IT IS TO LAUGH! THE POST VATICAN II MASS HAS THE SAME REVERENCE AS THE PRE-VATICAN II MASS…SO SAYS CARDINAL ROCHE—HE NEEDS TO PUT IS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH IS AND MAKE IT SO!

 

From the National Catholic Reporter:

In a joint interview with NCR and the UK's The Tablet magazine on Aug. 27, Roche said he was unfamiliar with LaBeouf and the news of his conversion, but said that when it comes to high-profile Latin Mass supporters who publicly extol it as a superior form of liturgy, he hopes they will encounter the same reverence in the liturgy's ordinary form (or Novus Ordo), which has been continually updated since the Second Vatican Council, which took place 1962-1965.

'The Mass should be celebrated with great dignity.'
— Cardinal Arthur Roche

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"The Mass should be celebrated with great dignity," Roche said. "It isn't just something, a trait that belongs to the missal of 1962. It belongs to the reform."

My astute and well reasoned comments:

What planet does Cardinal Roche live upon? He knows full well how horrible the Modern Missal is celebrated by any number of bishops, priests, dioceses and parishes. It is horrendous in some cases and reverence is completely lacking as reverence as been redefined and no where near the kind of proper reverence there is the the older Roman Missal. 

Let’s fix that Cardinal Roche. Put your money where your mouth is!

1. The Modern Missal’s celebration seldom follows its skimpy rubrics.

2. The priest overwhelms the Modern Missal with his quirky personality, ad libbing, changing words and make it up as you go rubrics and attempts at vain reverence.

3. The Introductory Rite with its many options is an absolute mess and lends itself to banal and secular greetings and comments often lasting too long in an attempt to be folksy and welcoming.

4. Much of the modern music/hymnody is horrible

5. The propers are not mandated in a spoken or sung Mass and the distinctions between the two are so blurred as to be nonsensical

6. Gregorian Chanting of the propers is not mandated and banal or even good hymns can replace it

7. The Ordinariate’s Divine Worship, the Missal is a far better Missal than the current Latin Rite Missal with its beefed up rubrics, revision of the Calendar to make it more traditional and the formatting of the Missal to include the Traditional format of the Introit, Offertory and Communion antiphons. The current Latin Rite Missal omits altogether the Offertory Antiphon

8. Kneeling for Holy Communion is not mandated and discouraged and the manner of receiving and distributing Holy Communion is horrendous. 

All of these problems could be fixed and should be Cardinal Roche!!!!! If the 1962 Roman Missal can be abandoned, a new Roman Missal, a reform in continuity one, can take the place of the current Modern Missal, which, indeed, should be abandoned.

WHAT I DISCOVERED IN THE FOG OF MY NETFLIX ADDICTION AND BINGE WATCHING

 As you know, I have never had a streaming service to enhance my television watching. And apart from Wheel of Fortune, some Turner Movie Classic movies and Fox and Friends, I had/have no favorite shows. But Netflix has changed all of that and yes, I need Streaming Services Anonymous to assist me to break the vicious cycle of binging when my retirement weather isn’t good and it rains constantly. 

As you know I binged on Ozark. I particularly like Jason Bateman who stars in it. 

After binge watching that entire series, I am now binge watching Arrested Development, staring Jason Bateman. 

The only actor in common with the two shows is Jason, AD filmed long before Ozark. 

However, they are the same shows! One is a dry comedy, my favorite and the other, a show about family life, Ozark, is a dark, dark, dark crime show about Jason’s money laundering and working for a cartel family.

Exactly the same, except one makes you laugh and the other cringe. The cringeworthy one, though, does throw in some very dry humor, but you have to like dry humor to know it when you see and hear it. I do!

And the one that makes you laugh, really makes you laugh, especially if you like dry humor…

I LIKE IT; I LIKE IT, I LIKE IT; BUT…..

 This is  Our Lady of Lourdes, De Pere Wisconsin. I like it as noted above. It is monastic, thus traditional. It reminds me of my seminary chapel in Baltimore. 

I am not sure I like the ambo’s placement though, but not sure where else to place it. And where have they laid our Sacramental Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament’s tabernacle? Not sure where that could go unless behind the ambo and then, well, that might be three in a row? 

But overall, I like it, but the first row of pews need a modesty skirt, less anyone accuse the priest of voyeurism during the celebration of the Mass! Of course, it appears that these parishioners know this and thus don’t sit on the first pew but rather use it as the modest skirt!

