9-22 Feb ’10 – Berlin, NJ

Posted on 7 December 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have tentative plans to be in Berlin, NJ at Mater Ecclesiae to help out for a few days.  Not yet concrete.

Posted in What Fr. Z is up to |
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Nooo… Liberation Theology isn’t “okay” now.

Posted on 7 December 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Not long ago I was getting e-mails from people about a parish where a speaker identified as a "Liberation theologian" was scheduled to speak.

That puzzled me a little.

Don’t get me wrong, in a sense Joseph Ratzinger was a bit of a "Liberation theologian", in that he really delved into the theology and found its flaws.  But he also found a few strong points and, mutatis mutandis, used a couple of those points for reflections on a liturgical theology.  Consider that if Christ is our Liberator (from sin, damnation and hell), what happens in the Church’s worship is also work of the Liberator.  But I digress.  That is a far cry from the attempted – failed – fusion of Christian principles with Marxism.

But ideas come and go, and come back again.  We have lots of Pelagians and Gnostics around today, after all.

But Liberation theology might make a come back, given an up tick in rhetoric from, for example, Black Liberation theology.

It is good that we all know something about Liberation theology, but we must study it with the help of the Church’s indications set down especially by the CDF when Card. Ratzinger was Prefect.

But be reminded that Liberation theology is not "okay".  It is deeply flawed.  It is not cool to embrace it or even give it as much heed as you would some dopey kid wearing a Che Guevara tee-shirt.

From CNA with my emphases and comments:

Benedict XVI cautions against dangers of Marxist liberation theology

Vatican City, Dec 7, 2009 / 11:42 am (CNA).- In a meeting with a group of Brazilian bishops on Saturday, the Holy Father warned of the dangers of Marxist liberation theology and noted its grave consequences for ecclesial communities.

During the ad limina visit, the Pope recalled that “last August marked 25 years since the Instruction “Libertatis nuntius” [READ that!] of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on certain aspects of liberation theology.  The document "highlights the danger involved in the uncritical absorption, by certain theologians, of theses and methodologies that come from Marxism."

The Pope warned that the “more or less visible” scars of Marxist liberation theology, such as “rebellion, division, dissent, offenses, anarchy, are still being felt, causing great suffering and a grave loss of dynamic strength in your diocesan communities.”  [And yet we still find some folks promoting ideas from that Marxist strain of Liberation theology.]

For this reason, he exhorted all those who in some way feel attracted or affected by “certain deceitful principles of liberation theology” to re-visit the instruction and be open to the light that it can shed on the subject.

Benedict XVI also recalled that “the supreme rule of faith of the Church in effect arises from the unity that the Spirit established between Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church, in such reciprocity that they cannot subsist independently of each other,” as John Paul II explained in his encyclical “Fides et Ratio.”  [We must not allow (and we must recognized it when we see it) a false dichotomy between reason and faith, intellect and authority.  The Holy Father has been teaching on this for some time.  Think of the Regensburg Address.]

The Instruction “Libertatis nuntius” was published on August 6, 1984, with the approval of Pope John Paul II, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Its purpose was to focus the attention of pastors, theologians and all the faithful on the deviations of certain forms of liberation theology that are dangerous for the faith and for the Christian life and that are based on Marxist thought.

It warned that the grave ideological deviations of Marxist liberation theology inevitably lead to the betrayal of the cause of the poor and that a Marxist analysis of reality leads to the acceptance of positions that are incompatible with the Christian vision of man. [He also gets into this in his first message for the World Day for Peace as well as in Deus caritas est.]

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Pro-death politician refused Communion

Posted on 7 December 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

You probably already read this story last May, but here it is again, to refresh your memory.

A reader, PR of Adelaide, alerted me to the following from Ille Curator News Service.

I have a few qualms about the details in this report, but here is the story with my emphases and comments.

Western Emperor Excommunicated by Bishop of Milan over Massacre: Fellow Bishops Denounce "Extreme and Unpastoral" Move  [Weasels.  There is always a distinction, a false distinction, made between those who judge according to distinctions and principles and being "pastoral".]

