Fr. Z's Blog | Formerly entitled: "What Does The Prayer Really Say?" – Clear, straight commentary on Catholic issues, liturgy and life by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf o{]:¬)

So very cool that it needs its own post! VOYAGER 1 is TALKING AGAIN!

Posted on 24 April 2024 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A while back in 2023, Voyager 1, which set out in 1977 to fly by the outer planets and then head off into the void, stopped sending usable data. I did a News Of The Church podcast about that. HERE (Ever listen to one of those?) It has flown for 40 years past its mission date and is now so far away that it takes 22 hours for a message to reach it and another 22 for it to respond. Light from the sun reaches Earth in 8 minutes. It’s power source, radioactive isotopes, are decaying into lead. NASA was shutting down systems trying to conserve power. It is unfathomably cold out there.

It runs on magnetic tape. Some of you younger readers might not have every seen any of that.

Voyager went nuts, sending back gibberish.

Once large, Voyager Mission Control is now a single office room between a dog training school and a McDonalds. A handful of people work there, some … not young.

How to fix Voyager? It’s 15 billion kilometers away. It’s not like you can upload a new OS. It’s flying away at a million miles a day.

NASA came up with something. HERE

Voyager has something called the flight data subsystem (FDS) which sorts data before it’s sent back to Earth. They figured that a chip that stored part of the FDS memory isn’t working. Since they couldn’t replace the chip, they put the chips code somewhere else. However, no single location is large enough to hold it all. Hence, they divided the code into sections and put them in different places in the FDS. They will have to tell it where to find all the bits and pieces. They sent code back to its new location in the FDS memory on April 18. On April 20 they got usable data for the first time in five months. They can now monitor the Voyager’s status. With more shifting, they should get other science data, too.

So, Voyager is talking again and doesn’t sound like a curial document anymore. Now if we could get the Voyager team to work on the curia….

Posted in Just Too Cool, Linking Back, Look! Up in the sky! | Tagged Voyager | 16 Comments

ROME 24/4– Day 35 (-6): adventures in symmetry

Posted on 24 April 2024 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I take it in trust in the accuracy of the calendar that the sun rose today at 06:13 (it was cloudy) and that it will set at 20:04 (it may be raining).

The Ave Maria Bell? Still at 2015.

Today is the Feast Sts. Maria of Cleophas, who was at Calvary, and Salome, who went to the tomb. With Mary Magdalen these are the “three Marys”.

It is the Feast of St Mary Elisabeth Hesselblad (+1957) who founded the Brigidines whose chapel and bell tower I can see from my window.

Today also St Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr (+1622). Here is a relic:

Today, for the martyr, vestments were laid out for priests.

A small group of you readers were donors for these beautiful red vestments from the RED VESTMENT PROJECT (HERE).

The BLACK VESTMENT PROJECT is now underway. I look forward to seeing them, first in photos and then in person next October.

I plan to return in October and into November. I hope I can count on help with another fundraiser in a few months. People here are asking me to stay longer, and I wish I could. It hurts to leave, but I also have filial duties. I ask ongoing prayers for my mother. Things are stable now, which is great.

This morning, breakfast with TWBS™, whose special super power is to make all things symetrical.

He might have slightly erred this time. Perhaps for more perfect symmetry, one of those pastries should have been rotated 180º.

This was unusual for me: pastry with apple and pistachio. It was good, however.

There was a funny moment in our symmetry discussion. I brought up that there is an element in the altar painting of St. Philip Neri …. BAM!… he jumped in with exactly the point I was going to make, very subtle, a slight wrinkle/fold in the altar cloth depicted in the painting. I had to laugh aloud. He nailed it.

From that same painting, I shot a photo of the cincture worn by the saint. One of readers here makes fine “bespoke” cinctures for Mass vestments. I placed an ad for her business on the side bar: Via Providence. I wonder if she would be able to make cinctures like the one in the painting of San Filipo.

Nothing starts your day like the sight of a few crates of “mamelle”.

Black to move and mate in 4.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged noad | 4 Comments

ROME 24/4– Day 34 (-7): The burial place of… PLATO?!?

Posted on 23 April 2024 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The Roman sunrise was slated for 6:15 and the sunset for 20:03. On a weather website, these are listed as 06:18 and 20:00. I supposed that means for the price location of the site, considering elevation etc. That said, in Roman Curia terms the Civil Twilight today would be 05:45 and 20:27, Nautical 05:09 and 21:03, Astronomical 4:31 and 21:41 PM

Tomorrow will be 2 minutes 34 seconds longer. The Moon is at fullest full, tomorrow and tonight it is 99% illuminated.

We celebrate the feast of St. George on this 114th day of the year. I send my best to my dear nonagenarian friend Fr. GW on his name day.

Thank you, Lord, for this day.

This cappuccino was fully illuminated through it resembles more a gibbous Moon than Full.

Barriers have been set up around the fountains in the Piazza Farnese. Later I saw a truck from the office for restoration of ancient fountains. Hmmm…. I wonder what they are going to do?

No chess news today.

I know, I know.

You are sad.

However, The Great Roman™, who misses nothing, passed on something from the newspaper of the CEI, Avvenire. Get this!

Very cool.

In honor of that coolness, coolly solve this.

Black to move. Hey! Can you find mate in 4?

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Interested in learning? Try THIS.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | 3 Comments

Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job

Posted on 23 April 2024 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Three things in particular caught my eye this morning. Two of them are connected with each other and they ring of good common sense and faith. The other clanks of delusional blather.

First, at LifeSite we read finally the news made public that Candace Owens has formally become a Catholic. It seems she did this at the Brompton Oratory in London, a good choice. As a convert myself, I welcome this great news. We knew about it here in Rome for a while, but she had the right to announce it in her way and in her timeline.

Connect to this good news is an interview at the UK’s Catholic Herald (for which I wrote for quite sometime before they… changed) with entrepreneur George Farmer, aka Candace Owen’s husband. He is a revert. I was struck by his description of reversion, which paralleled mine in a way.

Of course that never stops, does it?

Finally, at LifeSite, there’s a stomach-turning piece about a German auxiliary bishop deeply involved in the homosexualist agenda who just “commissioned” 13 German women as “deacons in the spirit” after completing a 3-year diaconal training program with the “Women’s Diaconate Network”.

It seems also that the head of the German bishops conference “issued a special message of congratulations to the women who completed the course.”

The fact is that, while priesthood is what bishops and priests have, and diaconate is not a priestly order, diaconate is, nevertheless, one of the Orders of Holy Orders, which is considered as one sacrament in three orders as the Second Vatican Council’s Lumen gentium affirms. The unity of the sacrament of Holy Orders is explained in detail in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. HERE

The sacrament of Holy Orders is one sacrament, not three distinct sacraments.

St. Pope John Paul in Ordinatio sacerdotalis reaffirmed (he did not teach something new) that only men can be admitted to Holy Orders and that the Church does not have the authority to change that. Following Ordinatio sacerdotalis the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarified that what John Paul had reaffirmed was, in itself, the Church’s infallible teaching.

Since Holy Orders is one sacrament and not three, then none of the orders can be conferred upon women.

It is really sad that some people still push this rock up the hill.

Posted in Deaconettes, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged converts, deaconettes, diaconate, Holy Orders | 11 Comments

ROME 24/4– Day 33 (-8): It’s over, for now.

Posted on 22 April 2024 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today, 06:16 and 20:01 and 20:15.

It is the Feast of St. Agapitus, for the opportune knowledge of Fr. RP in NJ.

Welcome registrant:

grayanderson

And, obtaining my lunch meat (mortadella)…

This came via email. Funny. I think originally from a substack called “Pithless Thoughts”:

Actual Internet Catechumen Q: When we are in a fasting season, should our pets fast with us?

Me: If you were more like your dog, you wouldn’t NEED to fast.

On the other hand, if the catechumen were more like his cat, no amount of fasting would do any good.

Sounds about right.

Candidates: Final Round – 14. TENSION. Nakamura (8.0) v. (leader 17 year old) Gukesh (8.5). If Gukesh wins, he wins. If they draw, then the other game matters. But… if Naka wins…. Caruana (8.0) v. Nepomniachtchi (8.0). If there’s a draw, then tie-breaks tomorrow in a shorter time format. If Nepo beats Gukesh, they rematch. Fabi could do the same. Complicated.

However, Naka drew against Gukesh. That means that Naka was washed out of the contention. Therefore, the results of Caruana and Nepo would catch up to Gukesh. If it is a draw, Gukesh wins. Otherwise, the winner would play Gukesh in a Rapid.

After 109 moves, Nepo and Fabi drew.

17-year old Gukesh will play Ding Liren for the title. Not my choice, but they didn’t ask me. I hope the title match will be good even if there are conspicuous names absent.

White to move. Obtain an advantageous position and material through a tactic, and name it.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged noad | Comments Off

ROME 24/4– Day 32 (-9): Happy Birthday Rome!

Posted on 21 April 2024 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Sunrise today was at 06:18 and it set a few minutes ago at 20:00.

The Ave Maria Bells is slated to chime at 20:15.

Today, in the reckoning of St. Anselm of Canterbury, Doctor of the Church (+1109).

Today is the 2777th Birthday of Rome!

Jasmine Report (not the Jesuit). I am hopeful that it will bloom before my departure.

My view for awhile this morning.

My view for a short time at lunch. I was out will some guys from a very famous and excellent conservative website who are in town. It was a good conversation.

Just for lovely.

Meanwhile, try this. See if you can get to mate. It is WHITE’s move. Have fun!

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Get chess stuff!

Final round of the Candidates is tonight (for me, tonight). I hope it won’t go to long and cut into my precious sleep time. Morning comes early. 17-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju has taken the sole lead with 8.5 by beating Alireza (YAY!!!). There are three tied for 2nd: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana (with a win over Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu). The top four players can still win. There are various permutations of tie breaks if there is no outright winner after today’s round. All the marbles are on sand.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged noad | 3 Comments

Your Sunday Sermon Notes: 3rd Sunday after Easter (N.O. 4th of Easter) 2024

Posted on 21 April 2024 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.

Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Mass of obligation for the 3rd Sunday Sunday after Easter? Novus Ordo – 4th Sunday of Easter.

Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass.

Any local changes or (hopefully good) news?

A taste of my thoughts from the other place: HERE

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | 4 Comments

ROME 24/4– Day 31 (-10): The Parish™…. what’s next?

Posted on 20 April 2024 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This beautiful sunny yet cool Roman day started by the sun’s rising at 06:19 and it will end at 19:59.

The Ave Maria (which you know all about now) is at 20:15.

This is the 111st day of the year. On this day in 1303 Boniface VIII founded the Sapienza University, which still exists today.

In the Novus Ordo calendar it is the feast of Pope St. Anicetus (+c. 166). In the Vetus, he was commemorated on the 17th. According to St. Irenaeus, St. Polycarp of Smyrna (a disciple of St John the Evangelist), came to Rome to discuss the date of Easter with Anicetus. They didn’t conclude anything at that time. This eventually became a big controversy. It was a massively complicated matter, still disputed today. Anicetus opposed Gnostics and priests with long hair. Really. Tradition says that Anicetus was martyred during the reign of the Emperor Lucius Verus, who is the boy in the movie Gladiator. I understand that Gladiator II is in the works. There were originally some really stupid ideas for the film. Now, however, it is a little better grounded. It is slated for November.

Speaking of Popes, yesterday we celebrated another saintly pontiff, Leo IX (+19 April 1054). He militated against simony and decreed clerical celibacy to the rank of subdeacon. As Pope he travelled all over the place, attending “walking togethers” which dealt with concrete issues, rather than dreamy bloviating. During his time as Pope, relations broke down with Constantinople. He also had a hard time with the Normans in the south and led an army against them. He lost and was held captive until he recognized the Normans in Calabria and Apulia.

Why do I bring him up? Because yesterday was his feast day and because TAN recently published a work by him,

The Battle of the Virtues and Vices: Defending the Interior Castle of the Soul.

US HERE – UK HERE

Just as Card. Richelieu’s book, which I used for this year’s LENTCAzTs, was quite practical, so is this. Here’s the table of contents. See if there isn’t a point in there for you. Or … maybe more than one? You can right click this for a bigger image in a new tab.

I said Holy Mass today for my monthly donors. Also, thank you to RE for shifting from “Continue” to Zelle.

Tomorrow, if nothing urgent comes up, I will say Mass for my dear “200!”s and “100!”s. These are people who signed up for a monthly donation when I was in a tough place. My otherwise cold, black heart always warms a little when a notice from one of these arrives.

Breakfast at the little Sicilian place today. The roll on the left is a maritozzo. Whose was the OJ, from those wonderful red oranges?

The façade of The Parish™ has finally been restored and illuminated. The next stage is a renewal of the interior of the church! Here are two cleaning tests in the San Carlo chapel, first (closest to the main doors) on the Gospel side.

As I understand it, three chapels will be done at once, then the scaffolding will be moved to another area. The sacristy will be included in the project. Very exciting, of course, though it will make the daily, especially morning, operations a little complicated.

But complications can often be softened by the presence of beautiful flowers. Here are more peonies.

A follow up to the “Ivy Report” (really Virginia Creeper, I was informed by a priestly writer in a comment). It does like to climb!

White to move. Mate in 3. You had better do something and fast. Look at black’s deadly rooks.

1. Nxh7+ Kf7 2. Rd7+ Ke8 3. Nf6# (2… Ke6 3. Nf8# or 2… Kg8 3. Nf6#)
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Hostilities resume today in Toronto at the Candidates Tournament. As I write, Hikaru Nakamura and Gukesh are tied with Ian Nepomniachtchi in the lead. Fabiano Caruana is a half-point from the leaders. Prag v. Fabi and Nepo v. Naka should both be dynamic. I look forward to Gukesh beating Firouzja.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | 3 Comments

WDTPRS: 4th Sunday of Easter (Novus Ordo) – Mighty humble Shepherd, humble mighty flock

Posted on 20 April 2024 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

FORWARD:

If you are a sheep who has strayed, come back now to His fold, Holy Catholic Church. GO TO CONFESSION!

Coming up this Sunday in the Novus Ordo is the 4th Sunday of Easter, when the Gospel is from John 10 about the “Good Shepherd”.

In the Vetus Ordo, “Good Shepherd Sunday” was last week (the 2nd Sunday after Easter).

It’s really too bad that there is a disconnect. I’m not sure why the experts of the Consilium thought it was so important to break the continuity of hundreds of years like that. But let’s keep moving.

Last week I wrote some reflections about the Good Shepherd at One Peter Five (where I have a weekly column). HERE

For this Novus Ordo 4th Sunday of Easter the Collect which goes back to the time of the Gelasian Sacramentary is a little gem.

Whoever wrote this was a true master of faith, thought and language.

Note the nice eo…quo construction and the rhythmic endings of clauses which makes the prayer so singable. There is synchesis in the last part, a parallelism of grammatical forms “ut A-B-C-D, A-B-C-D”.

The prayer’s structure resembles the orderly procession which the vocabulary invokes.

Procedo is “to come forth” as well as “to advance, proceed to.” It comes also to mean, “to result as a benefit for” someone or something. Think of English “proceeds”, as in money raised for a cause. “Procession” (apart from the liturgical meaning) is a theological term describing how the Persons of the Trinity relate to each other.

A societas is “a fellowship, association, union, community”, that is, a group united for some common purpose. I’ll render it as “communion”, which gets to the relationship we will have in heaven and, in anticipation, as members of Holy Church.

There is a nice contrast in humilitas and fortitudo. They seem to be opposites. (Hint: they’re not.)

True to the ancient Roman spirit, humilitas has the negative connotation of “lowness”, in the sense of being base or abject: humus means “soil”. On the other hand, fortitudo means “strength” and even “the manliness shown in enduring or undertaking hardship, bravery, courage.” In the 8th century Gelasian Sacramentary, whence comes today’s prayer, that fortitudo was originally celsitudo (“loftiness of carriage”, also a title like “Highness”). Fortitudo could poetically refer to Christ’s moral strength and endurance in His Passion and death.

Our Lord chooses the weak and makes them strong with His strength, His fortitudo (cf 1 Corinthians 1:26-28).

Weakness and strength are not to be measured by worldly successes.

LITERAL ATTEMPT:

Almighty eternal God, lead us unto the communion of heavenly joys, so that the humility of the flock may attain that place to which the might of the shepherd has advanced.

CURRENT ICEL (2011):

Almighty ever-living God, lead us to a share in the joys of heaven, so that the humble flock may reach where the brave Shepherd has gone before.

Translators occasionally turn an abstract idea that sounds like a possessive (a trope called synecdoche), as in “the humility of the flock” or “the might of the shepherd”, into a characteristic of the possessor, as in “the humble flock” or “the mighty shepherd”. I think we lose something beautiful in that exchange. You decide.

In our Collect is the image of Christ as shepherd. In mighty resolve He goes before – precedes us, the humble flock. He leads us back to that from which He first proceeded, communion with the Father and the Spirit.

Going forth. Turning. Going back. IMPORTANT.

In the Greek Neo-Platonic philosophy that informed early Christian thought we often find the paradigm of going forth (proodos, Latin exitus), a turning around (metanoia, Latin conversio), and returning back (epistrophe, reditus). This common ancient pattern is echoed in today’s ancient prayer.

This Collect also reminds me of mosaics in the apses of Christian basilicas.

Mosaics are assembled from tiny bits of colored stone, tesserae, into beautiful spiritual works with many symbols.

Up close, individual tesserae are unremarkable, often flawed.

Once a great artist gathers and arranges them according to a plan, they proceed to dazzle and amaze.

God is the artist. We are the stones (cf 1 Peter 2:5))

Holy Church is like a mosaic.

Just as one tessera makes the others more beautiful, we small individual Catholics, with different vocations, in diverse places, and even distant eras in history, play important roles in a larger societas.

Saints make us make sense. They make us beautiful. We make them make sense. They are even more beautiful as we honor and imitate and engage them. They are not done with us. We must be doing by and with them.

The mosaics in apses of ancient and Romanesque churches often depict Christ dressed in glorious imperial trappings. Apostles and saints, His celestial court, stand on either side bracketed in turn by Bethlehem or the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem.

Beneath the feet of Christ, mighty Shepherd King, are lines of courtly sheep, hooves elegantly raised as they process into a green safe place where water flows, symbolizing the river Jordan and our baptism, the refrigerium we evoke in the Roman Canon.

The Second Person of the Trinity, the Son, proceeded from the Father from all eternity. He proceeded into this world in a mighty gesture of self-emptying in order to save us from our sins, turn us away from sin and death, and open for us the way to salvation.

In His first coming, Christ came in humility to take up our fallen societas, our humilitas, His grex, into an indestructible societas with His divinity.

In His second coming, clothed in His own fortitudo He will shepherd us into a new societas in heaven.

If you are a sheep who has strayed, come back now to His fold, Holy Catholic Church. GO TO CONFESSION!

I include in this category of straying sheep those who dissent from the doctrine of the Church the Good Shepherd founded.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged exodos, Good Shepherd Sunday | 3 Comments

ROME 24/4– Day 30: Let there be LIGHT!

Posted on 19 April 2024 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This morning the sun came up at 06:21.

This evening the sun will set at 19:58.

The days are getting longer and more beautiful and I am starting to think about leaving. *sigh*

Thank you, Lord, for this day. Thank you for my readers and benefactors who made possible this refreshing, recharging, restoring, renewing, revitalizing, … repairing time.

My view for awhile, as I write – now – with clouds like cotton, a cool breeze past the freesia and a few alstroemeria whose stems had a hard time, and playing on the other side of the room… THIS.

This evening’s ecclesiastical business ought to end with the ringing of the Ave Maria Bell at 20:15. I’m still listening. The multiverse portal eludes me and the days are passing.

Welcome registrant:

Venerable Bede

A couple more of you switched your donations to Zelle. Thank you. HEY! You can always start a regular donation with Zelle!

Lately, I’ve offered Holy Sacrifice for my benefactors who are now deceased. I won’t forget you. Today I said Mass for my priest friends. In the next few days, I might be able to take a couple of intentions.

Last night we had the joy of the inauguration of the lighting of the façade of Ss. Trinità dei Pellegrini (aka The Parish™). Here’s my humble little video of the event with period appropriate music…

The Big Red Button™.

Afterwards, some of us of the Archconfraternity went for a bite to eat. Here’s mine. Yeah… it was as good as it looks.

Aren’t they beautiful?

But, no, I guess not. Life in its many forms was just an accidental result of random chemical reactions back in the primordial soup.

Speaking of soup, its Friday. Perhaps a minestra tonight.

In cheesy news, I am delighted. In the antepenultimate 12th round, Hikaru Nakamura beat Alireza Firouzja and Gukesh D beat Nijat Abasov. They have joined Ian Nepomniachtchi in the lead. Fabiano Caruana defeated Vidit Gujrathi and is now a half point behind the leaders. The top spot is up in the air. Today is a rest day. Hostilities recommence in the penultimate round 13 tomorrow. Big games, too. Hikaru v Nepo and Gukesh v Alireza. The road for Hikaru is uphill against Nepo. Hikaru has been amazing. But so too has Nepo. Gukesh, on the other hand, has two advantages that Hikaru doesn’t. Gukesh 1) has white against 2) the (justly – heh heh) struggling Firouzja. Firouzja could play the spoiler. I hope for a Alirezan floor-wiping by Gukesh.

White to move and mate in 4. Not too hard today.