I’ll bet that there were some really good sermons during your Masses of Sunday Obligation.
Was there a good point or two you could share?
For my part, I had no Sunday Mass assigned today! I was on my own.
Relaxed day, I thought. God had another plan.
Everything went along as usual. I even had a great supper with a priest friend. A good Sunday.
It was the afternoon when things went sideways for me.
During Mass I had a moment which struck me heavily.
Now, more than ever, we priests and bishops need a Mass to which we must conform ourselves, rather than a Mass that we conform to ourselves through options, legitimate or not.
Mass. Priest. Inseparable.
I read those prayers today, which I and countless other priests have read countless times and, in the reading, they went deeper into my marrow.
They told me who I am NOT.
When priests can take all sorts of options, legitimate or not, they are saying who they are and imposing it.
[Continued elsewhere…]
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@Fr. Z: “Is the “100 year grace period” over?” Indeed it is.
What follows next is unimaginable destruction, according to my Spiritual Adviser. This IS good news. We are in need of a great cleansing.
Father Z, if prayers and rosaries for Holy Mother Church and for her good priests and clergy will help, millions are being prayed daily. If words of encouragement help, we love you and our good priests,Bishops and Cardinals: tell us what more we are to do, and in this we place our trust in you. Until more clergy openly lay out their knowledge and position on these things, the laity must tread softly at the local level lest we bring more problems and pain into the lives of specific priests in our parishes with our actions and words. As I mentioned earlier, at tonight’s Mass part of the prayer was for the uncloaking if these terrible secrets, the public acknowledgement by specific persons of their specific sins and actions in this scandal, that justice prevail, and that the victims be loved, supported, and healed. Priests, clergy and scholars such as yourself have already laid out their conclusions and beliefs in this matter–some at great cost to themselves, including you, whether it be scorn, demotion, loss of employment, and lies. I am dead broke right now, but next month will have funds to give to you and to others who are fighting the good fight in the eyes of God and of his people. Bless you, Father–your courage, knowledge, wisdom, and humor have helped keep us all going lo these several years. I agree with Robert Royal’s column (dated Aug 27, 2018) in The Catholic Thing: “We are in for a long string of painful days now, but I believe it will become a “cleansing fire.” Many in the Church hierarchy, especially in Rome, are still under the delusion that they can manage this monstrosity. They can’t.” The honest and determined, who have valiantly tried to expose the corruption and heresy metastasizing under the surface, will now ,I believe, be vindicated and will not much longer be tormented by the self protecting modernists in the Church.
Our faith is not on ourselves, or our priest, or our Bishop or even our closest friends among the saints. It is on Jesus Christ.
We ourselves have the power given by Christ to make reparation for other’s sins as well as our own. Jesus does just that for all of us, and we can make reparation for the sins of those shepherds who have been “feeding their own bodies with he flesh of their flock”
God bless and strengthen you, Father, and all the priests like you, in the trials that are sure to come. We all pray that you may not flee for fear of the wolves.
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Fr. Z,
You and all clergy are in our daily prayers – Jesus Christ is the answer to our times, and he will give all the strength and courage needed to face the coming changes, we need just ask Him.
Psalm 91 – Safe in God’s sheltering care
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High *
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: “My refuge, *
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!”
It is he who will free you from the snare *
of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you with his pinions *
and under his wings you will find refuge.
You will not fear the terror of the night *
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that prowls in the darkness *
nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side, *
ten thousand fall at your right,
you, it will never approach; *
his faithfulness is buckler and shield.
Your eyes have only to look *
to see how the wicked are repaid,
you who have said: “Lord, my refuge!” *
and have made the Most High your dwelling.
Upon you no evil shall fall, *
no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels, *
to keep you in all your ways.
They shall bear you upon their hands *
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
On the lion and the viper you will tread *
and trample the young lion and the dragon.
Since he clings to me in love, I will free him; *
protect him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall answer: “I am with you,” *
I will save him in distress and give him glory.
