Mass for Reparation – Sun 17 May 2:00pm EDT

I will say Holy Mass at the time of President Obama’s appearance at Notre Dame, in reparation for Notre Dame’s decision to bestow an honor on this aggressively pro-abortion public figure.

No matter where you are, please join your minds and hearts to this Mass, asking God to accept this act of reparation for the betrayal of our Catholic identity, the scandal committed, and any sins against charity or truth which have been committed.

I understand that the President is scheduled to appear on Sunday at 2 pm EDT.  It would be nice to know precisely when he is scheduled to receive the honor.

The fact that he is speaking is less problematic than Notre Dame’s decision to bestow an honor on him, thus signaling approval of his positions and actions.

If possible I will have this on the Z-Cam.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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

  1. Excellent Father. I hope more priests chime in.

    It would have been great to have an organized effort all across the US at parishes holding Masses of reparation at 2:00pm. Is it too late?

  2. Fr. Michael says:

    I will be saying Mass as well, though my particular intention will be for the conversion of hearts toward Christ and greater charity among Catholics. God bless.

    A full schedule can be found at: http://commencement.nd.edu/

  3. paul says:

    I am glad you will offer the Holy Sacrifice father and will unite my prayers with your intentions. I just a heard a priest was arrested at Notre Dame- for defending the lives of the unborn and protesting this public shame. A friend of mine stated “Satan is in the Church”, I think he is correct.

  4. Girgadis says:

    At the request of an online acquaintance I know from another Catholic blog,
    many of us will be praying the Rosary at 2pm tomorrow in reparation for the
    sin of abortion and in particular for the conversion of pro-abortion Catholic
    politicians, doctors who perform abortions, people who staff and volunteer at
    abortion clinics and women considering aborting their babies. I will also be
    praying that I personally have done everything I can to bring others into the
    faith and that my actions are worthy of the name of Jesus and totally devoid
    of my own pride and self-righteousness.

  5. Teresa says:

    I believe that the priest who was arrested is Fr. Norman Wesslin. My children recognized him as the priest they often saw praying outside the abortion clinic we had to pass on our way to our catholic elementary school. Seeing him being arrested on national news gives us reason to pray all the harder.

  6. Justin says:

    I had tears in my eyes as I watched this video.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiz4tfjSuPc&eurl

    This is obviously what Notre Dame mean by dialogue. They arrest and force an 80something year old priest to the ground, because he dared to venture onto their “hallowed” campus and pray the holy rosary.

    President Obama gets an honorary degree. Father gets handcuffed, pushed to the ground and shoved into prison.

    Dialogue?? Sure…..

    The good Father was crying (could he be an old Notre Dame man?) as they were handcuffing him while he, choked with emotion, starting singing Immaculate Mary.

    O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

    Viva Christo Rey!!

  7. Cathy says:

    I remember Father Weslin gave a homily a few years back at my parish. Two blessings he mentioned really struck my heart. 1) The great blessing of being Catholic and 2) The great blessing of living in the United States of America. Father Weslin has been arrested many times for protesting at abortion clinics. I never thought I’d see the day when a Catholic priest would be arrested for protesting the invitation of the most radical anti-life leader in our country’s history by a Catholic? University in order to give a commencement speech and recieve an Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree. While the administration of Notre Dame may well say they are within their rights, Notre Dame being private property, it begs the question as to whether or not the institution can still be considered Catholic property or worthy of its Catholic identity.

    Thanks and God bless you!

    Cathy

  8. Todd says:

    Father,

    As you celebrate the Mass of Reparation, it might be a good thing to remember the students graduating who have been unwillingly caught up in this scandal. As I see invectives hurled against Notre Dame, justified though they may be, I can’t help but feel for the students for whom this should be a day of great rejoicing and celebration of the good work of their years of study. As much as the bestowing of this honor weakens our Catholic identity, I hope for their sake that the event passes peacefully. It’s so sad that their academic career has to end on such sour note.

