THOMAS F. BERTONNEAU writes:

That mitered fool Cardinal Thomas McCarrick says, “We are committed to building a future in which religious differences no longer lead to hostility or division between communities.”  So is Islam.  Once all communities have submitted to Islam there will precisely “no longer be hostility or division between communities.”  The name for this is Sharia; the political form of it is the Caliphate.  In Euripides’ play The Bacchae, everyone rushes to become an intoxicated follower of Dionysus; in Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, no one can resist the urge to become a bellowing pachyderm.  In both cases, great fear takes hold lest all not submit to the dehumanizing transformation; it is embarrassing to remain human.  As our elites rush to become dhimmis, I have the sick feeling that we are living out The Bacchae or Rhinoceros.

                                                                        — Comments —

James M. writes:

It’s damned hard to be Catholic right now.

I can grit my teeth through the General Intercessions, when they include things like:

“That we may graciously welcome all peoples of the world, and that they may be given a place at our table, and an equal voice in determining our governance.”

However…

Right after Maj. Hasan Nidal’s killing spree, our deacon treated us to a sermon in which he exactly echoed the words of Gen. George Casey. He went on and on about how horrible was the death of those soldiers, then he paused for effect and exclaimed: “But there is something even worse! And that is the possibility that we may be inclined to think ill of Muslim people after this event.” And it went on… I wanted to get up and walk out, and would have if I had been alone, but I didn’t want to embarrass my wife. I talked to her about it when we got home to make sure were on the same page on that subject.

Now I’m afraid that this weekend of Sept. 11, this Koran-burning issue is going to be wedged into the service in some fashion, and we will be told how wonderful Muslims are and how awful we are if we ever doubt that “fact.” I don’t want to sit through that. I don’t want to go to church.

Laura writes:

There are no general intercessions in the traditional Latin mass, which is worth seeking out. A directory can be found here.

Brendan writes:

Indeed. Traditional Latin Mass for Catholics is a great option. I am Eastern Orthodox and we also have no “made up” intercessions. Occasionally the Bishop, who determines such things in our Church, will deem certain intercessions to be inserted into our litanies, but they are mostly to commemorate recent dead (miners, 9/11, e.g.) or for Christian unity and so on. Nothing like what was quoted there, really.

Traditional Christians need to find traditional Churches to worship in, I think. It makes a big difference.

Michael S. writes:

Regarding the general intercessions (a.k.a. The Prayer of the Faithful): The General Instruction of the Roman Missal clearly states, in Section 70, as follows:

70. As a rule, the series of intentions is to be

For the needs of the Church;
For public authorities and the salvation of the whole world;
For those burdened by any kind of difficulty;
For the local community. 

Nevertheless, in a particular celebration, such as Confirmation, Marriage, or a Funeral, the series of intentions may reflect more closely the particular occasion.

In my parish, this order is disregarded every day. And you can tell the political bent of the person writing the intercessions. I don’t know who writes them, but I’ve been meaning to write to the rector about it.

So many people complain that “the Church has too many rules.” I should not have to remind my pastor of the liturgical rules.

When a couple gets married, my understanding is that they have the privilege of writing the intercessions themselves, provided they accord with the GIRM. When my wife and I got married, I did most of the writing, and they most certainly conform to the rules.

Karen I. writes:

I attend a Catholic church run by Franciscans and we don’t hear the things James described. We are regularly reminded at my church that Catholicism is the one true religion and there is no place for relativism. Perhaps those who are dissatisfied with the Mass at their church should try going to a church run by Franciscans, who tend to be very conservative. Our Franciscan priests are not afraid to stand up and condemn abortion and contraception almost weekly. They also encourage frequent confession, talk to the congregation about modesty, include the mentally disabled as altar servers and expect all families with children in CCD to attend Mass weekly. My church is probably one of the most conservative in my state and it is flourishing while many others in the area are not. Even elderly nuns seem to prefer our Franciscan-run church and travel many miles to go there instead of churches they could walk down the street to attend. 

Andrea writes:

I understand how James M. feels. Here, to steal a phrase from Allahpundit, is a “palate cleaner” for him. It’s Bishop Fulton Sheen on False Compassion.

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