Advent is upon us, and Christmas is near. Some of the most beloved church music will be sung over the next 6-8 weeks. Advent Lessons and Carols; Christmas Lessons and Carols; “Messiah” Sing-Alongs, etc., will be enjoyed by many.

HOWEVER, WOE to you who thinks that you actually know the words of your favorite Christmas Carol by heart! Your Missalette publishers know better than you do! Inclusive language — not only horizontal, but vertical — is now the norm! I know, I know, we mustn’t hurt anyone’s feelings by actually using phrases like “God made Man” or “Born to raise the sons of earth” or “God in Man made manifest”. Better, of course, to artificially contort beloved texts in order to utterly confuse people in the name of “political correctness”!

To top it all off, the liturgical contortionists at GIA edit texts differently from those at OCP (who edit texts differently from Word, etc.) So there is no continuity even amongst the revisionists!

If modern day hymn-writers (and I’m using the term VERY loosely) want to compose politically correct, inclusive-language un-singable music for the rest of the year, I suppose that can’t be helped. (There’s a reason why Catholics don’t sing — but that’s another post!) But for Christmas? Please just leave us alone!

Advent Blessings,

Papa Z.

I’ve been thinking a lot more about the little things in life, from wine and coffee, to more deep things like God and Church. The morning cup of hot coffee before work. The chill in the air as October comes. How much I love wine and how much I love chocolate. My joy in attending mass and doing the Liturgy of the hours before I crawl into a nice warm bed.

I’ve developed a nice habit of coming up with five things I’m grateful for each day and incorporating them into family prayer at night. Even if we’re just thankful for each other, it really helps us bond. You may want to try it to.

http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2011/09/smile-of-god.html

Pope John Paul I — whose cause for canonization is active — died today after 33 days serving in the “Shoes of the Fisherman”.

There are many in the Church who would like to co-opt the late Holy Father, or to suggest that he held views or opinions which he did not hold.

Regardless, Albino Luciani was a saintly man, a man of God.

Pope John Paul I, Pray for Us!

Blessings,

Papa Z.

At my parish, the schedule changes, the choir takes a break, and mass has a more laid back feel. I don’t think we help matters by calling most of the summer Sundays ordinary time, even if it has nothing to do with being “ordinary.”

As we say goodbye to the heat, picnics, and ice cream, it’s time to welcome the liturgical busy season. In the coming months we have a lot to do liturgically. Of course, there’s All Saints Day, All Soul’s, Thanksgiving, Advent, Immaculate Conception, and we can’t forget Christmas.

And, at least at my parish, there seems to be a greater level of seriousness and solemnity, as well as attendance, that comes with the end of summer. Of course, I still hope we can keep the ice cream.

Ten years ago, our nation was attacked by terrorists, resulting in the destruction of the World Trade Center, severe damage to the Pentagon, and the loss of life in a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 Americans were killed. September 11th, 2001 was, as one commentator put it, a “Pearl Harbor” day for our generation.

We all can remember where we were and what we were doing.

I was flying that day.

I was flying from Milwaukee to Baltimore via Cincinnati to participate in a recruiting event for the Graduate School of Marquette University. As we landed in Cincinnati for our scheduled lay-over, the pilot made an announcement that there had been a hijacking in New York, and that our connecting flights might be delayed. Once in the terminal, it didn’t take long to figure out that there would be no more flying that day. I saw one of the towers fall from a restaurant in the Cincinnati airport. I was still serving in ministry in my previous denomination, and was dressed in clerics. I immediately went to the airport chapel, and spoke to the chaplain on duty, expressing my support and offering any assistance deemed necessary.

It took an hour to find my bag. Luggage from the various planes had been dumped in piles in the terminal. I was fortunate enough to find a nearby hotel, and spent the best part of the next two days (like everyone else) glued to the television. I was finally able to get home via the train — itself an adventure — and resume my “normal” daily routine.

Many people have asked “Where was God on that fateful day?” “Why didn’t He stop the terrorists?” These are reasonable questions which have no easy answer. Of the many gifts which God has given us, the gift of Free Will is one fraught with questions of this nature. Since the episode in the Garden of Eden, Man has made choices. Some bad, some good.

Free Will was on full display on September 11th, 2001. The mind-numbing evil of the terrorists, yes. But also the good. Oh, the good deeds done on that day. Oh, the acts of heroism. Scripture teaches us that “Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for a friend.” On September 11th, 2001 greater love was shown over and over, not only in the laying down of life for a friend, but in the laying down of life for total strangers. New York’s Finest. New York’s Bravest. Franciscan priest and Fire Department chaplain Fr. Mychal Judge who was killed by falling debris as he knelt to give the Last Rites to a stricken fireman. The passengers of Flight 93. The list goes on.

Where was God? God was everywhere. Grace was rampant.

One further point.

Has anyone stopped to consider that it was by the Grace of God that the tragedy was not even more horrific than it was? Do you remember the original news reports, citing death tolls upwards of 20,000 people? That easily could have happened. Roughly 100,000 persons could have been in those towers on a given weekday. Tens of thousands worked at the Pentagon. Flight 93 could have hit either the Capitol or the White House.

Oh yes. God was there.

Some closing thoughts, taken from The Wisdom of Solomon, chapter 3.

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment will ever touch them.

In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
and their departure was thought to be an affliction,

and their going from us to be their destruction;
but they are at peace.

For though in the sight of men they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality.

Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;

like gold in the furnace he tried them,
and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.

In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
and will run like sparks through the stubble.

They will govern nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord will reign over them for ever.

Those who trust in him will understand truth,
and the faithful will abide with him in love,
because grace and mercy are upon his elect,
and he watches over his holy ones.

Blessings,

Papa Z.

Next week begins Holy Week. The Sunday of Holy Week is Palm Sunday, which commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Thursday of Holy Week is called Holy Thursday, or in many churches, Maundy Thursday, and it is the day Christians recall the institution of the Eucharist and Ordination. Good Friday is when we celebrate the crucifixion and death of Jesus, which leads to Holy Saturday, when Jesus was in the tomb. Finally, this culminates in the feast of feasts, Easter Sunday and the Easter Season, which celebrates the glorious resurrection of the Lord.

Of note, in Catholicism, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter make up the Easter Triduum.