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{]:¬)

It’s … ALIVE!

Posted on 20 January 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Some of you have suggested that I have a penchant for eating things like gagh. I won’t deny it.

The other day I had something that you might find interesting.

Posted in Fr. Z's Kitchen, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare, On the road |
9 Comments

CH: Curry recipe found in 1793 book at Downside Abbey

Posted on 20 January 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This is fun.

From the UK’s best Catholic weekly, The Catholic Herald. I write a column for the CH called Omnium Gatherum. It isn’t about food… though it could be, now that I think about it. Wouldn’t that be a kick?

Curry recipe found in 200-year-old book at abbey

Recipes for chicken curry and fricassee of pigs’ feet and ears have been found in a handwritten book in the library at Downside Abbey in Somerset.

The book, dated 1793, is part of a collection donated to the library by descendants of the owners of Begbrook House in Frenchay, near Bristol. The house was burned down in 1913, probably by suffragettes.

Dom Christopher Calascione of Downside recreated one of the recipes, the Sally Lunn bread bun, on BBC Television last week, following the guidance to pat “the tops over with a feather dipt into the yolk of an egg”.

The chicken curry recipe appears in the book just 46 years after the first known curry recipe in English was published. Another recipe among the 142 in the book is for turtle soup.

The recipe book was apparently written by the Downside cook.

The book was discovered during a three-year project to make the abbey’s archive of half a million items – the oldest book is 1,000 years old – accessible online. Among the rarer items in the library are Cardinal John Henry Newman’s personal copy of the Bible, early Bibles printed in English and the 14th-century Book of Hours.

I planned to have some lentils today. Perhaps I’ll add some curry!

Posted in Fr. Z's Kitchen, Just Too Cool | Tagged curry, Downside Abbey
2 Comments

PLANET X!

Posted on 20 January 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

What should this new planet be named?

From AP:

Scientists: Good evidence for 9th planet in solar system

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists reported Wednesday they finally have “good evidence” for Planet X, a true ninth planet on the fringes of our solar system.

The gas giant is thought to be almost as big as Neptune and orbiting billions of miles beyond Neptune’s path — distant enough to take 10,000 to 20,000 years to circle the sun.

This Planet 9, as the two California Institute of Technology researchers call it, hasn’t been spotted yet. They base their findings on mathematical and computer modeling, and anticipate its discovery via telescope within five years or less.

The two reported on their research Wednesday in the Astronomical Journal because they want people to help them look for it.

“We could have stayed quiet and quietly spent the next five years searching the skies ourselves and hoping to find it. But I would rather somebody find it sooner, than me find it later,” astronomer Mike Brown told The Associated Press.

“I want to see it. I want to see what it looks like. I want to understand where it is, and I think this will help.”

Once it’s detected, Brown insists there will be no Pluto-style planetary debate. Brown ought to know; he’s the so-called Pluto killer who helped lead the charge against Pluto’s planetary status in 2006. (It’s now officially considered a dwarf planet.) [BOOOO!]

[…]”This is a prediction. What we have found is a gravitational signature of Planet 9 lurking in the outskirts of the solar system,’ Batygin said. “We have not found the object itself,” he stressed, adding that the actual discovery when it happens will be “era-defining.”

[…]The orb — believed to be 10 times more massive than Earth and 5,000 times more massive than dwarf Pluto — may well have rings and moons.

The last real planet to be discovered in our solar system was Neptune in 1846. Pluto, discovered in 1930, was once the 9th planet but is now considered a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt. It was visited by Earth for the first time last July; NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft accomplished the first-ever flyby.

[…]

Read the whole thing there.

Yes, we need to start a project to name this new planet. Although…. Planet X is pretty spiffy. Planet Z would be better.

UPDATE:

BTW… check out APOD today HERE for the “Running Chicken Nebula”.

Posted in Just Too Cool, Look! Up in the sky! |
32 Comments

REVIEW: 13 Hours

Posted on 20 January 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Tuesdays are my movie days. $5 all films all day and free pop corn.

I went to see 13 Hours yesterday.

Everyone who can stand some blood and extreme suspense and action should see this. I’m fairly hard-boiled but I wound up breathing pretty hard a couple time and had to stand up once (I sit in the back of theaters… and I watch exits).

The book the movie is based on.

The only other movie that made me squirm in my seat a little was Alien (1979). Of course no one had seen anything like that before.

I doesn’t get “political”. It does, however, show how these people were, in effect, left by the powers-that-be to die.

Lefties hate the movie. That’s reason enough to like it.

Don’t take your kids. Really. Don’t.

Posted in REVIEWS | Tagged Benghazi
8 Comments

20 Jan 1981: Ronald Reagan takes oath of office – Iran releases hostages

Posted on 20 January 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Sometimes post hoc ergo propter hoc is not a fallacy.

From History:

Minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration as the 40th president of the United States, the 52 U.S. captives held at the U.S. embassy in Teheran, Iran, are released, ending the 444-day Iran Hostage Crisis.

On November 4, 1979, the crisis began when militant Iranian students, outraged that the U.S. government had allowed the ousted shah of Iran to travel to New York City for medical treatment, seized the U.S. embassy in Teheran. The Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s political and religious leader, took over the hostage situation, refusing all appeals to release the hostages, even after the U.N. Security Council demanded an end to the crisis in an unanimous vote. However, two weeks after the storming of the embassy, the Ayatollah began to release all non-U.S. captives, and all female and minority Americans, citing these groups as among the people oppressed by the government of the United States. The remaining 52 captives remained at the mercy of the Ayatollah for the next 14 months.

President Jimmy Carter was unable to diplomatically resolve the crisis, and on April 24, 1980, he ordered a disastrous rescue mission in which eight U.S. military personnel were killed and no hostages rescued. Three months later, the former shah died of cancer in Egypt, but the crisis continued. In November 1980, Carter lost the presidential election to Republican Ronald Reagan. Soon after, with the assistance of Algerian intermediaries, successful negotiations began between the United States and Iran. On the day of Reagan’s inauguration, the United States freed almost $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets, and the hostages were released after 444 days. The next day, Jimmy Carter flew to West Germany to greet the Americans on their way home.

Posted in Linking Back, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices, The Religion of Peace |
2 Comments

23 Jan – San Francisco – WALK FOR LIFE

Posted on 20 January 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I received this, which I bring to the readership:

Walk for Life West Coast Urges Local Media to remind

San Franciscans downtown will be crowded on January 23, 2016!

San Francisco, January 20, 2016 – This Saturday, January 23, 2016 tens of thousands of pro-lifers will be marching down San Francisco’s Market Street from the Civic Center Plaza to Fremont Street at the 12^th Annual Walk for Life West Coast. Last year’s Walk drew an estimated 50,000 people. Naturally, an event of this magnitude affects downtown traffic, and the sparse media coverage prior to the event leaves many people unaware of potential delays. The Walk begins at 1:30 PM and ends around 2:50 PM.

Walk co-chair Eva Muntean says: “It never fails: every year we hear of people who have gotten stuck in traffic on the day of the Walk, and they exclaim ‘I never heard of this!’ So, as a public service to our fellow San Franciscans, we plead with our local media to help us in making their fellow citizens aware of the magnitude of the Walk for Life West Coast, and the potential that they may be inconvenienced.”

San Franciscans and visitors are urged to visit https://www.sfmta.com/calendar/alerts and enter “Walk for Life” in the search window to get the latest news on street closures and affected bus lines.

Founded in 2005 by a group of San Francisco Bay Area residents, the Walk for Life West Coast’s mission is to change the perceptions of a society that thinks abortion is an answer. Walk participants are expected from throughout the Bay Area and across the United States and Canada.

More details and the most up-to-date information about the walk is available at: www.walkforlifewc.com

Posted in Emanations from Penumbras, Events, The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged Walk For Life
3 Comments

ASK FATHER: Chapel veil at school Masses

Posted on 20 January 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a readerette:

I’m a sophomore in high school, and this past summer I was inspired to wear a veil. I recently obtained one and I suppose I’ll wear it at school Masses now. The thing is, I go to a Catholic school, but no one there really believes in Catholicism and most people there are just there because their parents are rich. Also, my friend recently started wearing a veil, a small black one that isn’t very noticeable, and one of the teachers of whom I have a deathly fear was glaring at her! I’m terrified to wear my veil, which is long and white and very noticeable, because of what both my classmates and my teachers will say and think of me. How should I gather my courage for the school Masses to come? What should I do?

First, I commend your desire to wear a chapel veil. This is a custom that ought to be revived.

High school is tricky business with plenty of land mines. You are old enough to want to make autonomous choices, but you are not yet wholly autonomous.

You should discuss this with your parents and make sure that they will back your choice.

That said, stick with your friend. Sit by her during Mass if you are free to sit where you want.

I don’t know enough about your exact circumstances to make a call on this, but, if your veil is “very noticeable” I’d think three times about it. You might be accused of only wanting to draw attention to yourself. You might find several more girls who would like to use the veil and then you can all give support to your friend together. Also, perhaps you (and they) might find veils similar to your friend’s veil, a bit more discreet.

This is important: you must be very well versed in explaining why you want to use the chapel veil. It isn’t a fashion accessory. Be sure that it isn’t “about you”.

Prayerful best wishes for this.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Hard-Identity Catholicism | Tagged chapel veils, mantillas
23 Comments

ASK FATHER: What is the “Ave Maria” on Roman Curia calendars?

