Z-Cam is on and thanks to readers

Posted on 6 February 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am from time to time switching on the Z-Cam, which streams some music and prayers in Latin, including the entirety of the Rosary, in a loop.

You can reach the Ustream page of the Z-Cam & what was once called “Radio Sabina”, here.  I refer to it now as Radio SPTDV (Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue).

As I said, I have the Rosary going, chaplets interspersed by music, and a few meditations and prayers for the Holy Father.  I will have the Stations of the Cross going soon as well.

I don’t control the annoying ads that pop up, alas, from Ustream. I have found that “Ad Block” works on them.  With “ad block” on, they don’t pop up.


Live stream videos at Ustream

I also will report my Donation button. I had a set back last month, and donations are now a great part of my budget.

Many thanks to donors. I remember you at Mass and occasionally say Mass for the intentions of benefactors. Over the last couple months these include:

RB, DM, CMB, HE, JS, MJC, MH, JH, DP, MK, MF, AM, MF, ER, CO’C, PB Jr, DN, LS, KB, JB, RMcE, BB, MG, MK, LJ, SM, Fr LT, BD, KB, SC, WJC, LV, MH, PAP, AN, AR’sC, AR, FN, JP, DH, JEJ, Fr. RH, VW, VS, KA, JR, MZ, KT, CG, JK, EM, JR, DM, SG, CD, WH, GJ, MCB, MG, JWM, GMcI, PV, JR, MR, TW, CB, ALG, AD, SD, ML, SH, AR, MAD, SMcM, RR, VD, TH, DN, KA, CL, RB, MF, MJC, MR, AM, AAP, MF, LS, CO’C, ER, JB, RMcE, RA, DP, MH, SS, BB, MK, LV, JH, CB, CL, SM, KB, FB, AN, MR, JP, KA, VW, Fr. RH, VS, MH, MR, FH, TH, MFx2, MZ, MH, MK, MS, CRN, RT, JDK, FBx2, BB, JHW, RB, SS, CG, CD, EK, JC, WH, FH, JV, MC, MRx2, DD, JMD, SM, RB, GMcI, DEG, AB, MCB, CB, AD, WMcC, ML, BA, Fr. SD, CTI, TH, AR, RR

And this month so far.  UPDATED 6 FEB:

RB, CBM, MF, DM, MH, DP, MJC, Fr. LT, DP, AM, HE, TD, MF, JDK, AM, MMcG, AMacB, LL, AP, ER, LS, CO’C, SJS, SA, GC, JMcG,

UPDATED 5 FEB:

Also, thanks to RM and MH who sent me amazon gift cards!

I must start raising money for a trip to Rome in June for an important conference on Summorum Pontificum.  I’ve been looking at airfare and it is insane at that time of year.  Lodging… I hope to share an apartment with a priest who chooses to go for the same period.

Moreover, I now have an “Ammo Fund” button, rather far down on the side bar, for those of you who are so inclined.  Using that button tags the donation for that particular project.

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YOUR URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS

Posted on 5 February 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Please use the sharing buttons!  Thanks!

Continued from THESE.

I get many requests by email asking for prayers. Many requests are heart-achingly grave and urgent.

As long as my blog reaches so many readers in so many places, let’s give each other a hand.  We should support each other in works of mercy.

CLICK TO BUY

If you have some prayer requests, feel free to post them below. You have to be registered here to be able to post.

Registered or not, will you in your charity please take a moment look at the requests and to pray for the people about whom you read?

Finally, I have three serious personal petitions.  I sense movement on one of them, but I am still working earnestly on the other two.

CONTINUED HERE

Posted in SESSIUNCULA, Urgent Prayer Requests |
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NSR: Making Church history up as they go!

Posted on 5 February 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Over at the National Schismatic Reporter, the journal of record for heretics and schismatics everywhere (aka Fishwrap), there is an article by one Richard Gaillardetz, the “Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College”, ostensibly about women, ordination and the Magisterium. Guess where he comes down.

I was amused by some of his premises, which you are supposed to just accept.

The first premise isn’t so bad, but the second is a real hoot.

To wit, the first:

Today the term magisterium generally refers to the doctrinal teaching office and authority of the bishops in communion with the bishop of Rome.

Okay, here he is suggesting that, in the past, the Magisterium was probably something else than it is today (and could be something else in the future?).

Let’s move along to next premise:

Even as questions of doctrinal authority emerged with considerable vigor in the early church, it would be anachronistic to assume that the church of the first millennium experienced anything like our modern conflicts between the magisterium and theologians.

HUH?!?

The contrary is true.

Maybe the writer has forgotten Arius?

