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    2 December 2009

    Feedback… nice

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 9:42 pm

    You never know what your past labors might offer in the future.

    I received this today about an old PODCAzT, #33, in which I deal with St. Augustine’s discussion of loving God too late:

    Although I had read it many years ago, I sobbed my way through the entire PODCAzT during my walk tonight.  Anymore, it’s not just scholarship or "beautiful ancient literature."  It’s personal.

     

    I make these things and throw them into cyberspace like messages in bottles.

    Sometimes something comes back.

    Thanks! 

    Thank you very much.

    • • • • • •

    Fr. Z TV - Streaming LIVE

    CATEGORY: LIVE STREAMING — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 8:00 pm

    Z-Cam & Radio Sabina, or "Fr Z TV" is on the air most of the time!

    Watch the feeder and very often windows of the chapel and also my office.

    Live Broadcasting by Ustream

    There is Z-Chat in a chatroom from time to time.  I send out Tweets about when it is open via Twitter.  (Latin pipata, or "tweets" from pipio "to twitter, chirp")


    Open as a pop up.


    "tuppence a bag…"

    Well… far more than tuppence, actually…. HELP!



    REGISTER to be able to post comments.

    • • • • • •

    QUAERITUR: St. Michael Prayer after Novus Ordo Mass

    CATEGORY: ASK FATHER Question Box — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 5:28 pm

    From a reader:

    We have had some talks in our Worship Committee meetings about adding the Prayer to St Michael to the end of the liturgy just before the recessional in similar manner to the Leonine Prayers in the 1962 Missal.

    [But…]

    Inter oecumenici – Instruction on implementing liturgical norms Consilium (of Sacred Congregation of Rites) – September 26, 1964

    48. Until reform of the entire Ordo Missae, the points that follow are to be
    observed:

    j. The last gospel is omitted; the Leonine Prayers are suppressed.

    I know that the Ordo Reform is complete, and I don’t know if it would be licit for us to add this.  I see it as an area of ‘mutual enrichment’ and was wondering if you or your readers know if it is OK or not.
    It is no longer obligatory to pray the so-called "Leonine Prayers" after Mass.

    But, remember… what you are talking about is after Mass.... after….

     

    If the priest and people, after Mass, want to kneel before the altar where Mass was just celebrated and, after Mass, pray to St. Michael the Archangel – an approved prayer – then how can that be a violation of Inter Oecumenici?

    No one is constrained to pray after Mass.  They ought to, even briefly.  But…. no… hey wait… the St. Michael Prayer is a brief prayer, right?....  hmmm…

    Furthermore, is it really possible to object to Christians praying approved prayers together?

    Moreover, can you think of a more appropriate prayer for our times?

    Bottom line… yes, after Mass people can pray together in church with their priest for the needs of the world and their loved ones.

    • • • • • •

    Ripping off the Church in San Francisco

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 8:56 am

    From the excellent Catholic Key, blog of the newspaper of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri, where the great Bishop Finn shepherds his portion of the Lord’s flock, comes this.

    Tuesday, December 1, 2009
    City Fines Archdiocese of San Francisco $14.4 Million

    The City of San Francisco is hard up for cash, so they’ve decided to steal it from the Archdiocese of San Francisco because they can – nakedly, in broad daylight, without the slightest plausible legal pretense. The Church is openly hated and condemned in San Francisco for its support of Proposition 8 and its defense of human sexual morality in general. The City can steal from the Archdiocese because the City needs the money and because it makes the citizenry happy to stick it to the evil Catholic Church.

    Here’s some backstory from a previous post:

        When you sell a piece of property in many California jurisdictions, including San Francisco, the seller must pay a rather exhorbitant tax for the privilege which is based upon the value of the property. It is akin to a sales tax on a home or commercial property.


        The San Francisco Archdiocese owns hundreds of lots in San Mateo, Marin and San Francisco counties. The exceedingly vast majority of these properties are the lots which make up a parish plant, i.e., church, school, parish hall, parking lot, rectory. . .


        The Archdiocese has historically held title to these properties under two names – The Roman Catholic Welfare Corporation and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, a Corporation Sole.


