Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
On 16 April 1927 (Holy Saturday), Joseph Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn in Bavaria. He was baptized on Easter. To be the first person baptized with the new water was seen as a significant act of Providence. I have always been filled with thanksgiving for having had my life immersed in this way in the Easter Mystery … […]
» Read moreThe comic strip “Unstrange Phenomena” is usually pretty silly and surreal, but this morning the author published something far above his normal goofiness. This is a worthy subject for meditation, for the image depicts man toiling, his image producing a shadow of words in the shining light of God’s glory. Pope Benedict XVI once described himself as “a humble worker […]
» Read moreDuring Lent, I am reading the Desert Fathers. On occasion I will post sayings that strike me during my Lectio. Yesterday I also received my pre-ordered copy of Pope Benedict’s new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, and I’m devouring it. I may have to back up and re-read properly when I’m […]
» Read moreI have a dirty little secret. Sometimes… sometimes, I pray in Latin. It’s not that I think God likes Latin better than English, and I am certainly not fluent in Latin. In fact it’s safe to say that my knowledge of the language is vanishingly small. This brings up two points: why on earth would somebody pray in a language […]
» Read moreFrom the Vatican Information Service: Dear Cardinals,Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,Members and Consultors of the Vox Clara Committee, I thank you for the work that Vox Clara has done over the last eight years, assisting and advising the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in fulfilling its responsibilities with regard to the English translations of liturgical […]
» Read more“[Pope] Benedict called on advanced societies to adopt ‘more sober lifestyles,’ reducing energy consumption and favoring energy-efficient policies.” Right. Because that’s likely to happen. Full story here.
» Read moreThe Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum may be found here: Latin English from Vatican Press Service English from the USCCB (PDF) Accompanying letter in English Fr. Z’s Intro and Comments Te Deum laudámus:te Dóminum confitémur.Te ætérnum Patrem,omnis terra venerátur.Tibi omnes ángeli,tibi cæliet univérsæ potestátes:tibi chérubim et séraphimincessábili voce proclámant:Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,Dóminus Deus Sábaoth.Pleni sunt cæli et terramaiestátis glóriæ tuæ.
» Read more[T]he motu proprio liberating the Tridentine Mass for the entire Catholic Church has been given to about 30 bishops from all over the world in the Sala Bologna of the Apostolic Palace by Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone. The bishops had been invited to Rome for that purpose. At the end of the meeting, in which the motu […]
» Read moreI will have some thoughts on the Triduum, particularly the liturgical celebration thereof in my parish, in a day or three. For now, I join the rest of the world in wishing the Holy Father a very happy 80th birthday.
» Read moreThat all may be oneIn the past month, Pope Benedict has met with The Archbishop of Canterbury The Œcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The Orthodox Archbishop of Athens Add to this his Holiness’ apparently imminent release of a Motu Proprio liberalizing the Tridentine Use of the Roman Rite (or whatever we’re going to call it), which will go a long way […]
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Please pray for the Pope during his trip to Turkey, Nov. 28 – Dec. 1. Heavenly Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name, we humbly ask that you sustain, inspire, and protect your servant, Pope Benedict XVI, as he goes on pilgrimage to Turkey – a land to which St. Paul brought the Gospel […]
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