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{]:¬)

Loony-tune “witches” to hex Pres. Trump. Wherein Fr. Z has an idea!

Posted on 24 February 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The New York Daily News informs us that …

[Fake] Witches of the world will cast a mass spell on President Trump on Friday night

The next four years could spell double, double, toil and trouble for President Trump.

[Fraudulent] Witches of the world will [pretend to] cast a “mass spell” on the commander-in-chief Friday night in a ritual that calls for an unflattering photo of Trump, a tower tarot card, salt, a candle, a feather and either the stub of an orange candle or a baby carrot. [They might be stupid, but they deserve some pity. They are dealing with satanic stuff.]

The stroke-of-midnight rite is a “binding spell” to deter the President from doing harm — not a hex or curse meant to harm him, writer and magical thinker Michael M. Hughes, 50, explained to the Daily News.

“This I consider to be primarily a self-defense measure,” Hughes said. “So many of us are just overwhelmed with the assaults on civil liberties, immigrants, the environment … this felt like a way to reclaim our power and say, ‘We have power over you. You don’t have power over us.'”

Hughes, who says he has also protested through traditional outlets like marching, letter-writing and calling Congress, helped finesse the ritual instructions crafted by some private magic groups.

[…]

These nut cases are toying with evil… with Evil. Evil isn’t a toy. Toy with Evil and, eventually, Evil toys with you.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I suggest that you all pray the mighty Loríca of St. Patrick for and against these fools.

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I also bring to the attention of the readership a jolly old custom on the Vigil of St. John the Baptist (23 June). In some countries it was – and is – customary to burn witches…

…

… in effigy, of course: burn witches in effigy. Real witches are, happily, in short supply.

“Witches” were made from straw (or whatever flammable stuff is around) and they were festively burned. Keep in mind that on the Vigil of St. John the Baptist there is the traditional blessing of bonfires. More HERE (photo!)

Here is the text in English for blessing the fire:

P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray.
Lord God, almighty Father, the light that never fails and the source of all light, sanctify this new fire, and grant that after the darkness of this life we may come unsullied to you who are light eternal; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

The fire is sprinkled with holy water; after which the clergy and the people sing the following hymn (for the music see the music supplement):

Hymn: Ut queant laxis

[after the hymn]

P: There was a man sent from God.
All Whose name was John.

Let us pray.
God, who by reason of the birth of blessed John have made this day praiseworthy, give your people the grace of spiritual joy, and keep the hearts of your faithful fixed on the way that leads to everlasting salvation; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

Perhaps we will get this going for the parish this year. If could be instructive. We buried the Alleluia. Why shouldn’t we burn the witches?

The moderation queue is ON in anticipation of the spittle-flecked nutty that is sure to follow.

Posted in ACTION ITEM! | Tagged burning in effigy, Donald Trump, Lorica, witches
22 Comments

DENMARK: Man prosecuted under old blasphemy law for burning a Koran

Posted on 24 February 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Breitbart:

Danish Man who Set Fire to Quran Charged with Blasphemy

A man who burned the Islamic holy book in his backyard has been charged with blasphemy, in a move his lawyer speculates was driven by fear of Muslim extremists. The attempted prosecution is the first of its kind in nearly 50 years.
The 42-year-old man from Jutland uploaded video footage of a Quran being lit on fire, which he posted to a Facebook group called ‘Yes to freedom – no to Islam’ in December last year.

“It is the prosecution’s view that circumstances involving the burning of holy books such as the Bible and the Quran can, in certain cases, be a violation of the blasphemy clause, which covers public scorn or mockery of religion,” said chief prosecutor Jan Reckendorff in a statement.

“It is our opinion that the circumstances of this case mean it should be prosecuted so the courts now have an opportunity to take a position on the matter.”

The defendant’s lawyer, Rasmus Paludan, said that his client had burned the Quran in self-defense, asserting that the Islamic holy book “contains passages on how Mohammed’s followers must kill the infidel, i.e. the Danes”.

