The Alcoholic Priest and the Souls In Purgatory

Rod Dreher for lent is going through Dante's Purgatorio, the second book in Dante’s Divine Comedy trilogy , for Lent via his blog. He took yesterdays Canto and applied it to a interesting story from the Russian Orthodox tradition.

The Blessings of Good Health During Lent

Since Tuesday I have been pretty much sidelined by a nasty respiratory infection that has been going around. Bone shattering coughs , fatigue , fever , etc . My main goal since getting this nagging thing is just to do anything to do anything to halt its progression before it becomes something more serious. There has been a lot of bed rest. Needless to say my LENT is off to a slow start.

So for the first time that I can recall I could not go to Ash Wednesday services. Today my mother brought me one of my favorites round steak and rice for Lunch. My mother is not Catholic so had no idea of what my typical Lenten obligation would be as to meat. However being sick I felt exempted and I was not going to deny the effort she made to get me better. Plus at this point anything that make me eat is a priority especially if I have any hope of getting to Mass tomorrow.

All this started to make me think about the blessings of health in general and during Lent . It is a joy to be able to do voluntary prayerful sacrifices . Our fasting is of course little league compared to the Eastern Christians but it is still a beneficial practice. Also I have to admit I have felt a little but out of sync with the Church Universal and Christians from all over the world.

Social media is often a very young enterprise , and I think we are too apt to forget about those in hospitals or those that because of sickness are home bound . Liturgical seasons are important for a Catholic . Its like a cycle of life that repeats every year. Lets recall  and try to be assistance to those that for whatever reason are not able to practice the beloved  rites of their Faith to the same extent they were for decades because of health issues.

Vatican Releases Pope Francis 2014 Lenten Message

HERE IS THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION. Nice message by our Pontiff .

2013 Way of the Cross Meditations For the Colosseum Prepard By Lebanese Youth Released By Vatican

The text and nice art work is here.

Archbishop of New Orleans Declares Alligators Seafood - OK FOR LENT

Update- From the Catholic Bishops site - Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, (cold-blooded animals) and shellfish are permitted . Who knew. I did not

Umm well OK then :)  More to the point he calls it Seafood which I guess is a distinction but I am not sure we are out of the meat category .:)

Tip of the Hat to Rod Dreher to the Lent post of the day MAYBE DECADE.

In A First Pope Benedict Gives Task Of Writing Of thr 2013 Good Friday Stations of the Cross to Two Lebanese Youth

The two youth are of the  Maronite Church and will focus on the problems of the Middle East. Vatican Insider has the article up at Pope assigns Stations of the Cross texts to two young people from Lebanon .

Disordered Affections and The Catholic Lent Liturgy Week 2

I guess I was not the only to catch this. See Abbey Roads Disordered affections

Discrimination Against Louisiana Catholics ? - No Lenten Friday Nutria Dispensation ( Dateline Michigan )

The Louisiana Nutria

As we see in Michigan certain exceptions are made. See Muskrat love? It's a Lent thing for downriver area

Notice Change in Catholic Ash Wednesday Liturgy ? - It 's WAR !!

I was struck last night that the Ash Wednesday service sounded a tad different from last year. A tad more robust a tad more it's war on the devil. A more CALL TO ARMS!!

I could not hit on what was different till I read Father Z's piece today.

See WDTPRS – Ash Wednesday (2002MR) – WAR! which focuses on the the Collect and the new Liturgy translation.

It appears the old translation of the collect we were using said:

Father in Heaven,Protect us in our struggle against evil. As we begin the discipline of Lent,make this season holy by our self-denial.

NOW NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE! From last night:

NEW CORRECTED ICEL (2011):Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.

Wow so much better ,and even as just to the collect I am struck how it affected the tone of my outlook of the liturgy and indeed Lent itself.

Father looks at the literal translation of the Latin which would read :

Grant us, O Lord, to commence the defenses of the Christian field campaign by means of holy fasts,so that, we who are about to do battle against spiritual negligences,may be fortified by the support of continence.

Kind of wish " Christian campaign" was in the new translated corrected correct. I like the word continence too. As Father Z points out

the virtue of continence is described with the same word used to describe the auxiliary troops that supported the legion’s regulars. While it could simply refer to “abstinence”, continence is the virtue which restrains the will from consenting to strong impulses of sexual desire.

Anyway read all his post where he examines all the military like language . I also agree that , besides it being spiritually a lot more meaty, this is an example of how the old translations really missed the mark.

So here is hoping we do our part to make "war" during lent

Full Text of Pope Benedict's Ash Wednesday Audience and Later Homily

Well Lent 2012 has arrived so I guess it's apt to see what the Pope preached to on this Ash Wednesday.

I thought a couple of weeks ago the 2012 Lenten message released by Pope was one of his best. See Re-reading the Pope's Message for Lent

The Pope started at his public appearance with his traditional Wednesday audience. Full text here at Pope: Lent a time for mature decisions

In the evening he conducted the Ash Wednesday Liturgy at a Church in Rome . Full text if the homily at Pope: Homily at Santa Sabina . There is some background on this Roman Basilica from the 5th century at Pope: the Basilica of Santa Sabina

I will try to put some pictures on this post later.

Thousand Year Old Sermon - Skip Ash Wednesday Service and Bad Things Happen ( Abbot of Eynsham )

Welcome to LENT 2012. Not Another Episcopal Church Blog has nice post that not only is testament to how ancient sshes in our liturgical rite is today , but also has a rather "friendly" warning if you decide too skip out on today.

From a thousand years ago Abbot of Eynsham informs us of the consequences at "Because He Had Refused Those Few Ashes"

Should the Catholic Church Go Out To The Streets and Gives Ashes To Everyone ( Lent 2012)

Over at the Episcopal Cafe I saw this post Gearing up for Ashes to Go.

If you notice they have a link at the bottom where they focused on Ashes to Go last year. The pros and cons are given in the opinion of various Episcopalians.

Question ? Should the Catholic Church do this?

My closest experience to this was in Shreveport and Bossier City Louisiana at Midnight on Fat Tuesday night ( the end of Mardi Gras and Start of Lent ). One Krewe float would come to the top of the bridge over the red river from Shreveport and the other from Bossier City. There was a toast to end the season. Then a Catholic Priest would distribute ashes ( there was a short prayer) to everyone present.

So if this was totally licit or not I am not sure. Do Priests and Deacons go out and give ashes in Nursing Homes and Hospital w/o a liturgy? Again I don't know.

I actually like this idea though I am not that comfortable with a total divorce from the Liturgy. Also I am not aware ( thought their might be one) of a abbreviated service.

Ashes are a sacramental and can be used by anyone. Even a non baptized person.

So what do Catholics think about this. Besides Church services should we go out to the malls, the strip malls, the grocery store , the streets, the bus station , the Walmart ,etc and just give out ashes?

Go 'you are dust and to dust you will return' do the ashes and it's over. I generally find those 9 words very well thought provoking and prayerful.

I would perhaps be against this in a very Catholic area where Catholic might think of this as a short cut. But for a non Catholic or un churched area maybe so.

I might throw this post around to some Priests and Deacons on the TWITTER and see if I can get some answers to these questions.

Pope Benedict ' s Lent 2012 Message

I am not exactly sure what the justification is for releasing Papal remarks on big things and events often weeks or more before the event happens. It seems the main result is when the day comes where people might be focused the media ends up not covering it because they rad a story weeks before..

I can tell you we here in Louisiana we are not thinking Lent right now. If I was running things I would release this the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. However perhaps wisely I am not.

So here we go via Vatican Radio - Full text of Pope Benedict XVI’s 2012 Message for Lent .

There is a lot here that I am likely going to discuss closer to Lent. It's all good stuff. A few highlights that caught my eye. First the piece on fraternal correction is big. He says in part of very large paragraph on this:
The Church’s tradition has included “admonishing sinners” among the spiritual works of mercy:

It is important to recover this dimension of Christian charity. We must not remain silent before evil. I am thinking of all those Christians who, out of human regard or purely personal convenience, adapt to the prevailing mentality, rather than warning their brothers and sisters against ways of thinking and acting that are contrary to the truth and that do not follow the path of goodness. Christian admonishment, for its part, is never motivated by a spirit of accusation or recrimination.

Elsewhere this might make the "headlines" :

The Servant of God Pope Paul VI stated that the world today is suffering above all from a lack of brotherhood: “Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not so much the depletion of natural resources, nor their monopolistic control by a privileged few; it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations” (Populorum Progressio, 66).Concern for others entails desiring what is good for them from every point of view: physical, moral and spiritual. Contemporary culture seems to have lost the sense of good and evil, yet there is a real need to reaffirm that good does exist and will prevail, because God is “generous and acts generously” (Ps 119:68). The good is whatever gives, protects and promotes life, brotherhood and communion. Responsibility towards others thus means desiring and working for the good of others, in the hope that they too will become receptive to goodness and its demands. Concern for others means being aware of their needs. Sacred Scripture warns us of the danger that our hearts can become hardened by a sort of “spiritual anesthesia” which numbs us to the suffering of others.

Text of Pope Benedict remarks at the 2011 Colosseum Way of the Cross Plus Vid

Whispers again has it at "I Have Promised You My Own Life... I Have Given You My Death"
Rome Reports has a nice short vid here.

About the Psalms You Will Hear On Good Friday

This is pretty is a pretty good piece. See via The Sacred Page The King & the Cross: Jesus' Passion, the Psalms & David

In Bible Soaked South Ex Catholics Bring Holy Week Services To Evangelical Churches

Well this is pretty interesting from again the Houston newspaper's religion section.. See Ex-Catholic evangelicals return to liturgy for Holy Week .

While It's depressing so many are ex Catholics ( and since this is Houston that might be Latino Ex Catholic which is more depressing ) for me at least as Holy Mother Church guy .still one wonders what else they are bringing into these faith communities.

So Earth Day and Good Friday Falls On the Same Day This Year

Unfortunate that Earth Day & Good Friday Fall on the Same day. Some Catholic liturgical terrorists will just not be able to help themselves. MCJ has a look at what the Episcopals are doing.

Have no doubt what some Catholics are doing will be far worse and numerous. In many cases this will happen with the Station of the Cross Devotion. I actually am willing to give on this. Some Peace and Justice Good Friday Devotions can be done right. However often you give an inch and a mile is taken. I am much more a stickler that the GOOD FRIDAY Liturgy not be touched.

Care must be taken I think that Good Friday , in both our devotions and Liturgy, does not become the tool of just one political theme. It needs to be a day of Christians in Unity focusing on the Cross.

The Attack Of the Catholic Zombies!! (Gospel Reading Related)

One day when I am around Baton Rouge , I have to to go to St. Joseph Church in Ponchatoula where Domine, da mihi hanc aquam! is preaching and a Priest at. Needless to say you will not be bored by the Homilies. See from this past Sunday Dummies Guide to Catholic Zombies

Catholic Scandals And Controversies During Lent

As Domine, da mihi hanc aquam! points out this seems to a trend we are seeing more and more of year after year. See Fr. Corapi and Our Lenten Fight with the Devil

When A Beggar heard Pope John Paul the II 's Confession

Powerful story here.