As you can tell, the above photo is a duplicate of my seminary chapel, which, by the way, except for the out of place free standing altar, was never renovated after Vatican II. It is as it always was, except for the free standing altar and the ambo in the middle of the aisle facing the altar:

VATICAN INCOHERENCE AND CONFUSION: THE GOD OF SURPRISES….

 

‘Taken Out of Context’: Pontifical Academy for Life Defends Archbishop Paglia’s Remarks on Abortion Law

The academy’s president said on Italian television, ‘I believe that at this point Law 194 is a pillar of our society.’ The Pontifical Academy for Life’s spokesman said afterward that the word ‘pillar’ had been taken out of context.

AN INCREDIBLY STUPID ANSWER TO A SMART QUESTION…

Crux interviewed Cardinal Roche and His new Eminence gives a stupid answer to a smart question. I am glad that Ms. Allen asked this question, because of all the papal talk about dialogue and bridge building really rings hollow when it comes to a small minority of lay and clerical Catholics who want the ability to have what two great popes allowed, the 1962 Roman Missal and other sacramental celebrations associated with that era of the Church. 

Two popes graciously allowed these celebrations and bishops, clergy and laity ran with the ball given to them only to have a curmudgeon cancel that culture and permission and without dialogue. 

So, Miss Allen, a very good question, a smart one, at that, only to receive a bad answer from the new Cardinal, a stupid answer at that! 

Who has polarized the traditional Mass community? Who is polarizing the Church? The one doing it and those who support him, blame the victims rather than the catalyst for it. This is typical in the abuse history of the Church. 

Pope Francis could have easily modulated the celebration of the older liturgical books in various minority communities challenging them to accept Vatican II as it is written and encouraging them to be less strident in expecting the older books to eclipse the new Tradition of the modern liturgical “traditions” which definitely need to be reformed too as Pope Emeritus Benedict indicated. 

Canceling Pope Saint John Paul II’s and Benedict’s liturgical directions is a scandal, pure and simple and causes the disunity we now see as well as anger:

I have a question that might be a little uncomfortable, but it should be asked. You mentioned unity and bridge-building. How does this bridge-building apply to those who are perhaps wounded by the restrictions of the Traditional Latin Mass?

Well, there isn’t too much of a restriction. The Latin Tridentine Mass, or the Mass from the 1962 missal, is still available. But you know, you touch this area, and everyone starts screaming. That should tell us something straight away. What is this, that’s almost becoming hysterical? Because the Church has decreed at its highest level of legislation, which is a council, an ecumenical council, it has decreed that the liturgy should be reformed, reformed for the present day so that it actually speaks as a vehicle of evangelization, as well as being, most importantly, the center of our worship of God, as a community, in charity.

It’s important to get the fundamental things right first, before they’re politicized, and I think there’s a lot of politicizing of this issue, which is unworthy, really.

Is it possible to build-bridges with this element of politicization at play, or is it too difficult, in your view?

All I can say is that my dicastery is very open to talking to people, and that during the course of this past year, since the publication of Traditionis Custodis, I have received so-called ‘traditionalist’ groups, but we’ve got to be very careful, because the Church passes on the tradition, and it’s the Church that makes the tradition, it’s not people in lobbies that create the tradition, but it’s the Church in faithfulness to that.

I always think that, for me as an English man, a great example to me is our history, our Reformation history, where our young priests were tortured and very cruelly executed for two things: for the Mass, and in faithfulness to the See of Peter, in faithfulness to the pope. Whenever we celebrate Mass, we always mention as a point of unity, first that we’re in union with the pope, and second that we’re in union with the bishop, who is in union with the pope.

If you take that seriously, then it raises for all of us an examination of conscience with regard to how we view that: Is that really something that we view seriously, or are we trying to create another Church? Are we trying to be Protestant instead of Catholic?

MY MASS AT SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT, BLUFFTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, 9 AM…

 You can watch the Mass by pressing here, it begins at minute 17:40.

