We are our rites… “In some way or another”, I guess.

Posted on 8 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Ed Pentin at the National Catholic Register:

Liturgy Sidestepped at Pope Leo XIV’s First Consistory? [With my emphases and comments.]
Cardinals choose evangelization and synodality as key topics, disappointing those who expected the liturgy to be a central theme [’cause it’s only the “fons et culmen”, right?  No?  Am I wrong?] after recent restrictions on the traditional form of the Roman rite, but the Holy Father later insists the liturgy remains a “very concrete” issue that still needs to be addressed. [Some concrete is more concrete than others.]

ROME — Some cardinals and faithful who have a devotion to the traditional Roman rite have expressed concern that the liturgy appears to be sidelined in the extraordinary consistory currently underway at the Vatican after the cardinals voted to give priority to other issues on the agenda.  [What does that say about those cardinals?  One the other hand, given who those cardinals probably are, do we really want THEM involved in liturgical discussions?]

In his opening address to the consistory yesterday, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed to the cardinal participants that they will have the opportunity to “engage in a communal reflection” on four themes already pre-announced to be on the meeting’s agenda. [2+2=…?…3?]

Those topics, he said, were Pope Francis’ 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium “that is, the mission of the Church in today’s world,” Praedicate Evangelium, the late pope’s apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia; the Synod and synodality “as both an instrument and a style of cooperation” and the liturgy, “the source and summit of the Christian life.”

But Leo added that “due to time constraints, and in order to encourage a genuinely in-depth analysis, only two of them will be discussed specifically.”

The cardinals were then asked to make clear which two of the four they would want to be specifically debated and, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, “a large majority” decided the topics would be “evangelization and the Church’s missionary activity drawn from rereading Evangelii Gaudium,” and “the Synod and synodality.”  [I just had a flash of an image of hundreds of Korean overly-decorated military unison applauding a pre-determined course.] The Pope later thanked the cardinals for making the choice, adding: “The other themes are not lost. There are very concrete, specific issues that we still need to address.”

Bruni told reporters at a press briefing Wednesday evening that the 170 cardinals taking part were divided into 20 groups, which were then divided into two blocks. Eleven groups consisted of cardinals in Rome including curial cardinals and those who have concluded their service and are no longer electors. The remaining 9 groups were cardinal electors of local churches (archbishops and bishops of dioceses), cardinal electors who are nuncios and cardinal electors who have concluded their service but remain electors due to being under the age of 80.

Bruni said that “for reasons of time,” the cardinal secretaries of the second block had the job of reporting back the decision of the cardinals. “They had three minutes to explain the work done within the groups and the reasons that led to the choice of the two themes.”  [three minutes… is this serious?]

The Holy Father had made clear in his opening address that it was his preference to hear back from the second block as he does not usually receive advice from those cardinals. “It is naturally easier for me to seek counsel from those who work in the Curia and live in Rome,” he said.

But the decision not to make the liturgy a key theme was disappointing to some cardinals and traditional faithful.

The liturgy has long been a particularly sensitive issue, and especially to traditional-minded Catholics following recent sweeping restrictions on the older form of the Latin rite during Pope Francis’ pontificate. These faithful experienced the restrictions not as a mere disciplinary change but as a judgment on their fidelity, spirituality and ecclesial belonging, which many have described as deeply wounding and divisive.

The popular Italian traditional website Messa in Latino, wrote Jan. 7 that it had contacted some anonymous but important cardinals who all said they were “discouraged and disappointed” about the relegation of the liturgy as a discussion topic.

In comments to the Register Jan. 8, the website’s editor Luigi Casalini asked: “To whom did the Pope delegate this choice, and according to what criteria were these cardinals of the nine local churches selected in order to remove — in effect — two topics?” He also wondered “why cardinals sensitive to the issue” appear to have “made no attempt to lobby” for the liturgy to be included as a core topic of discussion, “even before the consistory.”  [Because that sort of cardinal isn’t like the other sort of cardinal.  They don’t instinctively use the tactics of the left.]

