Our new ‘catholic Cultural Revolution’s Red Guard. Their cadres and their tactics.

Posted on 23 October 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

1968 – “The 3 July and 24 July proclamations are Chairman Mao’s great strategic plans! Unite with forces that can be united with to strike surely, accurately and relentlessly at the handful of class enemies.”

During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Mao and other leaders signaled to the masses, such as gangs of students, whom they should target for attack and public abuse.  Quickly the mobs, led by party cadres, began to conduct purges of “enemies of the people”.  In those dark days even the slightest suggestion that you were a counter-revolutionary, a foreign agent, an intellectual or a capitalist roader (e.g., anyone whom you don’t like), could result in your being condemned in a public mob trial, physically abused and humiliated, exiled to hard labor, or thrown out of a high window.  Children learned to tattle on parents and neighbors and turn them in to the Red Guards for “struggle sessions”.   Forgetting or misquoting a slogan from the Little Red Book, could instantly result in your dwelling being trashed, your head shaved, a sign strung around your neck as for hours you performed kowtow to the People begging their forgiveness.

At rallies of the Red Guard, Lin Biao urged the mob to destroy the Four Olds: traditional customs, culture, habits and ideas.  What those were, exactly, was hard to specify, but they enthusiastically wrecked havoc, destroyed and assaulted.

In a letter to his infamous wife, Mao wrote in 1966 of his determination to create “great disorder under heaven” in order to achieve “great order under heaven” down the line.  Hence, he and the high leaders gave vague signals about whom and what traditional things and thoughts to target, and the mob did the rest.

Something of the same dynamic is rising in the catholic Left.

The new catholic Left cadres have received signals from on high and they are now starting to target anyone whom they deem might not tow their party line.  They are whistling and pointing to Enemies of the People.

A perfect example of this can be found today in the synergy of a liberal liturgy blog, Pray Tell, and homosexualist activist Jesuit Fr. James Martin.

Complete with laudatory showcasing of Martin Luther.

Pray Tell, on 22 October, posted about the content of a communication sent from the office of the Vicar General in the Diocese of Madison to all the priests of the diocese.  Each Saturday, the VG’s office sends a kind of “saddle bag” of useful information to the clergy.  The VG’s saddle bag of 21 October contained the VG’s thoughts about funeral rites for those in same-sex relationships.  Apparently, a disgruntled Madison priest sent it to a sympathetic Pray Tell.

Today, homosexualist activist James Martin opened fire against Bp. Morlino on Twitter, picking up from Pray Tell.

Martin post 5 TWEETS about this.  Here is the first.

It should be made clear that this first tweet attack on Bp. Morlino, is not accurate.  The thing Pray Tell picked up was a communication from the Vicar General’s office, not from the Bishop.  It was not a statement of diocesan policy.  Clearly, there cannot be a “one size fits all” policy for complicated situations.  What the communication said is that each situation had to be thought through “thoroughly and prudently” and that they could consult with the Bishop.

It is disturbing that a priest of the diocese would so betray his bishop in this manner, but this is a fallen world.  That’s bad, but oh well.

What is more disturbing is the trend building among the catholic Left, of building an Enemies List.  It’s downright evil.

So, James Martin, SJ, smeared Bp. Morlino – in public – and with something inaccurate.  Now watch the black and chilling sleet of hatred that he initiated… on purpose.

I suspect the Jesuit doesn’t care, because his task was fulfilled.

Like a zealous cadre who is “on message” about destroying the Four Olds, Martin worked in conjunction with a liberal blog to signal an “Enemy of the People” to the mobs.

As you read blogs or watch Twitter, watch for this phenomenon, the pattern of, first, an accusation (even with something untrue or inaccurate) from one of the cadres of the chaos (e.g., James Martin SJ, Antonio Spadaro SJ, Thomas Rosica CSB, Michael Sean Winters, Robert Mickens, Gerard O’Connell, Joshua McElwee, Andrea Grillo, Austen Ivereigh, Massimo Faggioli, etc., and entire publications  general such as Fishwrap, The Tablet (aka “The Bitter Pill” now pro-abortion), Jesuit-run Amerika, Commonweal, La Croix, etc.), followed by the echo-chamber of hate and division.

And please don’t even try to tell me to tone down the rhetoric.  Not today.

