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{]:¬)

Italian Press on the Extraordinary Ordinary @BishopMorlino

Posted on 29 November 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I keep coming back to the passing of Bp. Morlino, and not merely because of my personal connection.

The passing of Bp. Morlino – and the naming of his successor – is an important moment for the Church in the USA, particularly in light of The Present Crisis.

We have to pay attention now.

Will the Holy See consider subsidiarity? Will the Holy See opt for continuity? People have written to me from all over the world. Many priests of the SSPX have sent notes, for Bp. Morlino also garnered their respect even after some rocky moments.

The passing of Bp. Morlino – and the naming of his successor – is an important moment for the Church in the USA.

Today I saw a piece in Italian at La Nuova Bussola.

Robert Morlino, morte di uno “straordinario ordinario”

Nice phrase. They wrote: “I fedeli americani lo chiamavano affettuosamente The Extraordinary Ordinary, perché celebrava Messa nella «forma straordinaria» del rito romano… American faithful affectionately call him The Extraordinary Ordinary, because he celebrated the Mass in the ‘Extraordinary Form” of the Roman Rite….”

Not quite, Nuova Bussola!

We – I, who promulgated the phrase – call him that also because he joyfully used the traditional rite, but mostly because he was truly an extraordinary man and bishop.

I don’t have the energy to translate the whole thing right now, but it is very well done. It covers many of the important points: increased vocations, defense of human life, bastion against secularism, firm about abuse and realistic about its roots.

Thank you, Nuova Bussola.

@SSPXEN Tribute to @BishopMorlino of @MadisonDiocese

Posted on 29 November 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This was gracious.

From the US site of the SSPX.

Bp. Robert Morlino, Brave Defender of the Traditional Mass, Passes Away

Bishop Morlino of the Madison, WI diocese, passed away Saturday evening last, after a sudden “cardiac event,” shocking traditionally-minded faithful who had flocked to his diocese in recent years.

If, as Archbishop Lefebvre so staunchly maintained, the lifeblood of the Catholic Church is its priests, then Bishop Morlino was a shepherd of the Church who can be admired by all Catholics. When he donned the mitre as Madison’s bishop, enrollment at the local seminary stood at 5 seminarians. Not 5 seminarians in the first-year class – 5 seminarians in the entire seminary. Today, more than three dozen are receiving priestly formation, with 25 having been ordained during His Excellency’s fifteen years overseeing it – all during the worst abuse scandal to have shaken Holy Mother Church in its history and while vocations are plummeting in Diocesan seminaries. [They didn’t get the right numbers. Better… there were 6 in formation when Morlino arrived. The height was 3 dozen. Now there are two dozen. He ordained 40 – not 25 – in his years in Madison. However, that doesn’t change the main point, which they go right: big impact on the number of seminarians and ordinations.]

As the common prayer goes, we do not ask the Lord to grant us priests, or many priests. We beg for “many holy priests”. [The young priests and seminarians I know in Madison are great!] It goes without saying that quality is preferable in every measure over quantity for those anointed. The bishop molded men into some of the most traditional priests emerging from any diocesan seminary throughout the world. While the seminarians were taught the Novus Ordo Mass – albeit with strong recommendations to celebrate ad orientem – they were also trained in the Traditional Latin Mass, more than a rarity in today’s Church-wide seminary curricula. [Without imposing on them, Bp. Morlino told the guys that he would like for them to learn the TLM before ordination. Every one of them knew that he would support them. He said the TLM for them himself. Last August, during the annual gathering of seminarians with the bishop, they organized a Solemn Mass, with a 1 yr ordained as celebrant, brand new deacons assisting, and a newly ordained priest as MC. They did it.]

Bishop Morlino himself celebrated the Mass in the “extraordinary rite” and publicly manifested his preference by regularly celebrating a pontifical High Mass, surrounded and served by his local priests and seminarians.

While it is true that he did not mandate the celebration of the Latin Mass in his diocese, he encouraged it, possibly hoping that its fruits would bear in time – an approach far less strong than many traditional Catholics beg for. [I think there are some 8 places in the diocese where the TLM is regularly found.]

