tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post7532766796370044749..comments2024-03-28T01:50:39.781-04:00Comments on southern orders: NO AMBIGUITY HERE: LITURGY MUST BE BEAUTIFUL, NO WOMEN PRIESTS (HOLY ORDERS) AND BY EXTENSTION TO THAT NO TO SAME SEX MANIPULATION OF THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE AND AND NO ABORTION--POPE FRANCISFr. Allan J. McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-51996235397887576442013-11-27T20:31:41.078-05:002013-11-27T20:31:41.078-05:00I'm glad you mentioned the Women Religious in ...I'm glad you mentioned the Women Religious in parishes, schools, hospitals and who cared for the poor.<br />At one time Women Religious were truly the backbone of the Church and even back then lay women had quite a presence although not like today.<br />The sisters(nuns) did so many things and made so many contributions from not only teaching, but starting schools, and from not only staffing and running hospitals,asylums and hospices as (nurses,administrators etc.)but starting and seeing that such facilities were built.<br />To read about the accomplishments of Mother Cabrini, St Elizabeth Seton, St Katherine Drexel, St Marianne Cope,St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, St. Marguerite d'Youville and Bl. Marie Rose Durocher can be truly breathtaking.<br />And these are only some of the more well known ones from just the U.S. and Canada.There were tens of thousands of these consecrated and dedicated religious performing various tasks and making great sacrifices and they did it gracefully and quietly with only modest temporal compensation for their efforts. <br />Georgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-18248793584446954182013-11-27T19:46:54.866-05:002013-11-27T19:46:54.866-05:00Too many people have read this document and leapt ...Too many people have read this document and leapt to conclusions. A superficial reading of #32 would suggest that Francis is in favour of allowing Episcopal Conferences to determine doctrine, and John Allen of the NCR goes so far as to say it overturns John Paul II's 1998 Motu Proprio 'Apostolos Suos'. However, look up the reference and you will find that Francis is actually quoting his predecessor. He is hardly likely to redefine collegiality as defined in Lumen Gentium. <br /><br />Similarly, when he criticizes those who are preoccupied with the liturgy at the expense of the Gospel (#94,95) most people assume he is taking a swipe at traditionalists but his strictures can equally be applied to liturgical progressives.<br /><br />I have no idea what he means in #43 by "certain customs not directly connected to the heart of the Gospel", even those which have deep historical roots and which "may be beautiful" but no longer serve as a means of communicating the Gospel. #167 is a bit puzzling; on the one hand he warns against "aesthetic relativism" and endorses the "via pulchritudinis", referencing St Augustine and Benedict XVI, while at the same time talks of "a wide variety of contemporary expression" including "unconventional modes of beauty" which sounds to me like having your cake and eating it.<br /><br />The English translation, I'm told, is not too good. The official Latin version which will be published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis will itself be a translation, as the Urtext is in Spanish. Evangelii Gaudium is a fascinating insight into what makes this Pope tick. One thing is certain - he is not easily pigeon-holed. John Nolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09027156691859606002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-89351745094380397432013-11-27T10:02:00.950-05:002013-11-27T10:02:00.950-05:00SqueekerLamb,
The Holy See does seem to draw a fi...SqueekerLamb,<br /><br />The Holy See does seem to draw a fine line between evangelization and proselytizing. For example, the Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization says, "the work of ecumenism does not remove the right or take away the responsibility of proclaiming in fullness the Catholic faith to other Christians, who freely wish to receive it", but the very next sentence quotes a VCII document, saying, "in spreading religious faith and introducing religious practices, everyone should refrain at all times from any kind of action which might seem to suggest coercion or dishonest or improper persuasion, especially when dealing with poor or uneducated people". Rood Screenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09816036539243214384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-75026915371818615992013-11-27T09:08:18.725-05:002013-11-27T09:08:18.725-05:00I don't know about the Liturgy. I think he thi...I don't know about the Liturgy. I think he thinks that was of Pope Benedict and his agenda is broader. All I can say that while his tastes are simple compared to Benedict's wardrobe, their Liturgical demeanor at Mass is the same. Pope Francis does not improvise on the given words of the Liturgy and he models sobriety and a contemplative manner of style. He cannot genuflect properly thus bows at all the appropriate places to genuflect and touches the bread and chalice at the epiclesis, which I am not sure where this tradition is from.<br />But he is the pope of surprises and talked about and models liturgical preaching and could well have more to say about how priests distort the Mass.Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-61761442350778712362013-11-27T08:56:42.555-05:002013-11-27T08:56:42.555-05:00I think we should be careful about prosleltizing w...I think we should be careful about prosleltizing when we help the poor. But shouldn't we offer spiritual support and maybe a simple inquiry class held at Daybreak or FAM to teach the f<br />Faith and pair them if the desire with someone to. Be with them at Mass to help them feel comfortable? Should we offer prayers and blessings to those who come to us apart from material goods?Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-15420085437371863632013-11-27T08:55:09.338-05:002013-11-27T08:55:09.338-05:00Fr., do you think Pope Francis will be the Pope wh...Fr., do you think Pope Francis will be the Pope who fixes the liturgy of the Latin Rite? I'm talking about actually decreeing it rather than "suggesting" change. Cause I would venture to guess that in 90% of parishes in the U.S and probably elsewhere, the Mass is not how it is at St. Joseph's, and is made more about the people rather than God. One of the first stops of his pontificate was to the tomb of St. Pope Pius V, he codified the Mass, maybe Francis will fix what Benedict called banal and fabricated? I'll continue to pray for this..save the liturgy, save the world!