Defcon I: TRUMPAGEDDON!

R.R. Reno has a serious (but inescapably amusing) piece entitled "TRUMPAGEDDON!" in First Things (February 20, 2016). Just a few excerpts:

The Republican establishment has swung into defcon i, maximum force alert. Last month I contributed to a widely publicized symposium at National Review. Our hope was to stop his rise. The liberal establishment is, if anything, even more agitated. Trump transgresses the rules of political engagement, to say nothing of political correctness. A stream-of-consciousness, reality TV show insult machine leads the race for the Republican Party nomination. How did we come to this point?

The wonder is that we wonder. Trump is a creature of today’s political and cultural establishment. How could a master of comic mockery like Stephen Colbert object to Trump’s political style? Or Jon Stewart, who concludes his regular political rants with crude obscenity? I can’t think of any public figure on the Left who wouldn’t be flattered to share the stage with either man. Why should Donald Trump embarrass—other than the fact that his political positions aren’t liberal.

... And then there’s Bill Clinton. The Monica Lewinsky affair, followed by the fire hose spewing money at him after his presidency, shows that there is nothing Bill can do to discredit him among liberal elites. I can’t think of any Democrat of standing, in public life or not, who wouldn’t be thrilled to have Bill grace their cocktail receptions or dinner parties. Why, then, should Donald Trump be held accountable for his many excesses?

Perhaps I too am being drawn into the body slamming race to the bottom. In all honesty, I find myself wanting to hit someone, if only to awaken him. This primary season is revealing an astounding blindness in the members of our ruling class, both Right and Left, as well as a remarkable lack of self-criticism. Donald Trump should be no surprise. He’s made in their image.

Tridentine Masses coming to metro Detroit and east Michigan this week

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Sun. 02/28 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
  
• Sun. 02/28 3:00 PM: Low Mass (call ahead for Confession times, 989-892-5936) at Infant of Prague, Bay City [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
  
  Monday
  
  
• Mon. 02/29 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Mon. 02/29 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Mon. 02/29 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Mon. 02/29 7:00 PM: High Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
  
  Tuesday
  
  
• Tue. 03/01 7:00 AM High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Tue. 03/01 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Tue. 03/01 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Tue. 03/01 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
  
  Wednesday
  
  
• Wed. 03/02 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Wed. 03/02 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Wed. 03/02 7:00 PM: High Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
  
  Thursday
  
  
• Thu. 03/03 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Jesus Christ the High Priest - 3rd class)
• Thu. 03/03 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Jesus Christ the High Priest - 3rd class)
• Thu. 03/03 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Jesus Christ the High Priest - 3rd class)
  
  Friday
  
  
• Fri. 03/04 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Sacred Heart of Jesus - 3rd class) [First Friday]
• Fri. 03/04 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Sacred Heart of Jesus - 3rd class) [First Friday]
• Fri. 03/04 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Sacred Heart of Jesus - 3rd class) [First Friday]
• Fri. 03/04 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Sacred Heart of Jesus - 3rd class) [First Friday]

Saturday


• Sat. 03/05 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Immaculate Heart of Mary - 3rd class) [First Saturday]
• Sat. 03/05 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Immaculate Heart of Mary - 3rd class) [First Saturday]
• Sat. 03/05 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Immaculate Heart of Mary - 3rd class) [First Saturday]
• Sat. 03/05 6:00 PM Tridentine Mass at SS. Cyril & Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, Sterling Heights (Feria of Lent - 3rd class, or Immaculate Heart of Mary - 3rd class) [First Saturday]
  
  Sunday
  
  
• Sun. 03/06 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) - 1st class)
• Sun. 03/06 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) - 1st class)
• Sun. 03/06 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) - 1st class)
• Sun. 03/06 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) - 1st class)
• Sun. 03/06 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) - 1st class)
• Sun. 03/06 7:00 PM: High Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada (4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) - 1st class)
• Sun. 03/06 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) - 1st class)
  
  * NB: The SSPX chapels among those Mass sites listed above are posted here because the Holy Father has announced that "those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins." These chapels are not listed among the approved parishes and worship sites on archdiocesan websites.

Francis Hit With Tranquilizer Dart By Swiss Guard Seconds After Putting Down Scripted Statement To Speak Off-Cuff

As reported HERE by the off-Ottaviani Blvd. Vatican news agency (Eye of the Tiber, September 22, 2015), from the Holy Father's US visit last year:

Pope Francis was hit with a tranquilizer dart this afternoon just moments after putting down a scripted speech to speak off-the-cuff with reporters on his flight to the U.S., officials are reporting.

In a 80-minute briefing to the media, a lighthearted Pope Francis began to speak “very candidly,” when the head of the Pope’s security team, reportedly realizing the havoc the off-the-cuff remark might have on the rest of the U.S. trip, discreetly glanced at another member of the security team and nodded. That’s when, one witness reported, the Holy Father was struck in the neck with the dart and “went down like a ton of bricks.”

Read more >>

Yet another unaccountable prospect from the pope of surprises?

As reported by Rorate Caeli (February 26, 2016), Argentine-Spanish Bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), Alfonso de Galarreta, in a conference in Versailles, on January 17, suggested that Pope Francis is leaning towards "a one-sided recognition" of the SSPX. In his own words:

... I am not saying what I desire but what I foresee. I foresee, I think that the pope will lean towards a one-sided recognition of the Society, and that by acts rather than by a legal or canonical approach.

It all happened already once before

The Lord, the God of their ancestors, had continued to send prophets to warn his people, because he wanted to spare them and the Temple. But they mocked God's messengers, ignoring his words and laughing at his prophets, until at last the Lord's anger against his people was so great that there was no escape.

So the Lord brought the king of Babylon to attack them. The king slaughtered the young men of Judah, even those in the Temple. He had no mercy on anyone, young or old, man or woman, sick or healthy. God handed them all over to him. The king of Babylon looted the Temple, the Temple treasury, and the wealth of the king and his officials, and took everything back to Babylon. He burned down the Temple and the city, with all its palaces and its wealth, and broke down the city wall. He took all the survivors to Babylon, where they served him and his descendants as slaves until the rise of the Persian Empire. And so what the Lord had foretold through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “The land will lie desolate for seventy years, to make up for the Sabbath rest that has not been observed.”

[2 Chronicles 36:15-21]

Dale Price's dyspeptic mutterings about the worst-ever in-flight interview

"Stakes on a Plane" (Dyspeptic Mutterings, February 19, 2016):

Pope Francis.

A pressurized cabin.

Reporters.

Questions.

Half-baked spitballing and word association games.

Followed by a flop-sweat-soaked Fr. Lombardi and legions of unpaid papal apologists energetically trying to deny the obvious import.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

It would be nice if we didn't have to do this every other Alitalia flight, but there you go.

Oh, but this one is genuinely different--it manages to be the worst yet.

[There follows an excerpt from the interview with Pope Francis, which concludes]:... On the other hand, avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. In certain cases, as in this one, such as the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear. I would also urge doctors to do their utmost to find vaccines against these two mosquitoes that carry this disease. This needs to be worked on.

Sure reads like an endorsement of contraception in the face of the Zika virus. Interestingly enough, it was the Pope who used the term "contraceptives," not the nefarious reporter.

