Fr. Z has a appropriate rant on the dumb practice where some parishes replace Holy Water with sand.
If a parish puts sand in the Holy Water font than I say it is entirely appropriate to place rocks in the collection basket to keep with this theme. Donate elsewhere. A parish that would deprive people of a sacramental because of some liturgical fad has problems indeed.
If you have this problem you can shop at L Mart and get yourself a Portable Font to solve this problem.
Callers hear a soothing male voice welcoming them to “The Line of the Lord” at a cost of 31 pence a minute.
“For advice on confessing, press one. To confess, press two. To listen to some confessions, press three,” it says.
“In case of serious or mortal sins – that is, sins that have cut you off from Christ our Lord, it is indispensable to confide in a priest,”
The site was set up this month at the beginning of Lent by a group of Catholics working for AABAS, a small Paris company that provides telephone messaging services.
But the Conference of French Bishops, has warned in a statement that the line had “no approval from the Catholic Church in France.”
It does not offer absolution for sins, which only a priest can provide, said the creator, Camille, who asked for her second name not be cited because she had received threats about the service.
“The idea is to confess sins which are not capital sins, but minor sins, directly to God,” she said, adding that the line received about 300 calls in its first week. [reference]
Well I like for the most part their explanation of mortal sin – but of course the whole thing could easily confuse those who do no realize that Sacraments can only be received in person. The listening to others confessions option shows thoughthat this was not some service made it with good intentions by mistaken Catholics. Ever since the telephone was invented, people wondered about this possibility and it seems to be brought up once agan with every new communication technology. Though if confession could be done via the phone – charging for the service would I guess be eSimony.
Her talking about confessing sins “directly to God” via the telephone is problematic if you don’t have the area code for Heaven. Though surely the area code for Hell is 666.
Father Z often refers to progress in the liturgical renewal as “brick by brick.” It is rather nice to watch this as it happens. When I first became Catholic the number of parishes I could attend without seeing a liturgical abuse I could count on one finger. Since then and especially after our new bishop got here it is much rarer to see an actual abuse – though the quality of liturgical music still has a long way to go.
One parish I sometimes attend use to have a rather liberal priest who had no sense of decorum when saying the Mass. During the homily he would wander about the pews as he twirled the ends of his rope belt. His replacement is of a totally different liturgical mindset, one in keeping with the Holy Father. In the last year the piano has has been banished along with the all too common OCP/GIA hymn list that is oh so common. The Mass is prayed in a fitting way so much more conductive in prayer. The most amazing thing is that he has even managed to train the parishioners to sing all of the verses of the closing hymn before leaving. The first time I witnessed this I thought it was an aberration. I was so much more use to people sticking around to at most only one verse and usually beating the priest on their way out of the Church in some improvised foot race.
Tonight we attended this parish and they had a priest that was there for the Lenten mission. I always love when the priest chants the parts of the Mass as he did, but the homily was really a special treat. He spoke on the liturgy and the Second Vatican Council and what is truly meant by “active participation” and that the participation is primarily interior. He also talked about the changes in the Mass that had no connection with Sacrosanctum Concilium and the subsequent slow reform of the reform as headed by Pope Benedict XVI. He spoke on the example the Pope is giving to the whole Church in liturgical discipline. He did it in a very respective manner that was in no way a rant, but a history of what has happened and then our responsibilities towards worships. Plenty of red meat for us liturgical geeks. He told one funny anecdote from the late Cardinal John Joseph Wright who was the Prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy who said that when Jesus comes again the Angels won’t be singing Kumbaya, but Santus, Santus, Santus.
I almost thought I had died and gone to heaven when for Communion he announced that we would have Communion by Intinction where the Body of Christ is dipped in the Precious Blood before being placed on the communicants tongue. He explained this and Communion went smoothly despite the fact that for many people it might have been the first time they had ever received on the tongue. The Pastor was also there and of course with Intinction no Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist are required.
So while brick by brick might seem to be a slow proces, something is being built. There are now three parishes I can go to where I can more easily worship without being distracted by banal music.
All in all it’s just another brick by brick for the wall.
Hey Liturgists leave them kids alone.
Update: Via the comments I learned that the priest was Rev. Peter M. J. Stravinskas – a name I am well aware of in regards to writing on the liturgy. That was certainly a bonus.
She thought she might get off with a few Hail Marys. Instead, she got three years in prison.
The 27-year-old New Jersey woman who cried rape and put away an innocent man had no idea what coming clean would cost her when she stepped into a confessional a year ago and told her priest everything.
“She was going to confess this was her sin and that was it,” said a source familiar with the shocking recantation of Biurny Peguero Gonzalez, who on Tuesday was sentenced to one to three years in prison for falsely accusing William McCaffrey of a violent sexual assault in 2005.
McCaffrey, whom Gonzalez had accused of raping her on a deserted Inwood street, served nearly four years of a 20-year sentence. The Bronx man, now 33, was exonerated in December after Gonzalez, a mother of two, admitted concocting the tale to gain sympathy from friends.
Although Gonzalez desperately wanted McCaffrey freed, “I don’t think she felt that it was going to go beyond that confession. She just happened to pick a priest who said, ‘Oh, no, no, no . . .’ ”
The priest, the Rev. Zeljko Guberovic of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Union City, made it clear to her that her obligation didn’t end with admitting the lie.[reference]
By some reports this might also have been her first confession. A rather interesting case regarding sacramental confession in that besides confessing your sins that sometimes restitution is involved. A robber could not simply confess that he had stollen, but would need to pay back what was stolen. Though this need not be done in a public way. I remember one priest speaking on EWTN saying that in some cases he would receive the stolen money and return it to the person robbed, while of course making no mention of who the thief was. In this specific case I don’t see how restitution could be done without the person exposing herself publicly to recant her false rape charge. The inviolability of confession certainly means that the priest could never have brought this up – though it present in odd situation when the penitent brings it up and specifically mentions what when on in confession including the penance given.
It is an unusual situation when the penitent discloses the contents of a confession publicly. Though the priest is still bound to not reveal anything said in confession. Prudentially though I think it would have been better if she had not mentioned what spurned her conversion since I think this will confuse people about the nature of the priest-penitent privilege in sacramental confession. Though certainly there are no canonical penalties for her doing so.
God is my co-Pilot
Nice hat, but I don’t think Monsignor Guido Marini will approve.
This should keep my Zucchetto from falling off.
When NY1 News reporter Roma Torre asked whether a pro-abortion Catholic should be invited to a “Catholic event” such as the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, Dolan’s response was unequivocal.
“Actually, Roma, I don’t think we should invite anybody that would take a stance [in favor of] abortion, because this is not a Catholic issue,” he replied.
The archbishop later clarified that his answer pertained to giving public honors to such persons.
“In our mind, being opposed to abortion, is a civil rights issue, it’s a natural law issue, it’s not a Catholic issue,” Dolan continued. “We’d be uncomfortable in anybody that would, say, promote a stand that would be for bigotry, or against civil rights, because that’s contrary not only to the teaching of the Church but to what we would call civil rights and the natural law.”
The archbishop said that a pro-abortion Catholic such as New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would be “welcome” to a Catholic event – but “there’s a difference between everybody being welcome, and providing somebody who is dramatically, radically, publically at odds with the Church on a particularly given issue to have a place of prominence and to receive an award.”
Exactly, there is a big difference. You often hear the term about a church being “open” when they actually mean that the church openly sees some sin as acceptable. You also hear so much that Jesus ate with sinners as a justification for accepting sin. The Catholic Church is truth open in that it is truly open to everyone and certainly wants all to go to Mass. Even those who receive the medicinal penalty of excommunication are still able to go to Mass, but just can’t participate in the sacraments until they have repented and gone to sacramental confession. Those that are pro-abortion or who are pro-homosexual acts also are invited to Mass, they just can’t participate in the sacramental aspects of the Church until they also repent. Yes, Jesus ate with sinners and the sinners he attracted were the one who admitted their sins and were on the road of conversion. Less frequently mentioned is that Jesus also ate with Pharisees who he would rebuke. Fellowship with others does not mean that sin must be ignored – it is a spiritual act of mercy to rebuke the sinner – just make sure you have deforested the logs in your own eyes.
“It’s not like I sit down and say: How can I grab some headlines, how can I really cause a splash,” Dolan said. “You just try to do your work, and sometimes things get attention. …
“If people ask me, I feel obliged as a teacher, as the official teacher of the Archdiocese of New York, to try my best to give the Church’s wisdom here.”
Dolan noted that he was “grateful” that the New York legislature struck down a same-sex “marriage” bill last year. He also affirmed that the St. Patrick’s Day Parade should continue disallowing a gay pride banner, which would conflict with the parade’s “strong Christian identity.”
Well said. It seems to me that many other bishops are more worried about being seen as “headline grabbers” or being perceived as acting politically instead of being a teacher – a true shepherd. Jesus called truth a sword and one that divides. Preaching the truth must be in season and out of season.
But, he said, it would be a mistake to understand the Church’s stance against such matters as mere naysaying.
Instead, he said: “the Church in a way is one big yes: one big yes to human life, one big yes to anything that advances, lifts up, enlightens, liberates legitimate human identity. We’re in the ‘yes’ business, not the ‘no’ business.
“So I get frustrated sometimes, when that’s interpreted as being ‘anti-gay,’ that’s where we kinda cringe,” he continued, “because believe it or not, we get attacked from the other extreme for defending the rights of gays and for the strong Church teaching that every single human being … is a child of God, deserving of dignity and respect.”
Dolan called the late John Cardinal O’Connor of New York, who was outspokenly pro-life, his “hero” – and acknowledged that his office calls for a “prophetic” voice, although he prefers using a persuasive tone when possible.
“There’s always a little bit of tension between those two,” said Dolan. “But occasions might call that I’ll have to be prophetic. I’m sure there’s gonna be times … that I’m gonna have to be a bit of a pitbull. In general, I like to be an Irish Setter.[reference]“
Archbishop Dolan has that nice personality balance the evicts a cheerful orthodoxy. He is able to declare the truth without seeming mean-spirited. Though his critics will often see otherwise. But again the Archbishop makes great points. The Church says yes to all of the great truths. It is the secular culture that says no constantly to the truth and yes to sin.
In the Name of Diversity
Catholics in England might like someone of Cardinal Martino’s caliber at the moment.
This week, the U.K. parliament voted to pass an amendment to a bill that, according to the government and an agency of the Catholic Church, will allow faith schools to teach sex education according to their religious ethos.
But pro-life organizations and many orthodox-thinking Catholics say the amendment is deceptive and misleading, as it will still require all schools, including Catholic schools, to give information about contraception, abortion, and homosexual partnerships in the name of equality and diversity. The government’s education minister, Ed Balls, seemed to admit as much on a BBC radio program on the day of the vote.
“They can explain the views of their faith,” he said, “but what they can’t do is say that they are not going to teach children about contraception, how to access contraception, or how to use contraception.” He added that what the bill changes is that for the first time “these schools cannot just ignore these issues or teach only one side of the argument.”
Teachers in faith schools, he said, will have to teach “different views on homosexuality, they cannot teach homophobia, they must explain civil partnership and must give a balanced view on abortion. They must explain both sides of the argument and how to access an abortion. The same is true on contraception as well.”
Faith schools will, therefore, now be obliged to instruct young girls on where to kill a child in their womb, say pro-life organizations[reference].
This of course is not surprising in any way. You are allowed to believe whatever you want just as long as you also do what the government tells you to do.
But the Catholic Education Service, the agency which has worked with the government on the bill and which is governed by the bishops of England and Wales, supports the legislation. It insists that the teaching of all aspects of the curriculum in Catholic schools “reflects their religious ethos,” and that sex education “will be rooted in the Catholic Church’s teaching of the profound respect for the dignity of all human persons.”
Unfortunately this also is not surprising. You might have wondered historically how King Henry VIII managed to have his way with all but one bishop as he went into schism and brought the other bishops along. Again the Episcopacy seems to be largely silent over a massive offense against religious freedom and the ability to teach the full truth. You can pretty much just cue the crickets. Though at least one voice, Scottish Cardinal O’Brien mentioned the government’s “systematic and unrelenting attack on family values. The whole thing is kind of like watching the Reformation all over again except the power grab does not happen under the banner of religion.
Here in the United States recently the Archdiocese of Washington announced that it is shutting down its foster care and public adoption program because of the new same-sex marriage law. Like in the case of Massachusetts and San Francisco where adoption services were also shut down, there was no religious conscience clauses allowed. So once again tolerance in the name of same-sex marriage results in the shutting down of a Catholic Charities adoption service. Previously:
The Archdiocese told the Washington Post on Wednesday that failing to broaden conscience protections for religious groups and individuals would force them to cancel its social services contracts with the city. That in turn would affect the tens of thousands of people seeking help with adoption, homeless shelters, and health services.
The idea they might have to shut down all contracts with the city seems to have gone by the wayside. The Archdioces now puts a positive light on shutting down some services by saying “Continues 82 other programs” – so that religious freedom has been violated in such an extreme way didn’t manage even a news release by the diocese about this specifically. Maybe they are too busy with Carbon fasts. The USCCB has also not managed a statement on the fact that now three Adoption services have been shut down. Pope Benedict XVI spoke out against British “equality laws” and for them creating “limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.” The same thing is happening here with very little outcry where we just seem to go along. Our freedom to practice religion is being taken away from us and our consciences violated by the state – oh well, move along.
I’ve added a new item in my right sidebar named “Picks” which highlights articles/blog posts/etc I found interesting and have tagged via delicious. I often find good reading material in my daily travels through the information highway that I would mark for interest, but that I am too lazy to blog on or to post a link to. With delicious I can quickly bookmark a site and then tag it.
If you are interested you could subscribe to my Catholic delicious feed. 