I HAVEN’T HEARD TU ES PETRUS CHANTED AT A PAPAL LITURGY IN SOME TIME…

 

TAKEN TODAY, THE TWIGHT ZONE OF TWO POPES, BOTH INCAPACITATED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

 #PapaFrancesco and the new cardinals from Pope Emeritus, #BenedettoXVI, for a brief greeting.  After his blessing, that of the Pope, and having prayed the Salve Regina together, the new cardinals went to the Apostolic Palace or Paul VI Hall for courtesy visits #Concistoro

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis has called upon the 20 new cardinals solemnly created this afternoon at St. Peter's Basilica in the eighth consistory of his pontificate to bring to today's world the fire of missionary zeal, but also that of the meekness of Jesus. With them, the Sacred College now comprises 226 cardinals of whom there are currently 132 electors in the event of a future conclave.

Commenting on the passage in Luke's gospel in which Jesus says he came "to bring fire to the earth," the pontiff invited us to look at two faces of this fire: "the powerful flame of the Spirit of God, passionate Love that purifies, regenerates and transfigures everything," but also the "meek and hidden" embers beside which he waits for the disciples after the miraculous fishing on the Lake of Galilee recounted in John's gospel.

"The powerful fire," he explained, "is the one that animated the apostle Paul in his tireless service to the Gospel, in his guided missionary 'race,' always pushed forward by the Spirit and the Word. It is also the fire of so many missionaries and missionaries who experienced the tiring and sweet joy of evangelizing, and whose very lives became gospel because they were first and foremost witnesses."

But it is inseparable from the other face of witness, that of magnanimity and meekness: in this regard, the pontiff cited the example of St. Charles de Foucauld, his "remaining for a long time in a non-Christian environment, in the solitude of the desert, focusing everything on presence: the presence of the living Jesus, in the Word and in the Eucharist, and his own fraternal, friendly, charitable presence."

Two faces to cultivate both and on which the pope pointed the new cardinals to two of their predecessors as examples. "A cardinal," Francis said, "loves the Church, always with the same spiritual fire, whether dealing with big issues or dealing with small ones; whether meeting the great of this world or the small ones, who are great before God. I am thinking, for example, of Cardinal Casaroli justly famous for his open gaze to assist, with wise and patient dialogue, the new horizons of Europe after the Cold War. And God forbid that human shortsightedness should again close those horizons that He opened."

Pope Francis continued: "Rather in God's eyes, the visits he regularly made to young inmates in a juvenile prison in Rome, where he was called 'Don Agostino,' are equally valuable."

But in addition to the Vatican secretary of state from the years of dialogue with Eastern Europe, the pontiff also wanted to point to the Vietnamese Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyễn Van Thuân, "called to shepherd the People of God in another crucial scenario of the 20th century, and at the same time animated by the fire of Christ's love to care for the soul of the jailer who stood guard at the door of his cell," as an example.

"Jesus," the pope concluded, addressing the new cardinals, "wants to cast this fire on earth today as well; he wants to light it again on the shores of our daily stories. He calls us by name, looks us in the eyes and asks us: can I count on you?"

Francis then presented the cradinal's red hato or biretta, ring and title to 19 of the 20 new cardinals: one of the cardinals, in fact, Ghanaian Richard Kuuia Baawobr, bishop of Wa, was unable to be present at the ceremony because he was hospitalized due to a health problem that arose after his arrival in Rome.

As many as six Asians are among the new cardinals, all on the electoral roster: they are Korean Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the dicastery for the Clergy and former archbishop of Daejeon, Archbishop Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili in East Timor, the two Indian prelates Filipe Neri António Sebastião do Rosário Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Anthony Poola Archbishop of Hyderabad, Singapore Archbishop William Goh Seng Chye, and Italian Giorgio Marengo, Consolata missionary and apostolic prefect of Ulanbaatar in Mongolia.

The latter revealed today that Pope Francis has received an official invitation to visit Mongolia. It was advanced by the official delegation that came from Ulan Batar for the Concistory led by former President Enkhbayar, who delivered a formal message from current President Khürelsükh. "The Pope," recounted newly appointed Cardinal Marengo, "expressed great interest in the proposal and said he intends to make this trip, compatible with his health condition and previous commitments.

Finally, during the Consistory, Pope Francis also approved the proclamation of two new saints - Msgr. Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, bishop of Piacenza, founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles and the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, and Artemide Zatti, an Argentine Salesian layman - setting their canonization for Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022.

WHERE DOES INCLUSIVITY STOP IN A CHURCH THAT DEMANDS THAT EVERY CATHOLIC, UNDER THE PAIN OF MORTAL SIN, ATTEND MASS EACH AND EVERY SUNDAY AND HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION?

