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{]:¬)

A REVIEW of Jesuit James Martin’s doctrine-eroding bad book

Posted on 13 July 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In First Things, my friend and faithful biblicist Fr. Paul Mankowski, SJ, has reviewed fellow Jesuit but homosexualist activist Fr. James Martin’s book advocating an abandonment of Church teaching. Martin’s book is ostensibly about “building a bridge” between the Church and homosexuals. Fr. Gerald Murray took care of that, exposing what Martin’s real agenda is. HERE Fr. Mankowski drives it home.

Mankowski, who is capable of writing with a scalpel for his pen and napalm as his ink, is rather gentle with his errant Jesuit brother… in the review. However, the title of Mankowski’s review says it all:

Pontifex Minimus

Ouch. That’s going to stick to Martin now.

Let’s see some of the review… towards the end.

[…]

However well-intentioned, Fr. Martin’s book does not advance the Church’s response to the crisis of disordered sexuality; it waves a white flag. For all that, Martin is right to lament the antagonism that persists and correct in pointing to the need of spiritual assistance for same-sex-attracted persons. Here, too, I believe that recourse to the Church’s broader pastoral experience would go far to remedy the problem. [NB] Those with extensive experience in the confessional will have encountered penitents with many different disordered and objectively immoral desires, some associated with behaviors that even today are universally regarded as felonies. The Church is right to teach that all such people are deserving of respect, compassion, and sensitivity, which are their due simply as human persons, not as those who have achieved a given standard of probity or of psychological health. But her own task, carried out by means of her sacraments and the pastoral exertions of her ministers, is to reconcile the sinner and to strengthen the weak, so as to be a conduit of supernatural aid—that is to say, of graces that have their effect in spite of the human limitations of those who transmit them.

By an entirely understandable paradox, the seal of the confessional means that the Church’s pastoral successes in this regard almost never meet the light of day. [Great point!] The pastors are forbidden to speak and their penitents disinclined. Yet the parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:10–14) is an admonition to remember that authentic spiritual renewal may not take place in the well-lit areas at center stage—where everyone is watching and public congratulations are fulsomely exchanged—but often occurs out of sight, in the darker and more private precincts of the temple, where humility and remorse seek the truth, and are rewarded with new life.

BTW… Paul Mankowski is one of the contributors to the extremely important

US HERE – UK HERE

Remaining in the Truth of Christ: Marriage and Communion in the Catholic Church contains five essays of cardinals, of the archbishop secretary of the Vatican congregation for the Oriental Churches, and of three scholars on the ideas supported by Walter Card. Kasper from which the Church is still reeling today.

These are the nine chapters of the book:

The Argument in Brief- Robert Dodaro, O.S.A.
Dominical Teaching on Divorce and Remarriage: The Biblical Data – Paul Mankowski, S.J.
Divorce and Remarriage in the Early Church: Some Historical and Cultural Reflections – John M. Rist
Separation, Divorce, Dissolution of the Bond, and Remarriage: Theological and Practical Approaches of the Orthodox Churches – Archbishop Cyril Vasil’, S.J.
Unity and Indissolubility of Marriage: From the Middle Ages to the Council of Trent – Walter Cardinal Brandmüller
Testimony to the Power of Grace: On the Indissolubility of Marriage and the Debate concerning the Civilly Remarried and the Sacraments – Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller
Sacramental Ontology and the Indissolubility of Marriage – Carlo Cardinal Caffarra
The Divorced and Civilly Remarried and the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance – Velasio Cardinal De Paolis, C.S.
The Canonical Nullity of the Marriage Process as the Search for the Truth – Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke

James Martin… Pontifex Minimus.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged Fr. James Martin SJ, homosexualists, Paul Mankowski
9 Comments

BOOKS RECEIVED and the guy with the “Best Job In The World™”

Posted on 13 July 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

UPDATE BELOW!

____
I have a huge stack of books to work through, but the books are still coming. I appreciate people who send books from my wishlists.

First, Signs of the Holy One: Liturgy, Ritual, and Expression of the Sacred by my friend Fr. Uwe Michael Lang:

US HERE – UK HERE

The Augustinian Person by Peter Burnell:

US HERE – UK HERE

Speaking of stuff from amazon, when one of you uses my search box or links, I get a percentage, but also a lot of fun.

“What fun?”, you ask?

First, there is no way I can’t tell who orders what. Unless, of course, you tell me.

One of you, a scientist and engineer at NASA, sent me a note of things he has ordered with my search box for his work. I am not making this up.

