ASK FATHER: 58 years old, never confessed, given Communion or confirmed. What now?

Posted on 16 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I am 58 years old and was baptized as RC I was never confirmed /never made first holy communion and rarely attended church. I was drawn back to attending church about a year ago and as I am self employed and work in different ares each day I am attending Mass just about every day and receiving a great deal of satisfaction and comfort from doing so. I don’t take communion as I am not entitled to but would dearly love to do so. I don’t belong to any parish as I visit many different churches and would not be able to attend the same one due to my work. As someone who is parish-less how can I get confirmed,no one seems able to help me.

God bless you.  It sounds like the Holy Spirit is doing some wonderful things in awaking in you the Faith you received in baptism so many years ago. Keep at it, even if it gets difficult… and there will be times when it gets difficult.  In the meantime, enjoy the graces you are being given.

Also, kudos to you for wanting to respond to that grace and participate more fully in the Church by receiving the sacraments. God will richly reward your interest and your efforts.

Now, to work!

Even if you are not registered in any parish, the good news is that you DO have a parish. Even if you work all over the place and attend Mass at different places,  you nevertheless have a parish based on where your primary residence is.  Mind you, parish boundaries are not always easy to figure out, but if you call the nearest parish and inquire, someone be able help to yo, if not on the spot, then in short time.

Those who do not have a permanent home are called vagi in Latin, meaning “wanderers”.  They have a right to the sacramental services of the pastor of the church where they are at any given moment.

In addition, if you make inquiries at any Catholic parish, you would surely be welcomed with open arms, given the instruction you need, and placed on the proper path for making a good confession, getting confirmed, and being admitted to receive our Eucharistic Lord in Holy Communion.

If you have found unhelpful people at a parish, place a call in to the local diocese and explain the situation.

If, after this, you still meet resistance or roadblocks, drop me a line again and let me know where you are.  Perhaps I might manage to knock some heads together.

Meanwhile, welcome home!  I imagine that many of the readers here will stop – RIGHT NOW – and say a prayer for you.

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ASK FATHER: Is it okay to have an Armenian Apostolic member as godparent for a Catholic?

Posted on 16 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

A friend who was baptized, confirmed and received Holy Communion as an infant in the Armenian Apostolic Church regularly assists and receives Holy Communion at Mass, in both the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Roman Rite.

She has been asked to be the godmother for a Catholic baby, and a protestant friend is wanted as a “witness” in lieu of a godfather.

(This may be less than ideal. Nevertheless, she might be one of the only people in the parents’ life who goes to Mass regularly.)

Nevertheless, can one seek a dispensation, or is there some provision that would allow for such an arrangement?

This requires a dispensation.

According to the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism 98, a member of an Orthodox or Oriental Church may serve as a godparent, but only if there is a Catholic godparent of the opposite sex.  A dispensation from this norm should be sought.

As a friend, I would ask this Armenian Apostolic woman why, if she regularly assists at the Catholic Mass and receives Holy Communion (which she is able to do because of can. 844), does she not take the plunge and become an Armenian Catholic?

Perhaps she would be moved by an invitation.

Never underestimate the power of an invitation.

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ASK FATHER: Does drinking alcohol before wedding affect validity of marriage?

Posted on 16 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

bride 01From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Would one of a couple going to a bar for a moderate amount of alcoholic drink before a nuptial Mass have any effect on the validity of a marriage?

Marriage is a serious thing. Matrimony should be entered into seriously and soberly.

For most people, the decision to marry is the most important decision of their lives.

Matrimonial consent must be freely given by persons capable of positing such a momentous juridic act.

Christian marriage is a sacred, indeed usually sacramental, act. By its very nature it requires clarity of mind and purity of intention.

Why someone would want to take such a serious step with senses dulled by intoxicants is beyond me.

However, for consent to be invalid, a person would need to be so intoxicated that she was truly incapable of using reason in a manner proportionate to marriage. Someone who was merely tipsy, however stupid that would be, would not be unable to marry.

BONUS QUESTION:  

Apart from why someone would get drunk before her wedding, why would someone want to marry someone who would get drunk before her wedding?

