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Rerum Novarum at 122

15 May 2013
Rerum Novarum at 122

On this day in 1891, the great Pope Leo XIII issued his landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum, on the rights and duties of capital and labour. It is worth reviewing this landmark of modern Catholic social teaching. The following duties… concern rich men and employers: Workers are not to be treated as slaves; justice demands that the dignity of human personality be respected in them, … gainful occupations are not a mark of shame to...

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Our Lady of Fátima

13 May 2013
Our Lady of Fátima

Today in 1917, the Blessed Virgin began appearing to three shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal. She appeared on the thirteenth day of six consecutive months. In another article, I’ve already talked about the Miracle of the Sun. Regardless of miracles, Catholics are not obliged to believe these “private revelations”. Indeed, the Church is very careful to investigate these sorts of claims with an eye toward debunking them, if possible. Today, I will just make...

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Men of Galilee, Why … ?

12 May 2013
Men of Galilee, Why … ?

Viri Galilæi, quid admiramini aspicientes in cælum? (Acts 1:11) One of the more succinct descriptions of this day I’ve found has been copied all over the Internet, to the point where I’m unable to properly source it: The Ascension of Our Lord, which occurred 40 days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Easter, is the final act of our redemption that Christ began on Good Friday. On this day, the risen Christ,...

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A Week’s Worth of Photos

11 May 2013

My post-Camino reintegration proceeds slowly. Today, I got the first seven days of my Camino posted to Flickr and tagged. Day 8 is loaded as well, but I haven’t tagged the photos yet. LINK Enjoy! More to come as I am able.

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To Vigil, or Not to Vigil

8 May 2013
To Vigil, or Not to Vigil

Tomorrow is forty days since Easter, the Solemnity of the Ascension, when Christ ascended into heaven in what has to be one of the great comic scenes in the Bible: s they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee,...

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Home

4 May 2013

Well, we’re home at Pistachio House. Many thanks to Mel and J for getting us from the airport. Counting the bus, planes, and layovers, that was 36 hours of travel. I reckon I’ve done a 50-hour day today, so a real update will have to wait. Shower and my own bed. It feels good to be home.

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Santiago de Compostela

2 May 2013
Santiago de Compostela

Praise God, yesterday at about 3pm, we arrived in Santiago de Compostela. On the way into the city, we kept running into people we knew – people who had shared some portion of the walk with us – probably a dozen reunions before we even reached the Cathedral. Entering the plaza in front of the Cathedral was an experience like no other. The emotions were overwhelming: gratitude, relief, wonder, the childlike excitement of Christmas...

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Nearing the End

1 May 2013
Nearing the End

An easy walking day today of only about 20 km. Once again, Francine has been powerwalking in the mornings and slowing down in the afternoons, which is fine as this is my method as well. I try to plan our lunch stop for about two-thirds or so of the way through the day’s distance. Before leaving Arzúa this morning, we visited the local church. It was a very nice little place, crawling with cleaning...

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Cheesetown

1 May 2013
Cheesetown

They say you meet the Devil three times on the Camino. While I cannot (yet) attest to the veracity of this tradition, I can verify that his temptations are to be found everywhere. Despite such temptation, yesterday we completed the long, long walk from Palas do Rey to Arzúa, aka “Cheesetown”, a distance of about 30 km in the pouring rain. We walked through Casanova, ate octopus for lunch in Melide, walked through beautiful...

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Pope Francis



Servus Servorum Dei

I Peter 5:8

Fratres : Sóbrii estóte, et vigiláte : quia adversárius vester diábolus tamquam leo rúgiens circuit, quærens quem dévoret : cui resístite fortes in fide.

Brethren, be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.

 

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Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.

(G.K. Chesterton)