Nerf rockets

footballs

and with the launchers, balls

Emoji stress balls

Fun noodles

This guy has the best job in the world. He and his team are figuring out how to shoot stuff accurately off of a rover.

I can hear it now:

Lock and load one round of the M-2017 nerf projectile!

BEST Job In The World™.

I can imagine getting up and thinking “I get to launch nerf rockets today… FOR SCIENCE!”

So, everyone, you don’t have to tell me what you order and I can’t find out on my own, but this guy made my day.

ALWAYS use my search box. Father needs dental work.

UPDATE 14 July 2017:

From the nerf nerds of NASA.

Notice the “angry birds” balls, too.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is how we build modern spacecraft.

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare | Tagged books
1 Comment

Fr. Blake on fake news, filthy lies, nasty people, anonymity, vilification and bile

Posted on 13 July 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Medieval gossips

From my friend Fr. Ray Blake, the great PP of Brighton:

Did you believe the story about the Pope submitting his five dubia to Cardinal Mueller? No nor did I, I just don’t believe the stories that begin Monsignor A told Bishop B that Cardinal C had said the Pope has said or done Y. I do my best not to listen to gossip, and not to report it. If we can’t try to speak the truth we are unlikely to be faithful witnesses to Christ, we have an obligation to speak the truth even if it costs us dearly in order to be credible. [The cost… some of you might not know what the cost is.]

I certainly don’t trust Monsignori or anyone who is willing to back up a damaging statement about the Pope without being willing to put his name to it, especially as in this case it was also about someone like Cardinal Mueller who is quite able to state frankly his own case and has a certain reputation of being honourable. Passing on this kind of ‘fake news’ is trading in filth, I find it as scandalous as stories about sexual deviants having parties in the Vatican.

Poor Pope Francis has to battle as much against with his friends as against his enemies, many of the more vociferous on both side are pretty unpleasant, they contaminate with their filthy lies those who listen to them and pass on in all innocence what they have heard. Simply, the Gospel allow it and threatens judgement against those who do it!

Medieval Torture Rabbits

There is a very good podcast by Damien Thompson and Fr Ed Conlon at the end of this piece in the Spectator. Fr Ed hits the nail by saying that invariably liberal commentators misinterpret the Pope, it is not just journalists but as is discussed even revamped the Academy for Life came out with a statement regarding not keeping little Charlie Gard alive by extending his treatment, whilst the Pope, the very next day invited the family to Rome for further treatment.

One of the great problems with every court is that courtiers tend to fail to understand the thinking of the Prince, which means of course one moment you can be by his side giving advice and the next in a cage on the roof Castel Sant’Angelo exposed to the elements. The other thing about courtiers is they are often very nasty people, they put their trust in princes and not in the Lord. To see this today one only has to look at Twitter to see the abusive or gloating comments of those who claim to be close to the Pope today. If they judge a man to be an enemy of Francis there is no end to the vilification and bile.

The more unpredictable or incoherent a prince becomes the more violent and malevolent become those who surround him, of course they wish to control him, in the case of the current Pope this probably impossible, in the words of Cardinal Pell, ‘he is unique’.

Whew.

Little black antichrist Devils
posting poorly thought through comments
in a blog combox.

Posted in Mail from priests, Priests and Priesthood | Tagged gossip
9 Comments

CONTINUED: 100th Anniversary of Fatima Apparitions – 13 July 1917: HELL IS REAL

Posted on 13 July 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today is the 100th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance at Fatima to the three seers on 13 July.

What happened?

The father of Jacinta and Francisco said that when the 13 July apparition began, a small grayish cloud hovered over the holm oak tree, the sunlight diminished, and a cool breeze came up even though it was summer. He heard something like flies inside a jug. The seers saw a glare of light. and then saw Mary over the tree.

The dialogue of Mary and Lucia went:

Lucia: What does Your Grace wish of me?

Our Lady: I want you to come here on the thirteenth of next month and to continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war, for she alone can be of any avail.

Lucia: I would like to ask you to tell us who you are and to perform a miracle so everyone will believe that Your Grace appears to us.

Our Lady: Continue to come here every month. In October, I will tell you who I am and what I wish, and I will perform a miracle that everyone shall see so as to believe.

Lucia then made a number of requests for conversions, cures, and other graces. Our Lady recommended the constant recitation of the rosary; thus they would obtain those graces during the year.

Then she went on: “Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say many times, especially when you make a sacrifice, ‘O Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.’“

This is the apparition in which Mary showed the children a vision of Hell:

Lucia wrote:

“Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an instant. How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first Apparition, to take us to heaven. Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror.”

After that Mary said to them, according to Lucia:

“You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end: but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the Pontificate of Pius XI. [WWII] When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, [In January 1938 there was a massive Aurora Borealis] know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays. [1st Saturday Devotion!] If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal, the dogma of the faith will always be preserved, etc. …”

Consider your sins committed and sins of omission.

Consider the state of the Church and nation.

Consider what YOUR role is according to your state of life.

Consider making some changes in your prayer life and works of mercy.

GO TO CONFESSION!

Posted in Four Last Things, GO TO CONFESSION, Our Solitary Boast | Tagged 1917, apparitions, hell, Our Lady of Fatima
8 Comments

Feedback from a priest and the offer of a priestly pact

Posted on 13 July 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Last night I exchanged emails with a priest friend. We bumped along on a couple topics, expressing a measure of concern for what we are seeing in the Church today, and then came this:

I guess today I realized the reason I wasn’t frustrated and worried was because I had been completely ignoring what was happening. And what little Francishock news I had to deal with I simply dismissed with “He’s not going to break the Church.” Then I read a few things like this and this and started feeling the same way. It just seems like it’s accelerating now. [In finem citius.]

I still believe that the Holy Spirit is in charge. I’m just not so sure I know where or how I’m going to be living my vocation in the coming months and years.

I need to pray more. A lot more. May the Lord grant you profound peace and strength in all this. You’re very much in the center of it. Nonetheless, don’t underestimate what a powerful encouraging witness you have been through countless articles and comments, not to mention all the ongoing sacramental work you do. God bless.

Fathers, let’s make a pact.

When the news starts to get to us, let’s reground ourselves in prayer and attending to our duties. Also, perhaps read less about all the bad stuff going on. For example, for the last couple weeks, I – who have Current-News Attraction – have simply not reviewed my regularly DVR’d programs. I’ve been considerably more light-hearted as a result.

The moderation queue is ON (and the combox is open especially to priests).

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Mail from priests | Tagged in finem citius
16 Comments

UK’s CH: Can anything stop Catholic infighting?

Posted on 13 July 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At the site of the UK’s best Catholic weekly, the Catholic Herald, there is a preview article from their upcoming 14 July number which merits your attention. I ingested it with great interest along with my at least quadruple espresso ristretto this morning and a couple of digestive biscuits.

The piece in question is by Damian Thompson, who delighted me with the opening sentence and kept me reading onward:

My first parish priest was a little old man with pebble spectacles who looked like a gorgeously coloured beetle as he bent over the altar in his Roman chasuble.

Damian, with whom I’ve had both resonances and dissonances, goes on to describe his own experience of growing up in the upheaval of the post-conciliar Church in England. He then makes distinctions about the sort of upheaval experienced then, and what we are experiencing now.

He thinks that the Church is in trouble. Yes, I know, I know. Water is still wet, etc. But hear him out:

Specifically, Catholics in the West – and that includes those in the Vatican – have adopted the liberal-versus-conservative mindset that has fractured non-Catholic denominations. It’s as if Christians are required to choose between two set menus, in which social justice comes with a side salad of transgender blessings – or, alternatively, you can opt for solemn liturgy with free-market seasoning.

That’s both clever and well-crafted. However, I wonder if he isn’t missing something. For example, it seems from this that those who choose a side are then content with their resting on that side with no further aim.

Clearly, I am in the second camp, opting for solemn liturgy and free-market economy. However, I opt for those from my conviction that both are transformational forces. Solemn traditional sacred worship, wide-spread and frequent, will serve to revitalize our liturgical worship of God across the whole of the Catholic spectrum. It will help to form more and more priests, who will create their own knock-on effect in congregations. It will give other initiatives of the Church the best possible foundation. Free-markets are the best way available to raise the largest number of people from poverty and to expand the creation of wealth in a way that is consistent with the human dignity of work. For me, liturgical worship and free-markets are not ends in themselves. The ends, for me, are the reordering of love and worship of God (religion) and proper treatment of neighbor (justice), both virtues being transformed by charity.

Damian also makes some suggestions. Here are the first two of the four he offers:

I won’t presume to suggest a route out of this mess, but I can think of some necessary-but-not-sufficient steps that the Church should take as an insurance against going down the route of the Anglican Communion.

First, liberal Catholics must accept that they’re not going to get women priests or gay marriage. Ever. The Church’s ruling on these matters is absolutely definitive. Married priests fall into a separate category: I sometimes think that if Francis had pushed through this change, instead of entering the quagmire of divorce and Communion, he might have been surprised by how may orthodox Catholics supported him. [I’d be surprised if any supported that.]

Second, the Tridentine Mass (I can’t bear the term “Extraordinary Form”) must not be banned again. That would be a betrayal of those traditionalist priests and lay people who stayed faithful to papal authority during the decades when they were treated as second-class citizens by their own pastors. [Do I hear an “Amen!”?]

[…]

Go over and read the whole thing. Damian is a good writer and his musings are worthy of discussion.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged Damian Thompson
24 Comments

ASK FATHER: Can I wear a Rosary like warriors wear weapons?

Posted on 13 July 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

I wanted to hear your thoughts on this… I’m fascinated by the rosary and the idea that it is our weapon. I’m not a religious (nun or monk) but is it still OK for me to wear the rosary on the left hip as they do (like a sword)? I love the rosary and would love to keep one with me always but I’m not sure if it’s wrong for a lay person to wear the rosary this way.

Sure.

However, I would not make it in any way ostentatious, if you do not wear the religious habit. I recommend carrying concealed, to borrow a term from a related field.

For example, when I use my clerical BDUs, I carry my Rosary concealed along with my oil stock and stole in the spare mag pouch on my left leg. It seems an appropriate place.

Perhaps use a small pouch on your belt, like a holster or scabbard. You’ll know it’s there and it’s there when you need it, and others don’t have to know. If you need for them to know… well….

Remember that the Rosary isn’t a decoration or jewelry, though they can be as beautiful as jewelry. They are not for mere ornamentation. They are sacramentals and they are for use.

Don’t play with rosaries, pray with rosaries.

Say one for me, please.

UPDATE:

I had questions about my “clerical BDUs” or also “tactical clericals”.

I generally wear 5.11 gear, the shirts modified to the Roman collar, which is actually a development of the military collar. For the pants US HERE – UK HERE. For the shirts, modified, read this HERE for an old backstory and US HERE – UK HERE. The 5.11 gear is super durable and comfortable. The black dye lasts longer than the waaay over-priced clerical shirts so, over time, you are ahead buying these and modifying them. I took mine to a tailor with a model of a “tab” shirt and a “band” shirt to be used for the attachable collar and, for a small price, had them modified. They are great for travel, too, with their handy concealed pockets. If you are on the road and need to rinse them or wash them, they will be dry by dawn. I also use a 1.75″ belt with a plastic buckle (good for TSA) and which can bear a clipped-on load (if you get my drift). As an aside, for my white shirts for use with the cassock or vest, I have lately ordered inexpensive double-cuff shirts via amazon (US HERE) and, having removed the collar, with my own sewing machine (thanks to the reader who sent it), sewn a button hole into the outer layer of the remaining band. Cheaper and better quality by far. Whenever you can, DIY!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Our Catholic Identity, Our Solitary Boast, Semper Paratus, The Coming Storm | Tagged rosary
17 Comments

Catholic Channel on Sirius, criterion for sainthood path called “heroic values” not “virtues”

Posted on 12 July 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This is from a comment under a post about the new “path” to beatification.

I try to be gracious, really. But sometimes things are too funny not to be shared. I was listening to the Catholic Channel on Sirius today, and they were discussing the new sainthood path. One of the existing paths was described as “heroic values.” I heard it twice, it’s not my imagination.

The “Catholic Channel”… on Sirius.

“Heroic values”… on Sirius “Catholic Channel”?

Serious?

Not funny in the least.

That sort of error is pernicious.

What show was that?

Who said that?

Who else heard that? We need details.

Posted in The Coming Storm, The Drill | Tagged Catholic Channel, Sirius, values, virtues
18 Comments

YOUR URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS

Posted on 12 July 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Please use the sharing buttons! Thanks!

Registered or not, will you in your charity please take a moment look at the requests and to pray for the people about whom you read?

Continued from THESE.

I get many requests by email asking for prayers. Many requests are heart-achingly grave and urgent.

As long as my blog reaches so many readers in so many places, let’s give each other a hand. We should support each other in works of mercy.

If you have some prayer requests, feel free to post them below.

You have to be registered here to be able to post.

I still have two pressings personal petitions. No, I actually have THREE now. I can’t get a break, it seems. Ut Deus….

ALSO…

During this 100th year commemoration of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, remember the central message Our Lady gave to the Church and to the world: penance and reparation for sins and for the conversion of sinners.

Off your sufferings in reparation for sins and for the conversion of sinners.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged Your Urgent Prayer Requests
19 Comments