Fathers, are any of you going to the St. Paul Center’s July conference for priests in West Virginia?
I’m working out transportation, whether to fly, drive and see things and people along the way, etc.
Drop me a line? If you don’t have my email, use this form, please: HERE
June 6th 2023
Dear Diary,
Another FCMFH about our underfunded pension obligations. They keep telling me we’re doing all right financially because I keep people happy and coming to church! I’m not convinced that I’m the reason. Maybe I am, I don’t know. There’s all this other scary stuff. Our retired lay staff and their pensions from under the old system. Thank the Lord we got rid of that! Little old ladies. Vice calls them LOLs. As he said, “Church LOLs live longer than just about any other life form on the planet.” It’s stretching a lot longer than the actuwary people said it would. Trouble.
How did we get all this lay staff? When did that happen? I remember as a kid coming down here to the chancery in the late 60s with Fr later Msgr Hinckley with the other altar boys to see the diocesan archives and all the old photo albums of the construction of the cathedral and the groundbreaking for the high school and stuff like that plus a glass case with the first bishop’s cape and gloves and staff. Fancy. Fr Tommy style. I don’t remember any lay people in the chancery except for the janitor and one old gal who was someone’s secretary. There were just a few priests in the offices in sharp clerical suits. Where did all the lay people come from and why do we have to pay them so much? I guess their jobs are important.
This is making me nervous. I hate even thinking like this but how long are those folks going to live? VG said that we will have to get all the LOLs of the diocese to chip in extra for the other LOLs, our retired diocesan staff. Kinda circular. Five of them died in the pandemic, but that’s just a dent. It’s in the parishes, too. Huge staffs of lay people and enormous budgets. It’s a scary amount of dough. Meanwhile, there are all sorts of other things that go undone. Things I always wanted to do for the poor and sprucing the cathedral. I don’t have forever. What am I supposed to do? Fire people? Reduce staff? Then I’m the bad guy. I don’t want to hurt people. Other bishops have this too.
Bonus.
These are “scampi”, friends.
Here’s a puzzle.
White to move. Mate in 2.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Yesterday, in the last round of Norway, there was a show down for 1st between the leader, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, trailing by 2.5. A win would give Hikaru 3.0 to take the lead. Playing with the white pieces Hikaru stunned us by throwing a Fried Liver at Fabi! This is one of the oldest attacks around going back to 16th century Italy when it was known as the Fegatello, “dead meat”. Here’s a game from 1610 in Rome between Giulio Cesare Polerio and Domenico (Giovanni Domenico d’Arminio?). HERE The attack clearly got Fabi off his game.
Caruana made a blunder at 17. … f5. At this level that’s about all that’s needed.
I have to get ready and go play OBT so I can make blunders of my own.
I ask prayers for my mother and for myself and for a serious project.
BTW… for the first time in 16 years, Magnus did not win a single classical game in the entire tournament.
Please remember me when shopping online. Thanks in advance. US HERE – UK HERE These links take you to a generic “catholic” search in Amazon, but, once in and browsing or searching, Amazon remembers that you used my link and I get the credit.
A puzzle for you.
White to move and mate in 2.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE
The traditional Benedictines in Norcia make really good beer, three kinds. Give it a try and help them out at the same time.
The Norway tourney is coming to an end. Magnus Carlsen has not won a single classical game, but, after draws, has been cleaning up in Armageddon. Too little for a good ranking. Fabi is in the lead. He plays Hikaru today. If Hikaru wins, he wins. A draw leaves him in 2nd. Yesterday, Fabi and my guy Wesley So tangled. They drew the classical and, in Armageddon, …
In this tournament, if there is a win in classical (each player with 2 hours, no increments per move until 40) then they play a tie breaker called “Armageddon” in which the white player starts with 10 minutes and black 7 minutes, but, for black, a draw is a win. Winner get’s 1.5 and the loser 1.0
… alas, Wesley made a misstep and Fabiano pounced. Today going into Round 9 Wesley is #4 after Fabi, Hikaru, and 17 yr old Gukesh Dommaraju (17th in world).
Look at this crazy pawn structure in Gukesh v Firouza yesterday.
Gukesh eventually marched c and d down the board.
The readings for Holy Mass in the Vetus Ordo today are beautiful. From Luke 6:36-42:
In that time, Jesus said to His disciples: 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. 37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but every one when he is fully taught will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
Christ says the same thing in the Sermon on the Plain as in the Matthew account of the Sermon on the Mount.
I’ll remind the readership that when Christ taught His followers “the Lord’s Prayer”, the one thing he went back to stress was the need to forgive. If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. Period. Thus, undertaking a effort of “purification of memory” is really important for some of us who have been hurt and badly treated.
Domenico Fetti (+1623), a fine painter whose canvass of the Repentant Magdalen you would recognize, has an image of the “Mote and the Beam” which is found in the Met in NYC – where I have not been for too long.
In many places the Feast of Corpus Christi gets an “external celebration” on Sunday. It is wonderful to see the multiplication of Eucharistic processions especially with the growth of the Traditional Latin Mass. TLM began, processions generally followed.
