I just wanted to share with ya'll this email I recieved tonight.
Truly amazing :) Dear friends:

> > I arrived at the basilica, along with some 150-200 > protesters in tow, at around 7:30 pm.

> > I milled around inside the basilica, taking pictures > and chatting with the event organizers.

> > There were 6 or 7 monks from the Tashi Lhunpo > Monastery, most of whom were standing behind a product > table, selling their demonic wares, prior to the > concert.

> > Our Lord's words came to mind: My house is a house of > prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves and > robbers.

> > Among the items for sale were books by the Dalai Lama > (with titles, shockingly enough, that sounded like > something John Paul II might have written - "Universal > Responsibility and Love," for example), various bells, > what looked like stoles, prayer cloths, jewelry, and > prayer beads.

> > The monks, all the way from India, are on a 3 month > tour of the North-Eastern states. They intend to > visit PA, RI, NY, and other locations (including > Carnegie Hall).

> > I spoke with the monks' > driver/photographer/coordinator, a young man by the > name of Douglas Herman. I was saddened to hear him > mention that he was raised Roman Catholic.

> > He explained that the monks were on tour for several > reasons: to raise international awareness about Human > Rights; to help free the Panchen Lama (the "10th > reincarnation of the Panchen Lama"), a 6-year-old boy > who apparently has been abducted by the Chinese > government; to share the Buddhist culture with other > cultures; and to raise money for the building of a new > monastery.

> > I am saddened to report that perhaps the most > oft-repeated phrase I heard tonight, when the > organizers were confronted with angry Catholics who > wanted the monks out of the sanctuary, was the line, > "maybe you should take it up with the pope - he's a > good friend of the Dalai Lama."

> > Such is the state we are in.

> > The front area of the sanctuary was decorated mostly > in signs and pictures. A large black and white photo > of the Panchen Lama nearly covered the entire front of > the main altar. On either side of the altar were > signs that read, "Free Tibet," "Release the Panchen > Lama," and similar things.

> > Our group filed into the basilica and were in their > places, in the front 15 rows or so, by 8:00. Father > McMahon wandered around the front of the sanctuary, > waiting for an opportune moment to announce the > purpose of our presence there.

> > Fortunately, Deo gratias, he was handed that > opportunity on a silver platter: one of the organizers > approached the microphone to introduce the monks, but, > seeing Father there, and mistaking him for the > basilica pastor, asked him if he would like to say a > few words first.

> > Father jumped at the opportunity.

> > He stepped up to the microphone and began (I will > reproduce his announcement here as best as I can, > using my memory and scribbled notes):

> > "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the > Holy Ghost. I'd like to welcome you all to the > basilica this evening. My name is Father Michael > McMahon, and I am the pastor of St. Margaret Mary > church in Allendale. I have here a pamphlet that I > found in the pews - I guess the basilica is undergoing > some restoration - and it says, 'Restore the glory of > the basilica.' That is what we are here to do > tonight... shame on the Catholic men who have allowed > this thing to happen here tonight. I apologize if > this is not what you came to hear tonight, but we are > going to do here what this basilica was made for... In > the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the > Holy Ghost, amen."

> > The poor event organizer who had asked Father to > speak, and who stood by him the entire time, waiting > for Father to finish so he could introduce the monks, > was visibly nervous - it took a few seconds for the > realization to hit him.

> > By this time the monks had already filed onto the > "stage," and they, too, looked rather dumbfounded as > Father finished his announcement, kneeled in front of > the altar, and intoned the "Credo" (Credo III, for > those of you who know your Gregorian chant).

> > It was truly a glorious moment: the coordinator, > standing with his mouth agape in front of a clearly > hostile audience; the monks, all lined up and staring > at a man in a black cassock who was now kneeling in > front of them, chanting, having clearly hijacked the > event; and the sound... oh... the sound of some 200 > Catholics, chanting "Credo in unum Deum, Patrem > omnipotentam," in a basilica whose acoustics easily > make 200 voices sound like 200,000 voices.

> > I got choked up. Who wouldn't? From the first few > lines, "I believe in ONE GOD, the Father almighty," we > had effectively denounced the heresy of Buddhism's > polytheism, and filled the air with the reaffirmation > of the Truth: there is one God, and He alone is > all-powerful.

> > As the protesters chanted, Father motioned to two of > the sturdier, stockier men of the Holy Name Society, > who then approached the Buddhist's display (which was > covering the altar, you'll remember) and began tearing > it down. The large picture of the Panchen Lama was > removed first, followed by the several signs.

> > The altar was visible again, as was the empty > tabernacle - thank God they at least thought to remove > the Blessed Sacrament.

> > After the Credo was finished, and the decorations > removed, the two men kneeled alongside Father on the > altar steps, and one of them began leading the Holy > Rosary.

> > About half-way through the first decade of the Joyful > Mysteries, many in the audience who had come to hear > the monks were picking up their things and leaving.

> > Here are a few of the things I overheard:

> > "No, these people are not members of this church - > they're part of some fringe off-shoot of the Catholic > Church."

> > "That priest hijacked this service!"

> > "Did I walk into a protest against the MONKS? You > gotta freaking' be kidding me! This is the SICKEST > things I've ever seen!"

> > "Let's go up there and stand with the monks!"

> > "You might as well be committing genocide - you have > no respect for human rights!"

> > It was almost too much to bear without either laughing > or crying. The Holy Rosay is the "sickest thing" > you've ever seen? Praying to Our Lady "might as well > be" genocide?

> > The basilica pastor, who was NOT on vacation after > all, was called in. He attempted to speak with Father > McMahon, but Father would not be moved.

> > The pastor called the police in at around 8:30, but > this, too, was to no avail.

> > The protesters were simply not doing anything illegal.

> > The police eventually escorted Father McMahon out of > the building to try and sort things out with him, but > it was clear that they were confused by the whole > situation. Why was a Catholic priest calling in law > enforcement to have another Catholic priest removed > from the scene? They were as confused as I was.

> > Meanwhile, the protesters continued reciting the > Rosary, while the monks continued to stand up front, > looking silly.

> > Finally, mercifully, one of the coordinators went up > front, whispered to one of the monks, and escorted > them all off the platform.

> > At last, the altar and sanctuary were once again clear > and undefiled.

> > The sound of 200 voices, still sounding like 200,000 > voices, continued to fill the entire basilica: "Holy > Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at > the hour of our death, amen."

> > I closed my eyes: yes, this was the sound of a > veritable army. The forces of evil were being beaten > back with hardly a whimper of protest.

> > I approached the basilica pastor, who was still pacing > the aisles and trying to get a word in with the man > leading the Rosary. It was no use: the leader kept > blasting his "Hail Mary's" and ignoring the protests > of the basilica pastor.

> > I asked the pastor, with my notepad in hand, "Father, > what's going on here tonight?"

> > He asked who I was and who I represented, but when he > found out I was writing for a Catholic periodical, he > smiled half-heartedly and simply said, "I don't know > your organization, I have no comment." And then he > walked away.

> > But not before I overheard him say (to a question from > an audience member) perhaps the saddest and most > damning thing I heard all night: "I didn't invite > these guys, I invited the monks!"

> > If that doesn't sum up the entire post-conciliar > experiment...

> > It was truly sad. I must have heard it said 20 or 30 > times: "Why are they protesting us? We were INVITED > here by the pastor of this church!"

> > And it was true. In a certain sense, we were > committing the injustice. The monks were not > invading, they were invited. We were the ones who > invaded.

> > And indeed, even now, as I write, this is how the > evening news is portraying the event: "An evening of > peaceful prayer soon got out of hand when a group of > angry Catholics disrupted the service... police were > called in to remove the protesters... no one was > injured."

> > The basilica pastor was quoted as saying, "They [the > monks] are such peaceful souls... to be accosted in > this way I'm sure was shocking to them, as it was to > us. To use prayer as a weapon like that..."

> > Yes, Father, prayer is a weapon. And we used it > tonight specifically for that purpose. And it worked.

> > But already, you can see the way the world views us. > The monks are called "peaceful," and we are the "angry > disrupters," who "accosted" these "quiet" monks with > our "weapon" of prayer - but don't worry, "no one was > injured."

> > Actually, several injuries took place tonight. The > prince of this world took a severe blow, as did his > evil minions.

> > By 9:00 the organizers and the monks gave up, and > agreed to move the concert to the basement. Seeing > that our mission had been accomplished, Father McMahon > allowed the protesters to finish the 5th and final > mystery of the Glorious Mysteries (yes, they prayed > through all 15 decades), the Hail Holy Queen, the > prayer to St. Michael, and then released us to go to > our homes.

> > We gathered in the parking lot to thank Father and to > receive his blessing, and we returned to our homes, > deeply grateful to Our Lady for having crushed the > serpent's head.

> > We won. No question about it. And the victory was > sweet. At the same time, I realize that this is only > a foretaste.

> > Because the other injury that took place tonight was, > in a very real way, the injury that Our Holy Mother > Church suffered. Those monks should never have been > invited in the first place. That pastor should have > been taking his place beside us, not setting himself > against us.

> > And most of the poor souls who went to hear the monks > will not "get it." As far as they know, we're just > that "fringe group" of Catholics who need to update > our thinking. After all, the basilica priest had no > problem with the monks coming. The other Catholic > churches around the nation that have hosted these > monks in years past certainly had no problem. The > pope himself is a "good friend of the Dalai Lama."

> > So who are we to protest?

> > Victory never felt this good. But victory also never > felt this nostalgic.

