An interesting claim about the followers of @pontifex

Posted on 15 December 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Vatican Insider comes this …. color me skeptical.

Benedict XVI has almost 2 million followers on Twitter. “The Pope has grasped the full potential of this social network. Facebook’s too personal”

VATICAN INSIDER STAFF
ROME
“Someone had to show the Pope where to press to send his tweet as he’s not very familiar with modern technology. What is important is the Pope’s willingness and openness to this new communication medium,” the President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Mgr. Carlo Maria Celli, said. Mgr. Celli commented on the launch of the Pope’s new Twitter account, in a statement to ANSA at the end of the “High Speed News” conference organised by the Rome Press Association.

“We were strike [sic] by the media interest it sparked across the world. The account has almost 2 million followers – Celli added -. The majority of followers are Brits, [?!? I doubt that!  Is it possible the word “English” was taken for nationality rather than language spoken?] followed by the Spanish and the Italians. It is true that there are not many German followers but we were shocked to see so many Arab followers. When I explained the importance of having so many followers and the global effect of retweeting to the Pope, he understood perfectly and was well aware of the immense communicative potential of this.”   [potential… how ’bout moving from “potency to act”?]

“At the moment we are not considering opening a Facebook account for the Pope [Deo gratias!] as it is a much more personal medium, while YouTube and Twitter have a more institutional dimension – he continued-. It is not true, as some have claimed that the Pope doesn’t even look at tweets, because he has to approve them. The Secretariat of State sends Twitter messages along with other documents to the Pope for approval. [sigh] If this was not the case, these would not be the Pope’s tweets. Although he doesn’t write the tweets himself, these are the 100% Pope’s messages.”

Like with every other document, the Pope isn’t going to have written the whole thing himself.

However, I will return to my two burning questions:

Are the Pope’s @pontifex tweets going to be published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis?

What theological note will they have?

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Benedict XVI, Lighter fare, Linking Back | Tagged , , , , , ,
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Fr. Z asks a favor. It’ll take 3 seconds to help with a single click. (shhhhh…. it’s about “deaconesses”…)

Posted on 15 December 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Will you do me a favor?

There is a book which I think should be on Kindle and isn’t.

Please click this link HERE to send a message to Ignatius Press that we want this book on Kindle. Flood them with the request.

In case you missed it the first time click HERE.

“But Father! But Father!”, some of you are saying, as you click the link again and again and again. “What’s the name of the book? Why is the book so important?”

The book is, ladies and gents, by Aime G. Martimort and is entitled:

Deaconesses: An Historical Study

 

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged ,
8 Comments

Congregation for Saints issued decree on the “heroic virtues” of Pope Paul VI

Posted on 15 December 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Apparently on 10 Dec, last, the Congregation for Saints issued the decree concerning the heroic virtues of Servant of God Pope Paul VI.

The decree must be promulgated by His Holiness of Our Lord, Pope Benedict XVI, now gloriously reigning, before it has effect and we start calling Paul VI “Venerable”.

Before beatification could take place, a miracle would have be authenticated and demonstrated that it was through intercession of the Venerable.

According to Vatican Insider there is a possible miracle being examined:

 The alleged miracle involves the healing of an unborn child which was witnessed sixteen years ago in California. During the pregnancy, doctors had found a serious problem with the foetus and because of the effects this problem was known to have on the brain, the only possible solution for the young mother was to have an abortion. The woman had wanted to go through with the pregnancy and entrusted herself to the intercession of Paul VI, the Pope who wrote the 1968 encyclical “Humanae Vitae”. The child was born without any health impairments: the family has to wait until the child reaches the age of fifteen before confirmation of complete healing can be given. But a second unexplainable case of healing – involving a nun diagnosed with a tumour – could also be presented to the Vatican Congregation for examination.

The reason for the wait until the child turned 15, is that healing miracles must be complete, suddenly, and lasting.  That is to say, if a person has a relapse soon after the healing, it is not any longer considered.

Reminder: Not all miracles concern healing.  For example, some concern protection from harm.

UPDATE:

A reader, below, mentioned a DVD about Pope Paul.

Paul VI: The Pope in the Tempest

 

Posted in The Drill, Vatican II | Tagged , , ,
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Benedictine nuns’ Advent music CD: the back story

Posted on 15 December 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The new album for Advent by the Benedictine Nuns in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, is at the top of the charts.

I have mentioned them before HERE.  I did a review of their Christmas CD HERE.

Listen to a brief sample.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Buy the disk:

US disk HERE.
US mp3 HERE.
UK disk HERE.
UK mp3 HERE.

