GOOD FRIDAY LAST YEAR

A blessed and fastful Good Friday to you!
"Click on images twice to enlarge"
As Jesus was stripped of His garments, so too, the altar that symbolizes our Lord

The beginning of the Good Friday Liturgy of the Passion, holy and humble prostration!

Along with two deacons not shown, the proclamation of the Passion of Saint John

The General Intercessions

The Unveiling of the Holy Cross

Holy Veneration of the Sacred Cross

Mass of the Pre-Sanctified (Holy Communion on Good Friday from Hosts consecrated at the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday

Receiving our Crucified and Risen Lord in Holy Communion

Good Friday's Way of the Cross

Communion Featuring The Passion from Hadley Baker on Vimeo.

THE WASHING OF FEET, COULD THERE BE ANYTHING CONTROVERSIAL ABOUT THAT?

Holy Thursday celebrates two sacraments of the Catholic Church, Holy Orders and The Most Holy Eucharist. Traditionally the Chrism Mass is celebrated the morning of Holy Thursday. At this Mass, the three oils that are used in service of the Liturgy, the Oil of Catechumens (for those preparing for Holy Baptism), The Oil of the Sick (for those who are seriously ill, injured or dying), and the Oil of Chrism (consecrated rather then bless and used for Holy Baptism, Confirmation, Anointing a newly ordained priest's hands and anointing a newly ordained bishop as well as anointing the altar and church at their consecration)are blessed/consecrated by the bishop.

Then the priests of the diocese renew their priestly promises to serve as ordained priests.

On Holy Thursday, the night before our Savior died, he commissioned the apostles, the first "high priests" of the Church (bishops) to act in the "Person of Christ" to remember the Lord's Passion on Good Friday through the Sacrificial Meal of Holy Thursday. Implicit in this commission is "ordination" if you will, no matter how implicit it is.

The priest therefore acts as Christ especially at the consecration of the elements of bread and wine during Mass. But also, in a sacramental way, the male priest shows forth Jesus Christ who is the Bridegroom of the Church, with the Church as His holy and spotless bride. The Most Holy Eucharist with Christ sacramentally present in the Priest shows forth the wedding banquet of the Lamb made explicit in the Book of Revelation.

I think most people who understand the "sacramental principle" of the Catholic Church realize that the elements used in the sacraments must point to what is hidden or veiled in a credible way.

For example,a woman cannot be a sacramental sign in a credible way of the masculinity of Christ the Bridegroom which is shown forth in a sacramental way in Holy Orders.

The same is true for the Most Holy Eucharist. Pizza and beer while resembling food and drink do not capture the sacramental essence of Bread and Wine which point to Christ Who is the Bread of Life, Whose sacrifice on the Cross pours out His blood to save mankind. You might co-op the sacrament of the Mass by using pizza and beer, but only to its diminishment sacramentally.

The same is true for Holy Baptism, water, not milk or sand or coke or anything else has the same sacramental qualities that point to Christ, the living Water who rescues us from the waters of turbulence and death through our baptism.

Gasoline is not a good substitute for oil for any of the sacramental oils, it doesn't have the same sacramental characteristics that point to Jesus, healing balm, strengthening ointment, penetrating chrism.

So at St. Joseph Church we select only 12 men to have their feet washed, symbolic of the 12 apostles, the first "high priests" of the Church who point to Jesus Christ, "The High Priest". How can this decision which follows the rubrics of the Roman Missal be construed as "controversial" by Catholics who should know better?

We also realize that this foot washing which is optional is only symbolic of what Christ did prior to celebrating the Last Supper. He was teaching these "New Testament and therefore Christian priests" that unlike the priesthood of the Jews or even of the pagans of that region, their priesthood was not to be merely cultic or temple oriented but one of service to the "unclean." That would have been unheard of for the caste system of the priesthood of the Jewish Temple. Remember the Jewish priest that refused to help the man on the side of the road. He didn't help him out of fear of becoming "unclean" himself for doing so. His duty was merely cultic, not one of service. Jesus teaches implicitly and explicitly that it cannot be that way for the Catholic or Christian deacon, priest or bishop.

In many Catholic Churches tonight, everyone will wash or have their foot washed by someone. This sort of liturgical literalism which came in vogue in the Church in the 1970's is precisely that literalism carried to an extreme. It does not capture the essence of Holy Thursday one bit in the Catholic understanding of what Holy Thursday is. If you want a gimmick to capture the priesthood of the laity then wash feet on Easter Sunday rather than sprinkle them with Holy Water!

Holy Thursday is about the ordained priesthood and the Most Holy Eucharist.

