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{]:¬)

ASK FATHER: How do we get the TLM where we are?

Posted on 25 May 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I hope you can help. How do I approach my Bishop in ___ to have us have a TLM. I run from one church to another just before Consecration. Thank you.

I am puzzled as to why you would run from one church to another like that. Back in the day, people would hurry from church to church in Rome for the moment of the elevation. There were even special pieces of music written for the elevation. Then off they’d go to another church for the elevation.

But, to the real point.

Please take this to heart: Don’t approach the bishop for the TLM except as a last resort.

Always… always… always… work with a friendly priest who is willing and able to celebrate the TLM for you, especially pastors of parishes.

According to the present legislation, pastors of parishes are the one’s who decide now.

Another point: One person asking for the TLM isn’t very compelling. A lot of people asking for it is much more convincing. Get organized.

An important point: Be willing to sacrifice your time and money to be there, open doors, set things up, tidy up after, buy vestments and books and other useful objects, provide Father with necessary items, etc. You can’t just expect – as so many do – everything to be done for you for free.

A really important point: Be diplomatic while being persistent.

A seriously important point: Be involved in the other things that the parish does. Make yourselves indispensable to the pastor and his efforts for the whole parish. Always be ready to volunteer. Be the first one’s up and the last one’s there.

And here’s an Elevation Sonata by the great Domenico Zipoli, SJ. Yes… SJ. He was a musician missionary of the Baroque era in the reductions of Paraguay.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM | Tagged Domenico Zipoli, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, TLM
3 Comments

Card. Arinze: If you want Communion, become a Catholic

Posted on 25 May 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The simple but wise words of His Eminence Francis Card. Arinze, Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni, have rung often of late in the ears of my mind. He famously responded to a question about Communion for public figure who are manifestly pro-abortion, “You don’t need a Cardinal of Holy Catholic Church to tell you what a 7-year old knows before First Holy Communion. If Communion should not be received, it should not be given.”

I read at the UK’s best Catholic weekly, the Catholic Herald that Card. Arinze opined about the situation in Germany (aka Caput Malorum Omnium) and how the bishops of that sad place are going to the zoo about Communion for non-Catholics.

In an interview with CNS, Card. Arinze said that it would be wrong to allow the divorced and remarried to receive Communion based on Amoris laetitia.

On the matter that the Germans are (pointlessly) debating:

He said that while he wished other Christians well it was important understand that “the Holy Eucharist is not our private possession which we can share with our friends.”

“Our tea is such and also our bottle of beer. We can share those with our friends,” Cardinal Arinze said.

“It isn’t just that we wish one another well. After Mass, you can go to the refectory and have a cup of tea and even a glass of beer and a bit of cake. That’s OK. But the Mass is not like that,” he added.

“It is very important to look at the doctrine,” he said. “The Eucharistic celebration of the Mass is not an ecumenical service. It is not a gathering of those who believe in Christ and who invent a prayer for the occasion, it is a celebration of the mysteries of Christ who died for us on the cross, who made bread into his body and wine into his blood and told the apostles ‘do this in memory of me.’

“The Eucharistic celebration of the Mass is the celebration of the faith community – those who believe in Christ, they are communicating in the faith, and in the sacraments, and in ecclesiastical communion… ecclesiastical unity with their pastor, their bishop and the Pope. It is the community which celebrates the Holy Eucharist. Anybody who is not a member of that community does not fit in at all,” he said.

He said if Protestants wished to receive holy Communion in Catholic churches then they should become Catholics.

“Come, be received into the Church, and then you can receive Holy Communion seven times a week. Otherwise no,” said Cardinal Arinze.

Fr. Z kudos.

The Cardinal is exactly right, as any properly formed 7-year old would be able to tell you.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged Card. Arinze, Communion, divorced and remarried, German Bishops
7 Comments

ASK FATHER: When to make an appointment for confession

Posted on 24 May 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Would it be better (in order for the priest to have more time with the penitent) to make an appointment for confessing VERY grave sins (something even the most lenient person would say needs confessing) or should you just go at the beginning of the normally scheduled time?

Thank you in advance. Your insight into confession is invaluable.

I don’t see why a person needs more time to confess “VERY grave sins”. Just tell the priest what you did, how many times or often, and include any relevant information about the circumstances. In other words, cut to the chase and just say it. That doesn’t take a lot of time.

If a person has a lot to confess, or is uncertain about how to make a good confession and wants help from the priest, or if for some reason advice is needed – which might take longer – then consider an appointment so that you are not taking up too much of the scheduled confession time.

BTW… priests don’t always want “more time with the penitent”. They usually are content for you to be brief and be gone, so they can hear more confessions.

Make a good examination of conscience before getting into the confessional. That really helps.

Then…

GO TO CONFESSION!

And don’t ramble.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, GO TO CONFESSION, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged confession, sacrament of penance
10 Comments

ASK FATHER: Sorting out confusing, contradictory messages from priests

Posted on 24 May 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to ask you a question since I know you are knowledgable and do not lead souls astray. My question is not meant to vent about the state of the church, since I know it is not healthy right now. But WHO do I listen to in regards to our faith.

I ONLY want to go to Heaven and have my family as well. But it seems every priest, bishop and such have their own opinions about salvation.

Who is right? The traditional priests I listen to via traditional sites say things I never hear in my parish… like you can’t go to heaven with unreported mortal sin. (Basic stuff). How do I know that what my priest leads me to believe (that everyone goes to heaven) isn’t the case? I am confused, conflicted and concerned deeply about the salvation of myself and those around me. Thank you for any insight.

We live in a confusing and confused period in the Church right now.

If we are paying close attention to churchy news, we read about a Pope who seems to be contradicting previous Popes. We read about bishops conferences taking 180° opposite directions on pastoral issues or even suggesting practices that 50 years ago even a 7 year-old would have known were wrong. We read about bishops saying conflicting things on doctrinal points. We all know that from parish to parish we will hear a bewildering array of conflicting sermons.

This chaos is the mark of a crisis. It is an indication that Satan is at work. That shouldn’t be a surprise: strike the shepherds and the sheep scatter.

There is an old chestnut out there that the Chinese character for “crisis” is also the character for “opportunity”. That’s wrong, of course, but that doesn’t mean that the sentiment behind that mistake is wrong.

Crisis is also opportunity.

When the Holy Father says something that makes people scratch their heads, or some dopey bishop or bishops go to the zoo on some doctrinal point, or a loopy priest gets into the news by saying things that are wrong, I have an opportunity to get up in the pulpit or sit at my keyboard and say or write with clarity what reliable sources set forth. I can refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and other good sources.

Their imprudent shenanigans give me a chance to review and then to instruct, thus making my job both harder and easier at the same time.

It could be that the crisis we are in will clear out a lot of dead wood, as it were.

So, when you hear something that strikes you as unsound, get out your copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or other good catechisms, and look it up.

In self-enrichment and in self-defense, begin to study the Catechism of the Catholic Church together, maybe in your family, maybe with small groups who meet for coffee or breakfast after Saturday morning Mass. Read, review, study the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

US HERE – UK HERE (There are many editions. Look around.)

I am a huge fan of Kindles (US HERE – UK HERE), but you should also have the BOOK, the material volume which you can hold in your hand and write in. Get the book, which you can flip around in and hold spots in with a couple fingers as you cross check.

Read it. Pick it up. Read portions every day.

St. John Paul II called the CCC, “a sure reference point”.

And on the point you raised about salvation, universal or not, I can say this.

Christ, by His Sacrifice, intended to open the gates of heaven to anyone who would accept the graces and walk the narrow path. Not everyone will choose heaven. God offers sufficient graces to people to be saved. Not everyone accepts them. Frankly, I think that the number of the saved is a good deal smaller than the number of the damned. We have a lot of warnings from saints and, more recently, from the Blessed Virgin at Fatima about the number of the damned. I believe the image was “falling like snowflakes”. Grace and elbow grease will win our heavenly home.

Let’s do all that we can to be among the saved and be happy in heaven. Let’s stick closely to the Church and to her sacraments and her authentic teachings, and not be overly troubled by the chaos. We have to be realistic and sober about how the Enemy works to drag us away from God, especially through confusion, doubt and anger.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged catechism, Catechism of the Catholic Church
7 Comments

Wherein Fr. Z assigns some worthwhile reading

Posted on 24 May 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At First Things there are two outstanding pieces to which I direct your attention.

Firstly, run, don’t walk, to read Martin Mosebach’s beautiful essay about “eternal Rome”. The translator did a masterful job. I read it yesterday on the airplane and I am still mulling it over. I have the strong sense that Mosebach may have been looking a bit at City of God recently. That apart, we often hear the phrase “eternal Rome” in the context of traditionalist debates, especially from the SSPX. Hence, anything that a smart guy like Mosebach has to say about “eternal Rome” is worthwhile. He strives to add some context and content to the term Romanitas. At least I think that’s what he is doing, whether he intended to or not. HERE

You should also immediately order his book, now back in print!

US HERE – UK HERE

Next, you will find the piece by Philadelphia’s Archbp. Chaput about the truly bizzare debate in Germany about Communion for non-Catholic spouses – without having to accept everything the Church teaches or go to confession, etc. etc. The Archbishop raises a lot of questions and gives a clear warning that this debate is going to spread to a parish near you. It’s not going to stay in Germany – right now seemingly the caput malorum omnium. HERE

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ACTION ITEM!, Just Too Cool, The Drill | Tagged Archbp. Chaput, Eternal Rome, Martin Mosebach
4 Comments

Met “Gay-la” and new movie. Coincidence? I think not.

Posted on 24 May 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

You all know about the “Gay-la” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Each year, the Met has some big “fashion” exhibit. This year, some folks in the Church were either duped or were consciously complicit in producing a shameful event with blasphemy and sacrilege.

That story has been roiling around for a couple weeks.

So, last night I turn on the idiot box just in time to see a commercial for a movie called Ocean’s 8. Which is about a heist of stuff from … the annul Met gala. The movie even includes Rihanna, who was probably the most photographed – wearing a miter – at the “Gay-la”.

Posted in What are they REALLY saying? |
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ASK FATHER: Forgetting sins during confession

Posted on 24 May 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Dear Father, is it okay if I didn’t said the sin I was about to confess because my mind blocked? I didn’t finished it with the lines “for these and all my sins…” because I got a little tense and because I think it is already forgiven since I was just confessing sins I forgot last confession… Though I’m trying to remember it until now so I could bring it to the confessional next time. Thank you!

While we are obliged to confess all mortal sins in both kind (the sort of sin) and number (how many times or frequency), we are not obliged to do what is impossible.

If we can’t remember something, we can’t confess it.

People have memory lapses, especially when they are a little nervous, as people often are when they make their confession. It is a common occurrence.

The important thing to know – and to do – is that we must do our very best when making our confession.

If you sincerely and truthfully confessed what you could remember, then all your sins were forgiven. If you subsequently remember something that you didn’t confession before, then confess it the next time you go.

By remembering it, you do not fall back into the state of sin. However, you still should confess what you remembered when you next go.

I hope this helps.

And for everyone else reading this…

GO TO CONFESSION!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, GO TO CONFESSION, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged confession, sacrament of penance
4 Comments

Day Of Prayer For The Church In China

Posted on 24 May 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

My Vatican Curia calendar shows that today is the Day Of Prayer For The Church In China.

Just a few days ago, I read at Canticum Salominis about the Feast of Our Lady of China, 12 May, and her proper Mass. There are also these prayers:

Prayer to Our Lady of China:

Hail, Holy Mary, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mother of all nations and all people. You are the special heavenly Mother of the Chinese people. Teach us, your way of total obedience to God’s will. Help us to live our lives true to our faith. Fill our hearts with burning love for God and each other. Stir up in our youth, an unconditional giving of self to the service of God. We call on your powerful intercession for peace, reconciliation and unity among the believers and conversion of the unbelievers in China and throughout the world, for God’s mercy is our only hope. Our Lady of China, Mother of Jesus, hear our petitions and pray for us. Amen.

Consecration of the Chinese People to Our Lady of China:

O Mary, Mother of God, and our Mother, with sincere filial love, we consecrate to your most tender, most loving immaculate heart, our bodies, souls, abilities, lives, words and deeds, and all that we have. We also consecrate to you the Chinese people throughout the world. We pray that you be the Mother of priests and all missionaries. May they loyally and zealously proclaim the Kingdom of God. Be the Mother of all Christians. Help them to progress in virtue and to shine forth evermore the splendor of faith. Be the Mother of all unbelievers. Deliver them from darkness and lead them into the light of Faith. We beseech you to show mercy to the immense population of Chinese descent. They have all been redeemed by the precious blood of your Divine Son. Through your most efficacious intercession, may they all take refuge in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Source of life and holiness, and become one fold under One Shepherd in the Church.

Help of Christians, pray for us. Holy Mary, Mother of all Graces, pray for us. Our Lady of China, Queen of the Chinese People in Heaven, pray for us.

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, Our Solitary Boast | Tagged Our Lady of China
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Pope Francis on homosexual seminarians: This bridge is closed!

Posted on 23 May 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At Vatican Insider I spotted something interesting. Each Spring the Italian bishops have a plenary meeting at the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, in the smaller hall where the Synod usually meets. The Pope attends at least part of the meeting. This year was no exception.

This year the Pope told them… my fast translation from the Italian original:

“If there’s a doubt about homosexuality, it’s better not to have them enter the seminary.”

The words of the Pope in the closed door session with the Italian bishops: “Discernment is needed”. Reaffirmed what was in the Vatican documents of 2005 and 2016

With the pastors of the CEI (Italian bishops conference) – Vatican insider learned – Francis, speaking about the downturn in vocations, one of his “three worries” for the Italian church, he was, instead, more straightforward and, inviting the bishops to oversee more the quality of future priests, then the quantity, explicitly mentioned cases of homosexual persons who desire, for various motives, to enter into the seminary. Then he invited the bishops to a “careful discernment”, adding: “if you have also the slightest doubt it’s better not to let them enter”.

One indication, from the Pope, that expresses his deep concern: these tendencies, which are “deeply rooted”, and the practice of “homosexual acts”, can compromise the life of the seminary beyond that of the young man himself and an eventual future priesthood. They can generate those “scandals” of which the Pope had spoken in his discourse at the opening of the assembly of the Italian bishops in the new hall of the Synod, that disfigure the face of the Church.

Between the lines one can read what was already put in black and white by Pope Francis in a letter of meditation given brevi manu [directly] to the Chile in bishops during their meeting in the Vatican. In a note added to the text. The Pontiff denounced verified problems in seminaries where – as he wrote – bishops and religious superiors have entrusted control to “priests suspected of practicing homosexuality”.

[…]

There’s more, but it mainly reviews what previous documents say about homosexual candidates or seminarians. I suspect someone will translate the whole thing soon… for the sake of general Jesuit reading.

To the bishops: “If you think that the guy is homosexual, don’t put him in the seminary.”

The Pontiff – the Pontifex… “Bridge Builder” – says that “This bridge is closed!”

I wonder what that means for those who are already ordained.

Posted in Francis, Priests and Priesthood, Seminarians and Seminaries, Sin That Cries To Heaven | Tagged homosexuality
22 Comments

My View For Awhile: Urban Devastation Edition

Posted on 23 May 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I’m heading home after a truly enjoyable stay at the great Assumption Grotto parish.

Still, every time we left the parish, what I saw was alarming. Block after block of houses, abandoned, boarded up, burned, falling to ruin, businesses and large buildings shuttered and windows broken. It’s like a war zone.