Newly Revised Roman Missal: for all, or for many......

Recently, I went back to work part-time at a fabric store as the Education Coordinator in charge of the classes, schedules, teaching the sewing and quilting classes, and various other educational needs of the store. The other day, while talking with a couple of ladies about the seasonal fabrics at the store and especially the Christmas fabrics, one lady spoke up proudly that she doesn't and has never celebrated Christmas, nor Easter for that matter.  I thought about the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal and the part where the Latin translation for the word all is many.  So during the "Institution Narrative" which are the words of Christ during the Last Supper, starting on November 27th, the priest will say "which will be poured out for you and for many" replacing the old translation of, "It will be shed for you and for all..."

What this is really saying is what I just witnessed in the above conversation, many will believe and accept Christ's sacrifice, but there are those who will not and have made that choice freely and with thought.  There is no changing this lady's mind about Christmas, Easter, and Christ for that matter, so there will be no chance that Christ's pouring out His blood during His passion for the sins of the world will affect this woman's life.  That "free will" factor plays here and God wants us to make our own choices.

This statement does not say that Christ does not love those beyond the "many" at all, He takes all who come to Him as children of God, but we must knock on the door and seek Him.  Those who chose not to knock, seeking God through Him have made their choice.  We can try and try we may, but there are those who will not accept this gift of salvation and being realistic, there isn't any word, book, or person that can change their minds, much less their hearts.  We must continue to pray for these souls.

Benedict XVI's Explanation of Prayer for Children

"The Day of My First Holy Communion Was One of the Most Beautiful Days of My Life"

COTONOU, Benin, NOV. 20, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered Saturday evening in Benin when he visited St. Rita's Parish, and spoke to the children there.
* * *
Dear Young Friends,
I thank Bishop René-Marie Ehuzu of Port Novo, Director of Social Ministry of the Benin Bishops’ Conference, for his words of welcome. I also thank the parish priest and Aïcha for their words offered on behalf of all of you. After this beautiful moment of Eucharistic adoration, it is with much joy that I greet you. Thank you for coming out in such great numbers!

God our Father has gathered us around his Son and our brother, Jesus Christ, who is present in the host consecrated during the Mass. This is a great mystery before which we worship and we believe. Jesus, who loves us very much, is truly present in the tabernacles of all the churches around the world, in the tabernacles of the churches in your neighbourhoods and in your parishes. I ask you to visit him often to tell him of your love for him.

Some of you have already made your First Holy Communion, and others are preparing for it. The day of my First Holy Communion was one of the most beautiful days of my life. It is the same for you, isn’t it? And why is that? It’s not only because of our nice clothes or the gifts we receive, nor even because of the parties! It is above all because, that day, we receive Jesus Christ for the first time! When I receive Communion, Jesus comes to live in me. I should welcome him with love and listen closely to him. In the depths of my heart, I can tell him, for example: "Jesus, I know that you love me. Give me your love so that I can love you in return and love others with your love. I give you all my joys, my troubles and my future." Do not hesitate, dear children, to speak of Jesus to others. He is a treasure whom you should share generously. Throughout the history of the Church, the love of Jesus has filled countless Christians, and even young people like yourselves, with courage and strength. In this way, Saint Kizito, a Ugandan boy, was put to death because he wanted to live according to the baptism which he had just received. Kizito prayed. He realized that God is not only important, but that he is everything.
What, then, is prayer? It is a cry of love directed to God our Father, with the will to imitate Jesus our brother. Jesus often went off by himself to pray. Like Jesus, I too can find a calm place to pray where I can quietly stand before a Cross or a holy picture in order to speak to Jesus and to listen to him. I can also use the Gospels. That way, I keep within my heart a passage which has touched me and which will guide me throughout the day. To stay with Jesus like this for a little while lets him fill me with his love, light and life! This love, which I receive in prayer, calls me in turn to give it to my parents, to my friends, to everyone with whom I live, even with those who do not like me, and those whom I do not appreciate enough. Dear young people, Jesus loves you. Ask your parents to pray with you! Sometimes you may even have to push them a little. But do not hesitate to do so. God is that important!

May the Virgin Mary, his Mother, teach you to love more and more through prayer, forgiveness and charity. I entrust you to her, together with your families and teachers. Look! I have this rosary in my pocket. The rosary is like a tool that we can use to pray. It is easy to pray the rosary. Maybe you know how already; if not, ask your parents to help you to learn how. At the end of this meeting, each one of you will receive a rosary. When you hold it in your hand, I would ask you to pray for the Pope, for the Church and for every important intention. And now, before I bless you all with great affection, let us pray together a Hail Mary for children throughout the world, especially for those who are sick, who are hungry and in places of war. Let us pray together: Hail Mary,...

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Book REVIEW: Theology of the Body for Teens, Middle School bundle

In eight chapters, this little ditty teaches the next generation of adults more about themselves than any reality TV show can destroy. The more I learn about Bl. John Paul II’s extensive work of Theology of the Body, the more I know in my heart this should be a mandatory study for all youth beginning in grade school. The younger the child is, the deeper these teachings will reach their hearts. Beautifully orchestrated to bring the youth from who they are and where they came from to the purpose of life and respecting self and others in their lifetime. Statistics show that the younger a child begins to “date” the higher the risk and/or sooner they will be subjected to and engage in sexual behavior. With our teens now attending a formal high school, this is apparently the case; their fellow students are swapping boyfriends as quickly as they switch career choices, which as you know can be a weekly event. Are these young people knowledgeable of their purpose in life and do they know how to arm themselves against temptation?

Foundational and spiritual in content, Theology of the body for Teens, middle school bundle, uses down-to-earth common sense connections with the 5 senses and the sacraments to bring home the true purpose of how each sacrament works in our lives bringing God physically to us through the bread and wine, the oils, healing and forgiveness, and commitment in the vows we make later in life. I especially like the body/soul explanation, it is very clear and imperative to the program’s teaching. The explanation of sin, the imagery of the stain-glass window is simply beautiful and has the potential of driving home why we need to think differently about our bodies, souls, and what we do as soul-bodies in a world that has lost its mind when it comes to morals.

What I really like about this program is that the authors, Brian Butler, Jason Evert, and Colin &Aimee MacIver worked hard to make this program work WITH parents, not for them. Parents need to be onboard with this program and engaged with their children, especially during their teen years with all the pressures of modern thinking, which is definitely not modest thinking!

This Bundle comes with a parent’s guide explaining what will be covered with their children during their religion class, inviting them to read along with them some resources that will help them understand this program more fully. Also, it has a section for “Family Application” where several suggestions for fruitful parent/child discussions can take place along with prayers. The DVD set contains 3 DVD’s that further explain the content with actual people covering some of the material in a more engaging way.

From discovering who they are, their relationship with God and Jesus’ love for them, to how to act, understand more clearly the Church teachings on Sex, Love, and Chastity; to knowing the difference between “using” versus loving a person, and what their calling in life is, this program teaches teens that the Church is not the Church of “No!” but of “ Yes!” and with prayer and God’s love they will be who they are called to be!

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Theology of the Body for Teens Middle School Bundle. They are also a great source for a Catechism of the Catholic Church or a Catholic Bible.

Burning bridges and biting my tongue

Burning bridges is a reality that few welcome and most try to avoid, including yours truly.  But it happens, sometimes even without the ability to stop it, but can it be reversed? I don't know.....I just don't know, but what I do know is that we all have opinions and desires as to how to raise these charges that have been bestowed upon us and how we do such is affected by the different stimulus, different information, different experiences we have experienced in our lives.  But when confronted with different sets of values via invitations for my children to join in on the fun, hence my dilemma begins.

Take me for instance, my faith is the main driving force in my opinions and desires for my children.  Through the years my faith has increased both from study and experience, so my opinions and desires for my children have matured, if you will.  I see life much differently, clearer I would say than those less studied and open to the teachings of the Church.  There have been many who think I am an old stodgy-thinker, or an abstract thinker way too far fetched, or maybe they think I'm an old prude with old ideals and old values. I don't care, I know what I know and what I think and what I think is the way I am!  Period!!

It was much easier raising our children in the homeschooling arena, I didn't have to deal with mainstream ideals, my children didn't have to be tempted by modern family morals.  We were with those who thought the way we did or at least accepted us for how we thought and there was no pressure.  Now, all that has changed with our daughters in a Catholic high school surrounded by just these aforementioned "modern-thinking" people.

Why just this past spring the school held a spring dance, and at the parent's planning meeting there was a huge discussion as to the modest dress code, but in the end those of us wanting a MODEST dress code lost to the families where the girls wore strapless mini dresses and spiked heals to represent our Catholic school; a few other daughters, including our own did not attend.  Another event this fall had more strapless party dresses (with which they spend most of the evening yanking up the little dresses) in which our oldest daughter was invited.  One of the parents felt my daughter needed to borrow a dress from the many 'party' dresses of her daughters.  I don't think so, thank you very much.  She went, but on our terms, in a beautifully designed sleeveless, not strapless, dress with black and burgundy silk.  It was beautiful, she was beautiful with a matching flower in her hair.

You spend loads of money on a Catholic education to provide a safe place for the children in which to learn and grow, but allow them to act like streetwalkers when not at school?  Just the other day, a parent took me aside quietly to ask, well, her daughter wants to take some friends to see the new "Twilight" movie and then have a sleepover.  It must be well known how I feel about these things and that I even may have a point or obviously the discreet asking wouldn't have been so discreet.  My answer, as I winced at the movie choice, was "I'll think about it," sigh.  As I walked away, I thought, why send your children to Catholic schools if you are trashing their minds on the weekends?  Why bother?

Keeping some opinions to myself, biting my tongue, and venting here at the Pillars is my only option.  It's obvious that I'm nobody's chum here, but burning bridges isn't my goal.  My family has to survive these next 4 years that our daughters are in this high school.

Revised Roman Missal Monday: Introductory Rites (Republished for Nov. 27)

In this project for the “pillars” I am learning along with my readers through the resources provided us by the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and those approved by them from the diocese of Raleigh. Studying the revisions to our Roman Missal is very enlightening for this ‘cradle’ Catholic.

We left off at the Introductory Rites last week.

Basically, there will be very little change here, depending on your parish whether you sing, chant, or the priest speaks the Entrance chant, the parishioners will not see much of a difference. The greeting however will have a slight change: The priest will say, “The Lord be with you” and we will respond, “And with your spirit.” That’s it! This is closer to the Latin translation, “Et cum spiritu tuo” which matches the response already in the other major languages including Spanish, French, Italian, and German. It is spiritually enriching, reminding us of our time during Mass as prayerful; biblically based from references such as Galatians when Paul ends his letter in 6:18, “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.”


So simply put, memorize the new response to the Greeting and you are on your way to being prepared for November!

My recent course on the Revised Roman Missal (republished for this month)

Recently, as some of you may remember, I took an online course on the Revised Roman Missal which will be introduced on November 27th (the first Sunday of Advent and the new calendar year for the Church).  During the five-week course of study, about a dozen of us students discussed our thoughts about the present state of the Mass and the attitudes of the pew-sitters.  All the comments were not negative, we have some parishes that are busting with great catechetical programs and good leadership energizing their parishes.  On the other hand, there are those with less effort, if any.  The thing is both sides are Catholic and both sides are facing some important changes come November.  Like it or not, they have been promulgated, passing the Holy See's snuff along with three committees and expert exegists. 

The process the Roman Missal went through was no small feat with no small concern for the believers in America's Catholic Church.  I nearly got dizzy reading the scrutiny the liturgical prayers underwent.  These revisions were studied, compared, shared with other Christian community leaders (since many of these denominations use our Roman Missals as well) for their input.  An ecumenical relationship that never seems to reach the pew sitters of these churches.  After the many months and years of research, deliberation, consideration, study, and voting; then going back through the process with the committees reviewing and making sure all agree with the revisions and rationale. I was so impressed with this process and I firmly believe that this is the right and perfect way.  At a time when so many of our parishioners have gone dormant, it is time for a renewal and revitalization and it is now.

Why the revisions?  As the USCCB states about the revisions of the Romanum Missale:

The entire Church in the United States has been blessed with this opportunity to deepen its understanding of the Sacred Liturgy, and to appreciate its meaning and importance in our lives

As for our preparation: 

Now is the time to seize the opportunity given to us for all Catholics in the United States to deepen, nurture, and celebrate our faith through the renewal of our worship and the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy.

The timeline of this process has been made available to us on the USCCB Roman Missal page, but I thought I'd streamline it for those with little time to go researching.  Briefly, here is a portion of the events in the process of these third revisions:

In 1963, Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution of Sacred Liturgy) was promulgated as the first official text of the Council, calling for the renewal of the liturgy and the reform of the liturgical books in order to promote the “full, conscious, and active participation” of the faithful in the liturgy of the Church.  The use of the vernacular was allowed in all liturgies leading up to the Roman Missal.
 
In 1964, Pope Paul VI issues Motu Proprio letter, Sacram Liturgiam; the Consilium is formed. To facilitate the implementation of the reform of the Liturgy

Pope Paul VI stated:

"[I]t seems evident that many prescriptions of the Constitution cannot be applied in a short period of time, especially since some rites must first be revised and new liturgical books prepared. In order that this work may be carried out with the necessary wisdom and prudence, we are establishing a special commission whose principal task will be to implement in the best possible way the prescriptions of the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy itself."

March 27, 1975:  Missale Romanum was reissued promulgated by Pope Paul VI
Only one year after the publication of the U.S. edition of the Roman Missal, the Holy See issued a revised authoritative Latin edition, the “second typical edition,” containing additional prayers and modifications of existing prayers and rubrics.

April 10, 2000: Missale Romanum,  promulgated by Pope John Paul II.
Pope John Paul II issued the “third typical edition” of the Roman Missal during the Jubilee Year 2000. The Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani (General Instruction of the Roman Missal) had been published in March, 2000 as an introduction to the revised Missal. The ritual text would not be published until March, 2002. Once the full text of the Missale Romanum was available, the work of translating it into various languages would begin.

November, 2002:  English translation of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal approved by the USCCB; Confirmed by the Holy See on March 17, 2003.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, containing the basic outline and instructions for the celebration of Mass, includes a number of adaptations for the Dioceses of the United States. It was published by USCCB Publishing in 2003 and is also available here.

November 17, 2009: Final segments of the Roman Missal (third edition) approved by the U.S. Bishops.
Concluding a lengthy process that began with the publication of the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia in 2002, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops gives its approval to the final sections of the English translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal. (Other sections were approved in November 2008 and June 2009.) While the Holy See prepares and approves a final text, expected sometime in 2010, a remote catechetical period is underway to prepare clergy and lay faithful in the United States to receive the new translation.

So you see, nothing happens quickly and without thought, prayer, and process in the Catholic Church. The search for a deeper more authentic translation to Latin comes to us for our benefit and spiritual growth designed to bring us to a renewed appreciation of the Paschal sacrifice of Christ - His saving Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension.

Open your hearts to these new and well worked out prayers.  More later.

Religious Liberty in the US on Its Way Out?

Freedom of Conscience Faces Increased Conflict in America
By Father John Flynn, LC
ROME, NOV. 4, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The sense of religious liberty is being lost in America, warned Archbishop José H. Gomez in a recent article.

Writing in the On the Square section of the Web site of the magazine First Things, his Oct. 25 piece noted that both courts and government agencies are increasingly overriding conscience rights when other rights or liberties are considered to be more important.

Bishop Gomez cited the denial a week before of a grant request made by the U.S. bishops' Migration and Refugee Services agency. The agency has received funding for a number of years, in order to help the victims of human trafficking.

Not long ago the government requested the agency to provide abortions, contraception and sterilization services for the women in their care. Bishop Gomez said he hoped the grant application was not denied because the agency refused to provide such services.

This and many other similar cases motivated the United States bishops to set up a committee for religious liberty.

Announcing the move last Sept. 30, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Archbishop Timothy Dolan, explained that religious freedom "in its many and varied applications for Christians and people of faith, is now increasingly and in unprecedented ways under assault in America."

Liberty problems

In his letter, dated Sept. 29, Archbishop Dolan listed six major problems regarding religious liberty in the period since June.

-- Federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations that oblige all private health insurance plans to cover contraception and sterilization. This will oblige church employers to sponsor and pay for services they oppose.



-- The HHS request regarding refugees that Archbishop Gomez referred to.



-- The U.S. Agency for International Development is increasingly requiring condom distribution in HIV prevention programs, as well as requiring contraception within international relief and development programs.



-- The Justice Department's attack on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In July, the Department started filing briefs actively attacking DOMA's constitutionality, claiming that supporters of the law could only have been motivated by bias and prejudice.



-- The Justice Department recently attacked what is known as "ministerial exception," a constitutional doctrine long accepted by courts that allows churches to make employment decisions concerning persons working in a ministerial capacity.



-- A new law in New York State allowing same-sex marriage with only a very narrow religious exemption.

Concern over the present federal administration's position on conscience rights has been building for some time.

Rescinded

Earlier this year a 2008 rule that granted conscience protection to health care providers who opposed participating in abortion and sterilization was mostly rescinded.

Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, told the New York Times in a Feb. 28 article that in recent years "we have seen a variety of efforts to force Catholic and other health care providers to perform or refer for abortions and sterilizations."

In past months representatives of the Catholic Church have made repeated appeals to federal legislators on the topic of religious freedom.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, wrote to members of Congress on the issue of the new HHS rules regarding private health insurers. His July 22 letter decried the failure to adequately allow freedom of conscience based on religious beliefs

An omission, he added, all the more notable given that the regulations allow people the right of objection if they wish to cure illness solely by prayer or for those on Indian reservations who prefer to use traditional tribal healing practices.

On Aug. 31 the Office of Counsel of the USCCB submitted a final statement to the HHS regarding the rule changes.

Contraceptives, it pointed out, don't cure any health problem; rather they disrupt the normal functioning of the reproductive system, while also introducing health risks.

On the matter of conscience objection the submission said that the only ones protected are a small subset of religious employers, with no protection for individuals or insurers.

"The exemption is narrower than any conscience clause ever enacted in federal law, and narrower than the vast majority of religious exemptions from state contraceptive mandates," the statement declared.

The changes will violate the religion and free speech clauses of the First Amendment of the Constitution and amounts to a specific targeting of Catholics by not allowing them to follow their consciences, the statement added.

Effectively, what will happen is that church organizations will be forbidden to practice what they preach. Such action is "an unprecedented intrusion by the federal government into the precincts of religion that, if unchecked here, will support ever more expansive and corrosive intrusions in the future," the submission warned.

Subsequently, leaders of 20 national Catholic organizations signed a joint statement to protest the HHS rule changes. They also called for a reform of health care law to protect conscience rights, the Oct. 12 press release from the USCCB explained.

The signatories included heads of Catholic universities, health care associations, domestic and international agencies.

Most recently, Cardinal DiNardo returned to the fray, with a Nov. 1 letter to a Congress committee. Referring to health care reforms in general and not just the controversy over the HHS rules, he urged that any changes to the laws on health care "must not become a vehicle for abandoning or weakening longstanding federal policies that respect unborn human life and rights of conscience."

He lamented the fact that "a failure to respect conscience rights poses a serious threat to the goal we share of expanding access to health care."

Adoption

Problems aren't limited to health care. Earlier this year Illinois's Department of Children and Family Services told the state's four Catholic dioceses that it would not renew their contracts for foster care and adoption services because they were not prepared to include same-sex couples among their clients.

The changed situation is a result of the ironically-named Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, that came into force on July 1.

The new law legalized civil unions for homosexual couples without protecting religious organizations, the Chicago Tribune reported, July 5.

In a later development Catholic organizations in the dioceses of Joliet, Springfield, and Belleville, have requested that a state appellate court halt the transition of their foster care cases to other agencies, the Chicago Tribune reported Oct. 7. They have also appealed to the court to examine the state's decision to terminate the foster care contracts with the Catholic agencies, saying that this violates their religious freedom.

The court refused, however, to stay the handover of the cases. In an Oct. 27 statement Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield criticized the state government's exclusion of Catholic agencies. He said that it has created an unnecessary crisis for the children and families who could have been helped.

The court has still to rule on the merits of the case regarding religious freedom.

Pressure on the Catholic Church is not confined to state actions. The Washington, D.C., Office of Human Rights is now investigating a complaint that the city's Catholic University of America is violating the human rights of Muslim students.

In his complaint John Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University Law School, alleged that by not providing them with rooms without Christian symbols the university is offending Muslim students.

John Garvey, president of the university, said in a statement issued Oct. 28 that the charges are completely without foundation.

In fact, no Muslim student at Catholic University has registered a complaint about being able to practice their religion on campus, he said. Moreover, Banzhaf himself admitted that he has not received any complaints.

It seems that in an increasingly secularized society tolerance is to be extended to all, except churches and believers who want to live by their beliefs.

Twenty-Seven DAYS and COUNTING!!!

Get ready for the Roman Missal changes!!   It's gonna be great and with new clarity and splendor of the words, music, and expressions.

The Catholic Church is alive and kicking and do you know how I know?  Because within her walls she is constantly learning, seeking the truth, and bringing it to her believers, that's how.

Amen, Amen alleluia!!