This year, The Holy Father will not wear cope and mitre for the Urbi et Orbi blessingTo forestall any rash comments, this is not without precedent, as may be seen from the accompanying picture of Pius XII imparing the Urbi et Orbi blessing on Easter 1952. The choice would seem to be connected to the fact that the Pope does not publicly celebrate the Missa in die, and is therefore not vested prior to the blessing. Msgr. Marini explains that it is "a solemn benediction which is not connected to a particular liturgical rite."Text:
Source: NLM
"The grace of God our Saviour has appeared to all" (Tit 2:11, Vulg.)
Dear brothers and sisters, in the words of the Apostle Paul, I once more joyfully proclaim Christ’s Birth. Today "the grace of God our Saviour" has truly "appeared to all"!
It appeared! This is what the Church celebrates today. The grace of God, rich in goodness and love, is no longer hidden. It "appeared", it was manifested in the flesh, it showed its face. Where? In Bethlehem. When? Under Caesar Augustus, during the first census, which the Evangelist Luke also mentions. And who is the One who reveals it? A newborn Child, the Son of the Virgin Mary. In him the grace of God our Saviour has appeared. And so that Child is called Jehoshua, Jesus, which means: "God saves".
The grace of God has appeared. That is why Christmas is a feast of light. Not like the full daylight which illumines everything, but a glimmer beginning in the night and spreading out from a precise point in the universe: from the stable of Bethlehem, where the divine Child was born. Indeed, he is the light itself, which begins to radiate, as portrayed in so many paintings of the Nativity. He is the light whose appearance breaks through the gloom, dispels the darkness and enables us to understand the meaning and the value of our own lives and of all history. Every Christmas crib is a simple yet eloquent invitation to open our hearts and minds to the mystery of life. It is an encounter with the immortal Life which became mortal in the mystic scene of the Nativity: a scene which we can admire here too, in this Square, as in countless churches and chapels throughout the world, and in every house where the name of Jesus is adored.
Continue ReadingJohn Mallon is trying to assemble an email list of Blogs in the English speaking world, especially in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. He is currently working as Contributing Editor for Inside the Vatican magazine, doing media relations for Human Life International, and assisting at the Envoy Institute in a promotional capacity. He has two degrees in theology and frequently has items of interest to Catholic Bloggers worldwide. With 25 years of experience in the Catholic Press, he has found that major secular outlets are often closed to these messages. If you have or know of Blogs that would be interested in receiving press releases and other pertinent materials for your Blogs, he would very much appreciate getting a mailing list of these blogs for this purpose. This is not spam. Anyone not wishing to receive these materials will be removed from the list immediately upon request. Catholic Blogs are absolutely critical for spreading credible information on the Church. This mailing list could serve as a News Agency supplying news and other information to Catholic Blogs.
It is absolutely maddening trying to harvest emails off of Blogs, where people won't post their emails. He is only interested in people who want to receive these messages, not bothering anyone.
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Please let me know if you can help.
Thanks & God bless you,
John Mallon
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Editor note: the Website is no longer available.
Before Omaha Beach, D-Day (June 1944) 
During World War I (1914 - 1918)
Funeral Mass (Date Unknown) 
Mass on the Battlefield (Date Unknown) 
Mass on the Battlefield (Date Unknown)
This past month the annual Tridentine Latin at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Kankakee, Illinois took place. The Mass is yearly celebrated by the Institute of the Christ the King Sovereign Priest and includes a Rosary Procession.
From HallowedGround, illustrating the alarming presence of modernism still deep within the modern Church. This is completely antithetical to the Order of Lector. St. Pius X, ora pro nobis!Probably the most newsy — and somewhat unexpected — item in the final propositions of the Synod of Bishops on the Bible was a proposal to allow women to be officially installed in the ministry of lector.
The issue was raised in Proposition 17 on “The ministry of the word and women,” and on Saturday morning it passed with 191 votes in favor, 45 opposed and three abstentions, according to our sources***.CNS article
Isn’t that special? I cringe when I hear people speak of Modernism in the past tense, as if it was some early 20th century heresy that was crushed, vanquished, and we can now breathe easy. Nonsense. Modernism has the Church in a strangle hold, and is slowly squeezing the life out of Her as we watch. These men with itchy ears are running the Church, and are the instruments of destruction. You never know what they are going to do, they’re almost totally untrustworthy. Another abuse becomes the norm.
Source: Hallowedground
