The Bux Protocol

Some people have reacted to my whimsical labeling of advice from the great Fr. Nicola Bux as the “Bux Protocol”.

Fr. Bux, a consultor to the CDF and more recently also to the office of Pontifical Ceremonies, spoke at the conference in Rome for the anniversary of Summorum Pontificum.

In the Q&A session on the first day, he and Msgr. Perl of the PCED fielded questions.   One of them, predictably, concerned what people should do if they run into a bishop who is dead set against the Motu Proprio despite its clear provisions and continued requests from the people.

Msgr. Bux gave very sound advice which, though light-hearted in a certain sense, nevertheless contained a blade of surgical steel.

“St. Joseph is Patron of the Church.  You must pray a lot to St. Joseph in this situation, that he either open the bishop’s eyes or he close them for good.  [applause laughter]  This isn’t a joke, eh?  St. Joseph is truly very powerful.  You must pray a lot to St. Joseph.  Moreover St. Joseph was placed in the Roman Canon by Pope John.  You can also put him into all the other Eucharistic Prayers after the Blessed Virgin Mary saying ‘and St. Joseph her Spouse’.  I am convinced that St. Joseph will do a great deal.”

Folks…. if you are frustrated, fast, give alms and pray.

But don’t whine.

There is always something you can do.

Work to open hearts, always, and in the very hard cases, placing the matter in the hands of a mighty intercessor, St. Joseph, you can use the Bux Protocol.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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15 Comments

  1. Future Priest says:

    So then, it is permissible to add the name of Saint Joseph to the other Eucharistic Prayers?

    It has been a topic of conversation in my religious community.

    From what I have been told, requests to add Saint Joseph to the other EP’s have been rejected by the Holy See in the past.

    It would be very helpful to have a definitive answer regarding this.

  2. Future: Of course. In the other Eucharistic Prayers there is an option to add the names of other saints. Since St. Joseph is a saint, he can be added to the other Eucharistic Prayers.

  3. One of the things that I have found puzzling about the Byzantine East is our lack of devotion to the Righteous Joseph. Perhaps it never developed out of some concern to focus on the virginity of the Theotokos. To my mind, however, he is a very powerful intercessor that should b “rediscovered”.

    Are there any good websites on devotion to this “Guardian of the Redeemer”?

    God bless,

    Fr. Deacon Daniel

  4. I did just find this website with an Akathist Hymn (a form of Eastern Christian devotion…it means “to pray standing”) for those who may be interested.

    http://hometown.aol.com/dangellbrown/akathistjoseph.html

    Along with an icon and his Troparion.

    http://www.comeandseeicons.com/j/inp135.htm

    God bless,

    Fr. Deacon Daniel

  5. Paul S. says:

    Regarding co-ordinated efforts – fast and prayer – for the restoration of the TLM in particular places: There was once a database site, perhaps called Lumen Gentleman, that was, I think, supposed to help interested persons find each other in particular geographic areas.

    I can’t seem to find that database any more. Does it still exist? Is there any similar database out there?

  6. Gregg the Obscure says:

    It seems that Fr. Bux knows where the buck stops. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

  7. Ohio Annie says:

    Paul S., Lumen G’s domain name expired and the website is no more. I guess that means the database is in a computer somewhere but inaccessible except by electron tunneling or something. Sad. I used to really like that web site.

  8. I don’t permit “anonymous” comments on the blog. A comment was removed.

  9. Father Totton says:

    To respond to Future Priest and Fr. Z’s response. It is my understanding that the place to insert a saint in EP III is reserved for the saint whose feast is being celebrated OR the patron (of the place?) Apart from that, I don’t think it is to be used willy nilly to each priest’s preference that day.

    I have a simple solution: always opt for the Roman Canon and you never need to worry about omitting St. Joseph! Hermeneutic of Continuity, eh?

  10. Maureen says:

    Nobody really had much devotion to St. Joseph back in the day, except maybe the Ethiopian guy that wrote the story about Joseph’s death. Maybe he was standing back waiting until needed.
    :)

    I never used to have much devotion to St. Joseph, but recently I’ve come to appreciate him more.

  11. Fr. Totton: I am not sure if it is that restrictive. But… if it is… that is one more reason simply to use only the Roman Canon.

  12. Margaret says:

    St. Josemaria Escriva had a great devotion to St. Joseph and composed a lovely homily about his, readable here

  13. Steve K. says:

    A propos of Saint Joseph, we at St. Benedict’s, Chesapeake VA, say a prayer to St. Joseph every solemn high mass just before the homily for the success of the construction of our new chapel.

  14. eric says:

    ….whine…or cry? After reading the news around blogdom today, or any day, why whine? Find a cave.

Comments are closed.