St. Francis about priests

Posted on 4 October 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From The Testament of St. Francis:

“…the Lord gave me, and gives me still, such faith in priests who live according to the rite of the holy Roman Church because of their orders that, were they to persecute me, I would still want to have recourse to them…..And I act in this way because, in this world, I see nothing physically of the most high Son of God except His most holy Body and Blood which they receive and they alone administer to others. I want to have these most holy mysteries honoured and venerated above all things and I want to reserve them in precious places.”

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Priest fired for porn may have protected Seal of Confession

Posted on 4 October 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Remember the movie I Confess?  A priest’s nightmare.  A murder confesses to a priest and then frames the priest with the murder.

I saw this on Catholic World News:

A priest who was fired from his teaching post at a Pennsylvania Catholic college and suspended from ministry may have been protecting the seal of confession, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Father Mark Gruber was dismissed last year by St. Vincent College after pornography was found on his computer. But a young man has now told police that he downloaded pornography onto the priest’s computer and later confessed to Father Gruber. The young man argues that the priest accepted responsibility for the pornography in order to protect the integrity of the confessional seal.

Father Gruber—who has sued St. Vincent College for defamation—never directly denied using pornography, school officials have noted. An attorney for the college points out that the priest could still bear responsibility for some of the images on his computer.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

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    POLL: What color vestments for your own funeral?

    Posted on 4 October 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

    It isn’t too early to think about death.

    Given the discussion that has grown from a question I answered, here is a WDTPRS POLL.

    Choose your answer and give reasons in the combox. It would be nice to get lot’s of people giving their reasons.

    So that people feel free to post, would you confine yourselves to posting about your own thoughts, rather than commenting on other people’s remarks?

    Assuming you are Latin, Roman Catholic for your funeral what color vestments would you prefer?

    View Results

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    Ex ore infantium

    Posted on 4 October 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

    His Hermeneuticalness, Fr. Tim Finigan, posted a charming entry over at his place.

    A lovely family that has occasionally come to my parish, recently moved into the area. I saw Mum & Dad and the children today and, as usual with newcomers, made sure that they knew they could come into the parish Social Club after Mass.

    Having another good Catholic family move into the parish is always a bonus but today I was given an extra boost. The children are quite young and understandably a bit confused about moving house and everything that involves. One of the girls (aged 3 I think) asked Mummy “Are we going to our normal Church today?” Mum replied “No, we’re going to our new Church.” The little one then said “Oh, is that the Pope Benedict Church?”

    That made my day! Viva Pope Benedict!

    Also, WDTPRS congratulates the mighty parish of Our Lady of the Rosary for their feast day!

    Posted in Brick by Brick, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare |
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    NYC 7 OCT – PONTIFICAL TLM – Bp. Perry, Palestrina Missa Ave Maria

    Posted on 4 October 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

    flyerOn Thursday 7 October at 6 pm, at the Church of the Holy Innocents in Manhattan (37th ST btwn Broadway and 7th) H.E. Most Rev. Joseph Perry (Aux. Chicago) will be celebrant for a Solemn Pontifical Mass according to the Missale Romanum for the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

    The music for the Mass will be Palestrina’s Missa Ave Maria.

    Bishop Perry is an experienced celebrant of Solemn Pontifical Mass according to the 1962 Missal.  Ordained in 1975 for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Bishop Perry has been auxiliary bishop of Chicago since 1998.  Among his many duties for the Archdiocese, he serves as Episcopal vicar for an area that includes 78 parishes and some 60 elementary and secondary schools.  Bishop Perry completed his study of canon law at the Catholic University of America in 1981 and was Chief Judicial Officer of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee from 1983 until 1995.  He is an instructor in canon law at Mundelein Seminary.  Since 2004, Bishop Perry has been Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on African American Catholics.

    Holy Innocents Church is the only parish in the Archdiocese of New York where Mass according to the 1962 Missal is now celebrated daily.

    Next week’s Mass is only the fourth Solemn Pontifical Mass according to the 1962 Missal celebrated in New York City since Cardinal O’Connor invited Cardinal Stickler to celebrate a Solemn Pontifical Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1996.

