REBLOG: Communion: On The Tongue Or “Magic Trick”?

I have already explained in my post about the Catholic Onion that when the bishop acts correctly, his priests feel encouraged in going the right way even if this may result unpopular and conversely, if the Bishop doesn’t care for properly transmitted Catholic values this mentality will end up informing the behaviour of many of the priests in his diocese.

A beautiful example here, courtesy of Father Z.

You will remember Bishop Olmsted, the rather decisive bishop who recently excommunicated Sister Margaret McBride and deprived the Hospital of St. Joseph of the right to call itself “Catholic”.

It will now please you to read that when a good example is given from the top, it becomes both easier and more easily acceptable for the priests of the diocese to follow the lead and take the necessary steps towards the recovery of reverent liturgical customs. In Bishop Olmsted’s diocese itself, Fr John Lankeit is actively working towards a gradual elimination of communion in the hand.

His words are sincere and alarming: “What I witness troubles me. And I’m not alone” writes Fr Lankeit. You immediately understand that here is one not likely to throw M&Ms at the faithful during Mass.

Fr Lankeit puts the extent of the problem in clear terms:

While my main objective in encouraging reception on the tongue is to deepen appreciation for the Eucharist, I also have a pastoral responsibility to eliminate abuses common to receiving in the hand.

Notice here the double whammy: a) reception on the tongue is the best way in itself; b) reception in the hand causes abuses.

It follows a list of examples, seen “all too frequently”, which I hope will not disturb your sleep:

• Blessing oneself with the host before consuming it. (The act of blessing with the Eucharist is called “Benediction” and is reserved to clergy).

• Receiving the host in the palm of the hand, contorting that same hand until the host is controlled by the fingers, then consuming it (resembling a one-handed “watch-the-coin-disappear” magic trick)

• Popping the host into the mouth like a piece of popcorn.

• Attempting to receive with only one hand.

• Attempting to receive with other items in the hands, like a dirty Kleenex or a Rosary.

• Receiving the host with dirty hands.

• Receiving the host, closing the hand around it, then letting the hand fall to the side (as if carrying a suitcase) while walking away and/or blessing oneself with the other hand.

• Walking away without consuming the host.

• Giving the host to someone else after receiving…yes, it happens!

Some of these I had already imagined; others go beyond my ability to figure out how they happen (the “magic trick”, say); other still can only be defined as astonishing (the dirty hands, the rosary, the kleenex, the “blessing oneself” (??) and the walking away with the host as if it were a piece of luggage).

I am certainly wrong here, but I can’t avoid always seeing in the receiving on the hand an element of “I am the priest of myself” that, at some level, must be buried within the consciousness of the communicant. I just can’t avoid seeing the placing of the communion wafer on the tongue as a priestly function and besides, how one can come to the idea of receiving God the same way as he eats bread and salami is just beyond my understanding.

Father Lankeit doesn’t express himself in such terms of course, but one can clearly see the liturgical zeal and sincere desire to lead his parishioners to better understand the importance of Communion and of acting accordingly. He writes about this four weeks in a row. This is another who, like his Bishop, will be heard. More like him and his Bishop and the beauty and reverence of the Mass will be speedily restored everywhere.

Mundabor

Fantasy Journalism

Sometimes I think professional journalists have their boss telling them “give me something new within 4pm!”, and that's that; then it is the poor devils' job to deliver some rubbish with pretence of originality within the given time, or else…

I can, frankly, not find many other reasons why a piece would be published like the one to be found in the Catholic Herald, signed by one Jose Maria Poirier about the Pope who “enters the fray” but, erm, also exits it.

Mr Poirier has figured everything out, and one can only envy his sureness of touch whilst the rest of us are rather in the dark as to what kind of Papacy we are going to get.

After the usual introduction, the author informs us the fact the Pope “addressed himself to Rome” (that was a surprise, I must say…) “might also appear to be an ecumenical gesture that embraces the Anglican, Lutheran and even Orthodox faiths”. What? How does the one lead to the other? Besides, are not the Orthodox far nearer to us (theologically,liturgically, and in matters of Faith and Morals) than the Lutherans and, good Lord, the Anglicans? If the Pope sneezes, will this be taken to signify an ecumenical gesture that embraces the Wiccans?

