Prayers against a Black Mass

Posted on 3 August 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

As you may have heard, some nitwits have scheduled use of a public venue in Oklahoma City for the purpose of a Satanic Black Mass.  It is unclear if they have a consecrated Host.

This is, I think, mostly a sophomoric stunt.  It is, nevertheless, a horrible blasphemy.

The Bishop of Tulsa, His Excellency Most Rev. Edward Slattery, has issued a letter to people in his diocese.  HERE

A letter from Bishop Slattery

Countering with Prayer the proposed Black Mass in Oklahoma City

My Dear People:

As has been widely reported, a Satanic Black Mass has been scheduled for September 21 in Oklahoma City’s Civic Center. As a part of Satanic worship, a Black Mass attempts to invert the action and meaning of the Eucharist in order to mock Christ’s sacrifice and worship Satan through an orgiastic ritual of pain and perversion. It blasphemes everything which we hold as sacred and redemptive; and the spiritual dangers it poses ought not be dismissed. Since the Civic Center has not responded positively to the pleas of the Archbishop of Oklahoma City not to host this event in a tax-payer supported public venue, I am asking the faithful Catholics in the Diocese of Tulsa to fight this blasphemy through prayer and fasting:

  1. Please keep the nine days prior to the Feast of the Assumption as an extraordinary period of prayer and penance. I am asking every Catholic to abstain from all meat and meat products from August 6 through the 14th. I am also asking that you consecrate your hunger with a daily recitation of a decade of the rosary and the familiar Prayer to Saint Michael. Printed copies of these prayers are available in the bulletin and at the entrances of the church. Be strong and encourage your friends to also be strong.
  1. On Assumption Day, August 15th, we will ask Our Lady on her Feast, to intercede for us and protect us. On that day I in the Cathedral, and every priest in his own parish, will pray a special prayer written by Pope Leo XIII for the defense of the Church against the attack of the Enemy and his apostate angels.
  1. Should these prayers and this period of fasting not effect the cancellation of this event, then I will ask every priest in the Diocese to conduct a Eucharistic Holy Hour on September 21 at the same time (7:00 p.m.) as this profanity is being celebrated in Oklahoma City. Wherever possible, I ask that Eucharistic Processions – especially outdoor processions – be arranged as part of these holy hours. Let us give a public witness to our faith in the Eucharist which is being so profoundly mocked and ridiculed by this event.

From the snares of the devil, deliver us, O Lord!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Rev. Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa

To download and/or print this letter and the bulletin announcement in PDF format, click HERE.

To download and/or print the letter to the priests from Bishop Slattery which includes both the Novena prayers  and the “Leonine Prayers” from the 1962 Rite of Exorcism, click HERE.

I invite all bishops and priests who read this blog, in solidarity with the Bishop of Tulsa and Archbishop of Oklahoma, to pray for the conversion of these deluded souls and for the overturning of this scheduled event.

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WDTPRS 8th Sunday after Pentecost (1962MR): Being even more ourselves.

Posted on 3 August 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Ordinary Form 18th Ordinary Sunday HERE

Today’s Collect is from the ancient Veronese Sacramentary and the Gelasian and the so-called Gregorian. It survived the liturgical tailors with their scissors and thread to live on in the post-Conciliar Missale Romanum on Thursday of the 1st week of Lent. However, there is a minor adjustment in the Novus Ordo version which we can look at in a moment. Let’s drill into what our prayer really says.

COLLECT (1962MR)

Largire nobis, quaesumus, Domine, semper spiritum cogitandi quae recta sunt, propitius et agendi: ut, qui sine te esse non possumus, secundum te vivere valeamus.

In the Novus Ordo version propitius (“propitiously”) is replaced by promptius (“more readily/openly”). In the critical edition of the ancient Veronese Sacramentary, you find promptius. The reformers preferred the version that pre-dated the “Tridentine” editio princeps of 1570. What happened? Probably some ancient copyist made a mistake in reading an old manuscript’s ink squiggles in – mpt – and – pit -. Easy to do.

One meaning of secundum in the prestigious Lewis & Short Dictionary is “agreeably to, in accordance with, according to”. Remember that largire is an imperative of a deponent verb, not an infinitive. The famous verb cogito is more than simply “to think”. It reflects deeper reflection, true pursuit in the mind: “to consider thoroughly, to ponder, to weigh, reflect upon, think”.

