The sign of peace should return to a more ritualized form. The priest kisses the altar to receive the Pax and then passes it to the deacon, who passes it to a server, who passes it to the people, who spread it through the congregation in a wave like the Light at the Easter Vigil.
The USCCB should simultaneously use their authority granted in GIRM 82 to designate some gesture other than a handshake as the sign of peace. Either a traditional arm embrace, or a hands-folded bow to each other. A handshake is not the right vibe for passing the Pax.
The only reason we don't have this is because in the middle ages, nobles would fight over who was more senior and would receive the Pax first, so it became limited to the sanctuary in the TLM — and then we get the
overcorrection of praxis post-V2.
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22 Rules for a Christian Life by Desiderius Erasmus
Rule 1 — "Place great reliance on the Scriptures... there is not a single item contained in Holy Writ that does not pertain to your salvation... nothing you perceive with your senses is as true as what you read in scripture."
Rule 2 — Act upon God's promises without hesitation. Be prepared to undergo loss of everything for Christ's sake. There are two paths: the way of gratification of the senses to perdition, and the way of mortification of the flesh to life.
Rule 3 — Analyze the unfounded fears you have about pursuing virtue. Even if we disregard the notion of reward, the way of Christ is the most sensible and logical one to follow.
A good confession is one where you confess all mortal sins in kind and number.
Want to know how to make a great confession? 🧵
Say the sin that you're most scared or embarrassed about saying first. It'll make the rest of the confession easier.
Be specific, but not verbose.
"I was rude to my cousins" ✅
"I taunted my cousins with a limerick" ✅
"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. His parents called him Eustace Clarence and-" 🚫
Some of you may know that a few years ago, I made a canon law website. Prior to my site, the only place that the code was online was vatican.va which was out of date, poorly formatted, and unsearchable. So I made a tool to be of help.
It is now facing legal action.
Sourcing the canons from the Vatican website and other places the code was freely available, I put together a website that for the past several years has helped hundreds of canonists, students, and Christian faithful know the law of the Church.
But last week, I received a Cease & Desist letter from the Canon Law Society of America, saying that this tool infringes their rights as owners of the copyright of the most popular English text of the Code of Canon Law.
Never underestimate how God might use you in ways - or places - you'd never expect.
Last summer, I was going to grab some takeout - as priests are wont to do - at Subway. The line was particularly long and slow, and I had an appointment to get back to. /1
As I was waiting my turn, a middle-aged woman came up to me and asked if I was a Catholic priest. She described to me how she had been feeling a call to become a Benedictine oblate. "That's wonderful" I responded. She asked "Do you know if non-Catholics can become one?"
Hm.
/2
I said probably not, and she seemed sad. I asked her "well, if you feel the call from God to become an oblate, why not look into becoming Catholic?" She responded that she just couldn't agree with the Church on things like Mary, some things around marriage, etc. /3