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Archive for September, 2011
Monthly Prayer Requests 4 Priests
September 30th, 2011, Promulgated by Ben AndersonIt’s Just a Building
September 30th, 2011, Promulgated by Gen“How lovely are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! 3 My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. 4 For the sparrow has found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself where she may lay her young ones: Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God. 5 Blessed are they that dwell in your house, O Lord: they shall praise you for ever and ever. 6 Blessed is the man whose help is from you: in his heart he has disposed to ascend by steps, 7 in the vale of tears, in the place which he has set. 8 For the lawgiver shall give a blessing, they shall go from virtue to virtue: the God of gods shall be seen in Sion. 9 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. 10 Behold, O God our protector: and look on the face of your Christ. 11 For better is one day in your courts above thousands. I have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners. 12 For God loves mercy and truth: the Lord will give grace and glory. 13 He will not deprive of good things them that walk in innocence: O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in you.” (Psalm 84)
This is, without a doubt, my favorite of all the psalms. Whenever I read it, whenever it appears in the Mass or the Divine Office, even when it is referenced in passing on the internet or in my other reading, I always feel profoundly touched by it. I can’t help but think, “This is my prayer.”
And then my thoughts expand, and I come to realize that it is the prayer of so many of my friends, my acquaintances, my fellow Catholics in the Diocese of Rochester. Of course, all Catholics, and probably all Orthodox Christians, too, find this psalm particularly beautiful. We have maintained in our worship a sense of the sacrifice of old. When we go to Mass, we see the unbloody re-enactment of Calvary and then receive our risen Lord in Holy Communion. Upon the altar of sacrifice, our King deigns to come down to dwell with us. It is in our churches, be they grand or not, modern or old, beautiful or ugly, we see the sacrifice of that Worthiest of Lambs, and not for His own gain, but for ours.
It is for this reason that churches are sacred, for they become our Calvaries, they become the tomb, they become the tabernacles of the Most High. We spend our Sundays, not in our pew or in our seats, but at the foot of the Cross, keeping vigil with Our Lady. When we return from Communion, we are retracing the steps of St. Mary Magdalene, with the news “He lives!” in our hearts. When we leave the church and head to the parking lot, we become like so many disciples who traveled to the ends of the earth to spread the Gospel, inspired and emboldened by that Miracle of Miracles, the Holy Mass.
Why, then, are we told that when our church closes, when it succumbs to schism and dissent, that we mustn’t worry? “It’s just a building.” Yes, it is “just a building,” and Our Lord is present in the tabernacle down the street, but the church serves a purpose more Godly than merely existing to give shelter to the faith community. When we move, there is a sense of loss, be it great or minor, but it’s there nonetheless. The memories of the old house, the musty apartment, the basement “pad” suddenly seem like a precious commodity, something that is special and cherished, not so much because the recollections are so great, but because they can never be augmented. They are the only things linking us to what we have experienced for the past five, ten, twenty, or forty years.
The same is true of our churches. Rationally, yes, we can start worshiping in another building. It’s the same Mass, the same Lord, the same Faith – just a different building. But there is something more profound about losing a church than, say, moving across the city or relocating to a different state. “It’s just a building,” that beloved phrase of our pastoral planning committees, dismisses the richness of our experiences that we had at our spiritual homes. It is offensive that these people think that summarizing such a complex situation into such a trite phrase might actually heal our wounds. When we experience spiritual pain, when our churches are ripped from us, when our parishes become havens of heresy, the pain we experience is profound. Just as our Lord cried out in the Garden of Gethsemane, “My soul is sorrowful unto death. Is there any pain like unto my pain?” so too do our souls cry out in bitter anguish.
And we are not pierced by sorrow for the loss of a building – we are crushed because our nest has been thrown down and trampled upon, our tabernacles ransacked. “The sparrow has found herself a house,” but we find ourselves exiles. When the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, do you think that the scribes and pharisees said, “It’s just a building”? No – they saw it as sacrilege, that the House of God should be thus treated by vandals and enemies of Faith. They didn’t fall back upon cheap platitudes like, “God’s everywhere, just look around.” No. They wept. They mourned. They were scattered.
For some of us, this might seem overly dramatic. Others, though, will understand. When you give your heart to God, you must know that in doing so, you take your place beside Our Lady, looking upon her suffering Son. And no two of these personal Calvaries are the same. It doesn’t matter where you experience it, for it is certain that at some point, sooner or later, you will. When you love the Church, you must be ready to have your own heart pierced like Our Lady. You must be ready to embrace the cross wherever it is given to you, and to accept every splinter that enters you. “Blessed is the man whose help is from you: in his heart he has disposed to ascend by steps, in the vale of tears, in the place which he has set.”
Some people who are intimately acquainted with such things are forced to be out of necessity – the church is closed, either legitimately or because of some imagined debt, ecclesial or financial. Other people are given a altogether different experience, wherein the building itself remains, but becomes a den of sacrilege. But like the psalm says, one day in the courts of the Lord is, indeed, better than a thousand elsewhere. I speak only for myself when I say that I cannot endure the willful dissent of people who profess to defend the Church, but whose actions betray a sinister agenda. Administrations come and go, churches are closed and built, but disobedience has always existed and will always exist. And it will exist everywhere, be it in Rochester, New York, Billings, Montana, Miami, Florida, or even Columbia, South Carolina. If one were to leave one city for another, it isn’t to escape the cross, but it ought to be realize that it is in order that he might pursue it. Likewise, when people leave a parish whose building is intact but the administration has changed, they leave because they cannot stand the pain of seeing the lance thrust into Our Lord’s side. They leave because, like Our Lord, their souls are “sorrowful unto death,” wounded through love of Him who loves us so much.
Do not condemn those who flee as cowards. Do not see their departures as abandonments. All they are doing is responding to their call as best as they know how. We are not all called to suffer in this way, but for those who have apparently been called to do so, we must realize that we “have chosen to be abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners.” It isn’t about playing the part of the martyr, or following the easy path. Nor is it about going where things are prettier, or hearing Mass where it looks nicer. What it is about is responding to that constant urging in your heart to follow Him. When Catholics leave a parish, a city, a diocese, they leave their spiritual home. For some, their vocations may have been nurtured on the steps of their parish church, or roused to liveliness in the pews. To leave that home is not an easy thing, nor is it desirable, but it is often necessary in order to answer what God desires, and put the desires of our fellows in their appropriate places.
And so, when we are told that we shouldn’t weep, that we shouldn’t protest, that we shouldn’t complain when things don’t go our way because, “it’s just a building,” know that we are right. We aren’t so stupid as to think that the Faith is restricted to a building or a diocese. We do know that the Faith is restricted to those who observe it. Faith is dead when individuals proceed to alter it for their own satisfaction, and churches die when this mentality reigns. We know it’s not about the building – it’s about Him whom the building exists to serve.
“For God loves mercy and truth: the Lord will give grace and glory. He will not deprive of good things them that walk in innocence: O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in you.”
Advice from Bishop Kearney
September 28th, 2011, Promulgated by Gen
Many thanks to Francis Mary for sharing this with us back in October. It was very well-received, so I’ve bumped it back to the top now:
“Put that in a safe place. We’ll be using it again someday.”
- Bishop James E. Kearney, watching an assistant switch the 1962 Missale Romanum with the newly-implemented Sacramentary
Rochester Chesterton Society Conference
September 28th, 2011, Promulgated by MonkThe Rochester NY Chesterton Society is hosting its 8th annual conference this Saturday Oct. 1st at St. John Fisher College (Murphy Hall – Coleman Chapel) 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The following speakers will present:
Joseph Pearce, noted author
Dale Ahlquist, Am. Chesterton Society
Dr. Tom Martin, Philosophy, Univ. Nebraska
Kevin O’Brien, Theater of the Word, Inc.
Donation is $10 (Students free). Lunch is available.
This event is enlightening, entertaining, and sure to refresh your spirits! Come for part or all of the
day.
Questions? rochesterton@hotmail.com
Chesterton Conference - Sat Oct 1st
“All the News That Fits Our Editorial Agenda”
September 28th, 2011, Promulgated by MikeThe last time I picked up a print copy of the New York Times I noted that their motto, “All the News That’s Fit to Print”, was still proudly displayed in the upper-left corner of the front page.
I mention this because of a story that went up early yesterday afternoon on the Catholic News Agency’s web site. The story details the economic gain achieved by Madrid and the surrounding area due to August’s World Youth Day celebration:
Madrid, Spain, Sep 27, 2011 / 01:30 pm (CNA).- The Spanish capital city of Madrid came away with over $200 million in profits after World Youth Day 2011 held this past August, officials said.
The WYD Madrid press office reported Sept. 26 that the Confederation of Businessmen of Madrid calculated that the capital took in some $216 million during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI.
In August the Gray Lady published a decidedly negative piece on WYD expenses that led with the news that 120 Spanish clergy working with the poor had signed a petition deploring the cost of the event.
Now that WYD has been shown to have been an economic boon for the entire area one wonders if the USA’s “newspaper of record” will take note of that fact. So far there’s nothing about this on nytimes.com and, given the paper’s recent anti-Catholic slant, I’m not holding my breath waiting for something to appear.
It only remains for the New York Times to come clean with its readers by coming up with a new motto that more accurately reflects its liberal and, especially, its anti-Catholic bias.
Might I suggest “All the News That Fits Our Editorial Agenda”?
Another “Which one?” Post
September 28th, 2011, Promulgated by Bernie
OR
(click on the photos to see a larger image)
If you had no other choice, which one would you choose to worship at each week for the next year: A or B?
Can you state your reasons for us?
…………………………………………
Picture Source
Cistercian Abbeys, History and Architecture, Photos by Henri Gaud and Text by Jean-François Leroux-Dhuys, (China, Könemann, 2006)
Septuagenarian Bieber: Bishop Clark and his Backup Dancers
September 27th, 2011, Promulgated by AbaccioDo you ever take time to check out the social media outlets of Diocesan affiliates? The septuagenarians who run this Diocese have realized that young people are far more likely to notice something on Facebook than elsewhere. You can find many interesting things on Facebook. For instance, check out the Facebook Page of St Francis-St Stephen School in Geneva, NY. You will encounter not one, not two, but TWELVE albums containing non-liturgical events and/or slews of children in the Sanctuary for non-liturgical purposes in one of the two churches. Graduations, Concerts, para-liturgical events, you name it. But of course, this is not about the school’s misuse of the Church when they have a parish center, gymnasium with a stage, and a cafeteria with a stage all at their disposal. No, this is about something we’ve all seen before. No, really, we’ve seen EXACTLY this before. Welcome to this year’s reprise of the offertory sign language liturgical…performance?
As you can clearly see, this is being done DURING the Mass, extending throughout the Offertory (notice the cruets appear partway through the dance), as a PERFORMANCE. This is not Catholic. This is not appropriate. This is, once again, using children to push an agenda, yet another instance of an inappropriate performance in the Sanctuary. Just like we saw here and here and here and here and here and here and here. Oh yeah, and here and here and here and here. Dare I say that I see a pattern?
Without further ado,
People invent new rituals when they fail to understand the ones they already have. If the adults who encourage this sort of behavior understood the Mass (at least, as far as we can understand it), this would not happen. EVER. They are passing down to the children a grossly distorted understanding of the Mass; ”Thanks for coming today, folks, we’ve got a great show for you, and hopefully you are entertained enough to come back occasionally!” The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not a talent show. Full, conscious, active participation in the Mass means PRAYING the Mass. This is full, conscious, active participation in something else entirely.
With every liturgical innovation, we must ask ourselves: Is this drawing me to Christ? To Calvary? More deeply into the Mass itself? Am I aiding or taking away from what is about to happen on the Altar of Sacrifice? Is this edifying? Without fail, the answer is no. It is infuriating and it is distracting. When they are raised to think that Mass is about something other than sacrifice and eternal salvation, they realize they can get it, often times better, somewhere else: fellowship, a meal, ethics, pop music, dance, the list goes on and on.
Almost to a one, these Catholic children fall away from the Church once they reach High School or College. Just look at the history. In 32 years of Bishop Clark, we have closed 50 of our 72 Catholic Grammar Schools. The average age of mothers at birth is approximately 30. Grammar school children average about 10 years of age. This means that their parents are around 40, give or take (and often younger). This means that the average parent of the average Catholic School student was 8 years old when Bishop Clark took office. There are so many fewer Catholic School students today precisely because the generation that their parents comprise either 1) did not have children, 2) fell away, or 3) do not see value in a DoR education. Seeing these shenanigans again and again and again, I am not surprised. If the Church is turned into a performance hall and schools stress academic excellence instead of discipleship, why should we expect anything else?
Ad Limina Date Set
September 26th, 2011, Promulgated by GenBishop Clark’s visit to Rome is scheduled for Thanksgiving Day.
Conversion Story
September 26th, 2011, Promulgated by HopefullAn ATHEIST was walking through the woods.
‘What majestic mountains!
What powerful rivers!
What beautiful animals’,
he said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river,
he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him.
He turned to look.
He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him.
He ran as fast as he could up the path.
He looked over his shoulder & saw that the bear
was closing in on him….
He looked over his shoulder again,
& the bear was even closer.
He tripped & fell on the ground.
He rolled over to pick himself up but saw
that the bear was right on top of him,
reaching for him with his left paw
& raising his right paw to strike him.
At that instant, the atheist cried out:
‘Oh my God!’
Time stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.
As a bright light shone
upon the man,
a Voice came out of the sky:
‘You deny My existence
for all these years,
teach others I don’t exist, and
even credit creation
to cosmic accident.’
‘Do you expect Me to help you
out of this predicament?’
‘Am I to count you as a believer?’
The atheist looked directly into the light,
“It would be hypocritical of me to
suddenly ask You to treat me
as a Christian now,”
but perhaps You could
make the bear a Christian?”
‘Very well,’ said the Voice.
The light went out.
The sounds of the forest resumed.
And the bear dropped
his right paw,
brought both paws together,
bowed his head and spoke:
‘Lord bless this food,
which I am about to receive from Thy bounty
through Christ our Lord, Amen.’
The Foundation of the Christian Life
September 25th, 2011, Promulgated by Bernie
Father Robert Barron, who created the Catholicism DVD series that was recently released and is now running on some PBS stations, published a very nice little book in 2000 entitled Heaven in Stone and Glass. It consists of a series of meditations on various aspects of a Gothic cathedral, reading them symbolically thereby showing the spiritual world to which they are transparent.
One of the aspects he calls cruciformity. This aspect of a Gothic cathedral is not immediately noticeable at ground level but is quite obvious from an aerial photograph; the building itself is a cross. The nave, choir and altar form the upright of the cross, and the transepts form the horizontal cross-beam.
When pilgrims visit these great churches they usually make their way around the cathedral visiting tombs and venerating relics on display at side and apsidal altars, probably not noticing that as they move through the aisles they are actually making a way of the cross.
Father Barron reflects on the centrality of the cross to Christianity recalling Paul’s statement I preach one thing: Christ and him crucified. Barron mentions the uniqueness of the Savior’s death compared to the peaceful and natural deaths of founders of the other great religions. The Gospels, he mentions, are often referred to not as biographies but as passion narratives with long introductions.
The symbol of Christianity is, after all, the cross. Barron attacks the terrible interpretation of the cross that would make of the crucifixion something satisfying to the Father, an appeasement of a God infinitely angry at sinful humanity. In contrast to this, Father Barron points to John’s Gospel (which)states that God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, that all who believe in him might have life in his name.
Barron repeats the analogy of the dirty diamond told by St. Anselm, the great medieval theologian, who is often unfairly blamed for the terrible interpretation.
We sinners are like diamonds that have fallen into the muck; made in the image of God, we have soiled ourselves…
God could have simply forgiven humanity without actually doing anything –an edict from afar, so to speak.
…but… it would not have restored the diamonds to their original brilliance.
Instead,
God came down into the muck of sin and death and brought the diamonds up and polished them off. In doing so, of course, God had to get dirty.
It was that getting dirty –to the point of death, death on a cross- that comprised the ‘sacrifice’ and established the solidarity of Jesus with mankind. God so loved that he became incarnate.
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington D.C. This style is actually Byzantine and not Gothic but it, too, has a cruciform ground plan. Many churches that are not Gothic make use the cross ground plan.
The cross is the foundation of, and heart of, the great Gothic cathedrals. Like the cathedrals, the cross should be the foundation of the life of every Christian who does not forget what God has done for him.
We must never fail to make that same love that Jesus modeled for us the structure and foundation of our own lives.
……………………………………………………..
Picture Sources
Top aerial photograph of a Gothic cathedral: Google Earth.
