Daily Rome Shot 1287 – dreadful

Posted on 4 April 2025 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The wizards of St. Peter’s have taken out the altar that was in apse in front of the place where the true “Altar of the Chair” was (before it was heinously ripped out… I saw that with my own eyes) and have replaced it with the dreadful thing that Paul VI had made.   Small changes: little keys were added in the style of the “Fabbrica” but without the tiara above them, which is the classic symbol of the Fabbrica (the entity that maintains the basilica).   They cleaned it up a little.

What it was like before.  I’d like a better photo, but this was quickly found at Liturgical Arts Journal.  Note the Cranmer picnic table set up in front of that altar.

Note: having the altar joined with Bernini’s masterpiece was a theological statement.   Separating them, indeed destroying the altar, was also a statement.

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When I get ready for a longish stay in Rome the Enemy always screws around with my tech. It’s like clockwork. I got a new laptop for the trip (thank you donors, the old one was not going to make it, I think) and spent a couple days setting it up. Last night I got hit with a BITLOCKER loop. Couldn’t get past it. I did everything I could think of. Then looked for a “restore point”. Happily, I found that one had been created. It worked, but I lost an entire day of prepping the thing, installing necessary programs, etc. Maddening. Then I found that some small critter had invaded my window air conditioner in my chapel. That was fun. Then… then… then…. It’s crazy. Prayers, please, to the Holy Angels.

ADVICE: Get a new desktop or laptop and immediately make a rescue drive. It should be the first thing you do. Then make a note of where you put it.

May I recommend…?

… and anthology of Stations of the Cross by Fulton Sheen?  For many years Sheen preached on Good Friday at St. Agnes in Manhattan.  This is an anthology of his reflections.  I’ve put this on my wishlist for the Kindle version.

The Cries of Jesus from the Cross: A Fulton Sheen Anthology

Click

The Benedictine monks of of Norcia make marvelous beer.

More beer! More processions! Less chatter!

Interim,

Motus ad lusorem cum militibus nigris pertinent. Scaccus mattus, scilicet mors regis, duobus in motis veniat.

NB: Detineam explicationes in crastinum, ne vestrae interrumpantur commentationes.

In chessy news…

Yesterday, there was an interesting live stream of Fabiano Caruana and Magnus Carlsen sitting together analyzing their games, playing online, and generally chatting.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | 3 Comments

STATIONS OF THE CROSS – Audio from Fr. Z

Posted on 4 April 2025 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

My post with recordings of different methods of the Way of the Cross HERE

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Comments Off on STATIONS OF THE CROSS – Audio from Fr. Z

3 April – “There was an old Bishop of Chichester…”

Posted on 3 April 2025 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today is the Feast of St. Richard of Chichester (+1262), who defended the rights of the Church against the state.

I am reminded of a limerick which my old, late pastor, Msgr. Richard Schuler used to cite:

There was an old Bishop of Chichester,
Who said thrice (the Latin for which is ‘ter’),
“Avaunt and defiance,
Foul spirit called Science,
And quit Mother Church, thou bewitchest her.”

Of course the Church is not anti-science, unless it is HACK-science.  At least in sane times the Church is against HACK-science.  Sane times, mind you.

On this topic of the Church and Science I recommend the book, Galileo in Rome: The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius by William R. Shea and Mariano Artigas and Dava Sobel’s A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos (UK edition HERE).  In addition, there is Heilbron’s The Sun In The Church and Galileo by the same.

Also, Fulton Sheen wrote about the faith and science in his (complied book)  On The Demonic.

BTW… St. Richard called for a Crusade against the Saracens.  Bless him.

Happy feast of St. Richard!

Posted in Linking Back | 2 Comments

How are American priests doing?

Posted on 3 April 2025 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At The Catholic Thing there is a fascinating read about the “status quaestionis” of priests in these USA.

“Stronger Families; Stronger Priests”

Here’s the opening.

In 2022, The Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America – where I serve as director – conducted the largest study of American Catholic priests in more than half a century. This National Study of Catholic Priests (NSCP) looked at many aspects of how American priests are faring.

I have my own perspective on this.

Here’s the conclusion.

Before all, the formation of young Christian men is the responsibility of mothers and fathers. Fathers in a particular way. Parents, consider: Your son (or mine) may be someone’s husband someday. (I mention this as the father of three daughters.) Or he may be someone’s confessor. He may even be someone’s bishop. To paraphrase John Paul II, as the family goes, so goes the Church, the nation, and the world.

Posted in Cancelled Priests, Priests and Priesthood | 4 Comments

Daily Rome Shot 1286 – notable items

Posted on 2 April 2025 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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Two notable items in this…

I would very much like a relic of Miguel Pro

In chessy news… HERE

White to move and mate in 2.  No. REALLY.  Mate in 2.  Can you get this in under a minute?  It took me two.  Then I saw that I had it wrong.  Two more.  Got it.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | 5 Comments

20 years ago today, 2 April 2005, the death of Pope St. John Paul II

Posted on 2 April 2025 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Can it be 20 years? I miss him.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | 3 Comments

“All these teachings, then, are bound up in one body.” Check out this article by Anthony Esolen

Posted on 2 April 2025 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

There is a very good piece at The Catholic Thing by Anthony Esolen. Here is how it starts.

This is my geopolitical fiction,” Jesus did not say, when He broke the bread at the Last Supper. “The group, though it has many members, is still one group,” Paul did not say, when he sought, gently, to lead the fractious democracy-leaning Corinthians back to their responsibilities toward one another and their submission to the truth. “Every man is an island,” John Donne did not say in his meditations on death, so that if you hear the church bells ringing, he did not continue, “you need not ask for whom they toll, so long as they do not toll for thee.”

It is almost impossible, in our time of social alienation, family breakdown, self-imposed detachment, radical sexual individualism, and loneliness, to ask people to consider what a society is; a prerequisite, one might think, for considering the social teachings of the Church, or the social good or harm to be expected from a proposed policy.

Esolen has had to have meditated at length over “society”. I suspect this because he translated The Divine Comedy by Dante. In Inferno, the sins and their punishments reflect how they broke the bonds of society. That’s a key to understanding what Dante was doing. The Divine Comedy is also a socio-political treatise.

Here’s how his piece ends. It’s a staggeringly profound and yet smoothly simple observation. HOWEVER, if someone gets this wrong and starts to “jenga” pull this or that from the whole, the result is disaster.

All these teachings, then, are bound up in one body. They are alive, mutually reinforcing, coherent, dynamic. To suppose that they are separable is to treat the body as a corpse. Nor is there society in the tomb.

BTW… a couple of Cardinals, some aging feminists, and a bunch Jesuits are going to hate this article. So, share it around.

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged | 1 Comment

Daily Rome Shot 1285

Posted on 1 April 2025 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

HEY!

sm****41@nc.rr.com
a*****f900@charter.net

My thank you notes to you were kicked back as undeliverable. New email? Let me know HERE

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There’s this. BTW… this is NOT the easiest dish to prepare.

And…

In chessy news…

Arjun Erigaisi has surpassed at #4 Fabiano Caruana now #5 in the FIDE ratings.  Magnus (2837) is still #1 and Hikaru (2804) #2 and Gukesh #3 (official champ).

White’s move. Mate in 2.  CRAZY!  Can you find it in 1 minute?  2?  3?

Get great beer and help traditional monks at the same time.

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Posted in SESSIUNCULA | 6 Comments

The fool says in his heart ‘There is no God.'”

Posted on 1 April 2025 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From something I spotted in a tweet, I did some digging to find the source. This is from a Psalter in the Getty Museum.

DESCRIPTION: An enthroned man wearing a fool’s cap illustrates the opening verse of Psalm 52-“The fool says in his heart ‘There is no God.'” The scroll he holds proclaims this heresy: Non e[st] Deu[s] (There is no God). Two mischievous demons incite him to this thought, while an angel above attempts to warn the fool against such a notion.

Closer… right click for really big…

Posted in Just Too Cool | 3 Comments

Daily Rome Shot 1284

Posted on 31 March 2025 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In the background you can see part of the facade and dome of S. Carlo e Biaggio, which has been closed for years after the big earthquake that it Norcia. I’m told it is to reopen soon. Last time I was there in February, the park was being massively cleaned up.

Very cool…

 

Memento Mori…

Chessy news… I’ll probably play OTB today.  HERE

In today’s hard puzzle, white to move and mate in 5.  Good luck.

Nice people! Great service!

Every home should have a chess set.  Every kid should learn to play.  It is a lifetime gift that cuts across people and generations.

Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE

Interested in learning?  Try THIS.

Some time ago, I bought a great travel set from Chess House (with which I have an affiliate program).  It is simply the best travel set I’ve seen.  It weighs hardly anything.  The pieces are magnetic.  The board has a pleasant leather backing.  It packages up into a little bag.  It looks nice.  15% discount TODAY

9? Milled Leather Travel Magnetic Chess Set with Wood Pieces

Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links.  US HERE – UK HERE  WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for this new year of surprises), utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | 2 Comments