Catholic Family Vignettes

Pope: Other denominations not true churches

Jews object to Latin rite's prayer for their conversion


Vatican: Non-Catholics 'wounded' by not recognizing pope

Pope's comments irrelevant to non-Catholics

Theo-con Pope tries to force all of us back to the Middle Ages

Spin, spin, spin...the inexhaustible fount of negative news being "spun" by the media is dizzying. Martyrdom for the faithful seems imminent!

All humor aside, it has not been my intention to delve too heavily into church politics, nor to give too much attention to those issues which fan the fires of controversy. I am, however, a bit concerned by the sheer volume of negative news and commentary regarding this extremely exciting, yet challenging time in Church history.

It seems as if our Holy Father has drawn a line in the sand, and we, the faithful, are being asked to step over in faith. The speculation regarding each individual diocese's response to the SP is all-consuming for members of the media, who wish to stir the muddy waters of discontent. Very little press is given to those who welcome or even hint at obedience to the directives of the Holy Father.

I have rejoiced and perhaps even gloated a bit, in the past few days over the recent documents from Rome that seemingly affirm a shift in the "tide." My email inbox has been overflowing with links to documents, headlines and commentary from a myriad of sources. There will never be enough time in the day to sufficiently peruse them all, and I simply lack the wisdom to expound upon them, leaving that job to the trained theologian or commentator.

And so I leave you with this: Charity, patience and temperance. Much will be said and done in the days to come. These documents are not an end unto themselves, but a beginning. I remain thankful to God for His great Wisdom and feel privileged to be alive during such interesting times! Read more!

What the Caveman has to say:

With regard to the suppression [of the Traditional Latin Mass in 1969], this individual wrote: "A community is calling its very being into question when it suddenly declares that what was its holiest and highest possession is strictly forbidden and when it makes the longing for it seem downright indecent."

Now THAT'S powerful! "Calling our very being into question... makes the longing for it seem downright indecent." Want to guess who said that? I'll tell ya... Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in his interview-book Salt of the Earth (1997). Gee, I've been saying that for years. Looks like I'm in good company, eh?

But for those who still buy into the myth that "the spirit of V2" is getting us back to our roots, allow me to point the following out to you;

The Latin Mass isn't something that magically appeared back in the 1500's during the Council of Trent. Neither did it simply fall from the sky when Pope St. Gregory the Great introduced The Gregorian Sacramentary in the 6th century. Even the Canon of the Latin Mass dates to the 4th century. The historical fact of the matter is, even in it's infancy, the Latin Mass has been with us since the 1st century when Sts. Peter and Paul first preached in Rome. The words of the Consecration have remained constant for 2,000 years within the Latin Mass. There simply is no getting around that.

Oh, before I forget... why did Pope St. Gregory the Great even want to retain Latin in the liturgy? Golly, could it be because he realized that Latin was unchanging, and that this new language called Italian was ever evolving and constantly changing? Yep... that exactly the reason. Boy, they didn't call him "The Great" for nothing, huh? I'd wager if he were around today, many would call him a Rad-Trad or possibly even a caveman.

Anyhow, So for all those nay-sayers who have all the theological, ecclesiastical and historical depth of a kiddie wading pool, please refrain for the soft-headed notion that the Motu Proprio is all about the SSPX, or simply pleasing (shutting up) a extremely small number of "Rad-Trads".

It's all about our very being of being Catholics. If you have any questions, direct them to the guy who lives in Rome who wears those really cool Prada shoes.. Read more!