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“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
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- on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “Thank you Fr Z. Then there’s the scene of Pope Francis violently ripping his hand away from the faithful attempting…”
- on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: ““That’s just a remanent of an imperial court…” Sold! I’ll take a double order, please!”
- on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “Beautiful post Fr.The poem is wonderful.I am 71 yrs of age and i thank God for the Latin Mass.You write…”
- on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: ““Liberals accuse traditionalists of clinging to the useless bowing and scraping of ancient court practices. They won’t kneel! No! They’ve…”
- on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “When you got to “Sounds like a ritual to me,” it reminded me of the wonderful book by Thomas Edward…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “I agree with the above sentiments, given that our government seems hell-bent (literally) on starting a war with Russia over…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “Fr Z I agree with MaternalView above. The world situation is shaky and a trip to Poland… next to Ukraine…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “I‘ll assume black goes „upward“ and down left is h8. 1. f5+ forcing gf6 (xf5 e. p.) 2. h5+ forcing…”
- on Faith practice declining far and wide…. except…: “Lori announced massive parish closings, along with the suppression of the Latin Mass in diocese. Sure suicide by cutting off…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “I think people have lost confidence in all manner of things, airplane manufacturers, airlines, FAA, government agencies who are supposed…”
- on Wednesday after the 2nd Sunday after Easter – traditional Solemnity of ST. JOSEPH! – Terror of demons, Protector of Holy Church!: “Aw, dear St. Joseph. I love him so much. I was blessed to go to a mass of this feast…”
- on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “1. . . . . .. . . . . . . h7-h5+ 2. g5-h6(×h5) . f7-f5+ 3. K-g5 .…”
- on Faith practice declining far and wide…. except…: “Dear Masked Chicken, thank you for pointing me to your post of 22 March, which which I largely agree. My…”
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Summorum Pontificum Wangaratta celebrated it’s first Missa Cantata last night in Delaney Chapel.
This group of the faithful in a small regional center of Australia is growing and we hope we inspire other regional centers around Australia ‘to have a go’.
wlms.blogspot.com
I was at Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday, I confessed my sins before Mass, and hopefully obtained an indulgence (at least partial =p). The priest gave a good, orthodox sermon on Divine Mercy. After Mass, during the veneration of the music, they played some chant over the church speaker system, which I thought a good move to try to restore some sense of sacredness in the church, apart from some chatter.
I also think things are really looking up for the Church and the tide is turning. :-)
The sun shone here today, it was 18 C, which is good for Ireland.
Sorry I meant veneration of the Divine Mercy image…
I meant to post this the other day before Easter, but – the last two of our four children were both confirmed at Easter Vigil – at two different churches, on opposite sides of the Twin Cities (so we obviously could only go to one)! They are our oldest and youngest (23 and 17): both had opted not to go through Confirmation with their classes, and the “Youth Group” at our Parish (St. R’s – Father – you were there when they were little!) – and both decided, individually, to go through RCIA!
1. Finally found my way to the local EF Mass and received much more than I expected and have a better understanding of the enthusiasm I’ve seen on the blog. It was good to be praying with the priest and having the limited distractions. “Smells and Bells” fulfilled. Lots of incense.
2. A beautiful day for a walk with a friend. Snow 2 days ago and today it’s in the 60’s.
Today was my younger daughter’s Confirmation Day. Our bishop, who recently had a stroke, made the appearance to confer the sacrament, for which we are all glad!
planted 64 coleus seedlings, 45 gladiola bulbs, and refilled the feeders
For the first time in 12 years, there was no discussion about going to my in-laws little Joel Osteen’s church. We just went to St John’s
The new FSSP parish in Oklahoma City is nearing completion on the parish hall, which will serve as the temporary church (completion in mid-June). After some very unpleasant moving that involved the SSPX coming in and lots of negative feelings, we’re all very happy! Thanks be to God for the holy season of Easter.
Our N.O. parish prayed something very similar to the indulgenced prayer for the Holy Father, and the same prayer was handed out on prayer cards at the beginning of Mass. The visiting homilist defended the Holy Father during his homily. After Mass, I thanked our pastor for his support of Pope Benedict and pointed out that the media have very short attention spans.
Saturday night, at dusk, my four children (11-16) joined me for a visit to the Tabernacle at our parish. We took his peace home with us.
