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{]:¬)

Vespers with no frills

Posted on 22 February 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

For the Feast of the Cathedra of Peter with a commemoration of Ash Wednesday from the Breviarium Romanum, Vespers in Latin comes straight at ya’ without any bells or whistles.

The meter of the hymn is interesting.

Quodcumque in orbe nexibus revinxeris,
Erit revinctum Petre in arce siderum:
Et quod resolvit hic potestas tradita,
Erit solutum caeli in alto vertice;
In fine mundi iudicabis saeculum.

Patri perenne sit per aevum gloria,
Tibique laudes concinamus inclytas,
Aeterne Nate, sit superne Spiritus,
Honor tibi, decusque: sancta iugiter
Laudetur omne Trinitas per saeculum.

Cretics? A sort of limping iambic trimeter? Choliambic? It is attributed to St. Paulinus of Aquileia, thus Carolingian, accentual rather than quantitative. I am all at sea. I took a quick look at the chant melody. Strange stuff. And that fourth line in the second stanza throws you, like a horse changing gate.

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Animal activists annoy hunters with a flying drone. Guess what happened next.

Posted on 22 February 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Yesterday when I was reading the story about the 30000 year old seed that grew, I also saw this fun story. And since I hate pigeons, I’ll post it.

After Animal Activists Track Pigeon Hunt With Drone, Pigeon Hunters Shoot Down Drone

An animal rights group stopped a planned pigeon shoot over the weekend, leaving the would-be marksmen to shoot down another target: The animal group’s aerial drone.

A group called SHARK, SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness, went to Broxton Bridge Plantation near Ehrhardt, S.C., on Sunday to video a live pigeon shoot, according to the Times and Democrat of Orangeburg, S.C. The group lofted a small Mikrokopter drone and planned to tape the shoot. Law enforcement officers and an attorney tried to stop the drone from flying, according to the T&D. The group persisted, and apparently the shooters got back in their cars to leave, said Steve Hindi, president of SHARK.

The drone took off anyway, and then several shots rang out. One eventually struck the drone and it spiraled to the ground, to the dismay of the SHARK representatives who were filming it from the ground. The T&D has video of it here.

[…]

What did these annoying activists think was going to happen to their annoying drone when they annoyed a bunch of men hunting with guns?

Posted in Lighter fare | Tagged drone
26 Comments

Ash Wednesday glimpses and papal liturgical music observations

Posted on 22 February 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

First, lunch was a cup of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.

This was consumed while viewing the Holy Father’s Mass at Santa Sabina, the Roman Station. The day began at the nearby San’tAnselmo on the Aventine Hill for the collect. There was a procession to Santa Sabina, with a litany sung in Latin. I was watching for, among other things, friends. The Vatican “on demand” stream has really improved and the player is good. Kudos to CTV!

The Holy Father used a Roman pianeta today.

chasuble

The Mass was in both Latin and Italian. It seems the principle was, if it is spoken it is vernacular, and if it is sung it’s in Latin.

This is exactly the same principle that my old pastor, the late Msgr. Richard Schuler used when building (in continuity with our Roman tradition) the liturgical practice with exceptional sacred music at my home parish in St. Paul, Minnesota. For the Novus Ordo “High Mass”, celebrated ad orientem, with deacons vested properly – including maniples and birettas – what was sung was in Latin (the Ordinary in Gregorian chant or polyphony or an orchestral setting and the Proper in Gregorian chant), and what was spoken (the readings, prayers of the faithful) were in English. In the Holy Father’s Mass, the prayers spoken by the Pope were in Italian, the first reading was spoken in Italian, the Gospel however, was sung by a deacon in Latin.

The Holy Father’s brief (for him) sermon dealt with the symbolism of ashes.

Now it’s time to change the oil in my car.

UPDATE:

I am 68% sure that the bishop, visible in the gap, behind Archbp. Fisichella (with the biretta) is Bp. Robert Morlino of Madison, in Rome to make the ad limina visit and lead a diocesan pilgrimage.

I went back and took at look at the entrance procession, and I am still fairly sure.

Posted in Fr. Z's Kitchen, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged Ash Wednesday, ashes, liturgy, sacred music
18 Comments

False accusations of priests

Posted on 22 February 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have posted before about priests who are falsely accused of crimes against minors and other crimes or sins.

I saw an entry at The Media Report about new evidence which may exonerate a priest, Fr. Gordon J MacRae who has been in prison since 1994.

What a horrible thing it is for anyone to be falsely accused of something, but when the victim of a false accusation is a priest, the consequences are horrifying. Not only is a false accusation a terrible sin of lying and harming a person in malice, but when it is aimed at a priest it also also the sin of sacrilege, since it is aimed at a consecrated person. And this is not just about false accusations of crimes against minors.

We know that there is no sin that we little mortals can commit that is so terrible that God cannot forgive it if we truly repent. However, I shudder to think of the terrible judgment of someone who goes to God unshriven after making a false accusation against the Lord’s anointed.

In any event, there is a book about priests who were falsely accused. Not exactly light reading, but this is an important topic… and not just for priests and bishops! Everyone should be concerned about this.

Frankly, I think we will see a lot more of this tactic in the future, if not for personal monetary gain, but also to silence and intimidate priests and bishops who stick with the Church and preach her message clearly.

Check out David F. Pierre Jr.’s book Catholic Priests Falsely Accused: The Facts, The Fraud, The Stories.

It is available for US readers HERE (Kindle version HERE) and UK readers HERE (Kindle version HERE). Need a Kindle? US HERE and UK HERE.

Posted in The Drill | Tagged false accusations
18 Comments

PODCAzT 128: “Veterum sapientia”! 50th Anniversary. On Latin in the Church. Wherein Fr. Z rants.

Posted on 22 February 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Nolite oblivisci hodie quinquagesimum esse anniversarium promulgationis Apostolicae Constitutionis Veterum Sapientia!

Surely one of sorest points of our enduring shame as a Church is the way our shepherds have entirely ignored John XXIII’s Apostolic Constitution Veterum sapientia.

It isn’t long… but documents didn’t have to be long in those days in order to make their point.

ENGLISH HERE.

Bl. John has, in what we might call prophetic retrospect, things to say about clarity of doctrine, of liturgical worship, formation of priests, defense of the faith, and continuity which pertain to 2012, no less than to 1962.

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NB: An Apostolic Constitution is not just a garden variety document. It ranks in authority pretty much above all other types of papal documents. Apostolic Constitutions are used to promulgate the most important things, such as a new edition of the Roman Missal or the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Anglicanorum coetibus is an Apostolic Constitution. An example of a Constitution issued by a Council is Sacrosanctum Concilium.

Subscribe on iTunes.

Give it a read through, or listen by using my PODCAzT, so that you can at least say you have read it. Most priests, bishops, and educators haven’t.

The Latin of the first paragraph:

Veterum Sapientia, in Graecorum Romanorumque inclusa litteris, itemque clarissima antiquorum populorum monumenta doctrinae, quasi quaedam praenuntia aurora sunt habenda evangelicae veritatis, quam Filius Dei, gratiae disciplinaeque arbiter et magister, illuminator ac deductor generis humani, his nuntiavit in terris. Ecclesiae enim Patres et Doctores, in praestantissimis vetustorum illorum temporum memoriis quandam agnoverunt animorum praeparationem ad supernas suscipiendas divitias, quas Christus Iesus in dispensatione plenitudinis temporum cum mortalibus communicavit; ex quo illud factum esse patet, ut in ordine rerum christianarum instaurato nihil sane perierit, quod verum, et iustum, et nobile, denique pulchrum ante acta saecula peperissent.

ENGLISH HERE.

Posted in Linking Back, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, Wherein Fr. Z Rants | Tagged formation, Greek, John XXIII, Latin, priesthood, religion, Veterum Sapientia
31 Comments

“Today, I went to confession for the first time in nearly 27 years.”

Posted on 22 February 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Today, I went to confession for the first time in nearly 27 years. I am 34, so this is my first time as an adult. After some trembling at the beginning, I managed to push through with the guidance of a very experienced and kind confessor.

Thanks for the constant reminder on the blog.

Notes like these are an important reason why I keep this blog going.

Posted in GO TO CONFESSION, New Evangelization | Tagged confession, reconciliation, sacrament of penance
15 Comments

George Weigel offers a suggestion to liturgically narcissistic priests for Lent

Posted on 22 February 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At the site of First Things, there is a piece by George Weigel which includes a rather spiffy idea.

He relates a recent experience of a priest screwing around with the texts of Mass and then continues:

Bad habits built up over decades are as hard to break in liturgy as they are in any other facet of life. So it will take awhile for the nobility of the new Mass texts to elicit a similar nobility of manner from celebrants who have acquired bad habits over the years. But as Lent is an appropriate time for addressing bad habits, here’s a suggestion for all priest-celebrants: make a Lenten resolution—This Lent, I will do the red and read the black. Period.

[…]

What a great idea!

Perhaps Mr. Weigel could send that priest one of these?

Posted in Linking Back, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged First Things, George Weigel, Say The Black - Do The Red
13 Comments

The Holy Father and Card. Dolan’s mother. Fun.

Posted on 21 February 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Where does Card. Dolan get that gift of glib gab? I’m guessing it was from his mother.

During an audience in Rome, Card. Dolan was able to present his mother to the Pope.

According to the NY Post, the Holy Father, ever the gentleman, had a brief exchange with Mrs. Dolan.

Dolan recounted that the pope, who turns 85 in April, then paid his mom the ultimate compliment, telling her, “You look too young to be the mother of a cardinal.”

The cardinal said his mom — showing that a quick wit is a family trait — shot back, “Holy Father, was that an infallible statement?”

Posted in Lighter fare | Tagged Card. Dolan
18 Comments

An edgy video about Pres. Obama’s lies

Posted on 21 February 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Leo Patalinghug, who does some cooking now and then, has a good video commentary on how Pres. Obama is undermining the 1st Amendment and, well, lying to us.

This is the sort of video that could appeal to young people, and therefore WDTPRS sends kudos to Fr. Patalinghug.

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Posted in Dogs and Fleas, Lighter fare, Mail from priests, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, Religious Liberty, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged 1st Amendment, Fr. Patalinghug, HHS, mandate, Notre Shame, Pres. Obama, religious liberty
15 Comments

Plant grown from 30,000 year old seed. WARNING: Squirrel involved.

Posted on 21 February 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From POPSCI comes this story for your “Just Too Cool” file.

Russian Scientists Grow Pleistocene-Era Plants From Seeds Buried By Squirrels 30,000 Years Ago

On the frozen edge of the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia, in an ancient pantry harboring seeds and other stores, an Arctic ground squirrel burrowed into the dirt and buried a : small, dark fruit from a flowering plant. The squirrel’s prize quickly froze in the cold ground and was preserved in permafrost, waiting to grow into a fully fledged flowering plant until it was unearthed again. After 30,000 years, it finally was. Scientists in Russia have now regenerated this Pleistocene plant, transplanting it into a pot in the lab. A year later, it grew forth and bore fruit.

The specimen is distinctly different from the modern-day version of Silene stenophylla, or narrow-leafed Campion. It suggests that the permafrost is a potential new source of ancient gene pools long believed to be extinct, scientists said.

The fruits were buried about 125 feet in undisturbed, never thawed permafrost sediments, nestled at roughly 19.4 degrees F (-7 C). Radiocarbon dating showed the fruits were 31,800 years old, give or take about 300 years. Seeds are incredible things, storing the embryo of a new plant and encasing it in protective material until conditions are right for it to germinate.

[…]

I guess we have Skrat to thank for this.

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Now if we could only find some dinosaur DNA in a piece of amber.