Preaching to the Choir

That's the topic of this week's Love One Another message from Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki. Pastors need to know the congregation's, or any audience's, level of knowledge. For examples, he notes,

"It is shocking to me the number of Catholics who don’t understand the teachings of the Church on the 'real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.'"

and

"I have come to realize in the intervening years of my priesthood that the choir may not be singing from the same sheet of music. Perhaps we haven’t paid enough attention to those singing in the choir or sitting in the congregation. Attendance at Sunday Mass has decreased, the sacrament of reconciliation (confession) remains an almost forgotten source of grace... .

Recall that Herald of Hope column by Bishop Donald J. Hying in the Milwaukee Catholic Herald of September 25, 2014 in which he wrote,

"We now have at least two full generations of Catholics who do not know the basics of the faith and who have abandoned the practice of it in droves."

From what I've seen, Christian Formation consists of spending very little time covering even less content. Pointing this out gets a response explaining why Nothing Can Be Done. Will a new generation of pastors and DREs do more than acknowledge the existence of this problem? If you can point to specific evidence of it, feel free to elaborate in the comments.

Archbishop-designate Sample's Pastoral Letter on Sacred Music

On January 21 of this year Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette issued "Rejoice in the Lord Always," a pastoral letter on Sacred Music in Divine Worship, but the PDF of it was uploaded only this morning. (H/T to Adam Bartlett of the Chant Café.) You may download it directly from the Diocese of Marquette's website here.

What struck me the most about this letter is that it calls for the following:

• Pastors and musicians to possess knowledge of the musical directives as found in Church documents (listed in the appendix) and to base preparations for liturgies on them;
• An understanding that one prepares for the liturgy instead of plans it (subtle but important distinction);
• At least one Sunday Mass per parish be a Sung Mass (missa cantata) according to the capabilities of the priest and faithful;
• An awareness of the nonliturgical nature of the "Recessional Hymn", calling for an instrumental piece or silence (in Lent);
• Moving toward the singing of the Proper of the Mass (Entrance/Offertory/Communion chants), while laying down tighter guidelines for hymn substitution of these Propers (which takes place on a widespread basis);
• Weekday Masses to incorporate some liturgical singing;
• All capable priests of the diocese to learn to pray the Roman Canon in chant according to the tones in the Missal;
• All parishes to learn two chant Mass settings (VIII and XVIII);
• All parishes to conduct Triduum liturgies a cappella from the Gloria of Holy Thursday until the Gloria of the Easter Vigil.

He is set to leave the Marquette Diocese in a couple of months, so I'm unsure how well, how quickly, or if the directives in this Pastoral Letter will be implemented. (I have read some positive reports from last June's Diocesan Sacred Music Conference, and I understand that he has recently hired a music director to carry out some of the above at the cathedral there.) However, as he will be installed as archbishop of Portland, Oregon on April 2 his presence may very well begin to be felt (albeit indirectly) not only in the churches of the Diocese of Marquette but also in all churches that use materials published by Oregon Catholic Press. (He is also the incoming chairman of OCP by reason of his archbishopric.)

In any case, it's extremely refreshing to see the chief liturgist of a diocese teach and issue directives about the sacred liturgy that are in continuity with Church teaching. May their number increase.

And readers aware of the Proper of the Mass know that the beginning of the Entrance Antiphon for the Third Sunday of Advent is used for the title of this pastoral letter.

More analysis available at WDTPRS.

Bp. Ricken reveals a new 60-hour religion certification program

GREEN BAY, Wis. (March 30, 2012) -- Green Bay Bishop David L. Ricken today reveals a new 60-hour religion certification program, the Foundational Catechetical Certification (FCC), to members of the diocesan Department of Education, Catholic school administrators, and catechetical leaders.

The ultimate goal of the FCC is to ensure that all teachers and parish religion educators in the Diocese of Green Bay are well educated in the teachings of the Catholic Church.

"To the best of my knowledge, there is no current catechetical program in our country that is this comprehensive in integrating the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCA)," said Bishop Ricken, who is also chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "I hope this program can be of service to others."

continue at the Diocese of Green Bay

Wow, I am curious what other dioceses are using now.  I think the Diocese of La Crosse does allow the Marian Catechist program to vouch as a certification to teach, but other than that I do not know.  The Marian Catechist program is much longer than 60 hours though.

Photo

Reedsburg WI CCD teacher during class: "Governor Walker's move was to keep blacks, Hispanics, the elderly from voting"

I have received an undercover audio recording of a Catholic religion instructor in Reedsburg, WI talking to his students about "social justice" during CCD, or religion class.  Remember, these classes are required to receive the sacrament of Confirmation in the Church.  It cuts in where it appears he's discussing the new voter id law.  I tried to quick transcribe it, but if you notice anything that doesn't match the audio, let me know.  