After more blabla (” a change that is as impossible as it is necessary”: logic clearly isn't the author's forte, but hey, it sounds daring) we are told about the Pope's “diplomacy across the religions”, and we know diplomacy is the new evangelisation. Enter Abraham Skorka, widely reported on the net as a vocal supporter of “homosexual unions”, and together with whom the Pontiff authored a book. How bloody ecumenical, and how little evangelical. Skorka is also on record with saying the new Pontiff will “search the Truth”, which says you a lot about the intellectual depth of the man.

But the most interesting part hasn't arrived yet. Apparently, the Church now has a “central problem: how to combine centuries-old tradition with the 2013 generation and current cultural sensitivities”. It may seem the usual peace and love waffle, but it isn't: “combine” here clearly means “make compromises with”, “make people happy”, “be popular and attractive”. This Church changes, “evolves”, “becomes”.

Do you want proof? We are informed that the Church seems “out of touch” and “unattractive”, and someone should tell the man the Church is supposed to be so, then if you are “in touch” and “attractive” for the world you are most certainly doing things the wrong way. But hey, the man clearly lives in the Seventies, so don't wake him up.

Dulcis in fundo, the prophecy. After telling us pretty much exactly what the Pope will do and how, the man proceeds to tell us it wouldn't be too bold to presume Pope Francis will, “after a few years”, resign!

The poor Pontiff almost hasn't started, and the conciliarist troops already dream of the CoE Pope: a stint at the top, and then please be considerate and make place for someone else, so we can continue to become more “attractive” and “in touch” with the next one, and in tune with the “2018 generation”.

Heavens, if these are his friends, Pope Francis certainly does not need enemies.

Mundabor

 

Be Brave

The morning after, and conservative Catholics are trying to come to terms with what has happened. I have been around on the Internet, and I see a despondency almost pleased of itself. “We are doomed!”; “Lord, have mercy!” and similar expressions are very easy to be found. Do you want my take?

Get a grip.

The world has not ended, and it is not as if Schoenborn or Meisner had been made Pope. This Pope might be bad or very bad as the case may be (I have almost abandoned hope that he might be only mildly bad, though you never know), but he will not be the undoing of anything, least of all our Holy Mother Church.

The Church who survived Liberius and Benedict IX, John XXII and Alexander VI, Leo X and Paul VI will also survive Francis, no matter how bad or how long his pontificate. Countless souls may be lost, but we must see in this a deserved punishment for the folly of the past 50 years, a folly possibly far away from being terminated.

In the end, I dare to say my own salvation and the salvation of the ones I love is a more pressing need to me than the Cardinals electing the right Pope. Everyone reading this blog is either properly instructed himself or on its way to be it; perhaps on his way to conversion to the Faith, or to the Only Church. This is what counts most in our individual lives.

Be brave. Continue what you are doing. Try to pray more, or better, or both. Nurture yourself from the endless resources of traditional Catholicism now luckily available on the Internet, particularly for those able to read in English. No Pope Francis will ever be able to block your way to salvation, or to change a iota in the way you interact with your loved ones.

The Church – and the life of all of us – is a rich tapestry whose beauty is made of contrast. The folly of the past caused a re-awakening in so many souls; even out of a great tragedy like Vatican II, God can make good fruits. You, my dear reader, are probably one of them.

At my age, I must accept the possibility that I will die without seeing the return to liturgical and pastoral (real, not fake) sanity. So be it, then. I will endeavour to walk in faith all the days the Lord has allotted to me, knowing that if I manage to escape the worst – which I do hope I will – the problems of the Church will have been for me an incentive to think, and do, better; and the day I die, I hope to be able, wretched sinner as I am, to at least say the words: tradidi quod et accepi.

Strive to learn more. Take refuge in the wisdom of the ages. Resolve to improve your knowledge of sound Catholicism as the world around you drowns in easy sound bites who could have been said by the Pope, or John Lennon, or Bono. Never lose hope, and never lose faith.

Don’t despair. Pray more. Be brave.

Mundabor

Easy Slogans

Today marks the beginning of the Conclave, and the one or other Cardinal still manages, through friendly journalists, to get his name mentioned in the press, together with the one or other easy slogan making his name look so beautiful.

This morning, two of them have attracted my still sleepy attention: the Church is, says one Cardinal, supposed to bring “joy” to the world. If you ask another, the Church must “accompany” it.

This is the kind of Tofu Catholicism with which two generations of unfortunate faithful have now been fed. It tastes of nothing, but it is fashionable, and apparently considered healthier than the traditional fare.

Now, I have nothing against joy. If David Cameron were to be ousted today, I would experience a heavy dose of it. I also like Hope as a theological virtue, and try to practice it as good as I can. But when Catholicism – nay; the role itself of the Church – is reduced to “joy” something is going very, very wrong.

Tofu Catholicism does not confront one with the harsh realities of life, but rather sweeps the unpleasant news under the carpet or, if we want to remain by the culinary metaphor, neglects the possibility of death out of lack of vitamins. “Joy” becomes, for the clergy and the laity of the V II generation, an easy escapism which refuses to even consider the extremely harsh, but extremely real, threat of Hell. This Catholicism is like a Brothers Grimm's tale where the wolf is automatically neutralised, grandma is taken out of his belly amidst the applause of the crowds, and the happy end is simply taken for granted whilst everyone feels so good and holy. Whatever this is, this is not Catholicism. Let's hope we are spared a Pope of the “joyous” type.

The other easy slogan is the “accompanying”. How beautifully ambiguous! How wonderfully uncommitted! One can “accompany” pretty much anyone on this planet without doing the least for their salvation. One can “accompany” them through their divorcing and remarrying, their contracepting, their morning-after-pill taking, their “gay friends” boasting, without ever having to say one word about the grave dangers their walk leads into. Still, how good it sounds. Gentle. Caring. Full of understanding.

It is a clear indication of the V II clergyman that he tries not to mention Christ. If he does, he'll present a kindergarten version of Him, lest the sheep be scared. He'll rather “accompany” them, babbling tofu-tasting waffle about “joy”, and “accompanying” them all the way to hell.

Today marks the beginning of the Conclave.

O Lord, please give us a strong Pope.

Mundabor

 

The Strength Of A Pope

Not a Pope, for sure... Comrade Ed Milliband

God forbid, this Conclave might – say some – be a long one. I already see the headline of the secular rubbish press, “Church divided” and the like. If we still don't have a new Pope come Wednesday evening, be assured the usual falsehoods will be spread again, and the new Pope will be described as a “lame duck” before even talking of sexual scandals…

Now, it might be good if you would remind your friends, colleagues and acquaintances that the duration of a Conclave is nothing to do with the strength or authority of the Papacy that follows it.

Pope Ratzinger was elected rather fast, but not even his most fanatical supporters would call his a strong Papacy. St. Pius X, on the other hand, was elected after a rather prolonged conclave, but not even his worst enemies would have denied his was a very strong Papacy.

The Press must write something, because newspapers must be sold every day. This morning I have read an article that managed to give chances to 22 Cardinals, as if its author were terrified at the thought of not having the name of the chosen one mentioned in the article; therefore, his idea of avoiding it was to make the article useless.

(As we are there, I'd like to know how big parties can stage elaborate election procedures going on for weeks before electing their boss, but a Pope must be found in a handful of ballots…).

We should, however, not be influenced by the press, and try to avoid as far as we can that the uninformed, the simple and the outright stupid parrot the rubbish they see on TV.

A long Conclave may well produce a strong Pope because a Pope is not like a party leader, who is weakened if he elected with a tiny majority or after a prolonged process. Ed Milliband made it with a very slim majority, and everyone knew he could be easily ousted and was basically on probation (still is, I'd say). The Pope must not win general elections, cannot be ousted, does not need the approval of the party basis and can, if he so wishes, even ignore internal opposition. Once he is Pope, he is in charge exactly in the same way whether it took three or eighty-tree ballots to elect him.

Please let us be fast in pointing out to this in the office etc. should the need arise. If we are going towards a long conclave, we should at least fight the prejudice with energy.

Mundabor

Guffawbile?

 

 

 

 

 

Conclave: Meet Cardinal Baddy

——————-

Good morning, dearest ones. I am Cardinal Baddy, but you can simply call me “baddy”. I am very modern and in touch with the times, you know…

Let me tell you first that I am a bad cardinal. My priests do what they please, some are homosexual, some have a mistress, many don’t believe in God, Mass is generally an irreverent mess. But I am very popular with the press, and a darling among the rich and powerful; I lead a pampered, privileged life, so why should I care; I don’t believe in God anyway…

I will soon be locked in the Sistine Chapel, so before I do let me tell you what my plans are.

My buddies and I want, at all costs, avoid a Pope really intentioned to be Pope. One of those chaps believing they can tell us what to do, and the like. This would be disastrous. Not only would it mean the end of my tranquil life, but it could even mean the end of my privileges. If the new chap started to look at the state of my archdiocese, I could end up as Nuncio in some country plagued by flies in no time! I have also, ahem, covered for one or two of my buddies who had a weakness for young boys; a friend in need, and all that. In retrospect, this was not a good move. It must never come out.

No, what my friends and I (plenty of us in the Conclave) need is someone who leaves us alone, and allows the party to go on undisturbed. A weak, harmless, peaceful guy, who does not even understand what is going on. We won’t say it openly, of course. We will push for a “pastoral” man, a man able to “connect”, and bring to the world the “gentleness” of the Church. In short, a puppet.

We would love to have one from the Third World; erm, excuse me: a developing country, then they are the most usable puppets. South America doesn’t exactly fit, but will do admirably anyway. Either way, we’d love some socialism and some anti-capitalist rhetoric. Very popular, keeps you at peace with populist governments and it is just the ticket at my cocktail parties.

Ideally, he should be a very prayerful man. Gentle, kind. The one the newspapers would love to have on the first page. Also, no managerial experience, and a history of letting other people do what they want. We need a poster boy, not a leader.

When we have persuaded the planet the Church has chosen a holy man of God, we will be able to get to work seriously. Our men in the Vatican will have him trained in no time, because not knowing the machinery of the Vatican – or any machinery, comes to that – he will follow whatever they “suggest” with great docility. They will stress with him how complex and multi-faceted the Church is; the need to leave great autonomy to the local bishops; the importance and modernity of a non-authoritative style; the necessity to be “inclusive”.

We will, in the meantime, continue to arrange matters our own way. We will allude to “reforms” whenever we think we need a popularity boost; we will talk endlessly of women, peace, and social justice; we’ll give the lapsed, contracepting, divorcing, remarrying, buggering Catholics to understand we’d love to be on their side, but alas, the duties of the office… They can continue to pay, though, because they know our hearts are on their side…

We will also push for a hard stance towards traditionalists, particularly the SSPX, because they are of the greatest danger to us. We’ll try to get rid of Summorum Pontificum if we can, or continue to ignore it if we must, then these conservatives will be our undoing if we allow them to continue to grow undisturbed.

So, I hope I have explained my objective: a weak, popular, prayerful man; harmless with us, but popular with the masses; not too smart, or he will see through our little game; clueless, and ready to be guided by our men in all important matters; from a far away and poor country, so we can play the populist card; flexible with words, so we can arrange the needs of the spenders without becoming openly heretical.

Yes, the Church in the West will continue to shrink; but frankly, who cares? Do I believe in God, that I should be worried about the next centuries? When I’m gone, I’m gone, but as long as I am here I want to make the most of it. If must be, I’ll close some churches, then some more. I’ll die a Cardinal Archbishop anyway.

Awfully sorry now, I must make the last preparations.

Wish us good luck.

————-

Mundabor

Washington Post Fears Papal Conspiracy

I am seriously beginning to think liberal journalist must pass an idiocy exam before being considered for the job, so that they match the IQ of their readers.

The “Washington Post” informs us there are fears Pope Emeritus Benedict might, after the election of the new Pope, influence his successor. Even the ghost of rivalries and divided loyalties is mentioned, with the excuse the Vatican excludes it. The circumstance Bishop Gaenswein will “work for both” is also found a rather disquieting element.

The Washington Post therefore instructs his readers about the following:

1) The Pope has resigned in order to influence his successor. His objective is, of course, that the new Pope does what he would be doing. That he would be doing If he were Pope, that is…. Aaarrgghhh!!!

2) It is clear to everyone with some perception now (though not to the WaPo readers, obviously) that the Pope resigned because he felt he could not be the Pope whom the Church now needs. After which, he would proceed to exert on his successor a strength of character and steely determination he never had in all his previous years. As they say, life begins at 86…

3) Catholics being a bunch of anarchists always ready to follow whomever wears a white tunic, there is a clear danger of division: cue the armoured troops of the “Benedictites”, attacking the Vatican at the cry “Papacy or death”. I can picture the former Pontiff surveying the troops, proudly riding his white purebread, his armour glittering in the Roman sun…

4) The new Pope can’t decide who his aides will be. Gaenswein is on the menu, and Gaenswein will have to be. The same as with a Mother-in-law, you get the whole package and can’t decide to deselect this or that from the, erm, list of standard equipment.

5) Gaenswein is a very powerful man. You get Gaenswein (which you must; see point 4) and you’re screwed. Pope Emeritus and he himself will cast a long shadow over your papacy. There’s no escape. You certainly can’t have these things as you like. Who do you think you are, the Pope?!

Seriously, those who like the WaPo should have their IQ measured. Wait…

On reflection, perhaps better not…

Mundabor

Communion: On The Tongue Or “Magic Trick”?

Princess Grace receiving on the tongue.

I have already explained in my post about the Catholic Onion that when the bishop acts correctly, his priests feel encouraged in going the right way even if this may result unpopular and conversely, if the Bishop doesn’t care for properly transmitted Catholic values this mentality will end up informing the behaviour of many of the priests in his diocese.

A beautiful example here, courtesy of Father Z.

You will remember Bishop Olmsted, the rather decisive bishop who recently excommunicated Sister Margaret McBride and deprived the Hospital of St. Joseph of the right to call itself “Catholic”.

It will now please you to read that when a good example is given from the top, it becomes both easier and more easily acceptable for the priests of the diocese to follow the lead and take the necessary steps towards the recovery of reverent liturgical customs. In Bishop Olmsted’s diocese itself, Fr John Lankeit is actively working towards a gradual elimination of communion in the hand.

His words are sincere and alarming: “What I witness troubles me. And I’m not alone” writes Fr Lankeit. You immediately understand that here is one not likely to throw M&Ms at the faithful during Mass.
Fr Lankeit puts the extent of the problem in clear terms:

While my main objective in encouraging reception on the tongue is to deepen appreciation for the Eucharist, I also have a pastoral responsibility to eliminate abuses common to receiving in the hand.

Notice here the double whammy: a) reception on the tongue is the best way in itself; b) reception in the hand causes abuses.

It follows a list of examples, seen “all too frequently”, which I hope will not disturb your sleep:

• Blessing oneself with the host before consuming it. (The act of blessing with the Eucharist is called “Benediction” and is reserved to clergy).
• Receiving the host in the palm of the hand, contorting that same hand until the host is controlled by the fingers, then consuming it (resembling a one-handed “watch-the-coin-disappear” magic trick)
• Popping the host into the mouth like a piece of popcorn.
• Attempting to receive with only one hand.
• Attempting to receive with other items in the hands, like a dirty Kleenex or a Rosary.
• Receiving the host with dirty hands.
• Receiving the host, closing the hand around it, then letting the hand fall to the side (as if carrying a suitcase) while walking away and/or blessing oneself with the other hand.
• Walking away without consuming the host.
• Giving the host to someone else after receiving…yes, it happens!

Some of these I had already imagined; others go beyond my ability to figure out how they happen (the “magic trick”, say); other still can only be defined as astonishing (the dirty hands, the rosary, the kleenex, the “blessing oneself” (??) and the walking away with the host as if it were a piece of luggage).

I am certainly wrong here, but I can’t avoid always seeing in the receiving on the hand an element of “I am the priest of myself” that, at some level, must be buried within the consciousness of the communicant. I just can’t avoid seeing the placing of the communion wafer on the tongue as a priestly function and besides, how one can come to the idea of receiving God the same way as he eats bread and salami is just beyond my understanding.

Father Lankeit doesn’t express himself in such terms of course, but one can clearly see the liturgical zeal and sincere desire to lead his parishioners to better understand the importance of Communion and of acting accordingly. He writes about this four weeks in a row. This is another who, like his Bishop, will be heard. More like him and his Bishop and the beauty and reverence of the Mass will be speedily restored everywhere.

Mundabor

Thiberville: The Scandal Goes On

Bishop Nourrichard. No, really.

Some of you will have heard of the little parish in Normandy, France; a small village with a Catholic church blessed with a vibrant Catholic community led by a brave, authentically Catholic priest, loyal to the Pontiff and to Summorum Pontificum. The Abbe’ Michel celebrates the Tridentine Mass, and his undiluted Catholic message has great success; ergo, he must be removed lest the bankruptcy of the post V-II ideology be exposed in front of the french Catholic world.

Therefore, the rainbow-clothed, sixty-eighter Bishop Nourrichard ( a man who has no problems with assisting to so-called women’s ordination, but has a problem with the Tridentine Mass) removes the priest from the church (I do not know the details, there might have been some skirmish; this is not uncommon and is actually the way you do such things as a liberal bishop) and has the effrontery of presenting himself in Thiberville to announce the removal.

The small community openly confronts the bishop in a way certainly most inappropriate in front of the Tabernacle, but that shows all the love and support of this authentically Catholic community for their rare priest. The bishop is booed and the villagers openly show who, for them, is the real Catholic; the videos go around the world.

The skirmish continues with the Abbe Michel refusing to vacate church and community pending the legal controversy.

One year later, the decision has come and it is, as largely expected, in favour of the rainbow-clothed, sixty-eighter, disgraceful Bishop Nourrichard.

Let me say that I assume that the Prelatura Apostolica was probably not in a position to decide otherwise and that my anger is not directed at them. This was probably a decision about competence, not opportunity; about the formal right to decide, not the factual quality of the decision. I do not think that many had expected a different outcome. Still, this decision hurts because, once again, it presents in front of our eyes a disgraceful bishop working against authentic Catholicism and getting away with it.

Bishop Nourrichard has now successfully removed this living testimony of his own failure from his diocese. Unfortunately for him, he has not become a bit less of a disgrace for that. This man is a scandal and a shame far beyond his choice of shirts.

Nourrichard was appointed to Evreux by Pope Benedict. If the Holy Father chooses jokes like this man as bishops, how can he hope that his reform will go on at more than snail pace? This is another clear sign that Pope Benedict’s appointment are, generally speaking, too far on the accommodating side and that this love of gradualism meant to appease the local hierarchies and tambourine mafias continues to damage the authentically Catholic faithful, and will do so for many years to come.

I am eager to get more information about this and will, in case, report again in the future. I’d love to know what is the next destination of the Abbe’ Michel, what will the local community do (vote with their feet and desert the church en masse, very likely) and whether there will be further developments.

A good development would be the removal of Bishop Nourrichard and his transfer – without the control of a diocese – to some very cold, very hot, or mosquito-plagued place, where he might perhaps even have ample opportunity to show off his striking shirts. As for the good Abbe’, I wonder whether he will not follow the example of the excellent priest about whom I have blogged yesterday and join the home of serious Catholicism in France: the Society of St. Pius X.