The Great Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday is about the Baptized, Confirmed and Holy Eucharist sharing Catholic people. This is the day of the laity if you will. It is from them, a priestly people, that the cultic or sacramental priests will emerge and be called to show forth the masculinity of Christ who saves us on many different levels. Let's keep our days straight. Without ministerial, ordained priests there would be no Eucharist and there would be no Catholic Church.

WHEN LIGHTENING STRIKES WITHIN THREE DAYS IN THE SAME PLACE!

We strive to celebrate our Masses and other liturgies in a very dignified, practiced and solemn way. However, on occasion, we have bloopers that test my patience.

At our main Mass for Palm Sunday, four of our altar servers did not show up, which of course set me off in not a very pleasant way as our Liturgy began outside with the blessing of the palms and reading of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and then our procession of palms into the Church. Despite that the Mass was quite beautiful and all went smoothly.

However at our 5:00 PM Mass (we did not bless the palms outside, but inside the Church) I found out five minutes before the Mass was to begin that we had no cantor! So I had to scramble and tell the first reader to say the responsorial psalm and then I was going to sing the Lenten Gospel acclamation myself.

Well, the second reader hearing that the first reader read the psalm and we had no cantor thought that she should say the Gospel acclamation too, although I didn't ask her to do that.

So, after she reads the second reading, so looks at me and then immediately says "Alleluia, Alleluia" the people respond, she reads the verse and "Alleluia, Alleluia" again! I let out an unintentional groan and yes my microphone was on as I was preparing to sing the Lenten Acclamation! I was not a happy camper!

Today, Holy Wednesday, the lector who reads the Entrance Antiphon and asks the congregation to do so with him, had the missalette turned to the wrong Wednesday, Easter Week Wednesday and at the end of the Entrance Antiphon he said Alleluia! On Holy Wednesday!!!!!!

Why O lord?

GOOD FOR THE PRESBYTERIANS! LET THE CELL PHONES BE DAMNED AND THOSE WHO HAVE THEM IN CHURCH!

I have a confession to make. When I was a novice cell phone user, I forgot to remove it from my pocket prior to a daily Mass. It was in my left pocket. As fate would have it, it started to ring (traditional phone bell ring) as I was distributing Holy Communion. The alb I had on did not have a left pocket slit for me to easily reach the phone and in addition I was holding the ciborium with my left hand and distributing Holy Communion with my right. What an embarrassment!

RUMORS AND FACTS! CHRISM MASSES IN SAVANNAH AND PENSACOLA!

Three southern dioceses are set to have new bishops, St. Augustine and Pensacola in Florida and my diocese, the Diocese of Savannah. Last night we had our Chrism Mass at our Cathedral in Savannah. I think our bishop, Bishop J. Kevin Boland actually thought last year's Chrism Mass would be his last as Bishop of Savannah.

But no new bishop has been named yet, although rumor was that it would have been this past February or last month. But the rumors are flying that it could be immanent.

Last night, though, Bishop Boland didn't let on although in some ways his homily did sound like a bit of a farewell. But he used Sargent Schultz from the TV show Hogan's Heroes to say and I quote:

"I KNOW NOTHING!"

Of course when Sargent Schultz said that, the TV viewers all knew that he knew everything! So was there a hidden message in that statement from Bishop Boland? I report, you decide!


Bishop Boland last night, "I know nothing!"

"Very interesting" as the other Nazi from Laugh-in use to say!


Now for fact. Archbishop Wynski of Miami celebrated the Chrism Mass in Pensacola as they have no bishop and he is the Apostolic Administrator. In the past Pensacola always had their deacons and lay ministers renew their promises to serve the Church (this from the era that fearED "clericalism" to a fault, and clericalized the laity).

Well not this year. Only the priests renewed their vows. The Cathedral altar was vested in the Benedictine Mode and the Pater Noster was prayED in Latin.

Very interesting!

AND ON THIS BEGINNING OF HOLY WEEK AND JESUS' TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM ON PALM SUNDAY

You may not like this portrayal of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem but it is one of my favorite scenes from "Jesus Christ, Super Star." Am I dating myself? Have a blessed Holy Week!

And so my followers are rejecting my artistic tastes? Then what about this more traditional artistic rendering of the same?
VIEW MORE TRADITIONAL TRIUMPHAL ENTRY BY PRESSING HERE!

And I looked at this after I prepared my homily and it is basically what I preached. Should I sue for plagiarism?

PASSION OR PALM SUNDAY'S LAME DUCK AND BEIJING DUCK--CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT BEIJING DUCK!

Before you read my lame duck, Beijing Duck translations which I'm a bit late in posting because of our RCIA Retreat today, you might note what one of our RCIA team leaders was wearing today. You've got to love it and he's a convert too from about 4 years or so ago! What hath I done to him?



COLLECT

Current Lame Duck

Almighty, ever-living God,
you have given the human race Jesus Christ our Savior
as a model of humility.
He fulfilled your will
by becoming man and giving his life on the cross.
Help us to bear witness to you
by following his example of suffering
and make us worthy to share in
his resurrection.

Forthcoming Beijing Duck

Almighty ever-living God,
who as an example of humility for the human race to follow
caused our Savior to take flesh and submit to the Cross,
graciously grant that we may heed his lesson of patient suffering
and so merit a share in his Resurrection.

AFTER COMMUNION

Current Lame Duck

Lord you have satisfied our hunger with this eucharistic food.
the death of your Son gives us hope and strengthens our faith.
May his resurrection give us perseverance
and lead us to salvation.

Forthcoming Beijing Duck

Nourished with these sacred gifts,
we humbly beseech you, O Lord,
that, just as through the death of your Son
you have brought us to hope for what we believe,
so by his Resurrection
you may lead us to where you call.

THIS IS HILARIOUS AND THE ACTORS LOOK LIKE THE REAL PEOPLE!

Unfortunately, though, there would be some post Vatican II, spirit of Vatican II liturgists who would think this sort of thing at a liturgy would be cool. I don't but I do think this is funny in a sacrilegious way which indicates that even the sacred is not immune from denigration which in some circles would be considered a very serious mortal sin. And maybe it is? But our conscience about such things, and our need to mock and make fun of the sacred indicates how far we have fallen from the "sense of the sacred." Oh well! I report you decide and tell me if you laughed. I did and I'll go to confession later!

WHAT TRIBE OF CATHOICISM TO YOU BELONG TO AND DO YOU TALK TO OTHERS OF OTHER TRIBES?

Whether we are Catholic "Lite" or Catholic "Taliban" without terroristic characteristics of course, we are all Catholic, no?

In the past a good Catholic was distinguished from a bad Catholic by how faithful one was to Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation, Confession, support of one's parish and diocese, not eating meat on Friday, supporting Catholic education, etc.

But usually good Catholics and bad Catholics spoke to one another and bad Catholics weren't so haughty as to think they were good Catholics. They admitted their shame and sheepishly moved the conversation on.

John Allen has a good article today on talking to one another, Catholic Lite and Catholic Taliban. Is it possible?

READ JOHN ALLEN'S ARTICLE "THOUGHTS ON POST TRIBAL CATHOLICISM BY PRESSING HERE!

WHAT'S BETTER? TALIBAN CATHOLICS OR CATHOLIC LITE? IT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU MEAN BY TALIBAN CATHOLIC!

John Allen is credited with inventing the term "Taliban Catholics" in regards to Catholics who desire the Church to return to orthodoxy and who promote the "hermeneutic of the reform of the reform with continuity" as Pope Benedict himself has set out as an agenda of his papacy.

William Oddie of the Catholic Herald in the United Kingdom writes:

John Allen, to be fair, isn’t himself entirely happy about having invented the term. This is how he explains himself. At a university meeting in Dallas, he spoke of the existence of two polarities in Catholic opinion: “On the one extreme lies what my friend and colleague George Weigel correctly terms ‘Catholicism Lite,’ meaning a watered-down, sold-out form of secularised religiosity, Catholic in name only. On the other is what I call ‘Taliban Catholicism’, meaning a distorted, angry form of the faith that knows only how to excoriate, condemn, and smash the TV sets of the modern world.’

“Some in the audience chuckled, but others weren’t so amused. One younger faculty member rose during the Q&A period to offer a thoughtful, and heartfelt, challenge:

” ‘To say things with clarity is not to be the Catholic Taliban,’ she said, adding that she found the phrase ‘profoundly offensive.’

” ‘There are no suicide bombers in the Catholic church,’ she said, ‘but we have had an epidemic of Catholicism Lite for the last 30 years.’ Younger Catholics, she insisted, should not be dismissed as fanatics simply because they seek ‘fidelity and clarity’.”

Read the full article in the Catholic Herald of the United Kingdom by William Oddie by Pressing this full sentence!

CARDINAL PELL OF AUSTRALIA HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD

Cardinal George C. Pell speaks about the unexpected aftermath of the Church following Vatican II:

Pope Paul VI appointed no bishops who were opposed to the ethos of Vatican II, and for various reasons the good bishops appointed in Holland were overwhelmed, tossed aside by the liberal gales. This brings me to another contemporary fact, which I never anticipated as a young seminarian in Rome during the Council or as a young priest. The now aged liberal wing of the Church, which dominated discussion after the Council and often the bishops and the emerging Church bureaucracies, has no following among young practicing Catholics, priests or religious. This is not only true in Australia, but everywhere in the Western world. In these different countries dominated by a secular media and intelligentsia, liberalism has no young Catholic progeny.

