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{]:¬)

Signatures of Saints

Posted on 27 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am in Chicago… well… north of Chicago.

Yesterday, I visited for the first time the campus of Mundelein Seminary, the University of St. Mary of (by?) the Lake. As part of the visit I was able to see some of their treasures in their library vault. Card. Mundelein was, as many people were back in the day, a great collector of signatures of famous people. The collection is in the library of the seminary. Among the treasures are handwritten letters of many saints and secular figures. Here are a few of the saintly signatures I saw.

First, St. Teresa of Avila:

And because there are lots of trade reading the blog, and fans of Dominicans, St. Pope Pius V. Enjoy and imagine what that “nel suo pristino stato” might refer to.

And here is the great St. Robert Bellarmine.

There was also a letter from St. Julianna Falconieri to her sister, to which she actually affixed one of her teeth. Yes… teeth. I didn’t get to read the letter, so I don’t know the back story on that. I don’t think she thought that her sister was the… you know….

Posted in Just Too Cool, On the road, Saints: Stories & Symbols, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged St. Pius V, St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Teresa of Avila
8 Comments

Lutherans call for Latin Liturgy as an aid to identity and unity

Posted on 26 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I saw a post at a Lutheran blog calling for – wait for it – more Latin in their liturgy.

As a convert to Holy Mother Church from Lutheranism, I found this pretty interesting. I am aware that there exists a Lutheran liturgical service of some sort which is more like Mass and which involves Latin. If memory serves it was used at least once a year at the large Luther Northwestern Seminary in my native place in Minnesota. That said: when we think of Lutheran services, Latin doesn’t leap to mind.

Here are a couple excerpts from the post at the blog The Jagged Word. As a former Lutheran, I could add more of my usual red intertextual comments than I often do, but I shall restrain myself. Read the whole thing THERE.

It’s been roughly 500 years since Martin Luther introduced the language of the people to the Mass – the Divine Liturgy of the Church. 500 years since the historic language of the Western Church was purged from the worship of God’s people. As a student of history, I understand why Luther thought this was necessary. Indeed, there is goodness in hearing and understanding the Liturgy in one’s native tongue. But Luther’s experiment with language should end. It’s time to restore Latin to the Mass of the Western Church. [The true Mass of the Western Church is the Mass of the Catholic Church…. but let’s go on…] It’s time to reintroduce the language of the Church to her people. [Bruthuhs n Sistuhs do I hear an “Amen!”?]

For those bristling at such a suggestion, I offer the following observations:

1) The Lutheran Reformers did not seek to abolish the Mass. Our confessions, contained in the Book of Concord, make this abundantly clear. These are the same confessions that every ordained Lutheran pastor swear to uphold and affirm. In other words, the Lutheran Church is a Liturgical Church and our worship is properly called the Mass. [Mass is a Sacrifice… but let that pass.]

[…]

3) While the Lutheran Church affirms sola scriptura, it does not reject Tradition or the importance of ritual. Catholicity is not adiaphara (optional/indifferent), [Nice phrase, though I would write adiaphora.] especially with respect to worship. And nothing affirms our catholicity like the Mass. It is, I believe, THE defining characteristic of what Lutherans confess. [That’s not quite what I remember hearing… but let’s move on.]

But why ditch the vernacular in our worship and relearn – reintroduce – and re-embrace Latin in the Mass? What possible benefits can come from such a change? I’m glad you’re curious… [Amen!]

[As an exercise, swap in the word “Catholic” here and there.] 1) Despite that the fact that the Lutheran Confessions affirm the Mass, many Lutheran [Catholic] churches today reject it altogether and embrace a worship style that is more akin to what one would find in a non-denominational church. Lex orandi, lex credendi [!]

CLICK ME!

(the law of prayer is the law of belief) is absolutely true and those who reject the Mass or think they should arrogantly rewrite it based on what they think their congregation wants/needs, [Tell it!] I believe, reject the very substance of Lutheranism. [Catholicism.] Can you imagine a contemporary Latin Mass? Neither can I. They are mutually exclusive, which is why the use of Latin in our Mass will help restore our catholicity in matters of worship, and affirm what our Confessions already do.