 

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, "How To..." - Practical Notes, B as in B. S as in S., Biased Media Coverage, Dogs and Fleas, Green Inkers, Si vis pacem para bellum!, The Coming Storm | Tagged , , , ,
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ASK FATHER: Irreverent priest at a funeral Mass.

Posted on 23 October 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From an upset reader…

QUAERITUR:

I went to a funeral Mass and the priest was not reverent of the person who passed. He rapped his knuckles on the coffin numerous times. He paraphrased the readings and the consecration. He reprimanded a lady who knelt for receiving Communion. and afterwards brushed his hands instead of washing his hands. These are a few of the things I caught.

Does this Mass count? I couldn’t follow the Mass and it felt more like an entertainment show than a Mass. And yes, the tabernacle was on the side in its own little room so it wouldn’t compete with the star of the show…the priest. Does this Mass count? Should I write a letter to the priest? I can’t write to the Cardinal since its ___. I doubt he will do anything.

First, how terrible.   This should never happen.

Does this Mass “count”?  I’m not sure what you are asking.  It could be that you mean was it “valid”.  If there were so many abuses that it wasn’t a Mass (unlikely) then, no it didn’t “count”.  If there was an invalid consecration for some reason (unlikely) them no, it didn’t “count”.

However, even if that Mass was valid, what you describe is inexcusable.

And, yes, you can still write to your bishop (whom you say is a Cardinal).   It is often better to work up the chain, as it were: first, priest, then bishop, then the Vatican.  However, it may be that, for some reason, you can’t write to that priest.

Should write to anyone, keep copies of correspondence.  If you write to the bishop/Cardinal, send a copy of the letter also to the Apostolic Nuncio and to the Congregation for Divine Worship.

Of course it is hard to prove what you observed and a single letter can’t be decisive.  However, it may be that this is not an isolated incident and that that priest has a file filled with this sort of thing.

Before writing, see my

The above link, by the way, is always on the blog.  You can find it quickly at the very bottom in a list of links or do a CTRL+F with the search word “tips”.

Finally, pray for that priest.  Determine some act of reparation for his irreverence and offense and then carry it out, asking God to forgive him and to help him amend his ways.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box |
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More about #indefectibility – Wherein Fr. Z rants about Popes, Councils, Priests.

Posted on 23 October 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I’ve had a lot of notes from people about a post from yesterday.

I have, once again today, prayed the prayer I mentioned.  I am going to make this part of my routine for the foreseeable future.

Also, in regard to indefectibility, it may be that some of you have not thought about this since basic catechism.  It may be that some of you have never heard of this (including seminarians… HEY!  SEMINARIANS!  Get a copy of the mighty Baltimore Catechism [US HERE] or the mickle Penny Catechism [UK HERE] and memorize stuff!  If nothing else, you will gain a grasp on how people you meet used to learn their Catholic Faith.  And I’ll bet there are a whole lot of priests out there who don’t know what I’m about to write.  I’d be interested in feedback from seminarians and priests about this… which will be entirely confidential and anonymized. Click HERE)

Indefectibility is one of the three attributes of the Church.

The Church’s three attributes are authority, infallibility, and indefectibility.  The three attributes are not to be confused with her four marks (unity, holiness, catholicity, apostolicity).  An attribute is a quality or characteristic.  A mark is a sign that allows something to be distinguished from others.

The attribute of authority means that the Church can exact obedience from her subjects, just as parents can from their children.  The attribute of infallibility means that the Church cannot err when it teaches concerning faith or morals.

The attribute of indefectibility, on the other hand, is the quality of unfailingness in the Church, her constitution and ministration, promised by Jesus Christ in the words “Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Matthew 28:20).

The Church’s members may err or fail, but the Church cannot.

Holy Catholic Church’s indefectibility is proven through history by her nearly 2000 year endurance through the most terrible external trials and dangers, threats from without by states, and so forth, and through internal attacks and dangers from incompetence or wickedness of pontificates and heretics or from human indifference or carelessness.  The Church has endured through everything, negative external and internal influences, and has remained the privileged and dependable channel of supernatural life and of grace. God protects the Church through special assistance.

We know by faith and by reason that the Church is indefectible, but how this works is a matter of speculation.

Hence, I am able to repeat with confidence what I have written and said many times.

