Enough

Pope’s 83rd birthday! May he live to be 100!!

…As I lit the Easter candle this morning for the fourteenth time this Easter season, I thought to myself:

What if the Lord had given His Church only one ceremony to manifest Her faith?

What if the only Catholic observance were the procession with the Paschal Candle and the chanting of the Easter proclamation on Holy Saturday night?

What if that were the entire Sacred Liturgy, and there was nothing else–just a gathering of the faithful once a year on Holy Saturday night to light the candle and hear the Exultet?

Would that be enough to get us through life? Would it be enough to keep us hoping for heaven, doing good and avoiding evil?

Yes. Yes, it would be. All the rest is beautiful, wonderful gravy.

Just in Case…

…you were starting to worry that everyone in the world is rude and arrogant:

I.

It is worthwhile listening to the whole speech. You will weep when he talks to his family.

My favorite line: “Have you ever got on your knees and prayed really hard for something?”

II.

I had two dreams this week.

One was to win the U.S. Open and the other one is to be like Roger.

One is done, but I need to improve a lot to be like you. You fought until the final point; you are a great champion.

–Juan Martin del Potro

Being classy never goes out of style.

Holy Sacrifice

The Lord Jesus said: “I am the Bread of Life.” And He gave us the Holy Eucharist.

The sacred ceremony of the Holy Mass is the perfect act of religion, the perfect act of obedience and devotion to God. By God’s design, the Holy Mass is both the sacrifice of salvation and the feast of faith.

The Blessed Sacrament of the altar is the source of eternal life. It is the divine Body and Blood, the flesh animated by the undying life of God.

How do we mortals share in Christ’s immortal life? Through His death.

Good People Oppose Same-Sex Marriage

The United States Catholic Conference prepared an excellent Q&A on this subject. I am not trying to re-invent the wheel.

Nonetheless, I would like to tackle the problem from the point-of-view of: What should good people do about this?

So here are some indisputable answers to some crucial questions. (I would be very glad for your comments and additions.)

Vademecum on the right to “same-sex Marriage”

1. What are the duties of a good person who fights for justice?

All good Christians must love everyone, and all people are bound to be just. No one has a right to impede the legitimate freedoms of another without good reason. Christians are bound to will the good of others and to do everything possible to help other people get to heaven.

2. Is there an individual right to marriage?

No one has an absolute right to marriage, because it is impossible to marry without a consenting partner. The freedom to marry is NOT, therefore, an individual right. An unmarried man and an unmarried woman–who are not related–are free to marry.

3. In order for all people to be truly free, must we permit anyone who is not married to marry anyone he or she wants to marry, regardless of sex?

Entering into marriage involves a renunciation of freedom. Married people are not free to marry, and they have obligations to their spouse and children. The vows of marriage explicitly renounce freedoms; in other words, they impose duties.

It makes no sense to speak of the right to marry as a “freedom.” It makes more sense to think of marriage as a solemn duty undertaken for the good of others.

4. Is sex good or evil?

The conjugal union of husband and wife is beautiful, albeit fraught with pitfalls because of human weakness.

Sodomy is inherently ugly. Sodomy is itself a pitfall for people suffering with same-sex attraction.

Sex outside of marriage is selfish. It is not an option for good people.

5. Who has the authority to make laws about marriage, and where does the authority come from?

Civil laws have binding force insofar as they harmonize with the law of God. The state, which enacts and enforces civil laws, arises because of marriages and families.

In other words, marriage is an institution more fundamental than the state. The state has no prerogative to govern marriage. The Church alone has the prerogative to do so.

The Church may concede to the state some practical aspects of marriage law. But no authority can change the constitution of marriage, because marriage is marriage because of the way God made things.

6. Why can’t a man marry a man or a woman marry a woman?

A couple is not married until the marriage is consummated. Acts of sodomy cannot consummate marriage.

7. What is wrong with a man attempting–even though it is futile–to marry a man or a woman attempting to marry a woman?

Such a ceremony would make a mockery of a beautiful and sacred thing. The marriage of baptized Christians is a sacrament of the love of Christ for His Church. An attempted ‘gay marriage’ is therefore a sacrilege, an injustice to all married people, and a crass charade unworthy of any self-respecting civilized society.

…Now, because discerning minds recognize that confusion about marriage has arisen because of two widespread evils, here is a short appendix:

8. Can married couples get divorced?

Wedding vows include promises for life. The commitment of marriage terminates only with death, as the vows themselves say.

Bad circumstances can arise which require spouses to separate–even for indefinite periods of time–but divorce is impossible.

9. Can people have babies in any way other than the old-fashioned way?

For a child to be conceived in any way other than through sex between husband and wife is unjust to the child. Everyone has a right to be conceived in his or her mother’s womb, as the result of his parents’ loving embrace. In disputed cases, the rights of children always trump. In vitro fertilization is therefore unjust, and all good people must oppose it.

Old Time Catholic Religion

When I first started out in training for the priesthood, I worked in a parish helping to take care of the elderly people in the neighborhood. There was an old car for me to use to take the ladies to their doctors’ appointments.

One of these ladies became a good friend to me, and we stayed close for years–until her holy death in 2003. She was not particularly friendly, however, when we first met. In fact, when I told her I was from the local parish, and I offered my services to her, she pronounced the following in no uncertain terms: “Listen, I am glad that you are here to help me. But I do not hold with new-fangled Church. I believe in the old-time Catholic religion.”

Perhaps you, dear reader, are aware that the Sovereign Pontiff Benedict XVI has restored to all Catholic priests the option of keeping the old-time Catholic religion alive. I.e.: Mass in Latin. The priest facing east, the same direction as everyone else. The priest praying the ancient prayers and making the gestures of supplication to God that were faithfully done for centuries–until things were simplified, updated, and revised around 1970.

(thanks for taking pictures, Fr. Cusick)

This week the Archdiocese of Washington had an optional training session for us priests who never learned how to say Mass the old way (that is, anyone under sixty). You can read all about the training sessions here, if you are interested. The priest who taught us is a member of a religious order called the Norbertines. They get to wear a white cassock like the pope, but they wear black shoes instead of the papal red. (Here is an interesting fact: The Pope wears red shoes because St. Peter’s feet would have been covered with fish blood when he hauled in the nets on the Sea of Galilee.)

Anyway, I am definitely not one of those priests who thinks that the new Mass—with English readings and prayers—is a bad idea. Most priests–even us rigid young ones–think that having the readings in English is a good idea. I very much like to say Mass the way I originally learned it six years ago from my beloved teacher, Fr. Stephen Nash (who is now a monk called Daniel at a monastery in Austria).

I will say this, though: There are some things about the Old Mass which make it more prayerful. To me, it makes more sense for the priest to face God when he is praying and not face the people. Praying to God and looking at the people at the time is one of the most ridiculous things I can imagine. There are moments during Mass when the priest speaks to the people; he should look at them then. But when the priest is praying, it makes sense for him to face the same way as the people–that is, toward the Lord.

The old Mass also makes it much clearer that the Mass is a sacrifice. In the Mass, the priest and the people together offer the Son of God to the Almighty Father for the salvation of the whole world. It is the only sacrifice that actually works. The human race has tried just about everything else: chickens, heifers, people…none have done any good. But the Precious Blood of Christ offered to the Almighty Father on the altar actually does bring about the forgiveness of sins and fills the world with grace.

If it is not a sacrifice, it is not the Holy Mass. The new way of saying Mass sometimes seems like an occasion for teaching and singing, but not a sacrifice (even though it is one). A priest should try to be a good teacher and leader, but first and foremost he is a man who offers sacrifice to God. The old way of saying Mass makes this much clearer to everyone, especially the priest himself.

I must admit that I have found it rather difficult to learn how to say Mass the old way–but I am getting there. I had better be getting there, since I am celebrating the Solemn High Tridentine Mass at 5:00 p.m. this Sunday (at St. Mary Mother of God parish on 5th St., N.W.) May it be for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls!