Name of Church Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Address 17001 Tomki Road, Redwood Valley, CA 95470
Phone number (707) 485-8959
Website www.monksofmttabor.com
Divine Liturgy times The monks celebrate the Byzantine liturgy. Guests are welcome for retreats. Monday – Friday, Matins begins at 5:30 a.m., followed by Divine Liturgy; Saturday, Matins and Divine Liturgy at 6 a.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. Divine Liturgy. There are many icons, which are considered windows to heaven, throughout the church.
Confessions Ask one of the priests.
Abbot Father Damian Higgins. He came to the community in 1988, and has since become a talented iconographer. View and purchase his icons (and other items) at www.mounttaborstudios.com. Proceeds support the monastery. Father Damien offers classes in painting icons.
Homilies The monks take turns preaching; the preaching is orthodox and reflects their traditional monastic life.
Location The monastery is located in the Diocese of Santa Rosa, five miles north of the town of Redwood Valley. The monastery overlooks the valley. The area is lush with many trees, as well as vineyards and wineries. Please remember to wear appropriate attire (e.g. no shorts or short dresses allowed). (Historic note: Redwood Valley was once the home of the Jim Jones People’s Temple (1965-74). They relocated to South America and engaged in mass suicide).
Additional observations Holy Transfiguration Monastery is a contemplative, Eastern Catholic monastery, part of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church under the leadership of Sviatoslav Shevchuk, patriarch of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. They are in union with the Pope. Although the church serves people of Ukrainian ancestry, all are welcome to attend. The monks arrived in California in 1974, led by a Belgium-native, Father Boniface Luykx. The local bishop gave permission for them to begin their monastery. The monks spend several hours daily in the church in prayer, and also engage in monastic ascetic practices such as fasting and vigils. Today, Holy Transfiguration is home to about 10 monks. Guests are welcome to participate in the prayer life of the monks. Buildings include a chapel, outdoor chapel, retreat house, dining room, bookstore and residence for the monks (with private cells). There is also an outdoor hiking trail. Buildings have the classic, onion-shaped domes and crosses, and are made of bare wood common to the region.
Most excellent… I wonder if they are accepting applicants
Yes; inquire about a visit or discernment weekend/retreat if you are interested.
We definitely accept candidates. If interested, contact the monastery or send me an email.
In Christ,
Br. Maximos
Their mass is so beautiful and the hymns are angelic! I like it when its said in English. I sometimes attend Holy Angels Byzantine parish in San Diego. Really beautiful and holy mass!
For those who do not know, in addition to the Latin Rite – OF & EF Masses,
Catholics may attend Ambrosian rite, and the Byzantine, Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite and Chaldean rites. – per CCC # 1203.
Orthodox Churches are not Catholic, and do not fulfill your Sunday obligation.
Actually it does if a catholic parish is not accessible you may attend an Eastern Orthodox liturgy as their sacraments are valid
You may not receive communion in the Orthodox Church unless you are a member of the Orthodox Church.
They do want qualified applicants. If they don’t grow, they will die as a community. They also welcome visitors, so feel free to go up. It’s a rather rustic setting, so be prepared to rough it!
Perhaps also relevant, since the Ukrainian Catholics are in union with Rome, is that , today, Nov. 23rd, is the feast of St Clement I, pope and martyr (d. 99 AD), who was one of those who preserved the tradition of the Roman Rite, he having received it previously from SS Peter and Paul (he is certain to have known S Peter prior to his martyrdom in 64 AD. He is mentioned after SS Linus and Cletus in the Canon of the Mass (“EP 1” for Novus Ordo). as the 3rd pope after S Peter.
The Traditional Latin Mass therefore goes back to the time of Christ and the Apostles.
Also, in 1 Clement (letter, 96 AD), Clement I established the order of the clergy as received from Peter and Paul: of bishops, priests (“presbyteroi”) and deacons (there are some today who allege that deacons existed prior to priests in some strange effort to de-construct/re-construct church and priesthood: in fact bishops and priests shared their sacramental role according to what you read in 1 Clement from the very beginning). For another point, John the Evangelist is sometimes referred to as “John the Presbyter”, as by Papias (d. 163 AD), perhaps the very earliest Church historian, who details the lives and outcomes of the apostles and Gospel-writers.
There is no evidence of Latin as a liturgical until the 3rd century. The first liturgies were probably in Aramaic. Greek was the predominant language in the Mediterranean. If you have some evidence of Latin as a liturgical language during the time of the Apostles, Catholic scholars would love to see it..
The 1st epistle of St. Clement is written in Greek
Ah, the mysterious Anonymous-clan surfaces, out of the shadows! And inevitably their target — the TLM!
So, “no evidence of Latin as a liturgical language during the time of the the Apostles”, is the anti-traditional claim. (You see, the Mass was “all made up” by a 3rd-century Bugnini, that is the central-idea here, so that the really-made-up Mass of Bugnini looks valid by comparison.)
Actually you are wrong, 1 Clement wasn’t written in “Greek”, first of all, but Koine (“common”) Greek of the 1st C. AD: Κλήμεντος πρὸς Κορινθίους, Klēmentos pros Korinthious).
No one is targeting the TLM.
Just get your facts straight.
I agree Anonymous no one here. He targets the OF mass with his duck comments against it.
Steve targets willful ignorance with his duck comments, Abeca. We must ALL take accountability for our actions and how we contribute to sin. (…responding emotionally is the easiest way to be tripped up and contribute to sinful actions/expressions, even unwittingly as we cover ourselves by way of hurt feelings.)
Time and again, Steve has provided accurate backup for his statements. The visible fruits of the rite are there to see/taste/and assess. All Anonymous does is undermine reality. And you, for all of your Catholic thought and prayer, continue to attack the messenger, aiding and abetting those who would cover up reality.
That is why there is a reference to ducks – one quacks, they all start quacking. It’s a chain reaction,…
…not proof of fidelity or understanding.
Much like getting folks whipped up by the poor ladies argument keeps people from getting back to the basics of girding up men to be the spiritual head of the family.
Now actually the point here is that of course the TLM has contained both Greek and Latin from the earliest days, as it does today (ex. The Kyrie). But in fact elements of the Latin liturgical language survive in burial inscriptions from at least the end of the 2nd century: Let’s just give one acceptable layman’s source:
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08042a.htm
In fact, sepulchral inscriptions from this era (at least 150-200 AD) reflect the very language (“pax”, “refrigerium”)—appearing to contain an actual fragment of the Mass prayers, for example — of the TLM prayer for the dead, “To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and peace..” (Ipsis, Dómine, et ómnibus in Christo quiescéntibus locum refrigérii, lucis pacis ut indúlgeas, deprecámur. Roman Canon) The Catacombs of S. Callistus, which I have had the great opportunity to examine personally, contains an ancient underground church and TLM-type altar, has abundant Latin transcriptions reflecting the language of the Latin Mass on the crypts of the popes (at least middle…
Also, the Anonymous-clan, peering out from their shadowy lair, likely is/are the same source who claimed “Masses were never celebrated in the catacombs” (Really? There are pre-Constantinian basilicas in the Catacombs, such as those of S. Sebastiano, S. Callisto, and Sa. Domitilla.) I have already mentioned the Latin-type church and altar in S Callistus. Here is an image of this altar, likely 100AD-250 AD (P. Callistus became pope in 217 AD and previously administrated the cemetery):
https://www.roninrome.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/catacombssancallisto4.jpg
Now, the inscription, in LATIN, on this altar was later (by P. Damasus, d. 384), but the point is that the Latin Mass tradition does in fact date from the times of the…
…the point is that the Latin Mass tradition does in fact date from the times of the pre-Constantinian persecutions.
Also, the Anonymous-clan, peering out from their shadowy lair, likely is/are the same source who claimed, archly “1 Clement” was written in Greek. Yes: Pope Clement I, a Roman fluent in Latin & Greek, as like the liturgy, was writing to the Church in Corinth. Ahhh, Corinth be in Greece, no?
Also, the Anonymous-clan, still peering out from their shadowy lair, likely is/are the same source who claimed “St Tarcisius was layman, and he carried the Eucharist” (verbatim). Well actually, St Tarcisius was an acolyte, an ordained position in even the very early Church, so that isn’t so [that he was a member of the…
so [that he was a member of the “laity”] either.
But the whole premise that “There is no evidence of Latin as a liturgical until the 3rd century” we can conclusively state, even based on catacomb inscriptions, is “categorically false”.
YFC-Anonymous, why aren’t you posting under your regular moniker, hmm? Same syntax, same argumentation, same petty insistent demands for documentation that, when they disprove you, you attempt to clap down on an irrelevant matter or a technicality..
Using your same source, this says the original language of the Mass was Greek.
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09790b.htm
“Using your same source, this says the original language of the Mass was Greek.” And this is another error of Mr. Logic: it wasn’t claimed that the original language of the Mass was Latin. What actually was asserted, that shadowy Anonymous-clan didn’t like:
“The Traditional Latin Mass therefore goes back to the time of Christ and the Apostles” . And it does: SS Peter & Paul, Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus. And the New Mass? It dates from Archbp. Bugnini. 1969.
at least middle 200’s, if not earlier).
However, the first popes after S. Peter were definitely all Latins (Linus, Cletus/Anacletus, Clement) and their primary language was Latin, although as was the case throughout the Latin empire, koine Greek was an alternate lingua franca. To contend that the Mass was only in Greek (really, only an argument to try to debunk the Roman Mass as not being Roman or Latin) is beyond illogical, but not supported by any of the facts above.
Another thing, since Anonymous-clan is so “arch” about observing what we all know, that 1 Clement (epistle) was written in koine Greek — well it was written to the Church at Corinth about 90 or so AD: should Pope Clement have used Esperanto?
So we can…
..conclude, yes the Roman Mass which has always used Latin and Greek, goes back to the time of Christ, through the witnesses of the apostles and popes, Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, SS Peter and Paul, as they are attested to within the very Roman Canon, an unbroken tradition.
Now, since we have shown that, AT LEAST from ca. 150 AD, Latin inscriptions surviving in catacombs and cemeteries show the prayers, in Latin, of the TLM, then we should note that this means the Latin liturgiy likely PRE-existed this time, since what is recorded usually is already in effect as a a tradition: a tradition going back to SS Peter and Paul (the latter who was of course fluent in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, likely).
Steve, you have presented some very interesting history of our liturgy. But I keep coming back to a key question; so what? It doesn’t matter what language the original “Mass” was said in, or what changes came along later. What matters is what the Magistarium has said the Mass should be in today, and they give us several options, but the Latin Rite uses the local vernacular or Latin. Both are good, pleasing to the Lord, and valid Masses. Can we move on to some important issue, like discussing how very nice this church is and pray for more vocations to it.
And St. Paul letter to the Romans was also written in Koine Greek.
The Mass of the Catholic Church, in all its rites and all its forms goes back to Jesus and the Apostles.
I am struggling to find the Christian spirit in these exchanges. I believe Jesus taught us to love one another. Scholarship and intellectual exchange is thrilling, but the spirit behind the exchanges we read here in the comments sections do not seem especially loving to me. In fact, entirely too many of the comments I read concerning many of the important articles California Catholic Daily brings to us seem decidedly hostile to other commenters. Too many of the comments read like squabbling, at best; some are hostile; and some are discriminatory. A sad state of affairs. I can’t see this spirit as advancing Catholicism.
The Spirit of loving drove Christ to whip the money changers in the Temple, Maryanne. As to, “…too many of the comments read like squabbling,” you have again demonstrated the DAMAGE that a (s)mothering tone, one that is wholly out of place, brings to robust discourse. (Remember, the apostles were stunned by Jesus’s actions, but recalled later that it is written that the suffering servant will be eaten up with love for His Father’s house. That also refers to our souls, Maryanne. Not the outside of us that loves the appearance of getting along. Jesus is eaten up with zeal for our souls. It is that kind of zeal, Maryanne, properly ordered, that kind of ‘oh my’ chutzpah that gets a man to the point of willing to be crucified for…
…His brethren. Not sweet table manners.)
“… I can’t see this spirit as advancing Catholicism.”
No doubt if the Pharisees mothers had been present when Jesus called them whited sepulchers they would have been equally put off, Maryanne. This is another reason why leadership/headship is the domain of men.
Try to remember that Santa Claus (that is St. Nicholas) punched a heretic in the face.
Also try to recall that Our Lady, that is our model, stood at the foot of the cross enduring that bloody confrontation which your mode of thinking would have her vocally decry as unkind, mean, not team building, too rough. And yet it is just such clear speak and action that saves souls. Especially those who know not what they do.
“Scholarship and intellectual exchange is *thrilling*” = And that’s precisely why the Papal Nuncio is trying to reign in the Catholic identity of the thrilling Jesuits.
Being “thrilling” might get you a lead role in a Hollywood movie as Mz. Leonard but being “thrilling” won’t get you to heaven, Maryanne. Obedience, to God, most certainly will.
Self rightousness is not charity ladies. Why do you feel the need to go after Maryanne. She charitably is saying something to reflect on. Remember practice humility.
Remember, Abeca, to practice diligence in reading the whole of one’s message. Nobody is going after ‘Maryanne’ but rather the messaging that can trip one up – just like it tripped you up into advocating for the feminist agenda principles Maryanne posted on another thread. (She could have posted as Frank the Farm Hand and I would have responded in the same way. I do not have the female filter on as many others do when seeking to find that which is offensive.)
You may want to ask questions and read more before attempting to make a diagnosis of being ‘self’ righteous. For all of your admonishments, Catherine and I are similarly offering food for contemplation.
A prayer before going on the internet
Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Thine image and bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in the Divine person of Thine Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore, Bishop and Doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
— Fr. Zuhlsdorf
Maryanne you are witnessing the fruit of heretics and schismatics. Disloyalty to the Magesterium from within and out. While they complain about their misunderstandings of V2, they forget that the problem is not only the evil permitted within the church we face is no different than their own poor witness.
Fruits don’t create themselves, Abeca.
The Magisterium needs to be loyal to itself to remain authentic. So yes, indeed, we are witnessing the fruit of heretics and schismatics. Those within the Church with a mind to heresy and schism planted the seeds of heresy and schism with full knowledge in a council I wish Catholics would defend by way of truth, not cover up. (…correcting that which is novelty so that that which is consistent could shine through untainted.)
You can’t blame the sheep for rejecting that which is not good. Much like those at a Meredeces factory that would slap the Mercedes logo on a Volkswagen could not lawfully fault their customers for rejecting their product.
Abeca no one is playing victim… lets be honest the NO wrecked the liturgy and it lead the way to destruction of our common Catholic identity. They dragged us out of our “ghettos” so we could be “Americanized” , they physically destroyed our parishes for reasons that were diabolical , they changed our prayers for reason even they cannot clearly explain. Although I think Mr. Janek goes a little too far at times, he is right for the most part. The parishes are emptying out, and have been for decades, fools like Bob One thinks all is just swell in Vatican 2 land, but within the next 50 years the Church will shrink even more rapidly, that’s just a fact. Thank you NO
Well Canisius, here is what the fool is thinking about. In 1965 there were 17,637 parishes. Today there are 17,337 parishes served by 10,000 less Priests. Most of the closed parishes are in urban areas where people have moved to the suburbs. In 1965 there were 48.5 million Catholics in the U.S. and 55% went to Mass on most Sundays. Today there are 81.6 million Catholics, but only 24% go to Mass regularly. That is a key issue for the church, but it is not far off the decline seen in most main-line Protestant denominations..
The real problem may be the fact that nearly half of the elementary schools have closed, the number of high schools is way down and people are not participating in the sacraments. Baptisms are way down, weddings are way off, etc. Not all of that can be attributed to the lack of a Traditional Latin Mass. We have to accept the fact that society has changed faster than the Church has learned to deal with the change. Religion just does not seem that relevant to people any more. I know “Catholics”, and I’m sure you do too, that haven’t been in a church in years. Much of the decline is because of our beliefs about the LGBT community and their rights, the clergy abuse issues, etc. Not just Catholics, but most denominations are…
Yes Bob One you present the facts but you ignore the fact, that while society was racing towards chaos the Church sat back it did nothing, no preaching against abortion, contraception or homosexuality it just let it unfold at break neck speed. Why because of evil inside the Church that has not been confronted or challenged. Vatican 2 and its utter failure is major cause of all of this.. your modernist thinking is clearly evident by this statement “Much of the decline is because of our beliefs about the LGBT community and their rights” There so called lifestyle is illegitimate and does not deserve rights since when did sodomy gain rights… The quicker the Church purified the better..
Very well said.
Amen.
Maryanne, Very well put and I completely agree.
I agree Carol
So what we can conclude from that is that Mass has been celebrated in the local vernacular since, literally, Christ himself.
They attack the TLM because they know it is the TRUE MASS OF ALL TIMES! And only the TLM can defeat the ISLAMIC invasion of Europe and soon coming to the shores of AMERICA thanks to our dear leader the imposter in the White House.
Janek the only comments I usually find are attacks against the OF. Please stop! Stop playing victim. Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it…. Here is comes
You may want to investigate why there are ‘attacks’ against the OF, Abeca. There’s a reason. Just being a meanie isn’t one of them. As for being a victim of bad policy decisions,um, yes. This is true. Much like the people of Germany are the victims of +Kasper and +Marx and generations of gross neglect and perversion of Faith.
Janek, you are just trying to get a rise out of people, aren’t you? First, it is not the Mass of all times. Before it there was Aramaic, and Egyptian, and Turkish, and Greek and you name it. The Apostles spread to different parts ofr the world and taught in the vernacular and said mass in the vernacular. The Roman Empire led the world when Latin was the vernacular, and the Vatican kept the language. It is still the official language of the church, but the rules say that Mass can be said in the vernacular. Second, the TLM has no more “power” than the NO to save the world – they are both equal in efficacy.
No, Bob One, both rites are not equal in efficacy. The fruits are the judge,not wishful double-down rhetoric.
They are the same rite. They are equal in efficacy and in grace and in re-presenting the Sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary.
Q361
The fruits Of the Mass are the blessings that God bestows through the Mass upon the celebrant, upon those who serve or assist at it, upon the person or persons for whom it is offered, and also upon all mankind, especially the members of the Church and the souls in purgatory.
The measure of these blessings depends especially on the dispositions of those to whom they are given.
Bob One your contempt for the TLM is well known. I unfortunately due to my schedule last Sunday I was forced to attend the local OF Mass. Quite possibly one of the most painful experiences I had this year. They were playing a piano like it was some kind of Jazz club on 52nd Street in Manhattan. No reverence for Our Lord, none.. Whether you want to believe it or not the TLM was the mass of the saints, this Novus Ordo, is the mass of poorly catechized .
This Mass, the NO, cannot be called anything but beautiful. Perhaps the parish you visited does not have a good music director or a Priest who doesn’t care. Where I go the Mass is beautiful. Where the Pope goes, it too is beautiful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6fyH4J1tlE
“This Mass, the NO, cannot be called anything but beautiful.” does this moronic statement include liturgical dancers
The Mass does not include liturgical dance.
Thank you, Abeca. Your comments are charitable and helpful in the midst of all the mean-spiritedness we are reading from a couple of others. Thankfully they are in the minority. One correction I would like to submit is that others call me feminist in order to cause a reaction, often a negative one. I am in favor of all people being treated with dignity, equality and respect regardless of race, gender, age, gifts, talents, wealth, beauty, health, language spoken, etc. I might decry ideas but I try to uplift individuals and wish Catholics in particular would show Christian charity in order to help one another ultimately get to heaven.
…the truly mean spirit, Maryanne, is the spirit that undermines God’s plan and stumps for feminism while garbed as an Angel of Light. We’ve been warned of such. But no doubt, you ladies would have taken Jesus to task for His calling out whited sepulchers and throwing nice kindly salespeople out of the Temple. He also publicly decried folks as sons of the Devil.
People call you a feminist because of what you write, Maryanne. That said, you may not be aware that what you are writing is feminist, but confuse it with the notion of helping women. But pursuing the tack that women can only obtain dignity by doing men’s jobs for them is to rob others. That may not be what you advocate, but that is the result.
Don’t let them get to you. We all know what they are like.
“I am in favor of all people being treated with dignity, equality and respect regardless of race, gender, age, gifts, talents, wealth, beauty, health, language spoken, etc.”
The gang members and many others who were taught to be supportive of same sex marriage were not treated with dignity. That is not charity. You tried to pre-canonize this individual but your attempt to test the water did not work. When clergy corrupts Church teaching under the authority of a Roman collar, it is a serious sin that does not uplift souls. It takes away respect for God’s laws. Your posts that accuse the Catholic Church of mistreating women is simply a smokescreen for another agenda.
JANEK wrote: “They attack the TLM because they know it is the TRUE MASS OF ALL TIMES! And only the TLM can defeat the ISLAMIC invasion of Europe and soon coming to the shores of AMERICA thanks to our dear leader the imposter in the White House.”
Well, aren’t you something – and incorrect.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass takes many forms, and always has done.
Watch the Mass in Kenya and realize that not everyone needs to do things the way you like. Jesus certainly did not celebrate the Last Supper at you do the TLM, for example.