Deo Gratias to 2024 (Pt. 2)

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

to all of our supporters!

An All Hallows After-Party

Photos and Comment from Fratellino:

"First Vespers was followed by some high-calorie festivities... and the evening ended with sung Compline. Now THAT was an All Hallows Eve!"

Vespers of the Dead from Megan

Thank you to Megan Palihnich for providing photos and videos of our Chorus Breviarii members (sans Brothers) singing Vespers of the Dead to gain indulgences for the souls in Purgatory at Old Calvary Cemetery.

More Scenes from Martinmas

Our photographer for our celebration of Martinmas at Walsingham Burrow, Frater Jon T. Velasco, has provided us with these images from both the Vespers service and the splendid supper, which included goose, stuffing, and spätzle, alongside other wonderful dishes!

Still more photos from 2024 to come!

Deo Gratias to 2024 (Pt. 1)

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. 

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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!

Lenten Exercise Paralipomena

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. 

Chorus Breviarii Murrieta at Mass

Murrieta Visits

On March 17, Chorus Breviarii Murrieta and others came down to San Diego as part of a Mission Pilgrimage in honor of St. Junipero Serra. Gabriel Palencia has a write-up on the purpose of the pilgrimage available on the Chorus Breviarii Murrieta blog. After attending Mass and praying the Stations of the Cross, these pilgrims prayed the rosary in the Mission courtyard in front of the statue of Fr. Serra, concluding with various hymns.

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.

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.

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. 

When the Kumeyaay came with their clubs, stones, and
arrows, Father Luis Jayme greeted them with the
traditional Franciscan invitation to love God.

As Father Luis Jayme was martyred at the hands of enraged native warriors for conducting his ministry, so was an Oratorian on the path to sainthood martyred at the hands of cruel soldiers during the Spanish Civil War. The Blessed Salvio Huix Miralpéix, Cong. Orat., was Bishop of Lleida in Spain when he was imprisoned by the Spanish leftists along with other priests and laymen. During his time in prison, he continued to provide the sacraments, and when the leftists decided it was time for the good bishop to die, they brought him out to the cemetery so that he would dig his own grave. The leftist soldiers tried to make the Blessed Salvio renounce the faith to save his earthly life, but the bishop refused, instead choosing to be the last to die among the prisoners so that he could bless each one. Despite having his right arm shot by one of the soldiers to interrupt the blessings, the bishop continued with his left arm until the soldiers finally shot him in the head. Father Luis, Blessed Salvio, and the Martyrs of both the Spanish Civil War and the Cristero Wars serve as great examples for Catholics today to stand strong in the face of persecution by earthly powers.

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

• The sketch of the martyrdom Fr. Jayme is from The Journal of San Diego History via Wikipedia.
• The portrait of Blessed Salvio Huix, C.O., was obtained via the Birmingham Oratory

Paralipomena from the 2022 Liturgical Year

Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, leaving us less than a week until Advent. Some photo and video submissions never made it to our inboxes in time for appropriately-timed postings and blogpost updates. The Books of Chronicles are called Paralipomenon (Greek, Παραλειπομένων; lit. of things omitted) in the Septuagint and Vulgate, in reference to the supplemental nature of these books to the Books of Kings. This post is dedicated to the paralipomena of the past liturgical year.

TENEBRÆ:

Good Friday 2022

Courtesy: Judith

Fr. Burt Boudoin's 40th Anniversary:

From Fratellino: On Saturday, 9 July 2022, several of the Brothers participated in a polyphonic ensemble in honour of the 40th anniversary of Fr. Burt Boudoin's priestly ordination. The Brothers give thanks for Fr. Boudoin's friendship and liturgical support, and wish him many more years of the same. Deo Gratias!!

VIDEO LINK HERE

6th Sun. after Pentecost:

Another shot of the Art Deco monstrance at Guardian Angels

ASSUMPTION:

A special thanks to Fr. Dominic Smith, O.S.A., a 2018 graduate of JP Catholic, for being hebdomadary for 1st Vespers of the Assumption, and to the Divine Office Ministry of JP Catholic University for helping to organize this event and continue exposing young Catholic students to the value of the choral office. 

Psalmody and Organ

Fr. Dominic Smith, O.S.A. illuminated by acolytes

Students from JPCatholic join in song

Fr. Dominic Smith, O.S.A. incenses the altar

Enjoyment of conversation

Courtesy: visionaryarts100

Selections from the Divine Office Ministry page:

St. Bartholomew:

A couple Brothers and a couple Chorus Breviarii members assisted at an ad orientem Novus Ordo Mass celebrated by Fr. William Kernan, pastor of the acoustically-sound parish of St. Margaret of Scotland in Oceanside. Traditional Catholic hymnody, polyphony, and chant were provided by students in the Sacred Music class at JPCatholic University in Escondido as part of their final exam. Some students in this class are also involved in JPCatholic's Divine Office Ministry, and one is even a Chorus Breviarii member. 

A seraphic angel

Fr. Kernan at the Canon

Courtesy: Fratellino

Fr. Kernan made a memorable quip referencing the following sentence from the Feast's Gospel: 

"Can anything good come from Nazareth?" (John 1:46)

and given Escondido's modest reputation (the location of JPCatholic) regarding music and liturgical representation in San Diego:

"Can anything good come from Escondido?"

Considering how mightily impressed Father was with the music provided by the students, of course his answer was a confident:

"Yes!"

MICHAELMAS:

Here are additional photos and videos from Benediction.

Click this photo to access the Flickr album

Courtesy: Angelo

MEETING THE MONSIGNOR:

Two of our postulants met the Rev. Mgr. Isidro Puente Ochoa, founder of the Religiosas Ecumenicas de Guadalupe (Ecumenical Sisters of Our Lady of Guadalupe), a Catholic convent devoted to the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass since 1984 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The Monsignor is a well-liked figure in the Mexican traditional Catholic community, and as a well-learned cleric, he has provided a robust traditional Catholic education to those looking to become priests or religious, with the assistance of the Sisters. One of the Monsignor's students, Mr. Ricardo Ascencio Rodriguez, F.S.S.P., is now a tonsured seminarian at the Fraternity Seminary in Nebraska, while another one, Mr. Ascensio's sister, is one of the Sisters. The Monsignor came to sit in choro during Mr. Ascensio's father's Solemn High Requiem on Nov. 9 at St. Anne Catholic Church. 

Please for the repose of the soul of Mr. Ascensio's father, Ricardo Ascensio Chavez.

Requiem aeternam dona ei Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei.

The Monsignor in choir dress

ST. DIDACUS:

The Brothers would like to thank Fr. Liebert F.S.S.P. for being hebdomadary for our Vespers services and to the students of John Paul the Great Catholic University for continuing to support us through their Divine Office Ministry. Father procured refreshments for us after Vespers, and the younger members spent the rest of the evening in merriment. 

Courtesy: Marlon