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{]:¬)

QUAERITUR: Mind goes blank during confession

Posted on 17 October 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

I went to Confession the other day, and my biggest fear came true- my mind went completely blank.

What happened was the guy ahead of me informed the priest (he’s a visiting priest) that we could hear everything he was saying outside the confessional. When I went in and started the “Bless me Father”, the priest loudly tapped on the plexi-glass glass screen (it sounded more like banging because it was loose) and told me I needed to whisper right into the screen (I wasn’t talking loudly). It completely scared me, as I wasn’t expecting that. My mind went completely blank and I couldn’t even remember the rest of the, “Bless me Father”. I knelt there racking my brain (and desperately trying not to curse) while the priest just sat there in silence. No helping me along. About a minute or two later I got the “I accuse myself of the following sins”, but as for confessing my sins, I could only remember a few after racking my brain for a while.

This was a most unpleasant Confession experience, and something I was always afraid would happen. What should I do if it ever happens again?

First, isn’t it wonderful that the priest was hearing confessions?

Everyone is going to be a different in this regard. However, perhaps using a specific method of examining your conscience could help. For example, get used to using the Ten Commandments. If you go blank, just start at the top. Also, if you are making a regular examination of conscience, you will be used to doing this.

Always keep your voice low in the confessional.

In the meantime, if you forget things, keep in mind that when you have done your best, all your sins are forgiven. Just do your best. That’s all God asks of us. Be humble and sorry and resolve to be better and avoid sins in the future.

When you remember in the future, go ahead and confess your sins, perhaps mentioning that they were things you forgot the last time.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged confession, reconciliation, sacrament of penance
38 Comments

A reader’s experience of the Extraordinary Form

Posted on 17 October 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of attending my second
Extraordinary Form mass. It was held in honor of the close of our parish’s Forty Hours devotion.

Unlike the first mass where I felt overwhelmed and a little lost, this time I was able to follow along with the handout much more easily. More importantly I allowed myself to be immersed in the chants and the realization that all the prayers and every action were directed to God for our sake by the priest. The beauty and richness of the liturgy were quite unlike anything I’d really every seen before.

After leaving the Church I couldn’t help but think I would like to go to this form of the Mass more often and for the first time I really understood why many people have this attachment to the older form.

Posted in Brick by Brick, Our Catholic Identity, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM | Tagged Extraordinary Form
19 Comments

“the risk of a despotism freed from every fetter”

Posted on 17 October 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The other day I stood at the place where King Henry VIII was born. I recall the exhibit at the British Library a couple years back for the centenary of the coronation of that King. On the way into the exhibit a blurb on the wall described him as a “monster”. Among the items in the exhibit were Cromwell’s list of things-to-do (More’s and Fisher’s names were checked off) and St. Thomas More’s final letter to the King about to have him beheaded. St. Thomas wrote:

‘I shold onys mete with your Grace agayn in hevyn, and there be mery with you.’

At American Catholic I spotted this quote from Winston Churchill:

Here are the words of Sir Winston Churchill on More:

“The resistance of More and Fisher to the royal supremacy in Church government was a heroic stand. They realised the defects of the existing Catholic system, but they hated and feared the aggressive nationalism which was destroying the unity of Christendom. They saw that the break with Rome carried with it the risk of a despotism freed from every fetter. More stood forth as the defender of all that was finest in the medieval outlook. He represents to history its universality, its belief in spiritual values, and its instinctive sense of otherworldliness. Henry VIII with cruel axe decapitated not only a wise and gifted counselor, but a system which, though it had failed to live up to its ideals in practice, had for long furnished mankind with its brightest dreams.”

A nice little montage was posted over there, by the way, made of clips from The Tudors, a dreadful show in some few but important respects, but in the balance pretty fair to the Church. I am guessing that since it was made in Ireland, the makers hated the Henry and the English more than the Church, so they treated the Church pretty well. The depiction of Sts. Thomas and John Fisher were very good.

I am digressing. Montage…

[wp_youtube]HZz_uRaG4qY[/wp_youtube]

Posted in New Evangelization, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, Saints: Stories & Symbols, TEOTWAWKI, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged British Library, Greenwich, Henry VIII, St. John Fisher, St. Thomas More, Winston Churchill
22 Comments

QUAERITUR: Didn’t finish penance from confession before Communion.

Posted on 17 October 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Yesterday before mass I went to confession and by the time I was in the confessional, the bells of the consecration were ringing. My pennance was 12 Our Fathers and 12 Hail Mary’s. (I had confessed some mortal sins, and therefore HAD to confess before I could recieve the Eucharist) I went to a side chapel to try to pray my pennance quickly before recieving communion. Well, I just could not pray while hearing what was going on in the main part of the Church. At one point they were actually saying the Our Father while I was, but at a different
point, and I was just lost. So I gave up, and resolved to do my
pennance after mass. I recieved communion. Was this correct?

Yes, you were okay. Please review this post in which I describe that the validity of the absolution is not dependent on doing the penance assigned by the confessor.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged confession, Holy Communion, penance
4 Comments

Chiesa: Vatican II, continuity and/or rupture

Posted on 17 October 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am scanning some things on the web from my phone, which makes this clunky, but do check out the latest on Chiesa. A provocative paragraph:

A third development of the discussion regards a thesis of Vatican II that is particularly contested by the traditionalists: that of religious freedom.

In effect, there is an unquestionable rupture between the statements in this regard from Vatican II and the previous condemnations of liberalism made by the popes of the nineteenth century.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on religious liberty these days, so this is quite interesting to me. Religious liberty is also going to be an issue for discussion during the US presidential election cycle, too.