“Therefore, it’s an act of self-defense to burn a book that in such a way incites war and violence,” he told the New York Times.

Noting that it’s “legal to burn a Bible in Denmark”, highlighting how in 1997 a Danish artist set fire to and burned a copy of the Bible on state television in Denmark but was not charged, Mr Paludan said he is “surprised that it would be guilty to burn the Quran.”

“The fear of Islam and Muslims may be far greater now, and the prosecution service may be a lot more apprehensive of Islam and its followers,” he added, speculating on the prosecutor’s decision to bring charges in this case.

Under clause 140 of Denmark’s criminal code, anyone found guilty of publicly insulting or degrading religious doctrines can be imprisoned or fined, but only four blasphemy prosecutions have ever been attempted in the country.

[…]

I wonder if there are any old blasphemy laws on the books here in these USA.

Posted in Religious Liberty, The Coming Storm, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, The Religion of Peace | Tagged blasphemy, Denmark, Islam, Koran, Religion of Peace
15 Comments

The Three Days Of Darkness begin again

Posted on 24 February 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I didn’t want any of you to miss it, in case it slipped your mind.

The Religious Education Conference (aka The Three Days Of Darkness) is on in Los Angeles!

I’m sure there will be inspiring “liturgies” and talks replete with sound, clear doctrine.

What could go wrong?

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged Religious Education Congress, Three Days of Darkness
28 Comments

Make Church Great Again! “Free Our Churches From the Ugly and Stupid”

Posted on 24 February 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

So I’m reading my email. A reader sent the text of a Wall Street Journal piece (they have an evil paywall) entitled “Free Our Churches From the Ugly and Stupid“.

“This hath potential”, quoth I, and in did I delve.

Pure gold.

So I get to the end of the brilliant brief essay only to discover that it was penned by Anthony Esolen! Moreover, it was abridged from his recent book – which I instantly added to my Kindle Wish List … Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture

US HERE – UK HERE

I’ll bet that this book will apply also in the UK, Canada, etc.

Here’s a sample from the WSJ version with my emphases and comments:

The great iconoclasm of the 1960s buried much of Christianity’s best art and music.

I have seen, in Catholic churches, minimalist Stations of the Cross that hardly can be recognized as depictions of the Passion. I have seen crosses that look as if a modernist Jesus were flying with wings outspread, like a theological pterodactyl. I have seen the Eucharist relegated to what looks like a broom closet. I have seen a baptismal font that bubbles. I have seen beautifully tiled floors, with intricate cruciform patterns, covered over with plush red carpet.

I have heard for decades effeminate “hymns” with the structure and melody of off-Broadway show tunes. I have read hymn texts altered so as to obliterate references to God with the personal pronoun “He.” This music would not be acceptable for a jingle to sell jelly doughnuts on television.

I have seen and heard enough. We must get rid of everything ugly and stupid from our churches, most of it visited upon them since the great iconoclasm of the 1960s. What’s needed is genuine art that stirs the imagination and pleases the eye, that entices the soul with beauty before a single word of a sermon is uttered. [Do I hear an “Amen!”?]

Let me use an analogy. I am involved in the restoration of an old home that for more than 100 years served as the rectory of a Catholic parish in Nova Scotia. One of the first things we did was to tear out carpeting that had gotten dingy and moldy. Beneath lay plywood and linoleum. And underneath that?

We found in most of the rooms oak and maple floors, with three-inch-wide strips laid in handsome patterns, squares enclosing diagonals, and a large diamond set in the center of the original parlor. The craftsmanship was impressive, the execution precise. Other floors had large planks of seasoned hemlock, which absorbs moisture from the air and grows tougher from it. The hemlock is as old as the home’s foundation.

This kind of plywood covers beauty everywhere in today’s churches. You are not only walking on it. You are looking at plywood on the walls, hearing plywood from the pulpit, and singing plywood instead of hymns.

