A Treasure To Be Shared

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If the coronavirus has done one thing for which decorum-minded Catholics have been praying or at least have been eager to welcome for some time, it has been to inhibit congregants from holding hands during the Lord's Prayer , or shaking hands during the The Peace . Typically, such liturgical awkwardness is restricted to the Ordinary Form of the Mass, along with the more serious blunder of allowing non-instituted lay people to distribute Holy Communion as if the consecrated hosts are mere airplane snacks. Traditionally (to use the word loosely...) Catholics embrace or shake hands during the so-called “exchange of peace” while repeating the greeting “peace be with you.” But the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta is one of many that have told parishes to discourage physical contact during the ritual, which is designed to remind worshippers they are members of a community. Some dioceses want the “peace” ceremony eliminated all together until the coronavirus outbreak abates. https:/...

Between the Fine Flaring Gin Palace and the Low Dirty Beer Shop, the Boy Thief Squanders and Gambles Away His Ill-Gotten Gains . — George Cruikshank. 1848. Second illustration in The Drunkard's Children . Yours truly, after typing zealously in the combox window at the Reverend Hunwicke's blog, thought it better to wax on at length here rather than clutter up Father's site. What is to be done about "The Council"? To the Reverend Father, I would like to suggest that in order for the Church to move on from any addiction to a Council or, more accurately, move on from addictions to intentional misappropriations of a Council, the "Media Council" spoken of by Pope Benedict XVI, the Church or a significant portion thereof must first hit rock bottom. There is far too much "drinking" still going on to suggest the Church is ready for a major overhaul of the overhaul. So many folk do not know better or do not want to know and do better, or are comfortable ...

Hagia Sophia | Catholic Register Word has officially broke in several places that Hagia Sophia will be opened as a mosque. The grand church was converted to a mosque by Mehmed the Conqueror in 1453. It's art was subsequently defaced. In 1934 it was designated a museum by the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk. Up until President Erdoğan's announcement, it's status was that of a Unesco World Heritage site. The mosaics that remain will be covered during muslim prayers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, she said, cited Turkey’s Islamic history in his speech on Hagia Sophia to announce its destiny and its “natural right” as “the leader of Muslims worldwide.” On July 2, a Turkish court ruled that the 1934 conversion of Hagia Sophia from a mosque to a museum was unlawful. The decision was announced July 10, and then Erdogan announced that Hagia Sophia would be converted back into a mosque. https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/experts-warn-hagia-sophia-as-mosque-has-gl...

A tablet from the Urra=hubullu, possibly the oldest dictionary. Wiktionary  has this: Middle English Adjective woke (plural and weak singular woke , comparative wakker , superlative wakkest ) Weak or feeble ; lacking, strength, might, or energy: Weak or feeble due to illness, affliction or aging. Lacking competency in combat or on the battlefield. Helpless; lacking, power, authority, or control. (rare) Fruitless, barren; agriculturally useless or unusable. Lacking mental strength , force, power or endurance: Weak religiously; in danger of sinning or moral failure. (rare) Fearing, afraid; lacking bravery, heart, or courage. (rare) Unintelligent; lacking intelligence or mental willpower. (rare) Indecisive, flightly; unable to commit or take action. (rare) Morally suspect or corrupt; selfish. Unimportant, valueless; of little value or import. (rare) Bendable; able to be plied or flexed. Calling out the Churls Bari Weiss quit the New Woke Times:  https://www.bariweiss.com/resignat...

1549 Book of Common Prayer Then shall the Prieste firste receive the Communion in both kindes himselfe, and next deliver it to other Ministers, if any be there present, (that they may bee ready to helpe the chiefe Minister,) and after to the people. And when he delivereth the Sacramente of the body of Christe, he shall say to every one these woordes. The body of our Lorde Jesus Christe whiche was geven for thee, preserve thy bodye and soule unto everlasting lyfe. And the Minister delivering the Sacrament of the bloud, and geving every one to drinke once and no more, shall say, The bloud of our Lorde Jesus Christe which was shed for thee, preserve thy bodye and soule unto everlastyng lyfe. = = = The words of administration in the 1549 rite were deliberately ambiguous; they could be understood as identifying the bread with the Body of Christ (i.e., the unchanging Catholic teaching) or (following Cranmer's theology) as a prayer that the communicant might spiritually receive the body o...

It seems rather obvious to state that we human beings are a species at a crossroads. An informed Catholic, that is, a practicing Catholic who is attentive to and honours magisterial teaching, the teaching of Jesus Christ, is very aware of the trajectory of human history. Human history is salvation history, a life and death drama playing itself out in the microcosmic recesses of human souls and in the macro-arena of everything "out there", i.e., nations, the world and - why stop at the planetary level - the wider cosmos. The Church provides a multitude of navigational aids to enable travelers to avoid the dangerous shoals of relativism and its diabolical offspring so that those seeking safe harbour may find hope here and now and joy everlasting in the next life. CCC 50 By natural reason man can know God with certainty, on the basis of his works. But there is another order of knowledge, which man cannot possibly arrive at by his own powers: the order of divine Revelation. Throu...

One writer calls it Presentism. Another, "an indiscriminate rejection of the past". "Presentism” is the practice of applying 2020 cultural expectations and values to some 18th- or 19th-century events we’d rather forget. “Presentism” is comfortable because it encourages a kind of morally superior self-congratulation by interpreting the past as it suits us. Denial of the past would mean that the truth of the country’s history becomes something best forgotten in the interests of generational comfort. There is an increasing tendency to prefer that such and thus events in the past just did not happen and if it did, like Dorothy, we could cause it to simply disappear by wishing it away. But pulling down statues and changing building and street names and references to the past for better or worse is regarded by many, including the Irish side of my family, as a perilous path. The writer concludes with a quote: In terms of setting aside the distasteful events of the past by remov...

A common and beautiful practice sustained in many, if not most, Ordinariate communities is the recitation of the ninefold Kyrie , in a manner such as the one that follows: Kyrie eleison: the cantor or choir intones the Kyrie , and, depending on the particular composition, the congregation typically joins in at the eleison . Kyrie eleison: the congregation sings along. Kyrie eleison: the choir (or cantor) sings alone. Christe eleison: the congregation sings along. Christe eleison: the choir (or cantor) sings alone. Christe eleison: the congregation sings along. Kyrie eleison: the choir (or cantor) sings alone. Kyrie eleison: the congregation sings along. Kyrie eleison: the choir (or cantor) sings the Kyrie and the congregation joins in at the eleison . : : : The 1549 Book of Common Prayer Then shall he saie a Psalme appointed for the introite: whiche Psalme ended the Priest shall saye, or els the Clerkes shal syng, iii. Lorde have mercie upon us.* iii. Christ have mercie upon us. iii. ...