I thought I possibly had a fractured hip due to my multiple myeloma. After both a CT Scan and a MRI it turns out that it was only a bad case of bursitis. After a cortisone shot my hip is sore, but the pain is gone. Thanks be to God!
My prayers for greater faith and removal of apathy are being answered.
Three of my children (8, 10 and 12) are voluntarily waking up to go to Mass at 6:30am before school at what is soon to be our new parish.
i scored a box of peanut butter patties [best Girl scout cookie ever] and bought a $60 electric skillet for $10. can you tell i’m preoccupied with fattening food after Lent?
Our deanery had a beautiful Divine Mercy Sunday afternoon with Exposition, confessions, conferences and ended with a Holy Hour, the Mercy chaplet, veneration of the image of Divine Mercy and Litany followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. A very good turn-out with a number of young families and young people present.
At our English NO Mass, the priest actually said “Ite Missa Est.” Unfortunately the congregants responded in English. (They’re all old enough to be in at least their teens before the council!) But it was a pleasant surprise.
Five of my friends were ordained deacons on Saturday at the National Shrine. They will be about half of the Theological College class of 2011.
All sorts:
– a friend of ours who was in surgery Friday was back on his feet and at church today.
– 3 children baptized today at our neighboring parish
– our Knights and Ladies’ Auxiliary turned out for Mass today.
– the neighboring parish’s youth group is about to head out for their annual service trip during school vacation
– my wife went to Mass at another area parish this evening (for the Poland/Russia plane crash) – beautiful Mass, the Priest intoned it in Polish
All during Lent, I suffered a nasty bout of scrupulosity. (I suffer from this now and then, but this episode was exceptionally bad.) The cloud started to lift during the Triduum and has since dissipated.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, Who has given us the victory!
I was baptized and confirmed at Easter Vigil, and have communicated daily since then. What a blessing!
I went to confession for the first time yesterday, and after the absolution forgot my line and just said “Wow!” in reply. Then caught my breath and said “Amen.” Sigh.
We had a wonderful Mass this morning; afterwards the priest lead us in a decade of the Divine Mercy chaplet for the Holy Father.
Tomorrow I defend my Master’s thesis (in geology).
I’m serving for the Pontifical Mass at the National Shrine on April 24. To be exact, I am one of a number of supernumeraries assisting with Communion. I waited to spill the beans until it was official.
It’s gonna be awesome.
Gwen:
“Wow” seems to me a perfectly good substitute for “Amen.”
Best of luck on your defense.
We are blessed with a good and holy priest in our Parish, not to mention countless other holy men in our diocese. My daughter will be receiving her first Holy Communion in a few weeks.Springtime weather is more enjoyable as each day dawns and the glory of the Lord is bursting into bloom everywhere!
I’ll be on the Son Rise Morning Show tomorrow morning at 7:45 AM (Eastern) to talk about the new English translation of the Mass. That’s good news for me! :)
I have a wonerful, generous friend. I’ve had trouble keeping up with yard work and house work due to a sprained ankle and now I have a virus. He came over today a did my yard work AND washed my dishes.
The virus may be a blessing is disguise — my ankle feels much better since I haven’t been on my feet much since Friday.
Another blessing was the beautiful day. I also sat outside for a while this morning enjoying the sights and sounds of the birds. :)
This a little late but my daughter’s daughter-in-law was received into the Church on Holy Saturday and attended the EF with us on Easter. She is so on fire with the Faith that it has us all glowing. Two other girls also entered the Church the same evening at my daughter’s parish. These girls are all in their early twenties. It amazes me that with all the “dirt” being thrown against the Holy Father etc. people are still seeing the Truth and entering the Church. The Holy Spirit in action!
After many arguments my non-Catholic husband finally accompianied me to the ICKSP oratory for Latin Mass.. And he GETS IT. Deo Gratias!
Went to Mass with husband in the am and then with my visiting sons in the pm. In between, on this beautiful day, I attended a Divine Mercy holy hour at a neighboring parish. A good day.
I got to serve for the first time at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (La Crosse, WI), which was AWESOME!
The Shrine was also having a 1st class relic of St. Faustina installed today, the ceremonies for which I was not able to attend.
Had a great Divine Mercy Celebration, the church was packed with about 450 people and four of us priests heard Confessions for about 1-1/2 hours straight out. That is the gift of Divine Mercy!
