FYI Statistics are Good-on "Apostasy"

A December 2010 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found relatively widespread popular support for death penalty as a punishment for apostasy from Islam: in Egypt (84% of respondents in favor of death penalty), Jordan (86% in favor), Indonesia (30% in favor), Pakistan (76% favor) and Nigeria (51% in favor). From the GS. It is dangerous for a Muslim to become a Christian. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

On Communities and the Traditional Catholics

It has become more clear to me that one cannot become holy in isolation, unless one is called to be a hermit in the Church, which is a clear canonical status, mentioned before on this blog. Living alone is not being a hermit. It is not what Christ had in Mind for His Church. The early Christian communities had to be established to meet the needs of the members of the Church. Too many Catholics have let socialist and communist governments take over the role of the Church. This is not only heresy, but deadly for the future freedom of the Church.

The early Church worked at community-it did not "just happen". There were rules, deacons in charge of certain things and cooperation from both priests and the laity. Communities were there for service and not merely to feed the community. Some of the criticisms for certain organizations in the Church is that they are there only to continue. They do not serve, but are merely self-serving.

Community is absolutely essential for the life of holiness and the development of the virtues. God cannot round off the rough edges of our raw stones to make precious jewels without us bumping into each other on a daily basis.

Marriage and family life do this and religious life does this-provides us with opportunities to face ourselves and to repent, to grow, to be healed, to be holy.

Holiness in isolation is a false dream and at worst, self-deception.

Christ called a group of apostles and the paradigm for priestly formation is basically monastic. After ordination, a priest usually belongs to a sub-group, within his deanery, which can meet regularly. His ministries put him into groups of priests. He cannot avoid the healthy, daily interaction which leads to holiness.

I lived in a lay community for seven years a very long time ago in my twenties. I knew I needed others and others needed me to be holy. Those years were great formative years for me and broke me away from the world, the world of the 1970s. The community was large and balanced. In all of that time, I never heard any heresy or a whiff of anti-Catholicism. The only fault was that it tended to be anti-intellectual, but it was in the upper Midwest and that goes with the territory.

The discipline of the community was based on paradigms of what was thought to be that of the early Church. It worked for a long time, but as for so many of these communal experiences, it disappeared, or at least diminished over a period of twenty-five years.

Two-thousand people were in that community at its height and almost all of us were baby-boomers. We came from families with two parents, we were mostly Catholic, and we had a shared cultural background. The discipline was hard for some, coming out of the hippie era or the age of political activism, but on the whole it was a very good experience. I left to go to graduate school at Notre Dame. That was my personal call. Also, I had a vocation to marriage and could not find "that person" in the community. An intellectual girl was not always what a Midwest guy was wanting at the time. Many happy and solid marriages did come out of the community and I went to many bridal showers. Such common backgrounds and focus on Christ and His Church created healthy relationships, focused on God and family. I imagine the SSPX communities, which were not in my area at the time, have similar experiences. 

Traditional Latin Mass Catholics have not developed such communities, and I strongly feel this is a necessity. Why this has not happened is a mystery to me. But, if it does not happen, two things can occur.

One, in the very hard times, the traditional groupings will not be sustainable and these good people, myself included, will have no support group.

Two, the traditional groupings will die out from lack of re-building and re-populating. Where there are no marriages and children, the traditional Masses will die out simply because of age in some areas. 

The fact that the community I was in for seven years was so large was that it provided what was increasingly missing in the parishes-real care and real love. We loved the Trinity with all our hearts and minds and bodies.  We served each other. It was hard but very, very good.

These desires are missing. Part of the problem is the aging of the Church-going population. I have a broken toe, but still I have to walk to the grocery store. It is very painful. But, the vast majority of people I know in my local parish are my parents' age, and they all walk as well. This is an urban parish and few have cars. In fact, I do not know anyone with a car here in Catholic London. A very good and humble Franciscan priest helped me with my shopping. God bless him. I could not ask the ancient ones to do something for me which is also hard for them. In aging parishes. young people may come and go, but unless there is a school or a home schooling group, there is little real community. The remedy is simple. Get together in cross-age groupings. Do not isolate yourselves. Youth groups can create groups for older people as well. There are many, many old people in my parish who live alone and are very faithful Catholics. 

