Free Republic

Traditional Holy Mass Propers † Dominica XVI Post Pentecosten ~ Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost † Missa Miserére mihi, Dómine ( "Have mercy on me, O Lord" ) 31 August 2008 Anno Dómini The Blessing of Christ by Fernando Gallego, 1492 "....every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled and he that humbled himself shall be exalted...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest...

Imagine the Eucharist, the body and blood of Jesus, with some genes derived from bacteria that repel certain common pests? No? You obviously are not alone. Fr Sean McDonagh says that if gluten-free hosts are verboten, then you can count on genetically modified wheat being off limits as well.Genetically-modified (GM) wheat may not be be suitable under canon law to be used to make hosts for the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist, it's been claimed. Fr Sean McDonagh, a Columban priest and well-known commentator on environmental issues, questions whether the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith which oversees Catholic...

Traditional Holy Mass Propers † Dominica XV Post Pentecosten ~ Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost † Missa Mihi autem nimis honorati sunt amici tui, Deus ( "To me Thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honorable" ) 24 August 2008 Anno Dómini The Blessing of Christ by Fernando Gallego, 1492 "....they that were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the multitude sought to touch Him...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere...

Traditional Holy Mass Propers † Dominica XIV Post Pentecosten ~ Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost † Missa Protéctor noster, áspice Deus ( "Behold, O God, our protector" ) 17 August 2008 Anno Dómini The Blessing of Christ by Fernando Gallego, 1492 "....No man can serve two masters for he will hate the one and love the other....You cannot serve God and mammon...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is...

I never expected to become the one Catholic journalist to be granted an interview with Paul Zachary (PZ) Myers.... “Professor Myers, there is a palpable level of hatred towards religion on your blog,” I told him. “What’s the source?” “Oh, it’s not hatred,” he said. “It’s contempt.” So began my conversation with PZ Myers.... ...“I was brought up as a casual Lutheran and left the church when I was 14,” he said.... That Myers has the equivalent of a junior high school education in religion is glaring. He understands little about the history and function of the Catholic Church and...

Traditional Holy Mass Propers † Dominica XIII Post Pentecosten ~ Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost † Missa Conféssio et pulchritúde ín conspéctu ejus ( "Praise and beauty are before Him" ) 10 August 2008 Anno Dómini The Blessing of Christ by Fernando Gallego, 1492 "....he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest...

As if we needed more evidence of the growing rejection of God in our modern world, in July, a college professor in Minnesota, Paul Myers, publicly vowed to desecrate the Eucharist to make a point about his sick atheistic beliefs. Apparently now he has done the blasphemous deed with the help of someone who sent him a Host stolen from a Mass in London. This person posted a video of the theft on the internet proving that the arrogant sin of one has spawned the sacrilege of another. Unfortunately, in the internet age, it is likely that this kind of...

Priests at the London Oratory have called for prayers of reparation after a consecrated Host was allegedly stolen during High Mass and desecrated by an atheist professor in America. Several priests have celebrated Masses of reparation this week responding to a video posted on the internet of a young man taking the Host and later placing it next to a condom, claiming he was holding it "hostage" inside the prophylactic until the Pope changed his policy on contraception in light of Africa's Aids epidemic. An evening of reparation with Mass and Adoration with prayers, litanies and silent meditation is planned...

Traditional Holy Mass Propers † Dominica XII Post Pentecosten ~ Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost † Missa Deus, in adjutórìum meum inténde ( "Incline unto my aid, O God" ) 03 August 2008 Anno Dómini The Blessing of Christ by Fernando Gallego, 1492 "....Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest action that can...

Traditional Holy Mass Propers † Dominica XI Post Pentecosten ~ Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost † Missa Deus in loco santo suo ( "God in His holy place" ) 27 July 2008 Anno Dómini "....He hath made both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest action that can be on earth. It is. . .the...

Q. What did Martin Luther believe about the Body and Blood of Christ in the bread and wine?A. Martin Luther believed in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He became indignant when groups, who had followed him out of the Catholic Church, rejected the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He deplored the fact that every milkmaid and farmhand thought they could interpret scripture correctly. Here he is in his own words. Who, but the devil, has granted such license of wresting the words of the holy Scripture? Who ever read in the Scriptures, that my body...

Jimmy Akin Sez: P.Z. Myers Must Be Fired I agree. The man was free to say whatever demented stuff he liked on his blog. Solicitation for readers to steal and desecrate the Eucharist has crossed the line. Jimmy writes: Although he carried out his action. in his words, to support the idea that "Nothing must be held sacred" (also trashing a few pages of The God Delusion, a book with which he is in sympathy), he did not merely tell people that nothing must be held sacred. Nor did he argue for it. Claiming that nothing must be held...

It is finished. I wonder how many of our Catholic friends have heard of the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215? This is the event where many of their important dogmas were codified, including the ideas of Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, that the Eucharist was the sacrament that only properly ordained priests of the Catholic church could give, and that the Jews were a pariah people, who could hold no public office, had to pay a special Jew tax for their right to exist, and were required to wear special clothing to distinguish them from Christians. The yellow badge marking the...

I pierced it with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus's tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash, followed by the classic, decorative items of trash cans everywhere, old coffeegrounds and a banana peel. My apologies to those who hoped for more, but the worst I can do is show my unconcerned contempt. By the way, I didn't want to single out just the cracker, so I nailed it to a few ripped-out pages from the Qur'an and The God Delusion. They are just paper. Nothing must be held sacred. Question everything. God...

University of Minnesota professor Paul Z. Myers made good on his pledge to desecrate the Eucharist today. According to his statement on the subject, “I pierced it [the Host] with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus’s tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash.” Saying he did not want to “single out just the cracker,” Myers also tore pages from the Koran along with a few pages from Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion and nailed them to the Host. He then said, “They are just paper. Nothing must be held sacred. (His emphasis.)...

Yes, the sad little cracker has met its undignified end, so stop pestering me. The cracker, the koran, and another surprise entry have been violated and are gone. You'll have to wait until tomorrow for the details, what little of them there are.

Traditional Holy Mass Propers † Dominica X Post Pentecosten ~ Tenth Sunday After Pentecost † Missa Cum clamárem ad Dóminum, exaudívit vocem meam ( "When I cried to the Lord He heard my voice" ) 20 July 2008 Anno Dómini "....he that humbleth himself shall be exalted...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest action that can be on earth. It is. ....

max behrman The UCF student who removed a Eucharist from a Catholic Campus Ministry mass and made national headlines is still caught in the wake of his actions. Webster Cook, who is a Student Government Association senator, is now facing an impeachment investigation by the rest of the Senate as a result of an affidavit filed against him due to the incident. In response to the complaints filed against him, Cook brought hazing charges against Catholic Campus Ministry, filing with the Office of Student Conduct regarding the physical force used against him. The charges were formally dropped yesterday. The Legislative,...

P.Z. Myers / Bill Donohue Morris, MN, Jul 16, 2008 / 03:58 am (CNA).- University of Minnesota at Morris biology professor P.Z. Myers has repeated his threat to desecrate the Eucharist, saying “I have to do something. I’m not going to just let this disappear.” Speaking in an interview with the Minnesota Independent, Myers characterized the Eucharist as a “cracker.” He said that the vitriolic responses he received from self-described Catholics had strengthened his resolve.“I have to do something,” he said in the interview. “I'm not going to just let this disappear. It's just so darned weird that they're...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented on the latest developments to surface regarding the pledge made by Paul Z. Myers, a professor at the University of Minnesota, to desecrate the Eucharist: “Myers was quoted yesterday saying, ‘I have to do something. I’m not going to just let this disappear.’ [Last Friday it was reported that he had acquired a Host.] He continued, ‘Something will be done. It won’t be gross. It won’t be totally tasteless, but yeah, I’ll do something that shows this cracker has no power.’ “The biology professor made it clear that he would never disrespect Islam the...

Protestants don’t see why Catholics who come to disagree with essential teachings of the Church don’t just leave. Adult conversion to Catholicism involves more than adding a few new beliefs. It means a whole new world and life view. No ingredient in that new perspective was more of a shock to my old Protestant sensibilities when I became a Catholic than the idea that the God-man is really present in, and not just symbolized by, what appears to be a wafer of bread and a cup of wine. It seemed scandalous! It has ceased to scandalize me, though it has...

ORANGE COUNTY, FL -- A Catholic student group is facing hazing charges after a worshiper allegedly used force while trying to rescue a communion wafer from a student leader smuggling it out of Mass. Catholics consider the consecrated wafer, the Eucharist, among the most sacred objects in the world and believe it becomes the 'Body of Christ' through transubstantiation. Student Government Senator Webster Cook filed the hazing charges with University of Central Florida administrators shortly after he admitted violating church rules by bringing the Eucharist home from Mass on June 29, then holding it hostage for one week in a...

The Eucharist was stolen Friday from the tabernacle at Corpus Christi Cathedral on the 500 block of North Upper Broadway, police said. Corpus Christi Police Lt. Raymond Lara said the Eucharist, the consecrated bread used in Catholic Mass, was taken after someone entered the church through an open door. The exact time of the theft has not been determined and there have been no arrests made in the case, Lara said. Corpus Christi Cathedral officials would not comment when reached Monday.

Catholics consider the consecrated wafer, the Eucharist, among the most sacred objects in the world and believe it becomes the 'Body of Christ' through transubstantiation. Student Government Senator Webster Cook filed the hazing charges with University of Central Florida administrators shortly after he admitted violating church rules by bringing the Eucharist home from Mass on June 29, then holding it hostage for one week in a plastic bag before returning it. Cook said his hazing complaint cited a UCF anti-hazing policy banning the forced consumption of any food in which the initiation or admission into or affiliation with a University...

Yesterday, Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued a news release calling attention to the plea that Paul Zachary Myers made on his blog: he solicited the Communion Host for the express purpose of desecrating it. Donohue now responds to the reaction he has received from the University of Minnesota Morris professor, as well as others:“Myers went on Houston radio station KPFT last night saying that Bill Donohue has ‘declared a fatwa’ against him. He should know better—I don’t need others to do the fighting for me. I’m quite good at it myself.  But he’d better be careful what he says,...

Traditional Holy Mass Propers † Dominica IX Post Pentecosten ~ Ninth Sunday After Pentecost † Missa Ecce Deus ádjuvat me, et Dóminus suscéptor est ánimæ meæ ( "Behold God is my helper, and the Lord is the protector of my soul...." ) 13 July 2008 Anno Dómini ".... Deliver me from my enemies, O my God...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest...

The Catholic League has launched a campaign to bring public scorn on a University of Minnesota-Morris teacher who threatened to treat a consecrated communion wafer, which Catholics believe becomes the body of Christ, "with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse." To which the professor in question, Paul Zachary Myers, responded: "Scumbags." The issue arose over an argument that didn't even involve Myers. As WND reported, a student at the University of Central Florida reported getting death threats after he stole and later returned a wafer from a Catholic Mass in Orlando.

Yesterday, Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued a news release calling attention to the plea that Paul Zachary Myers made on his blog: he solicited the Communion Host for the express purpose of desecrating it. Donohue now responds to the reaction he has received from the University of Minnesota Morris professor, as well as others: “Myers went on Houston radio station KPFT last night saying that Bill Donohue has ‘declared a fatwa’ against him. He should know better—I don’t need others to do the fighting for me. I’m quite good at it myself. But he’d better be careful what he...

Paul Zachary Myers, a professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, has pledged to desecrate the Eucharist. He is responding to what happened recently at the University of Central Florida when a student walked out of Mass with the Host, holding it hostage for several days. Myers was angry at the Catholic League for criticizing the student. His post can be accessed from his faculty page on the university’s website. Here is an excerpt of his July 8 post, “It’s a Frackin’ Cracker!”: “Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers?” Myers continued by saying, “if any of...

Orange County, FL -- One week after a University of Central Florida student snatched something sacred from church, armed UCF police officers stood guard during Sunday Mass to protect what Catholics call "The Body of Christ."Minutes before the Mass began, Student Senator Webster Cook returned the Holy Eucharist he was holding hostage in a Ziploc bag ever since smuggling the blessed wafer of bread out of the Catholic Mass service Sunday June 29.Carol Brinati with the Diocese of Orlando said the Catholic community was "concerned about the possible desecration of the Eucharist," and pleaded for its safe return.Cook, who was...

A University of Central Florida student, upset religious groups hold church services on public campuses, is holding hostage the Eucharist, an object so sacred to Catholics they call it the Body of Christ. Church officials say UCF Student Senator Webster Cook was disruptive and disrespectful when he attended Mass held on campus Sunday June 29. It was during that Mass where Cook admits he obtained the Eucharist.... A church leader was watching, confronted Cook and tried to recover the sacred bread. Cook said she crossed the line and that's why he brought it home with him. "She came up behind...

< Traditional Holy Mass Propers Eighth Sunday After Pentecost Missa Suscépimus, Deus ~ We have received, 0 God 06 July 2008 Anno Dómini ".... if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest action that can be on earth. It is. . .the vocation of the Eternal." -- John Henry Cardinal...

< Traditional Holy Mass Propers Seventh Sunday After Pentecost Missa Nunc scio vere, quia misit Dóminus Angelum suum ~ Now I know in very deed, that the Lord hath sent His angel 29 June 2008 Anno Dómini "....Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest action that can be on earth. It is. . .the...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Receiving the Eucharist on the tongue while kneeling before the pope will become the norm at papal liturgies, said the Vatican's liturgist. While current norms allow the faithful to receive the Eucharist in the hand while standing, Pope Benedict XVI has indicated a preference for the more traditional practice, said Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies. Kneeling and receiving Communion on the tongue highlights "the truth of the real presence (of Christ) in the Eucharist, helps the devotion of the faithful and introduces the sense of mystery more easily," he said in a June...

Rome, Jun 23, 2008 / 10:50 am (CNA).- The Pope addressed participants at the closing Mass for the 49th International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada via satellite from the Vatican yesterday. In his homily, the Pope encouraged to look at the Eucharist as a “mystery of alliance” and not a “meal among friends.”  He also announced that the next International Eucharistic Congress will take place in 2012 in Dublin, Ireland. Calling to mind the theme of the congress - "The Eucharist: gift of God for the life of the world" - the Holy Father, in French, recalled the importance...

< Traditional Holy Mass Propers Sixth Sunday After Pentecost Missa Exáudi, Dóminus fortitúdo plebis suæ ~ The Lord is the strength of His people 22 June 2008 Anno Dómini "....All we who are baptized in Christ Jesus are baptized in His death...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest action that can be on earth. It is. . .the vocation of the Eternal."...

QUEBEC CITY (CNS) -- Nearly 25,000 Catholics from around the world poured through the narrow streets of Quebec City, accompanying the Eucharist in an outpouring of religious fervor absent from this city for at least half a century. The June 19 procession was one of the highlights of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress June 15-22. The Eucharist, held in an oversized modern monstrance, was driven through the streets on a platform pulled by a truck. Riding with the monstrance were Slovakian Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Pope Benedict XVI's representative to the congress; Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet; and Cardinal Theodore-Adrien Sarr of...

June 17th - The Eucharist chaired by the Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz Song of entrance, " People of God", procession of the cardinals

QUEBEC CITY, JUNE 16, 2008 (Zenit.org).- If Catholics really understood the meaning of Sunday Mass, they wouldn't miss it, Cardinal Josef Tomko said at the opening of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress. Cardinal Tomko, the Pope's special envoy for the event, presided Sunday at the opening mass of the weeklong congress in Quebec. He will also preside at the closing Mass on June 22, during which Benedict XVI will address the participants live via satellite. Some 11,000 pilgrims, 50 cardinals and more than 100 bishops have gathered for the inaugural Mass of the congress titled, "The Eucharist, the Gift of...

QUEBEC CITY, JUNE 17, 2008 (Zenit.org).- It is the hour of the Eucharist, but three things are needed for Catholics to go deeper in the Eucharistic mystery, said the founder of a fraternity dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. Father Nicolas Buttet is the founder of the Eucharistein Fraternity, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi in its devotion to evangelical simplicity and total reliance on God. The community’s life is centered on Christ in the Eucharist, celebrated in the sacrifice of the Mass and worshipped in the Blessed Sacrament. The priest spoke today at the International Eucharistic Congress, under way in...

QUEBEC,QC,CA — Yesterday, at the opening of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress (IEC), Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada, and Papal Legate Cardinal Jozef Tomko, welcomed what may become an enduring symbol of the IEC for decades to come: The Ark of the New Covenant. The Ark is an all-Canadian innovation and a testament to the reverence this city, the first site of Catholicism in North America (outside of Mexico), still has for the Eucharist and the Gospel. [Editors note: Kevin Whelan is the assistant coordinator of the new Catholic Exchange channel devoted to exploring the...

< Traditional Holy Mass Propers Fifth Sunday After Pentecost Missa Exáudi, Dómine, vocem qua clamávi ad te ~ Hear, O Lord, my voice with which l have cried to Thee 15 June 2008 Anno Dómini "....The Lord is my light, and my salvation, whom shall I fear?...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest action that can be on earth. It is. ....

The World Gathers in Quebec June 11th, 2008 by Kevin Whelan Amidst the growing excitement associated with World Youth Day in Sydney later this summer, many are not aware of another great international celebration taking place in North America.  The 49th International Eucharistic Congress begins in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada on June 15 and runs through June 22.  This event is yet another living memorial to Pope John Paul II as it was he who at the closing mass of the 48th Eucharistic Congress in Guadalajara 2004 invited the world to Quebec City.  A measure of the importance of the event...

< Traditional Holy Mass Propers Fourth Sunday After Pentecost Missa Dóminus illuminátio mea et salus mea ~ The Lord is my light and my salvation 08 June 2008 Anno Dómini "....Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. ...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest action that can be on earth. It is. . .the vocation of the Eternal." -- John Henry...

Real Presence or Substantial Transformation? An Anglican Reflection on Eucharistic Theology:or The Anglican Reformers on the Eucharist chalice The starting point for this reflection on eucharistic theology is a helpful article by the late Roman Catholic theologian Edward J. Kilmartin, S.J., “The Active Role of Christ and the Holy Spirit in the Sanctification of the Eucharistic Elements,“ Theological Studies 45 (1984): 225-253.(1) Kilmartin’s article begins by examining numerous ecumenical agreed statements on eucharistic theology prepared by Roman Catholics and Lutherans, Roman Catholics and Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Reformed, Roman Catholics and Orthodox. Kilmartin notes that although all of the statements...

< Traditional Holy Mass Propers Sunday in the Octave of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ( Third Sunday After Pentecost ) Missa Respice in me, et miserére mei, Dómine ~ Look Thou upon me, O Lord 01 June 2008 Anno Dómini "....there shall be joy in Heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need no penance...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it...

“Actions speak louder than words,� we say. “He’s all talk,� describes the man who says a lot and does nothing. Or simply, “Talk is cheap.�These phrases from our culture all express the same basic point: words and actions must go together. They do not mean that words are useless. On the contrary, it is precisely because we believe words have importance that we fault those whose actions contradict what they say. We sense instinctively — on a natural, gut level — that the man whose words and actions do not match up is himself divided. He lacks the integrity necessary to...

Unless You Eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and Drink His Blood You Have No Life In You Are these words of Jesus from John 6:53 to be taken literally or figuratively? The Roman Catholic Church teaches the context of John chapter six and the above headlined verse 53 are literal. Thus Jesus is giving absolute and unconditional requirements for eternal life. In fact, this literal interpretation forms the foundation for Rome's doctrine of transubstantiation -- the miraculous changing of bread and wine into the living Christ, His body and blood, soul and divinity. Each Catholic priest is...

The Catholic Church teaches that in the Eucharist, the wafer and the wine really become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  Have you ever met anyone who finds this a bit hard to take?If so, you shouldn’t be surprised.  When Jesus spoke about eating His flesh and drinking His blood in John 6, the response was less than enthusiastic.  “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?� (v. 52).  “This is a hard saying who can listen to it?� (v.60).  In fact so many of His disciples abandoned Him that Jesus asked the twelve if they also...

< Traditional Holy Mass Propers Dominica infra Octavam Sanctissimi Corporis Christi (Secunda Post Pentecosten) Sunday within the Octave of Corpus Christi (Second Sunday After Pentecost) Missa Factus est Dóminus protéctor meus ~ The Lord became my protector 25 May 2008 Anno Dómini "....Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the feeble, and the blind, and the lame....But I say unto you, that none of these men that were invited shall taste of my supper...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said...