Catholic Virtual Wars: 03 Messy Catholics

This is my third blogpost in the series, Catholic Virtual Wars.   There is also a label under the social media share buttons at the bottom (click and scroll to find them all).  In this post, we will look at the words of Pope Francis, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Francis of Assisi.

Knowledge of the faith without virtue in practice is like driving a car with square tires.

A Pope and His Marching Orders

“I want to tell you something. What is it that I expect as a consequence of World Youth Day? I want a mess. We knew that in Rio there would be great disorder, but I want trouble in the dioceses!” he said, speaking off the cuff in his native Spanish. “I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures. Because these need to get out!” 

Those were the words of Pope Francis as widely reported in the press when it happened, including the Catholic press. 

Some say the translation was more like the Holy Father wanted people to, "shake things up."   I saw others saying the words were "make some noise."   I decided to see if the Holy See offered this "off the cuff" remark in the final, online version.   That which they show for the July 25, 2013 address sufficiently captures his intent, regardless.   So, let's just set aside the translation issue for now.

Let me tell you what I hope will be the outcome of World Youth Day: I hope there will be noise. Here there will be noise, I’m quite sure. Here in Rio there will be plenty of noise, no doubt about that. But I want you to make yourselves heard in your dioceses, I want the noise to go out, I want the Church to go out onto the streets, I want us to resist everything worldly, everything static, everything comfortable, everything to do with clericalism, everything that might make us closed in on ourselves. The parishes, the schools, the institutions are made for going out ... if they don’t, they become an NGO, and the Church cannot be an NGO. May the bishops and priests forgive me if some of you create a bit of confusion afterwards. That’s my advice. Thanks for whatever you can do.

Looking at some points from his full address, which I encourage you to read in full, he then expands.  In fact, what I quote in my third bullet is probably far more important than what everyone is quoting him on from that day.

• He talks about how the world has gone beyond it's limits by making money a god and how those have led to a practice and philosophy that exclude the elderly and our youth.   He says:

As for the young, they must emerge, they must assert themselves, the young must go out to fight for values, to fight for these values; and the elderly must open their mouths, the elderly must open their mouths and teach us! Pass on to us the wisdom of the peoples!

• He tells these groups not to allow themselves to be excluded, to take the faith seriously, and not dilute it: 

We dilute fruit drinks – orange, apple, or banana juice, but please do not drink a diluted form of faith. Faith is whole and entire, not something that you water down. It is faith in Jesus. It is faith in the Son of God made man, who loved me and who died for me. So then: make yourselves heard; take care of the two ends of the population: the elderly and the young; do not allow yourselves to be excluded and do not allow the elderly to be excluded. 

• Before closing, he then gave everyone a homework assignment: The Beatitudes and Matthew 25. 

Do not “water down” your faith in Jesus Christ. The Beatitudes: What must we do, Father? Look, read the Beatitudes: that will do you good. If you want to know what you actually have to do, read Matthew Chapter 25, which is the standard by which we will be judged. With these two things you have the action plan: the Beatitudes and Matthew 25. You do not need to read anything else. I ask you this with all my heart.

Okay, how many of us have done this homework assignment?

What do the Church Fathers say about Matthew 25?  Wouldn't this be a good way to augment your understanding and wouldn't it be a good investment of your time?  I'm not going to do your  supplemental homework for you.  New Advent, a site I like to visit daily for their front page portal, is a vast resource (look in the upper, right hand corner at the tabs).  I just did a search on Matthew 25.  Scan the titles in the link and read some of what is written by the Fathers.  This is a good way to learn more about what you are reading in Scripture and a very productive use of your time.


Let's look at the Beatitudes also found in Matthew, but in chapter 5:3-10.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. 

Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. 

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 

Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.   

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.   

Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

The Mess Pope Francis Wants

So, everything that Pope Francis had to say about making a mess, or making noise, or shaking things up, seems to have to do with first shaking us up to go out of ourselves, as he so often says, and being active - active in learning, and active in applying what we learn, and active in engaging others - especially among those who may be vulnerable and isolated, or excluded.  He wants us to go out and apply the Gospel with those around us.  He wants us to put on the face of Christ and mirror his love so that others can be attracted to the pure beauty of the faith. He especially wants us to be active with the inactive. He gives us all that we need in the Beatitudes and Matthew 25 to get kick-started.  The greatest mess he wants us to create is to shake ourselves up, to get out of our narcissistic ways, which focuses on the self, and to become selfless in thinking about others.  He wants us to spend time with others serving them and sharing the faith.

The "Mess" Pope Francis Did Not Request

Looking at the full context of the address that day in which Pope Francis said to go out and create a mess, or make a noise, or shake things up, I'd like to point out what was missing:

• He never said anything that could even be loosely construed as going out and digging up scandals, or perceived scandals, and using them in the name of "defending the faith." 
• He never said anything about going out of ourselves by complaining about others, or discussing their faults, or perceived faults, especially in a public way. 
• He never said to go out and create discord and infighting, and getting others to take their eye off of Christ in order focus on their neighbor in a negative way.
• He never even  hinted that we should go out and publicly castigate bishops, even if we don't like something they do (I'll get to Aquinas in a minute, as he has something to say about this).

This kind of thing does not put beauty on the face of the Catholic faith!

What would Pope Francis say if he encountered people exploiting his message in this way?

Matthew 25 warns us to feed the hungry and to give drink to the thirsty. We neglect it at our own peril. Who gives the hungry a stone for a meal and sand for drink? The people are starving for knowledge of the faith, not for discord (unless they have formed the habit of following their lower nature). They want to wash that knowledge of the faith down with a refreshing drink,  that is the virtues - to learn how to grow in holiness. In this way, Christ will be more visible in them, ultimately attracting others to him through us.

If anyone leads you to act on the kinds of things in that list --  sowing discord rather than peace using the words of Pope Francis on July 25, 2013, then they are engaging in a perversion of those words.  I'm not sure what spirit would lead someone to do something like that, if you encounter it, but it would not be originating from the Holy Spirit. A room cannot be both light and dark at the same time.

Discern this, carefully, yourself, in prayer and Adoration: What do you want when you spend time online perusing Catholic material? To grow in the faith and virtue - or to become obsessed with everyone else?

St. Thomas Aquinas on Fraternal Correction of Superiors

On that last bullet, St. Thomas Aquinas says that a subject may, in charity, apply fraternal correction even to a superior at times.  But lets read his main response:

I answer that, A subject is not competent to administer to his prelate the correction which is an act of justice through the coercive nature of punishment: but the fraternal correction which is an act of charity is within the competency of everyone in respect of any person towards whom he is bound by charity, provided there be something in that person which requires correction.  

Now an act which proceeds from a habit or power extends to whatever is contained under the object of that power or habit: thus vision extends to all things comprised in the object of sight. Since, however, a virtuous act needs to be moderated by due circumstances, it follows that when a subject corrects his prelate, he ought to do so in a becoming manner, not with impudence and harshness, but with gentleness and respect. Hence the Apostle says (1 Timothy 5:1): "An ancient man rebuke not, but entreat him as a father." Wherefore Dionysius finds fault with the monk Demophilus (Ep. viii), for rebuking a priest with insolence, by striking and turning him out of the church.

Have you ever stumbled on sites or material which are critical of bishops? Is it done in the spirit of fraternal correction St. Thomas describes?  Or is it done in a spirit of harshness and impudence?

Inform yourself about these things before engaging in them. If you spend a lot of time at websites that are critical of bishops on a regular basis, you might want to re-examine whether you should cut that eye out lest it lead you into sin (Mt 5:29).

So, what to do about the problems we see with bishops?  St. Francis has a suggestion for you below.

Read the whole series on fraternal correction from the Summa at New Advent to balance out all those cherry-picked quotes floating around in comboxes where bishops are bashed.  For those who have not read Aquinas, he first states several possible positions, but then he states his own position. Following that, he explains the problem with each of the "objections." Once you've read several of his pages, you will get the hang of it.

Saint Francis and Respect for Clerics

Also on that last bullet it's worthy to mention, that the saint, after whom Pope Francis took his name, had a great respect for clerics.  I have some quotes from the book of Celano, Second Life from the St. Francis of Assisi Omnibus of Sources.  While it is aimed at religious brothers and how they should treat clerics, we can also learn from this wisdom.  This is authentic humlity. It's a gold standard and one we should use as a measure. 

Chapter CVII: How and why Francis wanted the brothers to be subject to the clergy 

146. But, though Francis wanted his sons to be at peace with all men(1) and to conduct themselves as little ones among all, he taught by his words and showed by his example that they were to be especially humble towards clerics.  For he used to say: "We have been sent to help the clergy(2) toward the salvation of souls so that what might be found insufficient in them might be supplied by us.  Everyone will receive his reward, not according to the authority he exercises, but according to the labor he does.  Know brothers," he said, "the fruit of souls is most pleasing to God, and it can be better obtained by peace with clerics than by disagreements with them. If they hinder the salvation of people, the revenge pertains to God and he will repay them in due time (3).  Therefore, be subject to prelates, so that, in so far as you can help it, no jealousy will spring up. If you will be sons of peace, you will win the clergy and  the people for the Lord, and the Lord judges this more acceptable than to win the people but scandalize the clergy. Hide their lapses, supply for their many defects; and when you have done this, be even more humble.  

Saint Francis created a different kind "mess" with that one.  He messed with the inner workings of the soul that wants to follow the "order" of human fallen nature. He offers a road map using the Beatitudes, speaking about peacemaking and meekness.

Don't take my word for any of this.  Take it into Adoration and ask God what He thinks.

*Perhaps, at some point, we will explore what St. Pio of Pietrelcina thought about those who would go after bishops in a public way for what they thought was a good cause.  It's called engaging in a form of consequentialism (see Veritatis Splendor 75) whereby the ends of "defending the Church" justifies - in the minds of those doing it - the means of using calumny and detraction, which they don't often realize they are doing.

Here's a picture worth sharing with a partial quote from above. Feel free to click on it, save it, upload it to social media, blogs, whatever.

*Think about that the next time someone refers to others, who don't publicly complain about others, especially about the bishops, as, "cowards."  Pay no attention to them. You risk nothing by not engaging in this behavior because others are accountable for what they say or don't say, not you.  You risk offending God through lack of virtue at best, and involving yourself in objectively grave matter at worst.  In fact, even suggesting others are cowards is a judgment of their hearts as cowardice is a motive.  It takes far more fortitude to hold one's tongue than to just say whatever you feel like.  If you don't believe me, we'll look at what Scripture and the saints have to say about that too.

Further Reading

If you really want to probe the Beatitudes more deeply, I recommend to you a book written by the president of my secular Carmelite community at Assumption Grotto: St. Teresa of Jesus and St. John of the Cross on The Beatitudes.  I did a review of the book not long ago, here. 

While I may quote from the Omnibus of Sources on St. Francis, it is basically a collection of his books and books on him - the early material.  This is great stuff, but the omnibus itself is expensive. Look for individual books if you cannot get the big collection.

Even the early rules written by the saints who founded religious orders is worth mining for gems.  Use it for meditation.  I recommend people buy books at their local Catholic book store, but if you cannot find it there, you will here.  Don't forget online Catholic merchants, as well.

If you like this post, you can find others in the Catholic Virtual War Series by clicking on the label under the social media share buttons at the bottom of this post.

Photo credit at top: CNS photo / L’Osservatore Romano

Footnotes for St. Francis Quotes from the Omnibus (footnote numbers changed):
1) Ps. 12:18
2) Francis seems to have been mindful of the decree of the Lateran Council (1215) that there be in cathedral  and other churches suitable men to assist the bishop and the clergy in caring for souls. See the Analecta Fracniscana X, p. 214, note 8.
3) Deut. 23:35

*This post has been edited for clarity, including additional text; footnotes added to the St. Francis quote from the original text.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
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Catholic Virtual Wars 02: Strident Catholics

This is my second post in an indefinite number within a series I am labeling, "Catholic Virtual Wars."  If you like this post, you might also like my first post: Catholic Virtual Wars - Time for a Cease Fire (not to be confused with a "cease discussion"). 

A priest cancels a magazine subscription

A very good priest I  know who has a broad reputation for his orthodoxy and devoutness, used a curious word some years ago in reference to a Catholic magazine that I knew to be popular in orthodox Catholic circles. He said he had dropped the subscription because they were, "strident." When I visited again some months later, curiously absent from the stack of reading material in that rectory waiting area were a few other periodicals of similar bent.  It was the first time I got a hint that dissenting material is not the only kind harmful to the soul.

Some weeks later, forgetting about that label of "strident" on that Catholic magazine, I put in for an e-subscription after seeing an article really resonate with me at the time. It was refreshing to see someone call things out as they were.  Back then, I thought it was bold and brave - heroic even.  I pulled out my credit card, paid for the subscription, then logged in.  To my astonishment, freshly posted was a scathing editorial attacking Pope Benedict XVI who hadn't been in his position 6 months.  They who had set themselves up as arbiters of all things Catholic, didn't feel he was moving fast enough on matters of importance to them.  I went into the contact page, told them I had just subscribed and that I wanted to cancel, but not before giving way to my own fallen nature and calling them a bunch of arm chair popes!  I never looked back.  Over time, I have let go of other sources I once followed for the same reason, and they never attacked the pope. They were just more noise or, better put, clanging cymbals (1 Cor 13:1).

