SSPX - Rome Reconciliation?

Reports in Le Figaro suggest that the Society of St. Pius X and Rome may sign an accord of understanding. Various reports also carried by the blog, Rorate Caeli suggest a possible positive outcome. Louie Verecchio has some interesting reflections on the recent negotiations. 

Personally, this would be a great day for the Church. The Society has a great many things to offer the Church. The personal involvement of Pope Benedict to remove unnecessary obstacles speaks to this offering that the Society could bring.

It is not just a question of "beautiful" liturgy; but of correct doctrine - in full union with Rome, without ambiguity - being available to the faithful. It would be an understatement to say that correct doctrine is needed in parish life. 

Pope Benedict meeting SSPX Superior, Bp. Bernard Fellay

Suggested Further reading:  DICI (SSPX news service)
                                           Bishop Fellay's Letter's, Sermons and interviews 

An Atheist Blog?

Recommending an atheist blog? Are you crazy!? Well, the jury has been out on that question for a long time now. I ran across Unequally Yoked this morning and was quite impressed with the honesty and freshness of the blog. The title refers to the fact that the atheist in question was dating a Christian and going to mass regularly as a result. The blog records her search for the truth.

Let's be honest here... most of the interaction between atheists and Christians on the net consists of flame wars which can leave the combox a smouldering ash heap. Most folks I run into these days tend to prefer to keep to their own turf and avoid any interactions with any who might disagree with them. We have forgotten how to have a good argument and there seems to be no end of really bad ones.

Paul's preaching in Athens consisted of looking around town for a good argument. "So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the market place every day with those who chanced to be there." Acts 17:17 Today we prefer to use the techniques of advertising and the media sound bite. Discussion? Sorry... no time... got to go to a commercial.

Pope Benedict: Urbi et orbi

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world!

“Surrexit Christus, spes mea” – “Christ, my hope, has risen”.

May the jubilant voice of the Church reach all of you with the words which the ancient hymn puts on the lips of Mary Magdalene, the first to encounter the risen Jesus on Easter morning. She ran to the other disciples and breathlessly announced: “I have seen the Lord!” (Jn 20:18). We too, who have journeyed through the desert of Lent and the sorrowful days of the Passion, today raise the cry of victory: “He has risen! He has truly risen!”


Pope Benedict, Easter Sunday "Urbi et orbi" 2012

No Happy Easter Here!

Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated "Paschal month", and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance. Bede

Really? I have often wondered why we call the Feast of the Resurrection by the name of Easter. In most other languages this feast is referred to by some cognate of the Hebrew word for Passover, Pesach. Pascha in Latin, Pascua in Spanish, Pasqua in Italian, Pascoa in Portugese and so on. Even in other Germanic tongues some cognate of Pesach is used; Pasen in Dutch, Paske in Norwegian. Why then do we refer to it as Easter in English? Why this unnecessary glorification of a pagan goddess?

I recently suggested to a friend that the appropriate paschal greeting would be Christus ressurectus est. She replied "But I would be afraid to say that." Is that what this is all about? Happy Easter is a softer, far less blatant greeting that is less likely to offend or cause controversy. Well not around here! I plan on looking people straight in the eye and saying Christus ressurectus est and I would advise anyone reading this to do the same.

And I, if I be lifted up will draw all unto myself...

Et ego si exaltatus fuero a terra omnia traham ad me ipsum

Cardinal Ranjith: Holy Communion Kneeling and on the Tongue

In a recent address Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith of Columbo reconfirmed his earlier orders regarding the reception of Holy Communion:

"May I also remind you once again that in all Churches and Chapels in the Archdiocese Holy Communion is to be administered only on the tongue and kneeling. This should be implemented as normal use even at Holy Mass celebrated with the participation of a big crowd outdoors. On such occasions at least the youth and the children as well as the “youthful” should be called upon to kneel and receive the Lord. This is the most appropriate way of expressing our profoundest belief in the continuous and personal presence of the Lord in the most Sacred Host as we acclaim “down in adoration falling, lo! the Sacred Host we hail”. And in all our Churches, as an expression of that faith our people should be called upon to receive the Holy Communion, kneeling. And so kindly take steps to fix the altar rails and a cushion line fixed to the ground before the railing so that all could kneel and receive easily. It is also good for us to explain to our people about the teaching of the Church on the Most Holy Eucharist as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church Nos. 1373-1381."


This truly is wonderful news; a real restoration. The Real Presence is the centre of our Faith and the horrible error of granting episcopal conferences to allow the faithful to receive in the hand is there to see. The confusion, equivocation on what the Mass is and what the Real Presence is there for all to see. This is also evident in the literature produced by the National Liturgical Office, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.  

Cardinal Dolan Speaks: Interview with Wall Street Journal

In a wide ranging interview, Cardinal Dolan addressed his meeting with President Obama and the hot button issue of State mandated "religion".  He also had interesting words on the misinterpretation of the Vatican Council by many lay Catholics. He holds the clergy to blame for not teaching the truth about the Council and how the lay faithful were called to a true maturity in evangelizing under the leadership of the hierarchy.

"For this he faults the church leadership. "We have gotten gun-shy . . . in speaking with any amount of cogency on chastity and sexual morality." He dates this diffidence to "the mid- and late '60s, when the whole world seemed to be caving in, and where Catholics in general got the impression that what the Second Vatican Council taught, first and foremost, is that we should be chums with the world, and that the best thing the church can do is become more and more like everybody else."

The "flash point," the archbishop says, was "Humanae Vitae," Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical reasserting the church's teachings on sex, marriage and reproduction, including its opposition to artificial contraception. It "brought such a tsunami of dissent, departure, disapproval of the church, that I think most of us—and I'm using the first-person plural intentionally, including myself—kind of subconsciously said, 'Whoa. We'd better never talk about that, because it's just too hot to handle.' We forfeited the chance to be a coherent moral voice when it comes to one of the more burning issues of the day."

Holy Week: Palm Sunday

"Who is Jesus of Nazareth for us? What idea do we have of the Messiah, what idea do we have of God? It is a crucial question, one we cannot avoid, not least because during this very week we are called to follow our King who chooses the Cross as his throne. We are called to follow a Messiah who promises us, not a facile earthly happiness, but the happiness of heaven, divine beatitude. So we must ask ourselves: what are our true expectations? What are our deepest desires, with which we have come here today to celebrate Palm Sunday and to begin our celebration of Holy Week"?

Pope Benedict XVI, Palm Sunday Sermon.