The National Shrine: http://service.cgw.cn/lywy/yygjsts/pages/tszy/wx/UkUsa/USA.htm
Warping the Meaning of “Pastoral”
September 23rd, 2011, Promulgated by HopefullTonight’s Lifesite News has the following disturbing story:
Elderly priest suspended for denouncing abortion, homosexual behavior
By Patrick Craine
Fr. Donat Gionet, C.J.M
BATHURST, New Brunswick, September 22, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Diocese of Bathurst, New Brunswick has removed an elderly priest from active ministry after he caused a storm of controversy by denouncing homosexuality, cohabitation, and abortion in an August homily.
85-year-old Fr. Donat Gionet had retired to his home town of Caraquet in June to serve palliative care patients, and now laments that in his declining years he is being forced to celebrate Mass “in secret.”
Fr. Wesley Wade, the diocese’s vicar general, told Radio-Canada that Fr. Gionet’s comments were consistent with Church teaching, but lacked the proper “pastoral” sensitivity.
“It was mainly the pastoral approach that was lacking,” Fr. Wade said. “A lack of respect, perhaps, for the people identified, for the groups of people as well, which caused a division in the community. It was a difficult decision.”
Fr. Wade did not return numerous calls from LifeSiteNews over two days.
A member of the Eudist Fathers, Fr. Gionet had been accused by parishioners of “homophobia” in media reports last week after he criticized a homosexual parade in Moncton in an August 20-21 homily. His loudest critic was the mayor of Saint-Leolin, Joseph Lanteigne, an open homosexual and member of the parish council, who demanded the priest’s suspension.
In an open letter Thursday, Fr. Gionet laments that the diocese did not give him an opportunity to explain himself before suspending him.
“To you, the diocesan authorities: did you ask me what I said exactly during the homily in question?” the priest asks. “They did not, but only listened to people who are frustrated.”
When asked if he would continue making similar comments, he says he can only respond “yes.” “And if they asked me about the homily, in its entirety, I could not say ‘no’ because for me it is important to speak the truth,” he insists.
He explained that in the August homily he noted that while “the gates of hell” seek to destroy the Church, it is, in fact, Catholics who “destroy our Church” today. He pointed to the high number of abortions among Catholics and the presence of homosexuality in the Church. He emphasized that cohabitating couples and homosexuals ought not to receive the Eucharist, but are still welcome to join the Church at Mass.
“After these reflections, there were no other allusions whatsoever,” he says, adding that in the homily he went on to speak of the power of forgiveness offered through the Church.
The priest said that he is now living “like the first Christians did at the beginning of the Church: they had to hide in the catacombs to pray or celebrate the Eucharist.”
The Diocese has released a letter to the faithful explaining the suspension, according to French-language media reports. Bishop Valery Vienneau explains that the priest had refused to alter his statements, and the bishop expressed regret that the comments had upset the faithful.
Contact Information:
Most Rev. Valéry Vienneau, Bishop of Bathurst
645, avenue Murray
C.P. 460
Bathurst, NB E2A 3Z4Tel: (506) 546-1420
Fax: (506) 548-5565
E-mail: valeryv@nb.aibn.com
Most Rev. Valéry VIENNEAU
Bishop of Bathurst
Sr. Joan Sobala – The early years
September 22nd, 2011, Promulgated by MikeGen’s recent post on the upcoming retirement of Sr. Joan Sobala drew some interesting comments, one of which mentioned her participation in a teach-in at St. Bernard’s protesting the promulgation of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.
It should be noted that Sr. Joan’s “problems” with Church teaching predated that 1994 St. Bernard’s event by at least 14 years and have not been limited to the ordination of women to the priesthood.
In his 1982 book, The Homosexual Network – Private Lives and Public Policy, Fr. Enrique Rueda detailed some of the collaboration then occurring between Catholic groups and elements of the homosexual movement. One of these Catholic groups was the Women’s Ordination Conference, represented by Sr. Joan Sobala.
Fr. Rueda writes …
Another indication of the pattern of collaboration between significant elements within the Catholic Church and the homosexual movement is the availability of prohomosexual materials at Catholic meetings. This is not a matter of individuals standing in doorways or on sidewalks handing out leaflets, but the fully accepted presence of representatives of the homosexual movement by Catholic agencies and national organizations. For example, during the March 1982 East Coast Conference on Religious Education in Washington, D.C. prohomosexual material was available at an official New Ways Ministry Booth.127 Homosexual booths were also installed at the National Catholic Charities 66th Annual Convention and at the 10th biennial meeting of the Association of Ladies of Charity of the United States. Dignity could boast that some “1600 Bishops, priests, nuns and laity from the U.S.” had been reached at these events.128 The value of being officially admitted to these functions comes not only from the resultant ability to influence the leadership of the Catholic Church, but from the fact that from a political point of view, this is equated with acceptance of the principle “gay is good,” in practice if not in theory.
At times, even the bishops’ conferences become the occasion for networking. As noted, the homosexual movement is closely related — ideologically and organizationally — with feminism. This relationship is then carried over to the Catholic Church. During the 1980 meeting of bishops in Washington, D.C., this relationship was cemented at a meeting which included Father Robert Nugent, SDS, and Sister Jeannine Gramick, SSND, for the homosexual movement and the leadership the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC, a radical Catholic feminist organization). WOC was represented by, among others, Sister Joan Sobala, SSJ,. a “chaplain” at the University of Rochester. The purpose of the meeting was “to explore ways of collaboration and to obtain support from WOC for the Catholic Coalition for Gay Civil Rights. “129 At this meeting, the homosexual movement was able to gain specific commitments from the WOC: “WOC will publish articles on homosexuality and will also offer New Ways printed resources to their readers.”130 There is evidence that WOC has indeed lived up to its commitment to the homosexuals: the January 1982 issue of New Women New Church, the publication of WOC, included an article by a female homosexual on the “Feminist Theological Perspectives of Lesbian and Gay Male Experience.”131 The same issue also published a very favorable report about the homosexual symposium sponsored by New Ways Ministry.132 This should not be surprising, since the WOC sent a homosexual as a representative to the symposium who was also one of the speakers.
