I could sure use some.
Have some good news for the readers?
Fr. Z’s Podcasts RSS Feed
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
YOUR RECENT COMMENTS
- on WDTPRS – 20th Sunday after Pentecost: What a grace it is to live with mind and conscience quiet: “Father, your fine remarks about heaven’s perfect accord versus hell and sin being discordant seem to echo John Milton’s “At…”
- on Rome 24/10 – Day 5: Savoring life and loveliness: “Father, it brings me joy that you are in Rome and to read your daily posts. Thank you for the…”
- on WDTPRS – 20th Sunday after Pentecost: What a grace it is to live with mind and conscience quiet: “The heading at your post on 1P5 on the Gospel reminded me also of this prayer before communion in the…”
- on 4 October – St. Francis of Assisi – A saint for times of weak doctrine and weak heirarchy: “Yes, BeatifyStickler, In the 70’s the put out a movie about St. Francis. All the Friars were flitting around like…”
- on Rome 24/10 – Day 5: Savoring life and loveliness: “NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others. The PBG Alaskan…”
- on Rome 24/10 – Day 4: BLACK VESTMENT PROJECT!: “EAW rightly pray for Fr Horan. He may choose to be laicized but I thought the changes wrought in the…”
- on 4 October – St. Francis of Assisi – A saint for times of weak doctrine and weak heirarchy: “Where did the hippie image come from? It always kind of pissed me off. I just sense gays from the…”
- on 4 October – St. Francis of Assisi – A saint for times of weak doctrine and weak heirarchy: “Most likely it was referring to the heresy of Catharism, which led to the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229). To know more…”
- on 4 October – St. Francis of Assisi – A saint for times of weak doctrine and weak heirarchy: “Interesting. Is there an attribution for this text or does the author prefer anonymity? Thanks.”
- on 4 October – St. Francis of Assisi – A saint for times of weak doctrine and weak heirarchy: “@ Joannes_Picus – Heretics at the time were the Cathars and Waldensians who rejected teachings of the Church and promoted…”
- on 4 October – St. Francis of Assisi – A saint for times of weak doctrine and weak heirarchy: “What were the Church’s sins at the time, and which heresy specifically was dominating Europe?”
- on 4 October – St. Francis of Assisi – A saint for times of weak doctrine and weak heirarchy: “Toward the end of St. Francis’s “Hymn to the Sun” is the line “Woe to those who die in mortal…”
- on Rome 24/10 – Day 2: Lights (video): “@monstrance: Or selling off Casa Santa Marta to a hotel chain? ;)”
- on Rome 24/10 – Day 4: BLACK VESTMENT PROJECT!: “Those vestments are beautiful! In charity, let’s pray for Mr. Horan. He is obviously a troubled man in need of…”
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 ...Use FATHERZ10 at checkout for 10% off
Donate using VENMO
GREAT BEER from Traditional Benedictine Monks in Italy
CLICK and say your daily offerings!
A Daily Prayer for Priests
NEW OPPORTUNITY – 10% off with code: FATHERZ10
Fr. Z’s VOICEMAIL
Nota bene: I do not answer these numbers or this Skype address. You won't get me "live". I check for messages regularly.
WDTPRS
020 8133 4535
651-447-6265
This REALLY helps! And it’s great coffee (and tea)
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.
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 comBe a “Zed-Head”!
PLEASE RESPOND. Pretty pleeeease?
Loading ...This is really useful when travelling… and also when you aren’t and you need backup internet NOW! I use this for my DMR “Zednet” hotspot when I’m mobile. It’s a ham radio thing.
If you travel internationally, this is a super useful gizmo for your mobile internet data. I use one. If you get one through my link, I get data rewards.
WDTPRS POLL
Loading ...Fr. Z’s stuff is everywhere
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!
GREAT causes to support
Help Monks in Wyoming (coffee – UPDATED LINK) and Norcia (beer) and the wonderful "Soap Sisters" of Summit, NJ!
Please follow me on Twitter!
Loading ...
Our little Lutheran mission congregation worshipped together last night, and — at least according to our understanding — Christ was truly present in the Word and Eucharist. I realize that you may disagree. But here is the part you may enjoy:
We had a new babysitter for our son, a teenaged girl, who afterward remarked to me that “I was in my Roman Catholic church this morning, and the first and second lessons were the same, the ritual was nearly the same, ” and so forth, inviting a conversation about similarities and differences. All pretty standard, until later when I got the big picture.
