ASK FATHER: Catechizing apathetic children

Posted on 12 November 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Do you have any advice on catechizing children who have an apathy for the faith, and whose family come to Mass, but that’s it there is no teaching going on in the home. The kids I teach at the church are in 5th-7th grade and don’t even know how to make the sign of the cross. I am some what demoralized by this.

RESPONSE OF FR. TIM FERGUSON

I’m hearing this constantly – people are reluctant to get involved in teaching catechism at the parish because the kids are so uninterested/unprepared, or the parents undermine ever lesson the teacher tries to get across. I think what’s needed in many places is a shift in focus – CCD teachers need to think of themselves as evangelists – almost imagine that they’re introducing kids to the faith for the first time, and that they’re the only one’s from whom these kids will learn the faith. I think of the opening scenes of the movie “The Mission” where Fr. Gabriel goes up into the mountains to the pagans who’ve just crucified the last missionary sent to them. Yet, he doesn’t flinch, he doesn’t run away – he draws on the strength of the Holy Spirit and dives right in. We truly are in a culture that has largely shrugged off it’s Christian identity. We can no longer think of handing on the faith the way our grandparents and great grandparents did. We have to think like missionaries.

ADDITION BY FR. Z:

I wonder to what extent interest is being squelched by the power of the little screens kids stare at all day long.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Our Catholic Identity |
26 Comments

A St. Martin’s Day Palindrome

Posted on 11 November 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From The Book of Days, Vol. II, R. Chambers, ed., W. & R. Chambers, Ltd., London & Edinburgh, 1864, p. 568:

“Martin, having occasion to visit Rome, set out to perform the journey thither on foot. Satan, meeting him on the way, taunted the holy man for not using a conveyance more suitable to a bishop. In an instant the saint changed the Old Serpent into a mule, and jumping on its back, trotted comfortably along. Whenever the transformed demon slackened pace, Martin, by making the sign of the cross, urged it to full speed. At last, Satan, utterly defeated, exclaimed:

‘Signa te signa: temere me tangis et angis:
Roma tibi subito motibus ibit amor.’

Posted in Just Too Cool, Lighter fare | Tagged palindrome, St. Martin of Tours
9 Comments

Martinmas!

Posted on 11 November 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today is, along with Veteran’s Day, and Remembrance Day, and Armistice Day, also St. Martin’s Day, that is, the Feast of St. Martin of Tour. It is Martinmas, which in many places marked the end of the harvest.

St. Martin is also patron of infantrymen.

I once held the skull of St. Martin in my hands during a visit to Tours. But that’s another story.

Here is, for your poetic pleasure, …

“Martinmass” by John Clare written on 11 Nov 1841.

‘Tis Martinmass from rig to rig
Ploughed fields and meadow lands are blea
In hedge and field each restless twig
Is dancing on the naked tree
Flags in the dykes are bleached and brown
Docks by its sides are dry and dead
All but the ivy-boughs are brown
Upon each leaning dotterel’s head

Crimsoned with awes the awthorns bend
O’er meadow-dykes and rising floods
The wild geese seek the reedy fen
And dark the storm comes o’er the woods
The crowds of lapwings load the air
With buzes of a thousand wings
There flocks of starnels too repair
When morning o’er the valley springs

I would love to hear this read by someone with a Northhamptonshire accent.

BTW… starnels are starlings, which group together in great “mumurations”.

You can see these each year over Rome as they migrate. Recently, I’ve spotted some smaller groups around Madison.

Posted in Poetry, Saints: Stories & Symbols | Tagged John Clare, Martinmas, St. Martin of Tours
12 Comments

Whatever it is they’re trying to do, I can tell they’re doing it wrong.

Posted on 10 November 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

And now for something completely different…

Something not so fresh, as usual, from the Fishwrap (aka National Schismatic Reporter). The combox (in theory having a new policy) under that piece is not revealing wholehearted enthusiasm about the event.

I wonder how much the Clinton/Podesta team had contact with these … folks.

Catholic reform group seeks to build diversity with conference changes

On Nov. 11, just days after the presidential election, Call to Action (CTA) will kick off its national conference, titled “One Earth. One People. Una Tierra. Un Pueblo.” [I’ll bet there will be a lot of, tear wiping, hugging and consoling going on.]
The conference’s timing and title seem especially fitting for a country that, throughout the election season, has been fractured by divisive rhetoric surrounding immigration, women, religious affiliation and climate change.

“I think there has been a groundswell of Catholics that recognize that relationships in the church and the world are broken,” said David Saavedra, interim co-executive director of CTA. “It is only through the creation of authentic relationships that we are offered the opportunity to dialogue and come to greater understanding of people who have been marginalized.”

[…]

Interspersed throughout the program on Nov. 12 are four blocks of workshops, many of which focus on topics that remain taboo inside the institutional church, including sessions on sexual ethics, rethinking complementarity, and the transgender experience. Other sessions will consider the experience of Latina spiritual leaders, decolonization, environmental violence, and restorative justice.

