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{]:¬)

“I collect books just as others store grain….”

Posted on 17 August 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the Laudator comes something with which I can sympathize:

Yuan Mei (1716–1797), Book Storage, tr. J.D.Schmidt:

I collect books just as others store grain,
And bitterly complain I don’t have enough granaries.
In order to make space for a myriad ancient men,
I end up building three more rooms.
The books then ask the man who stores them:
“When will you have time to read us, sir?”Alyssa Ford, “A Remodel for the Books,” Minneapolis Star Tribune (August 21, 2010):

A St. Louis Park bibliophile and his wife bought the house next door to tear it down and expand their own. Instead, they kept both houses, joined the two structures and turned an entire house into a library.

The Ainsworth house in St. Louis Park was being slowly consumed by books.

Massive bookshelves covered an entire wall in the living room. Another room upstairs had almost no visible wall space. Nearly every room in the house was outfitted with a bookcase, including the kitchen. Still, Louis Ainsworth’s book collection threatened to overrun the property.

“What Louis couldn’t fit on the shelves, he kept in cardboard boxes around the house,” says Sue Ainsworth, the book collector’s ever-patient wife. “I would tell him, ‘Louis, why do you need 500 books on the Middle Ages?'”

When the Ainsworths met their breaking point, they did something even bibliophiles might consider drastic: They bought the house next door, added a two-story atrium to bridge the 15-foot gap between the houses, and converted most of the neighbor’s house into a two-story library with cherry shelves, a mezzanine, fireplace and a rolling library ladder.When Mrs. Laudator read this article in the newspaper, she suggested that we might want to do something similar. But our house doesn’t really have all that many books. Here, by way of comparison, is just a small part of the collection of a friend:

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Just Too Cool, Poetry | Tagged bibliophiles, books, Laudator temporis acti, Yuan Mei
27 Comments

More on concelebration

Posted on 17 August 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At NLM I saw another photo of my preferred style of concelebration.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged concelebration
12 Comments

Pres. Obama didn’t build that deli… this guy did!

Posted on 16 August 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Is a picture still worth a thousand words? Has there been inflation?

Here is a shot of a deli-owner in Iowa who recently helped to cater a visit by Pres. Obama.

In the WaPo story we learn that this is Ross Murty, a registered Republican in Davenport, co-owner of the Village Corner Deli.

Posted in Just Too Cool, Lighter fare | Tagged 2012, Davenport, deli, November 2012, Pres. Obama, socialism
48 Comments

A reader’s liturgical observation and Fr. Z’s ironic ranting light-heartedly serious response

Posted on 16 August 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Tonight [15 August], due to work, I was not able to attend mass at my parish for the Feast of the Assumption. That was not a problem, because my office is a block away from my diocese’s cathedral, and I still had time to attend the last scheduled mass of the day there. [And thus fulfill your obligation. Well done.] Since the cathedral is also a parish church that serves a multi-cultural population, the mass was said in Vietnamese.

I had two recurring thoughts during the mass:

1. The choir, singing in Vietnamese, was better than most of the English-singing parish choirs I have heard. The music was truly beautiful and uplifting.

2. If only the Church had a universal language so that at all masses, the attendees, no matter their native tongue, could worship and pray together in one voice.

What an idea.

I’ve had enough of this! Universal language? Beautiful music?

CLICK TO GO TO STORE

You must be one of those lockstep sheep and papist throwbacks!

You must hate Vatican II.

As we have constantly been told, Vatican II forbade Latin.

It also required that high altars be ripped out of our churches and that ironing boards be set up in their place. It mandated that people must stand for Communion which they are obliged to receive in the hand. Vatican II ordered that priests – sorry – ordained ministers – are to be called “Bob” or “Frank”, not the oppressively patriarchal “Father”, and they are to hand over their roles to hoards of non-ordained ministers.

Furthermore, Vatican II said that our music should be ugly, second-rate stuff involving pianos, tambourines, and out of tune guitars poorly played.

Karl Rahner said that Vatican II was the most important thing that happened in the Church since the Council of Jerusalem. Hans Kung said that Vatican II didn’t go far enough!

Seriously, Vatican II was just one Council among many. In the Church’s history it wasn’t anywhere near the most important Council! It seems to be a big deal right now because it was in living memory and fewer people today pay attention to history.

Finally, liberals actually hate the Second Vatican Council which they incessantly invoke. You can tell that by the way they ignore or twist its documents.

Thus endeth my rant.

Have a nice day!

Posted in Lighter fare, Wherein Fr. Z Rants | Tagged lockstep sheep and papist throwbacks
29 Comments

“Judas made a huge blunder when he sold Christ for 30 denarii, but he made an even bigger one when…”

Posted on 16 August 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I often refer to Pope John Paul I as the Pope people forget to remember.

Today the intrepid Andrea Tornielli has a post about John Paul I, Papa Luciani. He talks about an initiative to recall the Pope’s life and short pontificate this year, which is the one hundredeth since his birth (17 Oct 1912). In the entry Tornielli offers a quote:

“What a mistake those who do not hope make!” Judas made a huge blunder the day in which he sold Christ for 30 denarii, but he made an even bigger one when he thought that his sin was too great to be forgiven. No sin is too big: any wretchedness, however great, can always be enclosed in infinite mercy.”

There is no sin that we little mortals can commit that is so great that God, who is infinite and merciful, cannot forgive.

Moreover, when we receive absolution for our sincerely and completely confessed mortal sins, the sin is gone, removed, taken away from our souls. We will have the memory, but no long the guilt. Those sins will not be held against us in our judgment. We have to do penance, and we will carry the sorrow of the memory, but we can know with sure Catholic Faith that in the priest’s actions Christ forgave us and washed our souls clean. The sins are not merely covered over or set aside as if in some trick of accounting. They are gone. They are no more.

No matter how great the sin was, God will forgive it and remove it.

GO TO CONFESSION.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, GO TO CONFESSION, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged confession, John Paul I, sacrament of penance
11 Comments

Bp. Morlino defends the reputation of his subject: Rep. Paul Ryan

Posted on 15 August 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the NCReg comes this with my emphases:

Paul Ryan’s Bishop Defends Him Amid Attacks on His Application of Church Teaching

by JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND

Bishop Robert Morlino
– Diocese of Madison, Wis.
MADISON, Wis. — Earlier this year, when Georgetown University announced that Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the chairman of the House Budget Committee, would defend his budget in a public address, almost 90 faculty members at the Jesuit institution publicly denounced his interpretation of Church doctrine.
While the media generally presented the harsh judgment as a sign that Ryan’s budget proposals violated core beliefs of his Church, most news stories failed to examine why the subsequent appearance of Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, at a Georgetown graduation event did not provoke a comparable furor. Sebelius is widely viewed as the architect of a federal contraception mandate denounced by the U.S. bishops as an “unprecedented” threat to the free exercise of Catholic institutions, but the same group of Georgetown faculty apparently saw no need to register their disapproval.
During the final bruising months of a presidential election that could hinge on the shifting views of Catholic “swing” voters, Americans can expect to witness further disputes that showcase legitimate questions about the practical impact of Ryan’s policies and partisan hit jobs that fail to provide a holistic treatment of Catholic teaching.

Now, Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Ryan’s bishop, has waded into this election-year minefield, clearly concerned that a valued member of his flock is being unfairly attacked by partisan forces.
In a column that will be posted on his diocesan website tomorrow, Aug. 16, Bishop Morlino vouches for Ryan’s Catholic bona fides, but stresses that his remarks should not be viewed as an endorsement of Ryan or any candidate.
“I know him very well. He is in regular communication with his bishop.
“I am defending his reputation because I am the one who, as his diocesan bishop, should have something to say about this, if anyone does,” Bishop Morlino told the Register during an Aug. 15 telephone interview.
“Since others have, I believe, unfairly attacked his reputation, I have to look out for his good name. That is Church law. If someone disagrees with Paul, he is free to do that. But not on the basis of reputation destruction, really calumny,” he added.
“They say things about him that aren’t true. I am not a defender of Paul Ryan; I am a defender of reputations of Catholics in the public sphere whose reputations are unjustly attacked.”
The bishop did not cite specific examples to document his charges regarding Ryan’s more outspoken critics, though an Internet search quickly locates headlines like “Paul Ryan’s Violence.”

[…]

PERFECTO: 27 up – 27 down! 23rd Perfect Game in Major League Baseball!

Posted on 15 August 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From MLB:

All hail the King! Felix throws perfect game
By Greg Johns / MLB.com

SEATTLE — General manager Jack Zduriencik hushed the crowd of reporters on the elevator headed to the Mariners’ clubhouse after the game on Wednesday afternoon, held his cell phone to his ear and said for all to hear, “No. No. I am NOT going to trade Felix Hernandez.”

It was the perfect response to the first perfect game in Mariners history, a giddy moment for a franchise that had endured the wrong side of perfection earlier this season at the hands of the White Sox Philip Humber.

Hernandez has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the past seven years, but he’d never thrown a no-hitter, let alone been perfect for 27 straight outs.

