boys, and the lack of genuflecting or kneeling in the presence of the tabernacle wasn’t enough, the final straw before I walked out was the pastor’s ill-informed sermon, in which he spoke gushingly about Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen activist who recently admonished the United Nations about the environment.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue, people need to stop using children beset with adolescent angst (or other problems) for their own political expedience. If you’re not going to talk about religious or moral matters during Mass, you can at least not wax lyrical about an overwrought child clearly being exploited by her irresponsible parents to help push their own agenda. Besides, that'll be the day I take advise on important issues from a child or any other callow personality (actor, athlete, etc.) for that matter.

We’re constantly told the new rite can be as beautiful and serene as the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, but in my experience, even the most reverent Novus Ordo pales in comparison. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the New Mass isn’t valid or cannot be beautiful,(1) the problem is more often than not they are rife with Liturgical abuse and mishaps. In addition to the examples above, just last week (at a different church) I saw a priest chase after a woman who walked off without consuming the consecrated Host during Holy Communion. Thankfully, when confronted, she did not put up a fuss.

Regrettably I failed to fulfill my Sunday obligation and will add that to my long list of sins at weekly Confession, but I am dismayed at the unnecessary deprivation of Traditional Masses in New York City, especially Brooklyn, the so-called “Borough of churches.” Despite the spate of closings in recent years, there are still plenty of churches in this city. The fact that only five (that I know of) offer the "Mass of the Ages" regularly on the Sabbath is appalling.(2)

I literally have a church one block away from my home. There are easily a half-dozen more in walking distance, still I choose to commute an hour and a half or more on the dirty and unreliable subway every time I want to go to Mass because none of them celebrate the Extraordinary Form. While this may be too difficult for many (families, elderly, etc.), I do this happily in order to worship God in what I believe to be the most fitting manner. And after that most regrettable Sunday, I'm off to bed early so as not to have a repeat offense.

                                        ~ Giovanni di Napoli, Saturday, September 28th, the Feast of Good King Wenceslas

(1) I attend a lot of Italian Feast celebrations and some can be quite nice. The Masses celebrated ad orientem (to the east) at the Church of St. Rocco (18 3rd St.) in Glen Cove, New York and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (259 Oliver St.) in Newark, New Jersey stand out.

(2) St. Agnes Church (143 E 43rd St., New York City); St. Josaphat Church (34-32 210th St., Bayside, Queens); Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (448 E 116th St., East Harlem, New York); Our Lady of Peace Church (522 Carroll St., Brooklyn, New York); and the Shrine Church of the Holy Innocents (128 W 37th St., New York City).

A Look at the Annual Mass for the Persecuted Church in New York City

A commemorative photo after Mass
Photos by Pete Clemente, Marie Therese Valle, and Cav. John Napoli

On Thursday, September 26th, members of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George participated in the Annual Missa Cantata for the Persecuted Church at the Church of the Holy Family (315 East 47th St.) in New York City. The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was sung by Celebrant Fr. Richard G. Cipolla, Knight Chaplain of Ecclesiastical Grace. Fr. Benedict Kiely, founder of nasarean.org, was the homilist. The sacred ministers were dutifully assisted by servers Daniel, Paul, Ricardo and Hugo, and members of the Schola Cantorum from the Church of the Holy Innocents in Midtown Manhattan. Cavalieri John Napoli and Charles Sant’Elia were in attendance.

Thank you Fr. Gerald E. Murray, JCD, Pastor; Fr. Joseph T. Chacko, Parochial Vicar; and members of the parish family for your warmth and hospitality. God bless Pete Clemente and the Order of Malta Auxiliary for sponsoring the Mass and their tireless efforts to promote the faith. As always, it was a great joy to celebrate our faith together.

Fr. Kiely spoke at length about true martyrdom
and the persecution of Christians around the world

(Above & below) After Mass, guests enjoyed some lite fare and fellowship

Originally posted in The Constantinian Chronicle

Evviva Maria! The Madonna Addolorata of Mariotto

Members of the society process the painting during Mass

On Sunday, September 15th, members of Mariotto community in the Bronx celebrated their Annual Feast of the Madonna Addolorata, Patroness of Mariotto, Apulia, with Mass at beautiful Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (627 E. 187th, St.) in the Bronx, New York.