There is more about the sisters and the way the disk came to life from LifeSite:

Masterminds behind chart-smashing nun’s Advent album credit pro-life conversion with success

FLORIDA, 12 December, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The angelic voices of a new order of young nuns has taken the world by storm, surpassing Rod Stewart, Taylor Swift, and One Direction in sales last week at major retail outlets such as Amazon and Barnes&Noble.

But behind the astonishing success of Advent at Ephesus lies the amazing story of the Catholic masterminds behind the album, couple Kevin and Monica Fitzgibbons. LifeSiteNews managed to reach them in the midst of their busy schedules and convince them to tell their story.

[…]

Read the whole thing.  It is worth your time.

Posted in Linking Back, The future and our choices | Tagged ,
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REVIEW: St. Thomas Aquinas – Commentaries on St. Paul in Latin and English (not to mention the Summa Theologiae)

Posted on 15 December 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The 1983 Code of Canon Law doesn’t mention many saints apart from their feast days.  As you can imagine, the greats such as the Mary the Mother of God, Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Joseph, come up.  Apart from them, the Code doesn’t name drop very much.  You do find, however, St. Thomas Aquinas.  He is named once explicitly and once implicitly.

Canon 252 § 3, in the section on theological formation of seminarians, states:

“There are to be classes in dogmatic theology which are always to be based upon the written word of God along with sacred tradition, in which the students may learn to penetrate ever more profoundly the mysteries of salvation, with St. Thomas as their teacher in special way…”

Let’s just say that in my day we didn’t get a lot of Aquinas.  I wonder how many seminaries are using a lot of Aquinas.  Would they not be in violation of the universal law of the Church?  I digress.

The Code also says about preparation of seminarians in philosophy:

Can. 251 Philosophical instruction must be grounded in the perennially valid philosophical heritage and also take into account philosophical investigation over the course of time. It is to be taught in such a way that it perfects the human development of the students, sharpens their minds, and makes them better able to pursue theological studies.

To whom else does this point but St. Thomas Aquinas, who is explicitly named in the very next canon which I quoted above?

His scriptis, I was recently sent by the nice people at The Aquinas Institute, which has its seat at Wyoming Catholic College, a beautiful set of volumes of St. Thomas Aquinas’ commentaries on Pauline letters.

Think about this for a moment.

Both the Novus Ordo and the Usus Antiquior privilege the letters of Saint Paul, either as second readings or as lessons.  Priests (well… congregations, actually) could benefit enormously by looking at what the Angelic Doctor wrote about pericopes selected for Holy Mass while they prepare their homilies in either the newer or older forms.

Let’s see the books I was sent.

The are well bound in blue, with gold embossed print and logos.

20121215-123138.jpg

The numbering clearly indicates that they are working on the Opera Omnia.

The next is slightly blurry.  Sorry.

20121215-123148.jpg

The pages within are sheer text.

20121215-123152.jpg

Here is a larger image so you can see what the page layout is like.

20121215-123205.jpg

Here is how they describe the preparation of the text.

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Commentary on the Letters of Saint Paul: Complete Set (Latin-English Edition) – $170 – to buy them click HERE.

  • Buy vol. 37 – Romans – HERE
  • Buy vol. 38 – 1&2 Corinthians – HERE
  • Buy vol. 39 – Galatians & Ephesians – HERE
  • Buy vol. 40 – Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon – HERE
  • Buy vol. 41 – Hebrews – HERE

And just because these fine books come from Wyoming, I’ll remind you also to refresh your coffee supply and get gifts for Christmas from the Wyoming Carmelites.

[CUE MUSIC]

They now have K-CUPS!

As you sip your piping Fr. Z mug of Mystic Monk Coffee…

Think:

“If Father had these volumes, perhaps his sermons would be better! If I hear one more time, ‘As I was shaving this morning…’, I may just bash my head open on the pew!”

Or Think:

“That seminarian I know probably isn’t getting any Aquinas in his course work as Canon Law says he should.  I better get these for him. And they have English, too!  Helpful, since the seminary is also violating Can. 249 which says ‘The program of priestly formation is to provide that students not only are carefully taught their native language but also understand Latin well and have a suitable understanding of those foreign languages which seem necessary or useful for their formation or for the exercise of pastoral ministry.’ Where can I click on Fr. Z’s blog to buy these books for a Christmas present!”

Look at getting these books, and this coffee, as enlightened self-interest together with love of neighbor.

Mystic Monk Coffee!  It’s swell!

And so is the Aquinas Institute complete Summa Theologiae!

