Another Busy Month: August

It's been awhile since I really got to post much here.  What have I been doing?  Glad you asked.

August has been incredibly busy.

July ended with my move out of my summer assignment to my parents' house, temporarily of course.  The first few days of that week consisted of me packing, first for our Seminarian Gathering, then for seminary.  I had been helping to plan our Gathering all summer, so Wednesday was our last day to get ready before it started.  Mostly it was a trip to the store to buy a whole lot of drinks and some food.  We then had to move it from the van to the room where we would be meeting.  And, because I don't think ahead, I was wearing pants and a polo.  And it was about 90 degrees.  That was a fun day.

Our Gathering started on the 4th with a good talk by someone from the Tribunal, followed by a trip to paintball.  It was my first time paintballing, and it was a lot of fun, despite the heat and humidity and the long pants and shirt.  In fact, on our first "mission," I was the last one out, largely because I had no idea what I was doing so I just stayed in the back.  It almost worked.  I only got two bad hits, one on the top of my head, and one on the collarbone.  Overall, it was a good time.

Friday was a day of a few talks, one by our vocation director and one by our bishop, which is always a good time.  We also had a Jeopardy! game made by one of the seminarians focusing on the history of the diocese.  It was a lot of fun, though I was the judge of who raised their hand first so I was the enemy.

Saturday was our pilgrimage.  This year it was focused on Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, an Italian priest who founded a number of churches in southwest Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois.  He was a true pioneer priest, even drawing the plans for many of the churches.  First we went to St. Augustine in New Diggings.  Built in the 1840s, it was restored recently to look exactly as it had 170 years ago.  We had Mass there, Extraordinary Form, which was fantastic.  They even rang the bell for us.

Next, we headed over to Sinsinawa Mounds, home of the Sinsinawa Dominican Sister who were founded by Fr. Mazzuchelli.  In their heyday, they were the largest order in the United States, numbering nearly 2000!

 Painting of Fr. Mazzuchelli when he entered seminary, around age 17

 After he died, he was found wearing this penitential chain around his waist

The habit Sinsinawa Dominican sisters used to wear

We then trekked over to St. Patrick's Church in Benton, the final resting place of Fr. Mazzuchelli.  Holy Hour there was a treat, even if the A/C wasn't working.

 He had a great devotion to Our Lady, Queen of Sorrows

We finished the pilgrimage with dinner at the house of a major benefactor for the diocese.  His farm includes a nice chapel, Stations of the Cross, various statues, and a huge rosary.  What a great man.

Sunday brought us Mass with the bishop, a fantastic brunch, and then the priest/seminarian soccer game in Sauk City.  The seminarians won, of course, 4-2.

Monday was another big event for us.  We had a golf tournament with some of the priests from the diocese as well as some local benefactors.  This took place at the Janesville Country Club, which is the oldest country club in Wisconsin and something like the fourth oldest in the United States.  My group did not do very well, but we still had fun.

Tuesday was picture day!  Always a favorite day.  We also had an event with major benefactors of the vocation office.  And we finished on Wednesday with a talk on the importance of learning Latin as priests of the Latin Rite.  What a concept!

After a half day of "rest" at home, it was move-in day at the seminary on Thursday.  Busy busy busy, but the people here were great about helping make it feel like home.

 My new home

The seminary used to have a baseball team!  Of course, they also used to have 400 seminarians 

Friday the 12th began orientation.  Like most places, it's that "necessary evil" to learn the ropes.  One among many interesting facts, it was built in 1855, making it the oldest continually operated seminary in the United States.  So that was my next week.  One of the highlights was Monday, the Feast of the Assumption.  We went over to the cathedral to help out at the Open Door Cafe, a fantastic organization that feeds 5000 lunches every year at no cost.  We also got a tour of the cathedral.  The less said the better.

Milwaukee cathedral circa 1940s 

That afternoon, thanks to the feast day, we had our only real block of time free for two weeks (or three for me).  I took that time to see Suicide Squad, because I had to.  My short review: despite some great performances by Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, and especially Will Smith, it was one of the most disappointing movies in awhile.  The editing was horrific, and the villain was a Marvel-like throwaway villain, only more laughable.  I'm going to blame the studio for at least a little bit of that.

Our orientation ended with a trip to a lake house on Saturday.  It was a nice, relaxing time for some of us.  Others went crazy playing volleyball and soccer. 

Sunday morning we were free to attend Mass wherever we wanted.  I decided to head over to St. Stanislaus, where my great (great?) uncle was the pastor in the 1880s/1890s.  This former Polish church is now run by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.  It was a Low Mass, and I have to admit to feeling a little emotional thinking that I was in the same space as my ancestor, listening to the same Mass that he would have celebrated.

Then Sunday afternoon we headed to our yearly silent retreat in Illinois.  It was a good retreat, focusing on the Beatitudes.  As always, the most important part of the retreat is the personal time with God.  I was able to finish Cardinal Sarah's book, which was inspiring.