With length of life I will content him; *
I shall let him see my saving power.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
In the Byzantine Rite for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost, the Gospel was the parable of the wedding feast and the man without a wedding garment. Not wearing a wedding garment is not fulfilling our part in our invitation to the banquet, not living what we are called to. To be baptized in Christ is to put on Christ, that is, to respond to the call of love. It is not enough to have a church full of people if they are lukewarm i.e. worshiping in a rote manner. There is not a shortage of priests in the Church – there is a shortage of people who take their faith seriously and if they did we would have no trouble finding candidates for the priesthood.
I can offer advice on how to dispel fears due to recent experiences in my life.
I have written in this comment section that I am likely the victim of unlawful surveillance, harassment, intimidation, and attempts at entrapment; what is surprising is that more than one priest appear to be aiding in these schemes against me. The unlawful surveillance may be the result of my letters rebuking a lukewarm and profane bishop and several diocesan priests that are leading many to hell; the surveillance could also be the result of other half-truths which have been spun against me into blatant lies. Satan and his allies often use half-truths and spin them into blatant lies.
One of the intimidation/harassment tactics they use is reckless driving when I am on the road; yes, just like in the movies, they do resort to dirty tactics like nearly driving a person off the road, and they have done this to me many times. (This comment section is too short to defend myself against the false accusation of being “mentally ill”; if one studies the topic of surveillance, though, one will quickly learn that when the surveilled person discovers the surveillance, those responsible for the surveillance will try to make that person appear and feel that they are merely “paranoid” wackos and that the surveillance is “just in your head”. It is a lawyer tactic of attacking the credibility of the person. Satan’s allies are very similar in that manner.)
And, what caused more fear than their reckless driving is the likelihood that I was drugged – yes, drugged – in a Catholic Chapel, mind you. Some may have read the story about the Holy Water being poisoned at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. There are several pharmaceuticals which can be absorbed through the skin and can have the fairly rapid effects of causing or making one feel like they are going to faint and/or lose consciousness. This causes panic and forces one to go to the hospital/emergency room. That, or something similar to that, appears to have happened to me at a Catholic Chapel – and again, I am of the opinion that at least 1 priest and a few others are aware of this fact that chemicals were used as weapons against me in God’s House. Diabolical, indeed; and what is worse is that the priest(s) and other persons who know about chemical weapons likely used against me are remaining silent about it.
Those events have caused fear. One solution to quelling that fear is reading the psalms, St. John of the Cross’s “Dark Night of the Soul”, and offering up one’s suffering with Jesus’s agonies. Suffering is money in the bank; turn the bitterness of suffering fear into the sweetness of a large spiritual savings account that will bring you and others eternal “luxury” in heaven.
A second solution is maintaining the peace that results from a clear conscience and being prepared to stand before God should Judgment Day come sooner than later.
A final help has been reading about those who have shown great courage, tenacity, and trust in the face of overwhelming difficulties and overwhelming odds. The lives of the saints and Old Testament prophets have been very helpful. But, also helpful have been old WWII movies and stories of brave soldiers; just watch a short video on D-Day, and meditate on the bravery of those soldiers who could not even see the beach that was ahead of them. “Be stouthearted and wait for the Lord.” He will help His faithful servants.
For our Sunday Mass, the priest (OF who says the EF once per week) mentioned the Nuncio’s letter. He said, while it causes us all great sorrow, we should be joyful that someone had the courage to speak the truth. These things went on because the good men with the authority to stop them, did not have the courage to stand up to do so. When men in the Church hierarchy commit these horrendous sins, it drags everyone in the body of Christ down and emboldens men of ill will. When, on the other hand, someone like the Nuncio finally stands up to evil, it has the opposite effect: it encourages the good. He said there are people in positions of authority in the Church who should have never been appointed to and have not done anything to deserve their positions. Overall it was a very encouraging sermon and for him as well as Fr. Z, I say it really does encourage me and gives me hope that you have the courage to say the obvious. Thank you both and my family will include you in our prayers!
“So, I was ‘impressed’ by the card and their ‘cool factor’. I really liked the ‘idea of it’.
