The Rule

Wordpress Bandwagon

2008-03-28T07:46:00.001-06:00

I am posting over here for a while.

I know, I know. "I wouldn't exactly call that 'posting', James"

Holy Week Schedule for Immaculate Conception, Colorado Springs

2008-03-19T12:14:00.002-06:00

Here is the Holy Week Schedule for Immaculate Conception in Colorado Springs (staffed by the FSSP):

	Holy Week Schedule
Thursday, March 20	Holy Thursday	6:00 p.m.
Friday, March 21	Good Friday Stations of the Cross	5:15 p.m.
	Mass of the Pre-Sanctified	6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 22	Easter Vigil	11:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 23	Easter Sunday	9:00 a.m.

The Best Things in Life ...

2008-01-31T09:48:00.001-07:00

Two of my favorite things have come together. Since I work in the IT industry, ThinkGeek is a must-visit site. I also enjoy the freedom of Utilikilts.

Lo, and behold! ThinkGeek is now selling Utilikilts.

And there was much rejoicing.

Duties Towards Each Other

2007-12-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

1. The husband. According to divine ordinance the husband is the head, the king, the support of the wife and the children. St. Paul writes in the fifth chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians, “Let wives be subject to their husbands as to the Lord; because a husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is head of the Church … Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church, and delivered Himself up for her …Even thus ought husbands also to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife, loves himself.” From this it is clear that the exercise of his authority is not to be severe and cold, but considerate and kind. The wife is his partner and companion, not his servant.

Married love obliges him to take good care of his wife and children. Therefore he must be industrious and saving, plan and manage wisely. No company should be dearer to him than that of his family. The man who prefers the tavern or club to his home neglects serious duties and forgoes exquisite pleasures. It would be wrong to leave domestic affairs entirely to the wife. She is entitled to cooperation and recognition. He certainly bears a large share of responsibility in maintaining a wholesome atmosphere in the home and in keeping out dangerous influences. Finally, he owes it to his wife to provide for the uncertain future as well as he can by reliable insurance.

2. The wife. She is the heart, the queen, the providence of the family. Happiness in marriage depends to a great extent on her. She should strive to be a delicious compound of sweet temper, courtesy, and self-sacrifice. Her kingdom is the home, where she reigns as queen of love, doing all in her power to make it cozy and pleasant. Many men seek outside distractions, because their wives neglect them and their homes. The wife must be reasonably economical in dress and housekeeping, see to order and cleanliness, have nourishing and well prepared meats ready at the right time, cheerfully accede to all reasonable wishes of the husband and be an example of piety. A real helpmate usually holds the affection of her husband.

My insistence on mutual love may surprise you. Does not your presence here show that you are in love with each other? Yes, but very likely your life will not be always as rosy as it is now. When the charm of living together has worn off, you will discover weaknesses and faults in each other. Even trifles are sometimes very annoying. You must be ready to make allowances and practice patience. Marriage is for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. Think of the words of St. Paul: “Bear one another’s burden, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6,2) If peace has been disturbed, restore it at once --- not with many words, but with a friendly handshake or hearty kiss. Forgive and forget and never speak of such painful incidents to others.

Not sure about the source, but will update when available.

Huckabee is not the Catholic Choice

2007-12-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Despite my initial support for Mike Huckabee, he is turning out to be a bad choice. I have been keeping abreast of Ron Paul via Catholics for Ron Paul. He seems like the best choice at this point.

See Steve's site for a more in-depth discussion.

Here is an interesting article regarding Huckabee's choice of campaign platforms:

Mike Huckabee to speak at strongly anti-Catholic preacher's church (John Hagee)

Stem Cell Breakthrough Uses No Embryos

2007-11-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

Long article, but worth the read ....

---

Stem Cell Breakthrough Uses No Embryos
Nov 20, 11:11 AM (ET)
By MALCOLM RITTER

NEW YORK (AP) - Scientists have made ordinary human skin cells take on the chameleon-like powers of embryonic stem cells, a startling breakthrough that might someday deliver the medical payoffs of embryo cloning without the controversy.

Laboratory teams on two continents report success in a pair of landmark papers released Tuesday. It's a neck-and-neck finish to a race that made headlines five months ago, when scientists announced that the feat had been accomplished in mice.

The "direct reprogramming" technique avoids the swarm of ethical, political and practical obstacles that have stymied attempts to produce human stem cells by cloning embryos.

Scientists familiar with the work said scientific questions remain and that it's still important to pursue the cloning strategy, but that the new work is a major coup.

"This work represents a tremendous scientific milestone - the biological equivalent of the Wright Brothers' first airplane," said Dr. Robert Lanza, chief science officer of Advanced Cell Technology, which has been trying to extract stem cells from cloned human embryos.

"It's a bit like learning how to turn lead into gold," said Lanza, while cautioning that the work is far from providing medical payoffs.

"It's a huge deal," agreed Rudolf Jaenisch, a prominent stem cell scientist at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass. "You have the proof of principle that you can do it."

There is a catch. At this point, the technique requires disrupting the DNA of the skin cells, which creates the potential for developing cancer. So it would be unacceptable for the most touted use of embryonic cells: creating transplant tissue that in theory could be used to treat diseases like diabetes, Parkinson's, and spinal cord injury.

But the DNA disruption is just a byproduct of the technique, and experts said they believe it can be avoided.

The new work is being published online by two journals, Cell and Science. The Cell paper is from a team led by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University; the Science paper is from a team led by Junying Yu, working in the lab of in stem-cell pioneer James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Both reported creating cells that behaved like stem cells in a series of lab tests.

Thomson, 48, made headlines in 1998 when he announced that his team had isolated human embryonic stem cells.

Yamanaka gained scientific notice in 2006 by reporting that direct reprogramming in mice had produced cells resembling embryonic stem cells, although with significant differences. In June, his group and two others announced they'd created mouse cells that were virtually indistinguishable from stem cells.

For the new work, the two men chose different cell types from a tissue supplier. Yamanaka reprogrammed skin cells from the face of an unidentified 36-year-old woman, and Thomson's team worked with foreskin cells from a newborn. Thomson, who was working his way from embryonic to fetal to adult cells, said he's still analyzing his results with adult cells.

Both labs did basically the same thing. Each used viruses to ferry four genes into the skin cells. These particular genes were known to turn other genes on and off, but just how they produced cells that mimic embryonic stem cells is a mystery.

"People didn't know it would be this easy," Thomson said. "Thousands of labs in the United States can do this, basically tomorrow."

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which holds three patents for Thomson's work, is applying for patents involving his new research, a spokeswoman said. Two of the four genes he used were different from Yamanaka's recipe.

Scientists prize embryonic stem cells because they can turn into virtually any kind of cell in the body. The cloning approach - which has worked so far only in mice and monkeys - should be able to produce stem cells that genetically match the person who donates body cells for cloning.

That means tissue made from the cells should be transplantable into that person without fear of rejection. Scientists emphasize that any such payoff would be well in the future, and that the more immediate medical benefits would come from basic research in the lab.

In fact, many scientists say the cloning technique has proven too expensive and cumbersome in its current form to produce stem cells routinely for transplants.

The new work shows that the direct reprogramming technique can also produce versatile cells that are genetically matched to a person. But it avoids several problems that have bedeviled the cloning approach.

For one thing, it doesn't require a supply of unfertilized human eggs, which are hard to obtain for research and subjects the women donating them to a surgical procedure. Using eggs also raises the ethical questions of whether women should be paid for them.

In cloning, those eggs are used to make embryos from which stem cells are harvested. But that destroys the embryos, which has led to political opposition from President Bush, the Roman Catholic church and others.

Those were "show-stopping ethical problems," said Laurie Zoloth, director of Northwestern University's Center for Bioethics, Science and Society.

The new work, she said, "redefines the ethical terrain."

Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of pro-life activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called the new work "a very significant breakthrough in finding morally unproblematic alternatives to cloning. ... I think this is something that would be readily acceptable to Catholics."

Another advantage of direct reprogramming is that it would qualify for federal research funding, unlike projects that seek to extract stem cells from human embryos, noted Doug Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

Still, scientific questions remain about the cells produced by direct reprogramming, called "iPS" cells. One is how the cells compare to embryonic stem cells in their behavior and potential. Yamanaka said his work detected differences in gene activity.

If they're different, iPS cells might prove better for some scientific uses and cloned stem cells preferable for other uses. Scientists want to study the roots of genetic disease and screen potential drug treatments in their laboratories, for example.

Scottish researcher Ian Wilmut, famous for his role in cloning Dolly the sheep a decade ago, told London's Daily Telegraph that he is giving up the cloning approach to produce stem cells and plans to pursue direct reprogramming instead.

Other scientists said it's too early for the field to follow Wilmut's lead. Cloning embryos to produce stem cells remains too valuable as a research tool, Jaenisch said.

Dr. George Daley of the Harvard institute, who said his own lab has also achieved direct reprogramming of human cells, said it's not clear how long it will take to get around the cancer risk problem. Nor is it clear just how direct reprogramming works, or whether that approach mimics what happens in cloning, he noted.

So the cloning approach still has much to offer, he said.

Daley, who's president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, said his lab is pursuing both strategies.

"We'll see, ultimately, which one works and which one is more practical."

Blogging Without Obligation

2007-09-29T10:40:00.000-06:00

Taken from here:

Because you shouldn't have to look at your blog like it is a treadmill.

Because its okay to just say what you have to say. If that makes for a long post, fine. Short post, fine. Frequent post, fine. Infrequent post, fine.

Because its okay to not always be enthralled with the sound of your own typing.

Because sometimes less is more.

Because only blogging when you feel truly inspired keeps up the integrity of your blog.

Because they are probably not going to inscribe your stat, link and comment numbers on your tombstone.

Because for most of us blogging is just a hobby. A way to express yourself and connect with others. You should not have to apologize for lapses in posts. Just take a step back and enjoy life, not everything you do has to be "bloggable".

Because if you blog without obligation you will naturally keep your blog around longer, because it won't be a chore. Plus, just think you will be doing your part to eradicate post pollution. One post at a time. . .

Artificial Nutrition and Hydration

2007-09-14T08:13:00.000-06:00

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
RESPONSES TO CERTAIN QUESTIONS
OF THE UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS
CONCERNING ARTIFICIAL NUTRITION AND HYDRATION

First question: Is the administration of food and water (whether by natural or artificial means) to a patient in a "vegetative state" morally obligatory except when they cannot be assimilated by the patient’s body or cannot be administered to the patient without causing significant physical discomfort?

Response: Yes. The administration of food and water even by artificial means is, in principle, an ordinary and proportionate means of preserving life. It is therefore obligatory to the extent to which, and for as long as, it is shown to accomplish its proper finality, which is the hydration and nourishment of the patient. In this way suffering and death by starvation and dehydration are prevented.

Second question: When nutrition and hydration are being supplied by artificial means to a patient in a "permanent vegetative state", may they be discontinued when competent physicians judge with moral certainty that the patient will never recover consciousness?

Response: No. A patient in a "permanent vegetative state" is a person with fundamental human dignity and must, therefore, receive ordinary and proportionate care which includes, in principle, the administration of water and food even by artificial means.

* * *

The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved these Responses, adopted in the Ordinary Session of the Congregation, and ordered their publication.

Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, August 1, 2007.

William Cardinal Levada
Prefect
Angelo Amato, S.D.B.
Titular Archbishop of Sila
Secretary

FSSP Priest Training

2007-09-13T07:20:00.000-06:00

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is pleased to collaborate with Una Voce America in making possible workshops hosted by Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska, on teaching priests to say the "extraordinary form" of the Latin Roman Rite.

More info on the workshops can be found here.

BTW, Kansas City Catholic and Curmudgeon's Cave want to help send a local priest to this workshop. So here's the deal: the priest from either the Archdiocese of Kansas City (KS) or the Diocese of Kansas City--Saint Joseph (MO) who first emails kansascitycatholic[at]hotmail.com and says that he wishes to receive the training offered by the FSSP will have his $300.00 tuition paid by wolftracker and Curmudgeon. First email in the inbox wins.

p.s. They are also taking pledges to cover the tuition for additional local priests to attend these or future workshops.

Blessings Abound

2007-08-28T07:22:00.000-06:00

Clare Assumpta was born on Monday, August 27, 2007 at 11:28 p.m. She and mom are doing very well following the 3 hour labor. I will bring them home tomorrow.

She joins Rachel, Genevieve, James, Rose, Brigid, John, & Catherine.

(and no, eight is not enough) ;)

Bishop Michael Sheridan on Summorum Pontificum

2007-08-10T08:02:00.000-06:00

The Bishop's Voice
From the Colorado Springs Diocesan Newspaper, The Catholic Herald

Aug. 10, 2007 Summorum Pontificum
Bishop Michael J. Sheridan, S.T.D.

Pope Benedict XVI’s long-anticipated apostolic letter (Summorum Pontificum), allowing for wider use of the 1962 Mass of Blessed Pope John XXIII, has been greeted by some as a greater opportunity to worship in the manner to which they were accustomed in the years of their formation in the faith; and greeted, predictably, by others as virtually the beginning of the end of Catholicism as we know it — or have known it for the past 35 years. A brief review of the letter may be a help in understanding just what the Holy Father is trying to accomplish by liberalizing the permission to offer the "old Mass."

What exactly is now being permitted?

Put briefly, the pope has given permission for the Tridentine Mass (so called because, with only minor revisions, it has been the form of the Mass in use since it was promulgated after the Council of Trent in 1570 until 1969) to be celebrated "privately" by any priest who wishes to do so; and publicly in those parish churches and oratories where a group of the faithful requests it and where there is a priest who is capable of celebrating Mass in the older form.

Will this new permission decrease the availability of the Mass of Pope Paul VI, currently in use?

No. The Holy Father has made it clear that our current liturgy (called the Novus Ordo Missae) will continue to be the ordinary expression of the Latin rite liturgy, while the 1962 Mass will be the extraordinary expression. In fact, only one 1962 Mass is permitted in a parish on a Sunday or holy day, unless the parish as a whole has been dedicated to the exclusive use of the old Mass. We have such a parish in our diocese — Immaculate Conception Parish in Security [This is the local FSSP parish - Ed.].

Why has the pope decided to extend the possibility of the use of the old Mass?

In his letter to the bishops of the world, which accompanied the apostolic letter, the Holy Father noted several things which moved him to grant permission for wider use of the 1962 Mass. First, a good number of people who had been raised in and formed by the Tridentine Mass were expressing their desire to continue to worship in that form. In addition, more than a few younger Catholics have been attracted by the Mass of Trent. Since the 1962 Mass had never been abrogated (i.e., officially suppressed) it was not a difficult thing to accede to the wishes of these people.

Second, because in so many places the celebration of the "new Mass" was done without faithful adherence to the prescriptions of the new Missal and with so many unauthorized innovations, many of the faithful found it very difficult to worship. They longed for a return of the liturgy that preserved the dignity and solemnity proper to the worship of God. The pope makes mention of his own experience of those years following Vatican II in his letter to the bishops: "And I have seen how arbitrary deformation of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church."

Third, the pope is sincerely seeking an "interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church." The reform of the liturgy after the Second Vatican Council was the occasion for deep divisions in the church, some leading to defection from the faith. It is Benedict’s hope that the more liberal access to the old Mass will invite those who have separated themselves to return to full communion with the church.

What will Pope Benedict’s new permissions mean for the Diocese of Colorado Springs?

It is difficult to answer this question so soon after the publication of the apostolic letter. Because any Catholic has access to the 1962 Mass at the Immaculate Conception Parish, we have made the first step in the implementation of the provisions of the apostolic letter. I do not have any idea at this point how many more Catholics will ask for the old Mass. Several priests in the diocese have indicated to me that they would like to learn to offer Mass in the Tridentine form. I will certainly provide them with that opportunity, and so there will be more priests available to accommodate the faithful. The Holy Father has not called for the promotion of the old Mass — simply that it be more readily available for those who find this form of worship especially meaningful.

Might these new permissions cause some confusion and problems as they are implemented?

Possibly. That’s why the Holy Father has asked the bishops to report on the implementation after three years. If there are serious difficulties, remedies will be sought.

Pope Benedict has made it very clear that these two expressions of the Latin Rite Mass — the ordinary and the extraordinary — do not in any way contradict one another. Both are part of the rich heritage of our church and both are perfectly legitimate forms of eucharistic worship. In a time when "diversity" appears to be the newest virtue, it is just a bit ironic that some of the loudest protests against the pope’s apostolic letter are coming from those who have embraced every other kind of liturgical diversity — and anomaly.

I make the same plea to all of you as does our Holy Father in his letter to the bishops: "Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows."

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part X

2007-08-09T09:39:00.000-06:00

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part IX

2007-08-09T09:35:00.000-06:00

This is a talk that we gave at the St. Thomas Aquinas Society Conference God is Calling You By Name on August 3, 2007. I will post it in multiple parts for ease of reading.
An audio CD of the talk can be found at Holy Family Resources.

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part I
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part II
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part III
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part IV
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part V
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part VI
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part VII
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part VIII
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part IX
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part X

...

James:
One of the most important ways we choose to love is by active listening when our spouse is risking to share their inner self. There are several ways that we can limit active listening. One way I limit my listening is by listening just for facts. When a pipe burst in the basement of Chris' parents' house while we were house sitting, I was more concerned about the damage to the carpeting and how the event happened, than with trying to experience Chris' anguish and worry at her parents' feelings.
Another barrier to listening is preparing my answer. When Chris brings up anything about our budget, I am busy thinking of ways to cut down on my own spending and justify my own habits, rather than trying to share in her concerns.

Christine:
I limit my listening when I try to problem solve with James when he tells me about inter-personal issues he is having at work. I can't wait to tell him how he can fix it, but in doing so I shut myself off to hearing his feelings.
I often keep my motor running. When James comes home from work, I often try to finish dinner, direct the children, or do a load of laundry while he is trying to talk with me. It is quite common for me to leave the room on him mid-sentence and yell from the next one, “Go on! I'm still listening!” But in the end, I heard virtually nothing he said.

James:
Sometimes I pacify Chris instead of listening. When Chris has had a run-in with her Mom about the condition of our house, I tell her that her Mom is being over-critical and unsympathetic, rather than trying to understand Chris' feelings and be with her.
Impatience is another barrier to listening well: I am an internet fiend and will often listen to Chris only long enough for her to get to the point so that I get on my computer. I can't wait for her to stop talking so that I can do what I want.

Christine:
Sometimes I stop listening because I have heard it all before. When James brings up issues with which I know I will disagree, I usually tune out and reply with a series of “uh huh's”. I judge that I have heard all of this before in the very same way and he isn't going to say anything new or different, so why bother?
Another barrier to listening can be hanging on to words only. Sometimes James will tell me that it is fine if we eat dinner with my sister again, and because I want to go I entirely ignore his body language and tone of voice, choosing instead to listen to his words only.
Sometimes our personal past history can be a barrier to listening. In my family, dating was treated as a fun thing for teenagers to do. We were encouraged to date widely. James family treated dating more like courtship. When he expressed a desire to raise our children with a courtship mentality, I stopped listening because I judged my family's way to be best.
There are so many other barriers to listening, it is hard to cover them all. They can be things like superiorities, fear of change, being distractible, boredom, indifference, and being judgmental.
We must make a strong effort to put aside these barriers to active listening. Instead, I make an effort to make eye contact, to leave my arms open and my body facing James. Occasionally, I can repeat back to him what I think I have heard to ensure that I have received the message as he has intended it. I can ask questions in an attempt to draw out more of his inner thoughts and feelings. My entire demeanor tells James that I am interested in what he has to say. Listening involves all of me.

James:
During times of disillusionment, I have a difficult time overcoming these barriers and listening to Chris with my whole self. Recently, Chris spoke to me about our finances, a subject with which I always have difficulty. I started out listening for just the facts, not paying attention to Chris' body language. I had the side of my body facing Chris, with my arms crossed and my chin buried in my chest. But I wanted to be a good active listener and show Chris that I really cared, so I made a point to put both of my feet on the floor and face Chris. To keep myself from crossing my arms, I held Chris' hands and focused on her eyes. I tried to show Chris with my whole body that I genuinely wanted to hear what shed had to say. By listening carefully to her feelings, instead of trying to problem-solve or becoming defensive, I was open to hearing her with my heart. In turn, I could see Chris relax and open up even more.
I heard what Chris was trying to communicate, both information and feelings.

Christine:
I noticed immediately the change in James’ listening. He was actually looking at me, keeping his body open to me and keeping eye contact with me. This was a radical change. I felt truly listened to, truly cared for, and truly loved for the first time since we were dating! It was like re-discovering the man I fell in love with.
I have noticed that when I make the effort to listen with my heart, James becomes more and more willing to share things with me. He has been more willing to listen to what I have to say in return. Intimacy has grown between us and I feel more secure and safe in my relationship with James.
It was at this time that we realized and experienced that THIS was what God desired for our marriage. God desires the intimacy that happens when we are able to effectively communicate and accept the innermost feelings and thoughts of our spouse. Perhaps you have already experienced a taste of this unity in your own relationship. Unity is the true happiness that comes from the intimacy God calls us to in our relationship.

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part VIII

2007-08-09T09:32:00.000-06:00

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part VII

2007-08-09T09:29:00.000-06:00

This is a talk that we gave at the St. Thomas Aquinas Society Conference God is Calling You By Name on August 3, 2007. I will post it in multiple parts for ease of reading.
An audio CD of the talk can be found at Holy Family Resources.

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part I
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part II
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part III
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part IV
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part V
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part VI
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part VII
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part VIII
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part IX
God's Desire for Marriage -- Part X

...

James:
We talked earlier about the way our attitudes are formed as we mature, and how they reflect our inner beliefs. The behaviors we use in our marriage are different from our attitudes. While our attitudes are generally unchanging over time, and reflect our core values, a behavior is a learned and adaptable manner of presenting oneself. Behaviors are used to win approval, gain respect, or accomplish another end. Behaviors may be different depending on whether the setting is work, home, or play. Behaviors have been learned over a lifetime, but as opposed to attitudes, they are much more subject to adaptation and change. Behaviors can be unlearned as well as learned.
To clarify the distinction between our attitudes and our behaviors, sometimes it is helpful to use an analogy. For instance:
If I were to ask you what type of house you live in, you could tell me it is a tri-level. That gives me a broad picture of your house, which will never change. The style of your home could be compared to your attitudes. But for me to really get a picture of what your house is like, you would need to tell me what kind of cabinets your kitchen has, the color of the carpet, or the type of furniture you have. This is a more detailed description of your home, and things that you CAN and WILL change. The decorations or color of carpeting can be likened to your behaviors. We can decide to change them anytime we want. But we will still be living in a tri-level house.

Having discussed the difference between attitudes and behaviors, I will now talk about some of my behaviors that have affected our relationship. When I was younger, I would often wait until the last possible minute before making a decision, hoping to make the “best” decision with the most information available. And when these decisions turned out with a positive result, I learned that getting all of the information and finding the best way to do things was more efficient and more appreciated by others. I was careful to associate with people I respected and looked up to so as to be perceived as respectable. I was often rewarded by teachers and peers with additional responsibilities for knowing the rules and following them. As I got older, my behaviors intensified. I am a chronic problem-solver, who is always looking for a better way to do things. Friends have always appreciated my ability to get to the heart of a matter and offer insights that were previously missed. When there is something to be done, I get everything sorted out and planned before actually performing the task, so that things are done right the first time.
My behaviors often have positive effects on my relationship with Chris. When Chris asks me what I think about a particular issue, I am up front and honest, which increases her trust in me. My tendency to work efficiently is helpful when I help clean up around the house. I become a single-minded, dishwashing machine who has the kitchen spic and span in no time flat. Chris sees how deeply I love her when I do things like this without being asked, and I am built up by her telling me how much she appreciates my help. The efficiency of teamwork also buys Chris and I some alone time in the evenings to talk and laugh.
Unfortunately, my behaviors also have negative impacts on my relationship with Chris. I often spend multiple hours reading. My quest for knowledge often interferes with Chris’ schedule, and she accuses me of being lazy and uncaring. This distances me from Chris, and tells her that she is not worth my attention. Our conversation stops, and Chris gets “Bangy”. When I do things around the house, I have a one-track mind. I am often defensive with Chris when she asks me to do something that is not within the scope of what I am already doing. I become short-tempered if she interrupts me. Chris leaves me alone so that she can do something else.

Christine
The decision to love often means being willing to change for the sake of our relationship. It means that I am willing to change behaviors that have a negative impact on my relationship with James. I take responsibility for the quality of our relationship. I do not need to wait for James to change before I can change. I am responsible for my own behavior.
I choose to live a more intimate and responsible life with James. Intimacy comes from making choices that are outside our normal behaviors. One thing that I have tried really hard to change in myself in our relationship is to be more clear about my expectations of James. I generally want him to understand what I want without my actually having to say so. I realized that this was unfair to James, so now I try to tell him verbally with politeness what I am wanting from him. Another choice that I make to be responsible in our marriage is to stop trying to change James. One way I do this is to give him some down time when he gets home from work in the evening; instead of greeting him at the door with a “honey-do” list. I try to give him this transition time with patience and understanding, instead of waiting with baited breath to get him to do what I want. I still often fail at choosing not to try to change James. I have this annoying habit of offering James two choices, one of which I have decided already is clearly the wrong choice, but I don’t actually tell him that until he makes his decision. THEN I explain why that choice is wrong instead of just telling him what I think we should do from the get-go. I also have a habit of volunteering his time for things I think he ought to do.
When I try to be intimate and responsible with James our lives together are more smooth, and romance seems natural and easy. Closeness is a feeling. It can easily be lost when difficulties arise. God invites us to choose something greater, a kind of relationship that brings much deeper involvement. True intimacy is a condition of the heart, an attitude that leads us to choose to open ourselves to being touched by our spouse and to accepting our spouse.

James
I also have behaviors that I have changed for the sake of our relationship. I really enjoy the “me-time” of reading for hours. A good book and a comfy couch is all the temptation that I need to become completely unresponsive. Not that “me-time” is bad, but when I use it to the exclusion of our relationship, then it is a problem. I often get so engrossed in what I am reading that I do not even notice that Chris is in the room. The result from failing to give Chris my full attention when she wants to speak with me is that I fail to meet her expectations because I choose not even hear what the expectations were. I then feel disjointed in my relationship with Chris, like my arms and legs are connected to the wrong parts of my body and will not function properly. One small change that I have tried to make is to put aside whatever I am doing whenever Chris speaks to me, whether it is a book that I am reading, a task for work, or a chore in the house. I look at her to let her know that I want to hear what she has to say. With my eye contact, I am trying to tell her that she is important and I value our relationship. This has led to increased attentiveness to me in our relationship.
Another change that I have made is to name the feelings that I have. Stereotypical boys do not share feelings. I sometimes struggle with even accepting that I have feelings. As a child, when my feelings were hurt by an insult about my height, my mother would tell me to “toughen-up”, suppress the hurt, and get on with life. After several “toughen-up” lectures, I learned to put away all of my feelings in order to deal with life around me. So to put a name on a feeling and share that feeling with Chris requires me to un-learn a learned behavior and to step out of myself for the sake of my spouse. When I name my feelings for Chris, she sees me as a “feeling” and “emotional” person. Chris is then more likely to share her feelings with me and we are able to tackle our issues together as a couple working together. Our unity and intimacy have increased because of our increased presence with each other.

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part VI

2007-08-09T09:24:00.000-06:00

Avoid criticism. Avoid name-calling and character assassination.

Never fight when one or both of you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

It is a waste of time placing blame. Since you can't un-spill the milk, work at moving forward.

Avoid using absolutes, such as, "you always" or "you never" or "every time." They are not true. Try to use “I” statements, like “I feel” or “I think”.

Finish the fight. Even if there are tears, be sensitive, but do not walk away. Continue the fight for your relationship.

Do not bring in third parties. A parent, a friend, a person at work has no part in your confrontation.

Stay physically close to each other. An affectionate touch helps each to know that there is nothing that cannot be worked out in love.

Being right is not as important as being in relationship. Fight for clarification, not to win.

Do not garbage dump. You are discussing the issue at hand, not things from the past.

I decide to love when I bring up an issue that would normally cause a fight. Sometimes something will come up in our relationship that neither of us wants to touch. But if no one ever brings it up, the issue never gets resolved and it gets in the way of our intimacy. James and I have made these decisions to love a part of our daily routine to help avoid disillusionment.

James:
When we both make daily decisions to love and to confront one another when necessary, we are able to keep the path between us free of debris. The daily decision to love forms a piece of the foundation of the relationship that God desires for us. When we make these daily decisions to love I feel closer and more connected to Chris. The little things help me to remember and experience her love for me.

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part V

2007-08-09T09:20:00.000-06:00

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part IV

2007-08-09T09:18:00.000-06:00

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part III

2007-08-09T09:16:00.000-06:00

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part II

2007-08-09T09:12:00.000-06:00

God's Desire for Marriage -- Part I

2007-08-09T09:05:00.000-06:00

Could It Really Be?

2007-08-01T14:51:00.000-06:00

The Radishes might give blogging another go. And it isn't even harvest season.

1961 Liber Usualis

2007-07-17T15:10:00.000-06:00

By way of The New Liturgical Movement, a PDF of the 1961 Liber Usualis is now available.

Once again, many great thanks are due to Jeffrey Tucker for this product.

p.s. Don't forget about the 1961 Graduale Romanum and the Kyriale (Solesmes edition).

The New Lectionary in the Old Mass

2007-07-12T12:02:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking lately about the use of the Lectionary from the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite (with its 3-year cycle) being used in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. My gut tells me that I don't like the idea, but I have been wanting some good concrete reasons for such.
The USCCB has given the following statistics regarding the Scriptural readings at each Form of the Roman Rite:

Extraordinary Form (1962)	Ordinary Form (2007)
includes 1% of Old Testament	includes 14% of Old Testament
includes 17% of New Testament	includes 71% of New Testament

Daniel Mitsui at The Lion and The Cardinal has some very good thoughts about it:

Can anyone who argues for the three year lectionary remember what he heard at Mass one liturgical year ago this day? If not, then a one year lectionary is every bit as fresh and enriching as a three year lectionary. If anything, more repetition is needed, to inculcate the wisdom of holy writ despite ordinary human forgetfulness.

I would also ask, Are Catholics better catechized in Scripture due to 37 years of the New Lectionary? Frankly, are Catholics better catechized in anything after 37 years of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite?

MP Analysis

2007-07-07T08:47:00.000-06:00

No, not from me. But Der Tommissar is back and in rare form:

Art. 8 A bishop who, desirous of satisfying such requests, but who for various reasons is unable to do so, may refer the problem to the Commission “Ecclesia Dei” to obtain counsel and assistance.

[DT: In my wildest of dreams, the implied meaning of this is…..”who will then get an indult community priest ninja-dropped into the area.” If that’s anywhere near correct, that’s nuclear.]

Ninja-dropping priests. 'Nuf said.

Online Audio Books

2007-06-21T21:51:00.000-06:00

I may be a little bit behind. I just discovered through one of my many geek resources an online provider for public domain audio books -- LibriVox. With mature search capabilities and a growing selection of books, they cover a wide range of topics. Each book contains a link to the e-text as provided by Gutenberg. The even provide an RSS feed of New Releases.

I am currently downloading The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis. Other interesting finds include P.G. Wodehouse, Geoffrey Chaucer, and William Shakespeare.

This site is a very nice distraction from the rest of the stuff that I normally look at online.

Huckabee for President

2007-06-20T09:13:00.000-06:00

Just got an email from the Home School Legal Defense Association's Political Action Committee regarding their endorsement of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Interesting statistics/views:

As governor, he was the first to appoint a homeschooler to the Arkansas State Board of Education.

He is adamantly opposed to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

He supports traditional marriage.

He believes that the Internal Revenue Service should be abolished and replaced with the Fair Tax.

He believes and is willing to say that Islamic extremism needs to be understood as a theologically driven threat.

Mike on faith and politics:

My faith is my life – it defines me. My faith doesn’t influence my decisions, it drives them. For example, when it comes to the environment, I believe in being a good steward of the earth. I don’t separate my faith from my personal and professional lives.

Mike on the 2nd Amendment:

I was the first Governor in the country to have a concealed handgun license, and of course I’m a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.

Mike Huckabee sounds like a pretty good guy, with real-life governing experience -- not some wannabe that popped his head out of the Senate.

And best of all, Mike is not a prig:

Huckabee, 51, enjoys playing bass guitar in his rock-n-roll band.

I will definitely be keeping track of Mr. Huckabee throughout the U.S. Presidential Campaign.

Car on Fire

2007-06-13T18:40:00.001-06:00

I own a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle. Vehicle Identification Number 371. Great summertime car. Not so great in the winter.

I really, really want to love this car. It is fun to drive, looks great, and sounds like a classic VW. I get honks and waves on the highway, and complete strangers start up conversations at the gas station.

Cecilia

However, I think that I am in an abusive relationship. For everything that I have given her, she continues to spurn my affections to the tune of a $200 fuel line replacement, $1200 engine rebuild, and $100 on tires. She now needs some transmission and/or clutch work done, and so she was parked in the side yard awaiting the proper funding.

And then her engine caught on fire.

Seriously.

While mowing the lawn yesterday, I was going to move the car out onto the street to get the final edging complete. After backing the car out onto the street, I saw flames coming from the engine compartment via the rear-view mirror. I quickly pulled the car into the parking spot, killed the engine, and doused the flames.

So if you are looking for me, I am the one curled up in a little ball on the front lawn, sobbing like a little girl.

CMRI Meltdown?

2007-06-05T09:37:00.000-06:00

One of the leading sedevacantist groups in the U.S. is starting to come apart at the seams. Some of the CMRI sisters who do not hold to the sede position are "forcibly resigning" (my term) from the Congregation.

A representative of the Spokane Diocese recently forwarded to them the attached letter. In it, Fr. Barnett addresses the issue of sede vacantism and the impossibility of its resolution:

First, there is no mechanism for the valid election of a successor to Peter. I [Fr. Barnett] was told by Fr. Casimir that, as the Church has always advanced throughout the world by means of miracles (cf. St. Augustine), we must pray for a miracle by which a Pope would be made known to us. In other words, we are to pray that the visible structure of the Church be restored by means of a miracle which requires circumventing those very structures. Thus, an invisible, extra-sacramental miracle is required to restore the visible, sacramental structure of the Church! It is a supreme irony that the possibility and desirability of such an invisible Church is the very position of the Protestants against which St. Charles Borromeo argued so strongly in the Catholic Reformation. Yet that is the basis of the theological position to which you [the Sisters of the CMRI] are asked to subscribe
...
But there is a deeper and more dangerous reason the the Apostolic See will remain vacant if you profess the sede vacantist position: no Pope is possible because no Pope will be accepted. In reality, the Apostolic See will and must remain vacant until Bishop Pivarunas decides that it is occupied. Without a Pope, he is autocephalous, and remains the highest authority in the Church.
...
Third, no Pope is possible for the CMRI because sede vacantism is based upon a fundamentally Protestant premise. It is based upon the false notion that an individual person has the power of the Magisterium to decide how to interpret Scripture and Tradition. This is the exact position taken by most Protestants, who retain the "right" to interpret Scripture according to their own standards. Such a premise is also an inherent component of the secular and modernist thinking so rampant today.

Even Bishop Terence Fulham agrees.

A defining quote from Bishop Mark Pivarunas:

Our Congregation's very existence is based on the vacancy of the Apostolic See.

The Domestic Monastery

2007-06-03T19:21:00.000-06:00

Later this month, my wife will be attending the 8th Annual Rocky Mountain Catholic Home Educators Conference in Denver, Colorado. While making plans for her attendance, I noticed that Kelly Roper will be presenting the concept of the Domestic Monastery.

Since becoming interested in Benedictinism over 10 years ago and reading the Rule of St. Benedict, I have often thought of adapting the Rule to a "Rule for Families". Obviously, I am not the first to have considered this. Without getting into too many specifics, many other writers have drawn comparisons between the Benedictine Order and the Restoration of Christendom. The concept of the Domestic Monastery works at restoring the very building blocks of civilization -- the family.

My wife will be returning with a recording of Mrs. Roper's talk. I will post copious thoughts and impressions at that time.

The Catholic Approach to Work: Definition

2007-05-22T20:31:00.000-06:00

As a follow up to my inaugural post at the Catholic Restorationists entitled The Theology of Work, I would like to explore the Catholic approach to work.

By gaining a Catholic understanding of work and its role in our personal and social lives, we begin to develop a type of theology of work, and in turn apply it back to the work to which we are called in our state of life.

Today, especially within the current post-modern scope, work is no longer a personal venture, but very much contributes to the social and cultural sphere. One does not perform his employment or vocational duties within a bubble or vacuum. Our work is becoming more and more a social force.

As such, we should approach our work as a means to an end, both within the temporal and eternal spheres. Our work is what we do, not who we are. However, as with all actions, whether virtue, vice, or somewhere in the middle, our work can shape who we will become.

Therefore, we should look to the Author of All Work, for whatever "moves, lives, grows, develops, and acts" does so "by means of power drawn from God." [1] Only God creates, in the true sense of the term, but God has allowed Man to be His co-worker and His helpmate in the economy of salvation. God provides the "gifts from which we draw the material for new work", whether they be physical or intellectual gifts.

In times past, the Christian world emphasized the importance of uniting spiritual work and physical work, as seen in the Rule of St. Benedict and the Benedictine motto "Ora et Labora" or "Prayer and Work". Contrast that with today, when work is seen as a necessary evil, to be tolerated for the sake of making a living. As Pope Pius XI stated in Quadragesimo Anno:

While dead matter emerges from the economic workshop ennobled, man, on the other hand, is made worse, and becomes more vulgar.

In reality, work is a call by God to cooperate in the Divine Plan, whether making fruitful the gifts of the Earth or the gifts of the Intellect, Will and Memory. Work is not a punishment, but a great trust that God has shown in Man. In His Wisdom, God has also provided that work help us to develop our spiritual powers to the point of perfection. Patience, Prudence, Steadfastness, Charity, Fortitude -- all of these are exercised on a daily basis and are strengthened by the work we perform. The True value of work is lost when approached only for the sake of material gains.

