Monthly Archives: October 2011

Guided Missal 6: Offertory

The Liturgy of the Word is followed by the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the second of the two major components of the Roman Mass. The latter has been traditionally divided into three parts: the Offertory, the Consecration, and the Communion. The extent of their significance to the Mass, and the extent of changes in the English translation, are such that we will treat them separately here as well.

Although this part of the Mass is popularly referred to as “The Preparation of the Gifts,” it is still known in the official books by its traditional name as the “Offertory,” as we shall see in the quotation below.

Rest of MWBH post click here… (you know you want too!)

Editor’s Note: Best Series on the New Missal translation out there!

I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing the late Father Malachi Martin. One of the books he authored is titled, “Hostage to the Devil”. I won’t elaborate at this time concerning how I met him, got to know him & actually was mentored by him during a summer quite a few years ago.

What I will tell you is that this book completely convinced me that spiritual warfare was something we must believe and address in this modern world.I read Patrick Madrid’s blog the other day, and of course because the title of this piece, it catches one’s eye. As I read it, I was pleased to see that Patrick wrote about Father Martin’s book.

I totally believe in Divine Providence and that is the reason I am crossposting this piece today. After you read this very profound blogpost, I ask you to get a copy of “Hostage to the Devil”. If you don’t believe completely but understand there is evil in the world, this is the evidence you need. If you believe, this confirms your suspicions and prepares you for spiritual warfare. Either way, it’s a win win…

“Exorcist” author reflects on Halloween, demonic possession, and faith

October 28, 2011 by Patrick Madrid

I vividly recall my father warning me not to watch “The Exorcist” movie when it came out in 1973. Not that I was old enough, at just 13, to trundle down to the cinema and see it, but he wanted me to avoid it when I got old enough to go to movies on my own and without parental supervision.

My father hadn’t even seen the movie himself, but he had read the novel by the same title upon which the movie was based, and he told me that the book was truly frightening. He didn’t want my imagination to have to cope with the residue of horrifying mental images he said the book had permanently lodged in his mind.

Roger that, Dad. I followed your advice to the letter. Thank you. Nearly 40 years later, I can report to you that I not only never saw the movie, I never read the book, and I’m glad of it.

I did, however, make the mistake of reading Malachi Martin’s Hostage to the Devil — or, at least, three quarters of it, before I had to put it down.

Martin’s true-story accounts of demonic possession were simply too disturbing for me to continue reading. This is in part due to the fact that, like many people, I just don’t want or need scenes from such accounts playing themselves out in my imagination at the wrong moments, such as when I am trying to get to sleep in an unfamiliar house or hotel when I am traveling.

Click here to go to Patrick’s site for the rest of the post…

For more about Patrick Madrid please go to his site here…

Contrary to popular opinion, this is the phrase that Saint Augustine used when dealing with the Pelagian heresy. Most modern Catholics & even scholars always quote the PARAPHRASED, “Roma locuta est; causa finita est” “Rome has spoken; the case is closed.”[actual translation of "the case is closed > ita clauditur...] The modern paraphrased translation still however, applies in the case of Catholic University of America and the rights of a private PONTIFICAL University.

PONTIFICAL University…”Huh? What’s that?” Let me defer to an excellent piece by Elizabeth Scalia, a Catholic writer of notable credentials explaining what that is and the real culprit behind the attack on CUA…

CUA a Pontifical University: No Jesus-Free Places UPDATE
Oct 28th, 2011 by Elizabeth Scalia

Ali Basiri, 27, prays next to his desk in his office at Catholic University. Ali is an Iranian graduate student who came there to study electrical engineering more than four years ago. Astrid Riecken / For The Washington Post

The Catholic University of America (CUA) a Pontifical University. That means this is a school established by the Holy See, and directly under its authority. As such, it cannot be true to itself while creating “Jesus-free” spaces.

To demand that a Pontifical University create rooms and spaces where the Crucifix is unwelcome, and Catholic iconography is not permitted would be like stepping into a mosque and demanding that, because there are some Christians in the neighborhood, the mosque should install a Eucharistic Tabernacle.

The picture above shows a Muslim student praying in his electrical engineering lab. You can see a whole photo essay and read the article here.

Yeah, those Muslim students certainly look like they’re unhappy, oppressed and loaded for bear, don’t they?