Opportunities for prayer and liturgy are also abundant. Early morning prayer sessions will be offered by members of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, Spiritus Christi and FutureChurch. The opening and closing liturgies will seek to honor the Native America spiritualities that are an enduring presence on the 19 pueblos of New Mexico.

[…]

Other than the fact that the word “Catholic” is spelled out a few times in this piece, is there much in there that seems Catholic to you?

And yet the Fishwrap – which had the word “Catholic” stripped from them by a former bishop of Kansas City – promotes this lunacy.

Just after the election, Fishwrap editors asked what Catholic Americans ought to do.

This isn’t it.

These people are really confused, dear readers. And so are those who promote this sort of event.

Prayer for the Conversion or Downfall of the National catholic Reporter

Posted in Liberals, Sin That Cries To Heaven, You must be joking! | Tagged Call To Action, Fishwrap, Jamie Manson
31 Comments

10 Nov: Leo the Great

Posted on 10 November 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In the newer, post-conciliar, Novus Ordo Roman calendar today is the feast of Pope Saint Leo I, “the Great” (+461). In the older, traditional calendar, his feast is 11 April.

Every pontificate is a parenthesis in the history of Holy Church. Some parentheses are long, some are short. Some are important, some are not.

The parenthesis that was the pontificate of Pope Leo was both long and important. Extremely important. Of pivotal importance, in the history of the Church, as a matter of fact.

Among his important accomplishments, was virtually single-handedly convincing Attila the Hun not to invade undefended Italy in 452. He issued what is called the “Tome”, intimately connected to the work of the Council of Chalcedon, which established orthodox doctrine about the two natures of Christ, divine and human, united in one person, without confusion or division. He is a Doctor of the Church.

You could perhaps pray to St. Leo that he will intercede with God to ask strength and courage for his successor in this difficult time.

I have quite a few PODCAzTs dealing with him and his texts. I notice that all of them are from some time ago. Come to think of it, I haven’t made a PODCAzT for a long time, have I?

061 08-05-17 Pope Leo I on a post-Pentecost weekday; Fr. Z rambles not quite aimlessly for a while
059 08-05-15 Leo the Great on Pentecost fasting; Benedict XVI’s sermon for Pentecost Sunday
053 08-03-31 Annunciation – St. Leo the Great; some voicemail Q&A
050 08-02-22 St. Leo the Great on Peter; Fr. Lang on the Cathedra of Peter
049 08-01-06 Leo the Great on Epiphany; Lefebvre compared to Athanasius; feedback
029 07-05-18 Leo’s mind blowing Ascension sermon; angels
027 07-05-16 Leo on the Ascension; a Collect; feedback
021 07-04-22 Leo the Great on Peter – Msgr. Schuler
020 07-04-19 Leo the Great and Benedict – Habemus Papam!
010 07-03-25 Leo the Great’s Letter 28 “ad Flavianum” – veiling statues – a “Tridentine” church in Rome
009 07-03-22 Leo on the Passion; Sobrino; confessions on Good Friday
008 07-03-20 Leo the Great on works of mercy in Lent

My relic of St. Leo.

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Saints: Stories & Symbols | Tagged Leo the Great
5 Comments

Trump as Constantine

Posted on 10 November 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I was sent a link to an interesting take on the election. I’m not saying one way or another what I think about it, but it is engaging.

From MercatorNet:

Is Trump the new Constantine?
The conservative Christian case for The Donald

Christians are unable to speak freely. Religious freedom is under attack. Society is materialistic and immoral. Western civilisation is facing huge threats, from within and without. And apparently the one powerful emerging leader is no saint.

You’re thinking America 2016? No. Rome 312.

The leader is Constantine, who is vying to become the Roman Emperor. Constantine had many defects: he had multiple wives and even put one of them to death, was extremely ambitious, and was a ruthless general and politician. But the legend remains that he had a “Road to Damascus” moment, saw a vision, converted to Christianity, triumphed over his opponents, and became a great emperor of Rome.

Constantine would go on to not only save the Roman Empire, but also liberate Christianity. He signed the Edict of Milan in 313, giving Christians the right to practice their faith and speak freely. This was enough to allow Christians to engage in the public sphere with freedom, thereby enabling them to spread the Christian message to the ends of the empire and Christianise a pagan culture.

Constantine himself was no pillar of virtue, but he created the environment which gave Christians the freedom to influence society. The early Christians were perfectly capable of influencing society themselves; all they needed from the emperor was the freedom to do so.

Fast forward to 2016, and we can see many obvious similarities. Western society has many problems. Conservative Christians have the solutions to many of those problems, but cannot articulate them freely in the public square due to endemic political correctness and cultural Marxism.

Conservatives do not lack will, good arguments, or articulate defenders; what they lack is the freedom to speak bluntly about social issues without being shouted down by the vindictive hordes of secular progressivism for “offending” particular groups of people. Donald Trump is the only person who can give us that freedom.

But first, consider the following:

[…]

Read the rest there.

Posted in The Drill | Tagged Donald Trump
57 Comments

The votes are as high as an Elephant’s eye…

Posted on 10 November 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I’m once again rising to a beautiful day! How ’bout you?

Posted in Lighter fare |
21 Comments

For the “Sissy” File: CTU reacts to Trump’s victory

Posted on 10 November 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

For your “Sissy” File….

The Catholic Theological Union in Chicago has been a theological byword for … awful… for decades.

An alumnus of the CTU sent this:

Talk about Self-Absorbed Promethean Neopelagians!

If you think that his name is familiar, Mark Francis, that you have read about him … HERE… wasn’t he also the one who belittled Pope Benedict as not being a “trained liturgist”? HERE

Meanwhile…

We must reclaim ad orientem worship!

Note that the graphic is very much like a certain political… well… never mind…

Posted in Liberals, Self-absorbed Promethean Neopelagians, Throwing a Nutty, You must be joking! | Tagged Catholic Theological Union, CTU, Fr. Mark Francis
25 Comments

ASK FATHER: Should I be a permanent deacon?

Posted on 9 November 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Dear Father,

I am in my early/mid 30s, married with two children. I am considering the permanent diaconate- Our diocese is one where priests are overworked; at my grandmother’s funeral, no priest was available for the cemetery, but we were able to contact a deacon who, thankfully, was available. I believe I could be useful as a deacon, but hesitate because my wife and I are are still interested in future children and Ed Peters has a good argument for a continent diaconate (though the semi-official Vatican reply seems to reject this). Orthodox advice on this point is hard to come by and I wonder if I could trouble you for yours, even in brief.

Here is the response of my friend Fr. Tim Ferguson:

Should you pursue the permanent diaconate? Hmm, I suppose it really depends on one question: is God calling you to the diaconate? Of course, that’s a question that can only, truly be answered through discernment – both by you and by the bishop who may ordain you.
But, since you asked me, I suppose that laying out some ideas by way of advice is warranted.

Dr. Peters does indeed provide solid canonical reasoning supporting the tradition that all clerics are obliged to observe perpetual continence – and that the law currently in force does not exempt married deacons or priests from that obligation. While many in the hierarchy have chosen to ignore his arguments and look the other way, there has not been a serious counter-argument launched. The reply from Cardinal Coccopalmerio given in 2011 contains several points which have handily responded to by the selfsame Dr. Peters (HERE). Barring some further clarification, it seems clear to me that married clerics are still indeed bound by the obligation to observe perfect and perpetual continence.
Memorandum on Abp. Coccopalmerio’s second letter on Canon … HERE

If were in your shoes, and more children were being contemplated, I would delay pursuing the idea of the diaconate until such time as I could commit myself to a life of perfect and perpetual continence – and I would make sure that my wife was in agreement with this plan.

In the meantime, I would certainly pray for priestly vocations, so that the situation you describe with your grandmother’s funeral is not repeated. Deacons are not substitutes for priests – deacons have their own worth and dignity. Perhaps, if your pursuit of the diaconate is out of consideration, at least for the next several years, there are other ways you could help. Getting involved in the parish, offering what skills and talents (helping out in the office, unlocking/locking the church, visiting the sick and homebound, pulling weeds in the garden, sanding and staining the pews, manning the barricades, cleaning and sorting the parish arsenal, installing the priest hole and escape hatch – oh wait, the election turned out slightly differently than expected, didn’t it?) you have to the priest can perhaps alleviate many of his administrative burdens and allow him to spend more time and energy on those sacramental and pastoral areas where he, in virtue of his ordination, is uniquely capable.

The moderation queue is ON.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box | Tagged permament deacons
26 Comments

ACTION ITEM! 14 NOV – SOLEMN TLM at St. Patrick’s in NYC!

Posted on 9 November 2016 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

For all of you within striking distance of NYC, this is IMPORTANT.

Change whatever you have on your schedule in order to attend. Bring family. Bring friends. Bring strangers. Clone people and bring them too.

From my correspondent:

For the first time in 20 years, the traditional Mass will be celebrated at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Monday, November 14 at 7PM through the kind permission and with the blessing of His Eminence Cardinal Dolan.

The (traditional) Councils of the Knights of Columbus – the Regina Coeli Council that meets at the Church of the Holy Innocents & the Agnus Dei Council – received a generous permission from Cardinal Dolan to have a pilgrimage and a (traditional) Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral before the end of the Year of Mercy.

This will be the first time since Summorum Pontificum that a traditional Mass will be celebrated publicly at the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of New York! It is very significant because St. Patrick’s Cathedral would join the list of Cathedrals that have allowed the traditional Mass: St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY; Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, NJ; and the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.

The musical setting for this Mass will be Orlando de Lassus’ Missa Bell’ Amfitrit’ altera (c. 1540/1532-1594)

Please spread the word about this wonderful event.

UPDATE:

One of my sources wrote to say that a “significant number of seminarians” have said that they want to attend the Mass. However, “too many watchful eyes, too many cameras, etc.”