NASA has a video about the next Solar Cycle. Every 11 years your planet’s yellow star goes through a cycle of more or less activity.
This activity can effect the layers of your planet’s atmosphere. In turn that impacts the propagation of radio waves.
We are at a minimum of the 11 cycle. Hopefully, for the sake of amateur radio operators, we will emerge from this minimum and get onto the upward slope of the sine wave.
How not to moderate, but good information.
Holy Church is precisely for sinners, for bad Catholics. The Lord is going to sort us all out in good time, as in the parable of the wheat and the tares.
Everlasting bliss for some, eternal agony and fire for others.
That WILL happen.
We have the Church so that we can move from being in habitual sin into habitual grace. In the Church we have the means to be good Catholics or bad Catholics as we choose with the help of grace.
The Church teaches authoritatively about matters of faith and morals. She is pretty clear about the important issues. If you act in a way that is contrary to what the Church teaches, you are not a good Catholic. If you know what the Church teaches and you persist in acting against what the Church teaches, you are a bad Catholic. You are in peril of Hell.
If you are really poorly formed, through no fault of your own, and you have acted out of ignorance, you are still on a slippery slope, but you may be less culpable for your objectively errant acts.
While you breathe, there is hope! When you die, you will no longer have any chance to change your fate. That’s will be it.
That WILL happen.
If you take anything about the Four Last Things – Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell – seriously, you will seek to form your conscience properly according to the clearly expressed mind of the Church. The ultimate fate of your eternal soul depends on it.
If you recognize what you are going face, then you will examine your conscience and figure out if you are a good Catholic or a bad Catholic – yes, there are good and bad Catholics – and then do something about it. If you are in the state of grace, you will strive to remain good and faithful. If you are in the state of mortal sin you will strive to correct your life, make amends, seek reconciliation and go to confession.
If, by seeking to form your conscience well according to the mind of the Church, you discover that you have been wrong about something, culpably or inculpably, you will make corrections. If you don’t, you put your soul at risk of Hell.
This is pretty simple stuff. It might not be an easy path to walk, but it isn’t all that tough to figure this out.
A Catholic who consistently promotes things like abortion and same-sex marriage is a bad Catholic. He or she remains Catholic, and therefore subject to the canons 915 and 916. Catholics cannot promote abortion in any way. Catholics cannot promote same-sex marriage in anyway. To do so would make one a bad Catholic.
To do so as a highly visible public figure would also be proportionately grave scandal.
Some people say that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are not Catholics. They are certainly Catholics, by their formal relationship with the Church.
Leaving aside the invisible state of their particular souls… we see their actions.
We can make a pretty good argument that they are bad Catholics.
Because they are so highly visible, and because the scandal they have caused is so grave, they of necessity must publicly admit that they were wrong to promote abortion and same-sex marriage, abjure their former positions and then work to undo the damage they have caused. Even if they go to confession and are reconciled with God, they must still make PUBLIC reparation for the harm they have done. They owe this to all of us out of justice.
Until they do, can. 916 clearly requires them not to present themselves for Holy Communion. Until they do, can. 915 requires all of the Church’s pastors to deny Holy Communion to them… because they obstinately persevere in manifest grave sin by their continued promotion of abortion and same-sex acts.
It is the obligation of their pastors in the Church, their priests and bishops, to admonish them and to apply whatever medicinal censures they might in order to correct them. Bishops and priests are obliged to do this to save their own souls. They have to do this to save the souls of those errant scandal causing politicians. They have do this to protect the souls of their other subjects, who would be confused and lead into error by those sin-promoting politicians. If their Bishops do not work to correct them subjects, they put their own souls at risk.
All of that is a preamble.
I cannot see how a Catholic can – in good conscience – vote for a candidate who openly and often supports and promotes abortion and same-sex marriage. This is especially so in the case of abortion, the preeminent human rights issue. All other major social issues are susceptible to contingent choices. We can argue for this or that approach to virtually all social problems. But that is not the case when it comes to the right to be born. Hence, a Catholic who supports and promotes abortion is a bad Catholic.
Gerhard Card. Müller, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told Raymond Arroyo on EWTN:
“[I]t is “better to vote for a good Protestant than for a bad Catholic.”
Two years ago, I posted about Jesuits in New York City – at the once great and now increasingly weird and infamous St. Francis Xavier – having YOGA in the SANCTUARY of the church. I’m not making this up.
This is the same place where the Jesuits parked enormous photos of “victims” of Law Enforcement on the main altar of the church, in a desecration of the sacred. HERE
Then there was this revolting mockery of the renewal of Baptismal promises. A Jesuit has people make promises DURING MASS about “white privilege”. Disgusting. HERE
It won’t surprise you that YOGA is back in the sanctuary.
You can even join in via Zoom. No. Really.
Does this seem right to you?
Today, the day after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, is the Feast of Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is an analogous commemoration on Friday after 1st Passion Sunday. I will say this Mass in today’s live stream at Noon, CDT.
Some time ago, I wrote a series of reflections on the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin. I invite you to have a look. Our Lady of Sorrows Project
Here are links to the individual posts
1st Sorrow – The Prophecy of Simeon
2nd Sorrow – The Flight into Egypt
3rd Sorrow – The loss of the Child Jesus in Jerusalem
4th Sorrow – Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary
5th Sorrow – The Crucifixion of Jesus
6th Sorrow – The Piercing of the Side of Jesus, and His Deposition
7th Sorrow – The Burial of Jesus
At the famous Basilica in Rome, Santo Stefano Rotondo we find this well-known image:
#ASonnetADay – 37. "As a decrepit father takes delight…" pic.twitter.com/nof9qsajoI
— Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (@fatherz) September 15, 2020
On this anniversary of Summorum Pontificum going into effect I share with you something from Tradition In Action.
There was on 28 August 2020 an ordination of a deacon in the Diocese of Wollongong. As part of the ceremony, an Aboriginal performed pagan rituals beforehand.
That’s just a taste.
Thanks to Fr. Finigan for this photo!
Today is the 13th anniversary of the implementation of Benedict XVI’s monumentally important Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. It went into force today, though it was released on 07/07/07. This document is perhaps the most important gift from the too-short pontificate of Papa Ratzinger, and we honor him and thank him for it.
On this day in 2007, I had the honor to be the guest of my good friend, His Hermeneuticalness, Fr. Tim Finigan at his parish in Blackfen. We had a Solemn Mass, I preached, there was a grand reception in the hall with laity and clergy. I recall that that is where I first me the late Marie Dean (aka Supertradmum) who commented here very often. In the evening Father and I went to Brompton Oratory for a Solemn Mass. It was a happy day.
Benedict surely choose the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross for Summorum Pontificum to take effect for a reason. The older, traditional form of the Roman Rite is, itself, a constant exaltation of the Cross. The Holy Cross of our salvation must be central to our liturgical rites. It truly is in the traditional form, while it is far less so in the newer form… especially in the way that it is celebrated far and wide. Having the Cross firmly before our eyes in our sacred liturgical rites is critically important for our identity. The Cross challenges our earthliness. It draws us into its mystery, which is simultaneously frightening and alluring.
Back in 2007, I posted here some Rules of Engagement, now that SP is in force. I think they still pertain.
Fr. Z’s 5 Rules of Engagement now that the Motu Proprio is in force:
1) Rejoice because our liturgical life has been enriched, not because “we win”. Everyone wins when the Church’s life is enriched. This is not a “zero sum game”.
2) Do not strut. Let us be gracious to those who have in the past not been gracious in regard to our “legitimate aspirations”.
3) Show genuine Christian joy. If you want to attract people to what gives you so much consolation and happiness, be inviting and be joyful. Avoid the sourness some of the more traditional stamp have sadly worn for so long.
4) Be engaged in the whole life of your parishes, especially in works of mercy organized by the same. If you want the whole Church to benefit from the use of the older liturgy, then you who are shaped by the older form of Mass should be of benefit to the whole Church in concrete terms.
5) If the document doesn’t say everything we might hope for, don’t bitch about it like a whiner. Speak less of our rights and what we deserve, or what it ought to have been, as if we were our own little popes, and more about our gratitude, gratitude, gratitude for what God gives us.
I think these Rules apply even today.
And I have a few others, which I have posted elsewhere… ma lascia stare.
I sometimes call Summorum Pontificum our “Emancipation Proclamation”. I also refer to it as a key element in Benedict’s “Marshall Plan” for rebuilding the Church as a bullwark against the Dictatorship of Relativism that so threatens us after the devastation which occurred in the wake of Vatican II.
In no way am I less convinced of that now, than I was then.
Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. The feast commemorates the discovery, as tradition has it under sweet basil herb bushes, of the Holy Cross by Emperor Constantine’s mother St Helena in AD 325 in Jerusalem as well as and the Dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher built on that site in 335. A portion of the Cross was placed there.
The Basilica was consecrated on 13 September and, on 14 September the fragment of the Cross was shown to the people so that the clergy and faithful could pray before it. In 614 invading Persians and King Chosroes absconded with it. They held it until it was recaptured by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 628 and returned to the Basilica.
Let’s see today’s …
COLLECT (1962):
Deus, qui nos hodierna die Exaltationis sanctae Crucis annua solemnitate laetificas: praesta quaesumus; ut cuius mysterium in terra cognovimus, eius redemptionis praemia in caelo mereamur.
LITERAL VERSION:
O God, who on this day gladden us by the yearly solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: grant, we beseech You; that in heaven we may merit to attain the rewards of redemption of Him, whose mystery we have known on earth.