In 2008 Pope Benedict taught about processions, a message we could all use today. The full text is HERE.
“The Corpus Christi procession teaches us that the Eucharist seeks to free us from every kind of despondency and discouragement, wants to raise us, so that we can set out on the journey with the strength God gives us through Jesus Christ … Each one can find his own way if he encounters the One who is the Word and the Bread of Life and lets himself be guided by his friendly presence. Without the God-with-us, the God who is close, how can we stand up to the pilgrimage through life, either on our own or as society and the family of peoples? The Eucharist is the Sacrament of the God who does not leave us alone on the journey but stays at our side and shows us the way. Indeed, it is not enough to move onwards, one must also see where one is going! “Progress” does not suffice, if there are no criteria as reference points. On the contrary, if one loses the way one risks coming to a precipice, or at any rate more rapidly distancing oneself from the goal. God created us free but he did not leave us alone: he made himself the “way” and came to walk together with us so that in our freedom we should also have the criterion we need to discern the right way and to take it.”
This is a key point for our times in the Church right now….
“[I]f one loses the way one risks coming to a precipice, or at any rate more rapidly distancing oneself from the goal.”
We’ve gone down the wrong road for too long and we are paying the price.
As in geometry, the farther two rays extend from a point, the farther apart they get. As in making a journey, if you want to get from, say, Chicago to Texas and, after driving for a long time, discover you are at the Canadian border, you would do well to turn around, retrace your MISTAKE, and start again on the right road. As a matter of fact, you would be stupid to keep driving north.
Bashing Tradition to promote the Second Vatican Council is like driving north from Chicago in order to get to Texas. More on this at the end.
No new initiative we undertake in the Church is going to succeed unless we revitalize our sacred liturgical worship and seek to fulfill the virtue of Religion, to give God what is His due. Everything we do must flow from the Eucharist – by which we must understand both the sacred Eucharistic species and also its celebration which is Holy Mass. Everything we do must then be brought back to the Eucharist.
Among the things that we can do relatively quickly are reinstitute many of our devotional practices: recitation of the Rosary (perhaps with a priest in the confessional), exposition and benediction (perhaps with a priest in the confessional), novenas on weeknights (perhaps with a priest in the confessional), processions, litanies, vespers, Forty Hours Devotion.
PROCESSIONS! More processions! Less chatter!
FORTY HOURS! If there was ever a time in the life of the Church when we needed to recover the practice of FORTY HOURS DEVOTION… not pretend Forty Hours… not dumbed-down Forty Hours… not updated (see previous) Forty Hours… but REAL Forty Hours, it’s now.
Undiluted… unblended… undaunted… unmodified… unapologetic… traditional Forty Hours Devotion.
Thus endeth the rant.
We are our rites.
God, Our Father, with Your mighty steering hand guide Your priests and bishops out of the fog of worldly notions and onto a course of true renewal.
God, Our Savior and High Priest, chart onto the minds and hearts of Your sons a destination of a traditional priestly identity for our turbulent context here and now.
God, Holy Spirit, fill Your sons with zeal and with the courage to persevere when stormy resistance will rise from the agents of the Enemy.
Mary, Queen of the Clergy, put your protecting mantle over your sons who will be persecuted by their brethren and superiors when they implement traditional worship.
St. Joseph, Protector of Christ, Protector of the Church, guide the efforts of your sons to build up the Temple of God for worthy worship according to the virtue of Religion.
Holy Angels, guard us from evil and prompt us to do good.
Also, as mentioned above.
This book pertains to the attempt by some to build up the Council by bashing tradition.
Three Catholic writers, Dr. John Cavadini, Dr. Mary Healy and Fr. Thomas Weinandy (CHW) signed a series of articles published by Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal (I know.. never heard of it…) attacking the TLM (and people who attend it) while also painting a picture of post-Conciliar “reforms” that was somewhat overly optimistic. “Cui bono?” They seemed not really to have understood what they were writing about.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
It has been hard to obtain fresh entries recently. It’s possible that with +F.Atticus taking more naps, access to the Diary has been more difficult.
June 1st, 2023
Dear Diary,
Had to have a quiet week after the festivities. Luis was ordained last Saturday, I confirmed a ton of young folks on Sunday, and then the clergy cookout on Monday. Had to go to the office on Tuesday, for a really long day, but after that….took a few days. Wiped out. The ordination was great, and the reception (and food!) magnificent. I ate way too much. Butch would have loved it all. Fr. Luis kept grinning from ear to ear. But I still have trouble understanding him. Fr. Ernesto, who vested him, still has to ‘translate’ for me.
I’ve set myself up to preach again at the cathedral this weekend — on the Trinity, for Trinity Sunday. The Trinity is like God’s family, and everyone can relate to that!
There’s an old white cape, or cope, at the cathedral with a triangle and an eye on it on the back panel, all embroidered. It’s nice but a little creepy. They bust it out for Trinity Sunday. More confirmations on Sunday. My arm’s tired! The oil smells nice though. It calls back so many good memories.
