I'm on Rev. Charles Van Vliet's email list for the new Houston apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Regina Caeli Parish. The most recent letter he sent on the subject of cultivating meekness really hit home for me, so I have pasted it below.
The Holy Week schedule for this new Traditional Mass venue is included, as well as information on the Groundbreaking Mass and Ceremony that are scheduled for May 5, 2012.
"Now We Know That Thou Hast a Devil" John 8:52
Our Lord received many insults, like the one in today’s Gospel and the way He suffers them truly shows forth His meekness. His forbearance proves His meekness, and all through the Passion, this virtue will shine. Meekness is pre-eminently a virtue of the Christian, and hence, Christ calls His followers sheep or lambs. Meekness is a virtue that moderates our feelings of impatience and revenge. All anger is not sinful, for even our Lord got angry and turned over the money changers tables in the temple, but because of our proneness to evil, it easily becomes sinful. Meekness is the virtue necessary to restrain our passions. It is a most amiable virtue in that it disarms our opponent’s anger and makes us a true disciple of Christ, “Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart.” Mt. 11:29 One error is to think that if we are meek, we cannot be firm or exercise authority properly. Our Lo rd was meek and yet He was firm with the Pharisees, chased out the sellers from the temple and in the Old Testament, we see how Moses was firm in correcting the Israelites when they fell into idolatry. Meekness is necessary, especially in superiors, since men given to anger are not following the guidance of right reason. They will cause scandal and further revolt when anger plays havoc with their authority for the foolish decisions they make when angry. If we want to imitate our Savior, then we also have to imitate His meekness, otherwise we are not truly Christian. Further, men given to anger are not spiritual, for if we possess the spirit of prayer, we acknowledge our state as creatures subject to God, and therefore humble and disposed to meekness. Meekness is also important to conquer the anger in others, for as it says in Proverbs 15:1 “a mild answer breaketh wrath, but a hard word stireth up fury”. Our harshness will cause it in others, just as our meekness will help others to be meek.
Meekness gives us peace of mind, which in turn we can use to convert others. St Francis de Sales converted more by his humility than by preaching. Let us practice meekness so we can also acquire the virtue. One aid in doing this is trying to foresee occasions of opposition and preparing ourselves to deal with the difficult situation. We should also ask for this important virtue in our prayers.
The schedule for the Holy Week will be as follows:
Palm Sunday: 8:00 AM blessing and distribution of palms with procession. 11:00 AM Low Mass without distribution of the palms, though they will be available before Mass.
Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: Mass as usual in the main church (Mass on Tues. and Wed. will be longer than usual due to the reading of the Passion.)
Good Friday: Stations of the Cross 11:00 AM in the Main Church
After Noon Liturgy: 4:00 PM in the FLC
Holy Saturday: Easter Vigil: 10:30 PM in the FLC
Easter Sunday: Mass at 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM in the FLC
Please keep in mind that parking is going to be very crowded during the Triduum, particularly on Good Friday since there will be the Outdoor Living Stations at 2:30 PM and some of the parking spaces will be blocked off as a result.
We will have a donation box at the back of the chapel for those who wish to contribute toward the flowers.
Regina Caeli Parish Groundbreaking Mass and Ceremony
Please join us in celebrating the beginning of our new parish building project on Saturday, May 5, 2012 - 11:00 a.m. High Mass
Celebrated by Very Rev. John Berg, Superior General of The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
1:00 p.m. Groundbreaking Ceremony followed by Lunch
SAVE THE DATE! Additional Details TBA
Rev. Charles Van Vliet, FSSP
6646 Addicks-Satsuma Rd.
Houston, TX 77084
Mailing Address for Regina Caeli Community:
PO Box 41062
Houston, TX 77241-1062
Traditional Latin Mass at
ST ELIZABETH ANN SETON
6646 ADDICKS-SATSUMA RD
HOUSTON, TX 77084
Sundays in the Family Life Center
8 A.M. High Mass
11 A.M. Low Mass
Parking on Sunday is at TRUITT JUNIOR HIGH
(from West Little York, and just east of Addicks-Satsuma, turn north onto Huffmiester into "The Colonies", the first stop is Hamstead Park Dr. Turn left and then right into the parking lot by the two big recycling bins.) Please Note:Traditional Latin Masses are celebrated in the Parish Church:Weekdays at 6:30 A.M. and on Saturday at 7:30 A.M. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR ONLINEMASS & FEAST DAY SCHEDULE!
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