I live in a mostly-nominally-Orthodox country, where church attendance is very low and religious faith is often treated as something held onto by one’s grandmother back in the village. But this teenager had been to Mass that morning, and paid enough attention to remember the lessons and speak intelligently about them later. Score!
I know what I am going to do for Lent. :)
Some very good news; the Council of Europe has voted to ban euthanasia or ‘assisted dying’ throughout the continent. Though the directive is non-binding on EU member states, it sends out a powerful signal of the way (please God) things are going.
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2012/01/30/euthanasia-should-be-banned-across-europe-rules-council/
My sister-in-law is having a baby in May and I got my nephew/niece a rather lovely babygrow on Saturday.
The choir rehearsed really hard on Sunday and were listening and singing together especially well. We did the whole of Mass IX which we premier with them singing on Thursday for Candlemas. Hopefully, they will sing as well as yesterday. They can now do Mass I, VIII, IX, X, XVII, XVIII and the Requiem Mass.
The Dominican Friars of the Eastern Province will celebrate a Mass in the Dominican Rite for the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas (old calendar, March 7) at the high altar of the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York City. There will be a talk about St. Thomas Aquinas the night before. St. Vincent Ferrer priory is the provincial house for the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. Details will be forthcoming on the province & vocation websites.
I attended my first Extraordinary Form Mass on Sunday at St. Michael’s parish in Scranton, PA, which is an apostolate of the FSSP. It was a High Mass and the schola were truly amazing. Well done!
My mom, who was taken to the hospital Saturday night in congestive heart failure and pneumonia, is doing much better.
I had a fever like rheumatic fever for most days off and on in the past three weeks, but now I am completely well, bouncy, and irritating as usual. Thank God for illness and for health.
This past Saturday:
Going to confession with your 9 year-old son…..priceless
After 16 months of haggling with our local government we finally, on Friday, received approval of our building expansion plans. We will be adding a new sacristy and confessionals. This is a much-needed addition to facilitate our ‘saying the black and doing the red’.
Rick Santorum’s baby is recovering from pneumonia and is expected to leave the hospital in a few days. Blessed be God.
My wife and I are expecting our fifth child. Please pray for her as we have lost three pregnacies in a row.
This Thursday our parish will be celebrating the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a Missa Cantata (Candlemas with all the trimmings). Check http://www.ivcatholictradition.org for pics.
Today is my daughter’s 16th birthday. She is a beautiful example of everything one could want in a Catholic young woman and her father and I are very proud of her.
Good news from a small town outside of Pittsburgh about a brave mother who chose life!
http://www.wtae.com/news/30324355/detail.html
Benedict,
That’s incredibly good news! The Province of St. Joseph is wonderfully blessed.
I know of several people who might want to attend. I’d like to verify it, though. May I ask how you came by the information? Are you a Dominican?
My wife’s grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year. This presented as small spots on the liver while doing an operation for an unrelated health issue. After the biopsy they closed him up without fixing the original problem. He immediately went into chemo. Last Monday they did a full body scan and found no cancer. The family is cautiously optimistic, its the best news we could have expected.
Spiritually he’s slowly coming back to the Church, I suspect through the prayers of friends and family. We do have a kind and merciful God.
We just had a lovely visit with my husband’s grandmother for the last 10 days. I homeschool my three sons, and it was so nice for them to spend quality time with G-ma! The boys had a Boy Scout awards Ceremony, football, and the Pinewood Derby while she was here! (My son won first place in the pinewood derby for his den!) She sat and listened while they played piano. She played dominoes, cards and watched them build forts in the yard. She read stories, and told us about her childhood. God has blessed us abundantly by giving us this cherished time with her! Thanks be to God!
We had a snowstorm this Saturday (good news for my young sons, me not so sure) and as a result our NO Mass that evening was attended by only 20-25 people. I was amazed when I overheard the PP tell a couple of EMHC’s that due to the small crowd they would not be needed (and no riot ensued). Truly extraordinary.
