What is so wrong with that?

To my last post I have received a comment, which you may find here, that accuses me of pushing for a return of the Extraordinary form of the Catholic Church's worship, that is to say the Traditional Latin Mass. Now if one reads the text of that post, one does not find this reality. Granted in the video that I link to the Redemptorists are praying the Latin Mass and the Breviary, aka the Liturgy of the Hours, in Latin. But this was more incidental to that posting, than being the point of it.

Rather, the point of my post was that these monks' devotion to their faith is by far a witness that is lost in today's Church. We need Catholics - priests, laity, and religious - who come to the realization that our Faith is not a secondary thing to our lives. It should not be seen as some added icing to "the cake" that is our everyday lives. Rather, our Catholic Faith needs to become our lifesblood. Why? Is it because we all need to be some overly strict monks or nuns in lay people's clothes? Is it because we need to be rigid mindless sheep?

No. Our Catholic Faith needs to become our lifesblood because we need to find the gratitude in our lives that recognize God the Father as the living Creator of our life, and Jesus Christ who was sent into the world to establish the Catholic Church that give us new life - even "life more abundantly (Jn 10:10)." We have the opportunity to accept this life, to come to know God through Jesus. But this is not just merely through the bible, as so many of our separated brethren suggest. Rather, it is also through the living Sacred Tradition of the Church. Part of that tradition is encompassed in the Traditional Latin Mass. As, then, Cardinal Ratzinger himself pointed out in his book Salt of the Earth:

I am of the opinion, to be sure, that the old rite should be granted much more generously to all those who desire it. It's impossible to see what could be dangerous or unacceptable about that. A community is calling its very being into question when it suddenly declares that what until now was its holiest and highest possession is strictly forbidden and when it makes the longing for it seem downright indecent.

I do not hold , as the Anonymous poster accuses me, that"the ills of the Church would all go away if all we did was return to a language most do not know and a liturgy that does not speak to people of today." I do hold however, as the Holy Father himself teaches us in the Lettter that accompanied and explained the Motu Proprio that : "What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church's faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place." And further, I do think that the lack of catechesis, the lack of reverance at many Masses, and the lack of seriousness with which some approach our Catholic Faith can be helped by experiencing the solemnity which the Extraordinary form integrates.

This is not to say, that it will be some magical experience for every person, however for those who begin to take their faith more seriously the Extraordinary Form can bear some great fruit in one's contemplation of the solemnity with which the Sacred Mystery of the Holy Sacrifice is celebrated - as it has been for centuries. This in turn can truly bear greater fruit in one's experience in the Ordinary form (aka the Novus Ordo). For those older folks who grew up with the Latin Mass but "hated or disliked it" it would certainly behoove them to not attend the extraordinary form of mass if they would be led away from their belief in Jesus Christ (though I can't see how this would be so). Nevertheless, it is a "shame," or at least I feel it is "shame," for us as a community to withhold from our brothers and sisters, especially those of us who never grew up with it, the beauty of the extraordinary form (- which by the way is not to say there isn't a particular beauty in the Novus Ordo). Let us decide if we like it or not, don't decide for us! Don't deny us the opportunity to enter into the beautiful mystery of the Mass of the Ages!

Personally, I think that, when done with the reverance it deserves, the Novus Ordo can be quite a blessed and moving experience of prayer. Nevertheless, so many are the abuses and unaesthetic accoutrements that have been born from the unfortunate "spirit of rebellion" that accompanied the Novus Ordo that there is a great need to balance that spirit with the, as the Holy Father puts it, "hermeneutic of continutity." As a younger Catholic, who has been given the great opportunity and blessing to attend a Pontifical University in Rome (something, I might add, which I would never have been able to do prior to Vatican II), I felt "gyped" in not being allowed to experience the Extraordinary form while growing up.

Thankfully, Archbishop Chaput has been so gracious in allowing the Confraternity of St. Peter to operate a chapel in Littleton, where I have been able to attend this beautiful form of the mass. I wish it were more available, because if it weren't so far away, my family is agreed that we would attend more frequently - especially as my duties at St. Jude necessitate my remaining near by the parish on many Sundays.

WOW!

Take 18 minutes to watch this incredible video. You will definitely want to experience it all the way to the end. Why can we not have more priests like these spiritually beautiful monks? We need preists and laypeople who can truly take our Catholic Faith seriously. Too often we have allowed others to steamroll our own personal faith.

Listen to the sincerity and simplicity of these priests as they speak with this man who will not accept the love of Christ. Check out more information about them, and perhaps, just perhaps, if you are a young man, go and visit these incredible Christians who are living White Martyrdom! Visit their website at http://www.papastronsay.com/ If your are married, or unable to go, at least let's try and start buying their cheese!

A curious video for you

Looking around at the New Advent website I found a link to this lil' YouTube Gem. I think it is a video that every St. Jude Parishioner should see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m7mCAp7n-g

When you finish with that one, then check out this one too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTOxIFW1Mhk

in the meantime, I will be looking for something more substantial to write about.... like perhaps about the upcoming Rite of Welcome & Acceptance!

He's not just fiddlin' around...

I received this post from a friend this morning. It refers to the Papal Motu Proprio which has been given by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI which liberalizes the use of the Traditional Latin Mass. There are, unfortunately, those who still think that they can reject the direction of the Pope and still find themselves in union with Christ.

It is clear we must be humble before our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. Part of this humility is the gift of piety, which, Holy Mother Church teaches us, we recieve in the Sacrament of Baptism. Why is it that we Christians at times reject this gift? Why can we not accept that Jesus, the Son of God, has established a Catholic Church for the sake of our salvation. In our modern world so many people think that they can come up with their own "Protestantized-Catholic-Faith." Some think they can pick and choose what they will be obedient to... could you imagine Jesus picking and choosing what He would be obedient to in the Garden of Gethsemane? "Hmm... I will save Fr. Schaffer, but that Tomas guy... forget it!" OUCH! I am glad he didn't pick and choose, but accepted in obedience that God the Father has a plan and that part of that plan is for us to die to our own desire for the sake of finding our greatest joy in God the Father's plan.

In the article on WDTPRS above, he speaks about those bishops who continue to reject the express wishes of St. Peter's Successor. Now, either we accept the Catholic Church or we make it in our own image. We have seen, at Eden, what happens when we make the world in our own image. Perhaps, some of our beloved bishops should be reminded of this fact. How can any of us - lay, religious, priest, or bishops - presume to reject the living Tradition of the Church & the Pope who is entrusted with the guidance of that Tradition? We must consider the state of our own souls. This is the point of my reflection today. If we feel that we can take any aspect of the Catholic faith, established by Jesus Christ and maintained by the Holy Spirit of God in the plan of God the Father, then let us reconsider whether we truly believe in God or not. Either we are Christians who believe in Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church he established or we are not and we may as well give up on being Christians, because we will face being "spewed out of the mouth" of Jesus (Rev. 3:16) because of our lukewarmness!!! Its that serious!

I am reminded of what one of my professors told me at University, "It is the parish priest who will face the Gates of Hell for the parish... not you!" This has brought me both comfort and sadness in understanding this notion. Fr. Darrell has a great weight to bear in guiding St. Jude. He deserves our respect and our prayers, even if we don't agree with Him. We have a right to expect that he justly seeks to serve Christ in all of his decisions, but if he doesn't have that as His goal then he will have to answer to the Divine Judge for his actions. This is the reason we should pray for Him to receive grace in his leadership of this parish. He alone will face those gates of hell for what he did or did not do. But, even each one of us for our own lives and what we did or did not do. Let no one of us think that by rejecting certain teachings of the Church we can draw closer to Christ, for he himself did not give this example or this teaching. Rather, he said, "He who is not willing to take up his cross and follow me daily is not worthy of me (Lk 14:27)."

Coffee & Grace

At 11:00 today I have a meeting with a lady who would like to join the Church. I am so humbled to be a part of the RCIA process. Such a beautiful experience of the real movements and gentle call of the Fire of the Holy Spiri - grace.

Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. And I just found out that my beloved spiritual father from Rome is reading my blog! Hi, Father Paul! Its fun to have a blog.

What, you might ask, does that have to do with All Saints Day!? Well, it is in part because of coffee and grace. Fr. Paul Keller, O.P., whom one can see giving a beautiful homily on St. Francis here, is a brilliant priest and reminds me of the coffee I used to have in Rome. That coffee, much like Fr. Paul's pastoral care, gives your soul a serious charge and allows you to keep on going. This I hope for all parishioners of St. Jude that we all have the experience of the Catholic Church, at some point, as mine is of Fr. Paul. Now, not every person gets along with every priest, we are after all each fallen humans. Nevertheless, let us be patient, let us be open to what Christ has to give to each of us in the graces through each priest he calls.

