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{]:¬)

Day 2: Canon Law Conference – VIDEO greetings to you readers from Card. Burke

Posted on 29 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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The conference is named also Speculum Iustitiae … “Mirror of Justice”, which is a title given to Our Lady in the Litany.

We continue today with a presentation on the Apostolic Penitentiary. I’ve been through this material quite a few times but I’ve picked up a couple new items.

Thus we continue.

It is always good to review these important points about the internal forum and recourse to the Holy See in the case of occult (“hidden, non-public” matters). Repetita iuvant, as Card. De Magistris used to say.

I will have a new video later.

We heard a talk by Leonard A Leo of the Federalist Society on “What Does the Constitution say or not say about family and marriage”. Yes, Obergefell was a main topic.

The Shrine is a true pilgrimage spot for spiritual renewal, you know. It is associated with St Mary Major in Rome. You can gain indulgences through a grant from that Basilica.

Click for larger

The Latin document is posted in the narthex.

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Archbishop Broglio preaching at Mass.

Here is another great detail about how people are taken care of here.

There are little steps for children by the water fountains. Some had noticed the need and for a while – so I’m told – there were plastic ones. But since everything here is first class, a local carpenter made some of these for use around the building.

Class. Very thoughtful. Attention to detail like this is a manifestation of their ministry and that, quite simply, these are really nice people.

Card. Burke answering a question.

Posted in On the road, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged Archbp. Broglio, canon law, Card. Burke, D. LaCrosse, Speculum Iustitiae
4 Comments

Liberals – unmasked

Posted on 28 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Remember… Planned Parenthood was initiated to get rid of undesirables.

Everyone… take a moment to go to Crisis and read Fr. George Rutler’s new offering. HERE

A sample…

Christ cannot be psychoanalyzed because he is perfect.  It would be like seeking flaws in pure crystal or long shadows at high noon. That is why he may seem from our fallen state in a singularly ill-contrived world as both severe and merciful, ethereal and common, rebellious and routine, rustic and royal, solitary and brotherly, young and ageless.  His perfection is a stubborn enigma to the imperfect, but if there is to be one hint of the art that moves his mind, it will be in his pity.  It will be in his pity for the whole world when he weeps over Jerusalem; but most wrenchingly it will be in his pity for each soul when he sees us scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd.

He warned about wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt.7:15) and that disguise was the cunning deceit and dark tragedy of the modern age.  The modern wolves, those seductive tyrants and demagogues, wandered freely and devoured as they did because they were given fertile pasture and friendly forests by a stranger creature in more subtle disguise. Churchill detected it when he called Clement Attlee a sheep in sheep’s clothing.  Here is the moral weakling who thinks the wolf is a sheep because he sees no difference between the two and if he did, he could not care less.  Malcolm Muggeridge wrote in “The Great Liberal Death Wish”:

Not Bolshevism, which Stalin liquidated along with all the old Bolsheviks; not Nazism, which perished along with Hitler in his Berlin bunker; not Fascism, which was left hanging upside down, along with Mussolini and his mistress, from a lamp-post—none of these, history will record, was responsible for bringing down the darkness on our civilization, but liberalism. A solvent rather than a precipitate, a sedative rather than a stimulant, a slough rather than a precipice, blurring the edges of truth, the definition of virtue, the shape of beauty; a cracked bell, a mist, a death wish.

Now that Planned Parenthood has been exposed for those who have willfully been blind during these years of its atrocities, all that its CEO could sheepishly manage to say of a Senior Director of Medical Services sipping wine as she cited prices for infants’ body parts, was that her “tone” was “inappropriate” and “unacceptable.”  Cecile Richards, who employs Dr. Nucatola, draws a salary of half a million dollars from the $528 million dollars of taxpayers money which our government contributed last year to Planned Parenthood’s annual budget.  That same week, 94-year-old Oskar Gröning, who had been a functionary in Auschwitz, was convicted by a German court on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder.  He admitted knowing something was wrong when a camp guard grabbed a crying baby and smashed its head against a wall.  With untutored diction and uncoordinated syntax, Dr. Nucatola blithely spoke of ways to crush a baby’s skull. [less crunchy ways] Affecting Latinity with which we may assume she is otherwise unfamiliar, she called it a “calvarium.”  Has anyone heard of Calvary?  In terms of the number of inflicted deaths and consequent dismemberments and experiments, Dr. Nucatola makes Dr. Mengele seem like Florence Nightingale.

[…]

Read the rest there.

Moral equivalence?

Damn straight.

Think now of the catholic politicians who support Planned Parenthood. Think of their names. Think of who, in turn, supports them and what that support means for their souls and our society and Church.

Posted in Emanations from Penumbras, Liberals, The Drill | Tagged abortion, Cecile Richards, Fr. George Rutler, Planned Parenthood
19 Comments

Day 1: Canon Law Conference (and a video message)

Posted on 28 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

See the video message, for you readers, below!

___

I’ve journeyed to LaCrosse and the magnificent Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the annual Speculum Iustitiae conference.

Card. Burke organized the conference six years ago. It is always intellectually and spiritually refreshing.

Yes it is possible to build beautiful churches in this age.

The altar of Miguel Proh.

We are focusing mostly on marriage during this conference.

Archbp. Broglio is speaking.

More later.

But first …

SUPPORT THE ACHDIOCESE FOR MILITARY SERVICES!

The work of chaplains is critically important.

CLICK HERE

Go ahead… help!

UPDATE:

There are tables with books for sale. Included is, of course, The Five Cardinals Book.

Click HERE

UPDATE

During the Q&A Card. Burke engaged with some of the questioners.

After a long day, which also included Mass and Vespers with a Holy Hour and Benediction, time for supper.

Then for another round of Q&A.

His Excellency Archbp. Timothy Broglio has a message for YOU READERS!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Posted in On the road, SESSIUNCULA, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged Archbp. Broglio, canon law, Card. Burke, D. LaCrosse
8 Comments

YOUR URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS

Posted on 27 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Please use the sharing buttons! Thanks!

Registered or not, will you in your charity please take a moment look at the requests and to pray for the people about whom you read?

Continued from THESE.

I get many requests by email asking for prayers. Many requests are heart-achingly grave and urgent.

As long as my blog reaches so many readers in so many places, let’s give each other a hand. We should support each other in works of mercy.

If you have some prayer requests, feel free to post them below.

You have to be registered here to be able to post.

I still have a pressing personal petition.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
34 Comments

ASK FATHER: Gregorian Masses

Posted on 27 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a priest…

QUAERITUR:

I was in Fatima earlier this month and in the office to request Masses be offered for pilgrim’s intentions, I noticed a sign that said the stipend for a standard Mass stipend is 10 Euros but for “Trintario Gregoriano” Mass, it is 350 Euros.

I was told this is a month of Masses offered on consecutive days. Are you familiar with this?

Is this a European tradition?

You are asking about “Gregorian Masses”.

First, let’s make a couple distinction. Sometimes Mass in the Extraordinary Form is called “Gregorian”, because the Roman Rite goes back at least as far as Pope St. Gregory I “the Great” (+604).

Next, “Gregorian Masses” can mean Masses said at a “Gregorian altar”, that is, a “privileged altar”, that is, an altar to which certain added benefits or indulgences were once attached such that when priests said Mass there the indulgence was gained. These altars had the same privileges as the altar of the Roman basilica of San Gregorio in the Caelian Hill, where St. Gregory the Great had his monastery. That original Gregorian altar had a plenary indulgence for a soul in Purgatory. No Gregorian altars, called Gregorian altars ad instar, were so blessed after 1912. Also, the entire treasury of indulgences has been revised. Those privileges seem no more to apply.

Also, another way to understand “Gregorian Masses” refers to the custom in the Roman Church for Requiem Masses to be said on the third, seventh and thirtieth days after the death of a person.

That said… what are Gregorian Masses?

By this term we usually mean the celebration of thirty Masses for thirty consecutive days for the soul of someone who has died.

It is thought that Gregory the Great spread this practice, which was already a tradition by his day. Pope Gregory had these Masses said for, at least, a fellow Roman monk named Justus. At the end of the thirty days the dead monk appeared to his brother to let him know he was free from Purgatory. In any event, this became a widespread practice after Pope Gregory. I believe that the Dominican’s even had special Mass prayers in their Rite for this practice. (Dialogorum 4,57: Vade itaque, et ab hodierna die diebus triginta continuis offerre pro eo sacrificium stude, ut nullus omnino praetermittatur dies, quo pro absolutione illius salutaris hostia non immoletur.)

Basic guidelines:

First, thirty Masses must be said on thirty consecutive days for the same intention. If the priest can’t say one the Masses himself, for any reason, he must arrange for another priest to say the Mass for that same intention on that same day so that the series is not broken. They are said only for the dead.

The Masses can be said anywhere, and they need not be Requiem Masses.

Because this is a heavy commitment, the stipend offered should usually be pretty generous. Given that very few priests are able to take their own chosen intention every day for 30 days, that is fitting. The stipend can be whatever is agreed on, of course. How much should it be? That can’t really be fixed down. I have done Gregorian series three times. On one occasion I was offered 450 euros, and the person who offered the stipend was very pleased to have found a priest who could do it. On another occasion I took far less, because it was requested by an elderly woman on a limited income for her dead husband. So, it depends on the circumstances. Whatever is decided, if the stipend is accepted, in justice the priest is strictly bound to fulfill his part of the commitment.

Friends, have Masses said for the dead… and for the living as well!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Four Last Things, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged Gregorian Masses, Mass intentions, Purgatory
11 Comments

Doing things “wrong” at Mass

Posted on 27 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A blog called EpicPew has some points to review about your participation at Mass. NB: A serious omission in the blog post is that it ignores the Extraordinary Form. It doesn’t even mention the Extraordinary Form. That is, when the author writes of participation at Holy Mass, he doesn’t even consider the existence of the Extraordinary Form. FAIL.

That said, we can take a look at a few points:

10 Things You Might Be Doing Wrong at Mass

Maybe it’s because we’ve just adopted these habits, maybe we’re just lazy…let’s take a bit of a tongue-in-cheek look at some common practices that may need correction during the Holy Mass. Here are 10 things you might be doing wrong at mass.

1. Changing posture early
Seriously, what’s the deal? Why can’t we just wait ’til we actually finish the Sanctus before kneeling? […] [ummm… really? Uniformity?]

[…]

5. Standing in the Orans position during the Our Father
No. Just no. […] [Well… okay. And it’s in persona Christi capitis….]

6. Walking around at the Sign of Peace [Huzzah… of course it can/should be eliminated where it is abused.]
What is this, social hour? Not only is this obnoxious (my opinion), but it’s illicit. The rubrics tell us that it is “appropriate that each person offer the sign of peace only to those who are nearest and in a sober manner”. We all love you, but stay where you are.

7. Not saying “Amen” before receiving Communion […] [ehem! EXTRAORDINARY Form!]

[…]

8. Not singing [Ummm… really?]
[…]

RING. OUT. Skill is not a prerequisite. Just, please, sing to the Lord. [*cough*]

[…]

Check out the post over there and spike his stats.

Speaking of the Sign of Peace… here’s the old poll!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged active participation
26 Comments

And the winner of The Most Meanfull Job is…

Posted on 27 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

#1… Clergy.

This comes from Business Insider.

The 13 most meaningful jobs in America

If your goal in life is to make the world a better place, you should probably pursue a job in education or healthcare.

Twelve of the top 13 most meaningful jobs in America, according to PayScale, fell into one of those two categories.

To compile its latest list, PayScale asked over 2 million professionals whether their work is meaningful, and ranked almost 500 professions based on the percentage of people in each of those jobs who answered “yes.”

“Many people hope to find work that they find meaningful, but the secret is that you can find purpose in a variety of professions,” says Lydia Frank, senior editorial director at PayScale. “And, you don’t always have to sacrifice a good paycheck in order to have a positive impact on the world.”

To find out where your career fell, check out PayScale’s new interactive “meaning” tool.

[…]

Read the rest there.

Also on the list:

4. Directors of religious activities and education

Posted in Hard-Identity Catholicism, Priests and Priesthood |
10 Comments

HUNGARY: Juventutem summer retreat

Posted on 27 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Juventutem (I wish it were Iuventutem) is on the march! They are organizing all over the place.

I received word of this by email:

This year, Juventutem Hungary is organising it’s annual summer retreat in Sopron, St. George’s parish. At this retreat, there will be an EF mass workshop for priests and seminarians led by father Gerald Kovacs O.Praem from the priory of Gödöllő. We are also organising a latin language and a gregorian chant workshop for the faithfull to participate in.

