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| Frater Jon T's picture of us at Martinmas supper |
For our American readers keeping up with our blog, we hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we pray for your acclimation to whatever penances you have planned for the rest of St. Martin's Lent and Advent. The Brothers and Chorus Breviarii give thanks to God for their ability to continue their activities, both liturgical and recreational, throughout the liturgical year. To commemorate the end of the 2024 liturgical year, we present some photos from events much earlier in the year that we were unable to post earlier. We have a large backlog of photos from earlier in the year and from years past, so stay tuned for more.
First Visit to the Chaldean Cross
Our poster designer Martin helped to organize the St. Anne Young Adult Group's first hike up to the Chaldean Holy Cross in Jamul, CA on Passion Saturday. Fr. Jesus Valenzuela, F.S.S.P. led the young adults in praying the Stations of the Cross while climbing to the summit of the hill, which was about 900 feet above sea level. We were joined by Mr. Peter O'Connor, F.S.S.P., a seminarian at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, NE. Mr. Grant Dunn, who was leading the young adult group at the time of the hike and has sung in choir with the Brothers for a few Vespers events in the past, is also currently enrolled in his first year at the Denton seminary. Our climb to the top was very penitential, as aside from the steep incline and loose dirt, we also had to deal with a cold drizzle that eventually intensified into windy rain. The rainy conditions died down when we were halfway down the mountain.
Set on private land between rural and suburban East County, this cross commemorates the persecuted Christian communities of the Middle East, many of whom have been martyred for their embrace of the faith. Many persecuted Middle Eastern Christians have come to the United States, with a large percentage of them being Chaldean Catholics such as the family who installed this cross last December, the Attishas. Counting the Catholic communities alone, there are also Melkites, Maronites, and Syriacs. The Chaldeans have established a large presence in El Cajon and adjacent communities, with a monastery located just east of Montgomery Field. The prominent placement of the Chaldean Cross makes it visible from the southern edge of Rancho San Diego, a community located just south of El Cajon proper which is home to St. Peter's Chaldean Cathedral and an adjacent convent. The future site of an expanded St. Anne Catholic Church is located on the northern edge of Rancho San Diego, only a brief walk from the Chaldeans' seminary in El Cajon.
Interestingly, the unity between the Chaldean communities of El Cajon and Rancho San Diego was the subject of a lawsuit filed a couple years ago by LiMandri & Jonna LLP that disputed the legality of the new San Diego County Supervisorial District boundaries. As business-oriented Catholics who have suffered at the hands of Muslims, the Chaldeans have generally voted along conservative lines like the rest of East County. Both the Chaldean community and the County's Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) admitted that the redraws were made in the interest of "BIPOC" activism, with the Chaldean Coalition claiming that "BIPOC" / BLM / anti-conservative interests motivated the push to dilute the Chaldean vote. Meanwhile, the County claims that the IRC was acting in the interest of immigrant and refugee communities, which may highlight that Arab Muslim communities in East County are politically closer to fellow Muslim refugees in San Diego's Mid-City neighborhoods than Chaldeans in East County. Regardless of the validity of the IRC's justification, the lawsuit was rejected in 2023, leaving Rancho San Diego's Chaldean community in the county's most diverse Supervisorial District, with some of the areas represented including immigrant neighborhoods, Black communities, and homosexual enclaves. In general, the District votes solidly liberal.
Many of our younger Chorus Breviarii members are familiar with both Fr. Andrew "Andy" Younan, chorbishop and seminary rector, and Fr. Ankido (Enkidu) Sipo, abbot, due to their positions as professors at JPCatholic University in Escondido. Fr. Andy also offers the Sunday Divine Mysteries in the Chaldean Rite ad orientem at Mar Narsai Chaldean Catholic Mission, which shares facilities with Holy Martyrs of England and Wales Anglican Ordinariate Parish, the home parish of our Chorus Breviarii brethren in Murrieta.
Delayed Tenebrae Scenes
We currently have multiple days of Tenebrae videos from both 2023 and 2024 that we plan on uploading to YouTube around Ash Wednesday of 2025. We also have a large collection of photos from both St. Anne and Holy Martyrs. As at last year's Tenebrae services at St. Anne, Fr. Valenzuela was our hebdomadary. Mr. Peter O'Connor, F.S.S.P. and Mr. Grant Dunn also joined us for Tenebrae, each one reading a Lesson. Since 2022, a few of us have made it a custom to visit the Ruthenians at Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church following Tenebrae of Holy Saturday for the celebration of Jerusalem Matins, where we always see Chorus Breviarii associate Gary Huber leading as cantor.
Courtesy: Bert Porciuncula
The Crown Point Country Club
Our annual Paschal Gaudeamus took place on April 22 at the highly-exclusive and extremely secretive Crown Point Country Club. Chorus Breviarii members from down near the Mexican border all the way up to Murrieta gathered to enjoy the end of Lenten fasting to engage in Paschaltide feasting. Our potluck dinner, which included bratwurst, "Tasting is Believing" chicken, and various other dishes was delicious. Highlights at the club that night included an outdoor grill and tiki bar, heated and unheated saltwater pools, and live coverage of the San Diego Padres. My own dip in the pool was followed by some cozying-up by the fire-ring. Considering the cold air that often passes over Crown Point, some modest drinking also aided in warming up the body. For information about the club's history, membership dues, and actual existence, please contact Mr. John B. Polhamus.
Ecce quam bonum et quam jucundum, habitare fratres in unum!
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