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

“Go kill yourself. Your f***** family too.”

Posted on 19 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I had this note today from a priest.

This is also emblematic of the sort of mail I receive all the time. It also shows that there is a demonic side to the perversion of God’s plan and gifts.

Fr Z,

I know that we have our disagreements but I need to share this one with you.

Earlier today I spoke with a friend about what the future holds for priests given the situation gay activism. I pointed out that the day isn’t far off when we are served a notice of human rights violation for being unable to officiate at a same-gender “marriage.”

A self-described transvestite emailed me a few months ago and asked if he would be welcomed in our parish. I replied with what one of my colleagues described was a very “understanding, caring response.” (I can share this with you if you wish.)

Only tonight I offered him the following follow-up:

Hello ___,

I hope you are well. This is to follow-up on our previous conversation about your involvement at St _____’s Parish. I’ve been on the lookout for you to introduce yourself to me but I haven’t been able to find you.

How are you liking our parish? Is there anything I can do to assist your spiritual development?

Fr ____

This was his response (WARNING–obscene language):

Are you drunk, sicko get the f*** out of my inbox it’s midnight. You expect me to show up there after you told me I could face discrimination from you flock of subhuman morons? F*** you. You’re lucky you haven’t been served with a human rights notice. F****** Nazi c*** s***** f*****. You know you gotta be pretty f***** naive to believe the filthy b******* you spread. Do the world a favor and go kill yourself. Your f***** family too.

Master of theology master of F****** b*******. Must be proud.

Creepy pedopriest

I have to admit that this left me deeply disturbed. I’m beginning to seriously wonder if there might be a demonic element [YES] to segments of the sexual liberation movement, and now I think I have a glimpse of what people might be thinking when I get hostile looks while wearing my Roman collar in public.

Ask your readers to pray for us. Ugly persecution is coming.

It is here. More and worse are coming.

Posted in Mail from priests, Sin That Cries To Heaven, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged demonic, homosexualists, perversion
77 Comments

Hate on the Church media feeding frenzy

Posted on 19 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Yes, we must attend to earthly justice, but when I watch what is happening in both Kansas City and my native place of St. Paul and Minneapolis, I wonder about the true motives of the newsies. Regarding St. Paul, I am pretty sure I know what the lawyers are doing, and at least some of the LEOs.

It reminds me of this:

Woe to those who raise their hands against the Lord’s anointed. If there is a shred of greed or ill-will in what those lawyers and newsies are doing, I wouldn’t want to be them on the day of reckoning. God cannot be fooled.

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged Archd. St. Paul and Minneapolis, clerical sexual abuse, D. Kansas City-St. Joseph, MSM
7 Comments

My View For Awhile: Unintimidated Edition

Posted on 19 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I’m off again!

I use the time to read.

I am reading Gov. Walker’s book, Unintimidated.

Many thanks to the kind reader who sent the Kindle book!

UPDATE:

Between flights.

The book has a fascinating account of the total chaos liberals and unions from around the country stirred up in Madison when Walker and the WI assembly were passing Act 10 to eliminate collective bargaining.

Posted in On the road, SESSIUNCULA, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged Gov. Walker
2 Comments

Pope Francis: GO TO CONFESSION!

Posted on 19 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

What is it I have been shouting?

From CNA:

Pope: Be courageous, go to confession

Vatican City, Feb 19, 2014 / 04:57 am (CNA).- During his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis encouraged the pilgrims filling St. Peter’s Square to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. [aka Sacrament of Penance]

“Everyone say to himself: ‘When was the last time I went to confession?’ And if it has been a long time, don’t lose another day! Go, the priest will be good. And Jesus, (will be) there, and Jesus is better than the priests – Jesus receives you. He will receive you with so much love! Be courageous, and go to confession,” urged the Pope on Feb. 19. [In some ways, many of us who lean to the traditional can be a little disappointed with Pope Francis’ style (but not so much in the substances when we drill in). BUT… he speaks about confession and the devil and various other things more often than previous Pontiff’s, and in a direct, appealing way. Gotta give him that!]

Acknowledging a popular objection to the sacrament, Pope Francis noted, “someone can say, ‘I confess my sins only to God.’ Yes, you can say to God, ‘forgive me,’ and say your sins. But our sins are also against our brothers, against the Church. This is is why it is necessary to ask forgiveness of the Church and of our brothers, in the person of the priest.” [Do I hear an “Amen!”?]

“While the celebration of the sacrament is personal, it is rooted in the universality of the Church,” which “accompanies us on the path of conversion,” he explained.

“Forgiveness is not something we can give ourselves,” cautioned the Pope. “One asks forgiveness, one asks it of another person, and in confession, we ask forgiveness from Jesus.”

“Forgiveness is not a result of our efforts, but is a gift. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit who showers us with mercy and grace that pours forth unceasingly from the open heart of Christ crucified and risen.”

The Pontiff went on to recognize that many people feel ashamed at the idea of confessing their sins and might say, “but Father, I am embarrased!” [See Tip #11, HERE]

“Even embarrassment is good. It’s healthy to have a bit of shame… it does us good, because it makes us more humble.”

“Don’t be afraid of confession,” Pope Francis stressed. “When someone is in line for confession he feels all these things – even shame – but then, when he finishes confessing, he leaves (feeling) free, great, beautiful, forgiven, clean, happy.”

“The sacrament of reconciliation is a sacrament of healing,” he pointed out.

“When I go to confession, […it is the Pope speaking…] it’s for healing: healing the soul, healing the heart because of something that I did to make it unwell.”

The Pope pointed to the biblical story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man, which expresses the “profound link” between “forgiveness and healing,” since “the Lord Jesus is revealed at the same time as the physician of soul and body.”

He also recounted the parable of the prodigal son, who sought his father’s forgiveness and was welcomed home with open arms.

“But I say to you,” he stressed to the many pilgrims, “every time we go to confession, God embraces us.”

GO TO CONFESSION!

Your Excellencies? Fathers?

Is it time to start preaching about this sacrament?

Readers, has it been a long time? Are you nervous?

It is good to follow a regular format for confession. You might prepare for your confession with a good Examination of Conscience. You can find some good things here. Fr. Finigan made a useful confession pamphlet.

You should, indeed, try to confess all your mortal sins in kind and number whenever you go to confession. However, since it has been a very long time for you, and we humans just can’t remember everything, do your best, perhaps giving an indication of frequency over some period of time (month, year) while confessing those low points you do remember clearly. Just do your best. If you do your best, ALL your sins will be forgiven, whether you could remember them all or not. Then, in the future, you can be more precise when going to confession regularly.

You can always tell the priest it has been a long time and you could use some help.

Also, down the line, you might look at my 20 Tips.

Finally, just go! You’ll be more than fine.

Do your best and God does the rest.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Francis, GO TO CONFESSION, Just Too Cool, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged absolution, confession, penance, reconciliation, sacrament of penance
32 Comments

What is your good news? (Fr. Z also explains something, whines a little.)

Posted on 19 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Do you have some good news to report?

I have good news and bad news.

First the good news: I solved the comment/whitelist problem.

Bad news: I had to remove the plugin that stopped a lot of spammers from attacking the registration form, thus creating a great deal of unpleasant work for me in the shadows, behind the curtain… you know.

Console me by refreshing your coffee supply! Use the donation button! Hey, I even have wishlists!

Seriously, I’ll have to look for some solutions. I may need a truly expert WordPress person to give me a hand. Dabblers… don’t bother. I need a pro.

Okay… I posted some bad news, but I am the benevolent dictator here. So, do as I say and not as I do.

What is your good news? We could all use a boost.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
27 Comments

Prayers for Ukrainians

Posted on 18 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I remember in my prayers tonight the people in the Ukraine. The people in this unfortunate corner of the world, with its beautiful culture and Christian tradition, have suffered so much in the last 100 years.

Tonight they are suffering more.

I have been off of TV and news for a couple weeks, and so I am playing catch up. What I understand is that Ukraine, caught between Russia,being reconstituted in its Soviet incarnation by Putin et al., and the flaccid but at least European EU, has a president who is caving to the Russian side and is repressing protests in favor of a European alignment and greater freedom.

People are dying and Kiev is burning.

And where is Pres. Obama? He is not supporting the protesters. Instead, it seems that VP Biden, of all people, called the Ukrainian president. If this is the White House’s attempt to elevate Biden on the world stage for the sake of a 2016 run…. HA!

I will pray for the people in the Ukraine who have been injured, who have died and for their families… and for the protesters, whose cause seems the right one.

Meanwhile, we probably must wait for the Olympics to end before we see the real hard repression of protest to begin.

Posted in Urgent Prayer Requests | Tagged Ukraine
51 Comments

Challenge public homosexual nudity? You’re a “homophobic a**hole”, you “outrageous bigot”, you!

Posted on 18 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Homosexualists work incessantly in every sphere of life to desensitize people, especially the young, to their own particular proclivities.

So, when a school trustee suggested that it was wrong for homosexualists to parade about nude – literally parade – he was blasted with now familiar brutality.

From LifeNews:

Toronto school trustee called ‘homophobic’ for questioning nudity at ‘family friendly’ Pride parade

TORONTO, February 17, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Homosexual activists have slammed him as a ‘homophobic a**hole’ and an ‘outrageous bigot,’ but Toronto District School Board trustee Sam Sotiropoulos says that he’s just concerned about children viewing illegal public nudity at the city’s annual Pride parade. [The very fact that there is a Pride parade is appalling.]

Sotiropoulos created a firestorm on Twitter last week after he tweeted the Toronto Police force asking if it would enforce Canadian law against public nudity.

“As #TDSB participation raises questions of age-appropriateness, do you enforce Canada’s public nudity laws at Pride?” he asked.

Sotiropoulos, who says he has nothing against “LGBTQ” people and says he would attend the Pride parade if invited, was immediately accused on twitter of insulting and hating gays and was labeled “homophobic.” [Because that is what they do. When they say, for example, that all they want is to be allowed to do what others do (i.e., marry, etc.) it’s a lie. They have far-reaching objectives. Along the line is, of course, lowering or elimination of age restrictions.]