NO NO NO--HE'S NOT ENDORSING THE USE OF CONTRACEPTIVES HERE, HATEY HATER MCSEDEVACANTIST PANTS--HOW COULD YOU SAY ANY SUCH THING?

TRANSLATIONNOTMAGISTERIALPEOPLELOVEFRANCISHESARGENTINIANWHYDOYOUHATEHIMNEITHERCONSERVATIVENORLIBERALBUTCATHOLICCONTINUITYWITHOTHERPOPESHOLYSPIRITPICKEDHIMANDSPEAKSTHROUGHHIMHASNTCHANGEDDOCTRINE...

I mean, there's just no way that can be read as an endorsement of contraceptive use here, you faithless moron!

Fair enough--Father Lombardi to the rescue! He'll fix it--he always does:

... Pope Francis said that "contraceptives or condoms, in cases of particular emergency and gravity, can be the object of a serious discernment of conscience," Father Lombardi said, "while on abortion, he did not allow any room for consideration."

HA--SEE? HE'S ONLY SAYING CONTRACEPTION IS ACCEPTABLE IN SITUATIONS OF SERIOUS DANG....

Wait, what?



So much for yesterday's vigorous papalist spinning.
So, yeah--the Pope just endorsed contraceptive use for the normal conjugal act.

But it's far, far worse than that. To say that the hypothetical threat of birth defects is sufficient reason for contraception is to authorize it to serve eugenic ends. The threat here is not to the life or health of the mother--the threat is that she may bear a "defective" child.

And put the emphasis on the "may"--the link has not been established.

... Take no chances, though. Lebensunwertes Leben. [Link added]

And how does the Pope's argument not apply to the threat posed by all birth defects, from fetal alcohol syndrome on down? Aren't these all "situations of special danger"? Any parent could discern such--Can't risk it.

But keep spinning. People love the guy, and that's what really matters.

[Advisory: Rules 7-9]

[Hat tip to JM]

Gut-wrenching spiritual analysis of the Church's passion by James Larson

James Larson, "The Dream of Nabuchodonosor" (The War Against Being, February 18, 2016). Daniel's account of the fall of Nabuchodonosor as a metaphor for the collapse of foundations in our time. Disquieting. Disturbing. Yet with hope. Some deeply consoling reflections on the Holy Rosary further down. Very long.

[Advisory: Rules 7-9]

[Hat tip to L.S.]

Fr. Perrone: For the love of your own souls, you need to do something for Lent!

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, February 21, 2016):

Frequently during Lent I ask myself, What’s the point of this? If you are indeed doing anything significant this holy season, that question must come to you as well sometime. If you are not doing some good works which cost you, that is, which constitute a personal sacrifice, you are to be pitied because you’re missing out on an immense benefit to yourself. I read that Saint Teresa of Avila wrote that once in heaven she knew she would no longer be able to merit anything for a greater share in the riches of heaven (this is a certainty: namely, that the time of merit ends at our death). She added, however, an important thought. There, in heaven, in the state of shared glory with God, she will wish that she could return to earth once again if only by doing so she might say one more Hail Mary for an increase of heavenly riches.

That “one Hail Mary” captivated my mind. How many innumerable moments are lost in this life to idleness, futile industry, frivolities–if not outright sin–when we could make profitable use of our time for a spiritual gain whose possession would be everlasting. To think that way is to have a supernatural perspective on life. To act according to that way would be to live the life of a saint. But then, we are so busy with everything else–much of it being necessary–that we have not a thought about God throughout our very active day. God knows this. There is, however, a way so to live as to get everything done that needs be done and yet make it all count for eternity. This is the way of offering up even our most ordinary acts of the day as a sacrifice to God. This means that even our eating, sleeping and daily working can be done for the glory of God, which is not so say that we may set aside doing particular spiritual works of the day, ‘praying as we go,’ would be all sufficient. No. The sacred time of Lent ought to weigh on our minds the obliging duty to do spiritual good works.

To get back to my initial question–What’s the point?–not only does our determined course of leading the devout life have as its goal the increase of merit, but even more importantly is its final end the greater possession of Christ, even here and now. I think of Saint Paul’s “I want to know Christ.” Imagine that he who had seen the Lord in the glory of heaven, yet could say that there was more to know of Christ.

A priest must carry about within him not only the burden of his own weaknesses and sins but also those of his people whose spiritual condition and needs are known to him. My fear is not only that you have sins which impede entirely, or else retard, your spiritual life, but that you may be doing little or nothing to help yourselves. For the love of your own souls, you need to do something for Lent! You simply must cut away at those things that are holding you back from the possession of Jesus. Yes, it’s really all that urgent and that simple. I can ask, exhort, suggest, and urge you to quit your sinful attachments, to begin again to live for God, and to make acts of penance. All such petitioning from me, or anyone else interceding for you, can go only so far. The rest must come from your own wills. As the saying goes, God redeemed you without your help but He will not save you without it.

It seems to me at times as if the enterprise of leading the devout life is in a way a selfish pursuit. It is, after all, for the salvation of my own soul. That only grasps the matter partially, however. The final reason of why we should be doing Lent, denying ourselves not only of sins but even of some good things and by doing penances, is for the glory of God. For His sake should we want to be saints. This is God’s will: our sanctification. “Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life” (Romans 6:22).

Please keep doing, or begin seriously to do, something truly beneficial for Lent, even at this late hour. Do it for God, if not for the love of your own souls. It is surely a grief to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that there are many–may you not be among them!–who have no regard for the salvation of their own souls.

Fr. Perrone

Call for a moratorium on papal interviews, synods, and 'non-magisterial' documents

Well, certainly one can dream.... It would do us a lot of good, I'm sorry to say. Just imagine what a decade (or even a year) of blessed silence would be like!

I do not speak for the majority of Catholics, obviously. I am a lowly convert, an interloper, a pew peasant in the back row just happy to be in my parish church on Sunday. So I speak for myself and perhaps, to a degree, for other converts.

Too many Catholic converts, like myself, have had to learn the hard way that the Church's "official teaching" isn't necessarily to be found in what any given local pastor or bishop may say, or even what this or that pope may say in an interview. Sad to say. Where do you go to find it then? You have to dig for it. It's in the catechisms, at least if you have an accurate catechism (not like, say, the notoriously revisionist Dutch catechism); it's in the conciliar documents (at least where they're relatively clear); it's in papal encyclicals (at least where they're not weighing in on topics about which they have no expertise); it's in the sedimented records of Sacred Tradition.

Converts who have awakened to this fact have had to push back against a fairly recalcitrant sort of post-Vatican II Ultramontanism, which insists on taking every word of the reigning pope as the distilled nectar of authoritative magisterial Church teaching for our day. It's especially hard, for some, to learn that papal infallibility doesn't eliminate the fact that any given pontiff has feet of clay. It's good to remember that it was St. Peter, who betrayed our Lord and on one occasion had to be corrected by St. Paul who resisted him "to his face," that was the first in line (hand-picked by Christ) for that venerable office.

In that vein, Michael Voris' latest Vortex is a great tonic for this sort of ailment, and puts Pope Francis' recent foibles in historical perspective. I highly recommend it. It's called "A Disgrace to the Chair of Peter" (Church Militant, February 23, 2016).

Peters (Fr. Z commentary) on Misunderstanding the (alleged) 'Congo contraception' case

Canonist Dr. Ed Peters, "Misunderstanding the (alleged) 'Congo contraception' case" (In the Light of the Law, February 21, 2016), begins his post by saying:

Even by the standards of his reign, the presser Pope Francis conducted on his return flight from Mexico has provoked an unusual number of questions. I wish to address only one of those here.

Preliminarily, I note that the burden is not on the negative to prove that something did not occur, it is on the affirmative to prove that the alleged something did occur. That said, though, it now seems all but certain that the ‘permission’ or ‘approval’ which Francis has claimed his predecessor Pope Paul VI gave for Congo nuns facing rape to use contraception simply does not exist. See e.g. Fr. Zuhlsdorf or John Allen*.

Unfortunately this myth has been invoked by the pope as if it were a fact of Church history, and, more importantly, in a way that suggests it might be a precedent to be considered in deciding whether contraception may also be used to prevent pregnancy in some cases of possible birth defects. That claim would take Pope Francis’ contraception remarks into a very different area. No longer are we musing about a point of Church history (as interesting as that might be), now we are dealing with Church moral teaching. The stakes become dramatically higher.

Read the whole article. Excellent. Also read Fr. Z's comments on Peter's article in his post entitled: "Peters on reactions and claims about Francis’s off-the-cuff contraception remark" (Fr. Z's Blog, February 22, 2016).

See also Peters' important caveat concerning John Allen's piece at the bottom of his article. You have to beware of what Allen says sometimes; and this is one of those times.

Pat Buchanan: Donald Trump rise is a rejection of a quarter century of Bush Republicanism

Julia Hahn (Breitbart, February 18, 2016), writes:

In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News, Pat Buchanan declared that Trump’s rise represents a rejection of 25 years of Bush Republicanism— an ideology which Buchanan says has destroyed America’s once-great manufacturing core, flooded the country with low-skilled workers, and drained the treasury with ill-advised foreign adventures in the Middle East.

... Buchanan explained that “America is rejecting the Bush immigration policy,” which has “proffered amnesty” to “12 million illegals… because it said the United States is helpless to do anything about their presence here.”

“America’s establishment has failed America,” Buchanan said, “The single clearest message in the presidential campaign of 2015-2016 is that the American people would like to cleanse our capital city of its ruling class.”

Read more >>

[Hat tip to Sir A.S.]

"It’s not an urban legend, it’s a LIE: Paul VI did NOT give permission to nuns to use contraceptives."

These are Fr. Z's words on his Blog (February 20, 2016).

Why is this important?

Because of this: "Francis Says Contraception Can Be Used to Slow Zika" (New York Times, February 18, 2016).

And this: "BREAKING: Vatican affirms Pope was speaking about contraceptives for Zika" (LifeSiteNews, February 19, 2016).

And this: "Contraception, Congo Nuns, Choosing the Lesser Evil, and Conflict of Commandments" (Catholic World Report, February 20,2016).

And this: "PETITION [to the U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights]: Stop using the Zika virus to push abortion in Latin America" (LifePetitions, 2 weeks ago).

Finally, pointing to the headline, "Pope Calls for Worldwide Abolition of Death Penalty" (NBC News, February 21, 2016), one of my colleagues then asks: "Folks, are the wheels simply coming off now?"

Tridentine Community News - Archdioces of NY issues new norms for sacred art; Lenten liturgical quirks; Louisiana Bishop espouses TLM, Schelude of TLMs this week

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (February 21, 2016):

February 21, 2016 – Second Sunday of Lent

Archdiocese of New York Issues New Norms for Sacred Art

Following on the heels of the Diocese of Marquette, Michigan’s recent document concerning norms for sacred music, the Archdiocese of New York has recently published its own document establishing standards for sacred art that may be commissioned for its churches. Entitled “Guidelines for the Commissioning and Care of Sacred Art”, the document makes several praiseworthy points:

- Sacred art must elevate the mind and soul to things divine.

- Devotional Art, such as paintings and statues, edifies the faith of the individual. Liturgical Art, such as vestments and altars, has a functional as well as inspirational purpose.

- Sacred vessels such as ciboria and chalices must be made of metal. Glass and earthenware vessels are prohibited.

- “Symbols depicted on vestments should be expressive of sacred realities.” No bland or secular images should be used.

- Sacred art should be blessed before being put into use.

- Donations of sacred art are only to be accepted if they meet the same standards as commissioned art.

- “An inventory of those vestments which have significant artistic or historical value should be kept in both the parish and diocesan archives.” In other words, historic vestments should not be casually discarded if no longer deemed suitable to a parish’s needs.

- An appendix details “The Care and Cleansing of Altar Linens”

- Repeated emphasis is made that sacred art which is no longer needed and cannot be sold or given to a suitable new owner should be burned or buried, not simply thrown away.

On a practical level, a document such as this is needed at many parishes, where volunteers and parish council members can benefit from an introduction to the sorts of responsibilities associated with selecting, acquiring, and maintaining sacred objects. We cannot blame people for poor artistic choices or careless maintenance if they have not been educated in the first place.

The document is available at: http://nyliturgy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/nyguidelinesforsacredart.pdf

Lenten Liturgical Quirks

You may have noticed a few changes to the format of the Mass during Lent. Some are obvious: The Glória is suppressed, and the Alleluia is replaced by a Tract. The overall purpose of these modifications is to restrain the usual jubilance in the Mass.

It so happens that the Tract is only provided on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The Gradual alone is used on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

No unaccompanied organ is permitted during Lent, except on Lætáre Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent. That means no Prelude, Postlude, or Elevation (instrumental piece after the Consecration) may be played. The organ may only be used to accompany singing.

Unlike most other Ferial Masses, when the Mass is a repeat of the previous Sunday’s Mass, the Ferias of Lent are unique. There are specific Propers for, for example, Tuesday in the Second Week of Lent. Lenten [and Advent] Ferias are Third Class, so only higher ranking Saints’ Feasts like St. Joseph on March 19 can displace them. When there are lesser Saints on the calendar, they are commemorated via a second Collect, Secret, and Postcommunion Prayer after the Ferial Mass’ ones. That takes place this coming Tuesday, February 23, for example, when St. Peter Damian is commemorated.

After the Postcommunion Prayer at weekday Feria Masses, there is a Prayer Over the People. It begins with the celebrant asking the faithful to bow their heads. This tradition has been carried over to the Ordinary Form, as well.

Louisiana Bishop Espouses the Traditional Mass

It’s always good news to learn of bishops who embrace the Extraordinary Form. Bishop Glen Provost of the Diocese of Lake Charles, Louisiana is one such Ordinary. On December 30, 2015, Bishop Provost celebrated his eleventh Solemn Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. By comparison, there have only been three Solemn Pontifical Masses in our region over the past eleven years, one celebrated by Bishop Carl Mengeling at All Saints Church in Flint in 2005, one by Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry at St. Josaphat Church in 2010, and one by then-Bishop of Marquette Alexander Sample at Assumption Grotto in 2012. A Solemn Pontifical Mass is far more elaborate than the Missa Cantatas that local bishops usually celebrate, thus it is all the more impressive that Bishop Provost is setting such a laudable if unpublicized example with this complex liturgy in his own diocese. It might not surprise our readers that vocations are strong in the Diocese of Lake Charles, and that many young priests are offering the Tridentine Mass. (Source: www.newliturgicalmovement.org)

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 02/22 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (Feria of Lent)
• Tue. 02/23 7:00 PM: High Mass at Holy Name of Mary (Feria of Lent)
• Fri. 02/26 7:00 PM: High Mass at Old St. Mary, Detroit (Feria of Lent) – Celebrant: Fr. Stephen Pullis, Priest Secretary to Archbishop Vigneron. Music by Wassim Sarweh and the choir of Windsor’s St. Benedict Tridentine Community. Stations of the Cross at 6:15 PM. Juventútem Michigan will host a dinner for young adults age 18-35 after Mass in the Parish Hall.

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for February 21, 2016. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Tridentine Masses coming this week to metro Detroit and eastern Michigan

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Sunday


• Sun. 02/21 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/21 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/21 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/21 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/21 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/21 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
  
• Sun. 02/21 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
  
  Monday
  
  
• Mon. 02/22 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Chair of St. Peter - 2nd class)
• Mon. 02/22 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Chair of St. Peter - 2nd class)
• Mon. 02/15 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (Chair of St. Peter - 2nd class)
• Mon. 02/22 7:00 PM: High Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Chair of St. Peter - 2nd class)
  
  Tuesday
  
  
• Tue. 02/23 7:00 AM High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 3rd class)
• Tue. 02/23 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria - 3rd class)
• Tue. 02/23 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada (Feria - 3rd class)
• Tue. 02/23 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 3rd class)
  
  Wednesday
  
  
• Wed. 02/24 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 3rd class)
• Wed. 02/24 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria - 3rd class)
• Wed. 02/24 7:00 PM: High Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 3rd class)
  
  Thursday
  
  
• Thu. 02/25 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Matthias - 2nd class)
• Thu. 02/25 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (St. Matthias - 2nd class)
• Thu. 02/25 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Matthias - 2nd class)
  
  Friday
  
  
• Fri. 02/26 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Fri. 02/26 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Fri. 02/26 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Fri. 02/26 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Fri. 02/26 7:00 PM: High Mass at Old St. Mary, Detroit (Feria of Lent) – Celebrant: Fr. Stephen Pullis, Priest Secretary to Archbishop Vigneron. Music by Wassim Sarweh and the choir of Windsor’s St. Benedict Tridentine Community. Stations of the Cross at 6:15 PM. Juventútem Michigan will host a dinner for young adults age 18-35 after Mass in the Parish Hall.
  
  Saturday
  
  
• Sat. 02/27 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Sat. 02/27 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Sat. 02/27 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Sat. 02/27 6:00 PM Tridentine Mass at SS. Cyril & Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, Sterling Heights (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
  
  Sunday
  
  
• Sun. 02/28 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/28 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
  
• Sun. 02/28 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 01/10 3:00 PM: Low Mass (call ahead for Confession times, 989-892-5936) at Infant of Prague, Bay City [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (3rd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
  
  * NB: The SSPX chapels among those Mass sites listed above are posted here because the Holy Father has announced that "those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins." These chapels are not listed among the approved parishes and worship sites on archdiocesan websites.

Scalia loved music and the Mass -- the one in Latin, of course

Kenneth J. Wolfe, "Scalia the Music Critic and pew Policeman" (Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2016):

Putting on a tie using his car's mirror before attending Mass -- the one in Latin of course.

Antonin Scalia attended the traditional Latin Mass nearly every Sunday, at St. John the Beloved church near his home in McLean, Va., or at St. Mary Mother of God church in the Chinatown section of Washington, D.C. When he went to the latter location, it was usually followed by a day of reading in his nearby Supreme Court office, which he did for decades on certain Sundays during the court's term.

Read more >> (Paid subscription)

Adfero says about this piece, over at Rorate (February 19, 2016):

"It's a fitting tribute to a very down-to-earth man who loved the traditional Latin Mass, music and being with the people.

His funeral Mass tomorrow certainly won't reflect this passion for tradition. But, at least, the world will know how he preferred to properly worship Our Lord, thanks to Ken."

{Hat tip to R.C.]

A stragegy for defeating the Democrat politics of resentment and character assassination

What one must learn: first, that Democrats no longer play by conventional rules of intellectual debate, but are Machiavellian opportunists, using the media as a tool of intimidation and character assassination; second, to realize that traditional conservatives are completely ineffective because they haven't realized this; third, that an effective yet moral strategy for change is available if the sleeping conservative giant would wake up and use a little imagination. Illustrations provided.

A cardinal, a priest with a stripper, and gay days at Lourdes: Catholic crisis exposed

Our underground correspondent in an Atlantic seaboard city that knows how to keep its secrets, Guy Noir - Private Eye, just sent us a link to a video (see below) reporting on three scandals symptomatic of deeper problems in the Church, which the commentator sees as presaging an intensifying persecution of Catholoics effectively sold out by their leaders:

(1) Cardinal law, after resigning amidst sex scandal cover-ups in his Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, received John Paul II's permission to resign before the mandatory age of 75 and get himself appointed to the plum position of Archpriest at St. Mary Major in Rome, a position from which he retired in 2011, and continues living in the Palazzo della Cancelleria, the Renaissance palace near St. Peter's.

(2) Fr. Jay Baker, Vicar General to Bishop Shelton Joseph Fabre of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana, recently appeared in a photo posted on Facebook alongside a stripper on the homepage of Trixie Minx, a scandal prompting a troubled letter from a Louisiana parishioner who can't get a hearing with her stonewalling bishop.

(3) Catholic officials at the Catholic shrine of Lourdes threw open its doors to gays for Valentine's Day this year [HERE]

Guy Noir writes:

Look... I for one don't think we are being "persecuted" in any sense worthy of the word. We *are* being marginalized.

And, unintentionally, being sold out by our leaders. Matt, for my tastes, can be strident. But who can argue with him here. And note -- he's not gay-bashing. This is good old heterosexual roaming. And meanwhile, a bishop cannot even meet with a plaintiff. No one in the private sector could now get away with such stonewalling. Maybe it is a good thing the "bastions," as von Balthasar called them, are being raized.

A fly in Mr. Weigel's ointment

Philip Trower, "A Missing Link: The Last Fifty Years" (The Wanderer, December 14, 2015):

The Catholic Herald, one of our most reliable English Catholic weeklies, recently published an article by George Weigel on Vatican II and the subsequent fifty years called “Mission Abandoned” and carrying on the cover the phrase “George Weigel says we’ve wasted the last 50 years on infighting.” Professor Weigel is one of our most distinguished Catholic writers who over the years has done great work in the service of the Church. This in itself makes me hesitate to take issue with him. But in addition to that is the fact that if I do I shall expose myself to the charge of carrying on the “infighting.”

However, there is one serious omission in his article which, if it remains unmentioned, will do a serious injustice to all those Catholics, like writers and readers of The Wanderer, who, over a period of fifty years, have done their best to uphold the faith and authentic magisterial teaching often in far from easy circumstances.

The omission is the word “modernism.” The impression is given that the “infighting” has all been between two groups equally Catholic in belief and practice, one labeled “conservative” or “traditionalist,” the other “liberal” who, like political parties, comprise the totality of the Catholic body and whose conflicts have been equally useless and destructive. It is as though Blessed John Henry Newman had tried to explain the Arian crisis after the Council of Nicaea in terms of useless infighting between “liberals” and “conservatives” with Arius representing the former, and Athanasius the latter, and coming to the conclusion that they should have reached a compromise.

Of course I know that Professor Weigel would say nothing of the sort in regard to the fourth century, but it seems to me his article comes close at times to implying that today’s Catholics, finding themselves in a similar situation, should have done just that. This is because he seems to ignore the existence of modernism although it has been a heresy as invasive and widespread as Arianism was in its day.

Over the last fifty years the only alternative to “infighting” for any Catholics who could see that a doctrine was under attack would have been compromising. Was supporting Humanae Vitae or opposing “ongoing revelation” just a matter of “infighting”?

Of course the words “liberal and conservative” can legitimately be applied to matters of policy or pastoral practice, things which the Magisterium has authority to change. They were legitimately used in this way in the 19th century for a time. But when applied to the content of faith, they become lethal. We see the difference in the case of women priests and married clergy. The former is an impossibility. We have St. John Paul II’s Ordinatio Sacerdotalis to remind us of the fact. The latter, as every reasonably well-instructed Catholics knows, could be allowable.

However, to say or imply that all the controversies of the last fifty years have been nothing but conflicts about allowable changes and therefore a waste of time seems to me equivalent to saying that the work of post-Nicaean fathers like St. Athanasius, St. Ambrose, or St. Hilary of Poitiers was a waste of time too. Modernism is or has been no less deadly than Arianism.

Given the debt of gratitude we all owe to Professor Weigel, I deeply regret feeling obliged to say all this. His article, which is mainly about what Pope John wanted from the Second Vatican Council, the new evangelization it was to prepare the way for, and why it didn’t take place sooner, is in every other respect as excellent and enlightening as one would expect.

Read more >>

[Hat tip to JM]

Cardinal Ravasi calls for Dialogue with Freemasonry

Gianfranco Ravasi [Cardinal President of the Pontifical Council for Culture], in IL SOLE 24ORE (Sunday, February 14, 2016), via Il Timone. Translated into English by Francesca Romana, Excerpts can be found in (Rorate Caeli, February 16, 2016):

"Over and above our different identities, there is no lack of common values: a sense of community, charitable work and the fight against materialism.

“…These various declarations on the incompatibility of the two memberships in the Church or in Freemasonry, do not impede, however, dialogue, as is explicitly stated in the German Bishops’ document that had already listed the specific areas of discussion, such as the communitarian dimension, works of charity, the fight against materialism, human dignity and knowledge of each other.

“Further, we need to rise above that stance from certain Catholic integralist spheres, which – in order to hit out at some exponents even in the Church’s hierarchy who displease them – have recourse to accusing them apodictically of being members of Freemasonry. In conclusion, as the German Bishops wrote, we need to go beyond reciprocal “hostility, insults and prejudices” since “in comparison to past centuries the tone and way of manifesting [our] differences has improved and changed” even if they [the differences] still remain in a clearly defined way.”

In case you ever thought Planned Parenthood was innocent

The first video ["Planned Parenthood and Race"] shows Planned Parenthood representatives accepting donations from a man who says he wants his donations earmarked for the African American abortions because there are too many blacks in the country. The Planned Parenthood reps willingly go along with the caller, insisting that they'll comply with the caller's request, because they'll happily take the money regardless of why anyone donates.

The second video (below) is a montage of outright lies, fabrications, abuse on the part of Planned Parenthood in some case assisting clients involved in sex trafficking, sometimes involving minors. Sickening.

Los Angeles Churches Make Worship ... Hip?

Sheila Marikar, in the New York Times (December 12, 2015) enthuses:

Mosaic, a church that counts thousands of young people among its congregants, offering sermons rife with pop-culture references, musical performances that look like Coachella, and a brand cultivated for social media. (Church events are advertised on Instagram; there’s a “text to donate” number).

While Christianity is on a decline in the United States, at Mosaic and other churches like it in the Los Angeles area, the religion is thriving.

Sorry. Not a fan. Not for me. This flash-in-the-pan surrogate religious fare seems to offer a quick fix with shots of pure sugar and adrenalin that draws young people because it's like a free concert with fringe benefits. It's like taking LSD to attain Satori (enlightenment) rather that doing the hard work of Zen meditation. Kids will continue to go for several months, maybe even a couple of years, but then they will find themselves getting real jobs, kids of their own, and moving on; and the whole enterprise will just fade away into oblivion.

It looks like a huge shining lake of sparkling water, but turns out to be a shallow puddle of enthusiasm that cannot possibly sustain over the long haul because it is fuelled by the cult of personality and entertainment and lacks the benefit of deep theological rootage.

This is precisely what is killing AmChurch Catholic parishes attempting to ape these methods and cultivate a 'hip' ambience. Things turn out not to be 'hip' as hysterically pathetic, vapid and boring. By contrast, nothing revives the faith more than the solid meat of authentic Catholic teaching. To go deep into history is to cease to be vapid and boring, and to open the wellspring of the Living Waters of Life passed down from the Apostles and our Lord through Catholic tradition.

True our Lord says (Mt 11:30) that His "yoke is easy" and His "burden is light." But He also says (Mt 7:14): "small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and few are those who find it." There is no quick and easy path to sanctity or salvation. The consolations of Christ will lighten our burden, but the simple fact remains: faith is hard work. Faith is not a rock concert.

Brand integrity: the Church in the age of flicks and tweets

Our underground correspondent in an Atlantic seaboard city that knows how to keep its secrets, Guy Noir - Private Eye, writes:

You simply cannot make this stuff up.

Michael Eisner, years ago while at Disney, talked about protecting brand integrity.

In retrospect that seems laughable, but the Popes might want to consider the same...

• Dave McNary, "Pope Francis to Make Acting Debut in ‘Beyond the Sun’" (Variety, February 1, 2016): "Pope Francis will play himself in the new religious movie “Beyond the Sun,” marking his acting debut and the first time that a pope has appeared in a feature film."
  
  
• "The IMMENSE dangers of Express-Canonization" (Rorate Caeli, February 15, 2016), a retweet of "Pope John Paul II letters reveal an 'intense' friendship with a married woman" (BBC, February 2016)

Catholic and Enjoying It Struggling?

Many seem to be struggling these days. At least this seems evident when someone comes right out and says what many people seem to be thinking. Even if almost no one wants to come out and actually say it -- at least not George Weigel and Co. Here, for example, is what Steve Skojec wrote just a few days ago over at his 1 Peter 5 blog [Disclaimer: Rules 7-9]:

What matters is this: when you believe something is good, but it keeps producing bad fruit, it creates an irreconcilable problem. You’re always looking to square that circle, always trying to find a way to spin straw into gold.

A year before I went to World Youth Day, I fell to my knees in my little rural parish and asked God to help me to keep my faith in a Catholicism that “doesn’t act like it believes what it says it believes.” He answered that prayer, leading me not just to Denver to see how bad things were up close and personal, but through a labyrinthine maze of experiences that ultimately led me out from the tiny stream of Catholicism I had known, and into the ocean of Catholic Tradition.

... It is long past time that we abandon the idea of a need to “correctly implement” the council. Its documents, at times orthodox, at other times vague or even apparently contradictory to previous teachings, were designed with flaws capable of being exploited. Its genius is that it cannot be summarily condemned as a compendium of heretical ideas; it would be more true to say that it is a collection of half-formed or ill-stated ones — mixed with enough assertions of authentic Catholic teaching to give the whole enterprise credibility. Remember: a thing needn’t be completely corrupt to present a problem. A house built on sand is still a house – at least until it weakens enough to collapse.

The post-conciliar experiment is now rapidly approaching that point.

What I generally encourage such struggling individuals to do is to insulate themselves a bit from the "culture wars" being waged within the Church right now, to sequester themselves within the serene walls of Catholic tradition and immerse themselves in the writings of the saints or Church fathers. It can be a real tonic. One's personal spiritual life, or that of one's family, can be no less rich and satisfying than that of Catholics who lived at any other time in history. The foundation of the Church remains unmovable, because it is Jesus Christ Himself. But just as Cardinal Newman once said that "to go deep into history is to cease to be Protestant," so I would say that in times such as ours "to go deep into history is to escape our present turmoil." At least, it is to put everything in proper perspective. This is not a matter of simply escaping the present by delving into the past. Rather, it is like digging beneath the present confusion to find that the foundation of the Church still intact -- and the Church Triumphant very much alive, a "cloud of witnesses" watching on as the Church Militant runs its race (or fights its battles).

[Hat tip to JM]

Justice Antonin Scalia (1936-2016) - R.I.P.

Gary Martin and Guillermo Contreras, "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia found dead at West Texas ranch" (My San Antonio, February 13, 2016):

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead of apparent natural causes Saturday on a luxury resort in West Texas, federal officials said. Scalia, 79, was a guest at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, a resort in the Big Bend region south of Marfa. Scalia arrived at the 30,000-acre ranch on Friday and attended a private party with about 40 people that night, according to a federal official.

Yes, I know, this will give the regnant Evil Empire another chance to appoint a nefarious antinomian justice, but I'm not interested in that now. Whatever his personal defects (such as his too easy acceptance of legal positivism in his juridical practice), he is a man who will be missed. As a reader suggests, "We will not see another like him."

Here is an older piece by a liberal that raises a very good point; amidst misreadings of Scalia, comments that are themselves very telling: Dahlia Lithwick, "No. No. Not That I Know Of" (Slate, October 7, 2013) -- excerpt:

Much has been made of the fact that Scalia admits in the piece that the only newspapers he and his wife have delivered are the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times. The radio he listens to is “talk guys, usually,” especially Bill Bennett, because they “keep off stupid people.” He also says that it’s unusual for him to listen to NPR and that he “used to get the Washington Post, but it just … went too far for me. I couldn’t handle it anymore.” He contends that the Post’s coverage of “almost any conservative issue … was slanted and often nasty.” And that he decided not to bother anymore because “why should I get upset every morning?” The Post, he concludes, had become “shrilly, shrilly liberal.”

He shuns the State of the Union every year because it is “a childish spectacle.” He isn’t sure he has any gay friends, but insists that “I have friends that I know, or very much suspect, are homosexual. Everybody does.” When asked by Senior if any have come out to him, Scalia says, “No. No. Not that I know of.” Stop and consider, for a moment, how difficult it would be in a major American city in 2013 to construct a social world in which you might not know anybody who’s openly gay. And, perhaps most tellingly, when Scalia needs to get “outside the Beltway with people of the sort I had never known before,” it’s to hang out with hunters who “live in the woods. Give ’em a gun, they could survive in the woods on their own.” (This is precisely what Justice Clarence Thomas does when he undertakes his summer NASCAR tours.) In other words, when Scalia craves ideological diversity, he goes out and meets real Americans who hate shrill liberals as much as he does.

Apparently he was spending time with some of those friends outside the beltway whose company he actually enjoyed. A prayer for the repose of his soul ...

[Hat tip to JM]

Fr. Perrone on the effects of fasting: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" [temporary link] (Assumption Grotto News, February 14, 2016):

We missed celebrating the feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes on Thursday since it was only a commemoration, falling as it did after the beginning of Lent. On account of the Holy Mary’s gracious apparition in France we have the honor of possessing our Lourdes Grotto, the building of which was an inspiration of our first pastor, Father Amandus Vandendriesche. I commend all our parishioners to the care of The Immaculate Conception, for the good of their souls and the health of their bodies.

Lent is much on our minds–even unto being forced to concentrate on it if we are doing penitential acts. You know how highly I recommend the practice of fasting for Lent, and I hope that those of you who are able will take up and persevere in this traditional form of penance and mortification.

The inspiration for the Christian fast comes not from Judaism but from our Lord Himself. I recall reading the story of a priest held in a concentration camp during the Second World War. He told of how his fellow prisoners behaved when they had been deprived of sufficient food while made to work like slaves. Men ordinarily rational and civil to one another become just short of beasts when starved, even to the point of being willing to kill another man for a morsel of bread. I mention this because of the fasting of Jesus in the desert for the forty days (our period of Lent). He was not only hungry, but ravenous, intensely hungry. So, when the devil proposed to Him to turn stones into bread, one has to imagine the power of that suggestion to His imagination. Our Lord refused. An iron will surely, but more, He was redeeming sinners by His denial to succumb to the blandishments  of the devil. He was compensating for our indulgent self-willfulness, an heroic act which we should not be too ready to attribute to His divine power only. Our Lord felt deeply in His human body the aching, nearly deadly, desire for food and drink.

Fasting has the advantage of making us tough willed people. I read more recently about Cardinal Sarah of the Holy See where he is head of the Congregation for Divine Worship. In an interview he admitted that he goes on a yearly retreat in which he eats and drinks nothing for three full days. I doubt he told that to be admired by his listeners. He was rather trying to relate to them the secret of his spiritual strength. He has been a very courageous man, defending the teachings and traditions of the Church, sometimes standing nearly alone. How does a man come to have such force of his convictions? The fasting is the answer. Repeatedly denying the craving of the flesh for the satisfaction, the comfort, of eating has the double effect of dulling the hankering appetites of the flesh and of sharpening the edge of the spirit. We all are weak and easy prey for the devil unless we do penances to make the soul dominate over the flesh. If there were an easier method, I’d be happy to share it with you. From the apostles, following the example of Christ, down to our time there is the tradition of taking on the discipline of fasting–a practice of indispensable spiritual value. ‘Nough said.

Today, I note, is Valentine’s Day–Saint Valentine’s day. As with so many other good things that the Church brought into our culture, this has been thoroughly secularized, and even debased as a pagan celebration of erotic love. The difference between charity–a Christian, theological virtue–and romantic love is,  believe it or not, often confused in the minds of young people who have never had a religious upbringing. I can testify to that myself in having instructed young converts to the faith who were astonished to learn that sex and love were not interchangeable terms–so successful has been the entire depreciation of Christian culture and the triumph of ignorance of the faith. The real man Valentine died for Christ’s sake: a martyr. Certainly, wish one another a Happy Valentine’s Day today–meaning a day filled with the love of Christ.

Fr. Perrone

Tridentine Community News - Next TLM at Old St. Mary (Greektown) on Feb. 26th; Suggestions for Lent; TLM schedule

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (February 14, 2016):

February 14, 2016 – First Sunday of Lent

Next Mass at Old St. Mary on February 26

Following upon the success of the first Tridentine Mass held at Old St. Mary Church in Greektown last October, the parish will be holding another Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form on Friday, February 26 at 7:00 PM. The celebrant will be Fr. Stephen Pullis, Priest Secretary to Archbishop Vigneron. Wassim Sarweh and the choir of Windsor’s St. Benedict Tridentine Community will once again provide the music. Stations of the Cross will be prayed at 6:15 PM. Juventútem Michigan will hold a dinner for young adults age 18-35 after the Mass in the Parish Hall. already.


Please consider attending this Mass to demonstrate to the parish that there is interest in continuing to hold Tridentine Masses in this beautiful historic church. already.

Spiritual Suggestions for Lent already.

Much press is given to the meritorious practice of giving something up for Lent. We can all do without our favorite sweets or a certain enjoyable activity during this holy season. It’s also worthwhile to consider going an extra mile during Lent by making a special effort to participate in some additional spiritual activities. Here are a few suggestions: already.

Weekday Mass: Try to attend one of the local weekday Masses in the Extraordinary Form once per week during Lent. Mass is offered at 7:00 PM on Mondays at St. Josaphat in Detroit, at 7:00 PM on Tuesdays at Holy Name of Mary in Windsor, and Monday-Friday at 7:30 AM and 7:00 PM [7:45 PM on Fridays] at Assumption Grotto. If you can’t make it to a Tridentine Mass, consider attending Holy Mass in the Ordinary Form at a parish which offers it in a traditional manner, such as the daily 12:15 PM Mass at Old St. Mary. already.

Spiritual Communion: On each day that you cannot receive Holy Communion, take a minute and make a Spiritual Communion. St. Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori composed the following prayer for this purpose:

My Jesus, I believe that Thou art present in the Blessed Sacrament. I love Thee above all things, and I desire Thee in my soul. Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though Thou wert already there, I embrace Thee and unite myself wholly to Thee; permit not that I should ever be separated from Thee. Amen.

Daily Rosary: Strive to pray the Holy Rosary every day during Lent, for an intention of your choosing. If you are able to pray the Rosary in a church, publically or privately, you may gain a Plenary Indulgence for yourself or for the Souls in Purgatory, under the usual conditions of Confession within 20 days, reception of Holy Communion once per Plenary Indulgence sought, prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions, and freedom from attachment to sin. already.

Confession: Try to begin the habit of going to Confession at least once per month, if you don’t already.


Adoration: At least once per week, make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. Many churches offer extended hours for this purpose, including the Stone Chapel at St. Hugo of the Hills in Bloomfield Hills, the 24/7 Adoration Chapel at the Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, and the Rosary Chapel at Assumption Church in Windsor. If you are able to spend 30 minutes in adoration, you may gain a Plenary Indulgence under the above conditions. already.

Stations of the Cross: Pray the Stations at least once during Lent. If done in a church, you may gain a Plenary Indulgence under the above conditions. If you are making the devotion privately, you must physically move from station to station. already.

Indulgence for each Communion: Strive to gain a Plenary Indulgence for the Souls in Purgatory for each Holy Communion you receive. This is a great act of charity for souls who cannot help themselves. Praying the Rosary in a church or spending 30 minutes in adoration are two of the easiest ways to attain this goal. already.

On Saints’ Feast Days, Pray the Collect [Opening Prayer] from the Mass: If you have a hand missal for the Extraordinary or Ordinary Forms, on Feast Days of Saints, take a minute and pray the Collect for the day’s Mass. This practice is enriched with a Partial Indulgence. already.

Resolve to make the nine First Fridays or the five First Saturdays: Realistically this means attending Mass in the Ordinary Form, but there are good sites to accomplish this goal, again for example Old St. Mary’s, which offers Confessions before every Mass and devotions after First Saturday Mass. already.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 02/15 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (Feria of Lent)
• Tue. 02/16 7:00 PM: High Mass at Holy Name of Mary (Feria of Lent)
• Sun. 02/21: No Mass at St. OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for February 14, 2016. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Tridentine Masses coming to metro Detroit and east Michigan this week

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Sunday


• Sun. 02/14 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (1st Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/14 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (1st Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/14 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (1st Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/14 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (1st Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/14 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (1st Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 01/07 12:30 PM: Old St. Patrick's, Ann Arbor (1st Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/14 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (1st Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
  
• Sun. 01/10 3:00 PM: Low Mass (call ahead for Confession times, 989-892-5936) at Infant of Prague, Bay City [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (1st Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/14 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (1st Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
  
  Monday
  
  
• Mon. 02/15 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Mon. 02/15 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Mon. 02/15 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Mon. 02/15 7:00 PM: High Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
  
  Tuesday
  
  
• Tue. 02/16 7:00 AM High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 3rd class)
• Tue. 02/16 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria - 3rd class)
• Tue. 02/16 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada (Feria - 3rd class)
• Tue. 02/16 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 3rd class)
  
  Wednesday
  
  
• Wed. 02/17 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Ember Wednesday of Lent - 2nd class)
• Wed. 02/17 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Ember Wednesday of Lent - 2nd class)
• Wed. 02/17 7:00 PM: High Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Ember Wednesday of Lent - 2nd class)
  
  Thursday
  
  
• Thu. 02/18 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Thu. 02/18 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
• Thu. 02/18 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria of Lent - 3rd class)
  
  Friday
  
  
• Fri. 02/19 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Ember Friday of Lent - 2nd class)
• Fri. 02/19 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Ember Friday of Lent - 2nd class)
• Fri. 02/19 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (Ember Friday of Lent - 2nd class)
• Fri. 02/19 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Ember Friday of Lent - 2nd class)

Saturday


• Sat. 02/20 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Ember Saturday of Lent - 2nd class)
• Sat. 02/20 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (Ember Saturday of Lent - 2nd class)
• Sat. 02/20 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Ember Saturday of Lent - 2nd class)
• Sat. 02/20 6:00 PM Tridentine Mass at SS. Cyril & Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, Sterling Heights (Ember Saturday of Lent - 2nd class)
  
  Sunday
  
  
• Sun. 02/21 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 45 minutes before and after Masses) at St. Joseph's Church, Richmond [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/21 8:00 and 10:30AM Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]* (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/21 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/21 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/21 9:45 AM: High Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
• Sun. 02/21 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
  
• Sun. 02/21 3:00 PM High Mass St. Matthew Catholic Church, Flint (2nd Sunday of Lent - 1st class)
  
  * NB: The SSPX chapels among those Mass sites listed above are posted here because the Holy Father has announced that "those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins." These chapels are not listed among the approved parishes and worship sites on archdiocesan websites.

How can the wrath of an almighty God be just against the limited offense of a mere mortal?

Indeed, is not our God a merciful Father whose heart overflows with infinite love for us? Consider:

The Apostles declared that all you must do is "believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved -- you and your household." Psalm 3:12 says: "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." Isaiah 1:18 says "... though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow ...." James 1:17 says: "Every good and perfect gift is from our heavenly Father." St. Paul says in Rm 8:18 that nothing in this life can be compared "with the glory that awaits us." And he says in 1 Corinthians 2:9 - "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."

Love Him? But of course, how could we possibly not love such a heavenly Father who gives us everything we want and then promises even more? Hmmm ...

As C.S. Lewis once said, a man cannot be too careful about what he reads! St. Robert Bellarmine suggests an analogy:

Let us say that our king comes to love some obscure common man, adorns him with public offices and finally places him in command of the beautiful and fully-equipped citadel of his own empire. Now let us say that this person conspires with enemies against his own king and allows the citadel committed to his care to come into their hands. If it should happen by some issue of events that this man were captured and brought into his king's presence, what do you suppose the king would do with him? Would the fact that the king once dearly loved that traitor deter him from pronouncing upon him the penalties due to traitors? Indeed, the penalties would be atrocious, and so much the more so as the benefices previously conferred upon him had been greater. So it is with us. Even though God has loved us with a mighty love and has sent His Son to us and willed that He suffer and endure so many things for our liberation, yet despite this, He will still punish us with eternal tortures if we desert to the camp of the enemy and betray the citadels of our souls to demons.

Indeed, St. Bellarmine suggests a paraphrase of that aforementioned happy verse from 1 Corinthians 2:9:

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man the tortures and torments which God hath prepared for those who offend Him."

Happy Lent!

[Acknowledgements: quoations are from some happy Lenten reading, St. Robert Bellarmine's "Hell and Its Torments", a sermon delivered at Louvain University, ca. 1574. Audio HERE]

Books Ignatius Press declined to publish?

Maybe you can think of others, but Guy Noir mentions two such books, hard on the heels of citing Philip Trower's "Portrait Of St. Paul" (The Wanderer, February 13, 2016). After writing, "Always very good, Trower on Paul is very good here...," Noir adds:

Also good if unknown is [Trower's] The Catholic Church and the Counter-Faith, which Ignatius Press inexplicably did not publish, just as it shrank from publishing Kelly's The New Biblical Theorists. Pope Francis, however, always gets his hardback edition. I guess that's not too hard to understand -- but mercy, it is awfully hard to translate that into a reason to pay...

"Has the Church Effectively Abandoned the Great Commission?" - The Mark Shea and Christopher Ferrara debate (video)

The monthly men's Argument of the Month Club (AOTM), hosted in the basement of St. Augustine's Catholic Church in St. Paul, MN, regularly draws huge crowds. Crowds of men. Certainly part of the draw is the ample food (lots of barbecue) and beer. But the more significant fact is that men are drawn to serious intellectual questions concerning the Church and the Catholic Faith.

Recently AOTM hosted a debate between Christopher Ferrara (right) and Mark Shea (left) on the hot-button question "Has the Church Effectively Abandoned the Great Commission?" And AOTM has decided, for the first time ever, to publish a video of the debate: HERE it is, with a brief introduction by Kent Wuchterl, the President of AOTM, who is just a regular guy who likes to shoot some of his videos in his garage (not to worry: the garage wasn't the venue for the debate). Enjoy. And DONATE something, if you feel so led. It's a good cause.

[Hat tip to Sir A.S.]

Revisiting Douthat's insight: "A Crisis of Conservative Catholicism"

You may remember that we linked to this article, as well as the video of Ross Douthat's Erasmus Lecture, on November 3rd of last year. But here it is again in the January 2016 issue of First Things, and deservedly so. Why? I think the words of Guy Noir - Private Eye are answer enough, when he says:

Have you read this? His comment especially about conservatives coming up with an answer to Noonan's book... He essentially silences an easy decade of conservative Catholic apologetics, and rightly so. Very few voices have even begun to attempt an honest answer to the scandal of Vatican II ... and of course this is observed by a journalist while dutifully ignored by a generation of seminarians.

I would recommend Douthat's columns as a better introduction to the state of modern Catholicism than I would anything printed by a religious publishing house!

Ever known for his subtle British understatement (or was that French nuance???), Noir nevertheless makes a sharp point (Disclaimer: Rules 7-9).

How did 8 years of a born-again President work out for Christians, here and in Iraq?

Tucker Carlson writes in Politico:

You read surveys that indicate the majority of Christian conservatives support Trump, and then you see the video: Trump on stage with pastors, looking pained as they pray over him, misidentifying key books in the New Testament, and in general doing a ludicrous imitation of a faithful Christian, the least holy roller ever. You wonder as you watch this: How could they be that dumb? He’s so obviously faking it.

They know that already. I doubt there are many Christian voters who think Trump could recite the Nicene Creed, or even identify it. Evangelicals have given up trying to elect one of their own. What they’re looking for is a bodyguard, someone to shield them from mounting (and real) threats to their freedom of speech and worship. Trump fits that role nicely, better in fact than many church-going Republicans. For eight years, there was a born-again in the White House. How’d that work out for Christians, here and in Iraq?

And Rod Dreher comments HERE.

[Hat tip to JM]

Answered prayer

On January 9th of this year, I requested urgent prayer for Julia, who, after nearly a lifetime of surgeries, was facing yet another, due to insufferable pain from sharp bone spurs and broken bones in her neck and shoulder, due to a degenerative condition.

Julia had her surgery about a week ago, and was in severe pain following the surgery, which was worsened by a bad fall after she was returned to her room in the nursing home where she lives. She was sent back to the hospital and the ordeal continued.

As of yesterday, however, she is completely pain free. I just checked with her again and heard that she is doing fine. I'm not sure what the condition of her degenerative bone disease is at present; but the important thing is that she is pain free and feeling gloriously happy.

This is what I asked you to pray for, and this prayer was answered. Of your kindness, if you're willing, please continue to remember her in your prayers for the life ahead of her. It's marvellous to see how God answers prayers when many join in intercessory prayers as you have. Thank you.

Al Gore's Pope Francis' prayer intentions for February 2016

You may remember the Holy Father's prayer intentions for January 2016, which seemed to be a call to recognize something like common good will in all world religions. Something like that.

Which leads me to ask: what happened to the Gospel? the Great Commission? Can someone help me understand this? Is this intended as a strategic move to get beyond the ascendant "bad press" surrounding the Catholic Church in recent years? Is it intended to show that the Church is "on board" with the most enlightened self-congratulatory instincts of the contemporary global culture? Is it intended to stave off persecution? Or is this what the Holy Father takes to be the heart of the Church's urgent Gospel message? Has the Catholic Church embraced the paradigm that H. Richard Niebuhr called the Christ of Culture? Has the Gospel been reduced to an echo of the world, an echo of what the world is already fashionably telling itself? This is all slickly edited and everything, but it sounds more like a public service announcement sponsored by the Green Party or Sierra Club than a proclamation of divine mercy (in this Jubilee Year of Mercy) for which the Son of God had to atone by sacrificing His life for the sins of the world. Sin? Whatever became of sin? Clarity, please.