Metaphysical education

Fr. Martin Fox's letter runs in the print edition of this morning's Cincinnati Enquirer (oddly they left out his status as a member of the clergy, which I know he included in his submission):

James E. Gruber objects to the Catholic archbishop even speaking up about the propriety of President Obama being honored by a Catholic university, attended by many of his flock. Then he says, "the President of the United States deserves our respect." Is even speaking up in disagreement a lack of "respect"? Who is the extremist?

Then he asserts "about the issue of abortion" that "we must leave the metaphysical questions to the theologians and scientists, and not use them for political fodder."

"Metaphysical questions" about human life are pretty essential to the political process. Is Gruber a "person," deserving of legal protection? I think so, presumably so does he. Whether he "or any of us" is a "person" is a "metaphysical question" undergirding the legal question. Fortunately for Gruber, the law does not leave the determination of his personhood to everyone else's "choice."

Martin Fox

Piqua, Ohio

You'll recall we discussed Mr. Gruber's letter here.

"There's an excitement"

The Catholic Courier profiles transitional deacon Brian Carpenter, who this spring will be the last priest ordained in the Diocese of Rochester until 2013:

He attended eighth grade at St. Joseph School in Penfield and then enrolled at McQuaid Jesuit High School, graduating in 1994. In those days, he acknowledged, he wasn't involved in church beyond attending Sunday Mass, as he attempted to suppress the message from God lurking deep inside of him.

"When you're, like, a teenager and everything, that's not the kind of call you want to have. You like going out with girls, and you're feeling this call and you don't want to talk about it with your friends because it's not cool," he remarked.

Yet shortly after Deacon Carpenter began college at the University of Notre Dame, his roommate predicted that he would one day become a priest.

"I was very upset that he picked up on it," he recalled, laughing. "Gradually, I realized it's not something to fight or be ashamed of."

Deacon Carpenter explained that he had very much aspired to the priesthood all along, but that the steep commitment level involved had held him in check. After he began to attend on-campus discernment meetings, he took to heart the advice of a Holy Cross priest who suggested he relax and not take everything in at once.

"I think that was a turning point, that I didn't have to make a final decision that second. And that's the kind of advice I give. It's impossible to do; it's too much for anyone to handle," he remarked.
...
Deacon Carpenter is now a familiar face around the Rochester Diocese, having spent the summer of 2004 at Webster's St. Paul Parish, the summer of 2005 at Rochester's Peace of Christ Parish and his pastoral year of 2006-07 at St. Mary Parish in Canandaigua. He also logged the summer of 2008 in Canandaigua following ordination as a transitional deacon last May 31.

Since becoming a deacon he has officiated a couple of baptisms -- experiences that left him filled with awe about being a sacramental conduit between humans and God.

"I have affected reality; that person has now become the body of Christ forever. It's a very humbling experience," he said.

Deacon Carpenter is currently finishing up studies at Mundelein. He's due to celebrate his first Mass the day after his ordination -- on Sunday, June 7, at 11:30 a.m. at St. Mary in Canandaigua. From there he will begin a yet-to-be-determined assignment in the Rochester Diocese.

"There's an excitement. You can't wait to do the Mass, celebrate sacraments," he said, although he admitted that having never heard a confession, he finds that prospect a bit daunting: "You have no idea who's going to walk into the confessional, and you have to respond to it -- 'What penance do I give?' There's this kind of sense of awe -- 'Oh my goodness, this is real.'" ...

Mike at DOR Catholic has a related post here.

"Back up Obama"

In the event you are unsure which word in the group name "Catholic Democrats" is more important, the release below should provide some clarity (click image to enlarge):

You can vote in the Enquirer poll mentioned in the email here.

Update. Here's a scan of the party operative's letter in the April 24 issue of the Catholic Telegraph of Cincinnati.

A few other bloggers have picked up the story:

Fr Z: http://wdtprs.com/blog/2009/04/a-lesson-in-how-groups-work-to-politicize-the-notre-shame-controversy/

AND American Catholic: http://the-american-catholic.com/2009/04/24/catholic-democrats-of-ohio-vs-the-catholic-bishops/

AND Jay Anderson: http://proecclesia.blogspot.com/2009/04/proof-that-group-calling-itself.html

"If a man wants to pray, let him go and pray"

Brian Patrick and I will be covering Chapter 35 of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, "God Calls Us to Pray," at 8:10 am tomorrow on the Son Rise Morning Show. Join us. (The post's title comes from St. Benedict and reflects his simple approach to prayer.)

How to Read the Bible

At a meeting this morning with thirty representatives of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, Pope Benedict explained the proper method of exegesis:

Benedict XVI began by underlining the importance of the chosen theme, which "concerns not only believers, but the Church herself, because the Church's life and mission necessarily rest upon the Word of God … ."

Recalling that the Constitution 'Dei Verbum' (The Word of God) affirmed that God is the author of the Bible, and that in Sacred Scripture God speaks to mankind in a human manner, the Holy Father laid out the three criteria that the Second Vatican Council prescribed for correctly interpreting Scripture.

"For a correct interpretation of Scripture we must, then, carefully examine what the hagiographers really sought to say and what God was pleased to reveal with their words," he explained.

First, "Sacred Scripture is one by virtue of the unity of God's plan, of which Jesus Christ is the center and the heart."

Second, "Scripture must be read in the context of the living Tradition of the entire Church. ... In her Tradition the Church carries the living memory of the Word of God, and it is the Holy Spirit Who provides her with the interpretation thereof in accordance with its spiritual meaning.

"The third criterion concerns the need to pay attention to the analogy of the faith; that is, to the cohesion of the individual truths of faith, both with one another and with the overall plan of Revelation and the fullness of the divine economy enclosed in that plan."

The task of scholars, the Holy Father said, "is to contribute, following the above-mentioned principles, to a more profound interpretation and exposition of the meaning of Sacred Scripture."

Pope Benedict, himself an academic, also warned Catholic biblical scholars that the study of Sacred Scripture cannot be reduced to a purely academic exercise but must involve a perception of "the Word of God in these texts."

"The interpretation of Sacred Scriptures cannot be a merely an individual academic undertaking, but must always be compared with, inserted into, and authenticated by the living Tradition of the Church.

Send this story to the person who runs your parish Bible study or RCIA program (especially if he or she uses lectionary-based catechesis.)

Rosaries for Rochester

CREDO at Rochester Catholic announces a campaign that is worthy of your support (I just said and registered a decade myself):

• Please join us in prayer to resolve the unprecedented crisis of faith in the Diocese of Rochester. For more information, please read our specific prayer intentions and our overview of the crisis and this prayer campaign.

• Total so far: 11 rosaries, 2 decades
• I've Prayed:

Hidden in the Old

The unity of the Old and New Testaments is a critical facet of the Catholic approach to Scripture. As St. Augustine put it, "the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New," (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 129.) So how is it that a rabbi, whose religion, while rightly esteemed by the Church, nonetheless obligates him to reject this truth of Scripture, can teach theology at a Catholic university?

Rabbi Abie Ingber will present a free talk, "Children of Hope: An Intimate Look at the Darfur Refugees," at Xavier University's Cintas Center at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Ingber spent 10 days in Chad last month visiting Darfurian refugees in three camps: Gaga, Bredjing and Treguine. He and five refugees took about 3,700 photographs that documented life in the camps. He will show 200 of them at the talk.

"They will be the core of telling the story of what I found at the camps," Ingber said.

The founding director of the Office of Interfaith Community Engagement at XU, Ingber teaches in the university's Department of Theology and at Hebrew Union College.

His presentation will be in the James and Caroline Duff Banquet Room.

Morning (after) in America

From Greater Cincinnati Right to Life (a group that really needs to start posting its releases online):

BREAKING NEWS: FDA to Let 17-Year Olds Purchase Morning After Pill Without a Prescription

April 22, 2009--News has just been released that the The FDA will soon announce that it is complying with a federal judge's order to overturn a Bush adminstration policy and permit 16-year-olds to obtain the "Morning After Pill" (Plan B) birth control pill without a prescription.

The FDA will later evaluate whether all age restrictions will be lifted.

NOTE: A girl under 18 cannot even get her ears pierced without a parent or guardian present and signing a release, yet she can obtain this megadose of hormones that sometimes acts as an abortifacient with no parental or physician supervision.