Yes, his plan was certainly passive. [I’m not sure that is the right word. He lead by example and didn’t impose. In Madison, imposing would have meant all out war against him and everything he was doing.] But he was not passive in defending truth – including the Society of St. Pius X.

In 2002, His Excellency appeared on EWTN Television, after a letter, purportedly from his desk, attacked the SSPX. He courageously “gathered the feathers in the wind,” offering a public apology for the letter, taking ownership of its message, while explaining the words were not his, and in fact, he had struck them from the first draft. [That is exactly true. I can attest to that.]

The SSPX does not often publish these sorts of obituaries, but an exception has been made in this case. The hierarchical Church needs more bishops like Bishop Morlino, ready to draw a line against the storm of confusion and innovation still plaguing the Church, ready to refute falsehoods perpetuated in his name, and acting as much as a leader as one can hope for in the Church. It is through these sorts of men that incremental progress within the Church can be achieved, and the restoration of the Catholic Church can be realized.

May God rest his soul in peace!

Also, this morning I received a note from the great SSPX priest who served for sometime in the area of Madison, within the Diocese. He sent photos of the Requiem Mass he celebrated for the Bishop.

Another example of how Bp. Morlino brought out the best in people.

That was a very gracious gesture from the SSPX and I am impressed and grateful.

Posted in SSPX | Tagged Bp. Robert Morlino, SSPX
5 Comments

@Bishop Morlino and his hope for a @MadisonDiocese Cathedral

Posted on 28 November 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The funeral for Bp. Morlino will be on 4 December. He will be buried immediately after the funeral in Madison’s Resurrection cemetery.

It was Bp. Morlino’s desire to provide the city and diocese with a new Cathedral church once again, which would have a crypt chapel for their bishops.

The old cathedral burned down, due to arson, over a decade ago and has not been replaced. Some of the larger parish churches have served in the interim for large events such as ordinations.

Frankly, it tugged my heart that the bishop had no cathedra in a cathedral. For this reason, the TMSM, which I guide, caused their to be built in the chapel of the former seminary a substantial, but still temporary throne.

To give you a sense of the sort of bishop he was, he shelved plans for a new cathedral in order to raise money for a foundation that would pay for formation for seminarians for the priesthood. When he took over the diocese, there were about 6 seminarians – total – and that was what was budgeted. However, under Bp. Morlino vocations soared to a high of some 34, and 24 now. As you can imagine, a budget for 6 was not adequate. He shelved his cathedral to build a “priests for the future” campaign. It was quite successful. He left that aspect in good shape. He also ordained 40 men for the diocese in his time.

The cathedral was next.

A cathedral, with a crypt, was a great wish of his. It really must be carried forward now. Of course nothing can be done until adequate money is raised to start the project.

There is a Bishop Robert C. Morlino Memorial Fund, which aims at building the new cathedral and that crypt chapel.

Will you be generous?

Click here to make a donation online.

Send snail mail and checks made out to

Bishop Robert C. Morlino Memorial Fund

c/o The Catholic Diocese of Madison Foundation, Inc.
702 S. High Point Road, Suite 223
Madison, WI 53719

Posted in ACTION ITEM! | Tagged Bp. Robert Morlino, D. Madison
3 Comments

Wherein Fr. Z offers a cautionary tale to those who struggle with liturgical conundra.

Posted on 28 November 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The site of the CMAA, Musica Sacra Forum, published response to the 29 – yes, twenty-nine – dubia submitted to the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”.

The questioner is a Polish priest, I assume young, working on a doctorate.

Folks, I get it. I get that some people want official clarity and black and white rules about some things. However, I have this to say to those who perhaps are less inclined to handle fluidity according to the genius of the Roman Rite.

The young can be reckless because, not having scars and mended bones, they don’t yet get it.

Right now… right now… it is ill-advised, imprudent, not to say playing with fire to submit any sort of question about traditional liturgical matters to the Holy See… unless… unless… you are darn sure of the answer in advance.

AND… learn how to ask questions!

It is not that I distrust the collaborators of the Pontifical Commission. On the contrary, I hold them in esteem. But, they are not the only people in Rome.