During his more than four years as a graduate student at Catholic, Ali Basiri has become one of the regulars at the small chapel in Caldwell Hall, the oldest building on campus. Basiri, 27, has spent so much time in the chapel’s pews that he has befriended the organist who practices there.
[...]
…at Catholic, he has forged new ways to connect spiritually. Several times a week, the electrical engineering student makes his way past the marble statue of the Virgin Mary at the Caldwell chapel entrance and listens in the pews to Islamic prayers on his MP3 player … He has struck up friendships with equally fervent Catholic believers…It was that kind of exchange that prompted Basiri’s attempts to start a Muslim student association. He wanted to help Muslim students connect and gather for prayer in addition to helping spur conversations across religions.

He found a faculty adviser and filled out the required paperwork but heard nothing back for a while.

Then, an administrator pulled him aside and said it wouldn’t work to have a Muslim group at such a major Catholic institution.

When asked about the experience, Basiri is hesitant to say anything negative about a school that he says has embraced him so fully and given him a chance to grow in faith and academics.

“I understand the difficulty,” he said. “In Iran, if you tried to start a Catholic group at a Muslim university, that would be just as strange and hard to make it work.”

Emphasis Mine. Apparently this Iranian student has no difficulty understanding what John Banzhaf, an attorney and professor at George Washington University, cannot. CUA is not just another Catholic University: it cannot — as a part of the Holy See — create “Christ-free/Catholic-free” rooms. It must be allowed to be what it is, representing who it represents; that is the first tenet, I think, of “Freedom of Religion” — that a religion be free to be what it is. Muslim students choose to attend the university knowing what it is.

Banzhaf seems to have an obsession with the Catholic University of America, and he has filed suit against the university for “Human Rights Violations” against the school’s Muslim students.

Earlier this year Banzhaf brought suit against CUA after it announced that it would be doing away with co-ed dorms and slowly re-instituting single-sex housing. Single sex housing, apparently, is also a “Human Rights Violation” in this man’s mind. I wonder if he has brought suit against any madrassahs for putting boys and girls in separate classrooms?

And I wonder if it is CUA’s connection to the Holy See that teases Banzhar’s obsession?

Please click here to go to Elizabeth Scalia’s site to read the rest of this post…

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Thank you Elizabeth for the clear and concise explanation of what a PONTIFICAL University is…

The main male character in Jane Austen’s “Mansfield Park” is Edmund Bertram. Edmund, a good man who aspires to and eventually becomes a member of the clergy. Edmund is judged as less than successful for even desiring to be part of the Church by Mary Crawford, a shallow female character who tries to and almost leads him astray. In defending his calling, Edmund states in Chapter Nine,

“We do not look in great cities for our best morality. It is not there that respectable people of any denomination can do most good; and it certainly is not there that the influence of the clergy can be most felt. A fine preacher is followed and admired; but it is not in fine preaching only that a good clergyman will be useful in his parish and his neighbourhood, where the parish and neighbourhood are of a size capable of knowing his private character, and observing his general conduct, which in London [a large city] can rarely be the case. The clergy are lost there in the crowds of their parishioners. They are known to the largest part only as preachers. And with regard to their influencing public manners, Miss Crawford must not misunderstand me, or suppose I mean to call them the arbiters of good–breeding, the regulators of refinement and courtesy, the masters of the ceremonies of life. The manners I speak of might rather be called conduct, perhaps, the result of good principles; the effect, in short, of those doctrines which it is their duty to teach and recommend; and it will, I believe, be everywhere found, that as the clergy are, or are not what they ought to be, so are the rest of the nation.”

[Emphasis mine]

It’s quite sad that a number of men (certainly not all or even close) and many women do not understand that Austen wasn’t simply an author of “romantic novels”. She had the uncanny ability to take the part of social scientist when fleshing out her characters in all of her novels. When reading the reports of the latest attack on the Church, the quote I used for the title immediately came to mind. It is such a sweet delight to know that Miss Austen “got it”. She also was able to articulate it from the masculine perspective quite successfully even when modern churchmen can’t or won’t do it themselves. You just can’t make this up.

In the last several days I went ballistic on Twitter. The ridiculous “white paper” which was released from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, (an office within the Vatican) named “Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority,” from the Pontifical Council for Justice & Peace (read the full text here) by His Eminence Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson and Bishop Mario Toso, Titular Bishop of Bisarcio and perhaps a ghostwriter. In addition, I went crazy over the shoddy coverage of the story on “The Blaze” by Billy Hallowell.

First, please understand I hold Rome responsible for how this document was introduced to the media. Per usual, the Vatican’s public relations department finds new and exciting ways to make sure that the Church is continually misrepresented. At the very least, it sets up the attacks on Holy Mother Church (either unknowingly, because of stupidity or deliberately, or BOTH, in order to undermine the Faith and the Holy Father, take your pick).