By Hilaria Niveus

(To read an account of this notorious incident, click)

MEDIOLANUM, May 20, 390 (Ille Curator) – The Catholic bishop of Mediolanum has been accused of "political grandstanding" by some bishops and representatives of other Christian denominations, after he expelled the Western Emperor, Theodosius, from his cathedral on Friday – apparently a response to the recent alleged killing of 7,000 in Thessalonica.  [Interesting turning of the tables.  Usually the reportage says that Ambrose and his party are the "some", that is, the "few right-wing loudmouths" who don’t have a "nuanced" position.]

Eunomius of Cyzicus, a leader in the Arian school of Christianity, [I don’t want to say… well.. "read: Jesuits", but…] and bishop Palladius of Ratiaria have distanced themselves from Archbishop Ambrose, saying he has engaged in an unnecessary public clash at the cathedral that was ill-befitting his position as a Church leader. [No "common ground" there.  Can’t we all just get along?]  Palladius said that refusing to allow the Emperor to enter except as a barefoot penitent was an "extreme and unpastoral" approach, that it had been "hasty" and was tantamount to "using the Holy Eucharist as a political weapon." [Besides, resorting to misleading characterizations based on facts is just plain mean.]

Bishop Palladius said, "If the emperor had come to my cathedral, I would have greeted him with compassion, not condemnation. I would consider it my duty to dialogue with him first before making any dramatic public confrontations.

"I feel it is our business as bishops to teach and I do not believe that the Holy Eucharist should be wielded as a political weapon."

The criticism comes after an extraordinary confrontation between Emperor Theodosius and the bishop of Mediolanum at the cathedral late last week.

Eyewitnesses reported that when the bishop saw the emperor approaching for services he physically blocked the entrance.  [Welll… I am not sure about that.  But this is the spin that the left is giving the story.  Let’s just move on.]

The emperor has been the subject of controversy recently across the Empire since the alleged massacre, sanctioned by the emperor, of 7000 in the Greek city of Thessalonica.  [Look.  Either those people were innocent or they weren’t.  If they committed crimes  they can be sent ad metalla, or ad ramos.  There are options.  But we must defened the right of the innocent to life.] A media release from the Imperial Administration said the action had been a response to the assassination of the military governor in the city and was simply "an effort to reduce the threat to travelers and to the public peace."

Local reports say that Bishop Ambrose told the emperor, at the very door of the cathedral [probably and exaggeration…], "You do not reflect, it seems, O Emperor, on the guilt you have incurred by that great massacre; but now that your fury is appeased, do you not perceive the enormity of your crime?"

Ambrose said that the emperor must "not be dazzled by the splendor of the purple" he wore, and that he should not dare to "lift up hands in prayer" that were "steeped in the blood of so unjust a massacre." [Yep…. unpastoral mainly because he refers to facts.  It is hard to dispute that when so many are killed there is a great deal of blood and bodies to dispose of.]

"Depart then, and do not by a second crime add to the guilt of the first."
A leading theologian told Ille Curator that the incident typifies the hard-line theology that was the result of the recent Ecumenical Council in Bithynia. "Nicea has really hampered the efforts of the Church to come to reasonable accommodations with the public sphere," Auxentius of Durostorum said.

"To churchmen like Bishop Ambrose, there can only be one way to be a Christian and anyone who attempts to investigate a different faith-journey, is simply condemned out of hand," he added. [Those "single-issue" Catholics are giving the Catholic "brand" a bad name.]

Archbishop Ambrose responded briefly to Ille Curator by messenger-runner this week, saying he has no intention of heeding the criticisms and will continue to refuse entry to the emperor, and key staff members, until he has publicly repented of his action.

"The emperor is a man," Ambrose said, "and like all men, he is subject to the will and judgement of God and the Church for his actions. And in ‘Milan’, I am the Church."  [What an outdated ecclesiology!  The idea that the bishop himself is the embodiment of the local Church.  That would have liturgical implications.  What an idea.  Har!]

To the accusation that he had used the Holy Eucharist as a "political weapon" and was engaging in secular politics, he responded, "The Church is interested in the salvation of souls, including that of Theodosius. To claim that because he is Emperor he may act against the will of God and of common justice, is to deny the very authority upon which his crown rests."

Since the confrontation, the Emperor has reduced his public appearances and is said to be considering his position.