The evidence that there is a strong relationship between the movement to ordain women to the Catholic priesthood and the homosexual movement is obvious from the overlap between the Catholic homosexual network (the Catholic Coalition for Gay Civil Rights, of which more will be said later) and WOC. A comparison between the membership in WOC as of September 1977 and the current membership in the Catholic homosexual network reveals that fifteen percent of the members of WOC are also members of the homosexual organization. (Our analysis included a sample of members of WOC in eight States and the District of Columbia.)
Twenty-seven percent of the individuals whose names appeared in the Proceedings of the Second Conference on the Ordination of Roman Catholic Women which took place on November 1978 are also members of the Catholic homosexual network.
The leadership of the Women’s ordination movement is closely connected with the homosexual movement. Thirty-three percent of the membership of the task force charged with organizing the 1978 conference of WOC are members of the Catholic homosexual network. The proportions for the WOC Advisory Board and the WOC Core Commission for 1979-1980 are even higher (fifty-seven and sixty-seven percent respectively.)133 It is obvious that in terms of number of participants, increasing involvement in WOC correlates strongly with increasing involvement in the Catholic homosexual network.
It is difficult to imagine a logical relationship between the desire to engage in sexual intercourse with persons of one’s own sex—for either males or females—and the question of the acceptance of females as part of the Roman Catholic clergy, unless all should be linked under the umbrella of “social justice.” This could hardly be the case, however, since consistency would demand that practically every other issue be included as a suitable subject for adoption by both WOC and the Catholic homosexual movement acting in unison. Of course, as a matter of fact, this is not the case.
The relations between WOC and New Ways Ministry are obviously not a matter of a one-shot deal. This is clear from the following item, which appeared in a New Ways Ministry publication: “New Ways sent letters of congratulations to the new WOC Core Commission members and had a short visit at the New Ways house from Sr. Barbara Ferraro, a member of WOC Core Commission.”134
What we have presented is merely a sampling of the many instances of cooperation between Roman Catholic institutions and leaders and the homosexual movement. Obviously, neither most Catholics nor most Catholic institutions would dream of becoming tools of the homosexual movement. However, the emergence of a pattern of collaboration between certain circles within the Church and the homosexual movement is unquestionable. The question, from the point of view of traditional Catholicism, is whether the Catholic Church will be strong enough to resist the attempts of a movement alien to its ideology and interests to utilize this ancient and venerable institution for its own political purposes.
Footnotes Cited Above:
127Bondings, Spring-Summer 1981, p. 1.
128Dignity 12 (Washington, D.C.: Dignity, Inc., January 1981): 1.
129Bondings, Winter 1980-81, p. 3.
130 Ibid.
131 Barbara Zanotti, “Feminist Theological Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Male Experience,” New Women/New Church 5 (Rochester: Women’s Ordination Conference, January 1982): 6.
132 Barbara Zanotti, “Traversing New Ground,” New Women/New Church 5 (Rochester N. Y.: Women’s Ordination Conference, January 1982): 6.
133 Base data taken from Maureen Dwyer, New Women/New Church/New Priestly Ministry, Proceedings of the Second Conference on the Ordination of Roman Catholic Women, Rochester, especially pp. 173, 174, and 175.
134Bondings, Winter 1980-81, p. 3.
135America, June 25, 1977, p. 558.__________________________
Bondings is the newsletter of New Ways Ministry
New Women, New Church is the newsletter of the Women’s Ordination Conference
[Text from pages 330-332 of Fr. Rueda's book, with the footnotes appearing on page 379.]
Sr. Joan was not just some rank-and-file WOC member who happened to show up at that 1980 meeting of the Bishops’ Conference. She is, rather, one of “the very women who first envsioned … the first Women’s Ordination Conference” and “served on the WOC staff from 1979-1982.” It therefore seems more than likely that she played a role in deciding that the WOC would participate, along with representatives of 15 other mainline churches, in the 3-day, May 1979 Strategy Conference on Homophobia in the Church. Concerning this conference Fr Rueda writes,
It is important to realize that this meeting was not an intellectual exercise, but that it had three clearly political and action-oriented objectives: 1) to raise the consciousness of the participants and those represented by the participants in various aspects of the homosexual ideology; 2) to form and cement the homosexual religious network; and 3) to develop and begin implementing an action plan to use the churches for the advancement of the movement’s objectives.
[Text from pages 277-278 of Fr. Rueda's book.]
Given this history of dissent, the departure of Sr. Joan from active ministry in the Catholic Church is long overdue.
Bishop Clark to CF: “May each of you be blessed”
September 21st, 2011, Promulgated by Ben AndersonWe got a very quick response from Bishop Clark in regards to our spiritual bouquet.
Slavery, Abortion, and Our Lady of the Confederacy
September 21st, 2011, Promulgated by GenThis has to be one of the most interesting articles I have read recently. It comes from the December 2001 issue of the New Oxford Review, and discusses the similarity in mindsets regarding slavery (when it was held as acceptable) and abortion (which, we can only pray, will be deemed unacceptable in coming years).
