Fr. Z's Blog | Catholic commentary by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

3 April – Holy Mass (TLM) Seven Sorrows of Mary – LIVE VIDEO: 1200h CDT (GMT/UTC -5) – With “fervorino”

Posted on 3 April 2020 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

NB: Mass today is offered for my benefactors, those who have donated or sent things from my wish list. I am grateful to all of you.

I am again going to LIVE stream a Traditional Latin Mass at NOON Central Daylight Time (= GMT/UTC -5 and ROME 1900h). The Mass formulary was going to be for Friday in Passion Week (the week before Holy Week). Instead of adding prayers for the Commemoration of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, I can, today say the Mass for her. We are one week out from Good Friday. On the Friday after 1st Passion Sunday priest can say this Mass with white vestments (!) and with the “Iudica” psalm in the prayer at the foot of the altar, a Gloria and Gloria Patri at the end of some prayers. There is a sequence today: Stabat Mater.

You can find an English translation of the Mass formulary HERE. Scroll down and choose the 1960 setting.
I will say a Spiritual Communion prayer at the very beginning for those of you who cannot make a Eucharistic Communion.
I will also recite the traditional “Statement of Intention” (which every priest should say before Mass).
At the end, I’ll say a “Prayer against disease” from the Roman Ritual followed by the blessing with a fragment of the Cross in the large reliquary.

I’ll add a “fervorino” (short sermon).

My YouTube Channel HERE

My Jesus, I believe that Thou art present in the Blessed Sacrament. I love Thee above all things and I desire Thee in my soul. Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though Thou wert already there, I embrace Thee and unite myself wholly to Thee; permit not that I should ever be separated from Thee. Amen.

Gesù mio, credo che voi state nel ss. Sacramento. V’amo sopra ogni cosa e vi desidero nell’anima mia. Giacchè ora non posso ricevervi sacramentalmente venite almeno spiritualamente nel mio cuore. Coma già venuto io v’abbraccio e tutto mi unisco a voi, non permettete ch’io m’abbia mai a separare da voi. Così sia.

Introducing the Catholic Signal Corps

Posted on 2 April 2020 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Catholic Signal Corps.

What do I mean?

Consider…

Big social media outlets are filtering, censoring, shadow banning content and users, “deplatforming” those whose opinions are not “acceptable” to them.
This is going to get worse as we continue to polarize.
People who want to or who do use the interwebs for good, Catholic works usually don’t have the tech background to, say, be a server administrator or to unwedge problems as they arise… and they always arise.
Building up a free standing site and keeping it updated and running is not easy. Not just anyone can do it. Believe me. I have practical knowledge of the problem, not theoretical.

Think about this if your parish or a priest is trying to set something up.

It is hard to find good tech help that is both capable and reliable.

I am happy to announce that…

WE DID IT.

We have formed the

Catholic Signal Corps!

We have a Patreon site to raise money so we can also pay – at least a little – the team members.

HERE

We have also teamed up with Roman Catholic Gear to provide “Thank You!” gifts to people who become Patrons of the Corps through Patreon.

The “St. Isidore” Patron at $7/month will receive a Combat Prayer Book.
The “St. Michael” Patron at $15/month will receive a Peace Through Strength St. Michael Challenge Coin.
The “St. Gabriel” Patron at $25/month will receive a Combat Rosary™ in Gun Metal.

There are two more levels we are working on.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Semper Paratus, Si vis pacem para bellum!, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices | Tagged Catholic Signal Corps
7 Comments

2 April – Holy Mass (TLM) Thursday in Passion Week – LIVE VIDEO: 1200h CDT (GMT/UTC -5) – With “fervorino”

Posted on 2 April 2020 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am again going to LIVE stream a Traditional Latin Mass at NOON Central Daylight Time (= GMT/UTC -5 and ROME 1900h). The Mass formulary will be for Thursday in Passion Week (the week before Holy Week).

You can find an English translation of the Mass formulary HERE. Scroll down use the 1960 setting.
I will say a prayer for a Spiritual Communion at the very beginning for those of you who cannot make a Eucharistic Communion.
I will also recite the traditional “Statement of Intention” (which every priest should recite before Mass).
I will add orations “Pro infirmis qui proximi sunt morti… for the sick who are close to death”. Here’s the Collect:
Omnipotens et misericors Deus, qui humano generi et salutis remedia, et vitae aeternae munera contulisti: respice propitius famulos tuos infirmitate corporis laborantes, et animas refove, quas creasti; ut in hora exitus earum, absque peccati macula tibi Creatori suo per manus sanctorum Angelorum repraesentari mereantur.Almighty and merciful God, who for the human race bore both the remedies of salvation (also “health), and the gifts of eternal life: look graciously on your servants now suffering from bodily infirmity, and revive their souls which You created, so that in the hour of their departure, they may merit to be presented without the stains of sin by the hands of the Holy Angels to You their Creator.
At the end, I’ll say a “Prayer against disease” from the Roman Ritual followed by the blessing with a fragment of the Cross in the large reliquary.

I’ll add a “fervorino” (short sermon).

My YouTube Channel HERE

Posted in LIVE STREAMING |
1 Comment

READER FEEDBACK: Live Masses and what the The British Government just did

Posted on 1 April 2020 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I received some interesting feedback today from a reader in England:

From a reader…

Thank you very much indeed for The Divine Mass, today. I counted up to 50 “Virtual” Congregation Members, today.

You will be pleased to know that I followed (Verbatim) The Mass in my 1879 Missale Romanum. Probably the only time, since 1879, that this particular Missal has been used for such a Divine following of The Sacred Mysteries.

I noted the incessant interjections, at the beginning of Mass, by the clamour of The Civil Defence Alarms going off in your neighbourhood. [Yeah… that was a little distracting. As a result I started the “Iudica” psalm in the prayers at the foot of the altar. Ooops!]

This put me in mind of the incessant barrages against Holy Mother Church by The Dark Forces of this World, insistent upon disrupting and interrupting The Divine Mass. [There is a sort of “Lord Of The World” or “Children Of Men” feeling to it (the book, for the love of God, not the horrid movie).]

It was only yesterday that The British Government, within days of denying The Abortion Lobby permission to add on a Coda permitting women to “Self-Abort“ (without the necessity of two Doctors authorising such a dastardly action) during a Vote on The Virus Situation, did an “About Face” and permitted such an Action. [Don’t let a crisis go to waste.]

The Government agreed that: “It would be unreasonable to expect a pregnant woman to go out into a potentially infected locale in order to ask a Doctor for permission to Abort, and therefore risk infection. Therefore, for a period of two years, Self-Abortion (without the necessity of two Doctors authorising such) would be permitted”. [TWO YEARS?!?]

Mind you, The British Governement are not totally callous. They said that they would review this decision “in two years”.

What odds, one would ask, on The British Government reversing that decision in two years’ time, after permitting possibly millions of unborn Babies to be killed in the interim.

The totally, demonic, irony of the above, is that all this took place whilst the World and his mother are frantically trying to save millions of lives because of the Virus Pandemic. This includes, of course, The British Government.

The Prince of this World must be laughing all the way to the Bank.

The above follows very closely on The New Zealand Government’s decision to do almost the same thing. Except, there are no safeguards at all for the unborn in New Zealand. The Abortion can take place at any time, at the mother’s wish, up to AND INCLUDING Birth.

The Greatest Evil The World Has Ever Seen.

One is staggered at the TOTAL LACK OF COMMENT by any BISHOP, CARDINAL, or PRELATE, of The Roman Catholic Church, in relation to the above. [No prelate in England and Wales responded?]

Meanwhile, back to The Divine Mass, today.

Thank you, very much, dear Fr Z, for the ability to follow the progress towards Easter, to understand in greater detail Passion Week (which I believe was re-named Post-Vatican II to something less “nasty”), and to, indeed, encourage us to think much more closely on The Divine, and NOT on The Temporal.

As always, Thank You, dear Fr, for your Priesthood.

Wow. Alarming. I’ll bet Big Business Abortion is shoveling money around.

I also want to use this bad new to remind you that there is a Morning After Pill REVERSAL available.

What happens when women take the first abortion pill and then change their minds? THERE IS A WAY TO SAVE THE CHILDREN. Dr. George Delgado is on the forefront with his Steno Institute, named after Blessed Nicolas Steno, 17th century Danish scientist, physician and bishop. I know about this because of my work with Heartbeat International, who has taken over the network of doctors in these USA who will prescribe the Abortion Reversal Protocol that Dr. Delgado developed. It has been really successful. This guy is a hero.