    For more information, call (212) 569-1252.

    On a personal note, I have heard this choir.  They are good.  I have seen Bp. Perry pontificate.  He is great.  This should be a splendid Holy Mass.  I will be there.  Those of you in the area… make the effort and bring a friend or two.

    Posted in Brick by Brick, The Campus Telephone Pole |
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    QUAERITUR: candle ceremony during All Souls Mass

    Posted on 3 October 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

    From a reader:

    Our parish has a long standing tradition of remembering the souls of parishioners and/or family members who passed away during the last calendar year.  During the All Souls Day Mass family members of the deceased process one by one with a candle as the name of their deceased loved one is read.  The candles are then placed on the side altars.  While I am thrilled that we use the Feast of All Souls to actually remember and pray for the deceased, the procession and recitation of the names is quite lengthy and seems like something added to the liturgy for purely sentimental reasons.  I was reminded of this practice recently as the announcement in the bulletin for participating in the service once again appeared.  I am wondering if this practice is common in other parishes.

    I think it is wonderful to remember the dead and then to pray for them.  Too often, funerals are canonization ceremonies after which few remember to pray or gain indulgences for the deceased.

    But what you describe is not part of the Mass.  This is something well-intentioned, but not part of the Mass.

    In my opinion, it would be better to do this before Mass begins.

    Things like this should never be allowed to start (during Mass, at least).  It is at times hard to stop abuses, especially those which are loaded with sentimentality.  In this case, however, they could keep the custom by doing it before Mass.

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    QUAERITUR: Use of the amice with the surplice

    Posted on 3 October 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

    From a reader:

    Is it appropriate to wear an amice, when wearing a cope and surplice?

    Under usual circumstances, such as Benediction, the priest or deacon will not use the amice with the surplice and cope.

    However, an assistant priest at a Solemn or a Pontifical Mass will use the amice over the surplice before putting on the cope.  So would the attendant deacons who would sit on either side of the bishop, handling his miter, etc., but they use the dalmatic.

    Here is a photo of the vesting of a bishop before a Pontifical Mass.   I was acting as one of the attending deacons and you can see me on the left with the amice over the surplice but before we put on our dalmatics.  The second deacon is to the bishop’s left.

    Here is a photo from a different Mass.  The two attending deacons are standing in their places.

    deacons

    Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box | Tagged , ,
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    QUAERITUR: Removal of Bl. Sacrament for a concert in church

    Posted on 3 October 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

    A reader asks:

    Is there anything in Canon Law or else in pronouncements of the SRC or CDW regarding removing the Blessed Sacrament from a church whilst it is being used for a concert or similar event? In particular, if the Blessed Sacrament is normally reserved on the High Altar and there is a suitable temporary place for It, eg in a tabernacle in the Sacristy (where it would be kept on Good Friday):

    1. Must the Blessed Sacrament be moved out of the church during the concert? OR 2. Should the Blessed Sacrament be moved out if practicable? OR 3. It is desirable and permissible to leave the Blessed Sacrament in the church as usual?

    Chapter and verse of the official statement would be very helpful in offering advice to our Chaplain.

    I wrote about this document fairly recently.  It is Concerts in Churches issued by the CDW in 1987.

    10. When the proposal is made that there should be a concert in a church, the Ordinary is to grant the permission per modum actus. These concerts should be occasional events. This excludes permission for a series of concerts, for example in the case of a festival or a cycle of concerts.

    When the Ordinary considers it to be necessary, he can, in the conditions foreseen in the Code of Canon Law (can. 1222, para. 2) designate a church that is no longer used for divine service, to be an “auditorium” for the performance of sacred or religious music, and also of music not specifically religious but in keeping with the character of the place.

    In this task the bishop should be assisted by the diocesan commission for Liturgy and sacred music.

    In order that the sacred character of a church be conserved in the matter of concerts, the Ordinary can specify that:

    a. Requests are to be made in writing, in good time, indicating the date and time of the proposed concert, the program, giving the works and the names of the composers.
    b. After having received the authorization of the Ordinary, the rectors and parish priests of the churches should arranged details with the choir and orchestra so that the requisite norms are observed.
    c. Entrance to the church must be without payment and open to all.
    d. The performers and the audience must be dressed in a manner which is fitting to the sacred character of the place.
    e. The musicians and the singers should not be placed in the sanctuary. The greatest respect is to be shown to the altar, the president’s chair and the ambo.
    f. The Blessed Sacrament should be, as far as possible, reserved in a side chapel or in another safe and suitably adorned place (Cf. C.I.C., can 928, par. 4).
    g. The concert should be presented or introduced not only with historical or technical details, but also in a way that fosters a deeper understanding and an interior participation on the part of the listeners.
    h. The organizer of the concert will declare in writing that he accepts legal responsibilities for expenses involved, for leaving the church in order and for any possible damage incurred.

    Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box | Tagged
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    QUAERITUR: May black vestments be use in the Ordinary Form?

    Posted on 3 October 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

    From a reader:

    May a priest wear black vestments for a funeral mass in the Novus Ordo?

    Yes!  Without question, yes!

    Black is a legitimate liturgical color and may be used for Masses for the Dead, All Souls, funerals, graveside services, etc.   The General Instruction of the Roman Missal 346 identifies black as a legitimate liturgical color.

    Black has long been in use in the Western Church for many centuries.

    Will you allow me to quote Ven. Pius XII on the matter?  He writes in Mediator Dei…

    62. Assuredly it is a wise and most laudable thing to return in spirit and affection to the sources of the sacred liturgy. For research in this field of study, by tracing it back to its origins, contributes valuable assistance towards a more thorough and careful investigation of the significance of feast-days, and of the meaning of the texts and sacred ceremonies employed on their occasion. But it is neither wise nor laudable to reduce everything to antiquity by every possible device. Thus, to cite some instances, one would be straying from the straight path were he to wish the altar restored to its primitive tableform; were he to want black excluded as a color for the liturgical vestments; were he to forbid the use of sacred images and statues in Churches; were he to order the crucifix so designed that the divine Redeemer’s body shows no trace of His cruel sufferings; and lastly were he to disdain and reject polyphonic music or singing in parts, even where it conforms to regulations issued by the Holy See.

    I urge priests to use black.

    I urge laypeople to request the use of black.

    I urge laypeople to rally together and purchase beautiful black vestments for their parishes.

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    QUAERITUR: Extraordinary ministers and hand cleanser (Fr. Z rants)

    Posted on 2 October 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

    From a reader:

    The EM’s at our parish, upon strolling up to the altar without genuflecting, or even bowing, proceed to clean their hands with a bottle of Purell, which they pass among themselves. They repeat this act after they have distributed Holy Communion. I have a visceral repugnance for this practice. But is this practice licit? Is is sacrilegious?

    The employment of extraordinary ministers of Communion is, most of the time, repugnant.  First, it means that there are not enough priests.  That is bad.  Second, it usually isn’t necessary to have them.  That is an abuse.  Third, they are often employed under the pretense of getting people involved by getting them to do something that pertains to the clergy.  That is condescending clericalism.

    What was the question again?

    Oh yes.  Right.

    I think ignoring the Blessed Sacrament is a bad thing.  Ignoring the altar is also wrong.  I don’t remember anything in the Praenotanda about setting our squirty bottles of hand cleanser.  I don’t recall any rubric governing its use.

    NO.  Wrong wrong wrong bad bad bad.

    If extraordinary ministers are to be employed, let them be reverent and discreet.  I think passing around a bottle of hand cleanser is TACKY.

    Perhaps they are trying to put the congregation at ease about their germs.   To which we respond: Blech!  Who are you trying to kid?  Use the wretched stuff before hauling yourself out of your special pew, for pity’s sake.

    Perhaps all the anxiety about the proper liturgical use of the hand sanatizer made them forget any sign of reverence?

    Was the sanatizer the liturgical color of the day?

    Okay.. I’ll stop now.

    Posted in ASK FATHER Question Box, Wherein Fr. Z Rants | Tagged ,
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