> > Thank you all, again, for your prayers. Our Lady was > pleased this evening, and Mother Church was defended.

> > Long live Christ the King.

-- FGC (fgcc4@yahoo.com), February 11, 2004

Answers

oops... sorry 'bout the html... my bad ;)

-- FGC (FGCC4@yahoo.com), February 11, 2004.

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-- jake (j@k.e), February 11, 2004.

Maybe it's time to get those pictures up.

-- Emerald (emerald1@cox.net), February 11, 2004.

Kinda funny story. Apparently the "protesting priest" (Fr. McMahon) is part of SSPX.

Anyway, my hat's off for this SSPX priest and all these people for scaring these poor Buddhist monks off. Some of my favorite parts of this news report:

1) According to the anchor, "it was an unusually weird scene." Can someone say, "small-town local news"?

2) Praying the rosary is "harsh treatment." I suppose most Catholic elementary school kids would agree with this.

3) "Everyone was thankful no one was injured." Were they expecting to be hit by flying rosary beads?

4) Reporter (Melissa Dunbar): "They would not ask when they were stopped to." Huh? Is someone confused?

Anyway, in my search for info on Fr. McMahon, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw his picture on pa ge six of this SSPX newsletter. I guess it's Divine Providence that immediately to the right of the Fr. McMahon's picture, another SSPX priest (Fr. Soos) is saying a beach mass to a bunch of kids in Huron, Michigan. It looks like he's using a canoe turned upside- down as an altar (would that be considered a liturgical abuse?). Now, Jake, you've gotta admit: that's pretty funny!

God bless,

Mateo

-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), February 11, 2004.

I don't know jake... I think he's got you in a corner now. This may very well indeed be the very sort of expose that would be sufficient, imho of course, for you to go ahead and deny your faith.

Might as well get it over with.

-- Emerald (emerald1@cox.net), February 12, 2004.

"I don't know jake... I think he's got you in a corner now. This may very well indeed be the very sort of expose that would be sufficient, imho of course, for you to go ahead and deny your faith. "

Huh? Jake isn't an SSPXer. I think at the very most, Jake might decide to avoid SSPX priests like Fr. Soos with his canoe-altar. I wonder if this "SSPX beach mass" picture will find its way onto SeatleCatholic.com. That would be pretty funny. I suppose I should start looking for pictures of SSPX clown masses. ;-)

Enjoy,

Mateo

PS--Emerald, shouldn't you be in the hospital with a cigar in hand? I'm praying for you and your family!

-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), February 12, 2004.

Actually, when I wrote that, I did it with one hand; seriously. I dun got myself a baby boy here! I just brought him home tonight and was holding him while my wife couldn't find anything we needed; but everything went really, really well. It's amazing, isn't it?

-- Emerald (emerald1@cox.net), February 12, 2004.

And thanks for the prayers, too!

-- Emerald (emerald1@cox.net), February 12, 2004.

Wow! Well, just think: if your wife gave you a baby as an early St. Valentine's day gift, she's setting the bar pretty high for you. Sounds like you might have to buy the florist's entire inventory!

God bless your little boy!

Mateo

-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), February 12, 2004.

I've got this problem with bars. Instead of jumping them, "how low can you go" starts going through my head and I try to get under them without knocking them over. What's that called again? lol!

Dang, I'm in too good a mood now. Let's argue later. Thanks for the prayers and remembering us over here; we'll do the same for you.

-- Emerald (emerald1@cox.net), February 12, 2004.

And I'll get her some flowers too, and leave you people alone for Lent.

-- Emerald (emerald1@cox.net), February 12, 2004.

We appreciate your sharing that email with us, Jake. It proves we have many excellent militant catholics within our Church. (This WAS our Church, wasn't it?)

There's no logical objection to the expulsion of a crew of Buddhists from our sanctuary; even if it's done so brutally. No objection.

I think your friend's flair for pejorative Catholic teeth-gnashing is something of a joke. ''Actually, several injuries took place tonight. The prince of this world took a severe blow, as did his evil minions.'' Hahaha!!! Go get 'em, Butch!

But, heck; it's only a bunch of lost souls. Send them straight to hell.

-- eugene c. chavez (loschavez@pacbell.net), February 12, 2004.

You're welcome. (I'm not Jake though)
That email reminded me of what happened when I was in a procession last July. We stopped in front of a Catholic church, Fr. was holding the Monstrance, we all kneeled and receited one decade of the rosary. The cops were called on us. LOL!! They were dumbfounded.
Praise God there was no brutality. Our "weapon" is very powerful. ;)
Stay close to Our Lord and Lady.
God bless. FGC

-- FGC (FGCC4@yahoo.com), February 12, 2004.

That's a nice story. I'm with Mateo: those monks and the priest who let them in deserved everything they got.

-- anon (ymous@god.bless), February 12, 2004.

What is unclear is whether non-Christians (like Buddhists) are to be treated differently from non-Catholic Christians in the use of Catholic church buildings.

The following (which may surprise many) is from the Vatican's Internet site -- specifically from "DIRECTORY FOR THE APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES AND NORMS ON ECUMENISM" by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (1993) at http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documen ts/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_25031993_principles-and-norms-on-ecumenism_en.ht ml
Whenever the word "ecumenism" is used in Church documents, it refers to efforts at unity among Christians. When non-Christians are involved, the Church uses the term "interfaith dialogue" instead of "ecumenism."

Sharing Other Resources for Spiritual Life and Activity
137. Catholic churches are consecrated or blessed buildings which have an important theological and liturgical significance for the Catholic community. They are therefore generally reserved for Catholic worship. However, if priests, ministers or communities not in full communion with the Catholic Church do not have a place or the liturgical objects necessary for celebrating worthily their religious ceremonies, the diocesan Bishop may allow them the use of a church or a Catholic building and also lend them what may be necessary for their services. Under similar circumstances, permission may be given to them for interment or for the celebration of services at Catholic cemeteries.

138. Because of developments in society, the rapid growth of population and urbanization, and for financial motives, where there is a good ecumenical relationship and understanding between the communities, the shared ownership or use of church premises over an extended period of time may become a matter of practical interest.

139. When authorization for such ownership or use is given by the diocesan Bishop, according to any norms which may be established by the Episcopal Conference or the Holy See, judicious consideration should be given to the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament, so that this question is resolved on the basis of a sound sacramental theology with the respect that is due, while also taking account of the sensitivities of those who will use the building, e.g., by constructing a separate room or chapel.

-- (Very@Interesting.com), February 12, 2004.

I suppose I should start looking for pictures of SSPX clown masses

If that's how you like to kill a little time, knock yerself out.

With respect liturgical abuse and the SSPX, it's just not possible. Not with an SSPX Mass. Sorry, I just don't buy it. Here's a little assignment for you, though. Compare the photo by which you seem to think you've made a big expose' with any number of those of Novus Ordo beach masses. See any differences, besides the obvious rubrical ones? I'm talking about 1)Why is the Mass being held outdoors? 2) What does the attitude/disposition of the congregation seem to be? 3) On what do you base those observations?

I, too, have to get to the florist today. Regina has been gone since Sunday at her first 5-day Ignatian Retreat, and tomorrow ends my stint as Mr. Mom.

-- jake (j@k.e), February 13, 2004.

"With respect liturgical abuse and the SSPX, it's just not possible. "

[Imitation of Jake]

I suppose that what's important is that the priest was on the proper side of the canoe...err...altar.

[/Imitation of Jake]

"1)Why is the Mass being held outdoors?"

Maybe Fr. Soos is a naturalist?

"2) What does the attitude/disposition of the congregation seem to be?"

Well, in SSPX, they're kids in t-shirts and shorts. Based on your criticisms of World Youth Day, I thought that was a no-no for you. But, I suppose your point is that they are showing reverence toward the canoe...and that's what's important.

3) On what do you base those observations?"

On my power of vision?

Seriously, Jake, what can I say? When you posted your Episcopal beach mass pictures, I believe that the surfboard-altar was an issue for you. Apparently, you believe that canoes (but not surfboards!) were used licitly as pre-Vatican II altars.

I guess the only thing funnier than the SSPX beach mass picture is your attempt to differentiate it from other beach masses.

Enjoy,

Mateo

-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), February 13, 2004.

Apparently, you believe that canoes (but not surfboards!) were used licitly as pre-Vatican II altars.

Sure. So were rocks, I'm sure.

guess the only thing funnier than the SSPX beach mass picture is your attempt to differentiate it from other beach masses.

There's a world of difference.

With the SSPX, you're going to get a real Mass properly celebrated, no matter when, where, or by whom. Always.

With the New Mass, that just isn't a guarantee. Ever.

Why wonder?

-- jake (j@k.e), February 13, 2004.

The New Mass? As opposed to yours?
You guarantee your Mass, and the Holy Spirit will guarantee ours. Always.

-- eugene c. chavez (loschavez@pacbell.net), February 13, 2004.

"Not to oppose error is to approve it, and not to defend the truth is to suppress it!" - Pope St. Felix~ As we all know this a great victory for the true followers of the true church but also another way for the media to twist the ideas, beliefs, and motivation of the ONE true Catholic church. I have know these priests for years and don't know anyone with more dedication, love, and respect for the Catholic Church. They would die before they performed a clown mass. As you should have figured that out when "those guys(sspxers) took over" the buddhist's.... uhhh i mean Catholic basilica.

-- christopher baer (Christopher.baer@wku.edu), March 08, 2004.