Category Archives: Our Catholic Identity

QUAERITUR: To attend a Polka Mass or not to attend?

From a catechumen: My family and I are not yet Catholic, but I will be completing a “Summer” RCIA class and will be brought into the Church sometime in December. I’ve studied and read and prayed about this for nearly … Continue reading

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liberals, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged , , , | 57 Comments

QUAERITUR: Priest instructs us to stand during the Eucharistic Prayer. Fr Z POLL!

POLL BELOW! From a reader: Father, today I attended a rather liberal parish (the choirmaster was wearing a Nuns on the Bus t-shirt). After the Sanctus, 3/4 of the people began kneeling, while the rest stood. The priest paused from … Continue reading

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liberals, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM | Tagged , , , | 115 Comments

UK: Confraternity of Catholic Clergy Annual Colloquium 23-24 Oct. Archbp. DiNoia, Fr. Lang, et al.

Here is something for all my priestly friends in the UK. I received this from a clerical friend, whom I hope to see during September: The British Confraternity of Catholic Clergy will hold their second annual colloquium at the Oratory … Continue reading

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A new Pontifical Academy for the Latin language? So it seems.

Given my response the other day, and the ensuing reactions, about seminaries and the TLM and the Latin language, the following is timely. The intrepid Andrea Tornielli has a piece today in Vatican Insider about a theoretical document from the … Continue reading

Posted in Benedict XVI, Brick by Brick, Just Too Cool, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Our Catholic future and the war of attrition: an object lesson

It is interesting to compare dioceses for the numbers of their vocations to the priesthood.  Some swanky and tony dioceses have few.  Some fly-over dioceses have many.  What are they doing differently?  Which are the differentiating factors?  Is it something … Continue reading

Posted in New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, The future and our choices, Year of Faith | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments

A reminder about Rep. Paul Ryan from 2010

Someone sent me a reminder about a moment in 2010 when Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), now the GOP VP candidate, was on Fox News Sunday across from Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), debating Obamacare… ObamaTAX… and abortion. She holds up “the nuns” … Continue reading

Posted in Liberals, Linking Back, Magisterium of Nuns, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , , , , | 38 Comments

More on priests and formation in both the Extraordinary and the Ordinary Form

This continues a couple different entries (HERE and HERE). From a priest: I am also a young priest (30), and an alumnus of your alma mater. [Neither “alma” nor “mater” in my day, I’m afraid.] Though I have received training … Continue reading

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Benedict XVI, Brick by Brick, Linking Back, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Mail from priests, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, The future and our choices | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

QUAERITUR: Is baptism by a priest who does odd things still valid?

From a reader: Thank you father for the time you devote to this blog. I have found it very educational as has my husband. I would appreciate your thoughts as an outside observer to this question. We were parishioners for … Continue reading

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10 yr-old boy donates his film earnings to Mother Theresa’s sisters

The UK’s best Catholic weekly, The Catholic Herald, usually provides us with the service each day of alerting us to a few interesting news items.  I check it every day. Here is one the editor, Luke Coppen, found on UCANews (a … Continue reading

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Just Too Cool, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Holy Communion services mistaken to be “as good as Mass”

My friend Fr Ray Blake, parish priest in Brighton, has a good analysis of the phenomenon of lay people – lay women – leading Communion services in the absence of priests. Many of us have had the experience of hearing … Continue reading

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Mail from priests, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged , | 48 Comments