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{]:¬)

VA Hospital bans religious Christmas carols

Posted on 27 December 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I think this is despicable. It also shows what is happening under the godless Obama Administration… who did not go to Church on Christmas, even though last week he (hypocritically?) said we should remember the religious dimension of Christmas. BAH!

I digress.

I think this is despicable.

From CBS Atlanta:

Hospital Bans Christmas Carolers From Singing Religious Songs

AUGUSTA, Ga. (CBS Atlanta) – An Augusta hospital has adopted a new policy banning Christmas carolers from singing religious songs in public patient areas.
The Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center [The Obama Administrations VA.] announced the new policy Monday according to the Athens-Banner Herald.
“Military service veterans, male and female, represent people of all faiths,” hospital spokesman Brian Rothwell said in a statement according to Athens-Banner Herald. “It is out of respect for every faith [B as in B. S as in S.] that The Veterans Administration gives clear guidance on what ‘spiritual care’ is to be given and who is to give it.”

A group of high school students from Augusta’s Alleluia Community School were prevented from singing traditional holiday songs that honor and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ to veterans by the medical center last week.
The school principal, Dan Funsch, told the newspaper that he was disappointed that the Veterans Affairs hospital’s “spiritual care” grants holiday exemption only to secular characters that make up the 12 Days of Christmas.
“This is not a religious proselytizing, evangelistic issue,” Funsch explained, arguing that Christmas songs are broadcast during the holidays on area radio stations and in local retail outlets. “The song Joy to the World is as much a part of the holiday spirit as the Christmas tree.”
The principal noted that the peculiar part of the policy is its recent enforcement.

[…]

If Pres. Obama and his ilk have their way, any expression of religious values and tenets will be banned. Given time, they will pass laws to punish people who express religious views in the public square. Off to the reeducation camps for you. And their liberal catholic will be right there supporting the enlightened and no-doubt-necessary policy.

Posted in Liberals, Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty | Tagged Pres. Obama, The First Gay President, Veterans, Veterans Administration
18 Comments

Friday Penance, the Octave of Christmas, and You

Posted on 27 December 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

We are in the Octave of Christmas, that stoppage of liturgical time when we can rest in place and contemplate the mystery of the Incarnation from various angles.

During the Octave of Easter, we are not obliged to do penance on Easter Friday. What about Friday in the Christmas Octave?

Days (other than Sunday) within the Octave of Christmas are not “heavy enough” (as a “solemnity” would be) to “outweigh” the Friday obligation to do some sort of penance as determined by the conferences of bishops.

In the 1962 Missale Romanum they are “II class”, which corresponds to the newer, non-traditional calendar’s “feast”. In the 2001 Missale Romanum they are categorized as second class, as “feasts”. If, however you are today at a parish named “St. John the Evangelist”, it is your parish’s patronal feast. You might argue that today you don’t have to stick to doing the penance we are obliged to do on Fridays.

Bottom line, the Octave of Christmas does not have the “weight” of the Octave of Easter. Therefore, we have to do some sort of penance today.

Let’s also pay attention to can. 1245. You can ask your parish priest to dispense you or commute your act of penance.

Can. 1245 Without prejudice to the right of diocesan bishops mentioned in can. 87, for a just cause and according to the prescripts of the diocesan bishop, a pastor [parish priest] can grant in individual cases a dispensation from the obligation of observing a feast day or a day of penance or can grant a commutation of the obligation into other pious works. A superior of a religious institute or society of apostolic life, if they are clerical and of pontifical right, can also do this in regard to his own subjects and others living in the house day and night.

Moreover, you can substitute another form of penance for abstaining from meat. Make it penitential, however. Abstinence from meat has good reasoning behind it. For some, however, there abstinence from other things can be of greater spiritual effect.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged friday, Friday abstinence, Friday penance, Octave of Christmas
16 Comments

Perspective

Posted on 27 December 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This came to my email:

So during the 3-1/2 years of World War 2 that started with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and ended with the Surrender of Germany and Japan in 1945, the U.S. produced 22 aircraft carriers, 8 battleships, 48 cruisers, 349 destroyers, 420 destroyer escorts, 203 submarines, 34 million tons of merchant ships, 100,000 fighter aircraft, 98,000 bombers, 24,000 transport aircraft, 58,000 training aircraft, 93,000 tanks, 257,000 artillery pieces, 105,000 mortars, 3,000,000 machine guns, and 2,500,000 military trucks
We put 16.1 million men in uniform in the various armed services, invaded Africa, invaded Sicily and Italy, won the battle for the Atlantic, planned and executed D-Day, marched across the Pacific and Europe, developed the atomic bomb and ultimately conquered Japan and Germany.

It’s worth noting, that during the almost exact amount of time, the entire Obama administration couldn’t build a functioning web site.