LITERAL RENDERING:

We beg you, O Lord, bestow upon us propitiously the spirit of thinking always things which are correct, and of carrying them out, so that we who are not able to exist without You may be able to live according to Your will.

In my peregrinations though the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo (+430) I found a text which harks to at least part of the content of this prayer (In io. eu. tr. 51, 3):

“For Christ, who humbled Himself, made obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross, is the teacher of humility. When He teaches us humility He doesn’t thus let go of His divinity: for in it (His divinity) He is the equal of the Father, while in this (His humility) He is like unto us; and in that He is the Father’s equal He created us in order that we might exist; and in that He is like to us, He redeemed us so that we would not perish.”

In Acts 17:28, we read about our God, “in whom we live and move and have our being”, a concept perhaps influenced by the legendary Epimenides of Knossos (6th c?).

We are made to act as God acts: to know, will and love.

When we cleave to God, seeking what is good and true and beautiful through the tangle of our wounded intellect, we are really seeking God. Once we know what is good, true and beautiful, either because we reasoned to it or perhaps an authority helped us, then we must act in accordance with the good, truth and beauty we found.

Today we pray to God in our Collect to give us the actual graces we need in order to live properly according to His image within us. We are even more ourselves, even freer when, eschewing our own errant wills, we embrace the One who is Goodness, Truth and Beauty.

Yet there are times when we purposely (and thereafter habitually) choose against what reason and authority point to as the Good, True and Beautiful. We make the choice to stray and sin. In doing so we diminish ourselves. After all, we have our very existence from the One whom we choose to defy. We must return to the correct path, as Dante did in his Divine Comedy. His fictional self strayed into the dark woods after leaving the path of the right reason.

We could so often avoid sin if we would just act readily on those impulses of our minds and consciences toward what is good and true and beautiful. In a way, the phrase of the Nike commercial (níke means “victory” in ancient Greek) sums it up: Just Do It. And we have many helps in discerning the good, especially in the authoritative teachings of the Church. Over time we build up good habits of acting at the right time and measure, so that we have the habits that are virtues.

A problem rises when circumstances and our passions confuse us and we must ponder to discern the correct path. Most of the time we get ourselves into trouble by hesitating about doing what we know is right. We mull, dawdle, pick and get ourselves into a hornet nest of problems.

Strive, in accord with a conscience formed by the Church’s teachings and according to common sense, after the good, true and beautiful, which are ultimately reflects of God.

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ACTION ITEM! Must read piece about how wrong Rahner was.

Posted on 2 August 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

ACTION ITEM! Must read piece about how wrong Rahner was.Over at Rorate there is something, dear readers, that I want all of you to read and know like your catechism, for this is part of the battle we are all fighting right now… and for many years.

At Rorate there is an anonymous piece (how I wish they would use names) which is a fine, concise exposition of a key problem with the thought of the late Jesuit Father Karl Rahner.  The piece doesn’t really move the question anywhere or explain why Rahner is wrong.  It isn’t an argument, but it is one of the best summaries I have seen.

This stuff crops up everywhere!

As an aside, you may recall that, I think, Benedict XVI’s famous 2005 address to the Roman Curia was, in large part, a refutation of Rahner and Rahnerians everywhere.  This is the speech in which Benedict spoke of hermeneutics of discontinuity and rupture.

I think you, dear readers, should be familiar with this, so that when people use this line of thought your alarm bells will ring.  The writer did you a real service. Read it carefully.  Print it out if you need to.

Moreover, this piece sparked a thought for me. In most cases when we hear proposals about “inculturation”, aren’t we really hearing proposals about “accommodation” to the world and its ways?  I muse on this in light of the proposals made by Card. Kasper concerning Communion for the divorced and remarried and discussion of the same during the upcoming Synod.

Enough.  Go read.  They don’t have a combox, but I do.

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Nancy “the theologian” Pelosi: called out on the House floor!

Posted on 2 August 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I saw this at Gateway Pundit:

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) chased Republican Tom Marino across the House Chamber after his speech on the House floor.

This came after Marino accused Pelosi and Democrats of neglecting the immigration crisis when she was Speaker. At one point in the video Marino replies to Democrats who are yelling out during his speech – Marina tells them, “It is true, Madam Leader! I did the research on it… That’s one thing you don’t do!”

FOX News reported:

A heated debate late Friday over security at the southern U.S. border led to a rancorous confrontation on the House floor between House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa.

The dustup began when Marino accused Democrats of neglecting the immigration issue when they controlled the White House and Congress in 2009 and 2010, when Pelosi was House speaker, saying that the party is now exploiting the issue for political gains.

“Under the leadership of the former speaker … when in 2009 and 2010, they had the House, the Senate and the White House, and they knew this problem existed,” Marino said. “They didn’t have the strength to go after it back then. But now are trying to make a political issue out of it now.”

Soon after he made the remarks, Pelosi, in full view of House cameras, walked across the chamber to the GOP side of the aisle — a rarity in the House — to challenge Marino.

It was not clear what Pelosi said, but Marino responded immediately.

“It’s true, madam leader, I did the research on it,” Marino said. “You might want to try it. You might want to try it, madam leader. Do the research on it. Do the research. I did it. That’s one thing that you don’t do.”

This was priceless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBdbx1wuKvM&feature=player_embedded

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ASK FATHER: Priest hears confession of person with impediment to marry…

Posted on 2 August 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

ASK FATHER: Priest hears confession of person with impediment to marry...From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Around the lunch table a few days ago, myself and a few brother seminarians raised this question:

If a priest hears the confessions of a couple to be married the day before the marriage, and one of them has an impediment to marriage they confess, must the priest still carry out the wedding?

On one hand: the priest would be knowingly carrying out an invalid sacrament. That’s a no-no.

On the other hand: CIC 983.1 states “It is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner or for any reason”, the prime words in there being ” or in any other manner “. It would seem that calling off the wedding would betray in some way, shape, or form. He could call it off but not mention the reason (lying about the reason of course not being an option) but that would still arouse suspicion. Furthermore, I have found that on Nov 18, 1682, a decree from the Holy Office stated that “confessors are forbidden, even where there would be no revelation direct or indirect, to make any use of the knowledge obtained in confession that would displease the penitent, even though the non-use would occasion him greater displeasure.”

Calling off a wedding would cause the penitent displeasure.

This is all of course assuming the priest’s own instructions in the confessional to the penitent presumably saying to call off the wedding themself were ignored.

Can you shed any light?

If a priest hears a confession wherein one party revealed an impediment the day before the wedding, and he went ahead and officiated at that wedding, the priest would not be “knowingly carrying out an invalid sacrament”. The priest’s job at a wedding is not to “carry out” a sacrament, but rather to act as an official witness to the couple who will be administering the sacrament to each other.

In dealing with some impediments, the priest has the authority to dispense from them in danger of death situations, or in “omnia parata” situations, wherein everything is prepared for marriage and the impediment has just now come to light. In such a situation, the priest might legitimately dispense the impediment and proceed with the wedding.

If the impediment is not something from which the priest can dispense, he is in a precarious position.

He should do all he can in the confessional to urge the party who is confessing not to go through with the wedding if there is an impediment. If the impediment is one of divine law, he could inform the confessee that proceeding with the wedding as planned places his or her soul in the most grave danger. Even if it’s an impediment that could later be dispensed and sanated, it would be unwise to proceed. Yet, in the end, that is on the conscience of the confessee, not of the priest who will be witnessing the vows.

The priest is not able to act on what he learns under the Seal.

Should the parties still determine to go through with the wedding, he should show up, smile, witness the exchange of consent, and make the appropriate notations in the appropriate books. Even if there remains an invalidating impediment, known only to the priest confessor and the confessee, the marriage now enjoys the presumption of validity until proven otherwise.

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ST. LOUIS: 4 AUG – JUVENTUTEM SOCIAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Posted on 2 August 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I’d like to point out an event for young people in St. Louis sponsored by the group Juventutem:

Monday evening, August 4th: Juventutem Social in St. Louis

  • In conjunction with ICRSS ordinations
  • 8:00 p.m.
  • Hodak’s Restaurant & Bar
  • 2100 Gravois Ave, St. Louis 63104.
  • Young adults (18-35) from St. Louis and across the nation
  • Sympathetic local priests
  • Rest of the details on Facebook
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ASK FATHER: None of your….

