Confronting Tradition

Fr. Tim Finigan is a priest at Our Lady of the Rosary in Blackfen (near London). A UK paper, The Tablet, recently ran an article about the "divisions" being caused at that parish by Fr. Finigan's manner of celebrating Mass and his inclusion of one Mass in the Extraordinary Form every Sunday.

Fr. Finigan responds here; Fr. John Zuhlsdorf comes to his defense as well.

Please pray for Fr. Finigan and his parishioners.

I wish I had a Blackfen nearby...

Bible Study: 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time

2 Cor 1:18-22
God establishes truth and certainty
Deus ... signavit nos et dedit arrabonem Spiritus in cordibus nostris.
Download this study [MS Word, 47 k, 3pp]

Bible Study: 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time

1 Cor 10:31-11:1
Glorify God in all that you do
Imitatores mei estote, sicut et ego Christi.
Download this study [MS Word, 44 k, 2pp]

Bible Study: 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time

1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
We must go to great lengths to preach the Gospel to all men
Omnibus omnia factus sum, ut aliquos utique facerem salvos.
Download this study [MS Word, 45 k, 2pp]

Religion and the United States

I found this through NewAdvent's blog roundup. Bishop John Carroll (the first Catholic Bishop of the United States) said this about George Washington (the first president of the United States):

The last act of his supreme magistracy was to inculcate in most impressive language on his countrymen… his deliberate and solemn advice; to bear incessantly in their minds that nations and individuals are under the moral government of an infinitely wise and just Providence; that the foundations of their happiness are morality and religion; and their union among themselves their rock of safety… May these United States flourish in pure and undefiled religion, in morality, peace, union, liberty, and the enjoyment of their excellent Constitution, as long as respect, honor, and veneration shall gather around the name of Washington; that is, whilst there still shall be any surviving record of human events!

[H/T: McNamara's Blog]

Lenten Reading

Last week, I purchased two more books by Michael Dubruiel, and they arrived a couple of days ago. One was "The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life" (sixth book down). This will be my daily reading project for Lent.

Over the flu

I was hit hardest on Wednesday and Thursday. By Friday (and lingering still tonight...) all that's left is a cough.

I usually don't get sick. Not even in the winter. This year, though, has been pretty rough. Oh well. Maybe I need more vitamins.

Suffering with the flu

No, this is not going to be a deeply spiritual post about how to unite our suffering from physical illnesses with the suffering of Christ during his Passion. I don't have the energy for that because, as the post title indicates, I'm suffering with the flu. I've had it since Tuesday morning. I didn't go to work yesterday or today (although I'm trying to get work done from home). My adorable wife (who seems to have avoided catching it) doesn't have class on Wednesday or Thursday, so thankfully she's been around to help me out.

I can't talk without coughing. My eyes hurt. I've had a fever of 100.6 (although today it's under 100). My nose is runny. My body is achy. I hope I'm not coughing on Saturday, since I'm giving an announcement at the end of a Mass about Bible studies, and then my wife and I are going to see a play, and I'd really hate to be that guy who's coughing and gets everyone else sick.

A short prayer for my recovery would be greatly appreciated, but please also pray for the people who are suffering far worse than I am.

Church Documents (Quiz)

I'm thinking of writing a quiz which requires the reader to identify whether a quote (from a Church document) is from before Vatican II, from during Vatican II (including conciliar and non-conciliar documents), or from after Vatican II. Maybe add a fourth category: "Not a real quote at all."

The point would be to surprise and educate the people taking the quiz.

Have any quotes you'd like to share? I'd request that you write the quote but don't cite it; that is, give the quote but don't say the document or who wrote it or when it was from. If you'd like, you can link to the document <a href="http://link to the document">like this</a>.

Support the Pope!

Please voice your support for Pope Benedict XVI during these turbulent times.

Meme: First Initial

I saw this on Brian's blog Christus Vincit so I figured I'd copy it.

Rules: Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real... nothing made up! You cannot use any word or answer twice.