 This Jesuit Cardinal who heads the self-referential, narcissistic synod and synods has rolled back what he first said about changing doctrine to accommodate the world. I suspect his first statement is closer to what he actually believes but his second statement is made under duress and criticism that he showed his true colors for wanting to create a post-Catholic Church through the self-referential synod on synods. 

Of course, it is all about homosexuality and making them feel included in the Church because of their  supreme importance for the Church. This is the good Cardinal's revision to a lie of what he actually spoke about truthfully earlier as reported by the NCR:

Rome — A leading organizer of the Vatican's newly revamped process for the 2021-23 Synod of Bishops says he is not seeking to change the Catholic Church's teaching on gay relationships, but would like to see a change in attitude.

"I am not in favor of changing any doctrine, I am in favor for a church where really everybody can feel welcome," said Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, who is serving as the relator, or chairperson, of the synod. "This welcome does not mean that there cannot be discussion, this welcome does not mean that there cannot be different positions."

Hollerich, a Jesuit who also heads the pan-European Catholic bishops' conference, offered his remarks during an Aug. 26 Vatican press conference, which launched the next stage of Pope Francis' synod on synodality.

 My final comments: As my title indicates, no Catholic is excluded from Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation because they have an obligation to attend under the threat of mortal sin if they don't. Thus, one has to ask what parish those who tout inclusivity are touting as being non inclusive? Are there Catholic Church who tell homosexuals and the panoply of LGBTQ+++++ people (or whatever way they wish to be described) they are suspended from the obligation to attend Mass and Holy Days of Obligation?

And where does a parish draw the line on being inclusive? When a man or a woman enters the church wearing only a thong, and that is how they want to be made to feel they are welcome, do we allow it? 

If a self-disclosed pedophile enters the church with a child he abducted off the street for nefarious purposes, is he to be made to feel welcome and included along with the child victim with him?

Has this Jesuit Cardinal every had a course in logic? It appears no as he can't see where his logic leads!

DISGRACED REMBERT WEAKLAND IN 1999 UNWITTINGLY MADE CLEAR THAT EVEN IN 1999, NO ONE LIKES THE MODERN MISSAL AS EVERYONE WANTS TO DO SOMETHING TO IMPROVE THE LITURGICAL LIFE OF THE CHURCH TO IMPROVE THE DISASTER OF THE MODERN MISSAL, READ THAT FOR YOURSEELF!

 THE COMMON GROUND REMBERT WEAKLAND MAKES CLEAR IN 1999, ALBEIT UNWITTINGLY, IS THAT EVERYONE THEN (AND NOW) WANTS TO IMPROVE THE MODERN LITURGY’S CELEBRATION.

Press title for long commentary on the Modern Roman Missal in 1999 which shows what Father Fox has been saying, no one is happy with the current Modern Roman Missal and Weakland unwittingly makes the point all to clear in 1999 and it is true today as well:

Liturgy and Common Ground

By Rembert G. Weakland
AMERICA for Feb. 20, 1999.
Copyright America Press 1999

Here is one section of his commentary that is pertinent for today, but the other sections are too. Not much has changed since 1999 in terms of discontent with the current Modern Roman Missal. No one is please with it then or now.

Questions of a Theological Nature Posed to Those Seeking to Better the Reform.

Before posing questions to the reformists, one should acknowledge those areas where the gains from the liturgical renewal have been clear and praised. The three-year cycle of biblical readings and the fact that Sacred Scripture has become such an essential part of the Eucharistic liturgy and other sacraments is the best fruit of the liturgical renewal. The emphasis on the homily as integral to each rite and as an unfolding of the biblical text for this particular assembly has also been seen as a gain. (In this respect there is some concern that, with the homily always explaining the biblical text, there is no room for catechetical instruction, so needed in our day.) The different ministers and their respective roles, at least in principle, have been well accepted. But other more serious matters remain.

Has the reform respected the nature of sacramentality as a free gift from God, as a "given," or have our people drifted into a more horizontal and purely human activity? This question is an important one. S.C. talks about the presence of Christ in the priest and in the assembly but does not see this as a diversion from the objective reality of the action of the Holy Spirit that makes Christ and the paschal mystery present. How often do we hear people say that the Mass, or any sacrament, is simply celebrating that which is already present, as if the assembly were the real and only actor? Has the old phrase ex opere operato (the objective effect of the sacrament) been so weakened in our explanations, in a legitimate effort to avoid a "magical" interpretation, that the results have forged a Pelagian mentality that forgets that God is the primary actor? Has the community or parish at times distorted the rite by seeking to do its "own thing"--as creative as it may have seemed to the assembled group or the specialists who guided it--and thus lost contact with the living tradition of the universal church itself?

