Category: Columns

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Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Why are objects kissed during Mass?

What's That All About column by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The fifth in a series by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf about the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

In this short series we are looking into what Bishop Robert C. Morlino is up to when you see reports that he has celebrated a “Pontifical Mass at the Throne in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite” (PMATTITEFOTRR).

So far, we’ve made distinctions about what the Roman Rite and the Extraordinary Form are, we’ve seen the different levels of solemnity with which Holy Mass can be offered in the older, traditional form, and we’ve touched one of the most obvious differences between how a bishop says Mass in the traditional Form and the Ordinary Form, that is, the additional vestments he uses and the different ministers he has to help him.

Objects kissed

Here is another thing which might make you scratch your head when you attend your first PMATTITEFOTRR.

In the older, traditional Form, when objects are handed to and taken from the priest celebrant or the bishop, they are kissed, along with Father’s hand. What’s up with that?

It’s a good question, given the fact that it is so out of keeping with the style of 99 precent of Masses you have seen in the last 50 years.

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Bishop Robert Barron

Confirmation and evangelization

Just a few days ago, I had the enormous privilege of performing my first Confirmation as a bishop.

It took place at Holy Cross Parish in Moor Park, Calif., a large, bustling, and bi-lingual parish in my pastoral region. I told the confirmandi — and I meant it — that I would keep them in my heart for the rest of my life, for we were connected by an unbreakable bond.

In preparation for this moment, I was, of course, obliged to craft a homily, and that exercise compelled me to do some serious studying and praying around the meaning of this great sacrament.

What is Confirmation?

It is sometimes said that Confirmation is a sacrament in search of a theology. It is indeed true that most Catholics could probably give at least a decent account of the significance of Baptism, Eucharist, Confession, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick, but they might balk when asked to explain the meaning of Confirmation.

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Jean Mueller

Dealing with grief is different for each individual

Q A family member passed recently and although it was after a long illness, I am surprised and a little disappointed with the reactions of some relatives.

This was a much loved individual and her loss leaves a great hole in our hearts.

Some relatives want to plan a vacation to “honor” her while others are encouraging her husband to get back out there and begin another relationship; because “that is what she would want.”

Maybe this is really old- fashioned, but I think after something like this happens, the person deserves a time of reflection and respect. Am I wrong?

(From a sister-in-law in Darlington).

A Everyone grieves in their own way. There is no recipe for a healthy method of adjusting to a loss.

Even if you grieve in a way that you feel honors the person, you may revisit those feelings frequently.

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Jackson Fonder

An attitude of gratitude

Fonder Ponders column by Jackson Fonder

It’s February, and you know what that means. The Super Bowl has been played, the Lenten Season has arrived, and many of us have forsaken our New Year’s resolutions. So called experts say that one third of us will have abandoned our 2016 goals by this point.

I’m a planner, so I usually have a few goals and resolutions for the year. There is one resolution that I will try to keep — to be more grateful. It’s a fairly simple idea, but one that is easy to put aside.

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Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Why it matters what the bishop is wearing

What's That All About column by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The fourth in a series by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf about the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

We are looking into what bishops do when they celebrate the Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Since you may see reports that Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison occasionally offers these Masses, you may be wondering what that’s all about, what he’s up to.

Last week we closed with a look at how the fine elements of reverent liturgy, the beautiful vestments and so forth, are not really about the glorification of the priest or bishop. They are about the perfect spotless only Holy One, Christ the High Priest/Victim at the altar of Sacrifice.

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Bishop Robert Barron

The Doritos commercial and voluntarism

I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the absurd reaction of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) to the lighthearted Super Bowl commercial produced to advertise Doritos.

In the 30-second clip, a pregnant mother, undergoing an ultra-sound, is annoyed by her husband who is absent-mindedly munching Doritos while their baby’s image is displayed on the screen.

But as the father moves the corn chip, the baby in the womb moves with it; and when the mother throws the bag across the room, the child reacts so keenly and purposively that he decides this is the moment to be born.

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George Weigel

ISIS, genocide, and us: West should respond

The Monuments Men was a disappointing movie, but one of its most chilling scenes sticks in my mind as an analogue to the appalling wickedness underway in the Middle East.

In the film, SS Colonel Wegner supervises the destruction of art works plundered by the Nazis: treasures intended for Hitler’s fantasized Fuehrer Museum in Linz, Austria.

Destroying paintings

But as the Allies close in on Germany in 1945, Hitler decides that, if he and his goons can’t have these masterpieces, their rightful owners — and the future — won’t have them, either.

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Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

What makes a Mass ‘Pontifical’

What's That All About column by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The third in a series by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf about the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

In this installment we can finally get into the nitty-gritty of what Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison does when he celebrates a “Pontifical Mass at the Throne” in the older, traditional, Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite as it has been for centuries before the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

In the traditional form of Holy Mass there are distinct levels of solemnity, each carefully regulated.

For Masses of priests, we have “Low,” “High,” and “Solemn” Masses.

At Low Mass, all the texts are spoken, no incense is used, and you will see one or two altar boys.

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Bishop Robert Barron

Pope Francis and the evangelicals, part two

Part two of a two-part series.

In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), displaying his penchant for finding the memorable image, Pope Francis excoriates Christians who have turned “into querulous and disillusioned pessimists, ‘sourpusses,'” and whose lives “seem like Lent without Easter.”

Such people might be smart and they might even be morally upright, but they will never be successful evangelists.

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

Lent has surprisingly modern appeal

Christians around the world mark Lent’s beginning by celebrating Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10 this year.

Lent has a surprising modern appeal. Some pastors say that next to Christmas, more people come to church on Ash Wednesday than on any other day, including Easter.

Facing a basic truth

The ashes help us face a basic truth that we may try to avoid, namely death. When we receive ashes, the priest or deacon says, “Remember, you are dust and unto dust, you shall return.” They may also say, “Repent and believe the Good News!”

Combined, the words remind us that we will die and return to dust; therefore, while we’re still alive, we are to repent and believe the Good News!

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