It is in much the same way that we ought to approach the Feast of All Saints. We must realize that, in as much as we are all humans, we will not necessarily like every saint. Some are more inviting to us than others. Nevertheless, the Saints love us because we seek to serve Christ as they did. They realize that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, and like a good brother or sister, love us as family and pray for us as family. For us Catholics, our caffeine of family life is the grace of the Holy Spirit that binds us together. We are united in the Blood of Christ which has been poured over our souls sacramentally through the waters of baptism.

I love all Saints day. I love being Catholic. I, in some sense, love "missing" my dear Fr. Paul, because it reminds me that this world is not the end. We are striving to be united to our brothers and sisters in the Church Triumphant in Heaven. For only then will I be united with that dear friend of mine, and shall we each be freed from the temptations that constantly assail us. Let no one of us be stuck or stumble upon the things of this world, for this too - whatever it is - shall pass.

This is too good...;)

I can't help uploading a link to this little ditty I found while looking for a picture of a Roman Missal. I hope you enjoy the link and you learn to sing-a-long as I have! Check it out! I haven't had much time to post lately with the Carnival and trying to catch up afterwards. I look forward to writing more hopefully tomorrow. But for now enjoy!

Its on its way...

Some parents have been upset that I show every year at the Parent Orientation meeting for Elementary Religious Education a video showing the notion that Secular Humanism is infiltrating public education in America. Nevertheless, as I have mentioned at these same meetings, in the last year I have been confirmed in speaking up about this ill of our modern world. As I said before, one of the 5th graders last year told me how in his public school class he was reprimanded for writing "BC" meaning "Before Christ" - which is a statement of faith. He was told instead that he was to write "BCE" which means, ostensibly, "before common era." An innocuous statement of history. A second instance was that last year one of the parents mentioned that her husband was involved with the NEA (National Education Association) and they had on their 2006-07 agenda how they might incorporate lesbianism into the public schools!

At times I often wonder if these things could be real myself. But we should not be surprised that those who reject or ignore the teachings of Christ should be inadvertantly attacking all that our Catholic Faith holds dear. In fact, a very dear friend of mine recently posted on his blog an alarming story that he directed to me. Again, this seems like an outrageous story but I leave it to your own viewing: click here.

Could it be true? Would such lunacy pass for public school education? Certainly, in our modern society, as some call "post-Christian" society, it is clear that many people think they need to leave old notions of morality and personal boundries aside in the name of "humanistic education." Never more important has it been for us to become learned in the basics of our Christian Faith. When people have come to a point where such madness is becoming widespread and soon will arrive here in America -that is almost guaranteed.

The world is seeking Truth. We Catholics should know that it is Jesus Christ - but not just knowing about Him is enough, we need to have the intimate knowledge that He has come to give us in the teachings of our Catholic Faith and in the Holy Sacraments. We need to have that substantive relationship that allows us to reject all things to the contrary. You can think of it in the image of a friend, even your best friend: you would first trust your best friend (though in this image He died and rose from the dead for love of you) before believing the calumnies and lies that everyone else spoke about them. You would do you're very best to hear your friend's explanation and try to see their point of view. No less respect should we show to the Savior of all Mankind, Our Lord.

I love it when people email me or ask me questions, it is very edifying thing. It helps me to know that people are really seeking to know the Truth. I know Father and the Deacons all feel the same way. If you have questions, don't let them boil and simmer inside of you until someone offers you an answer that is misleading or, worse, false! "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all else will be given you besides," so says the Word of God who became man so that you would know God!

Perhaps one of the saddest movies ever...

One of things about our modern time is that people are able to show real life - unadulterated, as it were. As a Catholic educator, it is challenging to teach kids in our modern culture that explicitly ignores the one living and true Triune God. If you need proof that even amongst Christians, look no further than the youth of our day. There are in many schools and even in some s0-called Catholic Schools many teens who today aren't even challenged to consider the possiblity of the Catholic Faith. Check out this YouTube Video that one teenager put together as a school project, apparently. It appears that it was filmed at a Catholic School, or at least a Christian school of some sort, and this is what makes it very sad.

I love laboring here at St. Jude because I know the kids at this parish come from good families who earnestly want their kids to learn the life-giving Catholic Faith, passed on from the time of the Apostles. But how many kids are not even being challenged to live up to understanding the Catholic Faith. I laud Anthony Gallegos, our youth minister, for all of his efforts, especially since I have seen the good fruit of his program. I know that he is laboring with all of his effort for his program and for the youth of St. Jude to understand and take seriously the Catholic Faith.

