TOTUS PIUS

The Day After

2008-05-01T16:51:00.004-04:00

Many thanks to the Papal Secretary who kindly wished us a happy feast day - and a papal shout out and tiara tip to everyone else who celebrated that glorious anniversary.

We're sorry all of the Pii have been scarce and will most likely continue to be so - apologies to any faithful readers. When we logged we noticed there were nearly 30 unpublished comments waiting to be moderated. Sadly, most of them are angry and bitter because their authors think that we Pii really are angry and bitter (and hate FSU's guts). We've been over that before, and we're going to let it rest. There are bigger and better things - just take a look at this cake!

Thanks to the Carolina Cannonball

WE WANT ONE NEXT YEAR FOR OUR FEAST DAY!

Happy Feastday, Pius V!

2008-04-30T16:42:00.001-04:00

Happy Feastday, Pius V!

A Post

2007-12-16T13:02:00.001-05:00

We hope Our readers have appreciated Our month-long endorsement of this movie on Our blog.

Having now broken the great silence, We return to Our usual hobbies of railing against Freemasons, pluralism, and Freemasons. Gaudete. Farewell for now.

Picture credit: Baltimore Catechism (where else?)

Franciscan University

2007-11-12T20:37:00.000-05:00

This is something that We have been wanting to post for a long time. Quite frankly, We are sick and tired of hearing about how Franciscan University is a great Catholic university. The recent publication of the Cardinal Newman Society placing it at the top of the heap of U.S. Catholic schools pushed us over the edge. Before We proceed, We request that you visit the following link: Franciscan University Holy Week Liturgies

No, We are not going to comment on how the liturgies there are consistently horrible or how the charismatic outlook of the school effects their "orthodoxy." We think this is secondary. The primary point We wish to make regarding this video is regarding liberal education per se. One of the greatest benefits of a liberal education is refinement of taste and an appreciation for that which is true, good, and beautiful. The fact that these college students are reveling in gatherings such as the ones shown above says a lot about the education one receives at Steubenville. A minimal knowledge of theology and philosophy is enough to see the separation of faith and reason in the aforementioned video. A minimal knowledge of music is enough for one to know that what is being played in the video has little to no artistic merit.

If Catholic students are graduating from this university and see these liturgies as representative of their faith, there are much deeper problems that subjective sentiments and childish attachments to emotional music-- somebody is not being educated properly. We could excuse the lack of great scholars and resources to a greater degree if the graduates were at least a little cultured, but it looks like the situation is pretty bad.

Fellay, Williamson: Fundamentally Proud

2007-10-25T14:01:00.000-04:00

From Rorate Caeli:

"Nothing could be falser" - Fellay explains it - "Williamson and I are on the same line, that which believes that we could hardly re-enter a Church as is. And the reasons are quite simple. Benedict XVI has indeed liberalized the ancient rite, but I cannot explain for what reason he made such a decision if he then allows the majority of Bishops to criticize and disobey him regarding what he determined. What should we do? Re-enter the Church and then be insulted by all those people?"

Yes. Re-enter. Reconcile yourself with the ONE and ONLY true Church. Stop thinking you're making all of us dead popes proud. And suffer. Suffer humiliation and insults. Suffer like Christ did, the Christ you purport to know so well, so much better than everyone loyal to Rome.

It is becoming all the more clear, folks, that even the most moderate of the SSPX are driven by a righteous pride, a pride which is only born of the prince of darkness. They are deceived more than they could possibly imagine, blinded by a faith in their own authority and in their own righteousness - a faith which will ultimately lead them to more pain, more discord, and more damnation. We'd prefer an ignorant pastor with lukewarm faith and a lukewarm congregation any day to the rift in the Church caused by these most proud, most disloyal, and most dangerous crowd.

Unbelievable.

And after this statement, it's a good thing for Fellay that we no longer hold the chair of Peter.

The Second Confiteor

2007-10-24T23:45:00.000-04:00

First, We would like to congratulate all of Our worthy predecessors in the Chair of St. Peter on their posts thus far (this includes Pius VIII, who is altogether too hard on himself.) Although We had hoped to rejoin Our pious brethren last week, We hope We will be forgiven the delay considering the topic We have in mind to discuss. We know that it is sure to ruffle some feathers, but hopefully, We still have enough readers with feathers to ruffle. +[[[:-) Thus, without further ado, We enter the heated realm of debate over the Second Confiteor and its use in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

The idea for a post on the Second Confiteor came to Us today after an enjoyable conversation with Our pastor (the Second Confiteor, by the way, is said by the servers before the people receive Holy Communion). When We brought up the Extraordinary Form and began discussing Our experience attending a Mass of this use two Sundays ago, We learned that Our pastor was quite eager to learn this older form of the Mass. Along with serving as the pastor for Our home parish, he also teaches Latin three days a week at the local Catholic school, which, We imagine, will enable him to learn the older Mass relatively quickly. We also discussed how he had taught himself the server's responses back in the fourth grade and how his experience completely destroys the excuses of those who claim that Latin is simply too difficult to learn. Needless to say, We have high hopes for the introduction of the Extraordinary Form at Our parish.

So what, you may be asking, does any of this have to do with the Second Confiteor? In the course of Our conversation, Our pastor mentioned that he had seen the Solemn High Mass which was broadcast by EWTN on September 14, and he was quite perturbed by the fact that the servers at this Mass said the Second Confiteor, which is not included in the 1962 Missale Romanum (MR). We informed him that We knew of this omission but were under the impression that, while not mandatory, the prayer was still optional. In fact, We said, We were under the impression that the priests of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter still include this prayer in their Masses. We did, however, concede that, superficially, it seems odd to insist on complete and unswerving obedience to the rubrics for priests offering Mass according to the 1970 MR and not to do the same with regards to the Extraordinary Form. Our pastor agreed and was adamant in his belief that the Second Confiteor should not be said. So, although We were still interested in the topic, lest the conversation sour as a result of too much debate, We turned Our attention elsewhere.

Afterwards, this question of the Second Confiteor was still present in Our mind. We had been assured by others that its use was optional (according to some, desirable), and We assumed that this was an accurate understanding of the situation. Our conversation with Our pastor, however, had opened a window of doubt as to the veracity of these claims. Should the servers really continue to say a prayer which is not contained in the MR? Should this proposition be risked at the expense of compromising a correct understanding of rubrical integrity? We were unsure.

So, naturally, where does a pope of the mid-twentieth century turn in such a predicament? Why, to Google, of course! We were happy to see that one of the first results was a post by Fr. Zuhlsdorf on the reissue of Ludovico Trimeloni’s Compendio di Liturgia Pratica.

Exploring this book, Fr. Z writes:

You find, in brackets – meaning that the editor interpolated this part into the text – how to do the Second Confiteor before Holy Communion of the healthy faithful present.

However, there is a footnote (#4 my translation):

" The rubrics of 1962 suppressed the Confiteor before Communion, even if it is still being recited in nearly all the communities that celebrate in the traditional rite. For completeness the rite is indicated here, in anticipation of an official pronouncement of the Holy See. "

Okay… I guess I can live with that, provided we clearly understand that the Second Confiteor, as Siffi correctly indicated, was suppressed in 1962. Thus, because the Holy See gave use of the 1962 edition and not an earlier edition, the Second Confiteor should not be done [Our emphasis]. Still, there is an ongoing tradition of doing it in many places. I am sure that the Holy See will probably say go ahead, big deal.

This is the same technique used by those who wanted Communion in the hand and also girl altar boys, but that is another matter.

For the Solemn Mass, there is no mention at all of the Second Confiteor.

Considering this evidence, Our pastor was absolutely correct that the Second Confiteor was dropped from the 1962 MR, and he was also rubrically correct to assert that the practice should be discontinued. Because Pope Benedict has given permission for the use of the 1962 MR only, this is a logical conclusion for one to reach. We find it interesting that the editor of this book, Pietro Siffi, expects there to be an official response to the question on the part of the Holy See at some future date. Since the time of Fr. Z's post in May, We have not been aware of any such clarification.

In his commentary, Fr. Z does raise an additional point, that "there is an ongoing tradition of doing it in many places." So, in light of this, how should the rubrics be reconciled with traditional customs? This subject may need a post or two all to itself. Also, can people appeal to tradition in places where the Extraordinary Form has been recently re-established? This sort of appeal, at least on the surface, seems rather tenuous to Us.

Now, some may say that this debate is rather trivial. We would argue that this is not the case because it can demonstrate the liturgical attitudes of the people involved. As Fr. Z stated, liturgical progressives have also used arguments from tradition or custom (as wacky as that sounds) to gain approval for what were once abuses (like receiving Holy Communion in the hand). Even the smallest liturgical matters ought not to be taken lightly.

To this end, until a clarification is issued by the Holy See, We conclude that it is best to abide by the rubrics of the 1962 MR and omit the Second Confiteor from the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. In places where this tradition has been retained, there will, no doubt, be some resistance to this conclusion, and We are unsure of how to resolve the rubrics v. tradition question in general. We still think, however, that "say the black, do the red" is a rather strong argument.

Pius PP. XII

To Whom the Lips of Children Made Sweet Hosannas Ring

2007-10-23T23:54:00.000-04:00

To cut to the chase: bad things have happened in the last few decades. Granted, this is a terrible (though true) thesis statement, which We hope you will forgive, seeing as how We have not written anything in 177 years. Bad things have always happened and always will happen—fair enough—but all can agree that the last forty years have seen a sharp decline in Mass attendance, a growing aloofness to the Magisterium, and a deepening gullibility for New Agey pluralistic hogwash. Why are such symptoms “bad things”? Well, because they put souls in peril of (likely mortal) sin, and ultimately endanger their eternal happiness in Heaven. Hopefully we can all agree this is bad. Now for a clue as to the remedy for the disease behind these symptoms, let’s ask our friend the Baltimore Catechism …

PIUS VIII & LOYAL READERS: What must we do to gain the happiness of Heaven?

BALTIMORE CATECHISM: To gain the happiness of Heaven we must know, love, and serve God in this world.

Why, thank you, Friend Baltimore; you will reappear later on, We promise. So, we all must know, love, and serve God. Now it’s Our hunch that the order of those three is more than merely alphabetical. You serve someone because you love him; and you cannot love someone you do not know. Ergo, our friend Baltimore and a little on-the-spot logic have concluded that the first and most important question we should ask ourselves is: are we making sure that the faithful know God?

Know? No.

The Church has ensured that her members may come to know her Founder 1) through the Sacred Liturgy, which expresses the Church’s lex credendi, and 2) through the Christian education of her little children. As to number 1, well, there’s a reason We mentioned it first, but We are glad to see that the topic has already been addressed last week (and will continue to be covered) in depth by several Pii more knowledgeable than Ourselves. As to number 2, well, since no one ever prays to this Pius, We have had plenty of spare time to pay special attention to the current educational situation. And, in short ... +[[[:-(

We see modern catechetical textbooks. We see problems. Even at the middle school level, they are picture books. Now this wouldn’t even be all bad, if said pictures comprised lots of

instead of lots of

Illustrations like the first one clearly can convey the explicit truths of the Catholic Faith. But the other "trendier" and "cooler" pictures speak nothing of the supernatural; they are corny and students know it; they usually even depict questionable degrees of Christian modesty. (Apparently no one listened to you either, XI.) Much the same with the remainder of the typical CCD book: colorful sidebars, implicit canonizations of non-Catholic social workers, “Confirmation projects” like planting a garden, wonderful suggestions for background music during class, etc. … all apparently intended to apologize to the students, “Sorry about these doctrines and stuff in the appendix; religion is actually quite FUN!” In short, publishers feel compelled to make a catechetical textbook look and read (and in Our opinion, smell) just like a hip modern textbook for any other subject; a veritable television-in-a-book.

As for the text, sometimes it is frankly not bad. This still renders the surrounding visual barrage most unfortunate, as it puts the truths of the Holy Faith on par with the Letter of the Day on Sesame Street. Far worse and far more common are the texts simply filled with copious amounts of nothing; and worst of all are those of the kind that ask their fifth-grade users to make up their own Eucharistic Prayers and share them with the class. (We kid you not. And this without any surrounding explanation of the Mass.)

In short, dear Baltimore Catechism, the books of today are everything that you are not: long-winded, inefficient, elusive, vapid, cutesy, banal, and condescending. And in view of this, We hereby forcefully deny that a conscientious catechist would commit sinful disobedience by, umm, “supplementing” his assigned textbook with your wonderful questions and answers. (N.B., We here speak Our mere opinion, based upon Our own painfully disappointing observations. We are by no means speaking ex cathedra. We don’t even have a cathedra to speak ex anymore.)

These are Our doleful complaints. The most important knowledge that is available to the mind of the child—upon which hangs the earthly and eternal happiness of its pending students—is somehow expected to be taught to children from circus-books, by catechists who unfortunately were “taught” in the exact same way. And thus we have a most discouraging cycle all set in place.

We are tempted to think that We have been rather good at diagnosing this entire catechetical problem—but that is, after all, very easy to do. There must still be further underlying causes behind this problem, We are sure, probably involving the lack of Priests in the classroom combined with the advent of silly pop-psychology. But you already knew that those are bad. Nonetheless, We here repeat Our cry: the most necessary requirement for leading the wandering faithful to eternal happiness, if we still believe in Truth and Hell and things like that, is to ensure that they all know God, know Who He is, and know what He has taught through His Church; and only then can they come to love Him and serve Him, and thus gain the happiness of Heaven.

The battlefield, then, is the classroom. “… Students’ minds and morals are molded by the precepts of the teachers.” (Yours truly.) The very fact that you have visited a blog run by deceased, heresy-hunting, modernism-hating Vicars of Christ probably means that you should be on that battlefield. Side by side with reverent and literally awesome liturgy, it is solid instruction at an early age that must reawaken the faithful to the precious knowledge of Our Lord and of His Church’s beautiful deposit of Faith.

Prologue

2007-10-23T23:36:00.000-04:00

Warmest greetings and a blessed Tuesday to Our readers; and speaking of Tuesday, make certain to give a special greeting to your respective Guardian Angels for Us. We are, by the way, the eighth in the line of Papae Pii, though not nearly as prestigious as I, V, VII, IX, X, XI, XII, or, unfortunately, even the anti-Pope Pius XIII. Go figure. Reigning for a mere twenty months will do that, We suppose.

We would like to preface our actual upcoming post with a quotation from a relevant and reliable source, namely Ourselves, in Our bludgeoning Encyclical Traditi Humilitati. Reading the rest of the letter will demonstrate at least two fundamental truths: 1) Holy Church has been in big trouble before, and 2) people never listen to the current Pope. The first ought to be a source of comfort for Our earthbound readers, while the second remains a perpetual source of annoyance for the eight-and-a-half Pontiffs at this blog.

“Although God may console Us with you, We are nonetheless sad. … The authority of the Church is weakened and the protectors of things sacred are snatched away and held in contempt. … All things which concern religion are relegated to the fables of old women and the superstitions of Priests. Truly lions have roared in Israel. With tears We say: 'Truly they have conspired against the Lord and against His Christ.' Truly the impious have said: 'Raze it, raze it down to its foundations.' "

This is all that We shall speak concerning Ourselves; let it be known that it is an honor for Us to join the ranks of the other Pii here present, all of whom (save one) are many many times closer to being canonized than We ever shall be. Do keep the above passage in mind. And We, as a pledge of Our affection, lovingly impart the Apostolic Benediction.

Church & State

2007-10-22T23:25:00.000-04:00

While brothers IX and XI may be sorry for their absence, we most certainly are not. We rather enjoyed our hiatus; but now we've been dragged out of retirement again.

As we were sifting through our papal files this morning, we found this outrageous report from Catholic World News:

Erase baptismal record, Spanish court tells Valencia archdiocese

Valencia, Oct. 22, 2007 (CWNews.com) - A Spanish court has ordered Catholic officials in Valencia to remove a man’s name from Church baptismal records.

Manuel Blat Gonzalez, a homosexual man who objected to the Church’s campaign against same-sex marriage, had demanded that the Church erase the record of his baptism 40 years ago. The Valencia archdiocese refused, explaining that baptism cannot be reversed and the record is a historical document.

The Data Protection Agency, a government body charged with preserving individual privacy, took up the Blat case and won a court ruling that required the Church to discard sacramental records of those who made the request. The Valencia archdiocese appealed, but the appeal has now been rejected.

This is outrageous on a number of levels.

First we have the ridiculous Spaniard who wants his baptismal records destroyed. Now, tell us, what good will this really do for this silly man? It will not alter the fact that 40 years ago a priest baptized him. Not only can the sacrament not be reversed, but the historical act cannot be reversed either. No matter how you interpret the documents he wants destroyed, nothing will change.

Secondly, we have the worse case of the ridiculous Spanish government. This "Data Protection Agency" raises the very important question of the relationship of church and state and their authority or power that each holds. This seems to be terrible transgression of bounds. A government that is able to force the Church to destroy her records is a government that will soon try to make the Church its slave. Of course, this was already tried there less than a century ago.

Another dagger trust into the heart of Christendom.

Fidelity to Tradition

2007-10-21T23:26:00.003-04:00

Dearest readers! We apologize for Our most inexcusable delay in writing for you. However, the time has finally come for Us to remove Ourselves from Our vacation home and actually get to work. Today, We wish to discuss some reflections which were prompted by a very beautiful offering of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Missal, which We were able to attend today. The priest who offered the Mass today has not been offering this form of the Mass publicly, until today and he introduced it very well. The ordinary of the Mass was sung by a 22-person choir in polyphony and the propers of the Mass were sung by a wonderful schola of about 10 men. Previously the Mass at this parish was of the Ordinary Form, but today, this holy priest wished to offer the Mass of which Our Predecessors have written so well on this blog. The amazing thing about this Mass was the obvious fact that this priest realized that Tradition does not end in 1962, it is still living. He spoke of the participation that we can have in Tradition as a sort of personal unconscious river which can flow through us in some way and unite us with many who came before us. However, a necessary corollary of this is that this river is still flowing onward. There can still be legitimate development of Tradition. By starting his sermon with the quotation "By the waters of Babylon we sat and wept," the good priest made it quite clear that he is not convinced that we have done such a good job of interpreting the documents of Vatican II in light of Tradition, but his desire to include the older form of the Mass in a parish which formerly has been exclusively offering the Ordinary Form shows that he wishes to carry out the will of the Holy Father very clearly. He wants to be open to the developments that are being called for in Liturgy. He wants to let that which was holy for those in the past be holy for those in the future as well. This priest also recognized the great value of the High Mass. He announced today that all of the Sunday Masses will be High Masses or Solemn High Masses (after the other priests at the parish are trained for it). He knows what the Holy Father has said about the beauty that can be found in a well offered Mass according to the Usus Antiquor and wishes to show that to his parishioners who may not have accessed such beauty otherwise. We hope that this post may prompt some thoughts about Tradition and the need for realization that it is not ours. It is something we must accept as little children from our Heavenly Father and the Bride of His Son. We must be willing to have a deep love for that which the Church has held as sacred and we must strive always to grow according to Her legitimate developments in Her communion with Her Bridegroom.

The Problem With Statements of Inclusion

2007-10-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

First, we would like to apologize to the faithful who have long suffered our absence. We were being held prisoner for the last year and few months by revolutionary forces. But alas, we are back!

One more thing before we get started on the post: we expect correct spelling and grammar. However, often there are errors in spelling or grammar that creep into posts and comments. Although we do not condone a poor standard of writing here, we nevertheless ask that our brethren and our readers refrain from using these minor errors as jumping off points for ad hominem attacks. For instance, a comment for another post had the word "woudl" in it. We all know what that meant. Let's keep the argument to the argument. Of course, I am opposed to neither ad hominem attacks nor the critiquing of the overall presentation of an argument. Let's just, in a mutual spirit of understanding, overlook minor typos and spelling points. Agreed?

Now, to statements of inclusion. It has become very common in organizations, churches, schools, etc for the administration to formulate a statement of inclusion. These statements are in some cases very broad and general, but in others are very specific to the inclusion of persons with homosexual tendencies. Even in the broad statements, however, it is clear that the aim is to make some formal statement within which persons with homosexual tendencies can find refuge. In this post we will focus on those statements formulated by particularly Christian groups.

One of the first concessions we must make is that all persons must be treated with the dignity which is owed them as human persons. (In the discussion that follows, do not question this point or claim that we hate persons with homosexual tendencies. Such comments will not be posted.) What this statement implies, however, gets tricky. Should we say that we welcome all people? Of course. Should we say that we welcome all people, even those with homosexual tendencies. Sure. Should we say that we welcome gay people? Not so fast. To answer this question we must explore what "gay" is, and whether it is rightly predicated of certain individuals in the same way as "black," "white," or "female" might be.

For Christians, and I emphasize this, homosexual acts, that is, the sexual intimacy of persons of the same sex, is considered a disorder. It is considered in the Old Testament as one of the sins that cry to heaven and gravely offend God. Oh but the angry mean God of the Old Testament has been replaced by Christ, you say? Minime. Not at all. The God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament. He is merciful now that his wrath has been pacified by the sacrifice of his only Son, yes, but the laws of nature contained in the Old Covenant remain unchanged. In fact, St Paul in the first chapter of his epistle to the Romans says not only are homosexual acts disordered and displeasing to God, but that even the pagan Romans should have been able to figure this out from reason alone. (here we go): We know from revelation that everyone can know from reason that homosexual acts are disordered. Phew.

When pushed, most Christian groups will be forced to concede this. "Well of course the acts are disordered, but the tendency is just part of who someone is." Any tenable approach to ethics must conclude that any desire to committ a disordered act must itself be disordered. How can it be otherwise? If our appetites are to lead us to some good, and instead of leading us to an ordered participation in the good they lead us to a disordered one, then there must be some disorder - voluntary or involuntary - in the desire itself. The desire to drink too much, for instance, can be voluntarily habituated by a persons' choices to drink previously. This is considered an addiction. The person, at some point, chose to become addicted. However, in the same case, there is evidence showing that the desire to drink too much may actually be a genetic trait or influenced by one's environment when growing up. In these cases, the desire would still be disordered, yet it would be a disorder which is involuntary.

Similarly, then, the desire to commit homosexual acts must be a disordered desire, since it seeks a disordered participation in the good (or it seeks the good in a disordered way, whichever way you prefer). The source of this disorder may be involuntary, based on either genetics or environmental conditioning. The source may also be voluntary, not in the sense most people think, however. We do not mean that people choose at a given moment to have a disordered homosexual desire. Rather, they may, through a series of other disordered choices, choose to develop a habituated desire which seeks homosexual intimacy. In either case, be it a natural evil or a moral evil, we must understand it as a disordered and, indeed, evil desire.

So, should we formulate statements of inclusion welcoming all people, and welcoming the disorder with it? Only insofar as we pledge to help them with their struggle with the disorder. Many times the struggle with homosexual tendencies is compared to the struggle many young people experience with masturbation. Would we ever write a statement of inclusion welcoming all people addicted to masturbation? No, because the emphasis in any statement so formulated is on the disorder and not on the person.

This post was prompted by an email TOTUSPIUS received inviting us to publish information about a conference. Here is an excerpt:

"It's always difficult for a child to tell her parents she is gay, regardless of how liberal or conservative her family might be. When the daughter is part of a devout Catholic family living in a small rural community, the parent-child relationship is exposed to even greater risk.
"Are There Closets in Heaven? is a revealing first-person dialogue between a lesbian daughter, who had always dutifully tried to please her parents, and her Catholic father, an eighty-one-year-old farmer from Iowa. Through their letters and reflections, we see how courage and love made it possible for Bob and Carol Curoe to navigate the twists and turns of such a dramatic shift in their lives. This highly personal and often emotional exchange offers a gift of hope and inspiration to families who struggle with learning their child is not what they expected.

"Are There Closets in Heaven? lets us experience the real lives behind debates taking place in today's media on same-sex marriage, constitutional amendments, gays and lesbians raising children, and religion."

Now, in light of our exposition of the problem, there would be no closets in heaven because all desires are rightly ordered for the souls in heaven. All desire is at rest, because our ultimate desire for the good is fulfilled in the vision of the divine essence. Even those who had disordered tendencies to sex, drink, homosexual intimacy, etc on earth will, once in heaven, have been purged and purified, either on earth or in the fires of purgatory. And those who did once have disordered homosexual desires on earth will in heaven realize the disorder and see any efforts in their life to purify their desires of disorder as most charitable.

We must treat all men with charity, but charity demands that we treat homosexuality like alcoholism and drug addiction, and not like race and ethnicity; statements of inclusion should not focus on welcoming a disorder but, just as the kingdom of heaven and the period of purgation which often precedes admittance into it, should focus on healing it.

Shea's Article on Mass Misses the Mark

2007-10-15T10:16:00.000-04:00

Fellow blogger, Mark Shea, wrote an article for the October 2007 issue of Chronicles Magazine (one of our favorites) entitled, “Some Thoughts on Motu Proprio Mania.” Mr. Shea begins the article by creating an analogy between the liturgy and shoes. He writes, “The point of shoes is not to notice them, but to walk in them. Shoes you constantly notice are Bad Shoes. Liturgy you focus on is liturgy that is not doing its job, which is to refer us to God, not to itself." Mr. Shea then proceeds to give two reasons people focus on the liturgy: liturgical abuse and oversensitivity. He argues that many attendees of the Tridentine Rite have a tendency to be oversensitive and that they often berate him for attending his reverently said Novus Ordo rite—a rite with which he is perfectly happy. He concludes by writing: “Nor it is my job to suggest that, if you like the Tridentine Rite instead, you are a second-class Catholic and a narcissist. It would be nice if many enthusiasts for the Tridentine liturgy could return the favor.”

Mr. Shea makes many good points in his article and We agree with some of his analysis. There are many Catholics who are oversensitive regarding liturgical matters and charity must be exercised in any criticism no matter how applicable. However, the article also has some serious errors that We feel are necessary to address. These errors are dangerous because they are held from within the Church—by those who are doctrinally orthodox. We want to make it clear that We appreciate Mark Shea’s work and desire not to anathematize him, only his ideas. There are premises at the very beginning that We take issue with such as the analogy with shoes and the use of the term “Tridentine Rite.” These are errors of a different sort and are for another article.

We already granted that some Catholics can be overly critical and lacking in charity at times. However, when We look at the specific examples used by Mr. Shea to illustrate this point, We are incredulous. Three of the five examples are: the way people dress at Mass, altar girls, and holding hands during the Our Father. These are serious issues. At Mass, we witness the sacrifical act of Jesus Christ to the Father for our salvation. At the same time, we get to witness mini-skirts, t-shirts with beer bellies, and cleavage. This is wholly inappropriate and shows a complete disregard for the event taking place. A distinction needs to be made between acting as a judge of an individual person and acting as a judge of a person’s actions. The former is sinful; the latter is necessary. Regarding the importance of the altar girl issue, see Our myth-anathematizers regarding the issue. Finally, hand-holding during the Our Father is an action which blurs the distinction between the City of God and the city of man. It emphasizes horizontal worship at the expense of vertical worship. People are poorly catechized as is, this needs to be stopped. Always remember, lex orandi, lex credendi.

Mr. Shea goes on to argue that the traditional Mass and the Novus Ordo are both legitimate Masses and that he finds the latter more spiritually nourishing. He laments that he is often blasted for those viewpoints. To those of you who do not think that the Novus Ordo is a legitimate form of the Mass: you are schismatics. At the same time, Mr. Shea, to state that the two rites are equal in all terms is also false. You write, “I am supposed to feel the superiority of the Tridentine Rite, and if I don’t feel it, it’s because I am selfishly putting my feelings ahead of the TRUTH, which is fully expressed by the feelings of Tridentine Rite fans.” For all We know, the people with whom you converse may simply assert feelings. If that is the case, We sympathize. However, you should KNOW the superiority of the Tridentine Rite and if you don’t then you should read more about the liturgy so that you can understand. Afterward, if you still FEEL that the Novus Ordo is more spiritually fulfilling, put your feelings in their place by subjecting them to the intellect and the will. The use of Latin during the canon and the ad orientem position are NECESSARY for the liturgy of the Roman Rite to accomplish all of its goals. These are not solely the possession of the traditional form, but are always required and are not an option. Furthermore, the use of canons other than the Roman Canon are unacceptable. These points have been made wonderfully by Msgr. Klaus Gamber in his book, The Reform of the Roman Liturgy. He goes as far to say that the Novus Ordo should not even be called the Roman Rite, but the modern rite. By the way, in the preface to the French addition, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger states that Gamber’s thought is at the heart of the Church.

No Mr. Shea, we cannot say that those who attend the modern rite are second-class Catholics. That would be uncharitable and out-of-line. The truth of the matter is however, that the Mass of Paul VI is a second-class Mass.

2007-10-10T00:06:00.000-04:00

Come Monday we should be open for business. Heretics beware.

While her loyal sons are marching onward to victory...

2007-07-31T08:36:00.001-04:00

Mass of John XXIII to hopefully be offered soon at the University of Notre Dame. Details available at http://sobersophomore.blogspot.com

The Return of MythAnathematizers: Is Thomism still the philosophia perennis∗ of the Catholic Church?

2007-07-27T14:32:00.001-04:00

Greetings to our flock. Our one-year hiatus is finally over and we are ready to continue posting on our most illustrious blog. We thought that a new installment of MythAnathematizers would be the most appropriate way to announce our return:

Myth: “Thomism is no longer considered to be the philosophia perennis. Although Leo XIII declared it so in the encyclical Aeterni Patris, John Paul II in his more recent encyclical, Fides et Ratio, is less insistent on the primacy of the philosophy of St. Thomas. He writes, ‘The Church has no philosophy of her own nor does she canonize any one particular philosophy in preference to others.’” [49]

Reply: A close reading of Fides et Ratio shows that this is not the case. Despite John Paul II’s toning down of Leo XIII’s rhetoric, he presents the same argument as Pope Leo. In paragraph 4 of the encyclical, John Paul II establishes the existence of an “implicit philosophy:” “a body of knowledge which may be judged a kind of spiritual heritage of humanity. (cross-reference with definition of philosophia perennis)” [4] He proceeds to list the elements of implicit philosophy. Some of these elements are: non-contradiction, finality, and causality. Anyone who has read St. Thomas knows that in paragraph 4 of Fides et Ratio John Paul II is stating that the first principles of St. Thomas’s philosophy are the implicit philosophy of the Church. Furthermore, he argues later in the encyclical that this implicit philosophy is the criteria for judging all other philosophy that may be of service to the Church. All of this has led Prof. Ralph McInerny to conclude that “Thus, despite the apparent acceptance of philosophical pluralism and its irenic attitude toward historical developments in philosophy—admittedly balanced by severe criticisms—and despite the seeming soft-pedaling of the primacy of Thomas Aquinas, the net effect of the invocation of an implicit philosophy is to make the thought of Thomas regulative in a fundamental way.”1

Myth: “I still don’t believe you. How does all of this reconcile with John Paul II’s statement in the encyclical, “In different cultural contexts and at different times, this process has yielded results which have produced genuine systems of thought. Yet often enough in history this has brought with it the temptation to identify one single stream with the whole of philosophy. In such cases, we are clearly dealing with ‘philosophical pride’ which seeks to present its own partial and imperfect view as the complete reading of all reality.”

Reply: This statement does not apply because Thomism is not a “philosophical system.” St. Thomas presupposes the principles of implicit philosophy. As Prof. McInerny says in the same article, “Since these starting points or principles of Thomism are in the common domain, Thomism is not a system of philosophy, if a system is defined in terms of peculiar and distinguishing first principles.”

Myth: “Well, I still don’t accept the arguments. Just because every pope since St. Pius V who has written on Christian education has affirmed the primacy of St. Thomas Aquinas as philosopher and theologian doesn’t mean it’s a law or anything.

Reply: Sorry, sweetie, Canon 251 states, “Philosophical instruction must be grounded in the perennially valid philosophical heritage and also take into account philosophical investigation over the course of time. It is to be taught in such a way that it perfects the human development of the students, sharpens their minds, and makes them better able to pursue theological studies.” How do we determine what they mean by “perennially valid philosophical heritage?” The encyclicals which are unequivocal.

∗The term suggests a set of beliefs common to all peoples and times.
1. “The Scandal of Philosophy: Reconciling Different Philosophical Systems According to Fides et Ratio”

Whew!

2007-07-11T02:35:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to report that parents may safely allow their children to read Our blog. After having a computer view it thoroughly, it is determined that Our blog is completely 100% child-friendly!

We therefore declare anyone who posits an opposite view to be excommunicated! And anathema! At the same time!

As an aside, We are also exceedingly glad that the Motu Proprio did not stipulate that one needs a "mentally stable group" in order to get the Extraordinary Use of the Roman Rite.

Motu Proprio is here. We are pleased.

2007-07-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi caeli et universae Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae maiestatis:
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Iudex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni: quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.

Hello Moto!

2007-07-07T00:27:00.000-04:00

Hopefully this isn't too presumptuous, keeping in mind that this whole thing could be a huge disappointment, but we just had to do something

so did Our favorite Hermeneutic of Continuity:

Fr. Z's also started partying it up!

It's About Time...

2007-07-04T16:37:00.000-04:00

Annuntimus vobis gaudium magnum:

Habemus motu proprio!

...qui sibi nomen imposuit:

SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM !

Read the whole scoop at Rorate Caeli. Now, what could the rest of that first sentence be? Fortunately, we won't be waiting long to find out. From New Catholic, We have learned that I.Media, a French news agency based in Rome, has confirmed that Summorum pontificum will finally be released on July 7.

Motu Proprio with which Pope Benedict XVI reinstates the traditional norms...

2007-06-26T20:46:00.000-04:00

...for the majority required to elect the Supreme Pontiff! Straight from the Vatican website. Tiara tip to reader Hugh on Rorate Caeli for pointing out this doozy. +[[[:-)

As New Catholic reports, in this motu proprio, the Holy Father has changed article 75 of Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis so that the valid election of the Supreme Pontiff will again require a qualified majority (two-thirds of the Cardinal electors) in every circumstance. In the original document, after a series of unsuccessful ballots, a pope could be elected with only an absolute majority of votes. Interesting.

Along with Hugh, We hope that the above is an example of Pope Benedict's sharp wit and that the other MP will be promulgated very soon. If you are searching for another date to eagerly anticipate, Fr. Z might be able to help.

John the Baptist - breaking news!

2007-06-25T10:11:00.000-04:00

John the Baptist - breaking news!

Thanks to Fr. Finigan

The Mass a Spectacle?

2007-06-23T23:21:00.000-04:00

Fr Z had some comments on a very stupid article in the Boston Ledger which quote some stupid professor from Boston College.

Our only comment: BC, BC, what a miserable place.

But that being said, so help any professor from our favorite university who dares utter something equally stupid - which one of them very well might.

Catholic Mass: For parishioners of 1880s, Mass was ‘a spectacle’
By LANE LAMBERT, The Patriot Ledger
For Catholics of times past, Mass was a different experience - and one that today’s parishioners probably wouldn’t find very satisfying, according to Boston College history professor James O’Toole of Milton.
‘‘It was very quick - about a half hour - and of course it was all in Latin,’’ said O’Toole, who’s the author of books on the American Catholic Church. ‘‘The priest would have faced the altar, away from the congregation, and his preaching would have been very short, in a low voice.’’
Back in the 1880s and ’90s, when parishes like Holy Family in Rockland were still new, ‘‘Mass was a spectacle that people watched, rather than something they participated in, as they do now,’’ he said.
Unlike today, Masses were celebrated on the hour through most of the day, ‘‘so they had to be quick,’’ O’Toole said.
The now-familiar streams of believers going to the altar to receive Communion would have been absent as well. Until the reforms of the Second Vatican Council of 1965, the church’s teachings emphasized the unworthiness of sinful souls, and the need for confession as a preparation for Communion.‘
‘If you were going to do it, you had better be (spiritually) prepared,’’ O’Toole said. Consequently, few believers went to the altar rail. Even the most pious parishioners usually received Communion no more than once a month.
‘‘It was a spiritual division of labor,’’ he said. ‘‘Ordinary Catholics said their prayers and prayed the rosary, and the priest did what he did.’’

The Pervasiveness of Wikiality

2007-06-21T18:11:00.000-04:00

Considering the confusion We have encountered regarding Our own cause for canonization (as We described here) and its connection to Wikipedia, We thought it fitting to have Stephen Colbert, arguably the greatest and truthiest prophetic voice in the media today, remind us all of the dangers associated with this vehicle of information. Or, is it misinformation?

On the other hand, We wish that the subjectivism of modern philosophy (as advanced by men such as Rene Descartes and George Berkeley) and the relativism of modern modes of thought would seem just as ridiculous and laughable to both the common man and the academy as Monsieur Colbert's proposal to refashion reality.

Excellent

2007-06-21T00:32:00.001-04:00

Poor Knoxville...how did it get to be the city to be picked on?

First we had the Spirit of Vatican 2 Community, now their antithesis The Society of St. Leo I.

It's nice their pastor approves of Our new ministry, but we find it odd they approve of us while we persist in allowing "heretics" like Ma Beck and the Roving Medievalist to comment on Our blog.

More Liturgical Nonsense

2007-06-20T20:22:00.000-04:00

Today, We came across an intriguing post on Fr. John Zuhlsdorf's blog, What Does the Prayer Really Say? In the last few months, WDTPRS has become one of the first stops on Our daily blog tour. Fr. Z is to be commended for his commentary on the pressing issues of the day, his podcasts, his fantastic pictures of Rome, and his refreshing good sense. We heartily tip our tiara in his honor, +[[[:-)

The post in question concerns Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie, PA, who chairs the Bishops' Committee on Liturgy, and his attitude toward the vernacular translation of the Mass. To quote Fr. Z,

"It boils down to this: you are too stupid to understand an accurately translated prayer. Because you are too stupid, because the prayers are tooo haaard for you to understand, His Excellency wants to you have mashed carrots and goop instead of a rare T-Bone and structured Cab, like mommy and daddy do for their kiddies."

Then, we are treated to a "Mass of Trautman" (originally from The Cafeteria is Closed) which takes this principle of dumbing down the liturgy to its logical conclusion. Here, re-posted for your enjoyment, is the Creed, but We encourage you to read the whole thing for yourself.

ALL: We like God. God is cool and really nice because He made me and this whole world – which by the way – we are totally polluting and it’s getting hot. Jesus was born in a little barn and every Christmas we have a play during church but then he died. But you know what? He loves me and wants me to be happy. There’s this spirit that talks to us in a book and he makes things live. I like my church because everyone here is so nice and the priest is nice and we sing nice songs about nice stuff and later when we get old and icky, after we die, we all get to go to heaven with Jesus. He’s really cool by the way. Amen.

Well, maybe not to its logical conclusion. But close enough. +[[[;-)

Amazing Ordination Pictures

2007-06-20T01:43:00.002-04:00

Wolftracker at Kansas City Catholic deserves a major Tiara tip for this. +[[[:¬)

Radicals and Theology after the Revolution

2007-06-20T01:24:00.001-04:00

We wish to apologize for Our very long absence from the medium of the internet, but We have just been informed of a quite excellent article that is posted in the Catholic Culture Library. We reserve Our judgment on the site as a whole for We are not particularly familiar with it, but We would like to recommend an article that appears there and was originally published in the journal, First Things. It is entitled "Theology after the Revolution" and discusses some thoughts about what has come to be known as the "nouvelle theologie." It's a very good read and it turns out that We had recently written privately about some thoughts that seem to complement the article very well. We would like to make particularly clear that this post is not made ex cathedra and We would appreciate any and all responses. Well, the main thrust of Our thoughts are that the world needs more Radicals. Now, I hope you don't think this is a bad thing. We see a grave need for more people to be radical in the most radical sense of the word. More people should be willing to understand things by their radices, their roots. Now, let Us explain Ourself and how this idea relates to the "nouvelle theologie." Trees grow out of roots which grew out of seeds. Without roots, trees would not be able to gather nutrients from the soil or support themselves. This reliance on the soil is another important aspect of trees, but We shall not discuss this here. Now, in some ways, the Holy Catholic Church can be looked at as a sort of tree. Christ, himself, tells us that He is the vine and those who believe in him are the branches. Well, the Church is the Body of Christ, and Christ is the head of the Church. In some ways, the Incarnation of the Word could be looked at as God planting His seed in the World. This seed has grown into a great majestic tree in which all of the birds of the air can come and make their nests. It's trunk has developed throughout the centuries and has grown in response to many heresies which have helped to define the faith. Much of this development has been the result of the contributions of Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas and the other Doctors of the Church. These contributions are all a result of the organic development of the roots of the Gospels and the early Church and must not be overlooked or discarded. Today, it seems that many have a misguided desire to examine the roots of things rather than the actual body of things, and apply this even to the teachings and practices of the Church. In fact, many seem to desire to examine the roots at all costs. They do not mind if it means that we completely uncover the roots. These people seem not to realize that such removal of soil usually causes great damage to the roots themselves by being severed from one another by the shovel cutting into them, and always results in a diminished ability to absorb much needed nutrients. This behavior is found especially in those who wish to secularize society and remove any reference to the true kingship of Christ over all souls and every worldly government. However, this misguided action does not apply so much to the topic of this post as the next. Others wish to cut down the trunk of the tree, if only to get at the roots. Unfortunately these poor souls do not realize that such an action will actually kill the tree and the roots which they are examining. This form of examination of roots is like the recently and often observed desire to return to the practices of the early Church in the Liturgy (something which was actually discouraged and said to be straying from the true path by our successor Pius XII in his encyclical Mediator Dei). This is also what seems to be discussed in the article which We recommended at the beginning of this post. Many who teach the "nouvelle theologie" do not teach the necessary background theology needed to understand the new experimental theology. From what we know of this theology, it wishes to bring about a ressourcement, something which in itself, seems to be quite laudable. but a complete and total return to earlier formulations of doctrine, without accepting more recent formulations (i.e. accepting things written in the Gospel, but not accepting the teachings of St. Thomas or the formulations used by the Glorious Council of Trent) We are not personally familiar with such theologians as de Lubac, von Balthasaar, and Lonergan (We do not claim to have the theological background necessary to engage their works, that is as the one writing this post, not the person of His Holiness Pius XI), but We are willing to grant, for the sake of argument, that they are fully orthodox in their teaching, except where they have been corrected by competent authority. However, We still see a very grave need of understanding very carefully the structure, terminology, and teachings of Scholastic and Patristic Theology and the canons and decrees of the Councils of the Church before even attempting to engage the newer and more experimental theology of recent ages. The trunk must not be forgotten or destroyed in order to appreciate the roots. Doing so not only destroys the trunk, but also the branches which are supported by the trunk. The "nouvelle theologie" is one of these branches, and until it is incorporated into the defined teaching of the Church, it could very well be cut off and thrown into the furnace. Appreciating the roots means appreciating all that has authentically grown from the roots, and in order to understand the later growth, one must first understand the earlier growth. This love for the roots and all that has grown from them is exactly what We think needs to be proliferated throughout the entire world. The radicals who do this are the true radicals, for they do not wish to destroy the tree and the roots along with it, but wish to have the roots flourish and the entire tree as well.

2007-06-20T00:49:00.000-04:00

In a similar vein as our last post, We would like to point out Bishop Serratelli of the Diocese of Paterson's first of four articles on the Loss of the Sacred.

The Loss of the Sacred
In the 17th century, Descartes, the father of modern philosophy, rejected the philosophical traditions of Aristotle and the Scholastics. For Descartes, the very fact that we think is the proof that we exist. Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. He rejected the use of his senses as the basis for knowledge. In so doing, he wounded the unity between mind and body found in classical philosophy. Over the course of time, the wound has widened. The spiritual and the material have drifted apart. The sacred and the secular clearly divided.
Besides modern philosophy, other factors have contributed to the separation of the sacred from the secular. The scientific manipulation of human life in test tubes has lessened the respect for life itself. Life is no longer, for some, a sacred gift from God. Likewise, the divorce of human sexuality from procreation, coupled with the continual campaign to redefine marriage has helped to push God out of the intimacies of human life. Marriage is no longer recognized as a sacred institution given by God for a man and woman to join with Him in bringing new life into the world. The sacredness of even the natural order as coming from the hands of an all-wise God is thus lost.
The anti-authoritarian prejudice that we have inherited from the social revolution of the '60’s imprinted on many a deep mistrust not only of government but of Church. Some even reject the very idea of hierarchy (literally, “a sacred origin”) as a spiritual authority established by God. As a result, Church means, for some, simply the assembly of like-minded believers who organize themselves and make their own
rules and dogmas. Thus, the Church’s role in the spiritual realm is greatly eclipsed.
On the first day of the new millennium, Prince Charles of England said, "In an age of secularism, I hope, with all my heart, in a new millennium we will rediscover a sense of the sacred in all that surrounds us." He said he hoped this would hold true whether in growing crops, raising livestock, building homes in the countryside, treating disease or educating the young. He recognized by his statement that we have lost a sense of the sacred.
Living in our world, we breathe the toxic air that surrounds us. Even within the most sacred precincts of the Church, we witness a loss of the sense of the sacred. With the enthusiasm that followed the Second Vatican Council, there was a well-intentioned effort to make the liturgy modern. It became commonplace to say that the liturgy had to be relevant to the worshipper. Old songs were jettisoned. The guitar replaced the organ. Some priests even began to walk down the road of liturgical innovation, only to discover it was a dead end. And all the while, the awareness of entering into something sacred that has been given to us from above and draws us out of ourselves and into the mystery of God was gone.
Teaching about the Mass began to emphasize the community. The Mass was seen as a community meal. It was something everyone did together. Lost was the notion of sacrifice. Lost the awesome mystery of the Eucharist as Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The priest was no longer seen as specially consecrated. He was no different than the laity. With all of this, a profound loss of the sacred.
Not one factor can account for the decline in Mass attendance, Church marriages, baptisms and funerals in the last years. But most certainly, the loss of the sense of
the sacred has had a major impact.
Walk into any church today before Mass and you will notice that the silence that should embrace those who stand in God’s House is gone. Even the Church is no longer a sacred place. Gathering for Mass sometimes becomes as noisy as gathering for any other social event. We may not have the ability to do much about the loss of the sacredness of life in the songs, videos and movies of our day. But, most assuredly, we can do much about helping one another recover the sacredness of God’s Presence in His Church.
On the first day of this millennium, the Prince of Wales struck a strong note of optimism for the recovery of the sacred. Paraphrasing Dante, he remarked: "The strongest desire of everything, and the one first implanted by nature, is to return to its source. And since God is the source of our souls and has made it alike unto Himself, therefore this soul desires above all things to return to Him." There is one place where we can begin to rediscover the sacred.

Fr Brankin on the Cult of Ugliness

2007-06-20T00:25:00.000-04:00

As everyone well knows, We have a hatred of hideous ecclesiastical architecture - hence our newly instituted ministry. Ma Beck posted the following excerpt from Fr. Anthony Brankin on her blog this yesterday.

Now, you might think that at least on Sunday you could be rescued from all of this visual and spiritual ugliness by going to church; but ugliness is there, too, for chances are that your church has already been despoiled by modern Catholic barbarians who haven't even the artistic sense of the Unitarians who sit on your towns' historic preservation boards.

The modernists will already have removed the tabernacle to a closet and the crucifix to the rectory basement. They will have torn up the sanctuary and torn down the shrines; and they will have done their expensive best to ruin whatever vision of spiritual loveliness the first parishioners and the first architect possessed. But, again, you are so used to it by now that what they have done to your church in the name of reform barely registers anymore in your minds - at least not until you have to confront what they have also done to the Mass - ever-perky, ever-childish, ever-changing, ever-boring, ever-therapeutic, until you are no longer sure who should be more embarrassed, you for still being there or the liturgists who invented it all.
No, the cult of ugliness is so pervasive, so all around us, in every nook and cranny of our lives, that we stand the risk at every moment of missing it, of no longer being able to see it or even be repelled by it. -Father Anthony Brankin

Fr. Brankin brings out a very good point in noting "they will have done their expensive best to ruin whatever vision of spiritual loveliness the first parishioners and the first architect possessed." If any of our current readers remember last year's scuffle over architecture, they may also remember that among the points brought up against our rants against ugly churches was the claim "churches are ugly because the congregation has no money to beautify them." While this is true in a few cases, we know all too well that many churches have undergone extensive renovations which cost exorbitant sums of money. You can not tell us that the wretched results are due to lack of funding. We'll post some examples of this later.

Why?

2007-06-19T23:52:00.000-04:00

Hold the ministry naming project just a minute while We make use of the ministry's equipment to blow something else up.

http://jesuspan.com/

No further statement from us, but you're welcome to comment.

Tiara tip to the Ironic Catholic

To name a ministry

2007-06-17T23:16:00.000-04:00

We're still looking for a name for our ministry.

Fr Tim of the SOV2 community has suggested "Evil Spanish-Inquisition-Loving-Let's-Go-Back-To-The-Dark-Ages-RadTrad-NeoCath-Traddie-Cathlofascist Brigades."

We think it's a very welcoming all-encompassing name. It lists nearly every important group within the Church by name! It sounds almost pastorally sensitive if you leave "evil"out of it. Too bad it's so long and even "SILLGBTTDARTNCTCB" is an unfortunately lengthy acronym.

It's also too bad Fr. Tim didn't seem too enthusiastic about volunteering the SOV2 worship space to be our next test site. Sr. Fairah seemed slightly more amenable to the idea though.

We need something catchy, folks. Help us out.

Report on the latest liturgical ministry

2007-06-16T23:54:00.000-04:00

In the Spirit of Vatican II, We have been collaborating with our illustrious predecessor, Pius I, to develop a new liturgical ministry We believe will help to enrich the lives of the faithful.

We dispatched the Papal Secretary to photograph our latest test in Los Angeles. Things seem to have gone quite nicely.

The test site:

With the Swiss Guard assisting him, Father G. Powter, wearing a specially designed hardhat-biretta contrived by Pius I, was in charge of the detonation.

The result:

Magnificent!

We firmly believe that this will soon become one of the fastest growing ministries in the church. We anticipate not only the assistance of the clergy, but the enthusiastic active participation of the laity as well. Together, by tearing down the "old" (read: 1960s-present modern trash) we can unite to build new churches of hope!

It sounds so wonderfully SOVish when We try to pitch it that way. We don't know how anyone could refuse!

Our only roadblock at the moment is a name. We must name this ministry. Any ideas for names?

More to come. In the meantime, we need a pastorally sensitive name and some more test sites.

Shun the non-believer! Shuuuuuuunnnnnnnnn

2007-06-16T00:02:00.000-04:00

It is of no spiritual edification whatsoever. In fact, We are commissioning Pontifical Academy of the Sciences to conduct a study We believe will result in the proof that viewing "Charlie the Unicorn" causes brain cells to die at an abnormally high rate.

Nevertheless, We confess We do take some pleasure in the cartoon and can be heard quoting it on occasion.

We are also commissioning a few students from the University of Notre Dame to make a Latin version. We name Pius VII head of that project.

We had starting writing this post, and then decided to let go, but now he's done it....The cantankerous Roving Medievalist, Mr. J. Miller, as Grand Master of the Militant and Just Bloody Rotten Order of the Torch, recently called for the merciless slaughter of the unicorns! What nerve! Mr. Harvey of the aptly named blog "Leave your head at the door" claimed to have brought their heads to be mounted.

A so it would seem to have happened.

Yet again this past day, Mr. Miller again called for a unicorn hunt! What audacity!

While Mr. Miller despises these creatures, and his crimes (however severe one may deem them) have been committed, we grant him pardon. However, in turn, We hereby place the video "Charlie the Unicorn" under papal protection - anathema to any who dare hack into YouTube to destroy it!

P.S. Those 3 heads might look very nice in the grand hall of our summer residence. (just a thought)

Sacred Heart

2007-06-15T23:55:00.000-04:00

The Holy Fathers wish you a blessed Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.
I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.
Amen.
. -- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

A STICK?

2007-06-11T23:38:00.000-04:00

You go all the way to Rome and you give the Pope a STICK! Mr. Bush, has America nothing better to offer?

LAME (no pun intended - but ha! think of the implications of the potential symbolism! HA)

Now, of course We are going to be flamed by some angry person for this complaint - but so be it. It's not that We don't appreciate the elderly formerly-homeless man's sentiment in carving walking sticks with the 10 Commandments on them. By all means, this is a fine American tale of a man in poverty making more of his life...but Mr. Bush on the other hand...maybe if you were the President of Zimbabwe we might think it a lovely gift....

The AP report is below for any curious readers, but let Us draw out this fine excerpt:

The Ten Commandments?" asked the pope.
"The Ten Commandments, yes, sir," the president responded.

B16: Ze Ten Commandments?
Bush: Tean Co'mandments, yeas sir,
B16 (to himself): Ach! Protestantz. Zhey'ave carved zee wron ones!

WELL don't you tell Us that it's not fair to assume Bush gave the Pope a stick with the Protestant set of the Commandments on it!

He probably doesn't even know there's a difference.

Hmph

Come on America.

(6/11/07 - DALLAS, TX) - Under the light of a single bulb of a floor lamp, Roosevelt Wilkerson carves the Ten Commandments onto the smooth surface of a wooden walking stick with a tool resembling a screwdriver. He paints the letters red, black or green, but leaves the stick a natural off-white color.
The walking sticks made by the 62-year-old ninth-grade dropout are owned by famous clients: former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, Gov. Rick Perry, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk and now Pope Benedict XVI.
President Bush gave the pope a Moses walking stick engraved with the Ten Commandments -- one of Wilkerson's creations -- during a visit Saturday to the Vatican. The president described the stick as "a piece of art by a former homeless man from Texas ... Dallas." "The Ten Commandments?" asked the pope.
"The Ten Commandments, yes, sir," the president responded. Wilkerson caught a television news report on the president's visit but didn't hear the exchange about his stick.
"This is the biggest step I've made in my life," said Wilkerson, who attends St. Paul United Methodist Church in Dallas. "God does things in mysterious ways."
Until a few years ago, Wilkerson was homeless. Now, his income comes from the sale of his sticks. Wilkerson's friend, Susan Nowlin, ships the 5-foot-long sticks to people around the country. Each sells for $75, although Nowlin said Saturday it may be time to raise the price.
She attended Southern Methodist University with Laura Bush and told Wilkerson a few weeks ago the U.S. State Department had called and said President Bush wanted to give the pope one of his sticks.
"He was very calm about it," Nowlin said. "He's very calm about everything."
President Bush received his first stick from Wilkerson a decade ago when he was Texas governor. After Bush became president, Nowlin presented him with a second one.
Wilkerson said he has carved his entire life. About 15 years ago, the Dallas native began carving the Ten Commandments on ash and cedar walking sticks. "God gave me this gift," Wilkerson said. "He put the gift in my hand."
He gathers wood for the sticks from the Trinity River banks in southern Dallas. Then Wilkerson shears off the bark with a paring knife and sands the wood to a sleek finish.
At his one-room apartment above an East Dallas laundry, Wilkerson inscribes the first five Commandments lengthwise around the top of the stick. The second five are carved on the bottom half.
"I like to do it for people," he said. "It's something special." (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Anthanasian Creed on Trinity Sunday

2007-06-03T18:30:00.000-04:00

QUICUMQUE vult salvus esse, ante omnia opus est, ut teneat catholicam fidem: Quam nisi quisque integram inviolatamque servaverit, absque dubio in aeternam peribit.

Fides autem catholica haec est: ut unum Deum in Trinitate, et Trinitatem in unitate veneremur. Neque confundentes personas, neque substantiam seperantes. Alia est enim persona Patris alia Filii, alia Spiritus Sancti: Sed Patris, et Fili, et Spiritus Sancti una est divinitas, aequalis gloria, coeterna maiestas.

Qualis Pater, talis Filius, talis Spiritus Sanctus. Increatus Pater, increatus Filius, increatus Spiritus Sanctus. Immensus Pater, immensus Filius, immensus Spiritus Sanctus. Aeternus Pater, aeternus Filius, aeternus Spiritus Sanctus. Et tamen non tres aeterni, sed unus aeternus. Sicut non tres increati, nec tres immensi, sed unus increatus, et unus immensus. Similiter omnipotens Pater, omnipotens Filius, omnipotens Spiritus Sanctus. Et tamen non tres omnipotentes, sed unus omnipotens.

Ita Deus Pater, Deus Filius, Deus Spiritus Sanctus. Et tamen non tres dii, sed unus est Deus. Ita Dominus Pater, Dominus Filius, Dominus Spiritus Sanctus. Et tamen non tres Domini, sed unus est Dominus. Quia, sicut singillatim unamquamque personam Deum ac Dominum confiteri christiana veritate compelimur: ita tres Deos aut Dominos dicere catholica religione prohibemur. Pater a nullo est factus: nec creatus, nec genitus. Filius a Patre solo est: non factus, nec creatus, sed genitus. Spiritus Sanctus a Patre et Filio: non factus, nec creatus, nec genitus, sed procedens.

Unus ergo Pater, non tres Patres: unus Filius, non tres Filii: unus Spiritus Sanctus, non tres Spiritus Sancti. Et in hac Trinitate nihil prius aut posterius, nihil maius aut minus: sed totae tres personae coaeternae sibi sunt et coaequales. Ita ut per omnia, sicut iam supra dictum est, et unitas in Trinitate, et Trinitas in unitate veneranda sit. Qui vult ergo salvus esse, ita de Trinitate sentiat.

Sed necessarium est ad aeternam salutem, ut incarnationem quoque Domini nostri Iesu Christi fideliter credat.

Est ergo fides recta ut credamus et confiteamur, quia Dominus noster Iesus Christus, Dei Filius, Deus et homo est. Deus est ex substantia Patris ante saecula genitus: et homo est ex substantia matris in saeculo natus. Perfectus Deus, perfectus homo: ex anima rationali et humana carne subsistens. Aequalis Patri secundum divinitatem: minor Patre secundum humanitatem. Qui licet Deus sit et homo, non duo tamen, sed unus est Christus.

Unus autem non conversione divinitatis in carnem, sed assumptione humanitatis in Deum. Unus omnino, non confusione substantiae, sed unitate personae. Nam sicut anima rationalis et caro unus est homo: ita Deus et homo unus est Christus. Qui passus est pro salute nostra: descendit ad inferos: tertia die resurrexit a mortuis. Ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis: inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Ad cuius adventum omnes homines resurgere habent cum corporibus suis: et reddituri sunt de factis propriis rationem. Et qui bona egerunt, ibunt in vitam aeternam: qui vero mala, in ignem aeternum.

Haec est fides catholica, quam nisi quisque fideliter firmiterque crediderit, salvus esse non poterit. Amen.

WHOEVER wishes to be saved must, above all, keep the catholic faith. For unless a person keeps this faith whole and entire, he will undoubtedly be lost forever.

This is what the catholic faith teaches: we worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit. But the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one divinity, equal glory, and coeternal majesty.

What the Father is, the Son is, and the Holy Spirit is. The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated. The Father is boundless, the Son is boundless, and the Holy Spirit is boundless. The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal. Nevertheless, there are not three eternal beings, but one eternal being. So there are not three uncreated beings, nor three boundless beings, but one uncreated being and one boundless being. Likewise, the Father is omnipotent, the Son is omnipotent, the Holy Spirit is omnipotent. Yet there are not three omnipotent beings, but one omnipotent being. Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. However, there are not three gods, but one God. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord. However, there as not three lords, but one Lord. For as we are obliged by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person singly to be God and Lord, so too are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords.

The Father was not made, nor created, nor generated by anyone. The Son is not made, nor created, but begotten by the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is not made, nor created, nor generated, but proceeds from the Father and the Son.

There is, then, one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits. In this Trinity, there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less. The entire three Persons are coeternal and coequal with one another. So that in all things, as is has been said above, the Unity is to be worshipped in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity. He, therefore, who wishes to be saved, must believe thus about the Trinity.

It is also necessary for eternal salvation that he believes steadfastly in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man. As God, He was begotten of the substance of the Father before time; as man, He was born in time of the substance of His Mother. He is perfect God; and He is perfect man, with a rational soul and human flesh. He is equal to the Father in His divinity, but inferior to the Father in His humanity.

Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ. And He is one, not because His divinity was changed into flesh, but because His humanity was assumed unto God. He is one, not by a mingling of substances, but by unity of person. As a rational soul and flesh are one man: so God and man are one Christ.

He died for our salvation, descended into hell, and rose from the dead on the third day. He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. At His coming, all men are to arise with their own bodies; and they are to give an account of their own deeds. Those who have done good deeds will go into eternal life; those who have done evil will go into the everlasting fire.

This is the catholic faith. Everyone must believe it, firmly and steadfastly; otherwise He cannot be saved. Amen.

Commentary:

"In Roman Catholic churches, it was traditionally said at Prime on Sundays after Epiphany and Pentecost, except when a Double feast or day within an octave occurred, and on Trinity Sunday. In the 1960 reforms, it was reduced to once a year on Trinity Sunday. It has been effectively dropped from the Catholic liturgy since Vatican II, although it is retained in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer." - Wikipedia

Ha. Funny. Let's read that last part once more:

"It has been effectively dropped from the Catholic liturgy since Vatican II, although it is retained in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer."

The Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Right. Well, chalk one up for the Prots, not forgetting We condemned Elizabeth I for heresy. Looks like she and Cranmer (the creep) did at least one thing better than some others.

Time for some BBQ!

Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus.

Venerabilis vere?

2007-06-02T14:05:00.000-04:00

We must, in fact, admit that We have been up to no good because, by Our count, 136 days (constituting four and one half months) have elapsed since Our last post. Obviously, We consider this a deplorable state of affairs, and We sincerely apologize to our dear readers for such a prolonged absence.

Recently, however, We have received most welcome news! On May 8, the Congregatio de causis sanctorum (Congregation for the Causes of the Saints) "voted unanimously to recommend that Benedict XVI formerly declare Pope Pius XII 'Venerable'" (read the full Zenit article).

Now, wait just a second! We were under the impression that We had already been declared venerable! Hence, Our Blogger name 'Papa Venerabilis Pius XII.' So what gives?

After attempting to remember the early history of this tremendous blog, We found one source which might have led us astray. Let this be a warning to all faithful Catholics against corruption of information and the fickle referencing of Wikipedia! According to this account, "On September 2, 2000, during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, Pius's cause for canonization was elevated to the level of Venerable." As far as We can find, there are scant references to this elsewhere on the web, and none can be shown to proceed from a source other than Wikipedia. In light of the recent developments, We are led to believe that We are not yet officially 'venerable' after all. +[[[:-( Hopefully, Pope Benedict will rectify this precarious position shortly.

By Our reasoning, however, the reference in Wikipedia may not be completely wrong. A distinction could possibly be made between Our cause and Our person. Could September 2, 2000 have marked the beginning of the inquiry into Our heroic virtues that has now been concluded? Although We do not know if such a distinction actually exists, We would have done well to have previously considered the possibility. If any of our readers could shed further light on this matter, We would appreciate whatever information you have to offer.

We also believe that We are duty-bound to protest the libelous accusations, particularly those concerning Our attitude toward the Jewish people during the Second World War, which have been so venomously hurled against Us in recent years and which have become so closely related to Our cause. For the present, We will be content with suggesting that historians, authors, and journalists actually examine the historical record and refrain from engaging in shallow, anti-Catholic scandalmongering. Rest assured, this will not be Our last word on the issue.

In closing, We hope that We have succeeded in Our current endeavor of whetting the appetites of our readers for more venerabilia verba in the coming days. These will include Our thoughts on the status of the current Supreme Pontiff's imminent motu proprio.

May

2007-05-31T23:50:00.000-04:00

Quick! Somepontiff post before the month is over! We need at least one post for this month!

~DEAD SILENCE~

Fine.

We know #7 is sitting on some drafts which he needs to post. We also know that #12 is up to no good (as usual)and really wants to rant about the fabled "MP." But he hasn't. We know that the Papal Secretary has some action packed images of the lastest ministery we have started thanks to a conversation with #1. The rest of the Holy Fathers are here there and everywhere. We are busy hunting heretics.

Actually, come to think of it, we do have a rant to rant. We ranted to Pius I about it on Sunday, but we could rant to the blogsphere.

A Negative View

2007-05-01T02:11:00.000-04:00

Of course, most of our readers are also readers of the Shrine of the Holy Whapping, the ND blog to end all ND blogs. Over the course of time, the Shrine has taken, for the most part, a defensive stand towards the Catholicity of Notre Dame. There are those who, citing the presence of certain dissident professors such as Fr. McBrien, as well as the existence of such events as the V-Monologues, label the school as "non-Catholic." The Whapsters have always attempted to combat this by arguing that ND is really improving, that it is a far cry from the Jesuit schools, that many good things are happening on campus, that ND is a place where Catholicism is engaged in a meaningful fashion.

However, We (as in Pope Pius VII alone--we are speaking for ourselves and do not necessarily reflect the other Pontiffs' opinions in our commentary) would like to present another view of ND, a decidedly more negative view.

Granted, We ourselves have not been around the block as much as any of the Whapsters, who were all at ND for 4-5 years and are now graduated. In fact, We are but a mere rising sophomore. Still, We don't think our commentary is completely irrelevant. These are our initial thoughts, and we would welcome thoughts from the Whapsters, or any other ND grads/students, as well as from Our fellow Pontiffs. (We shall use the first person singular from here on out in this post).

I began my freshmen year at ND last fall, a bright-eyed, eager honors student. It was an interesting experience. For my intro philosophy class, I was assigned to a female professor who is a vegetarian and who was telling the class that she had tried to convince other classes of students that there is no such thing as a soul/"mind." In our text, I saw that we would read, among others, that distinguished moral (I should say immoral, based upon the wacky ideas he promotes) philosopher and biounethicist Peter Singer. This class was obviously very attractive for a young fellow with Catholic sensibilities. I dropped it after the first day and bulled my way into another Honors Philo section. In this one, the professor (a brilliant scholar of Aristotle) was at least sane, but he brought the class to his conclusion that religious belief is a subjective and personal matter, that it's not really more logical to believe in God than not to do so. No reference was made to the teaching or thought of the Catholic Church whatsoever on any of the philosophical ideas presented (I thought that this new fellow I was reading named Descartes was kinda cool--that is, until I read about him in the Catholic Encyclopedia and learned some of his works had been on the Index of Forbidden Books. Whoops.), or about the relation between Faith and Reason. I'm still not quite sure what religion my professor was/is (I know, for what it's worth, that he was a staunch Democrat).

This whole theme of our education being pretty much divorced from the Faith (as though the Faith had no relevance or place in the subject at hand) continued in all but one or two of the classes I took in my freshman year, and it was present in every one of the Honors classes. The Honors literature seminar read everybody uncritically, (Although quite humorously our Nietzche reading descended into a session in which the class was roundly denouncing him while our professor kinda weakly defended him; there is still sanity on earth, thank God); the Honors Physics/cosmology prof was scrupulous in refusing to acknowledge the hand of God in creation; the Honors Calculus textbook even contained a ringing praise for the Englightenment and its act of throwing off the shackles of religion telling man what to think, etc. Although I am going to be in the good (i.e., more orthodox) Honors Theology section for the fall '07 semester, I wonder what the other poor souls in the Honors Program will be learning in their Intro Theology.

Now, I did have one "good" class in the sense that it was more orthodox. I took another Philosophy course in the Spring semester which was taught by an orthodox, if mildly scatterbrained, professor. He was a faithful Catholic, and gave us an interesting class which had full reference to the teachings of the Church. I learned a lot, and my interest in Philosophy is due, in large part, to that class.

The problem, however, is that frequently you don't just stumble into a class like that. Basically, at Notre Dame there's a "Catholic Bubble." It's composed of certain student organizations which promote orthodox causes and suchlike things; certain Masses which we attend; and certain professors, classes, majors, and intents. Theology, Philosophy, Classics, Medieval Studies, and Architecture seem to be the dominant majors. If one stays within this Catholic bubble for one's theology/philosophy classes, and/or if one's major is something rather non-religiously charged like engineering, one can get an excellent Catholic education at ND.

But what about the vast majority of ND students, who don't know about the Catholic bubble and who don't know much of anything about Catholicism, in spite of the fact that they went to expensive Jesuit prep schools? Those kids don't know what they're getting into. They can be lead easily into grave error, and not even know about it. Fr. McBrien teaches an intro theology class with more than a hundred freshmen. What if, say, a fourth of those freshmen actually believe some of his wackiness? They're screwed! They've just swallowed a boatload of error, and goodness knows what spiritual damage might have been done to them. And let us not forget those poor souls who major in wackily-liberal Arts and Letters programs; or even some of the science or business majors who see how objective and hard-and-fast their disciplines are, in contrast to their phony theology and philosophy courses. The worst thing though, is that in their non-philosophy, non-theology classes, the Catholic Faith is irrelevant. There is a crucifix on the wall of every classroom and lecture hall at the University of Notre Dame, and in many of them, the reality represented there has about as much relevance to the subject at hand as the fluorescent lighting.

If a University's mission is to be faithful to the Truth, and if its mission is to help lead those within it to the Truth, and if Christ is the Truth, then Notre Dame is getting a D+. It is true that you can get an excellent Catholic education at ND if you know where to look. However, that's the problem: you have to know where to look. Most kids don't know where to look; indeed, they don't even know for what they should be looking. ND is failing these kids, the overwhelming majority.

Certain ND apologists frequently cite other areas in which progress has been made: the growth of certain orthodox Catholic clubs, the increase in the number and scope of Catholic devotions on campus, the now-Annual Eucharistic Procession, the Latin Modern-Rite Masses hosted by the Orestes Brownson Council, etc. These are good things, I agree. But the fact is that Catholic life is still not that hot. It's hard to find a convenient Mass celebrated by a priest who will just Read the Black and Do the Red. Some of the dorm Masses are real travesties. You still have the Folk Choir banging away on that darn drum during their Mass in the Basilica, singing Marty Haugen as though he's the next Palestrina or something. The powers-that-be have a minor cow over the idea of celebrating the Modern Rite ad orientem. And the Tridentine Mass? Forget it, you have to go into town at 7:30 on Sunday morning for that. And how damning is it that I find that that Tridentine Mass in town, which is celebrated in a dumpy parish by a simple old parish priest--who, I'm guessing, doesn't have the fancy degrees that a lot of the Holy Cross priests have--is more reverent, more beautiful, more spiritually nurturing, and HAS A BETTER HOMILY than ANY Mass I go to at the Basilica BAR NONE.

I'm not bitter against the school or a crazy radical traditionalist, or anything of the sort. I love Notre Dame. I would love to see her prosper, to see her as she once was, to see her as she should be. And ND has improved, I won't deny it. But I wouldn't really recommend attending Notre Dame to a new Catholic, or to a Catholic who doesn't know much about his Faith, when I could recommend them to a place like Thomas Aquinas College. It kills me to admit it, but that's the truth.

In short: we've got a LOOOOOOOOOOONG way to go, baby.

Feastday!

2007-04-30T23:30:00.000-04:00

Happy feastday to us
Happy feastday to us
Happy feastday dear Papa Sanctus Pius V
Happy feastday to us.

It would have been nice to have received a Moto Proprio for our feastday. But you know there's always our old feastday...

The Metamorphosis of an Altar

2007-04-15T23:10:00.000-04:00

Tremendous

La métamorphose d'un autel
Uploaded by CHRIST-REDEMPTEUR

The Chapel looks eerily like one we know quite well. Hopefully the altar there will benefit from this film

A Tradition Continues

2007-04-14T21:36:00.000-04:00

I'm sure the Venerable Holy Fathers will have more to add, but in the meantime, here is the official press release. - The Secretary.

The Third Annual Notre Dame Eucharistic Procession
Sunday, April 22 2007
Procession leaves from 11:45 a.m. Mass

Following the values set forth by the Venerable Father Basil Anthony Moreau csc, the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College, and Holy Cross College are collaborating in the celebration of the Third Annual Eucharistic Procession on April 22, 2007 following the 11:45am Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart Notre Dame, Indiana.

The Eucharistic Procession will be celebrated on the historical “God Quad” at the University of Notre Dame stopping at four altars of Benediction before the statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady of the University at the main circle, Fr. Sorin founder of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s, and concluding at the Golden Dome of the Administration Building.

Students, faculty, religious, and staff of each institution, as well as the general public will give public witness of their faith and devotion to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The Eucharistic Procession will also be a public prayer asking God for three graces: a greater respect of and protection for the rights of all human life from conception to natural death; an increase of vocations to the religious life and priesthood especially in the Congregation of Holy Cross; and blessings for the students, faculty, staff, religious, trustees, and administration of the three institutions of higher learning. A picnic lunch will be provided by the generosity of the Notre Dame Knights of Columbus Council #1477.

Founded in 1835, the Congregation of Holy Cross serves in fifteen countries on five continents throughout the world. Fr. Moreau envisioned the brothers, sisters, and priests of Holy Cross united in their lives and in their work as a visible imitation of the Holy Family. Fr. Moreau will be beatified in LeMans, France on September 15, 2007. A proponent of Eucharistic adoration and devotions, this procession gives honor to Fr. Moreau and his vision for a religious community of educators in the faith. With a combined history of more than 369 years of education at St. Mary’s, Holy Cross and Notre Dame, the religious of Holy Cross have been educating the hearts and minds of children and young adults. It is the mission of Holy Cross to make God known, loved and served.

For more information about this Eucharistic Procession, please contact Fr. Kevin Russeau, csc at Russeau.3@nd.edu.

Contact: Fr. Kevin Russeau, csc
Director of Old College Undergraduate Seminary
574.631.7295 / Russeau.3@nd.edu

Agnus redemit oves

2007-04-08T14:46:00.000-04:00

Victimae paschali laudes
immolent Christiani
Agnus redemit oves:
Christus innocens Patri
Reconciliavit peccatores.
Mors et vita duello conflixere mirando,
Dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus.
Dic nobis Maria, quid vidisti in via?
Sepulcrum Christi viventis,
Et gloriam vidi resurgentis:
Angelicos testes, sudarium et vestes.
Surrexit Christus spes mea:
Praecedet vos in Galilaeam.
Scimus Christum surrexisse a mortuis vere:
Tu nobis, victor Rex, miserere.
Amen. Alleluia.

Ad Portas Inferi

2007-04-07T14:29:00.000-04:00

Ego dixi in dimidio dierum meorum vadam ad portas inferi quaesivi residuum annorum meorum

Dixi non videbo Dominum Dominum in terra viventium non aspiciam hominem ultra et habitatorem quievit

Generatio mea ablata est et convoluta est a me quasi tabernaculum pastorum praecisa est velut a texente vita mea dum adhuc ordirer succidit me de mane usque ad vesperam finies me

Sperabam usque ad mane quasi leo sic contrivit omnia ossa mea de mane usque ad vesperam finies me

Sicut pullus hirundinis sic clamabo meditabor ut columba adtenuati sunt oculi mei suspicientes in excelsum Domine vim patior sponde pro me

Quid dicam aut quid respondebit mihi cum ipse fecerit recogitabo omnes annos meos in amaritudine animae meae

Domine sic vivitur et in talibus vita spiritus mei corripies me et vivificabis me

Ecce in pace amaritudo mea amarissima tu autem eruisti animam meam ut non periret proiecisti post tergum tuum omnia peccata mea

Quia non infernus confitebitur tibi neque mors laudabit te non expectabunt qui descendunt in lacum veritatem tuam

Vivens vivens ipse confitebitur tibi sicut et ego hodie pater filiis notam faciet veritatem tuam

Domine salvum me fac et psalmos nostros cantabimus cunctis diebus vitae nostrae in domo Domini

Isaiah 38:10-20

Wowza, the Papal Smiley, and a Thought on the MP

2007-04-05T23:29:00.000-04:00

Wowza. We've seen a lot of pontiffs in our time, but never have we seen a bunch of Popes as lazy as this bunch. Come, you bastions of Papistry! Where's your Romish spunk? In our two posts, We have revolutionized Canon Law with the Apostolic Booyah AND excommunicated Sean Hannity kindasorta. Most of you Pontifical Poltroons haven't even been dead two hundred years yet (I and V get a pass...well, not V, mwahaha) and yet here I am picking up all the slack. What, are you waiting until an ACTUAL Pius XIII is elected, so that you won't have to post anymore?!

[We said all that with Our tongue firmly planted in Our Papal cheek. Fear not, dear Successors and Predecessors; you have not actually experienced any of our Papal wrath. +[[[;-) ]

[Note: Credit for the Papal smiley is to be given to...I think Matt of Holy Whapping...it seems like something crazy he would come up with. Although it might have been Emily of the selfsame Holy Whapping. One of those folks.]

At any rate, We would like to pass along a thought on the expected Motu Proprio liberating the Old Latin Mass that our Successor, Benedict XVI, is probably about to issue. Some people wonder how much effect it will have: will there be a large number of new Latin Masses being offered immediately after its publication? Is that an overly idealistic thought?

While we think there might be some new Masses offered in the immediate future, we think it's best to look at the matter from a long-term perspective, using Ecclesia Dei to predict what will happen after this Motu Proprio. Immediately after Ecclesia Dei, it wasn't as if people were lining up to offer Latin Masses. But look at where we are now; clearly, many bishops haven't been quite as generous with the Indult as We would like, but most dioceses now have an Indult Mass, and Tridentine-only parishes are popping up throughout the country. New religious orders are being founded which offer the Old Rite exclusively (Institute of the Good Shepherd, Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem) or in conjunction with the Missa Normativa (Canons Regular of St. John Cantius). The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is bursting at the seams with a brand new seminary in the US; the Institute of Christ the King is spreading rapidly through the US, with Churches getting started up in Chicago, St. Louis, Santa Clara CA, and Kansas City. Although people grouse (and not without some reason) about the current state of the Tridentine Rite, the situation is immensely better now than it was in 1988.

With this Motu Proprio, and with a more liturgically-conscious Pope in Benedict, who knows what the next 20 years might have in store? Will the College of Cardinals which elected Benedict (and for which Benedict is picking new members) pick a successor who will depart radically from his program of Reform of the Reform and liberty for the Tridentine Rite? At the very least, it is doubtful that somebody will be elected who will reverse whatever reforms Benedict makes. After 20 years of new bishops and new young priests, is it not likely that general opinion will shift further? From 1988 until today, bishops in America have gone from "What? Tridentine?" to a begrudging acceptance, and it is Our opinion that this will change further to making the Old Rite widespread. If the Tridentine Mass were to continue growing at its current rate, even without an MP, We would be willing to bet that after 25 years the American Bishops would develop, for the most part, a spirit of respect and generosity, giving the Tridentine Rite rather freely in almost all of their Dioceses. Giving permission for every priest to offer the Tridentine Mass will only accelerate this change. For this reason, it's Our contention that we shouldn't start whining if we don't see much happening immediately. Let's face it: the more unfortunate changes that occurred in the Liturgy during the post-Conciliar period (both approved and unapproved changes) took about 20 years to make and will take perhaps a century or so to fix; the problems with loss of Faith, the process of re-evangelizing the declining West, will probably take longer (assuming that European Western culture still exists after then...Europe might just be a Muslim continent by that point). The Church doesn't reform Herself overnight, but the MP will be a good step in helping to fix the problem. The first steps are being taken: the new English translations, the change that will take place in the translations of "pro vobis et pro multis," the continued recommendation of Chant and Latin in Papal documents, and the greater solemnity We are seeing in Papal ceremonies.

However, there's only so much that words will do to help in furthering the cause of liturgy. I recommend that all you readers pray a Decade of your next Rosary for the intention of a wise reform of the Sacred Liturgy. We will do so as well.

+ Pius P. P. VII

+[[[:-)

Bulla Excommunicationis Joannis Hannity

2007-03-17T20:24:00.000-04:00

Hear ye, hear ye!

By our Apostolic Authority, we declare radio and TV host Sean Hannity to be excommunicated, due to his public dissent from the teaching of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church regarding artificial contraception.

Just kidding--we have been deceased for 100-some years now, so we will refrain from stepping upon the toes of our Successor, Benedict XVI. We'll let him decide what to do...although the situation would be vastly improved, in the immediate present, if Hannity's bishop and pastor would give him a stern talking-to.

However, We would still like to comment upon Mr. Hannity's statements and actions, and We would like to take it a slightly different direction from most commentators. Yes, We KNOW he's dissenting from the teaching of the Church, and that's bad. But it seems that there's an important reality about Truth which would be good to mention not only for this debate, but for the Culture War in general.

Sean may be pro-life (well, except in cases of rape and incest, apparently) and he may be against gay marriage (well, he does have a gay dating service on his website) but he's a real conservative...well, ok, maybe actually he isn't. Maybe, actually, he is fundamentally a liberal, even if he is aligned with the political right (or neo-conservative right). It's the same mindset which had its roots in Protestantism and continued with the Endarkenment: I can determine truth for myself.

Unfortunately, Hannity seems to view Catholicism itself with an American-democratic lens. In American democracy, you are perfectly free to take to the exact opposite position from that of the government. If I wanted to, I could waltz down the street with a sign that says "Bush is a dope and his policies are dopey." I have the right, as an American citizen, to do this without fear of any punishment. Hannity thinks, seemingly, that Catholicism is similar. You're allowed to take a position against this, that, or the other Church teaching if you want. Some other "Catholics" We know even have a mindset that, by banding together with a grassroots movement and getting enough public support, one can bring about a change in Church doctrine, just like you can with public policy in the United States. That's the American spirit!

The Church, however, does NOT work that way. It is NOT a democracy--it's a monarchy, subject to Christ our King, the Truth itself. One can say what one likes about democratic vs. autocratic forms of government, but a religion which is democratic is a terrible idea. In a such a system of belief (Anglicanism, for example), you have numerous people or entities which can define Truth. But the very essence of Truth is that it (or He) is ONE; Without UNITY, there can be no truth. Two contradictory statements cannot both be correct--and yet the Church of England has held, at various times, that contraception is moral, that contraception is immoral, that women can't be bishops and priests, that they can be bishops and priests, that homosexual acts are immoral, that homosexual acts are not immoral. Without discussing whether or not Catholicism is correct or not, at least it is faithful to the Truth in this respect: it has only ONE body which interprets the Truth, its Magisterium. This makes the Catholic Church unique among most Christian denominations; unlike the rest, the unitive aspect of the Truth is reflected in Her very constitution.

Perhaps some will say that obedience to a lone interpreter of truth--autocratic religion, if you will--is a sort of mental slavery; perhaps some, like Hannity, will chafe at the bit. Only when we look at ourselves with humility (that is, as we truly are) can we see how ignorant we are, how frequently we make mistakes or fall prey to illogical thinking, how our sinfulness can blind us to the truth, how we are so utterly inferior to God--ultimately, how incapable we are at arriving to the fulness of Truth without Divine guidance. And even in a matter of natural law to which we CAN arrive through reason, such as the morality (or lack thereof) of contraception, we know that men frequently DO NOT arrive to such knowledge by unaided reason alone. The fact is we NEED God, an infallibly truthful source, to guide us into the knowledge of Him, of Truth itself, and that is the reason why we have the Magisterium. We should thank God for this gift which leads us through this vale of tears to eternal joy, just as the pillar of fire led the Israelites through the desert to the Promised Land.

The true tragedy of Hannity's actions (and that of other dissenting public figures) is that they are rejecting this wonderful good. While rejecting their errors (hating the sin), it is also necessary to love the sinner. We would ask everyone reading this to pray a decade of their next Rosary for Sean and for all dissenting public figures, that God might lead them to understand, appreciate, and love the gift He has given us in the Magisterium.

The Feast of Saint Patrick

2007-03-17T19:12:00.000-04:00

O God, You deigned to send Blessed Patrick, Your Confessor and Bishop, to preach Your glory to the Gentiles; grant by his merits and intercession, that those things which You command us to do, we may be enabled to accomplish by Your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Prayer for the Feast of St. Patrick (Tridentine)

The Apostolic Booyah

2007-03-16T01:56:00.000-04:00

Hey, Napoleon!

Not only were you put into prison while We continued ruling as Supreme Pontiff...

But now you've kicked the bucket, and We're still kicking and writing on a blog! We impart our Apostolic Booyah!

(A very charitable booyah, though. We were very kind to Napoleon after he was defeated.)

-Pius P. P. VII

P. S. - Send a rescue team in for me if I drown in this cope.

Where have all the Pii gone? (again?!)

2007-03-03T23:11:00.000-05:00

No, no. The Pii have not all disappeared from the sidebar because they have all gone away. They simply are in process of moving from the good old Blogger to new heretical Blogger. Their Holinesses take their time in doing these things, you know. It's much like posting. They'll post when their rigorous schedules allow them time, and they, in their grace, deign it a fitting time to rant.

They'll be back.

Papal Beverage of Day I - Coffee

2007-02-24T22:44:00.000-05:00

Thomas's comment has provoked us to remind the faithful they may offer thanks to the papacy for their mug of life-giving coffee every morning.

Coffee was first discovered in perhaps the 5th century in Ethiopia by, as legend tells, a goatherd, who noticed that whenever his goats ate of the berries of a particular plant they became strangely jumpy and energetic. Intrigued, the good goatherd took some of these berries to a wise abbot.* The abbot experimented with these strange fruits of the earth and discovered that their strength had the effect of giving the monks the energy to stay away late into the night in prayer.

For this good the abbot blessed the coffee plant.

Coffee remained in Africa and the Middle East for hundreds of years, as did many other things, after these regions fell to the domination of Islam. The Muslims, however, do take credit for discovering in the 15th century how to properly brew coffee from the beans rather than using the berries or leaves.

As trade with the Middle East increased as the Renaissance Period began, coffee finally made its way to Western Europe via Italy. There, where the good abbot of Ethiopia was long forgotten, the drink was scorned at the "devil's drink" because of its bitterness and Islamic connections. Debate raged through the Christian world until the matter was finally brought before good Pope Clement VIII in approximately 1594. Legend purports that the Holy Father declared that Satan's power was hardly a match for that of Christ's Church and therefore Christianity should reclaim this plant of creation.

And so it was.

The papal blessing was bestowed upon the plant, thus, in a way, absolving it of its dark past with the evil.

Since that time coffee has remained a vital part of Christian society, for which we are deeply grateful.

Let us remember the good Ethiopian abbot and his monks this Lent. Perhaps one night we may abstain from sleep by partaking of a fine mug of coffee, so that throughout the darkest hours we may keep vigil by praising God for the Passion of His Son.

*Ethiopian monasticism descended from that of Egypt which was begun by the Holy Desert Fathers.

New Blogger Heretical

2007-02-22T10:51:00.000-05:00

We hereby proclaim the new Blogger heretical since it requires us to use our email address instead of a user name and is demanding that the originator of the blog transfer the blog from the old system to the new. This most problematic because while we find it a penance to sit in front of a computer and write, our brother founder finds it to be the opposite. Thus he will not touch this blog until Easter.

For the interference in papal affairs we therefore condemn the new Blogger.

Anathema Sit!

Lent

2007-02-21T01:21:00.000-05:00

May you all have a fruitful, blessed and most dolorous lent.

Among our penances we hope to include practicing a more rigorous schedule for updating our venerable blog.

Modern Albigenses?

2007-01-17T22:34:00.000-05:00

Recently, We were reading up on the history of St. Dominic and his illustrious Order of Preachers. The Catholic Encyclopedia relates how, traditionally, Our Lady gave the Rosary to St. Dominic and urged him to preach this devotion as an antidote to sin and, especially, to the heresy of the Albigenses, which was ravaging southern France at the time. Proceeding to the article in the same encyclopedia on the Albigenses (who were also called Catharists), We read the following paragraph on their moral principles and began to draw some comparisons:

The dualism of the Albigenses was also the basis of their moral teaching. Man, they taught, is a living contradiction. Hence, the liberation of the soul from its captivity in the body is the true end of our being. To attain this, suicide is commendable; it was customary among them in the form of the endura (starvation). The extinction of bodily life on the largest scale consistent with human existence is also a perfect aim. As generation propagates the slavery of the soul to the body, perpetual chastity should be practiced. Matrimonial intercourse is unlawful; concubinage, being of a less permanent nature, is preferable to marriage. Abandonment of his wife by the husband, or vice versa, is desirable. Generation was abhorred by the Albigenses even in the animal kingdom. Consequently, abstention from all animal food, except fish, was enjoined. Their belief in metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls, the result of their logical rejection of purgatory, furnishes another explanation for the same abstinence. To this practice they added long and rigorous fasts. The necessity of absolute fidelity to the sect was strongly inculcated. War and capital punishment were absolutely condemned.

Now, We do not know if any modern descendents of the Albigenses actually exist, but many of their moral principles seem to have been adopted by the liberal political sects of our own time. Whether this is merely coincidental, We are not yet certain, but a further investigation could prove to be quite interesting. Obviously, the secular liberals of the present day would not subscribe to these principles out of concern for their souls. But, the denigration of marriage, the legality of divorce, the hatred of children, the rejection of meat, and the absolute opposition to war and to the death penalty are all dominant themes of liberal thought that are readily visible to any observer of modern society. Again, We do not pretend to know if any correlation does exist between Albigensian thought and that of modern liberals, but the obvious similarities are, indeed, quite intriguing.

"Tell my son Joseph he will meet my divisions in heaven. "

Spes Anno Domini Duo Milia Septem

2007-01-11T18:26:00.000-05:00

A Happy New Year to all!

In keeping with holy tradition and the spirit of Our predecessors, We would also like to take this opportunity to express our regret and sadness to the esteemed readers of this blog for Our most unworthy absence these past months. What is a great new year for, however, if not for resolutions toward spiritual growth and sanctity? Hopefully, this will include the further growth of this oft neglected blog.

We enter this new year of Our Lord, 2007, with renewed optimism and hope. In the coming weeks, the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Benedict XVI, is scheduled to issue a motu proprio granting wider usage of the Traditional Roman Rite of the Mass (also known as the Tridentine or Latin Mass) to the faithful as well as an Apostolic Exhortation, which will expound upon the propositions put forth by the bishops who attended the Synod on the Eucharist in October 2005.

Both documents have been eagerly anticipated by many for some time. Because the Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist will put the capstone on the work of the synod, its eventual publication was never doubted, but the same cannot be said for the motu proprio: its very existence was called into question until last month. As early as this past Easter, rumors concerning this document abounded, and it was not until Cardinal Medina confirmed these rumors that anything was known for certain. In order to keep abreast of the current situation of both documents, We recommend to Our readers the Rorate Caeli blog (http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/). New Catholic, the administrator, deserves much praise for his admirable work on this site.

Here is his most recent information on the contents of the Apostolic Exhortation:
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2006/12/post-synodal-exhortation-signed.html

And on the substance of the motu proprio:
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2006/12/some-more-information-on-yesterdays.html

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2006/12/eminent-confirmation.html

Some words of caution, however, are in order: no doubt due to the intense feelings which some have regarding these liturgical matters, We have noticed that the readers of that blog are sometimes less than charitable in their comments, especially toward the Supreme Pontiff. This We must stridently condemn as unworthy of such an astute blog as Rorate Caeli. We hope Our readers will not be scandalized by such persons.

Of course, it should be understood that the real contents and consequences of these two documents will not be known until after they are published, but, all the same, they give Us reason to hope that the Traditional Roman Rite will have a glorious future in the Latin Church.

In closing, We hope that this post, Our first of the new year, will be the harbinger of many more to come on the liturgical developments in the Church. We also ask that Our readers offer a special prayer intention for the Pii in the coming days, as some of us return to the University of Notre Dame: that our endeavors against modernism may find favor with the Lord and His Church and that we will be able to continue the work begun on this blog.

Mater Ecclesiae, ora pro nobis.

"Tell my son Joseph he will meet my divisions in heaven. "

Sophia Press

2007-01-06T00:25:00.000-05:00

There are many good and worthy causes in the world; one in particular has reached our ears tonight.

Sophia Institute Press is well known for its fine Catholic publications. It publishes such books as Aquinas's Shorter Summa, Fulton Sheen's Wartime Prayerbook, and numerous other spiritual and practical guides for Catholics of all ages and walks of life.

It was with great sadness we heard that the small company has fallen into financial troubles. In an email sent recently (which can be read here: http://www.sophiainstitute.com/email_ads/books_email.htm) Publisher John Barger lamented that the Press has had to stop printing a number of books in order to stay in business.

Take a minute to read his email and maybe help - you might what to get that copy of The Aquinas Catechism before it's too late. We know we will.

http://www.sophiainstitute.com/

More Reflections on Tolkien

2007-01-05T00:02:00.000-05:00

“ Out of darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament.... There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth, and more than that: Death: by the divine paradox, that which ends life, and demands the complete surrender of all, and yet by the taste [or foretaste] of which alone can what you what you seek in your earthly relationships [love, faithfulness, joy] be maintained, or take on the complexity of reality, of eternal endurance, which every man's heart desires. "
-J.R.R. Tolkien (1)

He was an Oxford don, a philologist, internationally renowned author who's Lord of the Rings was declared "book of the century," but above all, a Catholic.

Few people realize the debt society and culture owe to this quiet man. Not many realize that all modern fantasy owes its development to him. His work has contributed to an increased interest in the Middle Ages as well. But even though he was above all a Catholic, that is above all what most people tend to neglect to remember.

Our brother, Pius I, noted in his last post that Tolkien's writings may be prized for their counter-cultural support of chastity and well grounded understanding of human sexuality and dignity.

That is indeed a valuable lesson; and more await the diligent reader. Though Tolkien did not favor allegory, and had no intention of writing the Lord of the Rings to be one, his Catholic faith undeniably permeates the entire story - and, in fact, all of his writing. Though his Middle Earth is set in a pre-Incarnational time, he explores the struggle of good and evil, the role of grace, the importance of faith, hope and charity. Many Catholic elements appear in subtle ways. The elven bread, Lembas, is considered "food for the journey." It is light, wafer-like, and one bite will give a grown man the strength to continue on his way. We hope our readers need not explain further that the similarities to the Blessed Sacrament, the Viaticum, are not dismissible.

We could continue on without end, but as our time is short, we would like to refer to a number of online sources we hope you will explore in order to discover the strong faith of this -if I may say so - holy man, who takes credit for converting his close friend C.S. Lewis from agnosticism to Christianity.

A Biographical Sketch (http://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/biography.html)
Tolkien's Catholic Imagination (http://www.crisismagazine.com/november2001/feature7.htm)
(http://www.mythictruth.com/index_nn_a.htm) - an interesting site we recently discovered but have not read through entirely
The Encyclopedia of Arda (http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/)

Nostra Culpa, Nostra Culpa, Nostra Maxima Culpa

2007-01-04T19:14:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

We humbly seek and beg the understanding of our most loyal readers for our absence; we have been bogged down, held hostage in the Vatican by the modernist revolutionaries who have locked us here against our will.

Seriously, though, our absence actually does involve modernist revolutionaries...sadly...

You, of course, understand.

We look forward to further correspondance.

New Year's Resolution

2007-01-01T22:36:00.000-05:00

to revive the blog

We'll do our best.

To our readers: Have a blessed and happy New Year.

2006: The Good, the Bad, and the Pius

2006-12-31T17:58:00.000-05:00

Or a Short History of Totus Pius

March: Some friends from the University of Notre Dame decide they need a place to blow of steam before they blow off someone's head.

April: Totus Pius becomes a reality with starting members Pii IX, X, and XIII.

May: Totus Pius takes off. Some graduate and Pii disperse for summer break. Pius V is drafted at the end of the month.

June: A busy month. Pii XI and XII join. Myth Anathematizers and Websites of the Week begin. Cafe Press shop opens.

July: The Pii evaluate NYC. Totus Pius catches the eye of the National Catholic Register and is mentioned in an article by Eric Scheske. Angry, spiteful, mean, blasphemous, and sexually explicit comments left by anonymous posters cause the Pii to crack down on comment regulation and frustrate them to the point where they no longer wished to look at their blog. A mote of encouragement: New Advent honors Totus Pius by linking them.

August: The Papal Secretary comes on the scene, the Pii retreat from angry commentators and take to eating Doritos and visiting the Tropics. Some of the Pii return to Notre Dame.

September: The Pii watch football and get bogged down in school work.

October: No word from the Pii. The Papal Secretary informs the world they are buried under a pile of books.

November: Feeble attempts at posting prove futile.

December: Pii are worn out from school and unmotivated to post anything.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T08:29:00.000-05:00

The Popes Pius wish all a very blessed and Merry Christmas

Hodie Christus natus est:
Hodie Salvator apparuit:
Hodie in terra canunt Angeli,
laetantur Archangeli
Hodie exsultant justi, dicentes:
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Alleluia.

Pro Multis

2006-11-23T00:46:00.000-05:00

Most shamelessly pilfered from The Hermeneutic of Continuity and The Shrine of the Holy Whapping

Requiem Mass Pictures

2006-11-12T01:11:00.000-05:00

At the request of Joseph and the kindness of Mary Lizhere are pictures taken right before the
Mass:

A Papal Invitation

2006-11-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

The Orestes Brownson Council, POD (People of Devotion), The Jacques Maritain Center, and Theology Department of the University of Notre Dame will be sponsoring a solemn Latin Requiem Mass, celebrated according to the Pauline rite, with full Gregorian chant sung by the Notre Dame Gregorian Schola.

The Mass will take place TODAY, Tuesday, November 7th at 5:15 pm in the Alumni Hall Chapel.

Mass will be celebrated ad oritentem and there will be black vestements.

Lectio Divina

2006-11-07T00:27:00.000-05:00

A blessed Feast of All Saints of the Ordo Praedicatorum to our readers!

In honor of the order of holy father Dominic, we have for you an except from "The Legend of St Dominic"

"St Dominic returned to his prayers, and was caught up in spirit from where he was standing to the throne of God, and there he beheld our Lord, and the Blessed Virgin sitting on his right hand, whilst she appeared to our holy father to be wearing a mantle of deep blue colour. As lie gazed round he saw religious men of every Order in the Church standing in God's presence, but not one of his own family, so he began to weep bitterly and would not presume to come near our Lord and his holy mother. Thereupon she made a sign with her hand for him to draw nigh, but still he did not dare to do so until our Lord also beckoned to him; then he came up and threw himself down before them, weeping as if his heart would break. Then Christ bade him arise, and asked him gently: 'Why weepest thou thus sorrowfully?' 'I am grieving,' said St Dominic, 'because I see here members of every religious Order, but of my own not one.' Then our Lord said: 'And would you see your Order?' To this the saint answered trembling: 'Yes, Lord, of a surety I would.' Placing his hand lovingly on the Blessed Virgin's shoulder, Christ replied: 'I have given over your Order to my mother's care.' At this the Blessed Virgin drew back her mantle, and opening it wide before St Dominic, it seemed to enclose nearly the whole of that heavenly country, so vast was it, and beneath it he saw a great host of his brethren. Casting himself down, St Dominic returned right hearty thanks to Christ and his holy mother; soon the vision passed away, and once again regaining his natural consciousness he rang the bell for matins. When the morning office was over he summoned the brethren to the chapter-house, and there spoke to them with burning words, exhorting them to love and reverence ever the blessed Virgin, and amongst the rest he told them of his vision. When the chapter was over he called aside the friar whom our blessed Lady had neither sprinkled nor blessed, and tried by gentle speech to discover whether there was not some secret sin which he had not confessed, for the brother had made a general confession to St Dominic. The brother made this reply: 'Holy father, I have nothing to reproach myself with in conscience except this, that on that night I retired to rest without being dressed according to rule.'"

To read more, visit http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/brethren/default.htm

After a long silence...

2006-11-05T22:09:00.001-05:00

We have deemed it necessary to speak on silence. Or rather silencing. It is quite obvious that modern philosophers (i. e. Descartes, Malbranche, Hume, etc.) are heretics, but one of the fundamental problems with their philosophy is not usually pointed out. It seems that a very large problem resides in the doubt with which they all begin their philosophy. Now to turn to Sacred Scripture, we remember Zechariah. You may be asking yourself, "How does Zechariah have anything to do with modern philosophy?" Well, we are about to tell you!

He began with doubt! When the angel Gabriel told him, "Thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son and thou shalt call his name John," Zechariah responded, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." For this comment, Gabriel responded, "And behold, thou shalt be dumb and unable to speak until the day when these things come to pass, because thou hast not believed my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

Therefore, we respond to the modern philosophers, and those who do not see the need for an index of banned books, Holy Scripture gives us a very clear incident illustrating the necessity of banning the works of those who choose to doubt the truth, and We therefore declare that the Index ought to be reinstated and all those who begin their philosophy with doubt ought to be placed on said index. We also extend to those on this list a most needed ANATHEMA SINT!

Where have all the Pii gone?

2006-10-30T23:36:00.000-05:00

Our Lady of Sorrows

2006-09-15T22:58:00.000-04:00

Today we honor Our Lady of Sorrows, patroness of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, to whom the authors of this blog are indebted to for their university. May Our Lady continue to watch over them, guide them, and give them new life.

We also pray with the love of her Immaculate Heart she guide our univeristy so that it does not cause sorrow to her or her most sacred Son.

Stabat Mater dolorósa
Juxta Crucem lacrimósa,
Dum pendébat Filius.

Cujus ánimam geméntem,
Contristátam et doléntem,
Pertransivit gladius.

O quam tristis et afflicta
Fuit illa benedicta
Mater Unigéniti!

Quae maerébat, et dolébat,
Pia Mater, dum vidébat
Nati poenas inclyti.

Quis est homo, qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si vidéret
In tanto supplicio?

Quis non posset contristári,
Christi Matrem contemplári
Doléntem cum Filio?

Pro peccátis suae gentis
Vidit Jesum in torméntis,
Et flagéllis súbditum.

Vidit suum dulcem natum
Moriéndo desolátum,
Dum emisit spíritum.

Eja mater, fons amóris,
Me sentíre vim dolóris
Fac, ut tecum lúgeam.

Fac, ut árdeat cor meum
In amándo Christum Deum,
Ut sibi compláceam.

Sancta Mater, istud agas
Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo válide.

Tui nati vulneráti,
Tam dignáti pro me pati,
Poenas mecum dívide.

Fac me tecum pie flere,
Crucifixo condolére,
Donec ego víxero.

Juxta Crucem tecum stare,
Et me tibi sociáre
In planctu desídero.

Virgo vírginum praeclára,
Mihi jam non sis amára:
Fac me tecum plángere.

Fac, ut portem Christi mortem,
Passiónis fac consórtem,
Et plagas recólere.

Fac me plagis vulnerári,
Fac me Cruce inebriári,
Et cruó re Fílii.

Flammis ne urar succénsus,
Per te, Virgo, sim defénsus
In die judícii.

Christe, cum sit hinc exíre
Da per Matrem me veníre
Ad palmam victóriae.

Quando corpus moriétur,
Fac, ut ánimae donétur
Paradísi glória. Amen.

Website of the Week X

2006-09-05T22:20:00.000-04:00

August is over and we realize we have not posted any websites for a few weeks now.

While we're all on the subject of Chesterton, we hope you will all take a look at the homepage of the American Chestertonian Society. It is a tremendous site for everyone whether they are just discovering this great man or already know him well. You will find biographical information, quotes, essays, and more.

We would like to further impress upon your minds to not forget, as you wander the site, that Chesterton loved both Notre Dame and its football team.

Start September Off Right...With a Rant!

2006-09-01T12:42:00.000-04:00

Salvete fratres!

We're glad to be back after an enjoyable rest at Our residenza in Castelgandolfo. We are pleased to inform the faithful of Our continued interest in and love for the Order of Preachers and Order of Doctors: the Friars of St Dominic. Someone did approach Us this summer, however, challenging the claim that the great Dominican Order is much less intellectual than the Jesuits, and thus the Jesuits are much more deserving of the title "Order of Doctors."

Let's stop for a moment and consider the importance of Church doctors. These are usually bishops or their aides, who help the preaching and understanding of the faith. They develop doctrine so that We may more articulately proclaim the Gospel to all nations. Doctors of the early Church aided in the development and in the codifying of doctrine at the ecumenical councils and in papal synods. Point being, these men helped the faithful - and the bishops - develop and better understand Divine Revelation, so that the Church, in Her sacred faculty of preaching the Gospel to all nations, might do so more effectively. Additionally, Ourselves and Our brother bishops are the only authoritative interpreters of Scripture and Tradition, so that Doctors are Our servants in the sense that they must submit to the authority of the Hierarchical Church as they further develop and better explore the Sacred Mysteries of God. They may explore, but they MUST respect the orthodox boundaries We set.

That said, Jesuits tend not to conform to this last point. In a book that We are compelled to read by some grave inconvenience, made graver still by its authorship: a Jesuit. The Church We Believe In by Francis A Sullivan, SJ, is an approach to Ecclesiology. He starts with Lumen Gentium, the fruit of that most imprudent - however divinely inspired - of Councils. He is discussing the claim in LG 8 that talks about the one Church of Christ. With regard to a CDF interpretation which says that ecclesial communities only contain ecclesial elements and that there exists only one subsistence, which is in the Catholic Church alone. The Jesuit's response to this FULLY AUTHORITATIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE COUNCIL follows: "While this is an authoritative interpretation, it is certainly not so authoritative as the documents of the council themselves, and is open to verification as to whether it really corresponds to the mind of the council."

QUID DAT?

WHAT GIVES?

We dont understand how such an intelligent person could misunderstand the concept that only the Roman Pontiff and those who speak in virtue of His authority are authoritative on these matters. What's more, he has NO RIGHT TO "VERIFY" OUR JUDGMENT...EVER.

On another note, another Jesuit granted the Imprimi Potest to a book written by a third Jesuit called Good Goats. This book claims to be orthodox on the first page, simply because it has this approval. However, the book claims that
HELL DOESNT EXIST,
THAT EVEN IF IT DID PEOPLE WOULDNT GO THERE,
THAT MAN IS INCAPABLE OF MORTAL SIN,
and THAT GOD IS NOT HARSH IN HIS JUDGMENTS.

Do these people read the Bible? For Christ's sake, or more accurately, for the sake of their own souls!

These particular Jesuits, and all like them, need to learn their place. Thus, these in particular are unworthy of being called doctors at all, let alone collectively as the order of doctors. Seriously...

Summer's End

2006-08-22T23:19:00.000-04:00

The Pii have bid farewell to summer and are eagerly awaiting the start of football season. In the meantime, please be patient as they transition from their summer to winter residences.

Pax Christi,
The Papal Secretary

Our Day

2006-08-21T23:02:00.000-04:00

An Interesting Question

2006-08-19T16:54:00.000-04:00

Considering that We have just returned to one, We found this letter on universities by Bishop Richard Williamson, one of the four SSPX bishops, to be of some interest (thanks to The Cornell Society for a Good Time for the link). Putting aside the fact that the bishop is a leader of the society, what do you think of his argument and his use of St. Thomas? Or his indictment of the modern university as worse than a brothel? We will give you Our thoughts after a few well-fashioned comments.

Lost Aquinas Found!

2006-08-18T00:55:00.000-04:00

Miter tips to all those who led us on to this wonderful find!

The Shrine of the Holy Whapping
The Keys Are Mightier
The Ironic Catholic

and finally: http://www2.gsu.edu/~phltso/sap.html

and it would figure that a Domer would be behind it at the end....

Summa Theologica, I.3.9

Ninth Article

Is God made of soap?

We proceed thus to the Ninth Article:

Objection 1: It would seem that God is made of soap. For whatever is highest in a genus must be predicated of God. But the highest in the genus of cleanliness, which the Philosopher says is next to godliness, is soap.

Objection 2: Moreover, Scripture says, "Wash me, and I shall be clean indeed." But it belongs to soap to wash.

Objection 3: Furthermore, Dionysius says in On the Divine Names, "For the being of the Most High, being beyond Being, which is what is, can only be denied, as of foamy lather that surpasses even the most excellent conception." But the principle of foamy lather is soap, and where the effect is found, there must the principle be posited.

On the contrary is the opinion of Saint Augustine, who says, "I did wander long among vain fancies, thinking that thou wert as the soap that cleanseth all things, and that evil was a grimy blot on thy purity."

I answer that, 'Soap' can be said in two ways. In one way, soap is the material principle of cleanliness as such. But we have already shown that there is no material principle in God. Therefore, God is not made of soap. But in another way, 'soap' is said of whatever is highest in the order of efficient causes directed towards cleanliness secundum quid by an order that is less than formal with respect to the finality of an end, simply as such, without respect of quiddity in potentiality to the sensitive appetite. And in this sense all men say that God is made of soap, and that in the highest degree, as is plain from the definition.

Reply Obj. 1: Soap is not the highest in the genus of cleanliness, as the Saponians heretically maintain, but only in the genus of material ablutions, which is related to cleanliness in the way that principles of natural reason are related to the eternal law, as the Psalmist says, "How shall a young man cleanse his way? By keeping to your law."

Reply Obj. 2: Scripture also says, "I will wipe away every tear from their eyes." But soap is an efficient cause of tears, and not of their remotion. Therefore, God is not made of soap.

Reply Obj. 3: In this place Dionysius understands 'foamy lather' in accordance with the way of remotion, so that it implies only the lack of such qualities as are inconsistent with foamy lather, as shortness of duration and irritation to the skin.

This lost part of the Summa was discovered by Thomas Williams (Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Iowa) while a graduate student at Notre Dame.

From Pius V

2006-08-09T23:11:00.000-04:00

Sancte Dominice, ora pro nobis

2006-08-08T10:36:00.000-04:00

Sequence for the Solemnity of St. Dominic

In caelesti hierarchia,
nova sonet harmonia,
ducta cantico:

Cui concordet in hac via,
nostri chori melodia,
congaudens Dominico.

Ex Aegypto vastitatis,
virum suae voluntatis
vocat Auctor saeculi,

In fiscella paupertatis,
flumen transit vanitatis,
pro salute populi.

In figura catuli,
praedicator saeculi
matri praemonstratur;

Portans ore faculam,
ad amoris regulam
populos hortatur.

Hic est novus legislator,
hic Elias aemulator,
et detestans crimina.

Vulpes dissipat Samsonis,
et in tuba Gedeonis,
hostis fugat agmina.

A defunctis revocatum,
matri vivum reddit natum,
m adhuc corpore:

Signo crucis imber cedit;
turba fratrum panem edit,
missum Dei munere.

Felix, per quem gaudia
tota jam ecclesia
sumens exaltatur.

Orbem replet semine,
in caelorum agmine
tandem collocatur.

Jacet granum occultatum,
sidus latet obumbratum:
sed Plasmator omnium,

OssaJoseph pullulare,
sidus jubet radiare,
in salutem gentium.

O quam probat carnis florem,
omnem superans odorem,
tumuli fragrantia!

Aegri currunt, et curantur,
caeci, claudi reparantur,
virtutum frequentia.

Laudes ergo Dominico
personemus mirifico,
voce plena:

Clama petens suffragia,
ejus sequens vestigia
plebs egena.

Sed tu pater pie, bone,
pastor gregis, et patrone,
prece semper sedula,

Apud curiam summi Regis,
derelicti vices gregis
commenda per saeculi.
Amen. Alleluia.

Now new canticles ascending,
And new strains harmonious blending,
'Mid the hierarchies of heaven:

With our earthly choirs according,
Join this festival in lauding,
To our holy father given.

For the welfare of the nations,
Called from Egypt's desolations
By their God and Maker, he

Was the chosen one and glorious,
Passing o'er the wave victorious,
In the ark of poverty.

Ere his birth, the preacher brother
Is prefigured to his mother
By a hound with torch of fire;

So her son, his torch-light bearing,
Midst the nations dark appearing,
Leads them on with full desire.

He, another Moses, teacheth,
And Elias-like he preacheth,
Sin denouncing with his might

Samson-like his foxes sending,
And the foe his trumpet rending,
Gedeon-like he put to flight.

From death's sleep a child he waketh
Whom alive his mother taketh:
When the holy sign he makes,

Cease the floods; and bread from heaven
For his fainting sons is given
Which into their hands he breaks.

Happy he, whose elevation,
Is our mother's exa1tation,
Is her joy and weal indeed.

To his home by saints attended,
Hath his soul for aye ascended,
Having filled the earth with seed.

Like the hidden grain he bideth
Like the clouded star he hideth:
But the Maker of the spheres,

Joseph's dry bones readorning,
Will reveal the star of morning,
Till earth's darkness disappears.

O surpassing fragrance, telling
Of the virtues of that dwelling,
Which within the tomb doth lie!

Thither flock the sick for healing,
Blind and lame the grace revealing
That his body lives for aye.

Wherefore now with jubilation
Bless and praise him, every nation,
Cry aloud, and crave his care:

Sing Dominic the glorious,
Sing Dominic victorious,
Claim his help and promised prayer.

And thou, father, kind and loving,
Shepherd, patron, unreproving,
Kneeling heaven's high throne before,

Lift for us thy voice prevailing,
To our King with prayers availing
Evermore and evermore.
Amen. Alleluia.

Website of the Week IX

2006-08-07T22:22:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of summer, relax and enjoy. Nothing too heavy,or even really useful, this week:

Say-it.com - home of the classic church sign generator and, more recently, "Benedict says."

Just go there, play around, have fun - enjoy summer!

From Pius IX

2006-08-04T00:27:00.000-04:00

miter tip to: popehatchip.com

Website of the Week VIII

2006-07-31T22:03:00.000-04:00

We hope that you all are already quite familiar with this site. It ranks second to only the Holy See as the busiest Catholic website. Despite this, they have been kind enough to take note of Totus Pius - for this we are quite thankful.

This most excellent site is, of course, New Advent. Despite its fame and heavy traffic, we have found that most people seem to visit for the sake of the Catholic Encyclopedia. If one looks just along the header, there are a number of other indispensable resources often overlooked. The home page features a blog which will keep you sufficiently updated on Catholic news and other going-ons. The Bible is there. Under "Library " is a great collection of Church documents. "Fathers" leads to a treasure trove of the writings of the Church Fathers.

And of course it has, and would be incomplete without The Summa. 'nuf said.

This site is an invaluable Catholic resource online -Use it! We can not stress that enough and thank those who run it for their service to the online Catholic community.

Pius Summer

2006-07-29T01:03:00.000-04:00

Every summer the Pope traditionally takes time to visit Castel Gandolfo. Following this tradition, the Pii need to take a little down time to prepare for the upcoming semester and enjoy the fleeting summer days. Therefore, be aware that posts may become less frequent than usual; however, the Popes Pius promise to send pictures for the faithful.

Faith Without Works: Do Protestants Read the Bible?

2006-07-27T13:17:00.000-04:00

We are increasingly puzzled at this protestant idea that faith without works is sufficient for salvation. The matter seems clear from James who states that, "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). However, protestants twist this and state that works naturally follow from true faith. Thus, all man needs is true faith and then good works proceed as a logical consequence.

In many ways, this interpretation does not only show that all protestants are gnostics (for trying to seek truth through scripture on their own despite the admonition of 2 Peter 1:20), but also that they are subtly denying original sin. This seems to be a tough view to hold given the Lutheran view on grace, but in essence protestants do deny this sin because they deny that one who has true faith can still fall. Did not Adam and Eve have faith? They spoke with God. They even saw Him. What about Paul? Have they read him: "And if I should have prophesy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could move mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." (1 Corinthians 13: 2). Of course, the best scriptural evidence comes from the Gospels from those who have the most faith in Jesus Christ as Son of God: the demons whom He expels.