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, One Man & One Woman |
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ASK FATHER: I made a hasty promise to God. Now what?

Posted on 16 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

At one time in my life I hastily made two promises to God:

1-) Never commit a certain sin;

2-) Never drink coffee again.

Certainly, promise 1 should never have been made, but I digress. My question is twofold:

Is it possible to be commute those two promises?

How should I proceed?

First, let’s get some definitions straight.   We have to consider promises and vows.  Also, you mean dispense, not commute.

A mutual promise, the breaking of which would harm the other party, is binding in justice.  Breaking it would be at least a venial sin.  Simple promises, proposed and accepted, bind only under pain of venial sins unless the the one making the promise also intended to bind himself in justice.  However, the promise ceases if the circumstances under which the promise was made change significantly.  A promise, furthermore, must be distinguished from a mere intention to do something.   Diocesan priests make promises at the time of their ordination to their diocesan bishops.

A vow, on the other hand, is a promise to God made freely and deliberately to perform some good work or to embrace a higher state of life.  The fulfillment of a vow is an obligation of the virtue of Religion (i.e., what we owe to God, rather than to men).  Vows can be public (e.g., of monks and nuns) or private, simple or solemn (e.g., religious vows), personal or real (i.e., concerning property).  A vow binds only the one making the vow.  Vows made under grave extrinsic fear inflicted unjustly are null and void.

It sounds like you made a private vow to God.

Vows should not be undertaken lightly. It is a good idea to consult with one’s pastor or spiritual director or trusted priest before making a vow of any kind. Often in moments of despair or intense spiritual fervor, people make vows which they later come to regret. Some people simply “walk away”, ignore what they vowed.  Vows should not be blown off, lightly.

Canon Law and moral theology remind us that a vow is a serious thing.

Can. 1191 says that: “A vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God, concerning some good which is possible and positively good. The virtue of religion requires that it be fulfilled.”

Can. 1196 tells us that a private vow can be dispensed (as long as dispensing the vow does not injure the rights of another) by the Roman Pontiff (i.e., the Pope), the local Ordinary (i.e., the diocesan bishop or his vicar general) or the parish priest (with respect to his subjects), a religious superior (with respect to his subjects, any novices, or residents of his house), or someone who has been duly delegated by the Holy See or the local Ordinary.

At the time the 1983 Code was put together, a suggestion was made to the Holy See that this power to dispense from vows be given to all confessors (i.e., priests with proper faculties to receive sacramental confessions and to give absolution validly).  This was rejected.   It remains today that only the Pope, ordinaries, and pastors have this authority.

I believe that in some dioceses, bishops delegate this authority to all confessors, or at least all parish priests, including parochial vicars.  NB: Priests should occasionally review their faculties and remind themselves of what they can and cannot absolve, dispense, commute, etc.

So, if you are now ready to start ordering lots of Mystic Monk Coffee, I would make an appointment with your parish priest, or the vicar general or the bishop of the diocese.  Explain the situation.

Don’t just blow this off!  Vows bind under pain of sin.  People harm themselves and weaken the whole Body of Christ when they screw up their relationships with God through sin and the breaking of vows.

BTW… Mystic Monk also has TEA.  I’m just sayin’

CLICK FOR TEA

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Happy Birthday Holy Father! Benedict XVI – 88 yrs

Posted on 16 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

His Holiness Benedict XVI turned 88 today!

Ad multos felicissimos annos!

Please stop and say a prayer for him.

benedict xvi white mozzetta 01

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ASK FATHER: Marriage in “another suitable place”

Posted on 15 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

My grandson will be married in a year. He has not been baptized but raised in a Christian home. His wife to be is Catholic. He insists their marriage can take place in a hotel and witnessed by a deacon. I have researched this and concluded that can only happen with the permission of the Ordinary. Your comments will be appreciated.

Ah, weddings always bring out the most interesting questions.