In the Confederate Museum at New Orleans is a crown of thorns made by Pope Pius IX expressly for Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America. In a side chapel at the Catholic cathedral in Charleston, S.C., is a statue of Our Lady of the Confederacy sent to the people of the South by the same pope. In many Southern homes to this day is the volume of verse by the “Poet Laureate of the Confederacy” — Fr. Abram Ryan, a Catholic priest of Nashville, whose brother, a Confederate soldier, was killed in combat with Union troops. The state song of Maryland, “Maryland, My Maryland!” which decries the “tyrant” Abraham Lincoln and calls upon Marylanders to rise to arms against the “Vandal invader,” was composed by the Catholic poet James Ryder Randall. And one of the most courageous and eloquent exponents of the justness of Southern civilization, and of the principles and purposes of secession and of the formation of the Confederate States of America, was the renowned missionary priest, Bishop of Savannah Augustin Verot.
So much for the suggestion of John L. Botti that “no explanation is needed” for his entirely fictional narrative “The ‘Catholic’ Politician of 2001 & the Southern ‘Gentleman’ of 1860.” To address even the issues that led, sadly enough for all concerned, to the War Between the States, requires a great deal of explanation, indeed. Further, to his query “Is there any difference?” between the Southerner of 1860 and the advocate or practitioner of abortion in 2001, the answer is yes — wholly, utterly, and completely — as a huge body of literature attests. Again, because Botti does not cite a single historical personage or a single historical text, the entirely fictional nature of his text cannot be overemphasized.
About 15 years ago, in an essay published in both National Review and Crisis, Lewis Lehrman also attempted to equate slavery in the Old South and abortion today. Among the respondents who attempted to correct that grievous misconception was Sheldon Vanauken, the late lamented Contributing Editor of the NOR, whose name well remains on your magazine’s masthead. Van contributed many articles to the NOR that made a similar case for Southern civilization and principles as the sole example available for Americans of our time who wish to redress any number of the ills of our society, abortion foremost among them. It is astonishing that the NOR has so soon forgotten his brave and eloquent reflections.
Significant works that explore for Catholics the theme reintroduced so ineptly by Botti, however admirable his intentions, include American Catholic Opinion in the Slavery Controversy by Madeleine Hooke Rice; Catholics and the Civil War by the Rev. Benjamin J. Blied of St. Francis Seminary; Rebel Bishop: A Life of Augustin Verot by Michael Gannon; and — most especially — The Slaveholders’ Dilemma and A Consuming Fire: The Fall of the Confederacy in the Mind of the White Christian South, both by the eminent historian Eugene Genovese, now a Catholic. Several biographies of the Catholic jurist Roger Taney, who, as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, strove in vain to inaugurate Northern support for compensated emancipation rather than inflammatory abolitionism, and who penned the hugely misunderstood Dred Scott decision, have appeared in recent years. Readers of The Wanderer have recently been given a learned series of columns on actual Southern history generally and the realpolitik of Abraham Lincoln specifically by Joseph Sobran, who in his own newsletter has expanded on the subject.
Southerners have for generations faced the necessary challenge of fending off simplistic condemnations of slavery while striving to call attention to the larger enveloping issues that led to secession, war, and defeat, and of which slavery was of course an inextricable part, but by no means the whole matter. As the foregoing studies demonstrate, most emphatically in the case of the Catholic bishops of both American and Europe, hugely important questions of the very nature of a Christian moral order in the fledgling modern era were the context in which the South resisted by arms the purported “coming of the Lord” announced in the Battle Hymn of the Republic. These questions included the very viability of a specifically Christian order in American society, of the increasing secularization and industrialization and therefore the explicit materialism of the states of the North, and of the proper means of ameliorating in the South the admitted shortcomings of slavery — while avoiding the revolutionary unrest that was arising everywhere in Western civilization, including in the American Northeast, in response to Enlightenment ideologies and the vast dislocations of peoples caused by the “modernization” of capitalistic economies.
Accordingly, the issue of the American War Between the States generally, and specifically the practice of slavery as it actually evolved in the U.S. between 1619 and 1861, is to be judged within a centuries-old tradition which, for reasons once held sound by the Church, affirmed the propriety of the ownership of one person by another, provided, of course, as St. Paul stressed to Philemon of Onesimus, the relationship affirmed the eternal moral worth of the bonded servant and fulfilled the obligations of Christian charity.
In a contrast to slavery in the American South as total as it is stark, abortion-on-demand today is the practice of a people bereft of tradition, disinterested in even social — let alone biblical — constraint, and committed to the very notion of unrestrained individualism made inevitable by the political and social consequences of the Yankee conquest in 1865.
Ironically for Botti, then, it was the very principle of Federal power in the name of “Union,” which in 1861-1865 destroyed Southern civilization and overwhelmed the sovereignty of the states, that more recently, in Roe v. Wade, struck down states’ laws against abortion. Contrary to his glib assertions, those who resisted Federal force in 1861, however imperfect their quest of Christian civilization, waged with arms the war he espouses only with words. Thus it was that, in 1866, a year after Appomattox, the eminent English historian Lord Acton wrote to Robert E. Lee, the defeated former commander of the Confederate armies of Virginia: “I believed that the example of that great [Confederate] reform would have blessed all the races of mankind by establishing true freedom purged of the native dangers and disorders of Republics. Therefore I deemed that you were fighting the battles of our liberty, our progress, and our civilization; and I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo.” Lord Acton, as so many “Southern sympathizers,” was a Catholic.
Not ’til Christians of all sections, whether Catholic or Protestant, and whether white or black — or Hispanic or Asian — rediscover the virtues of Southern life and conviction as they actually, historically, existed will there be possible the unity of historical understanding and Christian brotherhood necessary for adequately addressing the grave questions of a proper moral order in our national life. For only in this unity would it be possible to discredit the ideologies to which Botti no doubt means to allude, ideologies that, victorious in 1865 and triumphant through all realms of American life in the decades since, are nowhere more manifest — as the might of a national regime that will countenance no dissent on the part of the people or the states — than in the various abortion-related rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court.
