And then there’s …

… this…

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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

  1. Josephus Muris Saliensis says:

    So sad. In sensu universalis.

  2. TheCavalierHatherly says:

    Not learning any other languages (including Latin) until university is one of the biggest regrets of my life.

  3. APX says:

    Well, at least he didn’t say the priest had his back to the people, but rather that he faced the altar.

    This book moving thing seems to be a source of contention. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard complaints.

  4. maternalView says:

    I’ve never understood adults who like sharing stories of their childhood misbehaving to kids.

  5. AnthonyJ says:

    Does he think moving the altar Missal is slave labor? What he said is just ludicrous.

  6. Kathleen10 says:

    His mother recorded his first words were “I hate this old Mass”.

  7. Rich Leonardi says:

    Your Holiness,

    Try to remember that it’s not about you.

  8. WVC says:

    “My dear sons, assist at Mass as true and devout Christians, with such modesty and recollection that nothing may distract you. Let your mind and heart be intent solely on honoring God.”
    -St. John Bosco

  9. I just attended a Latin Mass today in a place I only visit occasionally. They had 5 servers, two men and three boys. The oldest boy had the role of moving the Roman Missal. He did an excellent job. The younger two boys, who mainly sat in choir, watched everything he did with attention. I’m sure that outside Mass they are just little boys. But don’t underestimate how much they can handle. They can certainly move a book.

  10. Archlaic says:

    I’ve observed my five sons as each progressed through various apprenticeships and levels of competence in serving the TLM. It’s no picnic for an 8-9 y.o. wearing unfamiliar garb to reach up and lift a heavy altar missal and its stand, remove it from the altar without taking the linens along, descend 3-5 steps carrying same, pivot correctly and genuflect, re-ascend to the altar with his sacred burden, and raise it high enough to place it gently on the altar – correctly oriented – without incident! For a youngster learning to serve, completing this task correctly is something to be proud of… and in my experience they usually are! As Father and others have noted, one of the things that most boys like about serving the TLM is that it’s hard: on top of learning the responses and the choreographed rubrics, there are not only tests of physical strength and coordination, but they involve valuable and even dangerous “holy” objects: in addition to the Missal and stand there are complicated thuribles, processional candles, and torches (smoke and flame!) Lots of responsibility for a pre-teen, combined with a growing appreciation for his unique “insider” position assisting the priest up-close during Mass… just the kind of “manly stuff” that attracts normal boys! I can’t believe that in the innocence of youth, and destined for the priesthood, young Jorge Bergoglio didn’t feel the same way. It’s one thing to be self-deprecating, but it’s a real shame that somewhere along the line he became so jaded (or proud) that he feels the need to denigrate the Mass and his own service before – rather schizophrenically – concluding that it was “fun” and that he “liked it”.
    If anyone can figure out this pope, he’ll have the ingredients for a beat-seller!

  11. grateful says:

    Remember this?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYNnjT95b98
    Traditional Latin Mass Server Quarantine Workout.

    [Thanks! Outstanding.]

  12. Ariseyedead says:

    And why do I feel like he is being the Pope in the exact same way he was an altar boy? What a job he is doing!

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  14. grateful says:

    Thank You for posting it originally.
    I found this in the cmments:
    “Wesley Talley
    Wesley Talley
    11 months ago
    Psh! Using a railroad tie to train for carrying “the book” (as we Acolytes tend to call it)? The Missale Romanum, in addition to the brass stand it’s on weigh a ton. A railroad tie is not heavy enough! :-P “

  15. Georgemartyrfan says:

    First off, that’s an odd question for a 9 year old. Were you ever near the priest as an altar boy?

    Maybe the rest is better, but there are so many good uplifting and affirming responses that could have been given.

  16. sjoseph371 says:

    A few things struck me:
    1. He didn’t know Latin as an alter boy when he was serving a pre-V2 Mass? I was born post-V2, but I thought that most Catholics had to learn Latin, or at least those assisting with the Mass had to! OK, maybe he didn’t know Latin, but I also thought that they would have at least had access to the same Missals we do today with the translations in it. Heck, even someone as new to the TLM as myself with a lousy aptitude for non-native languages have picked up a few Latin phrases.
    2. Maybe these traumatic experiences as an alter boy slaving around with the millstone of the priest’s book is what drove him to persecute the TLM followers – “YOU DID THIS TO ME SO I WILL DO THE SAME TO YOU!”
    3. Given the traumatic experiences, I’m surprised his subconscious didn’t make him forget what was done at the TLM.

  17. IaninEngland says:

    I wonder if the question originates with the same agents provocateurs who submitted the self-answering dubium a little while ago. His Humbleness, of course, has used it as another opportunity to have a dig at the Catholic Faith.

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