tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post5321332508544024093..comments2024-02-28T17:57:05.725-05:00Comments on The Black Biretta: What ???Black Birettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08758160681203816829noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-17025887692446155052009-09-07T22:22:15.332-05:002009-09-07T22:22:15.332-05:00Father John,
My mom and I really enjoyed your com...Father John,<br /><br />My mom and I really enjoyed your commentary on this. Do you agree with those who say that Ted Kennedy should have been given a Funeral Mass, but one that was PRIVATE and not on TV, so as to avoid scandal to some of the faithful, particularly those who do not know their faith as well as they should?<br /><br />God Bless,<br />-DawnDawnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-47470302181027374782009-09-01T16:43:04.357-05:002009-09-01T16:43:04.357-05:00Padres,
Salutations.
I appreciate the article ab...Padres,<br /><br />Salutations.<br /><br />I appreciate the article about Mr. Kennedy’s funeral Mass. <br /><br />In the article you mention Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus. He wept because man chooses sin. It was a demonstration by Christ of the nature of sin. In the context of Mr. Kennedy’s situation upon death, it might be appropriate to look at sin as it applies to the moment of death.<br /><br />Jairus’s daughter, the Son of the Widow of Naim, Lazarus, and Saint Joseph.<br /><br />Jairus’s daughter represents venial sin; “She is only sleeping” our souls are not quite in Hell. <br /><br />The widow’s son was being carried to the grave by his friends, who also helped ‘carry’ him into mortal sin by their cumulative actions and behavior. Christ intercepted this child and raised him, sending him to his mother. The mother was not the widow, it was Holy Mother Church He was sending the young man to.<br /><br />Lazarus, who laid for days in the tomb to the point of stench. Christ wept before this example of mortal sin, knowing full well He would raise Lazarus. This is the mortal sin we fall into and are dead though we live. <br /><br />And Saint Joseph. An example of how man can do God’s will and come to the fulfillment of the promises of Christ.<br /><br />A man that sins and expects God’s mercy at the time of his death is a fool to presume. Asking for grace at the time of death after rejecting graces during a lifetime is not highly recommended. A last minute repentance could turn out to be a sacrilegious repentance, and not valid.<br /><br />Where does Mr. Kennedy fit into these examples? Where do we fit?<br /><br />Is this argument about Mr. Kennedy? Or is it about where the hierarchy of Holy Mother Church has brought us?<br /><br />Were I Mr. Kennedy I would have written to the Holy Father telling him “ I have died where you have brought me to; I shall forever be fixed in Hell in the position in which I died. Or I shall be granted God’s mercy, to one day enter Heaven. If I sinned and you did not correct me, if I was ignorant and you did not teach me, I forgive you, and may God do likewise”.<br /><br />How many ‘Ted Kennedy’s’ need to die in a precarious state before we work harder to extend the Kingdom of Christ?<br /><br />Why aren’t we being martyred for our Faith?<br /><br />It is because we have become the Apostle running away naked. We are comfortable.<br /><br />If Mr. Kennedy’s funeral Mass brings us to anger, it is because our souls realize our shortcomings that caused this tragedy. <br /><br />I stayed with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that I was Baptized and Confirmed in as a child, because that Mass took me to Calvary. The Mass promulgated in modern times has taken many faithful elsewhere, as in the case of Mr. Kennedy. Where are you during the Mass? <br /><br />May God our Lord in his infinite and supreme goodness be pleased to give us his abundant grace, that we may know his most holy will, and entirely fulfill it. <br /><br />Padres, with the assurance of my Holy Rosary prayers for all your good work in the vineyard of the Divine Master, I remain yours truly in Jesus and Mary Immaculate.<br /><br />Pray for the Holy Father and all his Priests and Nuns.<br /><br />Santa María de Guadalupe Esperanza nuestra, salva nuestra patria y conserva nuestra Fe.Pablo the Mexicanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09384415590309803327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-753914589303012912009-09-01T09:37:58.702-05:002009-09-01T09:37:58.702-05:00Spot on. Interior participation in the Divine Litu...Spot on. Interior participation in the Divine Liturgy is sadly something many have neglected over the past forty years. Pope B16 is showing us, however, that both elements are part of the same divine worship. <br /><br />While the grandchildren seemed to know how to genuflect, I saw none of the adults genuflect or even bow when they approached the ambo to read the Scripture readings for the Liturgy of the Word. Making the proper gestures is one very important way we physically participate in the Sacred Liturgy. Standing, sitting, kneeling, etc. as well as making the proper verbal responses, listening to what is being said, singing, etc. all constitute our external participation and then we engage our intellect and will to give further full, active and conscious participation. Hence, it is not the amount or length of the hymns sung, nor the language spoken which defines 'participation', rather, it is the internal assimilation of the divine graces offered by these sacred mysteries.Black Birettahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08758160681203816829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-57656829016423774302009-09-01T00:41:27.737-05:002009-09-01T00:41:27.737-05:00Another Father,