When a Catholic marries an unbaptized person, the Catholic party needs a dispensation from the local ordinary (can. 1086. 1, and can. 1129).  If the ordinary (the diocesan bishop or vicar general) grants this dispensation, then the wedding may be celebrated either in a church or “in another suitable place” (can. 1118. 3).  No further special permission is required. Permission would be required if two baptized persons wanted to marry in a place other than a parish church.  The wedding of a couple in which only one party is Catholic should not take place within the context of a Mass.

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Card. Rodriguez Maradiaga: ongoing synodal process until result is obtained?

Posted on 15 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At the Italian site Nuova Bussola, we find the observations of Oscar Card. Rodriguez Maradiaga about the possibility of Communion for the divorced and remarried.

Impossible? “No!”, says the Cardinal.

And if the upcoming Synod rejects the proposal, the Kasperite Solution, hey!… maybe there could be a third synod on the question!

And His Eminence seems to be putting a great deal of stock in polls.

I’m in my car in a parking lot, so I can’t do the translation at the time of this posting.

In tutto il mondo, aggiunge Maradiaga, “i sondaggi dicono che la gente non vuole sposarsi, né in Chiesa, né civilmente, e il Vangelo della famiglia deve essere annunciato, perchè è il progetto di Dio e deve essere sommamente considerato dalla Chiesa”.
Il problema “non è, come alcuni media hanno detto, sulla possibilità dei divorziati risposati di accedere all’eucaristia, no, ci sono cose molto più profonde e che devono essere affrontate nel Sinodo”.
Secondo il Card. Maradiaga il medoto del sinodo, che sarebbe quello di “vedere, giudicare e attuare”, potrebbe anche portare alla convocazione di una terza tappa. “Non sappiamo se alla fine del sinodo di ottobre si chiuderà il processo [sinodale], o se il Papa ne convocherà un terzo, potrebbe essere, perchè si tratta di cose molto importanti…”

Ongoing synods until the desired result is obtained?

Posted in Liberals, One Man & One Woman, Synod, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices | Tagged
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Card. Brandmüller speaks bluntly

Posted on 15 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Over at LifeSite there is a post about remarks made by His Eminence Walter Card. Brandmüller.

Cardinal Brandmüller: Advocates for changing Catholic teaching on marriage are ‘heretics’ – even if they are bishops

April 14, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) — Cardinal Walter Brandmüller has been among the leading voices critical of proposals stemming from the Vatican’s Synod on the Family

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that risk subverting Catholic teaching on the sacraments and morality. He was one of five cardinals who contributed to the book Remaining in the Truth of Christ, which focused on criticizing Cardinal Walter Kasper’s proposal to open up Communion to those in irregular sexual unions.

LifeSiteNews contributor Dr. Maike Hickson interviewed Cardinal Brandmüller last month.

LifeSiteNews: Could you present once more for our readers clearly the teaching of the Catholic Church, as it has been consistently taught throughout centuries concerning marriage and its indissolubility?

Cardinal: The answer is to be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1638-1642.

Can the Church admit remarried couples to Holy Communion, even though their second marriage is not valid in the eyes of the Church?

That would be possible if the concerned couples would make the decision to live in the future like brother and sister. This solution is especially worth considering when the care for children disallows a separation. The decision for such a path would be a convincing expression of the penance for the previous and protracted act of adultery.

Can the Church deal with the topic of marriage in a pastoral manner that is different from the continual teaching of the Church? Can the Church at all change the teaching itself without falling herself into heresy?

It is evident that the pastoral practice of the Church cannot stand in opposition to the binding doctrine nor simply ignore it. In the same manner, an architect could perhaps build a most beautiful bridge. However, if he does not pay attention to the laws of structural engineering, he risks the collapse of his construction. In the same manner, every pastoral practice has to follow the Word of God if it does not want to fail. A change of the teaching, of the dogma, is unthinkable. Who nevertheless consciously does it, or insistently demands it, is a heretic – even if he wears the Roman Purple. [That is the red color that Cardinals wear.]

Is not the whole discussion about the admittance of remarried to the Holy Eucharist also an expression of the fact that many Catholics do not believe any more in the Real Presence and rather think that they receive in Holy Communion anyway only a piece of bread?

