Pentecost

Pope Benedict’s homily, from Asia News Italy:
The group of disciples that receives the Holy Spirit is the “new Israel”, a “new creation”, which speaks in “other languages”. It is a community “constructed not by human will, but by the power of the Spirit of God . . . a community that at the same time [...]

Latin Now Available on Vatican Website

Documenta Lingua Latina

Music and Diplomacy

From Asia News Italy:
Everything began with the music, which in the words of both the pope and of maestro Long Yu, who conducted the performance, is a “privileged instrument for encounter and reciprocal knowledge and esteem between different populations and cultures”. And the pope – who loves to play the piano – paid homage to [...]

A General Audience Focused on Christian Unity

From Asia News Italy :
Benedict XVI, addressing the 40,000 people present in Saint Peter’s Square, spoke of his “joy” at the possibility of welcoming the head of the Armenian Church. “His presence”, he continued, “revives within us our hope for the unity of all Christians”. The pope then recalled “the unforgettable visit made” by Karekin [...]

Pope to Text Msg Youth at WYD

From Scientific American:
The Pope will text daily messages of inspiration and hope during the six-day Sydney event while digital prayer walls will be erected at event sites and the church will set up a Catholic social networking Web site akin to a Catholic Facebook.
The Catholic Church said it decided to use technology to connect to [...]

Pope Offers Condolences to Tragedy Victims

Death toll continues to rise, from Asia News Italy:
The official death toll from May 3rd cyclone Nagris which hit Myanmar is over 15 thousand people. According to state TV, in the city of Bogalay alone the body count numbers 10 thousand people, while the foreign minister Nyan Win reports 30 thousand missing and countless more [...]

Magister on Politicians and Holy Communion

From Chiesa:
But now that it has exploded once again, the impression is that a more strict approach is taking hold among the bishops of the United States. It was striking that cardinal Egan did not limit himself to recalling general principles, but directly criticized a famous political figure, and moreover accused him of violating a [...]

Apparition of Mary Approved (Signal of the End of Times?)

After 300+ years, but perhaps with a message for today? One of the predictions made by Our Lady of Laus (France), was that the message given there would reappear near the “End of Times” Refuge of Sinners is approved by the French bishops, from the International Tribune:
Speaking at Mass in Laus in remarks broadcast nationally [...]

The Rosary

Pope Benedict reflects on the power of the rosary. Hat tip to Father Mark, from the Papa Ratzinger Forum:
Today, we confirm together that the Holy Rosary is not a pious practice relegated to the past, nor a prayer from other times which we only think about with nostalgia. The Rosary is, in fact, undergoing [...]

Pope Benedict on The Ascension of the Lord

From today’s Regina Caeli address, before over 100,000 people, as recounted in Asia News Italy:
Before the Regina Caeli, the pontiff emphasised the value of today’s feast, the Ascension of Christ to heaven and his “return to the Father” with his and our humanity. “He”, the pope explains, “in fact came to the world to bring men back [...]

Time Magazine: Is Liberal Catholicism Dead?

Reminicent of Saint John Bosco’s dream, the magazine reflects on what Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy means to the Church, albeit from only one side–it would have been good to hear some voices from the young and upcoming, rather than from the graying, from Time:
To some extent, liberal Catholicism has been a victim of its own [...]

The Real Power of Evil

“I decided I did not want to get involved.”
It seems that many knew of the crimes of Joseph Fritzl, but remained silent. This is an oft told story when it comes to abuse and it merits a deep meditation on evil and how if we do not confont it, we become silent accomplices–corporate sin, think [...]

Finally In Stock Again

After selling out as soon as it was released Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device is finally in stock again!

City Repents in Sackcloth (burlap) and Ashes

Birmingham, Alabama–last Friday, from FoxNews:
Struggling to confront a worsening homicide rate, the mayor of Birmingham asked pastors and citizens Friday to don burlap sacks and ashes Friday in an Old Testament-style sign of biblical repentance.
Mayor Larry Langford said his “sackcloth and ashes” rally at Boutwell Auditorium was inspired by the Book of Jonah, where residents [...]

The Changes in Papal Media Coverage

An excellent overview by Dale O’Leary in The Pilot:
As I followed the pastoral visit of the Holy Father on television, switching between EWTN and FoxNews, I could not help but contemplate how far we have come. I remember the coverage of the visits to the United States of John Paul the Great in 1979 and [...]