I gave a copy of the Vesting Prayers to my parish priest yesterday. They were in the sacristy today. Brick by brick.
Finally found work! Even though it is temporary, it beats being unemployed!
Just found out my wife is pregnant!
I attended my THIRD EVER Extraordinary Rite Mass yesterday. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to go to confession this weekend for the Divine Mercy indulgence, but I hope it will be good enough if I can do it during this week.
Attended Mass as a united family today. Stayed for Adoration, Divine Mercy, and Vespers with my husband. Again I say, how can the Divine Mercy, on this day, at this hour, not be efficacious? Jesus, I trust in you. Guide our every step.
This will cheer you up!.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCJPmvfU4Ow
My daughter, who is a good girl and (I hope) well raised, but normal teen, is preparing for her confirmation. With the intention of being well prepared. she gave up meat for Lent and has been attending daily mass and almost weekly confession since Ash Wednesday to be ready. It is such a gift! Her father died unexpectedly 2 years ago and it would be easy to be either bitterly atheistic or pious and overly devotional (a risk, given my own external tendencies) but God is leading her in the middle course of the safe channel.
The two religious orders I’m interested in both say I can visit, and I bought the tickets! I’m going in the middle of May and the beginning of June. Hopefully one of them takes.
Congrats to Urget_nos and everyone else. :)
Our Newman Center hosted our 2nd ever Eucharistic Procession around the campus. 70 students and about 20 others brought our Lord to sanctify the campus. Plus we used a new cope and humeral veil made by cloistered Carmelites in our Diocese. It was a good day. Deo Gratias.
One of the ladies in choir found out that a couple of parishes in our area were having Divine Mercy activities today, and invited me to come along. We came in about 2:00, said the couple decades of the Rosary, were there for Benediction and the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3.
There were huge Confession lines just about all the way down both aisles of the church, and the pews had a fairly full house. It’s not a small church, either.
Oh, and the spring continues to be gorgeous weather and gorgeous trees and flowers. The violets and redbuds are coming out _after_ the magnolias and lilacs! Ha! Crazy weather confused the plants this year!
Father Z,
It may seem a small attainment, but we are still set on the St. Therese ‘small things’. God gave us good health today. None of our grandchildren went to the ER. Our regular capsum peppers, tomatoes & paprica peppers continue to germinate.
Despite my most ferverant appeals, I should be healthy enough to attend our State KC Meeting as a delegate next weekend. OTOH,I will also have the opportunity to take one of our favorite FSSP Priests out to a prime rib dinner.
God is good!
Sursum Corda
fr. andrew,
and what campus is this? how beautiful!
Two of my dearest friends were engaged this weekend. They had been praying and discerning very carefully for a while, especially the young man, who was very open to call to the priesthood. But they have heard God’s call toward Holy Matrimony and I couldn’t be happier for them!
Also, a very uncomfortable and stressful situation at work is about to be resolved. I’m so relieved.
Solemn High Mass this morning with Victoria’s Missa Ave Maris Stella.
Spoke with Archbishop Carlos Quintero-Arce today, Archbishop Emeritus of Hermosillo Sonora Mexico. Was glad to hear his health is very good considering he is now 90. Asked if he knew our new Archbishop for Los Angeles, His Excellency Jose Gomez,and he said he knows him very well and remembered he had spent a week with him in US. Archbishop Quintero-Arce is very happy for our diocese. We laugh because this will be the first Mexican Bishop to head Los Angeles since sometime in the 1800’s when LA was still a part of the diocese of Hermosillo. It is also a blessing that the immigrant population will have such a strong voice in perhaps the most powerful diocese in the United States
Brought my 80yo aunt to doctor for test results. Doctor said her condition is manageable and she won’t need surgery until she’s 106! Praise God!
We’ve just sold my recently deceased father’s house to a friend. We immediately agreed on a price with the buyer, no haggling. No need for a realtor. It’s just gone so smoothly. Very sad to lose the house, but we’re glad it’s going to a good family.
Also, I have a friend who was away from the Church for decades, bringing up her family without any religion. She returned to the Church with great fervor some years ago and has been praying daily that her family would follow her. Now, at Easter Vigil her daughter was baptized into the Catholic Church. One down, two more to go.
Finally, my students were confirmed today. It was a very happy occasion.