Because so many of the abuses during the last two decades have come from this exaggerated stress on the creativity of the assembled group, in contrast to the nature of the rite itself and the usage of the universal church, those seeking to better the reform have to face questions about unwarranted adaptations made by individual groups. Unfortunately, many of these adaptations, well-intended as they may be, are accompanied by little knowledge of liturgy and its essential nature. (I am thinking of the homespun creeds that have no regard for the tradition, eucharistic prayers that leave little room for God, the reading of questionable material in the place of Scripture and the like.)

The second theological question follows from the first: Has the reform at times led to a diminution of respect for and belief in the real presence in the Eucharist? Although many of the surveys conducted recently were badly worded, the fear still remains that there is confusion among our people with regard to the nature of the real presence in the Eucharist. U.S. bishops in particular seem to show this concern. The reformists must face up to this question in all earnestness. Many blame poor catechesis since the council, but others place the burden on the liturgical renewal. They cite, among other things, the tendency to stand and not kneel, no more genuflections, the placement of the tabernacle in the church away from the central axis, the abuses concerning care for the Eucharist after the Mass, and so on. Have the very forms liturgical renewal has taken diminished belief in and respect for the real presence?

In seeking to make the liturgical symbols more true and clear, has the renewal made the symbol more important than what is symbolized? For example, in a desire that the bread at Mass resemble what in our American culture is known as bread, have some become sloppy about the crumbs and thus diminished belief in the real presence? Has the kiss of peace ceased to be a symbolic gesture of reconciliation with one's neighbor and become a moment for greeting everyone in the church--to the detriment of the symbol and breaking the liturgical moment of preparation for holy Communion? In the desire to emphasize the nature of the community, has one introduced rites of dubious origin, e.g., holding hands? 

Since liturgy embodies symbols, these questions are most important. In seeking quality of symbol have we at times lost the content? Do "larger" symbols guarantee deeper meaning or just draw attention to themselves and not their content?

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT COMMENTARY AND AT ITS CORE, FR. MARTIN SHOWS US HOW THE ABUSE SCANDAL ESCALATED IN THE 1970’S AS REVEALED IN 2002; BUT OF COURSE THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS IS THE PROBLEM IN THE CHURCH, NOT FR. MARTIN’S GLOWING PRAISE OF REMBERT WEAKLANDS PECCADILLOES

 

Disgraced (and hopefully repentant and reconciled prior to his death) Rembert Weakland OSB, is a case study in the scandal that has marred the priesthood and alienated untold number of Catholics. Fr. Martin is part of the problem not the solution. Press the title for the National Catholic Register commentary:

Father James Martin’s Tweets About Weakland Should Offend All

The priest’s downplaying of Archbishop Rembert Weakland’s grave offenses is a painful reminder of the steep hill that the Church in the U.S. still must climb in order to regain its moral authority.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

 Bishop Barron to Pope Francis:  (It is Catholic not to) “throw anything away”. 

POLLS NEED TO GO DEEPER AS TO WHY LATINOS AND ANY CATHOLIC CHOOSES TO BECOME PROTESTANT

 

Latinos as well as many Catholics in general are leaving the Catholic Church for evangelical Protestantism, namely non-denominational churches. This has been going on for about 50 years, especially in once predominantly Central and South America. 

Why do they leave? Because they are proselytized by Protestants who denigrate Catholic teaching. 

How does that happen? Because of Vatican II. Vatican II opened the Church to Protestantism, other faiths, no faiths and the world. Pope Francis dances with paganism. All of this undermines Catholicism as the true Church with a fixed liturgy.

Did this happen in the pre-Vatican II Church? No. Was there proselytizing in the pre-Vatican II Church? Yes. 

Did Latinos leave the pre-Vatican II Mass and system of Sacraments in droves? No! It is the post-Vatican II Church they reject and of course, with encouragement. 

As it regards a caring Church, which today Latinos think Protestants are, prior to Vatican II there were nuns and brothers galore to reach out to the laity with a variety of ministries, specially Catholic education. Today, that is left up to the laity who multi task with their own families and it isn’t the same as it was prior to the Council. 

Read the rest here:

WHY MANY LATINOS ARE CHOOSING TO BECOME PROTESTANT

August 25th, 2022|Categories: Latino Catholics

From Axios:  The percentage of Latinos who identify as Protestant — evangelical and other Christian faiths — is expected to grow from

Read More

Meanwhile, read why this actor became a Catholic—spoiler, it was the pre-Vatican II Mass and sacramental system:

WATCH: SHIA LABEOUF ON HIS CONVERSION TO CATHOLICISM AND PLAYING PADRE PIO

August 25th, 2022|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: Converts, Padre Pio, Shia LeBeouf

From Fox News:  Actor Shia LaBeouf said he converted to Christianity while shooting his upcoming film "Padre Pio" and has

Read More

WOW! CATHOLIC EDUCATION AT ITS BEST?

 Pope Paul VI during Vatican II:

Megan Markel, never a Catholic, but educated in a Catholic school from grades 6-12, explains the post Conciliar Church or should I say, the post Catholic Church.

LISTEN) Catholic school-educated Meghan Markle reveals how the secularizing trends of the post-Conciliar Church directly influenced her, h/t @EdwardPentin:

Listen to the Twitter podcast HERE.

BUT DR. MORRILL, THE CURRENT VATICAN AND THOSE PROGRESSIVES WHO ADVISE POPE FRANCIS AND THOSE OVERJOYED BY IT, ESPECIALLY AT PRAYTELL, HAVE ERASED THE PAPACIES OF POPES JOHN PAUL II AND BENEDICT XVI AND THUS THEY HAVE IT RIGHT IN THAT CONTEXT

 There has been a good discussion in the comments section of Praytell, which Praytell seems to have reformed, allowing for more diverse opinions without shutting down or deleting common sense comments that are orthodox and not progressive. Some posts are going back to the 1960’s with the Mass as a convivial meal and not about adoring or worshiping the Lord, especially in the Sacrament of the Altar, the Most Holy Eucharist. The other thread is on receiving again from the Common Chalice. 

It’s all very interesting to say the least given the dysfunctional situation of the Church today and under the current pontificate that is incoherent, confusing and baffling, a far cry from the clarity of the previous two pontificates. 

The “Alan” of this comment from Dr. Merrill is not me but the author of the Praytell Post which you can read HERE and another HERE.

Bruce Morrill says:

August 25, 2022 at 9:37 am

Alan (and all), the narrowing of the reference of “source and summit” (SC, no. 10) from the liturgy to the Eucharist may be found already in the Introduction of John Paul II’s encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia (2003). Moreover, in that opening paragraph (no. 1), the pontiff focuses on the “unique intensity” of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist on the bread and wine changed into “the body and blood of the Lord.” That opening article elaborates on this in terms of the Holy Eucharist containing (I consider the verb significant) Christ’s own flesh (footnoting Vat II’s Decree on the Priesthood, not SC), to conclude: “Consequently the gaze of the Church is constantly turned to her Lord, present in the Sacrament of the Altar, in which she discovers the full manifestation of his boundless love.“ No mention is made of the activity of the assembly (in prayer and song), nor the proclamation of the word of God. Throughout the encyclical the pope extols the “profound” affect proper to eucharistic worship as gratitude and amazement experienced in adoration of Christ in the sacred species.

So, my point: There we have it. Some two decades ago a eucharistic encyclical centered on the mutuality of the sacrament on the altar and the ontology of the priest (yes, I acknowledge John Paul issued it as the annual Holy Thursday papal address to all priests). Then came the disciplinary follow-up, Redemptionis Sacramentum (2004), ordering cessation of several dozen widespread abuses, grave delicts, and irregularities against the sacrament, the rite, and the ontological nature of the priest. I would imagine the US bishops very much consider their current project’s objective and strategies a reasonable deployment of the Roman Catholic hierarchy’s contemporary teaching on and discipline for the Eucharist.

I CONFESS TO ALMIGHTY GOD AND TO YOU BRETHREN…

 

Recently I changed cell phone coverage from Verizon to T-Mobile. With my T-Mobile account comes a free subscription to Netflix. I have never used streaming services and simply watched what was available on cable (with no premium channels, btw). Well, it is safe to say that this Johnny-come-lately has leap frogged into this streaming service. I can watch what I want to watch, when I want to watch it and binge when I have time to do so and in retirement there is more time to do it!

