Ash Wednesday: What a Gyp!

I always get ripped off on Ash Wednesday. I sit in the back and watch others come back from getting their ashes and see these broad black crosses on their foreheads. You can see them a mile away. Like a highway road sign warning of an upcoming intersection.

But me? I always get stuck in the line headed up by the shortest, most feeble old lady in the whole parish. I'm lucky if I even get a discernible thumb print.

So when I go out strutting my ashes, the best I get is: "Umm, did you know you have something on your forehead?"

It totally blows my chance to show people how holy I am. Instead of a pious, self-effacing, would-be saint, they think I am just a doofus with some schmutz on his forehead.

And hey, what is up with you people who leave after receiving your ashes? Not staying for Mass? Why did you bother coming? You could have just gotten yours from the ashtray outside your building.

Happy Ascension Thursday

That is, if your bishop still believes in Ascension Thursday and hasn't shifted it to Sunday to make it more convenient for you (him?).

It's really a shame to move Ascension to Sunday. During Lent, we walk in the steps of Jesus following the days and times he lived step-by-step. It helps us sanctify the time we live in and grow closer to the cross.

During the time from Ascension to Pentecost we walk with and wait with the Apostles and Mary - the time between when Jesus departed this world for the second time and before the arrival and infusing of the Holy Spirit (Ghost). It reminds that we still wait for the third coming of Jesus. (That's right, I said "third". He was born - that's once. He died and rose again - that's twice. Next time will be the third.)

In fact, the nine days of waiting is the origin of the prayers we call Novena. The Apostles and Mary engaged in nine days of prayer waiting for the Holy Spirit (Ghost). To dismantle this sacred period of time for convenience's sake is a tragedy and shows a lack of understanding of the sacredness of time. Not to mention casting thinly veiled aspersions of the popular devotion of Novena prayer.

At any rate, you can still pray the Pentecost Novena despite not celebrating Ascension on Thursday. I really like this one.

Basilica Rector an Antisemite?

On the issue of the Good Friday prayers, Fr. Michael O'Connell of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis wrote:

Thank God millions and millions of Catholics will pray this Good Friday, not for the conversion of the Jews, but that "they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant."

He is praising the Novus Ordo version of the Good Friday prayer that goes:

Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, that they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant.

Now, think about it. What good does it do someone to remain faithful to a covenant that has been superseded? Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic covenant. The old covenant is moot. Why would we not pray for the Jews to come into the fullness of redemption by accepting Jesus as the Messiah and having their sins forgiven? That is true love.

Is not praying that they remain outside of the Church truly antisemitism in its worst form? Unless of course, you don't really believe the Church is who she claims to be.

Take my hand...

Vatican to 'review' taking of Communion in the hand

Rome - The Vatican is poised to introduce stricter norms on Roman Catholic mass, including halting the taking of communion in the hand and setting a time limit for homilies, an Italian newspaper reported Monday. Turin-based daily La Stampa quoted senior Vatican official, Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don saying the move was necessary to eliminate "extravagancies" that have crept into Mass celebrations.

Provisions include restricting to 10 minutes homilies and sermons and ensuring that they be exclusively based on the Gospel readings, said Ranjith who is Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship.

The practice of allowing the faithful to receive Communion - the bread host which Catholics believe represents the body of Christ - in their hands would also be "urgently reviewed", Ranjith was quoted as saying.

The Vatican wants the host "placed directly into the mouths of the faithful so they don't touch it (with their hands)... because many don't even realize they are receiving Christ and do this with scant concentration and respect," Ranjith said.

Boy, this sure sounds good at face value. I have learned however, not to get my hopes up too high on these things. The Motu was exciting until it turns out many bishops are not budging on the issue and there are still many "exceptions". And the recent "more sensitive" changes to the traditional prayers.

Besides what good is prohibiting communion in the hand when you still have a platoon of divorced ordinary Extraordinary Ministers fumbling around in the tabernacle during the fraction rite, standing during the second elevation, and giving out public blessings to children?

Let's watch and see what happens.

Still not good enough

OK, so we changed our prayers to make them happy. But, they are still peeved:

Jews disappointed by changes to Vatican prayer

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Jewish leaders have reacted with disappointment to the Vatican's new version of a Good Friday prayer for the conversion of Jews and said it could set back inter-religious relations by decades.

In changes to the contested Latin prayer announced on Tuesday, the Vatican removed a reference to Jewish "blindness" over Christ and deleted a phrase that asked God to "remove the veil from their hearts".

