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{]:¬)

20 Feb 2023 Rescript ex audientia – The Dictastery for Worship tattled and got some tape and glue to patch up their paddle

Posted on 21 February 2023 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

And people ask me why I post a lot about chess these days.

The ~~Congregation~~ Dicastery for Worship has become a parody of itself.

So much for the ‘Social Justice’ Principle of Subsidiarity!

Translated:

The Holy Father, in the Audience granted on 20 February this year to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, confirmed the following regarding the implementation of his Motu Proprio Traditionis custodes of 16 July 2021.

These are dispensations reserved in a special way to the Apostolic See (cf. C.I.C. can. 87 §1):

the use of a parish church or the erection of a personal parish for the celebration of the Eucharist using the Missale Romanum of 1962 (cf. Traditionis custodes art. 3 §2);

the granting of the license to priests ordained after the publication of the Motu proprio Traditionis custodes to celebrate with the Missale Romanum of 1962 (cf. Traditionis custodes art. 4).

As established by art. 7 of the Motu proprio Traditionis custodes, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments exercises the authority of the Holy See in the cases mentioned above, supervising compliance with the provisions.

If a diocesan Bishop has granted dispensations in the two cases mentioned above, he is obliged to inform the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments which will evaluate the individual cases.

Furthermore, the Holy Father confirms – having already expressed his assent in the audience of 18 November 2021 – what was established in the Responsa ad dubia with the annexed Explanatory Notes of 4 December 2021.

The Holy Father has also ordered that this Rescript be published in L’Osservatore Romano and, subsequently, in the official commentary of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

From the Vatican, 20 February 2023

Arthur Card. Roche

Prefect

A few thoughts.

The first is obvious. If the documents in the Rescript had been sound and good law in the first place, then why did it need this shoring up?

Evidence is in the first point, about how – apparently – bishops are not to invoke can. 87 to dispense from things in Taurina cacata. Can. 87 reads:

Can. 87 §1. A diocesan bishop, whenever he judges that it contributes to their spiritual good, is able to dispense the faithful from universal and particular disciplinary laws issued for his territory or his subjects by the supreme authority of the Church. He is not able to dispense, however, from procedural or penal laws nor from those whose dispensation is specially reserved to the Apostolic See or some other authority.

There was no indication in TC that what was in it was “reserved“.

A bishop might respond:

Can. 90 §1. One is not to be dispensed from an ecclesiastical law without a just and reasonable cause, after taking into account the circumstances of the case and the gravity of the law from which dispensation is given; otherwise the dispensation is illicit and, unless it is given by the legislator himself or his superior, also invalid.

§2. In a case of doubt concerning the sufficiency of the cause, a dispensation is granted validly and licitly.

If anything is clear about the present situation it is the lack of clarity. Doubt surrounds and interpenetrates everything having to do with TC.

Smart bishops should, if they are not already, get up to speed with Title IV of the 1983 Code about administrative acts.

Note also that Roche wants to micromanage bishops, tell then what they can and cannot do in their dioceses. No can. 87! You are not competent. No faculties for priests! You aren’t as informed about your diocese and priests as we are. No Masses in churches, because we know more than you do.

One has the sense that this was motivated from a growing panic that power was slipping away. Hence, run and tattle.

However, maybe this is like Charlie Brown on Halloween. He rangs at the door and he got a rock…. not an Apostolic Constitution. Does that rule out an ApConst? No.

Bottom line, the cruelty continues.

As we know from the Laws of the House of God:

VIII. THEY CAN ALWAYS HURT YOU MORE.

Meanwhile, when I first saw this I thought it was from the Babylon Bee.

Did you read about the opening of the new “Abrahamic Family House“? This is a church and it is named, I’m not making this up:

St. Francis Church.

It’s named, it seems, after St. Francis of Assisi. By coincidence, someone called Francis signed a document in Abu Dhabi – the inspiration for this project – that seemed to state that there are different religious by God’s will. Only later was it dragged out that that is God’s permissive.

I read on wiki that “The implementation of the project is supervised by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity. Robert Hugh Benson, call your pool man.

Think about that.

His Eminence the Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald hosted the first service at His Holiness Francis Church earlier today.

The church is now welcoming worshippers for prayer.#AbrahamicFamilyHouse pic.twitter.com/NspvORUPqp

— Abrahamic Family House (@abrahamicfh) February 19, 2023

But the Traditional Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church must be suppressed, the people who want it scattered.

Ironically, the Abrahamic Family House project was inaugurated officially on 16 February 2023 by Abu Dhabi’s

Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence.

How do we get one of those?

Someone should ask if the new church component could be used for a Pontifical Mass in the traditional Rite.