Thank you Angela Molinini for sharing your wonderful picture of the painting of Madonna Addolorata of Mariotto. Anyone interested in learning more about the celebration and the society can email them at mariottofeast@gmail.com

Photo of the Week: Crocifisso at the Chiesa di San Giuseppe in Taranto, Apulia

Grazie mille Andrew Giordano for sharing your wonderful photo
of the Crocifisso at the Chiesa di San Giuseppe in Taranto, Apulia

Celebrating the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in New Orleans

Photos courtesy of Cav. Timothy Pickles

By kind invitation of the Pastor Fr. Garret O'Brian, the Southern Sub-Delegation of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George held its mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Saturday, September 14th at St. Patricks Church on Camp Street, New Orleans. Chaplain Fr. William Farge SJ Ecclesiastical Knight of Grace was the celebrant in the Extraordinary form rite.

The banner of the Order was displayed for the occasion and prospective members were invited to sit with members in our designated section. The members present, in addition to Fr. Farge, were Cav. Timothy Pickles, Vice Delegate for the South; Cav. Carlo Caomazza Marchese di Campolitaro (Knight of Justice); Cav. John Dana, Knight of Merit; and Dama Katherine de Montluzun, Dame of Merit. After mass all were invited to brunch at the Caffe on the Park restaurant. IHSV

Originally posted in The Constantinian Chronicle

A Look at the 2019 Pilgrimage to the National Centre for Padre Pio in Barto, Pennsylvania

The Our Lady of Grace Chapel and iconic arches
Photos by New York Scugnizzo

Saturday, September 21, on the occasion of the Feast of San Matteo, I had the privilege of joining my dear friends of the Associazione Culturale Pugliese Figli Maria SS. Addolorata and Gruppo Italiano Sant'Atanasio (G.I.S.A.) on their pilgrimage to the National Centre for Padre Pio in Barto, Pennsylvania from St. Athanasius Church in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

It was a picture-perfect day to visit the Centre 

Bronze statues of Padre Pio with children and Padre
Raffaele di Sant'Elia a Pianisi greet visitors on their Arrival

In addition to the chapel and spiritual sites, the Centre boasts
an impressive museum, cultural center, gift shop, and café 

There was also an outdoor food court and picnic area

With plenty of time to kill before Mass, our group
found a shady tent outside the gift shop to have lunch

(Above & below) We enjoyed some delicious homemade
focaccia Barese and torta di carciofi alla Calabrese 

Because it was the Saturday Ember Day of Autumn, I had just a sliver of each

(L) A view from the arches built to resemble the friary in
San Giovanni Rontondo, Foggia. (R) A peek into the courtyard 

Votive candles line the walls of the courtyard

An outdoor shrine to Sant'Antonio di Padova

Sant'Antonio and the Madonna del Romitello

The outdoor shrine to the Madonna del Romitello 

(Above & below) The Centre is home to Maria Ss. del Soccorso di Castelfranci, Avellino and San Michele Arcangelo, protettore di Sturno, Avellino

Our Lady and San Michele vanquishing the devil 

Glorious San Michele 

Smiting Satan 

Above the main altar in the Madonna della Grazie chapel are paintings
of Saint John the Baptist, Our Lady of Grace, and St. Paul the Apostle

In the sanctuary are statues of St. Elizabeth of Portugal
and (I believe) St. Louis IX, King of France 

On the first side altar on the right is St. Francis of Assisi with relic

Below him lies Santa Massimiana, virgin, martyr
and patroness of San Giovanni Rotondo 

(L) The second side altar on the right is dedicated to St. Felix Cantilice.
(R) The actual confessional used by Padre Pio to hear
the confessions of women in San Giovanni 

A glove relic is on display inside the confessional 

A copy of Luca Giordano's The Patron Saints of Naples
Adoring Christ on the Cross hangs above the confessional

Statues of the Madonna della Libera and Madonna di Fatima in the Museum