Question

Anyone know where to find online the entire text of the Latin Mass (Novus Ordo) including the silent prayers of the priest?

Out of Town This Weekend

Sorry things have been slow around here lately.  I have been busy with many projects and ministerial duties.  This weekend I am off to Colorado Springs for the annual gathering of the Equesrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of  Jerusalem (aka The Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre).

Pope Complains Against Science?

That's what Mr. Joe London, who runs the Human-Too-Human blog is saying. I think he's putting quite the spin on the Holy Fathers words spoken during his homily today.  Mr. Ratzinger, as Mr. London refers to him as said this:

"Since the Enlightenment, at least a part of the scientific world has zealously committed itself to seeking explanations of the world, in which God would become superfluous and unuseful even for our life."

Mr. London, in his commentary, has this to say:

“It is quite malicious and unwarranted of Mr. Razinger - the Pope - to assert that scientists are anxious to make a God superfluous. The purpose of science has nothing to do with affirming or denying the existence of any God. In fact, God (or magic, voodoo and other superstitions) has nothing to do with science.

Moreover, the essence of science is to look for explanations, without relying on prepackaged answers, or on the mere authority of the past and its sediments of either lay or religious notions.”

In response to Mr. London’s spin I would point out that the Holy Father did not assert that “scientists are anxious to make a God superfluous.”  Rather, he merely stated the obvious: that some, but not all scientists, have an agenda to exclude the possibility of the existence of God.  Anyone who is unbiased can see that.  It is true that there are some scientists who have an agenda (which goes both ways I might add).  It is true, as Mr. London points out in his post, that the natural sciences do not have the competency to speak on the topic of the sacred science of theology, but that doesn’t mean that some of them don’t try.  There are plenty of natural scientists who seek to wipe God out of the picture completely.

Mr. London goes on to say that “The words of Mr. Ratzinger fall within the typical pathetic, guilt-making strategy of opposing free thinking, while attempting to maintain the status of that who claims to possess the one and only unquestionable truth.”

Clearly Mr. London did not actually read the entire homily or he would have never claimed that the Holy Father opposes free thinking. The Holy Father is not trying to dictate that all Catholics should discredit science or reason.  Rather he states just the opposite by saying in the sentence before the quote above that ones belief in God is a decision, which implies that it is something that we need to use our reason to choose.  It’s not something we are forced into.  Thus the Holy Father is not advocating some sort of blind belief in God, but a belief that is based on an individual’s freedom to come to a reasonable understanding of the world and then choose whether or not he believes in God. 

Click here to check out Mr. London's post.

Click here to read the Holy Father's homily.

Hunting for God, Fishing for the Lord

Now this is a book the Church really needs!  This is a book for men about male spirituality written by a man who has no qualms about being a man and, praise be to God, has not been emasculated by the feminist society we live in.

I am excited about this book for two reasons.  First, there are not many good, theologically sound books for men and second, the author is a man I studied with during my seminary days.  Here is what the website for the book had to say about him:

Fr. Joseph Classen is a native of historic St. Charles Missouri and received his theological education at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. Fr. Joe was ordained to the priesthood in 2003 and is currently living and serving in the St. Louis Archdiocese.

Along with his priestly ministry, Fr. Joe is a dedicated, accomplished, and passionate outdoorsman. In this his first book, Hunting for God, Fishing for the Lord, Fr. Classen uses his love of the outdoors as a catalyst for delving into issues of faith and spirituality while sharing with the reader tales of outdoor adventure and wisdom. It is written with an ecumenical flavor, and so is intended for Christians of all denominations and even those who perhaps have little or no faith at all but love the outdoors and are possibly “hunting” for God.

If you want to know more about the book click here.  It has the table of contents, an introduction, and a short video clip of the author.  If you want to skip all that and order the book click here.

Pope Speaks to Ontario Bishops

The bishops of Ontario had their ad limina meetings with Pope Benedict recently. Here is what he had to say:

Today, the impediments to the spread of Christ’s Kingdom are experienced most dramatically in the split between the Gospel and culture, with the exclusion of God from the public sphere. Canada has a well-earned reputation for a generous and practical commitment to justice and peace, and there is an enticing sense of vibrancy and opportunity in your multicultural cities. At the same time, however, certain values detached from their moral roots and full significance found in Christ have evolved in the most disturbing of ways. In the name of ‘tolerance’ your country has had to endure the folly of the redefinition of spouse, and in the name of ‘freedom of choice’ it is confronted with the daily destruction of unborn children. When the Creator’s divine plan is ignored the truth of human nature is lost.

False dichotomies are not unknown within the Christian community itself. They are particularly damaging when Christian civic leaders sacrifice the unity of faith and sanction the disintegration of reason and the principles of natural ethics, by yielding to ephemeral social trends and the spurious demands of opinion polls. Democracy succeeds only to the extent that it is based on truth and a correct understanding of the human person. Catholic involvement in political life cannot compromise on this principle; otherwise Christian witness to the splendour of truth in the public sphere would be silenced and an autonomy from morality proclaimed (cf. Doctrinal Note The Participation of Catholics in Political Life, 2-3; 6). In your discussions with politicians and civic leaders I encourage you to demonstrate that our Christian faith, far from being an impediment to dialogue, is a bridge, precisely because it brings together reason and culture.

4. Within the context of the evangelization of culture, I wish to mention the fine network of Catholic schools at the heart of ecclesial life in your Province. Catechesis and religious education is a taxing apostolate. I thank and encourage those many lay men and women, together with Religious, who strive to ensure that your young people become daily more appreciative of the gift of faith which they have received. More than ever this demands that witness, nourished by prayer, be the all-encompassing milieu of every Catholic school. Teachers, as witnesses, account for the hope that nourishes their own lives (cf. 1 Pt 3:15) by living the truth they propose to their pupils, always in reference to the one they have encountered and whose dependable goodness they have sampled with joy (cf. Address to Rome’s Ecclesial Diocesan Convention, Living the Truth that God Loves his People, 6 June 2005). And so with Saint Augustine they say: "we who speak and you who listen acknowledge ourselves as fellow disciples of a single teacher" (St. Augustine, Sermons, 23:2).

A particularly insidious obstacle to education today, which your own reports attest, is the marked presence in society of that relativism which, recognizing nothing as definitive, leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self with its desires. Within such a relativistic horizon an eclipse of the sublime goals of life occurs with a lowering of the standards of excellence, a timidity before the category of the good, and a relentless but senseless pursuit of novelty parading as the realization of freedom. Such detrimental trends point to the particular urgency of the apostolate of ‘intellectual charity’ which upholds the essential unity of knowledge, guides the young towards the sublime satisfaction of exercising their freedom in relation to truth, and articulates the relationship between faith and all aspects of family and civic life. Introduced to a love of truth, I am confident that young Canadians will relish exploring the house of the Lord who "enlightens every person who comes into the world (Jn 1:9) and satisfies every desire of humanity.

Many of the issues he addresses here also would apply to our great nation...if only we would heed it.

Caption Contest

A parishioner recently took this picture at a Baptism and thought it was funny.  Upon seeing it the first thing that popped into my head was that I should have a caption contest.  So, post your funny and amusing captions for this picture in the comments...

The Pope Has A New Hat

First the Camaro, now this:

It's called a a saturno after the Planet Saturn.

Birretta tip to Annunciations.

More on The New Bishop

Here is a link to the  press conference.

Here is a link to Bishop Samuel Aquila's statement.

Here is a link to Bishop-Elect Swain's statement.

Here is a link to an interview with Bishop-Elect Swain.