See FOX News coverage at this point:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/22/official-fda-says-year-olds-morning-pill-prescription/

Sticking with Catholic education

Our Sunday Visitor crunches the numbers on this year's ordination class and comes up with some interesting findings, among them the connection between priestly vocations and Catholic education:

Sticking with Catholic education through and beyond elementary school makes a difference. About 51 percent of the ordinands (compared to 42 percent of the adult Catholic population) attended Catholic elementary school, 43 percent (compared to 22 percent) attended Catholic high school, and 42 percent (compared to just 7 percent) attended a Catholic university or college.

This would seem to run counter to both studies and anecdotal evidence from previous years, which show that Catholic high schools in particular are not very correlated with priestly vocations. (See previous entries here and here.) Moreover, I'll wager that schools with strong Catholic identities produce a disproportionate number of these young priests. A study of Catholic universities conducted by the Cardinal Newman Society found that to be the case. Other key findings: 70% of ordinands served as altar boys, 25% are foreign born, and 15% were discouraged from pursuing their vocation by a priest(!).

A need for "culture change"

In the online edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer, a self-described "practicing Roman Catholic" -- does anything say "What follows is nonsense" quite like that opener? -- offers a rather predictable objection to Archbishop Pilarczyk's statement concerning President Obama's commencement address and award from Notre Dame:

As a practicing Roman Catholic, I find it disconcerting that the Archbishop of Cincinnati would get involved in the Notre Dame controversy. First and foremost, the President of The United States deserves our respect. We do not have to agree with his every stance however, we have a responsibility to work with him towards unifying, bringing peace, and a renewed sense of hope to our country, and the world. It seems to me that religious extremism and disdain for anyone who holds beliefs contrary to theirs only promotes divisiveness and discord within a society/culture. Today's America is at a crossroads! Now more than at any time in our country's history, is there a need for "culture change". Barack Obama holds that promise, and we have a responsibility to work with him in this greatest of endeavors. I have no problem letting people know that I am a Pro-life/Pro-Choice Catholic, and although I am not a proponent of abortion, I do not have the right to "tell" a woman what choice she must make in time of personal crisis. We must leave the metaphysical questions to the Theologians and Scientists, and not use them for political fodder. ...

I am told the Archbishop received several obnoxious calls yesterday. You can show your support by emailing him a thank you note here.

Bad, filthy money

This week's Subsidiarity* in Action award goes to the Warren County commissioners of greater Cincinnati for rejecting $1.8 million in federal stimulus funds:

"This is bad, filthy money, folks," Commissioner Mike Kilburn said March 17, when the commissioners voted unanimously not to accept transit dollars. "This is money we don't have."

Warren County was the only rural Ohio county to decline the transit money, said Scott Varner, ODOT spokesman.

"If we want it that bad, we'll do it on our own," Warren County Commissioner David Young said Tuesday. "I don't think people understand how much money we are talking about here."

The overall stimulus package is more than $787 billion, Young says.

Warren County isn't rejecting all stimulus money. The county applied for and has been granted nearly $200,000 in federal stimulus dollars for a road project in the Springboro area, Young said.

But the general view of the all-Republican commission has been that stimulus dollars should be used only to pay for crumbling infrastructure, he said.

"Our vans are fine - we'll keep them for a while," Young said.

What's less clear are the facts surrounding the $1.8 million that has officials say has been offered to pay for energy projects in Warren County.

According to Young, a representative from Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown's office called the Warren County's clerk of commissioners about a month ago and announced: "Congrats, you get $1.8 million."

"I told her (the clerk) to call them back and tell them we don't want it; we didn't apply for it; is there any way of literally not borrowing this money?" Young said.

It's unclear what the next step will be relating to this money, because no formal vote has been taken on the issue.

Commissioner Pat South said Tuesday that the county is looking at the grant. Young, however, is planning a philosophical crusade.

Not only should Warren County avoid spending the money, Young wants to stipulate that the money not be given to any other local government to spend either. Instead the amount should be subtracted from the increased national debt created by the stimulus.

* "The principle of subsidiarity states that a community of a higher order should not assume the task belonging to a community of a lower order and deprive it of its authority. It should rather support it in case of need," Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 403.