Arius was a priest in the diocese of Alexandria in Egypt. We could call Alexandria an Archdiocese. Later it would be a Patriarchate. The Bishop of Alexandria, Alexander, convened a local synod of bishops and, with it, excommunicated Arius.

Has the writer forgotten Pelagius?

Pelagius was not a bishop and, as far as we know, not a priest.  Some scholars think he may have been a monk, but there is no conclusive evidence for that.  That leaves – wait for it – lay man.

The writer is correct that there were relatively few non-clerical theologians making problems in the ancient world, but it is hard to think of many theologians who caused more problems for the Church than Arius the priest and Pelagius the layman.

The theological problems of the modern age are nowhere near as serious as those of the Patristic era.

Here’s another example.  Remember Nestorius?

Nestorius was the a bishop in Constantinople at the beginning of the fifth century.  Nestorius had written in Greek to Pope Celestine, who did not read Greek.  Celestine asked his Archdeacon named Leo (later Pope Leo the Great) to respond.  Leo assigned the task to a young monk named John Cassian.  This sounds like a curial process to me.  And Jerome sure worked in the court of Pope Damasus, didn’t he?

It is absurd to suggest that the theological controversies we see today, in which the Roman Curia gets involved, are more serious than those of the 1st millennium, when there was supposedly a pristine, curia-less, happy era of consensus building in collegiality and sounding out the faithful in polls and in the pages of the Fishwrap (aka National Schismatic Reporter).

Posted in Liberals, Our Catholic Identity, Patristiblogging, The Drill | Tagged , , , ,
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Are you pro-life? You may be considered a terrorist by the Obama Administration.

Posted on 5 February 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From LifeNews:

‘Pro-life paradigm’ motivates domestic terrorism: West Point report
BY BEN JOHNSON

WEST POINT, NY, February 4, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) – A study published by West Point’s anti-terrorism center claims the “pro-life paradigm” is a motivating factor in domestic terrorism.

Dr. Arie Perliger, director of terrorism studies at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center (CTC), makes the allegation in his report, “Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America’s Violent Far-Right.” The document – which references abortion 76 times in 146 pages – was issued in November but only reported last month.  [Issued in November?  Before the election?]

In an analysis of “far-right terrorism,” Perliger likens the pro-life movement to the Ku Klux Klan, skinheads, and Christian Identity (a racist Christian heresy). [It’s the flip-side of the gun-control hysteria, isn’t it?]

“The Christian fundamentalist violent far right emerged from two ideological platforms,” he wrote. “The more influential and popular one is that of the Christian Identity school of thought” – a tiny sect that teaches that Jesus Christ came to save only white people and that Jews are the literal biological children of Satan.  [Emphasis on “tiny”.]

“The second is the anti-abortion/pro-life paradigm,” Perliger wrote.  [And this is much more problematic.  Remember, the hijacking of pro-life language by those who are having a spittle-flecked nutty about scary-looking guns, are being directed by people who could care less about guns.  They don’t like the people who uphold the 1st and 2nd Amendments.  They are the real targets: the people.  All these talk about making the world safer is really about shutting up the people they don’t like.  “And those people think babies have a right to be born? those mouth-breathing, knuckle-draggers, those Tea-Party-types!”]

Perliger writes that the “ideological principles of pro-life violence” include the beliefs that “the abortion industry” engages in “the systematic killing of innocent and pure human beings”; [sounds like Planned Parenthood, originally founded systematically to kill black people…] that “since every human being is created in the image of God, it is by definition a sin to end their lives”; and that “any violent acts to end their lives [of ‘fetuses’] are immoral and should be prevented.”  [In the gun debate right now, there is more and more talk of expanding “mental health” checks and sharing records.  The next step will be to start labeling political and ideological as having “mental health” problems.  If you think that from the moment of conception a human being is present, made in the image of God with the inalienable right to be born, then you must be crazy.  The feds will have to come and confiscate your guns, take your children from your homes, and keep you under watch.]

Perliger also raps liberty-minded small government activists, whom he calls “anti-federalists.” [You mean… Tea Party types?] According to the report, such purported would-be terrorists believe the government has “a natural tendency to intrude on individuals’ civil and constitutional rights,” and they “support civil activism, individual freedoms, and self-government.”

According to Perliger, small government advocates’ views are not merely violent but “designed to exclude minorities and foreigners.”  [Those xenophobes!  They must be sick in the head.]

The section on the pro-life movement links Dr. C. Everett Koop and Francis Schaeffer‘s statement that Roe v. Wade “symbolize[d] the triumph of evil over good” to a 1979 attack on an abortion facility and likens it to “the ideological rhetoric of the Identity movement.”

Perliger accuses pro-lifers of “using chemical and biological weapons” by “contaminating the medical equipment of abortion clinics with chemical materials.”

If you don’t think this country could turn in a bad direction really fast, then you are the one who is crazy.

Read history.

And read the rest about this B as in B, S as in S, over there.

Posted in Emanations from Penumbras, Liberals, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged , , , , ,
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Bishops and priests… pay attention! The persecution is coming.

Posted on 5 February 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Bishops and priests… pay attention!

On EWTN I read:

The Oregon state attorney general’s office is investigating a Christian baker who declined to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Aaron Klein, owner of the Gresham, Ore. bakery Sweet Cakes by Melissa, told The Oregonian newspaper he chose not to make the cake because he believes marriage is “a religious institution between a man and woman as stated in the Bible.”

“When someone tells me that their definition is something different, I strongly disagree. I don’t think I should be penalized for that.”

His business, which he co-owns with his wife, could face as much as $50,000 in fines if found guilty of violating the Oregon Equality Act. The law forbids businesses from denying “full and equal accommodations” for customers on the basis of sexual orientation and other protected categories.  [Orwellian.]

Same-sex “marriage” is not recognized in the state, though domestic partnerships are.

The woman who filed the complaint against the bakery said Klein said she and her partner were “abominations to the Lord” and that their money was not equal to others. Klein denied making those statements.  [Gratis asseritur…]

“I apologized for wasting their time and said we don’t do same-sex marriages,” he told the ABC television affiliate KATU. “I honestly did not mean to hurt anybody, didn’t mean to make anybody upset,” he said.

The couple had previously bought a wedding cake at the store several years before for one of the women’s mothers and her husband.  [I wonder if that piece of information was included to dispel the thought that the shop was purposely targeted.  It still could have been!]

Laura Bowman, whose partner filed the complaint, said her partner was “reduced to tears” [puh-leez] when she heard the bakery would not bake the cake.  [Boo hoo!  Let’s play the emotion card.  Why not? There is no reason anymore in these matters.  It’s all tears and appetites now.]

Klein said his bakery sells its pastries and cakes to all customers, but they turn down requests for cakes for same-sex ceremonies because of the owners’ beliefs.

The bakery has crosses on the walls and has the New Testament passage John 3:16 on its website.  [Lesbian 1: “Hey remember that photographer who refused to take that job in New Mexico?  He got his ass fined.  Ha ha.  He’ll never make that mistake again!”  Lesbian 2: “Hey, remember that bakery with the cross on the wall?  Let’s go to that one!”]

The state attorney general’s office will not take action until it receives the business’ official account of the incident. The office could file a discrimination complaint with the state Bureau of Labor and Industries if it finds cause to do so.

State laws, increasing legal recognition for same-sex relationships and pressure from homosexual activists have created legal threats to businesses involved in the wedding industry and to organizations that host weddings.  [And the sodomy-activists know exactly how to hurt those businesses.]

A New Mexico Christian photographer who declined to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony for two women was fined nearly $7,000 and is taking the case to the state supreme court. A Methodist-associated retreat house in New Jersey is being sued under a state anti-discrimination law after it declined to host a same-sex civil union ceremony.

A cake shop in Lakewood, Colo. faced a petition and a boycott in July 2012 after its owner declined to create a cake for a same-sex male couple, also citing his Christian beliefs. He said the media controversy helped business at the bakery to double.  [Every cloud has a silver lining.  It’s the Chick-fil-A Effect?]

 

Posted in One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged , , ,
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What is your good news?

Posted on 5 February 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Do you have some good news to share with the readers?

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
23 Comments

@Pontifex Project: Week 5

Posted on 5 February 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I suggested a project using Twitter HERE.  Let’s create a “stack” of tweets during the day.  Concentrate your effort on a day and single theme instead of various scatterings over days when they might not be noticed.

Here is the collective tweet for TUESDAY, 5 February 2013.  Copy. Paste. Repost. Retweet.

@Pontifex Holy Father, we will pray for your designated prayer intentions, general and mission, for February 2013 #catholic

I often use Echofon to tweet, a plugin for Firefox.  I also use Tweetdeck.  Makes it easier.

If some of you want to offer other language versions, post below.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
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Putting the well-deserved spotlight on Irish dissident Fr. Tony Flannery

Posted on 4 February 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At this site Renew America the Australian author Eamonn Keane has done us a great service by summarizing many points concerning the Irish heretic Fr. Tony Flannery, who has been under scrutiny by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

This is important, because, so far, the press has allowed Flannery to control the story.  When you dig deeper, as Keane did, you see how duplicitous Flannery has been.  Keane read stuff by Flannery that Flannery hasn’t been sharing with the newsies.