Right after that, I had a flash back to what the good priest had said about this magazine: Strident. I realized then, that I had no idea what that word really meant, so I looked it up.  Here is the Merriam-Webster definition:

characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound strident voice>; also : commanding attention by a loud or obtrusive quality <strident slogans>

Yep.  Now I knew what the good priest was referring to, but it was one of those things that I just had to experience myself. That was just my introduction to it in the Catholic culture.

Where the strident are found

You have met strident people from all walks of life.  They often have some specific cause and when it mixes with their temperament it's like hydrogen peroxide and yeast. For those who want a science class refresher, be sure to watch the 30% mixture just for the fun.

Outside of the Catholic sphere, you can find the strident on the right and on the left. People always think it's just political and social conservatives who are strident and polemical, but I've seen many a strident political and social liberal. Anarchists are in a league of their own.

Inside the Catholic sphere, you will find the strident among every group.  I've run into strident people who were anti-Marian and very Marian; anti-Eucharistic (yes, they exist in the Catholic Church) and those who spend hours in Adoration; those who follow approved and unapproved apparitions, as well as those who critique the unapproved; people who devote hours and hours to serving the poor, sick and neglected, and those who don't lift a finger because they might miss something in the big Catholic debate online; those who like the traditional latin Mass, and those who want nothing to do with it; those who like folk music at Mass and those who like Gregorian chant; those who go to just Sunday Mass, and among those who go to daily Mass, and among cradle Catholics and converts. The strident know no age bounds so they are young and they are old.  Some are strident because they are wounded while others are strident because it just feels good. The list can go on, and on, and on.

Behavior of the strident

You know a strident person when you meet them because they aren't happy unless there is something to be unhappy about or someone to criticize.  For the strident Catholic, others aren't Catholic enough if they aren't strident too.  Usually, the meek and the humble will make a bee line for the exit when they see the strident person coming for the debate of the day.

The strident are annoyed with anyone who tries to take the high road and discuss controversy in a way that is mindful of the dignity of others. The best response is a snotty response, but they don't see it as snotty.  In fact, they will mock the non-strident as being "nice" and "sweet."  The word "charitable" takes on negative overtones.  Worse, the strident will accuse the non-strident of not understanding the issues or not caring enough because if they did, they too would use the same full-metal-jacket-approach to discussion. Or, in an act of mental gymnastics, they will flip things and accuse a non-strident person of being uncharitable merely for speaking about a topic they don't think is worthy of discussion.

Trying to reason with a strident person is like trying to reason with a tasmanian devil.  They are interested in one thing: Bite! We all make errors when analyzing something and speaking about it.  But, the strident person's specialty involves inventing dots where there are none to be found just to make the line they are drawing go in the direction they want -- proof and facts be damned. For the strident person, the urgency to speak about the thing takes precedence over thoughtful discernment, inquiry and looking for alternative explanations that would exonerate the target of their scorn.

At the root of the strident person's behavior is a desire to force their position rather try to win other people. God gives to all a free will so if he doesn't force us, we ought not try to force others. The approach the strident take to things in life comes right from the Moe Howard school of reason.

The real reason people often get banned in Catholic forums

I think soon after I learned my lesson from that magazine experience some years ago, I began to get involved in a number of Catholic forums. There were only a handful of blogs back then and forums where the place to be for discussion.   What I found rather humorous during my days at those Catholic forums is how a strident person would derail a good discussion with [wait for it] stridency, then complain because they were suspended following numerous admonitions.  When they persisted, they were banned, then complained they were kicked out for their orthodoxy.  I watched this happen to a lot of people - people with good knowledge of the faith who were just awful at putting forth a tempered response.  I could see it coming. I even sent private messages to some friends suggesting they needed to temper the way they were trying to make their point - not for fear of being banned, but for effectiveness - but they just didn't get it.

Sometimes, bishops cut off ties with people not because of their orthodoxy but because their mode of communication is so caustic that it can scatter the lambs.  There is always an element of truth in what the strident person is saying.  Even a bass can find a bug in the water.

Strident people attract other strident people 

Just like misery finds good company in the miserable, strident people are attracted to one another .  I saw early on that strident bloggers were attracting large followings of people who liked the bombastic approach to talking about the faith.  That's when I spent time in Adoration thinking about whether I wanted to breed stridency in followers or virtue and knowledge.  The stridency is just baggage.

I knew that I could never have a large following unless I attacked other people. So, I chose to forgo the traffic and keep my conscience clear, even if it meant low volume.  I really didn't want traffic if it was going to be strident traffic. It's noise - noise that can be detrimental to authentic spiritual growth.  Only concupiscence could lead people to enjoy watching stridency towards fellow Catholics the way others once enjoyed watching the gladiators kill one another. They lose sense of reason and give way to childish insults and sarcastic put downs (you really see this in the comment boxes).  Sometimes I think they take score for who has the best put downs.

I spent much time in Adoration when I began blogging wondering if stridency had a place in Catholic evangelization online. I think it was all of 5 minutes.  It was a resounding, "no" and this would later be confirmed in my discussions with several other devout and orthodox priests who are also known for their great virtue.

A strident seminarian reformed

Strident Catholics do convert to be non-strident.  It happens with grace.  For some, it's a gradual process that walks them away. For others, a light-bulb goes on.  I'll share this last story from my forum days that has always stuck with me.

A young man who was discerning a vocation was very active in one particular place with forums.  He was sharp with all that he knew about the faith, and very orthodox.  His problem was that he approached ignorance of others with stridency. Sometimes that ignorance manifests itself in a subtle way.  He had no mercy whatsoever.  I tried talking to him privately several times - nicely and throwing his own stridency right back at him.  Nothing worked.  He went off to pursue his dream in the priesthood and was sent by his diocese to one of the most orthodox seminaries known in the US.  Some months later, when he was home for Christmas or something, I found a sobering message from him in my in box.  It seems someone got through his thick skull at that seminary and, by exercising humility in listening to his spiritual director, the light bulb went on.  I was very sad for him because of the pain he was going through.  He recognized the damage he had done through his stridency.  He was beyond crushed at how he treated people. He deleted as much online content as he had, including his screen name and email which itself was strident in nature.  I told him the worse thing he can do is to dwell in it, and to turn it into something good by teaching others.   I also told him he was going to make a very fine priest - the kind we need: One who balances knowledge of the faith, with a passion for truth, and who conveys it with charity led by virtue.

Helpful Learning: The Four Temperaments

I provided this link earlier in my post, but I want to isolate it here.  It's a good idea to learn about the four temperaments.  Each of them have good and bad sides to them.  Some of us are a mixture of them with predominate traits. The point is to learn to moderate the bad parts and work on magnifying the good.  There is a version of it online at the Angelicum Homeschool Academy site.

For those who like audio, I recommend the CD on the Four Temperaments by Fr. Basil Nortz, ORC.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Catholic virtual wars 01 - Time for a Cease Fire

This kind of help, Holy Mother Church does not need

Someone hit the pause button...

Its with great sadness and disappointment that I see Catholics using social media to berate other Catholics in a recent string of discussions.  To be clear, I'm not talking about Catholics who discuss the positions of other Catholics in a calm and rational way, but Catholics who are going after others in a very personal way and sometimes  over mere splinters in the eye (of course, it seems like a log to them, but it is probably just the log in their own eye giving them this impression).

I won't point to any part of the discussion because A) I'm disgusted by what I have seen and, B) the lines of virtue, and perhaps even morality, have been crossed in some of those discussions - most especially by some com-boxers (hiding behind anonymity, of course).

Just like I see no need to name names to discuss a position, I see no need to label or identify groups or factions involved, or to analyze these things because it would only throw fuel on a raging fire. This distracts from a larger discussion on Catholic virtue in social media and new media. So, that's just another lightening rod and it always gets people in trouble.

As for the present controversy, I have seen some good points raised in certain posts and some thoughtful comments, as well.  I wanted to link to them, but those discussions give names and that is what I am trying to avoid.  Naming names rather than discussing positions in general can be a lightening rod.  This means, it goes from personal, to very personal.

I began blogging in 2006 after about a year of involvement in several Catholic forums and I don't recall seeing back then the kind of division, and even factionalism, I see today. It's troubling. In fact, criticizing other Catholics online has become a sport for some individuals and their followers, charity and virtue be damned.


Some think they have a license to defend the Church in ways that are lacking in charity and virtue because they have been hurt and are angry.  In fact, the very word "charity" drives them nuts and in the process of mocking false charity, the baby gets thrown out with the bath water.  This kind of behavior isn't done for love of others; it's done to scratch an unbearable itch called, "venting."  Venting is not a virtue. In fact, everything we read from the saints tells us venting (or complaining) is faulty.  Any confessor worth his salt, if you confess stewing in the sins and faults of others, will tell you to knock it off and go spend the time on something more productive.  The spiritual dangers the pharisees were in come to mind.


It would be good if we could all get back to talking about positions rather than people and groups. I can understand why some would want to respond directly once another shoots from the hip in an apparent trip down rash-judgment-lane in a public way.   In fact, part of the problem is Catholics policing of other Catholics - dangerous for the policed who may feel a need to respond (and in an intemperate way if they are not careful), dangerous for friends of the policed (who may derail a good defense with an inflammatory expression or two), and those doing the policing for obvious reasons (who seem not to realize they are giving evidence of judging the motives or hearts of their targets).

At times the world of Catholic social media - especially where anonymity reigns, such as in comment boxes, resembles a virtual Catholic gang war where mouth and keyboard serve as powerful weapons used to hurt others in rival faction(s). What is getting lost in all of this is that every one of us are on display for the world to see.  Someone else is watching too, and He misses nothing. All motives, whether we recognize them yet in ourselves or not, do not escape God's notice.

Concupiscence - Human Fallen Nature and Gravitation to Critics

We who engage in any kind of media or new media, be it simply sharing things on Facebook or running a blog to making audio and video for TV, radio, or internet, need to do a collective examination of conscience.  If a member of the online Catholic community persists in spending an inordinate amount of time focused on what they believe are the faults of  other Catholics, then we need to recall the free will given to all by God and leave it in his hands. We could do a Holy Hour for the person instead of trying to reason with the unreasonable.

This is also true regarding those who use their free will to feed at watering holes which get more hits for their criticism of bishops and other Catholics than it does for anything catechetical or instructive they may offer.  Concupiscence will lead people into talking about the faults of others, and it will lead people to follow others who talk about it, then talk about it themselves.  Truly, that kind of "evangelization" the Church does not need. While we can count the number of people commiserating with such critics; we cannot count the number of people who were turned away from the faith by the caustic behavior they witnessed.  Followers need to reflect on whether they are really growing spiritually through such things, or are they satisfying their itching ears to hear things they probably have no need to hear, but for the sheer pleasure of hearing the thing. If it doesn't move you to love others, including those with whom you disagree, you probably don't need to hear it.  Pope Benedict XVI disagreed with others, but was always mindful of their dignity.

People who are learning the painful realities about why we have lost so many Catholics the last 50 years become outraged and don't understand why everyone else around them is not outraged.  But this presumes that disquiet and visible anger are some kind of "virtues." That's something you may experience when you first learn about something disturbing - and that's okay for a brief period. But, if you are experiencing this on a daily basis, you need to get off the web and go read the Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila or the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales. First, see a good confessor and tell him how much time you were spending on line and what you were watching and viewing that left you in such state of anger, outrage and disquiet.  You might want to ask how you know when you've crossed the line from anger into hatred to get enlightened.  If the words from a fellow Catholic is causing hatred to stir in you, then cut off that relationship (Mt 5:29,30).  Find sources that will  help you to not just grow in your knowledge about the faith, but in virtue, as well.

I've been through my outrage and disquiet phase years ago.  Every day there was some scandal being discussed in Catholic circles that got me all bent out of shape.  I can tell you from experience, there is nothing virtuous about remaining there and feeding on sources that fuel it.  It doesn't mean you give up discussing the problems, but outrage has to give way to prayer, trust in God, and learning how to win others over in a way that is most likely for them to use their God-given free will in a God-pleasing way.  If you put your time in to reading Sacred Scripture, the CCC, Church Documents, the Church Fathers, the Doctors, and other saints; and serious time in Adoration and prayer, you will find that disquiet and anger abating.  You will also find the kind of tools needed for evangelizing others - something hindered when you are in a chronic state of disquiet and anger. We need to purify our work online and mirror the love of Christ.  That's grace and when we make room for that by pushing out the anger and outrage, it has room to work.  I find this quality in some of the greatest pro-life workers like Msgr. Philip Reilly who founded the Helpers of God's Precious Infants.  You can't be effective unless you reach a point where love for the sinner is greater than the anger you may have for the sins they commit.  We don't win others for Christ; Jesus wins them through us if we give grace a place in our hearts, but it cannot co-exist with chronic outrage, disquiet, and anger turned into hatred.

The apparent addiction of some faithful to online Catholic equivalents to scandal  or gossip rags can only be tempered by learning about virtues and making an effort to practice them.  Learning about virtues, seeing them in practice in the saints, offsets the effects of human fallen nature, or concupiscence.  In fact, every effort to evangelize others must include this or things get out of whack.  That's what I believe we are witnessing with all this infighting between Catholics online. There is a rapid growth of understanding the Church, and what it teaches, but a lack of understanding in what really made saints - white martyrdom brought on by practicing virtues.

Once, when a very holy priest I knew at Grotto some years ago, who was serving as spiritual adviser to me as I worked through an article I was writing for Homiletic and Pastoral Review called, "Unconditional Worship in the God-Centered Mass" (April 2006), taught me an important lesson without saying a word.  In my draft were some expressions about the kinds of Masses I had been to and I got "snarky" about some of those experiences trying to be "cute."  Father, who has a doctorate in theology and in philosophy, shook his head in disapproval without looking up, then scratched out that text.  Seeing apparent disappointment on the face of that virtuous priest was pretty effective.  The pursuit of white martyrdom will often mean depriving ourselves of saying what we really feel like saying.  It's easier to let the words fly, especially if we think others will be entertained by them (or if we think they will bring more traffic).  As it turns out, my article was better without those things.  He kept me on the high road while teaching me a humbling lesson I have never forgotten. It was instrumental in giving up that bad practice in this blog (not that I don't slip now and then).

There are certainly problems caused by members in the Church who fall to the effects of their own concupiscence.  Anyone leading you to believe this is something new and exclusive to their point of view is looking for higher traffic and all that comes with it.  Go read the Fathers of the Church.  Go read the Omnibus of Sources on St. Francis of Assisi.  See what scandals they dealt with in their day.  They were with us since the Fall and will remain with us until the Second Coming.

How does Scripture tell us to deal with these things?  Here is the first part of Psalm 37 (Catholic RSV).

Fret not yourself because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday. Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

A word about defending the faith 

The sword is a symbol for defending the Church.  St. Michael the Archangel is often depicted as a warrior holding it for his defeat of the dragon (Apoc. Ch. 12)  In our quest to slay evil in our lives, we have to take care not to slay others or cut off their ears lest we perish by the sword of our own mouth or hand (Lk 22:50-51).

Something worth pondering are some words from St. Gregory Nazianzem (Oration 33)

Was He betrayed with a kiss? He reproves with a kiss, but smites not. Is he suddenly arrested? He reproaches indeed, but follows; and if through zeal you cut off the ear of Malchus with the sword, He will be angry, and will restore it. And if one flee in a linen sheet, Mark 14:51 he will defend him. And if you ask for the fire of Sodom upon his captors, he will not pour it forth; and if he take a thief hanging upon the cross for his crime he will bring him into Paradise through His Goodness. Let all the acts of one that loves men be loving, as were all the sufferings of Christ, to which we could add nothing greater than, when God even died for us, to refuse on our part to forgive even the smallest wrongs of our fellowmen.

Jesus did not want to be defended that way in Gethsemane and He doesn't want to be defended that way today or in any age.

Don't dwell in anger and pain; move past it by giving it to God.  

So many Catholics are wounded and hurt over things members in the Church have done over the past 50 years from the destruction of churches and loss of reverence in liturgy - falsely in the name of Vatican II - to the priest sex abuse scandal and cover-up.  Righteous anger is a topic I plan to get into, but it is deep and one that should be studied through the lens of Scripture in all it's fullness, and through the eyes of the Church Fathers and Doctors.  People will point to Christ turning over tables in the temple and it is not that simple as I will prove when I get time to share what I have found.

Don't take it out on other Catholics or even other Christians.  I see painful things said about Protestants, and even those who have become Catholic. Those of you who vent about Protestants-turned-Catholic who earn a living running a Catholic apostolate grieve me by what is said sometimes.  Here again, if you disagree with something someone says, talk about their position, and try contacting them to see if you can get a dialogue going. But, leave the boat anchor in the bay. People should be mindful of the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16).  This does not put an inviting face on our faith.

It's easy to lob condescending remarks about those who don't have the full Catholic understanding - be they Catholic or not; it takes work and virtue to learn how to engage people in thoughtful discussion; and, it takes fortitude and wisdom to know when to remain silent lest more harm than good be done.  Scripture tells us to bear with the others whose faith is weak (Romans 15:1).  That weakness can manifest itself in a question someone asks, but I think it most often manifests itself with attitudes and behavior that are not in harmony with the teachings of the Church.  You have to give people room to be human and let God do the judging (we can and should judge actions for what they are - i.e., we can judge a theft is happening when we see it - but motives and hearts can only be judged by God*).  When these people - others showing apparent weaknesses or faults - become the butt of jokes online, for all to see, how does that square with what St. Paul is teaching?  Don't waste your God-given talents this way.

When you respect the fact that God gave to all a free will, you then understand the need to use reason and to be a good witness in every respect.  Mocking, having fun at the expense of others weakness' in faith, or their sinfulness (grave or venial), "scoring points" on the best put downs or expressions that will get the highest traffic  - none of these things are God-pleasing. In fact, it's corrosive to authentic evangelization.  Think of someone you really love who has strayed from the faith and picture them witnessing some of the "edgy," and "in your face" stuff going around in Catholic circles online, complete with sophomoric name-calling and labels. This is the stuff of gutters, not the high road Catholics should be taking to be good witnesses.  Just because the latest fad in reporting involves this kind of behavior does not mean it has a place in Catholic media or social media used by Catholics.  A popular approach to writing, speaking, or reporting in any given age does not mean it's the virtuous approach.

A caution about subtle forms of vengeance

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21)

Some get satisfaction when another is called out in a very public way . This can be, for some, a subtle form of interior vengeance, in my humble opinion.  Imagine all of those men waiting to throw stones at Mary Magdalene and how their own self-righteous anger brought them a fleeting satisfaction. One could imagine them laughing at her as they were about to move in for the kill until Jesus stepped in and humbled them all. ** In addition, there is no regard for whether every element of the thing called out is true, and just as importantly - whether any attempt was made to get validation from appropriate sources, including the targeted person.

Before we accept  and run with a public criticism of another we should stop and ask ourselves whether the critic made any attempt to have a rational discussion over his concern with the parties in question, or did he just repeat something to a broader audience found elsewhere.   A truly virtuous person, who has a concern over something someone else has done, will look first for alternative explanations, rather than attribute, even if only in his heart, immoral, unethical, or simply un-virtuous motives.  Fr. John A. Hardon says imprudence is usually involved in rash judgment.  It helps to know his definition of imprudence.  I've used underling for added emphasis.

Sins against prudence that are either by defect or by excess. Sins by defect against prudence are: rashness, which acts before due consideration has been given; thoughtlessness, which neglects to take the necessary circumstances into account; and negligence, which does not give the mind sufficient time for mature deliberation.

Everyone should reflect on that before typing another key or producing any other media.  Please pray for me, as I pray for all of you.

NOTE: The Catholic Virtual War Series continues with many more posts made.  Click that label link, then scroll to see the many titles.

Updates and notes:

*Added for clarification.
** Added to help make the point
- Quote in St. Francis picture changed since it does not appear in his writings. 

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Friday Night Traditional Latin Mass at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Detroit

Tomorrow night, Friday, at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, the Most Reverend Donald Hanchon, auxiliary bishop of Detroit, will celebrate Mass using the 1962 Missal for Juventutem Michigan.  The Mass is open to all, but those 35 and under may want to join this great group of young people for the social afterwards.  Juventutem is an apostolate for young people who are devoted to the traditional Latin Mass.  It may be the first time since the 1960's that the usus antiquior is celebrated the Detroit cathedral.  Here is the updated announcement from Juventutem:

The young adults of Juventutem Michigan are happy to announce that Bp. Donald Hanchon will celebrate a Traditional Latin Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament on Friday night, August 30, 2013, the Feast of St. Rose of Lima*, at 7:00 p.m. The Mass will be celebrated by a young priest of the Archdiocese and will be musically assisted by a choir under the direction of Joseph Balistreri, the Diocesan Director of Music. Anyone may attend the Cathedral Mass.

Archbishop Allen Vigneron and Msgr. Mike LeFevre blessed the organizing of this Mass.

7:00 p.m. Mass will be preceded by a 6:30 Rosary, at which members will pray for an increased acceptance of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. After Mass, clerics and young adults (18-35 years old), singles and families, will gather for dinner, fine conversation, in the cathedral dining hall.

The Mass is, of course, open to all ages and it is hoped that many of all ages will come.

The name "Juventutem" itself is the Latin word for "youth" and it appears in the opening prayers of the Traditional Latin Mass.

*In the calendar of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, St. Rose of Lima is celebrated on August 30th. In the calendar of the Ordinary Form, she is celebrated on August 23rd.

See more information at the Juventutem Michigan home page and Facebook page.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
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- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Boom! Nashville Dominicans expanding ... to Scotland!

A sign of a vocationally fertile religious community is that it grows and branches out.   The "Nashville Dominicans" are definitely a fertile community.  Our own Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, have their origins with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia in Nashville.  Mother Assumpta Long, OP came from there with 3 others and established blossoming community here in Michigan about 16 years ago, and is now well over 100 in number.

The Nashville Dominicans admitted a whopping 28 women on August 15, 2013. They are bursting at the seams and stretching their wings as a community.  From Catholic Culture, we learn today that they are sending some sisters to Scotland:

Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen has welcomed the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, popularly known as the Nashville Dominicans, to his diocese. 

The congregation’s charism includes devotion to Mass and the Blessed Sacrament, the choral recitation of the Divine Office and Rosary, the wearing of the habit, and reverence for the Magisterium, according to its website. 

“I’m old enough to remember Westerns,” Bishop Gilbert preached. “And here we are, wagons drawn close, feeling our last days have come and our scalps about to be removed, when – lo and behold – the US 7th Cavalry appears over the hill. Here they are, armed not with carbines but rosaries. And we can breathe again.”

LOL - Read the rest at Catholic Culture and check out the links at the bottom of their news story.

I've had a theory that if God were truly building a new springtime in the Church it would have to include turbo-charged Dominicans because they filled our schools as teachers back in the day.  I also believe God would put fuel in the engine with an increase on religious in contemplative communities. They are the power train and any bishop worth his salt knows of the great need to have both active, and contemplative, religious in his diocese.

In any case, the communities who have embraced the traditional model of religious life, are the ones to which young people are drawn.  The average age in many of these newer, traditional communities is the late 20's and they are having no problems with vocations.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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St. Augustine: Late have I loved You, O Beauty, ever ancient...

In the new calendar, yesterday was the feast of St. Monica - the mother of St. Augustine; today, his feast day.  This is the second reading, taken from the Confessions of St. Augustine, a book I heartily encourage reading. It's a short book, and one not always easy to understand in the absence of historical context, but something well worth mining for gems like the one below.

Urged to reflect upon myself, I entered under your guidance into the inmost depth of my soul. I was able to do so because you were my helper. On entering into myself I saw, as it were with the eye of the soul, what was beyond the eye of the soul, beyond my spirit: your immutable light. It was not the ordinary light perceptible to all flesh, nor was it merely something of greater magnitude but still essentially akin, shining more clearly and diffusing itself everywhere by its intensity. No, it was something entirely distinct, something altogether different from all these things; and it did not rest above my mind as oil on the surface of water, nor was it above me as heaven is above the earth. This light was above me because it had made me; I was below it because I was created by it. He who has come to know the truth knows this light. 

O Eternal truth, true love and beloved eternity. You are my God. To you do I sigh day and night. When I first came to know you, you drew me to yourself so that I might see that there were things for me to see, but that I myself was not yet ready to see them. Meanwhile you overcame the weakness of my vision, sending forth most strongly the beams of your light, and I trembled at once with love and dread. I learned that I was in a region unlike yours and far distant from you, and I thought I heard your voice from on high: “I am the food of grown men; grow then, and you will feed on me. Nor will you change me into yourself like bodily food, but you will be changed into me.” I sought a way to gain the strength which I needed to enjoy you. But I did not find it until I embraced the mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who is above all, God blessed for ever. He was calling me and saying: I am the way of truth, I am the life. He was offering the food which I lacked the strength to take, the food he had mingled with our flesh. For the Word became flesh, that your wisdom, by which you created all things, might provide milk for us children. 

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Fr. Mitch Pacwa discusses Vocations Placement website with Natalie Smith

I don't always get to watch EWTN Live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa, but he is among my favorites.  He always has interesting guests on his Wednesday evening show at 8:00 PM ET.  The shows are archived and if you have a YouTube account, you can subscribe and watch most of the prime time programs, and then some, online after they air.  This 1 hour segment aired two days ago.

In this show, Fr. Mitch interviews Natalie Smith about her website, VocationsPlacement.org.  This is the first I've seen of it and it looks like an interesting site, but I only clicked around in the minute or so that I had. I'll go back there at some point and look some more.   It's best to watch the interview.

One thing I liked was how Natalie Smith emphasizes that marriage is a vocation and young people need help discerning the full package.  I understand what she is saying.  People will sometimes pursue a religious vocation when they are really called to marriage, and vice versa. And, marriage is a vocation. Fr. Mitch makes sure, near the end, that people understand it's not a sin to not follow a presumed call.

When listening to this discussion consider that there are two kinds of parishes in which young people reside: A) Vocationally Fertile and B) Vocationally Sterile (don't confuse this with fertile as in families upholding Humanae Vitae, though this is an important factor).  In a vocationally fertile parish you see someone heading off to seminary or religious community almost yearly. This is visible to young people who then have the greatest "advertisement" right in front of them, causing them to reflect and ponder whether they too are called.   In a vocationally sterile parish, you can look back decades and not find a single vocation - one that followed through and stayed.  This also means there are no examples to follow - at least ones that are close in age.  In a vocationally fertile parish, it's obvious that the parish environment is friendly to the actions of the Holy Spirit.  I don't believe God has called so few men and women to the priesthood and consecrated life in these decades of decline; people just haven't been able to hear the call from God over all the noise in the culture and even in their parishes.  The key is to remove the "noise." This whole issue is the subject of more posts as I have many thoughts on what makes a parish vocationally fertile and vocationally sterile.  I need to get more wonky than I have here to detail it out, but this is not the post for that.

I mention this issue because as I listened to this episode, I thought the website was a great concept in general (without having looked it over fully yet). It might be most helpful to the discerning soul who comes from a vocationally sterile parish (or diocese - and yes, some dioceses have a higher vocational fertility rate just as parishes do!). At the same time, a site like this might help someone in a vocationally fertile parish who may not be called to the same charism that others before him or her were.  Communities have been blossoming for the past 15 years and they are varied.  Men wanting a diocesan vocation, as was pointed out in the interview, must go to their own diocese, with few exceptions.  I suppose one could move to another diocese for a while then apply, but there is no guarantee that a bishop with the same qualities and personality of a current bishop will replace him when he retires or gets moved. So, sometimes that works out, and some times it does not.

I'm aware of another great discernment tool out there and will talk about this in another post.

Without further delay, here is the video.

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Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

A few quick reads on the Queenship of Mary (new calendar)

Today in the new calendar it is the Queenship of Mary (celebrated on May 31st in the Old Calendar). Today in the 1962 Missal is the Immaculate Heart of Mary or St. Timothy and Companions are celebrated.

My work grind continues, as does my need to catch up at home.  But I would like to pass along a few items of interest...

Fr. Barron has a pretty good explanation of the Queenship of Mary.  It's not a sentimental feast day and it's not just for grandma. Fr. Barron gets deep into Scripture...

Robert Pentin discusses some interesting quotes in the press by our beloved Pope Emeritus in "Report: Pope Benedict XVI's resignation followed 'mystical experience.'"


St. Dominic Savio is one of my favorite saints.  The teenage saint died at 14 and was known for the expression, "Death before sin." I really enjoyed the book of his life by St. John Bosco.  So, when I saw the headline at New Advent, "St. Dominic Savio, the boy who insisted on growing up" I clicked the link and landed at Dawn Eden's blog.  It's not always easy to find that book, but I got it on Kindle.

Fellow parishioner and "9:30 Grotto TLM'er," Kevin Tierney, has had some interesting posts on the condescending expression, "RadTrad."  He says it's time to put away these kinds of labels.   There are two posts at his blog, Common Sense Catholicism, to which I would like to draw your attention

• Pete Vere to Catholic Commentators: Stop using "Radical Traditionalist" and "Rad Trad"
• If not Rad Trad, then what are we?

*Painting at top: Fra Angelico's  Coronation of the Virgin
1439-1443  Cell 9, Convent of San Marco, Florence

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Status update on August 15 Photos...

Taken on August 15, 2007 at Assumption Grotto during the candlelight procession following Mass in the grotto.

So, that pic above is not from 2013, but from 2007, but if you were there, you know this is what it is like.  At one point, Fr. Perrone and the priests had returned (they were in the lead), and for a good 10 minutes after, you could still see a line of candles lighting the parking lot, in motion to the tune of Immaculate Mary.

Our feast of the Assumption is now behind us, as are many photos for me to go through and post.  For the first time since I began spending August 15th literally all day at Assumption Grotto back in 2005, I did not get there until 4:00.  As I mentioned previously, my hours have gone up as some tight deadlines are storming through with a high volume of work, so I've been on overtime.  I usually turn it down because it is easy to become lukewarm in the faith when you don't have free time for things like spiritual reading and basic prayer.
As a secular Carmelite, there are obligations I must fulfill daily, so that is where free-time goes first.  Anything left goes to basic things like doing laundry, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, and doing bills.  After that, there might be time to scan a few headlines.  For me, this is a short term thing - the long work  hours, but one that will likely last a few more weeks before I can trim back some and get back to my normal mode.   At this time, I am not sure when I will get to process the Assumption Day photos, so we may be re-visiting the feast day at some point in the early fall.  That may not be all bad because October is Mary's month.

I am "kind of" making into Facebook and  Twitter, but I can see I've been missing a lot.

I regret not having my tripod with me this year.  I wanted to try to improve on the photos I took in 2007 with respect to the night shots. Perhaps next year, Deo volente!

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For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Coming August 15: Assumption Day at Assumption Grotto! See Schedule

Assumption Grotto in Detroit doesn't use it's feast day as a day for a carnival.  One thing I've learned about the parish since joining in 2005 is that it's a back to basics kind of parish where devotion and the spiritual life take center stage (scroll through here for photos of Assumption Day from prior years).  The Grotto out back was built in the late 1800's by the first resident pastor after he visited the grotto in Lourdes, France.  He wanted those who could not travel to have a beautiful place to honor the Mother of God.  I'm glad the parish has kept it's devotional roots and not yielded to elephant ears, games and rides on it's feast day.  Some think we don't know how to have fun.  They just haven't seen us after Mass at our regular Sunday BBQ in the gym vestibule, our many ice cream socials, pancake breakfasts, Annual Fat Tuesday Cotillion, coffee houses, opera nights, and other such things that happen with much more frequency than I've seen at any other parish.

This year, I will be trying to balance this great feast day with an increased workload at work and a tight deadline.  I will make it there at some point, and I plan on taking pictures.  But form me, it is most important that I take the day to honor Mary.

Keep an eye on the Assumption Grotto homepage and if you have questions, it is probably best to direct them to the rectory.  Also, the schedule is available here, in the latest issue of the Lourdes Legacy.

The bottom line on Masses is that the 6:30 AM, 9:30 AM and Noon Masses will all be in the ordinary form (the new Missal).  I understand the 9:30 and Noon will be Latin Novus Ordo.

The 7:00 PM Mass will be in the Extraordinary Form (1962 Missal).  Fr. Perrone will be celebrating and I believe it will be a Solemn High Mass (with deacon and subdeacon).  The schedule and other text uses the expression "Fr. Perrone and Concelebrants."  Every year I get questions about this, but I can assure you it is a copy-paste issue with the text - a throwback to when we had the Latin Novus Ordo in the evening.  There should be booklets, but bring a Missal if you have one.  Or, you can print out this page which, at least, has the propers: http://missale.heliohost.org/aug15.html.  The choir sings at this Mass, usually with a small brass ensemble.

Weather permitting, the evening Mass will be down by the Grotto.  Weather forecasters are showing a beautiful day for Thursday - in the upper 70's for a high, low humidity, and sunshine on the day of, and the days before and after.  We will continue to hope that the Blessed Virgin Mary grant us a beautiful feast day. It might be wise to bring a jacket if you are planning on staying for the evening candlelight procession following the last Mass.

Parking could be an issue depending on the time of day you come.  There is a shuttle service from another parish and I would encourage you to take this option as parking is... well... interesting with so many people coming.  If you come middle of the day for spaghetti and stick around, it may be easier, but by 5:00 and later it begins to get difficult again.

If you come to Assumption Grotto plan on enjoying a spaghetti dinner, or visiting the gift shop with many books, movies, and general Catholic merchandise. There are many booths also allowing you to enroll your loved ones in Masses. A beautiful feature is the lighting of candles down by the Grotto.

A word about the Anointing of the Sick.  I would like to point some things out so there are no misunderstandings about what is happening at Assumption Grotto.  Some have abused the provision in the CCC permitting the Anointing in groups.  Before I came to Grotto, I was at parishes where Anointing happened after Mass to anyone who requested it.  There was no instruction or catechesis given so just about everyone had it, including me.  The priest would go up and down the aisles.  Later, I would learn this is not what the Church had in mind when permitting it to happen in a group setting.

Not just anyone may approach for this Sacrament.  The priests remind people who is eligible and who is not. People are reminded that if they seek the Sacrament of Anointing they must be free of mortal sin. Confession is available at 11:00, which is before the 3 PM Anointing; and later around 4 PM).  What I can tell you is that many people who are suffering life-threatening illnesses, cancers, or the infirmities of old age, come for the Noon Mass and stay for the Anointing.  Proof that this is not a free-for-all, is in the wheel chairs that are lined up outside the gates, and used by very sick people coming to the Shrine on this feast day.  I have seen people who appear otherwise healthy seek the Sacrament and the priest will ask some questions, and sometimes they tell them they cannot Anoint them.  EWTN has a very good page explaining the conditions for receiving the Sacrament of Anointing and who is eligible.  I also recommend you read the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Sacrament of the Sick. 

Some years ago I made a slideshow video showing the Anointing followed by Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament.  You will see the wheel chairs lined up in the beginning.

Below is Fr. Perrone's column from the Grotto News this week:

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Assumption Day 2013 is awaited with great anticipation. The feast day is so much part of the parish fabric that we can tend to forget that its purpose is not for our own benefit but for the greater honoring of the Mother of God. The Church’s textbook description of the doctrine reads that the Assumption celebrates the taking up of Mary “body and soul into the glory of heaven.”

Every saint who at the time of death is fit to enter heaven immediately without the need for purgatorial purification, is admitted in his soul, fully aware of himself and where he is and full of joy. But there’s a component of his humanity which is now missing in heaven–the body. The Virgin Mary is an exception to this rule. She reigns in heaven as its Queen in both body and soul. (Archeological excavations therefore will never discover her body in the earth; it’s simply not there but in heaven and in a state of glory like that of Christ’s risen body.)

We have to await the last day of this earth for our bodies to arise and enter heaven. Bodily death (and its exclusion from glorification) is the deserved punishment of the human race for its rebellion against God through Adam’s sin. Ever since original sin there is a residual interior conflict in every human being (Mary excepted) by which we tend to do what we know we shouldn’t. Hardly an ideal state of affairs. Every man notes the presence within himself of this wayward tendency; it needs no proof beyond his own experience. This interior war will come to an end once the body dies and a man’s spirit will go to its place according to how he died: to eternal heaven (for those who died already perfected); or temporarily to purgatory (for those in need of remitting the debt incurred by one’s sins); or to unending hell (for those who died in mortal sin).

Does the inner conflict of body verses soul mean that the soul is the good part of human nature and the body the evil? No. Both body and soul were damaged by original sin. Human nature itself (that is, body and soul united) remains good, though somewhat impaired. Only mortal sin can so corrupt one’s nature as to merit eternal loss. 

Many have erred, thinking the human body evil and the spirit (soul) good. This is a form of dualism that must be rejected. What God made is essentially good, that is, in its nature. It’s understandable, in a way, how some have made the error of thinking the body as evil because so many sins are committed in the body. The New Testament employs two different terms to make a distinction: body and flesh. This is not just a matter of semantics. It is the flesh, the evil-tending aspect of the body, that can make trouble for the soul.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, body and soul, can be grist for a good meditation on our human condition. We may consider that the resistance needed to arrest the rebellion of the flesh against reason will merit us a huge reward in the next life–well worth the fight. It may also lead us to invoke the help of Holy Mary in our struggles because She, though never having experienced them Herself, is not unmindful of our difficulties. Again, looking up to Mary in heaven we may be more thoughtful in treating the human body–ours and others’–with due respect, modesty and restraint, rather than with harmful indulgence. One day we will recover those same bodies and, for those heaven-bound, they will be the cause of great rejoicing.

Degradation of human body is an especially grave contemporary problem. Not only do we have the usual sins of the flesh (impurity, illicit drug usage, over-eating, etc.), but also the massive scale aborting of infants, euthanasia of the aged and those otherwise deemed unfit, embryonic experimentation of an objectionable kind and enforced population control

The Virgin Mary is incomprehensible apart from the Incarnation of Christ, that is, without the truth of God having become man in Christ through Her. She helps us realize the nobility of the human body and its destiny as recipients of that eternal beatitude won for us by Her Son’s redemption. We ought then to assert the Assumption of Mary with particular pride as a motivation to make a proper and even holy use of the gift of the human body.

I look forward to seeing all of you here on Thursday to celebrate Her whom the Church appropriately calls “our nature’s solitary boast.”

Fr. Perrone

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Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Blog Update

To my many blog followers:

There's good news and bad news. 

The good news is that I am working extra hours because my industry has recovered well from the recession of a few years ago.

The bad news is that I have less time for blogging as I use what little time I have home for ordinary things like laundry and housework in between my Carmelite obligations.

I haven't even been as active in Facebook and Twitter, nor have I been doing my usual reading rounds.

Facebook and Twitter make it easy to continue to share things with the click of a button when I do read something.  You can find my accounts up in the right hand corner.  Anything that I would make public on my blog, I share with a public setting in Facebook. Therefore, you can simply subscribe to catch those kinds of posts there.

I have a number of serious spiritual writing projects on deck and can't wait to get to them.  But, I have had to set them aside for now.  Perhaps God is intending for me to continue pondering and praying on those subjects so I can offer a more complete set of thoughts.

Assumption Day is coming on August 15th.  I'll get details out on devotions and Masses that day in my next post, perhaps later today.

I continue to recommend you check daily, New Advent's home page which offers a really good variety of Catholic content, as well as places like Catholic Culture for it's excellent news briefs (they always provide links to additional and original sources), Life News, and especially the Vatican News Service.

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For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.