Wow…
From Astronomy Pic of the Day: Explanation: Above this boreal landscape, the arc of the Milky Way and shimmering aurorae flow through the night. Like an echo, below them lies Iceland’s spectacular Godafoss, the Waterfall of the Gods. Shining just below the Milky Way, bright Jupiter is included in the panoramic nightscape recorded on March 9. Faint and diffuse, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) appears immersed in the auroral glow.
For a big version go HERE.
From a priest:
I regularly use a limited amount of Latin in the OF at weekend Masses. Most parishioners really appreciate it, but after catechesis and so on a few just won’t give up their protest.
Last Sunday I preached on Otranto and mentioned that the words of consecration will be in Latin in honor of these special martyrs, as it was the language of their worship. After on of the Masses somebody wrote in the intentions book in the back of the church “no more terrible Latin.” It is amazing that even though 95% of the Mass was celebrated in English some people react so negatively towards the Latin. The bigotry is amazing; our sacral language has such a bias towards it. Has anyone ever said “no more terrible (insert language here).” We priests need to persevere in promoting the use of Latin in the OF, and also learn and celebrate the EF. We need to pray for the conversion of our faithful, so many of whom has lost all sense of Catholic identity. It is another reason for SP. God bless, oremus pro invicem!
Ahhhhh Latin!
Aging-hippie liberals interpret everything within the Church still through the lens they formed during the anti-authoritarian civil-rights and anti-war protest movements.
When we try to uphold hierarchy and authority or rubrics or the older form of Mass or obedience to the Magisterium or decorum in liturgy and sacred music, an involuntary subconscious switch clicks in their heads. They take your faithful Catholic position of continuity to be an attack themselves and on Vatican II.
When they hear Latin, a buzz starts in their heads, their vision tunnels, their hands start to clench and unclench of their own accord.
When they see a biretta… when they see a cassock… when they see a Roman vestment… CLICK. BZZZZZZ. The sweat breaks out….
Vatican II cannot, in their brain’s chemistry, be separated from the protest movements they have idolized until they are actually paradigmatic, iconic, even mythic.
The Council itself – in the received liberal interpretation – cannot ever be questioned or subjected to the authority of the letter of the Council’s texts, because they cannot separate their understanding of the Council from those movements of protest.
The events outside the Church in the USA in those days are completely fused with the event of the Council and certain post-Conciliar reforms. They interpret everything they do through the lens of this combined and unassailable myth.
Reason #647886 for Summorum Pontificum.
CLICK TO BUY
An alert reader saw an interesting piece of information in an article about Pope Francis on Sandro Magister’s site, Chiesa.
Apparently, Pope Francis cites with some frequency The Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson.
It looks as if the Kindle version is … free? Yep. $0.00.
Don’t have a Kindle? Click HERE! (Canadians and Brits, please use my amazon search box at the bottom of the page.)
The Lord of the World is a must read. It is one of the very first in the dystopian genre and is deeply Catholic. And you can read about the author in an interesting book about prominent coverts to the Catholic Church and how one convert influenced another. Try Joseph Pearce’s engaging Literary Converts: Spiritual Inspiration in an Age of Unbelief. 
There is a section on Robert Hugh Benson.
A great compliment to The Lord of the World might be J.D. James’ dystopian The Children of Men. It is not Catholic, but it is definitely Christian. Do NOT make the mistake of thinking that the dreadful movie version of a few years ago has anything to do with the book. The books of Michael P. O’Brien, starting with Father Elijah and then the “Children of the Last Days” trilogy are also good. Begin with Strangers and Sojourners. Catholic for sure.
I also read somewhere that Pope Francis’ favorite movie is Babette’s Feast. And excellent choice! There is a new remastered Blu-Ray disk available for pre-order for July. I have it linked on the right side bar of the blog or click HERE. Again, Canadians and Brits, please use the search box at the bottom. Just type in the title. Catholic? I sure think so, though it doesn’t have much to do with the Catholic Church on the surface of it.
Some good summer reading!
And don’t forget Patrick O’Brian for great reading anytime!
From a reader:
im getting married on friday may 31st the day after Corpus Christi.
can i eat meat at the reception or do i need a dispensation?