Update 1/26 - 9:21AM: The instructor is Jim Wieczorek, who is apparently on the school board.

Instructor: Do all of your parents have a drivers license?  Okay, so they don't look like your parents. Who do these people look like?  40 percent of black people, African Americans, 40 percent of African Americans from the age of 18 to 24 who are voting eligible have no ID.  They don't have a drivers license.  You look at Milwaukee and you don't need a drivers license.  You 'ave public transportation.  Where would you keep your car?  On the street?  Oh, haha, yeah.  For a short time.  So they don't get drivers licenses when they turn 16 or 18.  So, Governor Walker's move was to keep blacks from voting, to keep Hispanics from voting and to keep the elderly from voting.  That's a social injustice.  So you are right Drew, when you talk about Governor Walker.


Instructor: What are some other social injustices that we are aware of?

<student speaking>

Instructor: He does not want them to vote.  How do they vote?  Generally speaking, ya' got a Democrat party and a Republican party.  Blacks, Hispanics, and elderly people; how do they vote?

<student speaking>

Instructor:  Democratic.  They vote Democratic!  They are poor people!   Of course they would vote Democratic!   So if he(Walker) can eliminate 300,000 people from voting in the democratic election - super!  You see, he(Walker) passed a law, Michigan governor - Republicans passed a law, Ohio, Ohio passed a law like that.  Florida passed a law like that.

Instructor: Social injustice, what are some other examples of social injustice?

<student speaking>

Instructor: That's criminal injustice. That's not a social thing.  Half of the world is not, whatever her name is .......

<student speaking>

Instructor: We gotta look at the whole world.  What's social injustice in the whole world?  Creating a war against a smoldered nation, where we kill 100,000 of their people.  Passing laws that discriminate against blacks and Hispanics and the poor.  Taking all the money in the world and .... oh, here, I gotta tell you this one.

Instructor: What percentage of your parents income do you think they pay in taxes?  Roughly?  Alright an estimate, okay. Not... I don't want specifics.  You don't  .....  But, statistics show that middle income people, what most of your parents are, middle to lower, what percentage of their income, their wages, do they pay in taxes?  Where did you guess?  Johnny.

Johnny: 45.

Instructor: Okay, that's a good guess, yes.

<student speaking>

Instructor: 15?  15 is a good number.  Yes?

<student speaking>

Instructor: Yes, 10 percent?  Drew?

Drew: 50?

Instructor: 50 percent? Half of the money they made goes to taxes?  'kay.  Yes....30 .....17 ... .....  yes, after you guess all the number eventually we're gonna get em right?

Instructor: About 30 to 35 percent of the money they make, that your parents make, goes for taxes.  30 to 35 percent!  Nobody likes to pay taxes.  But it's really hard when someone that has $300,000,000 in their pockets and pays less than your parents do.  ... 15 percent.  Romney, running for the Republican presidential nomination....  15 percent or less.  15%!  Your parents are paying twice that!  He pays less taxes than his secretary does.

<student speaking>

Instructor: Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.

<student speaking>

Instructor: That's an interesting point that you bring up there.  Because you are absolutely right! We have nothing.  Everything we own is really God's, isn't it?  Your property is God's, this whole world is God's, your(belong to) God's.  He can do what he wants with ya. 

If you ever wonder why half of Catholic consistently vote pro-abortion politicians in, here's why.  There's some valid discussion that could go on here, but claiming that Governor Walker intends to disenfranchise 300,000 people by passing this law is ludicrous.  He is passing this law to help ensure fair and legal elections.  Naysayers have provided no alternatives.  But all of this is really beyond the point.  The teacher lies about the Governor to help promote his political party and philosophy in the name of Catholic doctrine.  And guess what; it happens everywhere.  And I'll give you one guess how much time he spends talking about abortion and sexuality.

Thoughts on La Crosse Catechetical Conference

Friday I attended the diocesan catechetical conference and had the great pleasure of seeing “Our Cardinal” – Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke. He spoke very beautifully on the devotional life, especially devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. His eminence spoke for about 45 minutes covering the foundations for the devotional life in the Church’s magisterium as well as the mis-steps caused by the “Spirit” of Vatican II crowd and the resulting demise of any meaningful devotional life in much of the Church today. He also discussed how this lack of a devotional life has contributed to the fall of the family as a meaningful foundation for society today.

The good Cardinal then took us on a journey through the magisterium of Blessed Pope John Paul II. In this he outlined Bl. JPII’s program for recovering what had been lost which he had addressed almost from the beginning of his pontificate to the very end.

continue at Holy Family

Listecki: these days people want to believe everyone is in heaven

From Word to the Father

Archbishop Listecki chose to write about the Doctrine of Purgatory in his weekly column: Love One Another.  Here is the text:

This is the feast of All Souls.

Growing up, I prayed and learned about family members (e.g., grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncles and cousins) who had died years before I was born. I was told stories about them, and often my mother and I would pray for them on their birthdays. I believe it was the prayer which kept them alive in my memory. I knew that I could assist them with my prayers, and I was confident that they would assist me with theirs.

Although we Catholics have held on to many traditions throughout the years, there is one Catholic teaching which has somehow fallen off our radar – purgatory. It is a place of purgation (i.e., purification). The souls in purgatory are atoning for temporal punishment due to sins. We can assist them through our prayers and good works, and lessen the suffering they must endure for their purification. Perhaps the concept of purgatory is lost because these days people want to believe everyone is in heaven. However, only God (or his Church through canonization) may truly judge if a person is worthy of heaven.

Many of the reflections offered by family or friends at a funeral service usually canonize the individual.  [Amen!] I readily understand why this is so. It is often the affection or appreciation felt for the person, or a tribute that one desires to give. However, we need to remember that when someone dies, he or she was a real person who lived in a real world, and as a Catholic Church, we have declared that only Jesus and His Blessed Mother were born without original sin. Therefore, there is a need to pray for those love ones who have died. It is spiritually healthy and reminds us of the necessity to live fully the Christian life.

When I was teaching in the seminary, I would take the opportunity, especially after a funeral, to address the seminarians. I would emphasize that if I were to die and someone at my funeral got up to give a reflection that bordered on my canonization (however unlikely that should be), I wished for the seminarians to stand up and declare that Father Listecki had said, “I am a sinner and in need of your prayers.” I believe we can offer our deceased loved ones no greater tribute than prayer.

The greatest prayer of the Church is the Mass and, the Church in her wisdom, establishes All Souls Day as a means for praying for those souls in purgatory. When someone dies, we quickly order flowers, but the flowers die in a few days. However, when a Mass is offered, it is an act which carries merit to the loved one who has passed from this world.

Bishop Fulton Sheen stated he believes (never one to be presumptuous) that if he makes it to heaven, he will be greeted with two surprises. First, he will be amazed at the individuals who are in heaven that he never thought would be there and, second, he will be surprised at the absence of individuals he thought would be there. I will occasionally add a prayer for the most neglected soul in purgatory, some soul in need of assistance. It’s comforting for me to think that I can assist a brother or a sister beyond this world. As St. Paul states, “So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” My brothers and sisters, “LOVE ONE ANOTHER.”

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee

Why do so few children know their prayers?

Jennifer Christ fielded a question in the Parenting Section of last week's Milwaukee Catholic Herald.

I am a catechist who is involved in first Eucharist preparation. I am appalled that so few of the children know their basic prayers, yet they are going to receive the Body of Christ. Our faith formation director says there’s nothing we can do about it. What do you think?

The question is headlined Why do so few children know their prayers? as opposed to Why do so many people on pastoral staffs say nothing can be done? 

The Provincial Emails

Green Bay Diocesan staff to begin catechism studies

ALLOUEZ — Beginning in October, diocesan employees will spend one hour each month studying the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCA). During a meeting Sept. 22 at St. Francis Xavier Conference Room, Bishop David Ricken and three other speakers introduced the initiative to about 100 employees.

According to Dr. Joe Bound, director of the Department of Education, 12 staff members have volunteered to serve as facilitators of the USCCA course. Employees will be asked to study one chapter of the catechism each month and then gather for one-hour sessions to discuss the chapter. The Catechism for Adults consists of 36 chapters.

Bishop Ricken told employees that understanding the Catholic faith is essential to the diocesan staff. "Be open to the process of learning so you can understand the mission and the culture" of the church, he said.

Referring to a pastoral letter he issued in November 2009, Bishop Ricken said one of his goals as bishop is to have diocesan and parish leaders be proficient in three areas: knowing the faith, explaining the faith and defending the faith.

"It requires studying, but it will pay off by understanding who we are and what we are about," said the bishop. "I ask you to be open to learning and understanding."

The Compass

One would hope that all diocesan staff would already have a firm grasp of the Catechism, but it's great to see Bishop Ricken taking the bull by the horns on this.  And there's definitely some people who really want to believe what the church teaches, but they have been taught by dissenters and denied the truth.