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 world must be peopled.

Posted on 9 September 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

There was a lot of controversy in Rome when the Mosque was under construction.

I recall during that period hearing a translation of an Imam’s Friday sermon during which he said: "If we could not win with the long sword, we will win by the short sword."

He went on to exhort men to "take their women away" and "breed".

The birth rate in Italy then was very low. It is rising now, I believe, but not because Italians are having children. Italians in Italy are aborting and contracepting themselves out of their own home… out of existence.

This story comes from the New York Daily News. My emphases and comments.

Catholic priest urges European Christians to fight off Islam by having babies

BY Meena Hartenstein
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

A prominent Catholic priest wants European Christians to fight off Islam with a unique weapon: babies.

Father Piero Gheddo, an Italian missionary priest, said Wednesday he believes a declining birth rate among Europeans combined with a rising tide of Muslim immigrants could mean that Islam will soon dominate Europe. [It’s not rocket science. Europeans aren’t having babies. Islamic immigrants are having lots of babies. How is this hard?]

"Certainly from a demographic point of view, as it is clear to everyone that Italians are decreasing by 120,000 or 130,000 persons a year because of abortion and broken families; while among the more than 200,000 legal immigrants a year in Italy, more than half are Muslims and Muslim families, which have a much higher level of growth," he said, according to Rome’s Catholic news service Zenit News Agency.

Gheddo’s solution? Christians need to start having more children.

"The fact is that, as a people, we are becoming ever more pagan and the religious vacuum is inevitably filled by other proposals and religious forces," he said. "If we consider ourselves a Christian country, we should return to the practice of Christian life, which would also solve the problem of empty cradles."

Father Gheddo is a well-respected member of the Vatican’s Pontificial [sic] Institute for Foreign Missionaires.

His comments were made in response to Libyan chief of state Moammar Khadafy, who said this week that Europe should convert to Islam.

Khadafy, on an official visit to Italy, laced his speech with controversial remarks, such as, "Tomorrow Europe might no longer be European, and even black, as there are millions who want to come in."

"We don’t know if Europe will remain an advanced and united continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions," Khadafy added, before handing out free copies of the Koran.

Incensed that Muslims could one day outnumber Christians in Europe, Gheddo vowed to bring more attention to the issue.

The media hasn’t "seriously taken into consideration how to respond to this challenge of Islam," he said, "which sooner or later will conquer the majority in Europe."

Gheddo intends to change that.

"The challenge must be taken seriously," he said.

It sounds as if he is on target. That is what is happening in Europe.

QUAERITUR: non-Catholic maid of honor – CAUTION!

Posted on 8 September 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

My fiancee is wrangling about whom to choose as her maid of honor. [I can almost hear the writer’s inner voice: "For pity’s sake… just pick someone! Now… is there a game on?"] She has a cousin she is close to that seems to be a natural fit based solely on their relationship, but the cousin is not Catholic. [AYEEEIE?!?] I know this is not the same thing as a godparent or Confirmation sponsor, but is there any reason, symbolic or otherwise, that a protestant should not be chosen?

In an ideal world, pal, everyone would be Catholic.

But… now a deeper question which you must be sure to bring up with your fiancee and her mother with all her friends present.

Are the maids of honor she chose really maids?

Isn’t "maid" an archaic term for, you know… the "v" word?

This is a far more serious issue and it must be worked though.

And what it they don’t actually bring in the breakfast trays in large houses?

What if they are actually matrons?!? You know… not so … young anymore?

Then suggest that the time of the wedding should be changed because there is a good game on and that the white dress makes your beloved’s backside look just a little too big.

I guarantee that you will be able to have a calm and reasonable discussion about all these things, perhaps over WDTPRS mugs filled with richly brewed fresh and aromatic Mystic Monk Coffee.

Friend, if there must be maids of honor and bride’s maids, yes, Protestants can be bride’s maids, even a "maid" of honor. And, if you care, so can be the … what do you call the guys again?