It seems to me that the present administration is undermining freedom of religion, not just of public expression.

In any event, the piece on Chiesa has a good round up of what is being discussed and written about the Council, how it us being reconsidered. Rather exciting.

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged Obama Administration, religious liberty, SSPX, Vatican II
20 Comments

QUAERITUR: Ringing bells during Mass

Posted on 17 October 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I will leave this to the readers to help with.

I’m training the altar servers at my parish, and we want to add ringing the sanctus bells at the epiclesis. In the 3rd edition of the roman missal, when should the bells be rung at the epiclesis? Is there an exact moment that is preferable? I haven’t been able to find any detailed help online.

Help this fellow!

What do you do at your parishes? Have any quotes from manuals?

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

England: 27-28 Oct meeting of Confraternity of Catholic Clergy

Posted on 17 October 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have written before about the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy which has formed in England. Here is a note about their progress. I picked this up from His Hermeueticalness’s blog:

The British Province of St Gregory the Great of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy is holding a colloquium for priests from 27-28 October at the Oratory School in Reading. This will be a chance to hear and to meet Bishop Mark Davies. Another distinguished speaker will be Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett of Lismore Australia, a former chairman of the Australian CCC, who will be speaking on Liturgy and Evangelisation. As if that were not enough, Mgr Andrew Wadsworth, the Executive Director of ICEL will also be speaking on “The Priest, the Parish and the New Translation.”

This Colloquium is set to be of historic importance for the Church in Britain so if any of you brother priests is free, even to attend part of the event, it would be worthwhile. Bookings can still be taken up until Sunday evening. Any priests who would like to attend should email Fr Richard Whinder, ring 020 8876 1326 or write to St Mary Magdalen’s Presbytery, 61 North Worple Way, Mortlake, London SW14 8PR.

Posted in Mail from priests, The Campus Telephone Pole |
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Sunday wrap up

Posted on 16 October 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I had a very pleasant Sunday.

First, a quiz. Who can say what that object is. Yes, we know that the statue is St. Philomena.

After the Sunday Masses, I went with His Hermeneuticalness to Chislehurst to meet our friend Fr. Brigg’s the parish priest. In the cemetery of his parish is the grace of the late and great Michael Davies, of happy memory.

We went to a nearby golf course for lunch, a fine carvery. The house belonged to Napoleon III.

One side of the table!

There is a copy of Napoleon’s death certificate on display.

Fr. Briggs before the nice facade. There are perks to being the parish priest.

A nice day.

Posted in On the road |
41 Comments

“what a tomorrow for the future is any term that can be comprehended in cipher or counters?”

Posted on 16 October 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

As I wind down a day, I am listening to a reading of Patrick O’Brian’s Clarissa Oakes, known in the USA as The Truelove.

Martin, an Anglican minister but sailing in HMS Surprise as surgeon’s assistant, not being a great preacher, is reading a sermon on a Sunday when the ship is rigged for church. Stephen, a papist, who has said the Rosary elsewhere, overhears him:

[…] he heard Martin’s voice: ‘Let no man say, I could not miss a fortune, for I have studied all my youth. How many men have studied more nights than he hath done hours, and studied themselves blind and mad in the mathematics, and yet wither in beggary in a corner? Let him never add, But I studied in a useful and gainful profession. How many have done so too, and yet never compassed the favour of a judge? And how many that have had all that, have struck upon a rock, even at full sea, and perished there?’ And then some time later: ‘What a dim vespers of a glorious festival, what a poor half-holiday, is Methusalem’s nine hundred years to eternity! What a poor account hath that man that says, This land hath been in my name, and in my ancestors’ from the conquest! What a yesterday is that? Not six hundred years. If I could believe the transmigration of souls and think that my soul had been successively in some creature or other since the Creation, what a yesterday is that? Not six thousand years. What a yesterday for the past, what a tomorrow for the future is any term that can be comprehended in cipher or counters?’

Posted in O'Brian Tags |
5 Comments

QUAERITUR: Priests obliged to say the daily Office but not daily Mass.

Posted on 16 October 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

It is my understanding that those ordained to the priesthood are bound by canon law to pray the main hours of the Divine Office daily. I think by main hours, it is Matins, Lauds, Sext?, Vespers & Compline. However, how come there is no such stipulation for the celebration of Mass? Is there a reasonable answer for this???

I suspect the reasons for this are practical. At one point there was a strict rule against saying Mass alone. While it is ideal to have another person present this is not longer a hard and fast rule. Today, priests can say Mass without any human presence for a good reason, and a good reason can be simply that he wants to say Mass. Also, ideally priests should not say Mass in the state of mortal sin. It is not always easy or possible for a priest in some areas to find a confessor. In old manuals of moral theology authors suggested that a priest can say Mass but should seek a confessor within three days. This is a great deal easier in the age of automobiles, of course.

Moreover, I believe the old Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church obliged priests to say Mass a minimum of several times a year, not daily. Furthermore, in the new Code, as in the old, pastors with the care of souls in a parish were obliged either personally or by a proxy to make sure that on all Sundays and days of precept Mass was offered “pro populo”, for the intention of the people under his charge. There is also the case of the priest taking on the obligation of saying 30 Masses for a single intention for a deceased person on 30 consecutive days. He must say these Masses on these days without interruption.

Of course if a priest does not say Mass on a Sunday or day of precept, he is nevertheless obliged like every other Catholic under the obligation to hear Mass in order to fulfill the obligation.

The Office, on the other hand, is something that does not require the presence of another or that the priest be in the state of grace.

There is a strong moral obligation based on the priest’s state in life to say Mass daily, for the benefit of the living and the dead. However, there was and is no juridical obligation.