06.04.08
Posted in Renewal Of The Church, Mysterium Iniquitatis, Protect Children at 12:37 pm by Brian Schuettler
The main point I took from Phil’s book was the idea that Catholicism without faith, i.e.
belief, can be a very dangerous thing. It is very easy to be distracted from what is essential, that is, maintaining your faith. For years Evangelicals spoke to Catholics about a personal relationship with Jesus, and many Catholics did not know what they were talking about. Now, thankfully, Pope Benedict XVI, long recognized as one of the Church’s leading thinkers and theologians, is now stressing that very same thing. He is constantly speaking about friendship with Jesus. This simple message is what it’s all about. This is not a private affair as Anonymous inferred in my previous posting, but a personal friendship lived out in a Church, i.e. in community, with other friends of Jesus. This community must be formed in the truth under the Magisterium.
Again, it is very easy to take your eyes off the ball of this core fact, and be distracted, even if you are a bishop and distracted from Christ by running the Church. “Church business” can be a huge distraction from maintaining one’s personal, central relationship with Christ. It goes back to C.S. Lewis’s essay “On First and Second Things.” Finally, it goes back to idolotry.
Through much of the 20th Century so much of the agenda of the Church in America was caught up in seeking acceptance and assimilation into American Society. That drive for acceptance has finally brought us to the scandal of Catholic politicians promoting abortion and surprised when they are called on it—and bishops reluctant to call them on it. Humanae Vitae was thought “unrealistic.” Dissent flourished under the rubric of “being open to other viewpoints” among people who really didn’t even know the Catholic viewpoint in a coherent way.
After 1968 and the Humanae Vitae protests, bishops were explicitly chosen who were men who “didn’t make waves” when what was needed were men who would recognize and stand against the dangerous currents in the culture. Imagine if the bishops took a united stand for Humanae Vitae in 1968. Or a stand against Roe v. Wade. Well they didn’t. And now we have to disassimilate from the cultural attitudes that embrace these things, and it comes as a shock to “cultural Catholics” who think showing up at Mass on Sunday is doing God a favor, and it’s no big deal to miss Mass.
By “disassimilate” I don’t mean leave the culture, but recover true Catholicism i.e. Friendship with Jesus. Only then can Catholics be a leven in society.
The attitude that the Church was a social and political phenomenon, instead of a spiritual reality, and an accessory to one’s life rather than the center of one’s life led to a widespread loss of the True Faith even while going through all the motions. Thus, the need not for remedial catechesis, but evangelization—perhaps for the first time—for many Catholics. A recovery of true friendship, true spousal love with Christ through prayer and personal conversion. When Benedict spoke to the US bishops he stressed fundamental basics. It’s sad that he had to do so.
Otherwise you have pro-abort Catholic pols and priests abusing children and bishops who are impotent, hamstrung and confused and don’t know what to do about it—if they even recognize there is a problem. I think this is the larger problem Phil’s book points out.
http://thefaithfuldepartedbook.blogspot.com/
Permalink
05.19.08
Posted in Renewal Of The Church, Reverence At Mass, Mysterium Iniquitatis, It Starts With Obedience at 11:31 am by Brian Schuettler
On the site Petrus there is a candid interview with His Eminence Virgilio Card. Noè, the former papal MC under Paul VI and John Paul I.
Esclusivo - La rivelazione del Cardinale Noè: “Quando Paolo VI denunciò il fumo di Satana nella Chiesa si riferiva agli abusi liturgici seguiti al Vaticano II”
di Bruno Volpe
CITTA’ DEL VATICANO - Parla con un filo di voce e a volte l’affanno è talmente pesante che deve fermarsi. Ma la mente è lucida e il cuore buono. L’intervista con il Cardinale Virgilio Noè (nella foto), 86 anni, Maestro delle Cerimonie Liturgiche sotto i Pontificati di Paolo VI, Giovanni Paolo I e Giovanni Paolo II, già Arciprete della Basilica di San Pietro e Vicario del Papa per la Città del Vaticano, si rivela commovente e, al tempo stesso, avvincente. Il porporato, che ha abbandonato da molto la vita pubblica a causa degli acciacchi propri dell’età, ci aiuta, portandoci per mano, a conoscere meglio un Pontefice - a torto - dimenticato in fretta dalla storia: Giovan Battista Montini. E rivela per la prima volta a cosa si riferiva precisamente Paolo VI quando, nel 1972, denunciò la presenza del fumo di Satana nella Chiesa.
Eminenza, chi era Papa Paolo VI?
“Un galantuomo, un Santo. Ricordo ancora come viveva il Mistero dell’Eucaristia, con passione e partecipazione. Quando penso a lui piango, ma non alla maniera degli ipocriti. Mi commuovo sinceramente. Gli devo tanto, mi ha insegnato molto, ha vissuto e si è speso sempre per la Chiesa”.
Lei ha avuto il privilegio di essere Maestro delle Cerimonie Liturgiche proprio grazie alla nomina ricevuta da Papa Montini ai tempi della riforma post-conciliare. Come ricorda quei tempi?
“Splendidamente. Una volta, il Santo Padre mi ha detto,personalmente, e con modi affettuosissimi, come il Cerimoniere dovesse attuare quel compito in quel determinato periodo storico. Avvenne in sacrestia. Mi si avvicinò e mi disse: il cerimoniere deve prevedere tutto e farsi carico di tutto, ha il compito di rendere la strada più facile al Papa”.
Aggiunse dell’altro?
“Sì. Affermò che l’animo di un cerimoniere non deve essere turbato mai da nulla, grandi o piccoli che siano i suoi problemi personali. Un cerimoniere, sottolineò, deve restare sempre padrone di se stesso e fare da scudo al Papa, perchè la Santa Messa deve essere celebrata degnamente, per la gloria di Dio e del suo popolo”.
Il Santo Padre come accettò la riforma liturgica voluta dal Vaticano II?
“Di buon grado”.
Si racconta che Paolo VI fosse un uomo molto triste: verità o leggenda?
“Una menzogna. Era un padre buono e mite, un galantuomo e un Santo. Al tempo stesso, era addolorato dal fatto di essere stato lasciato solo dalla Curia romana. Ma di questo preferisco non parlare”.
Nel complesso, smentendo gli storici, Lei che è stato uno dei suoi più stretti e fidati collaboratori, descrive Papa Montini come una persona serena.
“Lo era. E sa perché? Perchè affermava sempre che chi serve il Signore non può essere mai triste. E lui lo serviva specialmente nel sacrificio della Santa Messa”.
Resta immemorabile la denuncia di Paolo VI sulla presenza del fumo di Satana nella Chiesa. Ancora oggi, quel discorso sembra di un’attualità incredibile. Ma, con esattezza, cosa voleva dire il Papa?
“Voi di ‘Petrus’ avete fatto un bel colpo, perché sono in grado di rivelare, per la prima volta, cosa intendesse denunciare Paolo VI con quella affermazione. Ecco, Papa Montini per Satana intendeva classificare tutti quei sacerdoti o vescovi e Cardinali che non rendevano culto al Signore mal celebrando la Santa Messaa causa di una errata interpretazione e applicazione del Concilio Vaticano II. Parlò di fumo di Satana perchè sosteneva che quei preti che della Santa Messa facevano paglia in nome della creatività, in realtà erano posseduti dalla vanagloria e dalla superbia del Maligno. Dunque, il fumo di Satana altro non era che la mentalità che voleva stravolgere i canoni tradizionali e liturgici della cerimonia Eucaristica”.
E pensare che Paolo VI viene additato quasi come la causa di tutti i mali della liturgia post-conciliare. Ma stando a quello che rivela Lei, Eminenza, Montini paragonò il caos liturgico, sia pure velatamente, addirittura a qualcosa di infernale.
“Lui condannava le smanie di protagonismo e il delirio di onnipotenza che seguirono a livello liturgico il Concilio. La Messa è una cerimonia sacra, ripeteva spesso, tutto deve essere preparato e studiato adeguatamente rispettando i canoni, nessuno è ‘dominus’ della Messa. Spiacevolmente, in molti dopo il Vaticano II non lo hanno capito e Paolo VI ne soffrì ritenendo il fenomeno un attacco del demonio”.
Eminenza, in conclusione: cos’è la vera liturgia?
“E’ il rendere gloria a Dio. La liturgia va eseguita sempre e comunque con decoro: anche un segno della Croce mal fatto è sinonimo di disprezzo e sciatteria. Purtroppo, lo ripeto, dopo il Vaticano II si è creduto che tutto o quasi fosse permesso. Ora bisogna recuperare, e in fretta, il senso del sacro nell’ars celebrandi, prima che il fumo di Satana pervada completamente tutta la Chiesa. Grazie a Dio, abbiamo Papa Benedetto XVI: la sua Messa e il suo stile liturgico sono un esempio di correttezza e dignità”.
English translation:
Exclusive: the revelation of Card. Noè:” When Paul VI denounced the smoke of Satan in the Church, he was referring to liturgical abuses following Vatican II.”
by Bruno Volpe
CITTA’ DEL VATICANO - He speaks with a thread of a voice and at times laboring for breath he it is so difficult he has to stop. But his mind is lucid and his heart is sound.. The interview with Virgilio Card. Noè, 86, Master of Liturgical Ceremonies during the Pontificates of Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II, once the Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Peter and Vicar of the Pope for Vatican City, showed himself to be at the same time both touching and engaging. The Cardinal, who has very much abandoned public life because of the infirmities of old age, helps us, taking us my the hand, better to know a Pontiff – wrongly forgotten in history’s haste: Giovan Battista Montini. He reveals for the first time what Paul VI was referring to precisely when in 1972 he denounced the presence of the smoke of Satan in the Church.
Your Eminence, who was Pope Paul VI?
A real gentleman, a saint. I remember still how he lived the Eucharistic Mystery, with passion and participation. When I think of him I tear up, but not in the way of a hypocrite. I am truly moved. I owe him a great deal, he taught me a lot, he lived and paid a great price for the Church.
You had the privilege to be Master of Liturgical Ceremonies precisely because of the assignment from Papa Montini in the time of the post-Conciliar reform. How do you remember those times?
Splendidly. Once the Holy Father said to me, personally, and in a very tender way, how the MC ought to carry out his role in that particular historical period. He came into the sacristy. I drew near and he said: “The MC must foresee everything and taken everything on himself, he has the task of making the Pope’s road smoother.”
Did he add anything else?
He affirmed that the spirit of the MC must not be shaken up by anything, large or small, that may be his own personal problems. An MC, he stressed, must remain also the master of himself and be the Pope’s shield, so that Holy Mass can be celebrated in a dignified way, for the glory of God and His people.
How did the Holy Father take the liturgical reform desired by Vatican II?
With pleasure.
It is told that Paul VI was quite a sad man, true or legend?
A lie. He was a good and gentle father, a gentleman and a saint. At the same time, he was saddened by the fact of having been left alone by the Roman Curia. But I would prefer not to talk about that.
As a whole, against the historians, You, as one of his closest and trust collaborators, describe Papa Montini as a serene person.
He was. Do you know why? Because he also affirmed that whoever serves the Lord cannot ever be sad. He he served Him especially in the Sacrifice of the Mass.
Paul VI’s denunciation of the presence of the smoke of Satan in the Church is unforgettable. Still today, that discourse seems to be incredibly relevant.
You from Petrus, have gotten a real scoop here, because I am in a position to reveal, for the first time, what Paul VI desired to denounce with that statement. Here it is. Papa Montini, for Satan, meant to include all those priests or bishops and cardinals who didn’t render worship to the Lord by celebrating badly (mal celebrando) Holy Mass because of an errant interpretation of the implementation of the Second Vatican Council. He spoke of the smoke of Satan because he maintained that those priests who turned Holy Mass into dry straw in the name of creativity, in reality were possessed of the vainglory and the pride of the Evil One. so, the smoke of Satan was nothing other than the mentality which wanted to distort the traditional and liturgical canons of the Eucharistic ceremony.”
It is thought that Paul VI was the real culprit as the cause of all the ills of post-Conciliar liturgy. But based on what you have revealed, Eminence, Montini compared the liturgical chaos, even if in a veiled way, actually to something hellish.
He condemned craving to be in the limelight and the delirium of almighty power that they were following the Council at the liturgical level. Mass is a sacred ceremony, he often repeated, everything must be prepared and studied adequately, respecting the canons, no one is “dominus” [lord] of the Mass. Sadly, in many after Vatican II not many understood him and Paul VI suffered this, considering the phenomenon to be an attack of the Devil.
Your Eminence, in conclusion, what is true liturgy?
It renders glory to God. Liturgy must be carried out always and no matter what with decorum: even a sign of the Cross poorly made is synonymous with scorn and sloppiness. Alas, I repeat, after Vatican II it was believed that everything, or nearly, was permitted. Now it is necessary to recover, and in a hurry, the sense of the sacred in the ars celebrandi, before the smoke of Satan completely pervades the whole Church. Thanks be to God, we have Pope Benedict XVI: his Mass and his liturgical style are an example of correctness and dignity.
Permalink
05.15.08
Posted in General, The Importance Of Authority, Renewal Of The Church at 10:22 am by Brian Schuettler
Directive from Archbishop Flynn ends lay preaching at Mass
By Maria Wiering
Catholic News Service
NEW HOPE, Minn. (CNS) — Father Terry Rassmussen, pastor of St. Joseph Church in New Hope, finished the reading, closed the Book of the Gospels and stepped away from the ambo. From the congregation, Ginny Untiedt stepped forward.
Clad in a white robe, Untiedt bowed as Father Rassmussen laid his hands on her head and blessed her. She walked to the ambo and began preaching for the last time.
As many as 29 parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have used lay preachers at Mass during the past 25 years. In January Archbishop Harry J. Flynn instructed pastors to discontinue the practice.
He gave the date of his retirement as head of the archdiocese — May 2 — as the time by which parishes should develop “a pastoral plan” to end lay preaching at Mass.
Pope Benedict XVI accepted Archbishop Flynn’s resignation on his 75th birthday May 2; 75 is the age at which canon law requires bishops to turn in their resignation. As coadjutor, Archbishop John C. Nienstedt automatically became head of the archdiocese.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0802616.htm
Permalink