Seriously… as if that wasn’t serious… usually the maid of honor and the best man stand as witnesses who can sign a civil document, the license, saying that they saw you the blissful couple tie that knot. They can be non-Catholic. Their names will also be added to the parish’s register recording your marriage, again as witnesses. They need not be Catholic to be witnesses. You could also have different people serve as witnesses, since – probably – lots of other people will be there. Usually, however, it is the maid/matron of honor and the best man who sign off.

DISCLAIMER
No bridesmaids were harmed in the writing in this post.
WDTPRS will not be responsible for harm to grooms.
Any harm done to grooms is solely the responsibility of the grooms

PS: No Communion for the non-Catholics!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Lighter fare, SESSIUNCULA | Tagged maid of honor
47 Comments

“Vatican II has done more good for the Extraordinary Form than the Ordinary Form”

Posted on 8 September 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Under another entry, long-time and perspicacious participant Henry Edwards wrote about the Extraordinary Form:

Henry: [T]here is no doubt that the glorious Missa Cantata that is the Sunday EF norm now was not always the majority EF experience. Not for nothing is the quip that Vatican II has done more good for the EF than the OF. So even as a seriously devoted EF advocate, I certainly have no desire to “go back”.

I agree. This is not about nostalgia, either.

And I have gotten into trouble with some members of trad-nation by suggesting that the intervening years taught us a great deal about how to use the older form of our Catholic liturgical worship.

And another thing, Sacrosanctum Concilium belongs to traditional Catholics, not liberals.

Furthermore… you know.

Finally, Tabula delenda est.

Posted in Brick by Brick, Linking Back |
39 Comments

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Solemn Mass tonight in Manhattan)

Posted on 8 September 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of only three births we celebrate during the Church year, the other two being that of the Our Lord Himself, and then the birth of the Lord’s Precursor, the greatest man of woman born, St. John the Baptist, whose original sin was forgiven before his birth but, of course, after his miraculous conception.

Today there will be a Solemn Mass (Extraordinary Form) at 6 PM at the Church of the Holy Innocents in Manhattan (on 37th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue).

If you are in the area, please come assist at Holy Mass! The undersigned is scheduled to be celebrant of the Mass.

Moreover, here is the entry in the 2005 Roman Martyrology for today’s feast. Translation follows but in light lettering:

Festum Nativitatis beatae Mariae Virginis, ex semine Abrahae, de tribu Iuda ortae, ex progenie regis David, e qua Filius Dei natus est, factus homo de Spiritu Sancto, ut homines vetusta servitute peccati liberaret.

The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the seed of Abraham, sprung from the tribe of Judah, from the line of King David, from whom the Son of God was born, made man by the Holy Spirit, so that men might be freed from the age old servitude of sin.

Have a try at the Latin!

Since it is the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, here is a shot of the relic I have of St. Anna, Mary’s mother (our grandmother in the faith, as it were). She is in the center. And Mary’s father, St. Joachim, is at the top.

Posted in Saints: Stories & Symbols |
14 Comments

Good news from Wyoming Catholic College

Posted on 8 September 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This last year I had a very pleasant visit to Wyoming Catholic College to say Mass and deliver a talk.

I have always had a measure of affection for Wyoming, where I have some roots.

I received today a note from one of the cordial faculty members:

After over a year of very hard work, WCC has been preaccredited by the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE). This is an official accredited status that brings many benefits, especially for our students, who are the reason we exist in the first place.

During my visit to WCC I saw that students were being prepared to think and to learn, rather than merely being taught stuff and then have no idea what to do with it.

Furthermore, they are building a new campus. The plans are impressive.

I look forward to a future visit.

Posted in The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged Wyoming Catholic College
17 Comments

Mass intentions – reaching beyond

Posted on 8 September 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I will include the following in my latest weekly column in The Wanderer (to which you can subscribe also in electronic format):

Every Mass can be offered for the living and the dead.

When a priest receives Mass intentions from the faithful for their loved one’s intention, he is reminded that what he does really has an effect in this world and beyond. Consecrating the Eucharist and completing the Sacrifice accomplishes something far beyond this place and this moment.

There has been over the last decades a corrosive deemphasis of how the effects of Holy Mass transcend distances and even the threshold of death, in favor of a horizontal focus on the assembly gathered in that moment.

I frequently meet people who long to have Masses said for their loved ones, living and dead. People today can have a hard time finding priests who can accept Mass intentions. Often parishes have only one priest and one daily Mass. They cannot find priests willing or available to do so.

Pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes | Tagged Mass intentions, Memento
20 Comments

Liturgical wrangling in Scotland

Posted on 8 September 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

There is some tension in Scotland over the upcoming visit of Benedict XVI and the inevitable committee designed mega-Mass which must ensue.

I wonder if there would be, could be, so much tension and, surely, animosity, were the older form of the Roman Rite used instead of the Novus Ordo? It would sure give people something more edifying to watch. NB: I did not say entertaining.

In my e-mail inbox this morning I found the following provocative comment about the arrangements presently debated in Scotland:

More Novus Ordo stuff, the usual and expected endless wrangling over which language to use at which point during the various Novus Ordo celebrations during the Holy Father’s upcoming visit.

This sort of thing will continue, ie., the Novus Ordo will continue to be a sign of division, and contradiction until the Church finally rids itself of its Babelesque curse and liturgical tradition wins out over crackpot innovation.

In the end the Novus Ordo will fall because the Church cannot live with it and cannot die.

Three points.

First, the Novus Ordo has so many built in options that it becomes difficult to choose between them. If we start including all sorts of languages in the mix, the opportunities to offend by exclusion multiply.

Secondly, we are still in a period of adjustment and experimentation as far as liturgical worship is concerned. The Novus Ordo seems still to be "proving itself".

Thirdly, it may be that the use of the older form of Holy Mass is not growing as fast as its enthusiasts may desire, but it is indeed growing. Furthermore, demographics are going to shift fairly quickly fairly soon.

I’m just askin’, but is it possible that – even under the influence of the corrected translation of the Novus Ordo, it will in the future … fail?

The email writer, above, argues that, since the Church is indefectible, and since the Novus Ordo cannot provide for the unity which is part and parcel of our Catholic Church, therefore the disunity provoking Novus Ordo will go by the wayside because the Church herself cannot.

I am sure that some of you will have a different view.

Returning to a point above, imagine the dust up that would ensue were it determined that the older form of the Roman Rite would be used for a Papal Mass in Scotland.

Then we would probably be treated to the endless wrangling of different groups of people on the more traditional side of things each with their own wrinkle of opinion about how it should be done. There would still be, for example, musical choices to make. Some would say that only Gregorian chant could be used. Some would want a Mozart Mass. The first group would object that there shouldn’t be instruments and that orchestras were forbidden by a document. Another group would want to have polyphony. Another would want to commission a Mass in a modern idiom. …

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged Scotland
62 Comments

Will desecrating the Eucharist receive same attention as burning the Koran?

Posted on 8 September 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

I see that the plan of one small church in America to burn a Koran has gained world-wide attention, interventions by the Secretary of State and religious leaders, and a spot on the BBC’s front page.

Does this mean we can confidently expect the next, sadly inevitable, act of desecration against the Most Blessed Sacrament to elicit such a response?

Somehow, I think not.

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged desecration, Eucharist, Koran
43 Comments

REVIEW: Eataly

Posted on 7 September 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have now visited the new "Eataly" complex in Manhattan, across from the Flat Iron building and Madison Square Park. It is about a block and a half from where I often stay when here.

This is clearly going to be a vast and churning money machine.

I have been in the place several times, and at all hours the aisles and places to sit and eat have been jammed, even fairly late.

You can buy finished products for immediate consumption, such as ice cream, and slices of goodies, or glaces of wines with more goodies, and also packaged products and raw materials for cooking in your own kitchen.

I may need to go tomorrow and pick up some cockles and mussels for a set to in the rectory. Yum.

Working with salmon roe.

The fresh pasta looks quite good.

I will also be looking for squid ink.

There are banks and banks of dry pastas.

There is a very good meat counter.

And people enjoying one of the cafe/restaurants.

The produce looks stupendous.

I haven’t tried anything yet of the salumeria. The bread seems to be spectacular.

The wines are, from a glance, undistinguished but useful.

My impression of a great deal of the packaged goods and products is, how to say, "corporate". I haven’t seen them in my usual groceries in Rome. The whole place throbs with a "corporate" feel. I am guessing the organizers approached or were approached by various large food concerns (Barilla comes to mind) who packaged products for the enterprise. This doesn’t mean that it is of second quality, of course.

Put it this way. It is far to large and uniform to be anything like a real Italian market. However, this is New York City. Having the immediate availability of all these things nearby would be a great advantage.

I think the idea is this: you can sample myriad things and then also, on the spot, buy everything you would need to make it at home. This would be a great place to start getting familiar with Italian staples.

Also, this would be a great place to meet people. I wonder if a blognic would work here. Hmmm.

And it is HUGE, and filled with fascinating and fascinated people. It has a great feeling. You could have a lot of fun here.

Posted in REVIEWS | Tagged Eataly
16 Comments

Papal visit to Scotland: rumors about defiance of “Benedictine arrangment”

Posted on 7 September 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Damian Thompson posted this over at his place.

My emphases and comments.

The Pope’s Mass in Glasgow: are Benedict XVI’s liturgical wishes being ignored?

Pope Benedict XVI likes to celebrate Mass on an altar bearing six candles, or seven if there is one behind the central crucifix. It’s a venerable Christian tradition, drawing possibly on the Jewish menorah or the use of seven acolytes in early medieval Masses. [The so-called “Benedictine Arrangment”, which is a transitional arrangement of the altar towards a reestablishment of ad orientem worship. I have some PODCAzTs about this. This arrangement, explained by Joseph Ratzinger in Spirit of the Liturgy, seeks to bring the attention of celebrant and congregation alike back to the Lord, who is to return “from the East”. Ad orientem worship is superior in this regard. But placing the Crucifix between the congregation and priest breaks the enclosed circle of priest and congregation attending to themselves, thus reorienting to the Lord who is to come.]

So I don’t know what to make of persistent reports that the organisers of the papal Mass at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, have decided not decorate the altar with six candles. [That, if true, would be quite an offense.] Can this really be true? Monsignor Guido Marini, the Pope’s Master of Ceremonies, usually goes to enormous trouble to ensure that the Holy Father’s wishes are implemented. I’m mystified. Are the organisers trying to appease the spirit of John Knox? Seriously: this rumour is doing the rounds, and – though a dispute about altar decoration may seem petty to non-Catholics – it’s damaging for the Scottish Church.

Also… I believe there will be 400 priests present at the Mass. That will be more than enough to distribute Holy Communion to even as many as 50,000 communicants. Church rules on this question are quite clear: lay people are to distribute the Sacrament only if there is a shortage of priests. So I’m assuming that there can be no truth in the rumour that Scottish parishes are being asked to provide “extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion” for Bellahouston. [That would be DREADFUL.] “Lay ministers are not a feature of papal Masses, and if they were suddenly to make an appearance here it would look like sleight of hand,” says my source. “It would enable the old liberals to say afterwards: well, the Pope was OK with it in Glasgow.” [There will not be only priests at that Mass, but also we can assume not a few deacons, seminarians and … ehem… bishops. When did bishops stop being Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion? … of the Eucharist?]

I think the decision to ask Susan Boyle to sing at the service was a mistake, because it looked as if the organisers were using a TV personality to tempt Catholics to a papal Mass. But, in the end, that’s a question of taste. [I wonder if this isn’t some sort of trend. When the Pope was in the USA, some famous singers were trotted out at Communion time.] Playing fast and loose with the Vatican’s liturgical guidelines is another matter, however. I do hope Mgr Marini will put a call through to Glasgow to check that these rumours are untrue.