Nine of my students will be making their Confirmation next Sunday. Please keep them in your prayers during this final week of preparation.
We finally had the Mass in Latin on Easter Sunday.
There are finally patches of bare ground, thyme that made it through the winter, and buds on my lilacs. The three foot snow drifts in my front garden are down to less than a foot now :)
Life is looking up.
I attended my very first graduate level class in scriptural theology (Biblical Hermeneutics) at a very orthodox Catholic university on Saturday. Glad to learn what St. Thomas Aquinas says on how to read Holy Scriptures!
The Fathers of Mercy had a Divine Mercy service with Benediction, a sermon, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and confession. The place was packed. I loved it!
Lux-
South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. It is our second procession- my first in my first year here.
Over Lent, my 10 year old daughter has learned to pray the Pater Noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri, and has learned to cross herself in Latin. She can also sing most of the Mass parts in Latin. I asked her if she thought it was hard to understand… She said, “Mom (exasperatedly), if I know what it means in ENGLISH, then I know what it means in LATIN!”
Funny aside:
My daughter is also excited to see habited nuns (visiting her school today). We told her that she had already seen nuns before… the older pantsuited ladies who visited our church a few weeks ago were nuns. She said, “No (exasperatedly), REAL nuns.” We, of course, corrected her. However we couldn’t help but laugh. From the mouths of babes!
My wife had a decent-ish night’s sleep with only intermittent trouble from her soon-to-be-replaced hip.
Her brother is back from years in exile overseas, bloodied but not broken. (He has a bought a new Mercedes – hope his optimism isn’t misplaced. If I felt I had to go German I’d probably have gone for a BMW).
I shot a net 64 on Saturday and without a bishop in sight.
I won £5.50 on the lottery – so I shall maintain my habit of keeping in touch with people who give me paying work to do.
The fact that this film was made is surely good news: http://salesianity.blogspot.com/2010/04/pius-xii-under-roman-sky.html
and
A couple of models of youthful holiness that are not to be forgotten:
http://salesianity.blogspot.com/2010/04/saint-of-day-teresa-of-andes.html
and
http://salesianity.blogspot.com/2009/04/saint-of-day-gemma-galgani.html
My 14-year-old daughter was confirmed on Friday night. As I’ve mentioned before, she is autistic, but she did well during the Mass and needed only a little prompting at some points. She didn’t need any prompting to clearly say “I do!” at the renewal of the baptismal promises though. It just so happened that my mother’s (her grandmother’s) funeral took place that morning, so it was a VERY busy day for us all, but she did great. I know my mom was there in spirit.
Also yesterday, my daughter asked if she could visit a perpetual adoration chapel at a neighboring parish. We did, and said the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for my mom. She’s been to this chapel several times with me but never before did she insist that she wanted to go. Perhaps the grace of the sacrament is already having an effect!
My In-Laws are moving to Alaska in less than 6 weeks!
Celebrated the Divine Mercy at a little church outside of town. We all sang the chaplet and then had Benediction. A very lovely afternoon.
Unemployed daughter in California has a job interview next week.
My nine-year-old daughter experienced a moment of grace and conversion after receiving the Eucharist on Divine Mercy Sunday, experiencing profound joy which brought on the blessing of tears, a feeling that she was a new person, seeing the world in a different way, but expressing total unworthiness that God would give her such a blessing. The feelings continued until bedtime.
Thank you, Lord – please keep her close to you. Now that she has had a taste of heaven’s banquet, please don’t let her be seduced by the empty and unfulfilling substitutes offered in this fallen culture of junk “food”.
Discovered that a friend I met online lives only a few blocks from me. I invited her and her husband to come to Mass at our FSSP parish Sunday and then out for breakfast, which they did! They had only been to the TLM once before, but I’m pretty sure they’ll be back!
Attended Mass with The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, prayed the Chaplet, went to confession, prayed for the Holy Father and all my brothers and sisters in the Church. JESUS I TRUST IN YOU!
Communion in the hand has been abolished in our parish!
Mariana-that’s great news!
I don’t have anything ‘good’ to report myself, but I rejoice in all the posts of everyone else!
Pray for me, though-I have another traffic court date tomorrow [the 14th]. Hopefully I’ll be ‘back on the road again’ in my car and not have to depend on bumming rides from friends and taking taxis!
I’m my friend’s Confirmation Sponsor, and the seemster is almost over