The first thing we can do to return beauty to our churches is to swallow chronological snobbery and find out what our ancestors, even those who could not read or write, achieved. I am speaking about more than the fine craftsmanship of well-turned balusters and newels, though we should desire that too.

[…]

Today, the word of God is proclaimed in translations that have all the charm and wonder of a corporate memorandum. Must ordinary people be fed the drab and insipid? The politically correct—another thing thrust upon people by their ecclesiastical betters—is always ugly. Get rid of it, period, no excuses, no exceptions. What Christ hath spoken well, let man not paraphrase. Let grace in the word be one humble way in which we show our desire and our gratitude for the grace of God.

Fr. Z kudos.

Run, don’t walk, to get his book.

And let’s get back, now, to ad orientem worship!

Click!

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, "How To..." - Practical Notes, Be The Maquis, Cri de Coeur, Decorum, Fr. Z KUDOS, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Just Too Cool, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, The future and our choices, Turn Towards The Lord | Tagged Anthony Esolen, restoration, wreckovation
9 Comments

ASK FATHER: Is there a good, conservative RCIA program?

Posted on 24 February 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I attend a Maronite church and our priest has decided he wants to offer an RCIA type program (Maronite Rite doesn’t technically have one). He’s a generally conservative priest and I was hoping you might suggest a good conservative program.

I do not know, sorry.

However, perhaps some of our readers here, especially the priests, can help out.

Anyone?

The moderation queue is ON.

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

ASK FATHER: Faculties of the Missionaries of Mercy after the Year of Mercy

Posted on 24 February 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a priest…

QUAERITUR:

Do the missionaries of mercy still have the faculty to remit censures arising from reserved delicts? I’m working with a priest who is worried (I think he’s ok actually). But if a trip to the missionary would be able to remit a possible censure it might help him out. I read the Pope’s letter at the end of the year of mercy and he said their ministry continues. But that is not exactly a clear/canonical statement. I figured you would know if they still have the faculty.

First, let’s review. What could these priests, confessors, do that other priests could not? They were able to absolve censures incurred by certain sins.

A handful of sins are so bad that they incur automatic censures, the lifting of which is reserved to the Holy See. Under normal circumstances, a priest has to request the faculty to lift the censure incurred by those sins. These Missionaries of Mercy were given the faculty – during the Year of Mercy – to absolve the censure incurred by 1) profaning the Eucharistic species by throwing them away or keeping them or giving them for a sacrilegious purpose; 2) the use of physical force against the Roman Pontiff; 3) the absolution of an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment (“thou shalt not commit adultery”) and 4) a direct violation against the sacramental Seal of confession.

In Misericordia et Misera at close of the Year of Mercy, the Pope wrote:

I thank every Missionary of Mercy for this valuable service aimed at rendering effective the grace of forgiveness. This extraordinary ministry does not end with the closing of the Holy Door. I wish it to continue until further notice as a concrete sign that the grace of the Jubilee remains alive and effective the world over. As a direct expression of my concern and closeness to the Missionaries of Mercy in this period, the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization will supervise them and find the most suitable forms for the exercise of this valuable ministry.

So, as far as I can tell, even though his language is – as usual – juridically unclear, it seems to be the Pope’s intention that the Missionaries now still have the faculty to absolve the censures resulting from those aforementioned sins.

Keep in mind that if the sin was not committed, and there are several criteria that must be fulfilled, then the censure was not incurred.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Mail from priests, Priests and Priesthood | Tagged censures, faculties, Missionaries of Mercy, Year of Mercy
2 Comments

NEW Fr. Z Swag Available: Pope Clement XIV Ganganelli (1769-1774)

Posted on 23 February 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Slowly but surely I’d like to build up more pontifical coffee mugs. I have some selections with Pius XII, Leo XIII (that’s a good one), etc.

Today, I make available also

For all the selections click

>>HERE<<

Enjoy in your new Clement XVI mug some

MYSTIC MONK COFFEE!

When you are irked and frustrated with attacks on clarity and fidelity to Catholic doctrine, why not make yourself an invigorating Z-mug filled with freshly brewed coffee from the wonderful Carmelites in Wyoming? Look at it as a kind of aroma therapy, without all the effeminate new-age garbage.

Don’t suppress your urge for that great mug of Mystic Monk Coffee!

It’s swell!

And you can quaff your slightly chilled Norcia Monks Birra Nursia from this excellent stein:

Do you want to start conversations at the gym?

Know any super liberal Jesuits? Perhaps they’d like one.

UPDATE 24 Feb:

Fr. Hunwicke over at his splendid blog Mutual Enrichment has noticed my humble effort to bring Clement XIV, of blessed memory, back into the public eye. HERE

UPDATE 27 Feb:

Fr. H had more to say:

(a) Have you got your spectacular Clement XIV (Papa Ganganelli) mug from Fr Zed (see his blog)? Every Catholic of real ‘Discernment’ should have one! Offering guests their coffee in a Clement XIV mug will become a sort of secret ‘quasi-masonic’ way of Discerning who is ‘sound’. (Another method, if you still attend the Novus Ordo, would be to murmur ‘Ganganelli’ as you exchange the Grope of Peace.)

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, Lighter fare | Tagged Clement XIV, coffee mug, Z-Swag
8 Comments

“For, amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed…”

Posted on 23 February 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the Gospel according to Matthew

And when he was come to the multitude, there came to him a man falling down on his knees before him, saying: Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic, and suffereth much: for he falleth often into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.Then Jesus answered and said: O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked him, and the devil went out of him, and the child was cured from that hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus secretly, and said: Why could not we cast him out? Jesus said to them: Because of your unbelief. For, amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove from hence hither, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting. [17:14-20 DR]

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, Cri de Coeur, Hard-Identity Catholicism | Tagged Matthew 17, mustard seed
10 Comments

ACTION ITEM! Birettas for Seminarians Project! UPDATES

Posted on 23 February 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Sometimes the small things really help.

Today I received a note from a seminarian. He is the recipient of a biretta, bequeathed through our BIRETTAS FOR SEMINARIANS PROJECT:

I am a seminarian who recently received a biretta from your recent Birettas for Seminarians Project push a month or so ago. I don’t know who donated it to me, and so in their stead I would like to thank you for organizing this and I have thanked John at Leaflet Missal. May God bless you in your priesthood and ministry, and may our Mother Mary protect and watch over you.

It is good to hear back from the men who have benefited from this project. More thank you’s are HERE.

YOU, dear readers, have supplied over 100 birettas to seminarians. Kudos.

What is this project and how does this work?

We want to get as many clerics to use birettas (and all that goes with them – fidelity to doctrine, reverent ars celebrandi, good life choices, solid priestly identity, etc.) as possible.

Seminarians should 1) discern their hat size and then 2) contact the biretta supplier and get their names on a NEED list.
YOU, dear readers, contact the biretta supplier and PAY FOR the birettas which are then distributed.

You remain anonymous to each other.

Seminarians and potential donors…

Contact John in church goods at Leaflet Missal in St. Paul – 651-209-1951 Ext-331.

DO NOT WRITE TO ME TO ASK FOR A BIRETTA! CONTACT TO JOHN AT LEAFLET.

If John is away, leave a voicemail with your phone number and he will call you back ASAP.

John keeps track of the names of the seminarians and their hat sizes. My involvement would only get in the way of the process. Don’t write to me.

Let’s encourage these men.

Call John and buy a biretta for a seminarian. It’s as easy as that.

There is also a SATURNO FOR CLERICS project.

Posted in ACTION ITEM! | Tagged biretta, saturno
3 Comments

Head of the Jesuits: “Doctrine is a word that I don’t like very much”

Posted on 23 February 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Yesterday I posted an entry with the title: Has the head of the Jesuits jettisoned doctrine and the words of the Lord in Scripture?

