No. Canon Law requires that every parish have a Finance Council. But a parish council or pastoral council is optional. A good option, but not required.
"when a site is free to read, your margins are razor thin and staff is the ultimate luxury item."
-If you are a Pillar reader, and you are not currently a subscriber, PLEASE BECOME ONE!
I was gifted three 1-month Pillar subscriptions to give away. I'm sure there's a way for me to gift three of you non-subscribers one. Let me know if you are interested. We'll make it happen.
Experience the awesomeness of the daily Starting Seven in your mailboxes and the Bonus Pillar Podcast episodes.
edit: subscribers get to comment, so email Kate (sorry for more work Kate) or someone at the Pillar that you are interested in taking me up. Then you, too, can comment on my snarky take aways.
"The biggest problem comes in these lines: 'Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new? This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.' This is at least an implicit denial of the Immaculate Conception, by which Mary was extraordinarily preserved from sin at her first moment of existence."
I was taught that although she was born without original sin, she still needed Christ to be born to open the gates of heaven, so she still needed a deliverence of sorts. I'm no theologian so ok with being told I am wrong.
Right she did and was delivered by Christ but at the time of His birth He had done delivered her 😉
As the saving sanctification of the Paschal Mystery is outside time, being God and all, Christ saved His mother from the moment of her creation.
No soon deliver nonsense, it already happened (I hate that song. - SHE KNEW. SHE WAS A GOOD JEW WHO KNEW THE PROPHETS. SHE KNEW - so my sass isn’t personal to you but to that awful song writer lol )
Hate this song too for the same reasons. My daughter did a hilarious Instagram post using her best valley girl voice, "Mary, did'tcha know? I mean, like, haven't you read scripture? Or the prophets? Etc" she won't let me share it but her comment to me was "Protestants finally wrote a song about Mary and they used it to undercut her". God bless my dear daughter, who, btw, also HATES fireworks lol
A following point in the diocese's explanation: "While there is an atemporal side to God's activity, at face value 'This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you' conveys a sense of Mary at that moment still awaiting salvation along with everyone else (as opposed to being already cleansed by a 'prevenient grace,' as the Prayer over the Offerings for Immaculate Conception on December 8 says). And since the song was not written by/for Catholics, that’s surely the intent. But we have to affirm that Mary was not still awaiting a future salvation when Jesus was born—in fact, her purity was necessary for the Incarnation."
I was born and raised Protestant, which is how I came to know of the song and its writer, and the assumed meaning behind the line is that Mary needs to be saved from her sins. I can see how the explanation you were given can work to make the line fit into a Catholic context, but that almost certainly not what was on a Texas Baptist's mind when he wrote it!
Bingo. We can rationalize ways that the lyrics don't deny the Immaculate Conception, but we're just performing mental gymnastics. Occam's Razor applies here.
I am jealous. We were treated to a rendition of the song at Christmas Eve Mass. Our music director is a relatively recent convert and I'm not sure she realizes the problem with it.
I am so glad a child was rescued from the British medical murderers and has improved beyond what they said could happen. I pray that our Catholic Church there quickly put together a court that can save the lives of children. If the Muslims can do it we should be able to do so also.
And so mainstream press that the article you referenced makes no mention of the child's improvement far beyond what the medical murderers said was possible.
I don't think it would make a difference. The "system" in the UK knows that the Catholic bishops have very little actual power (politically speaking) and, and if the Catholic faithful only get tepid support from the bishops then the government has little to fear. The Catholics will "cope and seethe" as the kids say and the government will get its way.
On the other hand, Muslims aren't guaranteed to just sit down and take it, so they're shown a certain deference. Part of it's also that they're not Christians, which automatically wins them some deference too. (NB: I am not saying that the threat of violence is a good thing. Muslims also live under a lot of surveillance and deal with their communities being infiltrated by government informants as a result of the threat of violence. I don't want that to be the reality for Catholics if it can be avoided (the FBI apparently was interested in making that our reality, so it may happen either way.)
I generally like The Star, but the more times I’ve heard it (as my kids watch it), the less I like it. I agree with Ed’s points about Mary, although I’m more okay with her portrayal than Ed is. What bothers me most is the portrayal of Joseph; he’s anxious, fearful, and has very little faith. St. Joseph deserves better than that.
Amennnnnn! He’s very unlikeable for much of the movie and I’m so terribly offended by that. I have a deep love of this holy man (and have my own Joseph in his honor!) and taking him from silent and just (aka righteous ) to that crank in the Star bothers me heaps
I seem to remember in at least the case of Alfie Evans, the UK bishops they were actually rather halfhearted in their support for Alfie and his family, and their statement after he died was in support of the hospital staff nearly as much as his family. I probably wouldn't put too much hope in the UK bishops taking any kind of action to challenge the establishment culture in the near future.
I am curious as to why this time, however, that Islamic religious beliefs are being taken into account, and Catholic beliefs were not last time. I am sure I don't understand all of the legal complexities going into these cases, but it is certainly interesting to note the difference here. Or perhaps it is simply due to a differing opinion of a different judge that made the difference, which would not be unheard of in the U.S. either.
Different judge just taking a different approach seems the most likely to me; but two other differences could be relevant: the judge seemed to take into account that the child had shown some kind of personal affiliation with her faith (to the extent that 4 year olds do), and gave that some weight in addition to weight of the parents' belief; and that the relevant religious ruling seems more black and white (can't remove life sustaining equipment for any reason) than Catholic teaching would be (which, as I understand it, would allow the removal of life sustaining "extraordinary measures" if they are causing disproportionate harm to benefit)
Whites in Britain are subject to a de facto different legal standard than non-whites. Muslims in particular are afforded greater leeway than whites. For the most extreme instantiation of this, see the Rotterham rape gangs.
If you have more than an idle curiosity regarding how much Mary knew, "The Mystical City of God," officially Allowed, but not Required, makes a rewarding study.
A quick search of the quoted phrase opens this Beautiful Mystery to learned and ignorant, alike. When I began, I was as ignorant as one could possibly be while supposing myself a lapsed Christian in no particular peril. Turns out, I was better served by recognizing both Mary and Satan, then by ignoring both as rivals for the loyalty of my Soul.
If this makes me Old School as in pre-modern materialist, so be it.
edit: Just realized that "pre-modern materialist" might be difficult to parse as intended. "Pre-Enlightenment (Sola rationalism)" might be less ambiguous. Or maybe, A pox on Logical Positivism!
Forgive my intrusion, but I have been moved to ask, since you use the singular, whether you bought the one volume edition or the four-volume edition?
I will not fault the condensed version. We find our help where we humbly seek it. I will only say that I needed the long study to open my eyes and heart and mind to the reality of Blessed Mary and all that she warns us to flee from.
As a Modern, lapsed liberal Protestant, I needed a Lot of guidance to find my way to a True home in the Catholic Church.
« I guess I find great comfort in the mostly silent mystery of what Mary knew or thought about it all. »
I like to think that when we hear the Gospel according to St John, we hear a bit of the ponderings of the one he received as mother at the foot of the Cross
Muslims in the UK are treated very differently by the government than white Christians. It’s unlikely that an equivalent Church declaration would have had the same effect.
Could it be that AI thought he (she, it, them, they) could make the Birmingham event happen through their sheer, all-encompassing power? All hail, AI! Sorry, but good try.
Here at St. Anne-St. Augustin Parish in Manchester, N.H. we do not have a parish Council.
Did the Bishop’s Synod require all parishes to have a parish Council?
No. Canon Law requires that every parish have a Finance Council. But a parish council or pastoral council is optional. A good option, but not required.
"when a site is free to read, your margins are razor thin and staff is the ultimate luxury item."
-If you are a Pillar reader, and you are not currently a subscriber, PLEASE BECOME ONE!
I was gifted three 1-month Pillar subscriptions to give away. I'm sure there's a way for me to gift three of you non-subscribers one. Let me know if you are interested. We'll make it happen.
