We need to Vatican II harder! If only we had even more catechesis about Vatican II! And MORE synodality and, now, “pastorality”!
The advocates claim Vatican II hasn't had its springtime effect yet because it hasn't been properly implemented
just like the communists claim about communism
The Visitation nuns are preparing to leave Nevers, France, after more than four centuries.
The remaining sisters are… pic.twitter.com/RTTd9DmknY
— Deacon Nick Donnelly (@ProtecttheFaith) September 15, 2026
ANTWERP, BELGIUM – SEPTEMBER 5: Crucifixion as part of Seven Sorrows of Virgin cycle by Josef Janssens from years 1903 – 1910 in the cathedral of Our Lady on September 5, 2013 in Antwerp, Belgium
QUAERITUR:
Hello Father, I was making a typo correction to this Mass when I noticed that the Introit (John 19, 25) has Salome at the foot of the Cross. Seemed unlikely to me, so I looked at the Gospel (John 19: 25-27) – no Salome. So I looked at the Vulgate, no Salome. Confused, I looked at divinumofficium.com which has the same inconsistency, ditto my Angelus Press 1962 Missal. So I have resorted to pestering you for some words of wisdom. Help!
So, how do we explain the inclusion of “Salome” in the Introit for the Feast of the Sorrows of the Virgin? The Introit is stated to be from John 19:25:
Stabant iuxta Crucem Iesu Mater eius, et soror Matris eius, María Cléophæ, et Salóme et María Magdaléne.
How does John 19:25 read?
The Vulgate of John 19:25 has:
Stabant autem iuxta crucem Iesu mater eius et soror matris eius, Maria Cleopæ, et Maria Magdalene.
The RSV says:
But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Mag?dalene.
Thus “et Salomé” is a liturgical addition. The Gospel of the Mass later gives John 19:25 in its biblical form, without Salome. The Missal therefore clearly distinguishes between the scriptural lesson and the somewhat expanded, harmonized text of the Introit.
Salome comes from St. Mark’s Passion. Mark 15:40 names among the women watching the Crucifixion:
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and Joseph, and Salome.
Matthew 27:56 gives the parallel list, but calls the third woman “the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”
Hence, the harmonization identifies Salome as the wife of Zebedee and mother of James and John.
The Introit therefore wove Mark’s Salome into John’s scene at the Cross. This sort of evangelical harmonization is not unusual in liturgical composition. The citation “John 19:25” identifies the principal source rather than claiming that every word is a literal quotation.
There is an additional wrinkle. John 19:25 is grammatically capable of being read as mentioning either three or four women. One interpretation takes soror matris eius, Maria Cleopae as one person: “His Mother’s sister, Mary of Clopas.” Another takes “His Mother’s sister” as an unnamed fourth woman, whom many commentators have proposed was Salome, the mother of St. John. The latter interpretation would make John the Blessed Virgin’s nephew or close relative. That reading has an attractive connection with Christ’s words immediately afterward, Ecce mater tua. But it remains an interpretation rather than a certainty.
So here Salome is a fourth woman added from the Synoptic Passion tradition, rather than being identified with Mary’s unnamed sister.
There is also a beautiful liturgical reason for expanding the company. On the feast of the Seven Sorrows, the Church deliberately gathers around the Cross the faithful women remembered across the Gospel accounts. They form, as it were, the little remnant of fidelity surrounding the Mater Dolorosa.
Mary stands at the center, but she does not stand utterly alone. Salome belongs to that circle of women who had followed Christ from Galilee and remained when so many others had fled.
St. Augustine himself explicitly wrestled with the apparent difference between John’s women iuxta crucem and Matthew and Mark’s women watching a longe, and harmonized the accounts rather than treating them as contradictory.
In sum, Salome is present because the Introit is a liturgical harmonization of the Passion narratives, principally John 19:25 but with more information from Mark 15:40. Salome’s presence in the Introit emphasizes the company of faithful women gathered about Mary and the Cross.
From The World’s Best Sacristan™ from the Procession for Exaltation of the Cross, with a relic of the True Cross of Our Lord.
Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links. US HERE – WHY? This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, etc.. At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.
Happy Tuesday ? pic.twitter.com/ar91Cdb5IE
— MedievalistMatt (@medievalistmatt) September 15, 2026
And…
???? ????? — Plusieurs demandes provenant de l’Élysée pour la visite du pape Léon XIV en France ont été REFUSÉES par le Saint-Siège :
• L’accueil militaire sera allégé, le Vatican ayant demandé D’ÉVITER la Garde républicaine et les tambours.
• Le Saint-Siège a REFUSÉ la… pic.twitter.com/IPJ6WwiN69
— L’Écho Chrétien (@lechochretien) September 15, 2026
And…
Black to move and mate in 4.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Finally,
Best moments of the Silmarillion #1: Morgoth vs Fingolfin
“Fingolfin named Morgoth craven…. Therefore Morgoth… issued forth clad in black armour; and he stood before the King like a tower, iron-crowned, and his vast shield, sable unblazoned, cast a shadow over him like a… https://t.co/RQu1cyopyW pic.twitter.com/qAr14wKeDI
— Tolkien World (@TolkienWorldG) September 15, 2026
Today, the day after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, is the Feast of Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is an analogous commemoration on Friday after 1st Passion Sunday.
Some time ago, I wrote a series of reflections on the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin. I invite you to have a look.
Here are links to the individual posts
1st Sorrow – The Prophecy of Simeon
2nd Sorrow – The Flight into Egypt
3rd Sorrow – The loss of the Child Jesus in Jerusalem
4th Sorrow – Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary
5th Sorrow – The Crucifixion of Jesus
6th Sorrow – The Piercing of the Side of Jesus, and His Deposition
7th Sorrow – The Burial of Jesus
At the famous Basilica in Rome, Santo Stefano Rotondo we find this well-known image:
Today’s feast commemorates the discovery in AD 325 in Jerusalem by the Emperor Constantine’s mother St Helena of the Holy Cross, as tradition has it, under sweet basil herb bushes. It is also the anniversary of the Dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher built on that site in 335. A portion of the Cross was placed there. The Basilica was consecrated on 13 September and, on 14 September the fragment of the Cross was shown to the people so that the clergy and faithful could pray before it. In 614 invading Persians and King Chosroes absconded with it. They held it until it was recaptured by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 628 and returned to the Basilica.
St. Helena brought a portion of the Cross and other instruments of the Passion back to Rome. They were deposited, along with soil from the holy ground, at what is now called the Basilica Sessoriana, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
COLLECT (1962):
Deus, qui nos hodierna die Exaltationis sanctae Crucis annua solemnitate laetificas: praesta quaesumus; ut cuius mysterium in terra cognovimus, eius redemptionis praemia in caelo mereamur.
LITERAL VERSION:
O God, who on this day gladden us by the yearly solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: grant, we beseech You; that in heaven we may merit to attain the rewards of redemption of Him, whose mystery we have known on earth.
The colons and semicolons in the older way of printed liturgical orations are intended to help the priest sing the prayer, rather than to give it greater sense.
The force of the last phrase is “whom we have known on earth in mystery”. Remember that mysterium is nearly interchangeable with sacramentum. Notice the parallel set up between in terra… in caelo. In this life, we can know Christ and what is promised us in heaven only as through a glass, darkly, as St Paul put it. Our supreme contact with Christ in this life is in the sacramental mysteries, in our sacred liturgical worship and in Holy Communion. In heaven our knowledge will be more direct, though God will forever remain Mystery, tremendum et fascinans, awesome and alluring.
Here is another version from the beautiful hand missal from Baronius Press:
O God, who this day dost gladden us by the yearly feast of the Exaltation of the Cross: grant, we beseech Thee, that we who on earth acknowledge the Mystery of Redemption wrought upon it, may be worthy to enjoy the rewards of that same Redemption in heaven.