        In December, 2007, San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer announced a corporate restructuring within the archdiocese and by May 2008, almost all properties in question had been consolidated under the title of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Parish and School Juridic Persons Juridic Property Support Corp.


        Since this is not a sale or transfer to a different organization or person, no transfer tax is invoked and no transfer tax has ever been invoked in the history of the state for such a transaction.

    That is, until City Assessor Phil Ting gauged the likely public reaction to an outright theft from the Prop. 8 supporting Catholic Church and realized it would not only be profitable, but popular. Last year Ting, unlike assessors in Marin and San Mateo Counties, decided to charge the Archdiocese a transfer tax on all Archdiocesan properties in San Francisco. This includes properties such as Mission Dolores, which have been owned by the Church since before there was a State of California or a taxing authority in San Francisco.

    They are still owned by the Church. No money changed hands. Yet, the City is charging the Archdiocese the second largest real estate transfer tax in history, as if the Archdiocese were a real estate investor selling a profitable high-rise office building.

    The Archdiocese appealed Ting’s decision to an appeal board which yesterday agreed to take $14.4 million from the Church. The Archdiocese will now take the issue to court. Archdiocesan spokesperson Maury Healy told the San Francisco Chronicle:

        “The board members, all of whom are City Hall administrators rather than members of the judiciary, apparently faced tremendous pressure in view of the city’s desperate need for revenue . . . We are glad that having exhausted the required administrative process we can finally proceed to a formal, neutral civil court forum . . . We trust that the civil court will carefully consider the applicable law, devoid of the sensationalism and politics that the archdiocese thus far has faced.”

    Pray for the persecuted Church in San Francisco. This is just one of many assaults the Church has suffered there recently. Hat Tip to A Shepherd’s Voice who has more background here and especially here.

    Expect more of this in the future.

    These are trial balloons, in my opinion.

    Even if the city loses in court, they will have shift public opinion a little.

    The same goes whenever some anti-Catholic oaf introduces legislation to, say, strip Catholic institutions of tax exemption, or priests of privilege of the Seal.

    They do what they do, knowing they will lose.  

    But after having done it a few times, then they start to win.

    • • • • • •

    Overdue: catechesis concerning “pro multis”

    CATEGORY: New Translation, PRO MULTIS — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 8:30 am

    I found this important entry over at the blog of His Hermeueticalness, the great Fr. Finigan:

    Over three years ago, I reported on a letter of the congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, dated 17 October 2006, concerning the words pro multis ("for many") in the words for the consecration of the the chalice at Mass.

    The letter states that there is no doubt about the validity of Masses in which the phrase "pro multis" is translated "for all" and that it is a dogma of faith that Christ died on the Cross for all men and women. However, it notes several arguments in favour of an accurate translation of "pro multis" and concludes that the phrase should be properly translated in the future.

    The other day, a priest friend pointed out to me that there was a timespan included in the letter:
    The Bishops’ Conferences of those countries where the formula "for all" or its equivalent is currently in use are therefore requested to undertake the necessary catechesis for the faithful on this matter in the next one or two years to prepare them for the introduction of a precise vernacular translation of the formula pro multis (e.g, "for many", "per molti", etc.) in the next translation of the Roman Missal that the Bishops and the Holy See will approve for use in their country.
    Did you notice any catechesis on this matter in your country in the one or two years to October 2008? We are, of course, still waiting for the next translation of the Roman Missal into English, and are likely to be waiting for some time to come.

    Is it is now time to start saying "for many"? There wasn’t any significant delay or insuperable problem when we were peremptorily told to say "for all" instead of "for all men."

     

    Fr. Finigan does us a great service in bringing this point back to our minds.

    Therefore, you priests who are reading this… don’t wait for conferences to make a move.  Start your catechesis.

    Therefore, you bishops whe are reading this… don’t wait for conferences to make a move.  Start your catechesis.

    Therefore, conferences of bishops…  what’s going on?  Should be be left to the abovementioned.

