A Treasure To Be Shared

Coypel, Charles-Antoine | Fury of Achilles Richard John Neuhaus In the absence of truth, power is the only game in town.  Robert B. Greving, The Good News About Fiducia Supplicans, Crisis Magazine You see, both sides of the fence agree about what (Fiducia Supplicans) says. Whether you are Cardinal Müller or Fr. Martin, whether you’re the bishops in Germany or the bishops in Africa, you see the document as granting some form of Church approval of those living in “irregular situations,” and by “irregular situations” it means what had been called sinful. It has become the latest and most telling Rorschach test of the Catholic Faith.  Richard John Neuhaus Socialism is the religion people get when they lose their religion.  Barbara Nicolosi, NCRegister In storytelling, the theme is the unifying principle of the whole narrative. This goes back to Aristotle’s Poetics, where the greatest of the philosophers asserted that it is a big idea about life that gives a story a unive...

After truth, love is probably the most abused word in the English language. Well, maybe it's a tie between those two words for the title of 'Word Most Wounded'. When truth suffers, so also love. What is truth? Pontius Pilate asked Jesus this question as Jesus stood before him falsely accused. What Pontius Pilate didn't realize is that the answer to his question stood right before his eyes. Anagram St John 18:38 Pontius Pilate puts Jesus on trial and asks him, "Quid est veritas?" "What is truth?" Jesus does not respond, nor does he need to speak. He is the Eternal Word, the Logos. The question already contains the answer. "Est vir qui adest." "It is the man who stands (is) before you." The Answer was standing right in front of Pontius Pilate.  Ordinariate Treasure TwitterX Most faithful Catholics are more than likely aware that the word 'truth' can mean anything you want it to nowadays; love, too. Consequently, both words h...

The Lesson [ Read time 8 minutes ] To many diocesan Catholics the idea of praying the Mass with 'thees' and 'thous' is somewhat silly. Yet, they harbour no such attitude when praying the Our Father of the Mass, or the Hail! Mary  of the Rosary. The information that follows is intended to give reason for the hope that is within those of us in the Ordinariate who are so very content to be immersed in a multitude of blessings given by the Lord for our salvation and joy. Sacral English From the OLSC Ordinariate, ed. by Gilbert. The Book of Common Prayer as written by Thomas Cranmer remains a literary masterpiece. It developed a beautiful poetic way of conversing with God in the vernacular at a time when the western Church spoke only Latin. Yet Cranmer’s English was never vulgar or banal.  We continue this tradition in the Ordinariate in the language we use in our liturgies. Since the liturgy is an encounter with God, the language we use should be appropriate to this encoun...

Los Angeles Cathedral | Ximo Michavila photo [ 5 minute read ] Pope Francis, i.e., to be Frank, has dug a very large hole and filled it with not an insignificant amount of silliness for the next pope - whoever that might be - to step into. The word of the season is, of course, the word 'confusion'. Here's another word which, by now, is entirely familiar to concerned Catholics: mess. Christmas 2023 was turned into Crassmess by that now infamous document issued by the DDF, written by Cardinal Tucho the eroticist. Eroticist, to put it politely. Here is another word: chaos. Chaos: the state of things wherein faithful Catholics are tempted to indulge a variety of useless distractions, emotions, and what-have-you, as a result of the introduction of the imprudent actions of hierarchs who should know better than to put souls at risk. Candy Not Candy We Catholics are not prudes. Witness the sublime Catholic art of Michelangelo, for starters, and his virtuosic respect for and renderi...

May this season of Epiphany - Epiphanytide - be filled with reminders of the joy of the Word among us. Soon it will be Gesimatide. For those using the newer terminology of Ordinary Time, or Tempus per Annum (time or season throughout the year), the expression 'Gesimatide' is likely unfamiliar. Gesimatide, the three Sundays preceding Lent (Quadragesima, 40 days before Easter), is also known as Pre-Lent: Septuagesima (70), Sexagesima (60), Quinquagesima (50). Gesimatide is also known as Shrovetide, and begins on Septuagesima Sunday and ends on Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) before Ash Wednesday (40 days before Easter). Gesimatide or Shrovetide is preserved in the Ordinariate. The liturgical colour for Gesimatide is violet/purple. The "old" way of counting or identifying days in the calendar lends additional intimacy to the experience of immersion in God's time, i.e., God's way of relating to His creation. There is a character or personality retained in the names we...

People are drawn to a centre, the Mass, because Jesus, present in the Eucharistic Liturgy, is the heart of the community. Christ's Mass is the heart and centre of the Catholic Christian community. That fellowship nurtured during Mass extends into daily life. The Mass informs our lives and impels us to extend to others the invitation to " come and see " and be "eucharisted", grafted to Jesus and received into His fellowship, His Church. When we honour the Lord in the liturgical assembly, in the Eucharistic liturgy, through our humble acts that are born of the grace Jesus gives to us to celebrate His glory and announce His saving word, He showers His blessings upon us according to his will, for the salvation of souls. The genius of the Ordinariate established by the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus , the vessel of the Anglican patrimony, is a liturgical spiritual patrimony that sustains a generous cultural patrimony, a complex yet accessible family of ...

First, this post does not promote a wish for the untimely demise of Pope Francis. Second, this blogger does not pretend that the opinions, beliefs and/or facts expressed herein this blog will be heard, listened to or valued by cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. (Just keepin' it real.) Third, mindful of the second premise, the thoughts presented herein might seed the airwaves with sobering reminders so that, when we are faced with a bad pope, we will know exactly who to hold accountable and those for whom we should pray. (Read the last phrase through a lens of humility and a hint of good willed mirth. See below: Point #9.) Fourth, mindful once again of the second premise, as a thought exercise with no intention of overestimating or underestimating its potential resonance, it may be that by exploring a few ideas in public that others may weigh in (in this or their own and/or other forums) and add their own thoughts to help extend the reach of the third premise. So then, to the cardi...

Screenshot | Stefano Rellandini/Reuters Believers are often compressed into difficult circumstances. Faithful discipleship can and often does mean finding oneself at odds with, for example, so-called secular societal values and the people who hold those values. In order to endure confrontations large and small, and to avoid a debilitating cognitive dissonance, we - those secure in the Faith and also those tempted to distraction and despair - need a steady diet of clear teaching, the teaching of the Gospel undefiled by seemingly clever perspectives that are untenable embellishments or diminishments. When a pope or a bishop or lay theologian or pretender (such as myself) creates confusion by muttering something that contradicts Magisterial teaching, then Catholics have a duty to rally to the cause of orthodoxy, as Catholics have always done. It's difficult to imagine that current events do not merit the input of all Catholics to defend Holy Mother Church in the midst of such widespre...

If you're an older Catholic you've heard oodles of sermons, among them some real doozies, and by doozies is not meant anything meritorious. If those sermons had titles published in the parish bulletin, then you might have been able to spare yourself the torture of a bizarre encounter. Catholics are fortunate to have access to a massive library of biblical wisdom in liturgies throughout the year. Alas, more often than not it seems, the typical diocesan Catholic is subject to repeat performances of stories that are variations on a theme, that theme being 'Me-Myself-And-I', or 'The Catholic Church Remade In My Own Image'. Suspect Sermons In The Parish of 'Now' Mass is like a box of chocolates... or should be. James Martin, future pope. Five Reasons Annibale Bugnini should be canonized. 175 Reasons why the Second Vatican Council didn't go far enough. Marko Rupnik on the role of the priest. How to insert more pop songs into the Mass. Martin Luther was rig...

Joseph Mallord William Turner | Holy Family (1803) The Church on The Holy Family The Holy Family, consisting of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, is revered as an icon and model for every human family. The Church encourages families to look to the Holy Family as an example of faith, piety, and obedience to God's will. The Holy Family is seen as a domestic Church, a place where families can grow in faith, prayer, and virtue. It is in the family that children can learn to perceive the meaning of God and experience His presence. The Holy Family is also seen as a guide for the Church's mission, highlighting the involvement of the family in the mission of the incarnate and redemptive Word. Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Church calls for families to be places of communion and prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel, and small domestic churches. Families are encouraged to imitate the Holy Family...