And now I'm back in the seminary.  Classes begin Monday.  I'm ready to start theology!

The Case for ad orientem

During the Sacra Liturgia conference being held in London on July 5, Robert Cardinal Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, made some comments that sent ripples through the Roman Catholic Church.  Not for the first time, he recommended that priests celebrate the Mass "ad orientem," which literally means "towards the East."  This is as opposed to the "versus populum" celebration we most typically see today.  He further recommended that this begin on the first Sunday of Advent, for reasons I will explain.  As of yet, there has been no official change.  By why would the Church want the priest to celebrate the Mass "with his back towards the people" as some say?  There are four main arguments that I would like to highlight.

First, there is the argument of precedent.  To fully make this argument would take more time than I have here.  Essentially, if we look at the history of the Liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, Mass, and indeed all prayer, was always celebrated facing the East up until roughly fifty years ago.  There were a few reasons, but in essence it was because all people were to be facing the Lord, the focus of the Mass, and He was to come from the East.  This, by the way, is why Cardinal Sarah recommended the change be made in Advent, the time when we most explicitly anticipate the coming of the Lord.  The other argument of precedent is that all other Catholic rites, the Tridentine Mass or the Extraordinary Form, the Ordinariate, as well as all Eastern Catholic rites, celebrate Mass "ad orientem."  Only the "Novus Ordo," the new Mass coming from the Second Vatican Council, allows for Mass to be said "versus populum," and even then it is a choice.  Returning to Mass "ad orientem" would be a return to history and in solidarity with all other Catholics.  (For more on this topic, I highly recommend Uwe Michael Lang's Turning Towards the Lord.)

Second, there is the spiritual argument.  This is where many people may ask, "why is the priest turning his back to us?"  The important thing is to think of "ad orientem" as the priest leading the people facing the Lord, in the form of the crucifix behind the altar.  There is also a practical side to this argument.  Priests, and all those at the altar, are humans.  Humans can get distracted.  If the priest is facing the people, any number of things can distract him from what should be the focus of the Mass: God.  If, however, the priest is facing Christ, his attention is completely focused on Christ.  I can also say this applies to the people in the pews.  Instead of watching every movement of the priest and being distracted by his movements or his clothing or anything else, they, too, can focus completely on Christ.

Third, there is the argument of translation.  In the original Latin of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (the document that guides all Liturgical worship), paragraph no. 299 states "Altare extruatur a pariete seiunctum, ut facile circumiri et ineo celebratio versus populum peragi possit, quod expedit ubicumque possibile sit."  The English translation has this as "The altar should be built separate from the wall, in such a way that it is possible to walk around it easily and that Mass can be celebrated facing the people, which is desirable wherever possible."  Thus, it sounds as though Mass "versus populum" is desirable.  The problem is that this is a bad translation, as many Latin scholars have noted.  The final clause beginning with "quod" actually refers to the first part of the sentence, and thus more accurately means "the altar should be built separate from the wall, which is desirable wherever possible," etc. 

Finally, there is the argument from the Missal itself.  Numerous times it remarks that the priest at certain points is facing the people.  This would not be necessary to mention if he were already doing so.  The final indication is that when the priest consumes the Body of Christ, he is to be "facing the altar," as opposed to facing the people.  Again, if facing the altar meant facing the people, there would be no reason to distinguish the two.

This is not to say that celebrating Mass "versus populum" is wrong, since clearly it is the norm now.  Whether the Mass is said "ad orientem" or "versus populum" at the moment is up to the discretion of the priest.  It will be interesting to see if any changes or further recommendations will be made.

Star Trek...Beyond

I will begin this mini review of Star Trek Beyond by saying I am not a big fan of the Star Trek reboot series.  I have said this many times before, but it's a bit too much Star Wars and not enough Star Trek (which might seem weird since I'm a huge Star Wars fan, but the two need to be separate).  That being said, either I have softened my stance, or this third one really is the best of the bunch so far.

Pros:

The effects and makeup are fantastic.  There's one scene at the end (I don't want to spoil anything) with the good guys facing off against the bad guys in space.  If you've seen it, you know what I mean.  That looked great.

The cast has always been the strongest part of the reboot, though they've had a bit of a problem balancing between playing the originals and being themselves.  I think they've finally got it down just about right.  And the relationships, especially between Bones and Kirk, are good.  Idris Elba was pretty good.  Sofia Boutella was a stand out.  Jaylah is a great character.

The story was original but still "Trek-y" enough.  It was a fun movie.  And, unlike the first movie (outrunning a black hole) there wasn't any obnoxiously bad science.  Bad science, yes, but not stupid.  And no second-rate retreads of baddies.

Cons:

Still a little too much action for me.  I guess you can tell I'm a fan of the Next Generation, because they were the pinnacle of the series for me.  They had action when needed, but they also made you think.  The series is missing the cerebral part that makes Star Trek Star Trek.

Speaking of action, this runs into the same problems as too many action movies today: quick cuts, close up cameras, and too dark making it impossible to see what's going on.  You get the general idea, but at times it's very hard to follow the action.

Conveniences.  This kind of goes with the cerebral part.  We need something...oh there it is!  This happens a bit too many times and it gets annoying.

Again, overall it's a good addition to the franchise. 

7.5/10

Now, let me share my unquestionably perfect ranking of the Star Trek movies:

13.  Star Trek V: The Final Frontier  2/10

            The pretty much universal worst of the bunch.  There's nothing good to say about it.  And then Nichelle Nichols dances.

12.  Star Trek: The Motion Picture  4/10

            It took me three tries to get through this dull attempt at copying the terrible 2001.  The only good thing about this is it includes the best score of the franchise.  That poster is a thousand times more interesting than the movie.

11.  Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home  4/10

            Some people love this (one in particular I have argued over this), I hate it.  The "humor" is mostly dumb and it just doesn't feel like a Star Trek movie.  Heavy handed environmentalism much?

10.  Star Trek: Nemesis  5/10

            The first time I saw it, I thought it was alright.  Each subsequent viewing it gets worse.  Too bad this was the send-off for the best crew.

9.  Star Trek Into Darkness 6/10

            The bombing scene is pretty great, the rest is a mess of over-the-top action and bad copies of Wrath of Khan.

8.  Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 7/10

            It's not a bad movie, but there's also little in it that stands out.

7.  Star Trek (reboot) 7/10

            I remember walking out of seeing this in IMAX at Kennedy Space Center and immediately disagreeing with my two friends who said this was the best Star Trek movie ever.  The villain is lackluster, and I can never get over them escaping a black hole.

6.  Star Trek: Generations 7/10

            I think this movie gets more flack than it deserves.  It's a pretty good bridge between the crews.  And get over the ending.

5.  Star Trek Beyond 7.5/10

            See above.

4.  Star Trek: Insurrection 7.5/10

            Saw this in the theater and didn't like it.  For a long time it was in the bottom three for me.  Rewatched a couple of years ago and really liked it.  My love of the Next Generation crew comes out.  One thing that can't be argued: that's got to be the worst Star Trek movie poster.

3.  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 8/10

            Start the hate.  Yes, it's a good movie with a great villain and an iconic ending.  That doesn't mean it's the best.

2.  Star Trek: First Contact 9/10

            Such a great use of the Next Generation cast and the best villains in Star Trek.  The borg are frightening, the tension is always there, but it doesn't have to be a non-stop action thrill ride because the movie lets the story play out.

1.  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 9/10

            The first one I saw in the theater.  It still blows me away.  I nearly used it in class as an allegory for the Cold War.  And you can have Khan, give me Christopher Plummer's Chang quoting Shakespeare (in the original Klingon) any day.

Bonus: Galaxy Quest 9/10

            Yes, if I were to rank this (as one Star Trek convention poll did), I would have it #3.  That's right, above Wrath of Khan.  Again, bring the hate.  The best parody movie ever.

A quick ranking of the scores, because there are some great ones.

13.  Voyage Home (Leonard Rosenman) F

            The only one I don't bother having.

12.  The Final Frontier (Jerry Goldsmith) D-

            Nearly as bad as the movie.

11.  Nemesis (Jerry Goldsmith) D

            Pretty forgettable, unfortunately.

10.  Insurrection (Jerry Goldsmith) C

            Goldsmith losing his touch.

9.  Beyond (Michael Giacchino) C+

            I have yet to hear it on its own, but in the movie it did not stand out.

8.  Generations (Dennis McCarthy) C+

            I like the Nexus theme, but the rest is somewhat forgettable.

7.  Wrath of Khan (James Horner) C+

            Some people have this #1, and that's because they're idiots.  It's more important for basically making Horner's career.

6.  Search for Spock (James Horner) B-

            Basically just a copy of Wrath of Khan with some good

5.  Into Darkness (Michael Giacchino) B

            Like the movie, the bomb scene is great, the rest is ok.

4.  First Contact (Jerry Goldsmith) B

            Some good action cues.

3.  The Undiscovered Country (Cliff Eidelman) A-

            Here's a composer who came out of nowhere, wrote a fantastically epic score, then has done basically nothing, unless you count The Beautician and the Beast something.

2.  Star Trek (Michael Giacchino) A

            Giacchino does a great job of making the themes to the original series epically great.

1.  The Motion Picture (Jerry Goldsmith) A+

            It might be Goldsmith's best ever. The six minute Enterprise flyby is one of the greatest compositions ever.  Oh yes, and it gave us the Next Generation theme.

Another bonus: Galaxy Quest (David Newman) B

            Sounds a little too television at times, but that's kind of the point.  Somewhere around #5 on the list.