How hard could it be for the PR people in Rome to say simply what this document is? The PR folks at the Vatican will not say what is really going on here. If they did, it would be a scandal. Yup, I said it…a scandal. Why, Sofia, do you think it would be a scandal? Sadly, Professor Leonardo Becchetti, though not named as one of the actual authors, was present at the press conference ( why, if he wasn’t one of the authors?) for the now reknown white paper. Father John Zuhlsdorf in his blog, “What Does the Prayer Really Say?” has done the job thoroughly deconstructing and explaining what really is going on here with this latest attempt to vilify the Church from within [my opinion, not Father Zuhlsdorf's]

Professor Bechetti’s political beliefs and agenda are well known in Catholic circles and let just say…he isn’t on the side of the Church and Her Teachings. Ironically, the 2011 Summit of the Group of 20 (G20), the sixth meeting of the Group’s Heads of State or Government, will take place in Cannes, France, from November 3-4, 2011. Hmmmm…”they” say timing is EVERYTHING in life.

Does Bechetti think that Roman Catholics around the world are so stupid that we are not able to read or understand exactly what is going on here? Oh yeah, that’s right, I’ll be called a right wing conspiracy nut, but that in itself is a funny thing. Unlike those attacking “right-wingers”, the left wing who purport those talking points, I still believe in God and KNOW that He is Truth and sees all. Too bad for them.

Father Zuhlsdorf has posted several pieces concerning this white paper and for clarity’s sake we will be cross-posting his work and will put out links for the posts he refers to in his blog. In addition, we have compiled a reading list (which we will post at the end of this piece so that you, dear readers can make up your own minds.) of related posts.

In addition to Father Z’s work, we are crossposting an excellent piece by Lisa Graas from her blog, LisaGraas.com . Lisa addresses the additional issue of the erroneous claim that the Holy Father supports the protestors at Occupy Wall Street. It never ends.
By the way, It is a “white paper” because basically if you print it out, and shred it, you have excellent packing material.

I will say only a few things concerning the coverage by Billy Hallowell at “The Blaze”. A very close friend of mine has used gentle correction as a Christian to help me realize where the real problem lies in this issue. I do agree I was going after the messenger but I do think that The Blaze needed to do a better job of research and delivery on topics regarding the Catholic Church. If I was too hard, I apologize for my lack of charity. I still believe however, that well known Catholic writer/blogger Lisa Graas and close friend was correct when she stated on Twitter: “It seems anti-Catholic to push something like that (which is falsehood) and ignore other things.”

Well said, Lisa. I guess my reaction wasn’t the hallmark of charity but my only reason would be to say, I am truly sorry but I must defend the Faith and Church I love. I ask those who want to write about the Catholic Church to at least stop taking the lazy way out by grabbing a video from MSNBC of all places of a “priest”, Thomas Reese, S.J., who makes his living denouncing the Church and then twisting Her Teachings to appear to be a truthteller.

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Here is Father Zuhlsdorf’s post, “More about the “white paper” from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace” October 26, 2011

More about the latest schizophrenic “white paper” from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.  This new “white paper” – for I don’t want to dignify it with “document”, which might give it more weight that it deserves – offered some pretty good analysis of the status quaestionis and then went to the zoo on offering proposals.

When new documents or initiatives are issued from some dicastery of the Holy See there is usually a presser, during which the heads of the dicastery and experts involved with the genesis of the piece or event present what is going on to members of the press.

In the case of the “white paper” – which does not form part of the Ordinary Magisterium – the presenters were Card. Turkson and Archbp. Toso.  Also present was Prof. Leonardo Becchetti, whom I assume was involved in part in the genesis of the “white paper”.

At this point I direct your attention to the comments made by Jeffrey Tucker, which I have posted here.  Tucker made the observation, and I think he is right, that different hands contributed to this “white paper”.  He wrote: “Probably this document had many authors, one of whom gets the Austrian theory of the business cycle. He prevailed in the first section. Another author seems to know nothing about politics and power or the history of the problems of centralized states and central banking. He prevailed in the second section.”  I am guessing that Prof. Becchetti is the one who prevailed in the second section.

I have some Italian friends who are very well-informed about the topics addressed in the “white paper”.  One of them, a sometime contributor here and a mainstay of the Catholic Online Form, the great Fabrizio, offered some observations on Prof. Becchetti.

This is what Fabrizio had to say, and he is generally spot on in my experience:

I’ll quote what I said on COL. Trust me this is another “Fisichella” scandal.

