Second in a series of blog posts about traditional worship: At OLR Greenville at the 10:30 High Mass we use lots of incense. Why do we do that? Is it just because we happen to like "smells and bells"? We do like incense and the sanctus bell, but what's the point? Is it just that the [...]
At our parish of Our Lady of the Rosary in Greenville the Catholic Mass is celebrated in a traditional style. We do not celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass, but the Novus Ordo Mass as informed by the Traditional Latin Mass. So, when you attend the high Mass on Sunday mornings at OLR, Greenville you will see [...]
Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York State in 1774--the daughter of a doctor and grand-daughter on the maternal side of an Anglican clergyman serving in New York City. At this time the Episcopal Church of the USA--(American Anglicanism) had yet to be established. At the age of twenty she married William Seton. The first [...]
One of my favorite quotes from Pope Benedict XVI is "Scripture can only be interpreted through the lives of the saints." When I read this--and I forget where in the writings this occurs, it opened my heart and mind to both the Scriptures and the Saints in a new way. The context of this, of course, [...]
On Sunday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Holy Family and in my homily I reflected on the astounding fact that Almighty God chooses, from the beginning of human history, to use the family to accomplish his will in the world. Get your head around this: He doesn't choose to primarily use Emperors and Potentates, Presidents, [...]
I remember when Richard Nixon was elected and a bewildered, wealthy New York democrat woman was reported as saying, "How could he have won? I don't know anybody who voted for him!" It sums up the attitude of the elitist progressive whether they are in Washington, New York or Rome. The progressives in the church are [...]
In the confessional every priest deals with folks who are struggling with guilt and shame, and it has seemed to me for some time that most folks do not have the tools to deal with guilt and shame. However, the church teaches how to approach guilt and shame in a positive and objective manner. This is [...]
The recent document Fiducia Supplicans signed off by Pope Francis is probably the most disastrous piece of work in what will be seen as the worst papacy in the 20th-21st centuries. My comments here have nothing to do with the issue of same sex attraction. I have no opinion on those matters other than the teaching of [...]
Now having had a chance to read Fiducia Supplicans-- the new document from the Vatican on blessings, I have a few thoughts from the point of view of a parish priest. As usual, I advise readers to avoid jumping to conclusions by reading (and believing) headlines, social media posts and scare quotes. Here is the document [...]
Will the atheist cynics and Protestant scoffers never cease with the old canard that Catholicism is simply old paganism in a new dress? These critics notice similarities between certain Roman Catholic customs and the old Roman religion and snipe that our faith is no more than paganism with a face lift. “Christmas!” they cry, “your so-called [...]