 

Summa Theologiae: Complete Set (Latin-English Edition) – $270 – to buy click HERE

  • Summa Theologiae Prima Pars, 1-49 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
  • Summa Theologiae Prima Pars, 50-119 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
  • Summa Theologiae Prima Secundae, 1-70 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
  • Summa Theologiae Prima Secundae, 71-114 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
  • Summa Theologiae Secunda Secundae, 1-91 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
  • Summa Theologiae Secunda Secundae, 92-189 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
  • Summa Theologiae Tertia Pars, 1-59 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
  • Summa Theologiae Tertia Pars, 60-90 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
Posted in Priests and Priesthood, REVIEWS, Seminarians and Seminaries, The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged , , , , , , , ,
2 Comments

Protecting The Unborn: A ‘Pro-Life Position?

Posted on 15 December 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I checked the NCR this morning to see which of their writers would be the first out of the gate to instrumentalize the heinous killing of children in Connecticut to argue for tougher gun control laws.

Would it be Michael Sean Winters? Would it be Sr. Joan Chittister (who still hasn’t gone back to Tahrir Square).

It was Sr. Maureen Fiedler!  She is probably trying to get back into the race for Fishwrap’s Person of the Year.

Sr. Fiedler made a little attack on the pro-life movement’s focus on abortion. She is making the claim that gun-control is a pro-life position. How do I know that that is what she is arguing? Here is her piece:

Gun Control: A ‘Pro-Life’ Position
Maureen Fiedler | Dec. 14, 2012

In his Oct. 27, op-ed column in The New York Times, Thomas Friedman said this: “…for me, the most ‘pro-life’ politician in America is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.”

That may shock some people because Bloomberg is for a woman’s right to choose, and Friedman acknowledged that. But he enumerated several reasons for his pro-life description of Bloomberg, and this one stands out today: “…he has … used his position to … push to reinstate the expired federal ban on assault weapons and other forms of common-sense gun control …” Read the full column.

In the wake of the school shooting and multiple deaths in Connecticut, need we say more?

Yes, Maureen, we need to say more.

You don’t get to co-opt the language of the pro-life movement.

I looked back in the list of your Fishwrap columns, Sister.

You have never written, as far as I could find, anything in defense of the unborn.

Now, in the wake of the disaster in Connecticut, you blather about gun-control being “pro-life”?

Okay, I’ll play along. Let’s undermine the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution.

I, Father John Zuhlsdorf, proud gun-owner, am ready to campaign in favor of a ban on certain “assault weapons” as soon as Pres. Obama endorses a 28th Amendment to the Constitution: The Human Life Amendment.

Posted in Emanations from Penumbras, Liberals, Magisterium of Nuns, The Drill, Throwing a Nutty, Women Religious | Tagged , , , , , , ,
18 Comments

What young Catholics want

Posted on 14 December 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I was referred to an interesting blog post by a “Young Catholic“.

This young Catholic explodes the assumptions aging-liberals make about what what young Catholics want. Here is a taste:

The problem is all these pastors, youth pastors and music directors keep telling us young folk what bores us, what we really like, what we find interesting. And guess what, THEY’RE WRONG! If one listens to the young Catholic voice, one would find we are yearning for beauty, for tradition and for truth. Traditional Catholicism honestly fascinates us! We go all week hearing perky pop-songs, jumping techno and chatter that doesn’t leave a minute of silence. We go to church and we get exposed to the same exact things. Thus, of course we find it boring! Why should we go to Mass when we can stay home and sing “Gather us in”, listen to a preacher on tv and fill our rooms with noise? Young people are sick of the world. We long for a safe habitat where we can bow before God and think. We crave contact with ancientness, with a strong grounding, with strong Catholic identity. God’s people are chosen out of the world, set apart, destined for a heavenly home. We want a taste of that!!

What young Catholics want:

First, we wouldn’t mind if you listened… Stop telling us what we think and what we like. Look at traditional Catholic parishes, they are overflowing with young people and traditional seminaries are crowded with young aspirants. The next generation wants precisely what your generation has put away and tried to hide from us. There’s a proverb: “The son longs to remember what the father longs to forget!” Remember it! We hate guitar Masses. We hate bare hymns and Masses that must be kept under 45 minutes. We want the red meat that is the 2,000 year old Catholic faith and not only that, we want to sink out teeth into it! [Where have I read that before? Perhaps HERE?]

When young people see that Mass is not like the rest of the week, that it’s not like the world, that it requires us to think and act differently- as if we’re present when heaven touches earth, we will be interested. We will wander in with curiosity, saying “what glorious thing is this?” and we will stay there.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Brick by Brick, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged
94 Comments

A US Bishop pushes “ad orientem” worship.

Posted on 13 December 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

First… and this is pertinent… a young man in the Diocese of Madison is helping to collect the spiritual bouquet for the fearsome yet affable Bishop Robert Morlino.  Yep. You can write about him every other day.

The Young Madisonian reports that, as of this writing:

68 contributors have prayed 198 rosaries, 129 chaplets of Divine Mercy, 48 hours of adoration, stations of the cross 21 times, and have had 70 Masses offered for Bishop Robert Morlino. There is 9 days left to join! Join us today!

But why I am really posting is that this same young man posted about a sermon Bp. Morlino gave about the importance of ad orientem worship.

If you want to listen to the sermon, go HERE.

Excerpt with my emphases and comments.  I am not sure what the date of the sermon is:

[The first reading] says, “look to the east and see your children gathered” meaning the children, the saints, of the new and heavenly Jerusalem. […] The essence of waiting is waiting with your whole heart and soul. You’re turned in the direction that is that which you’re waiting for. And that gives your waiting a sure and certain hope, a beautiful hope. The prophet says “Look to the east.” Look toward heaven. Look toward the heavenly Jerusalem. And John the Baptist repeats the prophet in another place, saying: “Every valley will be made lifted up, every mountain will be leveled, and a straight way will be made to heaven so that all flesh will see the salvation of God.

Our advent waiting is a full intent directed waiting. Just as I look for dad up the street to make that turn around the [corner after work], so too we are looking to the east. [Nice analogy.  I would add that the Lord is looking for us to look for Him.  Think of the parable of the prodigal son.  The father saw his his fallen son “from afar”.  That means he was looking for him.  Then the father went to meet him.  The prodigal, looking towards his true home, saw his father from afar, coming to him.  Imagine how the prodigal son strained his eyes for that first glimpse of home.  So too… we need ad orientem worship.]

[…]

We have to be people who concretely, physically, look to the east. Now clearly, that doesn’t mean nobody can go to work or school tomorrow, because we’re going go spend the day looking toward the east. Our great opportunity to look east is here at the liturgy.

Pope Benedict says over and over again that to look toward the east means to turn toward the Lord. And that’s why it’s so important to have the crucifix front and center, both for the priest and for the people. [As I have explained in various PODCAzTs and posts here, Benedict intends the so-called “Benedictine” arrangement of the altar as a transitional arrangement on the way back to ad orientem worship.]

Because during Mass, I’m supposed to be looking toward the east, toward heaven. I’m not supposed to be trying to entertain you, or hold your attention in some way. I’m supposed to be looking toward the east. So it’s good that the crucifix is right there, so that I can’t see the people clearly, nor can they see me clearly. They’re not looking at me, the priest. They’re looking at Jesus Christ, the high priest, toward the east. [In this case, the Crucifix.  So, let’s do it right?]

The crucifix on the altar, a big one, is not an obstruction. It’s there to help us live the very basics of our faith, including advent, which means looking toward the east, which is turning toward the Lord. And when we look at the crucifix, you from your side, I from my side, we’re all turned toward the Lord.  [How much better, easier, clearer, to make this true ad orientem worship?]

And I’m sure that the day will come when we will turn toward the Lord together, [Do I hear an “Amen!”?] in even a more full way when we all face east, when we all turn toward the Lord in the same direction. And when we do that, that’s not the priest turning his back on the people, [OORAH] it’s the priest directing the people to look toward the east, to obey the prophetic word, to believe how concrete, real, physical and visible Jesus Christ was and is. How concrete, real, physical and visible is the last coming, from the east.

The east matters. It matters a lot. That’s why the creator gave us the sunrise from the east to remind us that from there, comes the light, who is Christ. [Sol invictus… Christus Victor… how appropriate to read this on St. Lucy’s Day!]

As we behold the flesh and blood of Christ, in the sacramental sign of the Eucharist, we are turned toward the east, as Jesus comes to use here in mystery, to remind ourselves that our whole life is an eager, prayerful waiting for him to come in majesty, waiting for him to come from the east, turning toward the Lord.

That, folks, is why Madison has 35 seminarians, to whom he said they should know the Extraordinary Form before he ordains them.

Please participate in the Spiritual Bouquet.

Click HERE.

ASIDE TO PRIESTS: He is joining us for our summer priests meeting in the third week of July.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Benedict XVI, Just Too Cool, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , , ,
59 Comments

Card. George

Posted on 13 December 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

 

 

Posted in Just Too Cool | Tagged
21 Comments

Geminid Meteor Shower

Posted on 13 December 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This could be something fun and memorable to do with your children.

From SpaceWeather:

GEMINID METEOR SHOWER: Earth is passing through a stream of debris from “rock comet” 3200 Phaethon, source of the annual Geminid meteor shower.  Around the world, observers are counting as many as 60 shooting stars per hour, a number which could increase sharply as the shower peaks on the night of Dec. 13-14.  Wherever you live, the best time to look is during the dark hours between local midnight and sunrise.

Posted in Look! Up in the sky! | Tagged
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