Unless traditional Catholics try and form these groupings now, it will soon become impossible to do so. The Recusant Church is England was organized. It had leaders and sustained underground communities and activities. It supported the seminary priests from Europe and helped them in the sacramental life of the Church. Some lay people died for this. But, the Faith survived. This must happen again, or the Faith will not survive in some areas.

The Pope recently told Catholics that every family should "adopt" a poor person in Europe. This idea was overlooked in the press big time. What a good idea; and the building of community would spread. Families are the key to communities and singles could join up with families to form daily prayer for the Divine Office or rosary and shared meals. If the traditional Catholics are not open, they will die out. God did not create us to live alone. And, He, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity showed up the way. Read the Acts of the Apostles, trad Catholics and think on this. The entire Catholic culture is at stake.

The last little meditation on the loaves and fishes passage

This particular meditation is more difficult for me. I was struck again when reading the passage at the familial relationships among the apostles. Now, remembering that the apostles are all men, this is significant.

Does the call of God to the priesthood run in families? I think so. I think in the good old days, before the disruptions of the 1970s, and even a bit earlier, families, such as mine, with priests and nuns tended to have more nuns and priests. I was taken to visit my aunt who is a nun and still living several times by my grandmother and parents. This was normal to go to the mother-house.

I loved it.

In this passage, John states clearly "One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother..."

Several things can be noted here. Firstly, Andrew is identified as Simon Peter's brother and Simon Peter is thereby given a higher and more honorable position by this data. Andrew is not just anyone's brother, but Peter's. And, both are disciples.


John also had a brother who was an apostle, James the Greater. All four of these men had been disciples of John the Baptist, so in a way, they were ready when the Baptizer pointed out Christ as the Lamb of God, as He Who was to come, as the Messiah, the Christ. Therefore, three of the four original apostles are mentioned in this Gospel passage. This is highly important.


John is showing the importance of this miracle. He is making it one of the centerpieces of his Gospel. Why?

The Eucharist is the centerpiece of the worship of the Church.

Peter and Andrew, James and John as two sets of brothers became cornerstones of the new Church, with Peter as the Rock, the foundation. How interesting that these physical brothers became spiritual brothers. But, they were that before they were called. Something in those families prepared the way for the fact that they said yes to Christ and became his disciples. Philip is always mentioned fifth after Peter, Andrew, James and John.

I pray that more families realize that the foundation for vocations to the priesthood is the family. There are three priests who are brothers here in England. This is not an accident. The Holy Spirit was working in that family not only to prepare those brothers for their vocations, but to open their hearts and minds to hear the call of God in the first place.

I wish that the turmoil of the late '60s and '70s would not have happened. There would be many more priests and nuns today.

From the Liturgy Office of England and Wales

:http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/HCW/HCWE-Music.pdf

JonathanCatholic Today

On the Perilous Cliff, or the Stalwart Rock?

In my last few posts on this blog I’ve focused on the identity of boys and men, but now I want to discuss an entirely different topic: Protestantism. As a convert to the Catholic Faith, I have always been very interested in analyzing Protestantism and Catholicism, and comparing them in order to see the essential differences in principles that shape our respective understandings of Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Church. As St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us, ideas always have consequences. Hence it is helpful, whether Catholic or Protestant, to be aware of what separates us in our ideologies and the perspective we come from as we approach the Sacred Faith of God made man, Jesus Christ. In this post I want to talk about one of the most striking differences that I have noticed in the fundamental outlook of Protestants and Catholics regarding the relationship between God and His Church.

In the title of this post, I refer to a perilous cliff and a stalwart rock; this analogy I use to compare the basic identity of the relationship between God and the Church in the Protestant mindset and the Catholic mindset. What strikes me so powerfully in the conversations I’ve had with some of my Protestant family, and in my own recollections of my thought prior to my conversion, is the sense that the Protestant worldview is like a man clinging to the side of a sheer cliff hundreds of feet off the ground. The Church of Christ in their view is like that man, and the Cliff he is clinging to is like Christ. In this mindset, suspicion abounds. No authority to them is established by God and thus no authority is exempt from being questioned, no ancient belief is out of bounds to be judged, and no orthodoxy is safe from being condemned, all of these coming at the whim or feelings of the individual Christian, feelings often motivated by fear of falling off of that Cliff Who is God and His Truth. It’s ironic, really, that as much as Protestantism emphasizes the grace of God and the relationship between Christ and an individual Christian, in the grand scheme of things regarding no less of a matter than determining the content of the Christian Faith, an individual Protestant cannot believe that the Church is protected by grace and has an irrevocably covenant with God whereby God steadies Her with His Hand and Spirit, and will not let Her fall nor fail Her mission in the world: the mission of the salvation of souls and the fighting of evil. Rather, the Church from Her earlier times clings to the Cliff that is God, struggling to find a toehold, fighting heresies without any authority to do so, and God will not even lift a finger to keep Her on track. Eventually, She fragments into tens of thousands of separate, broken shards as She falls from the Cliff and shatters on the ground, and still, God will not right Her nor pick up the pieces.