This is part of the temptation of those who tend to the traditional side of the Church.
Do you want it all? Or just the comfortable and fun stuff?”
Stirring words. Thank you.
August 26 is the feast day of Our Lady of CzĘstochowa, better known to many as the Black Madonna of the eponymous medieval icon. Father pointed out two features of the icon that are apposite to the Church’s present situation: the slashes on Our Lady’s cheek inflicted by Protestant vandals in the 15th century, which are reflected today in the damage being inflicted on our Church from without and within; and the way in which the iconographer portrays Our Lady as gently directing our attention to Christ, upon Whom (as distinct from the trials of His Church) our primary focus should be directed.
My prayers and efforts, feeble though they be, are with you, Father.
“You cannot serve God and mammon…” after a good, pithy exegesis on this Gospel and its heightened relevance today, Father deftly pivoted to the Viganò testimony and noted that – above and beyond the gravity of the initial sin(s) against nature, chastity, and celibacy – “mammon” was a huge driver in the ongoing coverups. He noted that McCarrick very likely owed his selection as Archbishop of DC to the millions he raised through his foundation and donated to the pet causes of
(then-) Archbishop Dziwisz, Cardinal Sodano, etc. IOW mammon was the enabler…
A very interesting take, and I think it would be a fascinating piece of investigative journalism to “follow the money” in some of these cases…
Father:
It is natural for a man facing battle to he afraid.
I have faced such a battle once, when everything was on the line, my integrity, job, my family’s future. I chose the path where the Good Shepherd led me, and I was alone with Him.
There was complete abandonment, I was confronted by corruption all around me. My multi-millionaire CEO came to my dinky little office to intimidate me, a lowly mid-level man barely 40 years of age: a Nothing. My job was lost. I did not bend, I told the truth about the lies of our client and the trail facing our company: do we take their next multi-million dollar contract, or do we tell the truth?
I went away on parish retreat, with my wife and children, knowing that I had no job when we returned home.
We returned on a Saturday. There was a voicemail out of the blue: I was being offered a job by people looking for me.
Remember the words of the holy priest Fr. Vincent Cappodano, when he went with into battle on the fateful day in Vietnam, on the day of his sacrifice, and he spoke the Gospel to a wounded marine: “God is with all of us here today.”
Brave men only die once. Cowards die every day they live.
Simper Fidelis…
And I hate the “auto-misspelled” of the “stupid-phone.”
Our Priest did his whole homily on the Church abuse scandal. He read our own Bishop’s letter then he read parts of the letter by the Bishop of Wisconsin, he told it like it is. He also addressed a “drag queen” story time that will be held at a library near here for 3-6 year old children, he spoke specifically about homosexuality. It was a very powerful sermon and one we all needed to hear.
My Pastor sure went off last night during the homily. He said the Church is now in a Civil War. He said:
“Last Sunday I preached about this. I said to keep 2 images in mind:
1) the day AFTER Hiroshima and Nagasaki… the
bare landscape and utter destruction and
2) Glenda’s question to Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ…
“Are you a good witch or a bad witch?”
I said that the destruction in the Church will appear to be total.
Look and Hiroshima and Nagasaki today…2 beautiful cities.
From now on we must judge each Cardinal, Bishop, Priest and Deacon and even Lay People on an individual basis: good or bad?”
Fr. Paul is friends with the Tyler Bishop, Bishop Strickland and was 4 years behind him in seminary. If that Bishop says there should be an investigation into all allegations then it must be credible. He is a great Bishop!
While Father was offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass “with his back to us and in Latin” I was in deep prayer and then a thought came into my mind. The faithful have been put into a pot of cold water and we’ve been slowly cooked. Some of us jumped out of the pot but many stayed and were stewed. Slowly we were led away from the Holy; look how people dress for Mass, look how priests, bishops, cardinals and even certain popes have turned our Altars into circus acts. To many of Christ’s servants there is no such thing as sin anymore. It is disgusting and right now it is hard to put into words how totally sickened I am about all this evil mess.
