Some are making a big deal of this report in an Irish newspaper whose headline asserts more than the article: “Pope to permit Tridentine Mass rite.”
In fact, the article just quotes a prediction of Professor Eamonn Duffy that Pope Benedict will “lift the restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine liturgy.” There is no basis for this other than his own musings. It doesn’t say he has inside information or anything like that.
It’s not that I disagree with him; I think he’s right. I just think the article is premature since many of the people I talk to about this sort of thing said the same the day the Pope was elected. Nothing has changed since then and so there’s no reason to get excited.
Well, the Society specifically asked for books that dealt with death, grief, loss and pain. If you look at the Bridegroom Press selection, this is the only book in the catalog that deals with those issues directly.
Likewise, if you read through the 15-page PDF preview that’s available on the website, I think you would find that this is rather an appropriate work.
Albom’s book is about a man’s death and how the losses he suffered during his life prepared him for that death – the Habits book is a Catholic analysis of death, pain, grief and loss using Albom’s book as a springboard for discussion.
This is what St. Vincent de Paul in Houston needs. Nothing on it about literature. Check on the main page for updates: http://www.svdphouston.org
Re: “It’s not that I disagree with him, I think he’s right.”
The liturgy today is a pale shadow of the Tridentine rite, and yet, how can anyone realistically envision the Roman Catholic Church having two liturgies?
It would just be chaos.
I’ve always thought the demands of the SSPX were irrational and unrealistic. Let’s face it. The Mass of Paul VI is the official Mass of the Church. Anyone wanting to make progress will have to confront this fact.
The e-mail I got from the Catholic Book Publishing Society says otherwise. So did Wendy Garaghty, the woman heading up this portion of the effort.
I didn’t make the general offer for cases of books until I mentioned the possibility of something like that to her last night, and she seemed interested.
I have no idea what is on the SVdP website. I don’t even know how up-to-date it is. All I know is what CBPA and Wendy Garaghty told me.
If this were a scam, I’d be selling the books for a lot more than a buck a piece, believe me.
Like I said, I wasn’t trying to be critical, just curious. Sorry if it came over that way, though. (Nor would I suggest anything is a scam just because the need isn’t stated on the website.)
I asked the question because I am a voracious reader and an English teacher. I did browse through the PDF quickly and my first impression was that it would annoy me to read Effective Habits if I hadn’t read Albom’s book first because it seems so rooted in his work, mentioning it so frequently. But maybe that’s just me. I get kinda neurotic about backtracking to read the sources an author refers to. Also, maybe my first impression is off kilter and the book stands alone just fine.
Thanks answering my question. They asked for a certain type of book, and you are providing what you have that most matches their stated need.
It does makes sense some people would want books about death, grief, etc. (though I’d probably prefer something else.)And maybe they’ve got plenty of other kinds of books and so this is where the main need is.
I am very touched by your generosity, by the way. Seems to me as well as bringing out the worst in people, Katrina has also brought out the best.
NS: We already have MANY different liturgies within the Roman Catholic Church. For just a couple examples, there is the Ambrosian Rite (which is in use in the Archdiocese of Milan); there is the Syro-Malabar Rite, the Byzantine Rite and now the Anglican-Use Rite.
We could easily have both Masses extant at the same time, in the same diocese, and it would not be chaotic at all!
Your statement, “[t]he Mass of Paul VI is the official Mass of the Church” shows how little you really know about the western Church. Go talk to an Eastern-Rite Catholic who is most definitely in union with Rome; ask her if the Mass she attends is the Paul VI “Novus Ordo” Mass—and when she says it isn’t, will you tell her that she’s not part of the official Church?
Why do you leave so little room for a Mass that has so many devotees? And why do you equate “progress” with acceptance of the “Novus Ordo” Mass?
I was bemused (?) by the vitriol of the people who responded to the group who was originally donating Bibles to the refugees of Katrina; one of their bitter jibes was that, instead of spending money on something so superfluous as a Bible, the Bible people should have been sending money to meet the physical needs of those refugees.
Right after reading that, I saw an Allstate insurance ad on TV, in which the company congratulated itself for bringing teddy bears to children to help them deal with the loss of their home and familiar surroundings.
I wonder how many acid-laced emails the Allstate people have had to deal with. After all, when you’re rule out emotional (or spiritual) comfort, you rule it out all the way, right?
Sorry if I seemed less than charitable. I just feel kind of bad that we can’t donate more than we have…
People who are against the sending of Bibles have problems greater than the Katrina refugees.
Keep in mind that if you have Bibles and Catholic sacramentals, those can be sent too.
Not dissing Steve’s contribution or suggestion for a book to send at all. It’s great that Bridegroom was able to donate what it did. I don’t have the cash for $150, but I’ve got packets of sacramentals and some Bibles hanging around, more than I need.
Yes, the address is
ATTN: Katrina Relief,
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul,
2403 Holcombe Blvd,
Houston TX 77021
Fr. Jim Clark,
What I meant is, within the Roman rite of the Church, we only have the one official liturgy. Just as, in the Byzantine rite, there is the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. In my reading, ‘Roman’ most often refers to the Latin rite, as opposed to the other, much smaller and less influential rites in the Catholic Church.
When I said that the Vatican II Mass is the official Mass of the Church—what I meant is, this is the liturgy that is law in the Roman/Latin rite. Isn’t this right? As much as I wish the reform hadn’t happened, it seems the law of the Church only contemplates the Tridentine Mass as an exception—something done to foster unity in the Church.
No, I don’t think progress means acceptance of the Novus Ordo. Progress would entail a resolution of this issue (Tridentine vs. Novus Ordo)which is tearing apart some of the best and brightest in our Church. I don’t know exactly how a resolution might happen, though the growth of the FSSP is a good sign.
That is why I said the SSPX is more like an obstacle to any resolution. The irrational statements of their bishops, including Fellay, only serve to discredit those of us who love the Tridentine rite. If only the SSPX leadership was more sane, more realistic, perhaps this dispute could be resolved. But Fellay’s statements are replete with contradictions, half-truths, and paranoid speculation. There are plenty examples of this pathology here: http://www.sspx.ca/Angelus/2002_May/Rome_Campos_Assisi.htm
Consider how contradictory the SSPX is in its policy. On the one hand, we hear about “attachment to eternal Rome” and insistence that they are not schismatics. On the other hand, of their own will, they severed ties with the Pope and have no juridical connection with Rome. Whenever the Vatican has tried to establish normal relations, Fellay goes on a rant about how “we don’t trust Rome.” They condemn the Pope as a proponent of modernism and freemasonry, and yet they tell the world they are “attached to the Holy Father.”
I think this kind of madness serves to discredit those of us who love the Tridentine Mass.
Well, “eternal Rome” amounts to more than one pope or even five popes. When we say that we believe in unchanging truth, we do mean that a pope can’t change it.
I suspect that the N.O. and the Tridentine will co-exist (if they are allowed to) for only a few years before some form of compromise—probably something like what was originally intended at Vatican II—will come into existence.
Some of the changes were good. The expanded lectionary certainly makes sense. Adding St. Joseph to the Canon does as well.
A reading of the Holy Fatherription>
Recall the uproar a few days ago when Thomas A. Nelson Publishers sent Bibles to hurricane victims. There is now a Catholic counterpart. Steve Kellmeyer of Bridegroom Press sent out the following notice and solicitation for donations:
]]>But then Albom’s book has been a best-seller, maybe there is a large audience for a Catholic commentary on it.
Personally, if I were a refugee from Katrina, I’d want a good dose of fiction. Give me Narnia or the Lord of the Rings, etc. Of course, I know there is a wide variety of tastes out there. I hope other companies will be inspired to send a wide variety of books.
I don’t mean at all to sound like I don’t appreciate Bridegroom Press’s very generous offer. They are giving of what they have and I’m sure there are plenty of people who will be grateful. I’d just be curious to know what rationale led them to decide to send this book. Why not mixed cases with a variety of books in them, for example?
I’ve just found out that Dallas has similar issues, “Queen of Peace Center” is taking donations of rosaries, the phone number is 214-368-1966.