  9. dymphna says:

    I thought all Masses were for reparation?

  10. Carol says:

    Fr, I will be there in spirit. Thank you.

  11. Indelible Inkstain says:

    Thank you Father! I will be there in spirit as well

  12. TJM says:

    Todd, you are quite right. Any invective should be directed at the leadership, certainly not the students, whose day has been stolen by a selfish, egocentric man.
    Tom

  13. Jason Keener says:

    Unless it was for a debate about abortion, I still don’t think Notre Dame should have invited Obama to do anything at all on the campus. The pro-life movement and people of good will should marginalize and isolate our public leaders who advocate the killing of unborn people. If we don’t actively marginalize and isolate leaders who support abortion, they will never realize how serious we are about the issue.

    We should certainly pray and fast for Obama, but we should look at other tactics, too. Pro-life legislators could refuse to attend events like the State of the Union Address in protest of a repugnant public leader like Obama who advocates killing the unborn. People of good will could publicly and loudly refuse honors and awards from the White House as a form of protest. Business leaders could refuse to host Obama until he renounces his pro-choice position. People of good will could refuse to stand in any greeting lines to shake Obama’s hand. Other leaders around the world who recognize the natural moral law could refuse to meet with Obama.

    It all comes down to the fact that we shouldn’t be giving any sort of platform, honor, or respect to the President of the United States when he supports the so-called right of citizens to kill innocent unborn children. There is probably nothing as heinous abortion, and a leader who supports abortion totally betrays the fundamental duty of his office to promote the common good. Public service and support for abortion are utterly incompatible. We have to start treating it that way.

  14. Brendan says:

    Justin, thank you for posting that video. I too have tears in my eyes.

    Immaculate Mary, pray for us! St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!

  15. paul says:

    Todd,
    Your thoughts about the students is also on my mind. My anger is at Father Jenkins and Notre Dame officials who put everyone in this position in the first place. My anger is not even with the President- it rests entirely on the officials of Notre Dame. While our president is being “honored” an 80 year old Catholic priest was handcuffed, pushed to the ground and carted off to jail- Christ is still suffering in His priests.

  16. GandhianCatholic says:

    Father, what is the Catholic Church’s stand on civil disobedience? As someone who is heavily influenced by Gandhi, I often wonder if Catholics and all pro-lifers should simply stop paying taxes until Roe v. Wade is overturned and abortion recognized as murder. Catholics in Nazi Germany would have been justified in defying the government, as was Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. I am starting to feel that, as long as abortion is legal in this nation, it is a moral obligation to refuse cooperation with this cancer we call the American government. It needs to be subjugated to the law of God. For that cause, I would be willing to go to jail.

    The video brought tears to my eyes as well.

    God help us all…

  17. BLC says:

    I quite literally cried when reading about Fr. Weslin. This is appalling. How can a Catholic university have one of its priests treated so badly when Obama is being honoured?

  18. mfg says:

    Posters: Do you understand the implications and significance of this? An 80-yr-old Catholic priest shoved to the ground and arrested at Notre Dame for standing up for the life of the innocent unborn? I hope I never hear the name Notre Dame again! I am sick, sick, sick of our bishops! Words, just words!

  19. LCB says:

    I cried watching University Police arrest an 80 year old Catholic Priest while he sang Immaculate Mary.

    Less than a mile away is an abortion mill. Police arrest priests singing Immaculate Mary on a campus named Notre Dame… while children are dying.

    How long can such an injustice stand?

  20. SC says:

    Dear Fr. Z,
    I hope I am in time to ask you to include my niece in your intentions in the Mass of Reparation. She is graduating to day from ND and she voted for Obama.
    Thank you and God bless,
    SC
    Noteworthy for all: CNN Politics online posted a video and a still picture on the arrests yesterday at ND which clearly show Norma McCorvey, ‘Roe’ in the landmark Roe v Wade case. Click on Politics and see the story, ‘19 arrested at ND protest.’ CNN does not even recognize her! She is holding the hand of a priest. As a devout Roman Catholic, she is with the group that walked on ND campus yesterday to protest Obama! What would the graduates think if they saw it? In the CNN video she steps aside as the others proceed to get arrested. A picture is indeed worth a thousand words! While this is a tragic, tragic day for our nation and our Church, we must rejoice that the soul of this brave woman is a bright and shining light in the darkness!