However, I am glad to be of help with the live stream of the Masses.

Posted in Emanations from Penumbras, Reader Feedback | Tagged abortion pill reversal, big business abortion, Dr. George Delgado, feedback
16 Comments

1 April – Holy Mass (TLM) Wednesday in Passion Week – LIVE VIDEO: 1200h CDT (GMT/UTC -5) – And a cute kid…

Posted on 1 April 2020 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

NB: Today’s Mass will be celebrated for the intention of benefactors, who have sent individual donations or who have subscribed (HERE) and who have sent items from my wishlist.

I am again going to LIVE stream Holy Mass at NOON (Central Daylight Time = GMT/UTC -5 This weekend Europe went on daylight savings. So Rome is -7 again.) Holy Mass (TLM) will be the formulary for Wednesday in Passion Week (the week before Holy Week).

You can find an English translation of the Mass formulary HERE. Scroll down use use the 1960 setting.
I will say a prayer for a Spiritual Communion at the very beginning for those of you who cannot make a Eucharistic Communion. I will also make a “Statement of Intention” (which every priest should recite before Mass).
At the end, I’ll say a “Prayer against disease” with a blessing with a fragment of the Cross.

Perhaps a fervorino.

My YouTube Channel HERE

Meanwhile, I received this from a reader…

If my memory serves me correctly, you enjoy getting pictures of little ones “playing” Mass. Well, my 2 year old Ambrose is interested in all things priestly! Here are a few pics of him after receiving a well loved ( by other children) “mass kit” for his birthday.

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, LIVE STREAMING | Tagged Catholic, coronavirus, Latin, LENT, liturgy, Mass, pandemic, prayer, Spirituality, TLM, tradition
6 Comments

Fomites of Viruses, Fomites of Sins, and YOU

Posted on 31 March 2020 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today on a TV news channel I heard a doctor talking about the ways that virus can spread. He used a term “fomites” (pronounced “foe-mights”). I immediately knew what it was about, but I looked it up: “any inanimate object that, when contaminated with or exposed to infectious agents (such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses or fungi), can transfer disease to a new host.”

If contagious I, while shedding virus, cough on a surface, and you, unaware, later put your hand on it, you could pick up the virus I shed by coughing. The surface was, for you, a fomite.

This is from Latin, fomes, fomitis, m., “kindling-wood, touch-wood, tinder”.

In theology we have a term, fomes peccati, the “kindling of sin”. This is the inclination to sinful, usually having to do with lower appetites, concupiscence, that is in us because of the wounds caused by Original Sin. Think of how kindling wood is dry, susceptible to catch a spark and begin to burn. That’s great when you want to start a fire, but it’s really bad when the fire is unwanted, such as in your house or a wildfire.

If fomites which spark illness in you are bad, fomites (plural of fomes) which spark sins in you are even worse.

The image was first in the Latin poet Prudentius’ work Apotheosis. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we find this term.

1264 Yet certain temporal consequences of sin remain in the baptized, such as suffering, illness, death, and such frailties inherent in life as weaknesses of character, and so on, as well as an inclination to sin that Tradition calls concupiscence, or metaphorically, “the tinder for sin” (fomes peccati); since concupiscence “is left for us to wrestle with, it cannot harm those who do not consent but manfully resist it by the grace of Jesus Christ.” Indeed, “an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”

Here is something important to understand for when you are making an examination of conscience, both daily and especially before making a confession.

An inclination or a temptation (when you haven’t put yourself purposely in an occasion of sin) in themselves are not sins. These first movements toward sin, temptations, are just that. As a matter of fact, it can be meritorious to struggle against the first motions toward sinning and overcome them.

So, just as, today, we want to reduce viral fomites, we also want to reduce near occasions of sin and, by our discipline and self-examination, plan well how to resist those internal motions and initial impulses towards all manner of sin. Knowing your own weaknesses inside and out, through regular examination of conscience will help. Then make a plan about what to do when the fomites peccati kick in.