There have been really important Ecumenical Councils and other Councils that were not terribly important.  Frankly, I hold Vatican II not to be very important when compared to monumentally significant Councils such as Chalcedon or Trent. There have been really important Pontificates and some that were not.  Some were long and some were short.  Some were good and some were bad.  Most were tiny blips on the long arc of the Church’s history.  Some were bigger blips.  Popes come and go.  Romans, who have a special perspective on Popes, have a proverb: “Morto un papa, se ne fa un altro… When a Pope dies, ya make another.”  All these things and people come and go, but the Church remains, with her three attributes, including indefectibility.

Our Savior knew that – in our times – right NOW – we would need the Church just as much as the men and women in the age of martyrs needed her. Therefore, the same Church endures and cannot be turned to sand no matter what we human beings do.

If you are irritated about something going on right now, something manifestly stupid, wicked, or just ill-conceived but well-intentioned missteps in judgment, examine your own consciences and then …

… GO TO CONFESSION.

That’s what I do.

And I must repeat, form groups – base communities – study your catechisms and don’t let your priests off the hook.  They are obliged by their vocations both to know the content of the Faith, the fides quae creditur, and also to believe, teach and defend the Faith.

If they don’t, they are culpable before man and God.

If priests or bishops neglect this aspect of their divinely given vocations – knowing, believing, teaching and defending the Catholic Faith – they are guilty of a terrible sin and they put themselves at risk of eternal damnation.

If an ophthalmologist somehow managed to act as an eye doctor without knowing much about the eye, he would be a bad ophthalmologist.  He would be guilty for inflicting bad treatments that harmed people.  If he once knew his art but he doesn’t keep his knowledge fresh and doesn’t keep up with new developments, he would similarly be a bad doctor.  Moreover, he may not claim innocence by virtue of his ignorance because he has the obligation by his profession to know certain things.

The same is true for the priest, and with even more serious consequences because he touches souls, not just eyes, which Our Lord Himself indicated are dispensable in regard to getting to Heaven.  If it is important that an ophthalmologist be diligent in tending and maintaining his professional abilities, it is even more important that the priest tend and maintain those things which pertain to his vocation, for which he is responsible before his Judge, the High Priest, the King of Fearful Majesty.

It is possible that the priest or the bishop simply isn’t very smart.  How they come to be ordained is another matter.  Nevertheless, they are still obliged to do their best and try to learn, teach and defend the Catholic Faith.  They are not off the hook.  We must be patient with them and helpful, while they must be earnest and humble.  This also means that those priests who are brighter have an even greater obligation, since more is expected from those who have more received.

Finally, I think we will all agree that everyone should be versed in the basics of our Catholic Faith and that resources such as the old school-age catechisms are gems.

Let’s find ways to encourage each other to make either new reviews or fresh discoveries.
And if you sense that you may have some weak spots, shore them up.  Don’t be that gal who hasn’t looked at the basics since her last day of Catholic school or CCD or RCIA.

Baltimore Catechism [US HERE]
Penny Catechism [UK HERE]

Here endeth the rant.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Seminarians and Seminaries, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices, Wherein Fr. Z Rants | Tagged , ,
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WDTPRS – 20th Sunday after Pentecost: Quiet is a hallmark of the holy

Posted on 22 October 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Yesterday I posted about the Collect for this Sunday’s Novus Ordo Mass for the 29th Ordinary Sunday.  Now, let’s see the Collect for what I jocularly like to called the “adult Mass”, in the Extraordinary Form for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost.

This ancient Collect is found without variation in the Liber Sacramentorum Gellonensis, written perhaps in Meaux, near Paris, between 790-800. The Gellone Sacramentary, which has Frankish influences, is a strand in the complicated web of manuscripts descending from what we called the Gelasian Sacramentary, the source of so many of our ancient prayers found in the Roman Missal.  The Gellone seems to have been an attempt at a complete book for liturgical services.

COLLECT (1962MR):

Largire, quaesumus, Domine, fidelibus tuis indulgentiam placatus et pacem: ut pariter ab omnibus mundentur offensis, et secura tibi mente deserviant.

The pattern indulgentiam [X] et pacem reminds me of the post-Conciliar formula for absolution of sins spoken by the priest in regular auricular confession: Deus, Pater misericoridiarum… indulgentiam tribuat et pacem.   I found the same patter in ancient prayers with various verbs inserted in the X spot, such as tribuas and also consequatur as well as largiatur or largiaris.

Our prayers very often include requests for pardon, that God forgive our sins.   We ask for absolutio, remissio, indulgentia (technical terms for different ways of being unbound and reconciled) and in liturgical language we use verbs like largiri, tribuere, conferre, and as the priest speaks to God, he describes Him in terms of propitius, propitiatus, and placatus.

Largire looks like an infinitive but is really an imperative form of the deponent largior, “to give bountifully, to lavish, bestow, dispense, distribute, impart… to confer, bestow, grant, yield”.

The adjective securus, –a, –um, which the mighty Lewis & Short Dictionary says means first and foremost “free from care, careless, unconcerned, untroubled, fearless, quiet, easy, composed” is understandably found in conjunction with the Last Judgment.  We wish to be “free from anxiety” when see the Just Judge coming.  Think of the line in the great sequence Dies irae used during Requiem Masses… coming up in a couple weeks:

“Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?  Quem patronum rogaturus? Cum vix iustus sit securus.  … What am I, a wretch, to say then? what patron am I to beseech? When the just man is scarcely free from care [about his salvation – ]”.

Remember also from the Ordinary of the Mass after the Lord’s Prayer (my emphases):

Libera nos, quaesumus, Domine, ab omnibus malis, da propitius pacem in diebus nostris, ut, ope misericordiae tuae adiuti, et a peccato simus semper liberi et ab omni perturbatione securi: exspectantes beatam spem et adventum Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi…

Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Placo is “to appease, render favorable”, and is also connected with gifts (munera, dona) or sacrifice (immolatio).  Deservio is not simply “to serve”, but “to serve zealously, be devoted to, subject to”.  This takes a dative “object”.   Par, paris, n., means “a pair”, which logically gives us the adverb pariter, “equally, in an equal degree, in like manner, as well”.

In the first place, indulgentia indicates an attitude: “indulgence, gentleness, complaisance, tenderness, fondness”, and then what flows from that attitude, namely, “a remission” of something like punishment or taxation.  In the French language dictionary of liturgical Latin, we find the same idea, an attitude which brings a result: “abandon de sa sévérité”, or “a giving up of severity”.

It doesn’t take much thought to see why “security”, in the sense of being without anxiety, and “peace” are closely tied to God’s forgiveness, His indulgence.

If God were to judge us truly according to our own fruits, and not mercifully see us through the merits of Christ’s Sacrifice, life would become unbearable and each day would bring us closer to unspeakable terror as we awaited either death or Christ’s return.

LITERAL TRANSLATION:

Having been appeased, impart to Your faithful, O Lord, we beseech You, remission and peace: so that in an equal measure they may be cleansed from all sins, and may zealously serve You with a mind free from anxiety.

It is nice to look at old translations from old hand missals on occasion, just to see something smoother, language that doesn’t stick slavishly to the text.  Here is a version prepared by J. O’Connell and H.P.R. Finberg, the editors of …

The Latin Missal In Latin and English (1957):

Relent, Lord, we pray thee, and grant thy faithful pardon and peace, so that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind.

I like that “with a quiet mind”.

What a grace it is to live with a mind and conscience quiet about the course of our lives and our coming judgment.

Isn’t it true that when you are aware of your unconfessed sins, or when you – through your fault – are out of step or in conflict with others that your mind is not quiet?

Quiet is a hallmark of the holy.

Even the ringing, thunderous song of HOLY  HOLY HOLY before the throne of God in heaven is quiet, because it is in perfect accord.

Hell and sin are discordant.  When Hell and sin are in us, we are out of harmony, disquieted.  God’s grace in the sacrament of penance washes out our disrupting sins and pours calming sweet balm on our minds and hearts.  We need quiet, outside as well as inside.  Put aside the noise makers, sins of course, but also clattering screens and caterwauling distractions.

Maybe you have done a wave experiment in a physics class using a table full of water, set to vibrate at different rates and from different directions.  When the waves, crossing each other, are in sync and harmony, it looks as if they are standing still in perfect patterns.  The more they get out of harmony with each other, the greater the chaos on the surface of the water.

Remember too that in the spaces between sensible signs is where God is to be found.  That is one of the reasons why the older, traditional form of the Roman Rite is so helpful.  It has elements such as silence which are now so hard for modern people.  We have to grow out of the noise and distraction and into the still and the quiet.

And speaking of “silence”…

Robert Card Sarah’s The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise

US HERE – UK HERE

Must have!

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, WDTPRS | Tagged , ,
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What Does Pope Francis’ Letter To Card. Sarah Really Say?

Posted on 22 October 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

By now you have seen coverage of a letter that his Holiness of Our Lord Pope Francis sent to an Italian site, La Nuova Bussola, for publication. [HERE]  Inter alia, it explains something about the meaning of Magnum principium, Pope Francis’ change to law to expand the role of episcopal conferences in the preparation of liturgical translations.   [HERE]

The catholic Left has whipped itself into a spittle-flecked nutty over this new letter from Pope Francis and they are practically baying for Card. Sarah’s blood.

“It is a beat down of Cardinal Sarah!  It’s a CORRECTION!  Ooooo Cardinal Sarah is soooo stooopid!  See?!? SEE?!”

A good example of this via Twitter, is from the diligently self-promoting…

Fail.

And also…

Fail.

But we all know about him.  His animus is his lens.

There is a key point in Pope Francis’ letter, which the inattentive might not catch… especially if they don’t want to.

In the beginning of the letter, Pope Francis wrote (my translation):

Eminenza,

ho ricevuto la sua lettera del 30 settembre u.s., con la quale Ella ha voluto benevolmente esprimermi la sua gratitudine per la pubblicazione del Motu Proprio Magnum Principium e trasmettermi una elaborata nota, “Commentaire”, sullo stesso finalizzata a una migliore comprensione del testo.

Your Eminence,

I received your letter of 30 September, last, by which you wanted to express to me kindly your gratitude for the publication of Motu Proprio Magnum principium and to send me an explanatory note about it, “Commentaire”, about the same aimed at a better understanding of the text.

[…]

Okay… that’s how Pope Francis’ letter begins.  What do we have here.

The Pope says that he received two things from Card. Sarah.  He received Card. Sarah’s letter in which the Cardinal thanked the Pope for Magnum principium.  He also received, with the aforementioned letter, an “explanatory note”, which the Pope calls by the French word “Commentaire”.   There are two things: Card. Sarah’s own letter and the “Commentaire” which the Cardinal sent.

After this, the Pope comments on Magnum principium and the “explanatory note”!  He doesn’t say anything like, “in your interpretation, Your Eminence”.  Not even close.

At the end of Pope Francis letter we read:

Infine, Eminenza, ribadisco il mio fraterno ringraziamento per il suo impegno e constatando [NB: constatare, not costatare] che la nota “Commentaire” è stata pubblicata su alcuni siti web, ed erroneamente attribuita alla sua persona, Le chiedo cortesemente di provvedere alla divulgazione di questa mia risposta sugli stessi siti nonché l’invio della stessa a tutte le Conferenze Episcopali, ai Membri e ai Consultori di codesto Dicastero.

Fraternamente

Francesco

Finally, Your Eminence, I reaffirm my fraternal gratitude for your diligence and, recognizing that the “Commentaire” note was published on some websites, and was wrongly attributed to your person, I ask you kindly to see to the distribution of this my response to the same sites, as well to the the forwarding of the same to all episcopal conferences, and to the members and the consultors of the Dicastery [the CDW].

Fraternally

Francis

At the end, the Pope thanks Card. Sarah for his “diligence”, his having taken the time and effort, “impegno”, presumably about making known to the Pope the contents of the “Commentaire”.  Then the Pope acknowledges that Card. Sarah did not write the “Commentaire”, and that he understands that it was erroneously attributed to the Cardinal.   That’s what the Pope says: “Thanks for letting me know about this Commentaire, which you did not write and which some out there on the internet have incorrectly said that you wrote.”

Hence, the Pope asks that, since that “Commentaire”, wrongly attributed to the Cardinal, was on websites, the Pope asked that Card. Sarah set the record straight by sending the Pope’s letter also around to sites and members and consultors of the Congregation, just to make things clear.  The language about the Cardinals “diligence” smacks of a followup after a meeting.  It is as if to say, you brought these things to my attention, and here’s what we determined to do about it.

And yet the catholic Left has gone into grand mal nutty about how Pope Francis beat down Card. Sarah.  But that’s not what the letter does.

There’s more to be said about the content of Pope Francis’ letter in regard to principles of translation and the mens of Magnum principium, but let’s get this part about Card. Sarah straight.

UPDATE 23 October:

And then there’s this interesting comment:

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“I learned that when a person has decided to destroy you, he has no lack of words, spite, and hypocrisy”

Posted on 22 October 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Inspired by something sent to me today from a Twitter feed.  [UPDATE It’s also quoted by Matthew Schmitz at the Catholic Herald in June 2017 in a round up article about how much people hate Card. Sarah and the amazingly unkind things they say about him.  It just goes to show that no one hates like a liberal.  It leaves me amazed to watch Twitter right now… @jamesmartinsj  @massimofaggioli “GET ‘IM!  GET ‘IM BOYZ!  GO FOR THE KILL!]

From Robert Card Sarah’s The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise, p. 159:

US HERE – UK HERE

Speech can assassinate, a word can kill, but God educates us in the school of forgiveness. He teaches us to pray for our enemies. He surrounds our heart with an enclosure of tenderness so that it may not be sullied by rank or. And he constantly murmurs: “The disciples of my beloved Son have no enemies. Your heart must not have enemies, either.” I speak from personal experience. I painfully experienced assassination by gossip, slander, and public humiliation, and I learned that when a person has decided to destroy you, he has no lack of words, spite, and hypocrisy; falsehood has an immense capacity for constructing arguments, proofs, and truth is out of sand. When this is the behavior of men of the church, and in particular of ambitious, duplicitous bishops, the pain is still deeper. But men look at outward appearances, and God sees the heart (1 Sam 16:7). Relying on his view alone, we must remain calm and silent, asking for the grace never to give in to rancor, hatred, and feelings of worthlessness. Let us stand firm in our love for God and for his church, in humility.

The key to a treasure is not the treasure. But if we give away the key, we also hand over the treasure. The Cross is an exceptionally precious key, even when it appears to be folly, the subject of ridicule, and a scandal; it is repugnant to our mentalities and our search for easy solutions. We would like to be happy and live in a peaceful world without paying the price. The Cross is an astonishing mystery. It is the sign of Christ’s infinite love for us. In a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, on the passion, we find this extraordinary passage:

Christ being lifted up upon the cross, let the eyes of your mind not dwell only on that site which those wicked sinners saw, to whom it was said by the mouth of Moses, “And thy life shall be hanging before thine eyes, and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt not to be assured of thy life.” [Deut 28:66]…. But let our understandings, illumined by the Spirit of Truth, foster with pure and free heart the glory of the cross which irradiates heaven and earth, and see with the inner sight what the Lord meant when He spoke of His coming Passion: “… Now is the world’s judgment, now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things unto me.” O, wondrous power of the cross! O, ineffable glory of the passion!

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“Our faith in the indefectibility of the Church is soon going to be tested and good people will legitimately choose different sides.”

Posted on 22 October 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Last night I had a hard dream that I was part of a firefighting crew, the kind that tries to control wildfires, such as dangerously erupt especially in time of drought.   The winds fanned the flames.  I awoke entirely exhausted.

This morning during the parish’s Solemn Mass, for which I was deacon, I had a pressing and strong presentiment of foreboding. I visualized pouring it into the chalice with the water I poured to be mixed with the wine and transformed… by God.

After the Mass, the priest celebrant and I went to a breakfast place and were seated next to a table of half a dozen firefighters in their ready gear.  Their truck was outside… one of the big ones… running.  I took this as part of my ongoing experience of portentous, looming urgency, whereupon I paid for their table.  The guy next to us bought us our breakfast, thus passing it on.  Good will multiplies.

And now a reading from my SMS thing…  This came in this morning from a lay friend, a father of four.  It is part of an SMS conversation between friends, clerical and lay.  The immediate topic: those who are purposely sowing confusion and ambiguity in the Church today:

Motus in fine velocior.  Our faith in the indefectibility of the Church is soon going to be tested and good people will legitimately choose different sides.  I am neither an alarmist nor a conspiracy theory cook, but these people are evil.  …  It’s going to get SO much worse before it gets better.  Brace yourselves and cling to your beads, catechism, Breviary and Mass.

How must we respond?

Again, friends, join together and work through the Catechism.  Pray, together, for pointed intentions.   Do not be afraid to ask also St. Joseph, Patron of the Church, for specific favors.  Use sacramentals.  Fast and offer penances.  Recite that most powerful prayer, the Most Holy Rosary.  Offer mortifications and good Communions for the reparations of sins of specific priests and bishops.  Examine your consciences and GO TO CONFESSION!  Be sure that you are attending to the duties of your state in life.  Be cool and placid.  Support good works where you see them in action.  Promote your own.

Meanwhile, I’ll pray…

In name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

O glorious Archangel St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, defend us in battle, and in the struggle which is ours against the principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against spirits of evil in high places. Come to the aid of men, whom God created immortal, made in his own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil.

Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there a place for them any longer in Heaven. But that cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with all his angels.

Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of man has taken courage, Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of his Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory.

This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.

These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions.

In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered.

Arise then, O invincible prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and bring them the victory.

The Church venerates thee as protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of this world and of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude.

Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.

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Lunacy in Lyon

Posted on 21 October 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

LifeSite has a horrifying article about a development in France… poor poor France.

C’mon, faithful Catholics!  Allons y, traditional co-religionists!  Marry and have lots of kids!

Anyway, back to the Lunacy in Lyon.

Ban on Communion for divorced and remarried is ‘absurd and inhuman’: Cardinal

French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin commended Catholics in new unions who bear witness to true matrimony by refraining from partaking in the Eucharist but[but] clearly opened a door to those who feel they should receive communion while remaining in a second “marriage.”

Cardinal Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon in France and Primate of the Gauls, held a special service last Sunday at his cathedral for Catholics from broken marriages. The event was designed to share reflections on the controversial chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia and how it is interpreted in the diocese[It’s one way in this diocese and another way in that.  Is that unity in the Faith or is that division?] – one of the most ancient dioceses in France that was created in the second century and glorifies saints such as the martyrs Irenaeus and Blandine.

“In the Church, Everyone is Needed” [Not a point that was at issue, of course.] was the title of Cardinal Barbarin’s talk. He said, “Everyone can see whether it is possible or not to change his or her situation; everyone realizes what is best today, for oneself or for those with whom one is now bound by a relationship of love and mutual service.” [And …. how is that determined?  Does the Church’s teaching really play a role anymore?]

Clearly, a new union despite an existing marriage, in the eyes of the French Cardinal, can be defined as a “relationship of love and mutual service.” [It would be interesting to learn how they define “love”.]

Six divorced and “remarried” couples joined in the presentation, including Florence and George, who are active in the local Catholic community and participate in their parish reception service. They now regularly come to Mass together with their family. [They are obliged to participate at Mass anyway.]

From the pulpit, they explained how they would feel “isolated in the pews” at communion time. “The more we found our place, the less we felt a right to it,” they said. At that point, a priest offered to “accompany” them, [And that, friends, was that.] encouraging them to follow a course for people in this situation linked to the “Notre Dame Teams” that help Catholic spouses in the married state of life.

At the end of the course, after a period of discernment with the parish priest of Bron, near Lyon, a special celebration was arranged in which the couple was “blessed.” On the following Sunday, they both received communion. The first question the priest had put to them was: “Are you at peace?”  [OH, YES!  WE ARE!]

It does not appear that they indicated they are now living as brother and sister, nor was there any mention of that in Cardinal Barbarin’s own talk as a completely traditional solution to the problem. He had listened to them from the pews together with the lay participants in a symbolic gesture.

[…]

The rest is rather long.  It’s a train wreck.

Hey, they feel good now!

Posted in One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , ,
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ASK FATHER: Catholic alternatives to Boy Scouts, now that they’ve gone crazy

Posted on 21 October 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Are there good Catholic alternatives to the Boy Scouts of America, now that they have put the final nail in their own coffin by deciding to admit girls?

What a huge disappointment this is.  I was a Boy Scout and it was valuable in many respects.  But that was before the world went completely insane.

I understand that not all troops of Scouts will go down this stupid path directly into the swamp, but enough will that the whole will be compromised.

I have seen some groups in parishes in these USA such as the Troops of St George.  However, I am not up to speed on these groups.

Also, I think there are many different Catholic scout groups in Europe.

Here’s another topic which I think it would be fruitful to open up to you good lay people and, perhaps, priests in the readership.

 

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ASK FATHER: Latin for 4 year olds

Posted on 21 October 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Now that some of the technical stuff has been updated, let’s get back at it.

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I’m wondering if either you and/or your readership know of any good resources to start teaching Classical Latin to a 4 y/o? My nephew just turned 4 a couple months ago and his English and language skills are already better than many high school graduates and college students. But seriously, he is quite intelligent and we are all in agreement that Latin is the ideal second language for him to learn since it’s the basis of many other languages, the Church and science.

I’ll bet some of you parents out there have already been down this route.

Let’s see if the readership has something to contribute.

Of course I am all for languages early on.

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