Sent Fr. Gilbert out to walk Chester today. They were out for quite a while, and Chester took a long nap when they got back. Gilbert took Chester out on Tuesday when we were at the office. Vice joined them in walking around the parking lot. Vice even tried petting Chester. That did not go well.
I wonder how Fr. Tommy is doing.
Great controversy in St. Louis at the women’s Cairns Cup, as the defender GM Humpy Koneru left the tourney for medical reasons after Round 4. Chaos in the standings, some losing points as Koneru’s games were voided.
In Norway, Round 8 of hostilities are just getting underway as I write this. Leader Fabiano Caruana is up against my guy Wesley So, who won his classical yesterday. Shakh and Magnus should be interesting. Magnus has not yet won a classical in Norway.
Fabi (2773) started with 1.d4 and Wesley (2765) countered with the Nimzo.
3:16 isn’t just in John.
White to move, win material.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Please support the good Dominican sisters in Summit.
One of the necessary steps to true Eucharistic renewal is the elimination of Communion in the hand.
Thanks to Fr. D for the image! Biretta tip (even though I don’t use a pom on my biretta any longer)… o{]:¬)
Up this street every morning for Mass. *sigh*
Welcome registrants:
N2JIE
ZiaNM2
I received a book from my wish list by Fr. James Mawdsley, fellow cancelled priest,
Crucifixion to Creation: Roots of the Traditional Mass Traced back to Paradise
NB: The title seems backwards. In effect, Fr. Mawdsley points to the foreshadowing of Holy Mass and its effects from Creation all the way through salvation history. He also has a chapter on the assault on the Mass and the attempts on its “roots”. I look forward to getting into this one.
I very much like books by priests with long experience of celebrating Mass which are about the individual elements – their origins, their possible symbolic meanings. There are some greats, such as Gihr, Croegaert, Sheen, Knox, etc. I’ve contemplated writing one myself.
I note this with interest…
It is undoubtedly so. More here on SAVE THE LITURGY – SAVE THE WORLD.
Meanwhile, I have another reader to thank, and I don’t know who it is. One of you sent me some San Pellegrino Bitter (a zero-alcohol aperitif common in Italy). When the box was delivered it was damaged and the gift slips were gone. So, thanks who ever you are. A toast to you.
In chess news, in Round 7 of Norway Chess, we saw the match that Magnus Carlsen would have wanted in another World Championship defense: Carlsen v. Firouzja. In a fun moment, Carlsen went into the “Confessional” I mentioned yesterday and talked about his strange 3. Bd3.
“I hadn’t thought about 1…e6 and 2…c5… It’s funny we’ll have a totally new game after move three,” Carlsen says from the confessional. ?#NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/m3BXWPIf8j
— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) June 6, 2023
Magnus needs a haircut. At least he got rid of that ratty beard.
Hikaru Nakamura and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov had a crazy QGA in which both players were in theory for over 20 moves. My mind reels. Shakh lost on time. My guy Wesley So defeated Nodirbek with a QGA. Yay! Fabiano is still on top of the heap, even though he flagged in his Armagedon game against young Gukesh… and he was clearly winning! If you want to see the end rush with seconds left… HERE. Wesley moved up to 3rd. There is a good interview with Wesley after his victory. I’ve bookmarked the start. Genuinely nice fellow. HERE.
Yesterday I apprehensive about going to OTB. Today I am less so.
Also, I got a book of essays by the fellow I mentioned the other day, Raymond Keene. US HERE – UK HERE Evocative titles on the contents page… HERE. This guy can write.
White to move and obtain a winning position. F7 is a interesting square, isn’t it?
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
POSTSCRIPT:
I wish players at the top level would come to matches well-dressed, in a suit. I guess I’m getting old.
This came to my email and I have to share it.
Some of you have surely seen it already but repetita iuvant!
I am reminded of what the ancient Roman Martial said: aestate pueri si valent, satis discunt. … if, during the summer, a child is healthy he has learned enough. Epigrams X, 62, 12.
And the days are still getting longer.
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank – While they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs Covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads.
As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.
Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren’t overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing…that’s why! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day and, we were OKAY. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, Only to find out that we forgot about brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not Have Play Stations, Nintendo and X-boxes. There were No video games, No 150 channels on cable, No video movies Or DVDs, No surround-sound or CDs, No cell phones, No personal computers, No Internet and No chat rooms.
WE HAD FRIENDS And we went Outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, Broke bones and Lost teeth, And there were No lawsuits From those accidents.
We would get Spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand, And no one would call child services to report abuse.
We ate worms, And mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, 22 rifles for our 12th, rode horses, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and although we were told it would happen – we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them. Little League had tryouts And not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of … They actually sided with the law!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors ever.
The past 60 to 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
If you are one of those born in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s, congratulations.
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.
While you are at it, forward this to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn’t it ?
~~~~~~~
The quote of-the month by Jay Leno:
“With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of coronavirus and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?”
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
A Daily Prayer for Priests
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