2) Our clergy and our people are very educated on matters of faith these days, much more than those prior to the Reformation. The Holy Scriptures, the Book of Concord, the writings of the church fathers, etc., are almost all in our native tongue. But with the expulsion of Latin, there is no longer a common language of the Church catholic. I know, very few clergy and even less laymen know Latin. But what a powerful educational tool the Church could be if it took it upon herself to educate her people in this language. As we relearn this language, some of our hymns, the assigned readings, and the sermon, could remain in the vernacular, along with a translation of the Latin in the hymnal or worship folder. But once again Christians could have a language that unites every congregation around the world – regardless of time or location.

3) Finally, re-embracing Latin in our Mass will further solidify the Lutheran Church as a communion that embraces the catholicity of the Christian faith. This embrace, I believe, will allow us to refocus our efforts on ending our schism with Rome. [Do I hear an “Amen!”?] Sadly, most Lutherans have no desire for reconciliation with those in fellowship with the Bishop of Rome. However, this runs contrary to the intent of the Reformation and to the spirit of the Augsburg Confession. But how can our communions be reunited if our worship is so radically different? Let’s embrace the language from whence we came and in it, find a new platform for dialogue and reconciliation.

It’s time. For the sake of the church and our faith – restore Latin to the Mass.

And this from a Lutheran blog.

Fr. Z kudos.

I would also like to remind everyone that Benedict XVI, who promoted Latin liturgical worship in our Holy Catholic Church, is the Pope of Christian Unity.

Posted in Brick by Brick, Fr. Z KUDOS, Just Too Cool, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Pope of Christian Unity | Tagged Latin, Lutheran
28 Comments

SCOTUS DECISIONS: strikes down “buffer zones” at abortion clinics

Posted on 26 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I just heard that the Supreme Court of the United States, in a unanimous decision, struck down “buffer zones” around the clinical profit centers of big-business abortion.

I also heard that SCOTUS found that Pres. Obama’s so-called recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were not lawful.

Apparently POTUS can’t just do anything it pleaseth him to do.

Now we will wait to see what actually happens.

Posted in Just Too Cool | Tagged big business abortion, POTUS, Pres. Obama, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
16 Comments

Card. Collins: “receiving communion is not obligatory at Mass”

Posted on 26 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The Archbishop of Toronto, His Eminence Thomas Card. Collins has said something that I have been hammering at for years. HERE

It is NOT obligatory to receive Communion at Mass.

Also, people who may not receive Communion are STILL OBLIGED to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of precept.

The Cardinal said:

Many people who are divorced, and who are not free to marry, do enter into a second marriage. There are various reasons that can lead to this, and their fellow parishioners should not occupy themselves speculating about them. [But they will. This is the nature of scandal, I’m afraid.] Catholics in that tragic situation [His Eminence doesn’t candy coat it.] can be involved in many ways in the life of the community, but they may not receive the sacraments, such as Holy Communion, since whatever their personal disposition is or the reasons for their situation, known perhaps only to God, they are continuing in a way of life which is objectively against the clear command of Jesus. [Objectively… that is manifestly… openly… in way that is known.] That is the point. The point is not that they have committed a sin; [Well… it kind of is… no?] the mercy of God is abundantly granted to all sinners. [When they repent and amend.] Murder, adultery, and any other sins, no matter how serious, are forgiven by Jesus, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the forgiven sinner receives communion. The issue in the matter of divorce and remarriage is one’s conscious decision (for whatever reason) to persist in a continuing situation of disconnection from the command of Jesus. Although it would not be right for them to receive the sacraments, we need to find better ways to reach out to people in this situation, to offer them loving assistance.

[NB] One thing that would help would be if all of us realized that receiving communion is not obligatory at Mass. [YES YES YES! Do I hear an “Amen!”?] There are many reasons why a Christian might choose not to receive communion. If there were less pressure for everyone to receive communion, it would be some help to those who are not in a position to do so. [THEREFORE… let us restore a longer Eucharistic fast (at least 3 hours) and let us phase out row by row Communion.]

Often, people in this situation decide no longer to continue as members of the Catholic community, as they are not able to receive sacramental communion at Mass, even though they can experience a kind of spiritual communion through prayerful adoration, although abstaining for good reason from receiving communion; [A good option, though it remains unclear how one who has not confessed her sins and received absolution can receive more than certain prevenient actual graces. But hey! That’s a lot!] that, for a Catholic can be a truly penitential act. It is a great tragedy if they leave the Church. It is likely that they, and their children, and their descendants, will become disconnected from the source of life in Christ that is found in the Church. We need to think of what we can do to reach out to people in this situation, in a loving and effective way. But as we do so, we also need to be attentive to the command of Christ, and the necessity of not undermining the sanctity of marriage, with even more dire consequences for all, especially in a world in which the stability of marriage is already tragically compromised. If we proclaim in actions, even though not in words, that the marriage covenant is not really what Jesus says it is, then that offers short term comfort at the cost of long term suffering. As the sanctity of the marriage covenant is progressively weakened, it will ultimately be the children who will suffer most. [Well said.]

So although fidelity to the teaching of Christ on the indissolubility of marriage is not open to change, [Not. Open. To. Change.] there may be things that we can change to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in this difficult and painful situation. Real assistance can be given through improvements in the way the Church examines the validity of marriages, and through efforts to give spiritual support to Catholics who are divorced and remarried, encouraging them to be engaged in their parish as much as they can, and offering them ways of prayer appropriate to their situation. We need to consider what the Church community can do to assist the couple with their children, often living in combined family situations. But over-riding the explicit teaching of Jesus on the unbreakable nature of marriage is not an option. Nobody has the authority to do that.

[…]

Read the rest there.

Fr. Z kudos to Card. Collins.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Fr. Z KUDOS, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, New Evangelization, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged annulments, Card. Collins, Communion, divorce and remarriage
31 Comments

Seeking Jesus outside Church? Pope Francis says: “Dangerous and harmful”

Posted on 26 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

His Holiness Pope Francis said during his last Wednesday audience before the summer break that those who believe that they can have a relationship with Jesus outside the Church are on a harmful and dangerous path.

From AsiaNews, which has more text than most of the other reportage out there. My emphases. My comments.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – “We are not isolated and we are not Christians individually, each on his or her own”. Instead, we are all part of the Church, “a large family, where one is welcomed,” where “one learns to live as believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus,” Pope Francis said. [That sounds nice and fluffy, right.]

Speaking in the last general audience before the July break, the Holy Father devoted his catechesis to the Church before a crowd of 35,000 in St Peter’s Square. Despite a few drops of rain, he walked extensively among the assembled faithful.

In his address, he warned against those who “think they can have a personal, direct, immediate relationship with Jesus Christ outside of the communion and the mediation of the Church.” [QUAERITUR: How is one in communion with the Church and how does one receive the mediation of the Church?]

In the Church, he noted, there is no “do it yourself”, no “free agents.” [“But Holy Father! But Holy Father!,” some are shouting, “I’m spiritual but not religious!”] For him, “Our Christian identity is belonging! We are Christians because we belong to the Church. [How? Is this the Catholic Church we are talking about? I assume so, since this is the Pope of Rome talking.] It is like a surname. If the name is ‘I am a Christian’, the surname is ‘I belong to the Church’.” Such sense of belonging was born from the alliance between God and Abraham, to whom he donated a great people for his loyalty.

“God’s relationship to his people comes before all of us, it comes from that time,” and thus, “in this sense, our thoughts go first, with gratitude, to those who have gone before us and who welcomed us into the Church. No one becomes a Christian by himself! Is this clear? Nobody becomes a Christian by himself. Christians are not made in a lab. [Folksy, but incomprehensible.] Christians are part of a people that has come a long way. Christians belong to a people called the Church and the Church makes us Christians on the day of our Baptism. Of course, then comes the catechesis and so many [other] things. But no one, no one becomes a Christian by himself. ” [Tell that to christians who are less doctrinally formed, who have little to no catechism with which to catechize.]

[…]

“There is no ‘do it yourself’ in the Church, no ‘free agents’. How many times did Pope Benedict describe the Church as an ecclesial ‘us’! [Francis Reading Himself Through Benedict.] Sometimes one can hear people say, ‘I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, but I do not care for the Church . . . ‘How many times have we heard that? And that is no good. ” [Not good at all.]

Some “think they can have a personal, direct, immediate relationship with Jesus Christ outside of the communion and the mediation of the Church. Such temptations are dangerous and harmful. They are, in the words of the great Pope Paul VI, absurd dichotomies.” [And I don’t think that Benedict or Paul were talking about some vague church out there.]

[…]

Read the rest there.

Remember, Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity. Pope Francis, with talk like this, is following in his footsteps.

Posted in Benedict XVI, Francis, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged Christian Unity, ecumenism, Pope of Christian Unity
27 Comments

Deep pockets undermine Catholic teaching through bribes

Posted on 25 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

What a cheery day.

I direct the attention of the readership to this piece from the aptly-named Crisis:

Marginalizing Catholic Teaching One Grant at a Time

George Soros’ Open Society Institute is most often blamed for attempting to neutralize the abortion issue for Catholics by donating large amounts of money to progressive organizations like Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good to promote pro-choice politicians. Yet the recent attack on San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Codileone by Faithful America demonstrates that the real assault on the teaching authority of the Catholic Church is now coming from two gay billionaires—Tim Gill and Jon Stryker—who are doing everything they can to discredit Church teaching on sexual morality by directly attacking the Magisterium.

Unlike Soros, whose attack on the teachings of the Church was indirect and somewhat secretive, Stryker’s Arcus Foundation and the Gill Foundation have made their aims explicit in their grant making materials and on their IRS 990 reporting forms. In their 2012 filing to the IRS, the Arcus Foundation described itself as a private grantmaking foundation that supports nonprofit organizations around the world working in two areas: lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights; and conservation of the world’s great apes.

In the former area, Arcus provides money to those organizations—including Catholic colleges as well as progressive faith-based organizations—who are working toward “full inclusion” of gays and lesbians, including access to same sex marriage. For example, hundreds of thousands of dollars has been awarded to Women’s Alliance for Theology Ethics for seeking to achieve social justice through the Arcus LGBT Rights Program. The goal of the $70,000 grant to Women’s Alliance for Theology Ethics in 2010 was identified by Arcus as intending to “create a cadre of Catholic, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and their allies that would assume a leadership role within the Catholic community.” Escalating their attack in 2011, in their IRS 990 form, filed on December 31, 2012, Arcus disclosed that the $180,000 awarded to the Women’s Alliance for Theology and Ethics that year was to be used to: “Identify, network, train and amplify the voices of lesbian feminist Catholics and in so doing, create a counter-voice to the Catholic hierarchy that respects, values and affirms people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.”

Arcus Buys a “Counter Voice” to the Catholic Hierarchy
The Arcus strategy is to help progressive Catholic organizations to convince Catholics of the goodness and morality of gay and lesbian behavior by providing large sums of money to them. For example, Fairfield University was a perfect choice for funding from Arcus since it houses theology professors like Paul Lakeland, an embittered ex-priest, and current head of Fairfield’s Catholic Studies Department. Lakeland, whose books Liberation of the Laity, and Catholicism at the Crossroads, demand dramatic changes in the Church—including the abolition of the College of Cardinals, and changes in Church teachings on reproductive rights, women’s ordination, and the inclusion of gay and married priests—received a $100,000 grant from the Arcus Foundation in 2010 “to hold and disseminate information from a series of forums at four academic institutions in order to expand the current discussion on homosexuality within Roman Catholicism to include the diverse opinions of progressive Catholic thought leaders and theologians.”

[…]

Read the rest there.

The Olympian Middle will surely say that this is all an exaggeration.

St. Michael the Archangel…

Posted in The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, The Olympian Middle | Tagged Arcus, George Soros, Gill Foundation, homosexualists
39 Comments

Catholic Identity and You

Posted on 25 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I turn to my email and find a link to a piece by the Vaticanista Marco Tosatti who writes for La Stampa. He drills into the travails of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. HERE (My translation)

In sum, in the absence of serious and grave reasons [behind the treatment of the FFIs] I have to think that we are dealing with an internal war, waged in the Pope’s name, with the cruelty characteristic of closed environments and of all that touches on the liturgy. In the guise of mercy. But beyond the exemplary case of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, there has been a proliferation of individual cases, small things and less small, which make someone who is experienced with the ecclesiastical world, think that there has been set in motion an undeclared process [NB: “processo” has also an overtone of “trial” or “proceeding” – images such as kangaroo court and star chamber popped into my mind as I hit that phrase. And then there is a classic phrase “undeclared war”.], but, even so, not any less effective. One might think that the Pope doesn’t love all that has to do with traditionalism, and in particular with liturgy; and that, even if he officially defends the decisions of John Paul II and of Benedict XVI in this vein, certainly choices of openness toward that world [of traditionalism], deep down he has different sensibilities.

We all know about persecution of strong-identity Catholics from outside the Church. We are also used to internal persecution.

But never fear! There has been a statement from the Holy See Press Office about both the FFIs and the Legionaries of Christ! HERE

FFIs and the Legionaries? Addressed together? On the one hand, men and women who, with the founder, were trying to live Franciscan ideals. More and more, over time, they turned to the traditional form of the Roman Rite to sustain their spiritual and apostolic lives. They had an internal dispute that was fairly small but it was blown up into a huge deal. Now they are being pretty much hammered by the Holy See. On the other hand, you have a group that was massively dysfunctional because of the machinations of their founder, a lying incestuous deviant monster. Disbanded? Nahhh.

I guess that desiring what St. John Paul II called “legitimate aspirations” is pretty awful and must be stamped out before it gets, you know, out of hand.

I repeat. Do not stop. Do not flag. Do not relent. Keep working for your goals and legitimate aspirations. Push forward.

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, The Olympian Middle, The Religion of Peace | Tagged Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, Marco Tosatti, University of St. Thomas
20 Comments

Just for fun.

Posted on 25 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I want one of these!

(Sorry about the awful music. Watch anyway, to the end.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn_5dMHsCPE&feature=player_embedded

Keep a couple of those in a Faraday cage, against the day.

Posted in Just Too Cool, Semper Paratus | Tagged bike, Faraday cage
9 Comments

Your Good News

Posted on 25 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Do you have some good news to share with the readers?

Let us know what it is.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
28 Comments

Ass. of US Catholic Priests met in St. Louis. Average age….

Posted on 24 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Tom Fox of the National Schismatic Reporter (aka The Fishwrap) posted about a group of priests who just met in St. Louis.

A friend sent an email with the link and the comment:

I believe that this defines the words “irrelevant”, “inconsequential” and “game over”.

In the meantime, young priests are learning the older, traditional Mass.

You decide:

‘Vatican II’ priests meet, express new hope [Fishwrap harps about how “polarizing” people is so horrible, and yet they themselves are the only ones they permit to engage in it.]

SAINT LOUIS — Some 225 priests have gathered in St. Louis for a three-day conference here, aimed at carrying church renewal forward. [Forward unto becoming, what, congregationalists?]
The theme of the assembly is “Revelation in our Lives and Time,” drawn from the Vatican II document Dei Verbum, the primary Vatican II document on Sacred Scripture.

The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests [Abbrev. as Ass of USCP] was formed following an Aug. 25, 2011 meeting of 27 self-described “Vatican II priests” at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois. The organization’s inaugural assembly in June 2012 drew some 240 delegates from 55 dioceses to St. Leo University, northeast of Tampa, Fla.

About 150 priests attended the second conference in last year at Seattle University.

The mood among these priests, whose average age is 69, [!] seems generally upbeat in the wake of the election of Pope Francis last year. A life size Francis cutout is a major draw with the priests snapping photos between assemblies.

[…]