Posted on 19 January 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

A friend who was in Rome gave me a curial calendar. What does the “Ave Maria,” which usually occurs about half an hour after sundown, signify? My understanding is that a bell is wrung. Is a particular prayer, such as the Angelus, supposed to be said at that point?

Okay… what’s up with that? First, a view of the calendar and the indication of the “Ave Maria”.

The “Ave Maria” indicates the time of the ringing of the Ave Maria Bell.

This is a relic of time calculation from when accurate clocks were not simply everywhere.

The Ave Maria sounded a single bell struck 3 times, then 4 times, 5 times, and then 1 time.

You know that the Angelus or Regina Caeli is to be rung at 0600, 1200, and 1800.

The “Ave Maria” indicates the change of the religious day from day to night.

The Ave Maria is rung half an hour after sunset. If the Ave Maria is rung at 1730, as it is from 14-27 January and therefore is today, then 1630 is 23rd hour of the day and 1830 is the 1st hour of the next day.

When there were large religious communities in Roman churches and chapters of canons, Vespers would be sung an hour before the Ave Maria Bell. Today, for example, they would be sung at 1630. However, in the Roman Curia, Cardinals and other officials would still receive people in audience for the hour after the Ave Maria Bell rang. An hour after the Ave Maria, a single bell would toll, thus ending all business for the day, since it was the first hour of night.

Thus, the Roman Ave Maria Bell.

Posted in Just Too Cool | Tagged Ave Maria Bell
7 Comments

Fr. Murray: degrees of unbelief in God and in his revelation

Posted on 19 January 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

My friend Fr. Gerald Murray hit another dinger at The Catholic Thing.

A tease… read the whole thing there.

Cardinal Sarah and Our Silent Apostasy

The book God or Nothing, a wide-ranging interview with Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, by the French journalist Nicolas Diat is one of the most refreshing things published in recent memory. I cannot praise this book too highly. [Ditto.] It breathes forth the wisdom, insight, and deep faith of a truly devoted servant of the Church. It is a prophetic witness to the truth. Sarah gets to the root of what is ailing the world today, and proposes the Church’s unchanging remedy: faith in God as revealed by His Son Jesus Christ. Along the way, he also chides fellow churchmen and the faithful for those occasions when surrender to a worldly spirit has brought great harm to the Church.

Pope St. Pius X was asked after his election what would be the program of his pontificate. He pointed to a crucifix and said, “This is my program.” In a similar vein, asked about the current situation, “Is it a crisis of the Church or a ‘crisis of God?’,” Sarah responds: “Contrary to what we may think, the greatest difficulty of men is not in believing what the Church teaches at the moral level; the most difficult thing for the postmodern world is to believe in God and in his only Son.”

The root problem in Western society – and the Church – comes down to this: degrees of unbelief in God and in his revelation. This unbelief ranges from atheism (theoretical and practical) to agnosticism (often the fruit of ignorance, laziness, or spiritual blindness) to pick-and-choose Catholicism. When we fail to adhere unreservedly to Christ and his teaching, we are left to our own devices – not a happy thought. [And, both within the Church and without, the world has become more confused in great part because we screwed up our sacred liturgical worship of God!]

Sarah states: “If the tie between God and Christians is weakened, the Church becomes simply a human structure, one society among others. [Dumb down and humanize our worship and what do you get…?] With that, the Church becomes trivial; she makes herself worldly and is corrupted to the point of losing her original nature. Indeed, without God we create a Church in our own image, for our little needs, likes, and dislikes. Fashion takes hold of the Church, and the illusion of sacredness become perishable, a sort of outdated medication.”

Consider such remarkable things as the recent praise of the late David Bowie by L’Osservatore Romano. This follows upon earlier elegizing of Michael Jackson and the recent use of St. Peter’s Basilica as a projection screen for various profane images. [Laudato si’: The Movie] Even more significantly, the Faith has been trivialized by the campaign to give Holy Communion to the divorced and remarried. The mere repetition of the Lord’s words, “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery” (Lk 16-18). is dismissed as harsh, uncharitable, and morose.

The reception of Holy Communion by those living in an invalid second marriage is viewed by the innovators [In their Salvador Dali worldview] as a matter of justice – a remedy for unjustly excluding them from the community of the faithful, exposing them to unwarranted shame, and frustrating their laudable desire to be nourished by the Lord. The innovators derisively stigmatize 2000 years of Catholic teaching as an outdated, rigorist, and fundamentalist reading of the Lord’s words. Such intransigence allegedly prevents the Church from carrying out the Lord’s “real intention”: that everyone who wants to receive Holy Communion be invited to participate at the banquet of his Body and Blood.

[…]