Even though it’s not about abortion:  it’s not as if liberty and private property are not rather important inalienable rights of man.

“A socialist economist, a left-wing “Catholic” who’s extremely active with the Democrat Party (formerly known as Partito Comunista Italiano, here’s is profile on the website of the party and other socialist organizations. He even has a blog on the website of the ultra-secularist paper “La Repubblica” which leads the charge against the Catholic Church every time the occasion presents itself. I guarantee you that loyal Catholics – and competent economists – don’t get to spread the truth through blogs on La Repubblica’s website.

Among other things this guy formed a lobby to request the EU to levy crazy taxes on financial transactions which will destroy whatever is left of available capitals, especially for small businesses and small investors, with a trickle-down effect that will further damage an economy brought to collapse by socialist greed for power, money and control.

So basically a Vatican dicastery helped a socialist ideologue to advance his agenda with the imprimatur of the Holy See (obviously he is the ghost writer of the part on financial transactions).

The writings of this guy are quoted by all Marxist organs and groups. Here is an example taken by a blog of a local group of the Italian “Democratic Left for European Socialism”. I guarantee you these people HATE the Church and of course liberty and property. They are part of a left-wing coalition led by “Niki” Vendola, a militant homosexualist of the former Communist Party.”

 

Curiouser and curiouser. There would have had to have been some pretty good cover provided for this “white paper” from the Secretariat of State. Otherwise, with this pedigree, it probably wouldn’t have seen the light of day.

In any event, I think we have a better idea now why the left-wingers and catholics have gotten so excited about this “white paper”. They are able very easily to tune into that frequency.
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Related posts here at FatherZ’s Blog, “What does The Prayer Really Say”
“Jeffrey Tucker on the new “white paper”: “a near total absence of clear thinking””
“Samuel Gregg on the new “white paper” from the Pont. Con. for Justice and Peace”
“The new “white paper” from the Pont. Council Justice and Peace. Fr. Z rants like loon.”

 
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From Lisa Graas at her blog, “Lisa Graas” “The Pope Has Not Endorsed Occupy Wall Street” October 24, 2011

It’s funny how so many “conservatives” these days tell me they are perfectly comfortable with writing off the Catholic vote when it comes to abortion and “gay marriage” but then when something comes out of the Vatican about fiscal issues, they freak out. What’s up with that? Anyway, THIS STORY at The Blaze which suggests that “the Vatican” has endorsed Occupy Wall Street is misleading, to say the least, as are many other reports coming out about a proposal from the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in regard to a “world bank”.

In a nutshell, this paragraph from Catholic News Service may help to clear up the biggest confusion over this [Emphasis mine]:

At a news conference Oct. 24, the Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, emphasized that the document was “not an expression of papal magisterium,” but instead was an “authoritative note of a Vatican agency,” the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. In that sense, he said, it would not be correct to report that “Pope Benedict says” what’s in the document, he said.

 

 

The rest of the post at LisaGraas.com click here…

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First, thank you to both FatherZ and to Lisa Graas for their intelligent, common sense approach to writing and for always telling the truth. Second, thank you to all who have helped me see that sometimes I need to vent BEFORE I tweet. “Im learning, I’m learning!! ha ha) Finally, I want my readers to know that I have always supported Glenn Beck and his cause to help educate us about those who want to destroy America. For this, I thank him for his tireless effort to help protect America and her citizens. I ask that he and his organization to please do their homework regarding Catholic issues. Believe me, I know there are plenty of Alinsky Progressives in the Church trying to destroy Her from within. However, the Pope is not one of them. Case closed.

I wanted to get this post out yesterday when perhaps it would have been timely in the 24 hour news cycle. However, it’s about more than just reporting the stories in a timely fashion, I think. In this case I needed to take time off to pray first. In the end, Saint Paul is correct….”And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

I pray I learned that lesson, finally…

God love you,

Sofia

Guided Missal 5: Liturgy of the Word

The following from the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy summarizes the role of the Liturgy of the Word at Holy Mass:

Sacred scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy. For it is from scripture that lessons are read and explained in the homily, and psalms are sung; the prayers, collects, and liturgical songs are scriptural in their inspiration and their force, and it is from the scriptures that actions and signs derive their meaning. Thus to achieve the restoration, progress, and adaptation of the sacred liturgy, it is essential to promote that warm and living love for scripture to which the venerable tradition of both eastern and western rites gives testimony. (24)

Rest of MWBH post click here… (you know you want too!)

