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

Marble machine

Posted on 5 January 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

And now for something completely different.

A friend sent this. It’s amazing.

Posted in Just Too Cool, Lighter fare |
6 Comments

Special Blessing of Epiphany Water on the Vigil of Epiphany

Posted on 5 January 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Wonderful customs come with the Feast of the Epiphany. Real Epiphany is 6 January, by the way. Happily, this year it doesn’t get transferred to a Sunday because it falls on a Sunday.

On Epiphany we find in the Roman Ritual a blessing for gold, frankincense and myrrh. Please bring all your spare, unblessed myrrh to your priest… and your gold. Bring lots of gold to your priest… or send it to me if your priest isn’t around.

By the way, we use pure frankincense in our thurible. I just bought a bunch more which I will bless. I also have a bag of real myrrh.

On Epiphany there is also the famous blessing for homes. Father can bless chalk which can be used then to mark the lintel of the house with the year.

However, today, on the Vigil of Epiphany, there is a special blessing for Epiphany Water. Here is a photo from a couple years ago, of yours truly blessing Epiphany Water.

Special Blessing of Epiphany Water on the Vigil of Epiphany

I will bless a lot more tonight.

The Rite is very cool. It begins with the Litany of Saints, with a couple special petitions about the blessing of the water to follow. Satan and the demons are then driven from the place with a mighty prayer.

This is NOT a prayer for lay people to recite. Period. Understand? Just don’t.

Exorcism against Satan and the apostate angels [In Latin, of course. The “+” is where the celebrant makes the Sign of the Cross.]

In the name of our Lord Jesus + Christ and by His power, we cast you out, every unclean spirit, every devilish power, every assault of the infernal adversary, every legion, every diabolical group and sect; begone and stay far from the Church of God, from all who are made in the image of God and redeemed by the precious blood of the divine + Lamb. Never again dare, you cunning serpent, to deceive the human race, to persecute the Church of God, nor to strike the chosen of God and to sift them as + wheat. For it is the Most High God who commands you, + He to whom you heretofore in your great pride considered yourself equal; He who desires that all men might be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. God the Father + commands you. God the Son + commands you. God the Holy + Spirit commands you. The majesty of Christ, the eternal Word of God made flesh + commands you; He who for the salvation of our race, the race that was lost through your envy, humbled Himself and became obedient even unto death; He who built His Church upon a solid rock, and proclaimed that the gates of hell should never prevail against her, and that He would remain with her all days, even to the end of the world. The sacred mystery of the cross + commands you, as well as the power of all the mysteries of Christian faith. The exalted Virgin Mary, Mother of God + commands you, who in her lowliness crushed your proud head from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception. The faith of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and the other apostles + commands you. The blood of the martyrs and the devout intercession of all holy men and women commands you.

Therefore, accursed dragon and every diabolical legion, we adjure you by the living + God, by the true + God, by the holy + God, by the God who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have life everlasting; cease your deception of the human race and your giving them to drink of the poison of everlasting damnation; desist from harming the Church and fettering her freedom. Begone Satan, you father and teacher of lies and enemy of mankind. Give place to Christ in whom you found none of your works; give place to the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church, which Christ Himself purchased with His blood. May you be brought low under God’s mighty hand. May you tremble and flee as we call upon the holy and awesome name of Jesus, before whom hell quakes, and to whom the virtues, powers, and dominations are subject; whom the cherubim and seraphim praise with unwearied voices, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts!

The salt and water are exorcised, blessed, blended.

Thus, all these elements are ripped from the domination of the Prince of this world and handed over wholly to the King, ready for use in our spiritual warfare.

At the end of the rite the Te Deum is sung. Spiffy.

Epiphany and its Vigil, once more important than Christmas. Very ancient and very cool feast.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Just Too Cool, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged Epiphany Water
9 Comments

Francis and the retreating US Bishops

Posted on 4 January 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

As the US bishops meet in a retreat at Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary, with reflections by Rainiero Cantalamessa and the aegis of – I guess it was unavoidable – Card. Cupich, Francis sent them a letter. HERE

There is a piece about it at the National Catholic Register.

There is a not so enthusiastic piece by Amy Welborn at Catholic World Report. She points out a rather serious lacuna in it.

There is a gushy editorial piece by Andrea “Turncoat” Tornielli, now of the Dicastery for Communication. HERE Read this in tandem with Welborn.

Note contrasts: “credibility” and “truth”.

