Fr. Z's Blog | Formerly entitled: "What Does The Prayer Really Say?" – Clear, straight commentary on Catholic issues, liturgy and life by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf o{]:¬)

The Feeder Feed: New Arrival Edition

Posted on 14 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have had some new arrivals.

The hummingbirds have shown up in force.

Mr. Ruby-throated Hummer.

The Missus. Oooops… no, that’s an Oriole muscling in on the feeder.

The Orioles have been rather bold this year, even hanging around pretty close when I have been filling the feeders. They have an alarm call rather like a ratchet of a socket-wrench.

Missus Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!

That is Mr. Grosbeak, fending off another male.

The idiot Goldfinches have been pelting themselves against my windows.

I suspect they have been inspired by their more suicidal cousins.

And a new arrival.

Dumatella carolinensis, otherwise known as Gray Catbird.

This Catbird makes a sort of mewing sound. He/she has found a seat betwixt the orange slices grape jelly which the Orioles, Sapsuckers and House Finches gobble in great quantities.

A cage match between a Chickadee and Mrs. Downy Woodpecker. It is a little odd to see them share space.

This year more than last I have noticed that more species have been going after the suet.

GUEST POST: Preparing children for First Communion and, therefore, their first Confession

Posted on 14 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Thank you for all you do. Your constant reminder to go to Confession is appreciated and I, my wife, and older son go regularly. Although I may sometimes dread the thought, like a good workout, I feel much better afterwards.

My younger son was recently preparing for First Communion and Confirmation. Although first Confession was not part of the “program” (that’s another story) we wanted our son to make is First Confession prior to receiving Our Lord for the first time.

My wife particularly was very diligent in preparing him for his first Confession.

Examination of Conscience – check
Prayer before Confession – check
Ten Commandments – check
7 Deadly Sins – check
Act of Contrition – check

We thought we had it all covered and my son was well prepared for his first Confession yet we left one small detail out.

My younger son has a particularly loud voice and we neglected to tell him to speak quietly to the priest while making his Confession. Unfortunately as a result a good number of the parish know just how many times he slugged his older brother in the past week.

These parents are to be commended!

And the loud voice warning is a a good practical point.

Of course a quick review of my 20 Tips For Making A Good Confession might have helped with that whole loudness thing.

This is really really really important also for adults to take to heart too, especially if you are a little hard of hearing and don’t realize you are speaking loudly. I have had to quiet penitents make good confession who were perhaps announcing to the line outside the confessional some pretty nasty stuff.

The point the writer made is good. Tell children to be very quiet.

Many are the times I have slid open the little door to have a youngster roar, in that sing-song staccato kids use when they have memorized something

“BLESS – ME – FA-THER – I – HAVE – SINNED….”

At that point I usually say with a strong whisper,

” *okay… just whisper and I’ll hear you just fine… we don’t want anyone out there to hear you, do we?* ”

” *no* ”

” *Do you know how to whisper? * ”

” *yah* ”

” *okay go ahead* ”

“BLESS – ME – FA-THER – I – HAVE – SINNED….”

Repetita iuvant.

I will also add…. “Although first Confession was not part of the “program” (that’s another story)…”

?!?

What’s with that?

If it indeed the case that the parish is not providing for children getting ready for First Communion to make their first confession, I think the local bishop should be informed “for his opportune knowledge”.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, GO TO CONFESSION, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill | Tagged confession, First Communion, First Penance, reconciliation, sacrament of penance
19 Comments

New bishop in Toowoomba

Posted on 14 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Some of you will recall the trouble caused in the Diocese of Toowoomba by the local bishop, a strange and uncooperative fellow, removed from office by the Holy Father. Today I read that a new bishop for the diocese was announced: Msgr. Robert McGuckin from the Diocese of Parramatta (next to Sydney).

Pray for Bishop-Elect McGuckin, who, like Hercules, faces a stable of problems.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged D. Toowoomba
6 Comments

Your Good News

Posted on 14 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Please let us in on any good news you have had.

I could sure use good news!