Experience the awesomeness of the daily Starting Seven in your mailboxes and the Bonus Pillar Podcast episodes.
edit: subscribers get to comment, so email Kate (sorry for more work Kate) or someone at the Pillar that you are interested in taking me up. Then you, too, can comment on my snarky take aways.
My diocese prohibits the use of "Mary, Did You Know?" in liturgical settings because it implicitly denies the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
It's not my favorite song, but in what sense does it deny the dogma?
It says this child that you delivered will soon deliver you which implies that she was not already delivered at the moment of her conception.
"The biggest problem comes in these lines: 'Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new? This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.' This is at least an implicit denial of the Immaculate Conception, by which Mary was extraordinarily preserved from sin at her first moment of existence."
The full explanation is found at the bottom of page 6 here: https://diocesefwsb.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/FW-SB-Liturgical-Notes-Fall-2024.pdf
I was taught that although she was born without original sin, she still needed Christ to be born to open the gates of heaven, so she still needed a deliverence of sorts. I'm no theologian so ok with being told I am wrong.
Right she did and was delivered by Christ but at the time of His birth He had done delivered her 😉
As the saving sanctification of the Paschal Mystery is outside time, being God and all, Christ saved His mother from the moment of her creation.
No soon deliver nonsense, it already happened (I hate that song. - SHE KNEW. SHE WAS A GOOD JEW WHO KNEW THE PROPHETS. SHE KNEW - so my sass isn’t personal to you but to that awful song writer lol )
"but at the time of His birth He had done delivered her 😉". Love it!
As they say: "Done and done". Already been done. But still love the song.
Hate this song too for the same reasons. My daughter did a hilarious Instagram post using her best valley girl voice, "Mary, did'tcha know? I mean, like, haven't you read scripture? Or the prophets? Etc" she won't let me share it but her comment to me was "Protestants finally wrote a song about Mary and they used it to undercut her". God bless my dear daughter, who, btw, also HATES fireworks lol
A following point in the diocese's explanation: "While there is an atemporal side to God's activity, at face value 'This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you' conveys a sense of Mary at that moment still awaiting salvation along with everyone else (as opposed to being already cleansed by a 'prevenient grace,' as the Prayer over the Offerings for Immaculate Conception on December 8 says). And since the song was not written by/for Catholics, that’s surely the intent. But we have to affirm that Mary was not still awaiting a future salvation when Jesus was born—in fact, her purity was necessary for the Incarnation."
I was born and raised Protestant, which is how I came to know of the song and its writer, and the assumed meaning behind the line is that Mary needs to be saved from her sins. I can see how the explanation you were given can work to make the line fit into a Catholic context, but that almost certainly not what was on a Texas Baptist's mind when he wrote it!
Bingo. We can rationalize ways that the lyrics don't deny the Immaculate Conception, but we're just performing mental gymnastics. Occam's Razor applies here.
I am jealous. We were treated to a rendition of the song at Christmas Eve Mass. Our music director is a relatively recent convert and I'm not sure she realizes the problem with it.
I am so glad a child was rescued from the British medical murderers and has improved beyond what they said could happen. I pray that our Catholic Church there quickly put together a court that can save the lives of children. If the Muslims can do it we should be able to do so also.
And so mainstream press that the article you referenced makes no mention of the child's improvement far beyond what the medical murderers said was possible.
I don't think it would make a difference. The "system" in the UK knows that the Catholic bishops have very little actual power (politically speaking) and, and if the Catholic faithful only get tepid support from the bishops then the government has little to fear. The Catholics will "cope and seethe" as the kids say and the government will get its way.
On the other hand, Muslims aren't guaranteed to just sit down and take it, so they're shown a certain deference. Part of it's also that they're not Christians, which automatically wins them some deference too. (NB: I am not saying that the threat of violence is a good thing. Muslims also live under a lot of surveillance and deal with their communities being infiltrated by government informants as a result of the threat of violence. I don't want that to be the reality for Catholics if it can be avoided (the FBI apparently was interested in making that our reality, so it may happen either way.)
