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"Is this priest a man of prayer (contemplative prayer) and learning?"
The question posed by an anonymous reader is prompted by reports that Fr Craig Butler has been appointed Administrator of the Palmerston North Diocese.
Fr Craig Butler, not looking too traditionalist
She says her question of priests generally is the question always and famously asked by St Teresa of Jesus (Avila), Doctor of the Church. As 'Anonymous' rightly points out, a priest who is not a man of prayer and learning deprives their sheep of the fruits of contemplation. She asks also, rhetorically, "That's why the holiness of a priest is so vital, isn't it?
"A holy priest is in the Divine Will Persona Christi, par excellence! When priests possess the living waters of contemplation they are able to share with the Bride of Christ, His Church, the fruits of this divine union.
"Feed my sheep!" (Jn 21:17). There is no sanctity without orthodoxy. The tragedy today, and it truly is a tragedy, is that "Priests are not accessing Mystical Theology" (Professor Tony Hickey, Manchester). Therefore the sheep miss out and suffer spritiual malnutrition, and furthermore all into heresies.
'Anonymous' remembers Fr Butler, when visiting Palmerston North some time ago, making a point of celebrating Holy Mass at St Mary's in the foyer (a common practice of priests in New Zealand in winter months).
"To separate the altar from the tabernacle, outside the sacred sanctuary, is a Masonic act! The excuse given by priests is that it's too cold in the church to say Mass. Let's then have it in a dirty foyer, an undignified place, and most of all well away from the Real Presence of the Body, Soul and Divinity of Christ.
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| A "small flock" blessed "by the blood and tears of millions of martyrs" of Soviet persecutions: Msgr. Tomash Peta, Archbishop of Nur-Sultan (new name of Astana), describes the Catholic Church of Kazakhstan (150,000 faithful) |
"It is Masonic because it is "a desacralisation of the sacred" according to Archbishop Tomash Peta of Kazakhstan. This is a sign of ecclesiastical Freemasonry!"
UK Freemasons accept trans women who joined as men
Janferie Kelekolio says:
ReplyDeleteWhere as I see the tabernacle as a house to house the body of Christ, yet he is before us and a rear guard, we also, are a tabernacle as we recieve the body in Holy communion and we leave the alter and go out into the world showing the light and love of Christ. I think sometimes alot of ppl think too much into finding the devil in something.... I personally and with respect to you dont see it as a bad thing esp cause in our church building we have the tabernacle in it's normal place but the alter is in the middle and the chairs surround the alter. .... same as in the chapel. To me and this is only my opinion and what I believe is that when we come into his presence he surrounds us and we recieve him to take him out into the world after mass. Thankyou for allowing me to make this comment with no dire judgement.
Philippa O'Neill says:
I was shocked to realise that I was sitting with my back to Our Lord in the tabernacle at Mercy Parsh. I askwd Paul, where is the Tabernacle and he wasn't sure. Then we looked behind us. We were horrified and realised how far we have come to not honouring Him. Our Lord has been kicjed iff to the side in many churches and it is awful
Janferie Kelekolio says:
Philippa, but hes not to one side when we come in we acknowledge him, we bend the knee , we focus.. , we are still in his presence. Our focus is the alter. And what we are about to recieve. We encourage ppl if they want to face the tabernacle to go sit where the windows are.
I say:
Janferie, the reason why the Church and Her Magisterium for hundreds of years - until Vatican II - situated the altar and tabernacle at the centre of the rear, eastern wall of churches was the principal purpose of the Sacrifice of the Mass: worship of God, offering His Son in an unbloody re-presentation of His death on Calvary.
Arranging chairs rather than pews (which enable the congregation to kneel in adoration) around the altar instead of facing it means people are eye-balling one another, instead of focusing on Jesus Christ truly Present on the altar. It's a subtle substitution of the First Commandment (love of God) with the Second Commandment (love of neighbour). One needs only to compare Mass counts pre- and post-Vatican II to realise this effect of this tragic mistake.