Will I leave Holy Mother Church? NO! It is a civil war and I choose to stay and fight. I was raised with three brothers and I know how to fight. All the nasty, evil clergy aren’t “the Church”; Christ is the Church, the Church is his Bride and we have to fight to keep Her as pure as He instituted Her.
I’m glad you didn’t put in the usual caveat about ‘good points only’ because I wouldn’t know how to reply. [But… take another look at how good was underscored, italics and bold. That’s a hint.]
Backstory – I’m a reader and was chatting with (visiting for a couple of masses every weekend for years) Fr earlier, with the parish admin present, and we got to the subject of the scandal. They said that people had called complaining last week because no one addressed the issue. Without knowing all the facts, he said, what could he have said? (I held my tongue.)
But he planned to address it that day. I said that I was most upset about the fact that the Pope had said the problem was clericalism. He then said that it played a huge part. I mentioned that I was celibate, and that if I strayed from that, it certainly wouldn’t be with a minor! (I was able to hold my tongue about the same sex issue.)
I really like this priest, although he’s more of a ‘come to table’ than ‘eternal sacrifice’ sort of guy.
So the homily was relatively short, and while he did address how bad things were, he spent 1/2 the time on the scandals in DC, implying (IMO) that the Eternal City and Babylon on the Potomac were similar. Yes, there’s dishonesty, sexual sins, and corruption in both places, but I was astonished that he would bring both up in the same breath! Such things would upset me in happening in DC, but wouldn’t really surprise me, but with worse things happening in a place I expect better from… wow. Just wow.
Yes, we’re all sinners, but this is more along the lines of a conspiracy of people acting for mutual benefit. Individuals can be forgiven with confession and repentance, but this scandal is structural.
Your friend TGR said some of the wisest words I’ve seen lately when he wrote:
“who is the priest?
Answer that question correctly and you will know why generation after generation of Catholics would kiss the hand of a priest or the ring of a bishop and skip meals if necessary to build the most beautiful churches, to embroider the most precious vestments and to give glory to God through **reverence for His ministers.**”
In the red zone or any time bound by cause or purpose, men automatically follow that first step of courage as a matter of duty to each other. Perhaps we take for granted good priests and bishops because we figure it’s your job and you should be doing that anyway, failing to let you know that what is stated so well above is absolutely true. Without you we have no sacraments and without your guidance we have no proper path. Whatever you suffer we all will suffer in the end. All of us know these things, I just thought it might be a good time to confirm it.
It is through priests and only priests that Christ is given to the world with every Mass celebrated. All of the rest is White Noise.
A little background. One OF homily at my annual train meet. Good friends, both Catholic and non-Catholic attend.
My focus was on John 6:66 – because of His teaching on the Eucharist and Real Presence, “many of His disciples abandoned Him.” I talked about the scandal, the horror of it all. Related how many people has told me “Why remain in the Church, it’s filled with hypocrites.” The Church doesn’t belong to the Pope, or Bishops, it belongs to us all. God is cleaning His house. If there is no repentance, we will face His justice. We meed to lock down and remain faithful, finding our strength in the Eucharist and Mary.
“Holy Church is the greatest expert in humanity that there has ever been or ever will be.” Thank you for these words, Father. So true and beautiful. Our Sunday homily was about how St Paul didn’t really mean all that stuff about men’s headship of the family. If he was writing today he would have simply said “Love one another” without implying a subordinate role for women. Weak sauce I think—but my husband fully agrees with this reinterpretation, and we manage to get along just fine, Deo Gratias!
I’ve started a new novena to St Peter for you and all priests especially the ones in Rome.