But the new version of the prayer still says Jews should recognise Jesus Christ as the saviour of all men and still has an underlying call to conversion they wanted omitted.

Well, sure, but that's what we're all about as Christians, isn't it?

This is rich:

Foxman said the changes were a "major departure" from the teachings of Pope John Paul, who died in 2005. He revolutionised relations with Jews, called them "our beloved elder brothers"

I'm sorry, Abe, but you ain't my bro.

Well, he did it

You might remember this post. Now, it is apparently official:

After protests, Pope changes Latin prayer for Jews

Unfortunately, the Pope has caved into pressure from non-Catholics and changed the prayers of the Good Friday service to avoid offending the Jews. Now, I am not naive. The Jews are not very friendly to the Goyum in their "holy" books. Here's a quick sample:

"Even the best of the Goim should be killed"

Yet, I don't see the Catholic League crying about this; asking the Jews to modify their writings so as not offend Christians. But here we go changing the prayers of our most central celebration to assuage our Gentile guilt. Who is Abraham Foxman to tell me how to pray?

Now, to be sure, the prayers of Good Friday were ruined along time ago in the Novus Ordo Rite. We went from:

Let us pray also for the faithless Jews: that almighty God may remove the veil from their hearts; so that they too may acknowledge Jesus Christ our Lord.

to

Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, that they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant.

According to the article, the new unofficial translation is something like:

"Let us also pray for the Jews. So that God our Lord enlightens their hearts so that they recognize Jesus Christ savior of all men."

It also asks God that "all Israel be saved."

In the spectrum of things, I can stomach this change. It's a little more sensitive. A little more velvet, a little less hammer. I can stomach less that somebody from the Anti-Defamation League is the catalyst behind the change. I can hardly stand the Novus Ordo version which asks for them to remain faithful to the covenant.

If Jesus was the fulfillment of the covenant and we are asking for the Jews to remain faithful to the now superseded and impotent Mosaic covenant, just what are we doing? If you really think about it, asking them to remain faithful to that covenant is damning them to hell. That is truly anti-Semitic in my book, not praying for them to find the truth through Jesus Christ.

Evil, Scary Ringtones

Marty Haugen Ringtones

BTW - please sign up on for free membership in the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas when you have a moment.

Where is the source of influence?

It seems to me like a group of people who are not members of the Church should not be the final arbiters of what we are praying about. In the current Good Friday prayers we pray for them to remain faithful to the covenant. It seems like we should be praying for their conversion, not their fidelity to a useless covenant which they don't seem to adhere to anyhow.

Vatican City: Prayer on Jews May Change
By REUTERS

Pope Benedict XVI has decided to modify a Good Friday prayer that in the Latin Mass has been offensive to Jews, the newspaper Il Giornale reported. Last year, Benedict authorized wider use of the old Latin rite, and in Latin the prayer, for the conversion of non-Christians, asks God to deliver the Jews “from their darkness" and makes a reference to their "blindness." Jews have called for a change in the prayer, which, if left as stands, would be used by several hundred thousand traditionalists who follow the old rite, the Tridentine Mass. The Vatican had no official comment on the newspaper report. A Vatican source said he expected changes to be announced before Good Friday, March 21, but had no details.

For reference, here is the English translation from 1955:

Let us pray also for the faithless Jews: that almighty God may remove the veil from their hearts; so that they too may acknowledge Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us pray. Let us kneel. [pause for silent prayer] Arise. Almighty and eternal God, who dost not exclude from thy mercy even the faithless Jews: hear our prayers, which we offer for the blindness of that people; that acknowledging the light of thy Truth, which is Christ, they may be delivered from their darkness. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Here is the translation from 1960 when PJ23 removed the word "faithless" (perfidis in Latin):

Let us pray also for the Jews: that almighty God may remove the veil from their hearts; so that they too may acknowledge Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us pray. Let us kneel. Arise. Almighty and eternal God, who dost not exclude from thy mercy the Jews also: hear our prayers, which we offer for the blindness of that people; that acknowledging the light of thy Truth, which is Christ, they may be delivered from their darkness. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

And here is the current text:

Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, that they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant. (Prayer in silence. Then the priest says:) Almighty and eternal God, long ago you gave your promise to Abraham and his posterity. Listen to your Church as we pray that the people you first made your own may arrive at the fullness of redemption. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.