  21. Dr. Lee Fratantuono says:

    Father Zuhlsdorf’s suggestion of Masses at 2pm is eminently praiseworthy and supernaturally powerful.

    Father Weslin’s methods, in my view, do far more harm than good.

  22. shadrach says:

    I agree with Lee Fratantuono. It definitely is a very sad day. Masses and prayers are the only thing for it. There is a lesson in it all: a reminder of how pride and the lure of glamour can be so destructive to God’s stated will on earth. We’ve been told this before, but seeing and experiencing it reinforces the lesson. But the gate of hell has no real dominion and we trust not in presidents, kings, democracies, parties or states, thank God.

  23. Mary Conces says:

    Thank you, Justin, for the link to the video. I, too, was in tears. One thing that pleased me about the situation was that the pastor who spoke so movingly at the end was a Protestant minister. (Is Pass the Salt ministries a Protestant or ecumenical initiative?)
    Of course, the Mass is the ultimate “weapon” /source of grace against the evil at Notre Dame, but why are Father Weslin’s “methods” deemed counter-productive? Peaceful protest is not his only pro-life effort. He is also the founder of Mary Weslin Homes for Pregnant Unwed Mothers–named after his mother.

    Mary Conces

  24. paul says:

    I saw the video and and am very proud of Father Weslin- he was singing the song Immaculate Mary as he was handcuffed at a supposed Catholic college. He did nothing wrong- is this still the land of the free?? Also he honorably served our country in the military in his younger years. Would that more Catholics have such courage as this man- unfortunately fortitude and courage is in short supply these days.

  25. sandra in severn says:

    I will be joining my intentions while praying the Rosary.

    My main intent is to pray for the conversion of of our President, and the Board of Trustees of The University of Notre Dame du Lac.

  26. George says:

    It’s just after 3:00 and he’s about to speak …

    3 o’clock …

    Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

    Father, forgive us …

  27. AuroraChristina says:

    Father, forgive us and forgive Your Church.

  28. Chris H. says:

    2 breaks for interruptions
    4 crying babies
    20 applause breaks (many with noted boo-ing)

    The great irony of the address — Obama credits the work of the Catholic Church in Chicago for his Christian faith yet he joined Jeremiah Wright\’s church… okay.

    FYI, Fr. Jenkin\’s introduction was a defense of his actions which stand in open opposition to Bishop D\’Arcy\’s letter.

    –this is just my take though–

  29. quiet beginning says:

    AuroraChristina wrote:

    “Father, forgive us and forgive Your Church.”

    This raises the important question of whether the outfit currently occupying the Vatican is indeed Christ’s Church. “By their deeds you will know them.”
    What we’re witnessing is evil on display. No one is being forced to recognize it as such, individuals will exercise their free will for good or evil here, and they’ll either see the evil present in what is publicly and officially recognized as the “Catholic Church” or they won’t. And let’s face it—a great many are positively titillated by what’s going on. True Catholics, however, know that our Blessed Lord always provides a means of their worshipping Him in the way he commanded, even if that worship must be done in private.

    Oh Lord, come in a special way to comfort your lambs in this their hour of need.

  30. Andreas says:

    As I watched the televised speech and the repeated applause of the vast majority attending this event, while Obama claimed center stage and spoke repeatedly of “us” – one thought kept coming to my mind: the Church needs to get purged. We have way too many people claiming to be Catholic who are in fact enemies of the Faith. This vast crowd honoring this man: they’re not my household of Faith: they make a mockery of Christ’s Church. The Church needs to get purged, needs to get smaller, loose the fat, build up the muscle, and be true to itself in an uncompromising way. Is there a movement strong enough to make that happen? I don’t know. This could just be a lot of talk and no action. Yadda dadda from people with authority which they choose not to exercise.

