Gonna Heat Up This Week; You May Need This!

In Solemn Devotion, Prepare Yourself Now . . .

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER LITURGIES AT THE 

CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL

through Easter Sunday 

April 13, 2017 – April 16, 2017

HOLY THURSDAY CHRISM MASS – April 13th 

10:00 a.m.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. will be the principal celebrant and homilist. All Archdiocesan priests are invited to concelebrate with the Archbishop and to renew their priestly promises.
During this Mass, Archbishop Chaput will bless the Oil of Catechumens as well as the Oil of the Sick and consecrate the Oil of Chrism. These holy oils will be used at parishes throughout the Archdiocese during the coming year in the celebration of the Sacraments. 

The Chrism Mass will be streamed live at www.archphila.org as well as on Archbishop Chaput’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ArchbishopChaput. Additionally, the Mass will be broadcast live on The Catholic Channel on Sirius XM, Domestic Church Media, as well as Holy Spirit Radio 1420 AM and 1570 AM.

HOLY THURSDAY MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER – April 13th 

7:30 p.m.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. will be the principal celebrant. Reverend Thomas A. Viviano, Secretary to the Archbishop, will preach. This Mass commemorates the Last Supper, during which Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and gave us His commandment to love one another. After the homily, following the example of Christ who washed the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper, the Archbishop will wash the feet of 12 seminarians from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament will continue until 11:00 p.m. 

GOOD FRIDAY PASSION OF THE LORD – April 14th 

3:00 p.m. 

The Most Reverend John J. McIntyre, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, will preside and preach at the Solemn Liturgy of the Lord's Passion, commemorating the Holy Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. There will be three hours of meditation on the Passion of Christ in the Cathedral from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., during which Confessions will be heard. 

EASTER VIGIL MASS – April 15th 

8:00 p.m. 

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. will be the principal celebrant and homilist at the Easter Vigil Mass celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord. The Easter Vigil contains four components: Service of Light (Blessing of the Fire and Lighting of the Paschal Candle), Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of Baptism, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
After a reflective and intense period of prayer during Lent, Catechumens (unbaptized candidates) and Candidates (those who have been baptized in other faiths or baptized a Roman Catholic) will become full members of the Catholic Church at the Cathedral and other parishes throughout the Archdiocese at the Easter Vigil and during Easter Time. In 2017, close to 500 new Catholics will be welcomed into the Church over Eatser. 

EASTER SUNDAY MASS – April 16th 

12:30 p.m. 

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. will be the celebrant and homilist at the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord. Other Masses on Easter Sunday are: 8:00 a.m.; 9:30 a.m.; 11:00 a.m. (Solemn Mass); and 2:00 p.m. (Spanish Mass in Cathedral Chapel.) There will not be a 6:30 p.m. Mass. 

Sometimes Yah Just Gotta Watch It Once Again . . .

Some Networks Like ABC and MSNBC didn't even bother to announce the moment that Trump won. They simply took a pass. But here, because you keep asking for it, is That Big Moment when the TV networks told us that the biggest upset victory in nearly 70 years had in fact come to pass. President Trump! Savor it once again!

OMG! Still Offering Excuses . . . Truly Sad!

Hillary making excuse after excuse after excuse on why she lost the election.
Bottom line: She lost because she was a bad candidate who ran a bad campaign.

US, France, Germany, Canada Top Blog Visits

Dan Cirucci Blog, Pageviews by Countries Week of 4/1 Entry Pageviews United States 18075 France 4462 Germany 129 Canada 91 China 80 Ireland 54 Bulgaria 43 Ukraine 42 Australia 33 United Kingdom 33

WOW!

Thank you for more than 23,000 pageviews this week!

Dan Cirucci Blog - Week's Top Five Stories

Top Posts - Week Of 4/1

Entry
Was Clyde Barrow Impotent? Gay? Bisexual? Dec 8, 2011
Here's Yet Another Story The Media Mostly Missed Apr 1, 2017
You've Never Tasted Anything Quite Like This! Apr 4, 2017
Now THIS Will Take Your Breath Away . . . Apr 4, 2017
US, France, Russia, Ireland Lead Blog Visits! Apr 1, 2017

How Notre Dame Struck Out Yet Again!

Following is a very special message from the Cardinal Newman Society:

Again! Tragically, Notre Dame’s doing it again… but so many others are not!