Contrast this with the Catholic Truth. Catholic mindset regarding the Church of Christ and her relationship with Christ her Divine Spouse may indeed be likened to a stalwart rock. The individual Christian need not trouble himself with worries that the Father’s grace and promises in the Holy Spirit will not preserve the Bride of Christ solid as a rock, and us in Her. Yes, the Catholic Church is as a stalwart rock, and we dwell upon that rock, upon the Chair of Saint Peter, the Pillar of the Church and the sure ground of unity and truth. The Lord protects His Church by His Grace to remain ever what She is, and His relationship to Her is steadfast, unfailing, and unmovable, like a Protector husband. The reason why the Catholic Church is solid and unmovable is because at Her core, you find dwelling in the Church and in all the hearts of every Catholic the Blessed Virgin, who is the Church personified and the ever-Virgin; eternally faithful to the Triune God, and the Church Militant in Her likewise.

Glory to God for His promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church!

A Wedding Speech Snippet

Can you imagine your father giving this speech at your wedding reception-a pro-life, pro-family, pro-Catholic teaching talk to all there? A friend of mine shared this with me and I pass it on. The is just a snippet. What a great witness to the Faith this Father gave to his family and daughter on her and his day.

Blessed Karl of Austria and His Wife, Zita

Permit me to use [this occasion] to reflect upon some immutable truths (the truth being synonymous with reality), truths that insist marriage be recognized as the fundamental institution of human society, by which a man and a woman - and only the one with the other - mutually give themselves to each other for the purpose of perpetuating life and raising children in a stable environment. Any interpretation [of marriage] that differs with this truth, and I weigh my words here, is invalid to the point of absurdity. I would even say that it is socially criminal to deviate in any way from this definition, because marriage is the foundation of the family, which is the nucleus of any ordered society. To corrupt this definition in any way is equivalent to splitting an atom, unleashing energy of immeasurable destructiveness and carrying terrifying consequences for our civilization.

More on the Feeding of the Five Thousand for Saturday

I hope some readers have enjoyed the meditations on the Feeding of the Five Thousand. This is the penultimate one.

In the passage, which is from John, one sees that the extra bits, the "left-overs" were gathered up carefully and filled up many, many baskets. Nothing was wasted.

Now, I compare, mentally, the five loaves and two fishes with talents or gifts God has given us to use in the world. If we use out talents, God makes these small gifts multiple for His Glory, not ours. In other words. if we give our lives to God and let Him use all "for the glory of God", the results will be more than we can imagine. I have seen this in my life, with a few talents I have, and how God has used everything and multiplied the results.

I do not do this, He does. Give Him your talents, your gifts and let Him use these as He Wills. We cannot be more generous than God.

The Good Old Boys and Girls and Chick-Fil-A

Bill Barrow in an Associated Press article yesterday had a great comment on how the civil-marriage thing is not merely what it seems to be regarding the Chick-fil-A reaction. And, I agree with his premise that part of this is a "North-South divide" perspective in the States. He writes from Atlanta and his article is found on this Houston news site-http://www.chron.com/news/article/More-than-gay-marriage-driving-Chick-fil-A-flap-3759226.php.

Now, I come from a state which use to be conservative, but is now not so, especially after a judge okay-ed same-sex marriages. Iowa is not typical of the Midwest for many reasons. Iowa City has the highest number of abortions of any city in the United States per capita. Go figure. Part of this has been the weakness of Protestantism, with over 80% of the population being at least nominally Protestant. Part of it has to do with years of weak and even criminal bishops in the Catholic Church. That is another post.

Sadly, some of the most liberal and heretical areas are Catholic in name only, such as Boston, Massachusetts, which has gay marriage, and of course, New York.

