Fr. Z's Blog | Formerly entitled: "What Does The Prayer Really Say?" – Clear, straight commentary on Catholic issues, liturgy and life by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf o{]:¬)

Ass. of Catholic Priests formed to push passé liberal agenda

Posted on 6 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The National Schismatic Reporter has an online piece about a new group for ultra-liberal priests called the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests. The group is comprised of self-described “Vatican II priests”. In 2012, 240 people showed up for a meeting and they have, it is reported, some 950 members. I wonder if that included reps from the LCWR.

I am guessing that most of the members are over 65.

What are they up to? They want to “build bridges” and “hold hands with the laity and at the same time with the bishops”

I looked at their resolutions HERE. They include such old liberal favs as:

promotion of the ordination of women to diaconate and priesthood
election of bishops by lay people
support for labor unions (I assume that means SEIU, the NEA, and anything that Geore Soros might back)
restoration of general absolution where it has been ended
obtain permission from Pope Francis to use the obsolete 1973 translation for Mass
try to end the annual collection for the Archdiocese for Military Services
promotion of Cardinal Bernardin’s Common Ground Initiative

The rest of their proposals for the Ass. of Catholic Priests group are pretty much blah blah about collegiality and consensus and running down anything they don’t like in Lumen gentium 18-25.

Nothing much will come of this, of course. The Biological Solution will take care of most of the members in near future. Still, it is interesting to see how dying embers can be fanned up into a little flame of hope for a ’70’s liberal agenda.

I am tempted to get a whole bunch of like-minded priests together to join the group and then hijack their meeting. Heh heh.

You can bet that the NSR (the newspaper of record for heresy and schism) will have people at that meeting so we can read all about how wonderful and forward-looking they were.

UPDATE:

I direct the readership’s attention to a blog post by one of our frequent contributors here, Fr. Martin Fox, over at Bonfire of the Vanities.

He asks:

Is there a single word for what I’m describing? Something that is sad, ironic, and yet curiously funny, all at the same time?

You might go over there and read his comments and answer his question.

Fr. Fox pretty much blasts them to tiny shreds.

Gelastic? Quizzical? Risible?

UPDATE

Quite a while back, I happily posted a link to the Archdiocese for Military Services on the side bar of this blog to send donations. I hope you will use it.

Posted in Liberals, Pò sì jiù, Priests and Priesthood | Tagged Association of Catholic Priests, Biological Solution
66 Comments

Fr Z’s Kitchen: prepper food edition

Posted on 6 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Click

I recently put on the side bar of this blog a widget with a link to some freeze-dried ready meals. Add boiling water to the package, seal, wait, eat. I ordered some.

Today I got out my little stove and gave one a whirl.

Optimus Crux Lite Stove With Terra Cook Set

It took about 4 minutes to heat the water.

Tear open the bag and take out the desiccator. It ain’t a flavor pack.

Before.

Add your 2 cups of hot water.

Give it a good mix around to distribute the water evenly. Seal the bag with its ziplock. Wait about 15 minutes.

Another company has one that takes the same amount of water but takes 8 minutes.

Ready to eat! Sorry, photo didn’t turn out.

Let’s be clear about something. The Chile/Mac was not “gourmet” food. But it wasn’t awful. This is probably going to be my summary of the different meals.

The pouch provided 2 servings totaling 340 cal. The sodium was pretty high, but if you are in a situation where you are working and sweating a lot, you would need it. They will store of a long time.

The packs are pretty light at 193g (6.8 oz). You could have a few in a go bag.

I think people should make preparations for … problems. Even if you are not prepping for … events, having a few of these around could be handy.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Fr. Z's Kitchen, Global Killer Asteroid Questions, Semper Paratus, TEOTWAWKI | Tagged prepping, TEOTWAWKI
18 Comments

Z-Swag “in the wild”!

Posted on 5 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A reader sent a shot of some Z-Swag!

This driver has excellent taste.

