New Pope Is Here.

Many thanks to IN CAELO ET IN TERRA  for the above Illustration.

The Spirituality of Serving at the Altar.

Im Chor des Münsters zu Aachen. Signiert. 

Datiert 1890. Rückseite betitelt.

Date: 1890.

Source: Düsseldorfer Auktionshaus

Artist: Franz Stegmann (1831–1892).

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Article can be found on the Blog "In Caelo et in Terra", to be found at

http://incaelo.wordpress.com/

An interesting film which reveals the spirituality behind the duties of altar servers., which are not just some tasks which need doing. Like so many elements of our Catholic life, it is based in a well-developed spirituality, and in turn, feeds that spirituality on a very personal level.

This is one of the beautiful things about our faith: holiness is achievable by simply doing it. Physical actions, like the speaker in the film says, can help us achieve an inner disposition on the road to personal holiness.

We live in an age where people appreciate spirituality, the transcending elements that we can strive for. Often, this appreciation is manifested in the popularity of self-help books, paranormal events and elements of the eastern religions. Our own Catholic faith also has spirituality on offer, a spirituality which is mature, deep and continuously challenging, but which is attainable for all of us if we would just devote some time and effort to it.

HT to Fr. Dwight Longenecker.

Cardinal Ries, R.I.P.

This Article can be found on the Blog "In Caelo et in Terra", to be found at

http://incaelo.wordpress.com/

Cardinal Ries, R.I.P.

A Cardinal for only one year and five days, Julien Ries did not receive his Red Hat as the result of a successful career in the hierarchy. The Belgian Prelate rather received it for his work in the quiet of his study and the lecture hall. He passed away on 23 February 2013 at the age of 92.

Julien Ries was born near Arlon, Belgium, and ordained a Priest for the Diocese of Namur in 1945. After a few years working as a Parish Priest and history teacher, Father Ries taught history of religion at the Catholic University of Louvain. After that University was split into a Flemish and a Walloon section in 1968, he remained at the latter. He remained there until his retirement in 1990.

A highly productive author, Fr. Ries was created a Cardinal in the Consistory of February 2012. Consecrated a Bishop a week before the Consistory, he held the Titular See of Belcastro, and later became Cardinal-Deacon of Sant’Antonio di Padova a Circonvallazione Appia.

With more than 600 publications to his name, Cardinal Ries was convinced that those were the reason for being made a Cardinal. Pope Benedict XVI studied his work closely and, in 2012, Cardinal Ries said in an interview: “He phoned me more than once to congratulate me, when he had read a book of mine.”

Cardinal Ries’s work was best know for its focus on religious anthropology and humanities. In 2009, he donated his library and all his notes and correspondence to the Catholic University of Milan.

Cardinal Ries was never an Elector. With his passing the total number of Cardinals drops to 208.