What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

Some dopey wag poured dye in the Trevi Fountain, according to Il Giornale, and turned it red.

In a couple hours I head for the airport.  I am off to help a priest friend revive 40 Hours Devotion in his parish of St. Gregory the Great in S. Euclid.

If ever there was a time when we needed Forty Hours Devotion!

Do you suppose there will be any Cleveland Indians fans there?  

I bet I can find a TV on Saturday evening.

Which hat should I take with me (other than the  o{]   )?

You should read Mr. Allen’s interesting observations about the demographics of the College of Cardinals.  Here is a teaser:

In addition, there are places where the limited number of spots for
new cardinals might be better utilized. Here’s a projection of what the
top ten Catholic countries on earth will be in 2050, as measured by
population:

• Brazil: 215 million
• Mexico: 132 million
• Philippines: 105 million
• United States: 99 million
• Democratic Republic of Congo: 97 million
• Uganda: 56 million
• France: 49 million
• Italy: 49 million
• Nigeria: 47 million
• Argentina: 46.1 million

As of Nov. 24, those 10 nations will have a total of 55 cardinal
electors, but 41 come from Italy, France and the United States. The
other nations have a combined total of just 14, four of whom are
Vatican officials. The Democratic Republic of Congo, the largest
Catholic nation on the continent with the fastest rate of Catholic
growth, has no cardinal at all, and Uganda’s lone cardinal is over 80.
The Philippines has just three cardinals, with two electors.

By way of comparison, here are the Catholic nations with the largest number of cardinal electors:

• Italy: 22
• United States: 13
• France: 6
• Spain: 6
• Germany: 6
• Brazil: 4
• Mexico: 4
• Canada: 3
• Poland: 3
• India: 3
• Colombia: 3

Why did Benedict select the Cardinals he chose?  Does he think that the
Church’s future right now depends more on the European/American factor?

Do you recall that His Eminence Francis Card. George of Chicago had made a pretty interesting observation that, after we Catholics had adjusted our prayers on Good Friday (in the pre-Conciliar Missale Romanum), the Jews might try not calling Jesus a bastard, as had happened in some Talmudic literature?

His Eminence gave a clarification to my old pal the former Rome correspondent for the lefty National Catholic Reporter, the nearly ubiquitous John L Allen, Jr.  He put it in his Friday mailing:

Speaking of cardinals, two weeks ago I interviewed Cardinal Francis
George of Chicago, who will likely soon take over as president of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Our conversation was
wide-ranging, and at one point I asked the cardinal for a reaction to
Jewish criticism of the pre-Vatican Latin liturgy, and specifically its
prayer for the conversion of Jews on Good Friday.

I asked if the prayer could be changed, and this was George’s response:

"Of course it can be done, and I suspect it probably
will be, because the intention is to be sure that our prayers are not
offensive to the Jewish people who are our ancestors in the faith. We
can’t possibly insult them in our liturgy … Not that any group has a
veto on anybody’s prayers, because you can go through Jewish texts and
find material that is offensive to us. But if we’re interested in
keeping the dialogue strong, and we have to be, we should be very
cautious about any prayer that they find insulting. ‘They,’ however, is
a big tent. What my Jewish rabbi friend down the block finds insulting
is different from what Abraham Foxman [national director of the
Anti-Defamation League] finds insulting. Also, it does work both ways.
Maybe this is an opening to say, ‘Would you care to look at some of the
Talmudic literature’s description of Jesus as a bastard, and so on, and
maybe make a few changes in some of that?’"

That comment apparently drew protest from some Jewish leaders who
felt George was mixing apples and oranges, comparing the normative
liturgical prayer of the Catholic church to dusty rabbinical
commentaries from centuries ago.

In response, George offered the following clarification, which I am happy to present in full:

"Regarding
the possible change or omission of some texts in Talmudic literature
that are offensive to Christian believers, the point is not to compare
relatively obscure scholarly texts with liturgical prayers that have a
much wider audience and influence, but to suggest that the controversy
surrounding the texts in the 1962 Roman Missal might be an occasion for
opening a wider dialogue. An endless cycle of recrimination neither
reflects nor advances the strong and friendly relations that are now
taken for granted by many in both the Jewish and the Catholic
communities. Trusting in these relationships, why can’t we discuss
texts that are hurtful to either Jews or Christians and, if
appropriate, suggest changes?"

Fr. Z’s 20 Tips For Making A Good Confession   o{]:¬)

We should…

  1) ...examine our consciences regularly and thoroughly;
  2) ...wait our turn in line patiently;
  3) ...come at the time confessions are scheduled, not a few minutes before they are to end;
  4) ...speak distinctly but never so loudly that we might be overheard;
  5) ...state our sins clearly and briefly without rambling;
  6) ...confess all mortal sins in number and kind;
  7) ...listen carefully to the advice the priest gives;
  8) ...confess our own sins and not someone else’s;
  9) ...carefully listen to and remember the penance and be sure to understand it;
10) ...use a regular formula for confession so that it is familiar and comfortable;
11) ...never be afraid to say something "embarrassing"... just say it;
12) ...never worry that the priest thinks we are jerks…. he is usually impressed by our courage;
13) ...never fear that the priest will not keep our confession secret… he is bound by the Seal;
14) ...never confess "tendencies" or "struggles"... just sins;
15) ...never leave the confessional before the priest has finished giving absolution;
16) ...memorize an Act of Contrition;
17) ...answer the priest’s questions briefly if he asks for a clarification;
18) ...ask questions if we can’t understand what he means when he tells us something;
19) ...keep in mind that sometimes priests can have bad days just like we do;
20) ...remember that priests must go to confession too … they know what we are going through.