As a human person, one's mind and will should gain something from the work. Man should take something valuable from his work, because it is his work that is shaping the mind, will, feelings and other characteristics, including the Virtues. His physical and spiritual skills should not be overlooked.

As mentioned earlier, work is a means to both the temporal and eternal ends. Therefore, through his work, every man should aim to achieve (1) the perfecting of things, and (2) the perfecting of the working man.

This is the meaning of work.

This definition of work is the starting point for a restoration of true socio-economic progress. This definition is a starting point for the restoration of human civilization, for moral-religious progress, and for the the culture of the world.

"Work is not only for satisfying the needs of our existence. It is a means by which man knows himself and learns to express himself." [1]

Work is the means by which man is perfected for the eventual enjoyment of Eternal Beatitude.

[1] All You Who Labor: Work and the Sanctification of Daily Life, Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, Sophia Institute Press, 1995.

Names Make a Difference

2007-05-15T07:37:00.000-06:00

Steve (et al.) have spoken extensively on the roles of women and how dress makes the lady. Well, apparently names also make the lady.

Despite the overt spin of the story, there are some good nuggets. Girls who are given less feminine names are more likely to pursue math and science after adolescence. However the girls with more feminine names

were [not] any less capable. When the Isabellas, Annas and Elizabeths took on their tougher-named peers in science, they performed just as well.

Also of note was that children with more traditional names (with traditional spellings) scored higher than others.

... the exam marks of those with 'lower-status' names - often spelled in an unusual way or including punctuation - were on average 3 to 5 percentage points lower than siblings with more traditional names.

The name of the child, and its spelling, has an impact on the child's self-image AND upon the expectations of those around the child.

'Parents who make up bizarre names for their children are ignorant, arrogant or just foolish.'

Moral of the story: Give your girl a girl's name, and she will be treated as such. Dress your girl like a girl, and she will be treated as such.

The Falsity of Right vs. Left

2007-05-08T07:40:00.000-06:00

Steve recently posted a summary of an on-going feud to which he has been party. The other person, Kevin, seems to like the right-middle-left dichotomy that has permeated the global culture and the Church.

The Right vs. Left is a flexible tool, completely based on one's own perspective. One person may be a social conservative and a religious liberal in the same breath. However, that classification may change when someone with stronger or weaker views enters the exchange.

Here is Steve quoting Kevin:

... he’s thinking well to the "right" (my term) of the Church on questions like NFP use and the role of women in family/society.

From Kevin's perspective, Steve's thinking is to the "right". Notice the subjectivity. The Right vs. Left is a perspective based upon where I stand at this moment. I am the center. I am the synthesis of the thesis and the antithesis.

I, James, have little room to pontificate, because I find myself using these false dichotomies at a moment's notice. They are so very convenient, but undoubtedly false. As a culture, we are so conditioned to think with a right-center-left mentality, that escaping it's grasp takes a constant act of the will. As humans, we sometimes (read often) fail.

In terms of religious observance and classification, (and really throughout all of culture) the subject should be judged on its relation to Truth and Falsehood.

The question is not whether anyone is to the right or left of anything. The question is:

Is it Truth?

Two Conflicting Visions

2007-04-27T06:21:00.000-06:00

The always-excellent Mr. Gillibrand has posted the Text of Letter from the International Council of Christians and Jews to Cardinal Kasper. It basically deals with the upcoming Motu Proprio (subito!) and it's impact on Jewish (and now Muslim) relations.

One particular section caught my eye:

The expanded validation of such prayers [in the 1962 Missal -Ed.] will rightly challenge Catholic integrity in terms of the proclamations of the past four decades. Non- Catholics can rightly ask which is the normative view when two conflicting visions are supposedly legitimized. Saying that the missal of Pope Paul VI remains the normative text, while true, does not solve the problem in our judgment.

Does that say what I think it says? Non-Catholics would rightly question which is the true view of the Church. When two viewpoints/cultures/Missals, emanating from the same juridical body, directly oppose each other, human nature dictates that a comparison is made. One is objectively better than the other.

The Non-Catholics will question.

Will Catholics question?

Manhood and Fatherhood

2007-04-18T09:33:00.000-06:00

Two books had a decisive impact on my view of my role as father and husband.

The first is Fatherhood & Family, published by Angelus Press. It got my head on straight regarding my view of my wife, my children, and the world. Most of it was very difficult to digest the first time through. Coming from a very N.O. background and the "mutual submission" lobotomy that goes with it, this book challenged me, and gets a re-read every 18 months or so.

The second book was Created to Be His Helpmeet, by Debi Pearl. This one is for the ladies (in my best Barry White voice). Once again, it is a very tough read. My wife started reading it and dismissed it as Fundamentalist garbage. But when our N.O. friends reacted so violently against some of the more sane concepts, She took another look. What is boils down to is this: Women -- act like a woman and treat your husband like a man (with all of the manly-man things that it implies).

When I started thinking of myself as a Man, Husband, and Father, I became better at it. When my wife acted like a Lady, Wife, and Mother, and started treating me like a Man, Husband, and Father, I bore the yoke much more comfortably, and started treating my wife like a Lady. I know that she will support me in whatever I do. I trust her opinions even more because she knows that I have her and the children's best interests at heart.

And finally, sharing one's concerns and fears with one's wife is one of the best things one can do. Does she not share the same with you?

One of the (many) turning points in my relationship with my wife was after we had been married for several years. While courting her, I said all of the lovey-dovey stuff (true nonetheless) about how much I need her and depend upon her presence in my life. After getting married, I immediately assumed the role of what I thought a husband/provider should be. I rarely, if ever, shared my dependency upon her, fearing that she would see me as weak and vulnerable -- a shell of the man that she had married. Years later, due to some family crisis, I broke down and shared my utter dependence upon her in my life, ultimately saying "I need you". She broke down in tears, stating that she feared losing me to my work or the world because I no longer needed her. By the weird ways in which God works through human frailty, my weakness/vulnerability made me stronger through my wife.

BTW, the clamming up myself and shutting off my feelings was something I learned by example. In turn, I hope to pass a better example to my own children. They will never forget the example I set for them.

Fr. Norman Weslin

2007-04-10T07:16:00.000-06:00

Last week we received a call from a nice lady in Omaha, Nebraska asking us to pray for Fr. Norman Weslin, as his District Court trial was scheduled for Holy Thursday. He was accused of blocking access to an abortion clinic.

Of course, my family prayed for him. He was found not guilty, Deo Gratias.

My wife has known the good Father for over 15 years. She has worked beside him on many occasions, and was a House Mother for one of the Weslin Homes for Unwed Mothers here in Colorado Springs.

Weslin, who was not available for comment, became teary-eyed after hearing the verdict and began singing "Ave Maria" with his supporters, Cannon said.

Thanks be to God for prayers answered, and thanks to Our Lady.

(More info)

Stations of the Cross (Old and New)

2007-04-06T10:24:00.000-06:00

Station	Stations of the Cross: According to the method of St. Alphonsus Liguori	New 'Way of the Cross' at the Colosseum
First	Jesus Is Condemned To Death	Jesus in the Garden of Olives
Second	Jesus Is Made To Bear His Cross	Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested
Third	Jesus Falls The First Time	Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin
Fourth	Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother	Jesus is denied by Peter
Fifth	The Cyrenian Helps Jesus To Carry His Cross	Jesus is judged by Pilate
Sixth	Veronica Wipes The Face Of Jesus	Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns
Seventh	Jesus Falls The Second Time	Jesus takes up his cross
Eighth	The Women Of Jerusalem Weep Over Jesus	Jesus is helped by the Cyrenean to carry his cross
Ninth	Jesus Falls The Third Time	Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Tenth	Jesus Is Stripped Of His Garments	Jesus is crucified
Eleventh	Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross	Jesus promises his Kingdom to the good thief
Twelfth	Jesus Dies On The Cross	The crucified Jesus, the Mother and the disciple
Thirteenth	Jesus Is Taken Down From The Cross	Jesus dies on the cross
Fourteenth	Jesus Is Laid In The Sepulchre	Jesus is laid in the tomb

St. Patrick's Day

2007-03-16T07:31:00.000-06:00

Forget about the drunken sloppiness of the day. The great St. Patrick converted an entire country from paganism. His faith, passed on through the centuries, is why I am a Catholic today.

I love St. Patrick and often pray for his zeal and love of souls.

I will be drinking Guinness tomorrow, thanking God for converting my ancestors and for giving us monks who figured out how to make beer.

It is all the fad ...

2007-03-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

Deja Vu

2007-03-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

The Motu Proprio is coming!

The Motu Proprio is coming!

The Motu Proprio is coming!

(Yes, I know that I am an obnoxious, cynical b@$t@rd.)

The Emancipation Proclamation

2007-02-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

Rumour has it that "the Mass will be officially freed next week...Feb 22." -- which just happens to be the Feast of The Chair of St. Peter.

As the rumours and speculations fly, I have a few of my own.

I think that the "Emancipation Proclamation" will be some statement to the effect that the Mass was never really taken away, so there is nothing to free. That way, Rome looks like the Good Guy to both sides. The Liberals can still tout the N.O. is the choice of the People of God and a Movement of the sPiRiT. The Conservatives can point at one more document (remember Authenticam Liturgicam ?) and say "See! See! The Pope is with us. If only the Bishops would follow him ... " or some other hand-wringing that has been the staple of Catholic Conservatism for the past 25 years.

The Trads will cheer at first, and then realize that nothing is going to change. Chris Ferrara will write a 8 page article in The Latin Mass Magazine detailing the loopholes and inconsistencies within said document, and warn readers not to trust anyone (Bishop or Priest) who tries to implement it.

Meanwhile, we will go back to our lives -- replete with combat against the World, the Flesh, and the Devil -- and working our darndest to pass the Faith on to our children.

Quoting Pop Diva Whitney Houston, "I believe the children are our future ..."

Cardinal Hoyos Interview

2007-02-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

Once again, Cardinal Hoyos speaks regarding the Ecclesia Dei Commission et alia.

Steve is touching on the Novus Ordo - T.L.M. dichotomy here, but I would like to bring forth a comment by His Eminence:

I am constantly surprised that young people who have not known the Old Rite before discover the peace and mystery of the Old Mass. What is important is that the two Rites do not oppose each other but one should see the beauty and sanctity in both. (emphasis mine).

The N.O. virtually replaced the T.L.M. As such, there is naturally going to be a comparison between the two Rites. One is better than the other.

Yes, I know that the Sacrifice of Christ is infinite and perfect. Only God can judge the supernatural effects. That is not of which I speak. I speak of the natural which touches our humanity.

One is better at communicating the essence of the Catholic Faith.
One is better at catechizing the faithful.
One is better at instilling reverence for the Sacred.
One is better at lifting a fallen human nature.
One is better at maintaining the 'mystery' part of Sacred Mysteries.

When considering the above, there will be opposition between the two Rites. There should be opposition between the two Rites. When one thing replaces another, there cannot be perfect equality, unless it is replaced by the exact same thing.

Posting Documents on Blogger

2007-01-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Apparently, one can post documents to one's blog. The previous post was just such an example (which has been subsequently removed because it was a MONSTER). I do have the "Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Latin and English" document in a 'real' document format.

Let me know if you want a copy.

Is the Epiphany Declaration Worthwhile?

2007-01-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

Many have already seen The Epiphany Declaration and its plebe spin-off.

My question: Is this worthwhile?

Are we really so convinced that the Powers-That-Be actually give a fig about 600 signatures on an online petition? Other than the "Agatha Christie Indult", when has something like this even remotely worked?

As for the "Declaration" itself, do we really want the church to be swayed by "influential" or "big name" people putting together a Declaration? Wow! 40 Intellectuals signed a document asking the Holy Father to free the Classical Roman Rite. Ten-times as many "Catholic" Intellectuals would freely sign a document asking the Holy Father to allow for a married Roman Catholic priesthood. And the online plebe petition would easily get 6000 signatures.

I am not convinced that these Declarations are going to have an impact. I am not convinced that I want them to have an impact. It smacks of Congregationalism, not Catholicism.

Frankly, I don't want the Holy Father listening to any 21st-century-Intellectual-signed Declaration. Americanism and its fruits have infected the whole bunch. This whole "People of God" thing has gone to their heads.

Dying Indults

2006-12-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of days, news has reached me of the impending death of two different Indult Mass locations: San Fernando Mission (L.A. Archdiocese) and Prince of Peace (Greenville, SC). Sad news indeed.

These two Mass locations have different reasons for cutting back (or closing). The SC location's priest has lost support of another priest who covered for him during the 5 p.m. Indult slot. He will only be able to offer the Indult once per month. The L.A. location is now closed by its Ordinary. (ahemm ...)

Yes, I know about the rumors of the Motu Proprio, and I will believe it when I see it. There have been too many rumors over the past 6 years.

However, the closings/cut-backs described above lends some credibility to the rumors. The lines are being drawn. The players are picking their team. The fighters are choosing a corner.

The circumstances are being arranged in such a way that those true Indult locations (not FSSP or ICR) will have a very difficult time satisfactorily justifying their existence to their Ordinary. Whether it is fear of the M.P. or vindication, these Ordinaries are cutting any and all ties to Tradition.

If/When the M.P. is issued, it will be the beginning of the war for Catholicism, not the end.

The Grindstone

2006-12-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

Alas, I am back at Blogger.

I just couldn't stand having to delete the crazy Trackbacks that kept popping up ... less than savory subject matter.

In the meantime, I have the first draft of a Monastic Diurnal in the works. Right now, it contains Prime and Compline, and most of the Kalendar. It is a side project to support the liturgical prayer life of Benedictine Oblates.

Let me know if you want a copy. I will also send out regular updates.

Day of the Ninja

2006-12-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

Today is the Day of the Ninja.

You can take the ninja quiz here.

Are_You_a_Ninja

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Because I said so ...

2006-11-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

Per The New Liturgical Movement blog, the Archdiocese of Genoa has issued as statement regarding the impending motu proprio.

I take issue with the last two items:

9) two valid expressions of the same Catholic faith -- that of St. Pius V and that of Paul VI -- cannot be presented as "expressing opposite views" and, thus, as mutually irreconcilable;

10) In liturgical ambit, the decisions and deeds of Popes - namely John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI - and of Councils - Tridentine and Vatican II - cannot be presented in a conflictual way and, even less, as alternative to one another.

As for #9, why cannot the missals be presented as "expressing opposite views"? (or at least "opposing" views)? Just because one says a thing, does not make it true.

In #10, the decisions and deeds of post-V2 popes -- and the decisions and deeds of Trent and V2 -- cannot be presented in a conflictual way. Once again, why not? Because one says it cannot?

We are now Thinking Catholics. If two things, whether two missals or two councils, seem to be opposed, Thinking Catholics need good reasons as to why they are not.

"Because I said so." is not an acceptable answer.

Should Catholics Blog? ... Sure!

2006-11-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Below is an article from the Oriens Journal. Normally, Oriens is a good read. This article is the exception. I have woven in my own commentary (mostly to point out inconsistencies).

...

Should Catholics blog?

These days almost every second Catholic appears to blog compulsively. R. J. Stove, who lives in Melbourne and is Executive Editor of Oriens, explores blogging’s intellectual and moral perils.

Blogging. By now every Catholic, even if he leads as hermetic an existence as did Saint Bruno, must know about it. Blogs – short, of course, for "weblogs" – have now become the preferred method for communication among Catholics in the English-speaking world, more especially in America. It seems every second Catholic one meets has a blog, from the staunchest traditionalist to the most oafish lesbian eucharistic minister.

Amy Welborn's blog (the work of a mildly conservative Novus Ordo wife, mother and debunker of The Da Vinci Code) is these days probably the most famous blog by any Catholic in the world. Some traditionalist blogs are Radtrad.blogspot.com, Distributism.blogspot.com, Inillotempore.com/blog, and Confiteminidomino.blogspot.com. This last is unusual in two respects: its founder is (a) Australian and (b) a priest, the Dominican Father Ephraem Chifley. Lay Americans run the overwhelming majority of Catholic blogs.

[JtH -- Not bad! Two Evil Traditionalists made it on to the short list. I will be using the list of blogs provided here as the measuring stick by which to judge the below arguments. As an aside, most of the Catholics with whom I assist Mass weekly know little to nothing about the blog phenom. And they really do not care.

And why does everyone like Amy Welborn? I don't get it.]

Allied to the blogging phenomenon is the Internet discussion group phenomenon, which is not quite the same thing, but which overlaps sufficiently with blogging per se to be discussed alongside it. (A great many members of Catholic discussion groups submit commentary to blogs.) Perhaps the most prominent of traditionalist Internet discussion groups is Angelqueen.org. Another, less acerbic in general spirit, is the Laudate Dominum forum. Distributism.blogspot.com exists specifically to uphold – and apply to modern political crises – the Chesterbelloc tradition.

[JtH -- The topic switches to online fora, which will be considered as part of the blogging craze. I am a member of the AngelQueen forum, and follow some of the more interesting threads. Per the top post of Laudate Dominum Forum, it is no longer active. As this article was penned in the Spring of 2006 (Australia time?), and L.D. Forum closed in September 2006, there might be some overlap.

Why is Distributism mentioned again in this paragraph? I thought we were talking about fora.]

Amid all this activity, much of it by Catholics who are personally estimable, the question arises. Should Catholics be blogging at all?

This essay argues that, for the most part, they should not; that blogs (and I include here Internet discussion groups as well as blogs proper) actually represent a graver objective peril to the Catholic soul than does the television set, which at least seldom presents even the façade of interactivity; and above all, that however noble specific bloggers' intentions are, far too much blogging is incompatible with a sensus Catholicus. The reasons for such apparently bizarre conclusions are explained below.

Pro-blog to anti-blog

At the risk of obscene self-indulgence, perhaps an autobiographical note is in order. I used to be among blogs' most enthusiastic defenders, for the same general reasons that I refused to weep, wail, and rend the raiment at the Internet’s arrival. The mainstream print media's intellectual and moral sleaze would in itself have inclined me towards defences of blogging, even if so many good Catholics had not become part-time or full-time bloggers themselves. I rejoiced at the speed with which blogs could transmit Vatican media releases and official traditionalist pronouncements halfway around the world before the conventional Fourth Estate's secular-humanist ignoramuses even got their boots on.

[JtH -- In other words, the author likes blogs/fora becuase bloggers pick up news and disseminate it.]

Furthermore, unlike many of my fellow right-wing Catholics, I lack in my temperament even the smallest particle of the Luddite. To be a Luddite, I soon realised, is to be a Manichean. Not on the agenda. We are called upon to be Catholics; we are not called upon to be the Amish. For these reasons I would occasionally submit a comment upon others’ blogs (primarily but not always Catholic), though I had not the faintest desire to be a blogger myself.

[JtH -- I agree. Technology is cool. Science is cool.]

