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“This blog is like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” – Fr. Z
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hfspur on Daily Rome Shot 131: “With all the ivy it reminds me of the Hotel Raphael.”
on The “trowel” and the “sword”. That’s what is needed now.: ““God is more within than without; He is to be found in ourselves, in the spirit of our times” Wow.…”
on #ASonnetADay – Sonnet 147. “My love is as a fever longing still…”: “Thanks for the reading, Fr. Z, and thanks for the comment, Andreas. Pearce’s writings are always rewarding.”
on #ASonnetADay – Sonnet 147. “My love is as a fever longing still…”: “Friar Laurence was wise indeed when he instructed Romeo to “….love moderately; long love doth so”. In a recent piece…”
on The “trowel” and the “sword”. That’s what is needed now.: ““They are setting their sights on something otherworldly, something outside, something higher” Yes, and that something is God. It seems…”
on The “trowel” and the “sword”. That’s what is needed now.: “Nothing can immanentize the eschaton the way the TLM can, and that scares the hell of girlymen like Fr Reese.…”
on The “trowel” and the “sword”. That’s what is needed now.: “I can speak only about my little corner: our parish which began with Fr. Rawley Meyers in the 1990’s saying…”
on The “trowel” and the “sword”. That’s what is needed now.: “Poor Fr. Reese has the vapors!!! I STILL maintain he and James Martin SJ are brothers…”
on #ASonnetADay – Sonnet 147. “My love is as a fever longing still…”: ““Guess what? I got a fever. And the only prescription is more cowbell.””
on A Jesuit’s brilliant notions about needed liturgical reform. What could go wrong?: “scaron says, Why would *anyone* want to turn off that beautiful display of the Lord’s grace? They confuse ideology with…”
on #ASonnetADay – Sonnet 147. “My love is as a fever longing still…”: “Nothing in that sonnet about plucking the rose, and yet … https://youtu.be/45VAelC_QsI”
on Daily Rome Shot 130: “I love the image of the Sacred Heart on the altar. I know that the Divine Mercy devotion has become…”
on The “trowel” and the “sword”. That’s what is needed now.: “My son, raised and educated in the Novus Ordo, has recently baptised his firstborn son in the traditional rite. A…”
on Two years ago, today: Notre-Dame fire: “It’s a tragic fact: Catholic Churches in France are being desecrated and burned almost daily in France. Who are the…”
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Tag Archives: vocations
NOVENA FOR SEMINARIANS – from Corpus Christi to Sacred Heart, with a Marian Consecration
From a priest: Dear Father, we have met several times, most recently last year at the Canon Law conference in La Crosse. I wrote a novena for seminarians to be prayed from Corpus Christi to the Sacred Heart, with a … Read More
VIDEO: A remarkable vocation story.
A remarkable vocation story. Fr. James Mawdsley, FSSP. For years I’ve written about how learning and celebrating the traditional form of Mass forms a priest. This priest touches on this transformative experience. (He mentions that blogs played a role. I … Read More
8 Comments
How bad is the situation of vocations to the priesthood tragic Germany?
How bad is the situation of vocations to the priesthood tragic Germany? “In 2017, only 76 priests were ordained in Germany; in 2000 there were still about twice as many, namely 154. When the German Bishops’ Conference tallied this number … Read More
6 Comments
“The solution is staring the bishops in the face”
The pastor of the parish where I came into the Church was downright disgusted with the Archdiocese’s approach to vocations and the priest shortage crisis that would follow. He used to compare the geniuses of the vocations office et al. … Read More
“The Continuing Vocation Crisis in the United States”
Recently, I posted Liturgical worship… priestly vocations… Is what we are doing working or not? Tradition = vocations – It isn’t rocket science Ireland: manmade vocation wasteland Robert Mickens is exactly wrong about priestly vocations. Here’s why. Disaster in liberal … Read More
Liturgical worship… priestly vocations… Is what we are doing working or not?
I had mentioned that I was re-reading Robert Hugh Benson’s prophetic Lord of the World. I finished it yesterday. US HERE – UK HERE Just as I finished it, I found these things. First, I want to preface with this: When you are on a journey … Read More
ASK FATHER: What can we do to get these men into seminary?
From a reader: I am a Youth Minister at a parish and have probably a dozen young men (age 12-19) who are discerning calls to the priesthood and are interested in seminary. I have young priests at the parish, but they are reluctant … Read More
Tradition = vocations – It isn’t rocket science
I contend that the shortage of vocations is a self-inflicted wound. Yesterday, here in the Diocese of Madison, the Extraordinary Ordinary and the seminarians concluded a week of praying together, talks, activities, hanging out with each other and priests. Among … Read More
UPDATED: A great Father’s Day note from a reader
UPDATE 19 June: Today I have received notes from readers saying that they have spotted this Prayer For Vocations in a couple other places as well. A comment in the combox, below, speaks of one of them. To wit: [T]he … Read More
4 Comments
CATASTROPHIC: Pray for vocations to the priesthood
I’ve been writing with friends about vocation numbers. From one of my interlocutors today: Catastrophic (HERE): “The past few weeks have again seen a number of ordinations of new deacons and priests in the dioceses of northwestern Europe. 24 of … Read More
32 Comments
Bad priesthood vocations numbers? Not by accident. Wherein Fr. Z rants.
I posted this last year, to the day. Any additional thoughts? ___ Originally Published on: May 3, 2016 ___ And yet, do other parishes and dioceses and religious groups change what they are doing? Not much. It is if they really … Read More
“Things have gone terribly, terribly wrong.”
The other day, I posted a thought about a ridiculous claim (HERE). I wrote: There is no lack of priestly vocations where bishops are capable of projecting solid clerical identity and where they teach perennial Catholic truth in charity and in … Read More
Disaster. Vocations. Identity. Liturgy. Prayer. ACTION ITEM and Fr. Z rants.
A while back I wrote that people get the priests that they deserve. Collectively, at least. Priests don’t just spring full grown from the heads of… cabbage. Recently, a writer at hyper-liberal Commonweal suggested that vocations are down because his grand vision of … Read More
Robert Mickens is exactly wrong about priestly vocations. Here’s why.
One of the worst of the hyper-liberal catholic publications, Commonweal, publishes a regular column by long-time Rome correspondent Robert Mickens. Many readers here will recall that Mickens loathes Benedict XVI. He lost his job with The Tablet, the UK’s worst catholic … Read More
1962: Of Manners in Church, of the Vernacular, and of Vocations
One of you readers sent me a link to a video from 1962, made in Ireland, about the changes in the Ritual for administration of sacraments, especially of Marriage and Baptism. They talk about the New Ritual, the introduction of … Read More
14 Comments
Would the young Joseph Ratzinger – or I – have had the same reaction if….
As I often write, we are our rites. In the new interview book with Peter Seewald, Benedict XVI was asked how the son of a Bavarian policeman became a priest. I have a measure of sympathy with Benedict’s answer. I, too, … Read More
24 Comments
Vocations to the priesthood: bad numbers? Those numbers didn’t just happen by themselves.
I’ve written many times about the situation of vocations to the priesthood. We all know that there are certain parishes in dioceses which produce more priests. We all know that there are certain dioceses which produce more priests. We all … Read More
“Bless our families, bless our children. Choose from our homes those who are needed for Thy work.”
I have lately mused about vocations. Last Sunday was the Day of Prayer for Vocations. What I mean by vocations, by the way, is vocations to the priesthood. Yes, yes… I think about religious life as well. When I think … Read More
Priest shortage = self-inflicted wound
My old pastor, the late Msgr. Schuler used to make mordent remarks about the suicidal vocations efforts of the Archdiocese. “They’re like people during a famine who wring their hands and discuss how they are all going to starve to … Read More
Priesthood ordinations up 24.7% this year
I have in the past mentioned the Opus Bono Sacerdotii which is dedicated to helping priests who are in trouble. This is an organization which deserves support. That said, I saw a fine statistic on their Facebook page. 595 … Read More
