Saturday, April 28, 2012
Monday, April 09, 2012
In a Mysterious Way
If you have never seen director Pier Paolo Pasolini's movie The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1964) I urge you to do so. I had been meaning to see it myself for many years but, notwithstanding the judgment of the critics, put it off, hesitant, leery even, over what it might contain given Pasolini's notoriety as a firebrand Marxist atheistic hedonist. I finally got over my qualms, however, and watched it last night. It is an extraordinary achievement.
Pasolini cast no professional actors in this picture, instead using local amateurs, friends and family (his own mother plays, beautifully and movingly, the older Virgin Mary). He shot the picture in southern Italy (rejecting the Holy Land as "commercialized") and put together a wonderfully eclectic score wherein I recognized the music of Bach (Mass in B-minor and Saint Matthew Passion), Mozart (Masonic Funeral Music), Prokofieff (score to--ironically--Alexander Nevsky), the singer Odetta and a Congolese setting of the Mass, Missa Luba. The dialogue (in Italian), with a few minor exceptions, is directly and exclusively from Matthew's Gospel (the DVD I watched had English subtitles using the King James version, an inspired choice). Combined with astonishing performances from the non-professional cast, we have, in my opinion, the greatest Gospel depiction in cinema, unlike any other I have seen. It moved me to the quick.
Pasolini was brutally murdered at the age of 53, the result of rough trade with a 17-year-old male hustler. I suppose it is a wonder, given his notorious and sordid existence (his last picture, the graphically extreme Salo, made shortly before his death, would likely have had no trouble passing Justice Potter Stewart's test), Pasolini could also be the author of such a moving and loving work of religious art like The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. For me, however, he also serves as a reminder all of us have God in us and thus are capable of godly things. Whatever Pasolini's ultimate fate, let us give thanks and praise to God for the good things he did and pray for the repose of his soul. A Happy Easter to all.
Pasolini cast no professional actors in this picture, instead using local amateurs, friends and family (his own mother plays, beautifully and movingly, the older Virgin Mary). He shot the picture in southern Italy (rejecting the Holy Land as "commercialized") and put together a wonderfully eclectic score wherein I recognized the music of Bach (Mass in B-minor and Saint Matthew Passion), Mozart (Masonic Funeral Music), Prokofieff (score to--ironically--Alexander Nevsky), the singer Odetta and a Congolese setting of the Mass, Missa Luba. The dialogue (in Italian), with a few minor exceptions, is directly and exclusively from Matthew's Gospel (the DVD I watched had English subtitles using the King James version, an inspired choice). Combined with astonishing performances from the non-professional cast, we have, in my opinion, the greatest Gospel depiction in cinema, unlike any other I have seen. It moved me to the quick.
Pasolini was brutally murdered at the age of 53, the result of rough trade with a 17-year-old male hustler. I suppose it is a wonder, given his notorious and sordid existence (his last picture, the graphically extreme Salo, made shortly before his death, would likely have had no trouble passing Justice Potter Stewart's test), Pasolini could also be the author of such a moving and loving work of religious art like The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. For me, however, he also serves as a reminder all of us have God in us and thus are capable of godly things. Whatever Pasolini's ultimate fate, let us give thanks and praise to God for the good things he did and pray for the repose of his soul. A Happy Easter to all.
In a Mysterious Way
If you have never seen director Pier Paolo Pasolini's movie The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1964) I urge you to do so. I had been meaning to see it myself for many years but, notwithstanding the judgment of the critics, put it off, hesitant, leery even, over what it might contain given Pasolini's notoriety as a firebrand Marxist atheistic hedonist. I finally got over my qualms, however, and watched it last night. It is an extraordinary achievement.
Pasolini cast no professional actors in this picture, instead using local amateurs, friends and family (his own mother plays, beautifully and movingly, the older Virgin Mary). He shot the picture in southern Italy (rejecting the Holy Land as "commercialized") and put together a wonderfully eclectic score wherein I recognized the music of Bach (Mass in B-minor and Saint Matthew Passion), Mozart (Masonic Funeral Music), Prokofieff (score to--ironically--Alexander Nevsky), the singer Odetta and a Congolese setting of the Mass, Missa Luba. The dialogue (in Italian), with a few minor exceptions, is directly and exclusively from Matthew's Gospel (the DVD I watched had English subtitles using the King James version, an inspired choice). Combined with astonishing performances from the non-professional cast, we have, in my opinion, the greatest Gospel depiction in cinema, unlike any other I have seen. It moved me to the quick.
Pasolini was brutally murdered at the age of 53, the result of rough trade with a 17-year-old male hustler. I suppose it is a wonder, given his notorious and sordid existence (his last picture, the graphically extreme Salo, made shortly before his death, would likely have had no trouble passing Justice Potter Stewart's test), Pasolini could also be the author of such a moving and loving work of religious art like The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. For me, however, he also serves as a reminder all of us have God in us and thus are capable of godly things. Whatever Pasolini's ultimate fate, let us give thanks and praise to God for the good things he did and pray for the repose of his soul. A Happy Easter to all.
Pasolini cast no professional actors in this picture, instead using local amateurs, friends and family (his own mother plays, beautifully and movingly, the older Virgin Mary). He shot the picture in southern Italy (rejecting the Holy Land as "commercialized") and put together a wonderfully eclectic score wherein I recognized the music of Bach (Mass in B-minor and Saint Matthew Passion), Mozart (Masonic Funeral Music), Prokofieff (score to--ironically--Alexander Nevsky), the singer Odetta and a Congolese setting of the Mass, Missa Luba. The dialogue (in Italian), with a few minor exceptions, is directly and exclusively from Matthew's Gospel (the DVD I watched had English subtitles using the King James version, an inspired choice). Combined with astonishing performances from the non-professional cast, we have, in my opinion, the greatest Gospel depiction in cinema, unlike any other I have seen. It moved me to the quick.
Pasolini was brutally murdered at the age of 53, the result of rough trade with a 17-year-old male hustler. I suppose it is a wonder, given his notorious and sordid existence (his last picture, the graphically extreme Salo, made shortly before his death, would likely have had no trouble passing Justice Potter Stewart's test), Pasolini could also be the author of such a moving and loving work of religious art like The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. For me, however, he also serves as a reminder all of us have God in us and thus are capable of godly things. Whatever Pasolini's ultimate fate, let us give thanks and praise to God for the good things he did and pray for the repose of his soul. A Happy Easter to all.
Monday, April 02, 2012
Diary of a Papist Convert: Vigilantes
Jeffrey A. Tucker of the splendid Chant Cafe points out something so obvious it's no wonder that many of us have failed to notice it: the Mass celebrated on Saturday evenings (or afternoons) should not be called a "vigil" Mass. True vigil Masses are celebrated before Easter and the Feast of St. John the Baptist; most Sunday Masses celebrated on Saturday are more accurately referred to as "anticipated" Masses (which hardly trips off the tongue but neither does "Extraordinary Form"--whaddya gonna do?).
The anticipated Mass (there now, that wasn't so hard, was it?) is a creature of the post-Vatican II reforms and for once this hidebound conservative has little cause for complaint--in principle, mind you. I recall my in my youth first observing the then-odd sight of worshipers filing into our neighborhood Catholic church on Saturday. I also recall my younger brother and I, who as budding Episcopalians naturally were being carefully (if subtly) taught the myriad joys of anti-Catholicism, gleefully dubbing the service the "Get It Over With Mass" (obviously a case of envy projection). Later on, of course, I learned attendance at Sunday Mass was obligatory for Catholics and to that end Holy Church took efforts to make fulfillment as convenient as possible. That seemed reasonable to me, even if the Mass were to be celebrated the evening before.
As a Catholic, my only real objection to the Get It Over With Mass is, for reasons I do not know (but I'll bet Novus Ordo bears at least partial culpability), it has become the repository for some of the most egregious abuses in modern Catholic worship: for clergy, sloppy, even slovenly, liturgy; for laity, arriving late, wearing dress tank tops and chattering non-stop throughout. Part of the reform of the putative reform, which steadily continues its course albeit at a glacial pace, is for traditionalist Catholics to be ever-vigilant (if you'll pardon the expression) to these abuses and lovingly shaming the perpetrators thereof into larnin' to behave.
The anticipated Mass (there now, that wasn't so hard, was it?) is a creature of the post-Vatican II reforms and for once this hidebound conservative has little cause for complaint--in principle, mind you. I recall my in my youth first observing the then-odd sight of worshipers filing into our neighborhood Catholic church on Saturday. I also recall my younger brother and I, who as budding Episcopalians naturally were being carefully (if subtly) taught the myriad joys of anti-Catholicism, gleefully dubbing the service the "Get It Over With Mass" (obviously a case of envy projection). Later on, of course, I learned attendance at Sunday Mass was obligatory for Catholics and to that end Holy Church took efforts to make fulfillment as convenient as possible. That seemed reasonable to me, even if the Mass were to be celebrated the evening before.
As a Catholic, my only real objection to the Get It Over With Mass is, for reasons I do not know (but I'll bet Novus Ordo bears at least partial culpability), it has become the repository for some of the most egregious abuses in modern Catholic worship: for clergy, sloppy, even slovenly, liturgy; for laity, arriving late, wearing dress tank tops and chattering non-stop throughout. Part of the reform of the putative reform, which steadily continues its course albeit at a glacial pace, is for traditionalist Catholics to be ever-vigilant (if you'll pardon the expression) to these abuses and lovingly shaming the perpetrators thereof into larnin' to behave.
Diary of a Papist Convert: Vigilantes
Jeffrey A. Tucker of the splendid Chant Cafe points out something so obvious it's no wonder that many of us have failed to notice it: the Mass celebrated on Saturday evenings (or afternoons) should not be called a "vigil" Mass. True vigil Masses are celebrated before Easter and the Feast of St. John the Baptist; most Sunday Masses celebrated on Saturday are more accurately referred to as "anticipated" Masses (which hardly trips off the tongue but neither does "Extraordinary Form"--whaddya gonna do?).
The anticipated Mass (there now, that wasn't so hard, was it?) is a creature of the post-Vatican II reforms and for once this hidebound conservative has little cause for complaint--in principle, mind you. I recall my in my youth first observing the then-odd sight of worshipers filing into our neighborhood Catholic church on Saturday. I also recall my younger brother and I, who as budding Episcopalians naturally were being carefully (if subtly) taught the myriad joys of anti-Catholicism, gleefully dubbing the service the "Get It Over With Mass" (obviously a case of envy projection). Later on, of course, I learned attendance at Sunday Mass was obligatory for Catholics and to that end Holy Church took efforts to make fulfillment as convenient as possible. That seemed reasonable to me, even if the Mass were to be celebrated the evening before.
As a Catholic, my only real objection to the Get It Over With Mass is, for reasons I do not know (but I'll bet Novus Ordo bears at least partial culpability), it has become the repository for some of the most egregious abuses in modern Catholic worship: for clergy, sloppy, even slovenly, liturgy; for laity, arriving late, wearing dress tank tops and chattering non-stop throughout. Part of the reform of the putative reform, which steadily continues its course albeit at a glacial pace, is for traditionalist Catholics to be ever-vigilant (if you'll pardon the expression) to these abuses and lovingly shaming the perpetrators thereof into larnin' to behave.
The anticipated Mass (there now, that wasn't so hard, was it?) is a creature of the post-Vatican II reforms and for once this hidebound conservative has little cause for complaint--in principle, mind you. I recall my in my youth first observing the then-odd sight of worshipers filing into our neighborhood Catholic church on Saturday. I also recall my younger brother and I, who as budding Episcopalians naturally were being carefully (if subtly) taught the myriad joys of anti-Catholicism, gleefully dubbing the service the "Get It Over With Mass" (obviously a case of envy projection). Later on, of course, I learned attendance at Sunday Mass was obligatory for Catholics and to that end Holy Church took efforts to make fulfillment as convenient as possible. That seemed reasonable to me, even if the Mass were to be celebrated the evening before.
As a Catholic, my only real objection to the Get It Over With Mass is, for reasons I do not know (but I'll bet Novus Ordo bears at least partial culpability), it has become the repository for some of the most egregious abuses in modern Catholic worship: for clergy, sloppy, even slovenly, liturgy; for laity, arriving late, wearing dress tank tops and chattering non-stop throughout. Part of the reform of the putative reform, which steadily continues its course albeit at a glacial pace, is for traditionalist Catholics to be ever-vigilant (if you'll pardon the expression) to these abuses and lovingly shaming the perpetrators thereof into larnin' to behave.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
They Trusted Him
In an interview conducted by James Tarranto in the Wall Street Journal Cardinal Timothy Dolan decries his betrayal by the President of the United States:
To be fair, Dolan, though he evinces little or no concern for our present horrendous liturgy, is far brighter than most of the bishops in the USCCB, whose decades-long attempts at grafting leftist ideology to the moral teachings of Holy Church has, at last, yielded little else than their being shown for fools. The only charitable thing that might be said of the USCCB is they strike this former member of the Episcopal Church as not being quite as dumb as their counterparts in that institution. That would be a stretch indeed.
At the end of their 45-minute discussion, the archbishop summed up what he understood as the president's message:I suppose it's a stretch and disrespectful to boot to liken His Eminence and his fellow bishops in the USCCB to the character of Flounder (less so the President to Otter) in the movie Animal House. Neverthless, this scene comes to mind.
"I said, 'I've heard you say, first of all, that you have immense regard for the work of the Catholic Church in the United States in health care, education and charity. . . . I have heard you say that you are not going to let the administration do anything to impede that work and . . . that you take the protection of the rights of conscience with the utmost seriousness. . . . Does that accurately sum up our conversation?' [Mr. Obama] said, 'You bet it does.'"
The archbishop asked for permission to relay the message to the other bishops. "You don't have my permission, you've got my request," the president replied.
"So you can imagine the chagrin," Archbishop Dolan continues, "when he called me at the end of January to say that the mandates remain in place and that there would be no substantive change, and that the only thing that he could offer me was that we would have until August. . . .
To be fair, Dolan, though he evinces little or no concern for our present horrendous liturgy, is far brighter than most of the bishops in the USCCB, whose decades-long attempts at grafting leftist ideology to the moral teachings of Holy Church has, at last, yielded little else than their being shown for fools. The only charitable thing that might be said of the USCCB is they strike this former member of the Episcopal Church as not being quite as dumb as their counterparts in that institution. That would be a stretch indeed.
They Trusted Him
In an interview conducted by James Tarranto in the Wall Street Journal Cardinal Timothy Dolan decries his betrayal by the President of the United States:
To be fair, Dolan, though he evinces little or no concern for our present horrendous liturgy, is far brighter than most of the bishops in the USCCB, whose decades-long attempts at grafting leftist ideology to the moral teachings of Holy Church has, at last, yielded little else than their being shown for fools. The only charitable thing that might be said of the USCCB is they strike this former member of the Episcopal Church as not being quite as dumb as their counterparts in that institution. That would be a stretch indeed.
At the end of their 45-minute discussion, the archbishop summed up what he understood as the president's message:I suppose it's a stretch and disrespectful to boot to liken His Eminence and his fellow bishops in the USCCB to the character of Flounder (less so the President to Otter) in the movie Animal House. Neverthless, this scene comes to mind.
"I said, 'I've heard you say, first of all, that you have immense regard for the work of the Catholic Church in the United States in health care, education and charity. . . . I have heard you say that you are not going to let the administration do anything to impede that work and . . . that you take the protection of the rights of conscience with the utmost seriousness. . . . Does that accurately sum up our conversation?' [Mr. Obama] said, 'You bet it does.'"
The archbishop asked for permission to relay the message to the other bishops. "You don't have my permission, you've got my request," the president replied.
"So you can imagine the chagrin," Archbishop Dolan continues, "when he called me at the end of January to say that the mandates remain in place and that there would be no substantive change, and that the only thing that he could offer me was that we would have until August. . . .
To be fair, Dolan, though he evinces little or no concern for our present horrendous liturgy, is far brighter than most of the bishops in the USCCB, whose decades-long attempts at grafting leftist ideology to the moral teachings of Holy Church has, at last, yielded little else than their being shown for fools. The only charitable thing that might be said of the USCCB is they strike this former member of the Episcopal Church as not being quite as dumb as their counterparts in that institution. That would be a stretch indeed.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
They Never Disappoint
Who but looniest of the loony left would question the veracity of these words, spoken by the Pope to the press on his way to Cuba: "Today it is evident that Marxist ideology in the way it was conceived no longer corresponds to reality." Who, I ask? Why the Jesuits, of course! From their America Magazine, referring to an article in Reuters (emphasis added): "Reuters reports on Pope Benedict's upcoming trip to Cuba, and says that the Pope is offering Cuba the church's assistance should it move away from communism, which he claims no longer works."
They Never Disappoint
Who but looniest of the loony left would question the veracity of these words, spoken by the Pope to the press on his way to Cuba: "Today it is evident that Marxist ideology in the way it was conceived no longer corresponds to reality." Who, I ask? Why the Jesuits, of course! From their America Magazine, referring to an article in Reuters (emphasis added): "Reuters reports on Pope Benedict's upcoming trip to Cuba, and says that the Pope is offering Cuba the church's assistance should it move away from communism, which he claims no longer works."
Sunday, March 18, 2012
If Your're Free on the Evening of Monday the 26th...
You may wish to come to this (from the Church of Holy Innocents in New York City):
Incidentally, your Bloviator will be singing with the Holy Innocents Schola Cantorum that evening. You should consider attending regardless.
On Monday, March 26th, on the Solemnity of Annunciation, the retired bishop James C. Timlin of the Diocese of Scranton will celebrate the Solemn Pontifical Traditional Latin Mass at 6pm, and will also administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to several candidates. All are welcome!I wonder the last time the Sacrament of Confirmation was administered in New York using the traditional Latin rite; decades ago, I should think. Please consider attending if you are in the area. Not only will you be witnessing an historic occasion, you will also be showing support of the good efforts of clergy and laymen of Holy Innocents in restoring traditional worship to its proper place in Holy Church.
Incidentally, your Bloviator will be singing with the Holy Innocents Schola Cantorum that evening. You should consider attending regardless.
If Your're Free on the Evening of Monday the 26th...
You may wish to come to this (from the Church of Holy Innocents in New York City):
Incidentally, your Bloviator will be singing with the Holy Innocents Schola Cantorum that evening. You should consider attending regardless.
On Monday, March 26th, on the Solemnity of Annunciation, the retired bishop James C. Timlin of the Diocese of Scranton will celebrate the Solemn Pontifical Traditional Latin Mass at 6pm, and will also administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to several candidates. All are welcome!I wonder the last time the Sacrament of Confirmation was administered in New York using the traditional Latin rite; decades ago, I should think. Please consider attending if you are in the area. Not only will you be witnessing an historic occasion, you will also be showing support of the good efforts of clergy and laymen of Holy Innocents in restoring traditional worship to its proper place in Holy Church.
Incidentally, your Bloviator will be singing with the Holy Innocents Schola Cantorum that evening. You should consider attending regardless.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Happy Saint Patrick's Day (Part 2)
Your Bloviator lunched today with friends in midtown, just off Fifth Avenue, and so found himself plunged into the midst of the Saint Patrick's Day parade. After taking in countless idiots attired in big dopey green top hats or big dopey green spectacles etc. and later observing wearers of same shrieking vile obscenities to no one in particular, puking the vast quantities of green beer funneled down earlier, something unfortunate ocurred: the exquisite and finely-honed Episcopalian snobbery I thought I had rid myself forever upon reception into the Holy Catholic Church flooded my soul anew.
I love Ireland: the country, the people and the culture but for the life of me cannot understand how it came to be acceptable, in the United States anyway, the birthday in heaven of a great nation's patron saint be desecrated by myriad yahoos making such bloody asses of themselves.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day (Part 2)
Your Bloviator lunched today with friends in midtown, just off Fifth Avenue, and so found himself plunged into the midst of the Saint Patrick's Day parade. After taking in countless idiots attired in big dopey green top hats or big dopey green spectacles etc. and later observing wearers of same shrieking vile obscenities to no one in particular, puking the vast quantities of green beer funneled down earlier, something unfortunate ocurred: the exquisite and finely-honed Episcopalian snobbery I thought I had rid myself forever upon reception into the Holy Catholic Church flooded my soul anew.
I love Ireland: the country, the people and the culture but for the life of me cannot understand how it came to be acceptable, in the United States anyway, the birthday in heaven of a great nation's patron saint be desecrated by myriad yahoos making such bloody asses of themselves.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Guinness is Good for You
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Your Bloviator's mother told him when she lived in Ireland in the early 1950s the pubs were closed on March 17th. It was, after all, a solemn religious holiday. Not anymore, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to say a prayer to that good Englishman on your way to the pub or parade tomorrow.
Meanwhile, have some fun with this.
Your Bloviator's mother told him when she lived in Ireland in the early 1950s the pubs were closed on March 17th. It was, after all, a solemn religious holiday. Not anymore, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to say a prayer to that good Englishman on your way to the pub or parade tomorrow.
Meanwhile, have some fun with this.
Guinness is Good for You
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Your Bloviator's mother told him when she lived in Ireland in the early 1950s the pubs were closed on March 17th. It was, after all, a solemn religious holiday. Not anymore, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to say a prayer to that good Englishman on your way to the pub or parade tomorrow.
Meanwhile, have some fun with this.
Your Bloviator's mother told him when she lived in Ireland in the early 1950s the pubs were closed on March 17th. It was, after all, a solemn religious holiday. Not anymore, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to say a prayer to that good Englishman on your way to the pub or parade tomorrow.
Meanwhile, have some fun with this.
Archbishop of Canterbury to Resign.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will be resigning his office to become Master of Magdalene College at Cambridge, January 2013. I cannot say I blame him.
I know several people who have had dealings with His Grace the Archbishop and to a one they report him as a warm, engaging and erudite personage, in other words ideally suited for the academy. But oh in what sorry he state he leaves the Church of England and the Anglican Communion! How much of the blame can actually be laid at his feet is not easy to determine but Canterbury's tale is cautionary one: do not look to academics to lead you out of your woes; consult with them by all means but think twice before putting them in charge.
I know several people who have had dealings with His Grace the Archbishop and to a one they report him as a warm, engaging and erudite personage, in other words ideally suited for the academy. But oh in what sorry he state he leaves the Church of England and the Anglican Communion! How much of the blame can actually be laid at his feet is not easy to determine but Canterbury's tale is cautionary one: do not look to academics to lead you out of your woes; consult with them by all means but think twice before putting them in charge.
Archbishop of Canterbury to Resign.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will be resigning his office to become Master of Magdalene College at Cambridge, January 2013. I cannot say I blame him.
I know several people who have had dealings with His Grace the Archbishop and to a one they report him as a warm, engaging and erudite personage, in other words ideally suited for the academy. But oh in what sorry he state he leaves the Church of England and the Anglican Communion! How much of the blame can actually be laid at his feet is not easy to determine but Canterbury's tale is cautionary one: do not look to academics to lead you out of your woes; consult with them by all means but think twice before putting them in charge.
I know several people who have had dealings with His Grace the Archbishop and to a one they report him as a warm, engaging and erudite personage, in other words ideally suited for the academy. But oh in what sorry he state he leaves the Church of England and the Anglican Communion! How much of the blame can actually be laid at his feet is not easy to determine but Canterbury's tale is cautionary one: do not look to academics to lead you out of your woes; consult with them by all means but think twice before putting them in charge.
Friday, March 09, 2012
Another "Reform" Biting the Dust?
Inch by inch (and much too slowly for this ageing boomer) the reform of the reform plods along:
When I was a young Episcopalian the order was similar to the Catholic Church's at the time: baptism, confirmation and, finally, Holy Communion (as we called it). It made sense: one should not receive until capable of understanding what it is occurring. I have never read or heard an explanation of the present order (baptism, communion, confirmation) that did not soon devolve into touchy-feely mush. Let us hope the rest of the Church follows the good Bishop Aquila's example. All should benefit, save, perhaps, for photographers peddling mawkish "First Communion" portraits.
Thanks to Justin Martyr.
UPDATE: I was wrong to blame the Vatican II reforms for the change in the order children receive the sacraments; it goes back much earlier. See the comments.
Rome, Italy, Mar 8, 2012 / 03:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo said he is delighted to have first-hand papal approval for changing the order by which children in his diocese receive the sacraments.Well huzzah, huzzah! I often wonder whether many of the post-Vatican II reforms were perpetrated for sheerly contrarian reasons: being antithetical to the old ways sufficed. That some of the most radical reforms were rammed through so quickly (astonishingly so when you consider how slowly Holy Church usually moves in such circumstances) would suggest it and that putative reformers also knew the ol' window of opportunity would soon be slamming shut.
“I was very surprised in what the Pope said to me, in terms of how happy he was that the sacraments of initiation have been restored to their proper order of baptism, confirmation then first Eucharist,” said Bishop Aquila, after meeting Pope Benedict on March 8.
[snip]
Bishop Aquila said he made the changes because “it really puts the emphasis on the Eucharist as being what completes the sacraments of initiation” and on confirmation as “sealing and completing baptism.”
When the sacraments are conferred in this order, he said, it becomes more obvious that “both baptism and confirmation lead to the Eucharist.” This sacramental assistance helps Catholics live “that intimate relationship of being the beloved sons and daughters of the Father in our daily lives,” he added.
The Bishop of Fargo said the changes have also distanced the Sacrament of Confirmation from “some false theologies that see it as being a sacrament of maturity or as a sacrament for ‘me choosing God."
When I was a young Episcopalian the order was similar to the Catholic Church's at the time: baptism, confirmation and, finally, Holy Communion (as we called it). It made sense: one should not receive until capable of understanding what it is occurring. I have never read or heard an explanation of the present order (baptism, communion, confirmation) that did not soon devolve into touchy-feely mush. Let us hope the rest of the Church follows the good Bishop Aquila's example. All should benefit, save, perhaps, for photographers peddling mawkish "First Communion" portraits.
Thanks to Justin Martyr.
UPDATE: I was wrong to blame the Vatican II reforms for the change in the order children receive the sacraments; it goes back much earlier. See the comments.
Another "Reform" Biting the Dust?
Inch by inch (and much too slowly for this ageing boomer) the reform of the reform plods along:
When I was a young Episcopalian the order was similar to the Catholic Church's at the time: baptism, confirmation and, finally, Holy Communion (as we called it). It made sense: one should not receive until capable of understanding what it is occurring. I have never read or heard an explanation of the present order (baptism, communion, confirmation) that did not soon devolve into touchy-feely mush. Let us hope the rest of the Church follows the good Bishop Aquila's example. All should benefit, save, perhaps, for photographers peddling mawkish "First Communion" portraits.
Thanks to Justin Martyr.
UPDATE: I was wrong to blame the Vatican II reforms for the change in the order children receive the sacraments; it goes back much earlier. See the comments.
Rome, Italy, Mar 8, 2012 / 03:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo said he is delighted to have first-hand papal approval for changing the order by which children in his diocese receive the sacraments.Well huzzah, huzzah! I often wonder whether many of the post-Vatican II reforms were perpetrated for sheerly contrarian reasons: being antithetical to the old ways sufficed. That some of the most radical reforms were rammed through so quickly (astonishingly so when you consider how slowly Holy Church usually moves in such circumstances) would suggest it and that putative reformers also knew the ol' window of opportunity would soon be slamming shut.
“I was very surprised in what the Pope said to me, in terms of how happy he was that the sacraments of initiation have been restored to their proper order of baptism, confirmation then first Eucharist,” said Bishop Aquila, after meeting Pope Benedict on March 8.
[snip]
Bishop Aquila said he made the changes because “it really puts the emphasis on the Eucharist as being what completes the sacraments of initiation” and on confirmation as “sealing and completing baptism.”
When the sacraments are conferred in this order, he said, it becomes more obvious that “both baptism and confirmation lead to the Eucharist.” This sacramental assistance helps Catholics live “that intimate relationship of being the beloved sons and daughters of the Father in our daily lives,” he added.
The Bishop of Fargo said the changes have also distanced the Sacrament of Confirmation from “some false theologies that see it as being a sacrament of maturity or as a sacrament for ‘me choosing God."
When I was a young Episcopalian the order was similar to the Catholic Church's at the time: baptism, confirmation and, finally, Holy Communion (as we called it). It made sense: one should not receive until capable of understanding what it is occurring. I have never read or heard an explanation of the present order (baptism, communion, confirmation) that did not soon devolve into touchy-feely mush. Let us hope the rest of the Church follows the good Bishop Aquila's example. All should benefit, save, perhaps, for photographers peddling mawkish "First Communion" portraits.
Thanks to Justin Martyr.
UPDATE: I was wrong to blame the Vatican II reforms for the change in the order children receive the sacraments; it goes back much earlier. See the comments.
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