Meanwhile, guard your eyes. If you should avoid touching surfaces and then touching your face (a really good way to pick up contagion), you can spark your fomites peccati by looking at things, especially things you shouldn’t be looking at. Custody of the eyes is important.

Be careful, especially in your time of isolation. Be especially prudent, because, right now, it is hard to make a good confession.

“GO TO CONFESSION!”, I’m always harping. But now it is hard to do so.

Don’t get yourself into a real jam with sins when the availability of confession is so much less.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ACTION ITEM!, GO TO CONFESSION | Tagged custody of the eyes, fomes peccati
5 Comments

31 March – Holy Mass (TLM) Tuesday in Passion Week – LIVE VIDEO: 1200h CDT (GMT/UTC -5)

Posted on 31 March 2020 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today I am again going to attempt to LIVE stream Mass at NOON (Central Daylight Time = GMT/UTC -5 This weekend Europe went on daylight savings. So Rome is -7 again.) Holy Mass (TLM) will be the formulary for Tuesday in Passion Week (the week before Holy Week).

You can find an English translation of the Mass formulary HERE. Scroll down use use the 1960 setting.
I will say a prayer for a Spiritual Communion at the very beginning for those of you who cannot make a Eucharistic Communion. I will also make a “Statement of Intention” (which every priest should recite before Mass).

Perhaps a fervorino.

My YouTube Channel HERE

An Act of Spiritual Communion

Posted in LIVE STREAMING, SESSIUNCULA |
1 Comment

30 March – Holy Mass (TLM) Monday in Passion Week – LIVE VIDEO: 1200h CDT (GMT/UTC -5)

Posted on 30 March 2020 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today I am again going to attempt to LIVE stream Mass at NOON (Central Daylight Time = GMT/UTC -5 This weekend Europe went on daylight savings. So Rome is -7 again.) Holy Mass (TLM) will be the formulary for Monday in Passion Week (the week before Holy Week).

You can find an English translation of the Mass formulary HERE. Scroll down use use the 1960 setting.
I will say a prayer for a Spiritual Communion at the very beginning for those of you who cannot make a Eucharistic Communion. I will also make a “Statement of Intention” (which every priest should recite before Mass).

Perhaps a fervorino.

My YouTube Channel HERE

An Act of Spiritual Communion

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, LIVE STREAMING |
5 Comments

29 March Sunday – VESPERS live-streamed 1500h (GMT -5)

Posted on 29 March 2020 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

It was a custom for Catholics on Sundays to return to their churches for Vespers. As a matter of fact, in some traditional hand missals you will find the prayers for Vespers. Moreover, the Second Vatican Council asked that Sunday Vespers be sung in principle churches. That has been honored more in the breach than the observance, certainly in cathedrals. So, perhaps a small church can do something.

HERE … I think. Maybe here.

Since we have a little more time available, we thought we would sing Vespers. You can find the texts HERE Scroll down to adjust the settings for the 1960 Rubrics.

Say your prayers, wherever you are!

Posted in LIVE STREAMING |
1 Comment

Fr. Z’s Kitchen: Pasta e ceci alla Romana

Posted on 29 March 2020 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Yesterday The Great Roman™ sent me a photo of a fine bowl of pasta e ceci in the Roman style.

This is a good lesson about custody of the eyes. We tend to want what we see. I immediately wanted some of that pasta e ceci. Since I can’t go to Rome, I brought, as I often do, Rome to me.

At the store I could not find any dry chick peas, but I did find a couple of remaining cans.

Here’s my set up.

The soffritto is simple. Olive oil, anchovies, garlic.

Let it dissolve together, slowly. Don’t use high heat.

Add some tomatoes.

In go the ceci. Did you know that the Latin word for chickpea is cicer? As in Cicero? The famous ancient Roman orator, was Mr. Chickpea. Plutarch, who wrote biographies, said that one of his ancestor’s had a nose with a cleft tip that looked like cicer. It is more probable that his family, based around Arpinum, made their living in the chickpea business. Other famous Romans had family names from legumes, such as Piso (peas), Lentulus (lentils) and Fabius (beans).

Note the chopped rosemary leaves and sage.

In goes the broth.

Simmer for 15.

In goes the pasta. You can use just about any kind of short, small pasta. You can break up (or use up saved up short pieces of) long pasta. I used bucatini.