In God’s Image on Long Island

thats what I think

Dennis

You’re not going to believe this but it is true.

This afternoon I was in a deli in Wading River waiting for my sandwich. In comes Deacon Fred Finter from St John the Baptist parish in Wading River, NY. The good deacon goes up to the guys behind the counter and starts giving them all ashes!!!!!!

When he was finished he ordered a tuna fish sandwich and a drink and left after he was told there was no charge!!!!

Am I missing something here? I wonder what you get if you offer him a steak???

Lord have mercy on us

Dennis

Last week I wrote a piece about reviewing the practice of receiving Communion in the hand as opposed to the current abusive manner. Lo and behold Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, Secretary to the Congregation for Divine Worship, has weighed in on the matter.

Here’s the money quote:

” Now I think it is high time to review and re-evaluate such good practices and, if necessary, to abandon the current practice that was not called for by Sacrosanctum Concilium, nor by Fathers, but was only accepted after its illegitimate introduction in some countries. Now, more than ever, we must help the faithful to renew a deep faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic species in order to strengthen the life of the Church and defend it in the midst of dangerous distortions of the faith that this situation continues to cause.”

Read the entire article here.

Dennis

In the northern Italian town of Trento,  a man died during Mass.  After a brief interruption the body was covered until emergency personnel were able to remove it and Father continued with the Mass.  What a wonderful way to end one’s journey on earth.  God grant me the grace of a  happy and holy death.  You can read the story here.

One of the painful experiences that I experience on a daily basis is the cavalier and disrespectful manner in which most Catholics receive Communion at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I have often noticed people doing everything from chewing gum to talking to the person either in front of them or behind them as they make their way up to receive the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes the line for Communion resembles the line you see at the hot dog stand at Yankee stadium. I often wonder if the communicant truly believes in the Real Presence.

In an excellent article from Homiletic and Pastoral Review (1997), Jude Huntz elaborates on the practice. You can read the full article here.

I have often encouraged others to try changing the manner in which they receive Communion.  I have also told them that if they just try receiving in the traditional way for 30 days they may begin to change the way they believe in what the Church teaches.  Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi

Once again Pat Robertson has shared what God has told him is in store for us this New Year.

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson predicted Wednesday that 2008 will be a year of violence worldwide and a recession in the United States, followed by a major stock-market crash by 2010.  Of course his record is about as exemplary as his theology.  Then again what can you expect for someone who endorses Giuliani for president

Dennis

On the traditional latin Mass

as reported on the blog of a Long Island Catholic, the pastor of Our Lady of Grace church in West Babylon blesses the “faith community” with these words of wisdom on the Tridentine Mass.

His comments show a complete ignorance of the theology of the Liturgy and is reflective of the beliefs of many of the pastors and priests in the Diocese of Rockville Centre

How blessed are we that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that has sustained and nourished the Church for over 1500 years, was finally lifted from our shoulders when Fr Vin was in his formative years.

Fr Vin is one of those ignorant intellectuals who writes in his parish bulletin about how he sees his role in the parish (My comments are in strikeout mode)

“(God is)The key actor in every disciple’s life is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit led me to my work as a priest and as pastor here, and my central task is to SAVE SOULS help every member of the parish to discover his or her Spirit-given gifts and to put them to work for the sake of the Gospel in family, workplace or school, and community. Most of my time is spent in preaching and teaching the Word of God, in leading our shared prayer in the sacraments(forget that “pesonna Christi stuff), and in preparing for those central tasks. I’m also responsible for the coordination of the gifts of staff and parishioners so that we do God’s work well.(sort of like an event planner)“

Fr Vin is also the one who taught the sexuality class in the first year of the Pastoral Formation Institute which I attended. In one of the classes he was stating unequivocally about the existence of the “gay gene”. In questioning him about this I told him that if God created gays then whatever God creates is good and natural and if so the “gays” have a right to act out on their sexuality as much as the heterosexuals do. His response……”Thats right”

And gets nailed by Fr Euteneuer

On Sunday, November 4th, Rev. Thomas Brennan, S.J., revealed publicly to a parish at St. Joseph University in Philadelphia that he was a homosexual. The priest chose to “come out” during a so-called “Diversity Week” allegedly dedicated to honoring Jesuit founder, St. Ignatius Loyola. The following is Fr. Euteneuer’s open letter to Fr. Brennan. Dear Father Brennan, Faithful Catholics are so accustomed to being scandalized by Jesuit priests and universities these days that your public announcement of your same sex attraction during the Mass last Sunday does not really surprise any of us. It does, however, increase the indignation that people of faith have toward such shameless displays of clerical irresponsibility like this. There is something just plain wrong about abusing people’s trust in the priesthood in such a public way, and since you chose to “go public” with this matter, a public response to your outrageous “outing” is merited. First of all, Holy Mass is not a forum for your self-expression. You chose the sacred liturgy and the pulpit reserved for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the launching pad for your personal testament to homosexuality, when by your own admission this was hardly a secret to anyone. One wonders if you would have inflicted details of your personal life on a friend while officiating at his wedding or any other sacred occasion. The effect would be the same: the derailing of the focus of attention from the host to you. You’ve read the same documents I’ve read about the liturgy, and all of them say the Mass is not your personal stage. Secondly, since you brought up the matter of sexuality, please consider what the sacrament of Holy Orders represents. A priest is “another Christ” (alter Christus), both sacramentally and existentially. That means the priest witnesses in his very body and person the Bridegroom who loved His wife (the Church) giving Himself up to death for her (Eph 5:25). In light of that, what, specifically, do you as a homosexual man witness? I am not talking about celibacy here. That is a form of Christian chastity to which you and I are called, and I trust that you are faithful to it. I am asking a more direct question about the sacramental witness of your gift of sexuality. A heterosexual celibate renounces his natural desire for wife and children in order to serve the Bride of Christ in a direct spousal relationship. A homosexual celibate renounces an unholy desire for members of the same sex: that is a renunciation of a disorder, not the embrace of a Bride. When even a celibate priest chooses to go public about his homosexual identity as an expression of “diversity” or “pride,” the faithful are rightfully confused and scandalized. Not only do you owe them an apology, you owe them a better example of priesthood. They deserve a priest who is clear about the Church’s teaching on homosexual acts and who teaches it unambiguously. They need a priest who personally witnesses the same teaching without feeling the need to make statements about himself or inserting ideology into the Gospel. If you do not clearly witness the Church’s teaching about your own vocation, how can you teach others to be faithful to theirs? I would ask you, in the Name of Jesus, to go back to your congregation and offer them a renewed witness to your masculine love for Christ’s Bride the Church. Assure them that you will defend them in a manly way from all wolves that attack them, Jesuit or otherwise, and that you will be a strong and loving father for all their needs, not a man pre-occupied with his own orientation. If you are unwilling to do that, I recommend that you make a thirty-day Ignatian retreat at Tyburn, England, where dozens of your Jesuit brethren were hung, drawn and quartered in the English Reformation—all for the sake of Christ’s Bride. That would be a good refresher course in both theology and priestly love.		SL Links   About the Author SL Archives Donate Tell Us About Yourself   SL Action Items   Pilgrimage to EWTN— There is still time to sign up! “Gay” Priest: An Oxymoron
Sincerely Yours in Christ,

Read this interesting article

and then there is this one

Not to be outdone by this article

Alan Placa (also known as priest F in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s report), in his former position with the Diocese of Rockville Centre, knows where all the bodies are buried with priests who have and continue to violate their sacred vows. Is it any wonder he has the privileges he still enjoys in this Diocese?

I wonder how he is employing the knowledge he has acquired?

Nefarious no doubt, even evil.

hmmmmmm

Dennis

The fallout from the disgraceful events at Most Holy Redeemer Parish in San Francisco continue to echo throughout Christendom

From California Catholic daily comes this article…What will the Archbishop choose?

And from the person who videotaped the blasphemy comes this open letter

And then there is this.……

And on the local scene we have reports that Bishop William Murphy has chastised the parishioners of St Mark’s Parish in Shoreham on their comportment during a recent celebration of the sacrament of Confirmation. It seems the parishioners enjoyed the music enough to start clapping after one “performance”. Bishop Murphy, rightfully, informed them that this was not a performance but part of the raising of our hearts, minds and voices to God in worship.

Kudos to Bishop Murphy. The comportment of catholics during the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries is insulting and blasphemous. I think we are starting to see the powerful effect of Summorum Pontificum…..more to come,   much more.

Dennis