The Baronius Press hand missal, printed in the UK, was released in 2007, the same year that Benedict XVI issued Summorum Pontificum – the “Emancipation Proclamation” which greatly freed up the use of the 1962 Missale Romanum. Summorum, with its juridical solutions, is one of the most important accomplishments of Benedict’s too short pontificate. Now, however, the emancipation of faithful Catholics with Summorum has been cruelly undermined with Traditionis custodes, Francis’ Plessy v. Ferguson to Benedict’s Proclamation.
Let is now move to the Novus Ordo edition of the Missale Romanum.
COLLECT (2002):
Deus, qui Unigenitum tuum crucem subire voluisti, ut salvum faceret genus humanum, praesta, quaesumus, ut, cuius mysterium in terra cognovimus, eius redemptionis praemia in caelo consequi mereamur.
This was pieced together from phrases from Collects of Palm Sunday and of Wednesday in Holy Week as well as today’s feast in the pre-Conciliar Missal, as we just saw above.
LITERAL ATTEMPT:
O God, who desired that Your Only-begotten undergo the Cross so that He would make the human race free, grant, we beseech You, that we merit to attain in heaven the rewards of redemption of Him, whose mystery we have known on earth.
OBSOLETE ICEL (1973):
God our Father, in obedience to you your only Son accepted death on the cross for the salvation of mankind. We acknowledge the mystery of the cross on earth. May we receive the gift of redemption in heaven.
Not content to chop the Latin into two sentences, the translators opted for three.
CURRENT ICEL (2011):
O God, who willed that your Only Begotten Son should under the Cross to save the human race, grant, we pray, that we, who have known his mystery on earth, may merit the grace of his redemption in heaven.
Today, the aromatic herb basil (Ocimum basilicum which, comes from Greek basileos, “king”) is blessed by our Eastern brothers and sisters and placed in abundance around their Crosses.
I suggest having pasta and basil pesto tonight with a crisp, cold white live a Sauvignon Blanc or a Sancerre. With friends and loved ones it would be a fine way to observe the feast day.
NB: By “basil” pesto, I don’t mean made from Basil Emeritus, though he could be invited.
Since there were two “Popes” in the Vatican, why not have two hamsters, Basil and… meet… Ming.
In the swampy Hell Hole that was St. Paul Seminary in the 1980s Fr. Z and Fr. Robert Altier were classified as the Alpha and Omega. He endured persecution … to his present point, not a little from cowardly bishops. I endured my persecution…. …. ….
Whereas I was hammered in subsequent years because of what I wrote (mostly), Fr. A got hammered by what he preached in the pulpit (mostly).
If they aren’t shooting at you, you aren’t over the target. (Which sort of makes some particular bishops into the enemy, but I digress.)
Here is Fr. Altier’s sermon for this 16th Sunday after Pentecost at St. Augustine’s in S. St. Paul (where I was supposed to go before the powers that be pulled a fast on and at the last minute sent me to a blankity blank blank pastor who had orders to tear me down).
Some day I may write my memoirs. Until then, listen to this. I think you will want to share it.
My Mass intention today is for my benefactors, those of you who donate regularly, ad hoc, or send things.
Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.
Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Mass of obligation for this 16th Sunday after Pentecost in the Vetus Ordo (24th Ordinary Sunday in the Novus Ordo)?
Tell us about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass.
Any local changes or (hopefully good) news?
A taste of what I offered at 1 Peter 5 this week.
[…]
Garrigou-Lagrange gives the proud soul strong medicine:
“The remedy for pride is to tell ourselves that of ourselves we are not, that we have been created out of nothing by the gratuitous love of God. The remedy for pride is also to tell ourselves that there is in us something inferior to nothingness itself: the disorder of sin and its effects” (The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
To examine our consciences is to shine light into the corners where pride hides like vermin behind garage clutter or rotting food at the back of the refrigerator. Pride reeks, but the devil sprays the air-fresheners of distraction, comparison, indignation, and self-justification. Confession brings the cleansing that pride fiercely resists.
[…]
Happy Feast of the Holy Name of Mary!