1. What is your name: Jeff
2. A four letter word: jazz
3. A boy's name: James
4. A girl's name: Jessica
5. An occupation: Jailor
6. A color: jade
7. Something you wear: jumpers (children's coveralls)
   
8. A food: jelly
   
9. Something found in the bathroom: Jergens (health and beauty skin care products)
   
10. A place: Jeffersonville, Indiana
    
11. A reason for being late: jam (traffic...)
    
12. Something you shout: Jump!
13. A movie title: Jaws
14. Something you drink: juice
15. A musical group: Jars of Clay
    
16. An animal: jackrabbit
17. A street name: Jackson Avenue
    
18. A type of car: Jeep (or a more general "type": jalopy)
    

News: David Ogden, deputy attorney general

This is appalling:

Obama has picked a man called David Ogden to be deputy Attorney-General. Ogden has made his legal career from representing pornographers, trying to defeat child protection legislation and undermining family values. As FoxNews reported this week, he once represented a group of library directors arguing against the Children's Internet Protection Act, which ordered libraries and schools receiving funding for the Internet to restrict access to obscene sites. And on behalf of several media groups, he successfully argued against a child pornography law that required publishers to verify and document the age of their models, which would have ensured these models were at least 18.

The Family Research Council has more examples of his contribution to upholding American and western values. In one such case, he expressed the view that abortion was less damaging to a woman than having children[.] ...

In another, co-authored brief, he argued that it was an unconstitutional burden on 14-year old girls seeking an abortion for their parents to be notified -- because there was no difference between adults and mid-teens in their ability to grasp all the implications of such a decision[.]

[H/T to Gretchen]

7 Quick Takes, vol. I

I'm trying my hand at joining Conversion Diary's meme-series of "7 Quick Takes".

-1-

I read Jeff Cavins' I'm Not Being Fed! this week. I'm usually not a fast reader, but I've had the book since July and I've wanted to read it. I read it this week because I was going through a bit of a "dry spell". I was feeling stagnant in my faith... I had no questions, no concerns... I wanted to jump start myself. This book definitely helped.

And I'm already onto another book...

-2-

The weekly Young Adult Bible Study I facilitate has chosen A Thousand Splendid Suns as our first book to read as an introduction to social justice issues. It's a new concept for our group. I hope it goes well: we'll read a book, discuss it and its relation to Catholic social teaching, and then do something.

-3-

At that Bible Study this week, I spoke about the SSPX/Holocaust controversy this week. A bit of ecclesial history was in order. Please pray for the Pope, for Bishop Fellay, and for Bishop Williamson. (Prayer for a lot of other people is in order too.) Please pray for the continued reconciliation of the Society of St. Pius X with the Catholic Church.

-4-

I read Pope Benedict XVI's message for Lent this year. I'm planning on blogging about it (when we get closer to Lent). "Give up and give to" is my personal theme for Lent. I'm bringing fasting back. You should too. Pope St. Leo the Great thinks so.

-5-

I'm teaching my first real Religious Education (I prefer "Faith Formation") lesson on Tuesday. I recently volunteered to be a catechist for my parish's Confirmation-candidate students. The topic is "Jesus: His Mission and His Message". I hope to engage the students and get them into the topic, understanding how it relates to their faith, to Confirmation, to their everyday lives, and to their relationship with Jesus Christ and one another.

-6-

I'm retreating this weekend. Twice. On Saturday is the RCIA retreat (6 hours); I'm a team member and a sponsor, but I wasn't one of the planners for the retreat so I'm not entirely sure what it'll be about, although I expect Lent and the Scrutinies will be brought up. On Sunday is the Confirmation retreat (4 hours); as a recent addition to the catechist team, I had absolutely nothing to do with this and was only invited this past week.

-7-

Flexing my apologetics muscle... in charity. I'm involved in a bit of a discussion about the necessity and meaning of baptism at Kinney Mabry's blog, Preacherman. I'm also involved in a discussion about what is made present in the Eucharist on the Catholic Answers Forum. And I called into EWTN Radio's Open Line this week to ask about "temporal punishment", a topic related to Purgatory and indulgences. I need to listen to the podcast and write down Mr. Donovan's answer.

I hope I did this "7 Quick Takes" thing right.

News: "Botched abortion"?

