Liturgy

When I saw the headline I was thought it might be in relation to those faithful suffering from liturgical wackiness at some parishes. Enough painkillers and many modern liturgical hymns might be bearable. Alas no.

Restating its opposition to any form of euthanasia, the Vatican yesterday said that painkilling drugs should be used in order to help dying patients live out their days to a "natural end".

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, Pope John Paul II’s spokesperson on health care issues, was responding to a question about living wills at a news conference.

"We must preserve life from its beginning to its natural end," he said. "Life doesn’t belong to us. Life belongs to God."

The Vatican is holding a conference this week to promote the use of painkillers for chronic pain suffers and terminally ill patients [Source ] [Via WIred Catholic].

Today being All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation. Well actually for most in the United States it is a Holy Day of kinda-sorta-come-if-you-like-since-it-is-encouraged-obligation. Since Monday is too close to Sunday we wouldn’t want to impose on Catholics to actually have to go to Mass two days in a row. Pick up the cross daily unless it falls to close to a Sunday. Besides Sundays there are only six Holy Days of Obligation and the Ascension is almost always celebrated on Sunday so that leaves only five. Ash Wednesday which is not a solemnity manages to obtains crowds despite people having to work so I don’t understand the excuses used to do this. It wouldn’t exactly kill American Catholics to go to Mass an extra couple of days and the opportunity to receive Christ in the Eucharist isn’t exactly a hardship.

The Mass I went to today had a higher attendance then the normal daily Mass and our pastor took the opportunity to again correctly explain voting our faith after he explained the reason for today’s celebration. This day reminds me of being a Freshman at the end of the year and seeing the Seniors all dressed up and receiving their diplomas to graduate. At that time another three years seemed like forever but to see that people made it through to receive their reward was heartening. I look on the saints in the same light. Our pilgrimage on earth is a trial and seems to go on and on. But we can look at the examples of the saints, especially the ones that appeal to us, to guide us and to remember the purpose of the journey.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3-14

Luke 2:33-35
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against
(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also),

Holy Mother of God,
hear the prayers of the Church
for all mothers,
especially those wearied by life
and overcome by the suffering
they bear for their children.
Hail Mary…

O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
intercede for them
from your place in heaven,
that the mercy of your divine Son
might lighten their burden
and give them strength.

Hail Mary…

Glory to the Father….

Pray for All Children
The eyes of a child are an infinite well of life, hope and goodness. If you doubt the value of life, look into the eyes of a child. If you are worn by life’s worries, look into the eyes of a child. If you want to see tomorrow, look into the eyes of a child. And what you will see is the divine spark which brought beauty out of chaos, the infinite beauty, which is the presence of the Creator in his creation.

Lane Core, Jr has writen an excellent Novena Prayer for the election.

Almighty God, all things are in your hands: our nation, our communities, our families, our lives.

In this time of great decision, bless our country and its people. Prosper the efforts of the just and true, and thwart the purposes of the unjust and dishonest. Preserve our land from violence and turmoil, and keep our relationships decent and respectful.

Inspire voters, legislators, executives, and judges so our country may be a land where morality is furthered by law and authority; where life is protected, marriage is respected, and family is supported; where the innocent are spared, and the guilty are punished; where justice is tempered by mercy, and mercy fortified by justice.

Help us to keep the United States of America a land where the rule of law and respect for individual dignity are the legal foundation of a just order.

Amen.

I had already intended to do the same and will be posting the following pro-life Novena prayer for the next nine days leading up to the election.

A Jersey City man has been posing as a priest – leading Mass and attempting to solicit donations – for St. Paul of the Cross Church in Jersey City, according to parishioners and Archdiocese of Newark spokesman Jim Goodness.

According to both Goodness and church parishioners, the man showed up on Sunday and led the first part of a morning Mass before officials realized he did not belong.

"Someone is walking around . dressed as a priest," Goodness said. "He’s asking for donations for some parish functions and he is clearly not authorized to do this."

The man is not ordained as a priest nor is he part of the Archdiocese, according to Goodness. At this point, Goodness said, it is not clear how much money the man may have accepted in donations.

A St. Paul parishioner, Rafael Torres, who on Monday filed a police report about the recent incidents, said the man introduces himself to people as "Father Chris."

Goodness said that St. Paul of the Cross has an upcoming annual festival and is holding several fund-raisers. Apparently, the man has been using the upcoming celebration as a way to solicit funds, he said.

"St. Paul is having a celebration . and at this point there have been some fund-raising activities," Goodness said. "I think he latched himself onto it."

Parishioners first saw the man when he suddenly showed up on Sunday to preside over Mass, Goodness said. At first, church officials thought nothing of it because they were expecting a visiting priest that day.

But when the real visiting priest showed up, the man told church officials that he was visiting the area and asked if he could still lead Mass. Because Catholic churches sometimes get requests from out-of-town priests to assist with services, the church officials saw no harm in it and told him that he could preside over the Mass with the help of the visiting priest, Goodness said.

"Apparently this fake priest made some mistakes," Goodness said. "He read the Gospel from the wrong place. He didn’t read it from the pulpit. He also interrupted the priest a couple of times during the Mass."

At one point, Goodness said, the man temporarily left the service to get a glass of water. When the other priests realized that he was acting strangely, they asked him to leave while the visiting priest completed the Mass, Goodness said. (source)

So the next time a priest acts strangely during Mass and deviates from the Lectionary and the GIRM I now have a more charitable excuse for the behavior – maybe this is another fake priest instead of a real priest that should know better.

Update: Fake priest has been arrested.

With the aroma of incense hovering, the Rev. Eduardo Garcia lifts the communion wafer toward heaven, reciting, "Hoc est enim corpus meum."

As the prayer echoes through St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Volo, 15-year-old Beth Gammel says this is the moment she feels closest to God.

She doesn’t understand Latin, but the book she holds translates Garcia’s prayer: "For this is my body."

For Gammel and a growing number of young people, the once traditional Latin Mass provides a connection to the divine unmatched by any contemporary service.

The Catholic rite dating from the 5th century had almost faded into oblivion after Vatican reforms in the 1960s, which included an official ban on its use. But since Pope John Paul lifted the ban in 1984, it’s thriving in Volo and being revived across the country, with young families leading the way.

The Rev. Donald Dietz, a priest at St. Peter’s, says he’s seeing a growing number of young people coming to Volo from as far as Marengo and Palatine.

"It’s not just gray-headed folks. We’re getting younger families who were born after 1964. It’s an amazing thing to see," Dietz said.

St. Peter’s is one of several churches offering the Mass in the dioceses that serve Chicago and its suburbs. Dietz says they have 150 people attending each Sunday, and the number is growing.

The two Chicago parishes are reporting increases, too. St. Thomas More Church on the South Side is getting 300 people a week. Nearly 1,000 folks show up to St. John Cantius on the Near West Side for two Sunday services. A fourth church, St. Gelasius near Hyde Park in Chicago, will offer daily and Sunday Latin Masses as soon as its building renovation project is complete.

At a time when churches are competing to attract the Gen-X crowd, what’s the draw of this more traditional practice?

"The Mass has an intensity you don’t normally see," Garcia said. "The art, the music, the chanting connects the people to God in a deep and mysterious way."

Garcia says he believes young people "crave a closeness to the Lord" and need a sense of permanence in a chaotic society. (source)