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{]:¬)

Venice Day 7 – Of Anniversaries and Victories

Posted on 30 April 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today I said Mass in the Basilica of San Marco.

Yesterday I had met in the calle a small group, a family, from London who had a couple celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. They wanted to know where they could have their rings, bought for the occasion, blessed. I suggested they join us for Mass the next day (that is today, as I write). I blessed their rings and harangued for a bit. They were pretty pleased. It was a memorable moment. This also demonstrates how small the world is: the man had a shop in Dean Street, near St Patrick’s on Soho Square where I have stayed when visiting. He has promised me free haircuts when I am in London.

Anyway, the icon of the Virgin Nicopeia, carried on a ship during the Battle of Lepanto.

San Marco is glorious.

Some of you will know what this is!

The back of the main altar with the tomb of the Evangelist.

They turned on some lights for us! As I am pretty much live blogging this, here is a big image from my iPhone.

I just had to give you the “Big Picture”.

Really. There is nothing like San Marco. You simply can’t grasp it until you have actually seen it.

And the Venetian sacristans are as cordial as the Roman sacristans are nasty.

I remember my first visit to Venice. It was replete with truly incredible stories, especially because I was with a priest friend who is old Sicilian nobility and who knew everyone who is anyone here. I digress.

We went to San Marco in the evening to say our Masses. The Basilica was pretty much closed, but they let us in. I had the altar of the Nicopeia. What we did not expect, is that there was a rehearsal to go on of music by Gabrielli. Various elements of musicians were stationed in the lofts around the church and they created what I can only describe as a tornado of sacred sound. What a blessing I had to stand in that place after Mass, alone with my friend, in the center of San Marco, with all the lights turned on, listening to the holy whirlwind of music.

So… you don’t care about that. You want to know what I ate today.

Spaghetti with squid ink. It is so delicate. Truly. The flavor is amazingly delicate.

Ooops… out of order. Little tastes of sea food critters. Sardine in saor, Granseola, Schie.

This, friends, is what Pinot Grigio is supposed to look like. Organic, small batch, un filtered… you get the true sense of the grey grape. None of your insipid pinot grigio gulping wine, this. This grabs you by the… earlobe and gets your attention.

Note the color.

On the way back through the Piazza of San Marco, a band was playing as the water was rising. The walk ways were not out yet, however.

The sound of these great little combos in the square reminds me of the days when I did actually still dance.

Finally, because of La Boheme last night, I have been craving some absinthe.

Night cap.

And now to my email, my office, and my pillow.

This will give you a sense of the music I heard that day, which would have been in 1993.

Were I the Patriarch of Venice, this would be it, folks. And Venice would explode as a place of religious pilgrimage as well as touristic. But as you watch, imagine them – not in concert in front of everyone – but hidden in high lofts around the place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjoAKIxlT5A&feature=player_embedded

Posted in On the road, What Fr. Z is up to |
31 Comments

Sarah Palin’s remarks require an apology

Posted on 29 April 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This post by Ed Peters expresses closely my own view. Since he has done the heavy lifting at his blog, In The Light Of The Law, go HERE. Visit his place and take a look around.

Sarah Palin’s remark warrants reparation, not applause

Whether one is a left-wing looney who becomes unhinged upon simply seeing this woman who loves her family and her country or is a right-wing yahoo who looks on her as some sort of high priestess of traditional values, Sarah Palin’s statement that, if she were in charge, “waterboarding is how we’d baptize terrorists” should shock the conscience.

Dcn. Greg Kandra calls Palin’s rude remark “blasphemous” and he might be right (see CCC 2148, or Crosgnani, DMC I: 460-471, or Davis, MPT I: 42-43); even if Palin’s words only meet the lesser standard of “irreverence” toward God or holy things, they were wrong to utter and wrong to applaud. C. S. Lewis warns (I forget where exactly) about one’s glibly getting off, at God’s expense, one-liners that please the crowd but provoke unseen angels to weep. I think Palin’s guardian angel (and yes, she has one, CCC 366) wept at her comparing baptism to waterboarding.

Open contempt for faith and things of religion is broadly associated with the left in America. I well recall pro-aborts smirking under a placard that claimed “If men could become pregnant abortion would be a sacrament.” Now Palin has given sociology professors an incontestable example of contempt for religion on the American right.