Posted in Traditionis custodes | Tagged Arthur Roche, Traditionis custodes
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From “The Private Diary of Bishop F. Atticus McButterpants” – 23-02-20

Posted on 20 February 2023 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Some of you managed to squeeze out polite interest in perhaps seeing more entries from the private diary of His Excellency Most Reverend F. Atticus (“Fatty”) McButterpants. You are kind.

Keep in mind that I have no idea when they might show up. When they do there is the challenge of transcribing his crabbed and rather puerile handwriting. Pages are photographed by the mole. Sometimes there are gaps in the dates. You get the idea.

Anyway, here is one that came in a while back. It’s a little dated but nevertheless instructive.

It helps to know that “Fr. Tommy” is Fatty’s long-suffering, trad-ish-leaning priest secretary, driver, factotum who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

June 3rd 2022

Dear Diary,

To relieve the stress of all this Vos Estees thing dumped on me by my predecessor, good ol’ “Feel The Byrne”, I ordained two guys as transitional deacons. Luis and Butch are great guys. They could be good priests if Luis can ever learn enough English, and Butch lasts at least five years before he dies. He’s old enough to be my dad, damn it.

Fr. Tommy’s sweet grandma, who keeps sewing those weird vestments for him (black ones?), came up to me after the ordination and whispered to me something like, “you need some wimpies.” I had no idea what she was talking about. Maybe hamburgers? Fr. Tommy said she said “vim pay”. He showed me a picture of a “vim pay” on his phone and tried to explain what they were for but I wasn’t really listening. They look like some kind of thing people can throw what they pay into these instead of into those collection baskets. “vim pay” like pay pal?

Follow up….

July 17th 2022

Tommy’s gran sent me two wimpies. They are like long towels. My coat of arms are on them. Why? I don’t know. Nice of her to do all that work. I hope to god she doesn’t do it again. We have plenty of collection baskets. I unfolded them and left them hanging across my desk for a few minutes while I went to find Sr. Randi, and dang it if Chester didn’t drag them off and tear them to shreds in record time. He peed on them too, of course. So much for that.

Posted in Diary of Bp. McButterpants, SESSIUNCULA | Tagged Bp. Fatty McButterpants
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Daily Rome Shot 669

Posted on 20 February 2023 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Photo by The Great Roman™

Who at 0630 CET wrote: “Just ended my shift for the night.”

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Meanwhile,…

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Black to move. This is hard. At least for me.

Your use of my Amazon affiliate link is a major part of my income. It helps to pay for insurance, groceries, everything. Please remember me when shopping online. Thanks in advance. US HERE – UK HERE

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WDTPRS – Pre-Lent Quinquagesima Sunday: Prepare for BATTLE!

Posted on 19 February 2023 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In our traditional Roman calendar, Sunday is Quinquagesima, Latin for the symbolic “Fiftieth” day before Easter. This is one of the pre-Lenten Sundays which prepare us for the discipline of Lent.

The priest’s vestments are purple. No Gloria. No Alleluia. The prayers and readings for the pre-Lenten Sundays were compiled by St. Gregory the Great (+604).

The Consilium’s liturgical engineers under Annibale Bugnini and others eliminated these pre-Lent Sundays, much to our detriment. (Cf. BugniniCare).

Those who participate at Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form will hear that the Introit refers to the “rock” and the Roman Station today is at St. Peter’s on the Vatican Hill.

COLLECT:

Preces nostras, quaesumus, Domine, clementer exaudi: atque, a peccatorum vinculis absolutos, ab omni nos adversitate custodi.

This prayer is found in the ancient Liber Sacramentorum Augustodunensis and the L.S. Engolismensis.

I cannot find this prayer in any form in the post-Conciliar editions of the Missale Romanum.

You won’t find Quinquagesima either!

Thanks, Bugnini!

The ponderous Lewis & Short Dictionary reminds us that absolvo means “to loosen from, to make loose, set free, detach, untie” or in juridical language “to absolve from a charge, to acquit, declare innocent”. The priest uses this word when he absolves you of the bonds of your sins. Vinculum is “that with which any thing is bound, a band, bond, rope, cord, fetter, tie”. This bond can be literal, as in physical fetters, or it can be moral or some sort of state. You can be bound in charity or peace, or bound in damnation or sin. In the case if sin, in liturgical prayer we find a form of vinculum or its plural with “loosing” verbs such as absolvo or resolvo or dissolvo. In ancient prayers, the state of sin was conceived as a place in which we are bound. The bonds must be loosed so that we can escape and be free.

In the whole of the post-Conciliar Missal I don’t believe the combination peccata absolvere is found, but it is in ancient collections. One finds the phrase with some additional term such as “bonds” or “ties” of sins.