But the North-South divide in America is real. I lived in Missouri and my mother is from St. Louis. Missouri has one of the great pro-life organizations in all of the States. People believe in the Ten Commandments. Even Protestant youth I met there and some Protestant neighbors never would agree with same-sex unions. It is not Biblical.

What has happened in the States is that the real Evangelical Christians and many Catholics who are traddies are from the South. There are historical reasons for this. But, the fact that places like Chicago, Boston, New York and Washington are so liberal, and I mean in the Catholic world, is shocking and horrible to us little old Midwest and Southern types.

Make no mistake, but the evils of compromise are rife on the East and West coasts. I have several friends with families who have been able to leave places like California and New York in order to raise their children in real Catholic environments, with real Catholic culture more inland.

City people vs. country people is not exactly what I mean here at all. But, the keeping of Bible Christianity and the strength of my friends from the South who are Catholic seems to indicate that something else happened in these states. I do not include the Bay Area of Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama, which has a completely different culture, sadly weakened by the occult and poor catechesis.

But, I think the snobbery of the mayor of Boston and our own president has to do with looking down on the people of the good old Bible belt.

And here is another good article for thought.

More Meditation on the Feeding of the Five Thousand

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. 

When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world! Today, I thought about these words in the text. And, the words preceding these powerful images. Christ knew His Own People, but they knew Him as well. Sometimes modern men and women suppose the Jews were untutored. No, all the boys and some of the girls went to "school". They knew the Scriptures by heart. They prayed daily with the Psalms of David, the beloved king. A Sign! The Jews had a huge sign.  The Jews knew their Scripture. They understood archetypes. They knew their history. The Messiah would be a prophet who would raise people from the dead, who would feed thousands, who would heal and preach. The Jews remembered and longed for the Kingdom. They loved David above all rulers. They knew the Messiah would be a King, as well as Prophet and Teacher.  In the Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes, the Jews recognized that Jesus was the Messiah. Too many God-events, too many typologies, too many resonances with their Scriptures opened their eyes to the Truth. But, they wanted an earthly Kingdom, a powerful Warrior Messiah, like the Maccabees. They wanted to make Jesus King of this world. They were the first liberation theologians, and they were wrong. Jesus slipped away. It was not time for Christ to show His power and might. That would come in the Passion and Resurrection. But, the Passion begins on Holy Thursday, at the Last Supper, the Institution of the Eucharist, and the Feeding of the Five Thousand, happening at Passover, foreshadows the Death and Resurrection of Christ. What a rich passage...I shall share two more meditations later.

When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!

Today, I thought about these words in the text. And, the words preceding these powerful images. Christ knew His Own People, but they knew Him as well. Sometimes modern men and women suppose the Jews were untutored. No, all the boys and some of the girls went to "school". They knew the Scriptures by heart. They prayed daily with the Psalms of David, the beloved king.

A Sign! The Jews had a huge sign. 

The Jews knew their Scripture. They understood archetypes. They knew their history. The Messiah would be a prophet who would raise people from the dead, who would feed thousands, who would heal and preach.

The Jews remembered and longed for the Kingdom. They loved David above all rulers. They knew the Messiah would be a King, as well as Prophet and Teacher. 

In the Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes, the Jews recognized that Jesus was the Messiah. Too many God-events, too many typologies, too many resonances with their Scriptures opened their eyes to the Truth.

But, they wanted an earthly Kingdom, a powerful Warrior Messiah, like the Maccabees. They wanted to make Jesus King of this world. They were the first liberation theologians, and they were wrong.

Jesus slipped away. It was not time for Christ to show His power and might.

That would come in the Passion and Resurrection. But, the Passion begins on Holy Thursday, at the Last Supper, the Institution of the Eucharist, and the Feeding of the Five Thousand, happening at Passover, foreshadows the Death and Resurrection of Christ.

What a rich passage...I shall share two more meditations later.

Rules for Eucharistic Adoration Part Two

These quotations are from various sources.
 Instruction On Eucharistic Worship issued by the Sacred Congregation of Rites

While the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, the celebration of Mass in the same area of the church (eadem aula ecclesiae) is forbidden .... This is because ... the celebration of the Mystery of the Eucharist includes in a more perfect way that spiritual communion to which exposition should lead the faithful. Therefore there is no need for this further help. If exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is prolonged for a day, or for several successive days, it should be interrupted during the celebration of the Mass, unless it is celebrated in a chapel apart from the exposition area and at least some of the faithful remain in adoration.