It is better right now to leave sleeping dogs lie. To put it another way, it’s reckless… right now… to ask.

The answers are a mixed bag. Some good. Some less good. But, I hope you all get my drift.

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Si vis pacem para bellum! | Tagged dubia, PCED, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM
14 Comments

The Oath: Every Bishops’ Aaron and Hur

Posted on 28 November 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Consider what is entrusted to a bishop.

Consider how he, like everyone else, struggles with the world, the flesh and the Devil.

Consider that, though fortified with the graces of the sacrament of orders and defended by the holy angels, a bishop is hated and pursued by the forces of hell with a persevering malice that we humans can only imagine with vague analogy.

Consider his judgment before the Just Judge when it is his time.

Consider his final reward, forever and ever, will be as a bishop in whatever state he will be his, heaven or hell.

Consider the weight of the burden that a diligent, faithful bishop feels, which the ever-harried Augustine of Hippo described as a sárcina, the massive backpack of the Roman solider.

Consider too the vineyard into which the bishop is sent to tend, with its obstinate vines, vagaries of “weather” and pressing foes.

Did you know that Bishops must make a special oath before they are consecrated?

Surely this oath, seriously considered, reflected upon by a man about to be consecrated, is intended to strengthen him in his ministry. When resolve flags, should he remember his oath, a bishop under siege might remember himself and stand up ready to do what must be done.

The oath is meant to uphold his tired arms, as Aaron and Hur did for Moses during the battle.

For your edification and contemplation.

FORMULA Iurisiurandi fidelitatis ab Episcopis praestandi	FORMULA Of the oath of fidelity to be performed by Bishops
Ego, ___, ad sedem ___ promotus, catholicae Ecclesiae atque romano Pontifici, eius supremo pastori, Christi vicario beati Petri apostoli in primatu successori et collegii Episcoporum capiti, semper fidelis ero.	I, ___, promoted to the See of ___, will always be faithful to the Catholic Church and to the Roman Pontiff, her Supreme Pastor, Vicar of Christ, Successor in primacy of the blessed Apostle Peter and the Head of the College of Bishops.
Libero exercitio primatialis summi Pontificis potestatis in universa Ecclesia obsequar, Ipsiusque iura et auctoritatem mihi curae erit provehere ac defendere. Praerogativas quoque atque munera romani Pontificis Legatorum, quippe qui personam gerant supremi pastoris, agnoscam atque observabo.	I will submit to the free exercise of the primatial power of the Supreme Pontiff in the Universal Church, and I will take pains to advance and defend his rights and authority. I will also acknowledge and respect the prerogatives and duties of the legates of the Roman Pontiff, for they act in the person of the Supreme Pastor.
Apostolica munera Episcopis commissa, nempe populum Dei docendi, sanctificandi et regendi, in hierarchica communione cum collegii episcopalis capite atque membris, summa diligentia exsequenda curabo.	I will take with the greatest diligence that the apostolic duties committed to Bishops, namely of teaching, governing and sanctifying the people of God in hierarchical communion with the Head and the members of the College of Bishops, be carried out.
Universae Ecclesiae unitatem tuebor, ideoque studiose incumbam, ut depositum fidei inde ab Apostolis traditum purum et integrum servetur ac veritates tenendae et moribus applicandae, prouti ab Ecclesiae magisterio proponuntur, omnibus tradantur et illustrentur. Errantibus vero in fide paternum animum pandam atque omni ope adnitar, ut ad plenitudinem catholicae veritatis perveniant.	I will protect the unity of the universal Church, and, therefore, I will zealously see to it that the deposit of faith handed down through time by the Apostles will be preserved pure and undiminished and that the truths to be held and the moral teachings to be applied will be handed on and explained just as they are proposed by the teaching authority of the Church. I assuredly will extend a fatherly spirit to those who are straying in the faith and I will strive with every effort that they arrive at to the fullness of catholic truth.
Ad imaginem Christi, summi et aeterni sacerdotis, respiciens, pie sancteque agam ac ministerium mihi commissum ita adimplebo, ut, forma factus gregis ex animo, fideles in christiana perfectione adipiscenda confirmare valeam.	Carefully looking to the image of Christ, the High and Eternal Priest, I will behave dutifully and religiously and will fulfill the ministry entrusted to me in such a way that, having from my soul been made an example for the flock, I may be able to strengthen the faithful in the pursuit of Christian perfection.
Disciplinam cunctae Ecclesiae communem fovebo et observantiam omnium legum ecclesiasticarum, earum imprimis quae in Codice Iuris Canonici continentur, sollerter insistam, semper advigilans, ne mali usus irrepant praecipue circa ministerium verbi et sacramentorum celebrationem.	I will foster the common discipline of the whole Church and I will insist skillfully upon the observance of all ecclesiastical laws, first and foremost of those that are contained in the Code of Canon Law, always being vigilant lest any evil practices slither in, especially concerning the ministry of the Word and the celebration of sacraments.
Diligentem curam in temporalibus Ecclesiae bonis administrandis ponam, iis potissimum quae ad divini cultus exercitium, ad cleri aliorumque ministrorum honestam sustentationem, necnon ad sacri apostolatus et caritatis opera collata sunt.	I will put diligent care into the administration of the temporal goods of the Church, most especially those goods that are designated for the exercise of sacred worship, for the worthy support of the clergy and of other ministers, and for works of the sacred apostolate and of charity.
In explendo mandato mihi commisso omnes Presbyteros et Diaconos, ordinis episcopalis providos cooperatores, necnon Religiosos et Religiosas unius eiusdemque operis participes, peculiari dilectione prosequar. Itemque de sacris vocationibus provehendis maximam curam habebo, ut spiritualibus necessitatibus in tota Ecclesia convenienter consulatur.	To fulfill the mandate entrusted to me, I will with special affection attend to all of the Priests and Deacons, provided as coworkers of the episcopal order, as well as male and female religious, participants in one and the same work. Likewise, I will take the greatest care to promote sacred vocations, so that spiritual needs in the whole Church will be properly looked after.
Laicorum dignitatem propriamque ipsorum in Ecclesiae missione partem agnoscam et proveham. Opera vero missionalia ad gentium evangelizationem fovendam peculiari sollicitudine curabo.	I will acknowledge and promote the dignity of lay people and their own mission in the Church. I will, by all means, take care with particular solicitude to foster missionary works for the evangelization of the nations.
Ad Concilia ceterasque legitimas actiones collegiales vocatus, nisi impediar, ipse adero vel opportune respondebo.	Once called to Councils and other lawful collegial activities, I will personally attend or opportunely respond unless I am impeded.
Statutis temporibus vel occasione data Apostolicae Sedi rationem de pastorali meo officio reddam, eiusdemque mandata atque consilia simul obsequenter accipiam ac maximo studio perficiam.	At the appointed times or at a fitting moment, I will give an account of my pastoral office to the Apostolic See, and I will compliantly give careful attention to its mandates and measures, and, with great effort, will carry them out with the greatest application.
Sic me Deus adiuvet et haec santa Dei evangelia, quae manibus meis tango.	So help me God and these Holy Gospels of God, which I am touching with my hands.
(SUBSCRIPTIO ANTISTITIS)	(SIGNATURE OF THE BISHOP)
Ego infrascriptus testor praefatum Anstistitem iusiurandum ut supra in manibus meis dedisse hac die	I, the undersigned, testify that the aforementioned bishop above gave the oath (as written) above into my hands on this day
____ ____ ____ ____	____ ____ ____ ____

So, there’s the text.

This forces the honest person to reflect deeply on our bishops. It might force the honest BISHOP to reflect deeply on his work.

It would be a good exercise to take each of these paragraphs and, over time, bring them to Holy Mass and pray before the Blessed Sacrament precisely for the sake of your bishop.

The other day my friend Kevin Phelan, who knew Bp. Morlino for some 40 years, told online a terrific story about Morlino on the night before he was to be consecrated bishop and this very oath. HERE

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Hard-Identity Catholicism, The Drill | Tagged bishops, oath
10 Comments

Thoughts, deeds for @BishopMorlino. Your feedback, homework!