"a minister of the Eucharist and reconciliation"

The announcement of Bishop Robert Carlson's appointment to the archbishopric of St. Louis overshadowed another episcopal appointment: Bishop Robert Cunningham to Syracuse, the next diocese over from my home diocese of Rochester. I know very little about him, but the priorities he identified in his brief statement are encouraging. Here is Zenit's report:

Benedict XVI also appointed Bishop Robert Cunningham, 65, of Ogdensburg, New York, as bishop of Syracuse, succeeding Bishop James Moynihan who resigned upon reaching the age limit.

Born in Buffalo, New York, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1969. He received a degree in canon law from the Catholic University of America, with which he served as judge in the marriage tribunal and vice-chancellor in the diocese of Buffalo.

He currently serves on the U.S. bishops' conference committees for priorities and plans, for the protection of children and young people, and for Native American Catholics.

At the news of his appointment, Bishop Cunningham stated: "Sent by Pope Benedict XVI, I come to teach and preach the Word of God; to love you with wholehearted affection and to serve your needs especially as a minister of the Eucharist and reconciliation. I hope to be a source of unity for the diocese."

He will be installed on May 26 at the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The diocese of Syracuse in northern New York has approximately 352,000 Catholics, served by 310 priests, 85 permanent deacons and 536 religious.

What a good DRE can do

Here's a paragraph to save to your hard drive. It comes from a comment over at Fr. Z's site about whether to receive communion on the tongue or in the hand. (Yes, the current law of the Church permits reception either way. But parish religious education efforts almost universally teach first communicants to receive in the hand, and there are persuasive arguments for preferring the tongue.)

I am a director of religious education. Each year I provide parents with a “Catechism on receiving the sacraments,” a Q & A document that I put together to answer all the “difficult” questions, including the topic of posture and method of reception for Holy Communion. For the question, “Should your child receive the Body of the Lord in the hand or on the tongue?” I answer:

According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, “The consecrated Host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant.” The universal law of the Latin rite is that we receive Holy Communion on the tongue. To receive in the hand is an indult or special permission that does not exist in many parts of the world, but has been granted to the United States. The Church, in the words of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (29 May 1969, Memoriale Domini), encourages primarily the reception of Holy Communion on the tongue for five reasons: 1) it is “based on a most ancient and venerable tradition”; 2) “it expresses the faithful’s reverence for the Eucharist”; 3) “it is part of that preparation that is needed for the most fruitful reception of the Body of the Lord”; 4) the practice “removes the danger of profanation of the sacred species”; and 5) “it ensures that diligent carefulness about the fragments of consecrated bread which the Church has always recommended.”

Trending younger -- and larger

The Catholic News Agency reports that this year's ordination class is trending younger. Cincinnati's 2009 "bumper crop" is mentioned early in the story:

Several dioceses will ordain large numbers of men this year. The Archdiocese of Newark will ordain 13 men for either the archdiocese or for the Neo-Catechumenal way. The Chicago Archdiocese will ordain ten men, while the Washington Archdiocese will ordain eight. The Diocese of Memphis, Tennessee will ordain six men. Cincinnati, which has averaged five ordinations a year since 2000, will ordain seven in 2009.

The Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon will ordain seven, its largest class since the early seventies.

The median age of 2009 ordinands is 33, younger than in recent years. Allen Offa, one of three to be ordained for the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, is 25. Two of the five men to be ordained for the Archdiocese of Detroit are 26, while the oldest is 36.

Red Ken

It will be interesting to see what Coadjutor Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr does with Xavier University once he becomes Cincinnati's ordinary. The school's theology department, especially faculty member and undergraduate advisor Ken Overberg, S.J., is a living advertisement for the wisdom and necessity of Ex Corde Ecclesia:

During the Easter season, we proclaim the Acts of the Apostles, the first letter of John, and, except for next week, the Gospel of John.

It is important to remember that the Acts of the Apostles is not exact history. It is a proclamation of faith that sounds like history. Acts is the second volume of a two-volume work; the first volume is the Gospel of Luke. Some scholars judge that this two-volume work was written around 85 C.E., though recently other scholars have suggested years later. The names of the gospel writers were given even later in the second century; the unknown evangelists were not eye-witnesses of Jesus’ life.

