ACTION ITEM! Order your Ordo for 2016 – Fraternity of St. Peter

Posted on 11 November 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Every Latin Church sacristy should have an Ordo for both the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.  Every sacristy… even if the older form of Mass isn’t celebrated at the church.

A while back I posted about the 2016 Ordo provided by St. John Cantius HERE.

You have an alternative in the Ordo that is put out by the Fraternity of St. Peter.  Order HERE

This year’s is pretty much, mutatis mutandis, the same as last year’s.  And why wouldn’t it be?  Right?


NO… WAIT….  there is a difference!

On facing pages they now provide for recording MASS INTENTIONS!

That’s a great new option.

Get your Ordo now.

Posted in ACTION ITEM!, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged , , ,
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ACTION ITEM: A priest needs a 1962 Missale Romanum

Posted on 11 November 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Some years ago, a reader sent me a newly printed full-sized 1962 Missale Romanum. I remember him and his initiative each time I use it.

I received this email from a priest in my native place:

The time has come that I am a man coming to full stature now and ready to buy my very own 1962 Missal…thoughts or leads on where I can get one affordably, beautifully, gloriously, or even gratis-ly? … I always prefer dusting off an unused hidden treasure relegated to extraordinary oblivion before breaking all my sacred moral codes of Scandinavian thrift. Special thanks to the Reverend ___ of ___, MN and the NAC for lending me his for the last three months!

Cutting through the verbiage… this priest needs his own 1962 Missale Romanum and we should make sure he gets one.

I have helped put readers together with priests and seminarians quite a few times to facilitate the acquisition of materiel for the traditional Roman liturgical rites.

Does anyone want to help this priest? We can do something along the lines of what we did for the seminarians and birettas, through Leaflet Missal in St. Paul, handy because that is where the priest in question is.

Maybe people can contribute a part or the whole cost.  I’ll let John work that out.

Drop me a line.

Leaflet’s number is: 651-487-2818

BTW… here’s a shot from my last visit to Leaflet Missal’s church goods zone. That’s the legendary John Hastreiter on the phone in the background.

Also BTW… thanks to the reader who, through Leaflet, gave me the new linen Roman style alb.  A couple of my albs were falling apart.

Posted in ACTION ITEM!, Mail from priests | Tagged ,
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“Martinmass” by John Clare

Posted on 11 November 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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

I once held the skull of St. Martin in my hands.  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.

Posted in Poetry, Saints: Stories & Symbols | Tagged , , , ,
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Thank you, Veterans!

Posted on 11 November 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Posted in Fr. Z KUDOS |
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Bishop of Hong Kong attacked by homosexualists

Posted on 10 November 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

John Card Tong Hon Kong KongThe Bishop of Hong Kong, John Card. Tong Hon, has come under fire from the promoters of deviant sex because he defends marriage.

From AsiaNews:

Gay lobby and Western consuls against the bishop of Hong Kong

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – In the past few days, Card John Tong Hon, Bishop of Hong Kong, and the Catholic Church have been accused of “discrimination” by LGBT groups and representatives of Western governments in the territory for defending the institution of the family based on the union of a man and a woman, and for warning the faithful against any official recognition of gay unions as equal to the traditional family.

The war of words reached a crescendo yesterday afternoon when some 10,000 people from the Pink Alliance and other similar associations led the city’s Gay Pride parade, calling on the Government of Hong Kong to ban all ” discrimination “against people based on their sexual orientation, including gay marriage.

The consuls of France, Britain, Germany, United States, Sweden, Ireland, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Finland, as well as representatives of the European Union and the British Council attended Hong Kong’s Seventh Gay Pride.

For York Chow Yat-ngok, who heads Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunities Commission, “our religion taught us [. . .] not to discriminate [against] people”. Caroline Wilson, Britain’s consul general, also talked about “discrimination”. The Pink Alliance ridiculed Cardinal John Tong Hon’s suggestion that gay marriage would trigger “social disorder”.

All the criticism stems from a statement the bishop released last Thursday. In it, the cardinal urged the faithful to play an active role – as the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” – in promoting the notion of the family as a union between a man and a woman, and in staying vigilant against groups who, in the name of “rights” and against discrimination, want to bring before the Hong Kong legislative council plans to give gay marriage the same recognition as the traditional marriage, including the right to adopt children.

In his message, the cardinal also noted that a so-called Christian students’ organisation recently held a ‘Workshop on lovemaking techniques’ at one of Hong Kong’s universities with the participation of sex workers showing how to use sex toys and perform erotic massage.

In view of this, the bishop of Hong Kong called on Catholics to cast their ballot in upcoming District Council elections taking into account candidates’ views on gay rights.

Reactions to Card Tong’s stance has tended to juxtapose his position to that of Pope Francis and the recently concluded Synod, emphasising the need to end discrimination against homosexuals and to highlight the pope’s greater “openness”.

