Dear Jonathon:

Concerning Question #1: Sure, you can listen to the Gloria. Lenten practices that pertain to Liturgy are regulated only in Liturgy. Private devotions, other than the laws on fasting and abstinence, are not regulated by the Church, but by one's own preferences and conscience.

Concerning Question #2: We must remember that the Vatican II Council was a Holy Council called by the Pope under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and confirmed by the Holy Spirit. All Catholics are bound to obey the tenets and directives of Vatican II as it applies to them.

The abuses we see in Liturgy and in ecumenism (which is actually a false ecumenism) are abuses of Vatican II and are the result of sinful bishops and priests and not the fault of Vatican II or the Church.

We indeed can be angry at the abuses, but we must be careful not to let our proper angry turn into sinful anger, as the Bible warns. It is sad to see sinful and rebellious bishops and priests harming the Faith with their disrespectful and arrogant notions and teachings. It is even more sad to see the contamination of the people of God who sit under the teaching of these rebels.

We must dedicate ourselves to pray, instead of grumble, for these bishops and priests who dishonor our Sacred Liturgy and the Holy Teachings of the Church. Grumbling can be sinful, but praying for these people instead is a virtue that God will reward and through which some of the rebels may eventually repent.

We must also avoid the proverbial "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" when we see these abuses. Because we witness a false ecumenism does not mean that ecumenism is to be distrusted or thrown out. When we witness a "false ecumenism" we must remember that there is a "true Ecumenism." In fact, the True Ecumenism is required for all Catholics.

Canon Law. 755 §1. It is above all for the entire college of bishops and the Apostolic See to foster and direct among Catholics the ecumenical movement whose purpose is the restoration among all Christians of the unity which the Church is bound to promote by the will of Christ.

§2. It is likewise for the bishops and, according to the norm of law, the conferences of bishops to promote this same unity and to impart practical norms according to the various needs and opportunities of the circumstances; they are to be attentive to the prescripts issued by the supreme authority of the Church.

But what is this "ecumenical movement?" Since there is a "false" ecumenism, what is the "true" ecumenism. The Church gives us and teaches us a "true" ecumenism that clearly does not compromise the True Faith in any way. It does seek unity among Christians, which is the command that Jesus made to us all. That unity, however, is not made at the expense of Truth.

Here is the Church on Ecumenism from the Catechism:

"The sacred mystery of the Church's unity" (UR 2)

813 The Church is one because of her source: "the highest exemplar and source of this mystery is the unity, in the Trinity of Persons, of one God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit." The Church is one because of her founder: for "the Word made flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all men to God by the cross, . . . restoring the unity of all in one people and one body." The Church is one because of her "soul": "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the principle of the Church's unity." Unity is of the essence of the Church:

What an astonishing mystery! There is one Father of the universe, one Logos of the universe, and also one Holy Spirit, everywhere one and the same; there is also one virgin become mother, and I should like to call her "Church."

814 From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them. Within the unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples and cultures is gathered together. Among the Church's members, there are different gifts, offices, conditions, and ways of life. "Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions." The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity. Yet sin and the burden of its consequences constantly threaten the gift of unity. And so the Apostle has to exhort Christians to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

815 What are these bonds of unity? Above all, charity "binds everything together in perfect harmony." But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of communion:

- profession of one faith received from the Apostles;

-common celebration of divine worship, especially of the sacraments;

- apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God's family.

816 "The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it.... This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in (subsistit in) in) the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him."

The Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism explains: "For it is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God."

Wounds to unity

817 In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church - for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame." The ruptures that wound the unity of Christ's Body - here we must distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism - do not occur without human sin:

Where there are sins, there are also divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul of all believers.

818 "However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers .... All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church."

819 "Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth" are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements." Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."

Toward unity

820 "Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time." Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her. This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease praying to his Father, for the unity of his disciples: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, . . . so that the world may know that you have sent me." The desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit.

821 Certain things are required in order to respond adequately to this call:

- a permanent renewal of the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation; such renewal is the driving-force of the movement toward unity;

- conversion of heart as the faithful "try to live holier lives according to the Gospel"; for it is the unfaithfulness of the members to Christ's gift which causes divisions;

- prayer in common, because "change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name 'spiritual ecumenism;"'

-fraternal knowledge of each other;

- ecumenical formation of the faithful and especially of priests;

- dialogue among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different churches and communities;

- collaboration among Christians in various areas of service to mankind. "Human service" is the idiomatic phrase.

822 Concern for achieving unity "involves the whole Church, faithful and clergy alike." But we must realize "that this holy objective - the reconciliation of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ - transcends human powers and gifts." That is why we place all our hope "in the prayer of Christ for the Church, in the love of the Father for us, and in the power of the Holy Spirit."

No loyal and obedient Catholic can disagree with this. The teaching of the Church is the teaching of Christ -- "Be one."

As for an Ecumenical Ash Wednesday "service", it is permissible for the blessing and giving of ashes to take place outside of Mass. Obviously, only the Ash Wednesday Rite outside of Mass could be used in an Ecumenical Setting. Even then, the rubrics MUST be as specified in the Sacramentary. I am not aware of any permission given to have an Ecumenical Service, for example, where non-Catholic ministers conduct the service along with Catholic priests.

Without knowing exactly what happened in your parish, there is no way for me to respond specifically.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary