Monthly Archives: October 2016

ROME 2 – Day 1: Exorcisms, guts, and Roman altars

The pilgrimage group having dispersed in Venice, we made our way to Lake Garda simply to rest up and have a nice view. That was gloriously accomplished. Now it’s time for the third phase. I headed back to Rome for … Read More

Posted in On the road, What Fr. Z is up to |
4 Comments

“Be Thou unto us, O Lord, a help when we go forward, a comfort by the way…”

As it is the Feast of Raphael the Archangel in the older, traditional Roman calendar, I’ll share something I wrote for the UK’s best Catholic weekly… also, I’m traveling today, back to Rome after a nice rest at Lake Garda. … Read More

Posted in On the road | Tagged ,
10 Comments

ASK FATHER: An old priest gets confused, hard to understand

From a reader… Our parish has a mass that is served by an increasingly elderly and frail priest. His physical limitations are what they are. The concern that he needs prompting through the entire mass, not just the daily changes, but including prayers … Read More

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Priests and Priesthood | Tagged
40 Comments

Your Sunday Sermon Notes

Was there a good point or two in the sermon you heard for your Mass of Sunday obligation? Let us know. I, for one, did not preach! However, I did meditate during Mass on how silly differences tend to keep … Read More

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
17 Comments

The war is here.

I would like to be able to write like Anthony Esolen every day.  His latest, at the increasingly useful Crisis, is not to be missed. Most of us who are paying attention to the signs of the times, know that something … Read More

Posted in Be The Maquis, Our Catholic Identity, Semper Paratus, Si vis pacem para bellum!, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, The Olympian Middle | Tagged ,
27 Comments

Archbp. Chaput: a smaller Church of fewer believers rather than compromise orthodoxy

Every once in a while people opine about whether or not it would be good (and not just inevitable) to have a smaller, leaner, more faithful Church rather than one filled (mainly?) by mere cultural Catholics or CINOs. Benedict XVI … Read More

Posted in Hard-Identity Catholicism, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged , ,
53 Comments

Spiritual Super Powers: Monks of Norcia and Card. Sarah

I am reading Card. Sarah’s new book “The Power of Silence: against the dictatorship of noise”.  It is profound.  What a tonic for the confused pabulum we are getting from… elsewhere. I got a note from the Benedictine monks of … Read More

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged ,
9 Comments

WDTPRS – 23rd Sunday after Pentecost: SNIP!

In the pre-Conciliar Missale Romanum this Sunday’s Collect prayer in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite was in the ancient Veronese Sacramentary in the month of September, a fast time. It was a bit different: Absolue, domine, quaesumus, tuorum delicta populorum, et quod mortalitatis contrahit … Read More

Posted in GO TO CONFESSION, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, WDTPRS | Tagged , , ,
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ASK FATHER: Is a priest allowed to do the readings, or must a lay person do them?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: On occassion the Lector or Reader is a no-show for Mass and Father will say “We’ll just wait for someone to come do the readings.” At the Sat. evening vigil Mass many of us are older and I, … Read More

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box | Tagged , , , ,
16 Comments

Wimple by Wimple in New Jersey

A few days ago I was in Florence and I saw things and places associated with Savonarola.  This, of course, reminded me of the smoke-scented glycerin soap made by the wonderful Summit Dominicans, the great “soap sisters”, called “Savonarola”… get it? … Read More

Posted in Women Religious | Tagged , , ,
7 Comments