The consistory, he added, “appears to be in perfect continuity with the Synods and the thought of Francis” — [Hence] a reference to how recent synods were silent on the traditional liturgy.

Speaking to journalists Wednesday, Bruni tried to offer some reassurance. “The other two themes will still be addressed in some way, because mission does not exclude the liturgy,” he said. “On the contrary, in many ways it does not mean exclusion. It means that they will still be addressed within the others or in some other way.” [In other words, it isn’t going to be discussed.  This VatiSpeak is getting worse.]

He added: “As the Pope said and as he noted in both his opening and closing speeches [on Wednesday], the themes cannot be separated from each other, because in mission and evangelization there is liturgy.” [You need a microscope to spot it in modern notions of mission and evangelization… but I assure you, it’s in there!  In some way or another.]

Casalini said he was looking ahead to the two free discussions today to see “whether the topic of the liturgy will be taken up again.”  [I think I’ll go back to playing chess now.]

 

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity, Save The Liturgy - Save The World, What are they REALLY saying?, You must be joking! | Tagged
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PODCAzT 186 – Voices of the Fathers 01 – The Scillitan Martyrs

Posted on 7 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I was recently going through some old books and found a slim volume entitled The Osterley Selection from the Latin Fathers, edited by Joseph Crehan of Heythrop College, was compiled chiefly for seminarians, especially late vocations, at Campion College, Osterley, a Jesuit formation house in the Archdiocese of Westminster that closed in 2004. The 1949 preface praises the great classical authors—Caesar, Cicero, Livy, Virgil—yet insists that Christian writing shows a different kind of beauty. Pagans, it says, wrote with studied grace; Christians with passionate conviction. The volume includes selections from Ambrose and Augustine, Tertullian, Vincent of Lérins, Jerome, and others.

It occurred to me that I might offer a podcast of the first reading and see how it goes.   Some of you get Patristic readings in the office of readings in the Liturgy of the Hours but do you hear them?  That’s another question.  There are 42 brief readings in the book by authors whom you will more than likely recognize.    I propose to read an English translation, make some comments and read the Latin.

Since the embedded player could be improved, here’s the link: HERE

Posted in Patristiblogging, PODCAzT, Voices of the Fathers | Tagged , ,
4 Comments

Daily Rome Shot 1523

Posted on 7 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Welcome Registrant:

eepiano

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And…

White to move and mate in 4. I found this hard.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
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WDTPRS – Epiphany Collect: transformed by the beauty of Your sublime glory

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In the ancient Western Church and in the East, Epiphany was more important than the relative latecomer Christmas.  Epiphany is from the Greek word for a divine “manifestation” or “revelation”.  There are many “epiphanies” of God in the Scripture.  Think, for example, of the burning bush encountered by Moses.

The Latin Church’s antiphons for Vespers reflect the tradition that Epiphany was thought to be not only the day the Magi came to adore Christ, but also the same day years later when He changed water into wine at Cana, and also when He was baptized by St. John in the Jordan.  In each mysterious event, Jesus was revealed to be more than a mere man: He is man and God.

The Epiphany Collect was in the 1962 Missale Romanum and in ancient sacramentaries.

Deus, qui hodierna die Unigenitum tuum stella duce revelasti, concede propitius, ut qui iam te ex fide cognovimus, usque ad contemplandam speciem tuae celsitudinis perducamur.

Stella duce is an ablative absolute.  The adjective hodiernus means “of this day, today’s”.  In older Latin, celsitudo is “lofty carriage of the body”. In later Latin it is used like the title “Highness”.  In our liturgical context it is a divine attribute, God’s transcendent grandeur, glory.

SUPER LITERAL VERSION:

O God, who on this very day revealed your Only-begotten, a star as the guide, graciously grant, that we, who have already come to know You by faith, may be led all the way unto the beauty of Your glory to be contemplated.

OBSOLETE ICEL (1973):

Father, you revealed your Son to the nations by the guidance of a star. Lead us to your glory in heaven by the light of faith.

NEW CORRECTED ICEL (2011):

O God, who on this day revealed your Only Begotten Son to the nations by the guidance of a star, grant in your mercy, that we, who know you already by faith, may be brought to behold the beauty of your sublime glory.

In Latin prayers species (three syllables) often means “beauty”. It is also a technical, philosophical term about the way the human intellect apprehends things.  Species has to do with the relationship between the thing known and our knowing power.  A species transforms the mind of the one perceiving a thing.  The object we consider acts upon our power of knowing.  Simultaneously, the knowing power acts upon the object known.  Our knowing power’s active and passive aspects meet in the species and the object of our consideration is known directly, without intermediaries.  Easy.

This is what we are praying for, hoping for, living our earthly lives for: to see God face to face, directly and immediately.

In this life we know God only indirectly, by faith, our reason aided by the authority of revelation and by grace.  This is St. Paul’s “dark glass” (1 Cor 13:12) through which we peer toward Him in longing.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He is the Father’s Beauty. He is Truth and Beauty and Glory itself.

St. Hilary of Poitiers (d 367) conceived God’s divine attribute of glory as a transforming power which divinizes us by our contact with it.  After Moses talked with God in the tent of the Ark, he wore a veil over his face, which became too bright to look at.  We pray today, literally, to be brought “all the way to the beauty of glory (species celsitudinis)” of God “which is to be contemplated”.  His beauty will act on us, increase our knowledge of Him and, therefore, our love for Him … for all eternity.   We will be, all the more, the images He intended.

Christ could be understood to be the species celsitudinis of this prayer. Contemplate His truth and beauty.  Christ is the true speaker and spoken truth of every prayer of every Mass.

If eternal Beauty transforms us, “divinizes” us, then beauty in this life changes us too.

The Christian life moves from credere to intueri, from believing to gazing, from assent to participation.

This movement is at the core of what St. Augustine of Hippo famously wrote about God as pulchritudo tam antiqua et tam nova, beauty ever ancient and ever new. For Augustine, beauty is truth perceived in its fullness. To see God’s beauty is to be reordered by love. Knowledge remains external unless it draws the soul into what it knows.

Likewise, St. Gregory of Nyssa describes the Christian journey as an unending ascent into divine glory. The vision of God never exhausts itself, because God is infinite. Each true vision enlarges desire and refines the soul. The Epiphany Collect echoes this dynamic.

Could a fostering of beauty in our churches help us reach people today in a way that arguments or other appeals may not?

Our liturgical worship of the Most High God must lead us to encounter beauty, truth, transcendent mystery.  Holy Mass requires the finest architecture, vestments, music – everything – we can summon from human genius, love and labor.  What we sing and say and do in church, and the church itself, ought to presage the liturgy of heaven, where the Church Triumphant enjoys already the Beatific Vision.

Liturgy should be “epiphany”, wherein we encounter transforming mystery.

We are our rites.

Let us celebrate every Mass in such a way that we become shoeless Moses before the burning bush which is never consumed.

Let Mass make us Magi with sight and mind fixed in longing upon the beautiful, true and yet speechless Word, in whom transcendent glory was both hidden and revealed.

Posted in Christmas and Epiphany, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Save The Liturgy - Save The World, WDTPRS | Tagged ,
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An Epiphany Prayer to the Magi for the Sophisticated

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Click!

Here’s something I penned some years ago. Recently, a member of my text group brought up Waugh’s book and Helena’s prayer. Hence, here it is again.

Evelyn Waugh wrote a terrific little book, Helena.  It is about the mother of the Emperor Constantine.  US HERE – UK HERE

In our book, St. Helena, discoverer of the True Cross, prays to the Holy Magi.

This is a prayer by and for people who are talented, intellectuals, artists, who because of their intellectual gifts find it difficult to arrive at the same faith of simple people.

The prayer has two messages.

First, simple folk need far less ratiocination (e.g., exegesis, syllogisms, disputations, etc.) than those who are more gifted in order to adore the Baby in the manger.  They come to the side of the Lord so much more quickly, willingly, with less hesitation.

Second, there is nevertheless hope for intellectuals, scientists, artist, who, in spite of the difficulties their intellects pose to the Faith, can arrive late at the manger and still by welcomed with open arms by the Holy Family.

This is my day, and these are my kind.

“Like me, you were late in coming. The shepherds were here long before, even the cattle. They had joined the chorus of angels before you were on your way.

How laboriously you came, taking sights and calculating, where the shepherds had run barefoot! How odd you looked on the road, attended by what outlandish liveries, laden with such preposterous gifts!

You finally came to the last stage of your pilgrimage and the great star stood still above you. What did you do? You stopped to call on King Herod. Deadly exchange of compliments in which began that unended war of mobs and magistrates against the innocent!

Yet you came and were not turned away. You too found room before the manger. Your gifts were not needed, but they were accepted and put carefully by, for they were brought with love. In that new order of charity that had just come to life, there was room for you, too. You were not lower in the eyes of the holy family than the ox or the ass.

You are my especial patrons, and patrons of all late-comers, of all who have a tedious journey to make to the truth, of all who are confused with knowledge and speculation, of all who through politeness make themselves partners in guilt, of all who stand in danger by reason of their talents.

Dear cousins, pray for me, and for my poor overloaded son. May he, too, before the end find kneeling space in the straw. Pray for the great, lest they perish utterly.

For His sake who did not reject your curious gifts, pray always for the learned, the oblique, the delicate. Let them not be quite forgotten at the Throne of God when the simple come into their kingdom.”

 

Posted in Classic Posts | Tagged ,
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Daily Rome Shot 1522

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today’s Wordle: Failed

Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links.  US HERE – WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

Here’s The Triumph of St. Augustine by Claudio Coello.

Black to move and mate in 4.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Click!
There’s a back story, too.

 

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
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The Jubilee ends. A Consistory begins. The real start of the pontificate?

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The Jubilee Year officially ends today.  That means that, in some ways, Leo’s pontificate really starts today.  He is no longer burdened with the pre-programmed audiences, etc., that the Jubilee entailed.  Emblematic of that is that a consistory, which he called, begins tomorrow.

At Il Giornale writer Nico Spuntoni has info about the consistory (formal meeting of cardinals with the Pope).  Here is an English version:

Working Groups and Lunch with the Pope: Here is the Program for the Consistory
Tomorrow the first extraordinary consistory of the pontificate of Leo XIV opens. We reveal all the appointments for the members of the Sacred College.

Leo XIV will not have time to rest after the closing of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica this morning. [Thus the Jubilee Year is officially over.] Tomorrow, in fact, the Pope is expected at the first extraordinary consistory of his pontificate. In these hours, cardinals from all over the world have arrived in the Vatican for what the Pope, in a letter we anticipated, defined as “a moment of communion and fraternity, of reflection and sharing” aimed at supporting and advising him “in the arduous responsibility of governing the universal Church.”

The Program
We revealed how Leo XIV proposed in his Christmas letter the re-reading of two documents of his predecessor, Evangelii gaudium and Praedicate evangelium, and indicated “Synod and synodality” and “liturgy” [!] as “topics of particular relevance.” But how will the consistory actually take place? Today IlGiornale is able to present the detailed calendar.   [I would have preferred Veritatis splendor.]

The registration of the cardinals will begin tomorrow at noon in the atrium of the Paul VI Hall. After a welcome coffee, the actual work in the new Synod Hall will begin at 3:30 pm with community prayer, followed by a greeting from the Cardinal Dean, the Italian Giovanni Battista Re. At that point, the Pope will give an introductory speech, which will be followed by the presentation of the work.

Three Sessions
The complete program arrived to the cardinals with little notice. In the three sessions of the consistory, “spread” over two days, working groups have been planned, from which group reports will then emerge. A working method already seen in the meeting of cardinals on the reform of the Curia at the end of summer 2022, but which is not the traditional method of consistories. Even at the time, the inability to speak publicly, as was done in consistories and pre-conclave congregations, did not please all the cardinals. The members of the college will discover, after the Pope’s introductory address, the guidelines for the formation of the working groups. In 2022, the criterion used was linguistic, but the results were not satisfactory for everyone. The working group format was not mentioned in the first convocation sent by the cardinal dean on November 7th.

Lunch with the Pope
Tomorrow, the first session will conclude at 6:45 PM with the Pope’s address and prayer. Work will resume on Thursday morning, after Mass at the Altar of the Chair, with the opening of the second session. In this “window,” after the group reports, at 12:00 PM there will be free interventions on the topic. The cardinals will then have lunch with the Pope before beginning the third and final session at 3:15 PM.

In the afternoon, after the group reports and free interventions, the Pope’s concluding address and the final Te Deum are expected at 6:45 PM. Time is short and there are many cardinals: will Leo XIV manage to hear everyone’s opinion? [Certainly not.]

Posted in Leo XIV, The Drill | Tagged
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Priests of the Diocese of Charlotte submit dubia to the Dicastery for Legislative Texts

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

News today was found at The Pillar.

More than 30 priests (31 signatories, representing about one-quarter of the diocesan clergy, with two-thirds of them pastors) from the Diocese of Charlotte submitted formal dubia to the Dicastery for Legislative Texts on January 5, 2026, seeking clarification on the liturgical authority of their diocesan bishop, Bishop Michael Martin.

The dubia were prompted by concerns over a 17 December pastoral letter from Bishop Martin that, effective January 2026, prohibits the use of altar rails, kneelers, and prie-dieus for receiving Holy Communion, requiring removal of movable kneeling fixtures.

In the questions submitted, the priests ask whether a diocesan bishop may:

  • Ban the erection and require removal of altar rails, given liturgical norms (e.g., GIRM 295 and 42) that call for the sanctuary to be distinctly marked.
  • Prohibit kneelers for those who wish to receive Communion while kneeling, noting that kneeling is permitted by the GIRM (and Redemptionis sacramentum).
  • Restrict vestments, communion by intinction, and other liturgical elements (such as prayers, gestures, chants, and ornaments) that are not prohibited in universal liturgical law but are referenced in a leaked draft of further diocesan liturgical regulations.

The submission of dubia reflects broader controversy and concern among both clergy and lay faithful in the diocese about Bishop Martin’s recent liturgical directives and his overall governance style, which some describe as overly prescriptive or “micromanaging.”

One might add tyrannical.

It is hard to say what will result from this.  It went to Legislative Texts instead of Divine Worship (which has its own canonical section).

Will it be slow walked?

In any event, this will probably result in a clarification of the vague language in Church documents about the bishop being the “the chief steward of the mysteries of God in the particular Church entrusted to his care, is the moderator, promoter, and guardian of the whole of its liturgical life” (GIRM 22).

Also, this will reveal what Pope Leo thinks about the relationship of bishops and priests.

When 25% of a dioceses priests, and 75% of them being pastors (18.75%), rise up like this, there is clearly a serious problem with the bishop.

 

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Priests and Priesthood, The Drill |
20 Comments

Send 2025 CHRISTMAS CARDS to Fr. Z! – With a cautionary note. – UPDATED

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I always enjoy your Christmas cards.  The notes and letters which describe the year people have had are interesting and, often, moving.  Over the years I’ve recognized so many familiar names.  I read them all. And drawings by kids are great!  A couple years ago, I started a KID ART PAGE.  I wish I had done this earlier.

If you would like to send me Advent/Christmas greetings or cards, please send by snail mail.

Remember mail?

As I have done in years past, I’ll try to post all the places whence they were mailed from around the world.  Keep in mind that if you don’t include your address, at least your city, I can’t easily do that.

I have a US PO BOX address.

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
733 Struck St.
PO BOX 44603
Madison, WI 53744-4603

That is the P.O. Box of the Tridentine Mass Society of Madison

Someone will regularly check the P.O. box for me and forward everything.  That will add a little time to how long it takes to reach me… but they do reach me.

NB: Some of you had an alternative PO BOX address. Do NOT use that.  That postal shop went out of business!

If you want to send something time sensitive, or perhaps expensive – like keys to a Bugatti – contact me. HERE   I can give you a faster address!

If you’ve been a regular benefactor and we’ve had contact, you might consider that option.

Please DO NOT send perishable food items. I am sure they would be wonderful but, please, just don’t, not with the mail the way it’s been.

If you put glitter in the card, I’ll recite the Maledictory Psalms.

If  I receive something threatening or illegal, I will immediately turn it in to law enforcement.  I’m sorry I have to write that under such a cheery topic, but this is the world we live in, especially in this dreadful craziness going on.

UPDATE 20 Dec 25:

I am starting to get envelopes forwarded of Christmas cards.

Therefore, I’m getting your annual letters and photos and updates.

So, from where?

Mt. Holy Springs, PA (Thank God for recovery from surgeries)
Indianapolis, IN
Niceville, FL (settling in)
Arbor Vitae, WI (great to hear from you, thanks for comments about Rome photos)
Sanford, FL (see you soon, I hope)
Atlanta, GA (Thanks sometimes when mom was taking in mail, things got lost, bless her)
Orlando, FL (Great letter! Including “elk slobber” – beautiful family)
Berkley, OH (another great looking bunch of kids… fruits of the old Mass? Maybe?)
Chula Vista, CA (thanks for the Masses for my intention)
Scottsdale, AZ (I miss the chickadees)
W. Salem WI (wow… a lot… what a fun letter and KID ART)
York, PA (I remember the chat with your Rev. son in Rome for the pilgrimage! – hi to him)

KID ART

From Genevieve – 9.   I am wondering what the thought balloon is about.  I think … see what I did there? … that I am again BLUE vestments during Avent.  I think… see what I did there? … that that is a BLUE maniple and I, definitively, as a snowman, have a PURPLE maniple.   Do you have another interpretation?

From Rita – 7

Rita seems to have a grasp of human anatomy.  I’m trying to get my imagination around the location of people on the road.  And, it seems that the “inn” is slated for expansion.  Maybe by next year?

This one wasn’t signed.  I hope the AC is on in church.

UPDATE 26 Dec 25:

I received a care package of cards!

Appleton, WI – Wow!  St. Agnes folks!
Lodi,WI – What a marriage photo!
Utica, NY
Louisville, KY – I like the depiction of Joseph
Brooklyn, WI – so nice, thanks.  And KID ART!
Rochester, MI – thx for feedback on the podcasts, I don’t get much
Albany, NY – such a faithful reader and donor, thank you
Bethesda, MD – lovely family
W. St. Paul, MN – Thanks for Masses at Holy Hill. my mentor Fr. Foster is buried there.
Boca Raton, FL
Wading River, NY – thanks for the prayers for my mom
Roselle Park, NJ – Nice card
Washougal, WA – thanks!
Lakeside, CA – 73!  I want to get ZedNet going again.
Andover, MN
Mesa, AZ
Pen Argyl, PA – Thanks for checking my pieces at 1 Peter 5
Menomonee Falls, WI – “Soldier on!”
Ivy, VA – lettersfromthesaint.com
West Warwick, RI – KID ART and Latin and… the Eye of Sauron?
Malone, NY – thanks!
Andover, MN “I’m 80 years old and … I’m concerned about the leadership in the Church.”
Southwark, England  – Thanks Father!

KID ART

We have some Latin.  Is that Barad Dur next to the Christmas tree?

 

Thanks Ben.  You are for sure a lot bigger than the last time I saw you!