I wish to comment on your respons...Another Father,<br /><br />I wish to comment on your response which indicated the Kennedy children "[knowing] their prayers" and participating"well" in the celebration of the liturgy. We must remember that active participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is rooted in our interior disposition. Furthermore, what is displayed externally is a manifestation of our interior piety. However, when our external participation is not rooted in an interior disposition conformed to the very nature of the Mass, then we have something banal, a mere formalism if you will. Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical on the Sacred Liturgy entitled "Mediator Dei," emphasizes this point, among many others.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-62404628271804420832009-09-01T00:18:40.024-05:002009-09-01T00:18:40.024-05:00Excuse me but the General Instructions do not mand...Excuse me but the General Instructions do not mandate that the Psalm be sung, it merely says that it is preferred. The Gospel acclamation is either sung or omitted, which it was. The acclamations are either sung or recited. <br /><br />The other abberations like the politcally infected General Intercessions and he eulogy-homily are not licit options, however.<br /><br />No one is judging Senator Kennedy's soul and we give him the benefit of the doubt that he made a good confession, was anointed before his deathand and repented of all his sins, especially his support and formal cooperation in the evil of abortion.<br /><br />What was not necessary was the hybridization of the Funeral Liturgy since what is seen on TV is inevitably brought back into the local parish when families say "if it was OK for the Kennedy's, then why isn't OK for our family?" Remember when JFK, Jr. died and it was made known that his ashes were scattered over the water? The Cardinal Archbishop had to issue a clarification that no permission was granted and the policy of the Church that all cremains be buried in the ground or at sea but intact in a proper container and never scattered to the wind or water.Black Birettahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08758160681203816829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-70494596413073358002009-08-31T17:19:16.778-05:002009-08-31T17:19:16.778-05:00Utterly amazing how much arrogance and judgment ca...Utterly amazing how much arrogance and judgment can be squeezed (or crammed) into one post! Yes, there were some perversions to the liturgy. I can only imagine that someone had to answer for them after the fact. Interesting that you failed to comment on the lack of congregational singing, the lack of a sung psalm of gospel acclamation, and the lack of sung eucharistic acclamations. There is no denying the the late senator maintained some stands that were at odds with the Church. From what was read at the committal service of the letter that he wrote to the pope, one would (or could) be left with the impression that Kennedy recognized the error or his ways, and was repentant of them. Since God will be his judge, there is no need for anyone here to usurp the role. Watching the telecast of the funeral, I was rather impressed that the Kennedy children, all adults now, "knew their prayers" and participated "well" in the celebration of the liturgy. They had to have learned that somewhere, no doubt at home. All of the above said, I fully agree that the General Intercessions were an absolute abuse.Another Fathernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-28273453228443300912009-08-30T19:59:16.203-05:002009-08-30T19:59:16.203-05:00Thank you!Thank you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-5088305366673598922009-08-30T15:47:54.127-05:002009-08-30T15:47:54.127-05:00Amen, Father, Amen. You said it all better than a...Amen, Father, Amen. You said it all better than any of us could have. I consider this an attack on the Church, just as the debacle at Notre Dame was. It makes me so sad, because those who don't know any better are hearing lies about what is taught and believed.Sandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02199347286178706133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-57946784730271399592009-08-30T15:12:11.348-05:002009-08-30T15:12:11.348-05:00I agree with every word you have written. I very m...I agree with every word you have written. I very much like your blog and have added you to my sidebar.St Ann's Parishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07873653335217251032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-49196970965969198422009-08-30T14:18:48.228-05:002009-08-30T14:18:48.228-05:00Judie Brown gets it right on Ted Kennedy:
http://...Judie Brown gets it right on Ted Kennedy:<br /><br />http://rochestercatholic.com/2009/08/28/judie-brown-gets-it-right/#more-1460Dolorosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15866040127584716721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-9418351813801299882009-08-30T13:40:15.869-05:002009-08-30T13:40:15.869-05:00Excellent post Father, just want to dispute one po...Excellent post Father, just want to dispute one point. Senetor Kennedy should not have been given a funeral Mass, He was one of the many heretics that were given the run of the Church whilst good Othordox Catholics such as Mgsr Lefevbre were hit with every eccelesial penelty in the book for trying (admitidly sometimes using questionable actions) to stop such madness.<br />jackJust another mad Catholichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10503510474554718305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-16298344396625125612009-08-30T13:24:50.675-05:002009-08-30T13:24:50.675-05:00When should a person be denied a Catholic funeral?...When should a person be denied a Catholic funeral? Is it written somewhere as to what guidelines should be followed? I would think that someone such as Ted Kennedy should have been excommunicated and even denied a Catholic funeral after his numerous public sins but if he did repent and made a good confession then he does need our prayers in purgatory. I hope for his sake that he did so but it seems to me he continued to live in scandal til the very end.Dolorosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15866040127584716721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-46106896342292414502009-08-30T12:49:36.097-05:002009-08-30T12:49:36.097-05:00Did Ted Kennedy receive the last rites? Also, acc...Did Ted Kennedy receive the last rites? Also, according to the Hidden Ireland Blog, Ted's public sins caused great scandal and as listed were numerous and I pray he did repent before he died.<br /><br />http://hiddenireland.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/senator-edward-kennedy-stop-pretending-why-will-nobody-tell-the-truth/Dolorosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15866040127584716721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-41971804407290302082009-08-30T11:58:38.402-05:002009-08-30T11:58:38.402-05:00Padre Giovanni--
God bless you and your departed ...Padre Giovanni--<br /><br />God bless you and your departed family members.<br /><br />I admit I have great trouble praying for EMK and his ilk, so deeply have they wounded the Body of Christ. It does not help that the Archdiocese of Boston has permitted such abuses at EMK's funeral. The One, Holy, Catholic & Apostolic faith thus appears no more substantive than a tent-toting protestant revivalist.John Francis Borrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03390052844648213240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-41578233961796577062009-08-30T10:25:37.829-05:002009-08-30T10:25:37.829-05:00Sad, that this happens. Our prayers to the faithfu...Sad, that this happens. Our prayers to the faithful today read like a union play book. Make sure we treat our workers well and such. I actually was taken aback. But then again, our Priest has never been the black and red kind. He does his own thing. For those of us who try to follow the rubrics, we are chuckled at and called ultra pious and told not to push our idiosyncratic liturgies and pious devotions (like the Rosary) on others. Prayer please.Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12815449256742930541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-32912231307068729302009-08-30T08:35:57.891-05:002009-08-30T08:35:57.891-05:00Father, This has to be the best I've read on t...Father, This has to be the best I've read on this funeral but also the most informative of our Faith. Thank you ! God bless you.MemoriaDeihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13826704561653445661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562133.post-83644194253083428982009-08-30T02:54:44.876-05:002009-08-30T02:54:44.876-05:00Padre:
All was as you said, Plus the following (u...Padre:<br /><br />All was as you said, Plus the following (unless I missed it, you may have said it)...<br /><br />The Prayers of the Faithful were also sounding very politics oriented. Like "Equal healthcare for all"..."Lord hear our prayer"...<br /><br />I, yes I do, understand the call of Christ, to care for all of our neighbors, but...that issue (healthcare, and government healthcare in particular) is not yet resolved. I, for one, fear the enormous tax burden on the common man....who is "supposed" to benefit from a socialistic health system. No place at a funeral mass! No way!<br /><br />Peace,<br /><br />--Dan L.Dan L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04894738392074075163noreply@blogger.com