    • • • • • •

    1 December 2009

    The Calgary Communion Show Down

    CATEGORY: The Drill — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 6:36 pm

    I have pretty much spoken my piece about the issue of attempts to deny the Catholic people their rites in the matter of how to receive Holy Communion, especially when a restriction is placed again Holy Communion on the tongue.

    Also, you know that the Holy See’s Congregation for Divine Worship has been sending notes to people assuring them that, yes, Redemptionis Sacramentum 92 is still in force… really… no, really!

    Now as I get off an airplane I find in my email inbox copies of correspondence and notes from faithful which scorch my laptop’s screen about a dust up in Calgary, Alberta.

    Apparently, the local bishop, His Excellency Most. Rev.Frederick Henry is having a fight with the local presence of the FSSP over the distribution of Communion on the tongue.   The bishop issued "norms" for the Diocese of Calgary which forbid Communion on the tongue because of H1N1.  The FSSP and the people frequenting their Masses are not conforming to his wishes.

    Bishop Henry issued the directive to cease distribution of Communion on the tongue following the recommendation from the Medical Officer of Health, whom I assume is a government official.

    When Bishop learned that at the FSSP parish people were still receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, he ordered that they not celebrate Mass at all.  He suspended the Extraordinary Form Masses.

    He also wrote in one piece of correspondence that

    "the current pandemic circumstances do not warrant the non-reception of the Body and Blood of the Lord in favour of a spiritual communion."

    Get that?   The Bishop won’t allow non – reception of Holy Communion.   So, you must receive only in the hand, and, apparently, you must receive.

    I am not sure how that works if you think you are in the state of mortal sin because you are so angry about being bullied, but… I digress.

    At a certain point someone pointed out to His Excellency that a bishop cannot forbid Communion on the tongue.  The text of the e-mail ran like this.  Sadly, the person who wrote this was a bit confused, but the substance of the note is not thereby lessened.

        To: Bishop F.B. Henry

        Your excellency,

        The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), [sic … It was the CDW… Worship, not Faith… but go on…] on 24 July 2009, stated that it is not licit to deny reception of communion on the tongue, despite the current threat of H1N1. Attached is a scan of the CDF’s letter on this matter.

        Through Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
        ......

    His Excellency the Bishop of Calgary wrote back this extraordinary form of response.  I am not making this up.

        From: Bishop F.B. Henry
        Date: Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 12:22 PM
        Subject: RE: Calgary’s Saint Anthony Parish: forbidden to have Mass if communion in the hand is not offered?
        To: ...

       I am well aware of what the congregation decided but quite frankly, it is not their call. It is mine

    So… this is not the Congregation’s call.

    Interesting.

    Pretty bold, if you ask me.

    The way I understand it, the Holy Father is the Supreme Legislator in the Church.  He has delegated his authority to govern matters liturgical, the "discipline of the sacraments" to the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments.  After the Holy Father, this Congregation is the highest authority when it comes to Latin Rite worship and discipline of the sacraments.  A local priest in a parish, or bishop in a diocese might be able to set aside something from the territorial conference of bishops, but they cannot ignore what a Congregation does.   When the Congregation determines something, it is no longer anyone else’s call (except the Holy Father).

    Redemptionis Sacramentum is a juridical document of the CDWDS which had the approval of the Roman Pontiff.   The same Congregation has reaffirmed with specific reference to H1N1 what RS said.


    • • • • • •

    Turn by turn: Benedict XVI ad orientem versus

    CATEGORY: Brick by Brick — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 5:57 pm

    The Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass with members of the Pontifical Theological Commission.

    Mass was in the Pauline Chapel in the Apostolic Palace.

    Mass was ad orientem, at an altar which can be used from either side.

    Since this was for the theological commission, perhaps the Holy Father was also saying something theological by a choice he knew would be widely discussed.

    What do you think?

    No matter what, it is nice to see the Roman Pontiff celebrating ad orientem versus.

    Brick by brick, friends.

    Turn by turn.

    Altar by altar.

    • • • • • •

    America Mag reacts to NYT Op-Ed

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 10:22 am

    An Op-Ed in America Magazine gives a predictable reaction to the Op-Ed piece in the NYT.

