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{]:¬)

More whiny hand-wringing from Fr. Finigan

Posted on 8 November 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

My friend Fr. Finigan, His Hermeneuticalness, has an amusing post in which he wrings his hands over the incorrigible children of his parish.

The nerve!

HERE.

Posted in Brick by Brick, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, Year of Faith | Tagged children at Mass, Extraordinary Form, Fr. Finigan
8 Comments

Reflection on the election.

Posted on 8 November 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The Roman historian Livy wrote about the terminal decline of the Roman Republic that “Nec vitia nostra nec remedia pati possumus… We can bear neither our vices nor the remedies.”

Alas, I fear that our vices have called forth precisely the leaders that reflect those vices. The vices feed the leaders, and they the vices.

We may no longer have the collective will to make the changes that must be made to change course.

The last couple days have prompted me to reflect on the Church’s primary job: to keep as many people out of hell as possible.

People will chose to sin, die in sin, no matter what we do to help them to a different course. We must strive to help save ourselves and as many others as possible.

St Augustine one day, in his basilica in Hippo, was preaching a tough message. He broke off his line of thought and explained that if he didn’t preach his tough message he could not be saved. If they listened or didn’t listen he was going to preach anyway and thus save his soul. “But” he concluded, “Nolo salvus esse sine vobis! … I don’t want to be saved without you!” (s. 17.2)

Now that we in the USA are, I think, on a course toward the iceberg, we need to consider soberly about how we will approach the time and resources we have left.

During this time when Benedict XVI has called us to revive the Faith where it has died or still just slumbers, get to work.

Will our shepherds be able to bear applying the remedies?

Augustine also said that the doctor doesn’t stop cutting just because the patient is screaming for him to stop.

Think frequent confession.

Think fallen away Catholics.

Think Four Last Things.

Posted in The future and our choices, Wherein Fr. Z Rants | Tagged election, Four Last Things, Livy, Pres. Obama, St. Augustine
161 Comments

Mystic Monk Coffee Thanksgiving Blend (and a good idea for you)

Posted on 7 November 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

As I start to set up my schedule for the end of November, I noted that U.S. Thanksgiving Day is coming up soon. It seems early this year.

Even though we have much to lament, we have much to be thankful for.

Console yourselves with some tea or coffee.

Thanksgiving Blend Available

I also note that Wyoming Carmelites have issued a

Thanksgiving Blend!

May I suggest that you get your orders in soon?

They have all the autumnally flavored coffees, of course, which are not my cup of tea, but many of you like all that froofroo stuff. They have tea too. You might like the Pumpkin Spice. Check out their New For Autumn page HERE.

And please consider getting little sampler packs for St. Nicholas Day, or office parties, or stocking stuffers for Christmas. It seems early to be talking about these things, but by making a plan now, a list of small things to do now, you can avoid some of the rush and stress later. Make a list of things to do and order later if need be.

There is a 9 sampler and a 30 sampler.

Of course, being Carmelites, they have religious gifts as well. From any of my links here you can navigate around their site.

Mystic Monk Coffee!

It’s swell!

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

Supper in the Borgo

Posted on 7 November 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Some supper, with a friend, in the Borgo:

Tomorrow will be a long day!

Posted in On the road, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged Rome, supper
4 Comments

“Whatever they don’t like, whatever they don’t understand, is a heresy.”

Posted on 7 November 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Via the Laudator:

Erasmus, letter to Albert of Brandenburg (November 1, 1519), tr. Robert Blackley Drummond:

Nunc alia res est haereseos crimen, et tamen ob quamlibet levem causam, hoc statim habent in ore, ‘Haeresis est, haeresis est.’ Olim haereticus habebatur qui dissentiebat ab Evangeliis, ab articulis fidei, aut iis que cum his parem obtinerent authoritatem. Nunc si quis usquam dissentiat a Thoma, vocatur haereticus; imo si quis a commenticia rations, quam heri sophista quispiam in scholis commentus est. Quicquid non placet, quicquid non intelligunt, haeresis est. Graece scire haeresis est. Expolite loqui haeresis est. Quicquid ipsi non faciunt, haeresis est. Fateor grave crimen esse vitiatae fidei, sed non oportet quidvis trahere in quaestionem fidei.