All Fridays, except for liturgical Solemnities, are days of penance even if one is doing something celebratory on that day. Congratulations, by the way, on your upcoming nuptials!
You can ask for a dispensation from your parish priest in individual cases.
You also have the privilege, in the United States, of substituting some other penance in lieu of abstaining from meat.
Now for my brief rant:
Would it not make a strong statement in favor of reviving Catholic culture were you as a couple, marrying on a Friday, to offer only meatless options at your reception?
It is certainly possible to do that without diminishing the celebration.
I’ll bet the readers here could think of zillions of great meal options that don’t include meat but are nonetheless both beautiful to look at and better to eat!
I had a hankerin’ for a sandwich today. Off to Firehouse!
Do you have these stores where you are? Great sandwiches, founded by firefighters, friendly… did I mention the great sandwiches?
They offer different ways to support firefighters too. Check them out sometime.
Related to the news about Bp. Finn which I posted HERE, there is a story which ought to get the attention of, and scare to bits, every priest and bishop out there in the wide, hostile world.
First, the good news, HERE:
No child porn found on computers seized from Independence Catholic church
INDEPENDENCE, Mo – Computers seized from a Catholic church in Independence contained no child pornography, according to the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
In March, several computers were taken from St. Ann Parish after it was discovered somebody had used the church’s unprotected IP address.
“The parish had been using an unsecure, non-password protected wireless signal, so the files could have been downloaded either at the parish office or by someone within range of their wifi signal,” the Diocese said in a statement.
The Diocese says investigators are returning the computers taken from the church.
WHEW!
Men, secure that WI-FI! Secure your network!
Be sure your security on your wireless internet is functioning and effective. You might ask around the parish to see if there is some computer guy or gal who understands security and have your set up assessed.
Imagine: Some scumball loon connects to your unsecured wi-fi, cruises nasty sites, and then blows the whistle on you. On you. Some creepy sicko get’s into your network, puts bad things on one of your computers, and blows the whistle on you. On you.
Be careful out there. Things are going to get hot and you better make sure you are ready on all fronts.
Semper parati!
Bishops! Perhaps you might send a copy of this story to all the pastors of your diocese.
Click!
PS: Check out the great Demotivators stuff! Funny!
From Catholic World News:
Bishop Finn not liable in child-porn lawsuit, Missouri judge rules
A federal judge in Missouri has ruled that the Diocese of Kansas City (Missouri) and Bishop Robert Finn cannot be held liable in a civil lawsuit against a priest who had lewd photos of the plaintiff.
Father Shawn Ratigan, who has entered a guilty plea to child-pornography charges, is now the defendant in a civil lawsuit, brought by the family of a young girl whose photos were found on the priest’s computer. Judge Gary Fenner ruled that while that lawsuit can go forward, the plaintiff cannot argue that the diocese and Bishop Finn aided Ratigan in collecting the photos. Last September, Bishop Finn was found guilty on a criminal charge of failing to report evidence of child abuse. [If memory serves, guilty of one misdemeanor charge and innocent of another misdemeanor charge.] The bishop has consistently said that he was not fully informed of the nature of the photos found on Ratigan’s computer.
A priest reader sent me a link to an article on the site of The Remnant, which is I believe a bi-monthly newspaper staunchly on the traditional side of our Catholic spectrum. The article in question concerns the validity of absolution of sins given by priests of the SSPX. HERE
In a nutshell, the article argues that SSPX priests absolve validly. I do not believe that to be true. SSPX priests do not have faculties to receive sacramental confessions. Period. Faculties are necessary for validity.
I will not here replicate the piece from The Remnant. Visit their site and read it on your own. On the other hand, after consulting a canonist whom I trust can I offer this response.
The article in The Remnant is mostly another “Ecclesia supplet” argument which Jimmy Akin, among others, has handily proven faulty in these circumstances. HERE
The author of the Remnant piece decries that Rome has made no public official pronouncement on the matter. Therefore their confessions MUST be valid.
On the other hand, Rome has made an official pronouncement on the matter – it’s called the Code of Canon Law and it was issued in 1983.
Just to review, here are the key canons in the 1983 Code for the Latin Church (my emphasis):
Can. 966 §1 For the valid absolution of sins, it is required that, in addition to the power of order, the minister has the faculty to exercise that power in respect of the faithful to whom he gives absolution.
§2 A priest can be given this faculty either by the law itself, or by a concession issued by the competent authority in accordance with can. 969.
Can. 969 §1 Only the local Ordinary is competent to give to any priests whomsoever the faculty to hear the confessions of any whomsoever of the faithful. Priests who are members of religious institutes may not, however, use this faculty without the permission, at least presumed, of their Superior.
§2 The Superior of a religious institute or of a society of apostolic life, mentioned in can. 968 §2, is competent to give to any priests whomsoever the faculty to hear the confessions of his own subjects and of those others who live day and night in the house.
So, a man must be validly ordained and must have the Church’s permission to use the power to absolve sins validly. That line about “the law itself” refers to a case of danger of death. If someone is in danger of death, even a former priest validly absolves sins, even if he was a convicted pedophile or supporter of women’s ordination whose clerical status was removed.
The Remnant writer claims that canon 144 allows an SSPX priest to deem his own absolutions to be valid “due to legal common error”. However, canon 144 is not for the individual priest to interpret. The legal error must be on the part of the one confessing. For example, if I go to St. Ipsidipsy in Tall Tree Circle and confess my horrible black sins to a validly ordained priest in the confessional, but I am unaware that that priest’s faculties were suspended that very day, my sins would probably be forgiven. I would be in error about the facts through no fault of my own.
So, the law is clear. No reasonable person, and I include SSPX priests in this category, can say that an SSPX priest has faculties to receive sacramental confessions and absolve. There is no reasonable error of law about this.
The author of the Remnant piece makes a false distinction about the accommodation the Catholic Church grants to the Orthodox. He effectively argues “if THEIR absolutions are valid, then why aren’t OURS?!” That does not hold water. If the SSPX are truly not schismatic, and if they are “merely” disobedient sons of Holy Church, then they should be held to a higher standard than the accommodation extended to the schismatic Orthodox.
If an SSPX priest is truly concerned about the validity of his absolutions, then he needs to find a bishop in communion with Rome and humbly beg that his situation be regularized. I would go so far to say that if an SSPX priest even doubts that his absolutions may be invalid, then he ought to run, walk, limp or crawl to a friendly diocesan Catholic bishop and beg to be regularized.
I’ll bet that in most cases a diocesan bishop would find some work for the man which would include celebration of the sacraments in the older form.
A reader sent me a link to the site of the Dominican-run Edgewood College in the Diocese of Madison. HERE
A Dominican Catholic mass welcoming and embracing all faith traditions. Please bring your family to this celebration of Edgewood College! RSVP is appreciated.
From a quick reading, doesn’t it sound as if they are having Mass in the traditional, Dominican Rite?
Okay… Mass didn’t merit a capital letter, and there is that odd phrase “embracing all faith traditions”.
Perhaps the “Dominican Catholic mass” means that the celebrant will preach against Albigensians.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
APX on 10 November – St Andrew Avellino (Vetus Ordo). Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “Many priests live alone, with no one to notice if they fail to rise, suffer a fall, or become suddenly…”
on 10 November – St Andrew Avellino (Vetus Ordo). Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “Father, in case you haven’t already considered this, an iPhone might help you or another priest in that situation. “…”
on 10 November – St Andrew Avellino (Vetus Ordo). Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “his Theatines maintain a minor seminary in the neighborhood under his patronage. i drove by it on the way to…”
on WDTPRS – 9 November: Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran, Rome’s Cathedral: “Great stuff Fr Z….. are the doors to St John Lateran originally the doors from the Roman Curia in the…”
on 10 November – St Andrew Avellino (Vetus Ordo). Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “As the demographic collapse accelerates, priests may find it prudent to live together in a central location with their deanery.…”
on Some notes for your Sunday Mass in the Vetus and the Novus Ordo: “This is the best explanation I have heard in my almost 50 years. I wish it was what was heard…”
on Some notes for your Sunday Mass in the Vetus and the Novus Ordo: “moon1234: We have to understand something about the Lord’s parables. The parable, or Hebrew mashal is an allegorical lesson of…”
on WDTPRS – 9 November: Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran, Rome’s Cathedral: “The obelisk outside the building was originally built by Thutmose III, and contains dedications from subsequent pharoahs. If you follow…”
A Daily Prayer for Priests
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