Posted on 27 November 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am deeply moved by all the emails I have received after the too early passing of Bp. Robert Morlino of Madison, the Extraordinary Ordinary (the ExO).

People have written from all over the world. They sense that this is an important moment in the Church in the United States. I concur. Surely that accounts for the amount of email which has been sent.

Most of the email is directed in a few vectors. First, people are concerned in part for me, because I had a strong rapport with the ExO. Thanks. Also, people are praying for the soul the bishop, which is gratifying beyond my meager means of expression. Additionally, many express hope and prayers for a good successor. On that note, there are – and I have to smile wryly at this, given that I have been at this internet thing now since 1992 – those who sent consolations along with sentiments like, “I pray for a good successor, but I doubt you’ll get one.”

Gee, thanks. That’s so very consoling. But, as I said, I have to smile.

There are two types of … well… people out there. One of them are the type who are unhappy only when they are unhappy. Yes, I too am deeply concerned about Bp. Morlino’s successor. However, when I catch myself lapsing into a black mood, I immediately take out my Rosary and pray a decade or do something else to get my head back into a better place.

We do not let the Enemy prevail. No, sir!

I’m not going to be that type. There are times to lament our state. There are times to inform about problems. There are also times to get to work.

Moving along, often when I write a post, I impose the title when I’m done. Not this time. I wrote “thoughts and deeds” with intention.

My dear readers, I have relied on you for years. I count on you now more than ever.

If you, too, think that this is an important moment in the Church in the USA, and if you want to be of help, yes, please express your condolences in a note. But, if you are optimistic or pessimistic, please do something concrete.

If you write about prayers, then really do pray.

If you are concerned, then please offer fasting and works of mercy.

Do we not sometimes use the image of “storming heaven” for certain petitions? That strikes me as more than just – as deeply appreciated as they are! – words in a note.

Take on something penitential or works of mercy.

Last night I received a phone call from a 90 year old priest – 90 – who said that he was going to offer Masses and other penances for the sake of a good successor to Bp. Morlino. I know this priest well and I believed every word. He’ll do it.

For my part, I have set a program of action.

First, continue to pray for Bp. Morlino. While I am not overly concerned about the state of his soul, and I am rock solid confident that he received the sacraments, being a bishop is a prospect to make anyone tremble. Pray and then pray more.

For my part, for example, I just celebrated a Holy Requiem Mass in the Chapel of the Crown of Thorns in Notre-Dame de Paris. Yes, Paris, and, yes, the Crown of Thorns. (I’m with a small group. I was on the road when the bishop died.)

I also went to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal in the Rue du Bac and said a Rosary for the Bishop’s successor (btw… today is the anniversary of the Apparition of Lady at that Chapel). For Mass I used the special form in the appendix of the Roman Missal. [MORE HERE.]

Moreover, I spent an hour at Sacré Cœur de Montmartre (the Mountain of the Martyres) before the Blessed Sacrament exposed. While submitting my desires to God’s will, I have in my mind and heart lifted up three men whom I want God to send to Madison as the new bishop.

If you would like an intention for your own fasting, fast for my list, especially Numero Uno on that list. He also happens to be such an obvious choice that the decision should really be quite easy… ceteris paribus, all other things being equal. Of course, they are not equal at the moment.

Since news of the ExO’s death, when saying Mass I have tried at the Offertory to visualize my petition as being joined with the drops of water which are transformed in their mingling with wine, raised to the altar on high after the consecration. I trust God’s promises. I am confident.

Without doubt, powerful forces are lined up on strongly differing sides.

I am one little garden variety priest. A nobody.

However, for reasons only God knows, he did this Holy Orders thing to me and I intend to use the arsenal I was given! For reasons only God knows, I have this electronic platform as a force multiplier, and I intend to use it!

There is an old phrase, that the most dangerous weapon in the world is a marine with his rifle. And then… there’s the priest with his chalice, friends. Heck, there’s the priest, alter Christus, and mere raising of his hands. I think this is why vets and old priests tend get to on so well. We get each other.

I’ve told you the priest stuff I am doing.

I’ve been so bold as to you give, dear readers, your tasks.