    First read my take.

    Now America with my emphases and comments.


    by Francis X. Clooney, SJ

    Cambridge, MA. You may have read Kenneth Wolfe’s Op-Ed piece in Sunday’s New York Times (Week in Review), Latin Mass Appeal. Mr Wolfe’s argument has to do with what he considers the undue and ill-considered influence of Father (and later Archbishop) Annibale Bugnini on the reform – or deform – of the Eucharistic liturgy of the Church in the years before Vatican II. Mr Wolfe laments the movement away from the Latin Mass, the turning around of the altar to face the people, and an array of later changes including altar girls, communion in the hand, etc. I am not sure why the Times chose to publish this piece — because it was the First Sunday of Advent? — but I found it unconvincing, not as a liturgist or liturgical historian or Vatican-watcher (I am none of these), but as a Catholic who is old enough to have served Mass in Latin as an altar boy, young enough to had no say about the changes in the liturgy, but nevertheless privileged to serve as a priest for more than 30 years thus far in the parishes and campuses of our Church, here and abroad. So here’s what I think: First, we’ve been taught for centuries to trust the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Many a time the Vatican has called to work in the Vatican men without any particular training or experience that would justify their appointment; many a time, Popes have trusted such individuals with very important roles in shaping the theology and practice of the Church; and many a time, God has worked through such men. Archbishop Bugnini is one such person, and I see no reason to think that the Spirit, and intention of the Church, did not work through his sincere and humble efforts. [Really? No reason?] reason?] Second, while as a child I found the liturgy of the pre-Vatican II Church deeply satisfying and loved the ritual, the Latin, the mystery of this worship, I have never found it the case that the conciliar changes were a mistake or a loss[Really? Never?] The typical Eucharistic celebration is no less holy or sacred now than it was in 1960. Many of the reforms were intended to restore practices of the Church far older than Trent, and it is good that we were — and are — reminded that neither Latin nor particular forms of music and piety are essential to the effective celebration of the Eucharist or to the grace that is the real presence of Christ in our midst through it[I have a problem with this. It seems to me that we must go beyond reducing our worship to what is valid. Sure, it is important and consoling to know that every was valid despite music, ugliness of translation, etc. But our worship must aim at mystery or it misses the mark. Am I wrong? Shouldn’t we avoid reducing liturgy to the bare essentials?] Third, Mr Wolfe notes that Archbishop Bugnini sought to reform the liturgy to remove barriers dividing us from our Christian neighbors in Protestant traditions. I gather that he sees this as a fatal mistake, but I think it was a very good thing to remove, for many good reasons including the ecumenical one, barriers that made the Eucharist needlessly different or divisive. It is not a good thing when we Christians are divided to no good purpose; and when there are real differences, such as different theologies of the Mass (as meal, as sacrifice), we can still seek, as did Archbishop Bugnini, to show in our practice that such differences can be signaled in various ways. There is nothing essential or unchanging about receiving communion on the tongue, for instance, or faddish about welcoming girls as well as boys to serve at the altar efforts. [Really? I thought service at the altar had theological implications. Perhaps "fad" isn’t the best category for this subject.] — and if some of Archbishop Bugnini’s changes meant that our worship would become more like Protestant worship, that seems to have been for the better. [LOL! Really? Well… I guess I am not that surprised to read that statement here.] (Yet even today, I doubt very much that even newcomers will confuse Catholic and Protestant Sunday worship.) Fourth, Mr Wolfe finds it particularly disappointing that the altar was turned around to face the people; he cites Pope Benedict that externally at least, when the priest faces the people, this signifies a community “closed in on itself.” But this is unfair, just as it would be to complain that in the old liturgy the priest kept turning his back on the community[This is an example of using a cliche to address Ratzinger’s deeper theological argument.] If there is deep meaning to the community and priest facing forward together, in worship, so too there is deep meaning in a community context where priest and people face one another[What if it is the wrong meaning?] in my 30+ years of presiding at the Eucharist, [Note the vocabulary choice.] I have always found it a grace that in this way we gather around the sacrificial gifts, face to face, and in attentiveness and vulnerability stand together before our Lord, around the altar. [If feeling are the basis, what about the feelings of those who don’t want Mass that way?] Given the rich and beautiful and deep commitments and faith that people bring to a parish Mass on Sunday morning, there is nothing merely “closed in on itself” in our way of worship,[So, Pope Benedict doesn’t know what he is talking about, I suppose.]  and I am sorry that Mr Wolfe has found it to be so. Perhaps in an Advent mode of expectation, Mr Wolfe concludes with a visionary look foward: the Pope, and good Catholics, are doing away with the reforms and putting things back the way they were, and should be. [Name one thing, Father, with citations of Sacrosanctum Concilium in Latin, that Pope Benedict is doing against the Council.] But I think he has not seen deeply enough: God does bless us in the way we worship today, Christ is present in the Eucharist as we celebrate it, the Spirit touches our minds and hearts as we stand, hands outstretched, to receive the Body of Christ, and then proceed to drink his Blood from the cup. [And let’s find out how many people are going to confession, or going to Mass at all, or what they think it is all about.]  Even the English language serves very well as the language of prayer. [It may someday.] Thanks be to God, Deo Gratias. As always, I welcome reader comments.