My job interview and presentation went well last week, and the presentation was very well received. Even if I’m not offered the job (they have one more candidate to interview), it was a personal best and I can apply what I learned in the process to my current gig.
Also, we held a benefit for a friend who had a massive stroke last fall to help cover his medical and rehab bills. It was very well attended, and I think we were able to raise a good amount for him. He’s also able to get out more (with assistance) here of late, and he got to see how many people care about him yesterday.
We had a visiting priest and he gave a most wonderful homily on the sin, artificial contraceptives, abortion, homosexuality, the devil and hell. After having a layperson give the homily last week this was a real gift. We were considering leaving this parish, now we’re giving it another go.
In the old calendar, yesterday was the feast of St. Francis de Sales – the Patron of St. Francis de Sales Oratory in St. Louis, which is dedicated to celebrating Mass and the Sacraments in the Extraordinary Form. Yesterday after High Mass, there was Exposition & Benediction, followed by the veneration of a first class relic of the saint. The line for Confession wrapped around to the back of the church! Such a beautiful morning of Catholic worship!
On Tuesday (tomorrow), His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke will visit the Oratory!
Seven young men were ordained to the subdiaconate for the FSSP Saturday. These are nice, young men who will be good and holy priests. It is very encouraging and inspiring. God bless them!
I went to mass yesterday with 49 men who are candidates for the priesthood new Ordinariate. I also was able to give a priest friend of mine the fig tree saplings he had been wanting for the rectory; he was so happy you would’ve thought I had bought him a new church.
Oh, and our dear bishop (H.E. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz) wrote such a strong letter in defense of our religious freedom and on the whole Obamacare mandate deal. After the letter was read, Father reminded us that we should make reparation for our own sins, but also the sins of others. It was very inspiring and I realized what our family needs to do as “our part” in all of this. God bless strong bishops!
Last night I dreamed that someone managed to put out the sun. I estimated that the temperature would drop about 40 degrees Fahrenheit per day, based on the fact that nights are about 20 degrees colder than days; it might be a little less, depending on cloud cover and the heat of fusion of the oceans. (It’s weird to have islands of rational thought like this in a dream.) I guessed we had 3 or 4 days to live.
But I woke up! Dreams really don’t come true! :-)
I went to Confession yesterday, and the priest was absolutely saintly. Afterwards, he said, “Is there anything else you would like to talk about?” What a sweet and holy man!
On Friday, I started a new blog: domine-non-sum-dignus.blogspot.com
On Friday afternoon I was blessed to have an opportunity to confess at the Capuchin establishment in Colorado Springs where confessions are available about 50 hours a week. Several other folks were there for confession and adoration too.
My little one, Samuel, has just recovered from a bout of pneumonia- he is only 10 months old. I am feeling very grateful for the good hospital care he received and also thanking God for the discovery of penicillin! Also praying for those who are sick who do not have the advantages of modern medicine.
I emailed H.E. Walker Nickless to thank him for his statement on life.
It can be read here: http://traddyiniowa.blogspot.com/2012/01/bishop-nickless-on-hhs-sebelius-and.html?spref=bl
He responded and said thank you. It is nice to know that bishops do sometimes read there email. It is also sometimes nice to know that one doesn’t have to email his Ordinary over a problem, but that one can email his Ordinary over the good that he does.
Some bishops do it right. Bishop Nickless is one of them. May his reign be long!
Just over a week ago, my wife and I welcomed our first child into the world! John Paul is healthy and wonderful, truly a gift from God :)
After my husband’s diagnosis of throat cancer the week before Thanksgiving, I am finally letting go and trusting in God’s will for both of us. I am such a “hands on do it myself” kind of girl, that our Almighty God and most Merciful Father got my attention with this thing; now I am letting go of what I had no control over to begin with…..and it sure makes things run better all around.
I have a job interview this week for a pretty important job, but at the same time I don’t have to sweat it because there’s several other positions coming available sometime this year.
Saturday was my 1 year anniversary of the day I decided to revert back. I “celebrated” it by making a general confession seeing how I had a lot of unconfessed serious sins that needed to be acknowledged. I’m quite happy that I put all those years behind me now and can continue to move forward.
Between school and work this week I have a tonne of stuff on my plate, but I haven’t had a nervous breakdown. I’ve managed thus far to take it one thing at a time.