“Interesting to remark how readily those who don’t want to be labelled cast labels and slander at others,” Sotiropoulos responded. “To think, these are the folks who are ‘inclusive’?! I’d say, ‘Shame on you,’ but there’s no suggestion they’d understand what it is.” [They understand all too well what it is. But they reject it. You are the enemy and you must be crushed.]

Under Canada’s Criminal Code it is illegal to be nude in a “public place.” Section 174 states that a person who is “so clad as to offend against public decency or order” is “guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.”

Sotiropoulos says that city officials have a double standard when it comes to nudity at the Pride parade.

[…]

We are going to see a lot more of this sort of thing. Homosexualists will be relentless in bringing down moral standards in the pursuit of their agenda. Anyone who insists on Judeo-Christian, commonsense, natural law morality will be savagely attacked with the violence that is inherent in their projects.

Posted in Pò sì jiù, Sin That Cries To Heaven, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged homosexual activists, homosexuality
26 Comments

Confusion about the term “Latin Mass”

Posted on 18 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have been going on for YEARS – nay, rather, DECADES – now about how trads and others should NOT use the term “Latin Mass”, just by itself, to describe Mass in the Extraordinary Form, the Usus Antiquior, the Pian Rite, etc.

“Latin Mass” can refer to the Ordinary Form or the Extraordinary Form.

I know that this is common. I know that there is even a fine Latin Mass Society in England, which has been doing yeoman’s work for decades.

Look at this confusing article – with a couple contributors, and I suspect language problems – and you will see why in journalism and even from a prelate, we can get confusion.

I am prompted to ask, does anyone have any idea what anything means or people are saying anymore?

This is from CNA.

Vatican City, Feb 18, 2014 / 12:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During a recent interview, Archbishop Arthur Roche [Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship, former head of ICEL, former Bishop of Leeds] spoke on the significance of the Traditional Latin Mass, [did he?] explaining that the Mass nourishes us, and that the special rite brings us together in a unique way.

“It’s a common language, [Latin… right? I’ll bet the question had to do with “Latin Mass”… and he heard “Mass in Latin” when the question was about the TLM… keep reading…] as it were, that brings us together, that holds us together,” the archbishop noted during a Feb. 13 interview with CNA, adding that “the Latin Mass…is a beautiful expression of the worship of God.” [Indeed.]

Archbishop Arthur Roche is the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship, and is helping to organize a special conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s apostolic constitution “Sacrosanctum Concilium.” [Just the other day, CNS put out a snarky tweet that the conference wasn’t going to be about the Extraordinary Form.]

[…]

Speaking of the Traditional Latin Mass, [oh?] the archbishop highlighted that it “will always be a part of the Roman rite” because it maintains “the language in which the Roman rite is written – whether it be the ordinary or indeed the extraordinary form.” [I am pretty sure he was talking about Mass in the Latin language, not the TLM.]

“It is the way in which the Church expresses itself,” he explained, observing how there has been an increase in use of Gregorian chant during Mass, “especially at international events.”

Drawing attention to the special international reach of the city of Rome, Archbishop Roche went on to say that “people from throughout the world, from every continent and from the different hemispheres, come together to share Mass and are joined together in that common expression of the singing of the Latin part of the Mass.” [He is talking about the Latin, not the Form.]

Turning his attention to Pope Francis take on the rite, the archbishop explained that “the Pope hasn’t expressed anything about the extraordinary form nor in fact about the ordinary form either.” [Jesuits are not, in general, much interested in liturgy.]

[…]

Read the rest there.

People, reconsider your use of “Latin Mass” to describe the older, traditional form. The Novus Ordo is – according to the will of the Council Fathers – to be in Latin as well. Mass celebrated in Latin in the Novus Ordo is “Latin Mass”. Let’s be clear. I think this dodgy term produced a confused article.

Also, the differences between the two Forms (or “Rites, as I think) are even more manifest when both Forms are in Latin, because – when side by side – you see how the changes to the texts reveal the change in the theology.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, The Drill | Tagged Archbp. Roche, CDW, Latin Mass, Novus Ordo, TLM Traditional Latin Mass
37 Comments

URGENT: Problems posting comments

Posted on 17 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have received a few emails from readers who have been getting a message about a “white list” when trying to comment here.

I will try to get to the bottom of this.

UPDATE:

A reader send a screen shot of what they see. I advise you NOT to use this.

UPDATE:

There may be registration problems also.

In short… something is wrong. I am going to need some support.

UPDATE:

I am trying to write a talk for a conference… GRRRR. This rubbish always happens when I am against a wall. That’s Zuhlsdorf’s Law.

BUT… I see that the anti-spam plugin, without which I can’t run this place, thinks that a lot of you have bad IP addresses… that you are all spammers.

This is sort of like dealing with HAL 9000. I am waiting for it to lock me out of the ship and then having to pull its brains out on by one (e.g., disabling features of the plugin until the problem goes away).

UPDATE:

I had to remove the plugin that stopped a lot of spammers from attacking the registration form. I will now be under siege by slime.

Also, a priest reader sent this screenshot, which suggests a problem I have never seen.