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
50 Comments

Your Sunday Sermon Notes

Posted on 13 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

What was a good point of the Sunday Sermon you heard today? Let us know.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
45 Comments

Headlines… differently

Posted on 13 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

As some of you have read, I have been studying for the Ham Radio license exams. I have pretty much absorbed the Technician material, and have moved on to studying the General material. I am also absorbing Morse Code.

To that end, I found a great blog which posts podcasts of news headlines in Morse Code!

You can also select different news services and hear their headlines rendered in Morse Code.

Fun and useful at the same time!

If you are interested in these things check out

AA9PW FCC Exam Practice

73s

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Ham Radio, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare |
17 Comments

“Theologians” against bishops on unnatural sex

Posted on 13 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Catholic World News:

Theologians blast US bishops on same-sex marriage

Three theologians who teach at Jesuit institutions [Jesuit schools again … what a surprise…] –Paul Lakeland of Fairfield University, Daniel Maguire of Marquette University, and Frank Parella of Santa Clara University [WHO? We may have heard of Maguire a few times, but… WHO? Insignificant wannabes, angling for NCR’s “Person of the Year”. They won’t beat the nuns.] –blasted the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for its opposition to same-sex marriage. [A suggestion to parents of children approaching college age: refuse to help or to pay for anything for children to go to any of these schools!]

“[Cardinal Timothy] Dolan and the United States Catholic Conference are misrepresenting ‘Catholic teaching,’ [This is rich,] and are trying to present their idiosyncratic minority view as the ‘Catholic position,’ [Whose view is idiosyncratic?] and it is not,” said Maguire in an e-mail. “The bishops will stand with Dolan and the US Catholic Conference, but on this issue, they are in moral schism[ROFL! He must be getting soft in the head.] since most in the Church have moved on [to] a more humane view on the rights of those whom God has made gay.” [How many things are wrong with that? God doesn’t make people “gay” (and I hate the misappropration of that word, which disguises the moral turpitude of homosexual acts). That’s absurd. Even if it could be demonstrated that there is a strong “nature” argument, homosexual acts are contrary to human nature. Thus, it is far more inhumane (which term seems to me more applicable to how we treat dogs than human beings) to approve of actions that kill the soul, offend God, and create social confusion. Moreover, Maguire knows better than to suggest that Catholic doctrine is determined by majorities or shifting mores. That’s just plain stupid.]

“Most Catholic theologians approve of same-sex marriage [Gratis asseritur, gratis negatur. Thus, NO, Macquire, they DON’T. Furthermore, if there were a majority among those who self-identify as “Catholic theologians”, such a statement would exclude them from actually being “Catholic theologians”. They might be “theologians” of some sort, but they would not really be “Catholic” in an authentic sense, because they would be upholding something directly contrary to perennial Catholic doctrine.] and Catholics generally do not differ much from the overall population on this issue,” [So what?] Maguire added. Maguire, an ex-priest, has also been a stalwart defender of legal abortion. [But remember: Jesuits give him a paycheck.]

Parella said he sees “nothing in the Gospels” [Two problems: Holy Scripture is more than the Gospels alone, and Catholic doctrine is not determined by Scripture along.] that should lead the Church to oppose same-sex marriage, [piffle] while Lakeland said that the US bishops’ opposition to same-sex marriage is “not really an argument that has a theological justification.” [I can’t see any justification for him to receive a paycheck from a Catholic school.]

Homosexual acts are sinful.

Same-sex marriage is NOT a civil rights issue.

Same-sex relationships cannot be true marriages.

Calling such relationship “marriages”, even legally, will not make them true marriages in the eyes of God and Holy Church.

Posted in One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged Daniel Maguire, Fairfield University, Frank Parella, homosexuality, Marquette University, November 2012, Paul Lakeland, Pres. Obama, same-sex unions, Santa Clara University
61 Comments

QUAERITUR: Can Catholics be Masons?

Posted on 13 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Recently I spoke with someone, who said Catholicism and Freemasonry would be compatible. I don’t really believe this. What’s the teachong of the Church about this matter?

Catholics may not be Masons or belong to masonic organizations. That’s it.

As Leo XIII wrote in 1892 “Christianity and Freemasonry are essentially irreconcilable, so that enrolment in one means separation from the other.”

You can read more HERE and HERE.

Posted in ASK FATHER Question Box, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged CDF, Freemasonry, Leo XIII, Masonry, Masons, SCDF
28 Comments

MediaReport.com on the National Catholic Fishwrap’s “baseless and sordid swipe at the Catholic Church”

Posted on 12 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

fishwrap From MediaReport.com:

National Catholic Reporter Smears Arch. of Los Angeles in Bogus Abuse Story
MAY 11, 2012 BY THEMEDIAREPORT.COM

The left-wing National Catholic Reporter newspaper [aka The Fishwrap] is suggesting that a newly discovered 27-year-old letter somehow may be evidence that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles knew that a priest it had welcomed from England had been accused of child abuse there.

In fact, even a cursory look at the 1985 letter reveals that such a claim is blatantly untrue!

The author of the feckless piece is Joshua J. McElwee, a “staff writer” at the discordant publication.

[…]

Indeed, the media has doled out enough fair criticism of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for its past mishandlings of abuse cases. But the Reporter is now scraping the bottom of the barrel and finessing facts in a desperate attempt to wring a story out of some new marginal information.

The Reporter is building a reputation for biased reporting on the abuse narrative, and McElwee’s piece comes across as a baseless and sordid swipe at the Catholic Church.

The whole article is worth your time. They have NcR firmly in their cross-hairs.

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, Clerical Sexual Abuse, The Drill | Tagged Archd. Los Angeles, Fishwrap, National Catholic Reporter
12 Comments

“A successful EMP would send the United States spiraling back to the 18th century”

Posted on 12 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From The Foundry:

U.S. Remains Vulnerable to an EMP
Bryan KimbellMay 12, 2012

An article recently published by the Los Angeles Times discusses how solar storms pose a grave threat to Earth. Mike Hapgood, a space weather scientist in England, says that the world is unprepared for such a storm, and one is likely to occur soon. [Read that again.]
The Heritage Foundation has led a vital campaign aimed at informing the American public about the seriousness of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks. An EMP is typically described as occurring when a nuclear weapon is detonated at a high altitude, resulting in a high-intensity burst of electromagnetic energy caused by the rapid acceleration of charged particles. The second scenario involves massive explosions on the sun’s surface (“space weather”).
Society is becoming increasingly more dependent on electrical devices, and this leads to greater vulnerability to space weather and EMP attacks. These charged particles, if strong enough, cause the destruction of electrical circuits. This would affect cell phones, computers, vehicles, airplanes, and even the power grid. In the case of an EMP, from “space weather” or a high-altitude nuclear detonation, transportation systems would be halted, communications would be rendered useless, and grocery stores would be unable to preserve or restore food supplies. As observed in 33 Minutes, [NB] a successful EMP would send the United States spiraling back to the 18th century.
Despite the severe ramifications of such events, the U.S. is unprepared to deal with either. Fortunately, the United States can still make the necessary preparations to protect its vital infrastructure. Hardening provides resiliency and resistance to vital infrastructure against extreme space weather or EMP effects. Developing a national plan to respond effectively to EMP emergencies is a necessity. This would involve educating federal, state, and local officials along with the public about the risks and response options. Finally, the U.S. should continue to invest in missile defenses to protect against ballistic attacks aimed at achieving high-altitude nuclear detonation or EMP attack, especially against ship-launched missiles off the U.S. coast. The threat of space weather and EMP attack deserves proper planning and robust defenses.
Bryan Kimbell is currently a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please visit HERE.

For those of you who are perhaps out of work, you might consider getting up to speed on all these issues and then starting a local cottage industry to help people in your area to prepare, to whatever level they are comfortable with, for such exigencies. I get a lot of emails from people asking for my prayers because they are out of work. Just an idea.

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