There are a lot of dramas that I have caught up on and the English ones are great. But in the past 10 days, due to bad weather and the fact that I love crime dramas, I have binged on all four seasons of Ozark which is about 44 episodes, in ten days. Is there a streaming services anonymous?

Let me say, that Ozark (which was actually filmed in Georgia, Lake Allatoona above Atlanta where I went with my family frequently in the late 50’s and other Georgia locations like Savannah’s River Front, but all meant to be the Ozarks) is wonderfully written and acted and over the course of the show there is great character development.

But, but, but—the language is fowl, the worst I have ever heard in a movie and the Lord’s name is taken in vain in the most despicable ways possible, all completely unnecessary for the show except to show the realism of the life depicted. The violence is horrible and people are killed in horrible ways and their bodies disposed, not given a Christian burial! This show is about organized crime the the horrors of the Mexican cartels. 

All the characters, are deeply flawed, not just sinners, most are corrupt, pathological and serial murderers. 

What a great show! What is there not to like? I feel like I need to go to confession for liking it and watching it, but I was and am addicted to it. Why?

It’s a moral play and the writers write the play with sin, corruption and evil, not to mention mental illness. In the last couple of seasons a priest enters who is corrupt himself but a moral voice nonetheless. He is a Pope Francis priest providing a field hospital for the head of the Mexican cartel, a ruthless man, but who goes to Church and confession frequently. And the priest, a kind of God-figure in the midst of this corruption, says he loves the cartel boss (like God loves all of us unconditionally). 

Both Protestantism and Catholicism are depicted in a somewhat positive way but not really, since everyone is corrupt or shallow. 

The two main characters, a husband and wife, are guilty of every moral evil and corruption, especially the seven deadly sins. The wife more so than the husband. He, at least, seems guilt ridden and wanting to turn his life around. 

The series ends without justice and one presumes that it all continues, maybe for a theatrical film or another sequel series? 

I am more concerned about all who participated in this production that they promote the very thing they depict and bring no moral resolution to the the series. There is corruption in the production and contributes to the growing corruption of individuals and society especially the “nones” who are eclipsing those with religion and a moral compass. 

But what a great series!

I LIKE IT; I LIKE IT; EXCEPT; EXCEPT…

 This is the Cathedral Ecce Homo in Colombia. To be honest with you, I like it as I like modern architecture that is art and this fits the bill.

What I don’t like is the sanctuary arrangement. Specifically, I don’t like the placement of the “cathedra” or the Bishop’s throne. It towers over everything and is at the highest point. Prior to Vatican II, the altar would have occupied the highest level and the throne a lower level and not central. That pre-Vatican II development happened organically as the Church came to recognize that the altar was more important than the bishop or the priest celebrant. Not that they are completely unimportant, but clericalism leads to an inflated ego and thus the altar moved to the highest point and the priest to a lower point. 

This is clearly shown at our Savannah’s Cathedral Basilica. The old arrangement still exists but with a new arrangement imposed. The old high altar is up four steps in the sanctuary. The Bishop’s throne is up only three steps and to the side not dead center. However, the new altar, which matches the old one in style, is lower than the bishop’s throne and the ambo. The bishop’s throne and ambo both are three steps higher. What’s up with that?

Over night, and hoping to recover old ideas that had died, the spirit of Vatican II returned the throne to the highest point in many places. Not a good symbol at all!

LORD HAVE MERCY!

 The peculiar relationships of this pope and Becciu and Zanchetta…is it a head scratcher? 

Cardinal at center of Vatican trail claims he has been ‘reinstated’ by Pope

ROME – The Italian cardinal at the center of a historic Vatican trial on corruption and mismanagement, said on Sunday that Pope Francis had invited him to the consistory for the creation of 21 new cardinals, to be held on Saturday in Rome.

“On Saturday, the pope phoned me to tell me that I will be reinstated in my cardinal duties and to ask me to participate in a meeting with all the cardinals that will be held in the coming days in Rome,” Cardinal Angelo Becciu reportedly said Sunday, during a private Mass celebrated before a group of faithful in Italy’s Golfo Aranci, where he is vacationing.

HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA…

 As an itinerant preacher, I was an itinerant priest at Holy Family Church’s 11:15 am Mass: