Today is the 13th birthday of the blog.
I started it originally for the purpose of creating an online archive for my weekly articles for The Wanderer. It rapidly grew into something more than that.
You readers have been very good to me over the years.
My first post was of a view from the window of my apartment in Rome.
Some years later the blog looked like this…
I sense that some changes are coming.
Let’s give this guy a boost. A young entrepreneur reached out to me for help with his project. He started something called Crown and Stars, clearly in honor of the Blessed Virgin.
He told me that he wants to make…
Catholic and prolife shirts available that are: thought provoking, grab your attention, conversation starters.
They do that, I think.
If he can sell about 10 more shirts, then Amazon (ALWAYS use my link!) will allow him to make more designs available.
Whaddya say?
>>HERE<<
Some of them are pretty nice. Just a few…
Today is the feast of St. Ambrose of Milan, a titanic figure of the early Church, massively influential, endlessly intriguing. He died in 397 and is entombed in Milan, where you can visit and venerate his bones, which were recently examined and verified. HERE
In the past I have written quite a few posts about St. Ambrose, including one about St. Edith Stein’s dialogue between Ambrose and Augustine, whom Ambrose would baptize. HERE
I’ve also written about how Jerome simply couldn’t stand Ambrose and how he railed against him. HERE
This year, I would point you all to one of the better books about Ambrose, written by the priest who helped to blow the whistle, as it were, on the disgraced Theodore McCarrick, formerly of the College of Cardinals and perv. I wonder how Jerome… and Ambrose and Augustine would write about him. Hmmm.
If you want to know more about Ambrose, and I am sure that you do, check out Ambrose by Boniface Ramsey. US HERE – UK HERE
I also have a few oldie PODCAzTs that touch on Ambrose. Wow… some are ten years old.
Last night a Solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated at Pine Bluff, WI, at St. Mary’s Church for the repose of the soul of the Extraordinary Ordinary… who shall wear that mantle in the future?… His Excellency, Most Rev. Robert C. Morlino, the late Bishop of Madison.
Priests from the Society of Jesus the Priest and of the Diocese were sacred ministers.
The Mass was preceded by the singing of Vespers from the Office of the Dead. The pastor, Fr. Heilman presided.
The evening continued with Solemm Mass.
After the Mass and before the absolution of the catafalque, yours truly gave the sermon.
Absolution of the catafalque.
When our loved one’s die, we must avoid canonizing them. We should pray for the dead, even when we are confident about the state of their souls. Always ask God for mercy and have Masses said for them and try to gain indulgences for them.
UPDATE:
The whole world is watching this transition in Madison. Here is a tweet about a Mass for Bp. Morlino in the Diocese of Nellore, India.
Bishop Morlino and the Diocese of Madison are being prayed for around the world. Thank you to everyone offering masses for the repose of his soul. This was sent from the Diocese of Nellore, India pic.twitter.com/zVvLeekJsJ
— Diocese of Madison (@MadisonDiocese) December 6, 2018
I just re-upped my membership in the venerable LMS, the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales.
>>HERE<<
They have been fighting the good fight for decades and they deserve lots of support, even from those of us who do not live in the sceptr’d isle.
Boost their membership.
We are all in this together and we shall never surrender!
And tell them Fr. Zed sent you. HERE
Are looking for unique religious gifts? May I suggest checking out the beautiful art of Daniel Mitsui?
Daniel works with a fascinating fusion of forms and produces some invocative religious images, pleasing at a glance but profitable for contemplation.
He sent me prints of new work.
First, a work inspired by the old classic, which may hang in some of your houses (or parents’, or grandparents’), 1851 Light of the World by Pre-Raphaelite William Holman Hunt, in color or black and white prints.
Mitsui has a twist. Holman showed Christ knocking at the door. Mitsui shows Christ in the doorway after you open the door.
Mitsui always includes descriptions of the symbolic elements. Note well the spiderweb in the doorway… the door has been closed on Christ for a long time.
Also, he made an image of Our Lady of Hope.
These prints are lovely.
Why not – for the heck of it – go to his site and just scrounge around for awhile. There is some great stuff available.
One of these, or another, framed, would be a lovely gift.
There are some good web pieces available about the funeral Mass of the late, great Extraordinary Ordinary, Bp. Robert Morlino of Madison.
One of the better is at CWR. [UPDATE: Nothing at Fishwrap. There is, however, a piece by Jesuit arguing that the bishops should cave in on paying for contraception. After all, can’t we all just get along?]
His passing is an important moment in the Church in these USA. His death and the funeral were followed all over the world. Bp. Morlino was and still is seen as a strong, orienting beacon guiding people to the truth. His sermons, writings and interviews are like buoys, guiding people in the life-rafts around the Barque of Peter away from the rocks and back to the boat.
The naming of his successor will be a watershed in the Church in these USA.
We must now pray with redoubled efforts for the soul of the late bishop, and also for all those who will be involved in the naming of his successor.
Some people might make the grave error of thinking that that little and mostly rural and ultra-liberal diocese of Madison is some sort of ecclesiastical fly over country. I assure you that that is mistaken thinking.
There are a couple of factors which people might remember when thinking about the open see of the late Extraordinary Ordinary.
First, Mary has placed her blessing on this state. To the East of Madison, in central South Wisconsin, is Holy Hill, the National Shrine of Our Lady, Help of Christians. To the West of Madison is the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. To the North is Champion, the only officially approved Marian apparition in these USA.
Second, there are a few “force multipliers” in Madison. The greatest of these is the legacy of Bp. Morlino himself. However, his voice and message were, I must in honesty, admit were also amplified by other force multipliers which continue even now. For example, here in the Diocese Fr. Heilman is doing his good work, which is having a national impact. And, well… I’m here. If anyone thinks we’ll be quiet, think again.
Third, this is a diocese where the most important legacy of Benedict XVI is being implemented. Benedict XVI did what he could to deal with the increasingly alarming erosion of Catholic identity through artificial or badly-conceived liturgical worship. Much of the deeper foundation of the terrible times we are is a crisis of liturgical worship. Madison has many, especially, young priests who are saying the TLM and saying the Novus Ordo having been shaped by learning the TLM. The knock on effect, ripple effect, is spreading on many levels, affective, intellectual, spiritual. This is spiritual warfare we are engaged in. Liturgy is one of the most important activities we engage in. Madison is where the vision of Benedict XVI has put down roots. This vision was also the vision of the Extraordinary Ordinary. And, remembering the motto on his episcopal arms: Visus non mentietur…The Vision Will Not Disappoint”
This is an important time for the Church in these USA.
From a reader…
QUAERITUR:
Is it a sin to drink/use to cook/use for other purposes BLESSED WATER A/O SALT?
No, it is not a sin! On the contrary. Blessed salt and bless water are meant, among other purposes, also for consumption. There is a caveat, however.
In the traditional exorcism of the salt, the priest prays: “May you be a purified salt, a means of health for those who believe, a medicine for body and soul for all who make use of you.” And it its blessing, he prays: “May all who use it find in it a remedy for body and mind.”
There are also blessings for many other foods, intended to help especially the sick, such as the blessing for wine and all manner of foods. If it is common fare, there’s probably a blessing for it.
The problem is that sometimes Holy Water is not “fresh”. The salt slows the water going bad, but it doesn’t hold it off indefinitely. I would not use anything for cooking or consumption that wasn’t just blessed and then stored well. That goes for every other kind of waters.
I received news of a TLM in Tampa. What caught my eye is that it will be at a Jesuit High School.
ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT
“Jesuit High School, the Latin Mass Society of Tampa Bay, and Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church cordially invite you to the third annual Rorate Mass, this year to be hosted at the Chapel of the Holy Cross on December 15, 2018 at 6:30am.
Fr. Vincent Capuano, S.J. will celebrate Solemn Mass for Our Lady in Advent, with Fr. Paul Mangiafico of the Diocese of St. Petersburg serving as Deacon and Mr. Steven Rabanal of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter as Subdeacon.
The men of the St. Dunstan Schola will present the chants of the Mass, and the boys of the Archconfraternity of St. Stephen and Jesuit High School will serve at the Altar.
The Chapel will be open at 5am for private prayer and devotions. Pamphlets with the texts of the Mass will be available at the door.
Jesuit High School is happy to host and collaborate with the community and clergy of Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church to host this beautiful liturgy in our newly dedicated Chapel.
But that’s not all.
There is a new chapel at Jesuit High School. The old, modernist (=ugly) one was torn down and a new one was built by Duncan Stroik.
Before… photos from NLM:
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| The new church’s façade. (Courtesy of Jesuit High School of Tampa) |
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| (Courtesy of Jesuit High School of Tampa) |
Last night I attended a Vespers service held to pray for the soul of Bp. Morlino. A former Vicar General of Madison, now Bp. of Sioux Falls, Most Rev. Paul J. Swain presided and preached. There were many people whom I recognized from out of town in a packed chapel.
It was consoling to see that the diocese availed itself of vestments, candles, and so forth, from the Tridentine Mass Society of the Diocese of Madison. It is a great honor. You readers who have contributed to the TMSM helped and were part of it.
Today we go to a large parish for the funeral. Again vestments of the TMSM will be used, and, again, those of you who have contributed to our projects are morally present.
Please say a prayer for the soul of Bp. Morlino and for those who must choose a successor.
Also, the funeral will be broadcast LIVE on EWTN. Perhaps you readers can post links to watch it online.
This is an important moment for the Church in these USA.
I strongly recommend a sound examination of conscience and good confession.
We are in turbulent spiritual times marked but clear markers.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
A Daily Prayer for Priests
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