The General of the Jesuits effectively said that doctrine has no fixed meaning and that we must reinterpret everything, from Scripture to dogmas, according to our own exigencies.

Today I’ve read more.

I must now answer my question: Yes, the head of the Jesuits jettisoned doctrine and the words of the Lord in Scripture.

Sandro Magister has the whole exchange at his place. Thus, with my emphases and comments:

Why such adamant silence from the pope on words of Jesus [about adultery] that are so unequivocal? [The Five Dubia of the Four Cardinals are still out there… unanswered.]

One clue toward a response is in the interview that the new superior general of the Society of Jesus, the Venezuelan Arturo Sosa Abascal, very close to Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has given to the Swiss vaticanista Giuseppe Rusconi for the blog Rossoporpora and for the “Giornale del Popolo” of Lugano.

Here are the passages most relevant to the case. Any commentary would be superfluous.

Q: Cardinal Gerhard L. M?ller, prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, has said with regard to marriage that the words of Jesus are very clear and “no power in heaven and on earth, neither an angel nor the pope, neither a council nor a law of the bishops has the faculty to modify them.”

A: So then, there would have to be a lot of reflection on what Jesus really said. At that time, no one had a recorder to take down his words. What is known is that the words of Jesus must be contextualized, they are expressed in a language, in a specific setting, they are addressed to someone in particular.

Q: But if all the worlds of Jesus must be examined and brought back to their historical context, they do not have an absolute value.

A: Over the last century in the Church there has been a great blossoming of studies that seek to understand exactly what Jesus meant to say… That is not relativism, but attests that the word is relative, the Gospel is written by human beings, it is accepted by the Church which is made up of human persons… So it is true that no one can change the word of Jesus, but one must know what it was!

Q: Is it also possible to question the statement in Matthew 19:3-6: “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder”?

A: I go along with what Pope Francis says. One does not bring into doubt, one brings into discernment. . .

Q: But discernment is evaluation, it is choosing among different options. There is no longer an obligation to follow just one interpretation. . .

A: No, the obligation is still there, but to follow the result of discernment.

Q: However, the final decision is based on a judgment relative to different hypotheses. So it also takes into consideration the hypothesis that the phrase “let man not put asunder…” is not exactly as it appears. In short, it brings the word of Jesus into doubt.

A: Not the word of Jesus, but the word of Jesus as we have interpreted it. Discernment does not select among different hypotheses but listens to the Holy Spirit, who – as Jesus has promised – helps us to understand the signs of God’s presence in human history.

Q: But discern how?

A: Pope Francis does discernment following St. Ignatius, like the whole Society of Jesus: one has to seek and find, St. Ignatius said, the will of God. It is not a frivolous search. Discernment leads to a decision: one must not only evaluate, but decide.

Q: And who must decide?

[NB] A: The Church has always reiterated the priority of personal conscience.

Q: So if conscience, after discernment, tells me that I can receive communion even if the norm does not provide for it…

A: The Church has developed over the centuries, it is not a piece of reinforced concrete. It was born, it has learned, it has changed. This is why the ecumenical councils are held, to try to bring developments of doctrine into focus. Doctrine is a word that I don’t like very much, it brings with it the image of the hardness of stone. Instead the human reality is much more nuanced, it is never black or white, it is in continual development.

Q: I seem to understand that for you there is a priority for the practice of the discernment of doctrine.

A: Yes, but doctrine is part of discernment. True discernment cannot dispense with doctrine.

Q: But it can reach conclusions different from doctrine.

A: That is so, because doctrine does not replace discernment, nor does it the Holy Spirit.

Discernment = When you are about to do something you know you shouldn’t do, twist a previously crystal clear teaching of the Church until it means whatever the hell you want it to mean in order to salve your conscience.

We’ve seen dark days in the Church before, friends. But we haven’t seen anything quite like these dark days.

The moderation queue is ON.