May my readers join me in offering a short Pater in reparation for both.

It may have just been a slip of judgment in a moment of enthusiasm, but hope that she apologizes.

I also hope that there may be a moment when, after deeper reflection about baptism, she will recall that she was baptized into the Catholic Church.

UPDATE:

I must make a clarification or two.

First, putting aside what I might think of waterboarding (for it, against it, neutral about it), I object to the use of baptism imagery in describing it.

Second, I don’t think anything I wrote suggested indifference towards terrorism.

Third, it would be great were people to think while reading so as to discern who is saying what. There are Peters’ words and my words, above.

Posted in The Drill | Tagged blasphemy, Sarah Palin
160 Comments

ASK FATHER: Marriage problem, bad confession experience train wreck

Posted on 29 April 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Dear Fr. Z,

I came upon your blog after a very disappointing encounter at church today and in a way, I was looking for some kind of comfort. Please bear with me as I attempt to express both thoughts and feelings.

I have not gone to confession in a long time, so long that I don’t even remember the last time I went. I have lost my way and today’s homily and the celebration of the Feast of the Divine Mercy made me realize that it was time for me to go to confession.

After gathering my courage, I waited in line for over 2 hours in the heat of the noonday sun only to be refused confession by the priest. Frustration. Disappointment. Anger. So many emotions and questions as to why the priest could be so cold even after I said that I have lost my way and that I want to reunite myself with Christ.

After I told him of my intentions, he asked if I was married (yes), if it was at a church (no), if my husband was catholic (no, which is why we were married by a pastor and not in a Roman Catholic church). After hearing my responses he said I was in grave, mortal sin since I wasn’t married in a church and refused to hear my confession but instead offered to pray for me.

It is hard for me to believe that our God would turn someone in my predicament away. I have heard and read the gospels and Jesus never turned anyone away. Does this mean I can never receive the Sacrament of Penance and shouldn’t bother taking communion until I force the man I love to convert to my religion and get married in a Roman Catholic Church? It sounds so contrived!

If the answer is yes then it’s probably time for me to seek a different religion, one that will accept me and my husband with open arms and show me the loving grace and forgiveness of our Father.

My husband has been going to church with me since we married in 2009 and as I walked away in near tears explaining to him what happened, he commented “and you wonder why a lot of Roman Catholics are leaving the church” and I walked in silence, I couldn’t even defend my own religion.

Im hurting Father Z, I want to repair my relationship with God through confession but what am I to do? Should I try a different parish? I feel more lost than when I started.

Please help me Father Z, Im hurting and so desperately want to reunite myself with our God :'(

In John 6, Jesus presents His followers with a difficult teaching: we must eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood in order to be saved. “Many of his disciples, hearing this, said, ‘This saying is hard, and who can hear it?’” They left Him.

I am sorry you had a bad experience, especially this past Sunday when the Church, according to the ordinary calendar, celebrated God’s mercy. It sounds as if the priest was less than helpful. As I remind people in my Tips for making a good confession, priests also have bad days. On a day when they are hearing many confessions, after having said a couple Masses, priests can get tired.

That said, while Father’s tone was unhelpful, what he said essentially is true. Someone who is living in an objective state that cannot be reconciled with Catholic teaching cannot receive the sacrament of reconciliation until and unless their objective state changes. Essentially, Father was giving you the truth. What is more pastoral than that? He could have stated it much better, however.

It would not have been helpful to you in any way had Father given you absolution and said, “Go in peace.” You would still be in that objective state of sin.

As the disciples learned, sometimes Jesus’ and His Church’s teachings are hard. The solution isn’t to soften them. The solution is not to look for someone who twists Jesus’ teachings to suit our opinions. The solution is to change our lives to fit Christ’s and the Church’s guidance. That includes his tough words on the Eucharist, on marriage, on relationships, on suffering….

What Father probably should have, first, acknowledged that your return to the confessional was through a prompting of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is at work in your soul in ways that you might not be fully aware. It is good that you returned to confession. It took courage and strength to respond to what the Holy Spirit was asking, namely, to examine your life thoroughly and then lay out your sins before the priest and seek forgiveness. Father should have told you that, because of your marriage situation, you can’t receive absolution today, but that he’d be willing to meet with you later in the week (or, if he was a visiting priest, encouraged you to set up an appointment with the pastor) to look for a solution to your situation.