I have permanently deleted my Facebook account and have set firm limits on my computer time. I couldn’t be happier about this. Deo Gratias!
We just finished some renovations to make our Adoration Chapel bigger and move our paise office into the school. All is set for an open house this coming weekend!
May the heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored and loved at every moment in all the tabernacles of the world, even until the end of time! Amen!
It’s amazing how much good news there is!
My good news is that I’m making an effort to go to confession more frequently. I’m new to the Catholic Church; I was confirmed about 9 months ago, and since then (I’m almost embarrassed to say it) I’ve only been to confession 3 times. When I confessed for the first time, I thought it was going to be one of the hardest things I’ve done in a long time. Despite the fact that it was much easier than I thought, I’ve been very reluctant to go … you know, the whole “I feel embarrassed” thing. I’ve also been confused about what to confess and how to confess it.
However, reading you’re constant reminders to confess, Fr. Z, have emphasized the importance of this wonderful sacrament for me. Yesterday, before confession, I read carefully through this post:
https://wdtprs.com/fr-zs-20-tips-for-making-a-good-confession/
and then this pamphlet:
http://www.blackfencatholic.org/pdfs/confadul.pdf
which I got from this post:
https://wdtprs.com/2011/10/an-examination-of-conscience-to-help-make-a-better-confession-by-a-really-sound-priest/
I took time in quiet place to think about my sins, and made notes to take with me, based on the questions and my reflection. I said some of the prayers recommended to help prepare as well as some of my own. I worked on memorizing the Act of Contrition.
My priest told me it was the best confession I had done and I felt the same way. In addition to feeling more motivated to receive this Sacrament more often, (by your posts Fr. Z,) these tools will help me make better confessions.
Thank you, Fr. Z!
I woke up this morning and thanked God – for being there, for forgiving me (of course through the sacrament), for my wife, for my job, and for my health. Then later after my shower prayed to Him to watch over me, provide graces to a sinner like me, and help Santorum’s little girl. As I drove down the driveway prayed to God to watch over me, my wife through the day, and our house. On the way I noticed some animals and prayed to St Francis to watch over them. At lunch prayed before I ate. Basically, thanked the dear Lord when I could for everything that I have and to watch over us as we make our way through this confusing world. My good news – that after many years of being asleep I know God exists and he is there for me.
I was delighted at how many children of various ages there were at Mass yesterday morning, with about 10 of them being prepared for their First Holy Communion later this year. There were also two babies, of Polish families, present who were to be baptised after Mass. Our church seems to have a good future ahead of it with the number of families with children who come to the Sunday morning mass.
This may well be Obama’s last year in the White House.
Spera in Deo!
More good news…
I got to meet Rick Santorum. He came to the DAILY Mass last Friday while he was here in Jacksonville. I gave him a Divine Mercy picture, and he referred to the Chaplet. I hope serious Catholics will consider him as an alternative to whomever is left breathing after the gladiator match between Romney and Gindrich.
Let’s try this again…(accidentally posted this in the Sunday Sermons post).
I went to an excellent conference at St. Mary of the Lake on Triduum liturgy. Lauds was beautiful. Even if it did take me five hours to get home (which was 40 miles away – day of the snow storm here in Chicago).
And I’ve been asked to contribute to a book on Mary Magdalene. I’ll be working on depictions of Mary Magdalene in Western art from Baroque to contemporary.
My infant godson, who went through open heart surgery last Tuesday, is doing much better. He is playing and happy, although still sore. :-)
My daughter and I had a girl’s day out on Saturday and bought her a dress for her First Communion.
Had a mission this weekend. Fr George McInnis of the Congregation of Fathers of Mercy gave three conferences at Holy Family Church: Truth, The Commandments, and The Mass and the Real Presence. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. In spite of everything that is going on the world I feel happiness.
How ’bout Bishop Moraglia getting appointed as Patriarch of Venice?
http://eponymousflower.blogspot.com/2012/01/cardinal-siri-man-appointed-to.html
Another Latin Mass!
The Dominican Friars of the Eastern Province are doing a Mass in the Dominican Rite at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City for the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas (old calendar) on March 7:
http://www.orderofpreachersvocations.blogspot.com/2012/01/mass-of-st-thomas-aquinas-in-dominican.html