Keane’s piece is long. The first part is a summary of what has happened. And then he pulls out some quotes from Flannery’s work. Let’s skip over the dopey women priest stuff. Cliché Here are some examples.

“I now have difficulty with an assumption that I made automatically for a great part of my life, that in terms of teaching, Christ and the church are one and the same. I no longer accept as automatically true that the church we have now is necessarily according to the plan of God” (Keeping the Faith, p. 25).

[…]

“The weight of evidence suggests that Jesus didn’t have anything as specific as a church in mind. He gave his followers a mission to go and preach the Kingdom of God, but he didn’t set up or outline any kind of structure” (Keeping the Faith, pp. 35-36).

[…]

In regard to homosexuality, Fr. Flannery says: “I honestly do not think it is either fair or realistic to expect all people of a homosexual orientation to remain celibate all their lives, and to refrain from any form of physical sexual expression. When this is made a condition for their belonging to the church, it is no wonder that so many walk sadly away. In the present regime, the church has taken an increasingly hard line on this” (Fragments, p.58).

[…]

Chastising the Catholic Church for its refusal to bless attempted second marriages by persons divorced from a living lawful spouse with whom their first marriage was valid, Fr. Flannery said: “The logic of this is that any form of blessing given to such a couple will be confused with the sacrament, and will serve to debase and devalue the church teaching on the sacredness of marriage. From a legal point of view this has certain logic, but I’m afraid that pastorally it is cruel and unnecessary” (Fragments, p.33).

[…]

Fr. Flannery entitled his own essay in RRP as Some Ideas on a New Approach to Catholic Sexual Teaching. He outlined what he believes are necessary “basic changes” the Church needs to make by saying: “So the first basis of a new theology of sexuality would be a positive acceptance of the beauty and goodness not just of our sexual nature but of sexual activity in relationships…It would take the church a long time to come around to really believing that sex is good and beautiful, part of the wonder of God’s creation…” (RRP, p. 165).

He continued by saying, “The second basic change would be to break the inherent connection, long part of traditional Catholic teaching, between sexual activity and marriage. To continue to hold that sex outside marriage is always sinful is in my view a mistake” (RRP, p. 165). He added: “Breaking away from the rigid connection between sexual activity and marriage would also give us a way out of the bind we find ourselves in with couples who are involved in second relationships. The failure of the church to respond to the many people who are getting married for the second time is scandalous” (RRP, p. 167). Later in the book, he repeats his call for the Church to “break the rigid connection between sexual activity and marriage, allowing for appropriate sexual relationships between people who are not married, when the quality of the relationship merits it” (RRP, p. 169).

The third change that Fr. Flannery calls upon the Church to adopt is that “we no longer teach that the use of artificial contraception in a loving relationship is sinful” (RRP, p. 169).

[…]

The CDF does not go after people by chance.

So far the story in the press is about what Flannery wrote that got him into trouble with CDF.  The story, so far, has been pretty much been determined by Flannery himself. He has controlled the story.  But Eamonn Keane read some of the Flannery’s writings which Flannery didn’t give to the press! These writings reveal doctrinal errors far more serious than even the ones Flannery has mentioned.

The Catholic press needs to get on top of this and get to the real issues.  Eamonn Keane did.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liberals, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill | Tagged , , ,
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Fr. Perrone’s Sexagesima Sunday sermon on spiritual pride

Posted on 4 February 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

On Sunday 3 February at Assumption Grotto parish in Detroit, my friend Fr. Eduard Perrone gave a fine sermon during the Sunday High Mass in the Extraordinary Form on forms of spiritual pride.

He touches on the topic of those who think they are special because they attend the Extraordinary Form.  People can also think they are the only ones suffering in the Church.

I boosted the audio a bit.  It starts slightly into the sermon.

Well worth your time.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Mail from priests, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , , , , ,
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What’s Pres. Obama promoting now?

Posted on 4 February 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The First Gay President, as Newsweek dubbed him, once promoted infanticide.

What’s he promoting now?

Obama encourages Boy Scouts of America to end ban on gays

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Sunday encouraged the Boy Scouts of America to end its ban on gay members and leaders, days before the group is expected to vote on the controversial and long-standing rule.
In an interview with CBS, anchor Scott Pelley asked the president if he believed scouting should be open to gays.
“Yes,” Obama said simply.
Asked to elaborate, Obama – who last year gave his backing to the right of same sex couples to marry – said gays and lesbians should be able to participate in “every institution” that others can.
“My attitude is … that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does, in every institution and walk of life,” he said.
“The Scouts are a great institution that are promoting young people and exposing them to, you know, opportunities and leadership that will serve people for the rest of their lives, and I think that nobody should be barred (from) that.”

[…]

Posted in Liberals, The future and our choices | Tagged , , ,
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