LITERAL TRANSLATION:

We beseech You, O Lord, graciously attend to our prayers: and, having been loosed from the fetters of sins, guard us from every adversity.

What is the first thing an enemy does to you, once you are captured?

He disarms you.
He shackles you.
He renders you powerless to do your own will.

Even when we have fallen into sin, we retain free will, but our will is already weakened due to original and actual sin. We can become so mired in sin that we can’t rule ourselves.

The Sacrament of Penance is a great gift. It frees us from our self-inflicted chains.

We must strive to live without mortal sin.

But we fall. In mortal sin we divest ourselves, as it were, of our spiritual armor. We make ourselves prisoners.

We pray to God to protect us from the dire consequences of sin, including the attacks of the Enemy, which on our own without God’s help we cannot resist.

Among the benefits of the Sacrament of Penance, along with being freed from the chains of sins, is a strengthening to resist sin in the future.

These prayers of the pre-Lenten Sundays are meant to help us ready the stores in our interior fortresses before the spiritual battle of Lent.

We must empty out what does not serve and be filled with that which does.

Prepare yourselves for battle and Lent’s discipline.

GO TO CONFESSION!

Posted in Hard-Identity Catholicism, LENT, WDTPRS |
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Daily Rome Shot 668

Posted on 19 February 2023 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Photo by The Great Roman™

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Meanwhile,…

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

3:16 isn’t just in John.

Meanwhile, here is an interesting game, annotated, between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Anish Giri at WR Chess Masters 2023 in Dusseldorf. American Levon Aronian (USA) is in the lead. Wesley So is in 2nd (yay!)

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
2 Comments

Your Sunday Sermon Notes – QUINQUAGESIMA Sunday (N.O.: 7th Ord) 2023

Posted on 19 February 2023 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

We are in violet this Sunday, as Pre-Lent continues in the traditional Roman Rite.

Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.

It is the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time in the Novus Ordo and Quinquagesima in the Vetus Ordo. Such confusion. All so unnecessary.

Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Sunday Mass of obligation?

Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass. I hear that it is growing. Of COURSE.

Any local changes or (hopefully good) news?

I have a few thoughts about the orations in the Vetus Ordo for Quinquagesima: HERE

Here’s a poll. Anyone can vote, but only registered and approved participants can comment. ALL comments are moderated.

Keep in mind that Septuagesima could fall as early as 18 January, which would overlap with the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged Sunday sermons
4 Comments

ASK FATHER: Can you tell us more about Bishop Fatty McButterpants?

Posted on 18 February 2023 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Father Z you write, sometimes about the Diocese of Black Duck and the neighboring Diocese of Libville. I’ve been looking for them online and I can’t come up with anything.

Can you … how to put this… “flesh out” Bishop Fatty for us? Some background? And did his parents really hate him so much that they named him “Fatty”? That can’t be his real name, can it?

Thanks in advance.

Well, yes! By coincidence I can tell you more.

It’s funny that you ask today because I was just offered access to the personal, private diary of Bp. McButterpants!

It must be from one of the house cleaners, or whatever they call them in Libville. Anyway, we have a mole on the inside. Which, come to think of it, is a tautology. All moles are, by definition, on the inside. Duh.

Some of this diary is… let’s say… not really bloggable material.

With a little coaxing, I might be able to share some entries now and then, depending on readership interest.

It seems that Fatty was forced into keeping a diary because the Papal Nuncio made him either see a therapist or have an apostolic visitation of his diocese. My thought is that the same mole who is sending me the entries is also sending them to Rome. So we have to keep this on the low down, if you get me drift.

However, to the question….

Most. Rev. “Fatty” McButterpants was born on 11 February 1955 in the Diocese of Pie Town, where his old classmate Bp. “Dozer” Ruspa is now the residential bishop. He was formally nominated as bishop-elect of Libville on 13 March 2013, though the announcement was delayed for a while. His appointment was one of the first things that Francis did the evening the conclave was ended. There were some “expectations” from a close group of … friends to be fulfilled, of course, and not to be delayed, “just in case”. After all, “accidents happen”, as one of them said… a few times.

His real name is not “Fatty”, as a matter of fact. His full name is Francis Atticus McButterpants. His parents were inspired by their garden statue and the institution where his older brother was learning a trade. Fatty would later say it was the book by Harper Lee, instead the place where license plates were made. Fatty hated the name Francis growing up, and still hates it, so he went by F. Atticus McButterpants. By the time he got into seminary, and much larger clothing, the script wrote itself.

Those who know him marvel at the fact that he is a bishop, given his unsuppressed hatred of the work bishops do these days, namely office work, meetings, etc. He hates any work come to think of it.