Let’s work on these things together: concrete prayers and actions for Bp. Morlino and for a good successor.

I, for one, think that this is an important and telling moment for the Church in the USA.

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, "How To..." - Practical Notes, ACTION ITEM!, Our Catholic Identity, The future and our choices | Tagged Bp. Robert Morlino, D. Madison
27 Comments

Card. Sarah on kneeling before the Eucharist, Communion in the hand

Posted on 27 November 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The other day I visited the chapel of an important Marian apparition. There were many pilgrims including groups of young people. A worker nun breezily made a sort of bow to the Blessed Sacrament as she passed before the tabernacle.

That really gripes my chitlins.

I don’t trust Latin Church Catholics who, without some reason such as bad knees, etc., don’t genuflect to the Blessed Sacrament.

Today I read a piece with comments by the great Robert Card. Sarah about this matter. He recently spoke in Milan. At LifeSite HERE.

Samples:

Of Pope St. John Paul II’s respect for Jesus in the Eucharist, Sarah said:

The whole of the life of Karol Wotyla was marked by a profound respect for the Blessed Eucharist. Much could be said, and much has been written about this. Today I simply ask you to recall that at the end of his life of service, a man in a body wracked with sickness, John Paul II could never sit in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. He forced his broken body to kneel. He needed the help of others to bend his knees, and again to stand. What more profound testimony could he give to the reverence due to the Blessed Sacrament than this, right up until his very last days.

He then quoted St. Teresa of Calcutta, an “exceptional nun, whose faith, holiness and total gift of her life to God and to the poor are world-renowned.”

St. Teresa “had absolute respect and worship for the Divine Body of Jesus Christ,” said Sarah. He noted that “she touched daily the ‘flesh’ of Christ in the dilapidated bodies of the poorest of the poor,” but “amazed and full of respectful veneration, she refrained from touching the transubstantiated Body of Christ.”

“Rather, she adored him,” Sarah continued. “She contemplated him silently. She knelt and prostrated herself before Jesus in the Eucharist. And she received him, like a little child who is humbly nourished by his God. She was saddened and pained to see Christians receive Holy Communion in their hands.“

Card. Sarah spoke also about Communion in the hand. I agree with Mother on this one. When I see people receive in the hand I am left deeply troubled. I almost physically hurts. It is just so … wrong.

Two stories about a great bishop

Posted on 26 November 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Two recent pieces about the late, great Extraordinary Ordinary, Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, tell you a great deal about the man, who was misunderstood by many – purposely in the case of quite a few.

First, there is a piece by Rocco Palmo HERE. Included is this:

A late-life favorite of John Paul II – with whom he bonded over their shared Polish heritage – the bishop once noted privately of how, upon his transfer to Madison in 2003, he was told that “Rome wanted a fighter” in the secularist mecca, and that’s precisely what they got. Absolutely no one agreed with everything he said – he would’ve found that boring – yet whatever one made of it, the tidal waves of reaction only went to prove how he could never be ignored.

Still, the octane level of the quotes in print obscured the piece that made it work – the telling glint in the eye that his bark was far worse than his bite. In other words, even if Morlino’s zingers made it sound like he’d chew your leg off (if not both), in reality, odds were he’d end up cooking you dinner instead… and sitting down to eat in an open shirt, still wearing his apron – then running back and forth to serve everything himself – those meals were something to behold.

Next, there is a piece at Facebook by someone who truly knew him well, Mr. Kevin Phalen, who served in Morlino’s chancery for a long time. There is an extremely important anecdote in here about the oath that bishops have to make. Here it is with my emphases:

The Diocese of Madison lost her shepherd on Saturday night, and I lost a very good friend. I’ve known Bishop Morlino for just over 40 years, and I was his Chancellor, both in Helena and Madison, for roughly 14 of those years. I honestly think I know him better than anybody.

I met him at Moreau Seminary at the University of Notre Dame in August of 1977. I was new to the place, and he walked over to introduce himself. “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Father Bob Morlino. I’m a Jesuit priest, and I head the diocesan formation program.” …the cherub face, the constant smile… I stood up and took his hand, looked him in the eyes and said, “I’m Kevin Phelan, I’m a candidate for Holy Cross, and I don’t like Jesuits very much.” He laughed loudly, and I thought, “Thank God, at least someone in this place will get my sense of humor.”

