Category Archives: Four Last Things

ASK FATHER: How long after death can Last Rites be given?

In the last few hours some of you have sent similar questions. QUAERITUR: How long after death can the Sacrament of Anointing be administered? Sometimes we say “Last Rites”, though technically Last Rites includes Penance, Anointing and Viaticum (Eucharist), and hopefully … Read More

Posted in "But Father! But Father!", "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Four Last Things, GO TO CONFESSION, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Mail from priests | Tagged , , , ,
31 Comments

ASK FATHER: Father says funerals without a pall on the coffin

From a reader… QUAERITUR: I attended at funeral mass at a parish recently and I found it strange that the funeral pall was not draped over the casket for the mass. The priest wore purple vestments and used the paschal … Read More

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Four Last Things, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged
12 Comments

Stupid and blasphemous TV devil show. Wherein Fr. Z rants.

I occasionally turn on a regular network TV station. My gorge rises and I flee back to books, cable news or DVDs. I understand that there is now a TV series called Lucifer. I won’t be seeing that one. However, … Read More

Posted in Four Last Things, Wherein Fr. Z Rants | Tagged , , , ,
66 Comments

ASK FATHER: Why should we use black vestments for All Souls Day or funerals?

From a priest: My pastor said to me, “if you give me a good enough reason why I should wear black vestments on All Souls’ Day, I will do it.” What, exactly, would you recommend I tell him? My mind … Read More

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Four Last Things, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Mail from priests, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged
37 Comments

Card. Sarah, Bps. Slattery, Conley, Morlino on “ad orientem” worship

I hold with Klaus Gamber and others that the turning around of Mass, to celebrate versus populum was the single most damaging thing to our Catholic identity.  I hold with Joseph Ratzinger and others that we need to return to ad orientem worship. … Read More

Posted in Four Last Things, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged , , , , , ,
26 Comments

ASK FATHER: I’ve been such a sinner. Is striving for holiness a waste of time?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: d’ve lived a pretty sinful life and reverted back to the faith. Since then I have been striving to become a saint, but I’m starting to get the impression I’m wasting my time. I’m a member of a … Read More

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Four Last Things, GO TO CONFESSION, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , , ,
22 Comments

Fr. Z’s Voice Mail: A wish for a dying seminarian – ACTION ITEM! #wookies4wes

It has been a while since I have posted about my voice mail.  I enjoy your voice mail messages! FIRST, about the seminarian who is dying from cancer. [UPDATE: Okay, now she doesn’t want her voice mail here.  Go figure.] What an … Read More

Posted in ACTION ITEM!, Four Last Things, HONORED GUESTS, Pray For A Miracle, Seminarians and Seminaries, Urgent Prayer Requests, Voice Mail | Tagged
Comments Off on Fr. Z’s Voice Mail: A wish for a dying seminarian – ACTION ITEM! #wookies4wes

Of scapulars, devotions and Russian jet fighters

Some people are quite disciplined in the matter of wearing a scapular. This comes from Latin scapulae, shoulder blades. Scapulars are garments, usually associated with religious habits, which fall down from the shoulders, mostly over the rest of the habit. … Read More

Posted in Four Last Things | Tagged
43 Comments

Your Sunday Sermon Notes

Was there a good point made in the sermon you heard for your Sunday Mass of Obligation?   I preached (at Mass in the Ordinary Form today) about the Four Last Things as a necessary point of day reflection because, I … Read More

Posted in Four Last Things |
28 Comments

Prayers for the dead and wounded and – God help them – hostages in Paris

Prayers for the dead and wounded and God help them – hostages in Paris and friends and families of the same. Ce soir nous sommes tous Français. Coordinated attacks by terrorists at multiple locations in Paris may be something along the … Read More

Posted in Four Last Things, GO TO CONFESSION, Semper Paratus, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices | Tagged ,
55 Comments