Nevertheless, we should not delude ourselves into thinking that Anthony can conquer the world alone. Each of us, parishioners of St. Jude & Catholics worldwide, need to do our part to support Anthony and the youth in understanding the glory of the Holy Catholic Faith. We must know and defend against those many out there who are actively trying to tempt our kids into renouncing their faith, whether implicitly or explicitly. Let us step up our prayer life that God may pour out graces on those who would hear his call to fight the war against sin and temptation, those who desire to become saints, as Jesus has established the Holy Catholic Church for no less a reason.

A good witch?

Today, I was asked by a gentleman to have lunch. At the restaurant, his favorite apparently, I was introduced to a so-called witch. A lady who is in the practice of Wicca. For those who may not be aware, Wicca is the practice of pagan worship of nature. It is also, more commonly, referred to as witchcraft.

There are numerous things we should be aware of when it comes to witchcraft, if only to help others steer clear of this ancient deception of false gods and godessess. For more information I found this article: http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?recnum=1289 which I think does a pretty good job of dispelling some of the basics of this pagan religion.

However, I found her arguments very interesting. The gentleman who introduced me to the waitress told her I was an "expert in Catholicism." To which she immediately began to attack the notion of Catholicism because of the death of so-called witches during the Middle Ages. What I find interesting about this position is two things:

1) Arguements based on the acts of adherants to a religion do not make a religion false. Certainly, there are many witches, Protestants, Muslims, & Catholics, et al. who do horrible or just bad things in the name of their religion. However, this in no way makes the religion somehow false. This is precisely what Jesus meant when he said, "Judge not lest you be judged," I think. We do not know people or their reasons for why they do things. The deeper and more fundamental question is what does a religion propose and is that teaching itself correct or erroneous. This brings about a whole slew of further questions, which I won't go into here.

Suffice it to say, Jesus teaches us, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." For this reason, a teaching which no other religion proclaims with its accompanying proofs, we Christians firmly can hold that the Christian Faith itself is certainly true. Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and established a Church for all, a universal Church (or in Greek a "Catholic" Church).

2) This lady's argument about the Catholic Faith was all based on emotion. She continued to return to the idea that Catholics had killed women in the name of religion. And she tried to also bring in St. Joan of Arc as an example of how bad the Catholic Church is. It was very interesting, because I noticed if I were her I would have at least begun to explain how Wicca was the superior religion, not in arrogance, but because I would want my listener to understand how good it is so that he or she might join too. We call this in Christianity an "apology." Not an "apology" as we understand it in English, which declares our sorrow for an action done, rather an apology in the Greek sense of an "apologia", that is a reason for why I believe what I do. This kind of apology aims at explaining that what I believe is sensible and intelligible.

At this restaurant, though it was painful not to, it would have been inappropriate to engage in a discussion of this because I was there with the gentleman who had invited me, and we were already engaged in a discussion, when this lady was introduced. For me this was an example of prudence, I had to choose which battle "to fight." It was clear this woman had a lot of issues with the Catholic Faith and no 2-minute conversation would clear anything up. Please pray for her, as I will.

Nevertheless, it was interesting that one other argument she tried to put forward was that 7 of the witches in her group, which I presume she was referring to her "coven", are former Catholics. As I said to her, it is not at all surprising since if we misunderstand the Catholic Faith then it is very easy to reject it outright. If we have half-truths about what it means to be Catholics, it is very easy to think one is wisely rejecting the "silly" Catholic Faith. But if one has the opportunity to fully consider what it means to be a Catholic then it can change our lives.

It is incumbent on each of us, as Catholics, to learn our faith well. The world is dying for the answers that Jesus provides in the Catholic Faith. For no other faith is so clear and so challenging as to ask us to "take up our cross, and follow [Jesus] daily." Yes, the Catholic Faith is challenging because we have to "die", so to speak, to our selfish way of thinking, and learn to live the all-encompassing love that God himself asks of us. BUT, we are not left to our own devices to do this! This is the whole purpose of the Eucharist - really of Jesus! God comes to us to teach us and give us the grace to overcome ourselves and to live a life filled with His love for humanity. But this means that we must first accept that gift! Many people have various reasons for why they reject the Catholic Church. If Catholics and Christians are to live the Christian Faith fully, then we must learn to live for Christ; we must be able to say, with St. Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Col 1:13)."

By the way, the picture at top is a picture of St. Boniface taking a hatchet to a tree which the people believed was where their God, Thor, lived. St. Boniface famously said, "Where is your god now?" as he chopped the tree down! The story behind it is here!

So...

Any thoughts on who to vote for next year? I would be interested to know who people at St. Jude are voting for and why?