Does your stomach turn every time commencement season rolls around? Mine does. The annual showcase of dissent and scandal at several Catholic colleges isn’t even shocking anymore—but it’s still destructive.

The big picture, however, is bright and getting brighter!

For every poor choice of commencement speaker that disregards Catholic values in the quest for secular prestige, there are many well-deserved honors to Catholic religious and lay leaders. Often the best are, of course, at the faithful Newman Guide colleges. Good for them!

We’ll bring you the good and bad news as it rolls in. Matt Archbold’s Report Card column this week has something of both.

First, the good news:

Saint Mary’s College, which is just across Indiana Route 933 from Notre Dame, provided a powerful witness to students when it rescinded its commencement speaker invitation to feminist author Jean Kilbourne.

After inviting her, the leaders of Saint Mary’s learned that Kilbourne had been honored by Planned Parenthood with a “leadership award.” So they quickly and courageously did the right thing.

On behalf of Catholic families, thank you Saint Mary’s College!

Meanwhile, the University of Notre Dame has made the opposite choice. After awarding its Laetare Medal for exemplary Catholics to pro-abortion Joe Biden last year, Notre Dame this year will be honoring a publicly dissident priest.

Father Gregory Boyle’s good work with Los Angeles gangs is admirable. But how can a Catholic university ignore his public advocacy for same-sex marriage? Even Father Boyle has acknowledged that he doesn’t toe “the party line” when he suggests that God disagrees with the Catholic Church.

Father Boyle has also publicly dissented on priestly ordination and withholding the Eucharist from Catholics who are married outside the Church.

What is the motivation behind Notre Dame’s honor to an unfaithful priest who has reportedly alleged that his “own sad, tragic church” is “just about power and privilege and secrecy and sometimes even a willful wandering away from Jesus and the living of the Gospel”?

There’s a lot more reported in Matt Archbold’s Report Card column this week, both good and bad. I strongly recommend a quick read.

Clearly the work of The Cardinal Newman Society is very much needed. This Lent, we could really use your prayers and donation.

May God have mercy on you, me, and the whole Church as we prepare for Holy Week! And may Easter remind us of our hope in the Resurrection that restored all things to Him.

 

Patrick Reilly  President The Cardinal Newman Society

Yes, One Day CAN Make A World Of Difference . . .

These Winners Proved To Be Marvelously Melodic!

The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO) has named the winners of its inaugural Young Composers Competition, which called for composers ages 18 to 22 to submit original orchestra scores. The winners were selected by PYO’s music director, Maestro Louis Scaglione, and the director of the Young Composers Competition, Sheridan Seyfried, who is a Philadelphia-based composer, and a PYO alumnus as well as a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Richard Danielpour, Jennifer Higdon and Ned Rorem.

Bringing an important focus on the art of composition for symphony orchestra, PYO is pleased to have received such a great turnout for this inaugural competition. Scaglione said, “We place great value on original and creative composition and with our Young Composers Competition, we hope to encourage more students to delve into composing original music for the symphony orchestra genre. We have seen PYO students continue their careers as successful composers, and we hope this leads to more opportunities for individuals with the potential of becoming future great music composers.”

The 2017 winners are: Alan Mackwell (pictured) who won first place for his composition “III. Secretly Ramses the Second”. He will receive a cash prize of $2,000 and PYO will premiere his piece at on June 4, 2017 at PYO’s 77th Annual Festival Concert at Verizon Hall. Additionally, “III. Secretly Ramses the Second” will be professionally recorded for a future WRTI broadcast.

The second-place winner is Christopher Lazzaro and his composition, “Epic, an Orchestral Sketch”. He will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and PYO will perform a reading and recording of his composition.

The third-place winner is Austin Ali for his composition, “Ostinato”. He will receive a cash prize of $500.

About the Winners:

Alan Mackwell, a New Zealander-American, began his music career in the third grade through piano lessons. Alan began writing orchestral music in the eighth grade after being accepted to the American Festival of the Arts’ Composer’s Institute, where two of his pieces were performed. In 2014, he was one of the fifteen composers world-wide to attend the Interlochen Summer Arts Program for music composition, and wrote for the World Youth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jung-Ho Pak. He was selected in 2015 to attend the prestigious Boston Conservatory High School Composition Intensive. Alan is a three-time winner of the Texas Young Composer's Competition, placing 2nd in 2015 and 2016. He is currently pursuing a BM in Music Composition at the Boston Conservatory of Music.

Christopher Lazzaro is an undergraduate sophomore currently studying music composition at Temple University, and has been composing actively for four years (plus an additional four prior to receiving any formal training in the craft). Instructors have included Maurice Wright, Jan Krzywicki, and Larry Lipkis. His music has drawn inspiration from the Impressionist composers, orchestral soundtracks, and various folk styles. He is also a violinist and pianist, and aspires to become a soundtrack composer within the video game industry to supplement his pursuits as a classical composer.

Austin Ali is a nationally acclaimed trumpeter and composer from Dallas, TX. Throughout his career, Austin has played lead trumpet in many ensembles. His compositions have been on display at the Dallas Museum of Art and have been played by numerous school bands and orchestras. His work “Full Volume” for trombone choir is scheduled to be performed by the University of Texas Trombone Choir in April 2017. Austin has also earned various state, national, and international awards for composition and is currently in his first year at the University of Texas at Austin in the B.M. Music Composition and B.A.

About the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra:

Now in its 77th year, training tomorrow’s leaders, the renowned Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization, led by President and Music Director, Maestro Louis Scaglione, is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected community music education and youth orchestra performance programs, providing talented young musicians from across the tri-state area with exceptional musical training. Students go on to excel in many diverse fields, and it is with pride that Philadelphia Youth Orchestra notes that many members of the prestigious Philadelphia Orchestra are alumni. The organization is comprised of six program ensembles designed to meet specific needs and experience levels of students selected through a competitive audition process.

The anchor group is the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO), conducted by President and Music Director Louis Scaglione, featuring 120 gifted instrumentalists who range in age from 14-21.

Young musicians 12-18 years old are featured in PYO’s companion ensemble, the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, which is led by Director and Conductor Maestra Rosalind Erwin, who is Music Director and Conductor of Drexel University Orchestra.

Philadelphia Young Musicians Orchestra (PYMO), directed by Maestro Kenneth Bean, is a beginning to intermediate-level full symphonic orchestra that provides most students with their first introduction to large orchestral playing featuring students age 10-17 years old.

Bravo Brass, directed by Curtis Institute Dean of Faculty and Students, Paul Bryan, is an all brass ensemble for promising middle and high-school instrumentalists.

PRYSM (Philadelphia Region Youth String Music) and PRYSM Young Artists ensembles provide string large ensemble and sectional master class instruction for beginning and intermediate musicians ages 6-14. The director and conductor of PRYSM is Gloria DePasquale, cellist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and conductor of PRYSM Young Artists is Andrea Weber.

Tune Up Philly (TUP) is PYO’s engagement program, directed by Paul Smith, that focuses on creating and inspiring true community by providing children in under-resourced communities with invaluable opportunities to learn and perform a differentiated orchestral music curriculum. www.pyos.org.

We Need To Fight It 'Before It Starts'

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today joined the New Jersey Devils to deliver an important message to school students about drug abuse and addiction.

Governor Christie has made it a priority to fight the disease of addiction, which frequently starts with drugs, such as opioids, found in a family’s medicine cabinet.

“One of the best ways to fight drug abuse is before it starts,” said Governor Christie. “We need to educate students about the dangers of using illegal drugs or misusing prescription medications. And we appreciate the support and participation of the New Jersey Devils in our multi-pronged effort to combat opioid addiction. Hopefully, our message here today will help these young people to make right decisions to be drug free or help save the life of someone they know.”

The students attended a Devils practice session at the Prudential Center in Newark and then met with Governor Christie and members of the Devils organization to discuss the important role prevention plays in the fight against drug addiction.

Four out of five new heroin users started by misusing prescription painkillers. Even more alarming, a Centers for Disease Control report reveals that health care providers in the year 2012 alone wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid pain medication, enough for every adult in the United States to have a bottle of pills.

In addition, an estimated 20 percent of juveniles with currently prescribed opioid medications report using those medications intentionally to get high or increase the effects of alcohol or other drugs.

Those with a drug problem or who may know someone with the disease of addiction, may visit www.reachnj.gov or call the state’s 24-hour a day, seven days a week helpline at 1-844-REACHNJ.