Mundabor

Bishop Fellay’s reaction to Bishop Williamson and the future of the NO

The current mood within the SSPX

Gun powder smell at the SSPX after the controversial newsletter of Bishop Williamson reported here

The Remnant has an exclusive interview with Bishop Fellay, interesting under several profiles. First of all, Bishop Fellay denies having knowledge of a motu proprio as described by Williamson. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t one in the offing of course and Bishop Williamson’s sources could simply be better informed; still, one doesn’t find it very probable that Bishop Fellay would be kept in the dark whilst he is leading the talks with the Vatican. Bishop Fellay’s dismissal of the rumour as “gossip” shows that he is pretty confident that he is not out of the loop.

Secondly, Bishop Fellay issues a clear advice to Bishop Williamson to, well, mind his own business and not intervene in such a way in matters not concerning him in his duties as SSPX Bishop. Of course Williamson would say that it is his own business, but you get the drift.

Thirdly, Bishop Fellay says that the talks are going “smoothly and according to plan”. One would like to know a bit more about that, though understandably we are not allowed to get further details on the matter. On the other hand, this obviously diplomatic statement would have been issued even if the negotiations were not going absolutely anywhere, so take it with a pinch if salt….

From the Remnant article further interesting elements emerge; I will mention them only briefly.

1) The SSPX needs a new seminary. Vocations continue to be massive, money is clearly not a pressing problem.

2) The SSPX is talking to various Church authorities in the US to sound the possibility of acquiring one of their own unused structures or land (say: a now-closed seminary, or some land they own). It would appear that in the past the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) has encountered refusals to sell property to them because of their “ideological” stance, and besides being in full communion the FSSP are certainly “moderate” compared to the SSPX. I suppose that for many Bishops if you are in favour of the Tridentine Mass you are anathema anyway.

3) Dulcis in fundo: Bishop Fellay confirmed that when Summorum Pontificum was issued, an unnamed “high-ranking prelate” gave the Novus Ordo not more than another 20-25 years. Whilst one doesn’t know how high the prelate ranks, it is highly indicative that he said so to Fellay, clearly sending the message that as soon as the ’68ers have gone the Novus Ordo will follow them rather fast. As we all know that lex orandi, lex credendi the idea that Vatican II ideology may survive after the Novus Ordo has gone is rather naive.

Better days ahead.

Mundabor

Confession times and the duty of the Priest

He had his priorities right.

Father Zuhlsdorf has an interesting entry about the issue of lacking, or strange, confession times. One learns there interesting things (thankfully never happened to me, not even in liberal churches) like the existence of churches where confession time is scheduled for 30 minutes before beginning of the mass, with the same priest having to do both and managing to show up late. One truly wonders whether for some priests sacraments are just a bothersome task they have to pretend to do in order to stay in employment.

This issue is in my eyes a very apposite one to say two words about the priest’s duties. If a parishioner would ask the priest why he doesn’t have longer/better organised/ more convenient confession times, many priests would probably answer that this is not possible, because they have many other things to do.
Exactly this is the issue: that nowadays many priests’ priorities are upside down. It is not confession having to adapt to the social activities of the priest, but his social work having to bow to his more important duties. Not only saying Mass, but caring for proper administration of the sacraments and for scrupulous adherence to one’s duty of reciting the divine office come before every “social” activity, because they are what the priest is there for in the first place.

I wonder how many priests nowadays neglect their obligation to recite the divine office and how many of them try to justify themselves saying that they fulfil their priestly duties by caring for their parishioners. But when a priest starts to downplay his obligation to recite the holy office it is no surprise that he will, in time, start to downplay his obligation to hear confession; if he starts downplaying confession it is no surprise that he will, in time, start to think that he can “experiment” with the Mass; if he starts detaching himself from the sacraments it is no suprise that he will slowly but surely drift toward a secular outlook on this world, in which his service towards those who suffer comes before his duties to God. He will probably say to himself that to help those who suffer is to serve God, but this is exactly the wrong perspective that has led so many people out of the churches. God always comes first, all the rest comes as a result of one’s (and particularly: a priest’s) service to God. Charity is first of all love of God, and love of neighbour because he is God’s creature.

The Church of the past was not neglecting the poor and those who suffered, but she had Her priorities right.

Mundabor