Now the charge of heresy is another thing, and yet for any light cause they take the cry on their lips, ‘It is a heresy.’ Formerly he was considered a heretic who dissented from the Gospels, from the Articles of Faith, or from those doctrines which enjoyed equal authority with them. Now if any one dissents from Aquinas he is denounced as a heretic; nay, he is so if he dissents from any piece of reasoning which any sophist fabricated yesterday in the schools. Whatever they don’t like, whatever they don’t understand, is a heresy; to know Greek is a heresy; to speak with a good accent is a heresy; whatever they do not do themselves is a heresy. I confess it is a grave crime to corrupt the faith, but every subject ought not to be made a question of faith.

I enjoy Erasmus, by the way. I’ve read letters and a couple works along the way, mostly with the distinguish Latinist, Fr. Reginald Foster. I have wonderful memories of reading his Stultitiae Laus while sitting under the great Roman pines on summer evenings, sipping cold white wine. We read his letters to such as Thomas More, Henry VIII, Martin Luther. Everyone wanted correspondence with Erasmus. His Latin is polished an marvelous and is wit like a razor.

One of these days I will dig up some of the images of etchings for Praise of Folly from a famous edition of his complete works.

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, The Drill | Tagged Erasmus, heresy, Latin, Praise of Folly, Stultitiae Laus
7 Comments

Note to priest abusers: You cannot hide!

Posted on 6 November 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A reader sent this from Boston Daily:

Learning to become a Catholic priest, unsurprisingly, takes a long time—you have 2,000 years of history to cover, not to mention philosophy, theology, and a foreign language to learn before you can be ordained. [Although it takes about five minutes to learn to say Mass… with the Ordinary Form, that is.] The first few years of coursework are introductory, but by the end, seminary students are getting deep into the practical aspects of being a priest, including counseling and the sacraments. The ultimate goal: Educating someone to be a philosopher, theologian, teacher, counselor, and businessman.[They could use workshops in cooking and sewing, too.]

This past spring, while reporting “Resurrection,” my story about the Archdiocese of Boston’s recovery from the 2002 sex abuse scandal, I had the chance to attend a few classes for aspiring priests at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton. It was pretty interesting for a lay person. The first-year course on “Metaphysics” felt like college-level philosophy—with the very funny Father Joseph Scorzello using baseball analogies to explain philosophical definitions—while the final year course of the “Sacraments of Healing” taught soon-to-be priests, including the story’s subject, Eric Cadin, how to deliver [?] the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

The most interesting and entertaining class I attended, though, was the one that covered acculturation, [inculturation?] which is how the Church interacts with and adapts to a local culture. […]

But while adaptation to a local culture is a good thing, it can sometimes go too far. Monsignor Moroney, who’s now the rector of St. John’s, talked to his students about the history behind Church’s involvement in the quinceanera—the celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday in many Latin American cultures—as well as the unity candle, which is often lit by the bride and groom (and/or their families) at Catholic weddings. “The unity candle,” Monsignor Moroney said, “was largely invented by Hallmark 25 years ago. Wedding photographers love the moment.” [Good for him!]

[…]

The best part of class, though, were the YouTube videos of rogue Catholic priests. These priests, in saying Mass in their various churches, had gone well beyond what was acceptable in variation to the Church. For Catholics used to a highly ritualized Mass—like, say, seminary students—these are bizarre adaptations that are clearly beyond the bounds of the Church. Highlight No. 1 was Father Michael Pfleger, who made some unsanctioned adaptations to a Holy Thursday Mass:

[…]

There follow some videos, including by contrast one of a three-year old (which I posted here some time ago) doing a better job than some of those clowns out there.

To priests who want to abuse the faithful by making it up as you go: mobile phones record video.

Posted in Seminarians and Seminaries | Tagged liturgical abuse, Msgr. James Moroney, seminaries
3 Comments

CNS VIDEO about the Pontifical Mass in St Peter’s

Posted on 6 November 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Each time I see a CNS Video I muse, “is this the same CNS I know?

It seems to be!

Enjoy!

[wp_youtube]UGnVwoJtnz4[/wp_youtube]

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Just Too Cool, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, The future and our choices, Vatican II, Year of Faith | Tagged Benedict XVI, Brick by Brick, St. Peter's Basilica, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM
9 Comments

More birettaquette

Posted on 6 November 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Moving away for a moment from the less important issues, such as the fate of the USA, nay rather, the world and the American election, let’s turn our attention to use of the biretta.

The other day I was in the procession from San Salvatore in Lauro to San Pietro. We priests wore our birettas in procession, since the Blessed Sacrament, etc., was not involved.

This is a point of birettaquette, how to use the biretta properly.

I was glad to get a note from the fellow who runs Romanitas Press about the proper use of the biretta. I think my moniker might be getting around.

The post has some information about the proper use of a biretta at grave-side. Priests will want to review this.

FYI

Let the New Evangelization continue biretta by biretta!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, New Evangelization | Tagged biretta, birettaquette
5 Comments

Year of Faith Indulgence for renewing baptismal promises… for converts. What to do?

Posted on 6 November 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Think about indulgences. Think about them all the time.

Even as I reminded you that you can obtain indulgences, under the usual conditions, during this week following All Saints and All Souls, don’t forget that during the Year of Faith there are other opportunities to gain indulgences. I wrote about that HERE.

Nota bene that one of the concessions involves visiting your church or baptistery of baptism and renew your baptismal vows.

“On any day they chose, during the Year of Faith, if they make a pious visit to the baptistery, or other place in which they received the Sacrament of Baptism, and there renew their baptismal promises in any legitimate form.”

First, I supposed “any legitimate” form could in a pinch include the Creed or some profession of faith we use on Holy Saturday or in the Rite of Baptism itself. Easy.

However, what happens if you are a convert, like me?

I was baptized in a Lutheran church. Can I … do I… go there? Can I get the indulgence?

No.

The Apostolic Penitentiary answered a question about this.

You can go to the church where you were received into the embrace of our Holy Mother:

By the way, gaining an indulgence is probably going to involve – for most of us – going to confession. So…

GO TO CONFESSION!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, GO TO CONFESSION, Year of Faith | Tagged baptismal vows, confession, converts, indulgence, profession of faith, sacrament of penance, Year of Faith
21 Comments

Of Cats and Caesar and City Limits

Posted on 6 November 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I suspect a few of you are cat lovers. Check out The History Blog for a piece about cats in Rome and the crazy people who take care of them.

At the end of that piece is – oddly – something about the assassination of Julius Caesar. The last time I was in Rome, only about a month ago, I posted about the street which is thought to correspond to the area by portico of Pompey’s Theatre where Caesar was killed. There is an inscription along the building. It’s still there!

It is commonly said that Caesar was killed in the Senate, under a statue of Pompey the Great, with whom Julius had had a bit of a war. More accurately, Caesar was killed at a meeting of the Senate held at the chamber for Senate meetings Pompey had built at his mansion/theatre complex outside the Pomerium, the inner city border which no general with imperium could cross. The Senate could meet in the different places, including various temples. And since the old Senate house had burned down in a night of tumult (the Clodius and Milo affair) they were meeting out at Pompey’s old place.

Here is a shot of a surviving marker for the Pomerium from the time of the Emperor Claudius. I took this the other night while walking home from the Requiem Mass I posted about.