 Code of Canon Law, canon 943: 

"... In special circumstances the minister of exposition and deposition alone, but without the blessing, is an acolyte, an extraordinary minister of holy communion, or another person deputed by the local Ordinary, in accordance with the regulations of the diocesan Bishop."

Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum

"[156.] This function is to be understood strictly according to the name by which it is known, that is to say, that of extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, and not “special minister of Holy Communion” nor “extraordinary minister of the Eucharist” nor “special minister of the Eucharist”, by which names the meaning of this function is unnecessarily and improperly broadened."

In other words, no Eucharistic Ministers may set up Adoration unless there are special circumstances and with permission of the local bishop. . Only priests, deacons, seminarians who are acolytes and members of orders as indicated in the above document. Extra-ordinary Ministers of Communion are not the Ordinary  Ministers of Communion. 

The various correct titles are Ordinary and Extraordinary Ministers, not Eucharist Minister.

More on the vocations document....some amazing statements

This is the last post on the document on vocations. I want to stress three points which I find remarkable and which have been MISSED by commentators and priests. The first is so obvious as to be amazing.


This first point is that altar servers lead to vocations. Then, why do we have girl altar servers? I cannot believe the problem which has been set-up here.


The second point has to do with retreats for boys and men for vocations. This should be happening everywhere and is in some dioceses.


The last point strikes me as amazing as well. Minor seminaries were shut down in my life-time one after another, like falling dominoes. Now, the call for minor seminaries seems timely. I cannot understand how such chaos happened in the Church in the 1970s.

18. Altar service is often the first step to other forms of service in the Christian community. This experience, wisely integrated into education for liturgical prayer, listening to the Word and sacramental life, can be used as a real path leading to the possibility of a priestly vocation.

For this reason, vocational ministry for priesthood gives special attention to altar boys. Numerous priests and seminarians, before going to seminary, have been part of the group of altar boys and have served at the altar.

Retreats and vocational spiritual exercises, organized for young men, are extremely important in allowing them to live the experience of silence, of prolonged prayer and of encouThree more points selected from the document on vocations examined in the past few days show a remarkable statement MISSED by most Catholics, including priests. Note these three points:

ntering the Word of God. They can be special moments of reflection upon one’s life, a personal discovery of one’s own vocation.

“Residential vocational communities” can also help young men in finding and discerning a vocational direction leading to the seminary. They are a kind of ‘pre-seminary’, with the stable presence of properly trained priests who offer a ‘rule of life’ punctuated by moments of brotherly life, personal study, sharing in the Word, personal and communal prayer, celebrating the Eucharist and spiritual direction.

19. Minor seminaries can offer boys and teenagers the chance to be accompanied, educated and formed in discerning their desire to become priests. Furthermore: ‘In view of its nature and mission, the minor seminary could well become a significant reference point for vocations promotion in the diocese, with suitable formative experiences for young men seeking to discover the direction of their lives and their vocation, and for those who have already decided to set out on the path to ministerial priesthood, but are not yet ready to enter the major seminary.’¹

1 Congregation for Bishops, Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops Apostolorum successores (22 February 2004), n. 86.

Women, do not weep

I just heard a talk in which the priest, from a traditional Latin Mass order, stated that the average age of his community of Mass goers is 40 and under. That could indicate why so many good traditional women from the ages of 40-70 have not found excellent traditional Mass husbands.

http://blog.adw.org/2012/06/what-was-the-golden-year-of-the-liturgy/

Younger sisters in Christ, take heart.

Rules for Exposition of the Sacrament Part One

A friend of mine has been asked to help with a small conference where there will be Eucharistic Adoration. We were discussing the venue and she reminded me of a few rules which were set out by the Vatican a long time ago, 1970s, regarding Adoration. Also, recently, since the reign of Pope Benedict XVI, there have also been amendments. I shall try and find those when I have time. Here are the basic rules. There are different rules for Perpetual Adoration, which is not the subject of this post. I merely highlight some. Parishioners are not to deal with the Monstrance at all. I shall have several posts on this, including the entire document from the Bishops of England and Wales.

From The Congregation of Divine Worship EUCHARISTIAE SACRAMENTUM



For exposition of the blessed sacrament in the monstrance, four to six candles are lighted, as at Mass, and incense is used. For exposition of the blessed sacrament in the ciborium, at least two candles should be lighted and incense may be used.

During the exposition of the blessed sacrament, celebration of Mass in the body of the Church is prohibited.

In addition to the reasons given in no. 6, the celebration of the eucharistic mystery includes in a higher way that inner communion to which exposition is meant to lead the faithful.

If exposition of the blessed sacrament goes on for a day or for several successive days, it should be interrupted during the celebration of Mass, unless it is celebrated in a chapel separate from the area of exposition and at least some of the faithful remain in adoration.

The following form of simple reposition may be observed: the priest or deacon, vested in an alb, or a surplice over a cassock, and a stole, replaces the blessed sacrament in the tabernacle after a brief period of adoration and a prayer said with those present. The exposition of the blessed sacrament may take place again, in the same manner and at a scheduled time

The ordinary minister for exposition of the eucharist is a priest or deacon. At the end of the period of adoration, before the reposition, he blesses the congregation with the sacrament.

In the absence of a priest or deacon or if they are lawfully impeded, the following persons may publicly expose and later repose the eucharist for the adoration of the faithful:

a. an acolyte or special minister of communion;

b. upon appointment by the local Ordinary, a member of a religious community or of a pious association of laymen or laywomen which is devoted to eucharistic adoration.

Such ministers may open the tabernacle and also, as required, place the ciborium on the altar or place the host in the monstrance. At the end of the period of adoration, they replace the blessed sacrament in the tabernacle. It is not lawful, however, for them to give the blessing with the sacrament.

92. The minister, if he is a priest or deacon, should vest in an alb, or a surplice over a cassock, and a stole. Other ministers should wear either the liturgical vestments that are used in the region or the vesture that is befitting this ministry and is approved by the Ordinary.

The priest or deacon should wear a white cope and humeral veil to give the blessing at the end of adoration, when the exposition takes place with the monstrance; in the case of exposition in the ciborium, he should put on the humeral veil.

Fr. Ripperger on the Sacrifice of the Mass and the Passion

On the Sacrifice of the Mass--we need it and it continues throughout history as we are not perfect.

In Colossians 1:24, St. Paul states, Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church. DR

There is a mystery of suffering in the Church. How many saints and even those who have died recently for the Faith, are martyrs? How many people suffer in charity and goodness for no apparent reason? If we are in sanctifying grace, that does not mean we shall have a smooth life. Quite the opposite.

St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that all the virtues were preached by Christ from the Cross.

His Passion was infinite in merit in their cause, but not in the effects. But, there is more.

Not because there is something lacking in Christ's suffering, which is infinite, God chose the effects would not take effect so that we can take part in the suffering, passion and death with those.

Prayers, sufferings and merits which we gain in suffering is planned and willed by God the Father, who wanted us to be part of our own salvation. We cooperate in the Passion of Christ and therefore merit higher places in heaven.

You may have never heard this before. Most of the priests in some seminaries teach that we only preach the Resurrection and not the Passion. I have heard this recently in a talk by Father Chad Ripperger. But, I heard this as a girl in both elementary and high school. The teaching of the Church has always maintained that we must gain merit.

God may want, says Father Ripperger, that God sometimes does not answer our prayers right away as He wants us to gain more merit. If our prayers are not answered immediately, even in the Mass, God is waiting for us to change, to grow, to gain more merit. Not everyone gets to heaven, Fr. reminds us. The efficacy of the Calvary sacrifice, he states, to those who are the "elect". People forget this. We do not believe in universal salvation, as Father reminds us.

Go, if you can, to daily Mass. It is part of His Will for us that we try and go to daily Mass. We are changed, which Fr. Ripperger reminds us, to sons and daughter of God, through baptism and the sacraments. Be a grace-pig. Go to Mass daily.

Ex-Catholic, Ex-Altar Boy Chicago Alderman Insults Cardinal George

Good grief--like this is intelligent, or what?

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/middle-class-guy/2012/aug/2/chick-fil-still-ruffling-alderman-proco-joe-moreno/

Post Glut Pork Roast

As I broke a toe severely, and am housebound more than less, I have twenty-five posts for August already. Please take time to read these. When my foot is better, I shall be out and about. Enjoy.

On validity, invalidity, illicit and illicitness

http://pblosser.blogspot.co.uk/2011_09_01_archive.html

Well, I have a disgruntled reader who challenged me as to how I can determine whether a Mass is invalid or not. This is not rocket science.

Firstly, there is a difference between invalid and illicit as terms. The Eucharist, which is a sacrament, is what is valid or invalid. The Mass can be licit or illicit.

Let me quickly run through both types of definitions.

A Sacrament of the Eucharist is invalid when: 1) the priest is not validly ordained-invalid orders or no orders, like women priests and Anglican priests; 2) the words of Consecration are changed or when the hosts and wine are not consecrated at the same time-invalid form; 3) the intention of the priest is to separate from Rome or his intention is not to obey Rome in matters of the Eucharist; that is, he does not believe in Transubstantiation or he has purposefully separated from Rome, as with the Anglicans-invalid intent; 4) invalid matter-not bread and wine, but rice cakes and grape juice for example.

The Mass is illicit, that is illegal, 1) when the priest does not following the rubrics for the Mass; 2) when the place of the Mass is not canonical-such as on a beach or at a picnic (or in a home without permission of a bishop); 3) when the priest does not have faculties to say Mass or is suspended. There may be more reasons.

There are also rules against ceramic altar ware. No pita bread or honey breads.


Can. 924 §1. The most holy Eucharistic sacrifice must be offered with bread and with wine in which a little water must be mixed.

§2. The bread must be only wheat and recently made so that there is no danger of spoiling.

§3. The wine must be natural from the fruit of the vine and not spoiled ...

Can. 926 According to the ancient tradition of the Latin Church, the priest is to use unleavened bread in the eucharistic celebration whenever he offers it.


It is easy, when attending a Mass and when one is listening carefully, to determine if the Mass is illicit and the Sacrament invalid.

All parents should be aware of these rules and act on them accordingly. This is not hard to do.


Council of Trent, Seventh Session March 3rd, 1547: Canon 11:


If anyone says that in ministers, when they effect and confer the


sacraments, there is not required at least the intention of doing


what the Church does let him be anathema

Continuation of Mystici Corporis Christi

This is a little mini-series, as you have seen in the past few days, on the great encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi and the CDF Declaration Domininus Iesus. How fortunate Catholics have been in the leaders of our church for almost 200 years.

Here is a quotation from the first document mentioned: 87. No less far from the truth is the dangerous error of those who endeavor to deduce from the mysterious union of us all with Christ a certain unhealthy quietism. They would attribute the whole spiritual life of Christians and their progress in virtue exclusively to the action of the Divine Spirit, setting aside and neglecting the collaboration which is due from us. No one, of course, can deny that the Holy spirit of Jesus Christ is the one source of whatever supernatural powers enters into the Church and its members. For "The Lord will give grace and glory" as the Psalmist says.[167] But that men should persevere constantly in their good works, that they should advance eagerly in grace and virtue, that they should strive earnestly to reach the heights of Christian perfection and at the same time to the best of their power should stimulate others to attain the same goal, - all this the heavenly Spirit does not will to effect unless they contribute their daily share of zealous activity. "For divine favors are conferred not on those who sleep, but on those who watch," as St. Ambrose says.[168] For if in our mortal body the members are strengthened and grow through continued exercise, much more truly can this be said of the social Body of Jesus Christ in which each individual member retains his own personal freedom, responsibility, and principles of conduct. For that reason he who said: "I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me"[169] did not at the same time hesitate to assert: "His (God's) grace in me has not been void, but I have labored more abundantly than all they: yet not I, but the grace of God with me."[170] It is perfectly clear, therefore, that in these false doctrines the mystery which we are considering is not directed to the spiritual advancement of the faithful but is turned to their deplorable ruin.


We are the Church Militant, as Pope Benedict XVI also reminds us. We cannot get complacent. We cannot fall asleep and enter into a comatose state of pretending everything will be just fine. I wrote on Quietism months ago and you can enter that search in the box at the side here. That the Pope warns us against this is a loud call to all.


If we are not with the Lord, we are against the Lord. How do we persevere? BY STAYING IN THE CHURCH. Side with Rome and you will be safe.Those who follow Peter will not be abandoned. But, if we abandon the Bride of Christ, we are open ourselves to deceit and self-deceit.


I cannot trust someone fully on matters of religion unless they speak with the authority of the Church. Please beware of false teachers.


One more snippet. There are many Catholics who do not want to offend the Islamic people and do not want to emphasize Christ. This is not only false, but dangerous thinking. Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity saved us by His Passion and Death, and through the Resurrection, He gives us new life. If we deny Him, we have left His protection.


90. Finally, there are those who assert that our prayers should be directed not to the person of Jesus Christ, but rather to God, or to the Eternal Father through Christ, since our Savior as Head of His Mystical Body is only "Mediator of God and men."[172] But this certainly is opposed not only to the mind of the Church and to Christian usage, but to truth. For to speak exactly, Christ is Head of the universal Church as He exists at once in both of His natures[173] moreover He Himself has solemnly declared: "If you shall ask me anything in my name, that I will do."[174] For although prayers are very often directed to the Eternal Father through the only-begotten Son, especially in the Eucharistic Sacrifice - in which Christ, at once Priest and Victim, exercises in a special manner the office of Mediator - nevertheless not infrequently even in this Sacrifice, prayers are addressed to the Divine Redeemer also; for all Christians must clearly know and understand that the man Jesus Christ is also the Son of God and God Himself. And thus, when the Church Militant offers her adoration and prayers to the Immaculate Lamb, the Sacred Victim, her voice seems to re-echo the never-ending chorus of the Church Triumphant: "To him that sitteth on the throne and to the Lamb benediction and honor and glory and power forever and ever."[175]

Common errors regarding Holy Communion addressed in the Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum

I share these as a reminder.


From Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum


It is not licit for the faithful “to take . . . by themselves . . . and, still less, to hand . . . from one to another” the sacred host or the sacred chalice.[181] Moreover, in this regard, the abuse is to be set aside whereby spouses administer Holy Communion to each other at a Nuptial Mass.


The communicant must not be permitted to intinct the host himself in the chalice, nor to receive the intincted host in the hand. As for the host to be used for the intinction, it should be made of valid matter, also consecrated; it is altogether forbidden to use non-consecrated bread or other matter.


The Priest, once he has returned to the altar after the distribution of Communion, standing at the altar or at the credence table, purifies the paten or ciborium over the chalice, then purifies the chalice in accordance with the prescriptions of the Missal and wipes the chalice with the purificator. Where a Deacon is present, he returns with the Priest to the altar and purifies the vessels. It is permissible, however, especially if there are several vessels to be purified, to leave them, covered as may be appropriate, on a corporal on the altar or on the credence table, and for them to be purified by the Priest or Deacon immediately after Mass once the people have been dismissed

According to the structure of each church building and in accordance with legitimate local customs, the Most Holy Sacrament is to be reserved in a tabernacle in a part of the church that is noble, prominent, readily visible, and adorned in a dignified manner” and furthermore “suitable for prayer” by reason of the quietness of the location, the space available in front of the tabernacle, and also the supply of benches or seats and kneelers.[221] In addition, diligent attention should be paid to all the prescriptions of the liturgical books and to the norm of law,[222] especially as regards the avoidance of the danger of profanation.[223]

Apart from the prescriptions of canon 934 § 1, it is forbidden to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in a place that is not subject in a secure way to the authority of the diocesan Bishop, or where there is a danger of profanation. Where such is the case, the diocesan Bishop should immediately revoke any permission for reservation of the Euchari­st that may already have been granted.[224]

No one may carry the Most Holy Eucharist to his or her home, or to any other place contrary to the norm of law. It should also be borne in mind that removing or retaining the consecrated species for a sacrilegious purpose or casting them away are graviora delicta, the absolution of which is reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The diocesan Bishop should acknowledge and foster insofar as possible the right of the various groups of Christ’s faithful to form guilds or associations for the carrying out of adoration, even almost continuous adoration. Whenever such associations assume an international character, it pertains to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to erect them and to approve their statutes

When will the clapping stop?

It happens all the time. I cannot understand the need and the continuation of clapping during or even after Mass. I cannot understand clapping for people in the pew, the organist, the choir, the newly baptized adult, or mothers on Mother's Day. It just happened again almost weekly this summer in a Church I was visiting in the south of England and in a Church in Ireland. Even if it is rare, it should not happen at all. We should not be drawing attention to ourselves at Mass.

Please, no clapping...And, the clapping at weddings is just too much...when did this start?

"Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. Such attractiveness fades quickly — it cannot compete in the market of leisure pursuits, incorporating as it increasingly does various forms of religious titillation." (Cardinal Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy, pp 147)