"And behold they [the demons] cried out saying: What have we to do with thee, Jesus Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" (Matt 8: 29). What faith! Not only do they profess that Jesus is the Son of God, but they also have a profound knowledge of the Old Testament because they also profess belief in the final judgment. And to think! Peter only professes that Christ is the Son of God in Matthew 16: 16-- eight chapters later! How come Jesus didn't make the demons the rock on which He built His Church? Oh yeah...good works don't necessarily flow from faith and faith alone does not save man.

Tune in next time for how protestants also have shades of manichaeanism because of their prudery-- especially in regard to their policies on alcohol.

Did He Just Quote Vatican II?!

2006-07-25T00:15:00.001-04:00

Well, We haven't yet, but we are about to. Ok, here goes.

Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to himself and makes his supreme calling clear.

Gaudium et Spes, 22

So that seems harmless enough, right? WRONG! It's really quite a radical statement. We propose for consideration the the Greek command to "Know thyself." Now if what the council is saying here is true (which it is), then before anyone can actually know himself, he must first know someone else, specifically Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, and he must know the truth about Him before he can know the full truth about himself. Now where else can someone find the fullness of truth about Our Lord and Savior than His Bride, Holy Mother Church? Nowhere! Anathema sit to him who thinks otherwise!

Website of the Week VII

2006-07-24T23:49:00.000-04:00

In our attempts to help a friend we were looking up online apologetics sites and came across this one: catholicapologetics.org.

While we haven't read through the entire (massive) site it appears to be a most excellent resource! It is a essentially an online book - but if you want you can download a PDF of the entire thing.

The site is put together by Paul Flanagan and Robert Schihl, whose profiles are rather impressive.

Their intro reads:

This book surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries.

This is a set of lecture notes used since 1985 to teach the basis for key doctrines and dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church. The objectives of the course were, and are:

To present the biblical basis for the origin and development of the Roman Catholic Church.
To present the development of the canon of Scripture and evolution of biblical teaching in the Church.
To understand the role of paradosis/tradition in the oral transmission of revelation.
To study the Council of Jerusalem, described in the 15^th chapter of The Acts of the Apostles and its role in the development of doctrine in the conciliar movement in the Church.
To understand the revelation, doctrinal development and practice of the sacramental life in the history of the Church.
To study the role of the Holy Spirit as teaching authority in the Church.
To study the revelation and development of hierarchical authority in the Church.
To understand the hierarchy of truths in the Church as well as the role of private devotion and personal growth in holiness.

Browse through it, use it, we hope it helps!

Website of the Week VI

2006-07-17T22:48:00.000-04:00

This week we feature Fish Eaters, an excellent introduction to traditional Catholicism.

This site is run by a women who describes it as "pan-traditionalist and is not affiliated with any priestly society (to avoid the 'politics' of the 'F.S.S.P. vs. S.S.P.X. vs. whatever' type debates, just stay away from certain sections of the discussion forum, where all traditionalists are welcome). " Though she invites all (traddies) she upholds the validity of Benedict XVI and Vatican II, unlike last week's site.

We love this site for it easy reference to just about all the basic things you need to know. The main page features three main sections:

"Defense of Catholicism": apologetics 101. We haven't read every single page, but the ones we have read are most excellent guides to defending the faith. They outline the issues plainly and provide tons of Biblical citations to support eveything.

"Being Catholic": Our favorite section - the POD traditions, devotions and practices which we love are the focus of this page. The webmistress offers explanations and how-tos for a myriad of things from when and how to genuflect to basic prayers and so much more. And to satisfy our snarky sense of humor, there is also a wonderful page of Catholic Jokes under "Fun Stuff."

"For Catholics": This section focuses primarily on the differences between the Novus Ordo and Tridentine liturgies and the typical behavior and attitudes associated with each. The webmistress links to numerous offsite articles and documents examining the issues.

Overall we find this site to be tremendous and recommend it to all!

Irish eyes smiling again

2006-07-15T20:13:00.000-04:00

Charlie & the Touchdown Factory = Notre Dame football is back

Nihil obstat.

Civil Marriage and a Declaration of War?

2006-07-14T14:46:00.001-04:00

We have recently had the opportunity to review the Encyclical, Arcanum, of Our Predecessor, Leo XIII, of happy memory. We took this opportunity after having reviewed Our Own Encyclical, Casti Connubii, which we promulgated fifty years after the promulgation of Our Predecessor's Encyclical. The main subject discussed in this Encyclical is the question of Civil Authority over the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. This question is one that our world faces more than ever. Our Predecessor, to summarize his argument, states that, although there are many things over which the state has legitimate authority, Holy Matrimony is not one of these things, but rather, Holy Mother Church is the only true authority over such an important calling to holiness. Not only is this Sacrament a means by which many can and do achieve the heights of sanctity, it is also an invaluable part of and benefit to society, a point which is duly noted by Our Predecessor (Arcanum 4). However, the benefits given to society by the Institution of Marriage are increased immensely and the Institution is protected from vice by the grace poured forth upon those souls who have entered into this Institution through the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, which was instituted by God the Father at the dawn of Creation, but was sanctified and perfected by Our Lord Jesus Christ (Arcanum 5-9). This Holy Institution, having been sanctified and perfected, not only focuses on the procreation of children, but also on their education in the Holy Faith of the Apostles, and the growth in Holiness of the spouses (Arcanum 10-12).

For these reasons, Christ, the Bridegroom, entrusted those matters concerning Holy Matrimony to his spotless and undefiled Bride, the Church, granting Her complete authority over the institution, and entrusting to Her its defense from all those who wish to destroy it (Arcanum 13). Our Predecessor then discusses the program of the naturalists who worked to frame the concept of a civil marriage. Such a program would lead to the same vices in marriage (divorce, disrespect for women and children, etc.) to which it had been prone, before its perfection and sanctification by Our Lord, and a disregard for the laws which the Church, in Her wisdom, has set in place over such an important arrangement (Arcanum 18). Then, referring to marriages in the past, in Paragraph 19 of his Encyclical, Our Predecessor writes,

Hence, among those, marriages were commonly celebrated with religious ceremonies, under the authority of pontiffs, and with the ministry of priests. So mighty, even in the souls ignorant of heavenly doctrine, was the force of nature, of the remembrance of their origin, and of the conscience of the human race. As, then, marriage is holy by its own power, in its own nature, and of itself, it ought not to be regulated and administered by the will of civil rulers, but by the divine authority of the Church, which alone in sacred matters professes the office of teaching.

In this bold declaration of the inappropriateness of civil marriages, as they are called, Our Predecessor makes a declaration that would be quite unpopular in contemporary culture. In fact, today, not only have politicians almost completely accepted the falsehood that the state has legitimate authority over marriage, many are now pushing for the legalization and affirmation of what they call same-sex unions and gay marriages. Not only would these arrangements affirm people in their sin, it would also lead to a greater weakening of marriage, through the efforts of the State to take even more control over the institution, a weakening which can already be observed in the increase of divorce rates and a degradation of the quality of the situations of many families, a weakening which was forseen by Our Predecessor of happy memory, as early as 1880, as a result merely of an increase in State control over Holy Matrimony.

Fortunately, Our Successor, Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, has declared war on modern thought on eros and the Church's influence over it, according to Benjamin Wiker of Crisis Magazine. According to Wiker's analysis, despite what the mainstream media and liberal Catholics took from the encyclical,

Well, they didn'’t call him the "Panzer-Kardinal"” for nothing. Deus Caritas Est is a declaration of war, and it is loaded with ammunition - much of it stealth in design, and of such power that the Church under Benedict XVI will certainly be the Church Militant. For while on the surface Benedict only seems to be offering a theological platitude, that "God is love,"” hidden to the hasty eyes of the press, buried in the intricacies of his philosophical and theological analysis, obscured from all but those initiated into Benedict'’s inner circle, he really is declaring that God is love.

It will become clear - —as we dig into the encyclical - —that a more dangerous and constructive idea for our culture could not be imagined. It'’s a brilliant strategy on Benedict'’s part to hide so explosive a truth under a simple truism.

This declaration of the objective fact that "God is love," he says, is a direct attack on the philosophy of Nietzsche and his disdain for the Church's teachings on what true love is, as is evidenced by Our Successor's quoting of the German philosopher in the third paragraph of his Encyclical. Our Successor, of course, does not agree with Nietzsche that the Church has poisoned eros, but rather, he says, it is not the Church, but modern culture, Nietzsche, and his false philosophy which have poisoned eros. All three, offer to man, eros deictus merum ad sexum, "eros thrown down to unmixed sex" (this part of the Encyclical, notes Wiker, was unfortunately translated "reduced to pure sex" thus giving an improper connotation to what was intended). As Wiker notes, merum literally translates as "unmixed" but when it was used substantively, as a noun, it meant "unmixed wine," that is, wine before it was mixed with water. This was the stuff that drunkards drank, merely to get drunk. Deictus also is poorly translated as a more precise translation would render the word as "thrown or hurled down" or even "killed." If what the modern culture is offering us is eros so degraded that it is unmixed sex which is only good for causing sexual drunkenness, what should we mix it with so that we might actually enjoy it, as the truly good wine that it is? Our Successor reminds us that, as is the case with all things, it must be mixed with agape, charitable love. In order for eros to truly benefit the beloved, it must be tempered by agape. This is what Our Successor says is the calling of all Christians. This is the same calling Our Predecessor, Leo XIII, called for in maintaining the authority of the Church over marriage. He knew that only the Church would be sure to continue to offer the same calling. Only Christ's Bride would be capable of guaranteeing that the love He has for Her would continue to be evidenced in the love shown between human spouses. For these reasons, We once again take as Our Own the Encyclical, Arcanum, and nrecommendo reccomend the fervent study of Our Successor's Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est.

To him who does not accept these teachings, in line with the Tradition of the Magesterium of Holy Mother Church, Bride of Christ, the Bridegroom, we hereby declare: ANATHEMA SIT!

MythAnathematizers: Episode III

2006-07-13T16:18:00.000-04:00

This week we will discuss Eucharistic Ministers. As usual, we will anathematize three myths regarding this subject.

Myth #1: The Church approves of Eucharistic Ministers.

Incorrect. The Church approves of extraordinary ministers of the Holy Eucharist. These ministers should not be regular or ordinary in any way. In this, the Church is following the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas who in the third part of the Summa Theologiae states that no one whose hands are unconsecrated should be allowed to touch the sacred species of the host except in the case of an emergency when it is necessary for someone else to distribute the sacred species. Yes, the distinction makes a huge difference. We will discuss the implication of this teaching in the next myth.

Myth #1- Anathematized

Myth #2: My parish church is allowed to schedule extraordinary ministers.

If these ministers are scheduled, then they become ordinary. It is against the directives of the Church to schedule extraordinary ministers for Mass. The abuse of this directive has led to extraordinary ministers becoming ordinary ministers and has only contributed to the decline of belief in the Real Presence. After all the priests have been employed in distribution, after all the ordinary ministers (deacons) have been employed in distribution, if more ministers are necessary, an extraordinary minister may be called on to help distribute Holy Communion.

Myth #2- Anathematized

Myth #3- Jesus preached tolerance.

"You brood of vipers." "Get behind me Satan." "It would be better for you if you had never been born." etc, etc, etc. Read the Bible for God's sake.
(I know, but I had too after reading all those comments. This might be a little intolerant-- but it is the Christian thing to do.)

Myth #3- Anathematized

Comments

2006-07-13T00:37:00.000-04:00

In light of recent storms on comments, we would like to make public two things:

1) It is important to us that our readers comment, even when they conflict with our views.
2) We reserve the right to delete any post that crosses the line...crossing the line in our book involves personal attacks...such as on one's reputation in high school or physical appearance. The problem here is that many see certain things as uncharitable which aren't uncharitable, they're just true. An objective criticism of an idea, theory, work of art, book, or anything does not qualify as uncharitable. Unfounded guesses as to the disposition of the contributor's soul, DO QUALIFY. We have to have thick skin, but we won't tolerate someone using our comment board for ad hominem attacks.

So, as long as you're comment reflects some sort of intellgible point and is backed up by right reason, and refrains from unrestrained, unChristian, and irrational bull, we will allow it.

Bottom line:

Jerks are welcome. But irrational jerks beware.

Website of the Week V

2006-07-10T22:12:00.000-04:00

Last week we featured Universalis, a site which supplies the Liturgy of the Hours. For those of you interested in what was prayed before the Second Vatican Council, this week we recommend Breviary.Net .

NOTE: We recommend the site solely for the text of the Divine Office and nothing more as this site is run by a sede vacantist group that rejects the legitimacy of Vatican II and all that has followed it, including the authority of the popes, including Benedict XVI. They are most adamant in regards to their position stating at one point, in reference to "Most Holy Trinity Seminary" which they support: "We stress that this is not the SSPX, with its modernist leanings and strange affiliations with the heretical Novus Ordo Church." - That's harsh.

Therefore, while we approve of the actual texts of the breviary we most strongly advise our readers to use caution and discretion when visiting this site.

Sometimes I Wonder How Protestants Survive Without the Sacraments...

2006-07-10T10:11:00.000-04:00

...then we realized: they dont.

Just a few examples from our experience are in order. Now, as a disclaimer, these are just our observations and are not meant to be a fully articulated series of theological statements, nor are they meant to be a list of judgments. Just...simple observations.

That said, college life is tough for the soul. Many have described it as their own little agony in the garden. Of course any experience of ours is nothing in comparison to Christ's but...analogically similar. There's sex, drugs, drunkenness, crude language, crude behavior, crude...ness. So many aspects of college life are just...filthy. We daresay that these days - since the sixties - university life is something completely different than it ever has been. But we digress.

Going off to the university we knew that people would change. Being at Our Lady's University, we knew that surrounding ourselves with the right people would protect us from excessive temptation. Yet preparing to come home for the summer, we could only echo St. Paul's words in his second letter to the Corinthians:

"For I fear lest perhaps when I come I may not find you as I should wish, and lest I may be found by you not as you would wish - lest perhaps there be found among you contentions, envyings, animosities, dissensions, detractions, gossiping, arrogance, disorders - lest when I come again God should humiliate me before you, and I should mourn over many who sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness and immorality and licentiousness that they practiced." (2 Cor 12:20-21, Confraternity, emphasis added)

Now, we are no saint and we struggle and sin like everyone...but we have the sacraments - namely penance and Eucharist - to clean us and guard us from sin. As we found, those Christians who had fallen into the wickedness and snares of college life the most were Protestants - those who do not have the fullness of sacramental life to strengthen them. This is not to say that Catholics and Orthodox are any holier by their own merit than the Protestants and the godless; however, the Catholics and Orthodox are strengthened by the grace of God...and that's the key. The poor Protestants have no idea how hard they're making it for themselves! The more we think about it the more we realize how many of our friends are struggling with holiness yet they reject God's primary means of conferring grace - the sacraments!

Protestants have almost become the Pelagians that they condemned earlier on - they now say that being a good person is better than observing "personal" commandments about things they do "privately" and confessing Christ as Lord in prayer. For some reason people see social sin - sin which affects others - as somehow worse than "private sin," or sin which one does "in the privacy of one's home." St Paul and Christ Himself is clear on this - sin is a corruption of the good and that any corruption of any member of the body of Christ results in corruption of all.

One girl we know began college trying to maintain purity of heart and she succeeded...for a time. She was disgusted by everything going on around her. Then, just recently, we find out that she has been fornicating with a "boyfriend" for the past couple of months. Apparently shes "prayed" about this and come to the conclusion that she "doesnt really feel that its wrong." We will gloss over this because it makes us SO ANGRY...but thats immanentist right there...and we daresay that if one takes phenomenology too far, one could justify that (wrongly of course) with JP II's philosophical school.

Another example, a girl who was the picture of holiness in high school, she was your average good protestant: went to Bible studies, prayed, etc. Of course, a healthy sacramental life was, again, absent. As soon as she hit school she struggled etc...but by the end of the year she's been known to take part in all sorts of drunkenness and impurity. She's even been known to say things like "I try to love Jesus but this is who I am so...deal." We dont understand this. If you try to love Jesus, then you'll obey his commandments. You wont just say "deal" when a suggestion of having some purpose of ammendment is made.

These people are just...the most salient examples right now in our mind, but there are others...and it's sad how many Christians are running around not behaving as they should. At least Catholics and Orthodox have a way to be restored to a state of grace, Protestants are just left saying: "The hypocrisy is ripping me apart, and the absence of God is like a living hell for me. I need help. I'm dying inside. I just don't know what to do or where to go. I don't live for God, I don't witness, and I don't pray. People say that the definition of hell is "eternal separation" from God. I fell that I have that right now, so I guess I'm in hell!" (from Every Young Man's Battle) This poor kid needs confession, and fast! Because unfortunately only by a special and extra-ordinary grace will he be restored to a state of grace without it! So sad...

As much as it tears us apart seeing more and more once-holy Protestant friends fall away from holiness instead of growing in it, there is a positive point to all of this. Just as any sin damages the mystical body of Christ, every healing is bound not to heal just that member but also the body as a whole. We Catholics and Orthodox, WHO HAVE THE SACRAMENTS, MUST receive them frequently, not only for the health of our souls, but for the health of the souls who cannot receive them yet form one body with us. We all share one baptism, and with few exceptions, we are all one body...and we who have the fullness not only of truth but also of goodness, beauty, unity, and most importantly, of LIFE must take advantage of it.

Get to daily mass. Receive communion daily. Confess your sins weekly. Do penance for you, the suffering souls in purgatory, and for those on earth who have no idea what they're doing. Maybe one day they'll behold God face to face...and witness the most beautiful liturgy - the One Liturgy - in heaven for all eternity. Let's just hope and pray that not only we but also they make it there.

Photo Contest

2006-07-08T22:33:00.000-04:00

The other day, a friend of Totus Pius, Joseph, posted an image of one of the most hideous "worship spaces" we have ever beheld.

This despicable image and the report of the papal visit to NYC have inspired us to proclaim the opening of the Totus Pius "The Bad and the Ugly" Photo Contest - a look at structures that must be anathamatized.

You are to email photos of your favorite (or least favorite, as the case may be) churches and chapels to us at totuspius@gmail.com . You are required to included the name and location of the church.

Each week we will then select the best submissions and post them on this site.

Churches of all denominations will be accepted, though higher ranking will go to those which are Catholic. Both interior and exterior shots will be considered.

Though each image will ultimately be critiqued for its own uniqueness, in order to establish some firm base of comparison, we have devised a scale of rank which is as follows:

Association:

Catholic - 3 points
Episcopalian or Lutheran - 2 points
Other denominations - 1 point

Date of construction

pre-1940 - 3 points
1940-1962 - 2 points
post-1962 - 1 point

Location of Our Lord

front and center - 0 points
off to the side - 2 points
hiding in a corner or side chapel - 3 points
Protestant Church, so He's wasn't home to start with - 0 points

In the bad and ugly departments Post-Vatican II wreckovations are rampant. Therefore an additional grade will be given to those which fall in this category.

Wreckovations

stripped sanctuary - 6 points
removal of confessionals - 5 points
relocated/recycled confessionals - 3 points
removal of altar rail - 3 points
recycled altar rail - 1 point
whitewashed walls

over murals/frescos - 7 points
over geometric/floral/other design - 5 points
over unknown - 3 points

removal of stained glass (presuming the original stained glass was nice)

replacement with clear - 5 points
replacement with new stained - 3 points

Any historical information you supply will help add to your church's score.

The current scale is based largely on what is commonly seen and expected - the higher the score, the worse the church. But bad and ugly is the point of this contest.

More point categories may be added at our discretion. We are also open to the suggestions of the faithful.

Website of the Week Archive Page

2006-07-05T23:57:00.000-04:00

We have decided that it is time to begin a page archiving our "Websites of the Week." It will be linked on the sidebar for easy reference and will be updated every week.

The first column links to our original weekly posts, the second links directly to the featured page.

Week I - Thesaurus Precum Latinarum www.preces-latinae.org
Week II - Una Voce - www.unavoce.org
Week III - The University of Notre Dame - www.nd.edu
Week IV - Universalis - www.universalis.com
Week V - Breviary.net - www.breviary.net
Week VI - Fish Eaters - www.fisheaters.com
Week VII - CatholicApologetics - www.catholicapologetics.org
Week VIII - New Advent - www.newadvent.org
Week IX - Says-It.com (church sign generator) - www.says-it.com
Week X - American Chestertonian Society - www.chesterton.org

Happy Independence Day

2006-07-04T10:21:00.000-04:00

We impart our apostolic nod to the United States of America, and to her citizenry who celebrate the 230th anniversary of a great nation founded under God. May she ever return to the noble mission ordained by her forefathers.

We thought we would also share a most interesting fact: out of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, one was a Catholic - Charles Carroll of Maryland. He was the cousin of Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore , the first bishop of the United States. Charles was instrumental in bringing Catholics respect in the American political sphere, and he was also the longest-surviving signer of the Declaration. Read more here and here.

"Pontius Pilate Should Be the Patron 'Saint' of Modernism"

2006-07-03T16:59:00.000-04:00

This is a quote from Fr John Corapi...who is the MAN. We enjoy his preaching as much as a chocolate-caramel treat. It really got us to thinking...

Pontius Pilate really SHOULD be the patron of modernism!

Why? Here goes:

What is truth?
A question often asked of modernists who use evasive agnosticism to avoid any discussion of absolutes. They deny that either an absolute truth can be known or that one exists at all. I wonder, could a claim that truth doesnt exist be true? Haha...

What would you have me to do?
His whole concept of leadership is one which is marked by an abandonment of what he knows to be good and deferring to the will of the people over whom he is ruling. The point of having leaders is that they know better than the masses how to achieve the common good...it is proper to leaders to lead, not just to enact the will of the masses. I am reminded of a recent disaster at Our Lady's university...

I find no cause in him...scourge him anyway
"I find no redeeming value in the play."
"I am committed to not stopping the play's performance."

Oh, there are more similarities to passion plays than we realize here....hahaha...

Totus Pius in the National Catholic Register

2006-07-03T13:50:00.000-04:00

In this week's issue, the National Catholic Register featured an article on young Catholic bloggers. We thank the author for his excellent review - though we'd like to note one correction - It's Pius XIII, not VIII - yes we have a resident anti-pope. Also, within the past week we've added a new member, Pius XI.

Young, Catholic and Connected

Worthwhile youth blogs abound

National Catholic Register

July 2-8, 2006

ARTS & CULTURE

by Eric Scheske

The blogging nation is quite young. I discovered that firsthand.Faced with a looming deadline, I decided to write about youth blogs. Young adults and teens, even children, if I could find some.

So I ran a notice on my blog: “Send me your children! The younger the better! I’m not a pedophile. I’m dedicating my next Register blog column to youth blogs.”

I figured I’d get a couple recommendations. Instead, I got a deluge.

I should’ve known better. Blogging is a young person’s sport. The best blogs are written by adults, but young people like to write and blog. And there are lots of Catholic youngsters out there.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that there are lots of good Catholic youth blogs. When deciding to write about them, I remembered a T-shirt that read, “You can’t be old and wise unless you were young and stupid.” I also remembered my younger days, and that alone was enough to make me nervous.

I’m happy to report that the risk paid off.

I was impressed and edified. I can’t say all of the blogs I reviewed showcase polished prose and profound insights, but my surfing revealed a core of solid young Catholics in our country — the types of youngsters I’d be happy to call my children some day.

First off, there are a few well-known blogs. At American Papist (americanpapist.com/blog.html), “Thomas” (he doesn’t use his last name) is 21. He has a master’s degree in theology and a sense of humor; visitors will find ample evidence of both.

There’s also The Shrine of the Holy Whapping (holywhapping.blogspot.com), a group blog of Notre Dame students (now alumni), who aptly describe their blog as a place where “newly-graduated ‘Catholic Nerds’ share their thoughts on Catholic culture, spiritual life and other musings (or ‘moosings’ as the case may be) with the rest of the world.”

But I also found a few good blogs by unknowns, like Thoughts of Apolonio Latar III (apolonio.blogspot.com). This blog has brought applause from such leading Catholic lights as Peter Kreeft and Marcellino D’Ambrosio. His grasp of philosophy and theology began turning heads when he was in high school. He’s now at Rutgers University and his blog keeps getting better.

There’s also Totus Pius (totuspius.blogspot.com). This blog cracks me up. It’s written by five college students, aged 19 to 22: Pius V, Pius VIII, Pius IX, Pius X and Pius XII. I think you see the pattern and, if you don’t, the blog’s motto makes it clear: “Because when a Pope takes ‘Pius,’ you know playtime’s over.” The humorous — yet sincere — militancy is great. The bloggers (who refused to tell me their identity) told me in an e-mail: “Pius is our name, and fighting heresy is our game. We shall fight it in the churches, we shall fight in the classrooms, we shall fight it in books and in speech. … We shall never surrender.” The blog is traditionalist and good-naturedly cheeky … not an easy combination. Highly recommended.

On the other end of the emotional spectrum, readers may want to consider Mere Complexities (merecomplexities.blogspot.com). It’s written by a 22-year-old woman at the University of Western Ontario. It’s heavily meditative and sometimes dolorous. The woman is discerning a vocation to the religious life.

Finally, I’d strongly encourage readers to visit Nick Milne’s A Gentle Fuss (gentlefuss.blogspot.com). Nick is 20 and perhaps the finest “unknown” writer I’ve run across. I’ve seen his work in Gilbert Magazine, and he works with me on the Chesterton and Friends blogs (chestertonandfriends.blogspot.com). He’s creative, clever and well-read. He’s not Catholic, but he’s on his way. He tells me that his blog will describe the conversion process.

Most of us don’t get to see a young man convert. Now, it will be on a blog.

I wish I could describe all the worthy Catholic youth blogs I found, but such an endeavor might fill four newspaper pages. The following five, though, deserve mention, and I’d encourage you to check out their pages and give the youngsters encouragement:

Letters from a Young Catholic (dilexitprior.blogspot.com), Cor Immaculatae (corimmaculatae.blogspot.com), Calliope Calls (calliopecalls.blogspot.com), And If Not (and-if-not.blogspot.com) and Regnum Crucis (regnumcrucis.blogspot.com).

Catholic youth blogs are big, and I suspect they’ll get bigger. MySpace.com, a social networking website that is popular with high schoolers, has 75 million members and is looking to expand.

If you’ve heard about MySpace.com, you’ve probably heard that it’s a moral cesspool. And much of it probably is. But I found lots of encouraging bacterial growth. A search of “Catholic-like” terms reveals lots of solid young people. The term “G.K. Chesterton,” for instance, brings up nearly 200 profiles and blogs, most of them by youngsters, who have either quoted him, written about him or listed him as one of their favorite authors. Most people don’t even know who G.K. Chesterton is, but he’s alive and well in “MySpace.com,” as are many other Catholic things.

You might want to consider browsing through and see what you find. It’s not all poison.

Reader Recommendation

This month’s recommendation is one of the most pleasant blogs in cyberspace: Happy Catholic (happycatholic.blogspot.com) by Julie Davis. A mother of two teenage daughters, Davis offers commentary on pop culture (especially from a teenager’s point of view) and Catholic news. Her blog is also laced with autobiographical information that many readers love. The site won “Best Blog by a Woman” in the 2006 Catholic Blog Awards (catholicblogawards.com).

“The blog actually is a natural outgrowth of all the e-mails I used to send,” explains Davis. “I would find wonderful quotes or articles and want to share them. I started the blog because I thought it would be easier for friends to find the info there and more efficient for me to have one spot to put it all.”

And then blogging became an obsession (a common occurrence in the blogosphere). “It has become one of those obsessive hobbies that I always liken to the person who has the perfect model train set up that he is always tinkering with,” says Davis. “The blog is my train set.”

I guess any sort of obsession can be a bad thing, especially when it’s rooted in something as potentially vainglorious as blogging. But in this case, readers are lucky the blogging obsession took root in Davis.

Until next month, may your mouse stay cool in the summer heat.

Eric Scheske blogs at

ericscheske.com/blog

Website of the Week IV

2006-07-03T12:30:00.000-04:00

This week we feature Universalis (www.universalis.com) as our website of the week.

Universalis is an excellent site which provides the Liturgy of the Hours online for daily use. The Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and Night Prayer are available through easy links in the header of each page. The Little Office is not yet online, however they have a note that it will be added in time.

This site is especially beneficial to those who are unable to drop a couple hundred bucks to purchase a set of Breviaries (like college students).

We greatly appreciate the feature that enables you (with a little bit of very worth-while effort) to have the readings sent straight to your email.

There is one problem we find with this site (which Universalis can't avoid): It can be extremely difficult to concentrate and enter into a truly prayerful state while reading your computer screen. Our praise to those who can.

Next week, we'll provide information on how to access the Pre-VatII liturgy if any of you are so inclined to pray those.

Superman is Catholic

2006-07-02T23:27:00.000-04:00

First of all, we recommend going to see Superman Returns, if only for hearing John Williams' tremendous score on the big screen again. Seriously, though, it is a very good movie - directed by Bryan Singer, who also directed X-Men I & II. We are sure that many of you have read about the Christian and God-man overtones to the movie. It is quite true, and you perceptive Catholics should pick up on some cool stuff.

But we thought we should also call your attention to the fact that the Man of Steel is also a Catholic. For instance, the arch-villain of the franchise is a guy name Lex Luthor. Obviously, "Luthor" is a play on "Luther." Moreover, Superman's big "S" stands for "Sacraments." He channels the power of God through his physical self. Plus, he believes lying is never justified, so he must be a Thomist.

Even though you've been raised as a human being, you're not one of them. They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all - their capacity for good - I have sent you to them...my only son.
- Jor-El (incidentally, "El" means "God" in Hebrew)

Papal Visit to NYC: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2006-07-01T22:33:00.000-04:00

A few days ago , New York City received a papal visit from an undisclosed number of popes and friends from Totus Pius. The press was kept in the dark so as to keep the visit both quiet and holy. While we were there, we could not help but to document many of our findings and then categorize them into the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good:
We will begin with the decent and work our way up to the best.

1. Trinity Church on Wall St.- On the recommendation of a family member, we went to an episcopalian "church" to view the architecture, visit Alexander Hamilton's gravesite, and possibly read some public decrees of excommunication. We found the architecture pleasing. We figure that this building will be one gem of a church after we reclaim it for Christ.

2. St. Peter's Church on Barclay St. (New York State's Oldest Parish, Founded 1785)- This church was closed for renovations, but due to our apostolic authority we were admitted to the upper church on a private tour after visiting Our Lord in adoration in the lower church. The main altar was a beautiful white marble and was flanked by reliquaries. The statues were also done in marble and were of a great quality. The stained glass windows were the originals and were very beautiful. We were happy to note that this was St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's parish. We noticed that the paint on the walls was chipping, but were pleased to see that this and not the removal of the marble was the reason for the renovation.

3. Church of St. Agnes on Archbishop Fulton Sheen Plaza- While the exterior of this church left much to be desired, we were greatly pleased with this parish. Besides being located on Fulton Sheen Plaza, we found that the church offers 7 daily Masses, daily Benediction, daily confession, and a fantastic bookstore open daily. The church offers 7 Sunday Masses including an 11am Tridentine Mass. We are very proud of this parish's work.

4. Church of St. Vincent Ferrer on Lexington Avenue- By and far our favorite church in the city. It is run by the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph. We loved looking at the stunning Gothic facade featuring a relief of the crucifixion and scenes from the life of St. Dominic as well as statues of St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Dominic, St. Francis, and the four Dominican popes (incl. St. Pius V). The interior was even more breathtaking. Once inside, the towering stone and beautiful blue stained-glass lends the feeling of an authentic mediaeval cathedral. We were pleased to see the high altar intact with a beautiful gold tabernacle and huge wooden altarpiece featuring Christ the King and a painting of St. Vincent Ferrer. We also greatly appreciate the side altar dedicated to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary and the friar's private chapel. We were also greatly impressed by the true act of ecumenism by the Dominican Friars who run the church: they included a statue of St. Anthony in one of the side chapels as well as St Francis on the facade. This is one beautiful church.

The Bad:
We will begin with mildly bad and more towards horrendous.

5. St. Ignatius Church on 980 Park Avenue- Despite the beautiful exterior of this church, we were most disappointed to find it closed. What the heck were the Jezzies doing? They knew we were making a pastoral visit.

4. St. Ignatius Church on 980 Park Avenue- The picture says it all.

3. Shower of Stoles- As were walking on the street, we spotted this ad. The participants should count their lucky stars that our visit was a day late...we would have anathematized them all.

2. Immanuel Lutheran Church on 122 East 88th St.- We saw this "church" in the distance and it piqued our interest due to beautiful exterior. Upon arrival, we found it was closed. We were neither surprised nor upset because we figured Christ wasn't there anyway so why'd they be open? Upon looking at the "church's" website, we found interior to be equally beautiful. Like Trinity, this will be a great acquisition after our crusade...I mean...um...yeah, crusade...

1. Park Avenue Methodist Church 106 East 86th St.- One of the WORST STATEMENTS EVER! This is simply a disgrace.

The Ugly:

1. The Park Avenue Methodist Church claims a slot in this section as well. The picture of the tympanum says all.

2. We found this chalice in St. Paul's Chapel on our way to Trinity Church. The historic structure where people such including George Washington have visited has essentially been converted into a 9-11 Museum. Now, don't get us wrong, we were terribly saddened and upset by the events of that tragic day, and it's not like Our Lord really was ever in that building anyway - so ok, fine, have the museum. But, this thing you see in the picture is not worthy of those who died in the attacks, let alone Our Lord. Attempts to tell us that we should have more patience because it was formed from metal from Ground Zero are futile because the maker could have made a more attractive work regardless of where the metal came from. CAAHH-MAAAAN

Added Bonus:

The Awesome:

1. Trinity Public House - no no don't confuse it with the "church," we know it's hard. When Papa Sanctus Pius X first saw this establishment, he started joyfully sobbing. Unfortunately, we were unable to stop and enjoy this fine establishment. We are keeping this in mind for our next papal visit.

2. Sotto Cinco - this is the fine Italian establishment where the papal entourage enjoyed dinner on the side walk in the tradition of the restaurants of Italy. Reasonable prices, excellent food, and a genuine European feel makes this restaurant truly awesome. The only downside was their inability to split our check, thus causing us to spend sometime separating it ourselves. We guess it all comes from the same treasury, but how dare they make us do extra work? Don't they understand how hard anathematizing for a living really is?

Just in Case You Dont Read All the Comments...

2006-06-30T09:07:00.000-04:00

...we thought we should post this here for your enjoyment.

Thanks, raindear, this was tremendous.

Gather Us In

Here in this place, our comfortable parish,
All of the statues carried away,
See in each face a vacuous visage,
Brought here by guilt or by R.C.I.A.

Gather us in, by Bimmer or Hummer,
Gather us in, so we can feel good,
Come to us now in this barren Zen temple,
With only a shrub and an altar of wood.

We are the young, our morals a mystery,
We are the old, who couldn't care less,
We have been warned throughout all of history,
But we enjoy this liturgical mess.

Gather us in, our radical pastor,
Gather us in, our unveiled nun,
Call to us now, with guitars and bongos,
Hang up your cellphones and join in the fun!

Here we will take some wine and some water,
Whether it changes, we really don't care.
But when the Sign of Peace comes, our pastor,
Jumps from the altar and hugs like a bear.

Gather us in, the privileged and snobby,
Gather us in, the liberal elite,
Help us to form our personal Credo,
Give us a choice between white bread and wheat.

Found at this site.

Thanks again, raindear.

Even popes who don't take "Pius" can be awesome

2006-06-29T12:36:00.000-04:00

Our friends at The Shrine of the Holy Whapping posted a news clip regarding Pope Benedict XVI on guitars at Mass. Apparently, after restoring Domenico Bartolucci as director of music at the Sistine Chapel (our distinguished collegue, Papa Venerabilis Pius XII, appointed him for life before he was removed by John Paul II so that the music might be "modernized"), Pope Benedict gave a speech calling for a return to the directives of the Church regarding sacred music and the silencing of guitars during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The highlight: "It is possible to modernize holy music," the Pope said, at a concert conducted by Domenico Bartolucci, the director of music at the Sistine Chapel. "But it should not happen outside the traditional path of Gregorian chants or sacred polyphonic choral music."

Septuagesimo Anno

2006-06-29T09:00:00.002-04:00

Seventy years have passed since Our promulgation of Our encyclical Vigilanti Cura, and on this day, the seventieth anniversary of Our encyclical, We have deemed it necessary to address, once again, the problem of indecency and immorality in moving pictures. Although in several places We have addressed this problem, We have most regrettably noticed a lack of "painstaking vigilance" which we so vehemently urged our brother bishops to exercise in reference to the moving picture industry and their use of their arts. As we stated in our encyclical,

Recreation, in its manifold varieties, has become a necessity for people who work under the fatiguing conditions of modern industry, but it must be worthy of the rational nature of man and therefore must be morally healthy. It must be elevated to the rank of a positive factor for good and must seek to arouse noble sentiments.

...

Since then the cinema is in reality a sort of object lesson which, for good or for evil, teaches the majority of men more effectively than abstract reasoning, it must be elevated to conformity with the aims of a Christian conscience and saved from depraving and demoralizing effects.

For these reasons, we do not by any means condemn motion pictures or in any way prohibit, unconditionally, Catholics from viewing motion pictures, but rather, We urge the faithful to practice ever increasing discretion over what sort of motion pictures they view. Unfortunately the Legion of Decency, which we held in such high esteem in Our encyclical, is no longer in existence. However, we are thankful for the work of the Office for Film and Broadcasting of the United States Council of Catholic Bishops, but we have found even more beneficial the Decent Films Guide of Mr. Steven D. Greydanus, as it not only provides the ratings provided by the USCCB and the MPAA, but also gives a detailed review the movies listed and a listing of the moving picture's Overall Recommendability, Artistic-Entertainment Value, Moral-Spiritual Value, and Age Appropriateness. This wonderful guide, informed by Catholic values, gives all the faithful an opportunity to inform themselves about movies currently in wide release, and also about many older movies. Please be sure to take a look at this guide the next time you plan to see a motion picture otherwise you may find a statement reading: ANATHEMA SIT waiting for you when you get home!