Roma Locuta, Episcopi Flevierunt

Rome has approved the translation of the Ordinary of the Mass. According to Fr Z the CNS, the news arm of the Bishop's conference couldn't bring itself to report that pro multis will be translated accurately. Apparently John and Mary Catholic are going to have to break down and buy a freakin dictionary, because Rome thinks they are able to use polysyllabic words like -- gasp -- consubstantial !
Soon and very soon we won't have to hear those awful renderings any more. By the way, I have it on good authority that more accurate translations of the Latin have been seen in these parts too. There may even be the occasional Latin High Mass in the Ordinary Form around here. The most amazing thing is -- John and Mary Catholic, together with Juan y Maria Catolicos are able to worship as one community. Who'd-a thunk it? You mean we don't have to let language prevent us from worshipping together as one Church. Wow.
And yet, there are still those who ask the question "what relevance does that have to the Mass?" God help us. And stay tuned.

Are the People of God dumb? Pars Secunda

The Bishops have actually done it. They have actually failed in their duty to pass the translation of the Propers of the Seasons. Yep. There really are at least one third of our mitered ones who think you and I are to stupid to understand anything higher than fourth-grade English.
I will add my voice to the many others who would love to see the USCC/NCCB receive a telegram from the Holy Father stating that since they cannot seem to agree on a translation of the current Roman Missal, in the Ordinary Form, they must simply use what they have as a current Roman Missal until they pull their miters out of their rumps and provide us with a decent translation.
"Dear Brother Bishops, Since you have not found it within your abilities to agree on a sound translation of the Roman Missal published by our predecessor of blessed memory, the Servant of God, John Paul II, we have ordered that the recognitio be withdrawn for the use of tranlations of former editions of the Roman Missal in the Ordinary Form. We encourage you, brothers, to translate the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal (Ordinary Form) quas primas in order that the faithful again be able to hear Mass in their own language, should they desire. We impart to you our Apostolic Blessing. Given at Castel Gondolfo 8 July, 2008, the third year of Our Pontificate"
Somehow I think THAT would put fire under their feet. Until that happens, they know they can drag this out as long as they please.

Are the People of God dumb?

According to Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie Pennsylvania, the average Catholic is unable to comprehend such words as ineffable. Rocco reports on the story in Whispers in the Loggia. This is just a continuation of the usual liberal line. For the last forty years they have told us that we have to dumb down the liturgy in order to make it understandable to Joe Sixpack. The question of the hour is, are the People of God as dumb as Bishop Trautman would have us believe?
Why can't we use terms like ancient bondage? Why do we have to spell everything out in Romper Room speak? Is it not the height of hubris to claim that most people are not as capable as we are of learning new words? Is it not the height of clericalism? We clergy know what ineffable means, but the laity can't understand it.
And they call me clerical because I wear a biretta! We can only hope that they will retire soon. On the one hand we have religion books for seventh graders that make them learn words like epiclesis and anamnesis, and on the other we have Bishops who think people are too stupid to look up words like ineffable.
We have a long way to go, folks, but it is getting better. Yes, the people are capable of learning new words. We don't want to have to pray things like Oh God, who is so great that we cannot speak of it or put it into words....nor do we want to continue with the ICEL version: Oh God, your nice....
May God help us all, and may the Holy Spirit be with our Bishops this week.

The end of the Season?

Well, it's been a PLU-Fest for the last month! Many PLUs have joined the ranks of Presbyters in the Long Black Line. There are new PLUs joining the Long Black Line. I can still remember years ago when a saintly Priest told us in the seminary, Gentlemen, you now stand at the end of a long black line that stretches all the way through the Apostles to Our Lord Jesus Christ." Welcome to the new men!
About the PLU-Fest... This year has seen many an ordination and First Mass. Of course, we can all count on the PUUs (People UNLIKE us) to get catty about our First Masses. But...He used too much incense! He had six candlesticks and faced the Crucifix! And why was he wearing those hats?
Then we have the comments from the ever-shorter gray line -- those who cherish their gray tabbies and love to tell us, "You younger clergy just don't get it. You can't go back." Yeah, Father, the Nashville Dominicans are just a fluke -- a passing fad. Who knew the centuries-old Dominican habit was soooooo trendy! By-the-way, Father, aren't you retiring in a few weeks? Sure will miss your sage advice!
One PLU put it well when, describing the reasoning behind the New Liturgical Movement, said that the people of God, for the last forty years, had experienced on Sunday morning -- not the foretaste of Heaven, but a preview of Purgatory. It is so good to see PLUs taking the places of those who are now retiring. Change is in the air, and as this year's ordination season draws to a close, the change is definitely for the better.

Adversarius Vester

St Peter tells us, "Brethren, be sober an alert, for your adversary, the Devil, is prowling about like I lion, seeking whom he may devour." This is proclaimed as part of the First Reading on the Feast of St Mark (Ordinary Form).
Now, some of our separated brethren (or those who should admit they are separated) have taken to preaching that there is no Devil. They say that the Devil and Hell are all part of some out-dated theology. Essentially, they have bought into the modernist argument that proposes that, as Marx put it, "religion is the opiate of the masses." They don't go so far (usually) as to say that there is no God, but they do propose half of the argument, that Hell and the Devil were teachings used to manipulate the masses. Now, they say, we are more sophisticated. What they don't realize is that they are, in fact, sophomoric, literally, smart idiots. They are imbued with more knowledge from technology and other things, but they are too arrogant to realize how much they still don't know.
As for those who should admit that they are separated, there is no worse arrogance than to remain in the Church, with a collar or habit on (or lapel pin, as is usually the case) and teach contrary to the constant teaching of the Church. Instead of admitting that they are not in line with the Church and going to another ecclesial community, they stay within the fold as wolves dressed in shepherd's clothing. They love to tell people that the Holy Spirit is powerful in their lives, especially rich widows. They love to tell people that those teachings which might make them uncomfortable are optional or passe, and the people of God love them because, as the Apostle tells us, their ears are itching to hear false doctrines.
You'll hear it said, "Father Russ is a really great confessor," meaning, "Father Russ tells me that I'm great; I don't have sins, only human imperfections." They don't like going to People Like Us because we tell them that to embrace the Divine Mercy means a change of their lives.
No one, however, has ever truly encountered Christ and been left the same. To encounter Him is to be transformed by Him. Then, and only then, can we fulfill what he promised in the Gospel of Mark -- "power of demons." Yes, Christ said "demons!"

When is your High Mass

I spoke to a good friend from college last night. She lives in Hawaii, but has traveled the world. She was telling about the adventures of finding a Mass she can stand to attend. She went to her local parish, only to find that the Mass was in either Filipino or Samoan, which she doesn't speak. No problem, she's used to Mass in foreign tongues from her travels. [It would seem good, don't you think, if the Church could come up with some language to use internationally so as to avoid this problem -- but that's another post.]
So she went to another parish only to find the liturgy there objectionably hip. She tried several parishes. Finally, she asked the usher at her home parish, "When is your High Mass?" He told her, "We don't have a High Mass." My friend, of course, is dumbstruck. It has been years since she has lived in Hawaii, and in her travels throughout the world she has never seen a parish that had no High Mass.
Ah, but she just doesn't know... you see the liturgists tell us that there is no such thing anymore. We just have Mass (or Liturgy or Eucharist as they prefer to call it). Those distinctions went out with Vatican II. Would that someone would tell that to Rome. Anyway, these liturgists, who, by the way, are the same ones that brought us punch-bowl patens and flagons, have all kinds of Gnosis that would be good for us to get ahold of, or so they think. Such things as the Southwest Liturgical Conference, which has great sway here in the Lone Star State, become meetings of minds of those who are still living in the felt-bannered 70s.
Just because the Missal (yes, the word Sacramentary was and is incorrect) does not speak of Solemn Mass, Sung Mass and Spoken Mass, doesn't mean that these realities don't exist or that these terms are meaningless.
The other issue here is that these people who come up with these horrible liturgies have no idea how they contribute to the emptying of our churches. My friend has to drive up a windy mountain pass to go to a church where she finds the Mass to be decently celebrated. True enough, our obligation doesn't get dispensed just because the hippie couple are singing Kumbaya. However, there is a certain point where the liturgy itself is so badly celebrated that it obscures the presence of Christ in the Sacred Action. The celebration of the Mass becomes so disturbing to the person that she leaves the church in a worse emotional state than she came.
I applaud her for making the sacrifice to drive to the parish with the well-celebrated Mass. I lament the days when she isn't able to make the drive. As the Church has said so many times, we, the faithful, have the right to a well-celebrated Liturgy. We, the clergy, have the obligation to celebrate the Mass according to the norms of the Church. It is amazing how in clergy circles, one would be labeled "closed-minded" if one did not allow Life-Teen into the parish, but one is not "closed-minded" if one schedules no High Mass. Wake up and smell the incense, Fathers! The people want more. When they are educated in what the symbolism of the Liturgy is, they love all the smells-and-bells. These aren't mere trappings. They are means to involve our every sense.

Recognizing Him in the Breaking of the Bread

Today's Gospel, in the Ordinary Form, is the account of Emmaus. We ask ourselves, do we recognize Him in the Breaking of the Bread (the Mass)? It is for us to appreciate the great gift Christ has left us in the Eucharist. Obviously, our "separated brethren" have completely deprived themselves of this gift. In fact, without the Eucharist, there is no Church.
Those who are apart from the Church languish in some middle ground. They are, according to the Church, only partially initiated. They have received valid baptism (assuming valid words were actually used). They are like parts of the body of Christ that have been severed from the whole, yet hang on by a thread. I pray for them, because I cannot imagine life without the Eucharist.
It is the Eucharist that builds the Body of Christ. It is Holy Communion that causes our communion with Christ and with His Body, the Church. We need to recognize this gift for what it is. Worship of the Blessed Sacrament is one of the greatest gifts we have. Yes, I say gift -- God gave us the gift of being able to worship Him in and by means of the Blessed Sacrament.
The Jews worshiped God in the Temple, but the presence of the Shekinah was a shadow or rather foreshadowing of the Real Presence. St Thomas tells us that the Eucharist acts like a window that opens to us (makes us present to) Heaven. Not only is Christ truly present in the Eucharist, but His whole Mystical Body, especially the Church Triumphant, is present as well. When we are in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, we are made present to all of God's angels and saints, because they are with Christ, who is at the right hand of the Father.
Never forget the great gift you have received. Share this gift with others...tell them that you have seen Christ in the Breaking of the Bread.