During the retreat the complete divine office will be sung, with daily solemn mass in the extraordinary form.

Daily schedule and addresses are available on our homepage:

http://juventutem.hu/nyari-tabor-sopron/

I assume that the language will not be restricted to Hungarian.

Posted in Events, The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged Hungary, Juventutem
2 Comments

Your Sunday Sermon Notes

Posted on 27 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Was there a good point in the sermon you heard for your Mass of obligation for Sunday?

Let us know what it was!

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
14 Comments

CQ CQ CQ – #HamRadio Saturday – POWER!

Posted on 25 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have power.

That is to say, the folks who made my Juicebox finally got the new batteries to me. You may recall that my hardened portable power unit wouldn’t charge, despite my various efforts. So, the Juicebox folks wrote to say they were going to send new batteries. Then, days later, I got the email with the shipping information: no movement of the package, even though it was 2nd day shipping. I dropped them a line and they started the process over. New batteries arrived. I pull the guts of the unit out of its ammo can case. I swapped out the batteries and – bada bing! It works.

I tried to charge the removed batteries with my 12 v 6 amp trickle charger for a couple days each but – no joy. The multimeter suggests that these batteries have gone to the Voltaic Pile Happy Hunting Ground.

The effect of this battery switching operation is that I have now a way to plug in the Kenwood T140S which WB0YLE sent and which came with an Anderson Power Pole cord! Since the Juicebox has, among others, these Anderson Power Pole connectors, I’m in business. I can now take the unit out on the road, if I wish. Heck… now I can actually power it up!

I set up the rig on the balcony of the building with a Buddistick antenna (I thirst for their Buddipole, the versatile dipole). The location isn’t ideal, since the balcony has a lot of limestone around it, and tuning the antenna is a little tricky (at least for me). Still, the elevation is excellent. The building is on one of the highest spots in the city. I could probably string some wires to the nearby trees… hmmm.

I am gaining practical knowledge now, not just theoretical, about the importance of antennas. So far, I’m doing a lot of measuring with a tape measure.

So, yesterday I fired up the transceiver and scooted around listening on the 20m band. I heard quite a few CW contacts (Morse code) going on. My Morse Code is really bad at this point, though I am practicing. The code was flowing pretty quickly. I switched on my iPhone Morse decoder app and, when I got the tone adjusted so that the app had a shot at deciphering it, I read some clear texts. I heard one fellow in Maine make a QSO (contact) with another fellow. I wrote down what I heard and looked him up so I could at least send an email. He responded right away with a friendly and supportive note.

NB: So far, the hams I’ve met have been really nice people! They are friendly and helpful.

So, I figure it is time for me to develop a QSO card. I also have to pull out some of the old UStream Z-Chat hardware and find that adapter plug for my headphones. Some of that Morse is a little weak and covered by static.

With CW, I am not yet in an active mode of sending out CQs (requests for contacts). My Morse code isn’t there yet and – even more fundamentally – I don’t have even a basic key!

I have looked into a couple rigs which also decipher Morse and PSK31. There’s a spiffy Yaesu in the FTDX series that looks useful. I also saw a super versatile and portable Elecraft KX3, which can decode. It has a keyer that you can attach directly to the side. There is a bewildering choice among keying hardware and, therefore, methods. Anyway… that’s what wishlists are for, I guess. I will need a couple different styles of keys so I can figure out what I want to use the most. For the time being, however, the old fashioned key seems to be the best option. Meanwhile, my brain works and I am learning.

Click!

On the little hand held Baofeng front, I received a USB cable and got the Chirp program set up. The computer talks with one of the radios but not the other. I have more than one of these inexpensive, low-power radios for work on the local repeater. Yesterday I attached a mag antenna to one and spoke to a couple guys while I was running errands. One nice fellow, Catholic and Knight of Columbus, was on his way to visit his 2.5 lbs daughter in a local hospital’s NICU.

In the meantime, I will turn on my Echolink program for a while today while at my computer. It’s homily prep continuation today (Novus Ordo on Sunday! That’s a change of pace.) If you are a ham, you can use Echolink. Install the program and send your call sign in for a password. Easy.

Also, I am building a list of hams who frequent this blog:

Z-Blog HAMS