Editor’s Note: Best Series on the New Missal translation out there!

Our dear friend, @Sr_Lisa , (Sister Lisa M. Doty of the Canossian Sisters) is participating in a “Walk for Life” on Saturday, October 29th in the Sacramento, CA Diocese. The walk is part of the ProLife activities during October which has been designated ProLife month.

As Catholics we love to say we are ProLife so lets “Walk the walk” and just not “Talk the talk”. Prayer is always first but prayer must be the force that puts us into action. Not all of us can go pray the Rosary in front of a clinic or do sidewalk counseling because oerhaps of infirmity. Not all of us have the personality or training to do sidewalk counseling. There are a coup[le things we can do....one of course is to vote ProLife, of course. The other is to support those who take on projects like the "Walk for Life".

This is a simple one. If you are reading this piece, you can pledge a donation online for Sister Lisa's ProLife walk. She does have a favorite charity that is part of the Walk for Life. It is the Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home. Sister Lisa has supported this wonderful place before as part of her ProLife committment. She can speak personally for the wonderful work done at Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home so you know your money is going to be used directly for the girls and women who need the help.

Now, please read the following piece from Sister Lisa's Blog, "Nunspeak". All the instructions are listed there for donating. Every donation helps in this case...Ten dollars would be wonderful as Sean and myself have pledged ten dollars each and we ask that you match that donation with your ten dollars. If you cannot donate ten dollars, ANY amount adds up and helps. Just think, as Sister Lisa says, "One dollar pledged from one thousand people is a THOUSAND DOLLARS!" So you see even pledging one dollar helps in a big way!

Now, I have to tell you that donating through the site is somewhat cumbersome so please have patience with it. (Sister Lisa is trying to help the organization have a better website donation system next year. So if you have experience with website design and could help with an efficient donation system please contact Sister Lisa through her blog).

Sister Lisa's personal pick is the Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home so you may select that from the several ProLife charities available. If you choose another, thats fine also. There is an option to donate directly or to pledge and then mail a check after. I do not ask often that readers help a cause but this is one that I personally believe in and know that Sister Lisa will be part of the solution. LETS $UPPORT SISTER LISA NOW!

God love you all,

Sofia

UPDATE: As I am writing this post, I have found out that Sister Lisa's brother, Philip, who has been suffering with a brain tumor has passed away. As Philip meets Our Lord I pray He will say to Philip, "Come right in, My Mother speaks highly of you..."
Please pray for the repose of Philip's soul and be sure to visit Sister Lisa's FB page to offer prayers and words of support. I ask you at this time to go to the Walk for Life site and donate in Sister Lisa's name for LIFE! This would be the perfect testament to her brother's life. At this time, I do not know the funeral plans but please donate as the Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home will get credit for Sister's entry whether she can make the walk or not. Remember this is not for each mile she walks, it is a donation just because she has entered. You will be donating in her name from you for the cause regardless...

Walking for Life – Update

by Sister Lisa M. Doty
at her blog, "Nunspeak"

I posted a while back that I would be walking, to raise money for five crisis pregnancy centers in Sacramento Diocese. That walk is just two weeks away!

Today, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Bob Dunning, the host of the Bishop’s Hour on Immaculate Heart Radio to talk about the walk-a-thon. It was my first time on radio, so I didn’t know what to expect.

So, come listen and let me know what you think:

Bob and I, talking about the walk and prolife issues.

1. Pray for the women in need of assistance.
2. Pray for success of the Walk.
3. Ask the Lord how you can contribute.
4. Go to this site.

• On the pull-down menu, select “I want to sponsor a walker in the walkathon.” Click to proceed.
• Scroll down, fill in the necessary information.
• Choose which of the five crisis pregnancy centers you wish your donation to support (you can learn about the centers at below links).
• Choose the ‘name of the person you wish to sponsor’ (I am listed as ‘Sister Doty, Lisa Marie – Sacramento’) [Hint, hint ]
• List amount you plan on sponsoring me for.
• Click proceed, and follow the rest of the steps (you will be referred to the corresponding donation page for the CPC you chose, to complete your transaction), OR
• If you would rather sponsor a walker by check, make your pledge at the site above, and instead of continuing when you are referred for payment, please make it payable to: Catholics for Life. Include a note containing the name of the walker you wish to sponsor and the name of the CPC to which you wish to donate the funds.  Mail it to: Catholics for Life, P. O. Box 156, Carmichael, Ca. 95608.

Please fo to Sister Lisa’s blog. “Nunspeak” for the rest of this piece…click here!