Posted in In The Wild | Tagged car magnets, In The Wild, Z-Swag
15 Comments

QUAERITUR: Does registering in a parish mean anything?

Posted on 5 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

What does canon law say about becoming a member of a parish outside of the geographical jurisdiction of the parish closest to you? For example: Joining another parish farther away from you, but in your diocese, because the Mass is more reverent/you receive spiritual direction from that pastor/you fit in culturally with the people at that parish, etc.?

Canon law says nothing about “joining” a parish. “Joining a parish” is a concept foreign to the canonical system.

You become a member of a parish by virtue of where you live.

If you belong to an ethnic or national group, there may also be a personal parish to which you belong.

Recently, bishops have erected “personal parishes” based on factors other than ethnicity. For example, they may establish parishes for the deaf, for those devoted to the Extraordinary Form, for members of the charismatic movement, etc. It is therefore possible for one person to “belong” to several parishes as in the case of a hearing-impaired traditionalist-charismatic Wendish-Laotian.

In North America parishes about 80 years ago began developing this concept of “registering”. As a “registered” member, you get envelopes and other mailings from the parish office, you are listed on the books for easy reference (handy in parishes of 1000 families or more where it’s unlikely that the pastor personally gets to know everyone … especially when the pastor is transferred every six years… but that’s another vat of borscht).

Registering does not in itself allow one to acquire any canonical rights at the parish where one registers. Registering at one parish does not it cause one to lose any rights they have at their proper parish.

Remember: there are rights and duties, too.

Catholics are no longer obliged to attend Mass regularly at their proper parish’s church. They may freely choose to attend a parish across town, in another village, even a parish of another ritual Church (e.g., you are a Latin Church Catholic but you like to attend the Divine Liturgy at the Ukrainian Catholic Church). You may attend a different church every Sunday if you wish.

That said, in North America there are good reasons for registering at a parish. For example, you might have a pastor at your proper parish who doesn’t understand canon law and who refuses to offer sacramental or liturgical service to those folks who are not registered. He, of course, would be entirely in the wrong, but trying to argue over the matter as grandma is dying in the hospital is inconvenient at best.

Canon law doesn’t have anything to say about registering in a parish that is not one’s proper parish. Therefore there is nothing wrong with doing so and it may be of advantage.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged canon law, parish, parish membership, registration
49 Comments

QUAERITUR: Are gold vestments permitted?

Posted on 5 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Is gold a licit primary color for chasubles? I’ve seen it for many Eucharist-themed vestments, but I don’t know if that’s allowed or recommended.

Yes. Gold is allowed in the Latin Church as a primary color for vestments. Gold, as a matter of fact, like white, can substitute for other liturgical colors.

Here is a detail of the fabric of one of my nicer chasubles.

Posted in ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged chasuble, gold, liturgical colors, vestments
21 Comments

QUAERITUR: Mass during space travel

Posted on 5 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Could you hypothetically foresee Rome allowing Masses to
be celebrated extra-terrestrially? While it might seem more possible on the Moon or a planet, what about zero-gravity where things can’t be poured and other difficulties would arise?

We apply the analogy of Masses said aboard ships.

Initially, only bishops and cardinals were permitted to offer Mass on ships or other moving vehicles. The fear of the ship tilting and rocking, and the danger of spilling the sacred species, or other vagaries of motion, prevented widespread application of this which, in those times when an Atlantic crossing would take weeks, meant that sailors were deprived of Holy Mass, often for a considerable period of time.

In the 20th century, this permission was gradually extended, on a case by case basis, to certain chaplains, making sure that they were aware of the dangers and would take steps to prevent them – by waiting until the seas were relatively calm for Mass, etc.

In space, we have to worry about fluids wandering around. Thus, the “chalice” would have to be enclosed, a tiny amount of water could be injected at the right moment, and so forth. I don’t think there is any problem with Hosts. They can be consecrated even if the ciborum or pyx is not open. Care will have to be taken to avoid fragments floating away. Hosts would have to have well sealed edges. Perhaps even with some neutral coating approved by the Holy See?