    • • • • • •

    NYC new daily TLM

    CATEGORY: Brick by Brick — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 9:51 am

    I had this from a reader:

    Beginning Monday, November 30th there will be a new daily Low Mass (in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite) every weekday at 6:00 PM at the Church of the Holy Innocents in Manhattan.

     

    • • • • • •

    Who’s the important one?

    CATEGORY: "How To..." - Practical Notes, Our Catholic Identity, SESSIUNCULA, The Drill — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 9:05 am

    Many prelates from around the world would stay at my residence in Rome when they would come for business with the Roman curia.  As a result, at mealtimes you would find yourself eating with Bp. X or Archbp. Y or Card. Z from here there and everywhere.  At a certain point you start to take a little less notice of these fellows as they would come and go.

    In one case, I recall for several days being on pretty much the same schedule as a visiting priest from Argentina.  He was a very pleasant fellow, whose Italian wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad.  He was clearly very smart and had a serene and affable way about him, though he wasn’t loquacious.  We chatted for some days and enjoyed company at meals.  Normally, I would just stick to small talk with visitors, and let them guide how far they wanted to talk about their business.

    Then one day as I was leaving the palazzo, he was getting out of a car and coming in, wearing under a greca the house cassock, fascia, and zucchetto of a Cardinal of Holy Roman Church. 

    It turns out that it was Jorge Card. Bergoglio I had been lunching with.

    Since he had impressed me simply as a person, I started paying more attention to him and what he had done.  I asked around and learned a little about this S. American prelate.

    When the Holy Father John Paul II died, I was pretty convinced that Card. Bergoglio was papabile, and didn’t rule out that he had the potential of being elected.  His draw back for that prospect was more than likely his membership in the Society of Jesus.  Card. Bergoglio is a Jesuit, and there has never been a Jesuit Pope.

    The gentlemanly Sandro Magister has a post on Card. Bergoglio, and I recommend it.

    Effectively, Card. Bergoglio thinks that baptism should be given more freely even to the children of those who are not practicing their faith.  Some time ago, Pope Benedict also said something along these lines, explaining that when he was younger, he had a more restrictive view.  The Church in S. America is facing a horrible challenge from secularism and relativism on the one hand, fundamentalist sects on the other.

    Here is a big chunk of the article, though I recommend that you read the whole thing:

    [...]

    In some parts of Europe, baptizing a child has already become the exception, requiring an unconventional decision. But now, the number of unbaptized infants, children, young people, adults is also rising in Argentina.

    This decline in the practice of baptism is the result of a weakening of family ties and a withdrawal from the Church. Some of the clergy have drawn this conclusion: where they see the signs of faith being extinguished, they maintain that it is right to decline to administer the sacraments.

    But in Argentina today, the Church authorities are moving in the opposite direction.

    Already in 2002, the archdiocese of Buenos Aires and the diocese in the surrounding area had published an instruction urgently recommending the baptism of both children and adults, and explaining how to overcome resistance to the celebration of the rite.