I have also come to the conclusion in the last year that the Holy Mass done well is the best weapon we have. Not only by the priest, but by the congregation. I know I don’t pray the Mass well enough always. I have made way better efforts in praying the Mass than I ever have in the past year finding the Extraordinary Form Mass the easiest to praying the Mass.(it wasn’t my favorite Mass at first, I had to become totally comfortable with it~now it is my preferred Mass) Although the NO can be done well, it depends on the priest to do it well, and usually deviates terribly. My dad had a homily that was preached about the sacredness of the Eucharist. But how can the Pastor preach what he does not practice? So much sloppiness in his Mass.If he doesn’t lead, how can they follow? Praying for him~and more priests…our diocese is graying faster than those answering the call…
Really GOOD POINT from Sunday sermon by Msgr. Pope — The Pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian in Washington DC never disappoints, and he has a sermon from yesterday online that knocks the ball out of the park on two hard sayings of Jesus in the day’s readings (actual body and blood in the Eucharist, and St. Paul on the nature of Christian marriage). In the course of that, he made the best comment I’ve seen so far on the explosions rocking the Church today: “In light of the recent scandals and the loss of trust, I am immensely grateful that many of the faithful can look beyond the mess and still find Jesus. He is still here and some live beautifully this old saying: “DON’T LEAVE JESUS BECAUSE OF JUDAS.” Mic drop.
my homily was the last of five on the Eucharist and the Mass, keying off the Gospel of John, chapter six, which had been read at Mass the past few weeks. Starting from Joshua’s challenge to choose between beloved false gods, and the one, true, living God, I itemized some of the false gods we love and serve, including power, sex, ego, sports, technology, etc. I included myself. Then I talked about the reality of the Mass as a renewal of Jesus’ eternal covenant, and I challenged everyone to wake up to the solemn and stupendous meaning of taking his Body and Blood to our lips.
I made no mention of the Vigano allegations. I only even heard a word about it between morning Masses, and only had a chance to learn more later. I posted a reaction on our parish Facebook page, linking to the (orthodox) NCR article, and urging transparency and prayer.
My pastor (NO Mass) opted to preach mostly about the second reading, the infamous “wives be subordinate to your husbands.” He didn’t shy away from Paul’s language, and he presented Paul’s words with humor and grace and wisdom such that I believe many people understood that Paul’s words are far from outdated and teach something profound about love.
He said that the so-called “liberated” view of equality between the sexes doesn’t permit men to love women much because it doesn’t allow men to do small, chivalrous, loving things for women as an expression of love. He encouraged women to allow men to show love to them because “they need the practice.” By exercising love even in small acts we grow to be more loving people.
He related it to the Eucharist (Gospel reading) by saying that vulnerability is a characteristic of love, and the Son of God by becoming human and in the Eucharist has made himself vulnerable to human beings who crucified him in the flesh and who in the Eucharist might receive him coldly, in sin, unattentively, or ignore him in tabernacles; yet that same vulnerability is what makes it possible for human beings to respond with genuine love and grow in love and be saved by being transformed from sinful into loving persons.
Dear Fr. Z,
Please be assured of our continued prayers and sacrifices for you and for all priests, now more than ever… for you good, holy, faithful priests who are living as you should… doing your best every day… for the bad, evil, poor priests who have lost or never had the one, true faith. Priests are human, absolutely… just like the laity… but I’d say not only human, but super human because of the importance and gravity of your vocation, as you said, “Mass. Priest. Inseparable.”
Maybe we should all go back to basics… From the good old Baltimore Catechism, the goal of our lives here on earth is: “TO KNOW, LOVE, AND SERVE GOD IN THIS LIFE, SO THAT WE CAN BE HAPPY WITH HIM IN THE NEXT.” How will we do that?
Reading this post helps all of us to face the moral evil of our day. You have lit a holy fire beneath our keisters! Fr. Z, you have the God-given knack for doing that. Thank you! Thank Almighty God for you! That’s only part of what you do as a good, holy and faithful priest… besides the endless encouragement and wisdom of reminding us very often to “go to confession”! I love that you love us… enough to tell us the truth, the hard truths that so many priests cower from… enough to show your human vulnerability… enough to ask for our prayers… and for praying for us!
How many times in holy scripture do we read about courage… to not be afraid?! The devil wants us to be intimidated and scared, but we should all have only trust in Jesus and holy fear, which is healthy. Intimidation and fear… tools of the devil. He wants us to cower and lose trust in Our Blessed Lord… but …”What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” Romans 8:31; “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37. Keep that always in mind!
We laity need to offer priests encouragement and prayers more often… especially now! Priests suffer more than the laity can possibly imagine. What I can imagine, though, is that you good, holy, faithful priests suffer on a most magnificent scale these days because of the current huge upheaval in the Church. The devil hates you more than ever for being who you are and sticking with the Truth/God. Remember, you have the special protection of Our Lady who will continue to protect you and lead you to her Son … to heaven!
We are all called to offer our lives for God and to further His Kingdom… but we can’t do it without our beloved, faithful, holy, and courageous priests like you, Fr. Z, and all the priests who read your blog! We appreciate and love you more than words can say! Only you priests can bring us the Eucharist!
You’ve suffered and you will suffer more (we all have and will), I guarantee it, but what a gift! Like St. Paul wrote in Galatians 2:19-20, “with Christ I am nailed to the cross. And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me.”
My intention is to encourage you, not flatter you in any way. I’m sure you’ve gone to confesssion most recently, but if you haven’t, may you be reminded to make a good, holy confession, as if it’s your last… and TRUST JESUS so you may continue “the good fight”! Remember, you are under the very powerful protection of Our Blessed Mother! You are one of HER priests! And, remember, GOD ALWAYS WINS!
I hope you’ll find and hang onto holy courage to live the rest of your priestly life with unwaivering faith… with boldness, peace and joy! How many martyrs have breathed their last with that holiness, with the names of Jesus and Mary on their lips?! I hope your heart, mind, body and soul will remain immersed in CHRIST JESUS so that with each breath you take, up until your last, that you will not be dishearted, dispondent or discouraged… but will sing praises to the Lord and call upon the aid of Our Lady! Didn’t the first priests annointed by Christ at the Last Supper, live and die for Him? That is our calling as His chosen ones. Recall the stoning of the St. Stephen in Acts 7:54-6… and the deaths of all the holy martyrs since! I pray we all have a happy, holy, provided-for death.
I am really tired of mediocre. I recognized it in my youth and have come to understand it during my adulthood. For what it’s worth, I sobbed uncontrollably when I found out Cardinal Bergoglio was elected Pope. (I keep him in my prayers. I pray for and miss Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.) I didn’t know why at the time why I cried so much and couldn’t stop, but I realized it was either because it was going to be really really bad or really really good. Now I understand it’s both. It’s been really really bad, and may get worse, but will get better and become really really good. I don’t know how this will all play out, but one thing I hang onto and know without a doubt is that GOD ALWAYS WINS. TRUST HIM! I pray that we all live and die for Him. I pray especially for our priests to help us do just that. Fr. Z, you do that and we are so grateful.
I love the prayer cards for priests! I hope more priests will use them daily from now on. Does anyone know of similar prayer cards for laity?
In the meantime, we all need to step it up. A lot. Everyone, make your morning offering and mean it. Live each day as if it is your last. “Pray, hope and don’t worry”, like St. Padre Pio said. Do your best for God every day with the help of Our Blessed Mother, all the holy angels and saints! Encourage one another in Christ. Go to confession. Thank God for every moment, for the gifts of faith, hope and love! Pray from the depths of your soul and strive that His will, not our will, be done.
Remember why we’re here! Our goal is heaven and the beatific vision! Ah, but how to get there… “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me… For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.” Matthew 16: 24-27.
“For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all… For from him and through him and to him are all thingsl To him be glory for ever. Amen.” Romans 11:32-36
Be assured of our prayers, love and appreciation, Fr. Z.
Through JMJ,
pray4truth
Recommit yourself to God and to the promises you’ve made to God. That was the gist of the homily I got.
It was pretty clear that the priest had been told not to talk about the elephant in the room, but he made some pretty good points regardless.
And, interestingly, all of the “Always Our Children” pamphlets in the parish vanished before Sunday Masses began. And I understand that those pamphlets were mandated by the previous bishop (Ferrell).
