An appropriate photo of the new Bishop of Hong Kong, His Excellency Most Rev. John Tong Hon.
About this blog…
“This blog is like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” – Fr. Z
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
Fr. Z’s Podcasts RSS Feed
YOUR RECENT COMMENTS
- on Daily Rome Shot 1506 – Bagpipes: “Yes Charivari Rob I do think it’s fantastic. The Catholic Church is the on true faith established by Jesus Christ. If…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1506 – Bagpipes: “Haha, I failed at formatting. I think the word is “absta,” from “absto, abstare.””
- on Daily Rome Shot 1506 – Bagpipes: “I think in the U.S. there has been a move over the last 60 or so years to silence the…”
- on Augustine v. Jerome, Gimli v. Legolas, and The Roman Thing. Wherein Fr. Z rants and digresses.: “I wonder if the confusion between “loosen” and “carry” may also have something to do with the three-year cycle of…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1506 – Bagpipes: “I love the sound of bagpipes, but if this were happening near me, I would answer the adhan with the…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1506 – Bagpipes: “As to the Latin Wordle, I am satisfied that they have erred. I tried “Aisti” as a barbaric variant on…”
- on Augustine v. Jerome, Gimli v. Legolas, and The Roman Thing. Wherein Fr. Z rants and digresses.: “A different portion of the passage struck me: “Do you cut down groves of blossoming trees in the springtime for…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1506 – Bagpipes: “Re: call to prayer drowned out by bagpipes — A question for those of you think it is “terrific”, ‘awesome’,…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1506 – Bagpipes: “TRIAS. They do find odd words! I always start with MENSA – really helps… The bagpipes, assuming this is Jordan,…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1506 – Bagpipes: “I wonder if I can talk one of my sons into learning how to play the bagpipes . . .”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1506 – Bagpipes: “Obnoxious Muslim call to prayer drowned out by one piper in full Highland regalia, I think it is awesome. Does…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1505 – an appeal: “Q-d6, K-A7 (because K-b7 would result in mate immediately with Q-c7) Q-c7, B-b7 Rxa6, KxR (because the bishop is pinned…”
- on ASK FATHER: What’s the difference between the “rejoice” of “Laetare” Sunday of Lent and “Gaudete” Sunday of Advent?: “An outstanding question that prompted an equally outstanding & informative response. Many thanks!”
- on “Babes in Arms” Meets “Universi Dominici Gregis” – Hijinks Ensue: “Funnily enough, looking for useful Vetus Latina things in the Internet Archive in connection with your three excellent recent liturgical…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1505 – an appeal: “Yes, you are correct, TradCathMale. This so-called ‘hobo’ nickel morgan dollar is one of many designed by an artist named…”
ABORTION PILL RESCUE NETWORK
Everyone, work to get this into your parish bulletins and diocesan papers.
Federated Computer… your safe and private alternative to big biz corporations that hate us while taking our money and mining our data. Have an online presence large or small? Catholic DIOCESE? Cottage industry? See what Federated has to offer. Save money and gain peace of mind.
Polls
Loading ...Donate using VENMO
GREAT BEER from Traditional Benedictine Monks in Italy
Good coffee and tea. Help monks.
CLICK and say your daily offerings!
A Daily Prayer for Priests
I use this when I travel both in these USA and abroad. Very useful. Fast enough for Zoom. I connect my DMR (ham radio) through it. If you use my link, they give me more data. A GREAT back up.
Help support Fr. Z’s Gospel of Life work at no cost to you. Do you need a Real Estate Agent? Calling these people is the FIRST thing you should do!
They find you a pro-life agent in your area who commits to giving a portion of the fee to a pro-life group!
This blog has to earn its keep!
PLEASE subscribe via PayPal if it is useful. Zelle and Wise are better, but PayPal is convenient.
A monthly subscription donation means I have steady income I can plan on. I put you my list of benefactors for whom I pray and for whom I often say Holy Mass.
In view of the rapidly changing challenges I now face, I would like to add more $10/month subscribers. Will you please help?
For a one time donation...
To donate monthly I prefer Zelle because it doesn't extract fees. Use
frz AT wdtprs DOT comPLEASE RESPOND. Pretty pleeeease?
Loading ...WDTPRS POLL
Loading ...Great WINE USE COUPON CODE: fatherz10
Use my code for a discount
Loading ...
How interesting, especially given the green hat behind him. Some Chinese bishops use a purple galero on their
arms–technically incorrect, but due to the fact apparently ‘wearing a green hat’ is an idiomatic expression in Chinese
meaning…I can’t remember but it’s something bad. Perhaps Fr. Selvester can comment.
Matthew: Green is correct for a bishop. An archbishop gets the violet. Hong Kong is a Diocese, not an Archdiocese. But in Chinese, if memory serves, “dài lùmào to wear a green hat” is the equivalent of “putting on horns”… to be a cuckold.
If he were a US elected official, he would be Hon John Tong Hon–a nice chiasmus.
A green hat is the sign of a cuckold. And from some of the readings from my google search (Caveat Lector)on why it is the sign of the cuckold, in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties men whose female relatives were known to be prostitutes were made to wear green hats.
RBrown: Instead, he must settle for Mons John Tong Hon
I suppose this would make an enthusiastic American-style St. Patrick’s celebration a little problematic.
Fr. Z,
From a video I saw, there was a delegation from Taiwan who came for business and the American company thought they’d do it up really clever and have a St. Patrick’s Day party with Pot’s O’ Gold, Leprechauns, and Green Hats for everyone!
The Taiwanese group embarrassingly wore the green hats. But complained to management that they had to wear the hats and the deal with the American company was off!
At least outside of China, archbishops also have green galleri, just with more tassels.
I think some of various prelates and monsignori are permitted violet ones.
That’s not a green galero, is it? More like aqua blue or teal.
I know little of Bp. Hon, but Cdl. Zen is one of my heroes.
Fr. Z, perhaps you can tell us a bit about the man?
Thanks for posting the photo. I just got the news through your post. I was born in Hong Kong. I met the new Bishop a few times years ago. Will keep him in prayers.
In ancient Chinese, there was only one word for green and blue and all colors in between- Qing (Cheeng.) Later came Lan for blue and Lu (with the Umlaut over the U) for green.
I have just one small minor little detail. It it is improper to use two honorific prenomial titles. You can say The Most Rev. Archbishop X, or His Excellency, Archbishop X, but not His Excellency, the Most Rev. X, and certainly not His Excellency, the Most Rev. Archbishop X (granted that should be objected to because it\’s gaughty). Reasoning? Most Rev. and Excellency are honorific titles, while Archbishop is Jurisdictional.
it is quite amusing to read the discussion about the green hat here.
Thanks to Dr. Eric now I know the etymology behind it, having always taken it for granted without asking why.
We have real experts here, including father Z.
The green/blue color problem in Chinese bedevils scholars to this day. It is particularly vexing because usages of “qing” vary so much over place, time, and context. Now, as far as antiquity, we actually have the use of “lan” (as in indigo) appearing as early as the Classic of Poetry, and Chinese literature does not get any older then that (although “qing” might appear on oracle bone writings, though here it might mean “young”)Etymologically “qing” seems to be associated with the color of a newly shooted plant (hence its secondary association with youth). “qing” can also mean “black”. Like “sheng”, “qing” seems to be one of those words that has simply worn many hats over the centuries, and defies easy definitions.
James,
how interesting. Is that a particular rule of English? Other languages certainly can and do. In Latin it is “excellentissimus ac reverendissimus dominus”, in Italian “Sua Eccellenza Reverendissima”, and in German “Seine Hochwürdigste Exzellenz” or even the exact equivalent of what you object to in English “Seine Exzellenz, der Hochwürdigste Herr (Erz-)Bischof NN.”.