Catholic Sensibility

USCCB Publishing wants to unload MR3′s for 25% off. Get ‘em while they’re hot cheap. My priests prefer the chapel edition; they both have good eyesight and find the full size editions a little clumsy. What about you?

Detecting natural satellites of Jupiter is darned difficult. The planet is bright. The satellites are small and dim. Most of Jupiter’s moons orbit in irregular paths, nudged by the sun. Some even orbit backwards. If you blinked, you might lose one. In fact, one moon was detected in 1975, only to be lost, then rediscovered in 2000.

One early twentieth century astronomer was up to the task, though. With big telescopes gathering a few reflected photons on photographic plates, Jupiter’s family of satellites grew and surpassed Saturn’s nine, thanks to the efforts of an Illinois-born astronomer working in California.

In 1914, a grad student found the ninth moon of Jupiter. While observing the newly discovered Jupiter VIII from Lick Observatory, Seth Barnes Nicholson found his PhD thesis topic: Jupiter IX, now known as Sinope. Over the course four decades, he added three to his tally, tying Galileo, Cassini, and Herschel for the most discoveries up to that time–four. Here are the others, all found at the Mount Wilson Observatory (image above and left), where Dr Nicholson spent his entire career:

Jupiter X, or Lysithea, in July 1938

Jupiter XI, or Carme, also in July 1938.

Jupiter XII, or Ananke, in September 1951.

Nicholson was more than an observer of dim, irregular satellites. He developed tools for assessing surface temperatures of solar system bodies (his moons as well as planets and the sun) and distant stars.

These seven outer satellites of Jupiter–Nicholson’s four, plus the three found from the first decade of the 1900′s are all thought to be captured from the nearby asteroid belt. Or they could be comets. Or they could be fragments from a few larger bodies that broke up. Since Jupiter’s outer moons move in similar orbits this last theory seems to fit observations pretty well. Don’t think clumps of moons, though. These bodies orbit millions of miles from Jupiter. A close association is more like them sharing a fairly wide pathway far out from the planet. Imagine Jupiter sitting on the thirty-yard line of a high school football stadium, its north pole pointed up, but at an angle, perhaps toward a near bank of lights. The satellite Carme and associated moons (discovered in the last ten years) would be at different places circling the field mainly on the surrounding track. Don’t imagine a handful of closely-bunched runners.

Nobody really knows for sure about any of this. No human-made spacecraft has ever flown anywhere near them. They aren’t big priorities for NASA or other nations’ space programs. It might be that the first robots or humans visiting these satellites will be lonely wanderers themselves.

In my imagination, I see a twenty-third or twenty-fourth century ship pushed by the pulse of ions. Looking around, Jupiter would be far away, only about the size of our moon as seen from Earth. Light from the sun would be only about four percent Earth levels. An unenhanced view would find us moving up next to a dark gray body with just a hint of red. Much of it might be water ice mixed in with rock. But don’t think of icebergs sticking out from soil–from Earth it seems these bodies are fairly homogeneous in surface. The ice will be dirty, laced with carbon dioxide and maybe ammonia, and studded with boulders and dust and particles of sizes in between.

As the explorer gets closer, the body–let’s say it’s Ananke–will loom large, dwarfing the living compartment and the ion engine. But even compared to asteroids, it would be small–only twenty miles across. Centuries after Seth Nicholson noted moving specks in the Jupiter neighborhood and plotted orbits, someone would finally see the moon, and not just in her or his imagination. It’s not likely there would be a landing. Maybe grappling hooks if the ship were sturdy. More likely a few small robots would tumble down to the surface. Dig around a bit. Send an optical feed back to the main ship. Taste the dust of the surface and clarify the makeup of the impurities.

It might be that the same mix of trace compounds and elements was detected at last month’s stop–ratios of cyanide, carbon monoxide, or silicate crystals. So it will be confirmed that Ananke and about one or two dozen mile-sized satellites were once a single asteroid captured by Jupiter. Then pulverized into fragments. If space explorers of the 2300′s feel the need to put down roots, Ananke would be an interesting place. There’s likely enough ice to turn into water for drinking and other industrial uses–more than on the moon, that’s for sure. Splitting water molecules into hydrogen for fuel and oxygen for breathing will be child’s play in future centuries. The sun being so far away, is only four percent as efficient as a power source as it would be near the Earth. On second thought, these intrepid explorers may have other places in their imagination, closer to the life-giving energy of our central star. After a few days, the ship will pull out its stakes, leave behind the robot probes, and move on to the next target.

It’s a lonely existence ten to twenty million miles out from Jupiter. No gazing back at Earth either–our home world will be lost in the glare of the sun–not unlike the way Jupiter’s reflected light washes out viewing some of its moons.

Under a Chapter II subheading, “Aids to the Proper Celebration of the Liturgy of the Word,” we have three numbered sections devoted to “the Place for the Proclamation of the Word of God.”

32. There must be a place in the church that is somewhat elevated, fixed, and of a suitable design and nobility. It should reflect the dignity of God’s word and be a clear reminder to the people that in the Mass the table of God’s word and of Christ’s body is placed before them. [62] The place for the readings must also truly help the people’s listening and attention during the liturgy of the word. Great pains must therefore be taken, in keeping with the design of each church, over the harmonious and close relationship of the ambo with the altar.

 

The prayers of the faithful seem to be in that transitional stage between the Word and the Eucharist, but the GILM places them with the Word of God, and here’s why:

30. In the light of God’s word and in a sense in response to it, the congregation of the faithful prays in the universal prayer as a rule for the needs of the universal Church and the local community, for the salvation of the world and those oppressed by any burden, and for special categories of people. 

The celebrant introduces the prayer; a deacon, another minister, or some of the faithful may propose intentions that are short and phrased with a measure of freedom. In these petitions “the people, exercising its priestly function, makes intercession for all men and women,” [59] with the result that, as the liturgy of the word has its full effects in the faithful, they are better prepared to proceed to the liturgy of the Eucharist.

There is a certain logic that after the Word is broken open through proclamation and preaching, and that the Christian faith is affirmed in the Creed, that the people are ready to act as a “royal priesthood.” This is probably the best argument I’ve seen for a presider to remain silent during these prayers, ensuring they are literally from the people. To this end, my parish has had a long tradition of assigning to parishioners the composition of these prayers for Sundays and holy days, and liberally opening up this moment of daily Mass for their petitions.

Some of my colleagues fuss a bit about announcing these prayers from the ambo, but like the GILM, I don’t have a problem with it:

31. For the prayer of the faithful the celebrant presides at the chair and the intentions are announced at the ambo. [60]

The assembled congregation takes part in the prayer of the faithful while standing and by saying or singing a common response after each intention or by silent prayer. [61]

I’m sure you all know that singing a common response is acceptable. Did you know that silent prayer after each response is also a possibility. Would a well-trained assembly respond automatically? If you were ever to implement silence after each petition, the person rendering these would need to be prepared, as would the people in the pew, most likely. My own sense would be to implement a sung response for some liturgical seasons and feasts. Perhaps the silent response might be better incorporated into a remembrance of the deceased, of ill family members or friends, or of the more common “intentions held in our hearts.”

Thoughts or suggestions?

Are we in for a wild ride in 2012. dotCommonweal on Newt Gingrich’s History of Opportunism. Or does the ex-Speaker have a thing for the opportunism of the present?

Poland was buried by godless secularism in 1979, only to be freed with the help of JP2. Problem is that JP2 criticized the post-Cold War Polish secularism in the 90′s.

What do you do when your choice is between a smarter liar, or a dumber ideologue? Glad I’m not a Republican. And they give me grief for the 11th worker.

29. The symbol, creed or profession of faith, said when the rubrics require, has as its purpose in the celebration of Mass that the assembled congregation may respond and give assent to the word of God heard in the readings and through the homily, and that before beginning to celebrate in the Eucharist the mystery of faith it may call to mind the rule of faith in a formulary approved by the Church. [58]

Galileo discovered the first satellites (except for our Moon) in the solar system. In the opener of the “satellite imagination” series, you get a piece of the story connected with that. You might think that moons half a billion miles away have little effect on the Earth. Speaking astrologically and gravitationally, you would be right. Yet those moons orbiting Jupiter shook the relationship between science and religion. It has remained in a sort of tension ever since. Occasionally it explodes like volcanoes on Io. Other times, one beholds a certain serenity, but who knows what scientist or religious person is really thinking under that crust of ice.

You might think there was a rush to name the satellites of other planets. But professional astronomy was, for the most part, apathetic. Roman numerals were enough for Jupiter’s satellites. American astronomers making discoveries didn’t really push the issue. In fact, some of them had more important things to consider: comets, star clusters, and galaxies. VI, VII, and VIII weren’t the most imaginative designations, but they were sufficient until the Space Age.

By the final decades of the nineteenth century, the baton of planetary astronomy had passed to American shores, at least as far as the discovery of natural satellites was concerned. Americans built big telescopes, and they started putting them on mountains. The Lick Observatory began operations in 1888, and six years later they scored a big find: Jupiter’s first moon in almost three centuries.

California’s Lick Observatory, above in 1900. (more…)

The importance of silence cannot be understated:

28. The liturgy of the word must be celebrated in a way that fosters meditation; clearly, any sort of haste that hinders recollection must be avoided. The dialogue between God and his people taking place through the Holy Spirit demands short intervals of silence, suited to the assembled congregation, as an opportunity to take the word of God to heart and to prepare a response to it in prayer.

Proper times for silence during the liturgy of the word are, for example, before this liturgy begins, after the first and the second reading, after the homily. [57]

Here’s a great example of the need to balance an established plan with unexpected opportunity.

I received an e-mail from a mother of young string players–a violinist and a violist. They enjoyed their involvement in the Advent pageant and at Christmas Eve, and there’s a desire in the family to do something positive for Lent–the kids have been giving up candy, soda, etc.. for a few years now. Getting involved in a parish music ministry–not just a child/family event–seemed a natural.

One of my music directors prefers to trim back instrumental parts during Lent. She suggested I encourage them to join up in May.

The reality is that these young ladies will find the learning curve of liturgical music a challenge, and playing much beyond the non-chanted Lenten Mass ordinary might be a little deep for them at this time. Plus they are competent singers and would probably fit in well with a more youth-oriented choir at that liturgy.

So, have a seat in the appropriately purple chair. What would you do if parishioners approached you to add something positive for Lent, namely themselves? Would you make it fit? Suggest they be singers instead? The rest of us looking up to that purple chair really wanna know.

Where the homily is concerned, there is a lot to say. First, a definition:

24. Through the course of the liturgical year the homily sets forth the mysteries of faith and the standards of the Christian life on the basis of the sacred text. Beginning with the Constitution on the Liturgy, the homily as part of the liturgy of the word has been repeatedly and strongly recommended and in some cases it is obligatory. As a rule it is to be given by the one presiding. [44] The purpose of the homily at Mass is that the spoken word of God and the liturgy of the Eucharist may together become “a proclamation of God’s wonderful works in the history of salvation, the mystery of Christ.” [45] Through the readings and homily Christ’s paschal mystery is proclaimed; through the sacrifice of the Mass it becomes present. [46] Moreover Christ himself is always present and active in the preaching of his Church. [47]

While the readings are the usual foundation for the homily, other texts of the Liturgy are a possible source, too:

Whether the homily explains the text of the Sacred Scriptures proclaimed in the readings or some other text of the Liturgy, [48] it must always lead the community of the faithful to celebrate the Eucharist actively, “so that they may hold fast in their lives to what they have grasped by faith.” [49] From this living explanation, the word of God proclaimed in the readings and the Church’s celebration of the day’s Liturgy will have greater impact. But this demands that the homily be truly the fruit of meditation, carefully prepared, neither too long nor too short, and suited to all those present, even children and the uneducated. [50]

At a concelebration, the celebrant or one of the concelebrants as a rule gives the homily. [51]

25. On the prescribed days, that is, Sundays and holydays of obligation, there must be a homily in all Masses celebrated with a congregation, even Masses on the preceding evening; the homily may not be omitted without a serious reason. [52] There is also to be a homily in Masses with children and with special groups. [53]

A homily is strongly recommended on the weekdays of Advent, Lent, and the Easter season for the sake of the faithful who regularly take part in the celebration of Mass; also on other feasts and occasions when a large congregation is present. [54]

26. The priest celebrant gives the homily, standing either at the chair or at the ambo. [55]

27. Any necessary announcements are to be kept completely separate from the homily; they must take place following the prayer after Communion. [56]

If you’re on the far fringe, anything’s possible, I guess.

In some quarters, they also think Anthony Ruff, chant scholar, is far off the via media too. See a pattern?

The culture of narcissism, run amok in inbred circles.

Honestly, passion for a cause is a great thing. It stirs the blood. It motivates in the most depressing of circumstances. I get it. But I don’t get making it the center of life, the center even beyond Christ and the Gospel.

23. The Alleluia or, as the liturgical season requires, the verse before the Gospel is also a “rite or act standing by itself.” [41] It serves as the greeting of welcome of the assembled faithful to the Lord who is about to speak to them and as an expression of their faith through song.

The Alleluia or the verse before the Gospel must be sung, and during it all stand. It is not to be sung only by the cantor who intones it or by the choir, but by the whole of the people together. [42]

Commentary:

The Gospel Acclamation is not just walking music, or a filler piece in between the second reading and the Gospel. It is a stand-alone rite. For clergy and musicians, the challenge is how to demonstrate that. My suggestion is a high-quality repertoire, plus the investing of rehearsal time. For composers, a setting would be essential to any work purporting to be a “Mass setting.”

“(A)n expression of faith through song” implies this is a credal statement. What faith are we expressing? Wouldn’t it be the presence of Christ in the proclamation of the Gospel.?

This is one of those rare occasions when the Church requires singing. Furthermore, the body of worshipers are to sing it, not just choir, not just the songleader. Does this abrogate the usual practice of having the people sing the Alleluia and the cantor or choir the Gospel verse? I wouldn’t think so. What do you think about it? About any of this?

NASA’s Glory satellite lifts off tomorrow from California to find any connections between solar radiation output, human-made or natural aerosols in the upper atmosphere, and climate change on the ground.

Universe Today has coverage here, too.

It will be interesting to see how the climate change deniers handle Glory results.

These next few paragraphs are important. How many parish music directors have read them, let alone have an awareness of them?

20. As a rule the responsorial psalm should be sung. There are two established ways of singing the psalm after the first reading: responsorially and directly. In responsorial singing, which, as far as possible, is to be given preference, the psalmist, or cantor of the psalm, sings the psalm verse and the whole congregation joins in by singing the response. In direct singing of the psalm there is no intervening response by the community; either the psalmist, or cantor of the psalm, sings the psalm alone as the community listens or else all sing it together.

21. The singing of the psalm, or even of the response alone, is a great help toward understanding and meditating on the psalm’s spiritual meaning.

To foster the congregation’s singing, every means available in each individual culture is to be employed. In particular, use is to be made of all the relevant options provided in the Order of Readings for Mass [GILM 89-90] regarding responses corresponding to the different liturgical seasons.

The Anchoress muses on the incident of a Presbyterian minister taking a leadership role with a priest at a Catholic Mass.

I think Ms Scalia sidesteps the real matter: union with Rome. She and some of her commenters wonder about the state of grace of Rev Steve Whitney, or assume because he is a non-Catholic, he does not share our understanding of the Eucharist. Clearly, many self-styled orthodox Catholics need a deeper understanding of the real problems of ecumenism.

The offending priest has been suspended from duty, has issued an apology, and it seems a few Catholics believe enough is enough:

Some of us in the Catholic community may have the desire to metaphorically pump our fists, maybe a few will even have the urge to do this literally. While I’m pleased Bishop Brown took swift and decisive action to correct this situation, I have a heavy heart. Fr. Agustin made a terrible mistake, but I do not believe he is a terrible person or a terrible priest. He needs our prayers, our understanding, and most importantly he needs our forgiveness.

Some Catholics are still looking for a scalp on this. For them, the notion of scandal doesn’t really apply. It’s more about finding something to get angry about, churn up the bile, and round up a lynch mob.

Christians do important things aside from Sunday worship. I’m not sure why more churches don’t do more in areas outside of worship. At our parish, one of our students frequently organizes dialogue meetings: Catholic/Lutheran, Catholic/Mormon, Catholic/Muslim, etc.. He’s worked harder for ecumenism and understanding than anyone I know, including the pope. More Christians could be doing more along these lines. That would be a better avenue for Fr Escobar to explore with his colleague: dialogue, service, non-sacramental prayer, and study. We all realize that intercommunion is beyond most all of us at this time. We should be appropriately sorry for that, pray for its resolution, and cultivate a proper and public contrition. Then labor in the areas we can work in.

A good thing Bishop Brown can do is put the priest in charge of ecumenical affairs in his diocese. Tell him to study up on ecclesiology, too.