There's likely more than this number...



Five Ways to Ruin the Mass

A Catholic musician more Catholic than the Pope, an expert on Liturgy, and, of course, on the younger side of 40 (or so he appears). The saddest thing I note about a lot of people who write articles like this is that they, of all people, forget how old the Church is and how it has always remained on the correct path. It seems that they forget this and fear that the Church is going off the deep end despite the relatively short time since Vatican II.

*Sigh*

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These aren't bad ideas

Priest: Show up to Mass on time, turn off your phone and dress properly

That's just my humble opinion, of course. While most people say that nothing is more disconcerting than having a cell phone go off during Mass (Remember when it used to be pagers, and they were only carried by doctors so you knew it was important?), I tend to lean toward being more than a little ticked off by short shorts, tops that show more torso than they cover, and men that won't remove their hats, and that's not just baseball caps, but also the trendy pork-pies and others. Mass should be a place to show respect to God, and I think most people can give up their 'fashion' for an hour. Of course, even dressing the way they do for work won't help, what the fashion move to the 'office slut' look.

The 'on time' thing? While I agree with the priest (as an usher and greeter I've seen people arriving as much as 40 minutes late for Mass) I think the most that can be asked for is an improvement. Some people seem genetically incapable, or socialized against, arriving on time for anything...

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They want

their own form of liturgy approved.

"Placet" or "Non placet"? The wager of Carmen and Kiko

Given the current climate of the Vatican, I would doubt that they'll be successful. Even under Pope John Paul II I doubt that formal and permanent approval would be given...

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A definite part of the Mass again

If There Are No Kneelers, Is It a Catholic Church?

I feel sorry for pastors in Catholic churches that were built during a certain period post-Vatican II and were built without kneelers. A previous pastor (and bishop, I guess), who was in place during the construction of the church, showed his spirit of renewal by not including pews with kneelers. This is the 20th century! We don't kneel to show our awe of God! The early church didn't.

Well, now almost 50 years down the road, we're discovering that yes, kneeling is a perfectly correct way to show our honour, respect, love and awe of God, and in fact, we're enshrining it in our Mass revisions. And, in order to follow the Vatican's decisions, the current pastors have to figure out how to put kneelers into churches that weren't designed for them. Or the local Bishop will be making lots of exceptions. That is what will most likely happen.

But what were they thinking? Didn't they realize that people do like to kneel when they pray, whether it's during Mass or not? Was sitting or standing decreed the new kneeling in these parishes? It makes me wonder...

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Our parish

did very, very well. We were prepared.

The First Sunday of the New Mass - How Did It Go For You?

Our pastor and the priests broke the Mass up into its constituent parts - Introductory Rite, Penitential Rite, Liturgy of the Word, Eucharistic Rite - and then we used the new rite parts for one week each prior to the 1st Sunday of Advent. So we had one week of the first, then two and one week of the second, and so on. There were the odd gliches, but generally it went fantastic, which is better than some parishes in our diocese and, apparently, other parishes around the country...

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One has to be really careful

when discussing things that happened in Quebec.

Montrealer faces charge of cultic activity over ‘illegal’ Catholic mass

Quebec really is, in some ways, their own country, and things that one would consider outrageous anywhere else in Canada is just normal behaviour there. Talking about Charter Rights and Freedoms in relation to Quebec is foolish as, while they will demand theirs, they very often don't apply it to others as they believe that their law trumps Canada's. So be careful in talking about Quebec and laws...

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A good story

from Fr. Dwight.

Solemn and Sacred Transformations

He's a good and faithful priest and blogger. I enjoy his blog...

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Uh-huh...

Scottish archbishop tells Catholics not to kneel for communion

I love it when these news items quote someone like a renowned Catholic blogger as if it carries any serious weight. (And whom I've never heard of despite the fact that I read more 'Catholic' news and commentary in a week than most Catholics read in a year.)

Tempest, meet teapot...

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This is good!

How to Behave at Mass

The list here is pretty good.

Three things really bother me at Mass - the first is hats. On men. Just because it is fashionable for men to wear hats again (other than ball caps or cowboy hats), one takes them off at Mass, or inside anywhere really, just out of respect. Men don't do that anymore it seems.

The second is gum. How on earth do people receive Communion yet still manage to keep chomping away on their wad of gum? That boggles my mind.

Third is water. I can understand the choir needing a bit of water, particularly during a longer Mass for a special event, but how did people ever live without that regular, every 5 minute sip of water from their purchased water bottle? People have really been sucked in by marketers on this issue. Come on, folks! You can go an hour without regular sips of water. Honestly!

(I'm not mentioning cell phones just because the whole cell phone thing has just gotten stupid. Why do you need one anyway? You're not that important, nor are your converstations. Really!

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One step forward.

Two steps back.

Phoenix diocese cathedral won't allow girl altar servers

Both sides have valid arguments, though bringing Mary Magdalene into the argument is a bit of a red herring. None-the-less, the Church changes over centuries, not decades, as a rule, and the North American idea of equality hasn't necessarily taken root in other places, and we can't judge things by the American Catholic Church's standard, because it is a Catholic Church of it's own in some ways...

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This was apparently written

by a post-Vatican II bishop, so don't think he's 'pining for the fjords', sorry, don't think he's wishing for the old Rite...

Why I Didn't Go to Confession Today.

Now, anyone can pretend to be anyone else on the intertubes, but I expect if someone was pretending to be a bishop they'd be found out pretty quickly. Just sayin'. I dunno, I guess I'm just cautious...

These are the sorts of abuses that cause people to cry out for the Tridentine Rite, even though all it would take is some direction, by the local Bishops, to the priests of the diocese. I think the vernacular can end up leading to a more familiar type of presentation, which can lead to this sort of thing. It's not a conspiracy, nor is it widespread, I don't believe.

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One person's opinion

Music-Minded Catholics Hope to Sing a New (Old) Song

Despite the fear of some more liberal Catholics, and the hopes of some more traditional Catholics, I don't think that the Pope's attempts to change the music done at Mass is an attempt to impose Gregorian Chant as the standard for all liturgies. I really do believe that the Pope is trying to take the Church to the place where it should have been after Vatican II, that is, to revise the Mass in a new way. It's not going back to the pre-Vatican II state, but will be revised in a different way. I think he believes, as do a lot of us, that the Mass was meant to be revised, not totally re-done, and it needs to be looked at with new eyes now to accomplish that. Neither the liberal nor the traditional camps are going to be satisfied, unfortunately. It's not going back to the way it was, but neither is it staying the same. The Spirit is a-movin'...

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A valid concern

The return of the Tridentine Mass – Why?

While the Pope may want to avoid conflict between Novus Ordo and Tridentine supporters in the church, it has been my experience that those who prefer the Mass in the vernacular and the newer rite simply say that (for the most part, that is), while those who follow the Tridentine rite and Latin Mass, at least in discussions on the issue, tend to be virulently anti-Novus Ordo (again, for the most part), to the point where I don't even read their comments or articles on the intertubes. One group seems fine with living with the other, but the second group wants to see the end of the newer rite completely. I fear those separations and that animosity that the Pope wishes to avoid already exists in some ways...

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Veils?

Women's Head Coverings at Mass: Won't Say I Told You So, But ...

I like this comment in particular:

"Nothing fills up a combox faster than the topics of (a)veils, (b)Father Corapi, and (c)whether dogs go to heaven."

SWMBO - don't bother to read the comments, but the article is fine.

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It's a good thing

in the place he's recommending it.

Bishop Paprocki authorizes St. Michael Prayer after Masses

After the Masses, and not part of the Mass.

Heh. It puts me in mind of the Rosary that is said in so many parishes either before or after weekday Mass. When the practice started it started with the Rosary. Then the Fatima prayer is added, which is common. Then along with the 'Hail Holy Queen' and another Marian prayer at the end, they added the Prayer to St. Michael. Then they added the Divine Mercy Chaplet. After that they added the Angelus. This is my experience at two parishes in the city. Pretty soon people who simply want to pray the Rosary will have to come two hours early for Mass in order to get it all in.

(As far as the website itself is concerned, I'm kind of creeped out by a young priest (born in 1978) who keeps talking about himself in the third person and calls himself 'The Reverend Father'. Perhaps I'm overly sensitive, but if I'm not mistaken I sense an upwardly mobile young man there...)

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The film version of the semon and sacrament

The Ash Wednesday Sermon I Would Give

""Moonstruck" gives us a fine introduction to the business of Ash Wednesday."

My only question is, how many people can't spend an extra 10-12 minutes out of their day being nourished by a sermon? Are we all really that rushed, especially on a special and important day like Ash Wednesday?

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I have

some strong sympathies with this writer.

Talking in Church: Where's the Fire?

"Reverence and courtesy should not be the first things to disappear after Ite missa est."

It really is a matter of reverence and courtesy.

However, having said that, I live in an area where, for 6 months of the year or so, the temperature and weather conditions outside preclude standing and chatting outside. As well, our parish church, being very old, has quite a small vestibule/entry way, compared to more recently designed churches that have much larger 'greeting areas'. While the Mass is the pinnacle of our worship of God, there could be an argument made for the need of the people to strengthen the bonds between them that actually make them the people of God. So, it's not always as simple as people would make out...

Here's the other article mentioned. The comments are quite interesting. It seems that every time an article is posted about something in the contemporary church the comments section is filled with conservative Catholics decrying how terrible the current Catholic Church is and proclaiming as lay canon lawyers the truth that everyone else fails to see...

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A beautiful article...


Fr. James Farfaglia: I Love Being a Catholic Priest

There are very few things that a priest can do that a layperson cannot. The Mass is one of them. I'm always heartened and awed when I hear a priest or read of a priest with such a love and devotion to the Eucharist...

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Speaking of music

which I wasn't (or was, depending on the order you're reading the posts), but there's no better time for a seque...

Choral music, and church music particularly, is on my mind because SWMBO has been unable to get a replacement for our pianist who can't come to Mass this weekend. Changes will have to be made (or perhaps, in my case, endured). So, I've been doing some searching on the web for stuff on church choir music...

Here's a couple of people critical of newer music in the church. They do have some valid criticisms, and, in some cases, they're just wearing their cassocks too tight...

Ritus Narcissus: Why Do We Sing Ourselves and Celebrate Ourselves?

Bad Poetry, Bad Theology: The Curse of Bad Liturgical Music (Part Two)

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And, of course,

we all know his heart and his relationship with God, don't we?

Berlusconi accused of sacrilege after receiving Communion

While they may simply be trying to avoid scandal in the Church, I would suggest that it would take a lot more than this to cause scandal in the Church these days...

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