Acts is a creative story about truth—the truth that the Spirit led the development of the early Christian community, the truth that the good news of Jesus is for all people, Jew and Gentile. Of course, the first disciples had to speak and travel and touch people’s lives in order for the Gospel to spread. Acts offers an idyllic account of this process, today describing community life.

Scripture scholars now judge that the author of the letters of John is someone different from the author of the gospel. Neither is the apostle, and yes, both are unknown. ...

The anti-life mentality

The Cincinnati Enquirer covers Archbishop Pilarczyk's opposition to Notre Dame's selection of President Obama to deliver a May 17 commencement address and receive an honorary award:

Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk is supporting an Indiana bishop and a growing chorus of critics who oppose the choice of President Barack Obama as the University of Notre Dame’s commencement speaker.

The flap over Obama's selection began in March and is gaining momentum among Catholics and their leaders, who argue the president's support for abortion rights makes him an unacceptable choice for such an honor at one of the nation's leading Catholic universities.

Pilarczyk and others say it's inappropriate for the school to give Obama an honorary degree and to allow him to deliver the commencement address because his stance on abortion conflicts with the church's position.

“No one who has been a supporter of the anti-life mentality should be given honors or a forum,” archbishop spokesman Dan Andriacco said.

He said Pilarczyk supports the efforts of Bishop John D’Arcy, in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, who is boycotting Obama’s May 17 address at Notre Dame.

Pilarczyk spoke out on the issue when asked to do so by local organizations, such as Cincinnati Right to Life, and in support of an editorial that appeared in a recent issue of The Catholic Telegraph, the archdiocese's newspaper.

The editorial suggested Notre Dame had forsaken its Catholic identity for the prestige of a presidential visit. "Catholics have an obligation to 'call out' our brothers and sisters when their actions are morally questionable," the editorial states.

A conservative Catholic group, The Cardinal Newman Society, has joined the bishops' opposition to Obama's selection and is leading the charge to boycott his appearance at Notre Dame.

A web site dedicated to the campaign, www.notredamescandal.com, claims more than 324,000 people have signed a petition opposing Obama's selection as commencement speaker. The web site includes a cartoon that depicts Notre Dame's iconic "Touchdown Jesus" weeping as Obama delivers his address.

Those leading the opposition say the selection violates a U.S. bishops’ document that states “Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.”

Stripping of the altars

Tuesday marks the 500th anniversary of the coronation of Henry VIII, whose reign brought rupture to England's 1,000-year relationship with the Church. Stephanie Mann's new book Supremacy and Survival tells the compelling story of how "English Catholics endured the Reformation." Here is my brief review for Amazon:

Stephanie Mann has written an instructive popular history of Catholics under Protestant rule in England. While she relies exclusively on secondary sources, Ms. Mann is familiar with all the recent scholarship that debunks the Whig theory of English history. This now discredited view held that England's break with her historic ties to the Church was inevitable and "progressive." The remedial work of Eamon Duffy in The Stripping of the Altars, which demonstrates the health and vitality of the Church in England on the eve of Henry VIII's violent imposition, receives deserved attention. Queen Mary I, maligned by Protestant propagandists as "Bloody Mary," is given sympathetic treatment. We learn that she sought to rule through Parliament, refrained from compelling her subjects to reconvert to Catholicism, and anticipated the reforms of the Council of Trent. Her subsequent excesses, while deplorable, were certainly no worse than those perpetrated by her father, Henry VIII, and her half-sister, Elizabeth I. The book also covers an area of history often overlooked by popular historians -- the fate of English Catholics after the Tudor-Stuart period. The aftermath of the so-called "Glorious Revolution," a conspiracy which put a Dutch usurper on the throne of England, and the emancipation of the 19th century, which freed Catholics of some Reformation-era oppressions, each receive a chapter. The book is based on a seminar Ms. Mann once led, and it occasionally shows when her prose turns pedantic. Yet her love for the subject matter always shines through. If you are a fan of the history of English Catholicism, this is a book to own.

You don't need me to name the diocese ...

... to know where this event took place:

So, there you have it-an interfaith event, spearheaded by [the city's] most prominent abortionist, at which one of the ... deacons blames Christianity and the Catholic Church for the Holocaust.