Also, Card. DiNardo, President of the USCCB sent a note to Francis as the retreat began. HERE

Meanwhile, word is out that the investigation into L’affaire McCarrick is being… attenuated. HERE

The Present Crisis Continues.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged The Present Crisis, USCCB
26 Comments

ASK FATHER: Friday penance for a vegetarian

Posted on 4 January 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I have a question and I think you are the perfect ossified manualist to give me the answers I need.

I am a vegetarian. When it comes to Friday Penance, am I covered because I am already not eating meat? I understand this likely violates the “spirit” of the law in that I haven’t really given up meat as a penitential practice, but I was wondering if you could shine some light if I have fulfilled the letter of the law.

You will certainly have fulfilled the letter of the law.

However, if you want to be more perfect in your devotion, you could find some other pleasant or good thing to give up on days of penance. Also, remember that positive performance of good works is also good.

The giving of alms is a penitential practice. In the ancient Roman Church there were very many more fast days. People gave up foods, but the money they saved by not buying them they gave to the poor.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Hard-Identity Catholicism | Tagged Friday penance
23 Comments

What is your good news?

Posted on 4 January 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

It has been some time since I’ve asked.

What is your good news? Share something good and positive with the readership.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
22 Comments

1st Friday and Saturday Devotions and You

Posted on 4 January 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Reminder.

Today is a 1st Friday, the first of a new Year of Grace.

Do you keep 1st Fridays in special way as the Sacred Heart of Jesus urged?

Do you engage in the Saturday devotions which Our Lady asked for at Fatima?

Do our times suggest that it would be good to begin if you haven’t already?

Posted in Be The Maquis | Tagged devotions
14 Comments

Photos of Ultima Thule!

Posted on 2 January 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The first images of Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule are on SpaceWeather. New Horizons is a NASA spacecraft that was the first to visit Pluto in July 2015. It continued into the Kuiper Belt. This is only the fifth craft to get out that far, along with Pioneer 10 and 11, and Voyager 1 and 2. Voyager 1 is now in interstellar space…but it’ll be back!

FIRST IMAGES OF ULTIMA THULE: The first high-resolution images of Ultima Thule have reached Earth following New Horizons’ historic flyby on New Year’s Day. Hot off the presses, the photos reveal a pair of roughly spherical planetestimals stuck together in the middle. The contact binary strangely resembles BB-8:

“This flyby is a historic achievement,” says New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. “Never before has any spacecraft team tracked down such a small body so far away in the abyss of space. We’re getting our first close-up look at ancient planetesimals.”

Planetestimals are the building blocks of planets. Here in the inner solar system, no pristine examples remain for us to study. They have been swallowed by planets, hammered by asteroids, and scorched by solar radiation. Ultima Thule, however, has been preserved in the deep freeze of the outer solar system for more than 4 billion years. It is truly a relic of the genesis of planets.

Mission scientists believe that Ultima Thule formed by accretion. A swarm of smaller planetesimals gathered under the pull of their own meagre gravity to form two spherical bodies, medium-sized planetesimals which themselves slowly bumped together and stuck. The result was Ultima Thule.

This is just the beginning of Ultima Thule’s revelations. First images released today have a resolution of about 140 meters per pixel. Images arriving in the days and weeks ahead will be as much as 5 times sharper, possibly revealing craters, hills, landslides, rilles and other unknowns.

New Horizons also scanned the area for tiny moons–the debris of the original swarm that gave birth to this strange object. Detections, if any, will be revealed in future transmissions from the spacecraft. Stay tuned!

Posted in Just Too Cool, Look! Up in the sky! | Tagged NASA, Ultima Thule
8 Comments

REVIEW: “Annibale Bugnini: Reformer of the Liturgy” by Yves Chiron

Posted on 2 January 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

As the new year begins, I’ll point to a new and interesting book about an infamous figure in the Church in the 20th century.

REVIEW: "Annibale Bugnini: Reformer of the Liturgy" by Yves Chiron

Annibale Bugnini: Reformer of the Liturgy by Yves Chiron.

US HERE – UK HERE

This is the English translation of the French original.

The forward is by Alcuin Reid. Reid is very careful to point out Chiron’s objectivity. However, you can glean from the beginnings of the book that Bugnini – infamously controversial – while he wasn’t guilty of some things said about him – was a master manipulator of structures of power and we not above playing fast and loose with the truth.

Reid adds some information of his own, including an intriguing excerpt from Louis Bouyer about how Bugnini manipulated – even lied to – Paul VI and also the Consilium, telling each that the other was all for what (Bugnini’s agenda) was being proposed.

Reid includes a bit he learned from the late, great Card. Stickler about whether or not Bugnini really was a Freemason, often alleged about him.

“No,” the Cardinal replied, “it was something far worse.”

On the other hand, it seems that Bugnini tried to intervene in the case of Archbp. Lefebvre, arguing for greater patience from Paul VI. And, counter-intuitively, Bugnini argued for greater permissions for the use of the pre-Conciliar form of Mass, along the lines of the Heenan permission.

I look forward to drill farther into this book. I’m a couple chapters in, past his early life. It has already given me food for thought.

The truth is more interesting than useful rumors that can be used as weapons.

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, REVIEWS | Tagged Annibale Bugnini, BUGNINICARE
26 Comments

Wherein Fr. Z rants at the beginning of a New Year of Salvation

Posted on 2 January 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I’ve noted with interest a number of reviews of the past year regarding the Church. Not a few saw the last year as a “year from hell” or an “annus horribilis”.

Sure. That’s not unfair. It was a very difficult year, filled with many shocks and disappointments for those of us who love the Church.

However, I offer hereunder a couple other points to consider, especially because it has been rough year.

First, when someone in a high place has said or done some crazy or confusing thing, people have had recourse to their good resources to look up the Church’s true teaching. It could be that many of these people haven’t cracked the covers of a catechism for decades. Suddenly, people are reviewing even the basics of the Faith, which have been challenged through ambiguity or downright contradiction. As a result, people have had the opportunity to deep the Faith in which they believe (fides quae creditur) as well the Faith by which they believe (fides quae creditur). The crisis has prompted lots of people to drill in and learn and live better.

Next, when you go into churches, especially in Rome, you will see inscriptions that, invariably, have dates. Quite often before the year you will see “A.D… anno Domini… in the year of our Lord”. In Roman churches you might see “A.S… anno salutis… in the year of our salvation”. At the beginning of a new “year of the Lord” or “year of salvation” we are reminded that Christ is the Lord of our time here, and His Lordship is directed to our salvation. There is nothing easy about that. And why should it be easy? Winning our salvation wasn’t easy for Christ. Christ’s manner of being Lord informs our time here.

Of all the universes God might have created, He created this one, into which He called us into existence not at any old random time, but at a precise time known to Him from before the creation of the cosmos. He knew us all before the universe was created and had something in mind for us. That’s why He called us out of nothingness into personhood as His images here and now. This is the time God wanted us to live. Therefore, this is the best time for us to be here. The circumstances of our world are not irrelevant. This is the where and the when of our working out the salvation He has offered.

Looking at the state of the Church, we must remember that Jesus is the Lord of our time here. The Church is His. We all have a part to play in the Church and in the world.

As a point of reflection for this new year of salvation, I propose that you must not look at what is going on around you as if you are passive spectators.

You must not be down hearted. If this is a hard time, then, as a member of this Church Militant, like the soldier pilgrim you are, remember that, when you live your vocation you, like a soldier in the midst of battle, are in the safest and best place you can be. When you are fulfilling your vocation and God’s will for you with true devotion, then God will give you every actual grace that you need in abundance, because you are fulfilling the role He knew for you in His great plan, the economy of salvation, from before the formation of the cosmos.

You have vocations to fulfill as a member of the Church, Christ’s mystical Person, both ad intra (within herself) and ad extra (to the world around us).

And… GO TO CONFESSION!

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, Be The Maquis, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Si vis pacem para bellum!, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices, Wherein Fr. Z Rants |
18 Comments

“Let y’all know!” The “Noveritis” Epiphany chant announcement of 2019’s liturgical dates

Posted on 2 January 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At Epiphany – once upon a time far more important than Christmas – we Latins have the custom of singing a solemn proclamation of the key liturgical dates – movable feasts – for the new year of salvation, just begun. This underscores how these dates and seasons are all interconnected.

The liturgical year is a reflection of and on the mystery of our salvation. And, never forget, the mysteries shape us. We are our rites.

Some liturgical dates are movable. For example Septuagesima, in 2019, falls on 17 February. This beginning of Pre-Lent doesn’t fall on the same date every year because the date of Easter changes each year.

“But Father! But Father!”, you libtards are surely sputtering. “What does this chant sound like? Do it in English like the spirit of Vatican II wanted! But you won’t because YOU HATE VATICAN II!”

We’ll use Latin today.

Here is what it sounds like, in case some deacon or priest out there, less familiar with chant, wants to give it a shot. It sounds rather like the Exultet, sung at the Easter Vigil. The Noveritis is a little awkward in parts.

You can find a printable PDF of the Noveritis 2019 HERE. NB: It has Ascension Thursday on the correct day!

Fathers. Here is how to sing the Noveritis for 2019, on Epiphany. I’ll take it slowly so that you can get it into your ears.