The action by Bishop Ambrose came as a shock to the Emperor’s staff, since the leader of the Western Empire is widely known as a "hardliner" on theological issues. On February 27, 380, Theodosius declared "Nicene Trinitarianism" as the standard of Christian theology throughout the Empire and "Catholic Christianity" the only legitimate imperial religion.

A spokesman for the administration said, "We were just attending the Mass in the local church as usual. This confrontation with the bishop has hurt the emperor deeply, I know. [Feelings count.] The emperor is a deeply committed Christian, [I think he did his CCD with Nancy Pelosi.] and does not believe that the bishop acted rightly in attempting to use his position as a Church leader to dictate public policy. The Emperor hopes that a more constructive dialogue can be entered in the near future."

"This kind of condemnatory action, and the unwillingness of the so-called ‘orthodox’ faction to enter into constructive dialogue," Auxentius of Durostorum said, "was the reason for the failure of the council." He said the incident indicates the kind of problems that can be created by "too great a dependence upon so-called ‘creeds’ and rigid formularies in the faith."

"It is a shame that the Emperor did not choose to attend services with his local Arian community, since we believe that the paramount choice in Christianity must always be forgiveness and openness to the individual Christian’s lived experience."  [At the expense even of really important teachings.]

Auxentius confirmed to Ille Curator that the Arian school was in communication with the Emperor’s staff to attempt to find a solution to the crisis.

Tip of the biretta to PR of Adelaide

Posted in Classic Posts, Emanations from Penumbras, Linking Back, The future and our choices | Tagged , ,
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Initiative for fallen away Catholics

Posted on 7 December 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A great initiative reported by ZENIT:

Chicago-Area Dioceses to Invite Catholics Home

Ad Campaign to Span 21 Counties, 357 Parishes

By Genevieve Pollock

CHICAGO, DEC. 4, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The local parish communities of the Chicago, Joliet and Rockford dioceses are joining forces to invite and welcome Catholics "back home," launching a media campaign that will span the 21 counties of Northern Illinois.

Father Richard Hynes, director of the Chicago Archdiocese’s Office for Evangelization, explained to ZENIT that the tri-diocesan initiative will run from Dec. 16 to Jan. 24, with ads appearing on all the major television networks throughout the area in English, Polish and Spanish, inviting fallen away Catholics to return to their parish "homes."

The initiative is part of the Catholics Come Home program, which has already been run in several dioceses around the country and will soon be brought to a national level, as well as to Australia.

This Christmas season, the ads will target their largest market in an area that numbers some 3.4 million Catholics.

Father Hynes reported that the project, which has been a year in preparation, has received a great response from pastors and parishes. Of the 357 parishes in the archdiocese, he said, there are currently 320 who have a "contact person" who is "on the ground," coordinating with the evangelization office to make this initiative effective on a local level.

Imagine such a program in, say, Washington DC, focused on Congress…

 

Seriously… imagine such a campaign in every diocese.

Think of the number of fallen away Catholics there are.

Every single one of you knows a fallen away or poorly practicing Catholic.

Posted in Brick by Brick, Our Catholic Identity, The future and our choices | Tagged ,
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Not even the Queen gets a pass… or a passport…

Posted on 7 December 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This one, from the Daily Mail, has me scratching my head.

Can we see your documents please, Your Majesty… Queen faces anti-terror checks every time she leaves UK

By Jason Lewis, Mail on Sunday Security Editor
Last updated at 10:08 PM on 05th December 2009

The Queen is to be forced to go through an identity check every time she flies into and out of Britain.

For the first time, Her Majesty will be compelled to give her full name, age, address, nationality, gender and place of birth to immigration officials, who will then check that she is not on a list of wanted terrorists. [The Brits have yet another thing in common with their American cousins!  They are suspicious of 80 yr old grandmothers at airports.]

Foreign heads of state, including US President Barack Obama, and other members of the Royal Family will also have to submit to the security checks under new border controls, called e-Borders.

It is unclear how the Queen will be asked for her personal information as she is not required to carry a passport and would normally be met off the aircraft by her chauffeur-driven car. The new system asks for a passport number, expiry date and details of where the passport was issued.

Buckingham Palace has been warned that the Queen will not be exempt from providing ‘Travel Document Information’ (TDI), which will then be uploaded on to the £750million computer system at the National Border Targeting Centre near Manchester Airport.

