Monday Musings

Just a few random thoughts to begin the week...

I just had an interesting conversation with my son, who is seven years-old, concerning the prayers at Mass and why we worship within the framework of a structured liturgy:

Me: "If a priest makes up his own prayers and says them at Mass instead of what is written down, then who's prayer is it?"

Son: "The priest's prayer."

Me: "But if the priest reads the prayers that have been written and approved by the Church, and we all follow along with those same words, then who's prayer is it?"

Son: "The Church's prayer."

That is why we have liturgy - so that we can pray with the whole Church. You can come up with all kinds of fancy theological explanations (all of which might be correct), but it really comes down to something so simple that a child can understand.

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Speaking of kids and the liturgy, here's a joke I just read:

A little boy was listening to a long and excessively boring sermon in church. Suddenly the red sanctuary lamp caught his eye. Tugging his father's sleeve, he said, "Daddy, when the light turns green can we go?"

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I seem to be back on track with writing. I have something more lengthy to post for tomorrow, and hopefully I will be able to get back to writing some reflections on the liturgy which I had planned for earlier in the summer. If all goes as planned I will also be reviewing a book and making a few changes to the blog.

This Week's Headlines

As another week comes to an end, this is your chance to top off your glass with a final helping of news, current events, and just plain interesting stuff that may not have made into the mainstream media. A chance to linger for a few more moments before we close the door on the week. Below are some links to articles, blogs, and miscellaneous happenings that caught my eye over the past few days. Sample what you like - I'll serve up more next Friday...
 

Vatican Cardinal: Divine judgment will fall on priests who do not oppose abortion, homosexuality - "[I]f we have fear of proclaiming the truth of the Gospel, if we are ashamed of denouncing the grave deviations in the area of morality...then the prophetic words of Ezechiel will fall on us as a grave divine reproach.”

Principles for Budget Reform - From the Acton Institute: "Reform of federal spending must properly balance responsibilities to current and future generations." 

Circle of Protection Subordinates Religion to Politics - "Ethical inquiry (and metaphysical before it) must precede and direct political inquiry. To reverse that order is essentially to justify means by ends."

Cooperation: A Free Market Benefits Everyone - "I speak of the division of labor, also known as the law of comparative advantage or the law of comparative cost, and also known as the law of association. Call it what you will, it is probably the single greatest contribution that economics has made to human understanding."


What Our Skylines Tell Us About Ourselves - "I suppose it would be silly to build a 150 story church. At some point a church serves its purpose at 100 feet.  And,  buildings for people to live and work in can serve practical purposes at higher and higher levels.  Still, the poet in me says, love should soar highest."

Card. Canizares: the “entire Church” should receive Communion kneeling - "Receiving Communion in this way, the cardinal continued, 'is the sign of adoration that needs to be recovered. I think the entire Church needs to receive Communion while kneeling.'"
 

Eucharistic “Danny Boy” Prayer. Fr. Z rants - "Music for Mass is not a mere ornament, external to the liturgical action.   We cannot simply change it arbitrarily.  It is of the essence of the liturgical action, and integrating part of the liturgical action.  Music for Mass must be artistic and sacred."

Hints that next year the Pope may give us an Encyclical on faith.  - "I shall not be surprised if he publishes, in the very near future, something evaluative about the conduct, interpretation and legacy of the Council."

Making Catholic Sex Sexy - "NFP must be re-branded as something empowering, a better option than ingesting hormones, a lifestyle that puts women at the reins of a healthy and fulfilling sexual life, something compatible with being a contemporary woman."
 

Report Says All Women Should Have Free Contraception - I have little doubt that the Dept. of HHS will try to force this on us. So, in order to educate others as to why this is a bad idea, I offer this list: Top 10 Reasons Free Contraception For All is A Terrible Idea"

Abby Johnson: Abortion Doc Told Patient "I Will Take Your Sin" - "Sometimes memories creep into my mind from my days inside Planned Parenthood. When they do, I try to document them. I don’t always share them…some of them I just won’t ever be able to share with you."

Reasoning with Atheists - "To understand the limits of reason in the conversion process, replace the word 'God' with 'Love.' Instead of asking, 'How can I explain God to my son?' ask, 'How can I explain Love to my son?'"

Atheist group wants to stop World Trade Center cross - "A group of atheists has filed a lawsuit to stop the display of the World Trade Center cross at a memorial of the 9/11 terror attacks."

Priest beaten up in front of his mother for celebrating the Traditional Mass - "...he was beaten up by a 'faithful' in the town's rectory in the presence of his aged mother."

No Flip-Flops in the King's House - "Remember when people actually used to get dressed up to go to church? When people actually showed up early for mass? When the pew wasn't the preferred site for a family picnic?"
 
Can you prove that space exists? - "It's such a primal question and it begs a million others. It's the opposite question of being asked to prove that God exists. God is everything; God is existence itself. Space is nothing; the lack of anything."

Scientists Create Animal/Human Hybrids - What a messed up world we live in.

Tomb of St. Philip the Apostle discovered in Turkey's Denizli -"...the structure of the tomb and the writings on it proved that it belonged to St. Philip the Apostle, who is recognized as a martyr in the history of Christianity."

When was the Church Established?

This is an old post that has circulated online in various forms for many years now. I've featured it here before, but it is always worth revisiting...


How Old Is Your Church?

If you belong to one of the religious organizations known as 'Church of the Nazarene," "Pentecostal Gospel." "Holiness Church," "Pilgrim Holiness Church," "Jehovah's Witnesses," your religion is one of the hundreds of new sects founded by men within the past century.



If you are a Christian Scientist, you look to 1879 as the year in which your religion was born and to Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy as its founder.


If you worship with the Salvation Army, your sect began with William Booth in London in 1865.


If you are of the Dutch Reformed church, you recognize Michaelis Jones as founder, because he originated your religion in New York in 1628.


If you are a Baptist, you owe the tenets of your religion to John Smyth, who launched it in Amsterdam in 1605.


If you are a Mormon (Latter Day Saints), Joseph Smith started your religion in Palmyra, N.Y., in 1829.


If you are a Unitarian, Theophilus Lindley founded your church in London in 1774.


If you are a Methodist, your religion was launched by John and Charles Wesley in England in 1744.


If you are a Congregationalist, your religion was originated by Robert Brown in Holland in 1582.


If you are a Protestant Episcopalian, your religion was an offshoot of the Church of England founded by Samuel Seabury in the American colonies in the 17th century.


If you are a Presbyterian, your religion was founded by John Knox in Scotland in the year 1560.


If you belong to the Church of England, your religion was founded by King Henry VIII in the year 1534 because the Pope would not grant him a divorce with the right to remarry.


If you are a Lutheran, your religion was founded by Martin Luther, an ex- monk of the Catholic Church, in the year 1517.


If you are a member of one of the Orthodox Eastern Churches your church separated from the Catholic Church in 1054 in the Eastern Schism. Although imperfect, the communion between the Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church is so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist" (Pope Paul VI, quoted in CCC para 838).

If you are Catholic, you know that your religion was founded in the year AD 33 by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the promised Jewish Messiah. Christ gave to Simon Peter the “keys to the kingdom” (Mat 16:18-19) and made Peter shepherd of His flock (John 21:15-17). Jesus entrusted to Peter and the other Apostles the governance of the Church. After the Resurrection, on the day of Pentecost, the Apostles received the Holy Spirit as promised by Jesus (Acts 2:1-6) and thus the power of God guides His Church on earth. As the Apostles died, their authority was passed on to chosen men, bishops of the Church, and that authority remains with the pope (the successor to Peter) and the bishops in union with him.

Quote of the Week

"Make certain, therefore, that you all observe one common Eucharist; for there is but one Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and but one cup of union with his Blood, and one single altar of sacrifice—even as there is also but one bishop, with his clergy and my own fellow servitors, the deacons. This will ensure that all your doings are in full accord with the will of God" - Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Philadelphians 4 (A.D. 110)

Monday Musings

Random thoughts to start the week...

I have been happy to see some great liturgical changes being instituted at our parish lately. These changes have been subtle and slow (which I suspect is the result of a well thought-out pastoral decision on the part of our priest – it’s better not to ruffle feathers with too many changes at once). Among other things, he has replaced the cheap-looking wooden bowls and glass cups with proper gold and precious metal objects. On certain occasions he has worn older vestments, very ornate and well constructed, from decades ago, rather than the polyester bland (and sometimes garish) vestments that pass for liturgical garments these days. He has placed a set of kneelers in the sanctuary for the servers to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament during the consecration. And hand-bells are now rung at the consecration – which was not completely uncommon at our parish in years past, but now both servers have a set of bells (which I must say adds not only volume, but also depth of sound – very pretty) and they are rung at every Mass rather than just holy days.

Many of these changes are first introduced by our priest on a specific Feast or Holy Day – for instance the kneelers and bells came out on Corpus Christi – so there is usually a reason behind the change. But once the change is made, it tends to stay. And so, as another holy day comes around you might see some new object or action on the altar pertaining to that Feast or celebration. But then, when the holy day is over, the new practice remains and we have a more beautiful celebration each Sunday.

My hats are off to Father for his well-planned re-ordering of our worship. I hope for more to come. I can’t wait for the new Mass translation, to see if that affects more changes.

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I read recently that the Obama Administration is considering a proposal which, under the new healthcare law, would require all insurance companies to cover birth control as “preventative” medicine with no added cost to the consumer. Basically, they would lump contraception together with cancer screenings and other procedures designed to prevent diseases and then mandate that insurance providers pay for these things with no increase to premiums. This would mean that pregnancy will be treated as though it is a dreaded illness.

