High School blocks “conservative” sites (Vatican, GOP, NRA) but allows “liberal” (Dems, PParenthood)

Posted on 8 July 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

What is going on in the school where you send your children?

This is, at the same time, appalling and not in the least surprising.

From The Blaze:

High School Student Says He Uncovered Something ‘Appalling’ When He Tried to Access NRA Website, TheBlaze, Others

While conducting an Internet search for his classroom debate on gun control, Andrew Lampart’s attempts to access some websites on his school computer were unsuccessful.

To start with, the senior at Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury, Connecticut, said he couldn’t access the National Rifle Association’s website.

“So, I went over to the other side,” the 18-year-old told WTIC-TV in Hartford. “And I went over on sites such as Moms Demand Action or Newtown Action Alliance and I could get on these websites but not the others.”

Lampart investigated further — what about his state’s political parties?

“I immediately found out that the State Democrat website was unblocked but the State GOP website was blocked,” he told WTIC.

Lampart said he tried websites focusing on abortion issues and religion — and what was seeming like a trend continued.

National Right to Life’s site? Blocked. Sites for Planned Parenthood and Pro-Choice America? Accessible. Christianity.com and the Vatican’s website? Blocked. But Islam-guide.com? Accessible. Lampart provided WTIC screen printouts of blocked and unblocked sites.

[…]

They also block the Vatican’s website!

Read the rest there.

Here is a video story:

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Be The Maquis, I'm just askin'..., Liberals, Pò sì jiù, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, You must be joking! |
22 Comments

BREAKING! Missing and the search is on!

Posted on 8 July 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The often amusing Eye of the Tiber reports on a serious news story that should concern us all.  My emphases.

Sierra Nevada–More than five dozen searchers scoured the Sierra Nevada foothills for the missing reverence at a Mass at the Church of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque yesterday.

Reverence was due to appear promptly for the 9am Mass, but two hours after the Mass had concluded, a search began with helicopters, including a National Guard Blackhawk, looking for any signs of reverence.

Using thermal infrared technology, searchers have still not been able to locate any clues to the whereabouts of the reverence expected at Mass, but a spokeswoman for the Church of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Dana Whitmore, told EOTT today that several parishioners were being investigated after being seen walking out of Mass wearing shorts and flip flops.

“We cannot release the names of those being questioned at this moment,” Whitmore told the press. “But we can say that officials from the diocese have spoken to St. Margaret Mary’s pastor Fr. Neville Mayfield about why his altar boys and altar girls were allowed to chew gum while staring out into space during the Consecration.”

Nine ground search teams made up of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter were later dispatched to find reverence. They focused on the areas in and around the pews as well as on the Sanctuary.

Reverence was not the only thing being sought. In another part of the Sierra Nevada, a search was underway near St. Matthew Catholic Church to find solemnity and piety.

Posted in Lighter fare, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , ,
9 Comments

ISIS Muslim terrorists rape Christian women. 600 Christians form militia for a last stand.

Posted on 7 July 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From shoebat.com:

Muslims Rape Christian Women, 600 Christians Take Up Arms And Make One Final And Heroic Stand Against Muslim Jihadists

After so much rape has been done against Christian women in Iraq, 600 Christians in Iraq have now taken up arms to make one final stand against Muslim Jihadists, members of the ISIS terrorist group, at the frontiers of the Christian settlement of Bartella on the outskirts of Mosul.

These 600 Christians, “all mighty men of valour” (1 Chronicles 12:21), are led by Capt. Firaz Jacob, a Christian warrior who has himself declared with the utmost of apostolic zeal:

I stand here waiting for my destiny… We will stay here despite everything… All these armed groups we have seen, but nevertheless we will remain. We love our Christian way of life, we love our churches and we love our community.

Bartella was suppose to be protected by the Iraqi government, but state soldiers fled from ISIS, leaving the Christians to take up their cross and commence a crusade to keep the jihadists away from their lands.According to one report:

The Iraqi government soldiers who were supposed to be protecting this area ran away from the Islamic extremists. Now, Bartella is defended by about 600 lightly armed Christian militiamen.

Here is a video showing the Christian militia HERE:

[…]

Read the rest there.

Sts. Nunilo and Alodia…

Posted in Semper Paratus, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Religion of Peace | Tagged , , , ,
18 Comments

COSTCO won’t sell conservative book

Posted on 7 July 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From examiner.com:

Retailer Costco removing D’Souza’s “America” book from its shelves

On Monday, WND has learned that wholesale retailer giant, Costco, began removing Dinesh D’Souza’s bestselling book “America: Imagine the World Without Her” from their store shelves nationwide. Jerome R. Corsi of WND said that Costco has sold more than 3,600 copies of “America” nationwide, with about 700 copies sold last week as D’Souza’s film by the same name opened at more than 1,000 movie theaters nationwide.

Gerald Molen, an Academy-award winning producer of Schindler’s List, produced D’Souza’s film, “America”, and the film was released last week across the nation. Dinesh D’Souza, the creator of “2016: Obama’s America” [film HERE],

click

takes viewers through a discovery of who built America, in the times in which they lived, bled, and sacrificed in order to build a great nation such as Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and others.

[…]

As one Costco shopper said, “If you don’t put D’Souza’s book back on your shelves, I may take my money to Sam’s Club instead. This explains why I have not seen any conservative audio-books in Costco since Mark Levin’s “Liberty and Tyranny” [good!] several years ago, even though conservative books have been regularly outselling progressive ones in the past few years.”

[…]

Read the rest there.

I saw the new movie, America, last week. I recommend that you take a liberal Democrat friend to see it.

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, Liberals, Puir Slow-Witted Gowk, Slubberdegullions, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices | Tagged , , ,
18 Comments

ASK FATHER & POLL: Sign of Peace at Mass. Not good. What to do?

Posted on 7 July 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

And... all order and reverence break down as the Lord's presence in the Eucharist on the altar are completely forgotten.

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Father, I notice that at daily mass or where the mass is sparsely attended parishioners will wave to each other from across the church.

Is there a better way to handle this situation?

Sure there is!  How about not do it at all?

If that is what people are doing – sitting scattered and apart like that – they probably are okay with being left alone.  The little wave is probably an uncomfortable side-effect of being required by the priest to do something when they would rather just get on with Mass without being hassled.

I think it was GK Chesterton who recounted that something which made his conversion to Catholicism more appealing was that, when he went to a Catholic church, people left him in peace to pray as he pleased.  They weren’t forcing welcome on him all the time.

So, how about asking a few people after Mass if they really want or need that Sign of Peace wave.  Then, as a group, invite Father to breakfast and, over flapjacks and syrup, ask him, please, to stop with the congregational Sign of Peace already, at least for the weekdays.

The congregational exchange of a Sign of Peace is an option in the Novus Ordo.  It is done at the discretion of the priest celebrant.  It is NOT – and this is for the young deacon who recently decided to do this on his own during a Mass I said – NOT up to the deacon or anyone else but the priest celebrant to have that invitation.

Some people are under the impression that the invitation to exchange the Sign of Peace is an obligatory part of the Mass.  It isn’t.  The priest’s expression of peace to you is obligatory.  The exchange between everyone is an option.

So, ask the priest, nicely, with smiles, not to do it.  And then thank him when he stops.  And keep thanking him.  And take him to breakfast and thank him some more.

That said, let’s have a poll on this issue!  It has been a while since the last time I presented the question.  This time I added an extra choice/option.

Choose your best response and then give your reasons in the combox, below.

3rd ROUND: The congregation's "sign of peace" during (Novus Ordo) Mass

View Results

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, POLLS | Tagged ,
90 Comments

“dust off the censer, and toss out the bong” – 07/07/07

Posted on 7 July 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Here is a grooovy oldie post from the WDTPRS archives. This, from this very day in 2007:

The Official WDTPRS Parody Song Writer, the esteemed Tim Ferguson has been at it again.

As he put it,

“I ruminated a bit more … and came to the realization that, while “La Donna e Mobile” might be readily appreciated and understood by those with an interest in the motu proprio, there’s also a need to reach out to those who might not be so appreciative and who, in general, tend to have different musical tastes.”

He continues….

So, reaching back to the halcyon days of folk music and came up with a version of the Pete Seeger classic (made famous by the Byrds in 1965) :

Go to the altar (turn, turn, turn)
look to the East now, (turn, turn, turn)
there’s a time for every Mass now, if it’s valid.
The time for banjos and dancing is gone,
dust off the censer, and toss out the bong.
No need for hugging, we all get along
let’s keep our focus together, on Jesus.

Page through the Missal (turn, turn, turn)
remember the rubrics (turn, turn, turn)
there’s a time and a purpose for those words there
Pure, humble rev’rence is what we now lack,
just do the red words and say those in black.
When we say High Mass, there’s no need for crack,
just let your deacon and subdeacon guide you.

Now weed your library, (turn, turn, turn)
use some discernment (turn, turn, turn)
it is time now to brush up on your Latin.
Farewell to Vosko, McBrien, Hans Kueng,
deep down you knew that they just peddled dueng,
the 60’s are old and the Church is still young
what still subsists is a thing of great beauty.

Posted in Classic Posts, Lighter fare, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Parody Songs, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM | Tagged , , , ,
6 Comments

An important anniversary

Posted on 7 July 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

If I am not mistaken, today is the 42nd anniversary of the movie Deliverance.

Plinga pling pling pling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myhnAZFR1po&feature=player_embedded

On the same day, at Wimbledon Billie Jean King beat Evonne Goolagong.

In my own life, since that was the summer that Fisher met Spassky, I was highly attuned to the newspaper.  For myself, in tournament play, I had at my little age earned a rating.  In great anticipation I was set – in between running like an unshod brown animal or riding horses bare-back without bridle – to watch and play through these games with with my grandfather – himself a world level Bridge champion – with great attention.  The summer was hot and free and great thunderheads would roll in with the evenings.  I watched Julia Child and NASA missions. I met Dave McNally. I listened to short wave radio at night and distant trains whistles. As one did, I knew every kid and all their houses and yards.  I ate snow cones from a cousin’s traveling cart, kicked through the banks of hail from summer storms, and blew up stuff with fireworks. I had a bright green Sting-Ray with a white seat.

My hair was on fire, my knees were scuffed, and I was never going to die.

Today is also the 7th anniversary of the release of the text of Summorum Pontificum!

I have fond memories of chillin’ the Veuve with a friend.

Posted in Classic Posts, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM |
15 Comments

A follow up on the MOOS for the ordination of women

Posted on 7 July 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

You will recall that our old pal Phyllis Zagano, a writer for the National Schismatic Reporter (aka Fishwrap), promoted her MOOS for the ordination of women.

MOOS means, I understand, a “Massive Online Open Seminar”.  It seems it was not entirely “open”. I wonder how “massive” it was.

A frequent commentatrix here, Elizabeth Durack, participated in Phyllis’ MOOS. Elizabeth has her own blog, Laetificat Madison. She describes her experience of MOOS with Phyllis.  HERE

It seems that Elizabeth has been interested in this topic for a while and knew about the MOOS even before I, helpfully, posted here.

You can – and really should – read the whole thing over at Elizabeth’s place!  It is useful, as all autopsies should be.  Here are a few bullet points:

  • It seems that, from Elizabeth’s exchanges with her, that Zagano “insists” that Ordinatio sacerdotalis does not convey infallible teaching. I take that to mean that Zagano thinks that the Church does not infallibly teach that only males can be ordained to the priesthood. That would be, at least, theological error.  The Church does teach, infallibly, that only males can be ordained to the priesthood.
  • Zagano cherry-picked, as part of the MOOS materials, something from a talk given by Sr. Sara Butler, a theology prof at St. Mary of the Lake (Mundelein), which gives the impression that Sr. Butler is in favor of the ordination of women to the diaconate. Elizabeth, however, shows that Sr. Butler does not in fact think that. Sr. Butler thinks that deaconesses were not the equivalent of deacons that evidence does not support the “revival” of an ordained diaconate for women.  Follow the links at Elizabeth’s place.  You have to skip around in Elizabeth’s post for the full impact of how Sr. Butler’s thought differs from what seems to have been the true aim of Phyllis’ MOOS (i.e., promotion of, not just discussion of, the ordination of women).
  • One of the people involved in the MOOS “faculty”, at the level of their discussion board, Anne Southwood, is on the board of trustees of the dissident group Voice of the Faithful.  Again, follow the links at Elizabeth’s place.
  • Both Zagano and Southwood debated Elizabeth’s belief (in fact the Church’s belief) that Christ instituted the Sacrament of Holy Orders at the Last Supper and conferred it on the apostles at that time. Elizabeth recounts that Zagano challenged even the Council of Trent’s anathema about those who deny that the Sacrament of Orders was instituted by Christ at the Last Supper. She quotes the email, which is pretty interesting.  May I help?  DH 1740, 1764; CCC 1357
  • After Elizabeth offered to send Zagano a copy of her own book about the Sinsinawa Dominicans (in which Zagano is apparently mentioned), Elizabeth was banned from the discussion board. Post hoc ergo propter hoc? Who’s to know.  (BTW… Elizabeth also has an interesting book about Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli.)
  • Elizabeth posts email.
  • A quote from Elizabeth’s summary of the experience: “I had a strange ‘chaotic’ impression of Phyllis Zagano‘s theological thinking. The Faith is orderly and beautifully rational… until you start to mess with it or feel like you have to make it up yourself.”
  • In the comments, Zagano posted a response to Elizabeth’s post! I especially liked her neologism “upsetment”: “I cannot answer your upsetment point by point,…”. One of Zagano’s statements to Elizabeth baffled me: “I am especially concerned that you find no need for women’s ministry..”.  Anyone who reads what Elizabeth actually wrote will see that quite the opposite is true.  [UPDATE: Apparently “upsetment” is part of the dialect of Bayonne, NY, according to How to Speak Bayonnease: The secret language of Bayonne, New York’s sixth borough. HERE]

In any event, kudos to Elizabeth Durack for jumping in!  She tried, at least, to participate in the women’s ordination MOOS.

I’ll leave the combox open here, but turn on the moderation queue.  Do go check out Laetificat Madison for the full story.  HERE

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Events, HONORED GUESTS, Liberals, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, The Drill | Tagged , , , , , ,
26 Comments

INTERNET PRAYER: DANISH – UPDATED (with a note about Klingon)

Posted on 6 July 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I was happy to receive a note from a reader in Denmark that the new legendary Internet Prayer has been adopted into a prayerbook of the Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen, published last year. The version is a little different from the Danish I had posted, and so I updated the A prayer before connecting to the internet page with the new, approved text.

Here is the new version, so that you may immediately cease reciting it in the obsolete Danish version and now use the current text!

Bøn før søgning på internettet

Almægtige evige Gud,
som skabte os i dit billede
og bød os at søge alt godt, sandt og smukt,
særligt i din enbårne Søns, vor Herre Jesu Kristi
guddommelige person.
Vi beder dig på den hellige biskop
og kirkelærer Isidors forbøn,
at du, når vi surfer på internettet,
vil lade os rette vort øje og vores hånd mod det,
som er dig velbehageligt,
og behandle alle, vi møder,
med kærlighed og tålmodighed.
Ved Kristus vor Herre.
Amen

From: Bønnebog for den Katolske Kirke, Ansgarstiftelsens forlag 2013

New readers here may not know that this prayer, which I wrote a zillion years ago now, has been put into many languages. I have gathered all that I have found onto one page. Some translations have been given approval by bishops, and some have been offered by people of good will. For example, I haven’t yet been able to obtain ecclesiastical approval for the Klingon version. Check it out. HERE

I welcome new language versions, especially with an audio recording, preferably by a native speaker (again problematic in the case of Klingon).

Does anyone know someone who could read the Klingon for us?

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare | Tagged , , ,
4 Comments

Your Sunday Sermon Notes

Posted on 6 July 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Was there a good point in your Sunday sermon?  What was it?

Today I said Mass the 9:15 Novus Ordo at a parish which, for the first time, had Mass in the older, traditional form, at 7:30.  (I think it was the 3rd time I had said Mass with the Novus Ordo since last October.) The TLM is now, as of today, a regular feature in that Sunday schedule.  I would have had Mass downtown, but the rector summarily terminated the TLM.  Therefore, I briefly spoke to the 9:15 congregation about the whys and wherefores of Summorum Pontificum, what Benedict XVI did and wanted to do.

I then addressed the yoke Our Lord speaks of, and the difference between subjugation as the world knows it and as Our Lord knows it, explaining that the Lord, in being meek Himself, wasn’t therefore timid.  He bore horrible wrongs patiently while even occasionally using spectacularly harsh language and even, once, a whip of cords to correct people.  His ways, harsh as they could be, or gentle, were always the best ways for the moment, place and people involved.  If they were not converted or moved, it wasn’t the Lord’s fault, for His choices of correction were always perfect.  Then, it is a work of mercy also for us to bear wrongs patiently.  Among the Fruits of the Holy Ghost are patience and mildness, not to be confused with timidity or weakness.  Thus, in our subjugation to the Lord’s way of things, we mustn’t be quick to lash out when perceiving our selves to be wronged.  Furthermore, those in authority over others, such as parents over children, should try to correct in a manner appropriate for the time, place and person, now harsh, now gentle as the circumstances dictate.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
27 Comments