From the Pastor: How to Confess
This is the follow-up article about the mechanics of going to confession which I promised a couple of weeks ago. In the previous article, I was simply reminding people about being properly prepared and ready to enter the confessional as soon as the person in front of them exited, rather than waiting for Father to leave the confessional, who, seeing fifteen more people waiting (but not moving) then proceeds to give them engraved invitations to enter. But I didn’t go into the details of what you do once in. One would think that Catholics would know the basics of confession, but, as is made apparent in multiple ways nearly every week, this is one more place where we priests failed to educate properly for the past 55 or so years. Worse, ever since “confessionals” turned into “reconciliation rooms” people and priests have mistaken them for small bistros and simply sit down to shoot the breeze for a while, tell jokes and vacation stories, and, eventually, get around to confessing and, maybe, giving proper words of absolution. So now people coming to Epiphany oftentimes don’t know what to do as they enter the dark room of the confessional, something they have only seen in old movies. The first thing they want is a light. “I can’t find the lightswitch, Father,” they complain. Yes, it is dark on your side and light on mine, so that you can see me through the screen and I cannot see you. Anonymity is a good thing, is it not, as you pour out your soul and reveal your sins? But we put a light switch in there just for those who are afraid of the dark, anyway. It used to be on the door frame, but people would enter, turn on the light, and leave it on when they exited, forcing the next person to give up their anonymity even if they didn’t wish to do so. So I moved it to the spot directly under the screen. We still get people turning it on for no reason at all and leaving it on, but now I can see that it is on and call them back to turn it off! Outside, there is a light indicating when it is ok to enter and when the room is occupied. Each church does this in a different way, so people do get confused if they don’t stop and think it through. We have a white light over my door whenever I am in there. That tells you that you can come to confession through your own door, the other one with a light over it, as long as that light is not also lit. But if it is lit, it is occupied. That doesn’t stop people from entering when someone is already in there, though. My light doesn’t keep people from opening my door, either, even though it has my name written in large letters on it. It also doesn’t stop people from coming into the door without a light (it used to have one that I kept lit as long as I was hearing confessions but even with it lit people kept coming in so I removed the light socket. That didn’t stop people, either. That side opens into my side and is barely large enough for a wheelchair to fit and it gets used for that purpose every once in a while). So I will soon enough be trying out a red light/green light system to see if that helps. I doubt it, though, based on the way I see people driving nowadays! I probably need a yellow light so that they will come zooming in! Once you enter the confessional, please close the door and kneel in front of the screen. That, at least with the current lighting system, triggers the light outside. Don’t wait for me to offer you a drink or make other small talk. Immediately make the sign of the cross (this is a prayer, after all, and we begin and end our prayers with the sign of the cross) and say, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been “this long” since my last confession.” (Don’t say, “this long” but rather say the time period it has been. People really do say “this long,” in case you are wondering, since they read those words in pamphlets on confession and parrot it unthinkingly!) Then, again without waiting for me to ask how your day is going, confess your sins. Two things many, many people have never been taught but are essential to making a good confession, are: 1) that the examination of conscience should have been made before entering the confessional, not once you are in there, and 2) it should include (and, therefore, your confession should include) recalling how many time you have committed any mortal sins of which you are repenting. Yes, mortal sins MUST be confessed both in kind (what the sin actually was) and in number (how many times you committed it). If you don’t know the exact number, a good ballpark estimate is sufficient. Purposely withholding even one mortal sin makes it a sacrilegious confession and none of your sins are absolved, for even if you fool the priest you cannot fool God. All sins are to be confessed briefly, with no extra details than are necessary. Lurid details, especially regarding sins of the flesh, are not necessary and can even be harmful. Do not, do not, do not, name other people involved in your sin! They, not you, are responsible for confessing their own sins. Also, do not tell stories in the confessional. Unfortunately, I have run out of space and haven’t yet finished this article. I hope to come back to it another week. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: We Have The Best Coffee and Donuts!
You all know that the title above is true. We have the best coffee and donuts you have ever had at church! Just as I believe that God deserves to have the best that we can offer at any given time (note that that varies from person to person, time to time, parish to parish, etc.), I also believe that we should treat ourselves pretty well while gathered at church, too. Years ago, when we had very few people, almost no money, and I was picking up donuts either Saturday night or between the Sunday Masses, we sometimes had WalMart donuts and sometimes had Dunkin'. Coffee was either Folgers or Costco. People even personally baked breakfast casseroles and other goodies to bring in, enough to cover everyone attending Mass (at their own expense, I might add, although they never mentioned it). We did the best we could do and we not only survived but thrived. But as we grew, it became impossible to bake for everyone and to keep up the load with the same people doing all the work every week. When things got rough, more people stepped up and volunteered to help. “Here’s the best donuts shop,” and “Have you tried this coffee?” became common helpful hints. Soon enough we found some great suppliers and people started commenting on how delicious the donuts were and how much they appreciated the great coffee. What? They told me something good about even the coffee? Yes, indeed! We have also branched out a bit and now have (gluten-free) yogurt, bagels and cream cheese after the High Mass, and, every once in a while, leftovers from some event held Saturday night. Yes, we have turned the social hall into a high-class eatery. The 10:30 Mass has a rotating group of volunteers who put in all of the manpower (and womanpower and even childpower) and I have told each group that if the donations exceed the cost of the food and drinks, they may keep it for their groups’ use, so they see it as a fundraising event as well as a service to the parish. It really should be no trouble to make money on these days, since we still have many people who donate various foods/drinks out of love of God and neighbor (and maybe to avoid the Bishop’s tax!) so the donations should certainly outdo the expenses. But, as it turns out, it is usually only if I mention it during the Mass announcements that we turn a “profit” for the groups. The donation jar seems to turn virtually invisible in subsequent weeks. “Perhaps,” I was thinking to myself, “the people are giving generously but don’t realize how many times their children return for a fourth glass of chocolate milk and yet another donut, without having taken a single sip or bite but rather have left the others out on a picnic table or bench and couldn’t remember where they left them.” That might be the case, as there are always nearly untouched leftovers sitting around once the place empties, mingled with the rest of the half-consumed food and drink that nobody bothers to pick up. (People rarely claim the pairs of shoes, pants, sweaters, books, phones, missals, mantillas, backpacks, and other non-edible things they leave behind, either, so it is not a surprise that they leave food behind without bothering to pick up after themselves!) “But it is also quite possible,” I reply to myself in argument, “that the people really don’t know what a donut costs, for they never have donuts anywhere but church. And they don’t pay attention to the cost of milk, juice, and other items, either, since it is all rolled up into a seemingly endless grocery bill instead of being itemized by the portion.” That, to me, also makes a lot of sense. After all, when I gripe, “Two-hundred and thirty-seven dollars for one person!” when I hit the Costco checkout line, I don’t break down what the cost of one individual hamburger is going to be once I get home to make dinner. It also may be that families don’t have enough money to spend on coffee and donuts (it is a rather frivolous expenditure, after all, rather than a necessity) but don’t want to deprive themselves and their family of the great friendships that come out of spending time with the group after Mass. That is one that I hope never discourages anyone from eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves after Mass. As I have said many times before, if you cannot afford it, please don’t hesitate to stay and eat and drink anyway. Even if you are experiencing rough financial times I think Sunday coffee and donuts (and all that goes along with it) is important enough that I have always offered to pay for anyone who cannot do so themselves, rather than see them turned away as if this were a money-making gig. Seriously. Where else can you surround yourself with so many people who really believe in God and His teachings and who want to share their lives with you both here and in Heaven? “Pray” and “play” go hand in hand. Regardless of why donations don’t always cover the expenditures, I thought it would help if you saw actual figures of what these items truly cost. I had the staff put together a list which will go up in the social hall for your reference. It does not include the price of plates, napkins, cups, electricity, or anything of that sort, just the cost of the food and drinks. It is not meant to be the “price” as if this were a diner, just a reference sheet. I hope you find it helpful. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Sharing Some Frustrations
Today I am going to share with you some of my frustrations about confessions. More precisely, parishioners’ lack of courtesy to the priests hearing confessions, shown by not being in line, not being ready to enter the confessional when the person in front of you exits, and expecting confessions at all times and all places at your convenience rather than following our parish’s rather generous confession schedule. I will leave my frustrations about people’s lack of knowledge about how to confess for another day. Please note that I understand when people are just visiting our parish they don’t know the “rules” but I have very little way of knowing who is a visitor and who is a regular from inside the confessional. We have confessions here every day. On Sundays, I hear confessions following Mass. On other days, I hear confessions as soon as I have exposed Our Lord for a period of Adoration following the Mass. Most days I am able to stay as long as there are people coming in to confess. On Saturdays when I have a 10:30 class, I have to leave the confessional even if there are still people waiting, yet I still have people who want to talk—not confess—for 20 minutes even if there are 30 people in line behind them and only 30 minutes before class begins. I have already pushed the start time of the class back from 10:00 to 10:30 to try to avoid turning penitents away, but that is the latest I can begin class. Sometimes we have a morning funeral or, even more rarely, a diocesan meeting, and I have to shorten or even cancel Adoration, confessions, and/or the class or other appointments I had on my schedule. People generally understand when that happens. After Mass on First Fridays and First Saturdays and some Sundays, Fr. Mangiafico also joins me, although it means long, early morning travel for him and, especially on Sundays, he is often tied up in meetings, God bless him. Note well, I have written several times already in this article that we hear confessions after Mass. As in not before Mass. Not during Mass. In the confessional. Not in the sacristy. Not in the rectory. Not in the social hall. Why all of these restrictions? Because priests, believe it or not, have things that they must attend to before, during, and after Mass. On Sundays especially people often seem to have no clue as to that fact. If I am hearing confessions after the 7:30 Mass and people coming in for the 10:30 Mass get in line, I will never be able to get out of the confessional. If I have the 10:30 Mass to prepare for but can’t take a bathroom break, can’t get a drink of water, can’t check to make sure the Missal is set properly, can’t see if I have any altar boys, or if everything has been set up for Mass, can’t get the music notation for my Mass parts, can’t pray the vesting prayers, can’t do all of the myriad of other little things nobody else realizes I must do before Mass begins, Mass will be a mess. So I ask that you wait until after Mass to go to confession. It is not too much to ask. “But Father!” people complain regularly, “I won’t be able to receive Holy Communion if I wait until after Mass to confess!” Should I be so blunt as to tell you to let that be a lesson the next time you are tempted to commit mortal sin on a Saturday night? Should I remind you that no other parish you ever attended had Sunday confessions and you still survived? Or should I make an exception for you and the next twenty people who all have similar “extenuating circumstances” that kept them from confessing at any parish at any posted time earlier in the week because it was inconvenient? But even when people follow those requests we still have problems. Many times we get out of the confessional multiple times because nobody has come in for the past 3 or 4 minutes, only to see 15 people still waiting but not paying any attention to the empty confessional! I ask that the next one or two people (depending on if there are one or two priests hearing confessions) get out of the pew, genuflect to Our Lord, and turn to face the confessionals so that they can immediately enter upon the person in front of them leaving. There are signs giving these instructions in the pew, behind the pew, and, occasionally, other places, all to little avail. We also get done with confessions and have people racing through the church or social hall yelling, “Just a minute, Father, I want to go to confession!” The reasons they weren’t in line usually have something to do with donuts or chitchat. Get in line and pay attention! It’s not that hard. For Divine Mercy Sunday we heard hours of confessions in the morning and early afternoon. During the midafternoon Vespers and Divine Mercy chaplet, we had two priests hearing confessions once again. Fr. Mangiafico left when there were no more penitents coming in and nobody was left in line. I also tried leaving but, lo and behold, someone raced from her pew to catch me and, once back in the confessional, I stayed busy for another half-hour or more because of all the people who also had been in the church the whole time but never bothered to get in line. If you’ve read this far, you are probably not part of the problem because you read, pay attention, and are concerned about my frustrations. Thank you! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: A Glorious Easter!
This year it seemed that no sooner had the Octave of Epiphany ended than the 40 days of Lent began. The season of fasting had no more started than Archbishop Cordileone stopped by. No sooner had he departed than the Easter Triduum was upon us. And that, of course, meant early morning prayers and late night Masses leading into Easter Sunday itself. All without a breather, or so it seemed. What an exhausting but spiritually amazing way to begin the new calendar year! This year at the Easter Vigil and Mass we had 7 people come into the Church through Baptism and/or Confirmation and Holy Communion. Another wanted to enter but could not make it so we have rescheduled his entrance and he will be baptized next month. I am also scheduled, if the Bishop allows it, to confirm a few adults who are already Catholic but have missed receiving Confirmation for one or another reason. If you fit that category, call the office right away and maybe you can also receive the sacrament at that time. We bring people into the Church throughout the year, for, instead of forcing them to wait until fall to begin RCIA classes so that they can enter during the Easter Vigil, they simply each get on their own schedule of individual convert studies and when they are ready to enter, they enter. This year none of those entering were even aware of the others’ studies or readiness but somehow they all decided that they were ready to become Catholic all together. Nice! I haven’t yet seen the diocesan statistics on parish Mass attendance for February. As you know, I hang up the new stat sheet in the social hall twice a year (each parish reports Sunday Mass attendance figures in October and February) and Epiphany has been steadily rising. We started out in July of 2015 with 87 total in attendance before the Traditional Latin Mass began being celebrated here and now regularly exceed 800 or 900 people each Sunday. I am not sure why we sometimes have a greater than 10% change in numbers for any given Sunday but we will often see 950 people one Sunday followed by 830 people the next. Once in a while some of it can be attributed to the American Heritage Girls or the Troops of St. George going on camping trips, but they have never had 100 people on their participation rosters. And, in case you are wondering, we do not count them in our official tally if they are gone during February or October, even if I go to the camp to celebrate Mass for them that weekend. We only count those physically present in the pews. All of that is just a lead-up to the new record attendance for Easter Sunday Masses. We broke the 1200 people mark for our three Easter Masses (one Vigil and two on Easter Sunday) for the first time. The Easter Vigil this year was 4 hours+ long. The Traditional Rite of Baptism includes a lot of questioning of each sacramental candidate, a lot of blessings and exorcisms, plus other amazing signs and symbols in the ritual. A good portion of it can be done earlier in the day in order to shorten the length of the Vigil, but since we already have Tenebrae, confessions, and the Blessing of the Easter Baskets on Holy Saturday morning, it would have been more work than possible to arrange such a thing. It also would have deprived all of the parishioners the joy of experiencing all of that wonderful ceremonial baptismal preparation and Profession of Faith. Cutting corners and making things shorter or easier does not necessarily (or even usually) lead to a fuller grasp of—or desire for more of—the Faith! Of course, it makes for a late night when the Mass ends after midnight and the people don’t just race for their cars to go home. There were 50 or more people still in the church and social hall when I finally went back to the rectory about 1:30 am. Several groups had brought picnic baskets with them and were breaking their Lenten Fasts with friends, new and old, something that has been a wonderful tradition in a parish where they can’t simply walk to one of the neighboring parishioner houses down the block. But as for me, I simply told them that the last one to leave had to lock the doors and turn off the lights, for I still had to finish my breviary and try to sleep for a few hours before getting up to prepare for the morning Mass. I am now 60 years old and the early mornings followed by the late nights are getting to me more than they ever did when I was a “young” priest of 40 or 50. Fr. Mangiafico has twenty years on me and I am amazed at his stamina. He doesn’t live at the rectory and doesn’t ever accept the offer to spend the night even for big feasts like this but rather drives nearly an hour across the bay to his house, where he then has to finish his prayers as well, and then, after very little sleep, prays his morning prayers and makes the return trip to celebrate the 10:30 Mass. What a priest! Thank you all for making the beginning of this year such a holy one! I am hopeful that we will be able to continue to celebrate these spiritual seasons and feast days in the traditional manner that we have been doing for the past nine years. None of this is possible without you, the Faithful, eagerly embracing it and growing in holiness through it. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Happy Easter especially to those who have fallen away!
Easter Sunday is one of the biggest days of the Church year in more ways than one. First of all, it is the day proof positive that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the One who fulfills all of the prophecies of the Old Testament, the Savior of the world. He was not simply resuscitated, coming back to the same life as He had before, but rather Resurrected, coming back, in His humanity, to a whole new manner of life. This new life is one that we all plan on participating in, one with a completely glorified human body and a perfect human soul, sharing in His divinity for all eternity in the splendor of Heaven. But Easter is also one of the biggest days of the Church year as far as bringing back fallen away Catholics. This column is specifically aimed at you if you fall into that category. Perhaps you don’t consider yourself a fallen away Catholic, though, unless you have been away from the Church and Her sacraments for a period of years or even decades. I, however, am including you in this category if you have been away from the Church and Her sacraments for “only” a few weeks! You see, it is only by remaining in direct contact with God in this life that we can possibly hope to be in direct contact with Him in the next. He unites Himself with us totally in the seven Sacraments. These channels of grace are the primary paths of supernatural love, mercy, and strength that He has given us. Rejecting them by, say, purposefully missing Mass for even one Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation, not to mention years at a time, says without words, “God, I do not want Your grace; I reject Your supernatural love; I choose my will over Yours, even if it costs me my soul.” Faking a sacrament says the same thing. Instances of this would include faking the sacrament of Holy Matrimony through sex outside of marriage (with others or self) or faking the sacrament of Confession by pretending to “go directly to God” while rejecting the absolution He offers through His priests. Many more instances of rejecting or faking sacraments could be pointed out (failing to Baptize your children or receive Confirmation yourself, receiving Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin, rejecting God’s call to Holy Orders or the religious life, or delaying the Sacrament of the Sick to avoid scaring the dying loved one). But why point out these dangers to the soul on such a holy day? Because there is an incredible means of repairing any damage to your relationship with God coming up next week. I want to reach the “fallen aways” present today and invite all of you to next week’s Divine Mercy celebration. Next Sunday, Low Sunday, is also called Divine Mercy Sunday. Last century our Lord Jesus appeared to Sister (now Saint) Faustina and told her of an incredible outpouring of His Mercy that He would make available to anyone, even the most hardened of sinners or the most naively innocent “fallen away” Catholic, on the Sunday after Easter. He will offer complete remission of sin (and even its due punishment!) to all who will spend just a little bit of time meditating on—and praying for—His Mercy. He has made it so easy to get back into His grace (and thereby headed for Heaven once again) that it would seem too ridiculously easy to be true if it weren’t Jesus who made the promise, and His Church now offering a plenary indulgence. Hardened sinners, those who have knowingly committed grave sins for long periods of time, may have despaired of ever being able to become a Saint. Divine Mercy Sunday is God’s gift to them so that they can be forgiven, healed, and made holy. Other fallen away Catholics, those who don’t see much wrong with their immoral actions, even those the Church calls mortal sins, can also find the supernatural graces that they have been unwittingly missing out on. Come back to Mass next Sunday and stay for the afternoon prayers. Confess your sins. Pray for Divine Mercy. Then the next time you attend Mass (assuming that you don’t fall back into mortal sin before then!) you will be able to receive Holy Communion—that is, Jesus Christ Himself—in a State of Grace. Jesus promises, through His Church, that your soul will be pure once again. He loves you that much. Before ending, I want to make one very important item clear. Some people don’t believe that Saint Faustina’s Diary, regardless of what was proclaimed by the now-Sainted John Paull II, is a trustworthy source of Jesus’ Divine Mercy message and they not only avoid participating in Divine Mercy devotions but also do a good job convincing others to refrain from participating as well. The clarification that I wish to impress upon you is that the plenary indulgence attached to participating in Divine Mercy Sunday prayer services and confession is specifically promulgated by the Church, note this well, without any demand that you do anything more than accept that the Church can make such a proclamation! Just as you can receive a plenary indulgence by praying a family rosary (along with the other usual conditions) even if you don’t believe that St. Dominic received the rosary from the Blessed Mother, so, too, with the Divine Mercy indulgence and St. Faustina. Yes, Holy Mother Church has said so and that should be enough for any Catholic to accept it as true. With prayers for your holiness, Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Holy Week!
I hope you realize that this weekend, when we celebrate Palm Sunday, begins what we call Holy Week. The Mass readings are long since we focus on the Passion of Our Lord, and Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday either have a changed Mass schedule or no Masses at all (this is real Catholic liturgical stuff, not the pastor’s whim!). Tenebrae prayer services happen three times, extra confessions are scheduled, the Masses and services are complicated and the priests and staff are busy, busy, busy, trying to make sure they know what they are doing for these important once-a-year celebrations. On Tuesday there is a special 11:00 am Mass, the Chrism Mass, held at the Cathedral of St. Jude, to which all of you are invited, during which the Bishop blesses the three different oils that will be used for several sacraments during the rest of the year, the priests renew their promises, and our beloved Fr. Pierre Dorvil will be recognized for celebrating his 40th anniversary to the priesthood. Please find elsewhere in the bulletin the schedule for the week. Hopefully, we will have all of the times printed correctly. If you don’t pay attention to changes, you, along with a couple of other unfortunate people, will show up on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday morning expecting Mass when there isn’t one. Should you dare to ring the doorbell at the rectory or call/text a priest asking, “Where is everybody?” one or more of those mornings, you will not get a very nice reception! In past years I have put the schedule in this space along with my explanations of the meaning of—and reason for—each extra service; we have put the schedule on the front of the bulletin; we have put the schedule inside the bulletin; we have put the schedule on three pages of our website; and we have put the schedule out via farcebook and email, yet we always have dozens or more people calling the office or our cell phones asking for the schedule, complaining that they drove all the way in only to miss something, or worse, while holding in their hands the parish bulletin in which they found the office phone number and in which the times are clearly printed in several places, they ask what time something will be. Just to drive this point home, here are some of the highlights of the week: We have three Tenebrae prayer services, the first on Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm, the second on Good Friday at 6:30 am, and the third on Holy Saturday, also at 6:30 am. The only Mass on Holy Thursday is the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 pm, followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until midnight. There is no Mass on Good Friday, but Adoration of the Cross and a Communion Service will begin at 3:00 pm. The traditional Blessing of the Easter Baskets will take place in the church at 10:30 am sharp on Holy Saturday. We have several people coming into the Church at the Easter Vigil and Mass, which begins at 8:00 pm that evening, and they will be receiving the Sacraments of Initiation, namely, Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion. That Mass is the first Mass of Easter, and, yes, you do fulfill your Easter Sunday obligation if you attend it, although you are more than welcome to come back again the next morning when the normal Sunday Mass schedule will be in effect. 7:30 am low Mass and 10:30 am High Mass, in case you forgot! And now, looking back a week, I want to thank all of the many, many, people who did so much to make Archbishop Cordileone’s visit and Mass work so smoothly. We had a lighter crowd than on normal Sundays, similar to the last two Pontifical Solemn High Masses we held here, for many people decided once again to skip the crowds and attend Mass elsewhere. They don’t know what they missed! Of course, most of you don’t know all of what you missed, either, even if you were here, for much more happens than most people realize. Some of it is practice for the priests and altar boys, some of it is all the behind-the-scenes work making all of the arrangements for transportation, rooms, decorations, vestments, food, etc., and some of it is probably minor demonic activity. Let me give you two examples of that last type. During the time after the Mass when everyone was waiting to greet the Archbishop, one young boy, in the ladies' room with his mother, dutifully washing his hands after using the facilities, was suddenly doused with water as a pipe burst through the wall under the sink. When I was told of it, my first question/statement was, “Please, tell me that it was a water pipe and not a sewage pipe!” Fortunately for all involved, it was clean water. But it meant that we had to turn off all of the water to the school (where everyone was, of course) until we could get it fixed the next day. A couple of hours later, after all of the photographs were taken and everyone was clearing out, the priests finally got a chance to head back to the rectory for a quick sit-down before having to head out for the Archbishop’s next talk. The upstairs air conditioner was on the fritz and it was already 86 degrees in the bedrooms. The demons just can’t stand the extra holiness this special visit brought to us so they have to do something—anything—to try to mess things up! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone
The following information about our esteemed visitor follows, having been shamelessly lifted directly from his own archdiocesan website, paragraphication edited only to make it fit here. Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone Salvatore J. Cordileone was born in San Diego on June 5, 1956 to Leon and Mary Cordileone, who raised their family in Blessed Sacrament Parish. Salvatore was the second son and the third of their four children. Family history and youth Archbishop Cordileone’s grandparents were from Sicily; his paternal grandfather was a fisherman and his maternal grandfather, Salvatore, a farmer. His paternal uncle, Joe, died in World War II. The Archbishop’s father, Leon Cordileone, was born in San Francisco. He moved with his family to San Diego when he was four. Later, he worked with his three brothers in the family commercial fishing business and later bought his own albacore fishing boat. Mary, the Archbishop’s mother, was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, the oldest of four sisters. In 1947 she and her family moved to San Diego where she met Leon. The two were married on November 13, 1949. Salvatore attended public grammar and high schools and was an active participant in after-school religion classes and high school music programs, including the concert band, marching band and stage band. He graduated from San Diego’s Crawford High School in June 1974. A call to priesthood The following December, during his first year of college at San Diego State University, he was encouraged by a young parish priest he respected to attend a seminary vocation retreat. It was during this first year that the Archbishop discerned his call to the priesthood, entering St. Francis Seminary and transferring as a sophomore to the University of San Diego. Salvatore Cordileone graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in Philosophy. He was accepted to study in Rome and continued in the seminary at the Pontifical North American College. He received an undergraduate degree in Sacred Theology in 1981 from the Pontifical Gregorian University and the following year returned to San Diego to be ordained and begin his first pastoral assignment. From pastor to monsignor to bishop On July 9, 1982, Bishop Leo T. Maher ordained the Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone. Soon thereafter, he became associate pastor at St. Martin of Tours Parish in La Mesa, where he remained for three years. In 1985 he was again sent to Rome, this time to study the new Code of Canon Law. He spent the next four years again at the Gregorian University completing his doctoral degree. Upon Father Cordileone’s return to San Diego in 1989, he became secretary to Coadjutor Bishop Robert Brom, and a year later became adjunct judicial vicar. Pastoral work called to him again in 1991 and he became pastor of Calexico’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, four blocks from the Mexican border. In 1995 he was called to Rome and for the next seven years served as assistant at the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest canonical court. On July 5, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed then-Monsignor Cordileone as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego. He was ordained a bishop on August 21, 2002 by Bishop Brom. In addition to serving on the various consultative bodies of the diocese during his years as auxiliary of San Diego, Bishop Cordileone also chaired the Corporate Board of Catholic Charities and was a member of the University of San Diego Board of Trustees, serving on its Academic Affairs and Mission and Vision Committees. The Archbishop of San Francisco On March 23, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Cordileone as the fourth Bishop of Oakland. His Mass of Installation was celebrated on May 5, 2009 at the Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland. Three years later, on July 27, 2012, he was appointed the Archbishop of San Francisco and was installed on October 4, 2012, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. As the new Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of San Francisco, Archbishop Cordileone received the pallium from Pope Francis in Rome on June 29, 2013. Archbishop Cordileone is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth and also of its Committee for Canonical Affairs and Church Governance. He currently serves as well on the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, Subcommittee on the Catechism, and Eucharistic Revival Bishops’ Advisory Group. In addition, the Archbishop serves on a number of boards to support Church efforts beyond the USCCB, including the Catholic Benefits Association/Catholic Insurance Company, Cross Catholic Outreach Board of Directors, the Courage Apostolate Episcopal Board, the Governing Board of the International Theological Institute in Trumau, Austria, and is a founding member of the Episcopal Advisory Board of the Catholic Healthcare Leaders Association. The Archbishop also serves as the Prior of the American Delegation of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. Archbishop Cordileone’s avocations include a life-long interest in jazz music. He also enjoys swimming, hiking and badminton, as well as spectator sports, especially professional baseball and football. From the Pastor: St. Patrick’s Day Approaches!
Next Sunday, March 17, although technically “Passion Sunday” this year, is sure to be overshadowed by that great “Irish” Saint, Patrick. And, because most of us are about as Irish as St. Patrick, we will celebrate it to the max here by having a special guest celebrant, one whose family has deep Irish roots, at the 10:30 am Mass. Yes, Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, whose first, middle, and last names are all dead giveaways to his Celtic ancestry, is coming from that most Irish of all Archdioceses in the States, San Francisco, which everyone knows is Gaelic for “another once-holy city destroyed by leftists.” I have heard from respectable sources that he will be wearing his fancy green cassock, which color, believe it or not, was the proper color for all bishops until the 16th century, at which time the anti-Irish backlash from the neighboring country of Amaranthia, which abuts the western border of Ireland, forced the bishops to renounce their honorary, if not actual, Irish ancestry and change their garb from “Irish green” to “Amaranth red.” To not be accused of being “too traditional,” the good Archbishop’s green cassock will have amaranth red buttons and piping, which also serves to poke a good-natured finger in the eyes of all of the leftist Amaranthians, as it naturally brings to mind the colors of another holy day they truly despise, Christmas, which, if lest ye forget, is another very Irish liturgical holy day, for Saint Nicholas is as Irish as green beer. Unfortunately, since it is still Lent, the Archbishop insisted on leading Compline (Night Prayer) and giving a talk on Saturday evening rather than the big shamrock-themed bash I had been planning. I had to cancel the Irish dancers and send back (some of) the cases of Jameson I had ordered. I knew I should have checked the calendar ahead of time! Oh, well, I guess I can blame it on old age now. Before I forget even more things, I had better write that his prayer and talk will begin Saturday night, March 16, at 7:00 in the church. After that, there will be some light refreshments (kale chips, seaweed crackers, and “I can’t believe it’s not real meat-balls” are all probably on the Lenten snack menu) and a little time for informal chats with this holy man. As a reminder for those who have been here for the past couple of Pontifical Solemn High Masses and as new information for those who were not preset, there are a few “odd” things that must necessarily happen on that Sunday. First of all, remember that there will be no confessions that day. The priests will all be busy with getting ready for the Mass and the functions after the Mass. Secondly, after the 7:30 am Mass we will have to ask everyone to please leave the church after just the briefest of prayers of thanksgiving when Mass is concluded. We have to get everything set up for the Mass and we can’t have the people in our way while we work. It also keeps the first Mass from being packed with 800 people who have no intention of really praying that Mass but are simply camping out to get their choice seat at the next one. So bring an umbrella, for you may need one while standing outside whether you are protecting yourself from the driving rain or the beating sun. Third, the coffee and donuts will be served outside behind the church for all of you who didn’t give up either or both of those for Lent. Fifth, after the 10:30 Solemn Pontifical Mass is done, the Archbishop will have a most meager meal (he eats “vegan” for Lent, something you may wish to emulate next Lent, as that certainly is a penance! The hardest part of this type of fast, although I am assured that the Archbishop has managed, with many supernatural graces pouring forth from Heaven, to avoid such things, must certainly be finding yourself, much against your Catholic will, incessantly bragging about the benefits of the poor health and lack of friends that come as the result of the vegan lifestyle, and the inevitable disdain for all of those despicable people who eat “unnatural” things like steaks, that so smugly comes across what’s left of every vegan’s mind as he chows down on his made-in-the-test-tube “Implausible Burger.” But I digress...) After a quick bite of Lenten suffering, Archbishop Cordileone will move to the parish room where he will greet anyone who wishes to come and say a few words of welcome or get a photo with him. To close out this article, and not a bit too soon, I just want to point out to any gullible people reading this that, although the basic information, such as Archbishop Cordileone coming next weekend and the times he will be publicly praying, speaking, celebrating Mass, and greeting the people are correct in the above paragraphs, you had to wade through a whole lot of blarney to get to the essential truths contained therein. After all, this current Sunday is Laetare (Rejoice) Sunday, so don’t take it too seriously! One last thing I forgot to mention (did I tell you that I am old now?) is that we will be taking up a completely optional, or “free will” offering next week as a second collection in case anyone wishes to help defray some of the costs that the Fraternal Society of St. John the Apostle incurs in organizing such wonderfully holy Pontifical Masses. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Dom Guéranger on Lent
One of my most often used books, or, rather, series of books, is Dom Guéranger’s The Liturgical Year. He was the abbot of Solesmes from 1837-1875 and in 1841 he began to write what would become a 15-volume series about the treasures of the, needless to say, Church’s liturgical year. For the past few weeks, I have been fielding many questions about the changes to the Church’s discipline concerning fast and abstinence during Lent. Why did we use to abstain from meat throughout Lent? Were eggs and milk allowed? Why was the fast all day and the one meal only at night? Did we really fast every day except Sunday? Could we eat the “forbidden foods” on Sunday since it wasn’t a fast day? These and so many more are all great questions, and I myself never knew the answers to any of them until I started delving into the differences between current and traditional practices. I still don’t know all of the answers, and I certainly cannot tell you which rules were changed in which years, but Dom Guéranger certainly answers a whole lot of questions like this. I can’t print everything here, but here is a nice little part (he writes much, much more) of his explanation of the disciplines of Lent in his day and in ancient practice. The rest of this article is his. Enjoy! Lent, then, is a time consecrated, in an especial manner, to penance; and this penance is mainly practised by Fasting. Fasting is an abstinence, which man voluntarily imposes upon himself, as an expiation for sin, and which, during Lent, is practised in obedience to the general law of the Church. According to the actual discipline of the Western Church, the Fast of Lent is not more rigorous than that prescribed for the Vigils of certain Feasts, and for the Ember Days; but it is kept up for Forty successive Days, with the single interruption of the intervening Sundays. We deem it unnecessary to show the importance and advantages of Fasting. The Sacred Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, are filled with the praises of this holy practice. The traditions of every nation of the world testify the universal veneration, in which it has ever been held; for there is not a people, nor a religion, how much soever it may have lost the purity of primitive traditions, which is not impressed with this conviction, - that man may appease his God by subjecting his body to penance. St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, and St. Gregory the Great, make the remark, that the commandment put upon our First Parents, in the earthly paradise, was one of Abstinence; and that it was by their not exercising this virtue, that they brought every kind of evil upon themselves and us their children. The life of privation, which the king of creation had thenceforward to lead on the earth, - (for the earth was to yield him nothing of its own natural growth, save thorns and thistles,) - was the clearest possible exemplification of the law of penance, imposed by the anger of God on rebellious man. During the two thousand and more years, which preceded the Deluge, men had no other food than the fruits of the earth, and these were only got by the toil of hard labour. But when God, as we have already observed, mercifully shortened man’s life, (that so he might have less time and power for sin), - he permitted him to eat the flesh of animals, as an additional nourishment in that state of deteriorated strength. It was then, also, that Noah, guided by a divine inspiration, extracted the juice of the grape, which thus formed a second stay for human debility. Fasting, then, is the abstaining from such nourishments as these, which were permitted for the support of bodily strength. And firstly, it consisted in abstinence from flesh-meat, because it is a food that was given to man by God, out of condescension to his weakness, and not as one absolutely essential for the maintenance of life. Its privation, greater or less according to the regulations of the Church, is essential to the very notion of Fasting. Thus, whilst in many countries, the use of eggs, milk-meats, and even dripping and lard, is tolerated, - the abstaining from flesh-meat is everywhere maintained, as being essential to Fasting. For many centuries, eggs and milk-meats were not allowed, because they come under the class of animal food: even to this day, they are forbidden in the Eastern Churches, and are only allowed in the Latin Church by virtue of an annual dispensation. The precept of abstaining from flesh-meat is so essential to Lent, that even on Sundays, when the Fasting is interrupted, Abstinence is an obligation, binding even on those who are dispensed from the fasts of the week, unless there be a special dispensation granted for eating meat on the Sundays. In the early ages of Christianity, Fasting included also the abstaining from Wine, as we learn from St. Cyril of Jerusalem [Catech. iv], St. Basil [Homil. i. De Jejunio], St. John Chrysostom [Homil. iv. Ad populum Antioch.], Theophilus of Alexandria [Litt. Pasch, iii], and others. In the West, this custom soon fell into disuse. The Eastern Christians kept it up much longer, but even with them it has ceased to be considered as obligatory. Lastly, Fasting includes the depriving ourselves of some portion of our ordinary food, inasmuch as it only allows the taking of one meal during the day. Though the modifications introduced from age to age in the discipline of Lent, are very numerous, yet the points we have here mentioned belong to the very essence of Fasting, as is evident from the universal practice of the Church. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Oops! And Other Things
It is not a good idea to be one’s own proofreader, but that is a necessary thing most of the time. In my article about the 1962 rules of fast and abstinence, I somehow inserted part of the “partial abstinence” rules into the “complete abstinence” rules. The corrected version with the correction in bold, is this (although I am my own proofreader once again, so I may have to do yet another correction!): COMPLETE ABSTINENCE, which forbids the eating of meat, and soup or gravy made from meat, is required on: all Fridays, Ash Wednesday, Holy Saturday, the Vigil of the Assumption, and the Vigil of Christmas. (Current: only Ash Wednesday, Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday.) People who read the “oops” version knew something was wrong when “complete abstinence” allowed meat eating! Nicely, they didn’t bring it up to me, probably because those who point out typos and other little mistakes in the bulletin usually hear my response, “Thank you! We need a volunteer with your talent to take on the task of putting the bulletin together each week. When can you start?” That is usually the end of the complaints! Of course, this one was more than a little typo, so I am glad to print a retraction. Don’t eat meat or meat products on days of complete abstinence! On a different topic, some of the newer parishioners didn’t understand the complete intent of the ECCW’s “Prayers and Pennies for Sisters and Semmies” cans which we encouraged them to take home. A few cans came back the first week. One man I spoke with thought that it was just a collection, like the Bishop’s Catholic Ministry Appeal, so he put some money in it and handed it right back. I pointed to the photos on the can showcasing the young men and women from Epiphany Parish who are currently in various stages of formation. Currently, we have four men and five women studying, praying, and discerning their Religious vocation in various Religious Orders. Both the number and the individuals vary year to year as some discern that Religious life is not their calling, others eagerly enter to begin the process, and some “graduate” through ordination or vows. We ask for prayers for them all year but during Lent, we put a special focus on them with these containers. We ask that you place the can in the middle of the dining room table, or your “prayer space” in your house, or wherever the family gathers on a daily basis where they can talk about vocations, pray for those in formation, donate money to their expenses as they continue their discernment, and, while doing so, perhaps even discuss personal vocations among family members. Seeing others joyfully in formation to be Brothers, Sisters, or Priests helps instill a sense of longing to listen to God’s call and answer in a way pleasing to Him. The vocation of most people will be married life. Seeing that as a vocation helps to ward off temptations to enter marriage for the lesser reasons to get married, such as “just doing what everyone else is doing,” or “I never heard of any other options,” or just plain ol’ lust. (It can also remind husbands and wives that their marriage is a chosen vocation, not to be treated lightly or discarded when married life seems too hard) Seeing people from our own parish (and most parishes don’t have anyone at all in formation, so we are very blessed in this regard) who have made the leap of faith to say “Here am I, Lord” and give up all worldly desires in order to love Him above all things, is quite a way of seeing a religious vocation as a blessing to be accepted joyfully! So, pray daily for these young men and women, talk about vocations, and pray that the donation you make for this appeal will help the Church and the world more than any of us can possibly imagine. As an aside, it seems that a good number of cans in previous years never came back. Please remember that we have to purchase these cans, so every lost one has a financial cost. A can returned empty is better than a can thrown away. Since I mentioned the Bishop’s Catholic Ministry Appeal above, now is a good time to once again thank all of you who donated to it last year. We met and exceeded our goal and the Bishop will use that money (for the projects you chose) for diocesan expenses that he explains in the literature he sends to all registered parishioners each year. This year’s CMA is underway already. It is a yearly collection so it never actually disappears. Kind of like an electric bill. And just about as important to pay, I might add, except this one pleases the Bishop more! Our assigned goal, pledges, and donations are listed each week elsewhere in the bulletin. This year’s goal has only modestly increased, to $128,653.00. Allow me to gush over how welcome this is compared to the past few years’ drastic increases, the same way government officials exuberantly tout the current decrease in the increasing rate of inflation. Our increase shows that we are a strong parish. The smallness of the increase shows that other parishes may finally be rebounding from their ghastly (and largely self-inflicted) covid numbers, which is a great relief for everyone who cares about the souls lost due to clerical mismanagement of the Church during those past years. Perhaps the lost sheep are finally returning to the fold. Anyway, your CMA donations can be made online or via the envelopes in the back of the church if you haven’t already used the one sent to you in the mail. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Must I Give Up Something For Lent?
I am constantly asked about rules and regulations for what to give up for Lent. Must I give up something every day? What about Birthdays and Holidays? How about Sundays? If I give up something and then eat it (a food I gave up) or do it (an activity I gave up) is it a mortal sin or a venial sin? Can I get a dispensation for eating/doing something I gave up but didn’t take into account “this” particular day or circumstance? Can I exclude those times/dates/circumstances in my own determination of what I am giving up or is that cheating? I am sure that not only do you get the picture (and these questions are by no means exhaustive) but that you have probably at least thought about asking something similar even if you never actually did ask! This shows one of the problems that arise when traditions are changed instead of being held onto dearly. I have a calendar in front of me from The Seraphim Company, Inc. that has, on the page labeled, “Calendar Guide and Information,” a subheading of, “Fast and Abstinence.’ In this section, they list the traditional rules (1962, I am guessing) and the current rules. Should you choose to read further, where I list them, you will see that the rules changed drastically. You can find the current rules in these three documents: Pope Paul's Constitution Poenitemini, Code of Canon Law (cc. 1249-1253), and the USCCB's Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence. Without space here to quote these documents in full, I will simply reproduce for you the traditional fast and abstinence as listed on the calendar, interspersed with the current one in red, and offer a few comments and suggestions.
You don’t need 20/20 vision to see that the changes have drastically changed Lent by removing most of the former Lenten penance. Yet in the Bishops’ document cited above, they state that with these changes, “we hope that the observance of Lent as the principal season of penance in the Christian year will be intensified. This is the more desirable because of new insights...” Yes, their new insights are that Lent becomes more penitential if it becomes less penitential! While you may keep the traditional practices, you would be without sin if you kept the current practice of doing almost nothing penitential for Lent. But would you be benefitting to the same degree? I think not. And the majority of Catholics in this society instinctively know it. That is why they choose other penitential practices to voluntarily undergo during Lent. Giving up sweets, alcohol, TV, or Social Media, for instance, is not listed anywhere that I know of in the current regulations. So we are all left on our own to figure out how to make Lent (or any other time of the liturgical year, for that matter) more spiritual than the very basic and, dare I say, even pitiable, current penitential requirements of the Church. All of that leads back to the answer to the above questions. Choose something that will make you more holy and do your best. The Church seems to have abandoned you to your own devices, so choose wisely, challenge yourself, and take on whatever penance you think will help your soul conquer your bodily impulses. That is what will allow you to have a good and holy Lent and, ultimately, through the grace of God, to help others and yourself to become Saints. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Battling Demons
The diocese recently offered priests and deacons an opportunity to learn a little about the proper procedure for expelling demons from people and places. It was quite helpful to get clarity on some of the “whats” “whys” and “hows” of demonic obsession, oppression, and possession. Most of the time the priests, deacons, and, I would dare to guess, bishops, have had absolutely no training in any of this and so we just have to wing it when needed. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it can even make a bad situation worse because the demons know the limits of our authority to command them. If we even inadvertently overstep the boundaries of our authority, they cease obeying us. One memorable time when a couple of priests and lay people, in a massive crowd of others who were already deep in prayer, had to “wing it” on the spot took place during a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France in the fall of 2010. The feast of Our Lady of Lourdes just happens to be next Sunday, so I thought that pulling out an old article I wrote about it at the time might be interesting to you today. Last week I told you of the gift of prayer time which our stop at Lourdes afforded us. The Torchlight Marian Procession showed us in a very vivid manner why this time of intense prayer was so essential. Nighttime at Lourdes brings about a very inspirational gathering of all the pilgrims down at the Grotto where the Blessed Mother appeared to Bernadette. Pilgrims carrying lit candles are invited to join the procession as a statue of Our Lady is carried along the path leading to the Basilica. The night we first went down to join in this prayer there were thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of pilgrims present. There were so many people, in fact, that joining the procession was completely out of the question. We could not even get halfway into the square in front of the Basilica, let alone get anywhere near the Grotto, before we became part of the pack of pilgrims forced to simply stand in one place, pray, and wait for the procession to come to us. Off to our right in the distance, a stage was set up with huge speakers that broadcast the Rosary prayers. Large screens showed videos of some sort every once in a while which I guessed were meditations on the particular mystery upon which we were meditating. Trees were blocking my view so I never got a good look at the stage or screen but I didn’t bother vying for a better spot since I was not there for “movie night.” And, as it turned out, the place I was standing was where I was most needed. Huge gatherings of people reverently praying often bring out evil along with the good. Mentally unbalanced people, looking for attention and knowing pilgrims will treat them with love and compassion, often act out in strange ways. Demons, who cannot tolerate this prayerful love of God and neighbor, also manifest themselves as they attempt to either escape this “torment” or at least disrupt it and discourage people to the extent of their wicked abilities. We were witness to one such case that night. A woman came running through the crowd, which parted much as the Red Sea at the touch of Moses’ staff, wailing, flailing, spitting, cursing, and retching. For no apparent reason, she stopped very near to where we were standing. It seemed that the strength we garnered in prayer was going to be put to the test. I asked the Blessed Mother and St. Bernadette to use the prayers of all of us gathered to help this poor woman. As I extended my right hand in prayer over her, I closed my eyes to try to block out all distractions and began exorcism prayers. It was next to impossible to determine if this woman was mentally unbalanced or truly possessed but either way, she needed our help. I prayed for her deliverance from this spiritual or mental evil that was afflicting her and I could hear several women in our group continually praying the St. Michael prayer. For a long time, she acted like a wild animal in a cage as the hand of God kept her planted in this one place so that we could pray over her. But eventually and quite suddenly she became calm, as if demons had been expelled and she was finally at peace. Less than a minute later the police arrived to find, not a wild, out-of-control troubled woman in danger of hurting herself and others, but rather a rational, peaceful woman at least seemingly joining the crowd in prayer. After determining that there was nothing they could or needed to do, the police quietly left and the woman remained with us and “with it” for the duration of the Rosary. Had she been possessed and was now free of demons? Had she been cured of mental illness? Or was she simply acting and knew when to stop the act so that she wouldn’t be arrested? Though we may never know for sure, without our prior time of prayer the first two of these possibilities may have been impossible to accomplish. With prayers for your holiness, Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Addressing the Pope
Last week I asked the people at the 7:30 Mass to write letters in a way similar to what was done when the parishioners wrote letters of support to Bishop Parkes. Similarly, mind you, not exactly the same way, for the letters to our Bishop were letters of support when he mistakenly thought that we didn’t support him. This week, through this bulletin article, I am asking the people at the other Masses to also take pen in hand and put it to paper. The Bishop to whom these new letters should be addressed resides in Rome. Unlike Bishop Parkes, Francis doesn’t see the value of allowing anyone, not just us at this parish, to celebrate or attend Mass in the Traditional Latin form. For this reason, I don’t ask you to send him letters of support, for he may think you support his desire to take that away from us. But I do ask you to send a letter explaining to him how the Traditional Latin Mass has changed your life for the better. Please don’t make up stories or even embellish your own personal experience with the Mass. Just write a nice letter telling him what it has done for your Catholic faith, for your understanding of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, how it has brought your family more deeply into the family of the Church, or any other way that it has opened your eyes to the Glory of God as expressed in Traditional liturgy. Let me here repeat what I said last week about writing such letters. I don’t know if any of them will get through to him for I don’t know what system is in place to allow some things to pass through and some to be blocked. There must be a system, though, for he cannot possibly read every piece of mail that gets sent to him. But I do know that if any of the “mail sorters” are anti-TLM and they see a nasty, cruel, belligerent letter coming in among hundreds of heartwarming and thoughtfully loving letters, that one horrible letter will be the one that gets placed squarely in the front and center of the desk. Don’t write such a letter! Don’t complain about anything. Don’t whine about anything. Don’t berate anyone. Just say something about how the TLM has helped you to become more holy and loving, more Catholic, and more likely to become a Saint. If even one such a letter gets through it has the possibility of changing his heart. It should go without saying that I am asking you to pray as you write it, pray as you send it, and prayerfully ask your guardian angel to help ward off any demons who wish to misdirect your letter or have it misinterpreted. Maybe the person soring mail will be a friend of Tradition and two hundred or more letters written from this one parish, from mature ladies and teenage girls, from little boys and elderly men, from the pastor and from the newbie who just wandered in for the first time, could all wind up in Francis’ hands. It won’t happen if you don’t send in a letter and you cannot send one in if you don’t write it. By the time these letters get to the Vatican and get processed, we will be down to approximately one year of life left in the parish with a possibility of an extension of this “generous” two-year exemption granted us before we have to cease doing the very thing that brought life back to the parish in 2015. Why not put personal stories out there to be seen by the one man who wields the power? Of course, most people have no idea how to address the letter or the envelope, so here is the proper protocol: The salutation on the letter should be “Your Holiness” or “Most Holy Father”. The complimentary closing should be “Respectfully yours.” The envelope should be addressed to: His Holiness Pope Francis 00120 Vatican City Europe It seems that thousands of packages, letters, and messages get delivered there each day. The chances of our letters getting through seem astronomically slim. Yet I believe that this is a worthwhile endeavor. After all, it is worth it if each of us has to express in writing just how much we have been changed for the better since discovering the Traditional Latin Mass. If we can explain it to Francis, we will better be able to explain it to our skeptical neighbors and friends. It is worth it for those sorting the Vatican mail, too, for certainly they will see their fair share of complaints and gripes, so seeing good news will bring them welcome relief. Finally, to use an image that is well-known to all of us, both young and old, as the Grinch’s heart grew and he fully embraced Christmas, perhaps this prayerful venture will have the same effect on Francis’ heart and he will fully embrace Traditional Catholicism. After all, celebrating the sacraments in their Traditional form, especially the Mass, has given me insights into the priesthood which I never knew I lacked. I am just an insignificant parish priest. I hear stories all the time about how individuals and families have loved God and His Church more fully after embracing the TLM, sometimes after long battles of kicking against the goad! Wouldn’t it be lovely to see the same result in Rome? Get out your best paper, ink, crayons, or whatever writing instruments you own, and get those letters out! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Thank You, God, For Good Timing!
Last weekend was quite different than I had expected, all because of a little issue with (or, rather, without) water. It all started sometime Friday afternoon. We had water shortly after noon when I was washing my lunch dishes. But sometime later that afternoon Fr. Dorvil announced that there was no water coming out of the kitchen faucet. A quick check showed that the entire rectory was without water. I walked to the school. No water there. I checked the church. Again, no water. We don’t know when it went out but we had the JMJ homeschool group here until at least two o’clock and never heard any complaints from them so we assume it was sometime after they left. As I walked back out of the church I heard the sound of cars out front driving through water, which would have been a normal noise had it been raining, but such was not the case. I walked out there to see water gushing out from under the sidewalk outside of our fence. The water was coming from both sides of the slab of concrete with enough force that it was actually pushed up higher than the other adjoining sections and running out onto Hanna Avenue down toward the train tracks. I quickly went back to the rectory and called the water department to report a water main break. The woman on the other end of the phone line said that since it was gushing from under the city sidewalk next to the street, she would put it in as an emergency and a repair truck would be there shortly. A couple of hours later the city repairman got there and, after a long search, finally found the water shutoff valve and meter box under the water in the small strip between the sidewalk and the street. He siphoned the water out of the newly made holes and dug the mud out to reveal the water pipe. Then he gave me the bad news. Even though the broken pipe was obviously outside of our property boundaries, because it was on our side of the meter box, it was our problem to deal with, not the city’s. He was sympathetic to our predicament as he had been watching all of the cars coming in to drop off teens for our youth group meeting. When he heard that our weekend schedule included Saturday morning Mass, Adult Catechism Class, baptisms and another evening Mass, and then another 800 or more people coming in for Sunday Masses and activities, he called his supervisor and asked him to come and see if they could do anything for us. The supervisor did come by a while later but he answer was, “Sorry, but we can’t help you. You’ll have to call your own plumber” I put in a call and left a message with Dyser Plumbing, the best plumbing company I have had the pleasure of dealing with as a priest. Then I sent out a text message and email via Flocknote warning people that we had no water anywhere on campus. I canceled the class but not the Masses and left the baptisms up to the parents. Mr. Dyser called back and apologized that he had allowed his “extra” plumbers to take some vacation time after a long, hard holiday season and had nobody to send. (Mr. Dyser also called again Sunday morning apologizing for “letting us down” and offering to make it up to us. He really is a great man and certainly didn’t let us down by taking care of his employees.) By Saturday morning parishioners were in motion doing things that needed to be done. We had people calling plumbers everywhere from Dade City to Sun City Center, yet none could be found to come to our assistance. Several people managed to find porta-potty companies that could deliver a couple on short notice so that we would at least have minimal toilet facilities before the Vigil Mass began. A plumber (Emory of Emory M. Garland Plumbing, who turned out to be another delightful Christian plumber willing to go the extra mile to get our water running again before Sunday “services”) was finally found by one of our contractors, who also came out with one of his men to cut through the sidewalk to get to the pipe. It turns out that the sidewalk was a fresh slab of concrete put down by the city after they changed the connection of our water pipes to a new meter and a new connection to their water main when they were doing work on the system while putting in the new City Center across the street. It was their newly installed pipe that snapped. We will see if they can reimburse us for our expenses since it seems they installed that section of pipe improperly. Meanwhile, another parishioner brought about twenty five-gallon buckets filled with water so that we could flush toilets if needed on Sunday. The Knights of Columbus, without their knowledge, were going to refill the buckets from Epiphany Arms next door as needed. Other parishioners offered meals for the priests if needed. The coffee and donut people had to cancel our donut order because the deadline came before the plumber did. The website got updates on the progress, as did our farcebook page and flocknote. More people did more things than I could have ever imagined. Thank you all. Finally, about 5:45 am Sunday morning, I turned on the water, flushed out the pipes, and everything held together! But that is not why I titled this column “Thank You, God, For Good Timing!” Just imagine what would have happened if the pipe burst just one week earlier! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Prayers and Thanks
Later this week many members of our Youth Group, along with their chaperones and fearless leader Jamiee, will be making the trek to the March for Life. Please keep them all in your prayers as they spend days on end praying for an end to abortion. When I ask for prayers for them, specifically I am asking for prayers against the demonic forces they will be encountering. Fortunately for them, they will be in a huge group of (mostly) holy people, each of whose guardian angel will be doing much to protect them. But they will also be in the midst of a huge swarm of demons who are hell-bent on keeping our collective USA mindset securely on “practical matters” of this world and completely ignoring the immorality of both the acts leading to “unplanned” pregnancy and the “termination” (a politically correct word if there ever was one) of said pregnancy. And, since child sacrifice, which is what abortion is at its core, is pleasing to Satan, he will send legions of demons, those already surrounding our spineless pro-abort politicians and those who vote for them, as well as many others normally on other “assignments.” Imagine, if you will, the demons brought with carloads of protesters who try to intimidate the pro-life Youth, those accompanying the security personnel waiting anxiously to throw pro-life Youth out of the Smithsonian and other government buildings, those accompanying the pro-abort media (as if there are any other kind) and even those tempting the bishops to denounce their own children when demonic false accusations arise against them, all of which have happened in recent years. Without the good angels accompanying the Youth and adults, without the prayers of the people back home in parishes, without the priests and religious at the March for Life and back home, the children would have no chance of surviving with their souls intact. But with all of the Good, they will not only survive but thrive. They will return more convinced than ever of the need for their own, not just others’, purity and virtue. They will become more and more convinced that demons are real, that God and angels are real, and that the Catholic Church is the only means of salvation. Although they will also realize that it can take years, nay, even decades of prayer and action before enough hearts are converted to make a large difference in the overall mindset of abortion as a “good” or a “necessary evil”, they will also realize that individuals can be converted, can repent, can mourn past sins, and can be reconciled with God just by the seemingly non-productive witness given by the group and by the individuals within the group. Pray for their holiness! Pray for their safety in body and soul! Pray for those they will touch spiritually by their willingness to give this small part of their lives to God. While they are on their March, a group of our Troops of St. George will also be on a trip, albeit one somewhat closer to home. They will be on a campout at Lithia Springs. They can use your prayers as well, so don’t neglect to include them as you pray for the Youth Group. On their campouts, the boys learn a lot about discipline and taking responsibility for their actions and for the well-being of the group. By learning such things as advanced planning, setting up camp, cooking, and many other “manly” activities, they will also grow in their pro-life Catholicism. For when they learn what a real Catholic man is expected to do, how he is to act, how he is to treat others, how he is to pray always and everywhere, these boys will grow in virtues that are rarely talked about, not often seen in family or societal life anymore, and certainly not held in high esteem by a large segment of society. They will, of course, by learning how God expects males to think, act, and believe, then, in turn, treat females as God expects boys to treat girls, men to treat women, and husbands to treat wives. The virtues of chastity and sobriety, of reverence and gentlemanliness, of courage and fortitude will be a natural part of their lives. They will not see the opposite sex (or same sex) as play toys, but will rather see the joy of a life-time commitment to protecting and caring for a wife who will be a mother (after a sacramental marriage, not before) to their children, or how glorious it is to be a Father or Brother in the religious life. They will uphold Traditional Catholic morality rather than despise it or ignore it or wish it would change. And, yes, these camping trips, combined with everything else they learn in this great organization, will set them on the path of holiness or, more accurately, keep them on it. My thanks go out to those who take the time and put in the energy needed to help parents raise holy children by running the Youth Group, Troops of St. George, and all of the other great organizations we have available at Epiphany. And, lest I neglect it, many thanks also go out to those who toiled so much to make our last weekend’s Epiphany Celebration such a wonderful occasion. Our Parish Feast Day brought so many blessings to us, those that we recognized and those that were just “infused” within us, due to the angels and Saints in Heaven watching over us and interceeding on our behalf as well as those saints-in-the-making who did the grunt work here on Earth. Thank you all and keep the prayers rising to Heaven! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Is Epiphany January 6 or 7? Yes!
The Church keeps two main liturgical calendars, one for the Novus Ordo and one for the Traditional Latin Mass. There are also other, lesser known, liturgical calendars followed by other Catholic Rites, and there are some variations within the calendars of various Religious Orders, but explaining all of those would be beyond the scope of this article. Since this is Epiphany of Our Lord Parish and we follow both calendars, I want to explain a little about the date upon which Epiphany falls, since it is one of the many times when the two calendars are not unified. In the 1962 calendar, Epiphany is always celebrated on January 6. This is the 12th day after Christmas. The Novus Ordo calendar, on the other hand, has transferred Epiphany to the following Sunday, regardless of the date. This year, the Solemnity of The Epiphany of the Lord on the Novus Ordo (1970) calendar falls on Sunday, January 7. So our strange calendar situation means that we will celebrate Epiphany on Saturday, January 6 at the TLM and again on Sunday, January 7 in the NOM. “But Father!” you might be thinking, “That’s not right! I read this article during the NOM on Saturday, January 6 and the priest was celebrating the Solemnity of The Epiphany of the Lord. Now I am re-reading it during the Sunday morning TLM on January 7 and the priest is celebrating the Mass of The Epiphany of the Lord today! I think you must have transposed the dates when you were explaining the differences in the calendars.” While I can easily see myself doing such a thing, in this particular case I got it right. I have even checked and rechecked just to be sure since it would be a horrible time to incorrectly write that I am correct even while acknowledging that the people are experiencing Masses being celebrated on the dates that I stated are not the proper dates for their particular calendar. Ohhh, my head is spinning. Yes, the NOM calendar says that January 7, not the 6th, is Epiphany, yet we celebrated it on January 6th anyway and we did so while following the calendar correctly. And, yes, the TLM calendar puts Epiphany on January 6, yet we, following that calendar properly, too, celebrated it on January 7. How now, brown cow? It turns out that there are quirks in both calendars. In the NOM calendar, although Sunday, January 7, is the date for Epiphany, the Vigil Mass, which, in this case was celebrated at 5:00 pm Saturday, January 6, is considered the anticipated Sunday Mass. So the Saturday evening Mass is the same as the Sunday Mass, hence, it was the Mass of The Epiphany of the Lord. If we had a NOM on Sunday, too, we would have celebrated the same Mass both days. As for the TLM, we celebrated it, as the calendar tells us to do, on Saturday, January 6 at the morning Mass. The quirk to this calendar is that it allows parishes to celebrate, as an external solemnity, the parish patronal feast day (Epiphany, for us) on either the preceding or following Sunday in addition to celebrating it on the proper date, if the pastor considers it to be beneficial to the people. I believe it to be beneficial, so we celebrated the same Mass on both days, even though it meant that the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph got bumped from the calendar. Whew! The “backward dates” were correct! Now that we have that straightened out, let me remind you that there was a special exorcism and blessing of salt and water during the evening of January 5. I only blessed several hundred gallons of the Epiphany Holy Water; there may be some left for you to take home if you missed that ceremony. There certainly will be plenty of specially blessed Epiphany chalk for you to take home to mark the lintels of your doors with the traditional Epiphany markings. This year it is written as 20 + C + M + B + 24, which is the current year, 2024, with crosses and the initials of the Three Kings (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar) between the first two digits and the last two digits. The CMB also stands for “Christus mansionem benedicat,” or “May Christ bless the house.” The Roman Ritual book of blessings allowed on Epiphany, along with the chalk, blessing of gold, incense, myrrh, and houses. We use frankincense and sometimes myrrh at the high Mass, so I am not giving it out, as I am sure none of you would wish to take anything home that should more properly give honor to Our Lord. And I forgot to purchase a thousand extra gold bars to bless and pass out to everyone. Maybe next year. Finally, everybody has different needs and desires for the size and type of house they want to live in, so I decided not to purchase one for each member of the congregation this year, so as to avoid the great arguments over “who gets what house” that erupted last year when I tried it for the first time. But I did manage to bless each house that you brought in for the blessing. If you missed doing so this year, it is not too soon to start making plans for next year! Happy Octave of Epiphany! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Aunt Irma Gets Blessed!
My Aunt Irma is a hoot. She is willing to do what others just dream of doing. Or wouldn’t ever dream of doing. Nonetheless, she is willing to go through with things others sometimes only wish that somebody would do. This Christmas she was telling us all about her latest plans and, I must admit, what she is doing is being as wise as a serpent while being as simple as a dove. Aunt Irma is courageously combating evil where others much stronger and seemingly capable than her, out of fear, fail to tread. She got her latest idea from Fiducia Supplicans, a document recently published by the Vatican’s expert on kissing. Aunt Irma claims to be a Latin scholar and she translated the title thusly: “'Supplicans' gives us the English 'suppliants' or 'beggars,' and 'Fiducia' is the Latin root for the once-popular dog name, 'Fido.' So a rough translation is 'Begging like a dog.'” She also provided a more vulgar translation, one that those in the know can smugly laugh about at their next “Guess My Pronouns” party and so will not be given here. After droning on for something like 4000 words about what a “blessing” is, the document finally got around to stating its true purpose, which is to give the green light to priests and bishops who pretend that God is pleased with the intimate relations of men/men and women/women whose activities used to be relegated to red light districts. Aunt Irma said that as she was reading it she was astounded by how it contradicted itself so blatantly about how “individuals” are often rightly blessed without demanding to know the status of their morality but then turned around and insisted that “couples” could/should be blessed even if it is known (no prying necessary) that they are living in “irregular” relationships. Of course, she recognized that that was only a pretext for the next logical step taken by the document and the reason it was written in the first place, the blessing, no questions asked or admitted, of unrepentant openly homosexual couples (not individuals). None of that surprised her but it did disappoint her. But when her Bishop came out with a wishy-washy non-commital defense of the document, one obviously written in hopes that he could edify his many “gay” priests and fellow bishops and not get himself “Stricklandized” by Rome, while trying to gaslight his faithful Catholic priests and people into thinking that if they just read the document as he had, they, too, would see that it doesn’t say what it says or mean what it means, she had enough. She immediately conceived her new mission: to show her Shepherd the ramifications of opening up a can of worms by allowing the blessing of evil. The first thing she did was to send her Bishop an edited version of a story found in the 14th chapter of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, re-rewritten in light of (or in the darkness of) Fiducia Supplicans. At that time Herod the Tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus. And he said to his servants: I hope this is another John the Baptist: and therefore mighty works won’t shew forth themselves in him. For Herod had rewarded John and bought him off, and put him into a position of power, because of Herodias, his brother’s wife. For John said to him: It is not lawful for thee to have her. But hey, man, what the heck. Let me give you two a blessing! And having a mind to put him in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, he synoded the people: because they esteemed him as a prophet. But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them: and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath, to give her whatsoever she would ask of him. But she being instructed before by her mother, said: Give my incestuous, erotic dancing the blessing of John the Baptist. And the king was struck giddy because of his oath, and he salivated with them that sat with him at table; he commanded it to be given. And he sent for John, who was entertaining a certain American Jesuit priest in the Praetorium. And his blessing was dished up like a sumptuous dessert: and it was given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother. And a New York TImes photographer just happened to be there to capture the whole thing and silence the naysayers. Of course, this was just the beginning. Next, she brought a beautiful Nativity Collection to the Cathedral so that the Bishop could bless it. This Fontanini set was quite stunning, except that the figures of Mary and Joseph had been replaced by two Pachamamas. When he saw that he was being photographed by an NYT reporter and hesitated to impart his blessing, she whipped out a leather-bound copy of his response to Fiducia Supplicans and asked him what the problem was. He quickly gave his non-liturgical blessing. A few days later, she showed up at the chancery with two of her lady friends, each wearing identical wedding dresses and sporting shiny, new rings. The thruple received a blessing in front of a limo with a “Just Married, Married, Married” sign. The ever-present Times photographer was also there because this was almost certainly as non-scandalous and spontaneous a request as could possibly be made. She plans to keep upping the ante by asking for blessings upon ever more disgusting “irregular” unions until the Bishop finally cracks. How long will it take before her Bishop issues a retraction of his initial response and speaks out against this latest divisive document? Stay tuned. And watch for news stories about an old woman with a tuxedo-wearing goat... With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Merry Christmas Vigil
This weekend’s bulletin will be available on the last day of Advent. Since Christmas falls on Monday this year, the rubrics of the 1962 liturgical calendar state that the Vigil of Christmas takes the place of the 4th Sunday of Advent. But the 1970 calendar says that it remains the 4th Sunday of Advent because it changed the definition of what a “vigil” is. I have already written more about that at other times but I wanted to put it in again for the sake of any visitors we may have who are confused about which Mass is being celebrated this weekend. The back-to-back Sunday/Christmas days also mean that we can finally decorate the Church for Christmas. Many of the new parishioners and visitors wonder why we have a Nativity scene out front all year but then no Christmas trees and blinking lights like everyone else has had since the weekend after Thanksgiving. The answer is quite simple. Advent is Advent and Christmas is Christmas. Combining them would be like hiding Easter eggs and eating jelly beans and chocolates all through Lent, celebrating Easter during those penitential Lenten days. Soon enough, there would be no distinction between the two, and the penances of Lent would disappear. Properly done, during Lent you practice the mortifications of fast and abstinence, and you don’t feast until Easter. The same is supposed to be done for these two related but distinct seasons, keeping the season of Advent as a time of preparation and the Christmas season (not just one day) as the time of celebration. But we have seen it morph into one big Christmas celebration and then the entire Christmas season is abandoned as the tree hits the curb on December 26. In the “old days,” Advent used to include daily fasting and Friday abstinence similar to Lent. By the 1962 calendar fasting was reduced to the three Ember Days of the third week, with partial abstinence on Ember Wednesday and Saturday, and full abstinence on all Fridays. The 1970 calendar, as the final nails in the coffin, removed the Ember Days and even abrogated the necessity to abstain from meat on Fridays (another penance of one’s choosing sufficing to replace it). Rather than lose this distinction completely, we try to keep to the tradition, as much as possible, anyway, of keeping Advent pretty low-key and then sprucing (a Christmas tree pun) everything up once Christmas finally comes. We do have to cheat a little on this, however, as getting enough volunteers to decorate the social hall and church on Sunday night just before Christmas Midnight Mass would be quite a challenge. This is a good time to note that if any of you wish to string thousands of lights outside the church in addition to the towering lighted Christmas tree (you might not have noticed it during the daytime but it is there) please feel free to volunteer and we will procure the lights for you. If you can find another huge, inflatable dinosaur with a wrapped gift in his mouth, feel free to bring him in, too, for I sure do miss that big guy! (That’s a joke. Please don’t bring him back!) As for the relatively new Nativity scene (one year ago last October it was installed just in time for Cardinal Burke’s visit) that we keep out front all year, it is not a Nativity scene at all. This is Epiphany of Our Lord parish and that is an Epiphany scene. Notice the Three Kings! If this was St. Denis parish and we had a large statue of a Bishop holding his severed, mitered head in his hands, nobody would ask us if we were decorating for Halloween all year! Well, yes they would, unless they knew the story of St. Denis. But even though people know the story of Epiphany they still don’t make the connection. By the way, if you ever find a nice marble statue of St. Denis, I would be happy to find a place for him somewhere on our grounds! With that out of the way, Merry Christmas everyone! Whew! I thought I would run out of space before I got around to writing those words. Very early Monday morning (midnight, in the old calendar anyway) we begin the Christmas season. But on Tuesday the first non-Christmas Mass of the season is for a martyr. What gives with that? Why are Catholics celebrating the Birth of Jesus with the death of St. Stephen? He was murdered in hatred of Our Lord. Two days later we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents. Those poor babies died when Herod was trying to kill Jesus. We can’t celebrate death, not of a mere man and especially not of innocent babies, can we? Yes, we can and do and should! The Deacon Stephen was the first recorded man who was killed for the Faith. The Holy Innocents were killed for the Faith when Jesus was still a babe. Yet those holy deaths are not to be ignored, swept aside, or even mourned, although the grief would have been profound when these atrocities first occurred. Now we see them as Merry (to use the word of the season) beginnings of new life! We are supposed to be like Jesus in all things, not just the things that are “pleasant” in this world. We are to long to imitate Him more perfectly every day. More prayerful. More loving. More compassionate. If we live like Him we will even lovingly die for Him as the martyrs did and resurrect like Him and be with Him in Heaven! That is what he came for, after all, isn’t it? Don’t miss the meaning of the Christmas Season! It goes far beyond just buying, giving, and receiving toys. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: No Scant Christmas Worship!
Christmas fell on a Monday in 2017, just as it does this year. That year we had the same Mass schedule for both the English Novus Ordo Mass and the Traditional Latin Masses, although with two extra Vietnamese Novus Ordo Masses as well. Now that the St. Joseph Vietnamese Mission has become a parish of its own, complete with its own property and church building, we no longer have two groups “competing” for space on these Holy Days. Thanks be to God, and I don’t mean that in any negative way whatsoever. We both outgrew these accommodations. But, while some things change, others don’t. Such is the case with people trying to attend Sunday evening’s Mass >>only<< and having it “count” as a fulfillment of both the Sunday and Christmas obligation! Thanks be to God again that we don’t have such minimalistic-minded people at this parish (or, if we do, may they read this article and change!). Such people are truly to be pitied, but it is our own Church leaders, in instituting the novelty of an “anticipated” Sunday Mass on Saturday evening, who shoulder much of the blame. Even if they didn’t see it coming, they are most certainly aware after 50 years that the vigil Masses have encouraged a mentality of “Let’s get our obligation to God out of the way so that we don’t have to pray on Sunday.” People usually won’t state it quite like that but they have no problem proclaiming that they prefer the vigil Mass over Sunday Masses because they can go out to eat on Saturday night. They also don’t mind complaining to the priest that if the vigil is not early enough (or if the homily is too long) they have to wait too long in line at their favorite restaurant. I am happy to say that I have never heard any of the parishioners at our vigil speak such nonsense. I credit the priests who came before me and those who normally celebrate that Mass now, for they must all have done and continue to do a great job teaching that the main purpose of the Mass is to worship God as He wishes us to worship, not just to punch the time clock, so to speak. That being said, I have already had multiple people “out in the wild” ask me about the possibility of killing two birds with one stone by attending only their Christmas Eve or early Midnight Mass (oh, the horrors of Midnight Mass being celebrated at either 8:00 pm or 10:00 pm on Christmas Eve!) and having it “count” for both the Sunday and Christmas Mass obligations. Oh, my! How sad it is to hear people trying to get by with minimal effort in worshipping Our Lord, especially on one of the holiest days of the year! “Yay!” I can almost hear them exclaim, “We outwitted God and only had to go to Mass once this week while sleeping in on both Sunday and Christmas. Plus, we fooled the pastor and only had to put one crumpled-up dollar bill into a single collection, not two! Woo Hoo! We are the smartest damned Catholics in the world!” Yep. Damned smart Catholics, if you get my drift. Not that I am so goshdurn holy that I don’t get by with just the minimum (or less) expected of me at times, too, but sheesh, on Christmas? I bet they have a blow-up Grinch in their front yard instead of a Nativity Scene, too. Getting back to how this article started out, the Mass schedule, with the exception of the missing Vietnamese Masses, will be the same this year as it was in 2017 for December 24 and 25th and January 1, which, once again, is not a Holy Day of Obligation because our US Bishops decided that making people attend Mass two days in a row was tooooo haaarrrd on the people. That does, at least, help explain why they haven’t pressed to suppress the “anticipated” Sunday Mass (the Saturday evening Vigil and Masses the evening before Holy Days). We will have a Novus Ordo vigil Mass at 5:00 pm on December 23 which is the Mass for the 4th Sunday of Advent on the Novus Ordo calendar; another on the 24th at 5:00 pm, which is the Christmas Vigil Mass and fulfills one’s Christmas obligation. I am working toward full compliance with the Vatican directive that I not publicize the Traditional Latin Mass times in the bulletin, online, or by any other media, which I write as a preface to telling you that something—a “something” that I cannot write about—will happen in the church at the normal Sunday times of 7:30 am and 10:30 am on December 24, either of which will fulfill your Sunday obligation for the old-fashioned Vigil of Christmas as it used to be known, and which supersedes the 4th Sunday of Advent in the liturgical calendar which must not be mentioned from 1962. A first Christmas something will begin at Midnight as December 24 changes to December 25; a second Christmas something will be said silently in the church at 7:30 am on December 25; yet a third Christmas something will be accompanied by the choir at 10:30 am later that morning; any or all three of which will satisfy your obligation to properly worship God on Christmas, though I must leave it to your imaginations as to how that could possibly occur. Please note that there will be no confessions heard after any of the Christmas somethings. The following weekend Mass schedule is as normal, as is the schedule for Monday, January 1st since it is not a Holy Day of Obligation. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Farcebook Needs My Passport!?!?
It has been several months since I logged onto my farcebook account. I know that many of you reading this may be astounded that anyone could survive without such a popular social media platform for such a lonnnnggggg period of time (and it’s not even being done as a Lenten penance!) but I was all too happy to just ignore it and see if somehow the world would continue as normal. Well, looking at what is going on in the world since I stopped posting or reading others’ posts, you might be able to make a case that my ignoring of FB really did cause incalculable problems! Regardless of the cause/effect of my absence, two weeks ago somebody texted me a FB link, insisting that it was worth my time to read, so I clicked. FB refused to open the post unless I signed in. So I tried signing in. My sign-in was rejected. Was my password entered incorrectly? No. Was my sign-in name wrong? No. Everything was correct but FB insisted that, for my safety and security, and to guarantee that it was actually me signing in, I had to send them a copy of my passport, driver's license, birth certificate, social security number, and umbilical cord blood from my firstborn child. Or something like that. I thought that for sure I had been spoofed, that this notice was not really from FB and that somebody, either a prankster or a gangster, thought that I was stupid enough to send such information to them. I opened a “private tab” and tried going directly to FB. I got the same message of strange demands. I tried another browser. Same thing. I tried changing my VPN to another location. I received the same strange message yet again. So I googled “passport for FB sign-in scam” and discovered that it was neither a new thing nor a scam—unless you count Farcebook as the scammer! For years, it has demanded of some people at some time that they send copies of their identification cards, certificates, etc., to them in order to use—or to be used by—FB. I am going to copy and paste (although removing the formatting and italicizing it) from FB’s “help” pages to show you the audacity of FB. Types of IDs that Facebook accepts If you need to confirm your name on Facebook, or if you've lost access to your account, you may be asked to send us a copy of something with your name on it. You have several different options for this, including photo IDs issued by the government, IDs from non-government organizations, official certificates or licenses that include your name or other physical items like a magazine subscription or a piece of mail...(It was the government-issued photo ID that they wanted from me.) You can also learn more about what happens to your ID after you send it to Facebook. Don't digitally conceal ID information To help us prevent fake IDs and other abuses, we don't accept photos that have been digitally modified to hide information. You can also physically cover any non-essential information on your ID, before you take a photo of the document. Government IDs You can send us 1 government ID to confirm your name or regain access to your account. Anything that you send us should contain either: Your name and date of birth, or Your name and a photo. Some examples of government IDs we accept include: (my bold color here, as this is what they were demanding of me) Driver’s license; National identity card; Passport; Birth certificate There was much more information to be found on that page and on others it linked to. For instance, this: What happens to your ID after you send it to Facebook After you send us a copy of your ID, it'll be encrypted and stored securely. Your ID won't be visible on your profile, to friends or to other people on Facebook... Notice that I can send my passport totally unencrypted (that is, open to bad guys stealing that information) at which time they will encrypt it (thanks) and store it securely. Read that again. They will store it. For how long? For what purpose? My ID won’t be visible to my “friends or other people on Facebook” but it will be accessible to FB! Will it, like all other information that they get from me, be sold to all bidders? I am writing this, not because it has anything to do directly with Epiphany or the Church but just as a means of showing how far this social media giant has pushed the envelope as they convince people to give up even the most “valuable” of information to a company that does nothing essential for life, either in this world or the next. Would you continue going to church if I demanded a copy of your passport which I refuse to assure you will not be used for marketing or other thievery? The Church is necessary for salvation, FB is not. Would you continue to buy groceries at a market that demands such ID? Food is necessary for physical life. People must think that FB is even more important or they wouldn’t give up such information. Needless to say, I didn’t send my ID. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Special December Masses, Feasts, and Traditions
Friday, December 8, is a Holy Day of Obligation, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “Holy Days” such as this, if you are old enough to remember, used to be joyfully held in reverence and awe, at least as far as I can tell from old liturgical accounts of them. The Catholics of old actually liked having occasional days off of work or school so that they could attend Mass on such special feast days. Traditions grew around these liturgical celebrations so that novenas, litanies, processions, and even special foods were cooked and eaten specifically for the special celebration. Unfortunately for us, it seems that few want to ask for even a couple of hours off of work to attend a Mass of Obligation during the week. HR departments and school admins simply scoff at the notion that a Catholic religious celebration deserves any respect. Thus the US Bishops have acquiesced to the times and either canceled most Holy Days or transferred them to Sundays so as to not inconvenience anyone who worships secularism more than Catholicism. Even so, December still brings us two Holy Days of Obligation, the first being the aforementioned Immaculate Conception on the 8th and the second being Christmas on December 25. So mark your calendars and prepare to show that your Catholic Faith is alive and well. Take those days off so that you can enter more deeply into the Traditional Catholic way of life! While marking your calendar, you may want to put a special mark on the second Saturday from now, December 16. Please cross the 8:00 am Mass off your calendar and insert a 6:30 am Mass instead. This is our annual Rorate Caeli Mass and it, of its very essence, requires an early morning start. Since there are many new parishioners who may not be aware of this Mass, a short explanation is in order. The Advent Rorate Masses are celebrated in darkness, with only candlelight to illuminate the church. As the Mass continues, the daylight grows stronger, as if the signified Light of the World, Jesus Christ, is finally dawning upon us. The Savior is bud forth in the East (or Orient, which, as an aside, is why the term Ad Orientem—to the East—is used when the priest faces East—or at least liturgical East as at Epiphany—along with the congregation, as all are looking expectantly to the Orient for the return of Our Lord in His Majestic Glory), the land is blessed, and the Catholics are set free from the dark captivity of sin. Jesus came to save us from sin, to bring light to those in darkness and the shadow of death. He came through, and is magnified by, the Blessed Virgin Mary, without whom we would find no Savior, and merit no salvation. There may be several reasons to sleep in that morning, but if you make the effort to attend this glorious candlelight Mass, I think you will be hooked and make it a yearly event. Did I mention that there will be food after Mass? You might think that what has already been mentioned is enough for one article. Yet, there is more. Again, for those new to the parish, unless you came from a Polish, Slovak, or Lithuanian family, you may not be aware of an old Christmas Eve tradition of prayer, thanksgiving, and forgiveness entailing the sharing of the Oplatek. An oplatek (plural: oplatki) is an unleavened and very thin rectangular bread, usually embossed with some sort of Nativity-related scene. It is made the same way that traditional Mass hosts are, using only wheat flour and water (although some may contain a small amount of food dye to color them). They are never consecrated, although they may be blessed by the priest, as ours will be. These are meant to be taken home for the Wigilia, or Christmas Eve gathering of the family. Although details of this custom do vary, the basic format remains constant. On Christmas Eve the entire family gathers for a full day of celebrating the end of the penitential season of Advent and the coming of the Christ Child in just a few more hours. This used to be a day of abstinence (though not a day of fasting), so the great evening feast, which consisted of many courses (7, 9, and 13 are listed in various sources but my older sister insists that there must be 12 courses, and she is a better source than most of my other sources!), was completely meatless. Appetizers, soups, fish dishes, and desserts were prepared. The table was strewn with a light layer of straw (reminiscent of the straw lining the baby Jesus’ manger) and covered with a white tablecloth (swaddling clothes). There were place settings for everyone plus one extra in case a beggar or unexpected guest came by. But before anyone dared to touch the food, the father of the family would take an oplatek, break it and share a piece of it with his wife. As he gave it to her he would ask her forgiveness for any harms he had done to her during the past year and ask special blessings for her in the upcoming one. She would then break off another piece from her piece of the oplatek and share it with the child next to her, and do the same. From one to another, each would follow suit. Only after the oplatki pieces were all distributed and consumed was the main meal eaten. (This is, of course, just a short version. Ask your babcia for more details!) By next week I should have the oplatki ready for you to take home in preparation for Christmas Eve. Oh, how fast time flies! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: A Special Guest For Thanksgiving!
Sometimes Thanksgiving dinner at the rectory is just plain unbelievable. And believe you me, you should believe me when I tell you that this year was one of the most unbelievable ones. After all, how can you believe as accurate an account of a family gathering that was written days before it happened so that the bulletin could be printed before the staff left for their holiday days off? Be that as it may, here is a tall tale of Thanksgiving at Epiphany, 2023. This year the family gathering was a bit larger than normal since the family is expanding as “children” from the generation behind me have begun starting families of their own and everyone was in town for this holiday. The plan was for everyone to come to Epiphany for the 8:00 am Mass and then start cooking as soon as Adoration and Confessions were concluded. Two of my in-laws were engaged in a friendly competition to see who could outcook the other, and each one started with two turkeys. My sister Karen’s husband Lee, the reigning champ of all family cookoffs, chose to roast the first of his turkeys over charcoal, and the other went into a smoker with applewood pellets. The young challenger, Fr. Nick Ward (brother to Maggie, who this year married Lee’s oldest son, Ryan) went with a classic cajun turkey deep-fried in peanut oil, and, in a surprise move, decided to concoct a very large turkey rotisserie for his second bird. Other family members were in charge of making fresh buns and bread, cookies, four types of pies, two cheesecakes, cranberry sauce, potatoes cooked three different ways, green beans, various types of stuffing and dressing, and probably more that I cannot now recall. A few volunteered to do the decorating of the hall and the picnic tables, while others were in charge of drinks. And, of course, the children “helped” by getting in everyone’s way and helped even more by going off to play. Of course, plans and reality oftentimes don’t meet when families get together, especially if the family includes Aunt Irma. We never know exactly what to expect from her but this time her “unexpectedness” was actually something wonderful. Too wonderful, as you will soon see, but wonderful nonetheless. She has been traveling quite a bit this year and earlier this month, for reasons nobody really knows, she found herself in Baltimore during the recent United States Bishops’ Conference. The last time she had attended one of these, you may recall, she was protesting their lack of courage in calling out immoral Bishops within their fraternity. Nothing changed, so she gave up protesting outside of their meetings. But this year, completely by accident, it seems, she was in town once again. She was blissfully unaware that a certain Bishop had recently been dismissed from his job because he was doing it too well. All she knew was that she was driving down to Florida for Thanksgiving and there, along the roadside, she spotted a lone Bishop with a backpack sticking out his thumb, hoping for a ride. At first, she thought he must be a fake Bishop because he was in clerics and was neither obese nor a weightlifter. But she took a chance and pulled over for him anyway. It turns out that he had come for the conference of Bishops but was unceremoniously turned away when they learned that he not only knew all of the mysteries of the rosary, but he actually prayed it daily. The papal nuncio had plastered the walls of their hotel with “unwanted” posters of this Bishop and a warning that any Bishop found praying and/or telling the truth would soon meet the same fate as this poor fellow. Undaunted, he simply knelt in prayer for the Bishops of the country and the whole world and started his long, sad trek home. As Aunt Irma had so kindly offered him a lift, he felt “mighty obliged, Ma’am” to accept her offer to spend Thanksgiving with her family. And so he showed up early on Thursday morning. Angels must have spread the news, for somehow hundreds of people knew that he was going to celebrate the 8:00 Mass and they showed up en masse to the Mass. We wound up having a Pontifical Solemn Mass and, although he had never celebrated the TLM before, our altar boys and MCs are so proficient that they were able to make sure he was in the right place at the right time and everything went off without a hitch. He prayed his way through the Mass like an apostle, not just a successor to one. And, sure enough, as soon as the Blessed Sacrament was exposed after Mass, he headed to the confessional. All of us priests heard confessions for two hours straight before the last repentant sinner was absolved. Then the Bishop took all of the priests aside to give us a chance to get to know him and him, us. That, of course, threw off the timing of the cooking and preparation for the day’s feast. Lee had to cook all four of the birds himself so he is still the undisputed king of the competition. We will see if his new son-in-law can handle the pressure of a rematch sometime in the future. Even though most of the crowd stayed and enjoyed the whole day we had enough food, drinks, and prayers for everyone. And right now, as you read this, Aunt Irma is dropping off a canceled Bishop in a place that he used to call home. Unfortunately, none of us thought to ask his name... With prayers for your holiness Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Quite a Week!
Last week was busy around here, and it was a good busy. First of all, our parish mission was a huge success, as measured by the spiritual benefits bestowed upon all who were present for the multiple Masses and conferences. Many thanks to Canon Talarico and Canon Huberfeld for all of the holy insights imparted upon this community! I knew the mission was going to be a great gift to the community by seeing how the demons attacked our AC systems when the priests first showed up and then continued to do so throughout the week. Our rectory AC on the bottom floor, where my office is, as well as the chapel, kitchen, and laundry room, froze up and quit working the day they arrived. We were able to get it working again, but it sure is strange timing. One other time a mission was being held here the upper floor AC went out, making for miserable sleeping conditions in very hot weather. That time the fix took longer to happen. Then, as you probably noticed if you stayed for coffee and donuts last Sunday, the AC in the social hall quit working. Rebooting the system, resetting the breakers, and kicking the units didn’t seem to do much of anything. Then one night, during a “heated” mission talk, I was sitting next to the thermostat and decided to turn the compressors off and keep the fans running. All I accomplished was having the thermostat blink on and off, on and off, on and off, making clicking sounds as it did so, for the next five minutes or so before the screen finally just stayed blank completely. Turning the compressors from “cool” to “off” and the fan from “auto” to “on” should not have had that effect. But the demons seem to love working through all electronic devices, and revel in doing the most ridiculous things to show that, or at least make it seem like, they are in charge. But the next morning, although the system was supposedly shut off, it was freezing in the hall! The thermostat screen was back on, the compressors were on, the fans were on, and, although showing that the temperature was set for 74 degrees, it was also showing the actual temperature of 68! No amount of settings changes made any difference at all. But which is worse for sitting through a mission talk? 82 degrees or 68? Half the congregation likes it hot while the other half likes it cold. It seems that the demons figured that they would negatively affect those who found the previously high temperatures quite nice so as to not allow anyone to enjoy the whole mission in this regard! But what they failed to do is realize that the talks were good enough that everyone was willing to “suffer” (or, more accurately, put up with a very small inconvenience) for a while in order to grow in holiness. By the time this bulletin is published, we may even have the AC working properly again. If not, mildly hot or cold temperatures won’t hurt anyone all too much. Not to be overlooked, we have a new addition to the front of the church building. The Baker family had, many years ago, decades, even, donated the very large wooden cross that was attached to the front right side of the church front. Over the years the wood had not only been weathered by the sun and rain but had also been munched on by termites. (Do you remember the huge black tarps covering the church shortly after we arrived as we exterminated those pests?) It was in need of being replaced and the Knights of Columbus volunteered to take on the project for the parish. They replaced the plain wooden cross with a very nice crucifix. After the 10:30 Sunday Mass last week I solemnly blessed the crucifix in the presence of the two mission priests, Fr. Mangiafico, the altar boys who had just served Mass, and whoever made it out the front doors in time for the blessing. The next time you look up at that crucifix, please say a prayer for the repose of the souls of any of the Bakers who have passed since the original donation and for blessings upon any who are still with us, as well as our Knights of Columbus who worked so hard to make this replacement a truly noble and worthy gift to the parish. I’m sure the Bakers would be proud. One more very notable thing happened last week, and, although it was not at Epiphany, it still is worth noting, as it affects the Church throughout (especially, though not exclusively) the entire US. Bishop Joseph Strickland was unceremoniously and, seemingly at least (to give every benefit of the doubt), without cause, forced out of his role as Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas. Speaking the truth about what is happening in Rome is absolutely necessary for a priest or Bishop’s own salvation as well as that of his flock, and, under normal circumstances, he would be commended for doing so. But at a time when Fr. Rupnik can molest dozens of religious Sisters and still preach a Papal Retreat, still retain his faculties, and even be incardinated into a diocese; at a time when Religious Sisters, priests, and Bishops can openly promote homosexual unions and the blessings thereof; at a time when Bishops and Cardinals bow down in prayer before Pachamama; and when all of the aforementioned evildoers remain in good standing and are even shown approval, the faithful, bold sister, priest, or Bishop who simply does what God expects a faithful servant to do will not be tolerated. Please pray for Bishop Strickland. “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 5:10) With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Progressive Priests? Not For Long!
A study of a study, with the unwieldy title, “Polarization, Generational Dynamics, and the Ongoing Impact of the Abuse Crisis: Further Insights from the National Study of Catholic Priests” has just been published. If you want my quick summary and then wish to quit reading further, here are three of the main points. 1. The wildly progressive priests are dying or retiring. 2. The priests taking their places are mostly orthodox in their theology. 3. Priests don’t trust their bishop if he is not orthodox in his theology. Here is how the authors described the origin and purpose of this new paper: In October 2022, The Catholic Project at the Catholic University of America released initial findings from The National Study of Catholic Priests*, the largest survey of American Catholic priests in over fifty years. That study involved three primary components: • A survey of 10,000 Catholic priests, receiving 3,516 respondents across 191 dioceses/eparchies (36% valid response rate). • In-depth qualitative interviews with more than 100 priests selected from survey respondents. • A census survey of U.S. bishops, receiving 131 responses (67% valid response rate). Since the publication of initial findings from that survey, researchers at Catholic University and elsewhere have continued to study and analyze the data. This report highlights several themes which have emerged from closer analysis of the quantitative data, as well as careful study of the qualitative data collected from the one-on-one interviews with priests. Here is the beginning of the paper’s insight. My comments will follow. Political polarization in the United States has been a common and growing concern in recent years, as have concerns about growing polarization within religious communities including the Catholic Church. Our data does show a significant divide between the political and theological self-identification of older priests and younger priests. Yet the data also suggests that the American presbyterate is, over time, becoming less polarized. Simply put, the portion of new priests who see themselves as politically “liberal” or theologically “progressive” has been steadily declining since the Second Vatican Council and has now all but vanished. This decline is especially stark theologically. Asked to describe “their views on most matters having to do with theology and doctrines” on a scale from “very progressive” to “very conservative/orthodox,” there are significant cohort differences (Figure 1). More than half of the priests who were ordained since 2010 see themselves on the conservative side of the scale. No surveyed priests who were ordained after 2020 described themselves as “very progressive.” Yes, priests are becoming less polarized for one simple reason. The “progressive” end of the spectrum of priests rarely encouraged vocations and certainly never taught a good reason for anyone to become or remain Catholic, let alone dedicate his life to being a Catholic priest. As they die off, they do so without “reproducing” so to speak. The newer priests, especially those entering seminary after the 2002 major priest scandals, went in to fight for the Truth, not to change it. They looked with horror at the beliefs and actions of the priests making the news and said, “That is not a priest at all. I will be a real priest! I will be faithful in words and actions. I believe what the Church teaches, will live it to the best of my ability, and will proclaim it to the people in its full glory!” The progressives die, and their replacements are really Catholic, so there is now very little overlap, thus, no polarization! Regarding the trust priests have in their bishops, which varied widely across dioceses from 100% trust down to as low as 9% trust, the authors state: If a priest describes himself as theologically conservative, for example, and he believes that his bishop is also theologically conservative, it is likely that he would report a high degree of trust in his bishop. In contrast, if a priest reported that he did not align with his bishop on theological matters, he would predictably report low trust in his bishop’s leadership; a similar line exists for political values. Well, of course. If a priest is orthodox and his bishop is “progressive” (see 2 John 1:9 in the New American Bible Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God) the priest cannot trust his bishop to faithfully teach, preach, and act on Catholic faith, morals and discipline. Likewise, if the bishop politically aligns himself with the party of death, socialist, or communist parties, he must not be trusted, as those political parties are at odds with the Catholic Church on issues with the greatest moral significance! Further insights may also be found in this document, so I have added a link to it on our parish website. Enjoy the good news! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka |
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