Indeed, there is an indissoluble inner contradiction in someone who wants to receive the Body and Blood of Christ and to unite himself with Him, while in the same time he disregards consciously His Commandment. How shall this work? St. Paul says about this matter: ‘Who eats and drinks unworthily, is eating and drinking his judgment…’ But: You are right. By far not all Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the consecrated host. One can see this fact already in the way many – even priests – pass the tabernacle without genuflection.

Why is there nowadays such a strong attack on the indissolubility of marriage within the Church? A possible answer could be that the spirit of relativism has entered the Church, but there must be more reasons. Could you name some? And are not all these reasons a sign of the crisis of Faith within the Church herself?

Of course, if certain moral standards that have been valid generally, always, and everywhere are not any more recognized, then everybody makes himself his own moral law. That has as a consequence that one does what one pleases. It can be added the individualistic approach to life which regards life as a single chance for self-actualization – and not as a mission of the Creator. It is evident that such attitudes are the expression of a deeply rooted loss of Faith.

[…]

You can read the rest there.

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Regarding recent repasts

Posted on 14 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

It has been some time since I’ve posted about interesting food.

I am presently in my native place, which also happens to be a great food city. Yesterday I was delighted to go to one of my favorite Chinese spots in these USA (they have the best Shanghai xiao long bao I’ve had anywhere) with a old priest friend.

Pan fried noodles with chicken.

Shredded pork in garlic sauce.

I don’t remember exactly what this was called.  It may be san xian.  In any event it had both shrimp and scallops and, I think, squid or octopus.  I didn’t have much of it, alas.

I was happy to get an actual fortune in my fortune cookie, rather than a platitude or admonishment.  The poor cookie got this wrong, I think, but you can’t have everything, I guess.

Yah… right.

And since I am in an Asian jag, I found a really good ramen place.  Not quite on the same level as Tokyo, but this his the spot.  I’d go back any time.  (They need to put more effort into that egg, however.  It was a bit anemic.)  The dumplings were also super.

Now, off to a museum!

Posted in Fr. Z's Kitchen, On the road, What Fr. Z is up to |
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The Wanderer’s Open Letter to Pope Francis

Posted on 14 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Click HERE

Over at my old stomping grounds, The Wanderer, there is an open letter to Pope Francis.

Remember… we should all being asking our duly appointed pastors and Pope Francis himself to name St. Pope John Paul II Doctor of the Church! Moreover, he should be called Doctor Misericordiae, or perhaps Doctor Misericors.

Back to The Wanderer.

Your Holiness,

From the very first moment that you stepped forth onto the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica to greet us following your election as the Successor to Saint Peter, you have made clear to us that you as our loving father want us to share with you our hopes, our dreams, our aspirations, and also our concerns as we journey together in hope of eternal life as disciples of the Lord. It is in this spirit that we come to you now, eager to unfold our hearts before you.

It is with joy, the “joy of the Gospel,” that we have welcomed the distinctive motif that you have set for your pontificate, the theme of compassion, of mercy, which at the outset of your service in the office of Peter you described as “the Lord’s most powerful message.”1 Time and again you have challenged us to offer a welcome of charity to all, whether they be saints or sinners, stressing that the Church excludes no one from the love and mercy of God.

In your apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, you observe, “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.”2 This divine desire to offer forgiveness was made manifest in the very words with which our Lord began His preaching in His public ministry: “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). From this we realize that in living the Gospel and in presenting it to others there will always be the need to reject whatever is contrary to the Gospel. And so it is that in your encyclical letter Lumen Fidei you tell us:

Genuine love, after the fashion of God’s love, ultimately requires truth… Since faith is one, it must be professed in all its purity and integrity. Precisely because all the articles of faith are interconnected, to deny one of them, even of those that seem least important, is tantamount to distorting the whole… to subtract something from the faith is to subtract something from the veracity of communion… harming the faith means harming communion with the Lord.3

Lest we be left in any doubt as to how we are to discern what truly constitutes our faith “professed in all its purity and integrity”, you further instruct us to look to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which you describe as “a fundamental aid for that unitary act with which the Church communicates the entire content of her faith: ‘all that she herself is, and all that she believes.’”

[…]

Read the rest there.

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