Fr. Z's Blog | Catholic commentary by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

ASK FATHER: Placement of choir

Posted on 23 October 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

What does the Church recommend IF there is NOT A LOFT?

I am a music director at a small rural church and ONLY at Christmas and Easter do we have the choir come up during communion and the sing from the corner of the Sanctuary. The Altar is positioned in the center of the Sanctuary with carpet while to the side, in a space 30 feet wide that would even allow a rail to be installed to divide, is where the choir has been in the past. BUT NEVER DURING THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS.

WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND?

In small churches certain accommodations must be made.

Perhaps more space could be made in the sanctuary if the altar were to be pushed up against the back wall. It’s amazing how much space is opened up by getting the table out of the way.

Other options might have the choir sitting in the back row of pews, or taking out the back row of pews and putting in risers.

Or, depending on the quality of the choir, putting them in the parking lot… facing away.

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

Michael Voris, Card. Burke… corrections

Posted on 23 October 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Get this from Michael Voris:

Michael stood up. Good for him.

UPDATE 24 Oct:

It has been interesting reading the reactions to what Mr. Voris did.

I wonder if some people, especially over at The Olympian Middle, aren’t mired in the fault of papalotry.

Just thinking aloud.

Posted in Our Catholic Identity | Tagged Card. Burke, Michael Voris, The Olympian Middle
51 Comments

ROME – Day 3: Vestments, cont. Other stuff.

Posted on 23 October 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This morning we had Mass at Ss. Trinità dei Pellegrini, the FSSP parish. They are always welcoming and helpful when priests want to say Mass.

I like the way the amices are done here. The ribbons can be removed easily, for laundering purposes. I shall have to have some of these made.

Our altar for Mass, beneath the great painting of the Trinity by Guido Reni. This is one of my favorite painting in Rome.

I am off to find the trim for the Pontifical vestments this morning. I’d like to get this project taken care of today, if possible.

UPDATE

Lunch.

Linguine with scallops, zucchini blossoms and saffron.

UPDATE

This is for your Just Too Cool file

All five editions!

Posted in On the road, What Fr. Z is up to |
8 Comments

ROME – Day 2: Vestments edition

Posted on 22 October 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This morning the group went off to the Audience and some time in the Museum, both of which I passed.

On my way to meet a priest friend at Gammarelli I stopped at Sant’Eustachio. Just a nice view, inside a Roman church. Turning the pulpit into a bookstand was kinda dopey.

We hit some textile shops. It is cheaper, sometimes at least, to get the fabric at a fabric place and then have the work done at Gammarelli. I got some spectacular gold silk for a song. This will save hundreds of euros off the price of the Pontifical set we are making. I think it’ll be matched with blue trim, if I can find the right stuff. Thanks to my friend for helping with the acquisition.

Largo Argentina has an archeological site, with Republican temples. Spiffy.

Time for lunch!

We started with a bowl of ovoli (Amanita caesarea) with shavings of fennel and just a hint of cheese.

We chose a duetto of Rigatoni alls Norcina and Bombolotti all’Amatriciana.

I had to have my requisite saltimbocca. That duty is now fulfilled.

On the other hand, there was this vestment option.

I am sorry to see the return of this garbage to Roman shops. Francis Effect, perhaps.

I almost chose this option for the set.

Then there was the Bovine Option. It is for Wisconsin, after all.

More later.

UPDATE:

Today the group went to visit, in quite a private way, the barracks of the Swiss Guards.

Some armor.

Some uni’s, ready for consignment. All the uniforms are tailor made.

Some historic uniforms.

The guys who make the uniforms. Great guys!

Historic weapons.

Not so historic. I would have liked a better view, but I didn’t want to freak people out.

These would be true pacifiers.

A rarely spotted coat-of-arms in Rome.

Can you make it out? Have a try!

I met an old friend for supper. We caught up on all manner of ecclesial… news… over pappardelle al ragù di cinghiale.

Then past the Pantheon on my way to find a Partagas.

Tomorrow, Mass with the group early at Ss Trinità and then to find the trim for the vestments.

Posted in On the road, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged Rome, vestments
52 Comments

Oh the humanity!

Posted on 22 October 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Okay… we orthodox, faithful, conservative Catholics are the most flexible people around, but this simply needs some sort of intervention.

Michael Voris is in Rome. He was doing some coverage of the Synod and has stayed also for the trad events coming up.

I am pretty disturbed about something.

A priest friend alerted me to this. Perhaps he thought I could, I dunno… intervene?

He wrote:

After all the bad news of the last two days; now I have to deal with this! Will it never end??? Oh, the humanity!

A Searsucker jacket in October, Michael? In Rome?

I’ll never forget seeing in Michael’s office – and I can hardly bring myself to write this – a Richard McBrien book!

Connection? Is he a crypto-liberal? Who can know for sure.

I’m in Rome right now for a pilgrimage. Last night after a supper with the pilgrimage group, I joined Michael and crew at a restaurant nearby (which I had recommended to them, by the way), for dessert and catching up on news. I brought up this serious issue.

^{PS Michael’s a great sport. Like all faithful Catholics, he has a good sense of humor. I showed this to him before posting.}

Posted in Lighter fare | Tagged Michael Voris, Synod of Bishops
33 Comments

D. Pittsburgh: Extraordinary Form Parish

Posted on 22 October 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I firmly believe that when the older form of Holy Mass is celebrated in more places, we will have a sounder basis for the “New Evangelization” called for by our Popes. Thus, celebrations of the Extraordinary Form must not be concentration (segregated, isolated, contained) in one place in a city or diocese.

Also, for all the good work traditional groups such as the FSSP do, the real renewal will begin when diocesan priests learn the Extraordinary Form. There are a lot of challenges to overcome on that score, but that’s what we need.

That said, there is good news in Pittsburgh. Bp. David Zubick establish a personal parish for the Extraordinary Form in Pittsburgh. HERE

Brick by brick.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Brick by Brick, New Evangelization, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM | Tagged Bp. Zubick, D. Pittsburgh, New Evangelization
24 Comments

Pope Francis, Pope

Posted on 21 October 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have been, frankly, both exhausted and a bit disgusted after the last Synod and I have been trying to have a little RnR. That doesn’t make for a lot of posting of edgy stuff.

So, here’s a little meat to chew on.

That closing address Pope Francis made to the Synod… interesting, no? Forget about the part wherein he does a little, what can you call it, name-calling? About “intellectuals” and “do-gooders”? No. What caught my eye is that middle section.

For the last year and a half, His Holiness has been downplaying his image as “Pope”. He signs his name “Francis” without the other rigamarole which indicated the year of his pontificate. He is simply been “Francis… Bishop of Rome” rather than than “Supreme Pontiff”.

But in the middle part of the closing address for the Extraordinary Synod, it was all Pope all the time.

And, as I have dared to tell you , [as] I told you from the beginning of the Synod, it was necessary to live through all this with tranquillity, and with interior peace, so that the Synod would take place cum Petro and sub Petro (with Peter and under Peter), and the presence of the Pope is the guarantee of it all.

We will speak a little bit about the Pope, now, in relation to the Bishops [laughing]. So, the duty of the Pope is that of guaranteeing the unity of the Church; it is that of reminding the faithful of their duty to faithfully follow the Gospel of Christ; it is that of reminding the pastors that their first duty is to nourish the flock – to nourish the flock – that the Lord has entrusted to them, and to seek to welcome – with fatherly care and mercy, and without false fears – the lost sheep. I made a mistake here. I said welcome: [rather] to go out and find them.

So, Francis is more Pope now than before.

I think that, in the wake of the Synod, we may see some exercises of papal power.

How shall they manifest? I’d like to see Pope Francis summarily reconciled the SSPX. How about a Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form? How about … use of the fanon and ferula? He would wear the items that the Roman Pontiff normally wears in the exercise of his duties. And these things would now enhance, rather than detract from, his pastoral duties.

Finally, I think that His Holiness is starting to feel – in an intense new way – what it really means to be the Vicar of Christ, the Successor of Peter. His role is, in a special, way to affirm the brethren and the uphold the regula fidei … No. Matter. What.

Posted in Francis, Our Catholic Identity, SESSIUNCULA, The Drill | Tagged Pope Francis
52 Comments

Sistine Chapel “rented” out to Porsche?

Posted on 21 October 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Someone allowed the the Sistine Chapel to be “rented” for a corporate event. HERE Someone else in the Holy Sees denies that it was “rented”. However, a big German corporation gave money to the Holy See and, after that, the corporation used the chapel for an event.

His Holiness has taken an interest in cars for a while now. HERE

Porsche rents Sistine Chapel for Pope’s charity

For its fans, getting into a Porsche can be like a religious experience, but it’s probably no substitute for getting into the Sistine Chapel.
For the first time ever, the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican — one of the world’s most celebrated example of Renaissance art — can be rented out for corporate charity events.

Forty Porsche enthusiasts, at $5,900 per head, on Saturday were the first group of people treated to a private tour under the Vatican’s new program. The event is part of Pope Francis’ Art for Charity project.
Porsche’s tour is a far cry from what the average visitor gets. Most of the Sistine Chapel’s 20,000 daily visitors get a quick glance at the chapel before they’re rushed out in an attempt to protect its fragile frescoes. The Porsche clients enjoyed a private concert while admiring the famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo.
The event was part of an exclusive four-day tour of Rome arranged by Porsche, which is owned by Volkswagen (VLKAF). Besides the concert, it also included after-hours access to the Vatican Museums and a gala dinner “in the midst of the exhibition,” a trip to the Pope’s summer retreat of Castel Gandolfo and a drive to Lago di Garda in the latest Porsche models.
It was the first time any Pope agreed to rent the chapel out for a corporate event.
The Vatican rejects that description.
“The Sistine Chapel can never be rented because it is not a commercial place,” Vatican spokesman Monsignor Paolo Nicolini told reporters.
Instead, the Holy See described the Sistine Chapel as “visible” for private groups. [Like German corporations who used it for a commercial event. Right? It wan’t a religious event. It was for clients of Porsche.]

The Vatican hopes other companies will follow suit with similar events. [Think of the potential!]
“This initiative is organized directly by the Vatican Museums and is directed at big companies,” Nicolini said.
But companies hoping to hold their next Christmas party there will be disappointed — the Vatican intends the chapel to be used for art events only. [Not like Masses, or anything like that.]

The Blessed Sacrament is not reserved in the Sistina.

I wonder if, during the event, there was one of those big turn tables with a car on it an a pretty girl waving her hands over it.

The potential of this is great! Do you think they could perhaps have temporary naming rights for “donations”? The Tostitos Sistine Chapel during May, for Cinco de Mayo! The Chase Manhattan St. Peter’s Basilica. The colonnade of square has a lot of ad space. Vestments could have Nike flashes and motor oil logos.

Think of the possibilities!

Posted in Lighter fare | Tagged Porsche, Sistine Chapel
64 Comments