  31. quiet beginning says:

    Andreas wrote:

    “The Church needs to get purged, needs to get smaller, loose the fat, build up the muscle, and be true to itself in an uncompromising way. Is there a movement strong enough to make that happen?”

    There IS a “movement” underway to make that happen—it’s called the Church Militant, and you won’t find very many (if any) members of it in Novus Ordo churches or, for that matter, within the walls of the Vatican. This movement has existed since the founding of the Church and exists, albeit underground and suppressed, to this day.

    The fact is, though, that a pope is the one who has the juridical authority to trim fat and build up muscle. Benedict XVI, acting as Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, could stop all of this right now, TODAY! Given his apparent continued infatuation with the “springtime” of Vatican II and the “civilization of love,” though, I’m not holding my breath.

  32. irishgirl says:

    I was watching the address from Notre Dame while eating dinner at a local restaurant. The sound was turned down, but there were ‘subtitles’ on the screen. I had to keep myself from yelling at the TV!

    All I could think of was, ‘Notre Dame sells its spiritual birthright for a mess of pottage’! Grrr….

    And the Lady on the Dome weeps…..

  33. @Mary Conces

    One thing that pleased me about the situation was that the pastor who spoke so movingly at the end was a Protestant minister. (Is Pass the Salt ministries a Protestant or ecumenical initiative?)

    If I remember correctly the head of Pass the Salt Ministries (who I believe was the guy behind the camera) is a former Catholic. And, while definitely not Catholic in his theology, he does not seem to be anti-Catholic. I believe he once invited Patrick Madrid onto his radio show to answer questions that his listeners had about the Catholic Church.

  34. Mark says:

    When I read the speech, my thought was that the bishops, and Catholics in general, really need to start talking and ACTING consistently, because otherwise this guy is going to win everyone over with his smooth talk.

    I mean, he is very sincere. His story about not calling pro-life activists “ideologues” and how both sides of the debate in stem-cell research value life, etc…was disturbingly convincing. His admission that the two sides are never going to be compatible and that many peoples’ position on abortion is inconsistent (which I took to mean, for example, the idea that fetal homicide is a crime but abortion isnt, etc, or that premature babies are considered alive as long as they are fully instead of “partially” birthed)…makes him, implicitly, seem like the level-headed, honest moderate who can keep his cool and is willing to sit down civilly with both sides, making OUR SIDE look like the radical extremists.

    We have been “civilly” engaging that side for too long, when really they are beyond the moral pale of debate. “Caricature” indeed! They support child murder! Should the abolitionists have stopped “caricaturing” the Southern slave-holders? And that wasnt even an intrinsic evil, ultimately. This is. And all talk of “evil” aside, there are victims who suffer horribly painful deaths, whether you believe in a God or not.

    The ultimate logical playing out of “dialogue” or “civil debate” on this issue is the ridiculous display we saw on Sunday which sends the message that the other side wins by default. Because they’re position has always been that it is not so absolutely important that dialogue cant be had…whereas our position is, allegedly, that it is absolutely urgent. And yet we ACT like it is unimportant enough that the other side can merely be “talked to” civilly. And Obama talked to us plenty civil on Sunday. If we sit down and talk to him in return, we lose. Because if we really believed what we say we do about them being humans dying…then sitting down and talking about it civilly with the new Nazis is like negotiating with terrorists. It’s admitting that such characterizations I made are “caricatures” even though if babies are really being murdered, they should be totally apt. Unless “baby” and “murder” are exaggerations too…

  35. TJM says:

    People forget that Hitler and Musillini were smooth talkers and spell binding orators. That worked out well didn’t it? Tom

  36. Michael J says:

    Dr. Fratantuono,

    Care to quantify how Father Weslin’s methods do more harm than good? I am not denying that this may be the case, but I do not see how it can be so.

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