I'll give March of the Penguins a B+: it's a G-rated documentary, sometimes amazing, sometimes touching, about the family life of emperor penguins. It centers on their long trek from the Antarctic ocean to their inland mating grounds. After egg-laying, the females return to the ocean to feed, each leaving her male behind to keep their egg warm for months.
I described the idea to a co-worker, and she said, "I can understand that: you gotta go shoppin'!"
This quickie - one title page reads "Habemus papum", which even the most inattentive participant in the media blitz would know is wrong - as sympathetic as it strives to be, is handicapped by the new Pope's previous press. Virtually every positive quality Allen identifies in Ratzinger is described as surprising, or contrary to his image. The most telling of the off-the-record remarks Allen garners from the cardinals is by an American, on the new Pope. "I'm worried how to sell this back home," he tells the prominent American Catholic opinion-former.
Give me an M. Give me an A. Give me an H.
I still think Cardinal Mahony received exactly one vote in each ballot in the conclave.
Finally - quotes where they belong. But still a depressing story.
'Ordained' Woman is Pro-Abortion Religion Professor at Catholic University of San Diego
A priest, a minister and a rabbi walk in to an I.R.A. arms dump...
It's actually not a joke. Except for the rabbi part.
Roberts Would Be Fourth Catholic on Court
Fr. Paul Scalia, son of Justice Scalia and Parochial Vicar of St. Rita's get's a mention in this article. I met him last year when my seminarian bro was assigned to St. Rita's.
Yesterday I got three fundraising solicitations in the paper mail.
What mailing list did the ACLU buy that makes them think I'm a secularist liberal? Maybe the Consumer Reports subscriber roster? I mean, it's not as if I gave to public TV. They're sending me these things routinely now, a phony "survey" with tendentious questions, so I "vote" no wherever they want a "yes", write "Abortion is murder!" on it, and send it back in the Business Reply Envelope. Thanks for playing.
The TFP sent another big picture of their teary-eyed Fatima statue. Our Lady's probably especially sad that this cult-like little outfit (see this 1983 testimony) is using her image to milk money out of devout souls' wallets. I looked up their Federal filings through the charity-reporting site GuideStar, and here they are (PDFs:) 2004, 2003, 2002.
From the 2004 report, it seems they took in $4.6M in donations, and spent $1.76M on "fundraising" and on "direct mail campaigns" to their current supporters: that's 38%, a rather high figure. The statements include a few other interesting details: e.g., that they have a quarter-mil in precious metals. Not a bad investment, eh?
A third solicitation was from the Oblate (OMI) Fathers, prospecting for new donors. They sent out a little money, asking the reader to return it with a check, or at least return it. Now that's the nervy part: they beg the five cents back from you. Why, you'd have to be a heartless buzzard to say no to that. Well, Fathers, take your manipulative little gimmick somewhere else, and thanks for the nickel.
In May, the phony mystic Fr. Gino Burresi was removed from public ministry in May at the order of Pope Benedict. Fatima-based Rick Salbato, a layman who investigates controversial matters, gives the background on this horrible case.
Jeff Miller's got an even better idea.
Relatives of the late Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich are upset over what they consider to be Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll's cynical intrusion on their mourning.
[snip]
"When (Knoll) found out (Kubiak) was Joe's aunt, she handed her a business card and told her she attends 90 percent of these 'functions' across the state," Rhonda Goodrich said.
Sentimental songs with lyrics of doubtful orthodoxy: that's a common complaint about contemporary kitsch, but there's old kitsch too, even 100-year-old stuff, that fits the same description.
Yesterday before Mass at my suburban parish, a male soloist was belting the ballad "The Holy City", with choral backup. A parent in the loft pews said to her child: "Do you hear the singing? The man's singing very pretty." She must have been desperate to distract her little one from something else, as it was the sort of obvious lie that makes children think their parents are idiots.
Anyway, a Protestant page points out that the 1892 song is probably more an expression of its authors' Masonic thought than Christian doctrine, exalting the Temple of Solomon while mentioning the Cross as only a shadow on a hill. No wonder I never liked it!
Here's the text of the hymn and the critique:
[Another favorite Wanderer column.]
Of Canons and Culture...
20,000 Canadians Rally for Marriage
Pete Vere
About a month ago, I attended a rally for traditional marriage that was organized by occasional Catholic-Exchange contributor John Pacheco and FreeDominion.org. As one of the speakers reminded us, the date was April 9th – exactly one week after the death of Pope John Paul the Great. It seemed a little strange hearing the speaker refer to John Paul II as “the Great” so soon after his death. Whereas I personally have no problem with this papal honorific, the speaker was a Protestant minister and a staunch Calvinist. Perhaps the Holy Spirit was telling us that John Paul II is predestined to be remembered as the Great.
As the crowd grew, John assigned me to patrol the security zone separating the Muslims from the homosexual counter-protesters. One could distinguish the latter by their rainbow dyed hair (how cliche), their multiple body piercings (it helps them jingle to Kumbya), and their Betty Davis eyes (but without the makeup).
Since some will accuse me of stereotyping, I will also mention the cleric from some unknown sect. Predictably, he came vested in a pink and purple stole. I also witnessed two portly men of which one appeared to be in his late forties and the other in his early sixties. They wore scruffy beards, bright coloured shirts and tight sweat pants. I would have preferred to keep my eyes to myself, but the odd couple insisted upon locking themselves arm-in-arm and skipping through my security zone. I gained a new respect for the Hijab as a Muslim mother pulled her children into her veil and covered their eyes.
If you believe the police and the more moderately leftist media, the counter-protesters numbered about three hundred. Yet the rest of the mainstream leftist media numbered the counter-protesters at around a thousand. The discrepancy comes as no surprise for those who follow the culture war. After all, sex education now takes precedence over mathematics in our public school system. Of course none of the mainstream media mentioned the pasty white complexion of each and every counter-protester.
As one who supports God’s definition of marriage, I stood amidst a multi-ethnic and multi-racial sea of Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Evangelical Protestants, Chinese Christians, Native Aboriginals, Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and other people. We felt the great pull of multiculturalism as we united in defence of marriage. We were even joined by a group of homosexuals who are sick of their more radical cohorts constantly antagonizing the general public. In contrast to the diversity exemplified within our movement to protect the natural definition of marriage, the pro-homosexual “marriage” counter-protesters struck me as distinctly caucasian.
Unenlightened as we multi-ethnic and multi-religious neanderthals are, the police estimated our numbers on Parliament Hill at between fifteen-and-twenty thousand strong. Various subsequent protests in other major Canadian cities are also drawing in the thousands. This is unusual for our apolitical country. The government can no longer pacify the average Canadian citizen with hockey, socialized healthcare and donuts.
As a consequence of so-called “same-sex marriage” and several multi-million dollar corruption scandals, Canadians are now standing up to politicians. The latest scandal may still bring down the governing Liberals before they can force sodomite marriage upon our country. We are also standing to defend marriage from the robed masters of Canada’s judiciary. This is the same arrogant group that currently threatens Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary. The bishop’s crimes have nothing to do with minors and illicit sex, at least not in the Catholic sense. His Excellency is being persecuted for his audacity to proclaim to Catholic youth that homosexual sex in sinful. Catholic teaching now constitutes “hate speech” in Canada.
Finally, we are sending a message to the Canadian mainstream media. The majority of Canadians believe in the sanctity of marriage. We will no longer listen to the CBC’s twaddle undermining the institution of marriage. Nor will we fear the Canadian mainstream media’s attempts to brand us as bigots. For my American readership, the CBC stands for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It ought to stand for Communists Belittling Christians. The CBC allows the government to funnel our tax dollars to otherwise unemployable leftist without calling it welfare.
I happened to have my own run-in with a CBC reporter at the march. If his purple-striped pink tie did not betray his bias, I found it suspicious that he only interviewed white elderly people of a liminal fundamentalist Protestant variety. Of course the reporter denied any bias when I confronted him. Nevertheless, neither he nor his camera man could explain why they had only interviewed white people. After all, the majority of Canadians who came to Parliament Hill in support of traditional marriage were not of caucasian origin.
Yet the reporter refused to acknowledge his bias. “You should watch the segment before you judge the CBC,” he said between clenched teeth.
“No thanks,” I replied. “Thanks to Fox News, I no longer have to settle for the CBC.”
I barely suppressed a smile as the reporter’s complexion turned the same shade of purple as the stripes on his tie. Coincidentally, one of my friends subsequently emailed me this reporter’s segment as it appeared on the evening news. I noticed that the reporter had edited the segment, peppering it with interviews from various ethnic communities. He even appeared to quote these folks in context, which allowed them to sound like normal human beings.
This is the first example of unbiased reporting I have seen from the CBC on this issue. But if the Church can elect Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, perhaps my fellow Canadians can reach the tipping point in the culture war.
[I have received a lot of feedback from Canadian readers over a couple of my recent
Of Canons & Culture
Onward Mary’s Soldiers
Pete Vere
I decided to break from writing about Canadian politics in this month’s column. After all, there is only so much I can write about the ongoing homosexual persecution of Christianity in my country. In a nutshell, the situation is worse than it was last month. Certain friends of the fairer gender tell me that reflecting upon Canada’s moral decline is the closest thing I as a male conservative will experience to the pains of childbirth.
Yet all analogies break down at a certain point, and this comes after a long and arduous labour. There is simply no joy to Canada’s birth as a homosexual nation. Rather than welcome new life into loving families, the culture of death advances its agenda of abortion, homosexuality, pornography and other vile perversions. (Oops...committing this last sentence to paper is technically a felony in Canada.) Our clergy will likely find themselves jailed within the next two to three years for teaching the catechism. As my friend Raymond likes to say, “It’s payback for contraception and the Winnipeg Statement; the chickens are coming home to roost.” At the same time, because of contraception, our young people are not.
Not too long ago, I found myself down in Alabama with Dr. Charles Rice. As the discussion turned to Canada’s culture war, Dr. Rice offered the following insight: “You cannot win the political war until you win the culture war.” This got me thinking about one of Dom Gerard Calvet’s challenges in Tomorrow Christendom.
“Jesus has his disciples,” the abbot writes, “and Satan, his agents. The empire of darkness recruits its workers, and puts to use gigantic technical means. And what about us, Lord? Shouldn’t we do everything in our power to place at Your service all the resources available to us on this poor earth that You visited?”
These resources, of course, begin with prayer. The more I ponder the words of Dr. Rice and Dom Gerard, the more my hand finds its way to my pocket. This is where I keep my rosary. It is very special to me as it was a gift from my buddy Greg Willits who knotted it from blue twine. Greg is the founder of RosaryArmy.com – a Catholic apostolate that teaches people how to knot rosaries.
As Greg shared with me in a recent discussion, “All of us who founded RosaryArmy.com are practising Catholics. We all try our best to remain faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, the Holy Father, and the Magisterium. We also welcome Christians of other denominations to learn about the power of the Rosary and it's core essence as a meditation on the life of Jesus Christ.”
The members of RosaryArmy.com knot and give away over a thousand rosaries each month. They use a nylon twine that is strong, flexible, and water-proof. It is a perfect fit with my Northern Ontario lifestyle. My rosary must fit in my pocket, tough the rugged Canadian wilderness and the cold Canadian winter, and survive the curiosity of young children. Greg’s rosaries meet all of these conditions. I also find them more aesthetically pleasing – to both the eye and the touch – than rosaries strung together from plastic beads. Not that there is anything wrong with plastic rosaries.
I asked Greg why the RosaryArmy.com knots and distributes their twine rosaries for free when the same rosary often retails for ten-to-fifteen bucks. “Our goal is to get people to pray the Rosary,” Greg replied. “Plastic bead Rosaries are easy to find and are frequently given away in parishes, but there's something unique about a knotted Rosary that draws people to it and makes people want to pray it. To us, that makes giving them away even more important. If the price of a nice Rosary is keeping you from praying it, then we want to remove that obstacle by giving you a nice rosary.”
Receiving a twine rosary is nice, but making them is much more fun. Hundreds of Catholics have downloaded instructions for knotting twine rosaries from RosaryArmy.com’s website. The instructions are free and easy to follow. They make a wonderful project for homeschoolers, Catholic youth groups, and the parish rosary society. You can even order a DVD in which Greg shows you how to knot each decade of the rosary.
No special twine is needed; you can simply purchase from most craft stores. A ten dollar spool yields an average of twenty-five rosaries. Given the state of North American culture, this is not a bad investment. For only through the intercession of Our Lady, Queen of All Virtue, can we undue the damage wrought by sexual vice.
For more information on Rosary Army, please visit RosaryArmy.com
names changed to protect the suspicious...
[15:16] chatter1234: need more content for the bulletin – it's a slow news week in this parish
[15:16] chatter1234: so
[15:17] operamaing: make stuff up
[15:17] operamaing: like
[15:17] operamaing: let's see... headlines/announcements
[15:17] chatter1234: "Metosis doubles size of 9 AM choir"
[15:17] chatter1234: "Please don't pinch your babies during Father's homily!"
[15:17] chatter1234: "For the feed-a-priest program, please drop off fresh cheesesteaks with mayo daily at the rectory by 5:00 PM"
[15:17] operamaing: "The Women's Ordination Club WIll Meet Out Back After Mass To Get Some Sense Knocked Into Them"
[15:17] chatter1234: " 'Harmony Man' retires, causing statue of Mary to unplug her ears"
[15:18] operamaing: HAHA
[15:18] operamaing: that's funny
[15:18] operamaing: dude I think I need to kick someone out of the choir
[15:18] operamaing: he's just terrible
[15:18] chatter1234: harmony man is this guy who sings harmony to all the hymns at 110 Db
[15:18] chatter1234: people actually turn their head towards him with a horrified expression
[15:18] operamaing: and he doesn't have the sense to shut his yapper
[15:18] operamaing: so I can't have precision
[15:18] chatter1234: well
[15:19] chatter1234: let him join a committee that doesn't require precision
[15:19] chatter1234: such as the liturgy committee
[15:19] operamaing: it's like giving someone a hammer and chisel and saying - here's some italian marble, knock yourself out
[15:19] operamaing: haha
[15:19] chatter1234: right
[15:19] chatter1234: tink tink
[15:19] chatter1234: tink tink tink tink
tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink
[15:20] chatter1234: "Look, it's the baby Jesus!"
[15:20] chatter1234: "No, it's a loaf of bread!"
[15:20] chatter1234: tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink
[15:20] chatter1234: "It's James the Lesser and James the Greater!"
[15:20] chatter1234: "How can you tell?"
[15:21] chatter1234: "One is so much shorter than the other!"
[15:21] chatter1234: tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink
[15:21] chatter1234: "No, it's Zaccheus up in a tree!"
[15:21] chatter1234: "That's not a tree, it's a burning bush!"
[15:21] chatter1234: tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink
[15:21] operamaing: um
[15:21] operamaing: what are you doing?
[15:21] chatter1234: sculpture
[15:21] chatter1234: with running commentary
[15:22] operamaing: that's funny
[15:22] operamaing: haha
[15:22] operamaing: I get it
Related to the article below, here's another steaming pile of horse pookie.
A CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH - Two Central Coast women will be 'illicitly' ordained
Try not to have kittens when you read this:
"We consider these ordinations to be valid but illicit," said Rue, who was ordained as a deacon last year and will move a step up to priest this year. Despite the Catholic Church excommunicating several of the women who have participated in these illegal ordinations, "there are some 70 women in the preparation program, globally. Forty of those women are in the United States," Rue said.
I think I know how "valid but illicit" will be viewed on judgement day.
Don't believe the hype about real bishops secretly ordaining these ladies. They have no authority to make a person something they can't be.
One final quote:
"I feel that a piece of paper or an excommunication can not take away the fact that I am Catholic in my heart and soul," said Reynolds. "It cannot obliterate my truth."
Me me me me me. The whole thing reads like a Nellie Melba warm-up session.
B.C. woman to be ordained Catholic priest
The irony of it all: a woman's "ordination" in international waters so that no diocese has jurisdiction. She must be looking for a Vatican smackdown instead of a diocesan smackdown.
And a very special quote:
She said she is willing to conduct some church rites with followers, but doesn't expect to be invited to preach sermons at local churches.
I wonder if she'll try to do baptisms in international waters?
(I'd be remiss if I didn't comment that the article is amazingly one-sided, starting with the title.)
...someone starts beefing about the riches of the Vatican art collection and how the Church ought to do a better job of helping the poor and needy, remember this:
Vatican gave about $650 million in tsunami relief
UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Vatican nuncio to the United Nations, said July 13 that agencies related to the Vatican had given an estimated $650 million in relief to victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami in the Indian Ocean area. In addition, work is still being done by several organizations involved in projects throughout the region, he said.
It's the fifth anniversary of Fr. Sibley's ordination, and although he's not on the web much at present, he's doing the good work where it counts!
Missionary-bishop Luigi Locati, nine years the ordinary of the Vicariate of Isiolo in Kenya, has been apparently martyred a few hours after he returned from a national bishops' meeting.
At a time when Africa is shocked by a massacre between rural clans in Kenya's Marsabit province, and the bishops have been criticizing public corruption and official dithering, is it possible that someone wants to shut the bishops up?
It took murder to stop this bishop, too: he had not been stopped by a previous attempt on his life by attackers who invaded his home in September.
Our Lord freely laid His life down for us, and this man, 50 years a priest, gave his for God's people living in Kenya. May God be glorified in His saints!
Bishop Luigi Locati, pray for us.
Catholic reform group approves resolutions on tougher laws, finances
This reads as you'd expect but includes a pretty telling quote at the end:
Virgine Elking, of Dayton, Ohio, a member of the Sisters of the Precious Blood, presented the resolution on behalf of her working group. She said women have little standing in the church."I feel used and non-recognized. Why? Because I am a woman," Elking said.
Perhaps Sr. Elking would like to be more involved with an institution that supports and upholds the dignity of women, like the institution which published this, or this.
Of course, that's not what VoF wants. It wants power and the ability to reshape the Church in its own image.
"Bishop says Anglican refugees not wanted"
That's not exactly what he said, and the article title implies he's telling disaffected Anglicans to go jump in a lake.
"When there was the ordination of women in the first place there were some Anglicans who applied to be received into the Catholic Church, and the same provision is there at the moment," he told Catholic News Service. "But there is an understanding that you don't come into the Catholic Church for a negative reason."Those Anglican priests who were received into the church were received for positive reasons - for example, that they accepted the teaching authority of the church," he said.
In the Archdiocese of Washington, DC - Priest publicly protests transfer.
"Groused publicly" is usually not a good thing.
Dress code for Mumbai churchgoers
Cardinal Dias told the Times of India: "Whereas in days gone by, the 'Sunday best' used to become at times a sort of fashion parade, the modern tendency would seem to go to the other extreme."People [are] wearing attire which is considered casual and unbecoming of the sacred dignity of the church and the members of its congregation."
My question for our summer visitors:
How much does our AmChurch architecture and music influence the dress in the US? Talk amongst yourselves.
(20:52:08) chonak2: here's something I should blog --
(20:52:41) chonak2: I went to a city parish on Saturday afternoon, and noticed an item in the bulletin...
(20:53:00) chonak2: this parish has really gone beyond Bingo, as fund raising goes...
(20:53:14) JimmyO12: high stakes gambling?
(20:53:19) chonak2: they hosted a Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament...
(20:53:23) chonak2: *on Sunday night*
(20:53:32) JimmyO12: wow wow wow
(20:53:35) chonak2: with a "buy in" of $100!
(20:53:37) JimmyO12: that is unbelievable
(20:53:47) JimmyO12: totally beyond the plae
(20:54:04) chonak2: The notice said: "$6000 first prize if there are 100 players"
(20:54:09) JimmyO12: pale rather
(20:54:14) JimmyO12: amazing
(20:54:14) chonak2: yeah
(20:54:28) chonak2: I think Cdl. Law told the parishes at some point: no new bingos
(20:54:35) chonak2: but he didn't say anything about this ! :-)
(20:54:55) chonak2: lol
(20:56:07) JimmyO12: poker tournament
(20:56:34) JimmyO12: doesn't sound like a Catholic Church
(20:56:50) JimmyO12: what were they raising money for?
(20:56:58) chonak2: And this is in a working-class neighborhood; a great parish with lots of devout Hispanic folks
(20:57:07) chonak2: For the school, probably
(20:58:52) JimmyO12: hmm
(20:58:59) chonak2: I happened to go to that parish 'cuz a priest friend just got transferred there (as a p-vicar). He can't be too thrilled about this!
(20:59:04) JimmyO12: I didn't know the latinos liked their poker so much
(20:59:07) chonak2: heh
(20:59:36) chonak2: maybe they do
(20:59:39) JimmyO12: I think that's immoral
(20:59:41) JimmyO12: the poker thing
(20:59:51) JimmyO12: maybe I just have a firm grasp on the obvious
(20:59:56) chonak2: pretty much. Maybe they should open a bar next
(21:00:03) JimmyO12: exactly
Here's an excerpt from the preparatory document (instrumentum laboris) for the synod on the Eucharist in October, with comments and some emphasis added:
| 60. The People of God, gathered in the Lord’s House, give thanks and praise through speaking, listening, singing and moments of silence. | The document reminds us of two points: first, the church where Mass is offered is a sacred place, the House of the Lord, where all our thoughts, words, and actions should be focused on Him. Respect and reverence are fitting; worldly talk and our personal pursuits can be left aside.
Also, listening and silence are forms of participation in Mass. Actual participation includes -- indeed, requires -- these interior forms as well as the more obvious forms of participation, namely speech, song, gesture, and posture. |
Various responses to the Lineamenta recommend that singing at Mass and Eucharistic Adoration be done in a dignified manner. The faithful need to know the standard Gregorian chants, which have been composed to meet the needs of people of all times and places, in virtue of their simplicity, refinement and agility in form and rhythm. | |
| As a result, the songs and hymns presently in use need to be reconsidered. To enter into sacred or religious usage, instrumental or vocal music is to have a sense of prayer, dignity and beauty. This requires an integrity of form, expressing true artistry, corresponding to the various rites and capable of adaptation to the legitimate demands of inculturation. This is to be done without detracting from the idea of universality. Gregorian chant fulfills these needs and can therefore serve as a model, according to Pope John Paul II. Musicians and poets should be encouraged to compose new hymns, according to liturgical standards, which contain authentic catechetical teaching on the paschal mystery, Sunday and the Eucharist. | This is a call for reform: new compositions are needed, taking chant as a model. In particular, the church needs music "corresponding to the various rites": chants for the sacred rites themselves. The Mass is not well served by the "four-hymn syndrome" in which the congregation sings hymns at the entrance, offertory, communion, and dismissal, but the Mass itself is mostly spoken. |
| 61. Some responses particularly mentioned the use of musical instruments, referring to the general guidelines contained in the Constitution Sacrosanctum concilium. In this regard, a certain appreciation was often voiced in the Latin tradition for the organ, whose majestic sound adds solemnity to worship and is conducive to contemplation. Some responses also made reference to experiences associated with the use of other musical instruments in the liturgy. Positive results in this area were achieved with the consensus of competent ecclesiastical authority, who judged these instruments proper for sacred use, in keeping with the dignity of the place and the edification of the faithful. | The document is urging bishops to step up and actually regulate here in an area where some well-meaning people have had too much free rein. For example, the use of electric guitars in youth Masses can well be judged inappropriate, and a bishop can reasonably exclude such instruments. |
| In other responses some lamented the poor quality of translations of liturgical texts and many musical texts in current languages, maintaining that they lacked beauty and were sometimes theologically unclear, thereby contributing to a weakening of Church teaching and to a misunderstanding of prayer. | |
| A few responses made particular mention of music and singing at Youth Masses. In this regard, it is important to avoid musical forms which, because of their profane use, are not conducive to prayer. Some responses note a certain eagerness in composing new songs, to the point of almost yielding to a consumer mentality, showing little concern for the quality of the music and text, and easily overlooking the artistic patrimony which has been theologically and musically effective in the Church’s liturgy. | |
| In keeping with the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, the suggestion was made that, at international gatherings, the liturgy be in Latin, at least the Eucharistic Prayer, to facilitate a proper participation of the concelebrants and those who are not familiar with the local vernacular language. | Latin is the Roman Church's universal language. Priests are expected to know it; and it is expected that many of the lay faithful too will know enough Latin to participate in Mass. |
| A certain satisfaction is drawn from the fact that some countries have a sound tradition of religious songs and hymns for special times in the liturgical year: Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter. These songs, known and sung by the people, promote recollection and assist the faithful to live in a particularly spiritual way the celebrations of the mystery of faith in each liturgical season. Many hope that this positive experience might spread to other nations and provide a certain tone to these significant seasons in the liturgical year, thereby allowing the faithful to perceive the season’s message through music and lyrics. |
Add your own comments!
Document targets Eucharist abuses
The paper covers a range of issues related to the Eucharist: It suggests, for example, that Latin be used during international liturgical gatherings so all priests involved can understand the proceedings, and it suggests that parishes consider using more Gregorian chants to prevent more ''profane'' types of music from being played.
That's interesting wording: not only is it bad to use profane music at Mass because it's profane, it's bad because there are so many great choices of sacred music.
I'll be curious to see how much description is applied to profane to avoid confusion.
I spent the evening in the stands at Endicott College's new stadium cheering the teams on. Football? Nah, you know me: the only thing I ever liked about seeing a football game was a marching band in the half-time. That's what this was: an evening of band -- or more precisely, an eight-team competitive show of drum-and-bugle corps. The roster was pretty impressive too, with some Division I corps such as "The Crossmen" of Allentown and "The Magic of Orlando".
There's more to come in a few weeks when the national championships are held nearby in August, at the Pats' stadium in Foxborough.
At one point I was watching this group do its maneuvers on the field, with groups of musicians interleaving and all those Color Guard gals and guys waving colorful flags and ribbons and dressed in leotards, and I think I had a little flashback to the '80s. For a second, I was watching a liturgical dance offertory procession. It was triggered by the music too: something from Broadway, I don't know what.
But just as quickly the illusion passed, thank Heavens.
The homily at Sunday Mass was preached by a deacon. His little talk was taken from the Gospel according to -- some movie with Samuel L. Jackson as a tough but inspiring high school coach. The religious points that the preacher made, after he finished the plot synopsis, were the following:
(1) As the coach made a contract with the players about their mutual responsibilities, we're also involved in a contract, a covenant our parents and godparents made for us at our baptism.(2) We're all one team, with Jesus at the head.
And that's it, pretty thin soup: nothing taken from the Scripture readings.
And what readings they were today, and what a figure they present:
...shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king shall come to you;
a just savior is he,
meek, and riding on an ass,
on a colt, the foal of an ass.
He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,
and the horse from Jerusalem;
the warrior's bow shall be banished,
and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion shall be from sea to sea...
It's an odd time to hear that reading from Zechariah. There's a war on out in the world right now, and some big challenges for the future, so the world may not feel like that peaceable kingdom for some time to come. Instead of some promises about peace, I might feel better with a good expression of confidence like this hymn:
I sing the mighty power of God
that made the mountains rise,
that spread the lofty seas abroad
and built the morning skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
the sun to rule the day:
the moon shines full at his command
and all the stars obey.
Yet the image Zechariah presents isn't of a display of great power as we usually think of it, but a savior coming with the utmost gentleness, not mounted on a strong horse or accompanied with a swift chariot, but on a humble slow-moving donkey -- and not even a full-grown one but a little colt. This peaceable king is not what we expect from a savior.
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
Our Lord Jesus keeps up the surprises. He's not like one of these modern preachers who say: follow me because I've learned to be a success. They're ready to make you one too, if you order their new DVD teaching series and put their life lessons to work. But Jesus isn't offering a prosperity gospel, he's saying: be like me because I'm meek and humble, I'm not puffed up; I know who I am and who I come from. He's not straining to meet the world's expectations: no wonder he says we'll find rest for our souls if we follow him and do things his way.
And we can do that. We can know who we are and who we came from: we're creatures of God, images of God, and the people around us, whether believers or not, all have that great dignity of being made in the image of God. No wonder it behooves us to be meek and humble, just to show everyone else the proper reverence. And ever since our baptism, we have an even greater gift: we are sons of God and brothers of Jesus. Believe me, that change from being mere creatures to being redeemed and sanctified and divinized (as the Eastern Catholics say) is indeed the mighty power of God. When we let our identity that comes from God shape our thoughts and our actions, his yoke is easy and his burden is light.
Jason and Susan Torres continue a life-saving effort to sustain their unborn child until at least July 11 and maybe longer. This week doctors said the baby is probably a girl; and Jason was welcomed for an interview on Larry King Live, together with his brother Justin and Paul Schenck of Faith and Action. A transcript is on the site.
An audio clip: Vatican Latinist Fr. Reginald Foster gets hot under the collar at the mere suggestion.
(MP3, 0.5MB, 0:38)
I love when the NYT descends into self-parody. Here they seem to lament the fate of Bashir Noorzai, a Taliban ally and heroin distributor, who has apparently lost weight in the John Gotti Suite in the Manhattan Federal pen. And his guards don't speak Pashto! Worst of all, he was lured to New York under false pretenses: he thought he was attending a "political meeting," and the Feds had the nerve to arrest him instead for trying to sell $50 million in heroin to U.S. consumers!
Two unwittingly funny things about the article:
1. This dimwit Islamofascist is being represented by a lawyer named "Goldenberg."
2. Mr. Goldenberg complains that his client "did not know that the [Bush] administration had publicized his name as a most-wanted drug dealer." If he did, "it might have affected his travel plans."
Here's a serious ethical question, though: is it morally permissible to deceive a criminal? I think it is under limited circumstances, because a criminal doesn't have a right to the truth, if revealing the truth means he will get away with his crimes, or commit other evils.
That is (roughly) Saint Thomas Aquinas' teaching. Saint Augustine took the strict view that speaking an untruth was ipso facto sinful. Your thoughts?