These days I consider my former lenience regarding Catholic blogs to be spiritually and ethically unconscionable. Why has my attitude changed? Because Catholic blogs have become as prone as any other postlapsarian human endeavour to laws of unintended consequences. I shall continue to consult a very few even-tempered Catholic blogs, notably Distributism.blogspot.com, for international news information which I cannot get elsewhere (but which I need). Concerning the rest, I can only pray that most of them – including blogs by traditionalists – will close down, and that those responsible for them will direct their energies to more sensible fields.

[JtH -- The author had a change of heart. Blogs/fora are bad because of 'unintended consequences'. The real nugget of this paragraph is in the next sentence. "... continue to consult a very few even-tempered Catholic blogs ..."

Ahh! The author does not like the rough-and-tumble, calls-'em-likes-I-sees-'em attitude of nearly every single blog in existence. Sometimes pompacity is necessary to bring a topic to light. This will be highlighted later with the author's own remarks.

For the record, I do not hope that blogs shut down. The Vox Populi must be heard. The traditionalists are some of the few who are standing up for truth and beauty. If they are silenced, whither does truth and beauty go?]

Blogging as vice

Barring a miracle, there would seem to be five factors now at work to corrupt any hopes that the average Catholic can be a good Catholic and a diligent blogger. One could argue that these factors are mere undesirable accretions to blogging, rather than intrinsic to the blog genre; but in practice most bloggers can no more avoid them than most Communists can avoid mass murder. The factors are:

[JtH -- Despite the author's future protestations, there is an implied comparison between bloggers and Communists.]

i. Addiction, with all its dangers;

ii. Pseudonymity, with all its dangers;

iii. Encouraging smart-aleck soundbites rather than hard, detailed, historically scrupulous reasoning;

iv. Related to (iii), a general degrading of language, and of the writer’s role as language’s custodian (not to say as breadwinner);

v. De facto anticlericalism.

Let us take (i) first.

The Internet’s capacity for creating addicts is something that even the stupidest Panglossian social worker no longer attempts to deny. Every conscientious priest is aware of it; many a priest worries about it; some priests actually issue warnings to their flock about it. More priests should do so.

Without the smallest effort, and even when one leads a life otherwise reasonably replete with interesting activities, one can spend ten or twelve hours on the Net per day. What honest Catholic would tolerate similar appeasement of the Great God Television? No honest Catholic on the face of this earth, we must devoutly hope. Nevertheless, and very unfortunately, those traditionalists who understand with bitter precision TV’s menaces, usually appear entirely oblivious to the menaces of cyberspace, unless those menaces take such blatant forms as downloading porn. (That is a problem beyond this article’s scope.) We who have known what it is like to be an Internet addict – waiting with cold sweats, and with something like frenzy, for new developments on our preferred blog – wish to beg others: "Don’t go down that path. We’ve wasted months of our lives. We’ve committed the sin of sloth, which, as Evelyn Waugh once pointed out, is perfectly compatible with authorial profusion. Don’t you make the same error."

[JtH -- I agree with the whole addiction thing. But I take umbrage with the "slam the Trads" technique.

"traditionalists ... usually appear entirely oblivious to the menaces of cyberspace" is an incredible generalization. In fact, Traditionalists are acutely aware of the [hidden] menaces of cyberspace.

I am familiar with most Traditionalists blogs. Each author with whom I have spoken struggles with minimizing online time. Forum moderators are subject to the same addictions and struggles. The successful blogs/fora are those that have found the balance between online-time and real-world-time.]

Pseudonymous invective

But if only addiction’s problems were the sole, or even the worst, blogging hazards! Alas, they are among the least: which brings us to (ii). Every reader conversant with blogs’ comment sections – let alone with non-blog discussion fora – soon detects one fact above all that fills him, or that certainly should fill him, with dread. It is this: for every comment that comes from someone with the courage to sign his name, there are 100 that have been submitted under pseudonyms. If such deification of pseudonymity is not a coward’s charter, it is hard to think of what else it might be.

[JtH -- Real names are sometimes dangerous. Trads are NOT "entirely oblivious to the menaces of cyberspace". By using my real name, anyone is then able to find out where I live, work, and worship. One may find my wife and children. There are serious personal consequences to real names.]

Screwtape himself could scarcely hope to devise a more effective method of instilling mutual hate than what blogs and discussion fora provide: an orgy of ad hominem invective where each participant is fighting in the dark against fellow guerrillas.

[JtH -- Yes, the bad ones are bad. Thus are the effects of Original Sin. But of the blogs/fora listed above, the invective is kept to a minimum. Caveat emptor: Don't read that schtuff.]

Absent a full-time blog or forum moderator who will rigorously exclude such invective, and you can almost smell the witless malice oozing forth from your computer screen.

[JtH -- Was that just the afore-condemned invective?]

When, moreover, flame wars break out online between those participants who simply want to be better Catholics, and those (they are invariably male) who want to turn every last discussion group into the Protocols of the Elders of Zion Fan Club, or the League For Calumniating Women Who Were Seen To Wear Trousers For One Day In 1959, the overwhelming temptation is to burst out “Enough already”.

[JtH -- Indeed it is. And I have done as such. But are men not allowed to have opinions about the propriety of ladies' fashion? Most often, we are the ones who are the victims of said fashion. The Protocols and such are quickly becoming verboten on most blogs/fora because of the invective that ensues, as is the topic of ladies' dress. Although, the topic of post-modern fashion should be regularly evaluated and addressed according to Catholic principles.]

Dumbing-down prose

From (ii), and to a lesser extent from (i), it will be clear that most blogging, by its very nature, sins against the intellect. Regrettably, an additional sin (or, if we want to be super-generous, potential sin) arises from the typical Internet text itself. As anyone knows who has striven to write it, Internet-specific prose does two things, and only two things, very well. It simplifies, thanks to hyperlinks, the sourcing of allegations; and it encourages the aphoristic. Even on the best screens, such prose is physically tiring to read. Long paragraphs are incomparably harder to understand onscreen than they are on the printed page.

[JtH -- ... and so are terms such as aphoristic, Panglossian, & Luddite. Are Journals immune to the above criticisms?]

The constant temptation, then – as mentioned in point (iii) – is to dumb-down everything. Away with the subordinate clause. Hurl nuances into the rubbish-dump. Delete everything which requires reflection. Cultivate, at any price, the wisecrack. Sustained arguments are just too hard. Hit-and-run attacks are much more satisfying to arrange. As for correct spelling and grammar, well, who needs those? Write what you feel, baby. The egalitarian, democratic, and (therefore) deeply anti-Catholic implications of this are, or at any rate they should be, obvious. Which makes it all the more shameful that one needs to spell them out; but even the better Catholic blogs and online fora tend to abound in orthography (to say nothing of syntax) which three decades ago would have disgraced a ten-year-old.

[JtH -- I agree. Fortunately, those who suffer from such grammatical challenges are quickly called to task. Those blogs which persist in ignorance are seldom read and eventually fall away.

And where, in all this, does the unlucky Catholic author – alluded to in (iv) – happen to fit? An author, that is, who does his best to proclaim orthodox dogma;

[JtH -- Is there another kind of dogma?]

who writes as well as he can; who has a track record of publication in sane periodicals; and who hopes (however optimistically) to earn enough by magazine-writing to prevent the telephone and the hot water from being cut off? It is plain that for any such author, the blogosphere means unmitigated calamity. Who will pay for his output, when the output of every self-educated pseudo-Catholic freak can be read online for nothing? Or was Rerum Novarum never meant to apply to the scribbling set? No-one is suggesting that the Catholic author, or any author, should be cosseted; we know from the Soviet Writers’ Union and similar rackets the hazards of such totalitarian seclusion. But does the concept of a living wage for honest work mean anything at all, or was Leo XIII on a magic-mushroom trip when he said that it did?

[JtH -- Another ahah! moment. Only those 'authors' who fit the Egalitarian definition should be writing. Since everyone else is writing, opining, and pontificating for free, the Egalitarain author is severely deprived of providing a means by which to live. Amateur writers should get out of the way of the real writers.

The last part of the paragraph regarding Soviets and Leo XIII is just a disclaimer, "I'm not saying what I just said." Even though he just said it.]

Hatred of clergy

Leo XIII. Ah yes, popes. Always a sticky subject when two or three bloggers are gathered together (One Angelqueen.org participant has memorably described the present Holy Father as “that S.O.B.”).

[JtH -- As of this writing, there are over 1750 registered users on AngelQueen. One participant spoils the whole bunch? Should we apply the same standards to Bishops? Oh, wait, we are getting to that ...]

There are a few conspicuous and welcome exceptions, but the blogosphere’s overall level of anticlericalism must be experienced to be believed.

[JtH -- In general, this is because we are sheep without shepherds willing to lead. We are in a horrible crisis, and those who post to blogs/fora are fighting to keep their own faith. The clerics are not feeding us, despite Our Lord's admonition to "Feed my sheep."]

If some sadistic prelate wanted to make a case for the laity never being allowed to do anything, he need merely refer to many a traditionalist – to say nothing of many a conservative Novus Ordo – blog. (See the recent Oprah-like blog whining of one columnist, who is so upset by America’s Catholic sacerdotalscandals that he thinks he’ll join the Eastern Orthodox Church, so there.)

[JtH -- Sadistic prelates are already doing as such. They deny the Indult to groups because of what they perceive traditionalists to be. Blogs are merely the symptom, not the cause.

I will pray for the columnist who is leaving for Orthodoxy.]

Any Martian reading such blogs would assume that tarring and feathering the entire clergy for sexual abuse was not only the most important task facing a Catholic in 2006, but also the most important task that has ever faced a Catholic anywhere at any time. Those who attempt to point out the sheer self-destructive fatuity of such antics – and their repulsive resemblance to Ku Klux Klan guttersniping, circa 1924, about satyriatic priests and nuns – will merely have their comments deleted without explanation.

[JtH -- So those who spoke out against the scandals are akin to the KKK? Who, again, is guttersniping? Only non-Catholics and anti-Catholics "tarr[ed] and feather[ed] the entire clergy". Hurt and anger, as displayed by Catholics, are reasonable emotional reactions to the scandals.]

Some of us know whereof we speak. Blogs’ Americocentric nature merely exacerbates the problem. It is impossible to imagine a more effective, or pernicious, method than these blogs of spreading, among foreigners, the false but understandable belief that American Catholics are merely American Calvinists who get drunk.

[JtH -- Bad Americans! Is 'American' the newest international dirty word?

Americans have had a voice for over 200 years. We speak out against perceived grievances. To do less would be negligence.]

There might, of course, be a virtue in the blogosphere which, unmentioned in the foregoing, counteracts the above list of palpable evils.

I know of no such virtue.

[JtH -- Any blog/forum mentioned above can provide a list of participants who reverted/converted to the Catholic faith because of the information provided by said blog/forum. That is reason enough.]

Me Pirate Name ... ARRGH!

2006-11-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

My pirate name is:

Mad Jimmy Flint

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Remember, Remember ...

2006-11-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

In memory of Guy Fawkes Day:

Remember, Remember
The Fifth of November
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot.
I see of no reason,
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot!

Penny for the Guy?

1961 Graduale Romanum

2006-10-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey Tucker at The New Liturgical Movement has done a great service for Traditionalists everywhere. He has scanned a 1961 Graduale Romanum, and provided free of charge the fruits of his labor.

I am currently grabbing every file he has provided and will use them to support our local FSSP Chapel Gregorian Chant choir.

May God bless Jeffrey Tucker for his labor of love.

Chant Propers for Christ the King

2006-10-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

I have put together a short document containing the Traditional plainchant propers for today, the Feast of Christ the King. I was hoping to have a more substantive post for this Feast of Feasts. Maybe this afternoon ...

Tell me what you want, what you really, really want ..

2006-10-25T14:49:00.000-06:00

Dom and Amy have some thoughts on the Liturgy. Here is what Dom has to say:

The Tridentine Mass should be given a universal indult because it was never suppressed.

I have no real desire to make the Tridentine Mass part of my worship life. I am quite content to attend my Novus Ordo parish where I have to put up with banal music and--from certain priests, but not my pastor--banal homilies and the occasional liturgical wackiness.

I would like a whole lot more Latin in the Mass up to and including everything but the readings and homily, especially when non-English speakers and English speakers are praying together. (I would add that I’d also like the Roman Canon to be said more often than not; come on, how much more time does it take really?)

I’m sick of liturgists who think innovation and copying the secular culture (or worse, the secular culture of 1972) are signs of a healthy spirituality.

The post-Vatican II changes that put the priest and his personality at the center of attention has been disastrous, not the least to the priests themselves.

I’d like to replace 90 percent of hymns with simple chant.

So, what he really wants is a car with a Ferrari body, wheels, sound-system, and exhaust -- but not a Ferrari. The general argument is that I want orthodoxy, but only as long as it is on MY terms, and doesn't challenge me TOO much.

Unfiltered, unmitigated, uncompromising orthodoxy and orthopraxis will always be too much for some people.

Irish Festival

2006-10-13T13:27:00.000-06:00

I will be at the Weston Irish Fest in Weston, MO this weekend visiting family and "taste-testing" the local brews.

During this time, my place of residence is within crawling distance of the event.

I will be the one with a pint in one hand, the wife holding the other, and 7 kids trying to keep up.

My favorite performers: Connie Dover, Eddie Delahunt, Bob Reeder, and Brigid's Cross.

A good time will be had by all.

Arrrh!

2006-09-19T14:08:00.000-06:00

Today be Talk Like a Pirate Day

#1: "Arrr, I have made note of yer demands and I have but one question for ye: Will ye be wantin' slivers o' potato fried in the popular French style with that?"

My Inner-Geek is Showing

2006-09-11T09:31:00.000-06:00

The BSD Test Delivery Survey is now available at:
BSD Certification

I think it would be great to take the Certification Exam, but I tend to agree with the reasons given by those who say they will not take the exam. The kinds of companies for which I work are not Certification hounds. (And if they were, I wouldn't have worked there.) This also tends to beg the question ... "Is certification valuable?"

I'm not convinced that it is.

A new Traditional Institute

2006-09-08T07:35:00.000-06:00

Of course, Rorate Coeli has broken this story, which is currently only available in French. It looks like the name will be "Good Shepherd" -- 'Bon pasteur'. It will be headed by Fr. Philippe Laguérie, and subject to the Ecclesia Dei Commission.

Here is the Babelfish translation:

Rome has set up a new traditionalist fraternity to accomodate the former priests and seminarians of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X.

On September 8, 2006, the Congregation for the Clergy established a new religious institute, 'the Good Shepherd', centered around former priests and seminarians of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X, separated from Rome since 1988, according to information collected by I.MEDIA. The seat of this new Fraternity will be in Bordeaux (France) at the church of Saint Eligius. The priests will exclusively celebrate according to the traditional liturgical rites of Saint Pius V.

On the morning of September 8, 2006, the feastday of the Nativity of the Virgin, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy and charged with the EcclesiaDei Commission, signed the decree of erection of the institute of pontifical right of the 'Good Shepherd'. The Institute is an apostolic company of life dependant upon the Ecclesia Dei Commission, the Congregation for the Institute of Consecrated Life and the Society of Apostolic Life. In this decree, Cardinal Hoyos approved the statutes of the new institute,whose Superior General is a priest expelled from the Fraternity of Saint Pius X, Abbé Philippe Laguérie.

Vatican sources indicate that "Benedict XVI himself wished this step" in which "the traditional missal of Saint Pius V is not a separate missal, but an extraordinary form of the single Roman rite". In the Vatican, and among the members of the new institute, it is said that "this agreement corresponds to the requests made formerly by Mgr. Lefebvre", separated from Rome in 1988.

Among the numbers of the new fraternity, there are five priests and several seminarians, who will arrive soon. Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos committed himself celebrating these first ordinations. The persons in charge of the new fraternity also count on the fact that priests of Fraternity of Saint Pius X will choose to join them and that they will be able to found in various dioceses within 'personal parishes'. In Bordeaux, Paris and elsewhere, these priests are followed by a certain number of faithful attached to the missal of Saint Pius V, the liturgical rite liturgical in force before the liturgical reforms of 1969.

With this new institute, Rome chose to negotiate with those excluded from the Fraternity founded by Mgr. Lefebvre, rather than with the Fraternity itself. The reception of former integrist priests will not occur without in the Church of France. The Fraternity of St. Peter, founded in 1988 to accomodate faithful priests and seminarians wanting to remain attached to Rome in respect of liturgical tradition, could also suffer from this new creation. Even more so as some of its members seem ready to join 'the Institute of the Good Shepherd'.

Cardinal Ricard, archbishop of Bordeaux, Member of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, might accept Saint Eligius Church as the seat of the Institute of Good Shepherd. It 'recussitates' a church of the diocese of Bordeaux occupied since January 2002 by Abbé Laguérie, then holy member of Fraternity Saint Pius X, with the support of the city council.

The reception by Rome of priests excluded from Fraternity Saint Pius X takes place as several bishops consecrated by Mgr Lefebvre into 1988 continue to harden the tone vis-a-vis with the Holy See. Mgr. Bernard Fellay, who was received by Benedict XVI in August 2005 at Castel Gandolfo, and was confirmed last July as the head of the Fraternity of Saint X, requested as a precondition to any negotiation with Rome "full freedom without conditions of the Tridentine Mass, and the withdrawal of the decree of excommunication of the four bishops" consecrated in 1988 by Mgr. Lefebvre. Since then, it has launched an initiative called "Million Rosary Bouquet" with which it invites the faithful to request "to obtain from Heaven the courage necessary for Benedict XVI to release the mass known as that of Saint Pius V".

In March 2006, Abbé Philippe Laguérie declared that an "agreement with Rome" was "an obvious choice, such that one wonders how it could leave the head of anyone" because "it is the constitution of the Church which requires it". This agreement, as written, initially does not have "the precondition, levelled all the doctrinal difficulties". It also invites its faithful "to read the signs, the demonstrations, the possibilities of the goodwill of the Romans to deal with someof delirious doctrinal errors and scandals of the years 1960-2000". It asks for "a total freedom of the liturgy, and for basic reasons, as well as total freedom to accept the Council for what it is", noting that "the document of the Pope to the curia (December 22) (...) indicates well that the spirit of the Council is bad".

In April 2006 at Lourdes, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard declared in front of all of the bishops of France that "the question of the relationship of Fraternity of Saint Pius X" deserved "a particular treatment". "We know that Pope Benedict XVI carries the concern from there", he explained, adding that, "in the weeks or the months ahead, it should give directives to facilitate the way towards a possible return to a full communion". "We will accomodate them in the faith and will accurately put them in?uvre" [?? - JtH], announced the Cardinal Ricard to the bishops.

Among the priests that make up the new traditional institute that were in turn expelled from Fraternity of Saint Piis X is Abbé Paul Aulagnier, a long time Fraternity Superior General in France (1976-1994), who was expelled in 2003 for defending the agreements known as 'of Campos'. In 2002, the Holy See had allowed the Brazilian Fraternity of Saint Jean-Marie Vianney to celebrate the Mass according to the Tridentine Missal with the proviso of recognizing the Vatican Council II interpreted "in the light of the tradition", and recognizing the validity of the Missal of Paul VI. Paul Aulagnier was authorized to exercise in the diocese of Clermont, without receiving particular mission in 2004. He also founded a house of reception in the diocese of Chartres.

Drawing media attention, Abbé Philippe Laguérie was expelled in August 2004 after having affirmed that Fraternity of Saint Pius X encountered serious problems related to a discouragement of priestly vocations in its various seminaries. He was subjected to an assignment in Mexico, a sanction which he refused before being expelled. Before that, within the Fraternity founded by Mgr Lefebvre, he had laid claim to the Parisian church of Saint Nicolas's Day of-Hanging-post, occupied by the faithful traditionalists since 1977. In 1993, he had tried to occupy another Parisian church, Saint-Germain-the resident of Auxerre. His work was successful in Bordeaux in obtaining Saint Eligius church in January 2002 with the support of the City Council, but not of the Archbishop.

Abbé Christophe Héry was expelled for having supported Abbé Laguérie, as well as Abbé Guillaume de Tanoüarn. The last founded the Association of Saint Marcel and Saint Paul in Paris. A fifth priest, stationed in Bordeaux, Abbé Henri Forestier, is one of the first members of the institute, with a deacon, soon to be ordained priest, Abbé Claude Prieur.

The Ecclesia Dei Commission was founded instituted by John Paul II in July 1988, and was created in order to "facilitate the full communion with the church those priests, the seminarians, the religious communities or the individual monks having had until now of the bonds with the fraternity founded by Mgr Lefebvre and who wish to remain with the successor of Peter in the Catholic Church by preserving their spiritual and liturgical traditions".

Slap the Trads

2006-08-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

It seems that the Powers-That-Be know that "for all" is an incorrect translation of the Latin "pro multis", but the Bishops are playing the partisan card, rather than pursuing Truth.

From The Remnant:

"For All" v. "For Many"

Bishops Fear Correct Translation Might be "Giving In" to "Lefebvrites"

Fr. Brian Harrison, O.S.

(www.RemnantNewspaper.com) Have you seen in the June proceedings of the US Bishops' Conference, on the authority of Cardinal George, no less, that the main reason our shepherds are refusing to go back to "for many" instead of "for all" in translating the words of consecration of the chalice "pro multis" is precisely to slap traditionalists in the face?

Far from showing any pastoral concern to bring back traditionalists who have gone into sedevacantism and/or at least material schism over this issue, their attitude seems solely self-righteous and self-serving.

I had long thought that maybe their unwillingness to restore "for many" was based on their ignorance of just how much "for all" has scandalized traditional Catholics. I'm afraid it's much worse than that: they are well aware of this widespread traditionalist anguish, but don't care!

They don't even bother to pretend that the translation decision now depends on objective linguistic scholarship. No, Cardinal George assures us that the main reason the key committee has opted to stay with "for all" is that going back to "for many" at this stage might seem like giving in to the "Lefebvrites" and other traditionalists who claim "for all" invalidates the Mass!

Whatever happened to our bishops' awareness of St. Paul's teaching in I Corinthians 10: 23-29 about charitable concern for the over-sensitive or scrupulous consciences of Christians scandalized by the practice of eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols? In itself, the practice is not wrong, says Paul, because those idols are objectively nothing; but you don't eat such meat under circumstances where you are going to shock and scandalize other brethren who sincerely see things differently. Likewise, the "for all" translation is not objectively invalid, but going back to "for many" would not only be in line with Tradition (and all the published Scripture versions of Jesus' words at the Last Supper!), it would overcome a major obstacle that many over-scrupulous Catholics find in accepting the validity of the vernacular Mass.

But among our gentle and loving Shepherds of Christ's flock, a petulant (childish?) insistence on "not giving in" - not even yielding one inch! - to the despised traditionalists evidently takes priority over even that reconciliation and Church "unity" which, in the 'ecumenical' context, justifies (in the sight of most modern bishops) any number of unheard-of novelties.

Oremus!

Fr. Brian Harrison, O.S.

Stand down, Rosa, you are not needed anymore

2006-08-29T20:12:00.000-06:00

Do the Catholic kids get to ride the normal bus with the Protties, or do they have to ride the short bus?

Catholic children to be allowed use Protestant bus service
29/08/2006 - 09:44:40

The row over the provision of seats on a state-funded school bus service in Limerick appears to have been resolved.

The mother of two Catholic pupils who were refused permission to use the bus because of their religion had threatened legal action against Limerick City VEC unless it changed its stance.

The children are students at the mainly Protestant Villiers school on the North Circular
Road, which is served by the bus at the centre of the dispute.

The VEC said the service was only available to Protestant children who lived more than three miles from their nearest Protestant school.

A solicitor for the mother of the Catholic children says they have now received two passes in the post.

It is unclear who sanctioned the passes, but solicitor John Devane said the family were happy with the outcome and feel that they have been vindicated.

Where is Rosa Parks when you need her?

2006-08-24T11:04:00.000-06:00

Catholic bus ban takes new turn
24 August 2006
By Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent

THE ban on Catholic students travelling on a new bus to a Protestant school in Limerick took a new twist yesterday when it emerged that there are still seats available on the bus.

A Catholic couple, whose son and daughter attend the school were refused passes. Transport liaison officer, Deirdre Frawley, told Bernadette and Harry Gleeson that only children of Protestant denominations have an entitlement to transport on the bus, which will travel from Adare to Villiers School on the North Circular Road.

Ms Frawley disclosed yesterday that places on the bus had not been fully subscribed yet as that process was still ongoing.

She said there is provision in Department of Education guidelines to make concessions if the bus is not fully subscribed.

This could enable Catholic children travel on the bus if there are places.

She said that she will be writing to the Gleesons, who live at Caher Road, Mungret, shortly.

Ms Frawley said: "It would be inappropriate for me to comment on this letter as it has to be cleared by our legal advisers."

She said the Department sets out guidelines on who is entitled to travel on school buses.

Ms Frawley said: "It is my job to determine eligibility."

The Gleesons have instructed Limerick solicitor John Devane over the refusal to give passes to their children.

NFP Revisited

2006-08-16T12:23:00.000-06:00

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is in the Colorado Springs Catholic News (again!). Since His Excellency has instituted new Marriage Preparation guidelines, two points have come to the forefront: the length of time for the preparation (one year), and the NFP requirement. The Bishop's article on the use of NFP is a bit lengthy for a blog post, but I think that it raises some interesting questions.

From the article:

The reason why NFP education will be required is that this is the truly viable and moral alternative to artificial contraception and the growing contraceptive mentality ...

But for what do 90% of Catholics use NFP? Ummm ... that would be 'avoiding a pregnancy'. They are seeking not to conceive. Can someone explain to me again how NFP is an alternative to the contraceptive mentality?

The next part of the article expounds on Catholic teaching of artificial contraception. However, I do take issue with the following statement.

Contraception is immoral for this simple reason: it violates the dignity of the human person as well as the divinely instituted meaning of marriage.

Here we see the standard Conservative Catholic catch-phrase 'dignity of the human person'. I have a couple of degrees from a good (decent) Liberal Arts Catholic College. But I have yet to get a succinct definition of 'dignity of the human person'. In the Psalter, David (as a figure of Christ), says that he is but a worm. So much for dignity.

But we also have a bigger problem. The human dignity card seems to trump the God-Creator card. Contraception is immoral (nay, evil) because Man is placed above God in the order and timeliness of creation. Contraception says, "No thanks, God, We know better than you. We know that you want to act through us in order to create an immortal soul, but we don't have time for that right now."

His Excellency seems to get the point, but for some reason places the above 'human dignity' before the offense of God. Later on, he identifies the incredible gift which God has given couples to participate in Creation ...

God, in fact, invites married couples to a unique participation in the power of creation.

... but still does not actively recognize the sin of contraception is first and primarily a shunting of God's creative power.

Next comes the phrase that makes my blood boil:

While the church teaches that artificial contraception is always sinful, the church also teaches the necessity of responsible parenthood. Part of what it means to be responsible parents can involve the spacing of children in a family.

Did you catch that? Responsible parenthood. It's all well and good to preach responsible parenthood, but what are the guidelines of such? What IS responsible parenthood? I want a positive definition, not one of those definitions that tell me what it is not. My wife and I have 7 (seven) children, ages 10 and younger. Are we responsible parents? We go to Mass with many other families with just as many children. Are any of them responsible parents?

From my rant below:

There is a logical question that flows from the above. Am I somehow an irresponsible parent if I do not use NFP? Why is it necessary, as a citizen of a First World Country, to plan a family? [Disclaimer: Grave matter and/or circumstances trump my objections.]
Every time a friend or family member throws the spitball of "responsible parenthood" in my direction, I whack a line-drive back at his head with the above questions. And invariably, he ends up with a goose-egg swelling over the left-eye. The teaching of NFP also instills a contraceptive mentality, which forms the grave intent required for mortal sins. Remember, Our Lord said that if you even look at a woman
lustfully, you are guilty of adultery. So what does that say about those who use the tool of NFP as a contraceptive? [Disclaimer as above.]

Next, His Excellency gets into the concept of periodic abstinence.

When a couple conscientiously and for just cause decides that the conception of a child ought to be delayed, the couple may refrain from
sexual intercourse during the days of the woman's fertile period.

Good. He mentioned just cause. I think it should more along the lines of serious or grave, but at least he is qualifying the use of NFP. But you know what? If you have just reason for delaying the conception of a child, then stop with the lovin' for 6 months, not the two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off garbage. If you don't have a serious enough cause to give it up for 6 months, then you shouldn't be using NFP in the first place.

His Excellency then says about NFP,

it has absolutely proved itself to be a boon to marriages.

I have seen this statement a gazillion times. (And, yes, 'gazillion' is a word. Look it up.) My reply to this 'boon' is, "Show me the money!"

How has it been a boon? I call B.S. Every man that I have talked to about NFP gives lip-service to the "closeness" and "increased intimacy" mantra. The fact is, I am the man of my house, and I am letting some chart tell me how and when I can love my wife. It is frustrating, demeaning, and turns the man or woman into a begging dog 3 out of every 4 months. What was that about the 'dignity of the human person' again? Platitudes are nice. But reality is that NFP does nothing for the average marriage, but is a monthly point of contention for man and wife.

If you seriously need to avoid a pregnancy, then don't have sex, and flee from the near occasions. Hey, you did it for the year before you got married in Colorado and Kentucky-- you can do it again.

I am a Providentialist. (Hey! Don't look at me like I just used a dirty word.) I happen to take Our Lord at His Word, (or at least try to)

31 Be not solicitous therefore, saying, What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed?
32 For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things.
33 Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.

His Excellency echoes this in his letter:

We must trust that God will not let us down. He will transform the counterfeit into something better and more fulfilling than we ever imagined.

I just hope and pray that the use NFP does not become another measuring stick for orthodoxy. I have a feeling it already has.

Always a Joyous Occasion, Part II

2006-08-16T08:03:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to Der Tommissar (and the Missus, of course) on the birth of Quarta.

Also notice that DT now uses a tiny little picture of a pint of Guinness as the site icon (which shows up in the address bar).

Cheers to you and yours, Tom:

Peeve of the Day: Word Usage

2006-08-03T08:06:00.000-06:00

I have seen this word used enough that I am beginning to think that it will become part of the dictionary.

The word is orientated.

People! For all that is good and holy! The word is ORIENT!

Let's look at an example:

I want to become more orientated to God.

NO! It should read: I want to become more oriented to God. See the difference?

The problem people have is taking the verb form of a word (to orient), making it a noun (orientation), and then using the noun form to cobble together a verb (orientated). Why do that? The verb form already exists!

So, please, all yous half-literate, I-can-post-shtuff-on-the-internet-now-and-have-a-voice bloggers -- do us all a favor. Keep an Oxford English Dictionary next to your computer and look up everyword before you type it.

But that will take too much time, Jimmy, and I will never be able to post a blog entry.

My point exactly. I stop reading your blog when I see the word 'orientated', anyway. And really, my standards aren't that high. After all, I am a member of The League.

Lebanon: Catholic Action Needed

2006-07-28T07:49:00.000-06:00

[guest post by the founder of Angelqueen.org, John Grasmeier -- JtH]

Lebanon: Catholic Action Needed
By John Grasmeier
July, 2006

Link & comments: http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8635
"For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places." - St. Paul to the Ephesians

The situation as it stands now

Lebanon is a country that was just beginning to recover from decades of suffering and civil war. Tourism, commerce and industry had finally begun to return to a war-ravaged nation. Instead of constant suffering and war, peace and relative security was beginning to gain a marked toe-hold.

After only a few weeks time, the dream of Lebanon's recovery has come to an abrupt and very tragic halt.

After Hezbollah guerillas captured 2 Israeli soldiers in an ambush, Israel implemented a pre-planned “plug and play” military operation that is now destroying crucial infrastructure and wreaking unholy havoc on a helpless and lamenting civilian population. In a virtual instant, dreams of any recovery have been dashed for now and for years to come.

As of the time of this article, hundreds of civilians have been killed - mostly women and children - while few Hezbollah guerilla (the supposed targets) deaths have been recorded. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are without homes. Thousands have been injured and nearly all business activity has ground to a halt. Transportation assets and housing has been reduced to rubble. What was once a recovering and modernizing society in the mostly devolved Middle East has been set back decades. In fact it may not recover at all. Even if Lebanon were rebuilt tomorrow (as opposed to taking many years), tourists will no longer see it as a travel destination and foreigners will be loathe to invest in its economy.

What a fine catastrophe to be created over two captured soldiers.

Holy Mother Church in Lebanon

Although it goes without saying that properly formed Catholics are always prayerful and concerned with such grave matters as war and human suffering, such a situation would not under normal circumstances be specifically to related to the faith or dealt with directly by most Catholic media outlets such as this one.

These however, are not normal circumstances.

Lebanon is the absolute last nation in the Mideast where there still exists substantial Christian population, or what’s left of one. Approximately 36% of Lebanese citizens are Maronite Eastern rite Catholics. If Lebanon continues to be destabilized or devolves into further chaos, there exists the distinct possibility that the Christians living there will once again begin to flee en masse, as they did during the scourging of previous tribulations when their numbers comprised over 80% of the population. We should be ever mindful that once this final bastion of Catholicism is vanquished, the Middle East will then (save for a few tiny remnants) be tragically devoid of any noticeable Catholic or even Christian society.

Our Holy Father, through communications released by the Holy See, has properly expressed righteous indignation over this human tragedy. All good Catholics should share his outrage, and thus far most have. Traditional, contemporary, Orthodox and other Catholic websites and publications have realized that our Eastern brethren and their families, who are mere victims trapped in this enormous tragedy, need our avocations, our support and our prayers.

Although many of us are Western Catholics who generally tend to hold many conservative political views (as does this author), you should not succumb to the prevalent groupthink that is currently infecting the “Israel can do no wrong” American/Western right. This flawed and dangerous mindset is being driven by factions that possess varying motivational inspirations, but shared goals. Two of the more prominent of these factions that immediately come to mind are the neoconservatives (who have largely hijacked and debilitated Western conservatism) and dispensational Protestants who adhere to the theologically absurd “rapture” heresy. Know that the neoconservatives are not your friends, and that the dispensational Protestant lemmings (and useful idiots of the Israelis)
would madly have a human disaster beyond all comprehension if they – God forbid – ever were to achieve their “end is nigh” unholy dream.

Although taking a proper Catholic position may cause us become somewhat isolated from many of our otherwise political and functional alliances, we are called first to engage the world as members of Christ's universal Church. This is not optional or voluntary. We are compelled by our faith to propagate Christian ideals, speak to injustice and condemn evil regardless of any worldly concerns or potential condemnations. Our faith is sacrificial by its very nature, and has been since its inception when Our Lord died on the cross.

What can be done?

Catholics are historicly a creative and dynamic bunch, who certainly don't need to rely on an article such as this for ideas to affect change. That being said, here are just a few suggestions:

· As our Holy Father recently implored, we must sacrifice, fast and pray not only for the victims, but for their "know not" victimizers as well.

· One of the first casualties of war is truth, so become well informed. Do not believe everything you're told by the media.

· If you're a writer, you should write. Bloggers should blog, speakers should speak and preachers should preach. We must gently but firmly insist to others that there is nothing goodly or Godly about the current evil metastasizing in Lebanon.

· If you have the means and you'd like to contribute financially to help ameliorate the human suffering in Lebanon, the Vatican website has set up a fund to accommodate such.

· If you are in a leadership position or have some other type of influence, use it. If you're a Catholic politician, do not follow the shameful example of some of your counterparts, who are too fearful, compromised or ignorant to speak out against clear evil. Do not throw your lot in with your spiritually-vacant and faithless colleagues such as Rick Santorum, who while attending a "Christians United For Israel" (CUFI) event threw his full support behind Israel's wrathful temper tantrum while standing under a giant ceiling to floor Israeli flag. If you are a politician or leader who is unwilling to work towards bringing about a providential solution to this horror, then please just keep quiet. Uselessness or weakness is preferential to sinfully exacerbating an already bad situation.

· If you are none of the above and all you have to offer is prayer, then please pray - and pray hard. Our Lord answers the righteous prayers of His children.

· Come together. Although we often argue amongst ourselves and our faith cuts across many walks of life, there certain times when we truly must be as universal and one as possible.

Whatever you do, don't just stand there looking uncatechized. Our Lord, Holy Mother Church, the world and most particularly our Catholic brothers and sisters in Lebanon need your help.

© Copyright 2006, angelqueen.org. This information may be reproduced at will providing the content remains intact and a link is provided to the original.

Whatever you do, don't just stand there looking uncatechized. Our Lord, Holy Mother Church, the world and most particularly our Catholic brothers and sisters in Lebanon need your help.

Always a Joyous Occasion

2006-07-24T07:50:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to W of Traditio in Radice and his wife Monika on the birth of their first-born son, Marcel Baldwin. Apparently, mom and baby are doing well, and were due back home on Sunday.

My closet Feeneyite tendencies want to know, "Is he baptised yet?"

( I know the answer, of course. It has only been 3 days. But being a true Evil Trad, W will have him baptised as soon as possible.)

May Almighty God bless the W family

Colorado Springs Marriage Prep

2006-07-17T17:21:00.000-06:00

Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs has recently published a quick intro to the changes which he will be implementing regarding Marriage Preparation within the diocese.

In general, Bishop Sheridan is a pretty straight shot, but he misses the mark on a couple things. First, the good stuff:

1. The new policies call for a full year to be devoted to preparation for marriage. The reason for this change (from six months to one year) is to accommodate the increase in the amount of preparation that is called for. In our culture, marriage is attacked from every quarter. What may have sufficed as adequate preparation a generation ago simply does not suffice any longer.

One year of spiritual preparation is not unreasonable when you consider that most couples begin their "secular" preparations (securing the reception hall, planning menus, attire, etc.) at least a year in advance of the marriage. That is the time to meet with the parish priest (or deacon) to begin the more important preparation — preparation to enter into and live out a life-long commitment that is grounded in the bond that is created when a couple exchanges vows.

One year to prepare? Despite complaints from some in the diocese, I agree with the Bishop. I have previously spent 4 years within the diocesan-sanctioned Marriage Prep program. Frankly, it was abysmal. Marriage Prep was an afterthought for most couples, and then it was only an item on the list to cross-off so that they could have sex licitly. Spending one whole year preparing to receive a Sacrament that will shape the rest of your life is most prudent.

2. In addition to ensuring that the bride and groom are compatible with each other, a renewed emphasis on the sacramentality and indissolubility of marriage will occupy a prominent place in marriage preparation. Especially helpful will be instruction in Pope John Paul II’s "theology of the body." Our late beloved Holy Father has left the church the great gift of these instructions on the meaning human sexuality and marriage. We want all candidates for marriage to be exposed to this beautiful teaching.

I agree with the first sentence, the rest is just the Neo-Con party line that Theology of the Body is the greatest thing since sliced white bread. Every other teaching of the Church can be summed up in one or two phrases. "Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully Human." And, "By a singular grace, Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin at conception." Easy, right? So what is ToB? Can someone sum it up for me without referring me to a 400-page tome? And again, why should I base the rest of my life on it?

3. While some pastors have required couples to become familiar with a program of Natural Family Planning, this has not been consistent throughout the diocese. Mandatory instruction in Natural Family Planning will constitute a very important part of our new marriage preparation policies.

Yawn. Learn how not to have babies, the Catholic Way!

Among the threats to marriage in our culture, there is none greater than the contraceptive mentality that has become almost commonplace in the marriages of non-Catholics and Catholics alike. Forty-five years ago, when the oral contraceptive became readily available, it was touted as the answer to all the problems of married life. Now we know that contraception, far from being the panacea that was promised, has been a factor in the disintegration of countless marriages.

Agree completely. I got your back on that one, Your Excellency. But I have a problem with the next part ...

It is essential that married couples adopt a program of family planning and responsible parenthood that is in accord with the teaching of the church. Natural Family Planning is just such a program.

Every time a friend or family member throws the spitball of "responsible parenthood" in my direction, I whack a line-drive back at his head with the above questions. And invariably, he ends up with a goose-egg swelling over the left-eye. The teaching of NFP also instills a contraceptive mentality, which forms the grave intent required for mortal sins. Remember, Our Lord said that if you even look at a woman lustfully, you are guilty of adultery. So what does that say about those who use the tool of NFP as a contraceptive? [Disclaimer as above.]

The rest of the article is good Bishop-ing.

There is much more to marriage preparation than what has been highlighted here. Soon, when the new policies are promulgated, brochures outlining all the steps of preparation will available from your parish priest or director.

Sometimes couples preparing for marriage ask why the church demands so much preparation of them. The answer is simple. It is not because the church wants to place more hurdles for couples to jump. Rather, the reason why so much is demanded is because the church treasures marriage and family life so much.

If the church did not hold the holy state of marriage in such high esteem, she would care very little if couples were prepared for marriage or not.

It has been said by many people, and I agree completely: The authentic renewal of the church and then of our society and culture will derive from the renewal of marriage and family life. The family is the primary building block of any society or civilization. When marriage and families are strong, nations are strong. This renewal will come about when a new sense of commitment to the vows of marriage by our Catholic people and others of good will becomes a reality. Solid preparation for marriage will go a long way toward promoting that renewal.

I ask all couples who will be looking forward to marriage, as well as their parents and friends who want only the best married life for the couple, to see in these new marriage preparation policies the opportunity to ground their marriage in the rock-solid teaching of the Catholic Church.

May God bless abundantly all married couples and all those who are contemplating marriage.

Amen.

But I feel sorry for the Trad that wants to get married in our diocese. NFP? ToB? No thanks.

SSPX Superior General

2006-07-11T12:07:00.000-06:00

Bishop Fellay has been re-elected.

Original is here:
http://www.laportelatine.org/accueil/accueil.php

(I haven't been able to access the site. It's not like I read French, anyway).

The Pope has BMs ?

2006-07-11T07:50:00.000-06:00

From Athanasius Contra Mundum:

Instead ripping their [Conservatives -- JtH] hair out become[sic] some evil Traditionalists like ourselves (and we are usually termed neo-protestants because we don't believe that every BM the Pope makes is inspired by the Spirit) dare to suggest that their liturgy created by a team of liturgists is inferior to the Traditional Mass.

The rest of the post is the typical Trad rant justifying the existence of the Classical Roman Rite prior to the Second Vatican Council.

Yawn.

p.s. Is ACM allowed to use the term "Evil Traditionalist"? I thought these guys had a corner on the market.

FSSP Superior General

2006-07-07T16:07:00.000-06:00

According to the word on the street, the new Superior General for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is Fr. John Berg.

American

2006-07-04T11:29:00.000-06:00

Does being a trad or rad-trad mean you have to be anti-American?

(anti-Americanist, yes. anti-United States of America? NO!)

Regular Guy

2006-06-30T10:41:00.000-06:00

Brian is a Regular Guy. Posts on regular stuff.

Since the latest craze in Trad Blog circles is the modesty card and women wearing pants, I thought I would post the regular guy's view on women wearing bifurcated garments. Basically, women in pants is a big PITA. I will let him explain his completely secular, modernist, insert-slur-for-non-Catholic-here point-of-view.

By the way, the Regular Guy Column is an entertaining read. Just ignore all of the soccer stuff.

Because I'm Irish ...

2006-06-23T17:45:00.000-06:00

3 Brits die each year testing if a 9v battery works on their tongue.

142 Brits were injured in 1999 by not removing all pins from new shirts.

58 Brits are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of screwdrivers.

31 Brits have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while the fairy lights were plugged in.

19 Brits have died in the last 3 years believing that Christmas decorations were chocolate.

British Hospitals reported 4 broken arms last year after cracker pulling accidents. (http://www.christmascrackershop.com click tradition of crackers on the left)

101 people since 1999 have had broken parts of plastic toys pulled out of the soles of their feet.

18 Brits had serious burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth.

A massive 543 Brits were admitted to A&E (is that the ER? -- JtH) in the last two years after opening bottles of beer with their teeth.

5 Brits were injured last year in accidents involving out of control Scalextric cars. (model cars)

and finally...

In 2000 eight Brits cracked their skull whilst throwing up into the toilet.

Kreuz

2006-06-20T16:13:00.000-06:00

Man! I wish I could read German. These guys look like fun. Almost like the Slashdot of Trads.

And, yes, I know they have an English section, but it just ain't as cool as the original. Why don't you thoughtful, mouthy, debating types head over there and start representin' for us ego-centric Americans.

Heretic ... no wait, Heathen!

2006-06-15T09:55:00.000-06:00

Tom has blogged on this earlier, but I am having my own little run-in with Mrs. Lovric of The Winnepeg Sun over at Angelqueen.

Lydia: Our baby is full of original sin. That's right. Not yet eight months old, our daughter has yet to be baptized and will therefore never grace the gates of heaven. Some will no doubt rebuke our decision to turn away from the Catholic church. That's fine. But reading the latest edict issued by the Vatican, my husband and I feel further justified in our resolve to raise a heretic.

JtH: Lydia, just for the record, you're an idiot. Five minutes of research would have shown you that you are raising a heathen, not a heretic. YOU, dear lady, are the heretic (and an apostate, for that matter). Having been baptized, you are dissenting from the Church
on a matter of faith and morals. Your statement is a textbook example of heresy.

Lydia: Sorry to disappoint you J, but I did not use the term "heretic" incorrectly.
The Oxford English Dictionary describes heresy as the following:

• noun (pl. heresies) 1 belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious (especially Christian) doctrine. 2 opinion profoundly at odds with what is generally accepted.

So, we are indeed raising or planning to raise a heretic.

JtH: Silly me! Understanding heresy in a Catholic sense! According to the Catholic Encyclopedia (and St. Thomas Aquinas), heresy is

"a species of infidelity in men who, having professed the faith of Christ, corrupt its dogmas"

The Encyclopedia goes on to explain:

"There are, therefore, two ways of deviating from Christianity: the one by refusing to believe in Christ Himself, which is the way of infidelity, common to Pagans and Jews; the other by restricting belief to certain points of Christ's doctrine selected and fashioned at pleasure, which is the way of heretics. The subject-matter of both faith and heresy is, therefore, the deposit of the faith, that is, the sum total of truths revealed in Scripture and Tradition as proposed to our belief by the Church. The believer accepts the whole deposit as proposed by the Church; the heretic accepts only such parts of it as commend themselves to his own approval. The heretical tenets may be ignorance of the true creed, erroneous judgment, imperfect apprehension and comprehension of dogmas ..."

So your daughter cannot be a heretic, since she has not professed faith in Christ. I know the headline sounds so much cooler with the term "Heretic", but until she is baptized, she is a heathen.

Heathens don't sell copy, though.

Shmodesty

2006-06-15T09:21:00.000-06:00

As has been noted elsewhere, the issue of Modesty has become a hot topic amongst Traditionalist blogs (and blogs) and fora (and here, too).

One interesting observation is made by Fr. MacDonald, an SSPX priest posting on the Angelqueen forum:

Tee-shirts are of course underwear. They are supposed to be worn under a shirt. For non-Americans, the tee-shirt is specifically American men's underwear. We generally do not wear "singlets." They used to only come in plain white, without any writing or logos.

The first big revolution was the V neck tee-shirt which allowed one to leave the top button on his shirt unbuttoned. It was very uncool in the 70s to button the top button of your shirt. With the shirt open you also could not wear a tie.

The revolutionaries then started to colour their own tee-shirts, tie die was all the fad, leading the manufacturers to make the modern
coloured logo-splattered tee shirts.

They are underwear and should revert to being underwear.

I have a book with photos of people enjoying an afternoon at a Perth beach. They are all fully dressed. It was a Sunday so the men are wearing jackets and ties. Probably many of them are Protestants. We must not forget that the entire Sunday belongs to God. We should wear our Sunday clothes all day out of respect for our Lord. This is as we go about keeping the day holy, especially by participating in the liturgy and performing the works of mercy.

Remember: To abstain from servile work and assist at Mass is only the minimum required to avoid mortal sin.

So, according to Fr. MacDonald, tee-shirts are properly undergarments. That makes sense. When shopping for tee-shirts for men, one would normally look amidst the undergarment area of the men's section. By displaying such garments in said area, the Western secular world (not only America) recognizes that tee-shirts are undergarments. (Is the horse dead yet?)

And again, Fr. MacDonald implies that not remaining in one's Sunday best throughout all of Sunday is proximate to mortal sin.

How do we explain this (original), then? An undergarment is on prominent display. The perfectly-functional button-down shirt is wide open. Is it ever acceptable for one (whether male or female) to have one's undergarments on display? Is this not flagrant disregard for the virtue of modesty? Are those who display tee-shirts "revolutionaries" as Father outlines above?

Breviary Reprint Rumor

2006-06-09T11:23:00.000-06:00

Rumor has it that a reprint of the Latin/English 1962-1964 Roman Breviary will be available from Angelus Press on July 4, 2006. (Although there is no mention of it on the site.)

Baronius Press is also working on an Breviary reprint, to be available sometime this year.

Baronius and Angelus currently have 1962 Missal reprints available. Ahh, the sweet smell of competition.

Fr. Solanus Casey's Cause

2006-06-06T14:04:00.000-06:00

Fr. Benignus of Sant' Ilario writes of his great admiration for Fr. Casey:

Fr. Solanus was certainly an extraordinary man, a replica of St. Francis, a real Capuchin. The wonderful spontaneous tribute paid to him by Catholic and non-Catholic alike is surely an ample proof that our traditional spirituality is still very much capable of winning the people among whom we work to a realization of the primacy of the spiritual and Catholic outlook on life. May he still continue to do much good from heaven, bringing many souls nearer to God and inspiring his own Capuchin brothers with something of his humble spirit.

-- Document III, Fr. Benignus of Sant' Ilario, 12 February 1958, Positio (I), 292.

Fr. Solanus Casey was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II with the promulgation of the Decree of Heroic Virtue on July 11, 1995. Should he be canonized (Deo volente), he will be the first man born in the United States to be so.

Quote of the Day

2006-06-05T11:11:00.000-06:00

When Jesus sends crosses and trials into our life, He is inviting us to help Him save the world.

-- Fr. Solanus Casey, OFM, Cap.

The 95 Theses of "Fr." Matthew Fox

2006-06-02T08:16:00.000-06:00

Mmmmm ... I love the smell of heretics after lighting themselves on fire. I wonder, how far will this spread? Maybe Fox is on to something! The League of Evil Traditionalists need a "Traditionalist Manifesto", written under the name of Gazpacho Marx.

Everything below this line is sic.

Here is the offical St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church report on the event in full.

Come join us for the ceremonial nailing of the theses in the doors of all the Churches in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

For more information about this sanctioned and sponsored event, contact Father Dubrycker directly at:
"Father Debruycker" jdebruycker471@mac.com or jdebruycker@stjoan.com,

By phone

office: 612.823-8205
home 612 825-5811

Matthew Fox walked into the church at St. Joan of Arc on the evening of April 28th and nailed 95 Theses to a door in the church. His action was reminiscent of Martin Luther’s nailing his Theses to the church door at Wittenberg, German over 500 years ago. Don’t expect to see the Fox Theses nailed to THE door of the church. Out of respect for his venue and so that all of the 300 or so people gathered to hear his lecture could witness the event, Fox brought his own door!

Fox greeted the St. Joan of Arc community with the words “I love this church.” In fact when Fox scheduled several lectures in Minneapolis, he called St. Joan’s and inquired if he could also speak here. The theme of his lecture was “A New Reformation” which is also the title of his newest book whose subtitle is “Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity.”

Fox wrote the 95 Theses shortly after the election of Cardinal Ratzinger to Pope. By coincidence he had been invited to speak on Pentecost Sunday at the Bad Herrenalb Healing Center in Frankfurt, Germany. As he states in his book “Given these circumstances, I could not in conscience speak on the Pentecost of rebirth of the church.” He awoke early one morning and the 95 theses poured from his pen. The Theses flow from Fox’s life and “practicing religion and spirituality.” Fox described the process of obtaining a permit to post the Theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, a permission that Martin Luther most likely did not need. The current rules require that one to stay 50 feet away from the door so that the view tourists have is not impeded. Fox thought the 50 foot distance was not conducive to reenacting Luther’s actions. So with persistence he obtained permission to post his Theses at the door itself.

Fox told his audience that he finds many parallels between Luther’s time and the present era. According to Fox, Luther’s Reformation was a product of a number of forces including the invention of the printing press, the rise of the nation-state, corruption of the Catholic Church at the highest levels and the rise of an educated elite. Fox contends that the forces at work today that contribute to a new reformation are the electronic revolution, the waning of nation-states and the rise of multinational, global corporations, the corruption and ineffectiveness of western religion and an awakened scholarship. Fox did not mince his words in characterizing the current state of the Catholic and Protestant churches. In the Catholic Church Fox said he sees “corruption at the top” and in the Protestant Church he sees “apathy”.

After describing the genesis for his Theses, Fox addressed the second theme of his book, “Two Christianities: Time for a Divorce”. According to Fox, today’s Catholic Church does not want theology, it wants ideology. Fox believes this is one cause of the priest pedophile crisis. Fox surmised that in the business environment, a CEO under whom such actions occurred would be gone the next day. Not so with the bishops said Fox. The Boston Cardinal was left in place several years before resigning and then transferred to a position in Rome. At the same time Fox noted that the three most read theologians were expelled from the church, an effort Fox said to dumb down the church.

Fox contended that the issue of homosexuality was splitting the church. He compared the issue to Galileo three centuries ago being tried and convicted of heresy for teaching that the sun was the center of the solar system. Both the nature of the universe in Galileo’s time and homosexuality now are scientific issues, said Fox. Fox noted that when Pope John Paul reinstated Galileo he said it was a lesson that religion should listen to science. When Cardinal Ratzinger spoke out against homosexuality, Fox said there was not one reference to science. Fox believes there are far more important issues to deal with than homosexuality, issues such as racism and economic imbalance. Why, he questions, do we let this issue of homosexuality take such energy.

Fox said he sees mainstream Christianity as a sleeping giant. “My work”, he said, “is to kick the ecclesiastical cadaver to see if there is any life in it.” According to Fox there is life after Roman Catholicism. But you don’t leave the bus voluntarily he said, just as Rosa Parks did not exit the bus over 50 years ago. But if you stay, Fox said, you should make some noise. Fox encouraged his audience to go out on Pentecost Sunday and pound his Theses on doors all around the city and to bring the media. Conservatives learned how to use the media, Fox says, while liberals were feeding the poor and looking at footnotes.

MATHEW FOX's 95 THESES to be nailed on Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Church doors on Pentecost Sunday!

Like Luther, I present 95 theses or in my case, 95 faith observations drawn from my 64 years of living and practicing religion and spirituality. I trust I am not alone in recognizing these truths. For me they represent a return to our origins, a return to the spirit and the teaching of Jesus and his prophetic ancestors, and of the Christ which was a spirit that Jesus’ presence and teaching unleashed.

1. God is both Mother and Father.

2. At this time in history, God is more Mother than Father because the feminine is most missing and it is important to bring gender balance back.

3. God is always new, always young and always “in the beginning.”

4. God the Punitive Father is not a God worth honoring but a false god and an idol that serves empire-builders. The notion of a punitive, all-male God, is contrary to the full nature of the Godhead who is as much female and motherly as it is masculine and fatherly.

5. “All the names we give to God come from an understanding of ourselves.” (Eckhart) Thus people who worship a punitive father are themselves punitive.

6. Theism (the idea that God is ‘out there’ or above and beyond the universe) is false. All things are in God and God is in all things (panentheism).

7. Everyone is born a mystic and a lover who experiences the unity of things and all are called to keep this mystic or lover of life alive.

8. All are called to be prophets which is to interfere with injustice.

9. Wisdom is Love of Life (See the Book of Wisdom: “This is wisdom: to love life” and Christ in John’s Gospel: “I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance.”)

10. God loves all of creation and science can help us more deeply penetrate and appreciate the mysteries and wisdom of God in creation. Science is no enemy of true religion.

11. Religion is not necessary but spirituality is.

12. “Jesus does not call us to a new religion but to life.” (Bonhoeffer) Spirituality is living life at a depth of newness and gratitude, courage and creativity, trust and letting go, compassion and justice.

13. Spirituality and religion are not the same thing any more than education and learning, law and justice, or commerce and stewardship are the same thing.

14. Christians must distinguish between God (masculine and history, liberation and salvation) and Godhead (feminine and mystery, being and non-action).

15. Christians must distinguish between Jesus (an historical figure) and Christ (the experience of God-in-all-things).

16. Christians must distinguish between Jesus and Paul.

17. Jesus, not unlike many spiritual teachers, taught us that we are sons and daughters of God and are to act accordingly by becoming instruments of divine compassion.

18. Ecojustice is a necessity for planetary survival and human ethics and without it we are crucifying the Christ all over again in the form of destruction of forests, waters, species, air and soil.

19. Sustainability is another word for justice, for what is just is sustainable and what is unjust is not.

20. A preferential option for the poor, as found in the base community movement, is far closer to the teaching and spirit of Jesus than is a preferential option for the rich and powerful as found in, for example, Opus Dei.

21. Economic Justice requires the work of creativity to birth a system of economics that is global, respectful of the health and wealth of the earth systems and that works for all.

22. Celebration and worship are key to human community and survival and such reminders of joy deserve new forms that speak in the language of the twenty-first century.

23. Sexuality is a sacred act and a spiritual experience, a theophany (revelation of the Divine), a mystical experience. It is holy and deserves to be honored as such.

24. Creativity is both humanity’s greatest gift and its most powerful weapon for evil and so it ought to be both encouraged and steered to humanity’s most God-like activity which all religions agree is: Compassion.

25. There is a priesthood of all workers (all who are doing good work are midwives of grace and therefore priests) and this priesthood ought to be honored as sacred and workers should be instructed in spirituality in order to carry on their ministry effectively.

26. Empire-building is incompatible with Jesus’ life and teaching and with Paul’s life and teaching and with the teaching of holy religions.

27. Ideology is not theology and ideology endangers the faith because it replaces thinking with obedience, and distracts from the responsibility of theology to adapt the wisdom of the past to today’s needs. Instead of theology it demands loyalty oaths to the past.

28. Loyalty is not a sufficient criterion for ecclesial office—intelligence and proven conscience is.

29. No matter how much the television media fawn over the pope and papacy because it makes good theater, the pope is not the church but has a ministry within the church. Papalolotry is a contemporary form of idolatry and must be resisted by all believers.

30. Creating a church of Sycophants is not a holy thing. Sycophants (Webster’s dictionary defines them as “servile self-seeking flatterers”) are not spiritual people for their only virtue is obedience. A Society of Sycophants — sycophant clergy, sycophant seminarians, sycophant bishops, sycophant cardinals, sycophant religious orders of Opus Dei, Legioneers of Christ and Communion and Liberation, and the sycophant press--do not represent in any way the teachings or the person of the historical Jesus who chose to stand up to power rather than amassing it.

31. Vows of pontifical secrecy are a certain way to corruption and cover-up in the church as in any human organization.

32. Original sin is an ultimate expression of a punitive father God and is not a Biblical teaching. But original blessing (goodness and grace) is biblical.

33. The term “original wound” better describes the separation humans experience on leaving the womb and entering the world, a world that is often unjust and unwelcoming than does the term “original sin.”

34. Fascism and the compulsion to control is not the path of peace or compassion and those who practice fascism are not fitting models for sainthood. The seizing of the apparatus of canonization to canonize fascists is a stain on the church.

35. The Spirit of Jesus and other prophets calls people to simple life styles in order that “the people may live.”

36. Dancing, whose root meaning in many indigenous cultures is the same as breath or spirit, is a very ancient and appropriate form in which to pray.

37. To honor the ancestors and celebrate the communion of saints does not mean putting heroes on pedestals but rather honoring them by living out lives of imagination, courage and compassion in our own time, culture and historical moment as they did in theirs.

38. A diversity of interpretation of the Jesus event and the Christ experience is altogether expected and welcomed as it was in the earliest days of the church.

39. Therefore unity of church does not mean conformity. There is unity in diversity. Coerced unity is not unity.

40. The Holy Spirit is perfectly capable of working through participatory democracy in church structures and hierarchical modes of being can indeed interfere with the work of the Spirit.

41. The body is an awe-filled sacred Temple of God and this does not mean it is untouchable but rather that all its dimensions, well named by the seven charkas, are as holy as the others.

42. Thus our connection with the earth (first chakra) is holy; and our sexuality (second chakra) is holy; and our moral outrage (third chakra) is holy; and our love that stands up to fear (fourth chakra) is holy; and our prophetic voice that speaks out is holy (fifth chakra); and our intuition and intelligence (sixth chakra) are holy; and our gifts we extend to the community of light beings and ancestors (seventh chakra) are holy.

43. The prejudice of rationalism and left-brain located in the head must be balanced by attention to the lower charkas as equal places for wisdom and truth and Spirit to act.

44. The central chakra, compassion, is the test of the health of all the others which are meant to serve it for “by their fruits you will know them” (Jesus).

45. “Joy is the human’s noblest act.” (Aquinas) Is our culture and its professions, education and religion, promoting joy?

46. The human psyche is made for the cosmos and will not be satisfied until the two are re-united and awe, the beginning of wisdom, results from this reunion.

47. The four paths named in the creation spiritual tradition more fully name the mystical/prophetic spiritual journey of Jesus and the Jewish tradition than do the three paths of purgation, illumination and union which do not derive from the Jewish and Biblical tradition.

48. Thus it can be said that God is experienced in experiences of ecstasy, joy, wonder and delight (via positiva).

49. God is experienced in darkness, chaos, nothingness, suffering, silence and in learning to let go and let be (via negativa).

50. God is experienced in acts of creativity and co-creation (via creativa).

51. All people are born creative. It is spirituality’s task to encourage holy imagination for all are born in the “image and likeness” of the Creative One and “the fierce power of imagination is a gift from God.” (Kaballah)

52. If you can talk you can sing; if you can walk you can dance; if you can talk you are an artist. (African proverb and Native American saying)

53. God is experienced in our struggle for justice, healing, compassion and celebration (via transformativa).

54. The Holy Spirit works through all cultures and all spiritual traditions and blows “where it wills” and is not the exclusive domain of any one tradition and never has been.

55. God speaks today as in the past through all religions and all cultures and all faith traditions none of which is perfect and an exclusive avenue to truth but all of which can learn from each other.

56. Therefore Interfaith or Deep Ecumenism are a necessary part of spiritual praxis and awareness in our time.

57. Since the “number one obstacle to interfaith is a bad relationship with one’s own faith,” (the Dalai Lama) it is important that Christians know their own mystical and prophetic tradition, one that is larger than a religion of empire and its punitive father images of God.

58. The cosmos is God’s holy Temple and our holy home.

59. Fourteen billion years of evolution and unfolding of the universe bespeak the intimate sacredness of all that is.

60. All that is is holy and all that is is related for all being in our universe began as one being just before the fireball erupted.

61. Interconnectivity is not only a law of physics and of nature but also forms the basis of community and of compassion. Compassion is the working out of our shared interconnectivity both as to our shared joy and our shared suffering and struggle for justice.

62. The universe does not suffer from a shortage of grace and no religious institution is to see its task as rationing grace. Grace is abundant in God’s universe.

63. Creation, Incarnation and Resurrection are continuously happening on a cosmic as well as a personal scale. So too are Life, Death and Resurrection (regeneration and reincarnation) happening on a cosmic scale as well as a personal one.

64. Biophilia or Love of Life is everyone’s daily task.

65.Necrophilia or love of death is to be opposed in self and society in all its forms.

66. Evil can happen through every people, every nation, every tribe, and every individual human and so vigilance and self-criticism and institutional criticism are always called for.

67. Not all who call themselves “Christian” deserve that name just as “not all who say ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven” (Jesus).

68. Pedophilia is a terrible wrong but its cover-up by hierarchy is even more despicable.

69. Loyalty and obedience are never a greater virtue than conscience and justice.

70. Jesus said nothing about condoms, birth control or homosexuality.

71. A church that is more preoccupied with sexual wrongs than with wrongs of injustice is itself sick.

72. Since homosexuality is found among 464 species and in 8 percent of any given human population, it is altogether natural for those who are born that way and is a gift from God and nature to the greater community.

73. Homophobia in any form is a serious sin against love of neighbor, a sin of ignorance of the richness and diversity of God’s creation as well as a sin of exclusion.

74. Racism, Sexism and militarism are also serious sins.

75. Poverty for the many and luxury for the few is not right or sustainable.

76. Consumerism is today’s version of gluttony and needs to be confronted by creating an economic system that works for all peoples and all earth’s creatures.

77. Seminaries as we know them, with their excessive emphasis on left-brain work, often kill and corrupt the mystical soul of the young instead of encouraging the mysticism and prophetic consciousness that is there. They should be replaced by wisdom schools.

78. Inner work is required of us all. Therefore spiritual practices of meditation should be available to all and this helps in calming the reptilian brain. Silence or contemplation and learning to be still can and ought to be taught to all children and adults.

79. Outer work needs to flow from our inner work just as action flows from non-action and true action from being.

80. A wise test of right action is this: What is the effect of this action on people seven generations from today?

81. Another test of right action is this: Is what I am doing, is what we are doing, beautiful or not?

82. Eros, the passion for living, is a virtue that combats acedia or the lack of energy to begin new things and is also expressed as depression, cynicism or sloth (also known as “couchpotatoitis”).

83. The Dark Night of the Soul descends on us all and the proper response is not addiction such as shopping, alcohol, drugs, TV, sex or religion but rather to be with the darkness and learn from it.

84.The Dark Night of the Soul is a learning place of great depth. Stillness is required.

85. Not only is there a Dark Night of the Soul but also a Dark Night of Society and a Dark Night of our Species.

86. Chaos is a friend and a teacher and an integral part or prelude to new birth. Therefore it is not to be feared or compulsively controlled.

87. Authentic science can and must be one of humanity’s sources of wisdom for it is a source of sacred awe, of childlike wonder, and of truth.

88. When science teaches that matter is “frozen light” (physicist David Bohm) it is freeing human thought from scapegoating flesh as something evil and instead reassuring us that all things are light. This same teaching is found in the Christian Gospels (Christ is the light in all things) and in Buddhist teaching (the Buddha nature is in all things). Therefore, flesh does not sin; it is our choices that are
sometimes off center.

89. The proper objects of the human heart are truth and justice (Aquinas) and all people have a right to these through healthy education and healthy government.

90. "God” is only one name for the Divine One and there are an infinite number of names for God and Godhead and still God “has no name and will never be given a name.” (Eckhart)

91. Three highways into the heart are silence and love and grief.

92. The grief in the human heart needs to be attended to by rituals and practices that, when practiced, will lessen anger and allow creativity to flow anew.

93. Two highways out of the heart are creativity and acts of justice and compassion.

94. Since angels learn exclusively by intuition, when we develop our powers of intuition we can expect to meet angels along the way.

95. True intelligence includes feeling, sensitivity, beauty, the gift of nourishment and humor which is a gift of the Spirit, paradox, being its sister.

Lovin' the Spam

2006-05-30T21:34:00.000-06:00

... no, not the kind in a can. Although this one should go in the can:

Catholic Underground Texas sent me an "invitation" to attend their conference in Irving, Texas. If you are keeping track, that is a 718 miles (or 1155.5 kilometers for you metric folks in Canada). Google says that it is a 12 1/2 hour trip by car.

Ummm ... yeah. No thanks.

Being a Traddy Trad man myself, I figured I would look at the list of speakers (or performers as the case may be):

Strike One: Fr. Stan Fortuna --'nuf said.

Strike Two: Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.

What?!? How can you, Jimmy the Hand, not like the FFotR? They are doing awesome work! And Fr. Benedict Groeschel is doing great things for the Church!

Well, let's just say that I know a couple of Capuchin Franciscans. You know, the ones abandoned by Fr. Groeschel to start the FFotR. Apparently, when Fr. Groeschel approached the Chapter to tell them he was leaving, they -- of course -- asked, "Why?". He said he wanted to reform the Franciscans, of which the Capuchins are already a reform. They said they would like him to stay and reform through them. He said, "No". Thus the FFotR.

Now, the common sense part of me says, "Huh?"

My guess/speculation/judgment is that there is not enough notoriety in reforming an already existing order. So much for St. John of the Cross, or St. Theresa of Avila ...

Being an old-skool man myself, if the Capuchins were good enough for St. Pio and Venerable Solanus Casey, why not stick with them? But I guess it is the post-Vatican II need for a reform of the reform of the reform et cetera ad nauseum.

Strike Three: Performances by "everybody's favorite funk band, Crispin"

umm ... brain ... hurts ... must not ... try to ... c.o.m.p.r.e.h.e.n.d (Where is William Shatner when you need him?)

Strike Four: Phatmas

If you don't got a problem with Phatmas, then talk to my brotha the Inquisitor, he can tell you all about them.

But that is four strikes! Everyone knows that it only takes THREE to strike someone out!

Yeah, I know, but bass-playin' rapper Fr. Stan Fortuna is a screwball. No one can hit that one, so they get a mulligan. (How is that for a mixed metaphor?)

You can try looking for me at the Catholic Underground Texas thingy, but I won't be there.

Wikipedia Saints Portal

2006-05-26T13:08:00.000-06:00

Not sure who else has seen this. There is now a Saints Portal on Wikipedia. It seems to have some potential for Trad influence.

Also of note is the Saints Wikibooks and Saints Wikiquote.

The only caveat would be Wikipedia's notorious Neutral Point Of View (NPOV).

Ascension Thursday

2006-05-25T08:01:00.000-06:00

The 1st Class Feast of Our Lord, Forty Days after His Glorious Resurrection ...

... is Cancelled Due To Lack of Interest...

... or rather, just moved to Sunday because the Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America is just too damned lazy to observe a Holy Day of Obligation in the middle of the week.

New SSPX District Headquarters

2006-05-23T18:35:00.000-06:00

I recently read Fr. Fullerton's letter in the May 2006 Regina Coeli Report regarding the new location of the U.S. District Headquarters "located
northwest of Kansas City, just outsite of Platte City, Missouri".
For those afraid of PDF, the District Superior's letter also located here.

I am wondering if the true location is in Farley, Missouri. This would be a nice surprise, considering that I have family in that area, and would make my "Traditional Mass Commute" a 10 minute affair, rather than the 45-60 minute trek that normally occurs when I am in the area.

Will they offer daily/weekly Mass and devotions? Inquiring minds want to know ...

Roasting Heretics

2006-05-17T18:15:00.000-06:00

In honor of the Inquisitor Generalis:

I'd Rather Be Roasting Heretics Apron

Catholic Church Break In -- II

2006-05-12T09:25:00.000-06:00

Wednesday, May 10 was another eventful evening. Daily Mass was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with Schola rehearsal afterwards.

Fr. F unlocks the doors at 6:00 p.m. to find the lights turned on in the Sanctuary (again), and the Sanctuary Lamp lit. ( The Sanctuary Lamp has not been lit since Sunday evening when the Sacred Species was removed from the tabernacle due to the security issues discussed here.)

Once again, the County Sheriff arrived on the scene to take a statement. All four officers whom we have met so far seem genuinely pleased that we have moved into the neighborhood and look forward to seeing the fruit of our future renovations. Deputy G from Sunday night (a self-professed fallen-away Catholic) is going to bring his wife down to the parish to speak with Fr. F.

Say a prayer for both of them.

I'm Just Saying

2006-05-10T13:53:00.000-06:00

There is a wonderful phrase that allows one to spout off about any subject without any consequences whatsoever. The phrase is, "I'm just saying."

I recently got an email:

Now, I know cultures are different and all, but where I
grew up the guy who couldn't keep a girl didn't go around throwing
"fag" insults at others. I'm just saying.

The one who posted this is free from all culpability resulting from the insult. The phrase, "I'm just saying" is an indication that the speaker is stating the obvious, and therefore the listener should not take offense.

Another such phrase is "God bless him". As in, "He's a no good bum and a pathetic loser, God bless him."

Once again, we see that rather than insulting the person, the speaker is actually giving blessings to the subject. Therefore, no offense may be taken. Rather, the subject should count his blessings for the obviously magnanimous statement.

So, only a filthy wretch could find fault with the illuminating logic demonstrated above.

I'm just saying.

Bishop Finn: moving in the right direction

2006-05-09T12:14:00.000-06:00

The Curmudgeon in KC has highlighted an NCR Article (a.k.a hit-piece) about Bishop Finn. Having grown up in the KC-St.J diocese, I found it particularly interesting.

From a Traditionalist perspective, Bishop Finn is moving in the right direction.

For the record, the Latin Mass Community of which the article speaks is located at Old St. Patrick's Oratory, and is staffed by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

p.s. Funny thing. The "Worthwhile Links" section of the Oratory website has a link to the Curmudgeon's Cave.

Catholic Church Break In!

2006-05-08T10:41:00.000-06:00

The Third Sunday of Easter was the first Sunday Mass for Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Colorado Springs. Immaculate Conception is staffed by a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), and exclusively offers the Traditional Sacraments.

Following the 9 a.m. Mass, attended by 200 of the Faithful, many attended the other great Latin Mass Tradition -- coffee and donuts. The after-Mass socializing continued until 2 p.m. Fr. F then secured the Church and attached buildings so that he could make is regular Communion calls, leaving the property at 4 p.m.

Following his calls, Fr. F stopped by the homestead to unwind from the busy day and partake of the feeding of the Clann with baked spaghetti.

Upon returning to the Church, he noticed that the sanctuary lights were on. After going inside to investigate, he immediately called me to come down to the Church. We found that two votive candles with brass holders were missing, one from in front of a picture of Our Lady, and one from in front of a picture of Our Lord. The Paschal Candle was also turned in an odd fashion. Fr. F then called the police, and three armed county deputies soon arrived. They proceeded to "clear" the property, and then gave us a walk-though detailing their discoveries.

A window in the reception hall had been kicked in, indicating the point of entry. The door to the accessibility ramp was ajar, showing the point of departure. In addition to the stolen items, graffiti was found on the wall in one of the classrooms.

The Deputies said that there is a "gang" in the area that has previously broken in to this building, looking for cash and other easily-sold items. They recommended some additional security measures and assured us of their ongoing diligence in this area.

We are now in the process of upgrading our building security.

Athanasian Creed

2006-05-02T18:13:00.000-06:00

GFvonB at Traditio in Radice has posted my favorite Creed of the Church (in both Latin and the Vulgar). In the Traditional Breviaries, this Creed is said following the psalms of Prime on Trinity Sunday. Sadly, it is very much overlooked in these times. I wonder what would happen if your friendly neighborhood Novus Ordo priest were to read this Creed from the pulpit:

His head would explode, covering the guitar player(s) in brain matter
"Extraordinary" Ministers of the Eucharist would light the pews on fire and storm the pulpit
75% of the parish would immediately seek out the priest after Mass to hear their confessions. They have seen the error of their ways and wish to repent.

You can decide for yourself, based on your own parish experience.

Trads: No Fun for You!

2006-04-26T11:49:00.000-06:00

W has a guest post over at Stephen Heiner's TrueRestoration.com regarding sport and celebrity. Overall, a pretty good post, but I admit that I shriek in terror (but not like a little girl) at the conclusion:

But I think that attending professional sporting events still ought to
be avoided because of the potential messages it sends our children. We
are, in a way, buying into the sport hero worship.

Can we Trads not have any fun?!?

I think that informing the conscience of the Faithful is a far more effective approach. What really is wrong with taking my sons to a Saturday afternoon Major League Baseball (MLB) game? Yes, I know that the food and beverages are extremely overpriced. But there is nothing like sitting in a stadium with 10,000 of my new best friends to cheer on the home team.

How are Trads going to witness to and convert the world when we will have no part of it? Are we just supposed to sit at home with our rosaries and pontificating on the blogosphere? The Great Commission has suddenly become the Great-Avoid-Everything-Of-The-World. Is Trad fun limited to board games? I certainly hope not! (I do enjoy board games, by the way. And I agree with W that Settlers of Catan is one of the better games out there).

So in honor of W, I am going home this evening to drink some beer, wine, & whiskey (not necessarily in that order), smoke a Marlboro, and plan my next sporting event with my sons. American boys without baseball ... what is the world coming to?

News :: AQ Exclusive: An Interview with His Excellency Bp. Rifan

2006-04-04T12:49:00.000-06:00

Servitium at the AngelQueen forums has another Episcopal interview. The site seems to be down, so here is the interview in its entirety:

News :: AQ EXclusive: An Interview with His Excellency Bp. Rifan

AQ Exclusive:

An Interview with His Excellency, Bishop Rifan

A very candid conversation with the traditional Bishop of the Diocese of Campos

I recently received a call from our "French Connection", who contributes greatly to Angelqueen.org but still wishes to remain anonymous. From this point forward we'll refer to him as "FC". FC often calls just to chat, but just as often the purpose of his contact goes beyond friendly conversation. This was one of those times.

Recently, Bishop Rifan had spent some time in Europe where he gave several semi-private and public talks. It was at one of these talks in France that FC - having an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time - managed to strike up a conversation with His Excellency and build enough rapport in a short period of time to convince the good bishop to agree to an exclusive interview with AQ.

After FC informed me of the development, I gave it some thought and told him that although I appreciated His Excellency's generosity, if the interview was to occur, I wasn't about to toss him a bunch of softballs for him to hit out of the park. Of course I would be kind and give due respect to Bishop Rifan, but there were many lingering questions I and other traditionalists would like for him to answer. FC agreed this was the correct approach.

After some further discussion with FC and getting further input from him on what type of questions should be asked, I put together the questions. However, after reading though them, I feared that because some of the questions touched on delicate and controversial topics, that His Excellency would become angry or perhaps immediately send my email to his "deleted items" folder. This turned out not to be the case.

Very shortly (literally hours) after I somewhat apprehensively hit "send", I received a kind reply directly from the good bishop himself, blessing me and thanking me for the opportunity to be interviewed. No auto-responders or assistants, and no hesitation whatsoever to tackle the interview. I was immediately impressed.

When I got the interview back from Bishop Rifan, I realized that he not only answered every question posed to him, but he answered them thoroughly and with due care. Although he is a very busy man, he took the necessary time to give an excellent interview. At times, he is plucky and direct, but honest and forthcoming.

Enjoy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AQ: You recently gave several talks in Europe, one attended by several hundred people. What was the purpose of your trip? Did you find it fruitful?

Bishop Rifan: Three things:

1) The purpose of my trip
2) The message of my conferences
3) The contacts and fruits.

The purpose
I have some friends there -- priests who just fixed their irregular canonical situation, and they invited me to help them with some suggestions or advise regarding the path to follow. I accepted this invitation as a way of being charitable with them, as the Holy Father Benedict XVI told me during the meeting I had with him. What he had told me as a cardinal -- is that the Campos Apostolic Administration is an example for all the groups attached to traditional liturgy, on how to maintain liturgical tradition in communion within the Church. Cardinal Castrillon encouraged me this visit. The pope told me he is happy with the peace in Campos, between the local diocese and his bishop and us. Cardinal Castrillon told me that the existence of Campos and the life of the Apostolic Administration, with its independent churches and proper rite, in perfect co-living with the local diocese -- unity in diversity -- shows that this is possible. I think demonstrating that co-living is possible is a useful point both for progressives and for traditionalists. For progressives believe such is not possible, fearing unity of Church would be undermined if they open the door for traditionalists, and traditionalists fear the may loose their identity with this co-existence. No! Peace is possible with liturgical diversity, disciplinary diversity and of course fidelity to doctrine.

The message
A newspaper in France surmised my visit by writing: "Mgr Rifan appealed to unity and warned traditionalists against radicalism and fundamentalism." I spoke about how we must adhere to the Magisterial Church and I insisted on the necessity of communion with Hierarchy and the sensus Ecclesia. I warned them against mixing political issues and liturgical matters. Speaking about the crisis, I explained it brought wrong to the progressives -- and to traditionalists as well.

I said that if I were to speak to progressives I would repeat what Cardinal Ratzinger said once: "While there are many motives that might have led a great number of people to seek a refuge in the traditional liturgy, the chief one is that they find the dignity of the sacred preserved there. After the Council there were many priests who deliberately raised 'desacralization' to the level of a program... they have despoiled the churches as much as they could of that splendor which brings to mind the sacred..." (Cardinal Ratzinger's Conférence to the Bishops of Chile, June 13, 1988). That is to say: you, progressives, you are guilty of the lack of sacred and of the generalized desacralization in the Church. You are guilty of the traditionalist phenomenon.

But since I spoke mainly for traditionalists, I first spoke about the great qualities of traditionalists groups, of their great love for the Church, their zeal for sacred, and so on; traditionalists are "those who do not look to the liturgy for a spiritual show-master but for the encounter with the living God in whose presence all the "doing" becomes insignificant since only this encounter is able to guarantee us access to the true richness of being." (Card. Ratzinger -- for Claus Gamber)

But for the sake of truth, I also collected of the seven capital sins of the traditionalists, that is temptations and dangers where they can fall in, and sometimes do fall:

1. Pride - feeling like we have some exclusive and personal knowledge of truth, cultic idea that we are the only Catholics, the Church's savers.

2. Systematic lack of charity - "See how they hate each other" That's the contrary of what pagans said about the first Christians. The art of changing one's friends into enemies. The spirit of division.

3. Rash judgement - Spirit of suspicion. Conspiracy theory.

4. Scandalmongering - Criticism as a sytem. Ministery of criticism.

5. Spirit of dispute - Systematic disobedience. Independence toward hierarchy and Church's Magister.

6. Cultish group spirit - "no salvation outside of us".

7. Pessimism - against Christian hope (In spe gaudentes). To some point, satisfaction with the anormality of one's situation - and with errors by the human part of the Church - like if this could justify one's own position.

Contacts and fruits
I asked to meet with - as I usually do - the bishops of the dioceses I would be visiting. This was also a way of indicating to traditionalists the necessity of communion. Hence, I visited Mgr Vingt-Trois in Paris, Cardinal Ricard in Bordeaux, I had lunch with Mgr Pansard in Chartres and I was received by the nuncio in Paris. They all treated me like a brother. Mgr Vingt-Trois wrote me afterward very kindly: "I heard good reports on your stay and I thank you for the ecclesial words you spoke to the auditories. We pursue our pastoral effort at the service of communion and we put our efforts under the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin." I received many good repercussions of my talks. Many, many traditionalists have appreciated my conferences. I have spoken the truth of my convictions. I think I did my duty even if I could not please everybody.

AQ: Could you explain what the difference is between an Apostolic Administration as exists in Campos and a Sacerdotal Society like the SSPX or the FSSP?

Bishop Rifan: An Apostolic Administration, as exists in Campos, is not a group or a religious society or congregation, but is a normal and official ecclesiastical circumscription of the Catholic Church, the same as a Diocese or a Prelature or an Ordinariat, that is, a particular church, part of the Universal and unique Catholic Church. Because of that the Bishop of the Apostolic Administration has the same power as an diocesan bishop, in his jurisdiction.

AQ: As a traditionalist Bishop, how is your relationship with the other Brazilian bishops? Have you run into any political problems or other issues that may stem from your unique status?

Bishop Rifan: As a catholic bishop in full communion with the catholic church, I have good relationships with the other Brazilian bishops. I am present in all of the bishop's meetings and I receive all the consultations as would any other bishop while conserving my peculiarity and individuality, primarily regarding the traditional liturgy. The bishops respect this independence and this peculiarity of our proper rite, as the Holy See erected it. And because of this good relationship, we have many dioceses outside of Campos which now allow the traditional Mass.

AQ: Since the establishment of the apostolic administration in Campos, do you feel at all stifled in communicating your thoughts regarding the direction of Holy Mother Church, the Novus Ordo liturgy and traditional Catholicism?

Bishop Rifan: No. I don't feel at all stifled in my right of criticizing everything wrong in the Church. We are limited only by catholic doctrine or theology. This right is placed expressly in our declaration, according the Canon 212 of the Canon Law.

AQ: Do you have any authority outside of the diocese of Campos? Would you be able to administer confirmations in the United States or any other country? If so, what conditions would have to be met?

Bishop Rifan: I have jurisdiction in the full territory of the Diocese of Campos. My jurisdiction is cumulative with one of our Diocesan Bishop, with the difference that mine is personal and his is territorial. Outside of my diocese, as every any bishop, in order to minister sacraments I would need the approval of the local bishop. This is the way I have administered the sacrament of confirmation and the sacrament of holy orders in several other dioceses, in Brazil and elsewhere.

AQ: Your relationship with the SSPX was quite friendly before the Campos reconciliation, not long after it became less friendly. How would you describe your relationship with the Society currently, in particular with Bishop Fellay?

Bishop Rifan: We were together during the conversations with the Holy See in order to regularize our canonic situation; We were even invited by them and were very grateful to them for this. When the Holy See offered them and us an Apostolic Administration they refused, and we in good conscience couldn't refuse this offer, or more to the point this explicit will of the Holy Father. After that, they began to attack us. They removed our Masses from the list of the Traditional Mass in the world. I sent an invitation to my Episcopal consecration to the four bishops of the SSPX and they refused. I offered many times myself in order to help them in order to get a canonical regularization, and they refused. This month, during my visit in France, a friend invited one of their Bishops to speak with me and he refused, saying that it was not necessary. So, I continue to pray for them.

AQ: If a Catholic lives in an area where a Novus Ordo church and an SSPX chapel are the same distance from his home, where would you advise this person to attend Mass?

Bishop Rifan: The attendance to the Sunday Mass is an obligation for every catholic. For me, of course, the Traditional Mass is better than the Novus Ordo Mass, so I guide people to the Traditional Mass. But the Novus Ordo Mass is a valid catholic Mass, of course. The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei stated that attendance at Mass in an SSPX chapel is valid. The problem is the ambience. In the Novus Ordo, the modernist ambience must be considered and in some cases avoided. In the SSPX, the anti-roman ambiance must be considered and in some cases avoided. It depends on each case. As someone said me in Rome, the problem is not the rite, the problem is the sermon!

AQ: There exists a document called 62 Reasons Why One cannot, In Good Faith, Attend The Novus Ordo, published by "Padres de Campos" (Fathers of Campos). Most of these priests are now under your charge. Would you consider the 62 Reasons a document that the faithful should take to heart?

Bishop Rifan: There not exists this document, signed by nobody. There exists a list of reasons against the Novus Ordo, created many years ago, collected by a priest of Campos from many different sources. This document is not official. The reasons must be considered each one, and its authority depends of the document from where they have been collected. Most of these reasons are really artificial, saying, for instance, about the apostasy of priests, etc, with no necessary causal relationship with the Novus Ordo.

We can have critics against the Novus Ordo, but inside the limits allowed by the catholic doctrine and by the Magisterium of the Church.

AQ: It has been said that you concelebrated a Novus Ordo Mass on September 8, 2004 in Brazil. What was your role at the Mass? Were you at all disturbed by anything that went on at the Mass?

Bishop Rifan: In this day, September 8, 2004, it was a great feast of the centenary of the Coronation of the Patroness of Brazil, Our Lady Aparecida, for which all bishops of Brazil were invited, with a official representation of the Brazilian Government, and so I judged necessary to be present, mainly to show our public devotion to Our Lady, attacked by the protestant sects in Brazil. I have not concelebrated sacramentally: I was only present with the Episcopal ornaments, as the catholic Bishops (only the Anglican bishops, sometimes present by courtesy, use the coral vests, without ornaments, because they cannot concelebrate). But if I had concelebrated I would not have committed any sin, of course. I don't understand this scandal made about it, as I had committed a very big sacrilege.

But I think that the best answer of this question is already done by our spokesman, with my agreement, as follows:

NOTE ON THE PARTICIPATION IN MASS CELEBRATED IN THE RITE OF PAUL VI:

Some persons have questioned the occasional participation of Dom Fernando and some of his priests in Masses celebrated in the Rite of Paul VI.

Dom Fernando is a Catholic bishop, member of the Catholic episcopate, in communion with the Holy Father the Pope. Thus, like every Catholic bishop, even those of a different rite, he must demonstrate this full communion practically.

No one can be Catholic while remaining in an attitude of refusal of communion with the Pope and with the Catholic episcopate. In fact, the Church defines as schismatic those who refuse to submit to the Roman Pontiff or to remain in communion with the other members of the Church who are his subjects (canon 751). Now, to refuse continually and explicitly to participate in every and any Mass in the rite celebrated by the Pope and by all the bishops of the Church while judging this rite, in itself, incompatible with the Faith, or sinful, represents a formal refusal of communion with the Pope and with the Catholic episcopate.

The objective fact cannot be denied that the rite of Paul VI is the official rite of the Latin Church, celebrated by the Pope and by all the Catholic episcopate.

If we consider the New Mass in itself, in theory or in practice, as invalid or heretical, sacrilegious, heterodox, sinful, illegitimate or not Catholic, we would have to hold the theological conclusions of this position and apply them to the Pope and the entire episcopate residing in the world -- that is, the whole teaching Church: that the Church has officially promulgated, maintained for decades, and offers every day to God an illegitimate and sinful worship -- a proposition condemned by the Magisterium -- and that, therefore, the gates of hell have prevailed against her, which would be a heresy. Or else we would be adopting the sectarian principle that we alone are the Church, and outside of us there is no salvation, which would be another heresy. A Catholic, either in theory or in practice, cannot accept these positions.

Our participation, therefore, is based on doctrinal principles. And it does not mean that we do not have reservations about the new rite, as we have already respectfully brought to the attention of the Holy See. Neither does our participation signify approval of everything that may happen. To be united to the hierarchy of the Church and in perfect communion with her does not mean approval of many errors that grow in the bosom of the Holy Church, provoked by her human part. And, of course, we lament profoundly with the Holy Father that the Liturgical Reform has given room for "ambiguities, liberties, creativities, adaptations, reductions and instrumentalizations" (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n. 10.52.61) and also has given "origin to many abuses and led in a certain way to the disappearance of the respect due to the sacred" (Cardinal Edouard Gagnon, Offerten Situng -- Roemisches, nov.dez. 1993, p. 35). Above all, we reject every profanation of the Liturgy, for example the Masses in which the "Liturgy degenerates into a 'show,' where one is tempted to make religion interesting with the help of silly changes in fashion...with momentary successes for the group of liturgical fabricators", as Cardinal Ratzinger criticized (Introduction to the book La Réforme Liturgique by Mgr. Klaus Gamber, p. 6).

For all these reasons, we preserve the venerable rite of St. Pius V, but "cum Petro et sub Petro", in full communion.

Pe. Gaspar Samuel Coimbra Pelegrini

Spokesman of the Apostolic Administration

Perhaps, another question, linked to that, is why we conserve and celebrate the Traditional Mass, what are the thru reasons. Because of that, I think it is good to add this explanation, I published in our bulletin:

Why do we love, preserve and prefer the classic liturgical form of Roman rite, The Traditional Mass?

Would it be only because we are nostalgic or sentimentally attached to past forms of liturgy? Only this reason would be not enough.

Would it be because we deny the power of the Pope to modify and promulgate liturgical laws? It would be against supreme Pope's power dogma!

Would it be because we just consider the New Mass, or Paul VI's Mass, invalid, heterodox, sinful, sacrilegious or not catholic? These statements would be against Church's indefectibility dogma and unity of cult dogma, and they have already received the Teaching Church's anathema, so it is an universal liturgical law, promulgated by Church's supreme authority 34 years ago and adopted unanimously by the whole Teaching Church.

The real reasons are:

for a question of better and more precise expression of our Faith in Eucharistic dogmas,

for safety, for protection against abuses,

for the good of whole Church, in contribution for liturgical crisis' reform,

for wealth and solemnity of rites,

for better precision and rigidity of rubrics (giving no space to "ambiguities, liberties, creativities, adaptations, reductions and instrumentalizations", as complains the Pope - Ecclesia of Eucharistia, n. 10, 52, 61),

for the sense of sacredness,

more wealth and precision of prayers' formulas, in reverence,

for personal and ritual humility,

for elevation and nobility of ceremonies,

for respect, beauty, good taste, piety, sacred language, tradition

and legitimate right recognized by Church's Supreme Authority.

AQ: Your Lordship's final message.

Bishop Rifan: I think that the present crisis is mainly a crisis of Faith, of Hope and or Charity. Lack of Faith in the Church, in his divinity and indefectibility - to look too much the human part or the Church, forgetting his divine part. Because of that, lack of hope and, consequently lack of love of God, lack of love for the Church as our family and lack of charity for the brothers. Prayer and spirit of Faith, this is the solution.

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Tolerance at Its Finest

2006-03-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent post from the Cornell Society. It is a prayer for peace to be said between the decades of the Most Holy Rosary.

Do we have pagans in our nation?

Do evil minds persecute the Lord God?

Have I offered prayers with distraction?

Answering YES to any of the above questions demonstrates the necessity of this prayer. So make a copy of this prayer and share the love.

The original post has a scanned image of the prayer card. However, as stingy as I am, I will post only the text.

Inter-decade Prayer of Rosary for Peace (17 November 1948)

Lord Jesus Christ, forgive our sins, take care of the pagans for the peace of our nation and lead the evil minds among them who persecute [the] Lord God onto the just path, redeem Russia for the peace of the world. Sacred Heart of [our] Lord Jesus Christ, Immaculate Heart of [the] Virgin Mary, make our hearts like the heart of our Lord.

Make this world free of evil inhabitants and tolerate our prayers offered with distraction. The most Sacred Heart of [our] Lord Jesus Christ, the Most Immaculate Heart of [the] Virgin Mary make our hearts fervent.

Imprimatur: Bishop Daniel H. Tji

Spinster

2006-03-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

A very Happy Birthday to the spinster Miss Hilary Jane Margaret White, a founder of the League of Evil Traditionalistas.

Happy Susie Day to one and all.

Which Star Trek Character Are You?

2006-03-09T14:23:00.000-07:00

Scotty. You are a miracle worker in the eyes of other people and you are always able to perform them too, but your repair times just get longer and longer as you grow older.

Which Star Trek Character Are You?
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Which Twentieth Century Pope Are You?

2006-02-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

You are Pope Pius XII. You're efficient and

dedicated, but not very approachable.

Which Twentieth Century Pope Are You?
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Mammon: guilt-free

2006-02-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

Ian over at Nobis Quoque has posted an image that really touches my heart. The pagan ladies next door can't keep their mouths shut about not-legislating morality (esp. in regards to abortion). I have posted the image on my office door.
Let the inter-office back-biting commence!

Soul for Sale

2006-02-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

'Tis a dangerous thing to do such things. The "auction" ends Feb-04-06 00:32:03 PST

Soul For Sale

How Should Your Death Be Marked?

2006-01-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

A Stone Angel

How Should Your Death Be Marked?
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I Am Not A Heretic

2006-01-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

You scored as Chalcedon compliant.
You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451.

Chalcedon compliant

100%

Pelagianism

67%

Nestorianism

67%

Apollanarian

33%

Monophysitism

33%

Monarchianism

33%

Arianism

Adoptionist

Docetism

Donatism

Albigensianism

Modalism

Gnosticism

Socinianism

Are you a heretic?
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