Catholic Family Vignettes

A simple case of poor judgment? Or yet another reason to keep your children as far away from public education as possible?

Here is an excerpt from a recent CNN news report (the full text accessible below):

"The visit was part of the YMCA's STAY program, for students considered at risk of dropping out of school, abusing drugs or getting into trouble with the law. The trip, a week ago, was part of a tour of several social service agencies in the city, to show the students where they could go for support and recreation during the summer."


Now, just exactly what part of a visit to Planned Parenthood would be deemed "recreational." May God have mercy!
After-school trip to Planned Parenthood prompts investigation
POSTED: 3:39 p.m. EDT, June 13, 2007 CNN

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Or perhaps I should say destruction...alas, my html skills are lacking.

Having followed all the instructions for a nice little "tweak", including backing up my previous template, I have lost a few things here and there. Sigh...oh, well! You live, you learn and you read the instructions a little more closely...

Onward and upward! Read more!

Una voce. One voice. This is the cry of the Traditional Catholic. Give us the beauty of the liturgy in the "voice" of the ancients--Latin!

English, too, is a beautiful language. It is our daily speech, our words of love and encouragement. It is Shakespeare, Keats, Browning, Shelley and others. Rhyme and reason.

Despite it's beauty, English (other languages as well) continues to be problematic when translating the Liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass from the original or ancient "voice" to the "voice" of a particular age or culture. Simply put, too much has been "lost in translation." The ongoing struggle to undo some of the more unfortunate "translations" are evident as the "ICEL attempts to restore the sacral vocabulary and linguistic rhythms of the Roman Rite" within the confines of the Novus Ordo Mass.

The following op/ed article from George Weigel, a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. illustrates the tendency to "dumb down" the translation of the Mass.


We are not morons
By George Weigel

Writing in the May 21 issue of America, Bishop Donald W. Trautman of Erie, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy, called the lay people of the Church to the barricades, urging us to “speak up!” in response to the new translations of Mass texts being developed by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. I’d like to take the bishop on his generous invitation, even if my remarks may not be precisely the kind he intended to provoke.

Bishop Trautman worries that the new translations are just, well, too darn much for “John and Mary Catholic,” whose participation in Sunday Mass will, he suggests, be impaired by a translation of the Creed that describes the Son as “consubstantial with the Father” and “incarnate of the Virgin Mary.” But that’s hardly the end of it. Will “John and Mary Catholic,” Bishop Trautman asks, “understand these words from the various new Collects: ‘sullied,’ ‘unfeigned,’ ‘ineffable,’ ‘gibbet,’ ‘wrought,’ ‘thwart’?” What will “John and Mary Catholic” make of the Collect for June 27, which hails St. Cyril of Alexandria as “an unvanquished champion of the divine motherhood”? Can they grasp the depiction of St. John of God on March 8 as “suffused...with the spirit of mercy”?

My hunch is that they’ll do just fine. “John and Mary Catholic,” in these United States, are among the best-educated Catholics in history. In my rather typical parish, “John and Mary” can understand legal contracts, Russian novels, architectural plans, IRS forms, the Atlantic Monthly, columns by George F. Will, the calculations necessary to compute an Earned Run Average, their children’s math homework, the Federal Register, New England Journal of Medicine articles on osteoporosis therapies, the fine print of their pension plans, and Sports Illustrated stories on the Cover-2 Defense; they’re not going to come unglued over “unfeigned” or “consubstantial” or “thwart.” In a word, they’re not morons.

John and Mary are also smart enough to have figured out that the present translation of the first Collect for Trinity Sunday is heresy (it’s addressed to the Father, who’s informed later in the prayer that he is “one God in three Persons”). Having read Paul’s letter to Titus, John and Mary may wonder why, at each Mass, the translators Bishop Trautman evidently prefers have transformed a theological fact (“our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” [Titus 2.13]) into an emotional condition (“...as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior...”). And no matter what Latin John and Mary may have forgotten — or never learned — they’ve been scratching their heads for forty years over how “Et cum spiritu tuo” became the supremely clunky “And also with you.” The list could be multiplied ad infinitum and ad nauseam — phrases John and Mary Catholic readily understand.
A witty, post-Vatican II Anglican convert to Catholicism was once asked what he missed most about his former ecclesiastical home. “The Mass in English,” he immediately replied. Bishop Trautman is clearly a man of intelligence and learning, so it’s all the more puzzling why he seems to defend the indefensible. For how can anyone with a sense of the majesty of the English language defend the See-Spot/See-Spot-Run vocabulary and syntax the new ICEL translations are intended to replace?

Are there clunkers in the new translations? Undoubtedly. But will ICEL’s attempt to restore the sacral vocabulary and linguistic rhythms of the Roman Rite to Catholic worship within the Anglosphere destroy our ability to pray as a community? Please; we’re not morons. I’d even venture the guess that prayers translated with far more fidelity to the Latin originals will be a step toward a deeper, more prayerful encounter with what Bishop Trautman rightly calls “the greatest gift of God, the Eucharist.”

Bishop Trautman would likely agree that, as a general principle, “pastoral” doesn’t mean “dumbed-down.” Yet that’s precisely the strategy many professional liturgists have advocated in the post-Vatican II translation wars. I, for one, am grateful that they’ve lost the argument.
Because we’re not morons, and we shouldn’t be treated as such.

George Weigel is a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Weigel’s column is distributed by the Denver Catholic Register, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Denver. Phone: 303-715-3215.
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The Path that leads to Nowhere
Corinne Roosevelt Robinson

There's a path that leads to Nowhere
In a meadow that I know,
Where an inland island rises
And the stream is still and slow;
There it wanders under willows
And beneath the silver green
Of the birches' silent shadows
Where the early violets lean.

Other pathways lead to Somewhere,
But the one I love so well
Had no end and no beginning —
Just the beauty of the dell,
Just the windflowers and the lilies
Yellow striped as adder's tongue,
Seem to satisfy my pathway
As it winds their sweets among.

There I go to meet the Springtime,
When the meadow is aglow,
Marigolds amid the marshes, —
And the stream is still and slow. —
There I find my fair oasis,
And with care-free feet I tread
For the pathway leads to Nowhere,
And the blue is overhead!

All the ways that lead to Somewhere
Echo with the hurrying feet
Of the Struggling and the Striving,
But the way I find so sweet
Bids me dream and bids me linger,
Joy and Beauty are its goal, —
On the path that leads to Nowhere
I have sometimes found my soul! Read more!

Well, well, well. It appears that Joseph Kennedy was unable to obtain that annulment after all (article from 1997 here). The following article from Time Magazine outlines the details of the decision issued by the Roma Rota in 2005, and kept secret until the final written document was prepared.

This decision is good news for Catholics who feared the process of annulment was beginning to take on the appearance, of what many in the secular world, refer to as "Catholic divorce." Interestingly enough, Sheila Rauch is Episcopalian, and many felt her non-Catholic status would not provide her with a fair appeal. Obviously, this was not the case. Read more!

Have you slain any dragons lately? The "dragon" I am referring to is a personal one, the one that is living in your home...clutter! There are some of you out there (God bless you Kristen - everyone, please read this post, and Margaret, for setting the stage for the rest us) who provide such an incredible inspiration and example by your minimalist perspective.

For those of you living with clutter, find out what your particular "dragon" is, and slay it today! I have long been of the opinion that we all live with our own "dragon(s)", mine is a fabric dragon. Clothing, blankets, towels, sheets...all of the fabric that it takes to wrap the bodies of 9 people...and many yards more than any of us could ever need.

Two moves within the past two years have forced our family to greatly downsize our "stuff" - we have limited storage, but are still hanging on to far too much. So...here's to digging out. God grant me the courage to continue to let go of these earthly "tethers" and as Holy Scripture so aptly puts it "store up treasure in heaven." Read more!

I love surprises. So do my parents. This past Sunday, we were most pleasantly surprised by my dear brother. My husband and I returned home from Mass to find his convertible parked out front. We quickly hid the car and my brother, as the parents were just behind us. Needless to say, mom and dad were touched by his desire to share the last few hours of their visit with all of us before their journey back to Kentucky.


I love him dearly...

He had been rather surprised himself, a few days earlier, when we all decided to video the absolute worst rendition of "Happy Birthday" ever recorded and presented it (via email) along with several hysterically funny cards and photos wishing him a most joyous "38th" (HAH!) birthday.

Thank you, dear brother, for the gift you are to all of us. We love you and are so happy you dropped in... Read more!

A Return to the Latin Mass
Clashes with congregants may erupt as a growing number of young priests push for a revival of pre-Vatican II customs
By Eric Ferkenhoff
Posted 6/17/07

Nearly two generations of Catholics now have grown up in a post-Vatican II world, worshipping in a church that celebrates mass in their local languages and, at least to some extent, embraces modern customs as much as it once rejected them.

So it seemed anathema when the Vatican confirmed recently that Pope Benedict XVI would relax restrictions on celebrating the 16th-century Tridentine Mass, citing "a new and renewed" interest in the ancient Latin liturgy, especially among younger Catholics.

Given the fierce fight that preceded Vatican II—the liturgical and doctrinal reforms of the mid-1960s that sought to make the church more accessible—a similar war would seem needed to overturn them. But a movement is building at seminaries nationwide to do just that: In addition to restoring the Latin mass, young priests are calling for greater devotion to the Virgin Mary, more frequent praying of the rosary, and priests turning away from the congregation as they once did. Perhaps most controversially, they also advocate a diminished role for women, who since Vatican II have been allowed to participate in the mass as lay altar servers and readers.

Such changes would seem to aggravate the church's growing attendance problems(in 2003, 40 percent of Roman Catholics said they had attended church in the past week, down from 74 percent in 1958) as well as enhance its air of exclusivity—the notion of Catholicism as the only true faith. Yet proponents of the movement argue that just the opposite holds: More people will attend mass if the traditions are richer and the doctrine stricter. The Latin mass, they say, would restore a sense of community they believe was diluted when the church allowed local culture to override tradition. In Chicago alone, mass is now said in some 50 languages.

"The traditional Latin mass simply excels at conveying the majesty and mystery of God," says Michael Dunnigan, a canon lawyer and chairman of the pro-Latin mass group, Una Voce America. Rejecting comparisons to fundamentalism, he denies that proponents are simply seeking more structure and discipline. "At the heart of the movement is a longing for beauty and an attitude of profound reverence," he says. Andrew Vogel, a seminarian from Rochester, Minn., notes that before Vatican II, mass attendance was at its highest and seminaries were full. "People just think we must have been doing something right," he says.

In today's Catholic churches, priests are free to celebrate a contemporary Latin mass, but they cannot celebrate the Latin mass as it was structured before 1962 without permission of their bishop. It is this restriction that the pope is considering lifting.

The proponents of the old Latin mass are said to number no more than 2 percent of Catholics, and polls show that the majority of Catholics embrace the reforms of Vatican II. But the Latin movement may be strong enough to carve a divide. Thomas Reese, a fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University predicts "a clash of cultures between clergy and the more liberal congregations as more of these conservative priests graduate and make their presence known."

He predicts that other old practices will be restored as the Vatican tries to impose the conservative values of Benedict on a more liberal world. "This is so much more about politics than it is about Latin and liturgy," Reese says.

According to published reports, the pope was, among other things, trying to bridge a divide with the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, even though that group has expressed concern about reversing the gains of Vatican II.

The Latin movement also has its detractors outside the faith. Jewish leaders take offense with older rites' references to Jews as faithless, and they worry that a revival of the old traditions could foster anti-Semitism.

But such arguments seemed far from the minds of the 20-odd worshipers who gathered last Friday for the Latin mass at Chicago's St. John Cantius Church. "You put the old rite and the new side by side, and there really is no comparison," says Simon Varnas, 35. "The old rite is far superior. It is more conducive to prayer, recollection, and personal dedication."

This story appears in the June 25, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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Dinner is late. A lovely Italian dinner. We would've eaten nearly an hour ago, but my men are hunting an illusive beast...an escaped emu.

Two hours ago, Gareth comes inside in a panic to inform us all that "there's something strange in the field...it has two legs and it's not a person!" Roger and I were slow to respond to this strange declaration, but the boys quickly bolted to investigate this claim.

Two minutes later, four very agitated boys are yelling excitedly that there is some kind of giant bird, "like an ostrich" at the edge of our yard. Arthur arms himself with his air rifle, dreams of a big-game hunt dancing in his head (he seems to have overcome his previous squeamishness). Dad and I noticed quite quickly that the giant bird, is in fact, an emu and definitely a domesticated bird, belonging to one of the local farms. Problem is, we don't know which farm.

The bird has attempted to head toward the road, so the boys have continued to herd it toward a safer location. This has been going on for quite sometime. So dinner is late.

I'm not quite sure what their goal is. I think, at this point, it is simply the thrill of the chase. After all, it's not everyday that a large bird roughly the size of a llama shows up in your yard.

Curiouser and curiouser... Read more!

This Father's Day, my dear husband gave a precious gift to our youngest son, Maximilian. Max made his first confession, with his father and grandfather patiently waiting for his emergence from the confessional.

It has always been a great joy to both of us to present our children to this beautiful sacrament. The boys, especially, have developed a great love for confession and frequently avail themselves of its graces.

Maximilian is on his journey towards the reception of First Holy Communion. He will receive on the Feast of Christ the King, just as his brother Michael did, last year. After making his first confession, Max could hardly contain himself as he contemplated the day he will receive Jesus. He told his older sister Meredith, "He's really there, you know!" Such a simple statement, and yet how profound.

"He's really there, you know!" Read more!

A most joyous and blessed Father's Day to our spiritual fathers...God's Holy Priests. May your day be filled with happiness and the knowledge that you are loved and appreciated by your "children".

A very happy Father's Day to our own "father"...Fr. Kevin Lutz. We are blessed to call you Father...thank you for all that you do.

Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name.
~ William Wordsworth Read more!

Tomorrow is Father's Day and my children and I will be blessed to spend it with two of the best fathers ever...my husband and my dad. These two men are such beautiful examples of fatherly love and we will all be blessed to spend tomorrow honoring them.


Here is a beautiful prayer for all fathers:

Prayer of Pope John XXIII - for Fathers

Saint Joseph, guardian of Jesus
and chaste husband of Mary,
you passed your life in loving fulfillment of duty.
You supported the holy family of Nazareth
with the work of your hands.
Kindly protect those who trustingly come to you.
You know their aspirations,
their hardships, their hopes.
They look to you because they know
you will understand and protect them.
You too knew trial,
labour and weariness.
But amid the worries of material life,
your soul was full of deep peace
and sang out in true joy
through intimacy with God's Son entrusted to you
and with Mary, his tender Mother.
Assure those you protect that they do not labour alone.
Teach them to find Jesus near them
and to watch over Him faithfully as you have done.

Amen.

May this Sabbath day be filled with the joyful celebration of fatherhood. Blessed be our own Father, God, forever. Read more!

Happy Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus! May you find His Most Sacred Heart to be the source of all joy and comfort.

It was a beautiful day. We reveled in the glories of nature at a local park, once again the children splashing and playing in the cool waters of Darby Creek. The evening meal was followed by a solemn yet joyful "re-consecration" of our home and family to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and a lovely "re-enthronement" as well.

The children assisted in decorating the mantle with wildflowers and large thorns they had gathered this afternoon. The glow of many candles illuminated the simple altar and provided a lovely setting for the enthronement of the image of our Lord's Most Sacred Heart. The grandparents had never participated in an enthronement ceremony, and so made their first consecration. It was quite a touching event to have the entire family gathered in prayer.

The rest of the evening was spent recording the most hilarious birthday video for my brother. Afterwards, we celebrated the joys of the day with ice cream and brownies. A sweet ending to a truly sweet day. Read more!

The Twelve Promises of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary for those devoted to His Sacred Heart:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

Litany to the Sacred Heart

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, Response: have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, ..
God the Holy Spirit,...
Holy Trinity, one God, ...
Heart of Jesus, Son of the eternal Father, ...
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mother's womb, ...
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, ...
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty, ...
Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God, ...
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High, ...
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven, ...
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity, ...
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love, ...
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, ...
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, ...
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, ...
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts, ...
Heart of Jesus, wherein are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, ...
Heart of Jesus, wherein dwells all the fullness of the Godhead, ...
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased, ...
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, ...
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, ...
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy, ...
Heart of Jesus, rich unto all who call upon You, ...
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness, ...
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our offenses, ...
Heart of Jesus, overwhelmed with reproaches, ...
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our iniquities, ...
Heart of Jesus, obedient even unto death, ...
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, ...
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, ...
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, ...
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, ...
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, ...
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, ...
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, ...
Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints, ...

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
R. Make our hearts like unto Thy Heart.

Let us pray, Almighty everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy dearly beloved Son, and upon the praise and satisfaction He offers Thee in the name of sinners and for those who seek Thy mercy. Be appeased, and grant us pardon in the name of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee forever and ever. Amen.

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"For the Record - URGENT - Italian Papal News website:
Motu proprio "signed and imminent"
Quotes from the Accompanying Letter"

The above statement is taken from Rorate Caeli, a very credible/conservative resource for news regarding the liberalization of the Traditional Mass. The full text of the article may be found here Read more!