Monthly Archives: June 2011

How the Liturgy Should Be Impersonal

Posted on 29 June 2011 by

(This is Neil) My first conviction is this: Liturgy is never my own possession, or my creation.  It is something we are given, from the Father.  Therefore my own tastes, my own preferences, my own personality, my own view of ecclesiology, … Continue reading →

Posted in Liturgy, Neil | 11 Comments

The Church as Sacrament of Hope?

Posted on 28 June 2011 by

(This is Neil) Some of the last words of Gaudium et Spes– the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World – read: By thus giving witness to the truth, we will share with others the … Continue reading →

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Is There Any Hope For the Church?

Posted on 28 June 2011 by

(This is Neil) Let’s say that someone tells you, with both finality and unmistakable sadness, “There is no hope for the church.” You, hoping that she has used “hope” in a somewhat indefinite way, say, “Look, there might be no … Continue reading →

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Varietates Legitimae 61: Liturgy of the Hours

Posted on 25 June 2011 by

  61. The Liturgy of the Hours has as its goal the praise of God and the sanctification by prayer of the day and all human activity. Episcopal conferences can make adaptations in the second reading of the office of … Continue reading →

Posted in post-conciliar liturgy documents, Varietates Legitimae | 1 Comment

John’s Nativity: A Scriptural Goulash

Posted on 24 June 2011 by

I hardly ever get to Mass on Friday–my day off, and usually a time for catching up around the house. Today’s list: balancing the checkbook, mowing the yard, folding my clean laundry. I alert you to an interesting blend of … Continue reading →

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Jay Study Lead Defends Report

Posted on 24 June 2011 by

Dr Karen Terry steps up to respond to the “Blame the 60’s” theme. And other criticisms of last month’s JJC Report on Clergy Sexual Abuse. Most readers have their own assessments, opinions, and such about this. I’m not going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Church News | 2 Comments

Varietates Legitimae 60: The Liturgical Year

Posted on 24 June 2011 by

Some direction on adding or suppressing liturgical feasts: 60. As regards the liturgical year, each particular church and religious family adds its own celebrations to those of the universal church, after approval by the Apostolic See. (Cf. Normae Universales de … Continue reading →

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Some Sanity

Posted on 23 June 2011 by

My sister-in-law has made the trek back east for my brother’s memorial service in the city of his and my birth. Family infighting seems to be trickling out here and there. I’m fairly glad I’m not there right now for it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, My Family, spirituality | 3 Comments

Varietates Legitimae 59: Blessings

Posted on 23 June 2011 by

59. The blessing of persons, places or things touches the everyday life of the faithful and answers their immediate needs. They offer many possibilities for adaptation, for maintaining local customs and admitting popular usages. (SC 79, De Benedictionibus, Praenotanda Generalia, … Continue reading →

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Or Perhaps, Tradition Does Not Rescue

Posted on 22 June 2011 by

NCR is all over a passel of news coming out of Kansas City today. On the liturgy front … Bishop Robert Finn directed the diocesan worship office today to remove its participation in a special Latin-language “Solemn High Mass” being … Continue reading →

Posted in Church News, Ministry | 2 Comments

Tradition to the Rescue

Posted on 22 June 2011 by

Before: After: Jimmy Mac alerted me to this liturgical gesture for Kansas City unity. Where to start? It’s like “themed” Masses in the immediate post-conciliar Church. A Mass for Love. A Mass for Peace. Now a Latin Mass for Unity. … Continue reading →

Posted in Church News | 4 Comments

Varietates Legitimae 58: Funerals

Posted on 22 June 2011 by

In addition to weddings, funerals are also a more common point at which the practices of non-Christian religions and cultures intersect with Church practice: 58. Among all peoples, funerals are always surrounded with special rites, often of great expressive value. … Continue reading →

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On The Exodus

Posted on 21 June 2011 by

Much has been made on a few Catholic sites (like dotCommonweal) about the so-called Marriage Crisis. I have little to add to 100-post threads and the usual hand-wringing. At the risk of some overlap, I’ll sum up my thoughts and experiences: … Continue reading →

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Varietates Legitimae 57: Rite of Marriage

Posted on 21 June 2011 by

Marriage, unlike Christian Initiation, is nearly universally observed culturally. And naturally, it predates the Judeo-Christian tradition. 57. In many places it is the marriage rite that calls for the greatest degree of adaptation so as not to be foreign to … Continue reading →

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Part of the Solution

Posted on 20 June 2011 by

Seminarians on board. How about the bishops? I noticed that Cardinal Rigali was off to central Europe instead of the Pacific Northwest last week. No bishops’ meetings for the embattled archbishop. I didn’t know that John Neumann was from Europe, … Continue reading →

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