A Visit from Father John Zuhlsdorf

From Wyoming Catholic College:

On the Feast of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, WCC welcomed Father John Zuhlsdorf, host of the popular Catholic blog, “What Does the Prayer Really Say?”

Father Zuhlsdorf, whose keen analysis of all things liturgical and humorous, illuminating catch phrases have made his blog a favorite amongst Catholics everywhere, was the third of the College's four Distinguished Lecturers, and arrived in Lander in time to help celebrate the College's patronal feast.

Father Z., as he is affectionately known by his online followers, spent the morning visiting with the College's faculty and students. That afternoon, he celebrated a sung High Mass in honor of the feast, accompanied by the WCC choir. After attending the celebration banquet at Holy Rosary Church, he delivered his lecture on the cultural impact of the Mass and how to best preserve it from corruptive cultural influences.

Entitled "The Holy Mass and Western Civilization: Our Warmth in Our Winter," the talk was a fascinating exploration of the ways our cultural mores and artifacts are influenced by the Mass, (and in some cases, can influence it in return). Paraphrasing St. Augustine's "Rule of Charity" for scriptural interpretation, Father Zuhsldorf discussed the ways in which the Church recognizes the importance of allowing cultural influences "from the people" to impact our Liturgy, while safeguarding it from those cultural influences that are clearly "for the people."

The talk, which can be heard here, was enthusiastically received by the students, who participated in a lively Q&A session afterwards. Sadly, Father Z.'s impending departure early next morning prevented the conversation from lasting as long as everyone would have liked, but the WCC community comforted itself with the hope that this would not be Father Zuhlsdorf's last visit to God's Country.

A photo album of the day's activities may be found here. (February 5, 2010)

A Visit from Father John Zuhlsdorf
Wyoming Catholic College