Depressing and maddening news from Florida:

Williams ... went into labor and delivered a live baby girl. What Williams and the Health Department say happened next has shocked people on both sides of the abortion debate: One of the clinic's owners, who has no medical license, cut the infant's umbilical cord. Williams says the woman placed the baby in a plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

...

The case has riled the anti-abortion community, which contends the clinic's actions constitute murder. "The baby was just treated as a piece of garbage," said Tom Brejcha, president of The Thomas More Society, a law firm that is also representing Williams. "People all over the country are just aghast."

Even those who support abortion rights are concerned about the allegations.

...

Williams' lawsuit offers a cruder account: She says Gonzalez knocked the baby off the recliner chair where she had given birth, onto the floor. The baby's umbilical cord was not clamped, allowing her to bleed out. Gonzalez scooped the baby, placenta and afterbirth into a red plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

...

An autopsy determined Williams' baby - she named her Shanice - had filled her lungs with air, meaning she had been born alive, according to the Department of Health. The cause of death was listed as extreme prematurity.

Spiritual Food: Novenas

(This is my "Spiritual Food" entry for my parish's bulletin.)

From the Thursday on which Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven until the Sunday of the Jewish festival of Pentecost, St. Luke records that the Apostles were gathered together in prayer with Mary and over a hundred other disciples. (cf. Acts 1:1-2:1) These nine (Latin: novem) days marked the first novena of prayer in the Church.

Novenas are typically nine-day devotions to prayer for a particular intention, although there are also 30-day and "perpetual" novenas. Some consist of the same prayer for each day; some have a different prayer for each day. The Church established an official indulgenced novena for Pentecost, which asks for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Church also attaches an indulgence to novenas prayed before Christmas and the Immaculate Conception.

Novenas are not "Catholic superstition", so you should steer clear from novenas which guarantee to "work" if prayed X times a day and if you make X copies of the prayer. God and His saints are not "vending machines" and novenas, like all prayers, are meant to teach us perseverance in faith, trust in God, and acceptance of His will.

Life: Excellent quote from President Obama

Obama, in prepared remarks, said, "There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being."

I expect CatholicVote to do great things with this quote.


[H/T: Eric Pavlat @ InsideCatholic.com]

Humor: Bus Slogan Generator

I found this through Fr. Tim Finigan's blog. If you're familiar with the atheist bus adverts popular in London recently ("There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.") then this should be good fun:

News: SCHIP uses tobacco tax

I see a few problems with this scenario.

• A health-insurance program is being funded by a tax on cigarettes.
• The poor and middle-class are being hurt the most by this tax.
• What happens to the program if people decide not to buy cigarettes because of the tax increase?

Pray for the soul of Michael Dubruiel

Catholic blogger and speaker Michael Dubruiel (husband of Amy Wellborn) died unexpectedly this morning. Please pray for his soul and for his family.

Michael always donated the royalties from his book sales to his children's college funds. Our Sunday Visitor will make its own contribution to the children's college fund by doubling what would have been Mike’s proceeds from book sales on all of his OSV books through the month of February. Here’s a link to his books in the OSV catalog.

Please consider purchasing one or more of his books. I have two already (The Pocket Guide to the Mass, and the How-To Book of the Mass), and I have purchased two more today.

Liturgy: What is made present in the Eucharist?

Catholics believe that the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ — that is, the whole Christ in both his humanity and his divinity — are made present under the appearances of bread and wine in the Eucharist at each Mass (or Divine Liturgy). Catholics also believe that the Eucharist is the same sacrifice which Jesus offered to the Father on Calvary some 2000 years ago: "the victim is one and the same, the same now offering by the ministry of priests, who then offered Himself on the cross, the manner alone of offering being different." (Council of Trent, Session XXII, Chapter 2)

So in the Mass (or Divine Liturgy), the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is being made present, both in its immolation (which took place on the cross in a bloody manner, but which is presented in an unbloody manner via the separate consecration of the bread and wine) and its offering (which takes place eternally in heaven). The sacrifice is made present without crucifying Christ again, without making the crucifixion (which was bloody) present again.

Thoughts? Questions? Comments?