*Sniff*

Leaving there hurt a lot.  Thanks, Bishop.

Remember that interesting Silver Dollar?

One of you SENT IT! Thank you. I don’t know who you are. Bless you.

UPDATE 2 January 2026:

Another batch of cards arrived today. Terrific.

No kid art this time. Oh well.

A couple of amusing pics to start off.

And…

And…

But then there’s this…

Ha ha. Very funny.

Cincinnati, OH (Smariticus Pantsicus)
Liberty Lake, WA – lovely family
Howard Beach, NY – thanks for no glitter
Bradenton, FL – many thanks
Colchest, VT – you are welcome
Atherton, CA – small world – “The Parish” is amazing
Greeley, CO – you are very kind
Thaxton, VA – A calm life is a blessing
Biloxi, MS – thanks for the holy cards
Deptford, NJ – I was in your area not long ago
Calabasas, CA – nice family
Holliston, MA – congrats in advance
Shelton, CT – long-time reader!
Plano, TX – time flies
Austin, TX – be strong!
Orrtanna, PA – thanks for the Masses
River Ridge, LA (SNOW?!?)
Dorchester, MA – Oorah!
Sarasota, FL – very kind
Irving, TX – I’ll remember at San C&G
Greenville, MI – thanks for the Masses
White Bear Lake, MN – Persevere!
Eagle, ID – what a year!
Centennial, CO – “yeah!”
Corvina, CA – Confession! Yay!
Sudbury, ON – lovely card
Lost Nation, IA – lovely family
Elkton, MD – thanks for the note about going to confession
Dillsburg, PA – Nice sweaters
Ave Maria, FL – PERSEVERE!
Ashford, Middlesex, England – I look forward to returning!
Wasilla, AK – thanks for mentioning the podcasts

UPDATE 6 Jan 26:

Mechanicsburg, PA – KID ART!
Montgomery, AL – Thank you! And the Ordo will help too.
Harris, MN – I’m glad I could say Mass for that wedding intention
Tiverton, RI – nice to hear from you
Anchorage, AK – thanks and condolences
Wichita, KS – thanks for the prayers for my mother
Budapest – Köszönöm! Szép álom. Lassan tanulok magyarul. Nehéz!

The kid art tells a story… the pictures were connected, but I had to do separate photos.


21 Jan 2025

I received another batch of cards!

Where are you?

Denver, CO – thanks for the prayers for my mother
Alliston, ON
KC, MO Semiquinquennial!
Battesford, Leices., England (a familiar place over the years)
Destrehan, LA
St. Paul, MN – Hi Father!
Vatican City – Hi Guard!
Escanaba, MI – Condolences again, old friend.
Albany, NY – thanks for the Masses
Letterkenny, Co. Donegal – D!!!!
Southwark, England – HIS HERMENEUTICALNESS!
Stockport, UK (Manchester United?  Life on Mars?)
Baldwin, MD – persevere!
Southwick, MA – you are welcome for the live stream Masses
Proctor, MT – you are welcome
Harrisburg, PA – thank you
Fort Collins, CO (nice family, in the shadow of WWV)

No kid art, alas.

It is such a pleasure after supper to start opening the cards and reading annual letters and seeing pictures.  Over the years, I’ve been remembering you.

There’s something great about snail mail.

29 Jan 2026 UPDATE

Rapid City, SD (nice B&W)
Rome
Flushing, NY (thanks for the patience)
Anchorage, AK (yes.. GO TO CONFESSION!)
Rome (dear E! How you have suffered a the hands of “mercy”)
Marion, IN (Thank you for your kind words.)
Lake Minchumina, AK (no priest there… *sigh*)
Vatican City (Swiss Guards)
Lincoln, NE (what a letter!)
Pardeeville, WI (updates… do subscribe!)

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ACTION ITEM! |
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Daily Rome Shot 1521

Posted on 5 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today’s Wordle: 4

Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links.  US HERE – WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

Cool…

And…

Black to move and mate in 4.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
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