And my understanding is that church windows from time immemorial were made of opaque stained glass, representing scenes from the life of Christ or the BVM or the saints, in order to help us focus, as you say, on the altar and Whom (rather than what) we are about to receive. Stained glass windows assist in creating a supernatural atmosphere, in lifting our eyes towards Heaven. Ordinary windows are a post-Vatican II aberration, allowing the mundane to invade the sacred, and are to be abhorred and deplored, absolutely.
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Bob Gill says:
ReplyDeleteJanferie, it sounds like your church has a layout similar to St Joseph’s Dannevirke, where the priest offers Mass with his back to the Tabernacle and to the Sanctuary – which are so far away from the Altar that they are of little interest to most parishioners most of the time, from my observation. It has been said that such changes were made in the interests of Ecumenism only – not for improving the church layout which had existed successfully in Catholic churches for hundreds of years.
I wish I could feel too that our Catholic Communicants are going out into the world showing the light and love of Christ that you mention, but as most receive Communion in a manner that indicates lack of belief in the Real Presence I doubt He is even thought of after they have left the church.
Janferie Kelekolio says:
Bob, he offers mass beside the tabernacle the alter has shifted to the middle and to the side and we have put massive windows in at the other end..... the tabernacle is huge and everyone can see it even if you are sitting at the foot of it.... I wonder how ppl do not see the beauty of that.. it's like we are sitting at the Lords feet the presence of God is all around us, he is before us and a rear guard. I know what you mean there are alot who recieve Communion and dont take it seriously, but ti me that's what church and mass is all about to grow in faith to grow in Love and to take that and show the world... to be strong in who we are as believers in Christ. I take mass very seriously I am an extraordinary eucharistic minister and I love to serve and be of service in our community I hope that just as I looked up to those before me ppl will see the Love of Christ in me and that they too can be moved and embrace that Love and forgivness themselves.
I say:
Bob, with all the distraction allowed by the Novus Ordo Missae, including Father's ad hoc post-Communion homilies, laity delivering sundry parish pump items from the pulpit, and the sideshow of 'children for a blessing' while Christ is still present within us, it's hard to imagine Him being thought of by many even while still inside the church.
And Janferie, massive windows which let the world into the church, and a huge tabernacle to contain the humble Host are entirely inappropriate.
Your love for Christ and community is clearly to be seen and I thank you for it, but the 'Extraordinary eucharistic ministry' is entirely inappropriate also. The only 'eucharistic minister' is the priest, and it's only his ordained hands that should ever come in contact with the Eucharistic Species.
Offering the Sacrament under two forms is quite unnecessary as Our Lord is entirely Present, Body and Blood, within the Host, and is once again a post-Vat II invention. The proverbial little old lady in the back pew (or, sadly, chair, as in a meeting room) with her head down and even maybe rosary in hand, simply praying to her Lord within, is doing far more to serve her community than any number of so-called 'eucharistic ministers'.
Janferie Kelekolio says:
DeleteSays you , to me it is a most humbling thing, it is one way I get to bring Jesus to the people, I pray as I do it, I feel God with me, I remember his command to love the Lord your God with all your heart mind and strength and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is my way to show that, you think I dont go into it with prayer? Wrong .... bless that little old lady for we all need the prayer warriors . We are all called to be priests of God yes Jesus is the high priest , how else are we to bring Jesus to the world? Those windows represent what is out there and our mission to bring Jesus's sacrifice and love to a broken world... I personally dont want to be shut up in a building, we are the body of Christ, we are his tabernacle, we recieve the eucharist and so carry Jesus with us.
Janferie adds:
And I say this as my opinion what I personaly believe if you dont like that then maybe think about what I've said pray on it even. I say it with love and respect.
Helen Carver
Bob Gill come to Mass at Kopua Monastery 8am every day 10am on Sundays
I say:
Helen, I think of the monks at what once was termed Our Lady of the Southern Star Monastery as dear friends, but I'm compelled to point out, in the interest of truth, that they routinely give Communion to non-Catholics (the guest house being run by Protestants who receive Communion whenever they're in residence) and to all-comers; and that during lockdown Communion on the tongue was refused. "In the current so-called 'COVID-19 Pandemic Emergency', horrible abuses of the Most Blessed Sacrament have increased still more ... the clergy ... deny the faithful the possibility to receive the Lord kneeling and on the tongue, thus demonstrating a deplorable clericalism and exhibiting the behaviour of rigid neo-Pelagians" (Bishop Athanasius Schneider).
What ever happened to 'thanks giving' after communion? You see, it's a celebration of us. US on stage, US reading notices, tabernacle to the side. It's about US. And that was the real intent of the reforms after Vatican II. It is in fact very sinister. A people's popular assembly. Of the people, by the people, for the people. A liturgy of celebration. Mass? What's that?
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more.
DeleteTime for thanksgiving after Communion is of course 'built in'to the Latin Mass by the Prayers During the Ablutions, extra Post-Communion prayers, the priest's prayer before the Blessing, and most of all by the Last Gospel, the latter giving ample cause for reflection and thanksgiving.
And then the Prayers ordered by the Pope -the Hail Marys, the 'Hail Holy Queen', the invocation again of Ss Joseph, Peter and Paul and all the saints in yet another humble prayer, this time for the conversion of sinners and 'the liberty and exaltation of our holy Mother the Church' followed finally with the Prayer to St Michael and an appeal to the Most Sacred Heart for His mercy. Only bolters from the back pews can leave the church without giving thanks, at least with the lips.
And is it surprising that Queen Elizabeth II has reigned so long and so well, with the prayer for the Sovereign of England prayed in the UK after High Mass on Sundays?
How desperately does the world in general and NZ in particular need these prayers at the end of Holy Mass ...
Unknown says:
ReplyDeleteAnd my altar servers get a round of applause at the end of Mass. True.
I say:
I hope I've quoted 'Unknown's comment correctly because my computer made off with it and I've repeated it from memory.
I say:
Delete'Unknown', I see your comment has turned up. It was actually "In my parish the altar servers get a round of applause at the end of Mass. True."
How far away is your nearest Latin Mass?
Yes Correctly quoted. Another example of celebrating US.
ReplyDeleteBob Gill says:
ReplyDeleteWe were just discussing at daily Mass yesterday that once Father McVerry leaves us in Dannevirke and returns to Fiji, daily Mass will occur here only on Wednesdays when the parish priest visits us from Pahiatua where he is in residence. Kopua Monastery was mentioned as an alternative, but from what Julia has said above that has put me right off!
Hopefully, though, we will get a bishop before Father McVerry leaves - an orthodox one - then we can perhaps arrange an equal distribution of daily Masses each day of the week between Dannevirke and Pahiatua.
Anne Perratt says:
We went to the best Christmas service ever. It was led by a retired priest who gave a great, succinct sermon on Blessings and Joy.
He also polished off the leftover Communion wine at 9am.
Then, he referred to The Battle Hymn of The Republic. A true patriot 🗽🚀🌏🤺😂
Nutter
ReplyDeleteHelen Carver says:
ReplyDeletePlease don't be put off by Julia's mean and spiteful comments about Kopua Monastery I lived there for 7 years and still play the organ twice a week for Mass Father Nicho and the monks are wonderful devout people Mass is at 8am every day and 10am on Sundays if and when you do come you will be warmly welcomed according to the Benedictine tradition
Helen Carver adds:
Julia it is still Our Lady of the Southern Star if the monks really are 'dear friends' you wouldn't be slagging them off on Facebook
It's the Cistercian tradition not Benedictine.
ReplyDelete