    But now the bishops of the area have returned to the task with a booklet entitled "El bautismo en clave misionera," which reproduces the 2002 instruction and supplements it with other guidelines for parish pastors.

    So beginning this year, the most conscientious pastors are regularly holding "baptism days," on which they administer the sacrament to children and adults in situations of poverty or with broken families, who have been helped to overcome their own uncertainties and those of the people around them.

    Cardinal Bergoglio has explained the meaning of all this in an interview with the international magazine "30 Days":

    "The child has no responsibility for the condition of his parents’ marriage. The baptism of children can, on the contrary, become a new beginning for the parents. A while ago, I baptized the seven children of one woman, a poor widow who works as a maid and had her children by two different men. I met her on the feast of Saint Cajetan. She said to me, ‘Father, I am in mortal sin, I have seven children and have never had them baptized, I don’t have the money for the godparents and for the party… I saw her again and after a little catechesis I baptized them in the chapel of the archepiscopal residence. The woman said to me, ‘Father, I can’t believe it, you make me feel important’. I said to her, ‘But madam, what do I have to do with it? It’s Jesus who makes you important.[Do I hear a big "Amen!"?]

    Bergoglio is anxious not to extinguish a tradition typical of the most remote areas of Argentina, in those towns and villages where the priest comes only a few times a year:

    "There, popular piety feels that children must be baptized as soon as possible, so there are men or women known by all as ‘bautizadores’ who baptize the children when they are born, in anticipation of the arrival of the priest. And when he arrives, they bring the children to him so that he can anoint them with holy oil, completing the rite. When I think about it, I am reminded of the story of those Christian communities in Japan that were without priests for more than two hundred years. When the missionaries returned, they found all of them baptized and all of them sacramentally married."

    The cardinal continues:

    "The conference in Aparecida urged us to proclaim the Gospel by going to meet the people, not by waiting for the people to come to us. Missionary fervor does not require extraordinary events. It is in ordinary life that mission work is done. And baptism, in this, is paradigmatic. The sacraments are for the life of men and women as they are. They may not make big speeches, but their ‘sensus fidei’ grasps the reality of the sacraments with more clarity than many specialists do."

    What reemerges here is the ancient and still unresolved dispute between a Church of the elite, a pure, minority Church, and a Church of the masses, populated also by that immense sea of humanity for whom Christianity is made up of a few simple things.

    In Italy, for example, the dispute came up again during the last major national conference of the Church, held in Verona in October of 2006. On that occasion, one position held by the "rigorists" was precisely that of withholding baptism and the other sacraments from those believed to be unfit because they are not practicing[A position which can be argued and defended.]

    It is a dilemma that Joseph Ratzinger himself experienced personally as a young man, and finally resolved in the same direction indicated by Cardinal Bergoglio. This is what, as pope, Ratzinger himself said in replying to the question from a priest of Bressanone, in a public question-and-answer session with the clergy of the diocese on August 6, 2008.

    The priest, named Paolo Rizzi, a pastor and professor of theology, asked Benedict XVI a question about baptism, confirmation, and first communion:

    "Holy Father, 35 years ago I thought that we were beginning to be a little flock, a minority community, more or less everywhere in Europe; that we should therefore administer the sacraments only to those who are truly committed to Christian life. Then, partly because of the style of John Paul II’s Pontificate, I thought things through again. If it is possible to make predictions for the future, what do you think? What pastoral approaches can you suggest to us?"[What an excellent question to put to Peter.]

    Pope Ratzinger responded:

    "I must say that I took a similar route to yours. When I was younger I was rather severe. I said: the sacraments are sacraments of faith, and where faith does not exist, where the practice of faith does not exist, the Sacrament cannot be conferred either. And then I always used to talk to my parish priest when I was Archbishop of Munich: here too there were two factions, one severe and one broad-minded. Then [wait for it….] I too, with time, came to realize that we must follow, rather, the example of the Lord, who was very open even with people on the margins of Israel of that time. He was a Lord of mercy, too open – according to many official authorities – with sinners, welcoming them or letting them invite him to their dinners, drawing them to him in his communion.