Mgr Michael Yeung Ming-cheung, auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong, said that the Church does not discriminate against homosexuals, but against their acts. Likewise, in his statement, the cardinal noted that the Synod on the Family reaffirmed the traditional notion of the family, as a union between a man and a woman.

Evil is on the rise.

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, Sin That Cries To Heaven, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices | Tagged ,
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Univ. Notre Dame – effort to help students find Catholicism

Posted on 10 November 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Ex corde Ecclesiae – governing Catholic education – has been for the most part ignored in these USA. The result is that many schools which still bear the name “Catholic”… aren’t, or just barely are.

Some are doing their best at Catholic schools to keep the flame alive.

At CNS (see their great feed on my side bar) there is a story about one such effort at the University of Notre Dame (which gave a honorary doctorate to the most obviously and aggressively pro-abortion president ever).

New Website Helps Students Find Authentic Catholic Education at Univ. of Notre Dame

In response to numerous concerns from students and parents over the years about the quality of Catholic education at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame history professor Father Bill Miscamble, C.S.C., launched a new project this week, NDCatholic.com, that he told The Cardinal Newman Society will help students find professors supportive of the University’s Catholic mission and an authentic Catholic education.
“I want to encourage serious Catholic students to attend Notre Dame. But they should come here with a clear-headed recognition that they must be very intentional in choosing their teachers and courses,” Fr. Miscamble said. “If they do so, they will find an education that allows them to face deep questions of meaning and serves to deepen and enrich their Catholic faith.”
The website, which is in its beginning stages, features profiles of approximately 100 faculty in the College of Arts and Letters personally recommended by Fr. Miscamble for their supportof the University’s Catholic mission. Fr. Miscamble hopes to expand the website soon to include the faculty from the other colleges including business, science, engineering and architecture.
“I realized that there were so many excellent faculty here but that students needed some guidance in finding them and selecting the right courses to take,” said Fr. Miscamble, who was inspired by the many students and parents who have requested personal recommendations over the years. “NDCatholic is the result of my desire to assist students.”
Each NDCatholic faculty profile includes the professor’s areas of research, teaching style and a brief description of their contribution to the University and its Catholic identity.
“Knowledgeable observers are aware that the University of Notre Dame can provide an excellent Catholic education for her students. But it certainly is not guaranteed. Students who simply drift through Notre Dame with its present core curriculum are unlikely to gain the full benefits that the University can offer,” Fr. Miscamble stated on the website. “Consequently, students must take the initiative in order to receive a genuine and rich Catholic education.”

[…]

Read the rest there.

The corrosion of the Faith that can occur at “Catholic” schools could be deadly.  Approach with caution!

Posted in Our Catholic Identity | Tagged
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10 Nov: Leo the Great

Posted on 10 November 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In the newer Roman calendar this is the feast of Pope Saint Leo I, “the Great” (+461). In the older, traditional calendar, his feast is 11 April.

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 Linking Back, Patristiblogging, PODCAzT, Saints: Stories & Symbols | Tagged
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Fr. Z asks for help: houseling cloths (communion rail)

Posted on 9 November 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Where I help out on Sundays we are planning on adding “houseling” cloths, cloths over the Communion rail.

The Communion rail is used at the parish for all Masses.  It is wonderful how smoothly, quickly and reverently Communion time goes.

Here is where you readers come in.

If your parish has Communion rail cloths, would you send me photos of how they attach to the Communion rail?

At my home parish in St. Paul, St. Agnes, you can see the cloths hanging behind the rail (which is used).  I remember how they are attached (loops on the cloth on hooks).

15_11_09_Communion_cloth_01

I have some ideas about how they may be deployed, but I am interested in practical solutions others have adopted.

They are turned over the rail at about the time of the Our Father.  This is from the (true) LMS site from few years ago at Ss. Trinità dei Pellegrini. HERE

15_11_09_Communion_cloth_02

They are returned to their “dormant” position after Communion.

Thanks in advance.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged ,
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IMPORTANT UPDATES: Blasphemous public sign at Sts Columba and Brigid in Diocese of Buffalo

Posted on 9 November 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

IMPORTANT UPDATE: 2006 GMT:

I received this via email from a reader who contacted the office of the Bishop of Buffalo.  Here is the response he received.

Message:

Hello ___,

Please see the following message from Bishop Malone:

Thank you for your message regarding the sign at SS Brigid-Columba Church here in Buffalo. As soon as I learned of this sign, I took immediate action to have it removed. The pastor of SS Brigid and Columba Church told me that the “2 Dads” were meant to refer to a child who has both a father and stepfather. There are several children in his parish who have both a father and stepfather. However, given the potential for the meaning of this message to be misunderstood and even perceived in a heretical way, it was immediately removed.

God bless you!

Sincerely yours,
Siobhan O’Connor
Executive Assistant to the Bishop
Diocese of Buffalo

So, I consider this to be closed.

It seems that this was a matter of a poor word choice and that the pastor has taken action to correct the situation… to his credit.