David A. Bovenizer
Lynchburg, Virginia
Reminder: Solemn Vespers This Sunday at St. John Fisher College
September 21st, 2011, Promulgated by GenA brief reminder that this Sunday, the 25th, there will be Solemn Vespers in the Extraordinary Form offered at St. John Fisher College at 5:00PM. You can see previous events such as this here and here. The service will be held in the Coleman Chapel, attached to Murphy Hall. The entire service will be sung, alternating between Gregorian Chant and Renaissance polyphony.
The Rochester Vespers Choir will be singing for the college’s 9:00 PM Mass, as well.
Joan Sobala to Retire on June 24th, 2012
September 20th, 2011, Promulgated by GenAs reported by several emails to us over the past few days, Sr. Joan Sobala, SSJ will be retiring this coming June on the Solemnity of the Baptism of St. John the Baptist.
Here’s something for you to ponder: did St. John the Baptist win more souls to Christ than Sr. Joan has lost?
Oktoberfest For A Cause
September 20th, 2011, Promulgated by Bernie
St. Peter's Chapel, Borneo (Malaysia). Father vests out of his little red car.
I have been a member of the Knights of Columbus, Saint Damien of Molokai Council 11411 for eight years.
This is the same Knights of Columbus Council that has been sponsoring the Rosary for Priestly Vocations in the diocese of Rochester for several years. The rosary evenings have been held in various locations of the diocese but mostly in the city and suburbs. Most of you who follow Cleansing Fire will remember the beautiful Vocations Rosary (here and here) held at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Irondequoit last November. Another one was just held at St. John Fisher College.
This same Council –the Council I belong to— is doing an Oktoberfest evening on Saturday, October 1 to benefit a church in Borneo (Malaysia) that is administered by Father Peter Abas, who is also a member of the St. Damien of Molokai Council. He joined the Knights while he was studying at the University of Rochester just a short while back. While working toward his PhD he ministered at St. Anne Church in Rochester and was known for his work with the elderly. After getting his degree he stayed for a while and ministered at Guardian Angels Church in Henrietta, the Mercy Mother House, and St. Salome’s in Irondequoit. He was in residence at St. Cecilia’s while in Irondequoit.
Masses are packed.
St. Peter’s Chapel in Borneo needs a new church building and that is why the Knights are holding a benefit, to help raise funds for the construction. The Chapel is part of a four church cluster that Father Peter administers. The congregations of all four are rather large –bursting at the seams. St. Peter’s Chapel has a tin roof and concrete walls and floor. The congregation needs a larger building. In addition, it is time for a beautiful church. Borneo, however, is not a wealthy country.
The cleared, raised land is ready for a new church building.
The Knights hope that by raising funds the members of St. Peter Chapel will not only be helped materially but also spiritually by experiencing the love and concern for them of the wider Catholic Church –especially that part of the wider Church represented by Council 11411 in Rochester, New York. Catholics are a minority in Borneo, surrounded for the most part by the followers of Islam. At times, the relationship between the two groups is strained. It turned violent for a period a year or so ago with several Catholic churches suffering serious vandalism. The Catholics of Borneo appreciate our material support as well as our prayers for their welfare.
It promises to be a high quality and fun Oktoberfest with, as you might expect, everything German: a buffet of rouladen, pork roast with stuffing, assorted sausages, German potatoes, sauerkraut (of course) and red cabbage by a Rochester German market and deli, Music by a well known accordionist in the German community and dance performances by Schuhplattler Verein Heidengold. Dessert will be caramel Dutch apple pie, donated by the Genesee Bakery on Mt. Hope Avenue, and whose owner is also a Knight.
The evening begins at 6:15 p.m. with beer, wine, and soft drinks available for purchase; free pretzels at the tables. The buffet starts at 7:00 p.m. There will be music and dancing throughout the evening beginning at 6:15.
What a fun way to support the folks in Borneo –and to say “Thank you!” to the Knights.
Because it is a catered event you have to purchase your tickets ($25) in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door.
This event is solely sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and while held in the social hall of St. Anne Church, Rochester (1600 Mt. Hope Avenue), it is not a function co-sponsored by the church. All proceeds will go to benefit St. Peter’s Chapel or to off-set expenses.
To order tickets: email bernie@cleansingfiredor.com
Vote! Vote! Vote!
September 19th, 2011, Promulgated by GenFolks, the time is here to vote for us (please?) in the Crescat’s Cannonball Awards! Click here to vote for us: http://thecrescat.blogspot.com/2011/09/its-voting-time.html
We’ve been nominated for Most Church Militant, More Catholic Than the Pope, and Best Armchair Theologian!
On the Beauty of our Worship – Words from the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff
September 19th, 2011, Promulgated by GenI stumbled upon this page at the Vatican website, and thought that we might all profit by it if I shared it here. Enjoy:
Beauty in Every Aspect of the Liturgical Rite
The Holy Father, Benedict XVI, at number 35 of the Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis writes:
This relationship between creed and worship is evidenced in a particular way by the rich theological and liturgical category of beauty. Like the rest of Christian Revelation, the liturgy is inherently linked to beauty: it is veritatis splendor. The liturgy is a radiant expression of the paschal mystery, in which Christ draws us to himself and calls us to communion.
The beauty of the liturgy is part of this mystery; it is a sublime expression of God’s glory and, in a certain sense, a glimpse of heaven on earth. The memorial of Jesus’ redemptive sacrifice contains something of that beauty which Peter, James and John beheld when the Master, making his way to Jerusalem, was transfigured before their eyes (cf. Mk 9:2). Beauty, then, is not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God himself and his revelation. These considerations should make us realize the care which is needed, if the liturgical action is to reflect its innate splendor.