Oh "listicles". Does that mean what I think it means?
Next is the AI generated pro-abortion signs: "Keep your rosaries off of our listvaries!"
Fake New Years event organized by AI. Hah! This has SKYNET written all over it.
"Canon law could save lives" feels like the kind of sentence Ed. will be most proud of writing in his life.
It certainly was an effective way to end that essay.
I generally like The Star, but the more times I’ve heard it (as my kids watch it), the less I like it. I agree with Ed’s points about Mary, although I’m more okay with her portrayal than Ed is. What bothers me most is the portrayal of Joseph; he’s anxious, fearful, and has very little faith. St. Joseph deserves better than that.
Amennnnnn! He’s very unlikeable for much of the movie and I’m so terribly offended by that. I have a deep love of this holy man (and have my own Joseph in his honor!) and taking him from silent and just (aka righteous ) to that crank in the Star bothers me heaps
I seem to remember in at least the case of Alfie Evans, the UK bishops they were actually rather halfhearted in their support for Alfie and his family, and their statement after he died was in support of the hospital staff nearly as much as his family. I probably wouldn't put too much hope in the UK bishops taking any kind of action to challenge the establishment culture in the near future.
I am curious as to why this time, however, that Islamic religious beliefs are being taken into account, and Catholic beliefs were not last time. I am sure I don't understand all of the legal complexities going into these cases, but it is certainly interesting to note the difference here. Or perhaps it is simply due to a differing opinion of a different judge that made the difference, which would not be unheard of in the U.S. either.
Different judge just taking a different approach seems the most likely to me; but two other differences could be relevant: the judge seemed to take into account that the child had shown some kind of personal affiliation with her faith (to the extent that 4 year olds do), and gave that some weight in addition to weight of the parents' belief; and that the relevant religious ruling seems more black and white (can't remove life sustaining equipment for any reason) than Catholic teaching would be (which, as I understand it, would allow the removal of life sustaining "extraordinary measures" if they are causing disproportionate harm to benefit)
Whites in Britain are subject to a de facto different legal standard than non-whites. Muslims in particular are afforded greater leeway than whites. For the most extreme instantiation of this, see the Rotterham rape gangs.
Ed., I always enjoy your very English styling of Our Lady as “Herself”.
If you have more than an idle curiosity regarding how much Mary knew, "The Mystical City of God," officially Allowed, but not Required, makes a rewarding study.
A quick search of the quoted phrase opens this Beautiful Mystery to learned and ignorant, alike. When I began, I was as ignorant as one could possibly be while supposing myself a lapsed Christian in no particular peril. Turns out, I was better served by recognizing both Mary and Satan, then by ignoring both as rivals for the loyalty of my Soul.
If this makes me Old School as in pre-modern materialist, so be it.
edit: Just realized that "pre-modern materialist" might be difficult to parse as intended. "Pre-Enlightenment (Sola rationalism)" might be less ambiguous. Or maybe, A pox on Logical Positivism!
I've downloaded it. Thank you!
Forgive my intrusion, but I have been moved to ask, since you use the singular, whether you bought the one volume edition or the four-volume edition?
I will not fault the condensed version. We find our help where we humbly seek it. I will only say that I needed the long study to open my eyes and heart and mind to the reality of Blessed Mary and all that she warns us to flee from.
As a Modern, lapsed liberal Protestant, I needed a Lot of guidance to find my way to a True home in the Catholic Church.
« I guess I find great comfort in the mostly silent mystery of what Mary knew or thought about it all. »
I like to think that when we hear the Gospel according to St John, we hear a bit of the ponderings of the one he received as mother at the foot of the Cross
Muslims in the UK are treated very differently by the government than white Christians. It’s unlikely that an equivalent Church declaration would have had the same effect.
The problem with you saying canon law can save lives is that unlike Muslims we don't don't threaten to kill anyone.
I think that's at least part of the picture.
Could it be that AI thought he (she, it, them, they) could make the Birmingham event happen through their sheer, all-encompassing power? All hail, AI! Sorry, but good try.