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

As I flipped around some channels during a commercial I happened on an old war horse Rocky and paused for a moment.  A few seconds later, I saw this.

Synchronicity.

This is pretty funny… the Papist found it.



You know about those boxing nuns, right?





Well… I think that the sisters, especially those contemplatives, are some of the greatest warriors in the world.



I often wonder how many disasters were averted in times past because of the intercession of the sisters.

Once there were many communities of sisters interceding for the world, doing reparation for us.

Now there are fewer.

When you think about supporting seminarians, priests and bishops in the future, don’t forget your contemplative sisters, who are saving the world in another way.

It was a dreadful day, and a painful as well.  

No I am not talking about the election results, though the election didn’t help.

But the UPS truck pulled up in the darkness. 

I was one of his last drops, it seems.

A kind reader, CP, sent some panchetta and taleggio from the wish list.

I’ll tell ya… it lifted my spirits. 

Thanks! 

I am already planning around it.

Perhaps risotto with taleggio and pears … perhaps game birds, maybe pheasant, with wild rice and pancetta and some savory herbs.  I could caramelize some apples from the tree with onions and a drip of marsala ....


 

"But Father! But Father!" some of you are writing to me.  "Why don’t you permit ‘anonymous’ comments?  After all, this is the internet.  You can’t really know who is posting.  What difference does it make?"

I think Aaron Sorkin put it well:

Nothing has done more to make us dumber or meaner than the anonymity of the Internet.

I require at least some way for people to address each other personally and courteously.  Having some name or handle helps.

A question from a priest reader:

I am a diocesan priest.  Can I celebrate the Novus Ordo ad orientem publicly without special permission?  Are there rubrics on how to celebrate ad orientem?

You can certainly celebrated Holy Mass ad orientem without any special permission. 

As a matter of fact a careful reading of the rubrics in the Latin edition of the Missale Romanum presume that you are celebrating ad orientem.

As far as those rubrics are concerned, just say the black and do the red.  Looking at the rubrics in the Latin edition will help.

At the same time, I will remind you (as if I needed to) that there will be pressure on you not to do this.  Some of it will come from priests and maybe the chancery.   Therefore, be prepared.

I think a good example of how the transition to ad orientem worship was carried out was in Greenville, SC.  You might contact Fr. Newman and chat with him.

Also, other priests here have chimed in in the past about ad orientem worship.  Some folks here might be so kind as to dig up links of those discussions from this blog about that topic.

Celebrating ad orientem is important.  I think, as do others, that turning the altars around was the single most damaging thing that happened as a result of skewed ideas of liturgical reform.

A prayer, please.  I am going to have a dreadful day.

In the traditional Roman calendar, for the Extraordinary Use, today is the Feast of Holy Relics.

No, we are not celebrating your superannuated pastor.



If you have any relics I suggest you bring them out, perhaps put a candle by them, and reflect on the promises of the Lord.

Here are the relics in the Sabine chapel.



From left to right we have first class relics of St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Monica, St. Philip Neri, and St. Ambrose of Milan.

Also…



There are several relics in this old reliquary.

Here we have St. Nicholas, St. Blaise, St. Joachim, St. Ann and St. Paul, Apostle.

Prediction:

With the election of President Elect Obama, I think we will now see a progressivist spill over in the Catholic sphere.  The progressivists will be emboldened now.  

They will, with their characteristic clarity of thought, connect the political shift and mandate given to the Dem ticket to a democratization of the Church.

So, watch as calls for the ordination of women increase, because after all the Church is an equal opportunity employer.  There will return a push for lay preaching, because, as they will reason, the Dems were elected.  They will with great resentment toward outside influence say that church leadership should be elected. 

At the same time, remember that these calls will come from people who don’t have any real influence.  Also, the demographics of the men who are entering seminary has shifted enormously.  The future leadership of the Church is decidedly faithful to the regula fidei.

So… more than ever you must do your best to support seminarians and your priests and bishops who are doing their good work.  I mean support them in concrete ways.  Help financially and write them notes of encouragement.  When you see they are doing something good, thank them.  

BTW… here is a screenshot of the young people celebrating the outcoming of the election.

I hear that the count is very close, but it seems that Sen. Coleman won in MN.

Thanks be to God.

UPDATE:

Well… I guess not.

Here is an interesting chart from Beliefnet:

Weekly Churchgoers vs. Occasionals Tuesday November 4, 2008

Juxtapose this with the statement of the dissident "Catholic Democrats" put out today.  Edited and with my emphases and comments.

Boston, MA -  The Catholic Democrats congratulates Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden on their inspiring election to President and Vice President of the United States.  Catholic Democrats has strongly supported the candidacy of Senator Obama and Senator Biden in various ways, including launching the Catholics for Obama Web site.

"The Catholic Democrats, like most other Americans, is thrilled that Senator Obama has been elected to the highest office in the land today, and that Senator Biden will be our first Catholic vice president," said Dr. Patrick Whelan, president of the Catholic Democrats.  "We have argued all along that Senators Obama and Biden were the candidates that best reflected our Catholic values of hope, personal responsibility, and care for the common good.  We also believe that they best addressed the issues of meeting our energy needs, feeding our families, ensuring access to quality health care, promoting peace and prosperity, and restoring the progress that was made against abortion during the 1990s."  [A surreal statement given his support of abortion at every stage… even after live birth.  How about FOCA?]

Catholics for Obama, which Catholic Democrats launched in October, includes an endorsement petition, signed by more than 3,000 Catholics [It would be good to file that away.] from across the country, including clergy and women religious; The Catholic Case for Obama book by Catholic Democrats president Dr. Patrick Whelan; the Catholic Questions and Answers on Abortion, an important resource on the issue based on Church teaching and social policy; a policy brief by Dr. Stephen Shneck of Catholic University, regarding progressive tax policy; and a reflection by Professor Douglas Kmiec regarding his endorsement of Senator Obama in February.  The endorsement petition will become a statement of support of President-elect Obama for Catholics to advance  the message of the common good [the common good] at this historic time.

"Six months ago the pundits were predicting that President-elect Obama would not do well with Catholic voters. [Apparently Pres.-elect Obama did not do well with Catholics who go to church on Sunday.]  The fact that Senators Obama and Biden reversed a trend, since 1996, of white ethnic Catholics defecting to the Republican Party [defecting… interesting word choice] in presidential elections is of historic significance," said Steve Krueger, national director of Catholic Democrats.  "Without the shift of Catholic voters responding to the messages of President-elect Barack Obama, it is unlikely he would be leading our nation come January. While the economy dominated the landscape during the final month, we cannot underestimate the manner in which the themes of his campaign resonated with Catholics who fundamentally care about the common good and who supported his message of reducing abortions in our nation."  [Uh huh.  That’s the message he gave?]