That said, I don’t think it was wrong to jump all over this sign.  It was not a good situation, but it has been properly resolved.

I’m closing the combox now.

UPDATE : 1954 GMT:

From a comment, below, comes this important element that must in fairness be considered.

I called the parish office & verified the message from the woman who answered. She handed the phone to the pastor, and he said the message was targeted towards children of divorce. I gently warned him that he was going to be receiving a lot of complaints, and that he should re-word the message.

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I have a hard time believing that anyone in these United States, where there was a whole “Heather has two mommies” thing, could post a sign like that and not intend a homosexual relationship rather than a “dad” and “step-dad” situation.

A hard time believing… it is not impossible.. but it’s hard.  Maybe it was merely a poor choice of wording.

Hopefully the pastor will immediately change the sign and issue a clarification.  If he does, I’ll happily let you know when I am made aware.

____ ORIGINAL Published on: Nov 9, 2015 @ 12:19Edit

A reader sent this horrid photo.

In the Diocese of Buffalo at a Catholic parish HERE:

15_11_09_church_sign

Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity incarnate, has His heavenly Father from all eternity in the First Person of the Trinity.  Jesus, the incarnate Word, had His earthly Father in the person of St. Joseph.

That is not what this sign is trying to say, as you can tell from the second and third lines.

This is a pro-homosexual “marriage” and pro-homosexual adoption sign.

In that view, this sign is blasphemous and should be immediately taken down.

The pastor of the parish should be required publicly to apologize for his offense against the Faith and the scandal he caused.

UPDATE:

For those of you who think this might be fake or photoshopped, here are two more photos posted at the site of Catholic Family News.

UPDATE:

Check the top for updates.

Posted in Sin That Cries To Heaven, You must be joking! | Tagged , ,
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ASK FATHER: Send electronic donations to parish by texting during Mass?

Posted on 9 November 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I’m not a registered user of your blog but I do “lurk” on a daily basis. I would appreciate it if you could comment on the following which was written up in our Sunday (Nov. 8th) Bulletin.

“Next Weekend is “Text to Give” Weekend- Don’t leave your cell phone at home or in the car. Bring it with you to Mass. Next Sunday is “Text to Give” Weekend throughout the Diocese. Parishioners who haven’t made a pledge or a gift, or who wish to increase their gift, will be able to do so by texting on their cell phones to support the ministries made possible by the Annual Appeal. Open your heart. Share your gifts. Text “GIVE” to the Annual Appeal.”

I went to the Diocesan website to see whether this was just a local parish thing or for the whole diocese. Apparently there are follow-up bulletin inserts for next Sunday (Nov. 15) for all parishes in which they say “TEXT the word “Give” to 64600″ I was taken aback when I read the insert and can’t believe that they actually want people to “Bring it with you to Mass.” I don’t know if we are going to be asked to do this during Mass or not (I already sent my contribution by snailmail several weeks ago) but, I’m just struck by the fact that nothing is sacred anymore. I can only pray. Please comment.

I’m on the fence.  I guess so.

How the Church adapts to modern technology has been controversial. There were probably protests over the first uses of electric lights in churches.  “If candles and whale oil lamps were good enough for our parents, they’re good enough for us!” “Codex?  No! The scroll forever!”

Some uses of modern technology don’t fit with Mass.  I have in  mind the dreadful use of a projector to project the words of the hymns on blank walls… although how different that is from the medieval Exsultet roll, I’m not sure.  Congregations were not expected to sing the Exsultet, for one thing.

People are not used to seeing new-fangled things in church.  Someone following the texts or chants of Mass are thought by others (of a certain age) to be “playing with their phones”.

Fewer and fewer people carry cash these days.  They pay for their coffee in the morning, their lunch, their theater tickets, their hotel rooms, with smart phones.  Once upon a time, instead of bringing bottles of olive oil and live chickens for the offertory, they started giving small round pieces of metal stamped with images.  Pretty edgy.

Why not make it possible for people to make donations using smart phones?   As a matter of fact, you can give me donations using your smart phone.  And you should!  And, if you meet me in person, using my phone I can take credit cards.  We have to move with the times.  The technology is neutral.

On the other hand, the immediately more human is the preference in our sacred worship.  For example, the unamplified human voice is preferable to the electronically amplified.  Music produced by people, rather than recorded music, must be used.   Wax candles, not electric.  Pipe organ rather than electronic.  Et cetera.

It would be at least cheesy were there to be a “ceremony” involved with taking electronic donations… “When the deacon raiseth on high the bronze serpent, press ye then the “send” upon the iPhones.”  A collection basket icon appears on your screen, you put in the amount you want to give and… swoosh!

I don’t see anything sacrilegious about it.  Just keep it short and clean.

While we are at it…


And remember… it takes 4 iPads for the Traditional Latin Mass.  Think beyond the Missal to the altar cards:

Here’s a Passiontide set up.

 

 

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