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-90819446929018900092013-11-27T08:50:58.332-05:002013-11-27T08:50:58.332-05:00It is indeed reassuring and breath-releasing that ...It is indeed reassuring and breath-releasing that our Holy Father has issued this Exhortation that is orthodox, clear, and unambiguous.<br /><br />Again, we can actually feel a bit proud to be Catholic and feel proud of our pope.<br /><br />Pope Francis is maturing in his new role as Holy Father and he seems to be humble enough to learn from experience and make course corrections. He could have been haughty and insisted on being and speaking as he did previously, namely loosely and off the cuff. I respect him all the more for assessing the fallout and his role in it, then seeing how he needs to make visible changes (amends) to correct those unintended consequences of what he said.<br /><br />He did not forsee how his relaxed speech would result in his words being twisted and used against the Church. Thank God he's humble enough to look at all that, and answer God's promptings to rectify it.<br /><br />Personally, I support your hard line Fr. on censoring ill comments. Legitimate issues can be discussed without sinning in the process.<br /><br />In your description of the Outreach Ministries at your parish, are you suggesting that , for example, when a St. Vincent de Paul volunteer goes to help someone in the community he/she might ought to be also talking about the Church and inviting that person(s) to Mass?<br />If so, that's a very different mindset than going to help others because helping the poor is a good thing to do.<br />Someone has to be able to withstand a whole lotta rejection, ridicule, mockery, or just plain closed minds/hearts to find a few needles in the haystack. <br />More than likely the average parishioner who participates in these nice Outreach Ministries is ill equipped to do this (even though this is exactly what Jesus did). What are some thoughts on this??<br /><br />P.S. Did you kiss American soil when you landed?...LOL!<br /><br />~SqueekerLambAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-65010713929508917962013-11-27T08:19:35.316-05:002013-11-27T08:19:35.316-05:00One cannot separate within the context of Holy Ord...One cannot separate within the context of Holy Orders the diaconate from the next two actions of priest and bishop. Of course the early church had a ministry of service, a kind of midwife for ministry to women, especially baptismal rites. But they were not ordained but more than likely consecrated for this ministry of service.<br /><br />Since permenant deacons do nothing that a lay person could not do in an extraordinary way by permission of the bishop, ie baptize, witness marriage vows preside at not sacramental rites such as the Liturgy of the Hours, and funeral rites . So perhaps we should recover true lay deacons and deaconesses.Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-27538647100638943432013-11-27T07:58:58.859-05:002013-11-27T07:58:58.859-05:00Fr. McDonald,
I plan to read the letter as soon as...Fr. McDonald,<br />I plan to read the letter as soon as it's available for Kindle. In the meantime, can you confirm that the Holy Father has explicitly ruled out ordination of women to the diaconate? I assume this is what you mean when you refer to "...women's ordination to Holy Orders, (deacon, priest and bishop)..." Rood Screenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09816036539243214384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-65245059368260940812013-11-27T07:50:13.795-05:002013-11-27T07:50:13.795-05:00Fr. McDonald,
Thank you for taking such a strong s...Fr. McDonald,<br />Thank you for taking such a strong stand on comments. Truth and charity need not be in conflict in our conversations. Rood Screenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09816036539243214384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-53796388963633161872013-11-27T07:48:26.933-05:002013-11-27T07:48:26.933-05:00Gene,
You're 'right on' here. Can. 21...Gene,<br />You're 'right on' here. Can. 212 says, "The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right--and even at times the duty--to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons."Rood Screenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09816036539243214384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-8187478164962958332013-11-27T06:51:48.529-05:002013-11-27T06:51:48.529-05:00Fr, many of us have witnessed and experienced in a...Fr, many of us have witnessed and experienced in a personal way the deterioration of Catholicism and the de-construction of Catholic identity. Some of us, having come from port backgrounds, experienced the same thing as ports. We are also acutely aware of how successful the enemies of the Church are in their war against the Faith. So, we have our theological crap detectors out much of the time.<br />Understandably, I would hope, we naturally become alarmed when a Pope behaves as Pope Francis has initially. It scares the Hell out of us (or into us, as you suggest). Now that he is issuing stronger doctrinal and dogmatic statements, we let our breath out a bit.<br />It is possible to respect the Pope and the Office and still be critical of ambiguous statements and behaviors.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-76212127991060924542013-11-27T05:23:30.111-05:002013-11-27T05:23:30.111-05:00Please note the disclaimer I have revised above th...Please note the disclaimer I have revised above the comments section!Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-44011126798598471352013-11-27T05:22:57.199-05:002013-11-27T05:22:57.199-05:00I am making the first comment. I will no longer pr...I am making the first comment. I will no longer print any comment that is negative of our Holy Father, no matter who he is, of our bishops, priests and deacons, who faithfully follow the Holy Father supreme Magisterium. <br /><br />Respect for the person of the Pope and the bishops in union with him is a hallmark of orthodox Roman Catholicism. This doesn't mean that we can't point out dangers of this position or another, but it must, must, must, I repeat, must be done in a respectful manner!Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.com