How’s my driving

Something light sent by a friend:

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Posted in Francis, Lighter fare | Tagged ,
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QUAERITUR: Forcing people to pray “spontaneously”. (Turn the tables on ’em.)

From a professed sisterly readerette:

Many teachers on our staff are involved with the Charismatic Movement, including our principal. At the end of our faculty meetings she goes around the table requiring each teacher to make a spontaneous prayer. I am not comfortable doing this and how could I politely “pass”?

Pass?!?  Why would you want to “pass”?   Have a little fun with this!

How about memorizing and then “spontaneously” reciting with true fervor the Loríca of St. Patrick?

It’s long, which will make them all uncomfortable, and the invocations will scare the grits and biscuits out of the liberals present as you go on and on and on.

Maybe even stand up and put your arms in the orans position as you recite.  Or even cruciform!

Be sure to include all the good bits which will make feminists squirm in self-conscious guilt:

Lorica of Saint Patrick
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

It’s also environmental and green!  The LCWR should recite this at every meeting…. but then a whole bunch of the members would then instantly be expelled from the room, wouldn’t they.

Forced spontaneous prayer… pfft.

Consult also the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum for those brief, spontaneous little prayers that are so helpful to dispose us to greater devotion along with spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare | Tagged , , ,
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Abuse by priests

I saw a great post about the motives of liturgical abuse at the blog Waiting For Godot To Leave (fun title).

Here is some of it.  See the rest there.  My emphases and comments:

The Precision of Abuse – Liturgical and Otherwise

Yesterday, on the road again, my actress and I attended a Vigil Mass somewhere in America. It was definitely America, though it may not have been a Mass.

The priest was a 70-something soft-spoken slow moving effeminate fellow, and the music was all the Bad Stuff, about a dozen of the worst “hymns” played over and over again on piano before Mass even started, kind of like an episode of The Twilight Zone where you’re trapped in an elevator with horrible “muzak” and nobody else trapped with you seems to mind or even notice.

The priest assured us in the homily that when Moses lifted his arms and God’s staff before the Israelites battling Amalek (Ex. 17:8-13), he was “giving them instructions on the battle,” showing them where to attack and where to draw back, and so forth. Far from being miraculous (which the text implies, the strength of Israel growing when the staff of God was raised and faltering when it was lowered), this was merely a natural event. Moses’ arms being held up in a cruciform manner by Aaron and Hur was not a foreshadowing of Christ (as I’ve heard) but just an example of people helping people, which is why we’re all here at Mass. Oh, and don’t forget to pray.

He talked a lot about prayer, eviscerating the rather shocking parable of the Importunate Widow and domesticating it so that we all understood the message: “Pray. And come to Mass to be with one another.”

Then, when the Liturgy of the Eucharist began, he not only improvised the “Pray, brothers and sisters” part (#29 here), but made up something that was wildly and strangely unrelated to anything I’d ever heard from the altar. No mention of “sacrifice” of course, but a totally ad-libbed thing that made no sense. So I figured I’d better follow along in the missal. And here’s what I noticed.

[NB] His liturgical abuse was not accidental and merely an expression of a kind of misplaced enthusiasm, but it was, like the sexual abuse scandal in the Church, very deliberate, specific and precise. [Get that?  It is, in some – many? – cases calculated.  It is predatory.  It preys on innocence and trust.  It twists what is good and true and beautiful.  It is psychologically unstable and immature.  It is probably not curable.  It must be extirpated.]

For despite his homily’s mundane emphasis on the need for prayer, every time the words “we pray” came up in the text, he deliberately skipped them. Every time Jesus was called the Son, he refused to say “son” and either skipped the words or made up something of his own. There were other patterns I noticed, and each was the result of a kind of careful forethought and deliberate planning: for he skipped only certain words and said only certain others. This man was no simple fool, carried away with a kind of “Spirit of Vatican II” sense of innovation. Soft spoken, harmless and dull as this priest seemed to be, he had an agenda and was exercising it.

Then we came to the words of consecration, almost nothing that came from his lips matched what was printed on the page.

[…]

A post like this makes me wonder about something.  Wouldn’t it be interesting to take a look at dioceses were liturgical abuse abounds unchecked over decades by bishops and then match that up with instances of other kinds of abuse?  I don’t know how one would go about studying such a thing, how one would collect statistics that are other than anecdotal.  But I have an inkling that something is there.

Putting that connection aside now, this post provides food for thought for the next time you hear some priest screwing around with the texts of Mass.  Sirens and flags should go off in your head.

Why is he screwing around with the texts?  Really, why?  What is his agenda?  What is he deliberately or systematically changing and why?

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Clerical Sexual Abuse, Liberals, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged ,
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QUAERITUR: Sacraments for children at some different parish?

From a reader:

Can I arrange for my daughter to eventually attend catechism classes, and have First Communion and Confirmation in a parish outside of our geographical parish?

Or is she required to receive the sacraments in our geographical parish unless the parish priest will give written permission for her to have them elsewhere?

What does Canon Law permit/prohibit in this case?

There may be particular law on this in your diocese.

In the Church’s universal law, there is no requirement to receive these sacraments in one’s proper parish.

There could be good reasons for going outside one’s parish for First Communion and Confirmation.

Ordinarily you should seek your pastor’s (parish priest’s) permission to do so, but that is not required in the universal law.  However, there may be a diocesan or national law that requires such permission. Even that would not affect the validity of the sacrament.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged ,
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Of Z-Swag and Hans Küng and stolen vehicles

At the blog Defende nos in proelio there was a great post about what happens when you put Z-Swag on your car.

Go over there and spike their traffic.  It involves Fr. Finigan, and a car blessing and a run in at a gas/fuel station.

Here is the teaser:

After our van was stolen in a burglary last year, we replaced it with another, slightly less snazzy, one. I was determined to make this  new one unstealable, and so applied a selection of stickers that would take hours to remove thereby making our van immediately recognisable and, hopefully, less attractive to any thief. I mean, can you imagine a car thief bombing down the road with “Lex Orandi / Lex Credendi” on the bumper, “We love our priest” on the side window and a large image of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour on the windscreen? Didn’t think so. And that’s only a small selection of the adhesive novelties bedecking our vehicle.

[…]

The stickers have attracted attention. A few days after I put a “Thank you Pope Benedict” sticker on the boot (that’s “trunk” for readers across the pond), I was filling up with diesel when an older lady in a car at the pump behind started gesturing rather excitedly at me. Her husband was dressed in North African type clothing and she was wearing a veil over her hair so I assumed that they were Muslim. Perhaps my assumption was wrong: as I looked questioningly at her she gestured again at the back of the car and clearly mouthed “Pope Benedict! Pope Benedict!” then gave me repeated “thumbs up” signs with a huge smile on her face.

More recently, my husband parked at a petrol station to nip in and buy something. As he parked the van, a man in the car beside him gestured and said something out his window in my husband’s direction. As he was in a hurry, and it was clear that whatever the man was saying was friendly, my husband smiled, parked the car and went into the shop. He was standing in the queue to pay when a voice behind him said “So: ‘Save the Liturgy / Save the world’ — what does that mean, then?”

[…]

Read the rest of the hijinx there!  What follows is a hoot.

To get Z-Swag of all kinds click HERE.

 

 

Posted in Hard-Identity Catholicism, In The Wild, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , ,
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Rome update

I am in Rome, as some will recall.

Since the end of the pilgrimage I have been doing as much nothing as possible. Alas, a lot of nothing is not possible, so I do as much nothing as possible.

Here, of course, that involves lots of sleeping, Mass, and meeting friends for meals and talking about everything going on.

A couple shots.

Yesterday I went to the FSSP parish for Vespers. Not a bad view.

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A shot from lunch today.

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I said Mass for my benefactors today. I checked the updates. Though I haven’t updated the sidebar yet.

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Mass for benefactors again on Wednesday, I hope.

A view across the wonderful Ponte Sisto toward the street wherein I stayed the first ever time I came to Rome in the early ’80’s.

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The ancient Vatican pinecone which was once in front of of the old, Constantinian San Pietro. Dante mentioned it in the Divine Comedy.

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Finally Sant’Ivo from a great angle.

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I need to start getting some errands done soon. Among them find a cassock I can leave here so when I come over I don’t have to haul it and put it and me through all the wear and tear. (Just black.)

Posted in On the road, SESSIUNCULA, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged
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The next homosexualist goal: elimination of “age of consent”, license for pedophiles

I have been writing for a long time now that the next step in the homosexualist agenda is to eliminate the “age of consent” limit.   They approach their goals through creeping (and creepy) incrementalism.  They will eventually rehabilitate even pedophilia, with the consent and aid of the mainstream media and liberals everywhere, even within the Church.

From LifeSite (I’ll cut some bits out, but read the whole thing over there):

The homosexual Left’s new crusade: Normalizing adult-child sex

by Matt Barber

Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:53 EST
October 11, 2013 (WND) – So much for the left’s “consenting adults” rhetoric on sex. Forever the consummate conservationists, our self-described “progressive” friends at the ACLU, MSNBC and elsewhere have been ramping-up efforts to downsize from “consenting adults” to merely “consenting” – a far less cumbersome qualifier in the noble struggle for unrestrained sexual license.

Tolerating “intergenerational romance” for “minor-attracted” adults is all the rage these days.

[…]

Here’s the answer: There is no question. There is categorically a movement to normalize pedophilia. I’ve witnessed it firsthand and, despite “progressive” protestations to the contrary, the “pedophile rights” movement is inexorably linked to the so-called “gay rights” movement.

Two years ago I – along with the venerable child advocate Dr. Judith Reisman – attended a Maryland conference hosted by the pedophile group B4U-ACT. Around 50 individuals were in attendance, including a number of admitted pedophiles (or “minor-attracted persons,” as they euphemistically prefer).

Also present were a few self-described “gay activists” and several supportive mental-health professionals. World renowned “sexologist” Dr. Fred Berlin of Johns Hopkins University gave the keynote address, opening with: “I want to completely support the goal of B4U-ACT.”

Here are some highlights from the conference:

Pedophiles are “unfairly stigmatized and demonized” by society.“We are not required to interfere with or inhibit our child’s sexuality.”“
Children are not inherently unable to consent” to sex with an adult.
An adult’s desire to have sex with children is “normative.” [NB: Not “normal” but “normative”.]
“These things are not black and white; there are various shades of gray.”
A consensus belief by both speakers and pedophiles in attendance was that, because it vilifies MAPs, pedophilia should be removed as a mental disorder from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, in the same manner homosexuality was removed in 1973.
Dr. Fred Berlin acknowledged that it was political activism, similar to the incremental strategy witnessed at the conference, rather than a scientific calculus that successfully led to the declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder: [Did I mention “creeping incrementalism”?] The reason “homosexuality was taken out of DSM is that people didn’t want the government in the bedroom,” he said.
[… some ugly stuff here…]
You may think that such abject evil simply represents the fringe of today’s sexual “progressivism.” It doesn’t. It represents the honest.

Consider, for instance, that during Obama’s first term, the official website for the Department of Health and Human Services linked to “parenting tips” that referenced children as “sexual beings” and suggested that they should experiment with homosexuality and masturbation.  [From the First Gay President!]

You may also recall that Mr. Obama appointed Kevin Jennings, founder of the “Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network,” or GLSEN, to the post of “safe schools czar.” The position is now defunct, ostensibly due to national outrage over Jennings’ appointment.

[…]

Again, read the rest there.

Mark my words, dear readers.  Do you think this isn’t going on?  You are deluding yourselves.

For decades our society has been slowly but surely and purposely shifted by those in control of the mainstream media and entertainment industry.

At first, because of the rise of AIDS, active homosexuals were constantly portrayed as innocent, though perhaps quirky, victims. Once the notion of homosexuality was shifted from its moorings and a new status was created in the minds of the public, another shift took place in the media. Now, TV shows and movies are saturated with homosexuals who are far more sophisticated, with it, intelligent, good looking than their more dysfunctional heterosexual counterparts. Victim time is over. It is cool to be “gay”.

For years an artificial sub-culture has been carefully crafted.  It is busting out into a “new normal”.

The are more goals down the line.

You can see where this is going.

I also direct your attention to an article in First Things back in 2009.  Already this trend was being noticed by others.  HERE  One point in the article is that even through pedophila lost its “cool” aspect among elitists along the way, it is regaining it.  It was being rehabilitated in some circles.  That was in 2009.

Keep your eyes on this, friends.  It is going to get a lot worse.

 

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UK: Confraternity of Catholic Clergy (invitation to laity!)

From my friend Fr. Finigan over at his place.

Confraternity of Catholic Clergy – and an invitation to the laity

Wednesday 23 October sees the Autumn colloquium of the British Confraternity of Catholic Clergy. I have advertised this here before but want to give a last-minute reminder because it promises to be such a worthwhile event. Here is some information from the Confraternity:

Due to unforeseen complications in the major building works currently taking place over the next 12 months at the Reading Oratory School, the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy has been obliged to re-locate the 2013 Colloquium. Both the Confraternity organising committee and the Oratory School apologise for any inconvenience caused, and plan to return the 2014 Colloquium to the Oratory School.

The Fathers of the Oxford Oratory have kindly agreed to host the 2013 Colloquium on Wednesday 23 October, which would have been the second day of our residential conference. The revised Colloquium will take the form of an extended day conference with meals, and will include – an event we have long desired – a final talk open to the laity (as Friends of the Confraternity). Places are limited due to the size of the meeting rooms, so please book early to avoid disappointment. This Oxford Colloquium provides an opportunity to dedicate the Confraternity to Blessed Dominic Barberi and Blessed John Henry Newman.

For priests who wish to book for the talks and meals, the Confraternity website has full information and a booking form.

Speakers will be Fr Francis Marsden: “Priesthood under fire – Past, Present and Future”, Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett: “The Priest as Teacher: Opportunities and Challenges for the renewal of adult Catechesis in the parish” and Fr Jerome Bertram, Cong. Orat: “The Conversion of England”

Fr Bertram’s talk, at 7.30pm, is open to priests, friends of the Confraternity, the University and the laity. This will take place in the Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius and booking is not necessary. Do come along if you can. Not only is Fr Bertram a most engaging speaker but this will also be a good opportunity for priests and laity to meet up. I’m told that the initiative to have an open lecture was partly influenced by this blog, [Fr Fingan’s blog!] so do take up the opportunity!

Posted in Priests and Priesthood, The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged
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QUAERITUR: People’s names on chalices, windows, etc.

The chalice I mention, below.

From a  reader:

I have noticed that on some of the vessels, vestments, and crucifix at Mass, there is an inscription to a deceased person.

Is this a tradition? Is there some sort of indulgence for the deceased person?

Yes, it is a tradition and, No, there is no indulgence for the person whose name is on something, because of donations made to obtain the object in question.

It is a common thing to inscribe a sacred vessel with the name or names of the donors.  This is especially common with chalices.  You will see this also for furnishings of the sanctuary, statues, stained-glass windows, etc.

As a matter of fact, I am trying to raise some money right now to buy a chalice which someone offered me for sale.  It is pretty spiffy.  I would then want to add the names of the people somehow on a plate I would have made to cover the bottom of the chalice.  That is what I did for the chalice I have from when I was ordained.  Then I would ask the bishop to consecrate it with the older rite.  When I use my chalice from my ordination, I think of the people who gave it to me and I remember them during Mass at the “Memento of the living” and the “Memento of the dead”.   Thus, they are constantly prayed for during Mass.  Not bad.

The diligent priest will do this, happily and eagerly and regularly.

Moreover, the thoughtful lay person, especially lay people who are not well-off enough to give larger or more costly items which enrich the parish’s worship, would do well to pray for the people whose names they see inscribed.

We should be grateful for donations and benefactors.  We benefit from the the gifts other people make to the parish.  Those beautiful vestments you see up there may have been given by someone to whom you ought to be grateful.  You can see names on the stained-glass.  Say prayers for them, lest their generosity or the person in whose remembrance they were given be forgotten.

It is important to remember benefactors, living and dead, in prayer.  That is why I remind people that I say Masses for benefactors.

And, may I add, those of you who benefit from this blog and who have never donated… you might pray for my benefactors as well.  Without their help, this blog would not exist. Be grateful to them.

I especially recommend to your prayers DY, without whose help none of this would be here.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged ,
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GUEST POST: How to get the pastor to listen to a request.

Over the years I have offered tips on how to write to ecclesiastical officials, make requests in parishes, obtain your objective to have a TLM, etc. I have lately started adding that we have to be more careful these days about how we present these requests because liberals are emboldened right now. We have to be careful because it is possible that we can lose in parishes what it has taken a long time to build.

There are times when the attitude of the petitioners, the tone used, turns into the issue and the petition is lost, which is just fine with the liberals you have to deal with. But this also goes for making your petitions to more conservative or traditional priests and bishops as well. They, too, have attitude meters. They are often over-worked and stressed and, when they see someone coming who makes demands or who is aggressive, they shut down. Look: priests are human, too.

Another point: patient and cordial persistence can win the day.

So, for your Brick By Brick file, I now share something from a reader (edited):

Some time ago I contacted you regarding my wish to have monthly Adoration established at my parish. [Father….] became our pastor following a liberal pastor and the feminists who ran things in the Spirit of Vatican II, etc.

I approached Fr. and received a lukewarm reception but I asked him occasionally about my suggestion. Today we had coffee and donuts after mass and we sat together for long enough so that I was able to suggest that he might consider beginning with a series of homilies reflecting on the value of adoration and respect for the presence (your suggestion) and slowly work into scheduled Adoration. I also brought up Our Ladies request for Five First Saturdays Devotion. I was surprised that he did not seem to be familiar with this devotion. At any rate, he agreed to take a more serious look at Adoration. l offered to assist in any way.

I appreciate your suggestion as it led me to rethink my aggressive approach and take smaller steps to achieve my goal. I think he feels less pressure with this suggestion with what he must already be dealing within the parish following the previous pastor.

It takes a long time to undo erroneous or non existent catechesis.

Pray for success,

I will and I am sure the readers here will stop for a moment and say a Memorare for your project.

Something that helps in making a request like this is the assurance that the pastor himself is not going to have to fill in the open adoration time slots. This has to be a project that is lay run from top to bottom and Father can work his way in as his heavy schedule away from the adoration chapel allows.

Finally, as St. Francis de Sales might put it:

“Soyez toujours le plus doux que vous pourrez, et souvenez-vous que l’on prends plus de mouches avec une cuillère de miel qu’avec cent barils de vinaigre.”

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Brick by Brick, HONORED GUESTS | Tagged , ,
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