    "Therefore I would say substantially that the sacraments are naturally sacraments of faith: when there is no element of faith, when First Communion is no more than a great lunch with beautiful clothes and beautiful gifts, it can no longer be a sacrament of faith. [So, he is not saying we should apply no criteria.] Yet, on the other hand, if we can still see a little flame of desire for communion in the faith, a desire even in these children who want to enter into communion with Jesus, it seems to me that it is right to be rather broad-minded.

    "Naturally, of course, one purpose of our catechesis must be to make children understand that Communion, First Communion is not a ‘fixed’ event, but requires a continuity of friendship with Jesus, a journey with Jesus. I know that children often have the intention and desire to go to Sunday Mass but their parents do not make this desire possible. If we see that children want it, that they have the desire to go, this seems to me almost a sacrament of desire, the ‘will’ to participate in Sunday Mass. In this sense, we naturally must do our best in the context of preparation for the sacraments to reach the parents as well, and thus to – let us say – awaken in them too a sensitivity to the process in which their child is involved. They should help their children to follow their own desire to enter into friendship with Jesus, which is a form of life, of the future. If parents want their children to be able to make their First Communion, this somewhat social desire must be extended into a religious one, to make a journey with Jesus possible.

    "I would say, therefore, that in the context of the catechesis of children, that work with parents is very important. And this is precisely one of the opportunities to meet with parents, making the life of faith also present to the adults, because, it seems to me, they themselves can relearn the faith from the children and understand that this great solemnity is only meaningful, true and authentic if it is celebrated in the context of a journey with Jesus, in the context of a life of faith. Thus, one should endeavour to convince parents, through their children, of the need for a preparatory journey that is expressed in participation in the mysteries and that begins to make these mysteries loved.

    "I would say that this is definitely an inadequate answer, [Gosh… see how harsh and rigorous Pope Benedict is?  The former "enforcer" of doctrine?] but the pedagogy of faith is always a journey and we must accept today’s situations. Yet, we must also open them more to each person, so that the result is not only an external memory of things that endures but that their hearts that have truly been touched. The moment when we are convinced the heart is touched – it has felt a little of Jesus’ love, it has felt a little the desire to move along these lines and in this direction, that is the moment when, it seems to me, we can say that we have made a true catechesis. The proper meaning of catechesis, in fact, must be this: to bring the flame of Jesus’ love, even if it is a small one, to the hearts of children, and through the children to their parents, thus reopening the places of faith of our time."


    • • • • • •

    30 November 2009

    Damian Thompson’s obervance of the 40th anniversary of the Novus Ordo

    CATEGORY: The Drill — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 4:43 pm

    I see that Damian Thompson has his blade sharpened:


    My emphases and comments:

    November 30th, 2009

    Happy 40th birthday, Novus Ordo!

    It is 40 years ago today since the New Mass of Paul VI was introduced into our parishes, writes Margery Popinstar, editor of The Capsule. [Blue or Red, I wonder.]  We knew at the time that this liturgy was as close to perfection as humanly possible, but little did we guess what an efflorescence of art, architecture, music and worship lay ahead[That’s a good way to put it.]

    There were fears at first that the vernacular service would damage the solemnity of the Mass. How silly! Far from leading to liturgical abuses, the New Mass nurtured a koinonia that revived Catholic culture and packed our reordered churches to the rafters.

    So dramatic was the growth in family Mass observance, indeed, that a new school of Catholic architecture arose to provide places of worship for these new congregations. Throughout the Western world, churches sprang up that combined Christian heritage with the thrilling simplicity of the modern school, creating a sense of the numinous that has proved as irresistible to secular visitors as to the faithful.

    For some worshippers, it is the sheer visual beauty of the New Mass that captures the heart, with its simple yet scrupulously observed rubrics – to say nothing of the elegance of the priest’s vestments, which (though commendably less fussy than pre-conciliar outfits) exhibit a standard of meticulous craftsmanship which truly gives glory to God!