On reflection we should not find this surprising, as growth is tied to Gospel fidelity, to faith, love and sacrifice. After Vatican II many of us overestimated our cultural strengths and underestimated the virulence of anti-Christian forces. You need strong Christian foundations to participate productively in “open dialogue”. Without these roots the end of the road is agnosticism.


Haven't I been blogging about this too?

ARE YOU A CATHOLIC FUNDAMENTALIST AND PRE-VATICAN II? FOR SOME THESE TWO LABELS ARE THE WORST INSULT THAT CAN BE HURLED YOUR WAY!

In many quarters of the Church today and certainly in the mainline liberal, drive by media, to be labeled a fundamentalist Catholic, traditional and conservative is as bad as it once was to be called a "pre-Vatican II Catholic" by "post "spirit" of Vatican II" Catholics. It was a terrible insult!

An excerpt by Bill Donahue: What accounts for the relentless attacks on the Church? Let’s face it: if its teachings were pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage and pro-women clergy, the dogs would have been called off years ago.

The British atheist Richard Dawkins is no fan of Catholicism. But he is honest enough to say that the Catholic Church “has been unfairly demonized over the issue, especially in Ireland and America.” Now if Dawkins gets it, why can’t others?

I saw this movie in 1971 with a girl friend. I was a senior in high school and 17 years old. What memories this trailer brings! Read on to see connections between this and the mentality of that age: Should the actress, Jennifer O'Neil be brought up on charges of sexual abuse today, some 40 years after making this movie and doing in this trailer alone what would get a priest today defrocked for having done 40 years ago?

Bill Donahue of the Catholic League has a way to instigate the adrenalin of social liberals who hate the Catholic Church, not so much because of the misguided management of priests who abused children and teenagers, although that might be laudable to some, but mostly because of the Church's teaching on sex: chastity before marriage for everyone even those not called to marriage, no same sex marriage, no artificial contraception,no abortion, no sex change operations, no divorce, so on and so forth. In the area of sex, the Catholic Church stands alone, except for Islam and the liberals are afraid to compare the Church to Islam, in upholding traditional sexual morality.

But let's face it, the pope, the Vatican, the bishops, the psychiatrists managed miscreant priests but they managed in a misguided way. The Church is not infallible when it comes to management or administration and makes no claims for such infallibility! Let us also face the fact that in the not to distant past, most families would not air their dirty laundry. They kept family secrets, well, secret. The Church which is an extended family did the same. This is a recipe for disaster, especially when airing dirty secrets becomes an obsession with the media hell bent on changing the Catholic Church's teachings on sex in every way possible or at least diminishing the authority of the Church in this area in the social arena.

But has the pendulum swung in the opposite direction. Is there an "Oprahfication" or "Jerry Springerization" of openness about one's scandals for entertainment purposes. Have you ever read the lurid details in newspaper article about the abuse heaped upon a victim by a priest, details that are seldom if ever mentioned in any other type of sex crime newspaper article?

There is an editorial in yesterday's Boston Glob, I mean, Globe, by a Catholic who simply wrings his hands over poor old, nasty Bill Donahue of the Catholic League and Donahue's insistence that the Catholic abuse scandal is not about pedophilia (abuse of small-prepubescent children), but about homosexual priests who preyed on adolescent boys, boys who have bodies that look like adults, but the mentality of a "dumb blond." In other words, in Donahue's book it's about homosexual lust, the lack of impulse control by these homosexual priests and the abuse of a "God-like" authority these priests had over their victims (which in fact is the darkest aspect of sexual abuse by clergy).

Yet, when a teacher in a public school happens to be a female teacher, who is quite beautiful and gets impregnated by her 6th grade student who happens to have already gone through puberty, she is treated as a celebrity by the media. Other female perpetrators who abuse their authority as teachers are treated the same.

Does anyone remember the movie "Summer of '42"? I saw it as a teenager and I thought it portrayed teenage boys experiencing every teenage boy who is a heterosexual, fantasy about having sex with an older, beautiful woman. It was portrayed as a "rite of passage" and delightful entertainment on the big screen: a woman who we would classify today but not in the 1970's as a predator of teenage boys for sex. If you saw the movie back in the 1970's, did you think she was a predator and the boys victims?

Shall we put the Hollywood producers on trial for glamorizing sexual abuse of teenage boys by an older woman? Keep in mind that movie was released in the early 1970's when evidently homosexual priests where wreaking havoc upon teenage boys in unprecedented numbers and only given a "wink and a nod" by those who might have suspected it. Today, no one wants to put a movie producer on trial for promoting the glamorization of an older woman having sex with teenage boys, but they sure do want to put the Church on trial as well as bishops and priests of this very same period for not thinking that this type of sexual abuse was worthy of a great deal of attention apart from a slap on the wrist.

I agree that sexual abuse is abuse, but the problem in the Catholic Church is about homosexual priests abusing their position as priests and taking advantage in a sexual way, either through inappropriate touch or more invasively of teenage boys. If these priests had been good looking female priestesses, they might have been treated as celebrities by today's media and the boys like the lucky "ducks" of the movie "Summer of '42".

But the bottom line is that the Boston Blob article thinks that Catholics who are fundamentalists and pre-Vatican II when it comes to sex are Neanderthals.

YOU CAN READ THE BOSTON GLOBE'S ARTICLE BY PRESSING THIS.

READ THE NEW YORK TIMES AD BY BILL DONAHUE HERE!

150 YEARS AGO TODAY THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES BEGAN IN ERNEST: IT DIVIDED THE NATION AND PROTESTANT CHURCHES BUT NOT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

The War Between the States aka the Civil War (nothing civil about it) divided the nation and Protestant churches. For example the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists all became separated from their northern brothers and sisters.

But not so for Roman Catholics. Why is that?

THE DEARLY DEPARTED

When a Catholic consciously leaves the practice of the faith to join another Christian sect, does that choice have these consequences?

I learned the other day that one of my former parishioners in another town had left the Catholic Church and joined a "non-denominational" church, the kind that has worship that is kind of like a rock concert, where the church looks like an auditorium and there is a high emphasis on comfort during worship, like bringing food and drink into the "worship center" relaxed atmosphere, strong preaching on how to live your life within the power of positive thinking, and no personal challenge to one's personal morality.

The question is: do we as Catholics try to emulate what our non-denominational brothers and sisters are doing, change our music, our message and our reverence and allow a more comfortable atmosphere that is like going to a concert or do we just allow a more traditional but small and faithful Catholic Church to emerge? Just wondering.

THE NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE MASS: MY PARISH LOVES IT AND CAN'T WAIT FOR IT TO BE IMPLEMENTED THIS ADVENT!

Prior to Ash Wednesday, I mailed to each one of our households, Liturgical Training Publications' booklet entitled, "Understanding the Revised Mass Texts." In addition this booklet was the text for our Lenten groups that meet each week of Lent. These are small groups with a leader and each leader was provided the leader's guide for this text.

On Wednesday April 27th I'll host all of the small groups and anyone else with a parish dinner and a wrap up session on the new translation and try to answer any questions people have.

As far as I can tell, it has been a great hit and people are really eager now to implement the new text this coming Advent. They especially like the fact that the Church has enough confidence in their religious intellect to once again allow them to pray in the Creed "consubtantial" and "incarnate," not to mention "gibbet!"

As well they really appreciated the explanation for the return to "and with your spirit."

For many, this booklet opened their eyes to how poorly translated the current English translation is of the the original Latin. They appreciate that the new English translation will recover the reverence used in the Latin when referring to the Jesus, the saints and the Church. Many feel that Catholics have lost a sense of the sacred not only in their Churches and at Mass but also in their lives at home and elsewhere.

This new translation of the English Mass is a wonderful opportunity for overall liturgical renewal in the Church.

DON'T TELL AUGUSTA THAT JESUS IS THE TRUE MASTER! IT WILL BE AS HOT AS HELL THERE AND IN MACON TODAY! 90 DEGREES. WINTER TO SUMMER INSTANTLY!

This is how hot it's going to be today in good old Macon and in my home town of Augusta! Sorry, I have no tickets for you or for me!


The Master's has a great website during the Masters. LOOK AT IT HERE!

A BRIGHT IDEA IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF!

Occasionally I get brainstorms and bright ideas that impressed even me. It happened again this morning as I was writing the General Intercessions for this Sunday's Mass. Why not conclude them with the Beijing Duck Collect for this Sunday. This would then expose the congregation to this delectable prayer and this would be licit to conclude the intercessions rather than illicit if prayed at the Collect. And since both translations of the very same Latin prayer have no resemblance to one another and the lame duck one truly impoverished, the congregation would not even feel that this is redundant.

So that's what we're doing this weekend with the General Intercessions until the First Sunday of Advent when the new English translation of the prayers will be in the right position and truly delicious!

LEFTOVER LAME DUCK; DELECTABLE BEIJING DUCK: THE 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT, THE BEGINNING OF PASSIONTIDE

PASSIONTIDE IS THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF LENT. DID YOU COVER YOUR CROSSES AND STATUES? AND BEFORE YOU SAY THAT VATICAN II DID AWAY WITH "PASSIONTIDE" THINK AGAIN, THE PREFACES FOR PASSIONTIDE BEGINNING MONDAY FOR DAILY MASS IS THE PREFACE FOR THE PASSION! I REST MY CASE.

Click on pictures twice to enlarge:





COLLECT

Current Lame Duck:

Father, help us to be like Christ your son,
who love the world and died for our salvation.
Inspire us by his love,
guide us by his example.

Forthcoming Beijing Duck:

By your help, we beseech you, Lord our God,
may we walk eagerly in that same charity
with which, out of love for the world,
your Son handed himself over to death.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,


AFTER COMMUNION

Current Lame Duck:

Almighty Father, by this sacrifice
may we always remain one with your Son, Jesus Christ,
whose body and blood we share,
for he is Lord for ever and ever.

Forthcoming Beijing Duck:

We pray, almighty God,
that we may always be counted among the members of Christ,
in whose Body and Blood we have communion.

NOW THIS IS SAD AND A SAD PRODUCT OF THE 1960'S AND 70'S; DO YOU KNOW HOW TO SPELL SCHISM & HERESY? READ ON!

While Roy Bourgeois, M.M. lives in our Diocese of Savannah in Columbus, GA, he has nothing to do with our diocese or any of our priests in that city and never has, except when he was in jail for his protests at Ft. Benning.

But more importantly, his letter covers all of the rationale I learned in the 1970's about why women have a "right" to be priests. It makes my stomach turn reading a rehash of all of this rubbish.

But at least he's honest and his honesty will get him ousted from Maryknoll.

No one has a right to the Sacrament of Holy Orders or the Sacrament of Marriage if there is any kind of impediment. No one has a right to Holy Communion either. And if there is an impediment, no one has a right to Baptism or Confirmation, the sacrament of Penance or the Anointing of the Sick. Homosexuals are excluded from the sacrament of marriage.

I don't care how much a person may feel God is calling them to a sacrament as though we are now reverting to the old hersey of Gnosticism, something only known to a small group of people, but not the Church's leadership, they are not called.

When I was vocation director, I told men that I recruited that I didn't care how much they felt God was calling them (and if they felt a direct line, I was even more suspicious) if the bishop didn't actually call them then they weren't called, pure and simple!

From the pen of Roy Bourgeois, M.M.

Rev. Edward Dougherty, M.M., Superior General
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
P.O. Box 303 Maryknoll, NY 10545

April 8, 2011

Dear Father Dougherty and General Council,

Maryknoll has been my community, my family, for 44 years, so it is with great sadness that I received your letter of March 18, 2011 stating I must recant my belief and public statements that support the ordination of women, or I will be dismissed from Maryknoll.

When I was a young man in the military, I felt God was calling me to be a priest. I later entered Maryknoll and was ordained. I am grateful for finding the happiness, meaning and hope I was seeking in life.

For the past 20 years I have been speaking out and organizing against the injustice of the School of the Americas and U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. Over these years I discovered an injustice much closer to home – an injustice in my Church.

Devout women in our Church believe God is calling them to be priests, but they are rejected because the Church teaches that only baptized men can become priests. As a Catholic priest for 38 years, I believe our Church’s teaching that excludes women from the priesthood defies both faith and reason and cannot stand up to scrutiny for the following reasons:

(1) As Catholics, we believe that we were created in the image and likeness of God and that men and women are equal before God. Excluding women from the priesthood implies that men are superior to women.

(2) Catholic priests say that the call to be a priest is a gift and comes fromGod. How can we, as men, say: “Our call from God is authentic, but your call, as women, is not”? Who are we to reject God’s call of women to the priesthood? I believe our Creator who is the Source of life and called forth the sun and stars is certainly capable of calling women to be priests.

(3) We are told that women cannot be priests because Jesus chose only men as apostles. As we know, Jesus did not ordain anyone. Jesus also chose a woman, Mary Magdalene, to be the first witness to His resurrection, which is at the core of our faith. Mary Magdalene became known as “the apostle to the apostles.”

(4) A 1976 report by the Pontifical Biblical Commission, the Vatican’s top Scripture scholars, concluded that there is no valid case to be made against the ordination of women from the Scriptures. In the Episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran, United Church of Christ, Presbyterian and other Christian churches, God’s call of women to the priesthood is affirmed and women are ordained. Why not in the Catholic church?

(5) The Holy Scriptures remind us in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither male nor female. In Christ Jesus you are one.” Furthermore, the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on The Church in the Modern World states: “Every type of discrimination … based on sex. .. is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent.”

After much reflection and many conversations with fellow priests and women, I believe sexism is at the root of excluding women from the priesthood. Sexism, like racism, is a sin. And no matter how hard we may try to justify discrimination against women, in the end, it is not the way of God. Sexism is about power. In the culture of clericalism many Catholic priests see the ordination of women as a threat to their power.

Our Church is in a crisis today because of the sexual abuse scandal and the closing of hundreds of churches because of a shortage of priests. When I entered Maryknoll we had over 300 seminarians. Today we have ten. For years we have been praying for more vocations to the priesthood. Our prayers have been answered. God is sending us women priests. Half the population are women. If we are to have a vibrant and healthy Church, we need the wisdom, experience and voices of women in the priesthood.

As Catholics, we believe in the primacy and sacredness of conscience. Our conscience is sacred because it gives us a sense of right and wrong and urges us to do the right thing. Conscience is what compelled Franz Jagerstatter, a humble Austrian farmer, husband and father of four young children, to refuse to join Hitler’s army, which led to his execution. Conscience is what compelled Rosa Parks to say she could no longer sit in the back of the bus. Conscience is what compels women in our Church to say they cannot be silent and deny their call from God to the priesthood. And it is my conscience that compels me to say publicly that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is a grave injustice against women, against our Church and against our God who calls both men and women to the priesthood.

In his 1968 commentary on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Gaudium et Spes, Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, said: “Over the pope … there still stands one’s own conscience, which must be obeyed before all else, if necessary, even against the requirement of ecclesiastical authority.”

What you are requiring of me is not possible without betraying my conscience. In essence, you are telling me to lie and say I do not believe that God calls both men and women to the priesthood. This I cannot do, therefore I will not recant.

Like the abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement and the right of women to vote, the ordination of women is inevitable because it is rooted in justice. Wherever there is an injustice, silence is the voice of consent. I respectfully ask that my fellow priests, bishops, Church leaders in the Vatican and Catholics in the pews speak out and affirm God’s call of women to the priesthood.

Your Brother in Christ,

Roy Bourgeois, M.M.
P.O. Box 3330
Columbus, GA 31903

PHIL LAWLER HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD--ONE MORE SIGN OF THE NEED FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT IN THE CHURCH

Phil Lawler of Catholic Culture makes sense and hits the nail on the head. The credibility of the hierarchy has been breached and strong penalties whether from the Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Metropolitan of the dioceses of this area or from the Vatican itself should have dealt with it swiftly and several years ago. Squandering credibility in the Church should be considered a mortal sin.

READ PHIL LAWLER'S ARTICLE HERE!

THE RENEWAL OF THE PRIESTHOOD AND OF RELIGIOUS LIFE IS IN THE HANDS OF THE YOUNG AND I THINK THEY WILL DO IT IF ONLY THE OLD GUARD GETS OUT OF THE WAY

Everything old is renewed again!

Fr. Justin in the center, 40 years from now!

Sister Elizabeth and all the Daughters of Charity in five years!

The young who would consider the priesthood or religious life are looking for dioceses and religious orders that are traditional, faithful to the Magisterium and profoundly spiritual but also community oriented. These are all the things that the "supposed" "renewal" of the priesthood and religious life dumped in favor of individualism, narcissism and secularism. Of course this first phase of "renewal" is really decay but it is bringing forth newer forms of religious life and candidates who don't want what was sold to the Church in the 1960's as "renewal". They want authentic renewal.

READ ALL ABOUT IT IN "THE REPUBLIC ARTICLE" BY PRESSING THIS SENTENCE.

OPPOSING THE POPE, BE YE TRADITIONALIST OR FLAMING LIBERAL, YE MISS THE MARK!

I've always said that traditionalists posed the greatest threat to Catholic unity because they are more focused, single-minded and united in their schism. Liberals are precisely that, liberal. They are all over the place, not given to unity and very narcissistic. That is not a good recipe for a unified schism. Liberals hate leadership that is focused, preferring the committee approach to leading--not good for a good schism.

At any rate read what Sandro Magister writes on his blog "High Up, Let Down By Pope Benedict". Press all of this to go to the article.

COMING THIS SUNDAY TO SAINT JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHURCH, MACON--NOT!

UPDATE! UPDATE! I DIDN'T HAVE THE STOMACH TO WATCH MUCH OF THIS, BUT TOWARD THE 27TH MINUTE THE PRIEST HAS THE GENERAL INTERCESSIONS WHICH IS IN THE STYLE OF THE EASTERN, UKRAINIAN RITE OF THE CHURCH. TALK ABOUT BEING ECLECTIC! YIKES!
I think I'll take the 1960's Folk Mass over this any day!

This is a televised 2009 Mass for shut-ins. I think it qualifies for abuse of these poor people. It also indicates that "incultration" of musical styles dumped on the Mass is silly and counter-productive. It gives new meaning to the desire for "sacral" music for our liturgy, which includes melodies and instruments, not just words.

AND NOW FOR SOME ACADEMIC PONDERINGS ON THE CHURCH AND HER LITURGY

Fr.Christopher Smith has a very good academic article on the Chant Cafe.

Here are two paragraphs to tantalize you to read it:

The chief problem with this mindset is not the often sincere intentions for ecclesiastical renewal which accompanied it. This problem is expressed in two postulates. The first, is that there existed in the past some point of reference in which the liturgy, theology and Church life was pure, was what should be. This is incorrect, because the Church is never pure and what should be will only be in Heaven. The second, is that placing such a vision in dialogue with contemporary trends will renew the Church. This is also incorrect, because it assumes that such a dialogue and a renewal is always and everywhere possible.

After the Second Vatican Council, these two errors accompanied critiques of liturgy, theology, and Church life from left, right and center. Catholicism in the latter half of the twentieth century had imbibed the myth that there was out there a perfect way to do theology, make liturgy, and be the Church. If we read the memoirs of Annibale Bugnini and Cardinal Antonelli, both deeply involved in the Liturgical Reform and also divided by it, we can see that these two men in different ways took these postulates to be true, differing only in the details.

YOU CAN READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE BY PRESSING THIS SENTENCE AND GOING TO THE CHANT CAFE AND READING,"CHALLENGING THE LITURGICAL STATUS QUO!

DISARRAY AT THE VATICAN: A POSSIBLE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT POPE?

The National Catholic Register, now owned by EWTN, but always a rather loyal, respected and orthodox newspaper and not to be confused with the National Catholic Reporter, which is its polar opposite, has an interview concerning some of the PR problems of the Vatican under Pope Benedict and the disarray in the Vatican due to "politics."

It's a fascinating inside look at what many people already perceive. Pope Benedict is a brilliant intellectual, down-to-earth teacher and wonderful liturgist. However, he is also 84 years old. He is a part of that "greatest generation" which is now passing.

Evidently his strong suit is not administration. Given the nature of communications today and the drive-by press, administration has to be very organized, unified and coherent. Bureaucracies need to be streamlined and everyone needs to be on the same page as the CEO, not that Pope Benedict is that, but he is partially that.

So the next pope has his work cut out for him:
--continuing the liturgical reform of this pope (save the liturgy, save the world)
--continuing strengthening the priestly identity of Catholic priests based upon sound doctrine
--continuing strenghtening the Catholic identity of Catholics moving them away from cafeteria Catholicism
--reorganizing the curia
--setting a new and coherent agenda for dealing with errant Catholic priests especially sins and crimes against the vow/promise of celibacy and in particular against children and minors. Bishops must be held accountable for their management of clergy.
--renewing the Vatican's international influence
--becoming more savvy with technology, communication and PR
--unifying Catholics under a strong Catholic ethic and orthodoxy

You can read the National Catholic Reporter's interview by pressing this entire sentence!

What suggestions do you have for the next pope?

My personal opinion, in terms of liturgy, is that when the Holy Father models liturgical renewal, but does not mandate them, this is perhaps an administrative gaff as it sends mixed messages to the Church. To whom is the Holy Father modeling his liturgical style? Obviously the world sees it, but only bishops can implement it on a diocesan level. But then you have priests doing what the pope is doing and bishops opposing their priests who are doing it because they rightly say it's not in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal with a particular country's adaptations which the Vatican itself has endorsed. This sort of confusion is not good.
The other peculiar situation is that the Holy Father did "mandate" the use of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, but he himself has not modeled it. I find that peculiar. He models what is not mandated but does not model what is. Just my two cents worth.

WHO OF YOU IS A HERETIC? GET THEE TO THE STAKE!

Well, if you have to be burned at the stake, no better time than during Holy Mass, Extraordinary Form!


Sometimes good, conservative, orthodox (Catholics who liberally accept all the teachings of the Church, thus they are really "liberal") do have a tendency to call others heretics. So just what qualifies one to be a heretic?

I think this definition from the Catholic Encyclopedia is pretty good. What do you think?

Both matter and form of heresy admit of degrees which find expression in the following technical formula of theology and canon law. Pertinacious adhesion to a doctrine contradictory to a point of faith clearly defined by the Church is heresy pure and simple, heresy in the first degree. But if the doctrine in question has not been expressly "defined" or is not clearly proposed as an article of faith in the ordinary, authorized teaching of the Church, an opinion opposed to it is styled sententia haeresi proxima, that is, an opinion approaching heresy. Next, a doctrinal proposition, without directly contradicting a received dogma, may yet involve logical consequences at variance with revealed truth. Such a proposition is not heretical, it is a propositio theologice erronea, that is, erroneous in theology. Further, the opposition to an article of faith may not be strictly demonstrable, but only reach a certain degree of probability. In that case the doctrine is termed sententia de haeresi suspecta, haeresim sapiens; that is, an opinion suspected, or savouring, of heresy.

According to the definition above, what qualifies a person to be labeled a heretic and who can make the accusation? And if accused what should then happen?