[…]

I hope she will have to go through the horrible passport check line at Gatwick at least once.

Too bad the old passport office in Petty France isn’t still in action.  Her Majesty could stop in for a pint at the Buckingham Arms after filling out her royal paper work and approving her own passport.

Posted in Lighter fare | Tagged ,
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QUAERITUR SPECIAL! An online “confession”

Posted on 6 December 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Bless me Father for I have worshiped in a language I don’t understand, and heard the word "ineffable" no fewer than three times within the same worship experience.

That would have been singing at my local Russian Orthodox church on Thursday evening for a reader service (a truncated form of the Vigil because the priest was called away) for the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, the equivalent of our Presentation of the BVM in the Temple. And there’s no telling how many times they slipped "ineffable" into the Slavonic without me knowing.

Thank you for sharing, my friend.

I’m afraid it falls to me to fill you in on the harsh reality of your experience. 

But don’t get the idea that I am judging you.  You’re nice just the way you are.

First, as a subject of the so-called "Latin" faith community, still dominated by bishops and far-away-out-of-touch bureaucrats in Rome, you are clearly too stooopid to understand this sort of "sacral" language. 

What have we been telling you all these years?  Why go to such a place when it will upset you?  Of course, as a non-Roman community of believers they automatically have advantages.  But… you should think happy thoughts about them without actually praying with them.  You never know what will happen if you do that.  Best not to go at all.

Stick with the lame-duck ICEL "pastoral" prayers in a similarly reformed worship space where you won’t be distracted by any sense of the sacred or, Gaia forbid, have an encounter with mystery.

For your penance… er um…. happy thought for the day, think nice thoughts about Bp. Trautman and go sign your name on the petition of that guy in Seattle who has essentially regurgitated Trautman’s arguments.

But, finally… I don’t want you to feel any guilt.   Clearly guilt is an outdated category.   Try to look at these last few minutes as a nice chat more than anything else.  In the future, you would do just as well to get a nice cup of fair-trade coffee in a recyclable cup somewhere within walking distance.  Okay?  Need a hug?  No?

I affirm you in yourself in the name of the Creator, Redeemer and … Community Organizer.

Have an ineffable day!

Posted in ASK FATHER Question Box |
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A new worthy Jesuit initiative: New Jesuit Review

Posted on 6 December 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

We all know that the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), have their… problems.

But I know some younger Jesuits (older too) who are outstanding.  They maintain that old time Jesuit spirit and excellence.

One such e-mailed me today about a new initiative called the …

Pay attention to this new review!

What do they aim at?

The New Jesuit Review has as its goals the recovery of Jesuit spirituality from its authentic sources and reflection by contemporary Jesuits on its significance for their lives.  The writings of St. Ignatius and the First Companions, the lives of Jesuit saints and martyrs, and classics of Jesuit spirituality are examined in the spirit of Perfectae Caritatis, the Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life of the Second Vatican Council:

It redounds to the good of the Church that institutes have their own particular characteristics and work. Therefore let their founders’ spirit and special aims they set before them as well as their sound traditions — all of which make up the patrimony of each institute — be faithfully held in honor. (Perfectae Caritatis, 2)

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6 Dec. – African martyrs who suffered horribly at the hands of heretics

Posted on 6 December 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The 2005 Martyrologium Romanum (which I will remind you is a liturgical book, and is therefore required to be translated according to the norms of Liturgiam authenticam) might have a short, dense entry for the far more famous St. Nicholas, but there is a long and interesting entry for these quite unfamous African martyrs.

Perhaps some of you WDTPRSers can work up your own flawless and fluent English versions.

3. In Africa, commemoratio sanctorum martyrum, tempore vandalicae persecutionis sub Hunnerico rege ariano, gravissimis et innumeris suppliciis pro catholicae fidei defensione excruciatorum; ex quorum turma [1] Dionysia et filius eius Maioricus laudantur, qui, cum adulescentulus adhuc esset ac tormenta pavesceret, matris obtutibus verbisque corroboratus, ceteris fortior factus in tormentis animam reddit.

[1] Inter quos: sancti Aemilius medicus, Dativa, Leontia, Tertius, Bonifatius Sibidensis, Servius, Victrix.

We certainly live in difficult times for our faith in the public square. 

This is not new for the life of the Church.

The Lord promised that the attacks of hell would not in the end prevail, He would.

But the Lord did not promise that the Church would survive in the USA or in Europe.

Consider the Church in North Africa and how it grew in the period after the Imperial persecutions until it was overrun by the Vandals and then Islam. 

There is no Church to speak of in North Africa now, is there.

Do not be complacent.

You have a sacred obligation to shape the world around you according to your particular vocation.

How’s it going?

Are you ready were things to go very bad very quickly?

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, Saints: Stories & Symbols, The future and our choices |
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Gotta see to believe

Posted on 5 December 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

It’s amazing what monks with a vow of silence can accomplish.

With a biretta tip to CMR… you might actually LOL.

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Posted in Lighter fare |
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WDTPRS: Post Communion – Saturday – 1st Week of Advent

Posted on 5 December 2009 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

We continue a look at Advent Post Communions in the 2002MR.

This prayer, also the Post Communion of the 3rd Sunday of Advent, is in the ancient Gelasian Sacramentary. It is also the Postcommunio for this same Sunday in the 1962MR, though slightly rearranged for the Novus Ordo giving it a more elegant sound.

POST COMMUNION:
Tuam, Domine, clementiam imploramus,
ut haec divina subsidia, a vitiis expiatos,
ad festa ventura nos praeparent.

Our handy Lewis & Short Dictionary reminds us that imploro is a high test word.  It is a compound of ploro which is "to cry out, to cry aloud … to weep over any thing, to lament, bewail".  Imploro is more intense yet: "to invoke with tears, call to one’s assistance, call upon for aid; to invoke, beseech, entreat, implore".

The verb subsideo gives us the substantive subsidium originally meaning, “the troops stationed in reserve in the third line of battle (behind the principes), the line of reserve, reserve-ranks, triarii.” By extension it also means “support, assistance, aid, help, protection.”  We find this word with some frequency in orations during Lent, which suggest to me that the word is associated with a time of fasting and penance.

SLAVISHLY LITERAL VERSION: …

No… wait… let’s see what the lame-duck ICEL version will inflict on people first:

ICEL (1973 translation of the 1970MR):
God of mercy,
may this eucharist bring us your divine help,
free us from our sins,
and prepare us for the birthday of our Savior.

And I was in such a good mood.  Still, here we find a use of “help” which surprisingly reflects the Latin and doesn’t make us sound like Pelagians!

SLAVISHLY LITERAL TRANSLATION JUST TO ANNOY LIBERALS:
We implore Your mercy, O Lord,
that these divine supports may prepare us,
purified from our faults,  for the coming feast days.

I love the fact that in the Latin original we beginning with Tuam… YOUR.…  We would have to say "Your mercy we implore, O Lord…".

Keep in mind the context of this prayer.

This is Advent, which is a somewhat penitential season, although not as severe as Lent.  Today we have a slight lifting of penitential attitude in the liturgy without forgetting the Baptist’s urging to “make straight the paths” for the Lord, our Judge.

Never lose sight of the fact that Advent looks both to the first coming of Christ at Bethlehem, but also to the Second Coming at the end of the world.  Today during Mass we anticipate the joy of Christmas with flowers, instrumental music, and vestments.  But now we come to the end of Mass and hear a stark prayer, spare in its language, reminding us of our sins.

We hear military language (subsidia) which reminds us that we are engaged in spiritual warfare.

In the Latin Rite, Holy Mass ends abruptly.  Seconds after the priest intones the Post Communion, he blesses us and literally orders us to get out, to go back into the world to our work: “…  Go!  Mass is over!”  

In our Roman Rite we therefore have a strong connection between the reception of the Eucharist at Mass and its effect on our daily lives. 

The rapid ending of the Mass creates a continuity between the act of receiving Blessed Sacrament and our acts as we live our vocations.

Receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist shapes us for the challenges of life. In fact, unlike normal food we consume and change into our own bones and flesh, the Eucharist is the food which transforms us into what It is.

After our act of thanksgiving, we must carry this Eucharistic sense with us out the door of the church and into every corner and encounter.

Posted in ADVENT, WDTPRS |
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