Giving to God what belongs to God
“So each of us shall give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14: 12
"Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account.” Hebrews 13: 17
Articles of Interest
Invalid baptisms: A Catholic explainer about the facts and the fears
by Kevin J. Jones
Quote: "Sometimes, people mess with this formula [for baptism]. Many of them mean well, but that can have consequences. In rare cases, Catholic clergy weren’t baptizing using the form of the baptismal rite approved by the Church. This has prompted some questions and some worries. Here’s what you need to know:"
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Discovered: liturgical abuse leads to invalid sacraments
by Phil Lawler
Quote: "A priest learns that he was not validly baptized. And since he was not validly baptized, his ordination was also invalid. And since he was not validly ordained, when he celebrated Mass or heard confessions, those sacraments weren’t valid, either. The Archdiocese of Detroit has a mess on its hands."
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Bad Habits: Can we correct liturgical abuse in religious communities?
by Father Vincent Capuano, S.J.
Quotes: "I have a dilemma and some questions I wish someone would help me with. This article does not attempt to answer questions so much as to pose them. Nonetheless, I will, toward the end of the article, suggest some tentative solutions. [...]"
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"The non-ordained don’t have the option of celebrating a private Mass and many students and nuns suffer community Masses that are heterocultic. Many religious accept liturgical abuse in a manner similar to how a wife will often accept spousal abuse — from a false sense of charity and tolerance. It is not that the perpetrator of abuse is completely evil, he often possesses many virtues and admirable qualities. The victim of liturgical abuse, like the victim of spousal abuse, wants to be forgiving, wants to practice tolerance, wants to be charitable. The abuser takes advantage of such desires and sentiments and continues to abuse."
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A Sobering Reminder on the Liturgy from the Book of Leviticus
by Msgr. Charles Pope
Quote: "There is a sobering passage in the Book of Leviticus that speaks to the need for priests to be faithful to the prescribed liturgical norms. While the offense described in this passage is complex, the main point is clear enough: The liturgy is revealed by God and is not the personal plaything of the priest or the congregation. Although some of the liturgical edicts of the Old Covenant have been fulfilled and are therefore no longer binding, only the Church, in careful discernment, can set liturgical norms; God’s priests and people must not stray from them."
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Quote: "Priests should not wish their parishioners “Good morning” at the beginning of Mass, according to Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle of Manila."
When a Priest Should Not Sing - A Reflection on an Often-Forgotten Rubric
by Msgr. Charles Pope
Quote: "I received a question last month in my Question and Answer Column at Our Sunday Visitor that I answered only briefly. I’d like to expand on it here.
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""The new priest in our parish just stands there at the altar when we sing the acclamations such as the mystery of faith, the great Amen, Lamb of God, etc. The previous pastor sang loudly with us. Should he not participate more fervently in these acclamations?" – Name withheld
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"Actually, his stance is the correct one. The liturgical directives (called the rubrics or red text) indicate that the people proclaim the mystery of faith, the “great” Amen, the conclusion to the Our Father (“for the Kingdom the power and glory …”) and the Lamb of God. (These instructions are also found in the General Instruction at #s 151, 153, 155.) So, those are acclamations that belong to the congregation, not the priest."
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The Red and the Black (and a Brand New Word)! A Short Liturgical Meditation on a Teaching by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
by Msgr. Charles Pope
Quote: "In recent years Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has made famous the liturgical instruction, “Say the black; do the red.” In other words, say the prayers as written in black ink (with no embellishments or deletions) and follow the instructions printed in red ink. After too many decades of liturgical errors—even outright disobedience—this is a pithy and memorable way to encourage proper demeanor and invoke the obedience that is due the Sacred Liturgy."
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‘Say the Black, Do the Red’ —Liturgical Abuse and Pastoral Malpractice
by Fr. Roger Landry
Quote: "COMMENTARY: Liturgical abuses, such as what happened to Father Matthew Hood of Detroit, constitute pastoral malpractice of the worst possible kind. And they are far from uncommon."
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Why Liturgical Bad Habits Must be Broken
by Peter Kwasniewski
Quote: "To not act in favor of tradition is to act in favor of novelty, or at very least to allow novelty to prevail. Indeed, not acting is itself an action — at least an action of toleration or apparent approval. In this way, as the spiritual masters always tell us, not to be making progress is to be regressing. My argument about the liturgy is the same: if we do not correct abuses and improve our practices in accord with the mind of the Church, we are encouraging the permanence of those abuses and supporting ignorance or contempt of the mind of the Church."
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