But history was his on Wednesday, as the 26-year-old Venezuelan became the 23rd perfect pitcher in Major League history — and third this season — with a 1-0 masterpiece over the Rays at Safeco Field.

“It’s always in my mind,” Hernandez said. “Every game, I’m thinking I need to throw a perfect game. [More on this below.] For every pitcher, I think it’s in their mind. But today it happened, and it’s something special. I don’t have any words to explain this. This is pretty amazing. This does not happen every day.” [A master of understatement?]

The 2010 American League Cy Young winner struck out 12 as he continued an overpowering midseason run with his fourth shutout in the past 10 games, including a five-hitter against the Red Sox, a three-hitter against the Rangers, a two-hitter against the Yankees and, now, perfection against the Rays.

It was the fourth no-hitter in Mariners history and second this season, as six Seattle pitchers combined to do the deed on June 8 against the Dodgers at Safeco.

Randy Johnson (1990) and Chris Bosio (1993) are the other Mariners with individual no-hitters, but neither was perfect.

Hernandez had thrown a one-hitter, a 3-0 victory at Boston on April 11, 2007, and has had four two-hitters, including one two starts ago in Yankee Stadium on Aug. 4 in another 1-0 win.

Ironically, none of those one- or two-hitters came at pitcher-friendly Safeco Field, where the King’s Court rooting section led the crowd of 21,889 in Wednesday’s boisterous environment.

[…]

The Rays’ best chance for a hit came when leadoff hitter Sam Fuld drove a pitch into the gap in right-center, but the ball was hauled in at the warning track by Eric Thames.

B.J. Upton chopped a grounder to short in the seventh that got past diving third baseman Kyle Seager, but shortstop Brendan Ryan fielded the ball cleanly and threw out Upton by two steps.

Otherwise, Hernandez did the bulk of the work, striking out the side in the sixth and eighth innings and keeping the Rays off balance throughout by working a wicked changeup, curve and slider off a fastball that ticked up to 95 mph in the final frame.

[…]

How I wish there were an AWESOME GAME GOING ON RIGHT NOW TURN ON TV ALERT! app for the iPhone. It would be great to watch one live.

I am reminded of the chapter in George Will’s great book Men At Work: The Craft Of Baseball (I have a signed edition) in which he asks pitcher Orel Hershiser, “So what’s your goal when you go to the mound? A no-hitter?” Hershiser responds:

“No … A perfect game. If they get a hit, I am throwing a one-hitter. If they get a walk, it’s my last walk. I deal with perfection to the point that is logical to conceive it. History is history, the future is perfect.”

On the other hand, equally useful for our spiritual lives – especially when we examine our consciences after a defeat or a fall – there is a moment in the great baseball movie The Natural (an oddity in that the movie is far better than the original book) in which the protagonist, Roy Hobbs is down and out and he and his redemptive character have this exchange:

Iris Gaines: You know, I believe we have two lives.
Roy Hobbs: How… what do you mean?
Iris Gaines: The life we learn with and the life we live with after that.

Amen. That’s how I have to live.

We have to get up every morning looking for that perfect game. In the evening when we go to bed, we do well to look back over the score sheet and examine our consciences.

We can’t pitch perfect games every day. Only our Blessed Mother – Assumed into heaven as heaven’s Queen – did that. We will often fail even to do well, as did all the saints before they developed their heroic virtues. We have to persevere with the knowledge both that, even though our sins are as red as scarlet, through the Sacrament of Penance Christ’s Blood washes us as clean and white as snow, and also that the life of virtue is attained by grace and elbow grease throughout a lifetime. Therefore…

GO TO CONFESSION!

Posted in GO TO CONFESSION, Just Too Cool | Tagged baseball, confession, Felix Hernandez, George Will, Men At Work, Orel Hershiser, perfect game, Roy Hobbs, sacrament of penance, the game God loves the most, The Natural
12 Comments

Saudis attempt to block Vatican bid for .catholic web addresses

Posted on 15 August 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From The Telegraph:

Saudis attempt to block Vatican plan for .catholic web addresses

By Christopher Williams, Technology Correspondent

The objection is one of more than 160 sent by the Saudis to ICANN, the body in charge of web addresses, over its plan to allow hundreds of new “top-level domains” to supplement .com, .co.uk and other existing suffixes.
“Many other Christians use the term ‘Catholic’ to refer more broadly to the whole Christian Church regardless of denominational affiliation,” the Saudi Communication and Information Technology Commission said in its complaint. [Are these the same Saudis who hate Christianity enough that they don’t allow any Crosses, Bibles, baptisms… ?]
“Other Christian communions lay claim to the term “Catholic” such as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church.”
“Therefore, we respectfully request that ICANN not award this.” [What’s their real game? Worries about whether a Suni or Shia group would get control of .islam?]
The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communication, which already controls .va, paid the $185,000 fee to bid to create .catholic earlier this year, saying it was “a recognition of how important the digital space is for the church”.
The Saudi government, under the control of the royal family, added that it objected to any group being put in charge of web addresses based on religious terms. It complained about bids to create top-level domains for .islam, .halal and .ummah on similar grounds. [ah HA!]
The Kingdom also made moral complaints about an array of planned new suffixes.
It said .baby, which three bidders including the baby powder maker Johnson & Johnson have applied to create, could be used to host and promote pornography.

[…]

Read the rest there.

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged Catholic, domain, internet, Saudi Arabia, top level domain, Vatican, web addresses
16 Comments

Transalpine Redemptorists at long last established as an Institute of Diocesan Right

Posted on 15 August 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am delighted to report – along with everyone else under the sun – that the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer – known as the Transalpine Redemptorist – have at long last been established officially as a Religious Institute of Diocesan Right by the Bishop of Aberdeen. At the Transalpine Redemptorist blog, you can read the decree. A great gift for them on this most auspicious day.

Posted in Brick by Brick, Fr. Z KUDOS, Just Too Cool, Non Nobis and Te Deum | Tagged Bp. Grant, D. Aberdeen, Transalpine Redemptorists
17 Comments

Of Card. Dolan, Pres. Obama and the Al Smith Dinner

Posted on 15 August 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have received at least a hundred emails asking my opinion of the situation. Having turned it over in my mind, I originally thought that if Pope Paul VI could met with Idi Amin Dada, Card. Dolan could meet with Obama. I reconsidered that analogy: Paul VI was a head of state meeting another head of state. Thus, I remain at a loss.

I know all the arguments on both sides.

Given the fact that the invitation has been extended and accepted, and given that it is not going to be rescinded, I can only say I hope for the best with this intensely irritating development. Obama and his dupes among catholics will try twist this to his advantage and there is pretty much zippo any of us can do about it. But, hey, we call this life a vale of tears, don’t we?

That said, I sincerely hope that something takes place along the line of what happened at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast. Eric Metaxas gave a great talk about Dietrich Bonhoeffer as Pres. Obama was sitting next to him. Metaxas, in the most charming and disarming way, worked his way around to the concept of the dignity of human life and, in doing so, in the nicest possible way, tore Obama to shreds.

In any event, at the National Catholic Register Pat Archbold has a commentary on the invitation His Eminence Timothy Card. Dolan extended to the Hopefully-To-Be-Defeated First Gay President Barack Hussein Obama for the Al Smith Dinner.

Here is part of Archbold’s piece with his view:

A Warning For The Cardinal
by Pat Archbold

[…]

Cardinal Dolan, We trust you. I trust you. But I also have a warning for you.

You wrote about what the perception would be if you refused to meet with the President saying “And, in the current climate, we bishops have maintained that we are open to dialogue with the administration to try and resolve our differences. What message would I send if I refused to meet with the President?”

We understand your point, Cardinal. [GRRRR! When will people learn that “Cardinal” or “Bishop” is not a proper form of address? In the USA we properly say or write respectively, “Your Eminence” and “Your Excellency”.] But you must remember that dialogue is a two way street and so is perception. President Obama’s Chief of Staff has made it clear that the President is done compromising. The President is also the same man who gave a speech at Notre Dame touting his commitment to conscience protections. He is the same man who looked you in the eye last year and promised the same. This is the same man whose own Whitehouse website still falsely claims the endorsement of the Catholic Health Association. He lied. He lies. [When I consider Pres. Obama in his dealings with the Church… indeed the country… I am reminded of Mary McCarthy’s famous quip, mutatis mutandis of course: Every word he says is a lie, including “and” and “the”.]

Cardinal, [GRRRR!] our ongoing concern is not merely that this opportunity for dialogue and civility will be wasted on the President. If that were the worst that could happen, I think we could all live with that. Our real concern is that the President will use this opportunity to convince as many people as possible that the Church isn’t really serious in its opposition. One can easily imagine a picture of you and the President smiling arm in arm being posted to the Whitehouse website right next to the false CHA endorsement the morning after the dinner.

Our ongoing concern Cardinal Dolan is that this will not just be a wasted opportunity for dialogue, but an un-wasted opportunity for the President to sell his lies, to the detriment of faith and liberty for all.

Cardinal Dolan, we trust you. But do not ever trust President Obama.