Category Archives: Church

Remember you are dust…

Today Lent begins, the season of penance leading up to Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter.

If you received ashes during Ash Wednesday Mass today, the priest or Deacon had the option of saying the traditional, “Remember thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.”

This is to remind you of your mortality. You will not be alive for ever, some day you will die. This annual reminder of that may be the only one of your own mortality, apart from the death of a loved one. I think this is important, as it is the only reminder of mortality that you have that isn’t distracted by grief and other emotions. You can meditate on it. Consider that.

Repent, and believe in the Gospel. (That was the other option to be said at the dispensation of ashes.)

NOTE: This is a “retropost,” a post from an old blog I wrote on “The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven (& Purgatory) and Hell” that I shuttered a few years ago. Individual posts are being transferred to either In Exile or Sober Catholic, whichever seems appropriate. Some are backdated, others postdated, in case you’re confused as to why you never saw a particular post if you’re a diligent reader. The process should be completed by early 2022.

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

On statues, slavery and genocide

This is a post initially written as a Facebook reply in defense of my beloved wife’s post on her Timeline in which she agrees with the pulling down of slave-owner’s statues. She compared them to statues of Hitler. I initially disagreed with her (without posting as such because publicly disagreeing with one’s spouse is not always advantageous. 😉 ) But then I thought about it. I briefly contemplated what it must feel like to be property. Therefore I reconsidered and now I agree with her.

For anyone who thinks that the comparison between slave-holders and Nazis is harsh; let me remind you that both slavery and the Nazis’ “Final Solution” fundamentally dehumanized people. One difference is that slavery has been with us for 1,000s of years and perhaps we’ve become somewhat “immune” to its horror. The ancient Romans and Greeks practiced it, various Asian cultures did so, as well as Arabs, sub-Saharan Africans, and indigenous American peoples like the Aztecs. Desensitized may be the more proper word. It’s been with us for so long that we overlook the abject horror over the “thingification” of people, reducing them to objects of work and drudgery, no more, and subject to the absolute and capricious will of another. Say what you want about how this or that society may have ‘reformed’ slavery by giving slaves some rights and protections; still, the reduction of a human person to that of a chattel object, to be bought and sold like a thing is a grave evil. Another difference is duration: if you were sentenced to a Nazi concentration camp, you’d be dead within days or weeks. Rare was anyone who survived longer than a few months. You might survive the Soviet Gulags longer (I don’t know; I wouldn’t want to experience either to find out.) So there is a difference in degree and duration: condensed in the intense, short, horrific, and barbarous term in a death camp versus being spread out over arduous, barbarous decades as a slave. Destruction is destruction, the human person becomes a dehumanized thing regardless of whether it’s quick and painful, or slower and prolonged. People can debate forever which is worse. Which is stupid, both are evil and shouldn’t be done. To think that one is worse implies that the other is not so bad. 

The Nazi Death camps are an aberration in human history. Including the Turkish genocide of Armenians, the Soviet Gulags, and the Chinese Communist “Cultural Revolution” and later prison systems; such an organized, systematic, intentional destruction of human beings have been comparatively rare in human history. And as seen in the above examples, it has been restricted to our advanced, enlightened “modern times” and its secular, republican, and democratic forms of government.

As a result, we see that comparing slavery to Nazism can be initially off-putting with a knee-jerk reaction of “You gotta be kidding.” But once you dwell on and contemplate the horror that slavery is, you can see why statues of slave-owning individuals can be seen by some to be on a par with seeing statues that glorify Hitler (or Marx, Lenin, Mao, or Margaret Sanger; the latter being the white supremacist, racist, pro-Eugenics founder of Planned Parenthood.)

One issue I have is the mob violence associated with the pulling down of statues. Even so, I have to stop and think whether I would willingly participate in the pulling down of a Hitler, Marx, etc., statue. The answer is that I might consider it. Whether I’d follow through, depends. But the thought would cross my mind as I may see in the spontaneous act of destroying symbols of evil a morally good action that transcends other human notions of propriety. But I would have to evaluate the action in terms of whether the ends-justifies-the-means. For impure acts can never be used to achieve a good end. Would this “spontaneous act” be an “impure act”? Could the removal of statues be done in other ways that do not provoke the hardening of positions thus increasing division? The political change wrought by violence usually envelops and devours the violent. Recall the French Revolution of 1789, the European revolutions of 1848, the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and the Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1950s-60s.

The other issue is the indiscriminate selection of statues targeted, which implies either a fundamental ignorance on the part of the mobs doing the action or a hidden agenda. Recently, a Frederick Douglas statue in Rochester, NY was allegedly vandalized. He was a freed black slave and abolitionist. The monument to a black Civil War regiment in Massachusetts was vandalized. A U.S. Grant statue was torn down (the Union General in the Civil War, and US president immediately following it and de facto military governor of the South due to Reconstruction.) Why pull theirs down? (Unless white supremacists are sneaking in and taking advantage of the chaos and doing their evil, but it does seem that other racially-motivated groups are also taking this action. I don’t know, but if, in fact, these other “racially motivated groups” are infected with Marxism, then I can see the basis for their indiscriminate targeting. Marxists typically seek to erase the past to better reconstruct a new society. Nevertheless, it would impact my decision-making in whether or not the “spontaneous act” is impure and would I take part.) How about statues of St. Junipero Serra and King St. Louis IX? Never. Opponents of their statuary are blindingly ill-informed as to who they were and what they did. They were powerful forces for good concerning the people they cared for or governed. What about the statues of Washington and Jefferson? Granted, they were slave owners but given their fundamental contributions to American history, they can be given a pass. “What?!?! But, they owned slaves!!!!” No one is flawless, we are all sinners and have done worse if not evil things. Including slavery. If you have ever initiated or cooperated in dehumanizing or objectifying another, such as maltreating employees or staff, then you relegated them to be like a slave. Perhaps Washington and Jefferson and some others can be demoted in the pantheon of Saints in the American Civil Religion, but deleted (or ‘canceled’) from our history? Never. In some circumstances, the entirety of the life of a person must be weighed and evaluated and viewed in a proper, comprehensive context. Good and bad, warts and halos. To focus on slavery is too narrow a vision. The unfortunate consequence is that entire swaths of human history would have to be “canceled” because slavery was a part of the social fabric. Slavery, despite its evilness, should not cancel out other elements of the persons’ life or that of an entire culture. Too much of what makes our contemporary cultures would be lost. Does this mean I am contradicting myself, given my equating slavery with Nazism, etc.? No; there was little else of virtue that Hitler, the Turks, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Sanger have done to merit being “given a pass.” Their evil was pure and unadulterated and they did nothing to cause anyone to reconsider their evil in any “proper, comprehensive context.” Washington and Jefferson did, even if you disagree with their politics.

I think we have lost sight of the bigger picture. People on both sides of the political spectrum have lost the concept of the entirety of an issue; and the value of a perspective that differs from their own. Everyone is looking at things with blinders on and not taking a step back and empathizing with our brothers, who may diverge from us in appearance and outlook but are still our kin. (Perhaps it related to the first part of my earlier post, “Two Theories on the Ending of the World”, the serious part on conspiracy theories and the “why’s” of their popularity, and decidedly NOT not the more humorous second half that blames aliens. Read it to find out more.)

My wife inadvertently caused me to think and challenge my initial superficial reaction in that because it’s mob violence it’s wrong. Wimmin! And I agree with her. The statues, at least some of them, should go. But so should statues of Marx, Che Guevara, Margaret Sanger and others of similar ilk. Should they be removed by a popular “spontaneous act?” No.

So there.

 

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace and Creation II: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Blessed Stanley Rother, and All the Martyrs of Latin America

And today begins the Second of the Nine Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation, and this one is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Blessed Stanley Rother, and All the Martyrs of Latin America. It runs from June 29 to July 7, 2020.

I will not post this every day as the prayers and intentions are the same for each day. I’ll just leave it here for nine days; if I need to blog in the interim, I will just blog a reminder afterwards. For the background, please read this post (especially if you need to learn about who Bob Waldrop, the creator of this Novena, was, and why I am introducing it to you.) Or go here: A Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation.

Don’t worry if you jump in at some point later in the 81 days. To paraphrase Bob “just pick up whenever you happen to join in.”

AFTER THIS SENTENCE, THE WRITING IS ALL THAT OF BOB WALDROP, not me, Paulcoholic.

…

Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace and Creation II: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Blessed Stanley Rother, and All the Martyrs of Latin America

“Getting Started:

Begin each novena prayer with a time of quiet prayer. You may find it helpful to pray some repetitions of the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner), a decade of the Rosary, the Chaplet of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, or a time of spiritual reading or lectio divina that will prepare your mind and your heart for the prayer to come. This could be a time for a daily examen, where you consider your actions of the day and how they relate to God’s call in your life.”

General Intention: the unjust exercise of authority, and the sins and structures of sin against life.

The Second Work of Justice and Peace: Hear the truth when it is spoken to you. Discern the signs of the times and speak truth — to power, to the people, and to the Church.

Act of caring for Creation: Start a compost pile and compost your organic waste.

God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.

+ Let us pray together in peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples. Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.

O Mary, blessed Lady of Guadalupe, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life: Look down, O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violence and unjust wars, of the elderly and the sick killed by indifference or out of misguided mercy. Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love to the people of our time.

Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, together with all people of good will, the civilization of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life.

Pray for us, Blessed Stanley Rother and all Martyrs of Latin America! Bring to our remembrance this day all people who are killed in wars, acteal martyrstortured in jails, disappeared in the night, starved for food, subjected to oppression, driven from their homes, unlawfully imprisoned, denied religious liberty, excluded from economic opportunity, marginalized by poverty, targeted by racial and cultural prejudices, silenced by violence and injustice. Help us to hear and remember the tragedy, joy, despair, and hope of the voices that call to us and to history for justice, reconciliation, and peace. Pray for us so that by the grace of God we will build a world without injustice. Amen.

Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops:

Most Glorious and Venerable St. John Chrysostom,
Grace shining forth from your lips like a beacon
has illumined the universe.
It shows to the world the treasures of poverty;
it reveals to us the heights of humility.
Teaching us by your words, O Father John Chrysostom,
intercede before the Word, Christ our God, to save our souls!

Pray for the bishops of the United States of America,
who do not teach or practice the Catholic faith in its fullness,
that God will deliver them to orthodoxy,
and reform their ways of living,
so that as exemplars of orthopraxis, they will protect all life,
from the moment of conception to the time of natural death.

Teach them true solidarity with the poor, so that they
understand the consequences of their moral abandonment
of entire nations of human beings to a collective fate of cruelty and violence
because they were in the way of the American Empire and
its gluttonous lust for oil, supremacy, and blood.

As you refused to obey the aristocratic commands of your era,
help our bishops turn away from the political demands
that cause them to preach a false gospel of moral relativism regarding war and peace.

Having received divine grace from heaven,
with your mouth you teach all people to worship the Triune God.
Instruct our bishops with the wisdom of the Gospel,
so that they repent of their material cooperation with the objective evil of unjust war, and call all people, in authentic word and deed, to live in solidarity, peace, and justice.

All-blest and venerable St. John Chrysostom,
we praise you, for you are our teacher, revealing things divine!
Pray for us that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God, Who by the preaching and teaching of Saint John Chrysostom
has given us an example of fortitude in the face of persecution and political corruption, grant that we who reverence his life and ministry may also imitate
his example of fidelity to wisdom, truth, justice, and beauty,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary… Glory be. . .

Thoughts for the journey. In this Novena we honor Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe, protector of all children, whatever their social, political, or physical location may be. She is patron of all those who are oppressed and persecuted and patron of the Americas. We also remember the martyrs of Latin America, victims of cruel conflicts between world empires and corrupt ruling classes. Many of these killings were committed with arms and money provided by the United States, by military personnel trained by the United States. All of us must examine our consciences as to how we benefit from the evil done by our governments.

We name in particular Blessed Stanley Rother, born on a farm near Okarche, Oklahoma. Not a great student, he had to leave one seminary because of academic concerns, but was accepted elsewhere which was better equipped to help him meet the academic standards of ordination. Sent to the mission church of Santiago Aititlan in Guatamala, he not only celebrated the Sacraments, he helped the people better their lives. He introduced new crops, organized a farmers marketing coop, and did all he could to help them to help themselves. This brought him into conflict with the government, whose policy was that the indigenous peoples should be poor, and remain poor, so they could be exploited for the benefit of the ruling class. They were consistently supported in this evil by the United States government, which in the 1950s conspired with the Guatamalan ruling classes to overthrow the only freely elected democratic government that nationa had experienced. It is not too much to say that the guns and bullets used to murder Blessed Stanley Rother were paid for by the US taxpayers.

Throughout history, we have drawn circles around certain groups and said, “These people are not human — dispose of them as you choose.” The holocausts are too many to count. Do we really believe that human life is precious and deserves respect and protection? That depends on where the alleged person is located, socially and physically.

Some people simply aren’t considered to be real people. They may be too old, and too sick, and too poor, or located someplace “inconvenient.” Perhaps they live on land which is coveted by others more powerful than they. Maybe their nations have resources that we want. This was the attitude of nearly everyone in the United States, including sadly the bishops and most of the clergy of the Catholic Church in the United States, towards the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. We have for the most part stood by and done nothing as they were “caught in the crossfire.” All of us must examine our consciences concerning our complicity with the unjust murder that has gone on in the name of the US Government in Iraq and Afghanistan, Africa, Central America, and elsewhere in the world. We have stood in the streets, and instead of crying out against unjust war, we have instead screamed repeatedly — “Crucify them! Crucify them!”

Society has developed many ways to ease this process, starting with the NewSpeak vocabulary that describes these events passively so they don’t see so “bad”. Structures of sin always defend themselves vigorously. There is enough tragedy in this to go around more than once.

Abandonment by fathers, violence against women, unjust economics that encourage abortion, terrorism, mandatory contraception & sterilization, demonization of the poor (especially young single mothers), cartelized and corporatized health care and so on. Here is where we remember that the Lady of Guadalupe took upon herself the image of a young pregnant Aztec maiden in a place of oppression and injustice, demonstrating God’s love for everybody.

We find this message also in the mysteries of Blessed Stanley Rother and the many Martyrs of Latin America. They were condemned by politicians. The bullets and bombs that killed them were paid for by the powerful. They were targeted because they were poor. Their deaths were enabled by structures that dehumanize and depersonalize human beings. Like unborn children, a circle was drawn around them & they were proclaimed as fair game. Empires counted their deaths as collateral damage. Most of us stood by and did nothing, or actively supported our crusade of brutal violence against the poor. Their voices call to us for justice & remembrance.

How is my life — how is your life — open to the reality that Christ is alive and he loves each and every one of us? Jesus gave his life to save us and our societies from sin and oppression. Does that reality have an impact on the way we live? He was with the Martyrs of Acteal and the Four Churchwomen and the Blessed Oscar Romero and the Blessed Fr. Stanley Rother and all the other martyrs of Latin America at the time that demonic evil so cruelly ended their lives. He comforted them in life and in death. Jesus lives today and is at our side every moment of every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free us. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, of our journeys of justice and peace.

Act of Caring of Creation: Compost!

God designed this planet to work in accordance with natural laws. So when living organic matter dies, it goes back to the earth, decays, and is reborn as new plants starting a new cycle. This is the natural way our planet works. But we are the Americans! We have a Better Way! We should wrap our organic wastes in black plastic and bury it in holes! Surely we are Smarter Than God! Well as a matter of reality we are not smarter than God, and our fetish with stuffing black plastic bags with trash and burying them in the ground is a moral crime against Nature — which is the Creation of God. So a compost pile is not some foolish activity of hippies. To package your kitchen waste in black plastic, robbing the earth of those nutrients, contaminating them with chemicals and other industrial wastes, is (for most of us) sin. Think of this unnatural practice as. . . “environmental sodomy.” Holiness demands a better way, and that’s what composting is about.

If you don’t know how to compost, read this short article that I wrote and recently revised:

Compost! Because a rind is a terrible thing to waste.

If you want to grow your own food, the place to start is by making compost. Some people make this out to be much more complicated than it really is. Here is a basic recipe for making compost.

Select a place for a compost pile, and dig the ground up a bit. Put down a layer of twigs and small branches, and then make alternating layers of “brown and dry” materials and “green and wet” materials. Brown and dry can include leaves, shredded tree limbs and bark, newspapers (no shiny slick papers or colored inks), brown cardboard, dried grass clippings. Green and wet includes kitchen scraps, green lawn trimmings, green leaves, flowers, weeds, plants, etc. It’s best not to put fats or meats in the pile, as that will attract varmints, but they will compost if not eaten…

Wet each layer thoroughly, and toss a shovel of soil on each layer and a couple of small branches. Pile it up at least 3 feet high and 3 feet wide, & then leave it alone for a year. If it’s a dry summer, water it so it stays damp inside (like a wrung out sponge). After about a year, rake away the leaves still on top, and inside will be a nice, rich, dark loamy compost that smells like forest dirt when you sniff it.

If you can’t wait a whole year, you can make compost faster by fussing with it a bit. Every week or so go out and “turn it”, that is to say, use a pitchfork and move the compost to a different spot, so that what was “outside” on the pile is now inside, and what was inside is now on the outside.

If the compost heap starts to smell bad, something’s wrong, probably either too much “wet and green” or it has somehow gotten so compacted that air can’t get in. For the problem of too much wet and green, add more brown and dry. If the pile has become compacted, then stir it up a bit and add some small branches (the purpose of the branches is to keep the pile from compacting and to help air circulate).

If you dig into the pile, you will find lots of little creatures at work, rolly pollies, worms, etc. That’s good, because that’s what’s supposed to happen.

If you want a nice garden, the place to start is by building your soil. No chemical fertilizer has the advantages of home made compost, & it has the added benefit of recycling your food waste, lawn & garden trimmings on site, rather than sending them off to be buried wastefully in a landfill. Composting is the beginning of a beautiful home garden. Start your compost pile this week, a rind is a terrible thing to waste!

By Bob Waldrop

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Apollo 11 and St. Apollinaris

Today is the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. That’s all I’m going to write about the second most historic event in human history (given that there have been umptillion blog posts and news items covering that.)  The most historic event in human history was the Incarnation of Christ with His continued Real Presence in the Eucharist.

What struck me is what happened when I glanced at a calendar.  Today, July 20th, is the feast day on the New Roman Calendar of St. Apollinaris of Ravenna. Odd coincidence?  Apollinaris—> Apollo 11? Under the old pre-Vatican II calendar, his feast day was July 23 (day before Apollo 11 returned to Earth.)

The Catholic Encyclopedia hosted by New Advent has this to say about him:

One of the first great martyrs of the church. He was made Bishop of Ravenna by St. Peter himself. The miracles he wrought there soon attracted official attention, for they and his preaching won many converts to the Faith, while at the same time bringing upon him the fury of the idolaters, who beat him cruelly and drove him from the city. He was found half dead on the seashore, and kept in concealment by the Christians, but was captured again and compelled to walk on burning coals and a second time expelled. But he remained in the vicinity, and continued his work of evangelization. We find him then journeying in the province of Aemilia. A third time he returned to Ravenna. Again he was captured, hacked with knives, had scalding water poured over his wounds, was beaten in the mouth with stones because he persisted in preaching, and then, loaded with chains, was flung into a horrible dungeon to starve to death; but after four days he was put on board ship and sent to Greece. There the same course of preachings, and miracles, and sufferings continued; and when his very presence caused the oracles to be silent, he was, after a cruel beating, sent back to Italy. All this continued for three years, and a fourth time he returned to Ravenna. By this time Vespasian was Emperor, and he, in answer to the complaints of the pagans, issued a decree of banishment against the Christians. Apollinaris was kept concealed for some time, but as he was passing out of the gates of the city, was set upon and savagely beaten, probably at Classis, a suburb, but he lived for seven days, foretelling meantime that the persecutions would increase, but that the Church would ultimately triumph. It is not certain what was his native place, though it was probably Antioch. Nor is it sure that he was one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ, as has been suggested. The precise date of his consecration cannot be ascertained, but he was Bishopof Ravenna for twenty-six years.

I don’t see any connection to the space program. Obviously, there’s 1900+ years difference; but perhaps I was hoping for epic sea voyages, at least; or converting countelss pagans from the cults of Diana or Artemis.

Or boldly going where no one had gone before.

But I thought it was interesting.

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Second experience with the Latin Mass

I went to my second Mass in the Extrordinary Form yesterday. My first one was last week.

We had a different priest from last Sunday; an African priest who seems to be popular with the local TLM community. I spoke with another person and he knows Fr. Justus (I think that is his name) and according to him Father would say 20 Latin Masses a day if he could.

He said the Missa Cantata diffferently; while last week the priest had said most of his prayers inaudibly, Fr. Justus said them with microphone and as a result I was better able to follow along in the missal. I know, I reported last week that I was advised against using one, to “take it all in” and such, but I just couldn’t. I managed quite nicely. Perhaps I have the knack!

I have a lot more to say about the Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, but I will refrain for now in light if the fact that I am very knew to it and would risk sounding ignorant. Suffice it to say, I loved attending and plan to go weekly, circumstances permitting. Sunday afternoons may have other obligations, but there is another EF Mass up in the city on Sunday mornings that I can attend; despite my dislike of driving in the city, and cities in general, (“flee to the fields” 😉 ) the Mass is worth it.

At least I am beginning to understand better the context of many saints’ pronouncements on the Mass. I shall leave you with that mysterious statement for now.

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

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Mass of the Ages

Today I went to a Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (also known as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”) It was a Missa Cantata, or “Sung Mass.”

I had some idea of what to expect; I had gone to one (also a “Missa Cantata”) before, perhaps 15 years ago. I had no clue then as to what was going on. This time I was better informed from prior study.

I loved it, although I still didn’t quite understand everything. My knowledge of Latin is about what you’d expect: my only sources of it are EWTN Masses and Looney Tunes cartoons. 😉

Adding to my lack of adequate comprehension was that much of the Mass is silent; the priest says most of what he says quietly, unlike the Ordinary Form of the Mass (the one you’re used to.) I tried to follow along in a missal the parish had but was largely unsuccessful. I had been advised by numerous people that I should dispense with using a missal for the first few times I attend an EF Mass; I should just “experience it,” to “take it all in” and basically treat it (at first) like a devotional, such as a Holy Hour. Then, once more familiar with the whole event from just observing, find a missal and follow along. So, for the next few times I go I will ignore the missal.

The priest is offering the sacrifice on behalf of the people; we observe and unite our prayers to his. The offering of the Mass is between him and God, we are present but in a less participatory role than in the OF. I may have said this with less than precise terminology. If in error, I will accept charitable correction. But this is what I believe I’ve gleaned from my study and observation. The Mass is a sacrifice, the priest offers it, we observe. The OF Mass has altered this understanding, and I think the manner in which it was done has been detrimental to contemporary Catholicism. The emphasis seems to have shifted from worshiping God to the Mass being some sort of communal celebration about us.

Anyway, it was a transcendental experience; despite my newness to it I sensed that something was different, something otherwordly was taking place. A kind of awesome mystery. I felt completely detached from the outside world, something that rarely ever happens to me at an Ordinary Form Mass. I can just imagine the experience after I am more familiar with it.

This is the “Mass of the Ages,” the Mass the Catholic Church celebrated for centuries prior to Vatican II. I felt somehow connected to those who had celebrated it before… not just ordinary priests and laity, but saints. This is the Mass that St. Maximilian Kolbe offered.

They say that Vatican II created a rupture in the continuity of tradition between the contemporary Church and the one of ages past. I will not comment on that but it is apparent that we lost a lot. Although I will not become bitter, angry and resentful over “what we lost,” for I well know what those emotions can lead to, I will develop a much greater interest in the liturgy and its importance in life. I already have to some great degree taken the liturgy to be something more than something done on Sundays or how you pray. I do live a fairly liturgical life: from taking a keen interest in the liturgical seasons and deriving a personal connection or life application from them to praying the Divine Office. The liturgical year contributes to the ebb and flow of my life, almost like the temporal seasons and their connection to growing things.

I will be attending the Mass in both forms. My wife shows little interest in the EF. That’s all right. I like a good OF Mass said with due and proper attention to the rubrics. (The OF lends itself to abuse.)

I will blog about this more over the coming weeks.

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Praying for the Church

This post is sort of about the State of the Church. I will not wade into a discussion about Pope Francis and anything he’s done as I’m not qualified. He appears to be one of those people you either really, really, like or dislike. “Polarizing” I think is the word.

What is safe to say is that the Church needs prayers. It always does in every century of Her existence for 21 centuries now. But nowadays people are thinking and talking in apocalyptic tones, even myself with my recent posts here and on Sober Catholic about 2017 and its “interestingness.” Divisions seem to getting more strident and people are forgetting charity.

I found a prayer card tucked into a prayer book and figured it would be online somewhere. It is a “Litany for the Church.” A friend of mine told me its original intent was for the restoration of the Latin Mass. Well, that worked out so it is effective! Here it is:

LITANY FOR THE CHURCH
IN OUR TIME

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, Divine Founder of the Church, hear us.

Christ, Who didst warn of false prophets,
graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven,
have mercy on us.

God, the Son, Redeemer of the World,
have mercy on us.

God, the Holy Ghost,
have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God,
have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us.

St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church,
pray for us.

St. Michael, Defender in Battle,
pray for us.

St. Peter, the Rock upon which Christ built His Church,
pray for us.

St. Paul, Protector of the Faithful Remnant,
pray for us.

St. Francis of Assisi, Re-builder of the Church,
pray for us.

St. Anthony, Hammer of Heretics,
pray for us.

St. Pius V,
Restorer of the beauty of the Sacred Liturgy,
pray for us.

St. Pius X, Foe of Modernism,
pray for us.

All ye Holy Angels and Archangels,
pray that we may resist the snares of the Devil.

St. Catherine of Siena,
pray that Christ’s Vicar
may oppose the spirit of the world.

St. John Fisher,
pray that bishops may have
the courage to combat heresy and irreverence.

St, Francis Xavier,
pray that zeal for souls
may be re-enkindled in the clergy.

St. Charles Borromeo,
pray that seminaries
may be protected from false teachings.

St. Vincent de Paul,
pray that seminarians may return
to a life of prayer and meditation.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
pray that religious may rediscover
their vocation of love and sacrifice.

St. Thomas More,
pray that the laity
may not succumb to the Great Apostasy.

St. Francis de Sales,
pray that the Catholic press
may again become a vehicle of Truth.

St. John Bosco,
pray that our children may be protected
from immoral and heretical instruction.

St. Pascal,
pray that profound reverence
for the Most Blessed Sacrament may be restored.

St. Dominic,
pray that we may ever treasure the Holy Rosary.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray.

Jesus, our God,
in these dark hours when Thy Mystical Body
is undergoing its own Crucifixion,
and when it would almost seem to be abandoned
by God the Father,
have mercy, we beg of Thee,
on Thy suffering Church.
Send down upon us the Divine Consoler,
to enlighten our minds and strengthen our wills.

Thou, O Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity,
Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived,
have promised to be with Thy Church
until the end of time.
Give us a mighty Faith
that we may not falter;
help us to do Thy Holy Will always,
especially during these hours
of grief and uncertainty.
May Thy Most Sacred Heart
and the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart
of Thy Holy Mother be our sure refuge
in time and in eternity.

Amen.

I found it here: Catholic Doors

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