Feast of the Chair of St. Peter; Who Knew? – UPDATED
Because The Catholic Answer publishes only six times a year, when I wrote this piece ostensibly about this Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, I of course had no idea that our current Peter would be...
View ArticleBenedict’s hope lies in the reach of a monk’s prayers…UPDATES
(Subiaco Cave, where St. Benedict of Nursia lived) My piece at First Things this week looks at the point and the lesson behind Pope Benedict’s embrace of monasticism over his remaining time on the...
View Article“I will not forget the lessons you have taught me…”– UPDATES
You all know I am not a sentimentalist. I’m always suspicious of emotionalism and of course, tough-as-nails, right? But I am human! And this video which Kevin Knight put up at New Advent got me all...
View ArticleWith less than a day remaining of Benedict XVI’s pontificate…
(AP Photo/Source) Tonight, no lightning strikes; mere hours away from the of Benedict’s pontificate, a bright beam shines from the heavens and the absence of gloom almost gives a shiver: a light shines...
View ArticleTalking Benedict, Sede Vacante and Conclave on the Radio
If you’re able to listen, either on the radio or streaming on your computer, there will be what Mark Shea calls a “gaggle” of Patheos bloggers participating in a “roundtable” discussion of the day,...
View ArticleBenedict’s Action is an Unexpected American Consolation
Earlier today the Guardian UK asked me if I could rustle up a quick piece on what sort of legacy America could claim from Benedict. I thought about that a bit — the American character, our cultural...
View ArticleDo Catholics Overvalue Pomp and Ceremonials?
Here we see the Camerlengo, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, sealing the papal apartments, because we currently have no pope. I saw someone on twitter comment that the sealing — with the wax, as is...
View ArticleDid Mahony Crib a Joseph Notion from a Patheos Blogger?
Perhaps not. But I can’t help wondering about it. On February 27, Joanne McPortland of Egregious Twaddle wondered whether a Pope Joseph I, inaugurated on the Feast Day of the Patron of the Universal...
View Article“the usual efforts at Church reform are useless…”
The English writer and mystic Caryll Houselander is one of those people whose work I keep meaning to read, because every time I am exposed to even a little of her thinking, I’m intrigued and want more...
View ArticleSuffering Servant: Did Benedict Actually Resign?
This whole piece by John L. Allen is fascinating, but scroll down to the question: Did Benedict resign? Yet another point of interest from the recent press conference came when Francis took a question...
View ArticleCould we see Pope Patrick I in this Year of the Snake? – UPDATE
The Chinese New Year has just passed and we are now in the Year of the Water Snake, according to my Chinese friends who take the zodiac with varying degrees of seriousness, this means we face a year...
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