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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.
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!
In a prior article, we discussed the Exercises proper to the Brothers during the summer. Since it is now the penitential Ember Week of September, this article will return to discussing the Lenten Exercises and how we concluded with them this year. Our previous article on the Lenten Exercises can be found here.
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| Chorus Breviarii Murrieta at Mass |
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| The Pilgrimage Flyer |
After some hesitancy over what the pilgrims would have for dinner, followed by a failed attempt at getting a table at another restaurant, they settled on a nearby IHOP location. Despite being a "24-hour location," this location was just about to close because one of the cooks was feeling a bit under the weather. Nonetheless, they were able to secure their breakfast-for-dinner while enjoying a good few laughs around the table over various jokes.
After an exchange of goodbyes amongst themselves in the IHOP parking lot, some of the pilgrims concluded their visit by joining the Brothers for Friday Exercises at St. Anne. The Brothers were delighted by their presence, and they were all excited for the upcoming Tenebrae services.
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| Saturday Stations in Spanish |
Lauds of the Dead at the Mission
Some affiliates of Chorus Breviarii paid another visit to the mission the following day as part of a pilgrimage in honor of the Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, as well as for the general needs of the children of the Spanish Empire. After attending the morning Low Mass and receiving a blessing from one of the priests at St. Anne, the pilgrims made their way to Mission San Diego to pray the Stations of the Cross according to an early 20th-century Spanish translation. The Most Holy Rosary followed the Stations.
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| The Pilgrimage Flyer |
After the Rosary, Chorus Breviarii members led Lauds of the Dead for the repose of the souls of those killed in the Spanish Civil War who were not listed among the martyrs. It had probably been decades since even laymen had sung the Office of the Dead in the old mission church, so it was certainly an opportunity to feel united to the traditional expressions of the faith that had long been neglected. Following the conclusion of Lauds, the pilgrims chanted the noon Angelus and exited the church into one of the courtyards. A couple that had been visiting the mission asked the pilgrims what they had been singing, saying that it sounded beautiful. The pilgrims both explained what it was and why they were praying these things at the mission, especially emphasizing the importance of the Office of the Dead to pray for the departed souls.
The humble St. Junipero Serra likely prayed these same Hours for the Dead after his fellow Majorcan Franciscan, Father Luis Jayme, was brutally killed at the hands of the Kumeyaay Indians following the burning of Mission San Diego in 1775. Father Jayme is now buried under the sanctuary of the current mission, and it would be profitable to pray for his future canonization as Protomartyr of California.
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| When the Kumeyaay came with their clubs, stones, and arrows, Father Luis Jayme greeted them with the traditional Franciscan invitation to love God. |
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| Blessed Salvio Huix, an Oratorian |
In Passiontide
The Brothers' last set of exercises was prayed on the Friday in Passion Week (also called the Friday of Sorrows), and thus, the illuminated crucifix was veiled in the violet cloths specific to Passiontide. The darkness of Friday Exercises was made more apparent by the hiding of the figure of Our Lord, the Light of the World, from the eyes of those praying before the Cross. At the conclusion of Exercises, the Brothers were now only five days away from the beginning of Tenebrae.
Photos and Flyers: Gabriel, Martin
Art Courtesy: Unknown artists
From Fratellino:
After Tenebrae of Holy Saturday, 2023, sung at St. Anne's, San Diego. So many young faces this year; the future of Catholic Tradition is bright indeed! Laus Deo!!
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| Good Friday post-Tenebrae |
Two of the members in choir only informed us the afternoon before of their desire to sing the Office with us, after having been moved by Tenebrae on Good Friday. Our total count of 18 men was 10 more than last year's count of 8 for Holy Saturday. We pray that next year will be even more successful than this year! We will post more photos and videos as they come by.
The Brothers and Chorus Breviarii members from San Diego and Murrieta sang Good Friday Tenebrae at St. Anne Catholic Church from 5:15 to 7:45 in the morning. We were joined by Fr. Jesus Valenzuela, FSSP, one of the parish's assistant priests, as well as by Mr. Ricardo Ascensio, FSSP, a seminarian from San Diego. Mr. Ascensio chanted his lesson, the third one from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, according to the Mozarabic tone, which we had never heard before.
We were also joined by two youths at St. Anne who both serve at Mass and sing in the parish's the choristers group. In total, we had 22 men in choir.