There may be a couple possible solutions, that would be best discussed face to face. Your husband would not need to convert to Catholicism in order to have your marriage celebrated in the Church, a dispensation or permission could be sought (and these are usually granted).

You are disappointed now. Do not be discouraged. The Holy Spirit who led you to the confessional in the first place does not give us discouragement. That’s what the Enemy prompts. God wants to right your relationship with the Church and with Himself. Anything that seems like an easy solution to a difficult situation probably won’t resolve anything.

Were you to, as you say, go elsewhere and find a different religion, knowing that the Catholic Church is the Church Christ founded, what would you have solved? You would only be compounding your problems and endangering your soul. Should we seek out a religion that fits our lives, or should we instead seek out the religion that is true and change our lives to fit the truth?

After Christ’s gave his “hard teaching” in John 6, many disciples left Him. He asked those who remained, “Will you also go away?” St. Peter responded, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Embrace the truth, even when the truth hurts. The hurt is momentary and, in the long run, good for you. If the priest you encountered in the confessional was not helpful, seek another one who will help you to rectify your marriage situation and lead you back to regular reception of the Sacraments.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Cri de Coeur, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged confession, marriage, reconciliation, sacrament of penance
31 Comments

Canonizations: looking back and looking forward

Posted on 28 April 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I went back to my post last July and reread it.

Yes. I am right about this.

Wherein Fr. Z explains what is really going on with the canonizations of John XXIII and John Paul II

Today, in addition to Francis’ dedication of the Vatican City State to St. Michael (and does that place need defense of the attacks of Hell!) and in addition to the release of Benedict’s final encyclical, which is Francis’ first encyclical (thus perhaps shifting “Reading Francis through Benedict” to “Reading Benedict through Francis”), His Holiness confirmed the decree of the Congregation for Causes of Saints concerning a miracle worked through the intercession of Bl. John Paul II, thus clearing the way for his canonization.

At the same time, His Holiness of our Lord decided that he would go ahead with the canonization of Bl. John XXIII even though there is no additional authenticated miracle.

Let’s be clear: Pope’s can do that.

John Paul II strayed from the usual time line in the case of St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, in 2002. There was eventually a miracle attributed to St. Juan Diego, one of the more amazing miraculous healings I have read about. I digress.

Here is what I think is really going on with these canonizations.

The decision to canonize Blesseds John XXIII and John Paul II at the same time, at the time when we are observing the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, is a kind of “canonization” of the Second Vatican Council.

So, why does John Paul II have to be involved with that? Why is not Bl. John XXIII enough to do that?

Some will suggest that John XXIII appeals more to liberals while John Paul II appeals more to conservatives. Putting them together is an attempt to bridge the divide. I don’t think so. This isn’t quite like the double beatification of Bl. John XXIII with Bl. Pius IX, a move which probably sought to soften the Pian aspect.

This canonization has more to do with putting yet another stamp of approval on the Second Vatican Council. It is here to stay, if you were in doubt.

But wait, there’s more.

The canonizations have even more to do identifying the proper lens or hermeneutic by which we are to interpret the Council: the pontificate and the magisterium of St. Pope John Paul II.

This move is intended to identify John Paul II as our helper in interpreting difficult and controversial aspects of the Council.

There are controversial texts in the documents of the Second Vatican Council. The whole of the Council itself is controversial. Enter John Paul II. He was a bishop at the Council who helped write important passages in Gaudium et spes. During his heroically long pontificate John Paul, in his magisterium, commented at some point on virtually every controversial or disputed point in the Council documents and on the event of the Council itself. He may not have solved, settled, definitively pronounced, on every controversial issue, but he offers commentary and insight on them.

Try to think of some controversial aspect of the Council or it’s documents that John Paul II did not write about or preach about.

I think what Francis is saying by this is that, if you have a problem with any aspect of the Council, turn to the papal teaching of St. John Paul II for clarifications and help in interpretation.

Some who don’t like the magisterium of Pope John Paul II will say, “No, Francis is pointing their personal virtues.” That’s because by the canonization, John Paul’s magisterium is getting a boost. Ask yourself which documents of future St. John Paul II the LCWR (aka The Zittelle) rush to cite. Do they want to see canonized the one who issued Ordinatio sacerdotalis? No. In effect, the bodies of magisterial teaching of these two Popes are, by the canonizations, getting a serious boost.

I don’t know what this means for reading Vatican II in continuity with Vatican I, with Trent, with Lateran V, with … with… with…. I know that I won’t stop reading Vatican II without those other Councils, back to Nicea and Jerusalem.

Nevertheless, I think Francis steering us to John Paul II as an additional interpretive lens, for a proper hermeneutic of reform.

Agree with Francis’ move or not, I think this is what the Pope is doing. Francis is firmly in the Benedictine, Ioanno-Pauline line. Furthermore, I think Benedict would have done the same thing! If anyone doubts this, she should reread Benedict’s 2009 letter to bishops about the SSPX! For example:

One cannot freeze the magisterial authority of the Church in 1962 and – this must be quite clear to the Fraternity. But to some of those who show off as great defenders of the Council it must also be recalled to memory that Vatican II contains within itself the whole doctrinal history of the Church. Who wants to be obedient to it [sc. the Council] must accept the faith of the centuries and must not cut the roots of which the tree lives.

In effect, the Second Vatican Council is here to stay. What we make of the Second Vatican Council is, as Francis is signalling, is also here to stay.

Posted in Benedict XVI, Classic Posts, Francis, Linking Back, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Saints: Stories & Symbols, The Drill, Vatican II | Tagged hermeneutic of continuity, hermeneutic of reform, John Paul II, John XXIII, Pope Francis, SSPX, Vatican II
39 Comments

Rome: Day 5 – Of museums and rainbows

Posted on 28 April 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This morning we have a visit to some of the preservation and restoration workshops of the Vatican Museums.

Later, I hope to sneak into the Basilica through a back door and visit the tombs of the new saints.

First, breakfast.

Among the many things we saw, here is the Madonna and Child we know see often at papal Masses.

We sneaked down through a back door in the Basilica after the Pope’s Mass in the piazza today but before the opened it up to the massive throngs outside.

SAINT John Paul’s tomb.

ST John XXIII

Saint Pius X

A moment from lunch. Puntarelle.

Tonight a rainbow over the City.

Posted in On the road, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged coffee, Vatican Museums
14 Comments

Rome: Day 4 – Of friends and rain and hammer handles and ox tails

Posted on 27 April 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

“But Father! But Father!”, I can hear most of you saying. “We don’t care about no stickin’ Collect for Low Sunday and infants, blah blah blah. You are in Rome! What did you eat?”

First allow me to say that the weather slowed us down a little today which, for my part, was welcome.

Lunch comprised a couple of really good pizzas at the hotel. I was surprised at how good they were.

Supper, however, took place after I said Mass at SS. Ternità dei Pellegrini and then Vespers.

I was delighted that my old friend Gregory DiPippo, whom you know from NLM, could join us.

Three of the wines with which we began.

I am on the hunt for the best carbonara. Just when I think I am getting a good grasp on it, the terrain changes under foot.

Frankly, our cab driver tonight used to own a big restaurant near Cinecittà (no longer… divorce, messy… he’s happier driving a cab). He gave me pointers about where to eat and I believed him. He even invited us to his house for the best carbonara in Rome. We shall see. It could be a blast.

Then I had Coda alla vaccinara.

It’s a lot of work, but it is good. I think they overdid the celery, but… hey… when you can marry it with a swallow of Tignanello….

“How did you find such a taxi driver?”, you ask?

Well. When we were done with supper it was raining, mica a gnagnarella but pitchforks and hammer handles. We called for a cab. Zippo. So, we set out from the Piazza della Quercia (good restaurant) to the closest stand I know near the Campo de’ Fiori. We needed a cab for five.

Lo and behold, as we rounded the corner leaving the Campo, I spy a driver getting back into his large cab with a big sandwich!

“Eu!” quoth I, “Ammazza!” We piled in and, after he disparaged our restaurant and invited us to his house for the best carbonara in Rome, he started making some good restaurant suggestions. He gave me his card and I intend to call him.

Now, finally, for fun (in Latin animi caussa… yes, two ‘s’s), a little bag of sugar.

I just barely resisted having rabbit tonight.

Did I mention that at Vespers at SS Ternità there were a couple who reads this blog? Two couples! One from Ireland (County Down… would that it had been on an evening in July) and one from Texas. What a great thing it is to meet people this way!

Tomorrow I have a visit to some of the workshops of the Vatican Museums.

Happy Low Sunday.

Happy day of celebration for my ordaining bishop:

SAINT John Paul II!

Posted in On the road, What Fr. Z is up to | Tagged coda alla vaccinara, Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, spaghetti alla carbonara
27 Comments

Pope Francis’ sermon for the canonization

Posted on 27 April 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

First, you might scan what I wrote back on 5 July 2013 about these canonizations.

Wherein Fr. Z explains what is really going on with the canonizations of John XXIII and John Paul II

I can add another element, below. But let’s look at Pope Francis’ sermon for the canonization. Analysis to follow. My emphases and comments.

At the heart of this Sunday, which concludes the Octave of Easter and which John Paul II wished to dedicate to Divine Mercy, are the glorious wounds of the risen Jesus.

He had already shown those wounds when he first appeared to the Apostles on the very evening of that day following the Sabbath, the day of the resurrection. But Thomas was not there that evening, and when the others told him that they had seen the Lord, he replied that unless he himself saw and touched those wounds, he would not believe. A week later, Jesus appeared once more to the disciples gathered in the Upper Room, and Thomas was present; Jesus turned to him and told him to touch his wounds. Whereupon that man, so straightforward and accustomed to testing everything personally, knelt before Jesus with the words: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28).

The wounds of Jesus are a scandal, a stumbling block for faith, yet they are also the test of faith. [May I add also that there are hard teachings which we must accept if we are to remain Christians? I have in mind, among others, the Lord’s teaching about marriage, to which the Church has] That is why on the body of the risen Christ the wounds never pass away: they remain, for those wounds are the enduring sign of God’s love for us. They are essential for believing in God. Not for believing that God exists, but for believing that God is love, mercy and faithfulness. Saint Peter, quoting Isaiah, writes to Christians: “by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet2:24, cf. Is 53:5). [It is a great mystery that, even through Christ conquered death definitively, once for all time, we still have to die.]

John XXIII and John Paul II were not afraid to look upon the wounds of Jesus, to touch his torn hands and his pierced side. [As Christ said and John Paul famously repeated, “Do not be afraid.”] They were not ashamed of the flesh of Christ, they were not scandalized by him, by his cross; they did not despise the flesh of their brother (cf. Is 58:7), because they saw Jesus in every person who suffers and struggles. These were two men of courage, filled with the parrhesia of the Holy Spirit, and they bore witness before the Church and the world to God’s goodness and mercy.

They were priests, bishops and popes of the twentieth century. [Let us not forget the indignities and sufferings they experienced as children, lay men!] They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful; faith was more powerful – faith in Jesus Christ the Redeemer of man and the Lord of history; the mercy of God, shown by those five wounds, was more powerful; and more powerful too was the closeness of Mary our Mother.

In these two men, who looked upon the wounds of Christ and bore witness to his mercy, there dwelt a living hope and an indescribable and glorious joy (1 Pet 1:3,8). The hope and the joy which the risen Christ bestows on his disciples, the hope and the joy which nothing and no one can take from them. The hope and joy of Easter, forged in the crucible of self-denial, self-emptying, utter identification with sinners, even to the point of disgust at the bitterness of that chalice. Such were the hope and the joy which these two holy popes had received as a gift from the risen Lord and which they in turn bestowed in abundance upon the People of God, meriting our eternal gratitude.

This hope and this joy were palpable in the earliest community of believers, in Jerusalem, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 2:42-47). It was a community which lived the heart of the Gospel, love and mercy, in simplicity and fraternity.

This is also the image of the Church which the Second Vatican Council set before us. John XXIII and John Paul II cooperated with the Holy Spirit in renewing and updating the Church in keeping with her pristine features, those features which the saints have given her throughout the centuries. Let us not forget that it is the saints who give direction and growth to the Church. In convening the Council, John XXIII showed an exquisite openness to the Holy Spirit. He let himself be led and he was for the Church a pastor, a servant-leader. This was his great service to the Church; he was the pope of openness to the Spirit. [Since last July I have been saying that this canonization of the two Popes is also the canonization of the Second Vatican Council.]

In his own service to the People of God, John Paul II was the pope of the family. He himself once said that he wanted to be remembered as the pope of the family. I am particularly happy to point this out as we are in the process of journeying with families towards the Synod on the family. It is surely a journey which, from his place in heaven, he guides and sustains. [All of you should note that reference to the Synod. I know that the Cardinals and Bishops present heard that.]

May these two new saints and shepherds of God’s people intercede for the Church, so that during this two-year journey toward the Synod she may be open to the Holy Spirit in pastoral service to the family. May both of them teach us not to be scandalized by the wounds of Christ and to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of divine mercy, [NB!] which always hopes and always forgives, because it always loves.

Some analysis is in order.

First, the sermon was the right length. One could have been tempted to touch too many bases. You cannot do justice to the lives of those two men in a sermon. Less is more.

So, if the sermon really wasn’t about these Popes, what was it about? Rather, what was it also about?

Next, it seems to me that there was carefully woven into this sermon a subtle message about changes that will be proposed at the upcoming Synod which could be a “scandal” to many. On the one hand, many would be tested when the Synod recommends to uphold what we have taught and done for so many centuries. The reaffirmation of the Church’s teaching in clear terms would be hard and a stumbling block for those who have caved into what the world presses us to do in our weakness. On the other hand, were the Synod Fathers to make a recommendation clearly against what the Lord and Church has taught… well… scandal doesn’t begin to paint the picture of what would result.

Francis’ talk about forgiveness underscores my view.

That said, Francis stressed the Synod. He connected these two high voltage figures, as well as the overarching concept of “The Council” to the work of the Synod. Seen in this light, the short sermon didn’t need to focus on the two Popes, because it was really about something else.

Posted in Francis, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Saints: Stories & Symbols, The Drill | Tagged canonization, Pope Francis, sermon, St. John Paul II, St. John XXIII, Synod of Bishops
52 Comments

A few images from the Canonization

Posted on 27 April 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

It is a “four Pope” day.

The Prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints asks the Pope three times in urgent terms to inscribe the names of blesseds in the “album” of the saints.

There are prayers between the petitions and eventually the Pope does his part.

Relics of the saints are placed on display and venerated.

Benedict during the Gloria.

And here is a shot of His Mightiness, the Extraordinary Ordinary, Most Rev. Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison.

How odd this seems to me, though it is great to see Benedict.

His Mightiness with more air time.

One friend calls these “judgmental umbrellas”.

What to say?

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Saints: Stories & Symbols | Tagged canonization
26 Comments

The Cardinal (Burke) on concelebration

Posted on 26 April 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have said again and again on this blog and elsewhere that concelebration, several or many priests saying Mass together, should be safe, legal and rare. In the Latin Church this practice has been aggressively promoted since the Second Vatican Council. It is a legitimate thing to do, when the occasion is right. It should be done rarely, however, and with great care.

That said, His Eminence Raymond Card. Burke – this is the one to whom we can today truly apply the title “His Eminence” and “The Cardinal” – made a statement about concelebration with which I am in complete agreement.

From CNS:

Cardinal Burke cautions against over-use of concelebration

Cork, Ireland, Jul 10, 2012 / 01:42 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Raymond L. Burke believes that the “excessive” use of concelebration – the practice of priests saying Mass collectively – can result in their unique role in the sacred liturgy being obscured. [Mind you, “excessive” anything is too much, right? Too much of a good thing is too much, right? We can all agree on that. But the point His Eminence is making goes beyond this truism.]

“I don’t think there should be an excessive encouragement of concelebration because the norm is for the individual priest to offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass,” the head of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura told CNA July 9. [THAT’s the point. Priests should say their own Masses.]

“If it is repeated too frequently, it can develop within him a sense of being another one of the participants instead of actually being the priest who is offering the Mass.” [I have seen this. Priests, used to concelebrate, looking around, checking their watches, scratching this and that, attention scattered.]

One of the Catholic Church’s most senior American prelates spoke to CNA moments after addressing an international liturgical conference in the Irish city of Cork. The three-day event, organized by the St. Colman’s Society for Catholic Liturgy, explored the issue of “Celebrating the Eucharist: Sacrifice and Communion.”

The former Archbishop of St. Louis worried that, whereas the priest’s action is distinct, he “can seem to be participating in the Mass in the same manner as the congregation” if he concelebrates too often. “That’s the danger I see in excessive concelebration,” he said. [For me, concelebration means… Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday, ordination to the priesthood maybe, perhaps a moment with priest friends in private, etc. That’s about it. Mind you, I usually say the older, traditional Mass, so concelebration is right out. But when I am with other priests in these moments I just described, sure, I’ll occasionally concelebrate.]

The cardinal’s words of caution echo comments made recently by the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares. He told a gathering at Rome’s University of the Holy Cross on March 5 that that the “widening of the faculty to concelebrate needs to be moderated, as we can see when we read the (Second Vatican) Council texts.”

Cardinal Cañizares explained that concelebration “is an extraordinary, solemn and public rite, normally presided over by the bishop or his delegate,” surrounded by his priests and the entire community. But “the daily concelebrations of priests only, which are practiced ‘privately’…do not form part of the Latin liturgical tradition,” he said. [Do I hear an “Amen!”?]

In a wide-ranging interview, Cardinal Burke also outlined the reasons why a priest should not ad-lib his own words or prayers during Mass, since he “is the servant of the rite” and “not the protagonist – Christ is.” [Say The Black and Do The Red! You will always be right.]

“So it is absolutely wrong for the priest to think, ‘how can I make this more interesting?’ or ‘how can I make this better?’” he said.

He also noted with approval how the 1917 Code of Canon Law – since superseded by a new code promulgated in 1983 – explicitly stated that a priest should “accurately and devoutly observe the rubrics of his liturgical books to beware lest he add other ceremonies or prayers according to his own judgment.”

“What kind of thinking is it on our part for me to think that I can improve on the liturgy that has been handed on in the Church down the centuries? This is absurd,” Cardinal Burke stated.

Similarly, the cardinal commended the 1917 Code for its clear stipulation that a priest in the state of mortal sin should refrain from celebrating Mass “without first availing himself of sacramental confession” or as soon as possible “in the absence of a confessor,” when the Mass is “a case of necessity” and he has “made an act of perfect contrition.”

“Well, simply that canon that was in the 1917 code was eliminated and I think it should be reintroduced, because the idea of worthiness pertains in a preeminent way to the priest who is offering the sacrifice,” he said. [Moreover, in the foreword of the older Missale Romanum there were specified things that the priest might do that were mortal or at least venial sins! That was eliminated in the Novus Ordo.]

[…]

Read the rest there.

Fr. Z kudos to The Cardinal. Ad multos annos.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, The Drill | Tagged Card. Burke, Card. Cañizares Llovera, concelebration
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Rome: Day 3 – more food, more churches, the usual

Posted on 26 April 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

We had a late start today, which was welcome. Mass at S Maria della Scala. the sacristy situation was … just as Roman sacristies usually are, especially in the hands of religious. Any one who has lived here knows exactly what I mean.

In no special order…

Something from lunch. Many of you will recognize what this is.

A brief visit to S Maria in Trastevere.

Okay… more food.

A pair of ancient Christian birds from a funerary monument fragment. There are many of these in the entrance way to S Maria in Trastevere.

We darted up to S Pietro in Vincoli.

You know one. Moses by Michelangelo. It is said that, when he finished him, Michelangelo struck him with his hammer and said “Speak!”

Chains of Peter in prison. They say there are also fragments of chains of St. Paul.

Over at S Prassede… a must see church near S Maria Maggiore, a fragment of the column of the flagellation.

One of the great mosaics in the S Zeno chapel. Did you listen you my LENTCAzTs? I spoke about the Roman Stations each day and I described some of these things along the way.

This is the mosaic that the weird sisters freak out about. The Pope honored his own mother, Theodora, with her image in the mosaic. She is still alive at the time it is made, thus the square, not round, “halo”. She is called “episcopa” NOT because she is a bishop – which is laughable – but because she is the mother of the Roman bishop! It is an honorary title… for the Pope’s Mom!