As a matter of fact, one of the recent diary entries, from just a few days ago, deals with his work in the diocesan offices, the “chancery”.

February 2nd 2023

Dear Diary, [Yes, he actually does that!]

Another damn parish merjer meeting. They’re soooo booooring with all the whining from people about “I grew up there” and “Please, Bishop! PLEASE don’t close it! PLEEEEZ! I don’t mind the groveling, which feels sort of good, but it gets tedious. Bruce Hugalot went on and on and on about what a sucess his merjer was”. It’s all about HIM. The only bright spot in the afternoon was when Chester ran in and barked at Bruce – right at him! Sr. Randi ran in to get him and stepped on one of his chew toys and fell down. Gotta admit I left that meeting with a smile.

This is just a sample. His entries tend to be short. Fr. Hugalot or “Just Call Me Bruce” (that final sibilant “c” receiving a certain emphasis, but I digress), had to merge two parishes, St. Idealia and… I can’t remember the other one, during Bp. Fatty’s program for renewal of the diocese called, at the suggestion of the highly-paid professional consultors he brought in, the “There Can Be Only One” Campaign. Fr. Bruce did the lifting and, “viola!” (as Fatty would say), there emerged from the merger the “Sing A New Faith Community Into Being Faith Community”.

Oh yes. “Chester” is Fatty’s loathsome and somewhat deformed dog. It’s hard to say what breed it is. To get a visual idea, you have to think in terms of those dogs that the late cartoonist George Booth used to draw for the New Yorker when their cartoons were still funny. For example, this could be Fatty and Chester on a given day in his office:

We don’t know how long we will have access to Fatty’s private diary. Any day could be the end.

Posted in Diary of Bp. McButterpants | Tagged Bp. Fatty McButterpants, Chester, D. Libville
10 Comments

Daily Rome Shot 667

Posted on 18 February 2023 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Photo by The Great Roman™

Welcome new registrant:

RTN2TRAD

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Meanwhile,…

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

White to move. Looking grim. Or is it?

Board, small, is a little too busy, perhaps? With that “burl” look? I’m trying to mix it up.

The Beek Monks of Norcia set out a newsletter with great pics of their life. Try their beer!

In Pro Chess League News….

Yesterday the Shanghai Tigers shanghaied the St. Louis Arch Bishops 10-6 and the Left Coast Unicorns defeated the Croatia Bulldogs 9-7. I was rooting for the Bulldogs, of course, because the Unicorns have a stupid logo. I ask you…

Awful? No?

The logo of the Brazil Capybaras is by far superior to that … whatever that is. And it is hard to be the Spain Maniac Shrimps.

There was a really good game between 14 year-old Alice Yi (2320) and former Women’s World Champ Ju Wenjun (2555).

In my own chess news, I fought to a draw today in a non-timed, non-rated club game against probably the strongest player in the group (except when I am on my game… maybe…).

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
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Daily Rome Shot 666

Posted on 17 February 2023 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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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. Even if you use SMILE, don’t worry! SMILE still gets the donation.

White to move and, soon, mate.

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 Pro Chess League is fired up.

Yesterday saw the Berlin Bears fall to the Gotham Knights but not without a shocking blunder and loss by Hikaru.

The Norway Gnomes made tapas of the Spanish Maniac Shrimps.

Today will see the St. Louis Arch Bishops tangle with the Shanghai Tigers. In less interesting news its Croatia Bulldogs v. California Unicorns, upon whom we wish resounding defeat because they have a stupid logo.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
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Card. Eijk phasing out Communion services on weekends.

Posted on 16 February 2023 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This is for either your “Too Little Too Late” file or your “Better Latin Than Never” file, depending on your predominant world view. HERE

Wim Card. Eijk of the Archdiocese of Utrecht published a plan called “Continue doing this in remembrance of me” in which he plans within five years to end “word and communion services” (i.e., NOT MASSES) on weekends. Some have objected, of course.

It is his belief that these Communion services result in an abuse of the Eucharist. He wants the Eucharist to “take its rightful place”.

“In a word and communion celebration, you only receive the fruit of the Eucharist, the Host, but a Eucharist transcends this,” the cardinal explained the difference in October. “It is essential to your life as a Christian.”

He is talking about MASS of course.

We are our rites.

He is definitely on to something. It seems to me that Communion in the hand is far more problematic. The way that priests say Mass is more problematic. However, the shortage of priests there – and they have only themselves to blame, just as anywhere there is a shortage – has resulted in exactly what the shortage creators wanted: make the Church a Protestant as possible before making it into an NGO.

It’s an interesting development.

Card. Eijk has been mentioned as papabile. I wonder if this would harm his chances.