This should come as no surprise from an Administration (and political party) that stands solidly on the side of the culture of death. According to them, the formation of new human life is a threat akin to cancer. Meanwhile it is ever more difficult to find good coverage for the expense related to the birth of a child, and the cost to the consumer for such coverage is huge. This healthcare law is codifying the culture of death into federal law and pushing our society beyond any sense of dignity for human life.

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I'm setting as a goal this week to finish writing a piece that I began at the start of the summer. I figure that if I post this comment here it will spur me to achieve that goal... We shall see.

This Week's Headlines

As another week comes to an end, this is your chance to top off your glass with a final helping of news, current events, and just plain interesting stuff that may not have made into the mainstream media. A chance to linger for a few more moments before we close the door on the week. Below are some links to articles, blogs, and miscellaneous happenings that caught my eye over the past few days. Sample what you like - I'll serve up more next Friday...

Pope appoints Archbishop Chaput to Philadelphia archdiocese - "The Pope's appointment comes as the archdiocese struggles to deal effectively with clerical sex abuse allegations."
 

From the Prairie to the Atlantic Coast. The New Bishops Stateside - "With Chaput in Philadelphia, a see traditionally honored with the cardinal's hat, the upper echelon of the episcopate of the United States is thus more and more solidly occupied by persons in close harmony with pope Joseph Ratzinger, and known and respected by him." [Interview with Chaput included with this article.]

Philadelphia Needs Its New Archbishop - "We should all pray for quick and long sustained success here for Abp. Chaput. Just hearing about this appointment has put a spring in my step."

Want to Know the Secret to a Vibrant Parish? - "I’m convinced this Eucharistic adoration is the key to the vitality, growth, and effectiveness of our parish." 
  
The Present State of Our Polygamous Future  - "The And why should society deny a man the right to marry all the women he loves? What reasons do those who favor gay marriage have for excluding polygamy? Having rejected all arguments from nature and reason when they were used against their position, what do they have left to justify their discrimination?"

Paul Ryan vs. Stephen Shenk – A Budget Debate between Catholics and a Request for Your Input - "These articles show how very different Catholics can be among each other when it comes to what is often termed the Social doctrine of the Church."

Vatican bank president: Bigger families are solution to economic crisis - "The Vatican bank president explained that because there aren't enough young people in society to support the increasing amount of elderly, population aging 'can be considered the true origin of the current economic crisis.'"
 
Texas Gov. Rick Perry Signs Bill De-Funding Planned Parenthood - "In other states, Indiana approved a law de-funding Planned Parenthood, and New Hampshire Planned Parenthood centers may close after the state revoked a $1.8 million grant. Montana Planned Parenthood is also grappling with funding cuts and one county in Tennessee de-funded Planned Parenthood."
 
We Weren’t Always So Secular: Recovering a Sense of the Presence of God - "[W]e need to teach and help our young people get in touch with God’s presence... There ought to be family prayer and observances of the various feasts and seasons of our Church. "


In Praise of Catholic Guilt - "By following the Church’s teachings and learning to develop a relationship with God, my life has become more rich and fulfilling than I ever thought possible…and it all started with a good dose of Catholic guilt."

Altar Rail Returning to Use - "'Little children like to kneel and pray there while their mom and dad receive holy Communion,' said Father Markey. 'There’s almost universal embracing. It’s one of the most popular decisions I’ve made as pastor.'

An American Pope in Our Lifetime? - "Europe is in crisis, demographically and morally...For this and other reasons, it may be time, in the not-too-distant future, for an American Pope."


Rush Limbaugh: They Wouldn’t Care if Casey Anthony Had an Abortion - "How is it that we can obsess over the horror of the Casey Anthony trial and not see the parallels to abortion? There is national lament and outcry over the murder of a two year old, but thousands of unborn children are dismembered and thrown away every day through abortion, and our society turns a blind eye."
 

Gay, Catholic, and Doing Fine - "I'm grateful to gay activists for some things -- making people people more aware of the prevalence of homosexuality, making homophobia less socially acceptable -- but they also make it more difficult for me to be understood, to be accepted for who I am and what I believe. If I want open-mindedness, acceptance, and understanding, I look to Catholics."

Do You Have Candles With You? A Meditation On The Saving Power of Prayer - "On frigid day, if the car broke down, or got stuck in the snow, lighting even one candle and cracking the window just slightly (for ventilation), could mean the difference between life and death. Just one candle, maybe two, could warm the car enough to stave off death. And Catholic votive candles were the perfect choice."
 

Guess the Date of this Prophecy - "The family is steadily losing its form and its social significance, and the state absorbs more and more of the life of its members..." [Click the link and read the whole quote. Then scroll down to the comments section and find out when it was written."

Ten Cheap, Stupid Ideas For Summer With Kids - [They all look cool, but I really want to try number ten.]

Hilarious Church Bulletin Bloopers - [Just for laughs]

Quote of the Week

"The Lord said to Peter: ‘I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.’ ...On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John 21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?" - (Saint Cyprian of Carthage, The Unity of the Catholic Church 4 (A.D. 251)