The colons and semicolons in the older way of printed liturgical orations are intended to help the priest sing the prayer, rather than to give it greater sense.
The force of the last phrase is “whom we have known on earth in mystery”. Remember that mysterium is nearly interchangeable with sacramentum. Notice the parallel set up between in terra… in caelo. In this life, we can know Christ and what is promised us in heaven only as through a glass, darkly, as St Paul put it. Our supreme contact with Christ in this life is in the sacramental mysteries, in our sacred liturgical worship and in Holy Communion. In heaven our knowledge will be more direct, though God will forever remain Mystery, tremendum et fascinans, awesome and alluring.
Here is another version from the beautiful hand missal from Baronius Press:
O God, who this day dost gladden us by the yearly feast of the Exaltation of the Cross: grant, we beseech Thee, that we who on earth acknowledge the Mystery of Redemption wrought upon it, may be worthy to enjoy the rewards of that same Redemption in heaven.
The Baronius Press hand missal, printed in the UK, was released in 2007, the same year that Benedict XVI issued Summorum Pontificum which greatly freed up the use of the 1962 Missale Romanum. This document, with its juridical solutions to many burning issues, is one of the most important accomplishments of Benedict’s too short pontificate.
Let is now move to the Ordinary Form, or Novus Ordo edition of the Missale Romanum.
COLLECT (2002):
Deus, qui Unigenitum tuum crucem subire voluisti, ut salvum faceret genus humanum, praesta, quaesumus, ut, cuius mysterium in terra cognovimus, eius redemptionis praemia in caelo consequi mereamur.
This was pieced together from phrases from Collects of Palm Sunday and of Wednesday in Holy Week as well as today’s feast in the pre-Conciliar Missal, as we just saw above.
LITERAL ATTEMPT:
O God, who desired that Your Only-begotten undergo the Cross so that He would make the human race free, grant, we beseech You, that we merit to attain in heaven the rewards of redemption of Him, whose mystery we have known on earth.
OBSOLETE ICEL (1973):
God our Father, in obedience to you your only Son accepted death on the cross for the salvation of mankind. We acknowledge the mystery of the cross on earth. May we receive the gift of redemption in heaven.
Not content to chop the Latin into two sentences, the translators opted for three.
CURRENT ICEL (2011):
O God, who willed that your Only Begotten Son should under the Cross to save the human race, grant, we pray, that we, who have known his mystery on earth, may merit the grace of his redemption in heaven.
Today, the aromatic herb basil (Ocimum basilicum which, comes from Greek basileos, “king”) is blessed by our Eastern brothers and sisters and placed in abundance around their Crosses.
Permit me to channel my inner John XXIII and suggest that having pasta and pesto with friends and loved ones, would be a fine way to observe the feast day.
And some of you old timers here might remember
BASIL EMERITUS!
He moved from the sidebar to his secluded residence in the Blog Gardens on 28 February 2013. A sad day. But he is still on his wheel. (You might have to enable “flash”)
Does anyone know what is really going on in Mexico City?
I have had email saying that there is going to be a huge “occupy” protest in the Constitutional Plaza (Cathedral, National Palace) to try to force President Obrador to resign.
Another report suggests that Obrador sent the National Guard into the Cathedral to close it down.
The Archdiocese tweeted that the Cathedral is closed for services.
Do any readers from Mexico have accurate information?
#ASonnetADay – 36. "Let me confess that we two must be twain…" pic.twitter.com/sNWBc4zYoO
— Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (@fatherz) September 13, 2020
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
Benedict Joseph on Are things as bad as the seem? Auctores scinduntur.: “When will we banish from the Catholic lexicon “reform” and “renewal”? They serve only the cause of mendacity. Let’s call…”
on Not a huge fan, but the question is dead on right…: “This is not an “apologia pro Iacobo Martino,” but it’s unfair to say, as above, that Tim Busch’s apparent friendship…”
on ROME 26/10– Day 21: fountain: “That’s funny I can’t recall any of the woman saints I have read ever mentioning that they aspired to be…”
on ROME 26/10– Day 19-20:: “I agree acardnal. The dachshunds at Pippo’s always make me smile too. Thank You Father Z.”
on Not a huge fan, but the question is dead on right…: “It’s easy to discipline the obedient child. Reprimanding the one who will oppose you openly and pitch a fit in…” on ROME 26/10– Day 21: fountain: “When will *women* understand that: No means no. Every. Single. Time.”
on ROME 26/10– Day 21: fountain: “How do we facilitate that discernment? If such ladies truly seek to discern, ask them to enter a contemplative monastery,…”
on ROME 26/10– Day 21: fountain: ““Hear the call” Sometimes I hear neighborhood cats fighting in my yard. This hasn’t prompted me to dress up like…”
A Daily Prayer for Priests
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