Tweets are the new Barks! Ever wonder what your pup is doing while you’re away? Well, now you can get the 411 with text messages from Puppy Tweets! Whenever your dog moves, barks (or just naps), the tag knows it and sends a WiFi signal to your computer which then sends you a Tweet via Twitter. Simply set up a Twitter page for your dog and your Puppy Tweets tag starts generating Tweets. Puppy Tweets comes pre-loaded with over 500 phrases that put a humorous or insightful spin on your dog’s daily activity. For example, a bark may generate a Tweet of: “I bark because I miss you. There I said it. Now hurry home.” A quick run through the house could produce: “I finally caught that tail I’ve been chasing and…OOUUUCHH!” Invite your friends and family to follow your pet on Twitter and help your dog follow his or her favorite puppy pals or celebrities. Puppy Twitter lets you connect with your pet over the Internet. It’s a great way to brighten your day ‘cause a Tweet from your pooch is a virtual smooch! [reference]
I think I will design a similar device for cats. Though there will only be 3 not 500 possible messages. The messages would be 1. Sleeping, 2. Ignoring you, 3. Feed me now.
Or possibly for Benedictine Monks which would only have two messages 1) Praying 2) Working ala Ora et labora.
Saint Paul would have been even simpler with only one message 1) Praying since he said to pray continuously.
Washington D.C., Feb 22, 2010 / 07:19 pm (CNA).- At the American Conservative Union’s recent annual meeting, Deal Hudson, president of the Catholic Advocate, hosted an event with the theme “It’s time for a Catholic Tea Party.”
The annual meeting of the ACU, called the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) took place in Washington D.C. from Feb. 18-20.
Hudson told attendees of the Catholic Advocate event that “it was time for Catholics to realize they don’t need permission from their bishops to become politically active.”
Hudson’s remarks were made in the context of a campaign to “reform the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD)” that he is helping lead. The CCHD, which is under jurisdiction of the U.S. bishops, has recently come under fire for its alleged connections with a network of community organizations that have promoted abortion and the homosexual agenda.
Clarifying what he means by a “Catholic Tea Party,” Hudson said, “We are not calling for the dismantling of the USCCB, not at all. Episcopal conferences are fully mandated by the documents of Vatican II and the Code of Cannon Law.”
“But,” Hudson continued, “we want the USCCB to be managed in a way that does supplant the role and responsibility of the laity and programs like the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. In the case of USCCB programs like the CCHD a serious overhaul is necessary to prevent Catholic money from being spent on organizations supporting abortion and same-sex marriage.”
“$2,000,000 has been spent this way and it needs to stop,” Hudson claimed.[reference]
I take his point – but don’t care for the term “Catholic Tea Party” I do think there is already too much taking in of political terms within the Church. The terms “right” and “left” are bad enough without bringing in more political parallels.
The historical parallels more apt – though not a perfect match – would be the Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation. The response of the Council of Trent and the so-called “Counter-Reformation” is more in the line of what we need – though I certainly don’t mean calling a new council. The aftermath to the Second Vatican Council (not the Council itself) has parallels to the Protestant Reformation when all of a sudden people perceived some new “freedoms” divorced from the teachings of the path and a culture of do your own thing developed. Just this time the Luthers, Calvins, and Zwinglis stayed within the Church. They too started with the mind of reform in what in fact needed reformed only to split off into contrary theologies that continue to spawn and divide today. The Protestant Reformers all went off in their own directions.
So many in the Social Justice movement perceived that more could be done to help the poor and set about to do this good work, but like Luther sided with the Princes they ended up siding with the government as the tool for this work and soon started to ignore the negative aspects of this alliance all in the name of the poor. The USCCB’s Catholic Campaign for Human Development fell into a similar trap by largely seeing government programs as the answer. So many of the groups they support basically agitate for more government money and intrusion. They quickly became blind to the anti-Christian agendas of the other groups they were working with all in the name of human development. This of course is a common human flaw that people can so concentrate on one aspect of the truth that it soon looses relation to other truths – something we all have to watch out for.
Again I don’t see how the Tea Party model is applicable here. It is effective in the arena of politics where large demonstrations for common cause are useful. Though I would like a Missal Party where we all dressed up as some group and grabbed a bunch of OCP missals to be thrown into the closest harbor (Boston or otherwise). I just don’t see large demonstrations of Catholics outside the USCCB offices for example being very effective. Maybe I am just hung up on the Tea Party metaphor being used – I just think it does not conjure up an actual Catholic reply. Besides Tea Party sounds to Puritan. Sign me up for a Catholic Beer Party, named after all the fine work monks contributed to civilization and true reform throughout the centuries. They preserved knowledge and made beer – showing they got their priorities right.
Seriously though. The Counter-Reformation (what a stupid historical term) was effective because the first reform sought after was personal reform. It was Saints Ignatius, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales, Chales Borromeo, along with many others who led a true reform. Today like every age we need saints. Besides if we don’t take up the cause of personal holiness when we get to Judgment Jesus will ask “Who Dat” (a form of Matthew 7:23).