I suspect that Mass in space won’t happen until large numbers of people are aboard some crafts. By then space-going vessels will have some sort of gravity generated in the habitable portions.

And if there are abuses, Father can go out the airlock!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Look! Up in the sky! | Tagged space travel
34 Comments

“Get on with the work we ourselves have to do”!

Posted on 5 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At Vatican Insider there is a piece that concerns the conference I want to go to in Rome (click the flag). The interview with a mover and shaker for the conference, Bishop Dominque Rey of Fréjus-Toulon is worth your time.

One paragraph in particular caught my eye. As I have been saying all along…

“Yet, the Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, Dominique Rey, wants to reassure those Catholics who think that the moment for “liturgical renewal” – a shorthand definition for a return to a more solemn style of celebration hopefully ushered in by Benedict’s legalization of the pre-Second Vatican Council Latin Mass – is now over.

“Instead of anxiously wondering what Pope Francis personally thinks about every liturgical detail, we would do better to get on with the work we ourselves have to do,” he said in a recent interview with Vatican Insider.”

Posted in Francis, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, Year of Faith | Tagged Bp.Rey, D. Frejus-Toulon, Pope Francis, Vatican II
19 Comments

QUAERITUR: Recessional Hymn – to sing or not to sing?

Posted on 4 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a priest:

Last Sunday at the end of Mass the musicians chose a song that just wasn’t striking a chord with me. I couldn’t muster the energy required to pretend to be gleeful and sing along. As I looked at the congregation I noticed only a handful were joining in the song. Most looked irritated and bored. I know the GIRM does not require a recessional hymn (90), but and I’m wondering if it’s time for my parish to change our thinking about the “closing” hymn. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

It seems to me that a lot depends on the hymn. Holy God We Praise Thy Name always gets people going. On the other hand, perhaps ACDC’s Highway To Hell isn’t such a good idea. It is nice to have a Marian antiphon appropriate to the season, followed by an organ piece.

What do you think?

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Mail from priests | Tagged GIRM 90, recessional hymn
81 Comments

Voris video on Vatican II’s built in vagueness

Posted on 4 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Here is a video from Michael Voris in his usual non-committal, indifferent, ambiguous, vague, tepid, ho-hum style. o{];¬)

I will remind the readership that in the greater arc of the Church’s history, Vatican II wasn’t all that important. It is still in the living memory of many right now, which falsely magnifies its importance. Furthermore, the identity of many American Catholics of a certain age were formed under the influences of the civil-rights movement, anti-war protests, and the sexual revolution. Together, these influences fused into the minds and identities of many of a certain age together with Vatican II. Thus, Vatican II has taken on a kind of mythic importance in the identity of many Catholics of a certain age. When a challenge is raised to any aspect of Vatican II, they take it personally. When they see a biretta or hear some Latin or read a claim that the documents have some flaws, a loud buzzzzzzzzzz starts in their heads and they react negatively.

This can serve as the starting point of fruitful discussion.

Keep in mind that in the early Church, when bishops holding conflicting views met in synods and councils to work through a problem, they would produce creeds to which they could affix their signatures, as it were. The creeds had to precise enough to state something clear, but in order to build unity around a credal formula they also often had to leave as somewhat vague certain points which were worked out in later synods and councils.

During Vatican II, after many of the working drafts and schemata were junked, committees and subcommittees, working under pressure and time constraints, cobbled the documents together.

Is it any wonder that the documents have some problems?

If you can find a copy, I suggest reading The Rhine Flows into the Tiber: A History of Vatican II by Ralph M. Wiltgen. He gets into the debates and how many of the documents were put together. You could also drop a note to TAN asking them to reprint this, especially since we are in the 50th anniversary of Vatican II. On the Amazon page I send you to, there is a link you can click asking the publisher to make it available on Kindle. PLEASE CLICK THAT!