Posted on 2 August 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

ASK FATHER: None of your....From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I was just wondering if there are any documents that specifically require the composition of liturgical candles to be made of beeswax.
Quite often I see paraffin candles being used for the sacred liturgy, whether traditional or contemporary and this just makes me feel a bit uneasy, since the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches and Orthodox only use 100% pure beesewax. What kinds of candles do you you use – and again, which documents support the practice?

Candles are interesting things.  They do more than simply shed light or, in this age of electricity, create an ambiance.  They, like we do, breathe in air.  They move.  They eat.  They die.  We use them as a sacrificial offering, for once they are used, they are gone for good.  They stand in our place when we have intentions to pray for.  We light them to avert storms.  They remind us that, in this dark fallen world, the light of Christ will be victorious.

At one point the Sacred Congregation for Rites said that there had to be at least 51% wax in candles.  You know, beeswax is pretty tough to keep standing up nice and straight in warm weather.  A bit of stearine ensures that your candles are made of stearner stuff.

Currently, the legislation simply speaks of “candles” and does not go into detail about the composition of said candles. The USCCB website notes that, when a question was proposed to the Congregation for Divine Worship (now the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments), in 1974, the response was that no materials are spoken of in the universal law (Notitiae 10:80 (1974), no. 4), and bishops’ conferences have the competence to determine or specify material. The US Bishops’ Conference has made no specification, therefore, it is quite licit to use candles of various sorts. HERE

Oil lamps, which may be used as sanctuary lamps, are not candles, and may not substitute for altar candles. Neither are flashlights, pictures of candles, little electric flickering lights shaped like candles.

So, there is quite a bit of flexibility about the material of the candles, but the vector of the Church’s thought is pretty clear.  Candles should be of a material that is for the most part natural.  A high percentage real bee’s wax is preferred, keeping in mind that that 100% bees wax candles can get droopy in hot weather.  They should produce a good flame without guttering.  Tallow or animal fat is too smokey and smells bad.  I suspect you won’t find many tallow candles.  Wait until the EMP blasts us back to the 18th century.  Heh heh… we’ll use tallow then, legislation or not!  Also, I would like there to be a bit of flexibility from the Congregation in Rome on the use of Roman candles.  ¡Hagan lío!

Nothing makes a church smell “Catholic” more than the lingering scent of incense, some wood polish, and bee’s wax candles burning.  That combination alone is just about enough to get you thinking about converting or going to confession.  Also, when I smell beeswax, I think of kistas… but I digress.

Some years ago, when I was in Norfolk, VA, I was given some homemade beeswax candles made boy who attended the TLM in the area. I used them in my chapel for Mass and there were simply splendid.

 

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Qapla’! INTERNET PRAYER UPDATE: KLINGON (AUDIO)

Posted on 1 August 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Just when I was on a high from getting the Japanese version of the famed “Internet Prayer” – Qapla’! – my spies came through with an audio recording in

KLINGON!

Maybe they finally got that old sub-space communication array fixed. They mentioned something about reversing the polarity. Whatever. It worked.

Ladies and gentleman, Klingon.

KLINGON (aka Klingonese)

TlhobtaHghach qaSpa’ poSmoH’tah Internet’li

HoSghaj je reH joH’a, ‘lv chenmoHta’ ma’Daq lij voqtaHghach je maH ja’ta nej Hoch QaQ, teH, je ‘lH, Daq lij neH puqloD, ma’joH, J’H’esus K’risti, ms tlhob SoH, vegh le’ghot J’Isador’e, lalDan vumwI’neS je O’ghojmoH’neS, qaStaHvIS ma’ylt vegh Internet’li, ma’tI yotlh ma’ghopDu’ je minDu’ Daq vetlh nuq Chen Quch SoH je pop tlhej muSHa’ tlq SlQ Hoch chaH qa’neS ma’ghom. Sum K’risti ma’joH.