The beauty of Christ is reflected above all in the saints and in faithful Christians of every age, but one should not forget or underestimate the spiritual value of the works of art that the Christian Faith knew how to produce in order to place them at the service of divine worship. The beauty of the Liturgy is manifested concretely through material objects and bodily gestures, of which man – a unity of soul and body – has need to elevate himself toward invisible realities and to be reinforced in his faith. The Council of Trent taught:
And since the nature of man is such that he cannot without external means be raised easily to meditation on divine things, holy mother Church has instituted certain rites. . . whereby both the majesty of so great a sacrifice might be emphasized and the minds of the faithful excited by those visible signs of religion and piety to the contemplation of those most sublime things which are hidden in this sacrifice. (Denziger-Schönmetzer, n. 1746)
Sacred art, sacred vestments and vessels, sacred architecture – all must come together to consolidate the sense of majesty and beauty, to make transparent the “noble simplicity” (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 34) of the Christian Liturgy, which is a liturgy of the true Beauty.
The Servant of God John Paul II recalled the Gospel account of the anointing of Jesus at Bethany in order to respond to the possible objection concerning the beauty of churches and of objects destined for divine worship, which could seem out of place if considered before the great mass of the earth’s poor people. He wrote:
A woman, whom John identifies as Mary the sister of Lazarus, pours a flask of costly ointment over Jesus’ head, which provokes from the disciples – and from Judas in particular (cf. Mt 26:8; Mk 14:4; Jn 12:4) – an indignant response, as if this act, in light of the needs of the poor, represented an intolerable “waste.” But Jesus’ own reaction is completely different. While in no way detracting from the duty of charity towards the needy, for whom the disciples must always show special care – “the poor you will always have with you” (Mt 26:11; Mk 14:7; cf. Jn 12:8) – he looks towards his imminent death and burial, and sees this act of anointing as an anticipation of the honor which his body will continue to merit even after his death, indissolubly bound as it is to the mystery of his person. (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n. 47, emphasis in original)
And he concluded:
Like the woman who anointed Jesus in Bethany, the Church has feared no “extravagance,” devoting the best of her resources to expressing her wonder and adoration before the unsurpassable gift of the Eucharist. . . . With this heightened sense of mystery, we understand how the faith of the Church in the mystery of the Eucharist has found historical expression not only in the demand for an interior disposition of devotion, but also in outward forms meant to evoke and emphasize the grandeur of the event being celebrated. . . . On this foundation a rich artistic heritage also developed. Architecture, sculpture, painting and music, moved by the Christian mystery, have found in the Eucharist, both directly and indirectly, a source of great inspiration. (Ibid., nn. 48-49, emphasis in original)
Therefore, it is necessary to exhibit all possible care and attention, so that the dignity of the Liturgy would shine forth even in the smallest details in the form of true beauty. It is necessary to recall that even those saints who lived poverty with a particular ascetical commitment always desired that the most beautiful and precious objects be used for divine worship. We mention here only one example, that of the Holy Curé d’Ars:
From the moment he saw it [the parish church of Ars], M. Vianney loved the old church as he had loved the paternal home. When he undertook its restoration he began with what holds the foremost place, the altar, which is the centre and raison d’être of the sanctuary. Out of reverence for the Holy Eucharist, he wished to secure as beautiful an altar as possible. . . . After these improvements, he undertook the task, to use his own picturesque and touching phrase, of adding to the household possessions of the good God – le ménage du bon Dieu. He went to Lyons to visit the workshops of embroiderers and goldsmiths. Whatever was most precious he purchased, so that the purveyors of church furniture would say with astonishment: “In this district there lives a little curé, lean, badly dressed, looking as if he had not a sou in his pocket, yet only the very best things are good enough for his church.”
For those of you who are asking, “A Personal Prela-What?”
September 16th, 2011, Promulgated by JBCatholic(This is a summary from several sources and was the product of the enlightenment of my own ignorance on the subject. So please feel free to comment and or correct! Quotes taken from several sources that will be listed at the bottom of the post)
Found in the document “Presbyterorum ordinis“, a product of the Second Vatican Council, we find the origins of a Personal Prelature (PP). The PP is comprised of a hierarchy (a prelate, priests, deacons and sometimes lay faithful) and is established to carry out a specific pastoral function for the Church. The “Personal” refers to the jurisdiction of the SSPX would have. Unlike a diocese, their jurisdiction is linked to persons as opposed to any particular territory.
The personal prelature is similar to a religious order, in that “the prelate governs the prelature with ordinary power (that power given to those who hold a valid office and may execute Church law) and is selected according to the statutes of the prelature (can. 295), which could mean election by the members of the prelature or some other method. Also, the clergy of the prelature are incardinated into the prelature itself as opposed to the local particular church (dioceses).” For those of us unfamiliar with the term incardinated, it refers to the fact that no priest functions without a head, be that a bishop, superior or in this case a prelate.
Where the PP differs from a religious order is that they don’t take religious vows, they may have a different relationship to the local ordinary (i.e. they may be exempt from the laws and the governance of the particular church where they live and work, which might be good in the DoR), the prelature defines its own relationship with the laity dedicated to its mission and finally the prelate may be a bishop which generally doesn’t happen in religious order.
The personal prelature is also different from an ordinariate that, is technically a diocese of persons rather than being defined by a geographical location.
An example of a personal prelatures in the Church is Opus Dei
The good news, in my view, is that we may soon be able to apply the above to the SSPX.
Sentire Cum Ecclesia,
JBC
Source 1, Source 2, Source 3 (For those academics among us, don’t judge me for using Wikipedia.)
(Edit: Pope Benedict XVI’s provision for the Anglicans is actually a personal ordinariate.)