Supports the strong comments

In the "Et Tu Cincinnatus?" post, I suggested it would be helpful if Archbishop Pilarczyk of Cincinnati made a public statement concerning the Notre Dame-Obama scandal. Reader DF sends related information:

Last week, I sent an email to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati communications office specifically asking for a public statement from the Archbishop on the Notre Dame scandal. Here is the email response I received:

"Thanks for writing. Archbishop Pilarczyk supports the strong comments of Bishop D'Arcy of South Bend, in whose diocese Notre Dame is located. He also stands by the editorial 'Prestige over Truth' that appeared in the Catholic Telegraph on April 3, p. 5, which is critical of Notre Dame.

You may recall that when Summit Country Day School invited Gov. Sebelius to be its commencement speaker a few years ago, Archbishop Pilarczyk told the head of the school this was not appropriate. The invitation was withdrawn."

Update. The Cardinal Newman Society picks up the story in its latest press release:

Archdiocese of Cincinnati spokesman Dan Andriacco has confirmed to CNS that Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk “supports the strong comments of Bishop D’Arcy of South Bend, in whose diocese Notre Dame is located.” Archbishop D’Arcy, who is boycotting Notre Dame’s commencement, said that Notre Dame must ask itself whether by this decision it has chosen prestige over truth.

Mr. Andriacco also said the Archbishop stands by the editorial ‘Prestige over Truth’, appearing in The Catholic Telegraph, on April 3, which is critical of Notre Dame’s decision to honor Obama.

"They’re building great mosques"

It's bad enough to suffer the indignity of having your parish closed.

(I realize neighborhood demographic changes sometimes necessitate these closures.)

But at least in most -- many? -- cases, the acquirer is a Christian community. That was the case when Bishop Clark sold off my father's childhood parish, Ss. Peter & Paul, to the Copts, and when Archbishop Pilarczyk sold the old Benedictine convent on Erie Avenue to the Methodists.

They must have run out of Christian buyers in Buffalo:

A Muslim group has purchased the former Queen of Peace Catholic Church, rectory, convent and school on Genesee Street and plans to use the complex as a community center and mosque.

Now comes word that the Diocese of Buffalo

The church, by the architects who designed the landmark Buffalo City Hall, will be called Masjid Jami, which means a space to gather together, said Dr. Hatim Hamad, who is leading a group of Muslim parents backing the purchase.

The deal is further evidence of a growing Muslim presence throughout Western New York, which already has nine mosques and a 10th being built on Transit Road in Amherst.

Masjid Jami, envisioned as focusing on children and outreach, will offer a variety of youth programs.

“They’re building great mosques, but our whole point is we want to have something for the community,” said Hamad, a clinical assistant professor in the University at Buffalo’s School of Dental Medicine. ...

How to "grip their imagination"

Many parishes, mine included, struggle with how to keep older children interested in the Mass. Unfortunately, this often leads pastors and worship commission types either to "get them more involved" as readers or extraordinary ministers or to blame the victim by scolding these young, disinterested worshipers. Both moves reflect a false, externally oriented sense of participation and amount to doubling-down on banality -- a losing bet. Rarely does anyone consider adding an element of sacramental mystery by celebrating the Mass with the dignity and solemnity called for by the norms. In a promotional interview for his new book, a thriller with Catholic themes, author Piers Paul Read explains what drew him to the Mass as a child:

How would I evaluate his papacy? His very elevation to the Papacy has routed the "spirit of Vatican II" advocates of an alternative magisterium. His encyclicals Deus Caritas Est and Spe Salvi, the Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, and his book Jesus of Nazareth, are all superb. His courage and lucidity were clearly apparent in his Regensburg address. I share entirely his insistence that beauty and mystery should return to the celebration of the Eucharist. It was this that gripped my imagination as a child — Benediction as well as the Mass — and I am sure that it is the banality of much of the post-Conciliar liturgy that has made it difficult for a younger generation to perceive the momentous nature of what takes place at Mass.

Ten years ago, Amy Welborn addressed the same theme in a provocative essay for First Things magazine. Here's a snippet:

The Latin Rite Roman Catholic liturgy as it’s offered in most American parish at the very end of the twentieth century is so stunningly, astonishingly trivialized that it is indeed, taken on the surface, a stultifying, uninspiring and even faith-sapping experience.