Internet Prayer in Klingon

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INTERNET PRAYER UPDATE: JAPANESE!

Posted on 1 August 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The other day I reported that I finally had an Tagalog audio recording of the now well-known “Internet Prayer”. HERE At that time I said that I was still waiting for a Japanese version. One of you came through! Thanks!

From a reader:

I have created two versions of a Japanese translation, one in classical Japanese and the other in modern Japanese.

[Classical Japanese version (文語)]
インターネットに接続する前の祈

御身の像の如くに我らを造り給い、
特に御独り子我らの主イエズス・キリストの御神性の内に、
全ての真善美を絶えず求むる事を命じ給ふ全能永遠の天主、
聖イシドロ司教教会博士の御取次によりて、インターネットの旅路に於て、
御身を喜ばしむる事共のみに我らの手と目とを向はしめ、
仁愛と忍耐とを以て我らの見合ふ全ての霊魂を宥むを得しめ給へ。
我らの主キリストによりて願い奉る。アーメン。

[Modern Japanese version (現代語)]
インターネットに接続する前の祈り

ご自身にかたどってわたしたちをお造りになり、
特にひとり子イエス・キリストの神性の中に、
全ての真善美を見出し続けることをお命じになった全能永遠の神よ、
聖イシドロ司教教会博士の取次ぎによって、インターネットの旅路において、
わたしたちの手と目とをあなたを喜ばせることのみに向わせ、
出会う全ての人々に愛と忍耐とをもって接することができるよう導いて下さい。
わたしたちの主、キリストによって。アーメン。

For the classical one, I tried to imitate prayers that can be found in older (pre-WWII) Catholic prayer books, some of which are still in use today, and are familiar to and cherished by many. For the modern one, I did those found in more recent prayer books or those used in Mass in Japanese. I personally prefer the classical one, as it sounds stronger and also is rhythmically and linguistically beautiful. However what could obtain an approval might likely be the other one.

Fantastic! I sure would like audio renderings, too. If you can offer a translation into a language I don’t yet have, please send it.  To email me, click HERE.

By the way, the same reader added:

I find your blog extremely helpful, edifying, and interesting in numerous ways. It is after starting reading it (maybe for about two years) that I have come to go to Mass daily and go to Confession regularly – it makes a real difference. As I am living in Michigan now, I was very fortunate that I was able to hear Masses that you celebrated at Assumption Grotto in Detroit a couple of times. Not to mention Mystic Monk Coffee which I enjoy myself and occasionally give to friends. I can hardly describe how I am grateful to you for all that you have done and you will do. I think this might be a good occasion to offer you a small donation. I would be glad if you could use it according to your need. I will surely keep you in my prayers.

Bless you.

INTERNET PRAYER UPDATE: JAPANESE!

I would also like a video of the prayer in ASL, American Sign Language.

Klingon is still on the way!

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Ebola Virus – No worries! Right?

Posted on 1 August 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Ebola Virus - No worries! Right?I hear that victims of the highly infectious and contagious Ebola Virus are being brought to these United States.   Pray for these poor people.  It’ll be the first time this deadly and highly infectious and contagious virus will be on these shores.

Hey!  Don’t fret, today Pres. Obama said there is nothing to worry about.  This, the day after we learned that the ObamaCare website cost tax payers $840 million.

With the Obama Administration on the watch, what could go wrong?

I mean, look at the competence with which the invasion at the southern border is being handled.

Surely they would tell us if there were some kind of problem, right?  I mean, look at the transparency they have displayed with Benghazi and the IRS investigations.

BTW… have any of you read Tom Clancy’s Executive Orders?

Ebola Virus - No worries! Right?

NUTSHELL: Iranians manage to weaponize Ebola and seek to release it in these USA.

A ripping good yarn and surely pure fiction.  Pure fiction.  I mean, no problems with Islamic fanatics these days.

All in all, I’d rather have a Pres. Ryan, if you get me.

But… what could go wrong?

I think I’ll put it on my Kindle wish list.  I haven’t read it for years. [Yes. I knew it. Someone already came through. But there are other books in the list!]

And… pray for these poor people, those coming here and those in Africa.  Ask the Archangel Michael to avert this horrible plague.

I hope Catholic leaders there will have processions.

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