Over the years I made him laugh a lot, and he did the same for me. I made him laugh on purpose, and he made me laugh because he was one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met. A lot of times he just didn’t know it.

Another old friend of his, Ed Carey of the Diocese of Kalamazoo, reminds me too often that he knew the Bishop before me. Ed was also a Candidate for Holy Cross the year before I got there. As an accounting major in college, Ed found himself in need, along with a few other new seminarians, of a crash course in philosophy. The rector told them to seek out the Jesuit on the 4th floor as their guide. Ed and the guys approached Fr. Morlino and asked for help. The way Ed tells it, Morlino immediately took a yellow legal pad and wrote out a list of 25 or so books, with the instructions to read one book per week, and then on Tuesday nights he would discuss it with them as a group. Ed insists that he read every book. I had a similar experience the next year. I certainly needed help with Aquinas. Fr. Morlino must have kept the list, because when I asked him for help, he had it handy. The same instructions: read a book a week and we’ll discuss it. I looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. He said, “You’re not going to read all these, are you?” “No.” I felt no need to lie. He took the list back and said “Fine, just come up on Tuesday nights and I’ll talk you through them.” It was a good plan.

I’ve heard rumblings over the years that the Bishop was mean to his priests. As a chancery insider, I can tell you that the charge simply isn’t true. He loved the priesthood with everything he had in him. That’s why at the height of the abuse scandal he was able to ordain over 40 men. Those men saw his love for the priesthood, and wanted to share that with him. It’s why he brought in the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest, and it’s why they came. Madison wasn’t on their original list. They saw the Bishop as a man worthy of their love for the priesthood, and so they came, and they stayed. I know of many priests in the Diocese who are beholden to the Bishop, but those are their stories to tell, not mine. But I can assure you, the guy was all about the priesthood.

I’ve heard people say that the bishop was arrogant. Well, if I’m being completely honest (I always was with him, so I might as well be with you), he could come off as arrogant from time to time. He was extremely smart and extremely well educated. But the truth of what some called arrogance was really more frustration. You see, for the life of him he couldn’t understand how people expected him to be anything more or less than a Catholic bishop. He was a teacher of the Catholic faith because he firmly believed that it was handed down from Christ to His apostles, and from those apostles to him. He didn’t change the faith because it wasn’t his to change. The faith belongs to Christ, the message is from Christ. Morlino knew he was just the messenger. That doesn’t sound so arrogant, does it? He wasn’t a man of his time, he was a man of eternity and unapologetically so. I can assure you, he was all about the faith.

I can tell you about the night before his ordination to the episcopacy. I had a front row seat (literally). The guests had all gone, and we were sharing a night cap before the big day. There were only two bedrooms in the Bishop’s house, so I was the only one there. He started crying. Honestly, I’m uncomfortable with displays of emotion, but the longer I was with him, the better I did. Trying to read his mind, I told him that I was certain his dad, his mom, and of course his granny were all looking down from heaven with big smiles on their faces. He called me an idiot. “Well then why the hell are you crying,” I fired back? He replied, “You were in the chapel with me today. You knelt there while the Nuncio administered the oath. Did you not understand the words?!” “THEY WERE IN LATIN. OF COURSE I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THEM!” He actually thought that was funny, and it broke some of the tension, but he turned serious again as he explained that the oath basically obliges him, at the risk of losing his soul, to teach the Catholic faith, the true Catholic faith, and only the Catholic faith. For those offended by him for not being more negotiable in interpreting the faith, I can assure you that he firmly believed that if he couldn’t save his own soul, he probably wouldn’t be all that helpful with anyone else’s. I can assure you, the guy was all about the salvation of souls.

I have a million stories of the bishop. In the next week or so, I’ll be with his friends both old and new. There is no family; he was the last in his line; there will be no more. I’ll close by saying something that is terrible theology and will probably surprise you. I don’t believe that Bishop Morlino is in heaven. He would often joke that when he got to the pearly gates, good St. Peter would hand him the keys to Purgatory and point the way, telling him to turn off the lights and lock the door when he left. But I don’t think the Bishop is in Purgatory either. As I mentioned, I think I know him better than anybody, and my best guess is that he’s exactly where he wants to be – standing before the gates of Hell, with his promise cross in one hand and sacred scriptures in the other, shouting the Gospel into the darkness with all the formidable strength of his younger days; in the hopes that he can get just one more lost, lonely, and beleaguered sinner to turn around, look into the face of the Risen Lord and say “YES.” I think I mentioned that he was all about saving souls; and I knew him better than anybody.

Kevin is a great guy, whom I met when I moved to Madison, with a great sense of humor. His notion about the final state of souls at that of that wonderful piece leads me to suggest to Kevin – and he will understand this in the wry way I intend it – “Don’t quit your day job.” Still, there is a point: Our Lord harrowed “hell” before His resurrection. Okay, it wasn’t the Hell of final damnation. However, if there were a bishop whom I could imagine saying, “Hang on a moment”, and then checking over his shoulder for one more soul to help, it would be Morlino.

Posted in Priests and Priesthood | Tagged Bp. Robert Morlino, The Extraordinary Ordinary
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Funeral and TLM Requiem for @BishopMorlino of @MadisonDiocese

Posted on 26 November 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I received the following:

The Funeral Arrangements for Bishop Morlino are as follows:

– A Prayer Vigil, with opportunity for visitation, will be held Monday, December 3^rd, at the O’Donnell Chapel at Holy Name Heights, 702 S. High Point Rd., Madison, from 1:00-7:00 PM, with Solemn Vespers beginning at 7:00 PM, Bishop Paul Swain presiding.

– Visitation on Tuesday, December 4^th, at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, Madison, from 9:00 AM until just prior to the Funeral Mass.

– The Mass of Christian Burial (funeral) will be celebrated at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, 4313 Flad Ave., Madison, at 11:00 AM. The Most Reverend Jerome Listecki, Archbishop of Milwaukee, will be the principal celebrant with the Reverend Monsignor James R. Bartylla as homilist.

– Interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery immediately following the Funeral Mass.

TRADITIONAL REQUIEM

The Tridentine Mass Society of the Diocese of Madison, will have a traditional Requiem Mass for the late Bishop, the Extraordinary Ordinary. The time and place have not been set. We were waiting for details from the diocese about the official schedule before we did anything. A time and a place will be forthcoming soon.

Meanwhile, I can’t think of a better tribute to this good bishop than to GO TO CONFESSION, to offer a good Holy Communion and Rosary for him, and then try to stay i the state of grace for as long as you can afterwards. Get it some thought.

BTW… the last Pontifical Mass that Bp. Morlino celebrated was the annual 2 November Requiem for the deceased priests and bishops of the diocese.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Events | Tagged D. Madison
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ESOLEN: 50 Years of Effete and Infertile Liturgical Culture Is Enough

Posted on 26 November 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Anthony Esolen, author of the new book Nostalgia (BUY IT NOW! US HERE – UK HERE) has a column describing the dangerous roll of the dice it is to find a place to go to Sunday Mass when away from home and something known, decent and reverent. You never know what you are going to get, but, when those dice stop rolling, it’s probably against you.

By sure to check it out at Crisis

50 Years of Effete and Infertile Liturgical Culture Is Enough

At last…

“By their fruits ye shall know them,” said Jesus, and fifty years is long enough for us to pass a fair judgment. Sacrosanctum Concilium is an orthodox document. But I wonder if we would have done better merely to say, “Let the Mass be said sometimes in the vernacular, let there be three readings from Scripture for Sunday Masses, and let most of the priest’s prayers be said aloud.” That would have required no concession to modernist iconoclasm. Instead we have endured fifty years of lousy church buildings, lousy music, lousy art, banal language, lousy schooling, dead and dying religious orders, and an unfaithful faithful whose imaginations are formed more by Hollywood than by the Holy One. We have been stuck in cultural and ecclesial neutral, rolling backward and downhill, or neuter, effete and infertile.