Depression

Say a prayer for some of my parishioners who are suffering from depression. My parish has an incredible number of people who live on their own, in tiny flats; isolation, loneliness and hopelessness are not an unusual feature of many people's struggle towards God here in the inner city.

I met somone on the street yesterday who had taken an overdose, someone else seems to spend most of their time, at the moment weeping, one poor girl has most of her body scarred where she has been cutting herself, someone else just can't get out of bed.

For many of my people depression is a great crushing weight that stops them from working or forming relationships, or even wanting to relate to other people. Many people here simply don't "do" social events.

So often depression here leads to "solitary vices" drink, drugs, pornography, all of which tend to lead people further and further into themselves.

Give us few good reasons

On NLM there is an extract from the newsletter of an American priest:

Often we hear the different Masses described in the media with something like, "the Tridentine Mass is celebrated in Latin with the priest's back to the people, and the New Mass is celebrated in English with the priest facing the people." This is an oversimplification that is not accurate.

The New Mass can be celebrated in Latin at any time. And, as was our experience when we went to Europe for World Youth Day two years ago, it sometimes happens that it is also celebrated in English, but not facing the people. Ultimately, it is not the language or the direction the priest is facing that is the important thing. It is the ritual being followed, in other words, what are called the rubrics. The New Mass has greatly simplified rubrics compared to the Tridentine Mass.

However, the issue of which direction the priest faces is important, historically. In Judaism, the direction of prayer is always to face Jerusalem. For Muslims, the direction of prayer is always to face Mecca. For Christians, especially for Catholics, the direction of prayer has always been to face the East. I wonder how many of our people even realize that. And why might that be important?

It was to the East that Jesus ascended into heaven. And the angels present that day told the apostles that He would return in the same way that they saw Him going up. Therefore, Catholics always prayed facing the East as a way of waiting for the return of the Lord in glory. And the priest stood with his back to the people, not turned away from them, but leading the entire congregation in prayer. He stood at their head, so to speak, leading the assembly in worship of God.

Contrary to popular opinion, Mass facing the people is a totally modern invention. It was not the way Mass was celebrated in the early church. and the disadvantage of Mass celebrated this way is that we can too easily forget that the entire Mass is a prayer to God, led by the priest. The danger is that the community can too easily turn inward on itself, rather than facing and anticipating the coming of the Lord.

Peace,
Fr. Szada

NLM suggests the obvious that Fr Szada has been reading Ratzinger's "The Spirit of the Liturgy" and Lang's, Turning Towards Lord". Now, can anyone give me any good reasons why Mass should ever be celebrated facing the people? Like most priests that is the normal way I celebrate Mass, once a week only, on a Friday evening, I turn towards the Lord. The only reason I offer Mass facing the people is because that is how everyone else does it. Even the Missal seems to think I should be facing the same direction as the people, it says, "He turns towards the people and says: Pray brothers and sister...".

The Instruction in the Missal says something like,

".... the altar should be freestanding, so that Mass may be celebrated facing the people, which is always desirable."

When the Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship was asked explain this, they said it was the altar being freestanding that was always desirable, not Mass facing the people.

So, why do we do it?

Does anyone know why it became almost universal?

Pope: Young people; do not be afraid to follow the “alternative” route of true love

Benedict XVI proposes a way of life that “goes against the trend” to over 500 thousand young people: not the success, power, arrogance or empty models promoted by the media , but the courageous model of Mary, solidarity and protection of creation. Loreto, the home of contemplation to become “witnesses” on the streets of the world.

In an exigent and a clear proposal Benedict XVI today invited the young people gathered on the Montorso plain between Loreto and the Adriatic sea, to a lifestyle that “goes against the trend”, to transform society by following the “humble” example of Mary. In his homily during mass concluding the Youth Agorà, he said: “Do not follow the path of pride, rather, follow the path of humility” Go against the trend: do not listen to that chorus of bias and persuasive voices which today put forward a model of life that is drenched in arrogance and violence, in dominance and success at all costs, where appearance and possession to the detriment of others is openly promoted. All of these messages carried by the mass media are aimed at you! Be vigilant! Be critical! Do not follow the trend produced by this powerfully persuasive media. Do not be afraid, my dear friends, to prefer the ‘alternative’ route indicated by true love: a sober style of life, a life of solidarity; an honest commitment to your studies and work; a cultivated interest in the common good. Do not be afraid to appear different, or the criticism that you are out of fashion or a loser; people your age, even adults, all of those who seem far from the mentality of the Gospel values, have a deep seated need to see someone who dares to live according to the fullness of humanity manifested by Jesus Christ”.
The pope’s words met with the warm applause of the immense crowd gathered on the plain. Yesterday alone, over 300 thousand people for the vigil; this morning, the arrival of thousands more young people pushing the numbers up to touch half a million. Many of them spent the night in the open, in prayer and meditation or in dialogue, helped by the “fountains of light”, illuminated meeting points placed at intervals throughout the plain, where priests and catechists were present to listen, hear confessions, speak about vocations, until first light appeared and the Morning Prayer said.


The courage of humility
What Benedict XVI proposed is a veritable way of life for anyone who wishes to remain “young”. Yesterday evening during the vigil the testimonies of some young people laid bare the difficulties and insecurities, the marginalization and unemployment linked to the world of the young. Today the pope affirmed that “Jesus has a special preference for the young” and that God himself “seeks young hearts …. To become the protagonists of the New Alliance”.
The pope’s programme for young people is taken from Mary’s “youth” and has at its foundation her humility. Recalling the nearby sanctuary of Loreto, where stones from the Holy House of Nazareth are preserved he affirmed: “the Holy House of Nazareth is the sanctuary of humility: the humility of God who became flesh and of Mary who welcomed him to her womb”.
The pope is not afraid of showing the stark opposition between the ideals of the world and Christianity: “The humble – he says – are perceived as being defeated and beaten, people who have nothing to offer the world. Yet this is the master route, not only because humility is a great virtue, but because above all it represents the very way in which God himself behaves. It is the path chosen by Christ”. And after having underlined the necessity of a witness that “goes against the trend”, he adds: “My dear friends, the path of humility is not the path of renunciation, it is the path of true courage. It is not the result of a defeat but of victory of love over selfishness and of grace over sin. In following Christ and imitating Mary, we must have the courage of humility”.
The “new paths” which the young people need to follow imply the ability to say “yes to God”, from who “all the yes of our lives” descend. There is also something new in our view of the faith and of the Church: “Our faith does is not merely a list of moral prerogatives, rather, it is a glorious journey towards the light of our Yes to God. It is true; there are many great challenges ahead of you. The first of which remains the challenge of following Christ to the very depths, without reservations, without compromise. Following Christ means being a living part of his body, which is the Church. You cannot call yourself a disciple of Jesus if you do not love and follow his Church”.
The Church (which is not a “power centre”, he had said last night) is a place which unites, not for “success”, but for “the good of humanity, a good which is both authentic and shared, and which does not subsist in power or possession, but in being”. These radical decisions are necessary in order to build “the city of God with man, a city which grows contemporarily from the ground up and from Heaven downwards, because it develops in the encounter and collaboration between man and God”. ( Ap 21,2-3)”.


Stewards of creation
In building “a more just and sharing society, where everyone can enjoy the fruits of the earth”, the pontiff indicates one priority: that of “safeguarding creation”. “The future of the planet – said the pope – “is in the hands of the new generations, a planet where the signs of a development that has not always protected the delicate equilibrium of nature, can be seen. Before it is too late, we must take courageous steps, to recreate the alliance between man and earth. We need to say yes to safeguarding creation, we must decidedly commit ourselves to invert those tendencies which risk bringing about irreversible degradation”. In fact today the Italian Church celebrates the National Day for the protection of creation, dedicated to water, “a precious good, which if not peacefully and equally shared, is destined to become a motive for tension and bitter conflict”.
And after having invited the young people once again – just as last night – to participate in the World Youth Day Sydney 2008, the pope turned to the Blessed Virgin: “In the end …..We turn our eyes towards Mary, model of humility and of courage. Help us, Virgin of Nazareth, to be docile to the work of the Holy Spirit, as you were; help us to become ever more saintly, disciples in love with your Son Jesus Christ; sustain and accompany these young people so that they may be joyful and tireless missionaries of the Gospel among their contemporaries, in every corner of Italy. Amen!”
At the end of his homily, the applause, waving of banners, scarves and the shouting of slogans lasted so long that the pope was forced to ask for silence in order to continue the mass.

The silence of the Home and the witness of the town square
In the Angelus, the pontiff returned once again to underlining the bond between Loreto and Nazareth, the place of the annunciation to Mary: “Loreto second only to Nazareth, is the ideal place to pray and meditate on the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God….the place where the Virgin said ‘yes’ to God and conceived in her womb the eternal incarnate Word”.
The pope recalled that every “agorà”, every public moment, needs a “home”, a place of contemplation: “The town square is big, it is open, it is the meeting place for many for dialogue and confrontation; the home, instead, is the place of inner gathering and silence, where the Word can be heard in its depths. In order to bring God to the town square, first you must gather him to your inner being at home, just like Mary in the Annunciation”. And he adds that likewise” the home must open out onto the square: this is further suggested by the Holy House in Loreto, which has three walls not four: it is an open Home, open on the world, open to life and even to the Agorà of young Italians”.
The last proposal made by the pope is that Loreto become a constant reference point in the lives of the young: “In the most important moment of your lives come here, at least in your hearts, to gather yourselves spiritually between the walls of the Holy House…. Then will you become its true witnesses in the ‘squares’, in society, bringers of a Gospel that is not abstract, but incarnated in your own lives”.
Confirming this commitment to witnessing God in society, at the end of the mass 72 young people from diocese across Italy received the missionary Mandate of the Italian Agorà, to bring the faith “with joy and gratitude” throughout the world. The pope bestowed on them the so-called “pilgrims sackcloth”, distributed by two bishops.

Pope laments broken families

LORETO, ITALY -- Pope Benedict lamented the loss of the traditional family in remarks yesterday to hundreds of thousands of young Catholics who travelled to this shrine town for a two-day meeting with the pontiff.
In trains, buses and on foot, groups of pilgrims from across Italy, as well as some from Poland, Germany and elsewhere made their way to a dusty field down the hill from Italy's most important shrine to the Virgin Mary.
Benedict answered their questions about faith and, after hearing about the lives of young people living in broken homes and on the margins of society, told the crowd that the church and the family unit should be the nuclei of society.
"The family, which should be the meeting place between generations, from grandparents to grandchildren . . . is breaking up in pieces," the Pope said.
Late yesterday, Benedict was heading to the shrine itself for a moment of prayer. The shrine, known as the Holy House, is a simple stone cottage that Catholic tradition says was the home in Nazareth where the Virgin Mary grew up and was told she would bear Jesus.

Loreto is the city of the "Holy House of Nazareth", which seems to have been brought stone by stone from the Holy Land, just before the Christian Kingdom of Palestine was destroyed by Muslim invasion. The later legend says it was brought by angels.

Zimbabwe bishops rally behind accused prelate

CWNews.com The Catholic bishops of Zimbabwe have come to the defense of Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulwayo, accusing the country's government of orchestrating an "outrageous and utterly deplorable" smear campaign against the archbishop.
State-controlled media outlets in Zimbabwe have been providing heavy coverage of charges that Archbishop Ncube engaged in an adulterous affair with a woman who had been working as his secretary. His supporters say that the charges have been raised to distract attention from the archbishop's complaints about the authoritarian government headed by President Robert Mugabe.
In a paid advertisement that appeared in the Herald newspaper in Harare, the nation's capital, the members of the nation's episcopal conference said that the archbishop was being attacked in an effort to undermine his moral leadership. "We support him fully in his present painful personal situation and ask all our faithful to remember him in their prayers," the bishops said.
Noting that the entire episcopal conference has joined in a public condemnation of government corruption, and a demand for immediate changes in the country's political leadership, the bishops' conference went on to say that Archbishop Ncube-- who has called for the ouster of the Mugabe regime-- has "courageously and with moral authority advocated social justice and political action to overcome the grievous crisis facing our country."
The public campaign against Archbishop Ncube, the bishops conclude, is really "an assault on the Catholic Church."

Catholic Manliness

I have a friend who mocks Opus Dei, by talking about the OD manly stance; legs apart slightly, one hand with the thumb in the trouser pocket, the other with finger looped through a sports jacket slung casually over the shoulder, which he says is taught, I am not sure about that, but it does seem at times to be a bit ubiquitous.

I found this aticle in Crisis Magazine on Catholic Manliness, it is based on Pope John Paul's theology of the body and his understanding of the complimentarity of male and female. I am not entirely sure I agree with everything

Fr John Zuhlsdorf visiting

Fr John Zuhlsdorf is going to speak at a little study group I am involved in on Monday, 17th September at The Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation at West Grinstead, in Sussex.

If there are any priests who want to come, from anywhere please contact me. He is going to speak on Summorum Pontifice. Space is a bit limited, so it is first come first served!

Fr Z has one of the most interesting blogs on the liturgy on the net, What Does the Prayer Really Say, where he boasts that he gives slavishly accurate translations, he does an awful lot more than that, recently he has produced some fascinating comments on the reaction to the Motu Proprio.

His criticism of the dreadful translation of the English texts of the Mass has made of us aware of the urgent need for more accurate and worthy translations.