The “AFFORDABLE” Care Act.

Posted in Liberals, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, Pres. Obama
15 Comments

If you can’t grasp this…

Posted on 27 December 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I saw this at my friend The Motley Monk‘s place.

Go read the first comment over there. It is PERFECT.

Posted in Liberals | Tagged liberals, Phil Robertson
10 Comments

Some images from the last few days.

Posted on 26 December 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Here is a view of the Christmas tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The display of Neapolitan figures around the tree this year is incoherent at best. However, I did like the pig crossing the bridge and the monkey with the cymbals. More on them later.

The Met – drat them – eliminated the nice metal buttons, which I enjoyed getting during my visits. Now they have these dreadful stickers. People put them on a board on the way out of the building.

Want some pastrami? I’ve got your pastrami right here. On rye. With a smear of spicy mustard. Pickles on the side. I now have another thing to dream about.

Yes, back to the Met. How can you not love a room that has a painting by Duccio?

On Christmas Eve/Day I must have panettone and prosecco. It’s my tradition founded on an experience I had many years ago now. R.I.P.

Fighting my way into Grand Central Terminal during the Christmas shoppers/tourists season.

On the Triborough Bridge… okay… the RFK.

How much is the skinned-goat in the window? The one with the curtailed tail? Bonus: a large metal tray of tripe.

Grilled soul in lemon…er… that would be sole. It’s a Greek thing, not an Infernal thing. If it’s Greek, it’ll probably involve lemon.

Posted in Lighter fare, On the road, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged NYC
22 Comments

A “c”atholic group to be wary of

Posted on 26 December 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Here is something you should be aware of. This is from Accuracy in Media.

Obama Operative Masquerades as Catholic Expert

Christopher Hale, of a group called Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, has emerged on CNN and Fox News as a defender of Pope Francis against Rush Limbaugh’s charges that the pontiff spews Marxism.

The stories on CNN and Fox News cited Hale as a critic of Limbaugh and defender of the pope without noting his group’s connections to George Soros, the billionaire atheist, and that Hale worked on the “National Faith Vote Team” for the “Obama for America” 2012 presidential campaign organization.

Hale was also an intern in the Obama White House and worked for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

[…]

Be on the watch for groups like this. They urge catholics to put aside the issue of abortion under the cover of concern for broader social issues. They and their allies will demand that faithful outspoken Catholics not engage in “culture wars”, even though they are the ultimate “culture warriors”, but for the other side.

Posted in Liberals | Tagged Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, George Soros, liberals, Pres. Obama
27 Comments

Satanic woman attacks Card. Meisner, Cathedral during Christmas Mass

Posted on 26 December 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Der Spiegel (biretta tip to a reader) we read that an idiot woman who, apart from being deeply stupid, surely is doing Satan’s will disrupted the Christmas Mass of Card. Meisner in Cologne, Germany. It was also his Eminence’s 80th Birthday.

The idiot jumped up onto the altar, mostly unclad, with “I am God” scrawled across her gut.

The Cardinal rededicated the altar afterward.

This is going to happen more and more often.

Pastors, rectors, bishops… you have to start thinking about this sort of demonic activity.

Posted in Pò sì jiù, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, You must be joking! | Tagged Card. Meisner, Cologne
82 Comments

Mark Steyn on his editors at NRO and Phil Robertson

Posted on 25 December 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I appreciate both how Mark Steyn writes and what he has written about the Duck Dynasty controversy and Phil Robertson’s persecution.

Remember: I am a free market guy. If A&E wants to bend over for bullies, fine. They can do that. But the rest of us should then stop giving them any business.

Back to Steyn. He is taking a different tack than the editors at NRO, who seem inclined to go with the winds on this on. This is from a few days back, but I am just getting around to it.

Thus, Steyn:

Re-Education Camp
By Mark Steyn

Having leaned on A&E to suspend their biggest star, GLAAD has now moved on to Stage Two:

“We believe the next step is to use this as an opportunity for Phil to sit down with gay families in Louisiana and learn about their lives and the values they share,” the spokesman said. [THAT’s gonna happen. Just envision such a meeting.]

Actually, “the next step” is for you thugs to push off and stop targeting, threatening and making demands of those who happen to disagree with you. Personally, I think this would be a wonderful opportunity for the GLAAD executive board to sit down with half-a-dozen firebreathing imams and learn about their values, […]

[…]

I am sorry my editor at NR does not grasp the stakes. Indeed, he seems inclined to “normalize” what GLAAD is doing. But, if he truly finds my “derogatory language” offensive, I’d rather he just indefinitely suspend me than twist himself into a soggy pretzel of ambivalent inertia trying to avoid the central point — that a society where lives are ruined over an aside because some identity-group don decides it must be so is ugly and profoundly illiberal. […]

Read the rest over there.