    The same refreshing of tradition infuses the wonderful – and toe-tapping! – modern Mass settings and hymns produced for the revised liturgy. This music, written by the most gifted composers of our era, has won over congregations so totally that it is now rare to encounter a parish where everyone is not singing their heads off! Even the secular “hit parade” has borrowed from Catholic worship songs, so deliciously memorable – yet reverent! – is the effect they create. No wonder it is standing room only at most Masses!

    Did Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, who birthed this kairos, have any idea just how radically his innovations would transform the Church? We must, of course, all rejoice in his imminent beatification – but, in the meantime, I am tempted to borrow a phrase from a forgotten language that – can you believe it? – was used by the Church for services before 1969: Si monumentum requiris, circumspice.


     

     

     

    • • • • • •

    Off to Cape Canaveral!

    CATEGORY: My View — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 9:44 am

    Today is my day trip to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center!

    I had been here many years ago. how things have changed! I did enjoy the Rocket Park.


    I thought the Soviet era Soyuz was pretty interesting.

    And I thought the American astronauts were brave.

    I bet the first cosmonauts who looked at this stuff on the outside just shrugged as thought….



    ... "Hey… what could go wrong?"


     

    Imagine jamming yourself into a VW Beatle, sitting it on top of a stick of dynamite 36 stories tall, and telling them to light the fuse.

    And once you were up there, staying up there in the VW fully dressed in all sorts of stuff for days.

    With less computing power than my mobile phone.

    Mission control has less computing power than my mobile phone.





    Amazing.







    • • • • • •

    iBreviary - the iPhone app

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 7:42 am

    Do any of you have an iPhone and have iBreviary installed?

    I do. 

    I don’t know if any of you have the same experience, but I don’t think it is being updated.

    More often than not, I refresh and there are no texts available.

    Is this just me?

    Do we need to warn people off this app?

    • • • • • •

    Some recent posts

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 6:20 am

    Some recent posts:

     
     

    • • • • • •

    Your good news

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 5:26 am

    As you start your new work week, tell us all some of your good news.

    • • • • • •

    29 November 2009

    Fr. Rawley Myers, RIP

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 10:53 pm

    I understand that Fr. Rawley Myers has died.

    Requiescat in pace.

    • • • • • •

    Fr. Robert Fox - RIP

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 10:49 pm

    I understand that Fr. Robert Fox has passed away on (U.S.) Thanksgiving Day.

    May he rest in peace.

    Fr. Fox was a great apostle of Our Lady of Fatima and her message.


    • • • • • •

    “Bishooooops, don’t let your chapels grow up to be discooooos….”

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 9:45 pm

    Every once in a while, walking about in Rome you come across a forlorn little ex-church or chapel, now serving as a nightclub or art gallery or worse.   It’s like something out of a cartoon.

    I know of a once beautiful minor seminary bought by a fundamentalist bible school.  They use the old chapel as a cafeteria.

    This comes from AFP:

    Don’t turn our churches into nightclubs, urges Vatican

    (AFP) – 3 days ago

    VATICAN CITY — The Vatican on Thursday warned Italy’s bishops against letting deserted churches be transformed into nightclubs if the decision was taken to sell the places of worship.

    Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican’s new culture commissar, urged "the greatest caution" after announcing that Roman Catholic churches with few worshippers could be sold off.

    He gave the example of a church in Hungary which was "transformed into a nightclub and where striptease took place on the altar."

    The archbishop, who is president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said dwindling numbers of worshippers at some churches meant it now made sense to sell, or even destroy, the buildings.

    "Faced with falling number of worshippers, a phenomenon which we are also unfortunately witnessing in the centre of Rome, churches without any artistic value and which need significant work can be sold or destroyed," he told reporters.

    Italian bishops’ groups would be responsible for deciding whether the sites should be sold, said Ravasi, adding each case would be separately assessed.

    What ever happened to the old cathedral of Los Angeles, St. Vibiana?

    BTW… if you go to that AFP article, and you don’t really have to, they have a picture of the wrong bishop and identify him as Ravasi.  The bishop in the photo is actually Most. Rev. Sergio Pagano, BB.

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