A hard-hitting sermon at the local monastery. Thanksgiving that the pus was now starting to pour out of the infection. However, a strong reminder that all of us have our part to play in the resolution of the scandal. Prayer – Penance – Fasting. None of us are exempt. Strong admonishment. Then a long and heart-felt pleading to the children to become consecrated religious because the world needs them so much.
It was a mission appeal for the Diocese of Warangal, India where the Catholics there are very poor but they have relatively a lot of priestly vocations and are able to share some priests with dioceses here in Wisconsin. I wanted him to say something about current events but I did not fault him for not doing so since it is pretty hard to know what to say when you are a mission appeal priest and the parish is not your own parish. And, I consider the needs of the Diocese of Warangal a good point. Especially since this one priest is caring for like 3 parishes in our diocese, so the Diocese of Warangal is doing incredible things for the needs of our diocese. I think one of his churches is one built by Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli… also a foreign missionary priest come to think of it.
Father talked about the Gospel reading. Jesus taught us not to be anxious. Look at the birds and the lillies and how God takes care of them. How much more can we trust that God will take care of us?
Father said that crises in recent memory became worse because people’s anxieties prevented them from doing the right thing. He mentioned two situations in particular in which this has been the case: the subprime mortgage crisis and the clergy sex abuse scandals.
Our Sunday sermon was a shocka. I was settling in for my usual polite doze (it was the 8 a.m. Mass!), when my eyelids flew open as the priest announced that he had already written his planned sermon on the Eucharist when our pastor e-mailed him with the National Catholic Register article–whose contents he then read in full.
Whoa! Named bishops! Pope Francis! I believed every word, because I’d remembered that Pope Benedict XVI had not only accepted McCarrick’s mandatory resignation pronto in 2006 but had put him out to pasture, ending his lifelong career of gallivanting around the world at collection-basket expense. Then, when Pope Francis took over, McCarrick announced to the press, “I’m back!” and resumed flying around hither and yon. His world travels ended only recently, when Pope Francis suspended him.
Our parish is supposed to have some sort of parish “listening session” in the near future, plus an evening of reparation in the church on Sept. 14. My non-Catholic husband can’t stand Pope Francis and hopes for his resignation. But Catholic liberals are already gearing up for a fight and looking for dirt on Nuncio Vigano (see the National Catholic Reporter). And Pope Francis refuses to comment. This doesn’t look good, but the liberal press just loves him. (The liberal press also loved McCarrick, a so-called “moderate,” until just yesterday.)
I want to know exactly who the bishops are who gave McCarrick a free ride time after time.
My homily from this weekend. I had to preach 3 times, but didn’t record my second one. This is probably the best of the two I recorded: https://soundcloud.com/anthony-amato-24873301/the-crisis-in-the-church
And I have to preach it again next weekend at my other two churches. So I’ll update with a better version later, if I can. God bless.
Novus Ordo Mass, not at my usual parish. Father has been ordained only a few years and is a “late vocation”–widower, with 3 living children (2 of whom are no longer of the Faith). Father asked three poignant questions in light of St. Peter’s testimony in the Gospel of the day: “Master, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of everlasting life…”. Question 1: What would make you leave St. ___ Parish? Question 2: What would make you leave the Catholic Church? Question 3: What would make you leave Jesus Christ?
He pointed out that, at least in our neck of the woods, you can’t bless yourself without running into a different Catholic parish. So what makes one stay a parishioner at ____? With this most recent in a long line of abuse and cover-up coming to light, what makes one remain Catholic? Finally, what makes one remain in Christ, and He in them? This last point is where he drove it home: We Belong to Jesus Christ. If you take that as your starting point–and the final goal–everything else falls into place. We don’t just believe in Jesus, we are His and, by some magnificent and nigh-incredible condescension of Divine Love, He belongs to us, wicked and fallen as we are.
I was not expecting such a simply-worded homily to hit home so soundly, but it did. And, though I am generally loathe to do so, when the congregation burst out in applause at Father’s final “I belong to Jesus Christ, and I’m not going anywhere,” I joined in…