343 years ago today the Winged Hussars Arrived
The Battle of Vienna. To save Christendom from the Ottoman horde, led by the King of Poland
The largest cavalry charge in human history pic.twitter.com/kmi8vv77lM
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) September 12, 2026
These were/are in the pews of my home parish in St. Paul. Nice to see.
You know you are going to participate in an excellent liturgy when you show up and see these on all the pews.
IYKYK pic.twitter.com/QT0rFhNt69
— Kale Zelden (@kalezelden) September 10, 2026
Bring back hats.
Black to move and mate in 4.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Today for my live Mass, I said:
Today, on this anniversary, we offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for those who died in the attacks of 11 September 2001: those in the towers, at the Pentagon, aboard the aircraft, and those who entered danger to rescue strangers.
In a poem Thomas Merton imagined New York City after some catastrophe:
How are they down, how have they fallen down
Those great strong towers of ice and steel,
And melted by what terror and what miracle?
What fires and lights tore down,
With the white anger of their sudden accusation,
Those towers of silver and of steel?
From Figures For An Apocalypse, VI – In the Ruins of New York (1947) by Thomas Merton”
“How are they down, how have they fallen down / Those great strong towers of ice and steel.”
Holy Mother Church brings us beyond terror, and ruin, and nightmarish memories. She brings us to the altar, where the Sacrifice of Calvary is made present and offered for the dead.
In the anniversary Requiem Mass we pray:
“O God, Lord of mercies, grant to the souls of Thy servants, whose anniversary we commemorate, a place of refreshment, the blessedness of rest, and the brightness of light.”
The years which have passed do not lessen the need of the victims for our prayers, nor our duty of charity toward them.
We therefore entrust the victims, known and unknown, to the Precious Blood of Christ. May whatever remains to be purified be cleansed by His mercy. May the sorrow of their loved ones be changed into rest, darkness into light, and the victim’s violent death into everlasting life.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Amen.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
fac on WDTPRS- Exaltation of the Cross: “@CasaSanBruno I have read the story of St. Mary of Egypt, and I think priests and family members or friends…”
on Sunday Sermon Notes… ON STEROIDS. Wherein Fr. Z posts a must listen sermon from his old friend Fr. A: “@Chicken I concur and am all for safety protocols. My concern is actually about the time outside of classes, when…”
on They are moving fast.: “@JonPatrick, … or the lived experience of those of us who lived through the liturgical train wreck of the 1970s…”
on They are moving fast.: “Shouldn’t gay clergy live in fear and judgement of God’s wrath? [Shouldn’t everyone? Everyone should fear judgment. But those who…”
on Sunday Sermon Notes… ON STEROIDS. Wherein Fr. Z posts a must listen sermon from his old friend Fr. A: “These days there are women’s pants and shorts that are made for women, ergo they are women’s clothes and perfectly…”
on Your Sunday Sermon Notes – 16th Sunday after Pentecost (N.O.: 24th Ordinary): “@Gregg the Obscure, prayers for a quick recovery!”
on 15 September: Seven Sorrows of Mary – The “Our Lady of Sorrows Project”: “Thank you for dealing with the piercing of the Heart of Jesus. Most of the time, when people talk about…”
on Sunday Sermon Notes… ON STEROIDS. Wherein Fr. Z posts a must listen sermon from his old friend Fr. A: “Dear WVC, You wrote: I’m a little dismayed that so many girls at even “conservative” Catholic colleges will wear dresses…”
A Daily Prayer for Priests
They find you a pro-life agent in your area who commits to giving a portion of the fee to a pro-life group!
PLEASE subscribe via PayPal if it is useful. Zelle and Wise are better, but PayPal is convenient.
A monthly subscription donation means I have steady income I can plan on. I put you my list of benefactors for whom I pray and for whom I often say Holy Mass.
In view of the rapidly changing challenges I now face, I would like to add more $10/month subscribers. Will you please help?
For a one time donation...
Help Monks in Wyoming (coffee – UPDATED LINK) and Norcia (beer) and the wonderful "Soap Sisters" of Summit, NJ!
Please follow me on Twitter!
Visits tracked by Statcounter
since Sat., 25 Nov. 2006:
